Kayla's Book Nook

MORE VEGGIES!

2018-01-03T12:16:00.003-05:00

So at the beginning of my fitness journey I decided to also concentrate on healthy eating. This meant that I reduced the amount of sugar I'm eating or drinking. I'm trying to add veggies into each meal everyday. I'm drinking more water. Thus far, I have been doing really well on my healthy eating goals.

For the past 3 days I have drank 90 ounces of water, beating my 80 ounce goal. That's all in thanks to my new 30 oz inspiring water bottle.

I have stayed away from sweets and sugars and cut out all soda. This was very difficult the first few days, but now I don't crave it at all. I get all my sugar from fruits that I eat throughout the day. I also snack on homemade trail mix that contains some dried fruits in it when I am craving something sweet.

Lately I've been trying different ways to add new and more veggies into my daily meals. I ate a lot of steamed broccoli last week. This week I did meal planning and have roasted veggies in my lunch all week. I made sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. The other day I made crispy buffalo cauliflower poppers for lunch, which were awesome. Last week I made zucchini noodles, or zoodles, instead of regular pasta. Last night I made spaghetti squash noodles instead of regular noodles and topped it with homemade Alfredo sauce. The spaghetti squash noodles were different but actually good. They're crunchier than normal noodles, but don't taste like squash. I have been adding small salads to meals as well with fat free dressing. This has been a major change and improvement for me.

I love my morning workouts as well. I've been getting up at 5 am to work out before work. This is a much better solution for getting my workout in during the day. After I get home from work I'm with my two small kids and it's just hard to get in a good workout while they're awake right now, so morning workouts it is! Plus, I get it done with early, and have the rest of the day to do whatever I want to do! I don't have to worry about coming home from work and trying to get my workout in after a long day. I've been mixing my workouts right now before I start the A Little Obsessed program and then the big one, 80 Day Obsession. I started with some YouV2 workouts, then jumped into Country Heat, and then now I'm going to do the Clean Week workouts until Monday. On Monday I am going to start the intro program, A Little Obsessed, to get me started and ready for 80 day Obsession.

I really have been trying my best to change my lifestyle and help myself meet my goals. Here are my goals for 2018:

1. Lose 20 lbs by my birthday, 2/4
2. Complete the 80 Day Obsession Workout program by 4/15
3. Lose 122 lbs by 6/14 to earn $2813 from my Healthywage bet
4. Spend more time doing outdoor activities (biking, walking, running, kayaking, hiking, etc.)
5. Give up soda for an entire year - 12/27/18

I realize that these are big goals, but they are attainable, and they are things I need to achieve in order to change my life. Yes, they are fixated a little on weight loss, but I am hoping that if I change my lifestyle, eating habits, and work out more that I will lose weight. After all, I am doing all of this to be healthier and fitter. I can do this!

Surviving New Year's and Prepping for this Healthy Lifestyle

2018-01-01T22:36:00.002-05:00

Well, I hope everyone had a good New Year's! Mine was really fun besides trying to calculate all the different foods I ate to make sure I didn't go over my calorie maximum. We played games with my husband's family. The kids ran around until almost midnight 😲. It was a lot of fun!

That's the hard part about eating healthier, isn't it? Parties, holidays, social events, they really challenge your will power. It's like you know you're doing good and that you shouldn't eat it, but damn it's yummy and everyone is eating lots of food, right? Well that may be true, but it's probably not the best mental talk to have with yourself. I decided that I'd go into the party with the mantra of small portions of things, that way I'd be able to have a little of everything and no sweets. I decided to drink a couple of hard ciders instead of eating sugary goods. This proved difficult after the cookies, cake, cookie cake, and brownies were brought out!! But, I did it and stayed strong! Woohoo! One point for Kayla!

Today was actually really good. I got in 90 ounces of water! I tried a new recipe for lunch, crispy buffalo cauliflower and it's husband approved!!

These were awesome!! They were crispy, yet soft inside, and spicy! We paired it with the leftover shrimp from my kid's lunch. It was a delicious and different lunch. I'm so glad my husband liked them because now I'll make them more often!

Then I prepped for my lunches for work this week. I decided to cook up brown rice, various veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and carrots), with sauteed chicken sausage. This has been my go-to lunch this week and I figured it'd be a good lunch for going back to work. I roast my veggies with olive oil, dill, garlic, onion powder, and rosmary on them. They taste delicious! This will help me stay on track for this week at work.

I got my workout in this afternoon as well. I decided to switch things up a bit and did a couple of country heat workouts over the last couple of days. These are fun, cardio workouts that incorporate country music. I don't love the music, but I like the workouts. They were fun to do again. My challenge group doesn't officially launch for another week or so for 80 day obsession, so I'm just doing some random workouts each day.

I asked my husband today if he wanted to do the 80 day obsession workouts with me and I think he's going to do it! Fitness is not a problem for him. He's very fit and has an excellent metabolism. It's the opposite of me actually. But, I really enjoy working out with him and I think it'll help me be accountable if he's also working out with me. I thought that getting up at 4:45 am would deter him from wanting to do it, but I guess he really wants to do it too! I'm so stoked!

If you've been reading my posts and following along with my journey and are interested in the Beachbody workouts, check out this link and comment below!! I'll get you the information you need to make the decision if Beachbody is the right program for you. There's an awesome all-access pass you can purchase which gets you access to all their programs. It's literally like the Netflix of workouts! Check it out at, https://mysite.coach.teambeachbody.com/?coachId=1342478&locale=en_US.

Added a workout partner today

2017-12-30T23:08:00.001-05:00

Well today was a little tough. For some reason all day I craved something sweet. I was having a hard time not wanting sweets and desserts. I'm usually more of a chocolate person, but today all I could think about was brownies, cookies, etc. I really needed to stay strong, so I ate my brown rice, broccoli, and chicken sausage bowl, and then ate some fruit. Then, I had the kids help me make some really good healthy blueberry muffins. This was a new recipe that I found. It has no oil or sugar in it. It is sweetened with honey and greek yogurt. The recipe called for plain greek yogurt, but I only had vanilla yogurt so I used that instead. These muffins also use oats in them to give them texture and a hearty quality. They only have about 119 calories in them as well. Score!! I love blueberry muffins, but I know there's a lot of calories in them due to the sugar and oil that's normally in them. These were fantastic! I love anything with oats, and they're moist and flavorful! Plus, with only about 119 calories in them they are basically guilt free.

On another note, today was a terrible allergy day for me. I get these days where I just sneeze and sneeze and it makes my nose run and it's really irritating. I did not want to work out at all, but I decided that if I asked my husband to join then I'd make sure that I actually worked out today. He happily agreed so I decided to forgo my recent dance cardio workout for the Femme Shredder Beginner workout with Sabrina. Damn, that girl is beefed out! She is muscular and awesome! I love this workout with her. It's got a lot of different strength training moves, and it incorporates some weights as well. It's intense and quick, only 20 minutes long. I wish they would make a whole program with Sabrina, because she is badass. It was quick and a great workout! I burned 252 calories though.

