3 Fictional Schools I Would Love To Go To

School is boring. You know what it needs? THE MAGIC OF THE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE.

MAGIC

*IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER*

Hogwarts from Harry Potter

If Hogwarts isn't on your list for this kind of thing then you're lying to yourself. Who hasn't taken a Which-House-are-you-in test (I'm Ravenclaw BTW) or just wanted to have magic? I would love to have magic. And Hogwarts is just beautiful and I like the riddles and the paintings that move. Screw education there I would just stare at the building the whole time and it'd be FANTASTIC.

Castle Heights High School from Robin Palmer's books

It's a fairy tale high school! Fairy. Tale. High. School. "And all your dreams will come true." Wouldn't that be fantastic? A school filled with magical tales and Prince Charmings and happy endings? ENROLL ME. 

Me if I got accepted to Castle Heights

Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality from Finishing School.

It's always been a struggle for me to kill people with elegance and grace, so I think that I would really benefit from attending this Academy. Plus, it floats. It's a dirigible in the sky that teaches me how to fancily kill people. What's not to like?

But yes. Why can't those schools exist in real life??

Sincerely,

Owyn the Intern

POST SCRIPT

I have never killed anyone. I was being sarcastic above. Not about going to the school. I still want to go to the school.

ARC Review: What I Thought Was True

NOTE: This is a review of an ARC that is due to be published in April of next year. Whooo!

Damn, Huntley Fitzpatrick is back with another awesome summer romance because her new book What I Thought Was True was more than I could have ever hoped for.

This book is about Gwen Castle, a poorer girl in a working class family, worries about her future and her relationships with her family, friends, and the rich boy Cassidy Somers over the course of her summer. (Better summary on Goodreads)

I liked this book a lot. I have a lot of reasons to think so, like it was amazingly well-written, it was hilarious, and it touched on important points so I SHALL EXPLAIN THEM TO YOU.

*GONNA TRY NOT TO SPOILER BECAUSE THE BOOK WON'T BE OUT FOR A WHILE AND THAT IS NOT FAIR TO YOU PEOPLE*

One of the main things I liked about the book is that the characters were so well-rounded. Some of them were great people who did great things, some of them were bad people that did bad things, some were good people who did bad and some were bad who did good. AND THAT'S SO INTERESTING. It made reading the book so interesting and it made the characters so human because you rooted for these dynamic characters even though they made mistakes. And, there were kind of flashbacks where Gwen looks back on what she did and it shows what she thinks now, and it was almost like two POVs and it was done very well.

Plus, all the mistakes being made gave the book a certain cringe factor. But Fitzpatrick made the cringe factor good and fun.

This is what I visualize when I think of "cringe factor"

I also like the fact that the book had a moral, without being annoying about it. I'd say the main question posed was "Do you speak up if you witness something bad, or do you shut up?" I think this is important because I consider myself very honest, but I've never had the consequences of honesty. And I think it's important to explore it. Fitzpatrick did a great job weighing the pros and cons, then showing the benefits or consequences of the actions.

This thing is pleased by how Fitzpatrick handled this. And so am I.

There were other things I liked, but the last thing on this list was the romance. It's so hard to explain without revealing too much, but I really really liked and appreciated the romance in this book. It wasn't some silly romance novel (like the ones they happened to make fun of in this book,) there were mistakes and outside influence and sex was a thing but it wasn't a be-all-end-all thing. I loved it.

HAPPY DANCE IT OUT

Yeah this book is awesome. Definitely buy it when it comes out. 88 out of 89 Starfish. Because I said so ;)

Farewell!

Owyn

Trilogy Review: "Summer"

NOTE: This is a review of a trilogy I re-read over the summer, and originally read like 3 years ago or something but I figured this series deserved a blog post.

So this is a review of the "Summer" trilogy by Jenny Han, and the books include The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer.

Now my feelings vary on each book, so I'm just going to divide the review into the three parts. But I'm going to start with the overall praise.

Han. Can. Write. She captured this voice so elegantly, of this girl with a long-time crush on a family friend while struggling with death, adolescence and puberty. While, as an author and a book reviewer, I liked the story... my fangirl side struggled with it.

*PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR SPOILERS AND ALL-CAPS EMOTIONS*

The Summer I Turned Pretty

This one is definitely my favorite. Han wove this story really well, and I was instantly enrapt with the characters and felt for them. I wanted Susannah to live, I wanted Belly to date Jeremiah because I considered him better for her, and I just wanted everything to work out for the characters. You know when books do that and you just care for the characters so much you just want everything to be okay for them? I definitely felt that in the is book. Plus, she did this great thing where she wrote it in the present but then interspersed flashbacks during the different times she lived in the house. I found them really fun to read because it provided such amazing context to the people in the book. I loved it.

350 Jingle Bells out of 355.

This book attacking me with its emotion-causing things

It's Not Summer Without You

I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't exactly like this one as much as the first one. But I did still enjoy it. There was sexual tension and drama and angst and I think Han did a great job again writing it. And it had smatterings of another POV, and that POV happened to be Jeremiah's, which made me very happy. I was really happy when Belly started dating him instead of Conrad. Because Conrad was annoying. I may be the only one, but I was totally fed up with Conrad's bullshit. And I really wanted her to be with Jeremiah... but I'll get to that... I will say, I liked the book a lot.

