I'm On Hiatus for a Month or Two

Hey guys. So not many things have been busy on my blog, as I'm sure you've noticed. I am going through a period where I don't have much interest in blogging, it is too much time that I honestly don't have. I have loved blogging in the past year, but I'm going through a time where I just need to focus on myself and I cant have that extra stress in my life. 

I love blogging, I really do. And I'm sure you all know how it feels to be overwhelmed, or feel guilty, because thats what I'm feeling, I really love all my followers, you guys have been amazing. But I'm going to say goodbye, at least temporarily. I will post here and there in the next months, but don't expect weekly posts; more like bimonthly or trimonthly. 

I will definitely be around on everyone else's blogs, I'll be reading the posts and commenting, especially on my favorite blogs, but I wont have time for my own blog, you get me?

If you ever want to talk to me then you can message me on Goodreads. :)

My blogoversary is on July 13! Even though I'm going to be at camp that week, I am really excited about it, and despite the fact that I'll be on hiatus then, I am making a blogoversary post TODAY and queuing the post so that it appears on july 13, but I won't have made it on that day :)

Thank you so much for understanding! :)

I'll see all of you soon, hopefully with some great new posts, book reviews, and other bookish things. :)

Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More
by Sarah Dessen
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 384
Synopsis:

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough. Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.Emaline's mostly absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only troute to realizing her potential. Emaline is attacted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby? Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going? Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer. 

Review:

After reading The Moon and More I can say with the utmost confidence that Sarah Dessen is my favorite author of all time. Her writing is completely mesmerizing and it just gets better with every book. However, I feel that The Moon and More falls slightly short of all of Sarah Dessen's other works. This book is no This Lullaby. And while it is expected that Dessen's books can't all be as good as This Lullaby, I was a bit disappointed.

I think the thing that bothered me the most with this book was the romance. Neither of the romances were developed enough, and I didn't feel any attachment to either guy. Sarah Dessen attempted a love triangle but I didn't really like the way she went about writing it. Luke was a douchebag, of course I didn't like him, and although Theo was slightly better, their relationship was never explained very much, and it came to a dead end. At the end of the book, Emaline never said what happened with her and Theo, even though they broke up. I thought there should be some sort of closure at the end, but there wasn't. There just didn't seem to be a central plot direction. Maybe there was, and I'm just completely missing it, but I don't think so. So therefore, the romance kind of sucked.

Emaline as a protagonist was ok. Sarah Dessen's heroines usually have some sort of gusto that is different from other heroines seen in YA fiction, but Emaline is definitely at the end of the list for me. She seemed cold, rude, and I just wasn't able to make connections with her that well. I understand that she had gone through a lot, but her character was... not really relatable and obnoxious.

But, of course, reading this book was a definitely a treat. Sarah Dessen's writing is perfect, when I say perfect, I mean MORE than perfect. Each sentence was perfectly formed and fit together like a puzzle. I can't get enough of the words she writes, and despite my complaints, I was sad when this book was over. No more Sarah Dessen until...I don't know when, but not for at least a couple years. There are still some Dessen books I haven't read, so I'm definitely on those soon.

If you're hesitating to read The Moon and More, I would say that there are some legit things to be hesitant about, but if you are a Sarah Dessen fan, then go for it! Most of the reviews I see are 5-star perfect, but this just wasn't my favorite Dessen. So this might be me just being picky and you might LOVE this book.

Books- Why They Are Such An Important Part of My Life + Update

Hey guys. So what I have for you today is just a short post, about why books are so important, and a quick update. xxxx

To me, books are equivalent to something as important as my eyes. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. I think that books, too, are the window to the soul. The kinds of books you love, the pleasure you get out of reading - it's all pointing to the same place: your soul. For as long as I can remember, I have not been able to go a day without smoothing my hands over the jacket of a book, or flipping crisp pages, soaking in the words imprinted in them and all they have to offer. Books have become, in a way, like an extra limb. 

This year, as I observed more carefully my peers, I realized that about 80% of them didn't like to read, or didn't read unless they absolutely had to. For my 5th and 6th grade years, I was in a very different environment than my 7th grade year, and it astounded me that so many people were missing out on the pleasures of reading. Every time I told someone I liked to read, they looked at me oddly. "Reading?" they'd say, as if they'd never heard the word before. 

I found this to not only be weird and unfamiliar, but also sad. You can go through your entire lifetime (or, in the kids' in my class's, case, 13 or 14 years) without actually sitting down and reading a book for pleasure, and enjoying it. And I think that the book is one of the better things in life, so if you're missing out on one of the better things in life, then what are you waiting for? You must go seek that better thing in life, embrace it as if it were your friend, treasure it forever. 

