April Book Haul

In April I acquired a great deal of novels and read a grand total of... zero! I bought 8 novels, received one from Epic Reads, and I purchased one novella on my nook. I will just show you a photo of the book, the title, the author, and the link to the novel on goodreads.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Frozen by Erin Bowman

Legend by Marie Lu

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

After the End by Amy Plum (an ARC)

Stolen by Erin Bowman (a novella)

Have a nice evening. Bye.
-Catherine

10 Reasons to LOVE Jennifer Lawrence (no matter what)♡

With all of the hate surrounding the queen right now, here are 10 reasons why you should love her no matter what.

1. She absolutely loves food.

2. She's drunk during almost every single interview.

3. She's basically the coolest person in the world... even though she may not believe it.

4. She loves Mean Girls.

5. She rather watch reality television than go out in public.. which caused her to get in a car accident.

6. She's fluent in sarcasm.

7. She gets really starstruck while meeting celebrities.

8. She went out of her way on the red carpet to hug this little girl.

9. She has a normal person's view of exercise.

10. In general, she's just a huge dork.

If anyone tries to insult our BFF.. just use this face to scare them away.

Enjoy this random post. Bye!
-Catherine

Basic Needs for Writing!

I am writing my own book (Well, attempting to...) and I know the struggle of creating your own ideas, creating characters, your plot, ect.  I'll tell you what I do, and I'll give you all the websites I use to help write!

1.  Character names: I love to base my character names off of the meaning behind them.  I love to use a baby names website to help me find the meaning of names I like, which you can find here. I know it's a little weird to use a baby names website, but hey, it helps.  If you want a strong character, think of a name that means strong.  Or a warrior character, find a name that means warrior.  It not only helps you find a name, but will give your character a unique meaningful name.

2. Need advice or writing prompts to kickstart your imagination? You should view my favorite writing blog of all time, which is located here.  This website helps me out SO much and I absolutely love their writing prompts and advice!

3. Inspiration is very important, and I find the most inspiration in music.  Whenever I listen to some songs, I can perfectly envision my characters in a specific scene I would like to have, and BOOM inspiration.  Maybe I will post some of the songs I like to listen to while writing at a later date. (Probably sometime this week.)

4. Get to know your characters.  If you don't know your characters, your readers won't be able to understand them.  If you see a certain outfit, or listen to a certain song, and don't think of your characters or if they would love it- YOU DON'T KNOW THEM ENOUGH! These characters will be a part of you for the rest of your writing career, make them your best friends.  Your characters can never be too complex or planned out, you have to make them real, so real you almost find yourself wanting to talk to them through the page!

5. Writing schedule.  This is very crucial to your writing journey.  Don't have one? Well, neither do I!  I'm trying very hard to get on track, but I find that very hard to do.  I can only write when I have a good idea, or want to work on my characters some more. Whether that be at 2am when I have to type it into the notes on my phone, barely awake, or in the middle of history class when I have to jot down a few notes on the side of my paper.  This summer, I really will try to get a solid writing schedule going, because I have nothing else to do all summer!  I will keep you informed on how I will manage with this and if it works out....

6. Organization.  This may seem like a very hard thing to do, but I promise that it isn't all that hard! You just have to find what you like.  Catherine likes to write on her computer.  I find that very hard to do, and I'd rather hold a pencil in my hand and write my beloved words onto paper.  I have a binder with all my plot and character developments, and plans for my chapters.  I have a notebook in which I write my chapters down- just the first drafts of course! These haven't been edited yet.  I then have two accordion folders where I keep all of my notes about writing (How to use metaphors, double negatives, how to make dialogue sound real, ect.)  My other is for all of my drafts that I'm not sure I like, but might still be useful for latter on.  I will then continue to write all my chapters in order, once I finish the first draft of the book, and edit it during that stage.  Then I plan to type it up in my final stage of editing.  Until then, I will be with my lovely pencil and notebook.