340 Jingle Bells out of 355

Me with Conrad

We'll Always Have Summer

Okay this book bothered me. Not because it was poorly written or something like (just the opposite, but I'll get to that) but because of the ENDGAME SHIP. Endgame is the couple that "wins" in the end, and that couple happens to be Belly and Conrad. I never wanted them together. But at the same time, and this is why I find myself frustrated with the book, HAN MAKES JEREMIAH CHEAT ON BELLY. I automatically hate it when that happens and no longer ship the ship. So I really wish that hadn't happened. At the same time, I was really annoyed with the fact that Conrad refused to see Belly as a potential girlfriend until she started seeing other people because I find that pretentious. If I can be completely honest, I hoped that she ended up with someone completely different. But that wouldn't be as satisfying as her choosing between the love angle of the Fisher brothers so I AM VERY CONFLICTED AND CONFUSED ALSO NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED YET I DON'T HATE IT DAMMIT.
320 out of 355

Accurately describes my emotions: Confused and Majestic ;)

TL;DR I actually really recommend just reading the entire series in one sitting because it's really well-written and very realistic and tells a good story.

So yeah.

Have a lovely day!

Owyn

5 Books That Made Me Go WTF

NOTE: This is not necessarily a bad thing. Unless it is. I shall explain which book is which. And the only order these are in is the order I organized them.

Do you ever read a book and just become confused? Like you don't know what you just read or you couldn't even explain the plot to someone without fucking it up because you can't even explain it to yourself? Or maybe the book was just INTENSE and your brain is just WAPOW-SHKK-BOOM (mind explosion)? And these aren't necessarily bad.

What is bad if the plot and the characters went nowhere and you're left with this empty feeling of WTF because you wasted your time.

*SPOILERS AHEAD SHIELD YOUR EYES HIDE THE CHILDREN AND I'M SORRY FOR BEING A BIT MEAN IT'S THE BOOK'S FAULT OR MY FAULT FOR BEING YOUNG WHEN I READ THEM IDK*

Deadly Little Secrets (The entire series really but I only read up to 3 I think) by Laurie Faria Stolarz. These books weren't bad, they were just HELLA CONFUSING AND INTENSE. I read them around 4-5 years ago and I still get a chill from them. I just didn't understand the whole psychometric abilities thing as a part of the plot (my fault I know) but also, that suicidal aunt as being another POV? That part was just weird to me. And, personally, I found it out of place.

Take Me There by Susane Colasanti. Normally, Colasanti doesn't disappoint me. Most of the time, I enjoyed her books. But this book I felt was just a complete waste of my time. The characters were whiny and three POVs was too much and the plots were bad and there was a FUCKING STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE JUST NO. Her other books are fine, just this one was awful.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters by Gail Giles. I HAVE HAD YEARS TO PONDER THIS BOOK AND I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED. All I know is I didn't like it. It may have been because I read a 13+-ish book when I was like 9 but I didn't understand. Was it the sister? What was that last page even about? What the hell happened?

AND IT MAKES ME ANGRY

Vixen by Jillian Larkin. I couldn't even finish this book. I couldn't stand the characters, the plot was contrived and it was ultimately a disappointment. I was really excited to read it because YAY FLAPPERS THE 20s AWESOME TIMES but the no. It wasn't interesting and I went like 50 pages before I was just done.

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. Here's the gif to express my emotions:

I DIDN'T EVEN REALLY READ THIS SERIES I READ THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS AND THEN I SCARRED MY 13-YEAR-OLD SELF USING WIKIPEDIA SYNOPSES! WHAT HAS BEEN VISUALIZED IN MY MIND-UTERUS CANNOT BE UNSEEN. THERE'S INCEST AND BLOOD DRINKING AND POISON I JUST COULDN'T I CAN'T.

So yeah. That's that.

I need to go calm down.

Bye!

Owyn

Book Review: Boy Meets Boy

NOTE: This is a book. Yay for books!

SALUTATIONS. Today I am talking about David Levithan's book Boy Meets Boy, which is about a gay teen named Paul who lives in an awesome, quirky town and his relationships with friends, crushes and exs.

*No Major Spoilers*

I've read a couple of Levithan's stuff. There are books like Dash and Lily's Book of Dares which I enjoyed to Will Grayson, Will Grayson which I would say is one of my favorite books.

 So, going into this book, I had some high expectations.

And I heavily, thoroughly enjoyed it! WHOOHOO

Here are the reasons why:

It's fucking hilarious. Levithan does such a great job in incorporating humor into his novels. It's not overt and annoying or minor and odd. I was reading this in class and I damn near snorted I was laughing so hard.

THE VOICE. TEH VOICE. Paul's voice is just amazing. He tells the story with such an understanding-confusion of everything and I don't know how Levithan mastered this, but he did. And it is wondrous.

The characters are better than people in real life. But the best part is, they're going through such normal stuff but they're so much BETTER at it. And they're funny and interesting, and if I didn't love them then I appropriately hated them which is JUST AS FUN.

The town should be real. Unfortunately for my hopes and dreams, the setting for Boy Meets Boy is a fictional, accepting and just plain great. A drag queen who goes by Infinite Darlene is the star quarterback. The cheerleaders have harleys. The Boy Scouts disbanded from the actual Boy Scouts for not letting gay people in so they renamed themselves the Joy Scouts. I am a ball of happiness.

Noah and Paul for the win. I loved them. Loved them. I ship them so hard. No spoilers so sorry but this gif sums up how I feel:

Yes. This book. Yes. Read. 237 photos out of 238. Yes.

SINCERELY,

Owyn

Book Review: Unbreakable

NOTE: This was an ARC but I finished it after it got published.