Because really. Let's face it. Books are freaking awesome.

Update

So if you look around my blog you've probably noticed that some things have changed. Actually I take that back. You've DEFINITELY noticed that things have changed. I have edited my entire appearance,  my About/Contact page, and the time between posts have gotten longer and longer. I know it's annoying, I know I've been inconstant, I know that my blog sucks right now. But this summer, I promise you guys, I'll make things better. Pinky swear. :P 

That said, I am looking for feedback. I don't want just compliments. I want criticism, too. Do you hate my new blog design? Just tell me, your comments matter to me. You think I'm a sucky blogger? Rip me below. The more feedback, the better. The less feedback, the worse. 

Love ya'll, hope your June is lovely so far :)

Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless
by Hannah Harrington
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 288
Source: bought
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 5/5
Synopsis:

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret. Unt now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast--and nearly got someone killed. Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence--to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed, or even attacked is worse. But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way--people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself. 

Review:


I am totally in love. Speechless was an amazing adventure for me that I doubt I'll ever forget. I'm so thankful for all of you who persuaded me to read it, because every syllable of this book was worth reading and every ounce of it was bliss. I just loved watching this story unfold, the miraculous character development, and the sweet and subtle romance. If I hadn't been recommended this book, I think I would have overlooked it--not on purpose--but the cover is plain and white and I don't think it would have captured my attention. Now that I've read the book I love the cover but I don't think I thought that before I began the book.

Chelsea Knot is just one of those characters. Do you know what I mean? She's special, rare. Ive only come across a few characters like her in my entire time reading, and she's the best out of all of them. At the beginning I was conflicted about her. I disliked her snobbery, her want of attention, her constant insecurity, etc. But then I realized about midway through the book, "If every protagonist was perfect, than the whole existence of books would be one big lie." I loved the way that Chelsea was flawed and it made the story so much more believable.

The idea of not talking for as long as Chelsea did blew my mind. I talk a lot (sometimes too much) and it's actually sort of difficult to get me to stop talking sometimes, although it really depends on whom I'm with (my closest friends = you don't want to even go there). After I read Speechless I tried to go around not talking for a few days. But I only lasted a couple hours. But for me, that's semi-impressive. I know that what happened to Chelsea was really scarring and horrible, but I still found it amazing that she was able to go on not talking for as long as she did, considering the amount of talking she did before she went speechless.

I loved Sam so much. He wasn't hot or sexy or all of that crap that YA authors use to describe their love interests, he was just a nerdy, normal guy and I really do have a thing for guys (real and fictional) who are kind of geeky and nerdy-cute and just charmingly imperfect, so that's what made Sam so appealing to me. His character was incredibly believable, and every sentence of his made me just want to reach into the book and hug him like there was no tomorrow.

Anyway, Speechless was a truly amazing experience and I think I'll need to indulge myself with more of Hannah Harrington's writing from now on because it was absolutely mind-blowing.

It's Summer!

Happy summer to everyone, whether you have been out of school for a month, or you are still waiting a month for summer to begin! I finished school on Friday, and it's a great feeling. As I'm sure you've noticed, I've somewhat unknowingly neglected my blog the past 3 weeks, but now I am back and just remember that since it's summer, I'll have ample time to post. 

I love summertime because it means spending time in Canada with my family (in fact, we are driving up there in just a few hours). My siblings are all older than I am, by a lot, and I don't get to see them very much. My brother and sister are going to graduate school, and my other brother is going to college. I will get to see them for a few weeks this month, so I am really looking forward to that. Summer also means books, books, books. I average a book a day during the summer and that's something I'm planning to continue during the summer of 2013. 

This summer, I will be doing a few sports camps, which I am really excited about. My friend and I are coming back down to Delaware for a field hockey camp with the USA Olympic team, and I'm so excited. Then we're going to a sleepaway tennis camp in New Jersey, which I am also really excited about. I am also seeing my other friend in Rhode Island. I haven't seen her in a year, so I am more than excited about that, too. 

But mostly I will be hanging out, swimming, playing tennis, playing with my dogs, reading, and blogging. Since I have not been the most reliable poster in the world, I don't know how much I will post this summer. I could post every day, I could post once every two weeks. It all depends on my time frame and my state of mind. 

Speaking of my blog, have you noticed anything different in its appearance? I am fiddling around with the look (once again...). The old theme, although I adored it, was getting a little too old, so I am switching things around. Opinions on this one? 

Also, does anyone know how to center the blog title? I know there's a CSS code somewhere but I can't find it anywhere!

Anyway, I hope you all have/are having a lovely summer so far, and now I'm off to read my new Sarah Dessen book! Talk to you guys soon.