Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Leap Into Books Giveaway Hop!!! Enter to win bookish things...

Welcome to the Young Adult Giveaway Hop! Brought to you by the wonderful I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and also hosted by Jinky is Reading. The dates for this hop run from February 29th through March 5th (technically it is a day early, BUT, the host prefers it to happen early).


What do you have the chance to win? You may choose ONE book among the following books (shipped from The Book Depository*):



*The Book Depository must ship to your country for you to enter.


1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala
3. New Girl by Paige Harbison
4. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
5. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
6. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
7. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
9. And Then Things Fall Apart by Arlaina Tibensky

Sound good? Good! Here's the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower.
2. You must be over 15 years old.
3. This is open to international followers. (Only if The Book Depository will ship to you; please check this link to see if you are eligible.)
4. This contest runs from February 29th to March 5th.
5. You can gain extra entries by "liking" my Facebook page &/or following me on Twitter @Jess_Sankiewicz.
6. Winner will be selected at 12:01 a.m. on March 6th via Rafflecopter random selection.

Review: Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle

Title: Reasons To Be Happy
Author: Katrina Kittle
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult/Coming Of Age
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers


.

REASONS TO BE HAPPY

21. Cat purr vibrating through your skin
22. Jumping on a trampoline in the rain
23. Raw cookie dough
24. Getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie
25. Dancing like an idiot when no one is watching

What happened to the girl who wrote those things? I miss that girl. She used to be bold and fun. Now she's a big chicken loser.
How could so much change so fast?
Let's see, you could be the plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people, move to a new school, have no real friends, and your mom could get sick, and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world.
Yep, that about does it.
So, the real question is, how do I get that girl back?

~synopsis from Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

I picked this one up at the store as an impulse buy. The colorful cover caught my attention. Then the premise of a girl who wrote a list of reasons to be happy and wondered what happened to herself felt like it fit the moment I’m in right now. Caught between the person I used to be when I was younger (full of dreams and hopes and inspiration and imagination) to the person I am now (still have all the above, but it got put to the side because of adult obligations). Plus, I love lists.

This book goes much deeper than some list. It deals with HUGE issues: cancer, death, alcoholism, bulimia, peer pressure, being bullied… and Hannah had to face it all at once. She was trying to keep a sense of self and not let others dictate to her how to live. She wanted to be popular and not lose herself in the process. She keeps referring back to the list she used to write before everything changed. Where did that go? What makes you, you?

The girls at the new school were definitely mean girls (like on the movie by that name), and the guy she had a crush on, Kevin... total. complete. douche. If I ever wanted to hurt a guy, it’d be him. Her Aunt Izzy was wonderful. She knew and understood what Hannah was going through.

The list was definitely something grand. It makes you want to write a list yourself. I want to start one! The story takes a twist on you at one point, including a trip away from her home, but that’s when everything is eye-opening. Hannah learns about herself in ways she never imagined possible. Since this whole part is too important for those who haven’t read it, I won’t detail it too much. I’ll just say it was a great way to bring out who Hannah really is and it makes you love her despite all the dumb things she had done.

Reasons To Be Happy was a very good book. Katrina Kittle takes us through the eyes of one person and opens up the world of the little choices. Hannah’s little choices make you think about your own little choices. Her list makes you want to get up and do something to be happy. Everyone deserves a reason to be happy, and I think everyone needs to find it. Maybe something in Hannah’s list can trigger a positive change in your own life, or remind you of something you used to be and want to be again. In any case, it’s just a good book, check it out!


My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late

Monday, February 27, 2012

Oops, I forgot to update that...

source: http://leonhart90.blogspot.com/2011/09/too-many-words-dedicated-to-simpsons.html
Remember when I was talking about being a perfectionist? The weird thing is, I’m not always like that. If you would take a look at my room right now, you would find boxes and plastic totes stacked up along with wall art leaning up against it. How can I stand it? I couldn’t tell you. It bothers me to no end to see my room in disarray but somehow I tolerate it.

When it comes to my blog, I’ve spent a lot of time organizing and changing things. I am actually pretty happy with the way it has turned out. There are still some things that could use some work but I don’t have the patience (or technological knowledge) for it.