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia (the author who did the Beautiful Creatures series) is about a girl named Kennedy who's mother is killed by a spirit and she's saved by these twins Jared and Lukas and recruited to help them destroy the main demon.

I liked this book. It was good. Allow me to tell you why:

*MINOR SPOILERS BUT NOTHING TOO BAD*

It's intense. Like wow-holy-shit intense. And written really well. I nearly bit my nails off while reading it. The demon attacks and the creepy ghost children and the well scene were just EEP. Want to know what I'm talking about?

This gif is applicable in every situation.

It's action-packed. Garcia did a great job writing the action. It wasn't overly-packed with words, but it gave you a great visual as to what was going on. And the action wasn't annoying, it was interesting and terrifying and fascinating.

The characters. I got to say, even though I enjoy all the characters, I love Priest. Priest is such a good kid and he's smart and awesome and I just adore him.

Let me say this:

THE ENDING HOW DARE YOU KAMI GARCIA. I SO NEED THE SEQUEL SOON PRETTY PLEASE.

I am in agony.

But yes. I really liked this book. 543 vengeance spirits out of 550. Awesome sauce.

Ta-ta!

Owyn

Book Review: Life in Outer Space

NOTE: I got this as an ARC but I read it after it was published.

So this book is called Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. And to be honest, when I grabbed it at Teen Advisory Board I'd thought it be something fantasy-ish, but it is fact not. Which was pleasantly surprising (nothing against sci-fi/fantasy yadda-yadda.) It's actually about a boy named Sam who's a movie-nerd-geek and how he befriends this totally mysterious new girl named Camilla. She could be popular and dating the Head Dick of the school, but she just floats around cliques and prefers to hang out with Sam and his friends and be a nerd.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Here are a ton of reasons why YOU (yes you) should read it.

1: It's Australian and anything Australian is at least a bit great. I thought it was British at first (because I don't research things at all and it said "knob" so therefore I assumed British) but then they mentioned Australia as their local history and I went:

2: THE VOICE OH EM GEE. Keil had such a great voice for Sam. I could picture and feel his hatred toward the popular people and I totally related. He swore (not annoyingly much) and he was very upfront. Plus, his rapport with his friends was great.

3. THE ROMANCE. I instantly wanted Sam and Camilla to get together. They had so much in common, had great debates and discussions and conversations, and there was this whole scene where the two of them were Skyping while in separate countries and they were just SO CUTE. He helped her when she was scared and she helped him get some hardcore character development up in there. I just... It was JUST SO AMAZING.

I have access to too many of these haha

 4. The character development. I don't want to say too much here in the avoidance of spoilers (sperhlers) but the way Keil handled the story was just well done. I mean, it was just fantastic. All of the characters had something going on and it never felt overwhelming and I just loved (or appropriately hated) all the characters.

Me reading this book (except I didn't have Keenan Thompson yelling at me)

5. Movie references galore. I don't know about you, but I absolutely love it when I understand a reference. It makes me feel all in-the-know. And I understood so many of this book's! I was ecstatic while reading and being all "I UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE."

But yes, this book was very much the bomb dot com. I enjoyed it heavily, especially the dialogue and inner-musings of Sam.

9000 Princess Leia bras out of 9001.

Fare thee well,

Owyn

Fun Summer Reads

NOTE: I miss summer :( so therefore I wrote this

I decided to compile a list of a few books that embodied summer for me! And this includes this summer, last summer, and the one before. Please enjoy!

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

This was such a fun read. It touched on the whole identity crisis teens have when deciding to either be themselves or what people expect them to be. Plus, it mashed together the whole nerd-geek thing in a way that celebrated the culture. Admittedly, the near-climax part of the book is kind of annoying with the main girl Maddie deciding between happiness/Logan or popularity/friendship-with-annoying-people but the awesome LARP scene is worth it.

Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

I really liked this book. The author had a fun writing style and voice, great characters, great romance, and some awesome drama. As a person who hung out with older, awesome people over the summer at her internship, I really related to Sam and enjoyed her story. Plus, they exposed political corruption. It's a whole bag of awesomeness.

The Summer at Forsaken Lake by Michael D. Beil


Okay, this book is more middle reader, but it's so good and cute and aw. There's a little bit of puppy love, horror-movie making, and solving the mysteries behind the premise of the horror movie. It's enjoyable and it has great illustrations and it's really cute.

JK I mean cute

Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer

I have already described HERE and HERE that Palmer is already awesome, and in the first link I reviewed this book already. But I feel like that wasn't enough. Palmer did such a good job with this book. The romance, the way she handled the weight loss, the pure comedy with the roommates and friends plus the awesome drama. This is by far my favorite of hers, and it always makes me think of summer. I love this book.

*licks book*

Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald

This book is just really cute and fun and adorable. The romance and friendships were awesome and filled with banter. AND it proves girls are friendzoned too (even though I will fight anyone who actually uses that term.) Plus, the cures work for people falling out of love. It's a good mishmash of stories that work really well, and it's a good summer story. I enjoy reading and rereading it immensely.

This weird sheep-bunny-thing is rubbing hands maniacally for this book

But yes! These books are fun summer reads, and offer great nostalgia for the awesome summer.


Goodbye, mes amis

Owyn

BOOK SNOBBERY

Note: The title is in all-caps because this subject fills me with rage.

I'm a highly opinionated person. I know that I enjoy teen lit more than middle reader and I know that when I shop for books, I need to do it in person.

