Rewind & Review #79

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I've been working on finding a summer internship. Please be praying that God will guide me to where I should be, and also pray that I can find a good, relatively inexpensive housing option.

~Homework stress is starting to kick in a little.

~I went to the ballet yesterday with a friend! Our tickets were her Christmas present, and we went to see Romeo and Juliet.

Books I Received for Review

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi (from St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley)

The Heartbeats of Wing Jones by Katherine Webber (from Random House via NetGalley)

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (from Little, Brown)

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (from Bloomsbury, as thanks for being on the blog tour)

Books I Won/Traded for/was Gifted

You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche (gifted by Bree, my Secret Sister)

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston (won from the publisher in a Goodreads giveaway)

A Madeline Treasury by Ludwig Bemelsman (Valentine's Day gift from my parents)

Books I Bought

By Your Side by Kasie West

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Books I Read

My Faire Lady by Laura Wettersten (reread)

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lily Anderson (reread)

Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken (3 stars)

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (reread)

By Your Side by Kasie West

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira (reread)

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (2 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

   (from 1/30-2/4)

• So You Like... #42
• Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Picture Books
• Emma and Bookstagram
• Progress on My Reading Challenges
• The Odyssey Article - How to Align My Political Views With My Religious Beliefs

   (from 2/5-2/11)

• Review: Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson (5 stars)
• What I've Been Watching Recently
• Random Friday: Poetry
• So You Like... #43
• The Odyssey Article - 7 Things Northerners Should Know About The South

So You Like... #43

Time for another Disney Princess So You Like...!

So you like...

MULAN

Credit

Family is important

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Heroines who get stronger

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Is Mulan your favorite Disney Princess? She's one of mine! Which of the other princesses should I feature next?

Random Friday: Poetry

Want to participate in Random Fridays? Just do the following: 

• Include the above image in your post and link back to my post.
• Blog about this week's topic.
• Add the link to your Random Friday at the bottom of this post.

Today I have the honor of sharing some amazing poetry written by some of my peers. I've had various creative writing classes with all of these ladies, and I greatly admire their ability to convey imagery and emotions through words.

Cathedrals

Virginia

by Joanna H.

I have seen pictures of cathedrals.

Artists painted between beams

that arch with round ceilings

meant to convey Christ's ascent.

The remnants are ribs of wood and stone.

Church ceilings are silent,

creaking like birds that sing

from the top branches of fir trees.

The ceilings trap prayers,

holding them like clouds

heavy with life giving rain,

blessing the holy spaces

with messages from God.

I have traveled between mountains.

God's fingers clawed up earth

ending with peaks like arrows

pointing to heaven.

The remnants of work

are the ribs of hard ground

now covered in evergreens.

My eyes have followed the cresting trees

up to an eternal sky.

Between pews I have looked

up to ceilings that beckon

experience and imagination of ascension.

Dances

by Caroline G.

Rhythm flies from pointed feet,

A thousand shoes, one body, striking the floor

in unison.

Breathtaking display.

Clammy hands brush rented tux.

Puberty balks with fear. The clean cafeteria floor

or punch bowl--

dilemma of youth.

Dazzling girl in long white gown

clutches daddy's hand in final twirl of innocence.

He waits on the side,

her new partner.

Liquor flows through heavy toes,

beating raucous time for bearded men and big breasted women,

laughing in the dark,

losing themselves.

Figures leap like the smoking flame.

Smooth bodies and headdresses flicker in shadows,

chasing demons.

Native worship.

Lonely couple on lonely stage

pray for perfection with every twist, lift, and kick.

No longer a pastime.

Work of joy.

My dress swirls around clumsy feet.

Laughing, ignoring instruction, I spin like a sprite.

My way.

Energy of fancy.

Not Included on My Resume

by Stephanie L.

I once stood still long enough

for a butterfly to land on my nose, 

and my brother snapped a picture.

I'm trying to teach myself

how to play the mandolin.

In ninth grade, I spent most of my lunchtime

talking to the librarian.

I am an expert at making

French braids and friendship bracelets.

Every August, I enter my tomatoes

in the county fair.

They rarely earn ribbons.

I am the youngest member of the church choir.

The second youngest is 64.

I am usually well-liked

by children and animals.

I was the one who stayed up until 3 a.m.,

finishing the group project

the night before it was due.

After Dinner

by Elise J.

I can see you walking to the car

from our window by the sink, where I have dishes to wash.

I look down and pick up the sponge, run the tap,

watch my hand guide it under the water.

Each pore stretches under the force, making room for everything they've given,

the water almost forcing them to expand at first.

The sponge relaxes once there's enough water.

At a glance up, I see you rummage

through your pockets for your keys, staring fixedly at nothing.

When you find them and your face softens, I glance back down.

The sponge gets heavier in my hand as it steadily fills,

swelling larger, larger, larger. It darkens

as the water makes itself a part of the sponge,

like it's always been a part of it, like water and sponge are the same.

I look out the window

when there is too much flow for the sponge to hold,

see your half smile through your car window, see your little "I'll be back" wave

as my hand finally dampens.

