This Is Where It Ends

This Is Where It Ends

A quiet rural town is getting back into routine on the first day of school. The students and teachers are gathered together in the auditorium for the principal's annual "Welcome Back" pep talk. Everything is normal, until the assembly ends and the teachers realizes that all the auditorium doors are locked from the outside.

There's a shooter in the room, and this first day of school will tear the town apart. 

I have never read a school shooting novel before. I like to read to escape real life, and unfortunately violence, hate, and bullying in schools are all over the news and social media sites. For some reason though, I picked up this book and decided to read it. It was a good choice!

This Is Where It Ends is written from four different character perspectives (with a few special sections interspersed throughout). Jumping from view point to view point normally makes the story too jerky and disjointed for my liking, but Marieke did a wonderful job of keeping her timeline in order. In fact, the timeline was one of the things I thought was brilliant. 

The entire span of the book only takes place in one hour. Each chapter is broken up by different time increments (i.e. 10:32-10:35 A.M.), so you're reading in real time. The different narrators are located in various places: inside the auditorium, outside the auditorium, outside the school, so you're able to get a full spectrum of what's going on. Brilliant. 

The plot is violent (it's all about a school shooting), and every single character feels misunderstood (typical teenager). Despite the heavy subject matter, it didn't weigh down the flow of the story too much. Marieke did a good job of balancing dark backstories with hope and determination. 

While this book isn't a new favorite that I'll reread over and over again, I am glad that I gave it a chance. It reminded me that I need to be part of the good in the world. It doesn't take much to be kind, but it can make the biggest difference in the life of someone I'm kind to.  

Title: This Is Where It Ends

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher: Sourcebooks 

Published: January 5, 2016

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble

The Story of Ferdinand

The Story of Ferdinand

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I grew up performing in musicals and plays and dance recitals, so I will always be a theatre girl at heart. Halloween gives me a reason to dress up...full-out costume.

My dog and boyfriend hate it because I make them dress up too...full-out costume.

This year our family costume was inspired by the children's book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.

I first heard about this book when watching The Blind Side, and I had to get a copy for myself.

A bull who loves flowers.
He's sent to a bullfight.
All he wants to do is smell flowers.
The End

The Story of Ferdinand is a simple story with black and white illustrations. There are no special effects, no superheroes, and no crazy villains. A classic story is timeless whether it was written 5 years ago or 50 years ago. It's nice to know that such a story has lasted the test of time. A good children's book doesn't trend, it stays consistently read by each generation.

Title: The Story of Ferdinand

Author: Munro Leaf

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap 

Published: March 31, 2011 (First published January 1, 1936)

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble

Señorita and her Matador

Olé!
(Reason #5 to never get rid of your old prom dresses.)

With our little bulls

Ferdinand the bull-dog

Life After Life

Life After Life

How do you pass the time when you're making a 12 hour round-trip drive for work...alone? 

Normally I stock up on Twizzlers and Josh Groban CDs, but this time I decided to try something new. Audio Book!

I checked out Life After Life from my local library, and I have to say it was nice company. I've never listened to a complete audio book before. I prefer the feel of having a book in my hands, to hear the character's voices how I would imagine them, and to read as much or as little as I want. 

Life After Life is the tale of one girl on a journey to get her life right, no matter how many times it takes. Through a form of reincarnation, Ursula repeatedly lives and dies throughout the book. In a game of "Is this the right choice?" Ursula's decisions lead to her drowning, dying of the plague, starving and other extreme circumstances. But as soon as her life is over, the refresh button is hit and she begins it again. What's unique is that when she is reborn, her life is the exact same but she doesn't remember any of it. 

This probably wasn't the best option for my first audio book. Life After Life involves a lot of year jumping, going from past to present and then back to the past which becomes the present. If that sounds confusing, try following it over an audio book :)

Once I got used to the time jumping, I was intrigued by the plot. It's like the choose your own adventure books I read when I was younger. One set of choices could end the story after three pages. You start over at the beginning and try a different set of pages, to find that the story lasts a little longer this time. Can you imagine living life this way? Getting third or fourth or fifteenth chances to live your life the way is was meant to be?