One thing that I am the worst at is keeping up with my tabs and reviews on other sites. I’ll have a giveaway going on and forget to post a link to it in my Giveaways tab. Then I’ll forget to take it down when it’s over. When I schedule a review on here, I try to post it on Goodreads when it goes live. I remember to do this maybe half the time. I’m in a constant state of facepalm trying to remember to post everything when it needs posting.

So! I’ve decided to get more organized. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down all my reviews on it, including ones I’ve finished but haven’t posted on this site. I included along the edges spots to check off for when I’ve posted the reviews on every subsequent site I want them on (adding them to Amazon and B&N is a good thing to do, especially for the indie authors, also Smashwords where possible). This way I can (eventually) get caught up, then once I am, I can take the checklist with me when I log on to mark it off as I schedule reviews. I’m also going to do the same with my tabs--another paper with a checklist to go over every morning I log on to link everything and update finished books on my challenges, etc.

How do you guys remember to post everything where it needs to be posted? Do you keep your blog tabs up to date or get to it sometime later when you think about it?

~Jessica

Friday, February 24, 2012

On My Mind, Question Of The Moment, & Inspired Creations

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/01/28/dude-4/
When I was thinking about the end of this month coming and getting my blog back to normal, I came up with a few ideas. Okay, I already had the ideas, but I came up with a different approach. Originally, I wanted to just do some random and bookish and fun posts. Now? I want to make them into mini personal memes. Not necessarily always weekly or monthly memes. More like, sometimes on certain days, but sometimes when the mood strikes me. I may change my mind about that later, for now, I want to be flexible and see where it takes me.

Below are the ideas I want to do. Read about them. I'd like to know what you think!


"On My Mind"

The idea behind "On My Mind" is just that--talking about what's currently on my mind, bookish or not. If I'm having an obsessive day (regarding Gossip Girl or Castle), I'll talk about my obsession. If I've discovered a new band or can't stop listening to a song, I'll share a video of it. If I've been thinking about a certain reading or writing issue, I'll talk about it. There are just those times when I want to go off on something I like or don't like and just write something completely off topic.


"Question Of The Moment"

I write a lot of articles about writing, blogging, and reading topics. I want to also do some mini segments, posing questions that are book/writing related, give a short answer, and open it up for my readers to answer. Sometimes I just sit around wondering what other book lovers and writers think, and this seems to be a little way to find out. Don't worry though--I'll still have my longer posts on different bookish topics.


"Inspired Creations"

Remember when I guest posted on Alison Can Read with Twilight Inspired Jewelry? I had so much fun putting that together that I want to make more of them. Etsy is completely full of all things handmade and inspired. I've got some possibilities in mind, book series related and otherwise. I love to look through all those things, and sometimes I get tempted enough to buy them. Maybe I'll even be inspired enough to make some things too.


So... what do you think? Do they sound fun to you?

~Jessica

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Update Thursday #47

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
~none~

Books I'm reading now (and some still):

145 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (33 this week)

Writing...

I was able to accomplish a lot more than expected. I'm heading into the fourth chapter now and I'm surprised at how excited I'm getting. Writing during NaNo can really get the information out there, and while it doesn't always have every detail the way you want it (like you decide halfway through to make your MC's sister her stepsister instead and you add in an alternate backstory), you at least have multiple scenarios and wording to work with.

Also, the thesaurus has become my BFF. We're going to have lunch together today. While I do love all my thesauruses (I am a collector of various thesauruses and dictionaries, I love words), Flip Dictionary is my favorite. One of the most useful aspects of it is how it includes lists of words by subject. For example, there's a list of different types of phobias (listed under "Fear, types of") and what each of them means (like the fear of heights is called "acrophobia"). There's also loads of medical terminology, color names (for different shades), fruit names (for different kinds within each type), and more. Long story short, it's chock full of info that can make all the difference in getting the right details out there. I love it.


Otherwise...


Ellen Hopkins had a new book cover reveal! It's a YA companion novel to her adult novel Triangles called Tilt. I love how gorgeous and simple her covers are. The coolest part? It's holographic. Awesome squared. Here's a link to the cover reveal article.