7.  Have fun.  If you are not having fun with your writing, just take a step back and reevaluate where you went wrong.  Are you unhappy with your characters? Do you not like your plot? Do you feel as though you are not organized or don't have enough time to write?  Find out what might be the problem, and try to fix it.  Writing should be fun, not something you feel bad doing.  Writing is apart of you if you do it write! (Hahaha, funny pun.  Okay, it's not that funny but I thought it was clever.)

And those are some of the basics, but I will post more about writing latter on as I continue my jouney with my books. I hope this helps!

~Kate

Book+Movie Review Mashup: The Spectacular Now

SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

FAQ:  You're barley a teenager, why do you enjoy reading coming of age novels?

A: It prepares me for what is to come.  It also helps me to relate to what my siblings speak of and say, "You don't understand."

So now that that's cleared up, book review time!

I found this story relatable in a way that I didn't feel like it was me but I did.  I feel like an Aimee who was just now discovering alcohol.  I feel like a Sutter who skips school.  I don't feel like a Sutter who has sex with everyone in his class by his senior year.  Sex, if you're uncomfortable with sex... THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU.  If you're trying to teach your children about substance abuse, this is a decent novel to use as support.  Sutter struggles with his addiction to alcohol.  At a certain point in the book, he attempts to give up alcohol.  (he may or may not fail) 

Overall, this book is great if you need a light hearted, pain filled, different contemporary novel.

☆☆☆☆

A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."

(this review is a q&a)

Q: Why is this movie rated R?

A: This movie contains sex, the first scene is shirtless people, oh well, but the second you see a condom and such.

Q: What age do you suggest I should allow my child to watch this at?

A: It depends on the maturity level of your child.  If you're child is either still going through their "perverted age" or hasn't even reached it yet, don't let them.  If you feel your child is mature enough to see sex scenes, no harm should be done.

Q: Do you feel as if the movie did Tim Tharp's novel justice?

A: I do believe that the movie did Tharp's novel justice.  If you've read the novel, you know how sad the end is.  In the movie the director, James Ponsoldt, changed the end to make if a bit more happy.

☆☆☆☆☆

Have a nice evening and, happy reading!

-Catherine

Book Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same? 
The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. 
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. 
But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

Let's state the facts quickly, this is your typical dystopian.  This book has a somewhat interesting world, but it is not original.  I felt as if I was reliving The Hunger Games.  The second half (I believe, I read it in January) is just like the Hunger Games. The separation of people into different areas felt like districts.  The "hey come kill people when you're still young" thingy mabob felt very Hunger Games-ey.  The one thing that this book is good for..... If you're in a reading slump, and you L O V E dystopian novels, read it. Plus the cover is gorgeous.  

Happy reading.  Bye.

-Catherine

Book Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

When I write, I hold nothing back.  I write like he'll never read it.  

Because he never will.  Every secret thought, every careful observation, 

everything I've saved up inside me, I put all into the letter.  When I'm done,

I seal it, address it, and then I put it in my teal hatbox.  

They're not love letters in the strictest sense of the word. 

My letters are for when I don't want to be in love anymore. 

They're for goodbye.  Because after I write my letter, I'm no longer 

consumed by my all-consuming love.  I  can eat my cereal and not wonder

if he likes bananas over his Cheerios too; I can sing along

to love songs and not be sining them to him.

If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms.

My letters set me free.  Or at least they're supposed to.  

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

 Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.  They aren't love letters anyone else wrote to her; these are ones she's written.  One for every boy she's ever loved- five in all.  When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only.  Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.  