I feel a cool, smooth pressure on my ring finger

as I squeeze the water out of the sponge, smile back, nod,

then look back down and scrub the plate that I've soaked,

starting to clean.

What I've Been Watching Recently

I don't talk about my TV habits nearly as much as my reading habits, so I thought it would be fun to do that today.

I finished season two of The Flash during finals week, and my mom had been taping the first half of season three for me all fall, so I caught up on that over Christmas break.

Which meant I got to start watching the show in (almost) live time for the first time ever a few weeks ago. I got the CW app for my iPad so I don't have to wait for spring break to catch up. Haven't had the motivation to watch it on my iPad yet, though, just because I usually use my iPad to play sudoku while watching shows.

Also over Christmas break, I binged the new season of Fuller House.

They've already announced season 3, and it's getting 18 episodes instead of just 13!!!

I spent the last three days of break watching Timeless, which my parents got into this fall. It is so good, y'all. If you love time travel and history, this show is meant for you.

I think my favorite episodes so far have been the second, fifth, and sixth. But seriously, this show reminds me how fun and interesting history can be, something that I definitely need to think about when I'm sitting through classes as dull as my Russian history class this past fall was.

In general, I finished my slow trek through The Office on Netflix. I don't love it, but Jim and Pam make it worthwhile and the months-long break I took definitely helped. I've been watching This Is Us since its premiere, and it's pretty good although not quite what I wanted. I tried to watch all my taped episodes of Supergirl season 2 over break but, I don't know, I couldn't settle into it like I settled into season 1. I'm not sure if it's the show itself or just me. I'm never a fan of alien plots and I started getting bored real fast with season 2.

One of my favorites shows, Miraculous Ladybug (a French cartoon), is coming to Netflix, which I'm psyched about. I'll finally get to watch it all the way through. I've also had this thing called Chef's Table: France in my queue for a while now, so I hope to get to that soon.

Also, Switched at Birth is back for its final season! 

What shows (or movies) have you been watching lately? Are there any new ones you think I'd like?

Review: Piecing Me Together

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
Grade: A
Release date: February 14, 2017
An ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: A timely and powerful story about a teen girl from a poor neighborhood striving for success, from acclaimed author Renée Watson.

Jade believes she must get out of her neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother says she has to take every opportunity. She has. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful. Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Except really, it’s for black girls. From “bad” neighborhoods.

But Jade doesn’t need support. And just because her mentor is black doesn’t mean she understands Jade. And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: This is why I love contemporary fiction. It's for books like Piecing Me Together where there is little-to-no drama and stress. As much as I love fantasy stories, those can take years off my life as I worry if the characters will make it out alive. 
I loved Jade. She stands up for herself and black culture in the best ways. She learns how to use her voice. I loved her friendship with Lee Lee and how they never had any friendship drama. Books where the main character has started going to a different school or fallen in with a new group of friends always stress me out because I worry that there will be friendship drama between the main character and her best friend, but there wasn't here, and I loved it. Lee Lee and Jade support each other's passions. I also really liked Jade's new friendship with Sam. The girls come from similar but very different worlds, and I liked the exploration of how class and race can affect friendships. I also really liked that their friendship wasn't short-lived. There were growing pains, as there are with any new relationships, but the girls managed to push through and stay together. On a related note, I really liked Sam's grandfather, and I kind of wanted more of him.
Piecing Me Together is a character-driven book, so I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jade's family. Her relationship with her mom is given quiet moments as they too go through some growing. Jade is, of course, growing up, and her mom pushes her to take opportunities when they come her way. But, at the same time, her mom doesn't want to let her baby go. Jade's uncle E.J. is also present, and I think I needed a little more of him for him to matter to the story. Jade's parents aren't together, but I love how clearly her dad cares for her. He isn't the best dad, but he does want to be in his daughter's life and he encourages her.
I liked the dynamics between Maxine and Jade, although I kind of wanted more during the Women to Women group. Those girls all had such strong voices, and Jade lists most of them at one point, but I never felt like I got to know them. I'm not the best person to speak on racial issues, but I really liked how they were explored in Piecing Me Together in such a quiet way. Black culture is presented naturally, but also in a way that I got to learn more. It's not at all preachy; Watson presents things how they are and her characters vocalize how they want things to change, but it never feels forced.
My only big problem with this book was how choppy the chapters felt. Because they were short, and the book overall was short, Piecing Me Together never went quite as deep as I wanted it to. I will note that there's no romance, which I really enjoyed. I liked the romance in Watson's previous book, This Side of Home, but one would've felt out of place in Piecing Me Together, especially because there wouldn't have been enough space to explore it.
Language, violence, and sexual content are all super clean.

The Verdict: So, so, so, so, so good. I read this about three weeks ago, and it was my first favorite read of 2017. Do yourself a favor and buy this one (or ask your library to acquire a copy).

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: Absolutely. It's preordered and everything.

Progress on My Reading Challenges

I first posted about my two reading challenges back in November, and I said I wanted to try to read one book for each per month. I decided to hold myself accountable to y'all and post a challenge update, also for my benefit so I can see how I'm doing.