My brain feels like it's on overdrive. I'm working on my online selling and I actually have several orders going on at once, including a commission (crochet mini scarves). I need to get to the post office today before they close for lunch to ship a couple packages. At work, we're combining the card shop into the pharmacy, so I've been running around like a madwoman moving sections of the store and condensing (I sure hope that all I did yesterday made me lose at least a pound!). Plus I'm trying to make time to write, and kinda pushing the reading aside a little bit... so, I'm probably getting behind on the year. *sigh* I need a break from my break. LOL. It'll all be looking up soon though. Spring is coming, and then summer. And hopefully by then I'll be done with my revisions.


Until next time...

~Jessica

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Review: The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

Title: The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkins
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

.
Mara wakes up from a coma with no memory of the accident that caused the deaths of her best friend, boyfriend, and boyfriend's sister. The doctors tell her parents that starting over in a new state and a new school will be good for her and that she should let the memories come back on their own. But Mara's new start is anything but comforting when she sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and her world starts to fall apart. She begins to see people's deaths just before they happen--at least that's what she thinks she's seeing. On top of that, the most beautiful boy ever is pursuing her, but his intentions may not be so pure....
Part thriller, part paranormal, this hotly anticipated debut novel will have readers on the edge of their seats.

~synopsis from Goodreads


My Thoughts:

Wow.

For months I tried and tried to NOT buy this. I knew it was going to be really good. But I had too many other books that I need to finish first, so I kept putting it off... until I caved in and splurged to buy this beauty. I was right, it was insanely amazing. I was continually on the edge of my seat… because of what was happening at the moment, curious as to what was going to happen next. Wondering what is real and what is imagined. You’re constantly interested. It’s not like a story that has slow moments (well, maybe a couple but it's short lived). It’s always moving, always changing, always keeping you guessing.

Mara is remembering things from the night everything went wrong. Only she remembers them in short bursts, never enough to completely understand what lead to that inevitable moment, just snippets. And in all this, she’s barely able to feel anything when she can’t understand. She keeps seeing things, hallucinating, the walls and ceiling collapsing, seeing the friends that died that night. Mara is at a new school, trying to start over, but it all keeps coming back to her. Her parents are concerned about her, especially after a few incidents and seeing how much she’s not herself so she goes to a psychiatrist and receives help for her visions and hallucinations.

At this new school are two types of people--people who have it out for her (and you want to punch their faces for it), and people who want to be around her. One of them being Noah. Sensational, utterly sexy Noah Shaw. Oh yes, I see it now everyone. I see what it is about him. Talk about wowsa. I just kept reading his words in an English accent (ala Ed Westwick) and I was swooning. What is it about those bad boys?! AUGH!!! I loved Noah! And their banter. Oh that banter. It was like Gossip Girl.

When it comes to other people in Mara's life, her brothers were so sweet and cool. So was Mara’s other friend Jamie. One of those awesome guy friends that you just love for being a good friend. I love those kinds of guys.

There is just TOO MUCH to say about this book. Too much. But I'm trying really hard not to give too many details away, because that's what makes this story so amazing. There are so many little things that add up to the biggest of things in the end. So intriguing and scary and thrilling all at once. I’d definitely (DEFINITELY) recommend The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer because it will keep you hanging on to every single word.  And that cliffhanger ending? So frustratingly fall out of your chair perfect. What a story… I cannot wait until Michelle Hodkins gives us book number two!


My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Update Thursday #46

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
Beautiful by Amy Reed (TBR Pile Challenge)

Books I'm reading now (and some still):

112 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (23 this week)

Writing...

I started this list of my favorite things and dream things (things I would love to have someday, like a literal library room, etc). What does this have to do with my writing? Well, it's for the sake of adding authenticity to my main character. I want to take things I love and incorporate them into my books. I've already done so a little bit here and there, but it needs more.


Otherwise...


I have this new found gif obsession. I blame Wetpaint for their awesome spoiler pages for my favorite shows--specifically Gossip Girl and Castle. On the GG page, they posted a gif of Dan/Blair (from Monday's preview of next week, HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER, how much I loved Monday's episode) and it made me want to look up MORE. So, I've collected a few fun ones. I want to share them, but don't want to be a spoiler of awesome shows. Here's one to tease you all that's found on this site here (I'd post the name of the site, but my blog is PG).


Until next time...

