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The website is still in the works. Honestly, haven't done much.

Yup. That's how I'm feelin'.

I'll keep ya updated on my progress...or lack thereof.

The Top 5 of 2015

I thought I posted this!! I am so sorry!!!

My Top 5 Books of 2015

1. Counting By 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan
          * No matter how smart Willow was, she didn't have control over everything. I loved that she had a horrible thing happen to her, but made some beautiful things come out of it. It was a heart-warming story of people helping people.

2. Alistair Grim's Odditorium by Gregory Funari
          * This was a very odd book, but end was well worth it. Family can be found in some strange places. It's not always a birthright.

3. The Night Gardner by Jonathan Auxier
          * Terrifying!! But in a creepy way. No blood or gore, but old-time spooky.

4. Bruised by Sarah Skilton
          * Very real and very emotional. I loved when Ricky told Imogen that "You're bruised," he says, "It means you're alive. The body can't bruise once the heart stops beating."

5. Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson
     * I'm usually not an animal story person. In fact, I don't like them at all. I read Ice Dogs because it was a book my book club was reading for Maryland Black-Eyed Susans. I was totally surprise. It was a great story and nothing like what I had first thought.

My Vow

I just read "I Kill The Mockingbird" last week. Harper Lee just passed away this week. It light of those current events, I have decided to vow to read "To Kill A Mockingbird".

NO!! I HAVEN'T READ "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD"!!

My friends are astounded when I tell them that. I have never read the book, but it haunts me. I have had this book recommended to me. I have taken Facebook polls that have popped out this book. Facebook has told me that if my life was a book then it would be "To Kill A Mockingbird". Sadly, I don't know why. 

 

As in the book "I Kill The Mockingbird"...I will read "To Kill A Mockingbird". I guess Lucy, Elena and Michael's plot lives on. Nice job kids...and Paul Acampora.

Nearly Gone

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I'd like to say...Wow! With that being said, Nearly Boswell lives in a trailer park with her stripper mom. Her greatest concern is winning a scholarship which is only shared with scoping the personal ads in hope of connecting with her father she barely remembers. Instead, she finds cryptic messages that lure her away from her safe world into a world of murder and into the arms of a "bad element". Nearly has to solve the riddles and follow the clues that will lead her to the killer.
"Nearly Gone" by Elle Cosimano has found a comfortable place on my favorites list. I always know it's great book when I realize I'm not breathing. The storyline is so twisted that you NEED to get to the end to figure out what's going on. The characters just jump out of the pages. I totally fell for Reece Whelan. I was SO relieved he made it through the book! The new found romance between Nearly and Reece transported me back to my own teen years when I had the hope (which Nearly didn't really want the attention) of attracting the attention of a brooding bad boy. I loved that the book was smart. I don't want to give away the puzzle, but it was crazy clever. I liked that the kids were smart. Being smart doesn't always equate to a boring nerd. In the end, everything wrapped up nicely and I wanted more. Thankfully, there is a second book..."Nearly Found"...and yes, I already have it on hold at the library. "Nearly Gone" by Elle Cosimano is a must read and...it's definitely worth it (read the book).

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Breath Taking

I've tweeted and if you don't follow me on Twitter then SHAME ON YOU! Ha! Just kidding. No really...follow me.

Anyway, breezing through Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano. You have GOT to read this one if you are in high school!!! OMG!! Gives me a case of book apnea!

I Kill The Mockingbird

I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summer is a time for freedom and fun and reading. Reading?! Yes, reading those summer reading lists! Lucy, Elena and Michael are eyeballing their summer reading list when they discover what's on it, but Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Lucy is excited considering it's her favorite book, but the other two don't think many will read it. Their old teacher, Mr. Nowack (a.k.a. Fat Bob), would have made To Kill A Mockingbird the entire list and the kids would have read it for him, but he passed away from a heart attack. The kids decide that they're going to make everyone read To Kill A Mockingbird as a way to remember Mr. Nowak. Lucy believes that people always want what they can't have so when copies go missing from store shelves, To Kill A Mockingbird becomes the hot item of the summer. In fact, it begins to take on a life of it's own.

I really liked I Kill The Mockingbird by Paul Acampora. It was light-hearted, fun and reminded me of something I would have done with my friends as a teen. I love that the teens were well read and intelligent. You don't see many teens today reading classics or arguing about them in a book store. The characters were very believable and just very likable too. As I sit watching snow fall, I Kill The Mockingbird makes me really want summer...and a beach...my copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. The funny thing is, I don't think Lucy, Elena and Michael's project truly ended. I think this story will continue to make people read To Kill A Mockingbird. Clever!

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Book Titles

Don't cha think it's really cool when authors put the title of their books inside the story of their books? I think it's really neat. I was reading "Bruised" by Sarah Skilton and, I don't remember the whole quote, but the main character mentioned something about feeling dead and her boyfriend told her that she was just bruised which is good because that means you are still alive. How cool is that?!

My favorite is the line from Catcher In The Rye:

“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.” 
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

It always gives me the shivers. It's a perfect image. I'm not a huge Salinger fan, but The Catcher in the Rye was a really good book. Do you have any have book quotes/titles?

I Remember Why I Liked Books As A Child

When I was younger I read. I READ! I would sit inside on cold winter days and just read all day long. My favorite book was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. I LOVED horses and I could BE a horse through reading that book...although, at times, it wasn't very good to be a horse. The best part of reading was becoming someone or something else. I was reading last night and was reminded of that.

I'm reading the book "Nearly Gone" by Elle Cosimano and this book is really good, but it brought feelings from when I was a teen. Those feeling of being awkward and unsure. I was transported back into time to my high school days and although I went through NOTHING like what was in the book, there were a few things that were very familiar that I thought I had forgotten.

I guess this means that books can be a fountain of youth too!

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander


Jumping and dunking. Passing and free-throwing. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is a quick moving story written in poetry about twin brothers, Josh and Jordan, and a very important moment in their lives. The book begins with carefree basketball metaphors as the reader sinks in to the normal lives of the two boys before those normal lives turn upside-down. Dad is hypertensive and Mom balances the family between cautious worry and a strong demeanor. Meanwhile, Jordan breaks from the dynamic duo when he suddenly becomes interested in the new girl at school. This leaves Josh with some tender feelings when he is no longer in his brother's spotlight. When dark times enter the family...then through family you can find the light.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander was not my favorite. I had to groan and grumble through the basket ball jargon. I am not a basketball fan, BUT this book really does go much deeper than merely a sport. It's a book about the importance of family written through the eyes of a teenage boy and what an amazing perspective! Through the tough exterior comes a sensitive boy that worries about his Dad, respects his Mom and misses his twin brother. I highly recommend this book to boys. I feel it's someone they can relate to and it's hard finding books for boys. I do think everyone will enjoy it though.

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