I'm not exactly sure why (I tried to explain it here) but when I go shopping for books, I can't really do it through the internet on Amazon or on E-Readers (even though I do have a Nook OMG BOOK CORPORATIONS NO STOP). I need to go to the store, peruse each and every shelf, and wait for a book to jump out at me.

And I also can't listen to audio books. I prefer the words in front of me or I can't concentrate. I know that some people can multitask with those, but I am not one of those people.

But there are also some people who are very extreme with their book-snobbery. They believe that people should only read books if they are in book form with paper and covers and that stuff. Or on the other side of the spectrum, that paper-books are becoming totally decrepit and irrelevant and everything needs to be digital to keep up with technology.

Here's the first thing I have to say to that

The first of many things that are wrong with this is that just because you have an opinion and it works for you, it doesn't mean it works for everyone else. Don't flatter yourself.

I mean, like I stated before, I can't listen to audio books, but if people have a tough time reading (like age or dyslexia) then they can still enjoy books just not in the word sense.

Or if they travel a lot and like to read, then having like 50 books at your fingertips could be really helpful and save them a lot of space. (Because I pack at least 4 books on every vacation and some of them can get pretty heavy).

But for the people who think everyone should have an e-Reader or something like that and attack me for my preference for books over e-Readers, here's my argument:

Guess who gets to read when the plane takes off?

I only become sassy when people set me off, so this is basically self-defense.

In all seriousness, I agree with John Green. "I don't care how people read, I just care if they read." And that's my basic attitude about the subject.

And also, don't attack people for how they read. It doesn't affect you how they do it, and if it works for them, who are you to say different?

Sincerely,

Owyn

Reasons Why I Am Excited for the TFIOS Movie

NOTE: I feel like this post was very negative and kind of portrayed that I think the movie will be awful but no LET ME EXPLAIN.

Okay, let me start with I am warming up to the idea that Ansel Elgort could be Augustus. What changed it? THIS

I DUNNO BUT HIS FACE LOOKS VERY GUS HERE AND IT MAKES MY PALMS SWEAT

I'm not exactly sure why but I'm kinda-definitely-absolutely getting excited about the movie. John Green just seems so happy and he keeps posting stuff about it on Facebook and Tumblr and Twitter and it's making me even more excited.

Did you know the girl who's playing Young Hazel got all her hair shaved off and then donated it to charity THE TEARS ARE REAL. (And the Woodley did this too, but that was already publicized.)

I really hope that they do a good job with this movie. And I will definitely see it opening weekend :D

Sincerely,

Owyn!

I DNF Rules of Summer

NOTE: I got this as an ARC but I started reading it after it was published but stopped reading it more than 100 pages in. (I'm trying to read books I will enjoy so it's not necessarily this book's fault.)

Okay at TAB in maybe April or May, I got this book called Rules of Summer. It's about this poor girl named Rory who becomes the errand girl for this rich family named the Rules. There's a girl Rory's aged named Isabel, who's "troubled" and spent the school year in California because she accidentally set the house on fire.

But here is why I DNFed it.

1. Isabel is a bitch and it was in her 3rd person limited POV so I was like SCREW THIS I'M DONE. To explain, the book was like 2-POVs but in the third person limited so I would have to deal with her annoying, pretentious, hypocritical, poor-little-rich-girl tone for the rest of the book and I just couldn't. I can't.

2. It was kind of an obvious plot. Like Isabel will fall for the poor boy who's name I've already forgotten and then she'll ask Rory to be an accomplice but when Rory falls for Isabel's brother (Connor?) then Isabel will get all pissy with Rory and I don't feel like reading it.

3. It wasn't... interesting. I try not to publicize my hate for certain books, but the writing didn't do anything for me. I wasn't motivated by the characters (I mean, I wanted Rory and Connor together but not at the expense of dealing with Isabel) or the plot and it wasn't funny or cute or romantic just kind of bland. And I felt like I was supposed to feel pity for Isabel but I was just like "Shut up Isabel leave the book" the entire time.

But yeah. Hopefully I will find a book I do enjoy soon!

Buh-Bai!

Owyn

ARC Review: Bright Before Sunrise

NOTE: This book comes out February 18, 2014 (which is the day before my birthday, FYI!)

Greetings! Today I am reviewing the book Bright Before Sunrise (fun fact I am the third person to rate the book) by Tiffany Schmidt. If that name sounds familiar, her book Send Me a Sign was the first book I ever reviewed on here.

HAPPY DANCE FOR NOSTALGIA

As you can tell from the gif, I really enjoyed her debut. And when I found out that she had a new book coming out, I practically begged the children's buyer at the Boulder Book Store to get me a copy. And SHE DID! VICTORY!

And I was not disappointed. I got the book and then I read it in 2 hours (just like how I read her first one). I've already re-read parts of it a couple times because that's how good it is.

But if you need some convincing, here are the reasons I loved it.

Two Point-of-Views. Between guy and a girl. Who are love interests. Who both had really interesting and fun voices. *Swoons*

The story was well-done. For a book that takes place over less than a day, this book really flowed well. I never felt overwhelmed or confused I was just really en-rapt with the story and I just kept needing more and more. And the ROMANCE. Oh god I will never forgive Schmidt for doing that to me and my feels.

The banter. Like I kind of mentioned in the first point, the voices of the characters on their own was pretty fantastic. But when you put Jonah and Brighton together I mean YOU COULD FEEL THE SEXUAL TENSION EMANATING OFF THE PAGE.

