Saturday, February 28, 2015

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

           This was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. Sometimes when someone tells me how great a book something is, I am prone to not believe a word they said about how good this book is because I know people prefer different things and some books mean more to us during certain parts of our life.
            "Life as we Knew it" is follows a girl named Miranda and her family on a journey believed to be the end of the world. It is part of a series and I have one read the first book, but I am sure that just reading the first would be fine if you chose not to read the entire series. Some questions I have had in the past are actually answered in this book.
            Why should we have a food storage?
Well at anytime and in the least suspecting times something awful could happen. It could be the end of the world and your going to need food and water to survive. It will be a miracle if you get food during the times of chaos. Keep enough food for at least a year. Or more. Keep a food storage, so in case of emergencies your family will have food. It could also be used if one of income provider's get fired or laid off. It really could anything.
            What really matters?
For each person I think it differs. For Megan it was making it to heaven. For Miranda it was making sure the rest of her family lived. In the end does making sure someone has birthday gift matter? It might be a better gift just to make sure they live till their birthday. Or does having the most hip in style clothes really matter? There could be someone dying just to have enough clothes to wear in the middle of winter. They just need clothes to keep warm enough not to die from hypothermia.
            Why should I/you keep a diary or journal (Whatever it is you want to call it)?
Whether we think it is important or not, a journal is worth keeping. You may not want to remember the events that took place, but who's to say that one of your great grandchildren won't want to know what you went through? Everyone keeps hope for a better future. Well it's best to learn from the past. If you don't want your future posterity making the same mistakes you did, then keep track of your mistakes, how to avoid making the same mistake, or what the outcome was. The future should be allowed to know about us. More specifically they deserve a chance to know you and what life was like for YOU.
            I don't think I have any other questions, but it teaches a lot. It times of chaos, you should be able to rely on family to help you. For me I'd make family priority. This book although fictional, has great depth and Pfeffer did an amazing job putting this book together. It was recommended to me and now I recommend it to you. Please let me know what you think of it!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

            When Jeremy cheats on Mallory, she is heartbroken. How could he do such a thing? And with an ONLINE girlfriend!!!  So when Mallory comes across a list made by her grandmother in 1962, she knew she wanted to complete this list. It would take her back in time to when life was easier for teenagers. The only problem is that it may not have been easier.
            No cellphone! No laptop! She must socialize face to face with her friends. Could it have been any harder? The list has FIVE goals:
   1. Run for pop-squad secretary
   2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
   3. Find a steady
   4. Do something dangerous and
   5. Sew a homecoming dress
            But there are some problems along the way. For instance, there is NO pep squad currently at her school, so now she has to create one. Then, she needs to find out what kind of food people ate back then. No computer remember! Next, a steady. She just got out of a relationship. How is she going to make that happen? Something dangerous to hurt herself? Wow! What is she going to do? And last, but not least, she has absolutely no sewing skills at all. Luckily grandma may come to the rescue.
            I think that "Going Vintage" is definitely an eye opener. Today we use so much technology that we take it for granted. Why are we taking it for granted? Can we go more than 24 hours without touching our phone, laptop or some other technological device? It may be more readily available, but that doesn't mean that we should waste our time doing meaningless things. People used to be more social and with the help of the world today, we are isolating ourselves.
             If you like books written by Sarah Dessen or authors similar, you will absolutely love this book! Don't miss the chance to join Mallory on her way to finish her list. Also, remember to get ready for 1962!
"Now I have no contact with the outside world." - Going Vintage

Monday, February 23, 2015

THANK YOU!!!

