A Little TidBit

I'm not sure if I like the white instead of the grey for the background. What do you think? 

Also, I think I might make another video. Hmm. 

Things to ponder.

List!

Things I Love About Summer

1. Sunshine. Nothing is better than some authentic sunlight.

2. Time. All the extra time gives me opportunities to do the things I love.

3. Ice cream. It always tastes better in the summer. Always.

4. Vacation. It's a time when my family and I can actually spend time together somewhere beautiful and away from home. This year I get to take my best friend (:

5. Grass. I know it sounds weird, but I'm a soccer player, so it matters to me. The grass is greener, fresher, and softer in the summer. It's so heavenly.

SKYPE!

Guys, I just got a Skype!

...and I'm totally lost.

Does anyone else have a Skype? 

I would love to talk to you!

Please email me at thatonegirlemm@aol.com 

or comment,

becuase I have no idea what to do. 

Hahaha. 

Thanks!

Palace of Mirrors

Title: Palace of Mirrors

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pages: 297

Rating: B

Summary: Cecilia knows that she is not just another peasant girl; she is actually the true princess, in hiding until the evil forces that killed her parents are vanquished. A commoner named Desmia is on the throne as a decoy.

As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day.

Cecilia knows that it is time to take charge. Along with her best friend, Harper, she flees to the capital city, determined to reclaim her throne and face the danger head on.

When Harper and Cecilia reach the famed Palace of Mirrors, they discover complications: Princess Desmia believes an entirely different version of the story.

Review: Palace of Mirrors kind of suprised me. I know the author, Margaret Peterson Haddix, from her other series that I love called Among the Hidden. We read those books back in 4th grade, so its been a while since I have read any of her writing. Palace of Mirrors was great. I can absolutely say that it lived up to the reputation of Ms. Haddix's former work.

You guys probably already know that I'm a sucker for historical fiction, so this was right up my alley. Now, the book isn't really true historical fiction, because none of the events ever happened, but I count it, because it is set in a more primitive time period. The story is set in a old-timey, feudal state ruled under a monarchy. There are villages surrounding the capital which holds the regal castle, and the serfs live in surrounding poor towns. Beggars populate the city streets and farmlands ring the lowly villages. It is pretty much your average princess story in every way. I guess you could say that is why I liked it so much.

I think I like historical fiction and fantasy so much because it takes you out of this world and into a completely new place. Why would I want to read about something I can experience right now? Realistic fiction has to be GREAT for me to read it, but I can definitely sit through a lukewarm fantasy and still be interested.

I can't tell you very much about this book without spoiling it, but just know, the suspense rocks. So phenomenal. 

I think the demographic of Palace of Mirrors is totally towards girls, just with how Cecilia (don' t you love that name!? I loveee that name) deals with her problems and handles her inner perturbed self. So ladies, this is a book you will most likely want to check out if you need a quick, suck-you-into-the-story, interesting read. 

Bon appetit!

Sleepless by Terri Clark

Title: Sleepless

Author: Terri Clark

Pages: 257

Rating: 4.5/5

Summary: Eighteen-year-old Trinity Michaels has the ability to dream walk. It's a power she doesn't want, but it forever alters her life when she's unable to find an abducted teen before she's killed. While Trinity does help police capture the killer, Rafe Stevens, her involvement makes her his next target. Stevens pleads insanity and his convincing performance, aided by his despicable attorney, get him sentenced to a mental institute where a diabolical physician experiments on him. Now Rafe's escaped the sanitarium and he's after Trinity. Like her, he now has a special ability, one that allows him to stalk Trinity through her dreams. If he kills her in her sleep, she'll die for real. To survive she must find him first and the only person willing to help her is Dan Devlin, disillusioned son of the shady lawyer who knowingly aided Rafe in getting away with murder. Can she trust Dan with her safety, not to mention her heart? 

Review: The first thing I'm going to say is the cover for this book SUCKS. It has nothing to do with the book. At all. It looks all fluffy and chick-lit-ish right? WRONG. Okay so maybe its pajamas, which sort of has to do with the book, but other than that, totallllyyyy wrong. 