Oh, and I read the dedications and I fangirled when I read that Emily Hainsworth was "Team Jonah" because THAT IS AWESOME YES WHOOHOO AUTHORS THAT ARE AWESOME SHOULD ALWAYS DO AUTHOR STUFF AND OTHER STUFF WITH OTHER AWESOME AUTHORS.

I should probably calm down.

But yes, if 2014 ever arrives then I definitely recommend reading this book. 4 snaps and three twists.

Until later!

Owyn

Book Review: A Really Awesome Mess

NOTE: Yay! A book review!

So this book is called A Really Awesome Mess, and I saw it on recommendation at the bookstore. I decided to get it because I like YA books about messed-up people fixing themselves. (It's about two teens who have to go to reform school for their respective issues.)

And guess what?

I liked this book! I love it when that happens.

Here is why:

The characters were quirky and awesome. While all of them got a bit whiny at some part, they each stood out to me. And with an ensemble-thing going on, that's very important. Plus I really liked their journeys.

Two point-of-views are the bomb diggity. I think it rounds out a story, and it was written by two different authors (Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin) and I think they did a great job of capturing the characters.

Me when I noticed this book has 2 POVs.

It was both funny and real. Cook and Halpin did a great job of telling this story and its evolution of their characters was really fun to read.

I give this book 45/51 pigs. Because that part was fun as hell to read.

Sincerely,

Owyn

Why I'm Not Excited For The TFIOS Movie

NOTE: I'm speaking as a nerdfighter and avid-reader of John Green's books.

I am like most people when a really-well-done book is coming out as a movie. I require three things.

-Totally accurate to every finite detail. Hell, if you need to take three hours to make it, then TAKE THREE HOURS NERDFIGHTERS OR ANY BOOK FANDOM ARE DEDICATED WE WILL WATCH IT ALL.

-Completely accurate casting. I want EXACTLY who I imagined in my head to play them. Create them with robots.

-I want the author to be involved and support everything honestly. If one thing was off, I want them to write a f-king monologue about why that is not okay and how they should've fixed it.

I'm not excited because I don't feel like who they have for Hazel and Augustus (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort respectively) are right for the roles. I mean, I saw an interview with Woodley where when they asked her about the nerdfighter signal (I think??) and if she knew what it was, she just totally beat around the bush until she kind of admitted she had no clue what it was or how to do it.

I was not amused.

And Elgort looks NOTHING LIKE AUGUSTUS HOLY SHIT. I was like "who the hell are you and what are you doing with the role of Gus?"

I am with the rest of Tumblr. THIS GUY is Augustus Waters.

WHOMP THERE IT IS.

But, all this being said, I am probably going to see the movie in theaters wearing my "Okay? Okay." t-shirt and will probably be sobbing and all that shit.

Because, honestly, it's pretty rare to the let authors be involved in their book's movie being made. And, if John Green approves that's like half-enough for me. The other half is up to me when I see it opening day in 2014.

Adios,

Owyn

My GoodReads To-Read List

NOTE: Long as hell post because I have no posted in forever and I feel bad

So, I have a GoodReads because reasons (namely books and people who like them). And I have a huge list of books I want "to read" so I decided I would relay them to you and why I want to read them.

Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

It apparently has "real" characters and a "painfully funny world", so it sounds really interesting. And I really like the premise of it, so I want to read it soon.

The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley

I am a sucker for a romance story featuring a girl-falls-for-her-brother's-best-friend kinda thing (which is why I ship Monica and Chandler so hard). And there is also awesome-sounding drama so I kinda definitely want to read this.

Trust Me by Rachel Hawthorne

I am also a sucker for hate-turns-to-love relationships. And this book features this heavily. It also has a bit of a camp-twist, so it sounds like a fun read.

Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita

I have an author crush on Calonita because her characters are really awesome. And this summer-camp premise sounds like a lot of fun to read with its own smatterings of Drama-Rama.

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Say what you want to about about Mean Girls but it's fucking accurate. Hell, I even read some of the book Wiseman wrote originally even though Tina Fey ADDED ALL THE PLOT HERSELF. But I'm intrigued to see what Wiseman will do with a plot so I want to read it.

Major Crush by Jennifer Echols

HECK YES HATE-TURNS-TO-LOVE AGAIN. It also features band geeks who are known for being sexuals. (Even though the band geeks at my school and I have a mutual hatred haha, I still want to read it).

Outcast by Adrienne Kress

Kress has such a great writing style that I enjoyed in The Friday Society. And the premise seems like it will be an awesome story with some quirky-ness so I am excited to read it.

Measuring Up by Nyrae Dawn

It just sounds like an interesting, realistic love story with also a moral (maybe?) about learning how to love yourself.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is my favorite book, in no small part to Levithan's half. I really like his voice and this book sounds like a really interesting story about love and friendship so excitement.

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

I am going to read this book and then write the blog post on the Bookstore's blog for reasons that will be stated on there. I actually have this as an ARC so I can read it whenever but I haven't gotten around to it yet because Interning and life and stuff.

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

Romance novels are my kryptonite. Especially if they're by Higgins. She has such a great voice that is sassy and sarcastic. So I'm excited to read this one.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

I actually am not sure why I want to read this book all I know is I want to and I'm magnetically drawn to it like science.

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

It sounds like a really interesting premise and I really like Echols' writing style. Luckily, I have an ARC of this as well so VICTORY!

