Fictionista

Thursday, April 3, 2014

It's Almost Here!!!!!

Guess what time it is!?!?! Time for the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon!!!!!!

This is it, the one time all of us readers get the chance to ignore the world around us, pick a dozen or so books, and read read read! Click the picture to be taken to the website where you can sign up for this spring's 24hr Read - A - Thon! I will be posting my list of books soon! So go get your snacks, and your books and your comfy clothes and I'll see you there!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Oh my Gosh, it's a book review!

I know, I know... it has been a LOOONNGGG while since I have reviewed a book on here. I belong to a few other social networks and when you work two jobs, have a long distance relationship and a mother that you enjoy spending time with, it's much easier to update a status than to write an entire post. However, as I sit here at my computer I find the urge to review the book I just read... so here goes:

The Sky is Everywhere - by Jandy Nelson

Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always happily been second fiddle to her charismatic older sister, Bailey. Then Bailey dies suddenly, and Lennie is left at sea without her anchor. Overcome by emotion, Lennie soon finds herself torn between two boys: Bailey's boyfriend, Toby, and Joe, the charming and musically gifted new boy in town. While Toby can't see her without seeing Bailey and Joe sees her only for herself, each offers Lennie something she desperately needs. But ultimately, it's up to Lennie to find her own way toward what she really needs-without Bailey.

I am naturally drawn to books that rip your heart out and provoke massive tear flow. Well, this book accomplished both of those reactions. But don't worry, by the end of the book (and your box of tissues) your heart will be back in your chest, still aching but on the road to recovery.

Bailey's death is no surprise as the book starts four weeks after her death, and though you never meet Bailey, you fall in love with who she was through the many heartfelt descriptions and flashbacks told through Lennie's mournful eyes. Lennie is "the younger sister" by every definition of the phrase. She looked up to Bailey, walked in her footsteps, planned her future around being together. When all this is suddenly gone, she has to figure out who she is without her sister: "I am no longer a little sister. I am no longer a sister. Period."

I love the way Nelson developed the story. There are many ways to mourn and Lennie's is to retreat. She hides inside herself, inside the room the sisters shared that is now Bailey's shrine. She doesn't talk to her friends, she doesn't reach out to her family, she doesn't tell anyone how she is really feeling. You can tell she is struggling to accept the reality she has been forced into. "I don't believe time heals. I don't want it to. If I heal, doesn't that mean I've accepted the world without her."

In between the chapters there are poems or stories or thoughts that Lennie writes on whatever scraps of paper she can get her hands on. This is when she is truly honest about what she is going through and let's herself feel the pain that she struggles so hard to avoid. I kept having to put the book down to wipe the tears from my eyes.

"For days and days, the rain beat its fists on the roof of our house - evidence of the terrible mistake God had made. Each morning, when I woke, I listened for the tireless pounding, looked at the drear through the window and was relieved that at least the sun had the decency to stay the hell away from us."

"Everyone wants me to talk about it, but I can't. I'd need a new alphabet, one made of falling, of tectonic plates shifting, of the deep devouring dark."

"I wonder why bereaved people even bother with mourning clothes when grief itself provides such an unmistakable wardrobe."

"The unbearable fact is, I have a future and she doesn't. This is when I realize: my sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away, it becomes a part of you."

Read this book and you will never be the same.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

ITS OVER!

Yay, it's over... here's the end of the RAT survey and then sleep for this girl and her mom.

Books Finished 3.75
Pages Read 961
Hours Reading 18
Hours Blogging 5

Which hour was most daunting for you? between 4am - 7am

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Depends on your prefered Genre... I asked mom to get me sad books because they keep me turning pages and keep my mind engaged. Unfortunately, while good, this last book I've been reading didn't have enough of a plot to keep me hooked.

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Easier challenges for those of us who really try hard to read for almost the whole 24 hrs. I find that a lot of the challenges take too long, so I end up skipping them all together.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Everything! I love love love doing this, another successful year!

How many books did you read? 3 and 3/4ths

What were the names of the books you read? Forever Changes, Revived, Songs for a Teenage Nomad, and Virtuosity

Which book did you enjoy most? Forever Changes

Which did you enjoy least? I loved them all but Virtuosity is the least "thrilling.

If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? Post more frequently and on more blogs. I only got a few visits from cheerleaders.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Next time I think I will be a cheerleader and part time reader. The staying up part is getting hard for me. I'll read while I can stay awake and cheer when I feel sleepy.

Only 3 more hours to go!

This will be my last post until the end. Thanks to everyone for visiting my blog and commenting to cheer my mother and I on. We're almost done and this little green guy is the exact representation of how I feel right now, but I will not give in! I snoozed for about 15 or 20 minutes but now I am awake and I will finish the RAT with eyelids poised, book in hand. For those of you still awake... STAY STRONG!

Currently Reading:

Books Read:

Pages Read this hour: 59

Total Pages Read: 873

Hour 20!!!!! Only 4 more!

Is anyone still awake out there???

Currently Reading:

Books Read:

Pages Read this hour: 57

Total Pages Read: 814

Snacks Consumed: Chips and Salsa

Quotes Appreciated:

Me: I'm making tea
Mom: How are you going to do it
Me: *long pause* by going out into the field and picking the tea leaves myself of course
Mom: but how are you going to make it
Me:*long pause* ...with ...water
Mom: in the microwave?
Me: *long pause* ...yes
Mom: not the coffee maker?
Me: the coffee maker can do just hot water? Because I have tea bags.
Mom: You can do it that way
Me: how would you have me make it?
Mom: in the microwave is fine.

5 minutes later she comes and tells me that she has tea k-cups for her Keurig and that's what she meant.

Mini Challenge: Book Sentence - hosted by Midnight Book Girl