Behind Every Illusion

by Christina Harner

"All creatures born of human parents must be human and therefore must be ordinary."

Even timid eighteen-year-old Tatiana Lewis wholeheartedly accepts this logic. So when she begins to experience unusual changes, she has no clue where to turn and instead keeps her new abilities a secret. But her best friend and brother, Isaac, sees past her illusions and together they explore the significance of her differences and search out the meaning behind them.

Amidst tragedy, unimaginable transformations and an unexpected friendship, Tatiana has to learn to reveal the girl hidden behind her illusions and what it means to face the world in order to preserve not only the forest but her very existence.

(snatched from book website)

I don't want to give anything away, but Behind Every Illusion is a unique take on a traditional story line. It's a clever mix of fantasy and realistic fiction (with maybe a little sci-fi thrown in). In my opinion, all of the characters were pretty relatable, despite the fact that I share hardly any similarities with them. I really liked the plot progression in the story; it didn't move along too slowly, but instead moved at a pace that really helped make the story more realistic. There are some shockers in this book too, which just made everything more suspenseful.

The only thing that bugged me was that sometimes, there was a little more "tell" than "show" in the writing. I thought some sentences were a little too blunt and could have maybe been phrased a little better.

Other than that, a lovely debut (with a pretty cover) from a promising author! I'm looking forward to more books in this series.

Bookish Meme

Using only books you have read this year (2009), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!

Describe yourself: The Girl Who Could Fly (Victoria Forester)

How do you feel: Lock and Key (Sarah Dessen)

Describe where you currently live: Behind Every Illusion (Christina Harner)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? House of Dance (Beth Kephart), North of Beautiful (Justina Chen Headley)

Your favorite form of transportation: Spells and Sleeping Bags (Sarah Mlynoski)

Your best friend is: Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

You and your friends are: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks (Lauren Myracle)

What's the weather like: That Summer (Sarah Dessen)

You fear: Nothing But Ghosts (Beth Kephart)

What is the best advice you have to give: Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover (Ally Carter)

Thought for the day: Inherit the Wind (Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee)

How I'd like to die: The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) NOT!, Eyes Like Stars (Lisa Mantchev)

My soul's present condition: As You Like It (William Shakespeare)

This was so much fun! If you do it, please link in the comments!

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins has done it again. After reading The Hunger Games, I didn't expect the sequel to have the same kind of suspense and violence. But it did.

Catching Fire is a completely brilliant book. It's definitely more low-key than The Hunger Games, but still unique and terrific in its own way. I felt that the whole book seemed to lead up to the ending and the third book, so it didn't entirely satisfy my need for drama, but it was still a worthwhile read. It incorporated more sci-fi aspects while keeping the story fresh and realistic, which was something I really enjoyed. Don't judge the book by the beginning -- it starts out slow, but gets MUCH better as it goes on.

Can't wait for the third one!

FINALLY...

I am now the very gleeful and excited owner of Catching Fire. Eeek! I can't wait to start reading!

**On a side note, I will be gone for school camp Wednesday-Friday, so you won't be seeing me around then. Have a good week!

The Miles Between

by Mary E. Pearson

The Miles Between is a lovely, touching, life-changing book. It's about the struggles of a teenage girl who feels that the world is never fair. It's full of spontaneity, surprises, and more.

This book is also about coincidences and fate. It brought up and discussed an interesting point: are there such things as coincidences, luck, fate, etc.? I learned a lot of fun facts about coincidences in history which I never knew before, and I loved how the author tried to constantly emphasize certain dates, names, and words.

The final thing that I think really made this book stand out was the main character, Destiny. Throughout the book, my heart constantly went out to her as she struggled with her past and her emotions. *minor spoiler* However, as I found out near the end, Destiny wasn't a very reliable narrator. There is a shocking plot twist at the end -- Pearson is an absolute genius to have pulled that one off. *end minor spoiler*

Overall, The Miles Between is a lovely, lovely book. It's one of Mary E. Pearson's best works, and readers of all ages will definitely enjoy it.

Asylum for the Verbally Insane

Author unknown

I got this from Maya and found it pretty interesting:

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
Neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren’t invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
We find that quicksand can work slowly,

Boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,
Grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?

Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all
But one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
Should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.

And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
While a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
In which your house can burn up as it burns down,
In which you fill in a form by filling it out,
And in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And, in closing, if Father is Pop,
How come Mother’s not Mop?

As You Like It (Shakespeare Challenge #3)

by William Shakespeare

Out of all the Shakespeare plays I've read so far, I think As You Like It was my favorite. It was funny, witty, and the easiest to follow. The story was intriguing and especially entertaining for me, since I knew "stuff" that the characters didn't know.

Just like Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It had nonsensical characters who boasted about their education and intelligence, but were actually (in my opinion) quite stupid. The way the characters argued and discussed about random, silly things made the whole play very enjoyable. (I also learned about a million different ways to say "I want to kill you" in Shakespearean language.)

Overall, a delightful, quirky must-read. Highly recommended -- you won't be disappointed!