~Jessica

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Source: Purchased
Genre: Dystopian
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister Primrose, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

You know those books where you stay up late in an attempt to finish them only to look at the clock and see that it’s 4 AM and you can’t keep reading even though you feel like you need to finish it because you have to get up early the next day and then you fall asleep and start dreaming that you’re in the book and it makes you so anxious that you can barely sleep?

This was that book for me.

Writing a review for The Hunger Games at this point is almost difficult. I’d say that at least 75% of YA book bloggers (I’m trying to be reasonable in my estimate since I know some have chosen to not read it for whatever reason) have already read and reviewed this one themselves. So instead of going all in depth with the story, I’m going to talk about other aspects.

First off, I will have to stress how amazed I was at it. I went into the book expecting one thing but getting something else entirely. I misinterpreted what some of the story was going to be like. Yeah, I understood the premise, I just had a different idea of how the Hunger Games would be handled. I expected it to be like a gladiator arena. It was definitely not like that and the details of the scene of the game were much more interesting. I could literally picture the area, it was a compilation of several places I’ve been (mostly backyards of people I know and a video game arena, oddly enough) all meshed up into one bizarre world.

The background of the way the society is, and the way Katniss must live every day was overwhelming. When there’s something like that, something completely inhumane and wrong and unjust about a life someone is forced into living, it makes me irritable and frustrated. I wanted nothing more than to fix it all, but you can’t. You just can’t. Which is what’s so great about the book. This inner conflict to keep up appearances for the sake of your own life. It is intense.

source here
Katniss and Peeta. Wow. It’s funny, going into it I knew something was going to happen with them. I also knew that there was going to be a “love triangle” between her and Gale as well. And, unlike some people, I can see how there’s a possibility of her and Gale, because I do romanticize the whole “we grew up together” relationships. Then when everything starts to come out with Peeta before and during the games, your mind begins to switch and you start to fall for him. And you want Katniss to fall for him. It’s just brilliant, the romance.

In the end, you’re just BEGGING to read more. You want to know what happens next so badly that it makes you squeal. The Hunger Games is tremendous. It’s one of those books that can stand the test of time. It’s one of those books that epitomizes the dystopian genre. And it’s one of those books that I can’t wait to read the sequel to as soon as possible. Suzanne Collins has created an amazing tale. Now we’ll see how amazing it is on the big screen.


My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM

Monday, February 13, 2012

Perfection and the Writer: A Modern Day Tale

source: https://www.facebook.com/Garfield
I’m a perfectionist. I know it, I accept it. And apparently I’ll blog about it.

The problem with being a perfectionist is wanting to be perfect all the time. Can a person be perfect all the time? Hardly. We wouldn’t have the phrase Epic Fail unless we were imperfect. Hence the problem.

The perfection tendency comes from my upbringing. I spent a lot of time in artistic pursuits striving for the best. I remember a time period when I was obsessed with drawing horses. I drew what I still hold to be one of the greatest sketches I’ve ever drawn of a horse. Did I achieve “the best”? Yes, I’m pretty sure I did. At what cost though? My time.

I spent hours poring over photographs of horses in books I borrowed from the library. Once I selected a photograph to sketch (I don’t do well sketching without some sort of visual reference in front of me), I would spend hours upon hours sketching. And erasing. And sketching some more. Scrunched nose, crossed eyes. What do I get for it? One measly sketch that sits in a sketchbook that resides (somewhere) in my room. Does that mean I’m not proud of the sketches? No, I’m very proud of them. When you accomplish something difficult, you feel really good about it. I always got that little flutter of happiness when I finished a sketch and it looked like what I wanted it to. I have to admit, though, that I lived for those moments. That feeling was like a drug almost.

That desire hasn’t gone away. It’s not a bad desire to have. What desiring that feeling has lead to, however, is the problem with perfection.

Prior to participating in NaNoWriMo, I spent far too much of my time correcting my mistyped letters and punctuation. It drove me nuts to look at a misspelled word. Whenever I would hit a standstill, I would go back and reread sections and fix them so they sound good. After NaNo, I realized that I can let these things go for the moment and edit later. But, it’s hard. The perfectionist in me keeps wanting to go back and fix the mistakes. And nine times out of ten, I go back.