Of Neptune by Anna Banks

I have actually met Banks and she is just as sassy as her books are so I cannot wait to read the third one in her series! (And I've already read #1 and #2 so NATURAL PROGRESSION)

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

I love Eulberg and her writing style and this book sounds really good and stuff so 2014 COME QUICKLY PLEASE.

Goldfish by Kody Keplinger

Keplinger is a huge inspiration and I love her writing style and voice and this book sounds really interesting so I'm excited to read it!

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

I have heard great things about this book so I am going to READ IT.

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

I haven't read her other books but this one sounds really interesting. And I've read an online-excerpt on her site and it continued to be interesting.

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

This sounds really interesting and I really like books that kind of tell a journey of someone dealing with a disease and coming to terms with death/love/and stuff.

The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading by Charity Tahmaseb

Something about this book makes me want to read it so therefore I will read it.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

I have ALSO met this author and she is just as awesome as her books. So I am really excited for this third book.

The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer

Colfer is my spirit animal, and I have enjoyed all his books so far and I JUST BOUGHT THIS ONE TODAY SO VICTORY DANCE.

The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford (name sound familiar)

It sounds like an interesting love story and I love war stories so I'm excited to read this one.

Adulting by Kelly Williams Brown

As a junior in high school, I apparently have to start being an "adult" (whatever that means) and this book seems like it could help.

But yes. I will try to read all these. Yay goals!

Sorry, again, I haven't been on much. But I promise to read more when school starts!

Sincerely,

Owyn

I DID A THING

READ IT HERE

Book Review: The Glass Castle

NOTE: This is a review of a book I had to read for school. There are going to be no gifs, since I feel like that would be disrespectful to Jeannette Walls and her family.

For my summer reading, I have to read two non-fiction books. One of which, is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, a memoir about her life and struggles with her parents.

I liked this book WAY more than I thought I would. Especially since it's a book for school and I make it a point to not enjoy those.

But this story was just so honest and heartbreaking and unfortunately realistic. And I loved how Walls remembered all sorts of details that tied the story together in some of the best ways possible.

I also enjoyed reading the stuff that happened (but not in an enjoying-someone-else's-pain but more like this-is-really-well-done-and-you-tell-a-great-story). Like when she was 3, she was making hot dogs in a tutu and accidentally caught on fire. Or when her dad moved them around a ton throughout their childhood.

They talked a lot about family loyalty. In my opinion, I felt like Walls and her siblings didn't owe their parents anything. Because of them and their efffed-up ideals of parenthood and domesticity and what they should do with their money (the dad: alcohol, the mom: needless paint stuff and pointless trinkets that she just hoarded), Jeannette's, Lori's, Brian's and Maureen's childhood were made harder than needed. While it gave them great experiences, there are just some stuff a family shouldn't have dealt with.

Like (and this gets into the graphic part of the book) there are a lot of incidents of sexual abuse. Especially between family members. And I was just honestly disgusted. How could people do that to each other? I felt sick while reading it.

And how the parents dealt with it wasn't any better. Like the Dad used Jeannette and her body to get guys' guards down for pool (I'm not sure how to describe this but this is pretty much what happened) and Rose Mary told Jeannette that it wasn't that big a deal and how women just make too much of a big deal about these sorts of things. Which just made me angry.

But, back to the idea of family loyalty, Lori, Jeannette and Brian followed each other to New York and made their own lives there. And every (at first Sunday, then it became once a month) they'd meet and discuss things and talk about their new lives.

Rating this, I got to say it's a 45 out of 50. It was insanely well-written and well-described, but for my faint heart I just got to knock down a couple points because what happens in this book is purely disgusting. But I'm recommending it to people left and right. What are you gonna do? :)

Bye!

Owyn

Sorry I haven't posted in a while :(

But I'm working on a review right now!!

Graphic Novel Review: Drama

NOTE: Sorry I haven't been posting much I've just been kind BLAH and so BLAH.

The book I'm reading is actually a graphic novel. It's called Drama by Raina Telgemeier. It's about a girl named Callie who is in a Stage Crew when a bunch of DRAMA (get it? get it?) goes on both involved with onstage and offstage.

I really enjoyed this! I wasn't sure what I was going to expect since I don't regularly read graphic novels, but I definitely thought it was really well done. And here is why:

1. It brought up homosexuality. AND IT DID A GOOD JOB. I was very impressed how Telgemeier handled the subject.

But with that, I read a review about this subject on this book on Goodreads and I would just like to point out how stupid this person is.

He basically said that homosexuality doesn't have a place in middle reader books AND IT DOES. People like him need to stop. It's not like she's fetishizing homosexuality, she just made it a very interesting part of the story and I enjoyed reading it.

2. The graphics were awesome. I really liked the images and I thought they did a good job telling the story. And it is really awesome to see a story described in a way without words, I think that experience-part of the book is amazing.

3. It's totally accurate. As a person who's been a part of the whole behind-the-scenes thing, the fright, the worry, the annoyance with the actors: I've felt it all. But, the best part is with all the drama I didn't feel overwhelmed by all the stuff going on. So thank you, Telgemeier! You did:

But yes. This book is 88 scripts out of 95. HUZZAH

Bye guys!

Owyn

Get to the Freaking Point: A Rant

NOTE: This is a rant. I apologize for all swear words, but that being said

Have you read a book that just added so many fucking descriptions or pointless stuff in it that you just want to throw it at a wall?

I don't like to attack people's writing styles, but when you're so redundant and superfluous then I just want to not read your book.

My reaction

That opinion being said, if it's a part of the story where it's supposed to be descriptive then I'm okay with it. But really, I just like the dialogue. I don't need to read any internal struggle or stuff that I don't find interesting.