     Lets start with this: This is NOT your typical girly romance story, although it sounds like it.  I absolutely loved how this book seemed predictable, but then everything you think will happen, does not happen.  I usually prefer reading dystopian and fantasy books, but I am happy I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try something I would normally not read.  I loved Jenny Han's writing and how Lara Jean was a very relatable character to me (Plus, she just has the cutest clothes!).  The book shows the importance of family love, as long as friendships and relationships.  The bond Lara Jean and her two sisters share is breathtaking and beautiful.  This is the perfect book to read after reading a very sad book and you feel as though you can never be happy again, trust me, I have a lot of those moments.  To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a very happy book, but it is sad in some parts.  I give it a 4 out of 5 star rating, and will most certainly purchase more of Jenny Han's books, because she is a very good writer.  If you're still not sure of this book, you should go ahead and read it anyway, that's what I did.  I'm not going to lie, I almost gave up on this book because I'm not used to reading this genre of books, but by page 100 I was sucked into Lara Jean's story and was trying to guess what may happen next!  This is such a good read, I sat down twice and finished it in the time span of a day.  I promise you won't regret reading To All the Boys I've Loved Before.       

~Kate

If I Stay trailer reaction!

If you have not read Gayle Forman's If I Stay series, you are missing out.  I had the opportunity to meet Gayle Forman last year at YALL Fest in Charleston, South Carolina, and she is not only a absolutely amazing writer, but such a kind and funny person!  Her book, If I Stay, is becoming a movie, set to be in theaters on August 22nd! The movie stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia, and I think the movie is flawlessly casted.  The trailer is found here, if you have not seen it yet. so here is my reaction (read after you've watched the trailer so you can feel all the pain with me):

WOW OKAY THAT WAS AMAZING AND I WAS CRYING AND STILL AM (I am not still crying but I got teary eyed when I saw it) AND THIS NEEDS TO BE IN CAPS BECAUSE THIS IS HOW I FEEL AFTER WATCHING THE TRAILER IT WAS SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK AND NOW ITS GOING TO BE AN AMAZING MOVIE. WOW MIA WOW ADAM WOW OTP OKAY THIS IS NOT OKAY!!!

And that is pretty much how I feel and my heart still hurts.  I cannot wait for the movie and I feel as though all the actors are perfect and the movie is going to be heartbreakingly beautiful, just like the book is.  If you have not read If I Stay, I highly recommend reading it, and if you have already read it, read it again with me before the movie comes out so we can both suffer from the pain and beauty a second time around.  

Book to Movie Adaptations.

Book to movie adaptations are an amazing thing.  Movies/TV Shows adapted from novels bring more human beings into reading.  I love when a fandom grows, but I hate fake fans.  One of my biggest pet peeves are the people that just see the adaptation and say that they're, "The biggest fan."  I have run into many of these humans recently after the release of the Divergent movie.  Many people saw the movie, "fell in love," and made fandom accounts.  As a person who has had a fandom account for almost a year, I respect the entrance of a fandom onto social media late, but not right after the release of an adaptation.  Read the books first, then you can be like us.  The crazy creatures of the internet.  Who write bc on their schoolwork instead of because, who write ppl instead of people on their schoolwork, who write that their last name is Hutcherson instead of S*******a.  We are crazy, join in!  (at the appropriate time)  *this is Catherine if you couldn't tell*

Book Review: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

Description:

 "When the rest of the world has given up on you, who will you become?

Alenna Shawcross hasn't seen her parents since they were dragged out of her house by government soldiers of the UNA, a new nation formed from the remains of Canada, the USA, and Mexico.  And now, as a sixteen-year-old orphan, she has failed a government personality test designed to diagnose subversive tendencies. 

As punishment, Alenna is banished to the wheel, a mysterious island where all the kids who fail get sent.  A place where the conditions are brutal, and a civil war rages between two very different tribes of teenagers. 

So when Aleena meets Liam, a charismatic warrior who is planning to escape, she must find the strength to make a difficult decision: to either accept her new life on the wheel, or to embark on a journey that will uncover shocking secrets about the UNA-and her own identity as well."