Dinner was a little tougher. I have been trying to avoid bread as much as possible and have been succeeding, but tonight my mom invited us over for dinner and games. She made her famous chicken and biscuit, harvard beets, peas, and beef stew. I ate only one biscuit with minimal chicken and gravy over top. I ate more beets and peas, and had no dessert! This is definitely a step in the right direction. I'm not really a big over-eater, but I love those biscuits and I definitely would have had another later with butter and honey. We didn't bring any home, so I don't have to worry about being tempted. We had to make a quick, although not so quick stop at Wal-mart so I grabbed an apples and cheese snack pack which had only 90 calories in it.

Overall, it was a good day. I'm getting better at working on not giving in to temptation and finding better healthier meals to make as well. I'm drinking more water everyday as well. My workouts are going good and I'm getting back into the swing of things. I definitely have some work to do before I am going to take on the 80 day obsessed workouts, but I'll get there! Each day has its ups and downs, but I am still working hard toward my goals. I can do this!

Isn't Cleaning a Workout?

2017-12-29T15:55:00.002-05:00

Well today has been super tough so far. Since Christmas our house has been a pretty big mess. There's new toys, boxes, old toys, books, etc. everywhere! Finally, today I had had enough and something had to give. I played scrabble jr. with the kids, which was awesome, had my shakeology shake, and then got to work.

First, I tackled my son's room, because it's bigger and much easier to manage. I decided to take out some big things he doesn't really play with anymore and to put in the organizer bins that a friend of mine had given me recently. I have got to tell you that it was a ton of work, but so worth it! His rooms looks great, and he's got a ton of spots for adding toys in the future. Things are organized, cleaned, and put away. I even cleaned out his clothes to give to our friends that have a son a little bit younger than our son.

Then, I decided to take on my daughter's room. This is the harder room, because she's still in the nursery until we finish her bigger room upstairs. She's got a lot of bigger items too, like little people houses and castles and a big kitchen set. I really had no idea where I was going to put everything. So I decided to move her bed over next to the dresser. For some reason I then decide to shampoo her carpet just to make everything nice and clean and organized. Now I'm waiting to finish organizing her room until her carpet dries.

So, I go into my son's room to do some spot cleaning as well with our shampooer. This helps his room look a lot better too.

By the time all this is somewhat done, I am starved, and freaking tired. I'm so tempted to warm up pizza, grab a drink, and sit and watch a movie instead of working out. So I woman up, make a salad, some iced lemon water, and some cottage cheese. This actually turns out to be very filling. I have an apple for dessert and decide to watch a movie just to relax a little. After the movie is over I get my butt in gear and go upstairs to work out. Today I did the Rock It Out! workout which was great. There's some new and different moves in this workout and it was challenging at times. Overall, a good 30 minute workout where I burned 472 calories!! What a good check of calories burned! It felt awesome to get in.

I really thought that about 3 days in that I was going to give up today. Reorganizing and cleaning really took it out of me today. I wanted to take a short cut with eating and working out today. Thankfully my mind put a stop to that! I just kept thinking that I can't give up and I can't give in! I need to keep working or I'll never achieve my goals!

For dinner I went with something easy for the kids, hot dogs and steamed broccoli. For myself I steamed brown rice, broccoli, and added a chicken sausage for protein. It smells and tastes amazing! I'm staying on track with healthy eating, adding in more veggies, eating less carbs, and drinking more water!! Yay!

Surviving Day 2...

2017-12-28T17:03:00.002-05:00

Well, the kids wanted to go see the new Ferdinand movie, and I really wanted to take them to go see it. We wrangled my mom into going with us today. Now, my favorite part of going to a theatre is the popcorn, candy, and soda. Of course, if I am going to change things and stay on track then I can't eat any of those things. So, I just didn't!

I got water instead of soda. I let my mom and the kids gobble down the popcorn and candy, and brought my own trail mix for myself. The only time I had difficulty was when we first got the popcorn. It just smells so good! I am so proud that I didn't partake in any of the goodies! My trailmix was delicious and filling. Of course it has its own sugars in it, but it's much better for me than all that other junk.

Then, we decided to go get lunch at Friendly's, because even though it's a balmy 10 degrees out today, the kids wanted ice cream. This was potentially another problem. My favorite thing to get is the honey bbq sandwich. Thankfully the menu has all the calories for each item. I decided to go with a grilled chicken wrap and steamed broccoli. This was about 700 calories. I know it's still quite a bit for a lunch, but it's much better than the 1350 sandwich, plus the calories for having fries on the side. I also had absolutely no ice cream. I usually at least taste or finish the kids ice cream, but I didn't even have a spoonful! Another win for me today!!

Once I got home I realized that both kids were napping and it was probably the best time to get in a workout. Did I really want to workout? Nope! But, I knew that I needed to and it was the best time to get it in. My workout was good! I did the Youv2 program again. Today I did the Work It! Shake It! workout. Burned 429 calories in this workout today. It worked more of my legs as well. I'm a little sore from yesterday's workout, but that's good.

So so far I am staying on track, getting my workouts in, and making better and healthier eating decisions.

Now, I am snacking on some strawberries and whipped cream, because I have been so good and my workout really whipped up my appetite! Tonight for dinner I'm making the kids some spaghetti, but I'm going to be eating some zucchini noodles, shrimp, with a little oil and parmesan cheese!

Workout completed!

2017-12-27T14:07:00.002-05:00

Well, my first workout has been completed! I did the Move Your Body workout in the Youv2 program today. It was a little rough to start out. It's not that the workout is hard, its just wanting to stick with it. I hate that I am usually counting down the minutes until I'm done. Normally, about 2-3 weeks in I stop doing that and just enjoy the workouts.

Even though I didn't love it, it was still a good workout! I burned 442 calories in 30 minutes! It added 2802 steps to my daily count as well.

Another good part of today was trying a good low carb new recipe. I made tunacakes with fresh aioli sauce and salad for lunch. This recipe used tuna, jalapenos, cilantro, and lemon juice. It was a very yummy tunacake. I also made the suggested aioli sauce to go with it. That was deliciously spicy on top as well. I topped it all off with a chopped salad and cucumbers. It was delicious and different! My husband even enjoyed the tunacakes today. My kinds, um not so much. Oh well, I can't win them all sometimes.

So far so good for day 1 of my new lifestyle. It's going to be hard, I know, to completely change. But, I'm more afraid of not changing then changing my life to be better.

Life Starts Now

2017-12-27T09:54:00.001-05:00

Good morning everyone! Now, normally I write about books, movies, or tv shows, but I'm going to be adding some posts about a personal journey that I am going to embark upon today.

For the past, oh I don't know, like 10 years I have been unhappy with my weight. Each year it seems I add about 10-15 pounds to my weight and even though I try to change things nothing much ever changes weight wise for me.

