Review: Fixing Delilah

Delilah Hannaford goes to a lovely little Vermont cottage where some memories of what was seem to come back, after the sudden death of her grandmother. She finds herself there all summer, as her mother and aunt fix up the house to be sold. Delilah runs into some childhood memories and gets stuck in the past. Her family is torn apart and she finds herself coming to pieces. She must put herself back together, as her family learns to be stronger and her old friendships seem to re-blossom.

After reading "Twenty Boy Summer", I was expecting another "couldn't put it down" kind of book. I was sad to not experience that with this one. Granted I read it in less than 24 hours, BUT this book simply didn't have me doing that as much.

However, I loved a few things about the novel. The first being that it was set in the summer. I love how Sarah Ockler has set her two books in the summer. It just makes it easier for me to enjoy because I'm not all that into books with school settings when it's summer. I also enjoyed that Sarah added another romance. Although, the boys almost seem too good to be true in both novels I've read by Sarah. But one can always be hopeful for a boy like that :)

I didn't like that the ending seemed waaay too perfect and good to be true. I found that it just made me think it was some kind of a fairytale. Other than that, though, I gave the book a 4 out of 5 stars because I simply loved Delilah's love interest, Patrick. If you're looking for a great summer getaway book, this is one of them!

Because sometimes I just need a little air.

I sat beneath the stars as a storm rolled in. The distant buzz of the cars flying through the interstate. The frequent horn of a barge welcoming itself into town. The hum of a train rolling on by, asking for attention. The breeze blowing across my face, fighting to blow out the candle lit to accompany me as I read on my back porch. Man, this town really goes to bed at night. And reading outside on a summer night puts me in a lovely mood :)

Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of historic-themed novels. BUT that's why I read this. I'm trying to expand my reading into other categories of literature that I may not always like. And I must say, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray made me like historic literature a lot more than I did. I think it was mostly because there was an adventure tied in with the story rather than a bunch of girls learning to be proper and sitting around a fire all day. Although, there was some of that in this novel. The book is part fantasy, part historic fiction, and part mystery. It had me going until the very end. Much like the Hunger Games series, though, I found that reading it at night was not a smart idea.

In the novel, a young girl named Gemma Doyle(love the name, by the way) is sent to a girls' private school in Englandafter a tragic family accident at her old home, India. After receiving a strange necklace from her mother, she begins to experience visions that eventually come true. She is approached by a boy who seems to continue to follow her that constantly threatens her, telling her to stop having the visions and that she can force them away herself.

That's about all I'll say about the novel. But I absolutely loved the storyline and the creativity of the story. I only gave it 3 out of 5 stars, however, because I am not a huge fan of historic fiction. Also, I was at times confused with when Gemma was having a vision, and when she was in real life. Other than that, I feel that the book is a great summer read! I'll also add that I loveeed the cover!

Tree Hugger

I've been finding that I'm loving going into the woods and just exploring nature a lot more than I used to. I used to be a wuss when it came to going outside and would refuse to ever go in depth in any part of the woods. But ever since I've taken an Environmental Science class at school, I've found that going in the woods is a routine thing for me. After learning about every plant, tree, and animal in existance that lives in the area, I've become less afraid and learned to love nature. Maggie and I went into the woods today. Here are some pictures :)

Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

What would you do if you could time travel? Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Not always.

Clare has known Henry since she was 6. She does not know, however, what his life was like before the age of 28. In The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, a young girl discovers a new friend at a meadow by her house. Henry and Clare immediately became friends. Only one problem, he had no control over when, and for how long, he would disappear...yep, leave. Vanish. Pull a Houdini. And when he came back, he was different ages. He sometimes was with Clare when he was 25, and at other times, 36. Having been to the future, Henry knows all about how lovely his future with Clare will be. Because of messing up any future events, he is not supposed to tell Clare any of what is to come. However, he sometimes slips. He eventually goes on to tell her that he will meet her again when she is older and that they will get married.