            Sometimes I think that there are nice people in this world. Like when I first meet someone,  "Oh  she was nice," But it is rare that I meet someone and instantly think that they are the nicest, best, kindest person I have ever met!
            I was at Target on Friday and I only had $15 to spend and I wanted to spend it on BOOKS! What else? And I saw the sequel to "If I Stay" which is "Where She Went" and "Maze runner". No, I haven't read either of them yet and I am looking forward to telling you about it. So I was talking to this lady about how AWESOME "The Fault in Our Stars" is and how much I love it. I was telling her my favorite part is is when they egg Monica's car even though it is not in the book. Anyway and I didn't think she was listening to what I was saying. I was trying to decide which book to buy and she said "Where She Went" and my sister said "Maze runner". This was such a difficult decision. This lady, who I didn't even know the name of, decided she was going to give me the money to buy the books because she had to fight her kids to read, so if I wanted to read a book, she was gonna make sure I could. This was so sweet of her to do. The only problem was that she didn't have a five dollar bill, she only had twenties. She wouldn't take my giftcard and this was so sweet of her and she didn't even know me.
           The whole point of me telling you this is not because I got two books, but because of what this lady left with me.You never know a person's situation. Even if you think that you do, there is always the possibility that you don't know something that is going on in their lives. Commit to doing something good for someone else. It doesn't have to be big, but it could mean the world to them. She showed me her left leg except that he doesn't have a left leg! Seems like she has had a much harder life than me. I don't know why she wanted to make me happy when she didn't even know me. Commit to doing something kind for someone else, I promise you that it will make you feel good. And that person will remember it for a long time.
Thank you lady at Target!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


            Hi there again! So I decided, over the past little while because I've been thinking about some things and I haven't taken my reading up as much as I want to, that I am going to be reading more books. I also decided that because it will keep YOU updated on the awesome books in the world that you may not have found yet!
            Switching back to Ender's Game, I thought that even though it was not meant to be realistic, it was kind of hard for me to imagine. I mean SIX-YEAR-OLDS being a punching bag for their TEN-YEAR-OLD brother? Wow! Also space. We are in space and I know it is black out there, but imagining how the stars looked and planets that they might have been by is enough to give someone a headache.
            Overall, I really liked this book. It had enough violence and isolation for me. It also included some awesome heart squeezing moments that ensured that they had not completely broken Ender. I like to think I would have been Anderson wanting to not push Ender so hard. Don't break the kid, Graff! All of those kids there were so young, yet they were smarter than me by A LOT! I know we are told how Ender copes with all this stress, but I can imagine that it was one of the hardest things that he ever had to do.
              So I woud definately recommend this book to everyone reading this. If you haven't already read it yet. If your a mom, I would encourage you to suggest this book to your teenagers and preteens. Such a great book and it makes me realize that I take for granted a loving family. I take for granted not having to participate in a war or not having to fight people bigger than me. I know I would lose. I can't hurt another person like that.
            Please read and let me know how awesome you think it is or if this helped at all.
"I'm not going for you."-Ender 

Monday, February 2, 2015

The Queen by Kiera Cass

           This is a novella from Kiera Cass to explain how Queen Amberly, AKA Maxon's mom, ended up with King Clarkson, Maxon's dad. If you refer to my first post over the selection, then you will know how I love it and maybe how much I hate King Clarkson. I mean how could he be the worst father that ever lived. Maybe he didn't kill Maxon or banish him from Illea, but he beat him. What kind of a person does that make him. But Maxon and America made the best of it. In fact America recognizes that, "The best people all have some kind of scar." (From The One).
            My friend happened to read it before I did so I was able to hear what she thought about The Queen first. She said that she did not like it because it made her dislike the king more. I disagree with  that statement. In my opinion, in made me not like the king more, but I came to a realization. We did not know King Clarkson the way Amberly did. She knew what he was like. She KNEW that he came from a troubled home and although he was Prince, it did not make him anymore special than she was. We misunderstood Clarkson. He came from a home where people showed their emotions physically. If they were mad, they would break something or slap the other person,
            One thing I think that made me have a little respect for Clarkson was that he had respect for Amberly. I mean from the whole selection series I have no respect for him unless it regards Amberly.
            Also, it gave more insight to Amberly as well. Amberly tried hard not to let anyone know she was sick. Everyone knows the south is polluted. Not your everyday polluted either. It kills and makes people sick for life. She wanted to be like everyone. Only she couldn't because she was sick and such an AWESOME person.
           If you remember anything from this, you should remember that you shouldn't judge a book from its cover or from what others can see. I think the majority of the population of us did that immediately and we just needed a deeper look inside someone to understand them.
"I'm desperate for peace. I think you might be my only chance I have at that." -The Queen