I am finally done with all the yo-yoing and starting and stopping. I can't tell you how many times I've given up soda, sweets, etc. But today marks the day that I finally start my healthy lifestyle. I don't want to think of it as giving things up. I want to think of it as getting healthy and gaining more muscle, stamina, and a better body.

First things first, I am going to get back into working out. I love the BeachBody system of online workouts and programs. I started this program last year in January and in the past year I have worked out more than any other year since high school. I love the variety of their programs and the ability to be able to pretty much workout anywhere as long as you can get the internet. They are constantly adding new workouts to their online portal as well. There's always something new to try.

I am going to get back into the swing of things with the Youv2 program. This is a fun, dancing program that is great cardio. It burns a lot of calories, and gets me sweaty. It's really fun to do and can be challenging as well. This is going to help me get back into the swing of things so then I can do the mini-program, A Little Obsessed, and then take on the new program, 80-Day Obsession. I plan on working out almost 7 days a week. I have to be realistic and understand that sometimes I am going to need at least 1 day off from working out during the week. I will try my hardest to make sure that it's only one day a week for rest and if I can work out that I will instead of resting.

Next, I am going to concentrate on my nutrition. First I am going to start drinking my shakeology morning shakes. I usually stick with the chocolate shakeology with a banana and ice. Sometimes I mix in some peanut butter, but I think I am going to try to stay away from adding the extra peanut butter calories. Shakeology comes in a variety of flavors and there are so many combinations you can do to make different shakes. I love drinking them for breakfast, because it's fast, easy, and actually quite yummy.

I'm also going to follow the 21 day fix containers portioning system. Using your weight you determine your calories, and then how many of each container you can have per day. This will help me stay on track and meet my calories as well as keep me from eating junk and over-eating.

I'm giving myself a strict no eating after 8 pm rule though. If I eat after 8 pm I am almost always eating junk. This will help me from eating unnecessary food and taking in calories that are difficult to burn after 8 p.m.

In order to get my butt in gear I have also made a Healthywage challenge. I challenged myself to get to my goal weight of 140 lbs by June 14, 2018. If I lose the weight and meet my goal then I'll earn about $2000. Right in time to have a nice body for summer and have some extra money for the summer months.

I'm starting out today at 262 lbs, and yes I hate to admit that I weigh that much. But I need to be honest and get my butt in action to finally lose the weight and be happy and healthy again. I need to work hard everyday either working out or watching my food intake in order to meet my goals. I know that I can do this and honestly I need to do this. In the back of my mind, I am always thinking about how clothes fit, developing diabetes, and other conditions. If I continue my life at the weight I am currently at, then I could develop more series health issues. I don't want to deal with anything like that, so here goes!!!

Here's my before: (262 lbs)

Ways for me to reach my goals:
-Workout daily
-Drink my shakeology
-Drink lots of water
-Eat fruits and veggies
-Use my containers
-Weekly weigh-ins
-Check in here to track progress

So here goes, my life starts NOW!! I have 169 days left before my goal date!

The Pitches Are Back

2017-12-22T10:39:00.004-05:00

Pitch Perfect 3 is hilarious, fun, and uplifting for women and girls.

Pitch Perfect 3 was released in theaters this week. Pitch Perfect lovers everywhere will be flocking to theaters to stuff their faces with popcorn and candy and laugh their asses off at Fat Amy’s crazy shenanigans.

A couple of friends and I decided to catch the 7 p.m. showing at our local theater last night. It was a great way to let off some steam thanks to the stress of students before a holiday break and preparing for Christmas at home.

First of all, I absolutely love the first and second Pitch Perfect movies. They have the right combination of singing, dancing, hilarity, and love for me.

When I saw the previews for this movie I was not sure how this would be honestly. I thought it looked a little crazy. I also loved how the last one ended, and wondered if they would ruin it by making another movie. Even so, I loved the first two and wanted to see this movie in theaters. This one also features some new actors and actresses like Ruby Rose, John Lithgow, and DJ Khaled. They also left out a couple of characters from the previous two movies like Skylar Astin as Jesse and Adam Devine as Bumper.

First off, I think they did another good job with this movie. The girls are back and are again unsure what or where to go in their lives. Becca is fighting against producing music for terrible artists, Chloe is trying to become a vet, Aubrey wants to leave her job for something more meaningful, and Fat Amy is well… Fat Amy.

The girls get back together to perform in a USO tour for troops thanks to Aubrey’s dad. They quickly realize they are out of their element since they are acapella artists and the other groups are legitimate bands who play instruments as well as sing. They try to gain their ground by competing with the other groups in a “riff off” but the other groups don’t know the rules and they quickly lose due to their lack of instruments. They continue to perform trying to have fun and hope to win the spot to open for DJ Khaled in the final televised production.

Of course throughout the course of the movie the girls get themselves into compromising situations and create some trouble along the way, as they are known to do. Fat Amy creates a lot of funny and yet awkward situations that are hilarious.

Hilarity aside, my favorite aspect of these movies is the running theme of sisterhood and friendship. Throughout all three movies you see these girls constantly supporting, helping, and caring for one another. This idea of loving other girls rather than putting them down is a concept that is not always presented in media. As a teacher, coach, and a mother of a daughter I always try to express to young

girls to help build each other up rather than tear each other down. These movies do that beautifully.

In the end, when Becca has been chosen to perform alone, she naturally wants to say no and include all of the Bellas, but the girls want her to be successful and happy. The Bellas are loving sisters that constantly push one another to be better, happy, and healthy individuals. The Bellas call themselves family, and in fact they are each other’s family in the way that they show constant love and support for one another. The girls are also good about calling one another out when necessary. They all seem to accept each other as who they are and that is a great message to people watching these movies, especially young and impressionable girls.

The Bellas end the movie together and start to move on with their lives.

“Alright, ladies, pick up your tits. We’re going to show them that we are not a joke.” (Emily)

Fallen Series by Lauren Kate

2017-12-21T08:24:00.001-05:00

Genre: Fantasy/Fiction
Publication Date: 2009

Synopsis:
The first novel in series, Fallen, follows the main character, Luce. Luce has recently fallen into some trouble. At her last school she accidentally started a fire and a boy died in it. Luce was blamed and in order to keep her from juvie, her family sends her to a reformatory school.
Luce arrives at the school and is immediately drawn to another student, Daniel. Although, Daniel does not seem to feel the same about Luce. She is pulled into a relationship with another student, Cal, even though her mind never strays for from Daniel. Luce digs deeper and deeper into the quirkiness of the student body and especially Daniel. What she discovers from her digging will change her life forever. She has literally fallen.

Review:
I enjoyed reading this entire series. I think that the books seem a little drawn out and longer than necessary. It took almost the entire first novel to reveal the truth behind the characters. Each book does move on and reveal something more about the enigmatic relationship between Luce and Daniel. Each book delves deeper into the main conflict. They are quick and enjoyable reads. The characters are written well and interesting, the setting changes in each novel, and the conflict is interesting and unique. It's above all a romance story, but without a lot of fluff.