I first read this book last year, when someone recommended it to me.  Not a lot of people know of this book, and I'm very happy I have come across it.  Aleena had never seemed 'weak' to me, even though all of the challenges and heartbreak she is challenged with.  All of the characters live in constant fear, and no knowledge as to why they were sent to the island.  The government claimed that they were going to be murders, psychopaths, and others of that kind.  But, none of these teenagers seem anything but sane.  

The Forsaken will appeal to you if you like dystopian worlds, such as Veronica Roth's Divergent and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games.  I have read both of those, and absolutely love them.  Although The Forsaken is absolutely different from those two books, it is alike in it's dystopian theme, plot twists, and strong characters. 

This book left me wondering, questioning, and flipping the pages almost faster than I can read the words.  The ending left me in total shock and awe, Stasse did an amazing job at building suspense, and having a shocking cliff hanger for her debut novel! I like how the plot of this book is totally original, one-of-a-kind, and unique, Stasse did a brilliant job at creating the perfectly imperfect dystopian world. I do highly recommend the book and give it 3 out of 5 stars! I have just recently found out that it is the first book of a trilogy, and will be purchasing the other two books as soon as possible.  The order of the series is: The Forsaken, The Uprising, and The Defiant, set to be released July 8th, 2014.  I will read and review the second and third book as soon as I possibly can, and I am looking forward to finishing up the Forsaken trilogy!  (I mean, how awesome are the covers!?!?!?!) 

Music. Books. Catherine.

Hi, I like chicken.

So first topic, music.  Random questions that I asked Katelyn yesterday at lunch.  So... without further waiting a mini Q and A.  Hosted by myself and answered by myself.

Q: Favorite indie band?

A: Grouplove.

Q: Favorite well known band?

A: Bastille, Imagine Dragons, Arctic Monkeys, AHH so many!

Q: Favorite female artist?

A: Queen Bee Lorde.

Q: Favorite male artist?

A: Justin Timberlake.

BOOKS.

Books, books, books.

Goodreads, I don't feel like doing a lot of self promotion so... add me. Link here.

Interesting Facts.

1) I don't like bacon.

2) I was born in a hospital.

3) I like chicken.

New Layout and Posting Schedule

This is just a quick post about the blog in general.

We have decided that this blog needs to be a bit more formal.  We decided that this blog needed.... PAGES.  Five pages (and of course home) have been published to give viewers easier access to each post.  Under "Books" you will find all of our posts related to none other than books!  Under "Movies/TV" you will find all of our posts related to movies and television shows.  Under "Care" you will be able to find posts pertaining to the usual well being of you as well as help with depression, don't worry we aren't annoying professionals; We have personal experience with depression.  Under "Personal" you will have quick access to posts that are simply about us.  Finally under "Other" you will find posts that don't fit into the other 4 categories.  (if it was 5 we could've made a divergent reference, ugh)  So that's that and now lets move on!

Now onto the posting schedule.  Kate will be posting every Saturday about whatever she wants.  Catherine will be posting on Wednesdays about whatever she want.  Now don't get disappointed, we will be posting on the other days as well, but no guarantee.  We will post about Breaking News and the, "We must post this RIGHT NOW," stuff.

Have a nice day and check back on Wednesday for a post from Catherine!

Book Recommendations: Series

Catherine and I have decided to actually start posting things that will appeal to you all! So, here are some of our favorite series that we think you would enjoy:

• The Infernal Devices (TID) by Cassandra Clare.  There are 3 books: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess.  This is my all time favorite series. 
• Divergent by Veronica Roth. There are also 3 books: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant.
• The Mortal Instruments (TMI), also by Cassandra Clare.  There are currently 5 books, and the 6th, and last one, is going to be released May 26th of this year! They are: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, and City of Heavenly Fire. 
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
• The Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing. 
• The Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick: Hush, Hush, Crescendo, Silence, and Finale. 
• Matched by Ally Condie: Matched, Crossed, and Reached.
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi: Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, and Into the Still Blue.
• The Selection by Kiera Cass: The Selection, The Elite, and The One (Set to release May 6th of this year!) 