The Newbery Challenge

At the end of November, I read The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg, and at the end of December, I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. In January, I read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, which has been my second favorite out of all the books I've read since I started the challenge

So I'm not behind on the challenge at all. It's nice, because a lot of the selections are available as e-books through my libraries so I can read them at school even during the colder months when I'm not getting books through the library boxes.

I still have 18 books to read. Obviously there are many more Newbery winners than that, but if you recall, I narrowed it down to the ones I was interested in.

The Rory Gilmore Challenge

I didn't read any of the 197 books left on my list in November, but I read both The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe in December, so I think that makes up for November. In January, I read Ina Garten's cookbook, Barefoot in Paris, which appeared in season 5 of Gilmore Girls. Definitely a fun, quick read!

Also, my list source on Goodreads created a list based on books referenced in A Year in the Life, so I think I need to add those to my list. I'll let y'all know during my next update if I did or not.


Are you doing any reading challenges currently? How are they going?

Emma and Bookstagram

For the longest time, I couldn't see the appeal of Bookstagram. I was never one for photography (I also didn't think I was very good at it), and I thought my blog here was enough. But then last June, I finally caved and created a book-specific Instagram account, just so it wouldn't bleed over into my personal account. It was partly because I had had a photography class, so I knew more about complementary colors and lighting and what-not. It was also partly because I was partway through the most boring summer I've ever had, and I needed something new to fill my time. And I'm kind of hooked now.

I'm the first to say my photos aren't the best out there. But it's fun to feature books, and to figure out what people like to see, and to figure out my photo style. Every Bookstagrammer has a style, and while each individual's photos will vary a little, there's usually a common background, lighting scheme, or set-up to their photos. I have no clue how to describe mine, but I've loved sharing books and finding ways to feature fun props.

The embed feature on Instagram isn't working. :P So I'll take screenshots of a few and include the links below them...

June 21, 2016

July 1, 2016

July 12, 2016

August 4, 2016

September 27, 2016

December 22, 2016


So are you on Bookstagram? Or do you follow Bookstagram accounts?

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Picture Books

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I grew up on picture books, of course. They were what hooked me on reading. My parents read to me when I was still an infant, and I was reading on my own by the time I was three and a half. Of course, my mom is fairly certain my "reading" was just me repeating the stories I'd memorized since they'd read certain books to me so many times, but it still counts. 

1. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

I actually didn't know about this book until my sophomore year of college. I was wondering around our curriculum lab and found it and loved it.

2. Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear

My modern novel prof read this to us one day for part of our class session. It was great fun.

3. Degas and the Little Dancer by Laurence Anholt

I love La Petite Danseuse. I actually have a small copy of her in my bedroom at home.

4. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Madeline is forever my favorite.

5. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

So cute.

6. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Truth be told, I prefer the movie, but still.

7. Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik

Did y'all know Suzanne Collins worked on this one's TV show production team?

8. The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain

I have a ton of these still.

9. The Jolly Pocket Postman by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

Books with things you can pull out are so much fun.

What are your favorite picture books?

So You Like... #42

How many of y'all read the American Girl books when you were younger? Do any of you remember the history mysteries, the whole series about girls who weren't the dolls? I loved those books; in fact, they're probably the reason I love historical fiction to this day. Well, if you liked those books, you'll like this So You Like... post.

If you liked...







try...



(For the treasure hunts.)



If you liked...







try...




(For the San Francisco earthquake.)



If you liked...







try...




(For the pirates.)



If you liked...







try...




(Since they're both set during World War II.)



If you liked...







try...




(For the villains in common.)



If you liked...







try...




(For the wild, wild West.)


If you liked...







try...




(For the newspaper writing.)


(Got any suggestions for So You Like... topics? Let me know! I'd love to try them. They don't call me the Book Recommender for nothing.)

Rewind & Review #78

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~A lot of nothing happened.

~I suffered through writing a history book review for a class. I've done these before for this prof, but this was by far the hardest. I think it was partially because the book was a lot shorter than previous ones I've read for his classes and there just wasn't a lot that could be discussed about the content.

~I may have bought the same lipstick Taylor Swift owns and has worn on occasion...

Books I Received for Review

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord (from Bloomsbury)

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (from Little, Brown via NetGalley)

Books I Bought

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Pies and Tarts by Culinary Institute of America

Books I Read

The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash (reread)

The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera (DNF)

Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten (4 stars)

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (3 stars)

Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott (2 stars)

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (4 stars)

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (reread)

Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand (reread)

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (reread)

Once Was a Time by Leila Sales (3.5 stars)

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

   (from 1/16-1/21)

• From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: Blueberry Tarts
• Top Ten Tuesday: Underrated Books I've Read Recently
• Review: Wait for Me by Caroline Leech (4 stars)
• So You Like... #41
• The Odyssey Article - 2 Reading Challenges For You To Try In 2017

   (from 1/22-1/28)

• Review: The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (3 stars)
• Review: The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee (3.5 stars)
• Writing Prompt #13
• Review: Yours Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick (4 stars)
• Random Friday: Signed Books
• The Odyssey Article - What My Literature Classes Have Taught Me