Rating:

An American's View on Coco

2017-12-19T11:48:00.003-05:00

Ever since my son and I went to Disney in November this year, he has been obsessed with seeing the new Coco movie. It was everywhere in Disney even though it hadn’t been released to theaters yet. Therefore, when the movie was released over Thanksgiving break, we decided to take my 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter to go see it.

First I’d like to say that I know very little about the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. I’ve read things here and there, and I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the Spanish teacher down the hall, but there ends my knowledge of the day. So, I went into the movie with very little background knowledge.

First, the movie itself was beautiful. The characters, colors, songs, etc. are so rich, colorful, and full of life. It was just so pleasing to watch. Miguel is a very cute and interesting main character. He’s pulled between following his dream of music, which his family hates, and following his family’s business footprints of making shoes.

The movie follows Miguel as he tries to incorporate music into his life. His family is totally against music, because his great-great-grandfather left his great-great-grandmother to pursue his music career. He leaves and is never heard from again. This causes Miguel’s great-great-grandmother to start her own shoe business, and forbid her family from ever listening or performing music. Miguel accidentally enters the underworld and must ask his great-great-grandmother for a blessing to return to the real world.

The time period of the movie did throw me off a little in the beginning. I was expecting something very current and recent. Disney wanted to make the movie timeless, and so they created the movie with the time period around the 1950’s. This in fact did not put me off, but made me more interested and in fact I think I enjoyed it more. There were no cell phones, laptops, computers, etc. It felt more authentic that way and technology did not get in the way of the story line.

My son absolutely loved the movie. He barely took his eyes off the screen to munch on his popcorn and candy. He loved the characters and all of the skeletons. The movie made the skeletons seem real but not scary, which totally worked for my son. He’s not too keen on scary movies. Although, I will probably cure him of that someday since Tim Burton is my favorite director.

I don’t like spoilers so I’ll try to talk about the ending in vague terms. There is a good twist during the movie that surprised a lot of viewers. It changes the movie completely if you didn’t see it coming. This twist allows the ending to be happy and complete. There is a good amount of character progression and growth, even for the dead family members. The ending although happy is quite satisfying for viewers.

After watching the movie I read a few articles about the production and the ways that Disney went about trying to make it authentic, realistic, and an accurate depiction of Dia de los Muertos. Disney hired a group of cultural consultants in order to ensure Coco was culturally accurate. They asked Gael Garcia Bernal, a Mexican superstar to voice one of the main characters in the English version, and they asked Elena Poniatowksa, a well-known journalist in Mexico, to voice Coco in the Spanish version of the movie.

On the other hand, Disney also tried to trademark the term, Dia de los Muertos, for marketing purposes. This created an outcry from the Mexican population. Dia de los Muertos is not something to be trademarked. It’s a traditional Mexican Holiday that has been celebrated for hundreds of years. The company immediately backtracked and retracted their application realizing the error of their ways.

I loved that this movie had a very big matriarchal vibe. The women in the family are the leaders, decision makers, and the rule makers. Coco is the oldest surviving member of the family, and it’s her father that spurs the start of the story. Although it has a lot of strong women in the story, the main character is a boy, Miguel, and he is looking for his grandfather in the underworld.

All in all, my family and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was beautifully made, the songs were very enjoyable, and it was a very interesting story line for all ages.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

2017-12-14T09:12:00.001-05:00

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publication Date: 2015

Synopsis:
Madeline is a bubble-girl. She is basically allergic to everything in the outside world. Her mother is a very well-known doctor and has created a very safe, and allergen free house. Madeline spends her days completing schoolwork, chatting with her nurse, and doing various mother-daughter activities. Madeline has never been outside and she has never questioned her condition. One day an interesting boy and his family move in next door. They begin to communicate via computer and become fast friends. Madeline isn't sure how to tell him about her condition which makes it virtually impossible for them to meet. She quickly becomes obsessed and the story progresses from there.

Review:
I had heard good things about this book so I decided to buy it. I was really not impressed. It was easy to see right through the mother and this whole bubble situation that she had set up for her daughter. The daughter's own reluctance to confront her mother is frustrating as well. I wish they had dove into the mother's psyche a little more, and the background of the family. Madeline is a very superficial character that doesn't contain much depth. I really had to push myself to get through this novel. It just wasn't for me.

Rating:
1.5 out of 5 stars

Sweep I - V by Cate Tiernan

2017-12-12T09:14:00.000-05:00

Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: 2001

Synopsis:
Morgan Rowlands believes she is a normal and very ordinary 16-year-old girl. She joins a Wiccan group with her friends and immediately falls for the gorgeous coven leader, Cal. Cal pushes her to discover herself and in the process she actually finds out that she is a blood witch. This discovery makes Morgan reel and she discovers that her powers are strong, and her friends might not be all that they seem.

Over the course of the five books, Morgan discovers herself, her Wiccan roots, her family, and her path in life. The books follow Morgan's and other characters' lives and journeys throughout many years.

Review:
I've had this set of books sitting on my bookshelves for a few years now. I wanted to get into an easy series to read, but something that was interesting and kept you reading. I believe that the first three books are wonderful and I really enjoyed them. By the fourth and fifth books it seemed less organic in story flow and plot lines. Morgan is a great main character. She is strong and capable and even through learning this big secret about herself and her family she is a good character to read. The other characters in the book are good as well. They pull away from Morgan and do some chapters from other characters' points of view. I like Hunter's chapters, but I do not like Alisa's chapters. She is whiny, bratty, and afraid of practically everything. It takes awhile for you to come around to Alisa's character. Hunter is a great character and it's interesting to read different events from his point of view. Overall, I enjoyed this series and thought it was a fun read.

Rating:
3 out of 5 stars

10 Books That Should Be Made Into Movies

2017-10-25T21:28:00.002-04:00

Everyday I tell my students, “Books are better!!” This has become my mantra and my motto. Students are reading less and less every year and I become more and more obsessed with getting them into reading. But, I am a big movie lover and there are some amazing books that should be made into good movies that honor the books and their authors.

There are so many books out there that are already made into movies, but there are a lot of books that I would love to see on the big screen sometime.

Here is my list of the top ten books I think should be made into movies.

1. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This is such a wonderful book about a girl coming of age, and dealing with the exact thing she tried to avoid throughout her whole life. This novel brings forth so many issues in such an elegant manner. Barbara Kingsolver is a lovely writer that pulls you deeply into the story and makes you fall in love with the characters.

2. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCaffterty

There are five books in this series, and I love each and every one of them. Jessica Darling is hilarious and complex, and it would be great to see a strong female character on the big screen. These books follow Jessica darling and her life starting in her teen years when she dates and breaks up with a very unexpected boy.