The next time Henry and Clare meet again after her childhood is at the Newberry Library in downtown Chicago. After that, the romance begins. They fall in love and get married.

Okay, so the summary was short. That's because going into any of what happened in the story would be all too confusing. I found that this book made me think in having to figure out exactly what was going on. It jumped around a little too much for me to keep up. But, I enjoyed the book a lot. A friend of mine had a few boxes of books that she was getting rid of, so I took this one. I was glad I did, too, because I absolutely loved the ideas presented in the book. The novel is time travel with a twist. A little bit of science fiction, a looooot of romance. The way the writing is set up is that one person, either Clare or Henry, will have an entry and the top line will say the date and age of each character. Henry may be 36 while Clare is only 16, for example. I loved the genius behind that type of writing. If there are other books out there written like this, I'd love to read some others. I did not like the ending or some of the ideas of life after death....oops, that was a spoiler, sorry. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars, because it was a book that I could not put down, while it was still lacking.

Worldviews

For those of you who may be thinking this post will be about a camp, it's not. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you're not those of you.

Okay, so I recently came across a lovely little quote...

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when it's components fail [basically when you die]. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." Stephen Hawking

I'd love to meet ya, Mr. Hawking. I have some words for you. Some simple words that will sum up the Christian religion that a lot of people don't seem to understand too well...

It's not about having all the answers and knowing everything. It's about FAITH. There are more witnesses that can account to Jesus' miracles than in any other situation in life. And the amount of witnesses keeps growing. I may be afraid of the dark, but this ain't no fairy story. It's faith. And seeing the impossible happen right before your eyes.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since evertthing will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13

I know where I'll be when my computer breaks down. How about you, where will you be?

Friday Wrap-Up

My summer officially started last weekend. I started it out by going to Maggie's graduation. I then went to her graduation party the next day. Then last night I went to a bonfire that turned into sitting in a camper because it started raining. Other than that, this was a pretty laid back week. I spent most of my free time reading and enjoying the weather :) It's been absolutely beautiful here aside from some rain. I just started a 40-day devotional that takes a journey through the Bible. In terms of reading, here goes:

I started out with the book The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I read it for a library book discussion that I was going to but ended up having no time due to finals. The book went prettty slow and dragged on. Although, I loved some of the comments and random phrases that the main characters in the book would say. I'd recommend the book more for the middle school age group, but that's just me. I thought the book was okay, and liked the story line. Two children find out that their father has a little bit of a secret he's keeping that has to do with, well let's just say...ancient Egyptians. The children went through numerous things that mixed modern day with ancient times. I liked the idea behind the story, but it just dragged on waaaay too much.

Next, I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Okay, I just have to say that I absolutely loved this book. I'm starting to realize that I prefer adventure books more than modern day sappy love novels lately. There's not enough action in realistic fiction. I reviewed the book already in another post, so I won't go too deep into it. But I loved the twist that was in the book. I discovered the hard way that this book gives me nightmares, but we won't talk about that...

Then i read Spring to Mind by Zoe Copley. I receieved the book for free as a First Reads giveaway winner. In the novel, the main character, Tess, goes through a series of trials and tests as she coaches a networking course. The novel is written very uniquely, as it is basically a series of letters to Tess's mom. Or should I say mum. Even though the story itself didn't have me dying to turn the pages, I still enjoyed Zoe's writing style.

I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I plan to do a review of the book, though. I'm not too far into the book, but I'm really enjoying the story. It's a bit confusing to understand when it comes to the whole time travel and what Henry, the main character, is experiencing. But hopefully I'll get it eventually. Part of why I really am enjoying the book is because the story is set in Chicago...a city that I am extremely familiar with. Be looking for a review on this from me!

I may add pictures from the bonfire I went to later on, but here are some pictures from Maggie's graduation.

^Isn't this picture awesome?!