Like I kind of didn't like the Harry Potter series because there was a lot of descriptions and the dialogue was sparse.

And then I didn't like the Hunger Games because I didn't give a crap about the love triangle, or Katniss's family and stuff like that. JUST GET TO THE TEENS KILLING EACH OTHER DAMMIT.

Just give me the snappy, sassy dialogue and I shall be happy.

What do you guys think?

Sincerely,

Owyn

Great Glee Fanfictions

NOTE: This is a compilation of fanfictions I really have enjoyed reading. (Some may be a bit smutty but that's the Internet.)

"Family Ties" by The Minsk. Pairing: Finchel. Rating: T. SUMMARY: "With changes at home and changes at school, Finn's going to need all the help he can get." I really liked this fanfiction because it was written really well and told an interesting story. (This author just writes great Finchel fanfictions)

"Dorks Like Us" by JustTheQueenOfEverything. Pairing: Samchel. Rating: T (with some SMUT SMUT) Summary: Sam and Rachel form a friendship over their love of Disney. I love this story because it tied a lot of Disney references with the Glee life and it was funny, romantic, and adorable.

"I Only Just Found You" (Please Don't Leave Me Now) by Tarafina. Pairing: Puckleberry. Rating: T. Summary: A horrible accident opens Rachel's eyes. This is only a one-shot, but this was so well-done and it told a great story that is RIDICULOUSLY intense.

"Sour Patch Kid" by nitefang. Pairing: Puckleberry. Rating: T. Summary: Puck makes an agreement with Brittany to try to get Rachel away from Finn. This is so hilariously well-written, an interesting story with awesome character development and an awesome love story.

"Picking Up The Pieces" by MistressMalvagita. Pairing: Puckleberry. Rating: T. Summary: Shelby decided she's not ready to be a parent so she gives Beth to Rachel and Puck. I liked the way the author executed the story idea and wrote a cute parenting romance.

But yeah. That's that.

See you eventually!!

Owyn

5 Books I Will Never Read

Do you ever just see a book and there's something about it that says "Yeah no I'm not going to read you. Sorry book. Better luck next time."

So here is my list of those books (there are a ton more. But here are some).

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

I read about it on DeadWhiteGuys and even then I was like HOLY CRAP CRINGING NEVER AGAIN MY EYES MY EYES. It's apparently about a woman who has really graphic sex with 14-year-old boys.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I don't think I have to justify this one.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia + Margaret Stohl

I think the whole thing with the dreams and the witches and stuff just didn't seem like my forte. And it just seemed like it would DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGG on. So nah.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Have you seen the size of that thing? IT'S THICK AS SEVEN LAYERS OF HELL I DON'T EVER WANT TO READ IT.

Besides that, there's the whole "moral dilemma" thing. I think that's bullshit. Either you have morals or you don't. And I don't need to read about it.

Anything by Charles Dickens

Bye you guys!

Owyn

Check out my blog posts at the Boulder Book Store.

Book Review: The Duff

NOTE: This is a book. Yay *little shimmy*

So I decided to shop at Barnes and Noble (an indie bookstore intern? THE HORROR) because I had a giftcard. Which I spent on an awesome haul of promising books.

Which included this one: The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger. And I really liked this one.

Now I have read Shut Out by her, and I knew she liked to bring up sex and swear and stuff like that.

But BAM does this book have it. Not graphically, but kind of up-front. Like, "Hell yeah I'm having sex. Deal with it." And this I appreciated. Too many people are squeamish. I DECLARE LET THERE BE SEX IF THE AUTHOR SO PROCLAIMS.

Here are the other things I liked:

The voice is AWESOME. Bianca is an awesome character and she just had this really dry, sarcastic voice that I thought was magnificent. And I liked that she swore and she was upfront.

The romance was so... I can't find a good description so I'll just list my feels. Wesley was such a dick but he was just hiding his kind side and Bianca has been insecure and afraid of her parents' divorce and I was just rooting for them to get together the entire time.

Great message. I shall just say this quote "We're all fucking Duffs."

But yes, this book gets 233 Duffs out of 233. Keplinger did a great job.

Bye! Happy Fourth of July!

Owyn

5 Books About Sex

NOTE: This is a list of books that I think have a great message when it comes to teenagers having sex.
No gifs, because this is SERIOUS BUSINESS

Okay only gif

Forever by Judy Blume

You can read the review I already posted, but I will reiterate here that this book was very frank and I think most teenagers should read it.

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

This book talked about how people can be shamed for being "sluts" when they actually just like sex. Or on the flip side, people being shamed (or feel shame) for not having sex yet. Boys who pressured their girlfriends, girls who bullied girls for being sluts or virgins and the great message is that sex is between you and your partner. You ROCK, Keplinger!

Looking For Alaska by John Green

I won't go into details (spoilers!) but there is a really AWKWARD sexual scene. But it kind of shows that if you do that with someone you don't care about, then you end up not enjoying it.

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

I like the dual stories. There's a best friend who slept with her boyfriend and she ended up pregnant and then a girl with a boyfriend who keeps pressuring her for sex (when she's seen the first hand the consequences of unprotected sex).

The Boy Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

This is a great story of having sex with someone you love. The characters buy condoms, they deal with the pressures of judgmental assholes, and try to find themselves in the midst of everything else in their lives. (And I already wrote a review of it.)

If you guys have any other suggestions (because there are a ton more) then just leave them down in the comments!