3. If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan

All of Han Nolan’s books are amazing, but this one seriously touches my soul. It’s about a girl who is seeing the world from her perspective, and gets a chance to see the world through the eyes of a woman who survived some of the worst parts of the Holocaust. The main character is a girl that has joined a neo-Nazi group, and after a rally gone wrong she ends up in the hospital. Her hospital stay forces her to see life in the eyes of the Holocaust survivor that she shares her hospital room with. It heart-wrenching and soul shaking in a satisfying and miserable way all at once.

4. 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult

This book might never make it to the screen even though others of hers have, and I can understand why. This book is about a school shooting, but it’s also about the pressures of high school, relationships in general, and bullying. School shootings are tough to write about let alone to watch in a theatre. Jodi Picoult tells a story that many people can relate to and understand. Of course there is a twist ending which Picoult is known for.

5. Flight by Sherman Alexie

This book is about a young Native American boy who is going through a time in his life where he could make the wrong decisions, and where he goes to find answers to those questions. The main character goes through a time shift and sees the different lives and decisions he could make and how it would impact himself and others. Sherman Alexie has other novels that have made it to the screen, but I would love to see this one. He’s usually very involved in the movies made from his books, and I think he would do an excellent job bringing this to the big screen.

6. Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

This is a series that is fantasy as well, and meant for younger readers. I love this series because it focuses on faeries that live underground, and do not want to be found by humans. Artemis is a criminal mastermind that is also a pre-teen. He discovers the existence of faeries and tries to steal from them.

7. Uglies, Pretties, Specials series by Scott Westerfield

This is another great series that is about a society after ours that is so advanced that they have broken people up into groups based on looks. It’s a great series that pulls you in, and seriously makes contemplate our world today.

8. Any Sarah Dessen book

Sarah Dessen has published 13 books. I have read and enjoyed almost all of them, and I wouldn’t mind seeing at least one of them on the silver screen. They all have strong female characters that are in love or having trouble with relationships. There are some that are definitely better than others. I am shocked that at least one of her books hasn’t been made into a movie. Teens would love these movies as well.

9. Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

Mare Barrow is a red blooded poor girl living in a society where silver bloods rule the monarchy. Silver bloods have supernatural powers like super strength, fire manipulation, mind whispering, etc. Mare discovers that although she has red blood she also has a power. Mare can manipulate lightning and electricity. Mare must now navigate her way in the silver King’s court while working for the red rebellion.

10. The Enemy Series by Charlie Higson

A disease breaks out and affects everyone 16 and older. Those that are affected by the disease either die from it or become child eating disease riddled zombies. The children must band together and work to fight the zombie invasion, and begin to rebuild London. Each book focuses on a different group of kids until they all begin to overlap. These books are fast-paced, action packed, and very interesting to read.

There’s my list of my top ten. I hope to see some of these make it to the big screen soon! Hope you enjoy!

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

2017-10-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Genre: Fiction
Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Synopsis:
Valerie Leftman and her boyfriend, Nick keep a hate list of all the people that they hate in high school. Valerie starts the hate list after being bullied and bothered by the popular kids for years. She meets Nick and he's also bullied by kids even though he's a newer student.
Valerie and Nick add a name to the hate list after someone has been mean to them, bothered them, bullied them, etc. Nick decides to act upon the list, and brings a gun into school one day and picks off people from the list one-by-one. Valerie puts her life in danger to save one of the almost victims.
She spends the summer recovering and getting ready to face her school for her senior year. Valerie must overcome this terrible event in her life, and atone for her part in the shooting.

Review:
I picked this book out and another like it for my controversial book project for my graduate class. As a teacher I think about bullying, shootings, and depression a lot when it comes to my students. I thought this book would be good to read, because I like to talk to my students about books that are thought provoking, important, evocative, and compelling. I figured once I read this then I'd be able to use it as a book talk Friday book in my classroom. After reading it I'm not sure it's right for my middle school students, but it was a very good read.
I think the main characters, Valerie and Nick, are characters that so many students can relate to in school. There are students bullied everyday in school, because they're different, poor, odd, geeky, etc. Valerie and Nick were different and therefore bullied. They needed a way to vent those feelings, so Valerie created a hate list. It was petty and stupid, but doesn't that describe a lot of high school students?
Nick is difficult to empathize with since you never really get to know him. The book starts after his death in the shooting and you really only see him from Valerie's point of view. Valerie has a difficult time letting go of her love for Nick. Nick was the first person that she could be herself with, and her first real boyfriend. She didn't see his depth of hate and unhappiness until it was too late. She has a very difficult time letting go of her love for him, which is difficult for her to deal with as well as her family and friends.
This book in my opinion is pretty realistic. It's a normal town, school, kids, etc. It's something that could happen anywhere, which is scary but also brings the lesson to your heart. Students deal with bullying everyday. They are young, impressionable, and have a very hard time coping with this problem. They don't always reach out, their parents don't always see it, and teachers can't be everywhere at all times.
What I loved about this book is that Valerie learns that there are depths and layers to people that she didn't know about before she put them on her hate list. I think even the victim needs to understand that other people are going through things as well. Does that make it right to pick on other people? No, of course not, but it does help us understand why kids do the things they do.
I think this book would be important for high school students to read to understand the impact they have on one another. Students say and do things everyday without much thought, and they need to understand that those actions and words often do affect other people. They do not live in a bubble.
This book helped me looks at my students in a different way. It helped me see that the students in my class picking on other students are self-conscious and usually decide to attack first. It helped me to watch the actions of my students in a deeper manner to see their motivations and feelings. I think it's helped me be a better teacher, friend, wife, and mother. We all need to step back sometimes and look at what we say, do, and act like.

5/5 stars

Rebooting Reboots?

2017-10-19T09:44:00.003-04:00

Last night my husband, myself, and our two kids sat down to watch the new Spider-man movie, Spider-man: Homecoming. Now, just to recap there are already original Spider-man movies and then reboots of those Spider-man movies, and now we have a reboot of those movies.

Spider-man movies:
Spider-man (2002) Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst star as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. This movie starts as an origin story, where Peter gets bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes Spider-man. He fights his best friends's dad, Norman Obsorne, or the Green Goblin.

Spider-man 2 (2004) Maguire and Dunst still star in this sequel and this time fights a fellow scientist, Otto Octavius, Doc Oct.

Spider-man 3 (2007) Maguire and Dunst are the leading actors in this movie. Eddie Brock is turned into Venom (played by Topher Grace). Harry Osborne takes over the Goblin legacy. Harry is played by James Franco.

The Amazing Spider-man (2012) Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker this time, and Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacey who was a minor character in the previous films. This film focuses on the origin of Spider-man as well, and he battles Lizard, the mutated version of Dr. Connors.