I also contend with not knowing all that I need to know to continue. In my WIP, the MC is struggling with whether she wants to be a nurse like her mother wants or not. Back in the day when I was fresh out of high school, I was thinking about becoming a nurse. I ended up changing my mind before I got far. So, there are a lot of things I don’t know about schooling necessary to become a nurse. I didn’t do any research before NaNo, so many of the details in my story are based on my limited knowledge on the subject. As I’m working on the revision, I get to the parts where discussing nursing is necessary and get frustrated. Why? Because I don’t know enough about being a nurse to explain these things. The perfectionist in me keeps wanting to do more research to get the details right. And it never feels like enough.

Sometimes as a writer, you’re going to struggle with perfection. It is what you want your finished product to be, or at least, you want it as close to perfection as you can get it. While initially writing, you have to realize that you can’t achieve perfection immediately. After edits upon edits, you will have a more and more polished draft. Sometimes your facts won’t be straight. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. I mean, look at television and movies--do they always get the details right? No, they don’t.

It’s something I’m probably going to stress over for the rest of my writing career. Maybe once I get through this first book, I may rest easier. Focus on the writing, then worry about the edits. Do all the research I need to, then make sure to get a beta reader that’s a nurse. There’s so much more to say when it comes to perfection (you have no idea how long it took me to write and finish this article), but we’ll leave it for next time. In the meantime, if you’re a perfectionist like me, take some solace in knowing you’re not alone.

~Jessica

Friday, February 10, 2012

~Tagged By Jenny~


I've been tagged by Jenny! So, I'm going to answer the questions...
but not follow the rules and tag more people because I'm a rebel like that.

Rules
1. You must post the rules.
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!

Here are the questions from Jenny:

1. What is something you dread?
~Series finales.
2. What is your favorite food?
~Stuffing. And chocolate Nestle Smarties. (Unavailable in the US, which is a bummer)
3. What kind of car was your first car?
~Dodge Shadow.
4. Picture taker or camera hog?
~I used to take pictures A LOT, then my camera started to act up and I stopped carrying it with me. I should get back to taking pictures (since it's working again) because I miss it.
5. Do you have any pets?
~We've got 2 dogs (Jake and Rusty) and 1 cat (Max, seen at the top of this post).
6. What would you do if you got to meet your movie star crush?
~Honestly, I have no idea. I'm shy with strangers, and my heart races when I think about it. I'd be lucky to be standing on two feet. It's probably something I need to work on. Especially since I hope to meet this guy someday.
7. What would you do if you met your literary crush?
~I'd probably get giggly and wake up from my dream, lol.
8. Socks on or off when you sleep?
~Off. But, seriously, I only wear socks when I have to wear shoes. I hate socks.
9. What book(s) have you been mad enough to throw across the room?
~I remember really hating this book a long long time ago when I first started reading YA. But there were a lot of really lame books I read back then.
10. What book(s) have you hugged to your chest in love?
~Probably And Both Were Young recently, and Anne Of Green Gables when I was a kid.
11. What was the name of a childhood stuffed animal?
~Boon. First it was a white bunny named Bunny, then we named her Bun, then Boon. Then she turned into a cat. It's a really long story. Good story (funny too), but long.



~Jessica

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Update Thursday #45

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
Beautiful by Amy Reed (TBR Pile Challenge)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (TBR Pile Challenge)

89 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (5 this week)

Writing...

Instead of working on the next chapter, I decided to work on a FUN scene. You know which one that would be. (*wink wink nudge nudge*) I started with the spot leading up to it and then hit the moment when it initially happens. As I was writing it, I realized that I needed to add more to what was going on around them. So I'm going to start a page in my notebook to come up with descriptive words and details of what's going on in different scenes. My scene just felt like it was lacking substance. It was too focused on the MC and her thoughts. Difficult part of writing in first person. Plus, I'm more of an emotion person than an observer. And this needs to change.


Otherwise...


I have a new obsession. It's the TV show Castle... AND... Nathan Fillion. I just found out last night that he's on Twitter. Needless to say, it made my day. I've been spending a little bit more of my free time catching up to the current season so I can watch like a real fan in real time. Thank goodness for Hulu!

Watching Castle has been great for my writing. They're constantly talking about writing and stories. I ended up picking up one of my books on mystery writing and think once I finish my first couple novels, I'll try my hand at a mystery.


Until next time...

~Jessica

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Review: Portal by Imogen Rose

Title: Portal
Author: Imogen Rose
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

.
Come Find Me Two Years Ago...

Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension.

She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it's a life she's always lived in.

Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens.

As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. .

PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed.

PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, romance, and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona's quest for answers.
~synopsis from Goodreads


My Thoughts:

The entire premise of this story almost guarantees a thrilling adventure. There’s a mystery, Arizona trying to understand what is happening to her. She’s suddenly thrust into this alternate life without any memory of how things got to be this way. Her life is completely different--her location, her school, her hair, the parent she lives with. She has a brother, Harry, that she never knew, a boy named Kellan she supposedly grew up with, and instead of being a hockey player that hangs out with the boys--she’s a cheerleader with blonde hair and fake nails.

Arizona pieces together what she gathers from the people around her. Even though she knows she has a different persona to keep in place, she decides to sign up for hockey. Harry and Kellan are both on the team, so this proves to be quite a task--especially when something seems to be drawing her to Kellan. It feels natural despite not knowing who he is. When she least expects it, she is cornered and beaten up by someone she used to know. Arizona knows that they know she’s on to what’s going on.  But what is going on? Why is she here and not with her father? Why can’t she find her father or any trace of the life she used to live?

I really liked Arizona. She’s not the typical girl, she is tough. She tries very hard to stay true to herself without giving herself away. Harry was a sweet and protective brother, and Kellan was a pretty good guy. Arizona’s mom wasn’t someone I wanted to root for. There was something hidden and you always knew she had something to do with it.

I liked the whole confusion aspect, and the way relationships developed and were handled by Arizona. I was a little irritated with the in between chapters told in the third person to get details on how things became the way they are. I get it, some things can’t be completely understood just from Arizona’s point of view. To me, it kind of took away from the mystery of the story. Here Arizona doesn’t know what’s going on, but the reader knows all the details. It would have been nice to learn this information at the same time Arizona finds out at the end.

I have to admit that as much as this should be fairly easy to take in, I found myself confused in several spots. Sure, I understood the basics. But since it went back and forth and dragged out in a couple spots, I got lost. It’s almost like when you watch The Lake House and try to understand it but it takes a few views before things make sense. With all the confusion, Arizona’s choices were strange but seemed to make sense in the end. The very end concluded oddly and trailed off to keep someone interested in the sequel.

Portal was a decent read. It was intriguing, but took so long to get there. I’m not saying I hated it. I give it an A+ for being interesting. The story was just one of those stories that for some people can be hard to follow. It’s not among the genre I normally flock to, it has science fiction elements in it that I’m not used to. There was so much to take in, and I think the cup got so full it spilled over and I couldn’t take in much more. Imogen Rose does a good job keeping the mystery alive as seen in Arizona’s eyes. I am undecided as to whether I’ll read the next books in the series or not. I suppose it will come down to my own curiosity more than anything else.


My Rating:

Pretty Good: Stay up until your bedtime

Sunday, February 5, 2012

In My Mailbox #16: January Edition

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

It's where we post about the latest books we've purchased, gotten from the library, or received for review... it doesn't necessarily have to be ones you got in the mail. Although a lot of mine DO come from my mailbox. :)

I got almost all the books I need for the Classics Challenge. I also took advantage of the Barnes & Noble 50% off YA books and got a few (my cart was twice as big before I thinned it down). I was a very good girl this month. ;)


Amazon, B&N, Online Store, or Other Store:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Retail Hell by Hall Freeman
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Babysitter Murders by Janet Ruth Young
Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
And Then Things Fall Apart by Arlaina Tibensky
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Nook Book: 

Within by Clare C. Marshall

Won:

Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupula (which included bookmark swag and a sweet personalized note from Holly!)


So! What did you get in YOUR mailbox?

~Jessica

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Update Thursday #44

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading...

Books I finished this week:
~none~

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
Beautiful by Amy Reed (TBR Pile Challenge)
Reasons To Be Happy by Katrina Kittle (TBR Pile Challenge)

84 of 1026 E.E. Cummings poems finished (31 this week)

Writing...

Believe it or not... I sat down and revised at least half the second chapter. *everyone passes out* I am so proud of this. Accomplishing anything at this point is insane. I'm thinking of setting a goal in February to finish revising half of my novel. I don't think it's too far out of reach, I just need to utilize more of my free time.