This is the darkest book I have ever read. It is so creepy and imaginative, it actually made me afraid. I sincerely did not want to go to sleep after reading this. 

I've never heard of lucid dreaming, or have I experienced it, but I think it would be so awesome. Just picture it! You are in the middle of a dream, and you know exactly what is happening and are aware that you are dreaming. You could do anything! The possibilities are endless. And yes, the plot was somewhat RoCom-ish at times, but I could look over the cheesiness.

I loved this book. It was so believable! And taking the concept of a murderer killing victims in their actual dreams, and making it believable, thats tough.

Well done Terri Clark. A round of applause just for you.

On the World Wide Web.

... you can find me in manyyy places. like here!

also:

twitter!

dailybooth!

youtube!

facebook!

ehh..

or not.

how do i know you aren't going to stalk me, you creepy 50 year old man? so no. no facebook. sorry!

The One by Ed Decter

Title: The One

Author: Ed Decter

Pages: 336

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary: Chloe Gamble knows three things: she's better than the tiny Texas town she grew up in; there's just one person she can trust; and she wants to be famous.

And what Chloe wants...Chloe gets.

Review: First off, I NEVER want to be a star. I didn't realize how much of a dog-eat-dog world it is in Hollywood! Nika, one of the narrators kept saying, "In Hollywood, no one ever wants to look bad," and I guess it's true. You read all these tabloids about provacative girls showing their goods to everyone in order to get ahead, and that aspect of Hollywood was protrayed perfectly in The One. 

As a reader, I loved that both Nika and Chloe told the story. Chloe brought the fierce, power-hungry side, while Nika showed up the reality of the situation. It really made the story come together in a way that I could understand. Coming from Ohio, I don't really think I could have understood everything about the industry if Nika hadn't explained it to me.

On the other hand, Mama and Travis (Chloe's twin brother) annoyed me sometimes. Through Chloe's eyes, he was so perfect and supportive, but in his emails to his friend Coop, he was obnoxious. I understand that he is just a teenage boy (he is the same age as my older brother) but come on! He was very shallow when the situation didn't have to do with Chloe or his Mama. He just bugged me..

Chloe realllly inspired me. She never stopped. And I mean NEVER. For god's sake she was a whirlwind! And pushy too. I would hate to be the executive between her and her dream. I can only hope that when I want something that badly, I will go after it with as much willpower as Chloe did. 

I only recommend this to readers who want a taste of that fast-paced Hollywood world. This is definitely NOT a fluff chick-lit book. Noo siree.

And you can be sure I will totally be reading the sequel. Without a doubt.

Mmm. mm. mmm...

Summer. While it may not be my favorite season, I love that for the most part, its absolutely stress free (: 

I have soccer and thats pretty much it. I don't have a job, except for babysitting, which I don't really count as a job because I love it so much. So my priorities are just having fun, and enjoying life. How refreshing is that.

Last summer.. last summer was lame. I mean, I was not social. At all. So I never went to the pool with friends or went to the mall. It was just bad.

I think this summer will be better! Maybe a bit more active now that I'm not in the transition from middle school to high school.

But here comes the lame..

The thing I'm most excited about is..

My AP US History assignment!!!

I am a true nerdfighter when I say this. I'm so excited to read this book. I've already read like 70 pages and I've had it a week or so. It's sooo interestingggg. I love history. Like, you have no idea how much I love it, so this is the icing on the cake for me. 

The book is:

A People's History of the United States 1492-Present by Howard Zinn

It's 688 pages of pure awesome.

Best wishes.

Free at last, Free at last!

Hallelujah!

Its done, its over! Thank god for summer (: 

So my exam grades come out to be:

English- A

Science- A (110% in the class baby! I had an 88% before the exam)

French- TBA (I took it this morning)

Photography- A (100%)

History- A (97%)

Honors Algebra II- B (which is very good, I still have an A- in the class)

Food For Fitness- A (95%)

Yayyyy! I did it! I told you I'm a good test taker (;