The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014) Andrew and Emma are back playing Peter and Gwen. This movie follows their relationship and their graduation from high school. Gwen is planning for the future while Peter is battling Electro.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker, with appearances from Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, John Favreau as Happy. Other celebrities are included in this movie as well. This is another origin story for Spider-man, except that it skips over the part of how he becomes spider-like and instead focuses on his progression from awkward beginner to seasoned crime fighter. Holland plays a high-schooler struggling to keep up with his crime fighting alter-ego and other Marvel superheroes. Peter must face and defeat the Vulture played by Micheal Keaton.

Alright, to get to my point, why do they keep rebooting reboots? The original three Spider-man movies starring Tobey Maguire, were rebooted into the Amazing Spider-man series starring Andrew Garfield, and finally they are rebooting it once more withe the Homecoming movie starring Tom Holland.

Personally, I like the Spider-man series and concept. It's a cool idea that he was bit by a radioactive spider that gave him powers. But, isn't there another way to come up with comic book hero movies instead of rebooting movies that have already been done. Haven't we seen enough and learned enough about the origin of Spider-man? Why do they continue to redo movies that were already successful movies from the start? I'm interested in seeing some new movies with original content and characters.

Why couldn't they move onto a Black Widow series? I loved the recent Wonder Woman movie, and would love to see more from that series as well. Why not explore more women superhero movies and stories? There is a big audience for this niche in the market and it's untapped so far. Wonder Woman was a step in the right direction. Although, they need to be careful not to make a movie that is sexist towards women which I believe they accomplished with Wonder Woman.

It seems that Hollywood is depleted of original ideas, and they've come to the conclusion that redoing older successful movies is the only way to make money anymore. Also, there is a rising trend in adapting books to movies as well. This is also not original screenplay content and is therefore another type of "reboot." Where have all the original stories and screenplay writers gone? I love comic book movies as much as the next nerd, but I'm sick and tired of reboots. There are plenty of characters available for new movies and series.

So, Hollywood, if you're listening, stop rebooting the reboots!!!

The River at Night

2017-10-17T20:48:00.001-04:00

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Publication Date: 2017

Synopsis:
The novel follows four middle-aged friends on their annual girls weekend trip. This year instead of hitting a spa or casino they decide to do an invigorating hiking and white water rafting trip in the wilderness of Maine. The main character, Wini, really needs a vacation with her friends after the death of her brother and the end of her fifteen-year marriage. Wini is not really the outdoorsy type, but decides to venture out with her friends anyways. The four friends go on the trip with their young and delicious guide. After a rafting accident leaves them in peril, the friends must work together to survive and find their way out of the wild Maine countryside.

Review:
I adore reading thriller suspense books that have a survival subplot. This was a very interesting and page turning read. Is it a book that I will read over and over again like my other favorite novels? Probably not. Although, if you like high action, good suspense, and a thrilling plot line, then this is the novel for you. The characters are well written and very believable. The relationships between the friends feel real and understandable. The vacation is one that many people go on or plan to go on in their lives. The conflict of the story starts out with an accident while rafting that leaves them to survive on their own. That accident leads them to their real conflict when they discover people living in the deep woods. They must work together in order to survive. I found this novel to be exciting, fast paced, and written with organic characters and plot events. I have already recommended this novel to many friends that enjoy suspense and thriller novels. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

4/5 star rating

Before I Fall Movie VS Book

2017-10-13T12:50:00.002-04:00

Synopsis:
Samantha Kingston happens to be part of the popular crowd at her school. One day she wakes up and goes through her life like any other normal day. On this day though, she dies in a terrible car crash at the end of the night when leaving a party that goes wrong. Yet, the next morning she wakes up and everything is set back to that day again. Samantha realizes that even the smallest changes to that day have big impacts on herself, her family, her friends, and other people in her school. This goes on for a a couple of days, before Sam realizes that she must change something or be doomed to die and not repeat that same day over again.

Thoughts:
I didn't really love this novel, but I really liked the theme and message that Lauren Oliver way trying to convey to readers. I've read a lot of novels where the main characters are "mean girls" and they learn something that changes their lives, etc. This novel tries to reach young adults and show them that their decisions, how they speak, what they do or don't do really has an impact on their lives and the lives of others. The main character, Sam, gets to see other students outside her clique for the first time in her groundhog day-esque life, and it changes her perception of herself, her friends, and her life. This is what helps her finally make the decision which ends the repeating loop of that day for her.

Book VS Movie:
I read the book first in November of 2016, and then watched the movie when it was recently released in March of 2017. I thought the message of the book was really wonderful and very important for young adults to read and understand, but it wasn't a book that I really loved. I wondered how this would translate on to the big screen since I knew it was coming out as a movie. First of all, I think that the movie was well-made and they chose very good actors and actresses for the various roles. Zoey Deutch, who plays Sam, did a fantastic job portraying Sam who is on the edge of her group of friends and fighting between her instinct to be popular and her instinct to change and understand why she is caught in this time loop. Another stand out was Logan Miller, who plays the lovesick Kent McFuller. Kent is a wonderful character that loves Sam even though she has become one of the "mean girls." He is sweet and kind and constantly trying to show Sam who she really is and who she really can be. Kent is the ultimate reason why Sam changes and is able to change the events leading to the time loop. I thought that the movie had a difficult time conveying the small subtle differences that her time loop days had on other side characters. It was hard to see those in the movie, whereas in the book you are able to delve much deeper into those side character and really see how her choices changed their lives. The book allows you to explore those intricacies that the movie with a time limit must skim over in order to focus on the bigger plot events and climax of the story. Overall, the movie stayed pretty close to the book with only minor differences in events. Both the book and movie were quite powerful and did very well in sales.

Super Troopers 2

2017-10-12T19:18:00.002-04:00

Next year the highly anticipated release of Super Troopers 2 will finally be here.
For those of you who don't know, Super Troopers, is a movie about five Vermont state police troopers who play constant pranks. They must out-cop the local police station in order to keep their state trooper headquarters. The movie is hilarious, ridiculous, comical, and entertaining. The state cops spend most of their time pranking each other, pranking citizens they've arrested, and fooling around while on the job.
For instance, they bet they can use "meow" 10 times in a conversation with a citizen that has been pulled over. They also chug maple syrup in a race to see who can finish first. Finally, Mack wears a bulletproof cup and allows the other officers to shoot him in the groin area. Although, in order to keep from losing their headquarters due to budget cuts, they have to buckle down and do some real cop work.
This movie gained a big cult following in the 2000's following its DVD release. Fans called for a sequel, but its wasn't marketable enough for a film company to take the project on. People were so obsessed, that on March 24th, 2015 Broken Lizard launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $2 million to produce the film. Just over 24 hours later, they had already surpassed their goal and the sequel was given a green light to start production. Cult followers rejoiced!!! The release date has been set for April 20th, 2018.
It seems as though many of the original cast members will be back to reprise their roles in the sequel. This time a dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada and the Super Troopers are tasked with establishing a trooper station in the disputed area. I'm sure that chaos, pranks, and laughs are sure to follow this group of troopers on this new adventure.
So if you've never seen the original, check it out before the sequel comes out, because this is a movie you're not going to want to miss!