Life After Life shows how even the smallest decisions can have the largest impact in our life and in the course of history. What small decisions will you make today that will shape the rest of your future?

Title: Life After Life 

Author: Kate Atkinson

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Published: January 17, 2014

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble

The spring blossoms are pretty amazing right now, so I took some shots and added a few quotes from the book. Feel free to share! 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Not going to lie, what got me to pick up this book wasn't the fact that it was a New York Times #1 Bestseller. It wasn't that the series has creepily unforgettable cover photography. It was the fact that when this book is spine out it says, "YA Riggs" and that makes me ridiculously happy.

When sixteen-year-old Jacob witnesses his grandfather's murder, the creature involved in the death haunts Jacob's dreams and reality. To solve the horror behind the murder, Jacob travels to a mysterious island to uncover the truth. What he finds is Miss Peregrine, her home for peculiar children, and secrets that only time will reveal.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a unique story that ties in real (and really creepy) black-and-white photos with an equally eerie plot. There are monsters, children with supernatural powers, and time travel in every chapter. These topics aren't in my usual reading repertoire, so there were portions of the book that I was tempted to skim over. The photography that is mixed in throughout the book is engaging and so unique, but what really kept me turning the pages was the authorship.

Ransom's writing is b-eautiful!

Ransom has mastered the blending of prose and poetry so well that it didn't matter that the story was supernaturally far-fetched. I won't be reading the rest of the series because the subject matter wasn't my favorite. But I recommend you at least check out and read this first book, so you can 1) see the clever way the book is designed and 2) get a taste of Ransom's beautiful writing. 

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 

Author: Ransom Riggs

Publisher: Quirk Books

Published: 4/6/2013 

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble

Christmas Wonders

Christmas Wonders by Robyn Buttars

There are a few key things that take the holidays from "this is nice" to "favorite time of the year": warm fires, Christmas music, Harry Potter, wrapping presents, and a good Christmas book. Christmas Wonders falls into that category of classic discovering-the-true-meaning-of-Christmas story, and is a great holiday read for families. 

The main character, Luke, is a nine-year-old boy whose mother passed away a few Christmases ago. Because of her death, the holiday was never celebrated in his household, and he doesn't know what a real Christmas should feel like.

When he and his father move to a new town, Luke is surrounded by a local tradition rooted in something called Christmas Wonders. As he learns to discover his own Christmas Wonders, he takes the entire town with him on an emotional journey.

"A Christmas Wonder is something you see, hear, smell, touch, or feel that reminds you of Christmas."

I love the idea of looking around and taking mental note (or even writing it down) of all the Christmas Wonders around me. Gratitude isn't a feeling limited to Thanksgiving! 

The writing in Christmas Wonders is a typical holiday fluff story, with the perfectly wrapped with a bow ending. So, if you're in the mood for a feel-good Christmas novella, I recommend this book. It's a light read and a nice way to celebrate the holidays. 

Title: Christmas Wonders

Author: Robyn Buttars

Publisher: Familius

Published: 13/10/2015

Available: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Deseret Book

One of my Christmas wonders are the Christmas cards and holiday greetings that I get. I love getting letters and cards from friends, and I especially love the family photos. I'm reaching that age where 9 out of 10 of my friends are married and have children, so it's fun to see everyone all dolled up for their family photos. 

This year, I decided to send out my own Christmas card. Since I don't have a husband, or children, and I it didn't seem appropriate to send a selfie snapshot, I decided to do a little shoot with my fur baby Darcie. 

Here's the thing...self-portraits with a dog are pretty much impossible. If you don't believe me, try it yourself...or you can look at Darcie's face in every single one of these photos. 

But...after an hour of trying to get a good shot of both of us, we finally had a winner!

~HAPPY CHRISTMAS~