Otherwise...


Just in case anyone notices or discovers this... I decided to check out Wordpress for my blog to see if it would be advantageous. I'm finding it's not as great as everyone keeps trying to make it out to be. It's not user friendly, I get lost all the time, I can't figure out where certain things are... All I have to do is look at my Blogger tabs and know where I need to go and do what. Not only that, but I would have to PAY MONEY to get a theme that works with my blog. The free ones SUCK. Even though I'm hearing all these things all over the blogosphere about how Blogger is not safe to have your blog on because there's a clause somewhere that says they can remove your blog at any time, but Wordpress doesn't do that... I don't want to make the switch.

But, I don't want to lose my blog either. So, I did import my Blogger blog to Wordpress as a backup. You can take a look at my backup HERE. Save it if you want, but it will just be a repeat of this blog, unless this blog does get deleted someday.


Until next time...

~Jessica

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Thoughts... at some point in the day anyway...

source: http://cheezburger.com/View/4147995904

Yeah, I'm a little out of it, and at the moment it is evening, but not one in the morning. Ah, so this post. Well, I've been thinking. Thinking about everything: my blog, my writing, my job, etc.

I'm going to start this with a question: Do you ever feel like you're at a crossroads? Because I feel like I'm at this perpetual crossroads and all I'm doing is running in circles. To be honest with my readers, I've been under a lot of stress lately. It's a combination of everything that encompasses my life. I won't get into the details of my personal problems (which aren't necessarily problems, more like frustrations). I just need to express myself a little.

I'm a blogger who loves to read and write. I want to keep up with my challenges. I want to write my book. I want to keep up with my favorite TV shows. I want to reopen my Etsy shop. I want to find a new job. I want to take a vacation. Scratch that, I need to take a vacation. I'm finding it hard to make time for everything I would like to do. Because of all this stuff I try to keep up with, and all this stuff I want to do, I keep going from these happy highs to these mopey lows. I feel like I'm wasting time and gaining momentum at the same time. Thinking about it gives me an enormous headache. I try to be in two places at once, but that only gives 50% of me to each place. Sometimes I feel like I've overbooked myself. Chances are, I probably did.

Don't get me wrong--my blog is probably one of the best things I've done. I wouldn't have met such sweet, respectful, honest, and awesome people without it. I also wouldn't have discovered as many upcoming books on my own. Even though the list to be read has grown dramatically, I'm still happy for the variety. Another thing my blog has lead me to (or back to) is my love of writing. I doubt I would have ever bothered with NaNoWriMo without it.

I feel like there is a lack of balance in my life. I feel that I need to come up with a new plan. A new agenda. I feel like going back to that crossroads to find the right path. Not completely change direction, just reevaluate everything. It's like I said on my "About Me": Currently in the midst of her quarter-life-crisis yet getting very close to reaching an epiphany. That's probably hitting the nail on the head right there. I'm still in the middle of childhood and adulthood and there's just so much to fit into so little time, you know?

source: http://pinterest.com/pin/7881368067378097/

On that note, just to let you know, February is going to be a transition month for me. I'll still be posting, just probably not as much. I want to focus more of my energies on my story and reorganizing everything else (including my TBR list and my Etsy shop). Part of this reorganization will also be my blog postings. When I write them, I spend far too much time on them (so much wasted energies in the striving of the perfect blog post; speaking of which, expect a blog post on that posted soon). I'll be back with a new weekly and monthly format at some point in March (most likely mid-month). Which will be just in time for my blogoversary on March 21st!

Thanks for taking the time to read through this if you did (huge hugs for those of you who did!). I know it was very long and probably very boring. I just needed to say it, get it all out there.

And now it's time to go and take care of business. Much love to everyone!

XOXO~Jessica

Winners of the Young Adult Giveaway Hop AND Blue Sky Days are...

 
.....(drumroll please).....

CONGRATULATIONS
Devon Ashley
You just won a YA book of choice from my list!

 I'll be sending you an email to confirm which book you would like.
~~&~~
CONGRATULATIONS

Jessica S.

  You just won a copy of Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry
 I'll be sending you an email shortly and get you in touch with the author for your copy.
 

Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway! You guys are spectacular. I don't know what I would do without you wonderful and lovely people. *many hugs*

~Jessica