It, the movie, Reviewed

2017-10-12T18:29:00.001-04:00

Synopsis:
It, the movie, concentrates on the small town of Derry, in Maine. The recent adaptation that is currently in the theaters is a remake of the original film released in 1990. Both movies are based off the novel, It, by Stephen King. This is a two part horror movie with the second installment to be released on September 6th, 2019. The movie tells the tale of a group of young kids that are terrorized by an evil being known as "It." The "It" being often materializes to them as a creepy clown, Pennywise, that wants them to come into the sewers to be with him often saying, "You'll float too." Pennywise forces the kids to also face their own personal fears and demons which weakens their courage and strength as a group, hoping to take them apart one by one. The movie starts with the disappearance and of Billy's younger brother, George. Billy becomes obsessed with George's disappearance maintaining that he's missing and not dead. Other kids start to go missing as well, but the town barely seems to notice. These kids band together to fight off Pennywise and local kid bullies.

Movie Review:
I read this book as a kid, and loved the 1990's version as well. I was so excited to go see the new It movie. My husband and I went as soon as we had the chance to get a babysitter for the kids! This movie follows along pretty closely with the 90's version and keeps about the same plot line. There are a few important differences though.
One big difference is the addition of humor to this movie. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Richie, does a great job of keeping a light tone and adding humor (albeit raunchy humor) into a lot of scenes. This is a definite break from the 90's version which contained little to no humor. The added humor gives this movie a very different feel from the 90's one. I have to admit that I love Finn from Stranger Things, and enjoyed his character in this movie a lot.

Another difference is Bill Skarsgard's portrayal of Pennywise the clown. In the 90's version actor, Tim Curry, played Pennywise. Tim Curry is one of my favorite actors. He's played in so many good movies: Home Alone, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue, Anne, and a lot of voice work over the years. Skarsgard had big shoes to fill for Curry's role in It. Skargard's portrayal was interestingly different. He made you know right away that Pennywise was not a nice or friendly clown. The drooling and crazy eyes really showed the true intent of Pennywise in this version.

Another difference was the portrayal of Beverly Marsh and her role in the group of friends. Again, Beverly is the lone girl in the gang of kids set against Pennywise. She's also the love interest for both Bill and Ben, while the other boys love her in a brotherly way. Although, Beverly is seen in a much more sexualized way in this movie than in the 90's movie. She's also made the be the damsel in distress in the end of the new version, whereas in the 90's version she was very independent and the group counted on her to keep them together and fighting as a group.
There was a change of location with where Pennywise's entrance to his lair was in the new movie. In the 90's version, Pennywise's lair was a sewer house out in a bog at the edge of town. In the 2017 version, Pennywise has a tunnel that leads to his lair in an old abandoned house in the middle of town. The house affords for more torture of the kids and jump scares for the audiences that the old location did not really allow for.

Finally, and this is my favorite difference was the perception of safety. In the 90's version, the viewers knew the Pennywise couldn't really hurt them as long as they stayed away from drains, sewers, and of course his lair. In the new version, when Pennywise is terrorizing the kids individually and in a group they don't seem safe. It feels as though Pennywise could hurt them and kill them right then and there even though he really needs to be within reach of them. The blur of this perception helps viewers get into the minds of the kids and really feel the fear.
Overall, I thought this was an awesome movie and fully enjoyed the entire film. I am avidly waiting for the next part due out September 6th, 2019.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

2017-10-12T12:14:00.000-04:00

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publication Date: 2013

Synopsis:
The Circle follows the life of Mae Holland and her life after she joins the biggest internet company in the country, The Circle. The Circle has a sprawling campus filled with business offices, eating areas, recreation areas, relaxation areas, party venues, and even dorms for people to use. The Circle's big draw and success is making a person's online presence all in one place. Now people have one username, one account for all services, and everything is tied to that one account. It has brought order and ease to using the internet. Mae soon becomes entrenched in her work and in the various activities provided and encouraged by the company. The company values social media posts as much as a person's actual work performance. This leaves less and less time for the outside real world in Mae's life. The Circle begins to branch out and push through boundaries that make the reader question the morality of the company and it's leaders. Mae seems to be falling down the rabbit hole that is the Circle, and readers are interested to see where it leaders her in the end.

Review:
This is one of the most interesting and compellingly realistic books that I have read in a long time. The circle is loosely based on Google and the way that it runs it's company as well. As I was reading I was wary of the way that the workers and leaders of the Circle pushed its employees to be a social media presence and to participate and share everything in their lives. This book scared me in a way that a horror book cannot, it's so realistic. Everyday something new in technology is released and laws are changed, the internet changes, etc. and its those aspects that are the most intriguing about this book. Mae quickly gets lost in her social media presence and loses her friends and family on the way, but that didn't seem to bother her so much once she had success at her job. As I was reading this I felt that I totally understood Mae's problem even though she can't really see it herself. She is so busy living in a virtual world and gaining "likes" that she loses sense of reality and what the outside world is really like. The leaders of the Circle push the boundaries and for the most part they are able to do so easily, because they have created a generation of people that want that type of life. The people who do not want to live online or have a deeply rooted social media presence are mocked and forced to decide to join or work against the Circle. It creates a deep divide between Mae and her family and old friends. This book outlines exactly what is so dangerous about social media; people caring more about how many "likes" their post or pictures got, rather than caring about the world and its issues. I fear that this is a good predictor of how our society will end up in the future. I hope that is not the case.

5/5 Stars

Movie Review:
I was excited to see this movie was starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, two of my favorite actors. The movie itself tries to convey the conflicting emotions and moral battles that Mae goes through in the novel, but its difficult to portray those things on film. The movie and the book also have different endings which was disappointing as well. Overall, it was a well-made movie, but I prefer the novel.

The Red Queen Series

2017-10-10T15:48:00.000-04:00

Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Publication Dates: 2015, 2016, 2017
Author: Victoria Aveyard

Synopsis:
In this novel, the world is divided into two types of people. People with red blood and people with silver blood. The Silvers have supernatural powers that come from their silver blood. Silvers can be super strong, bend and reflect light, manipulate fire, control people's minds, have super speed, etc. Red blooded people are completely normal, and are the working class citizens. Blood creates a divide based on jobs, money, status, knowledge, and power. The main character is Mare Barrow, a 17 year old girl from a very poor red family. She finds herself working in the palace for the King and Queen silvers. During a surprising event, Mare discovers that although she is a red she has the power to manipulate lightning and electricity. This is supposed to be impossible, so the King decides to hide this power, and claim that she is a long lost princess and betroths her to his second son. Mare must live in the palace, but she decides to help the Red Guard, which is the rebellion group that plans to overthrow the silver hierarchy.