Bye!!
Owyn

P.S. My grandparents are coming into town so I might not be posting much. But I will try my hardest to keep updating!

ARC Review: The Distance Between Us

NOTE: This ARC will come out early July.

So this was an ARC that I had been seeing on my Recommended lists on Goodreads, so when I saw it at TAB I decided to grab it.

It's about a poor girl named Caymen who's grown up surrounded by arrogant, rich people buying frivolous things at her mom's doll shop. And that observation is only confirmed when rich teenager Xander Spence walks in.

I really liked this book. Like, it was pretty freaking awesome. Here is my list why:

The romance was SMOKING! Xander and Caymen were so cute together and I was just rooting for them to get together and I was just overcome with emotions.

This book is hilarious. Kasie West did a great job writing such hilarious, dry-witted characters. I loved the dialogue, it was one of the best I've read in a while.

Here is the first one that clues you into the sarcastic tone of the book.

"'Can I help you, sir?' ... 'Yes, I need a doll.' 'Sorry, we're all out.'"

Multiple laughs for this awesome book

Great message. Normally, I'm not a fan of the whole different-social-class-oh-mummy-won't-approve kind of stories. But this one wasn't really like that, it was more about how that shouldn't matter and I think West did a great job of telling that story. And I liked the fact that the ending was ambiguous but at the same time uplifting.

So 55 Creepy porcelain dolls out of 56.

Buh-bai!

Owyn

Amazon Publishing Fanfiction (AKA: Stupidity or Genius?)

Hey everyone!

I decided to talk today about the news that Amazon has decided to publish fanfiction along with their other books.

This is just not okay on multiple levels.

ONE: I am not paying to write fanfiction, nor will I get paid to write fanfiction. For several reasons. For me, and other people, writing fanfics is practice for writing a book. And then, the copyright-oh-the-author-could-potentially-sue-my-ass. Amazon apparently has the rights to such TV shows as "Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries". I don't want to write for those bullshit TV shows anyway.

TWO: Fanfiction is supposed to be fun. Like I said, it's practice. You're not trying to be like Cassandra Clare or EL James, most of the time. Personally, I don't want people to judge me based on my fanfiction. Usually, I just publish the first draft because I gave myself a deadline and it ends up being full of grammatical mistakes that I fix when I notice them. AND THAT'S OKAY! Especially on chill places like Tumblr or fanfiction.net.

THREE: Amazon made a bad decision anyway for trying to monopolize this market. You are not taking the fun out of my fanfiction, you cantankerous horse. A POX ON ALL YOUR HOUSES/SUBCOMPANIES (except for Goodreads).

But that's my opinion. Tell me yours in the comments!

ADIOS!

Owyn

FANFICTION

Greetings and Salutations!

I wrote a blog post over at the bookstore's blog about Fanfiction! Please check it out :D

http://boulderbookstore.blogspot.com/2013/06/fanfiction-what-does-it-mean-for-society.html

Thank you muchly!

Owyn

ARC Review: Fangirl

NOTE: This is an ARC that comes out September 10th.

At the bookstore, Jorden at Shipping and Receiving was reading an ARC of it and she recommended it to me and let me read it.

I liked it! It was a part of that "new adult" genre about a girl named Cath who is alone for the first time and how she's coped with all the bad things in her life with the Simon Snow series and writing one of the most popular pieces of fanfiction the fandom has ever seen.

Here are the reasons why I liked it:

Rowell did a great job of embracing the fandom life. As a fangirl, I can honestly say that Rowell captured the lifestyle perfectly.

I liked Simon Snow better than Harry Potter. I hope I'm not wrong about this, but Simon Snow was a parody of Harry Potter. Rowell included little tidbits from the chapters of the series along with some from the chapters of Cath's fanfic. It was some real John Green shit right there.

The voice was fantastic. Cath's voice was really genuine and real. She was also funny, sarcastic and kind of sad. It was really well done, and I enjoyed reading it immensely.

The romance was awesome. Nick needs to jump of a literary cliff and Levi is just so drool-worthy that I ship him with Cath just as much as Cath ships Baz and Simon.

... In our hearts

But yes, when this comes out, you should definitely check it out!

Buh-Bai!

Owyn

(P.S. I edited this a bit because I was sick when I wrote it yesterday and now my head is clear so yay!)

Series Review: Jamieson Brothers

NOTE: This is about two companion novels written by Angie Stanton.

Okay, so these two books Rock and a Hard Place and Snapshot are centered around two brothers in a rock band called Jamieson that is run by their parents along with their other performer brother.

So, for this review, I'm just going to compare them against each other.

Similarities:

•  Lots of drama
• A hot male lead
• A girl with daddy issues
• A girl with tons of baggage (I say these in the nicest way)
• Conflict with Jamieson family against the relationship with the brothers.

Differences:

I liked Marti and Adam's romance better than Peter and Libby's, so I kind of prefer Snapshot. But Peter and Libby were cute together in Snapshot and Rock and a Hard Place. But I felt Libby should've contacted Peter directly after Garrett did the thing (no spoilers) and I literally groaned out loud when Marti and Adam had sex without protection. 

But that being said, there is A LOT of drama in these books. Runaways, potential pregnancies, fires, sibling conflict, band conflict, people-sucking, family drama. A whole weird n-gon of dramatic proportions. And I think these books would be a cool potential teen soap. Get on it, ABC Family.

I rate Rock and a Hard Place 19/25 Guitars and Snapshot 22/25 Guitars.

Bye!!!

Owyn