And that is all for now.  We'll have recommendations for stand-alones/single novels coming soon.  If we put them all in one it would be very long and very confusing!  Comment below if this helped you!

~K 

Clare-A-Thon!

Two amazing booktubers have decided to host a read-a-thon in preparations for the release of City of Heavenly Fire.  Beth (bethjune327) and Jamie (jamie_leigh18) are hosting this wonderful event under the name of, "Clare-A-Thon."  This read-a-thon will take place in mid-April, Katelyn and I are both going to be participating in it, and would love if you participated as well.

Goodreads group information can be found here.

Happy Reading!

Get to know us: Catherine

So as Kate said previously, this is my "Get to know the Admin" post.  So here are a few bullets pertaining to me.

• I absoutely love reading.  Although I have a few problems that impair my reading, I still love to read.
• My favorite genre ever is...dystopian.  I love series such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, my favorite Divergent by Veronica Roth, and The Selection by Kiera Cass.
• I don't have a lot of idols, they are:  Jennifer Lawrence, John Green and Veronica Roth (murderers), and most of all Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters *tear.*
• I love music, but I'm a bit picky about the type.  I love Alt Nation on SiriusXM.  I love Bastille, Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine, and many more.
• I aspire to work in the FBI.  It changes all the time, it has previously been a lawyer and an author.
• Like Katelyn, I want to be a youtuber/booktuber.  Part of me wants to be a daily vlogger, but the other part of me wants to be a whatever I want whenever I want youtuber.
• I want to go to UCLA in Los Angeles, California.  Although this is the same college Katelyn said she wanted to go to, we didn't actually plan this.  We both had lists and began talking about college at lunch, we figured out that we both want to go to UCLA.
• My favorite quote ever is, "A person's a person, no matter how small." -Dr. Seuss

So that is all for this post.  I hope you enjoyed it and comment below what you'd like to see us do!

Get to know us: Kate

Hey, it's Kate! Catherine and I have decided to do a get to know the admins post before we start posting things that you will like to read.  I'm going to bullet point some things about me, okay:

• If you had to know one thing about me, it's that I absolutely adore reading.  You will always see me with a book in my hand, and I always have my head in a book.
• My favorite book series EVER is The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, and my favorite out of that series is Clockwork Prince, the second book in the series.  I'm currently reading the series for the third time, and am finishing up the last book, Clockwork Princess, now. 
• Some of my idols are: Tessa Grey, Jennifer Lawrence, Veronica Roth, James Carstairs and William Herondale, John Green, Hazel Grace, Gemma Doyle and Charlotte Fairchild Branwell. 
• Music means everything to me, I mostly listen to rock, and indie, and here are some of my favorites: The Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Mumford and Sons, The 1975, Lana del Ray, Lorde, Marina and the Diamonds, Florence and the Machine, and Ed Sheeran.
• I love to write anything.  I'm actually trying to write my own series now. 
• I really want to be a YouTuber/BookTuber.  Some of my favorites are Andrew Lowe, abookutopia, O2L, Kingsley, Lohanthony, thatsojack, and Troye Sivan.. oh, there's too many!
• I dye my hair... a lot... I've dyed it 10+ times, and am getting it dyed again on Saturday. 
• My dream is to go to college at UCLA, in LA (obviously) and graduate with a degree in English/Creative Writing.  I also hope to be a kind-of-seccessful YouTuber and a published, New York Times best selling author.  I would love to travel the world, and the rest of the U.S. 
• I'VE MET VERONICA ROTH AKA THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING SERIES DIVERGENT!!!!!  
• My birthday is next month!
• I have millions of favorite book quotes, but the one I say to myself daily is, "If you have a soul of a warrior, you are a warrior." 

Okay, that is all for now, I cannot think of any more! Hopefully that'll help you get a feel for who I am.  And comment below what you would like to hear us talk about on here, we're open to almost anything!