Review:
This is one of my new favorite series. There is a fourth book coming out in 2018. I love the fantasy element that mixes superhuman qualities with a monarch society. It's so interesting to see all the different Silver abilities and the generations of families. Mare is a very strong character that has resilience and determination. She is pulled into the web of lies, deceit, and seduction of the court. This novel makes you understand and sympathize with the underdog, the reds, but it also brings you into the exciting world of the silvers as well. The introduction of her powers is a very good twist in the story, and makes Mare a very compelling character. The series moves quickly, has very good action, as well as plot and character development. The characters can be frustrating at times, but grow and change like they should throughout a series. There are deaths and it's difficult to get attached to different characters. The other novels are just as amazing as the first, and I am impatiently waiting for the 4th installment.

I give this series a 5/5 stars

The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan

2017-10-06T12:16:00.002-04:00

Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publication Date: 2016

Synoposis: Zoe is a young girl that is striving for perfection. She is a prodigy musician that strives for excellence. She and her mother, Maria, have spent the last three years striving to be the perfect mother and daughter and creating the perfect life. They have also spent this time hiding a terrible tragedy that left Zoe damaged, Maria without a husband, and a blemish on their otherwise perfect lives. This novel explores what happens when Zoe's past comes back to haunt her future. Then, tragedy strikes again, and Zoe and her family must uncover the truth about a death and move on from these dark events.

Review: This book was a very interesting and quick read that contained a lot of suspense and mystery due to the different perspectives. The characters are a little hard to dig into, due to Zoe being pretty boring while trying to be perfect and mundane for so long. One of the more interesting characters is killed off in the beginning which catapults the rest of the story into high gear. This is another good novel by Gilly Macmillan that suspense lovers will dig right in to.

What She Knew by Gillian Macmillan

2017-10-03T12:33:00.004-04:00

Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publication Date: 2015

Synopsis: One day a mother, Rachel Jenner, and her son, Ben are walking in the park. Rachel lets her son walk ahead to the swings on the path, and when she gets to the path her son is gone. Rachel spends the book obsessing over her missing son, trying to piece together enough clues with the police to find him.

Review: This book has a lot of good suspense and mystery elements throughout it. It's a very realistic case of a missing boy. Rachel is a believable and well written character that depicts the average mother. She of course blames herself for letting Ben run ahead, and spends half of the book blaming herself, and the other half of the book trying to find anything to help the police find her son. The other main character is the police officer assigned to the case. He takes this case very personally as well, and tries to work to find Ben. I thought this was a good book. It was difficult to read at times due to my personal connections. I'm a mother as well with a young son, and I can only imagine what this situation would feel like and how difficult it would be to lose a child and spend months looking for him. There's quite a bit of ups and downs due finding suspects and then discovering their alibis or other circumstances. This was an interesting novel, and I am interested to read more by this author.

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

2012-04-30T21:43:00.001-04:00

Recently, I broke my own rule. I had decided that while I was coaching, that I wouldn't read any books. I usually get a little obsessed with reading, and therefore tend to jerk my responsibilities. But, I was bored over the weekend, and so I read a book. I decided to read Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli.

This book is told from the point of view of an uneducated orphan, who is alone and living on the streets during the Holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. This boy, who is later named Misha, is alone in a world that at first seems easy for him. He is small, and fast, and so he steals food from those who are slower than him. Then he meets another boy, and that boy tries to teach him about the world, but Misha is not socialized and he loses a lot of what the other boy tries to teach him.

Their world of easy eating, stealing, and getting by is quickly pulled out from underneath him. Soon soldiers come and change the way that life is being lead in Warsaw. Food is scarce, a curfew is employed, and people are losing their good faith. Misha gets in different sorts of trouble, and meets different people, but he soon discovers a little girl and becomes slightly obsessed.

The Jews of Warsaw are moved into a concentration camp, and Misha learns how to come and go between the city and the camp to visit his friend and bring them food. But, then all the boys are rounded up and placed in the camp as well. Misha is a "Jew" living in a concentration camp, the only thing that keeps him alive, is the fact that he can escape and go into the city and steal food to keep himself, and his friend's family as well.

Misha starts to learn about family, Germans, Jews, the war, and his life along the way. Although, he is still very confused throughout the novel. This book is very interesting, because of the narrator. You, the reader, are seeing everything through the eyes of a very young boy. It's was intriguing to read about something so horrendous through the eyes of a child that does not understand the world around him, nor does he understand pain, starvation, sadness, etc. At times this novel was amazing, and at times this novel was frustrating. But, as a teacher I would want to use this as a connection novel for students, instead of reading Anne Frank every year. This would be a way for students to connect to a narrator, because of age and ignorance. I think it would be interesting for students to read this, because they would have a chance to learn along with the narrator.

Finding Maine

2012-02-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

When my husband and I were planning our wedding, we had a hard time figuring out where to go on our honeymooon.
As recent college graduates with little money, we were on a budget and yet we wanted to do something new, different, fun, exciting, and adventurous.
This led me to find our destination, Maine. It offered an adventure pack, which allowed us to go on an animal sightseeing tour and kayaking.
We had never been to Maine, and since we had been vacationing at the beach in Delaware for about eight years now, we decided to do something daring and different.
The Monday after we were married, we packed up the car, and drove the 10 hours to Moosehead Lake in Maine. It was a long and tiring trip, but we made it in one piece. We settled in to our hotel, and went to look around the town. We found that this town was very unlike the tourist towns down at the beach. Moosehead Lake is all local, there are no restaurant chains, no hotel chains, and no store chains. It was amazing to be staying in a town that was all local people. We sampled the local food, went to the local shops, and met people everywhere we went that were nice, friendly, and helpful.

My husband and I enjoyed trying new seafood like swordfish, and listening to live music at the local restaurants. We loved how beautiful the scenery was, and how wonderful the weather was in Maine. It was amazing to finally see a moose, just chewing on some grass on our sightseeing tour. They are very big, but gentle creatures that just exude wildness.

Another favorite part of our trip was learning how to kayak. Part of our package was renting kayaks for the day. We had never been kayaking before, but they let us take them out ourselves for the day on the big, beautiful lake. We kayaked all day, and it was amazing to learn something new so fast and easily. We went as far down the lake as we could, and then turned back, staying close to the shore because of the boats, and that's when we realized how far we had actually gone. It took us longer to get back to the dock than we thought it would, but it was an experience we'll never forget.

Some people thought we were crazy for going to Maine for our honeymoon, since we had never been there before and neither had anyone we knew at the time. Although, my husband and I just viewed it as the first adventure of many in our marriage, and we have never regretted our decision to go to Maine. We learned that going somewhere new does not mean having to be a tourist, it just means opening yourselves up to new people, food, activities, adventures, and experiences. I also learned that Maine is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been, including the beach, and that I would love to go back someday, and maybe see the coast instead.
I know one thing for sure, I'll never forget my honeymoon, and all the amazing things that we saw and did in Maine.