My post on the Shakespeare Challenge
Shakespeare Challenge specifics
My review of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Challenge #1)
My review of Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Challenge #2)

Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone who commented on my previous birthday post -- you guys are great and really brightened my day. I'd also like to give special thanks to Beth Kephart, Lorie Ann Grover, Summermoon, Q, bookbutterfly, cuileann, Danielle, and Maya for all their kind posts and birthday cards (and thank you for organizing everything, Maya!). I am incredibly lucky to have such a great sister and so many great friends in the blogging world. :-)

I'm fourteen!!

Happy birthday to me...

FYI...

Tomorrow, I'm leaving on vacation to New York and Washington D.C. I don't know if I'll get Internet anywhere, so I don't know if I can post. I haven't scheduled any posts, but you can expect lots of pictures when I get back.

See you in two weeks!

Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Challenge #2)

by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing was funny, witty, silly, and very entertaining. There were several sub-plots which weaved into the main plot, ranging from mischievous to funny to scheming.There were a lot of puns and double meanings scattered throughout the play, which were really fun to read. I thought that most of the characters were pretty stupid and hypocritical and arrogant, but I guess that's the point of the whole play: making a whole fuss about nothing. The annoying characters added to the whole feel, and it was clear that Shakespeare really tried to emphasize their personalities through their words.

The thing I liked about Much Ado About Nothing was that it was sweet and short; unlike Romeo and Juliet, nothing dragged and I finished it quickly. I think that making it longer would have just made it too unbearable -- the plot was silly enough as it is. Overall, a quick, fun play that I absolutely enjoyed.

P.S.-- I'm going with As You Like It for my last play. Thank you for all your suggestions... I'll be reading a lot of those plays in English for the next couple of years, and I definitely will be checking out the other plays I won't be reading as part of school.

My post on the Shakespeare Challenge
Shakespeare Challenge specifics
My review of Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Challenge #1)

reassessment

if I could recreate myself,

I would have wild, shiny blue hair
a leather jacket and sleek, black leather gloves
a belt of white diamonds

the one everyone knows and no one sees

I would leap across my stage at night
from building to building

leaving nothing but shadowy whispers and starlight behind

and in the mornings, I would
hide myself in steam
red roses and velvet pianos--

jazz notes fluttering in the air—

and read poems to myself, very
very quietly

(Poetry Friday roundup here.)

Interview

From Liv

1. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be and why?

Oooh, tough one. I think it would have to be spaghetti. I went on an Alaska cruise last summer and managed to survive on spaghetti for most of the time.

2. What's your favorite kind of weather?

I love days which are sunny with blue skies, but still a little breezy. But I also love snowstorms, sleet, hail, and heavy rain.

3. What's the first word you think of when I say "skydiver"?

Ummm... blue?

4. Do you prefer yellow or blue?

Blue, hands down. Yellow can be nice, but blue comes in more shades and is more versatile.

5. If you could change one thing about the world we live in, what would it be and why?

I'd like to say something like "end war" or "eradicate world poverty," but everyone says that and I think that ending war or poverty is going to take a loooong time. So, one thing I'd like to do is get more people to read. It's really sad when I see people who say that they don't like reading, or they don't have access to books. For those people who don't like reading, I say that it's just a matter of finding which kind of books work for them, whether it's sci-fi or graphic novels or romance. For the people who don't have access to books, I'd love it if there were more libraries out there, or more low-price bookstores. Libraries are fantastic in motivating kids to read, and once you explore them, you realize that there are a lot more books out there than you could ever imagine.


So here's how it goes:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” Please include your email address.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog/website/whatever with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Only 5 questions. They're fun and easy. The "comments" button is just waiting for you...

Eyes Like Stars

by Lisa Mantchev

Eyes Like Stars is the kind of book which, after completing, you wish you had written yourself. It's not just a book about theater (although drama is a big part of it). It's a novel about discovery, love, betrayal, truth, trust, creativity, and much much more. It's incredibly imaginative and timeless and something that will appeal to readers of all sorts.

All the characters, although borrowed from various classic plays, had their own originality and spunk. The setting was brilliantly described and made me feel as though I was part of the story, acting out the parts of the characters. The plot was suspenseful, funny, and intriguing. Everything was laced with magic which made the book enjoyable, but strangely, it was still realistic enough that I actually believed in it. The ending didn't wrap up everything and left me with lots of questions, but I was still satisfied and didn't feel as though I would die if I couldn't read the sequel (like some other books). Overall, Eyes Like Stars is a lovely, enthralling debut novel... JUST READ IT!!!

Flickr, Unicorns, and Wimpy Kids

I found this wonderful photostream on Flickr today -- the shots are amazing, almost unrealistic... I could stare at them all day long.

Also, I have been given an award from Sadako! This is a new one she made up called the "Evil Pink Unicorn Award." Here's the description:

The Evil Pink Unicorn sees all, knows all, and spears all annoying teddy bears who get too close to her essential pinkness. She also commends good bloggers for being hilarious, bizarre, and just plain fun.

I pass this award onto Beth Kephart, for her lovely posts and unique thoughts, and Cuileann, for her terrific pictures and happiness lists.

Finally, the cover for the fourth Diary of a Wimpy Kid book has come out!!! (or maybe I just didn't see it until now):