Currently

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Enthralled by Kelley Armstrong, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Caine, Ally Condie, Kimberly Derting, Kami Garcia, Claudia Gray, Melissa Marr, Jackson Pearce, Mary E. Pearson, Carrie Ryan, Jeri Smith-Ready, Margaret Stohl, Jessica Verday, and Rachel Vincent.

Pages this week: 498
Last Week: 216
Total: 3,719

Sentences of the Week:
3. "'No such luck.' My brother grinned at me over the rim of his paper coffee cup.'No matter how weird it gets from now on...we're in it together.'" -Enthralled

2. "Maybe the kiss worked. Maybe it broke the spell. But maybe the spell wasn't what I thought it was. I don't understand love, but I understand pain, I understand regret in a way I didn't only a few moment ago. And now I'm here, crying in front of a boy I barely know over the love that neither of us have. Our kinds are more alike than we think." -Enthralled

1."'So what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way no matter how hard your choice turns out to be, at least you can find comfort in knowing you're avoiding something even worse.'"- Starcrossed

I like thsi line becasue it makes a good point. I know sometimes we all have choices that can be really tough and neither option is any good. There are just some obstacles that can't be overcome easily and I have to say that choosing the lesser of the harder options will give you a comforting feeling. I think that by choosing what some might call the easy way your conscious is dealt with on a simpler more manageable level. Unfortunately, taking the easy way doesn't always give you the result you look for.

Starcrossed

I really enjoyed this book. Lately I have had an obsession with mythology and this fit the ticket. If you know your greek and roman mythology well then this story makes perfect sense. The main character Helen is pretty much the center of attention throughout the book. I thought it was cool how the author paralleled the abilities to a particular god or goddess. This book is kind of like Percy Jackson except it is more romance and there is a more complicated system. The characters of Helen and Lucas are what you might call the typical teenage couple. The only exception is that their lineage goes back thousands of years to Helen of Troy and the Trojan war. All of their world is controlled by the Furies or the three fates. There are 4 houses in total. House of Thebes which derives from Apollo, House of Atreus which are Aphrodite's daughters, House of Rome, and House of Athens. As we begin to get to know the relationship between the Delos family made up of Hector Jason and Ariadne the twins, Cassandra, the Oracle, Lucas, Castor, Noel, Pandora, and Pallas. The family is made up of cousins and brothers and sisters. I find it kind of humorous that all of the family has to move in order to discover Helen. Can't just send one messenger, have to send the whole clan. I thought that was funny. I think my favorite characters are Jason and Helen's best friend Claire. They are like the old married couple of the group. Non stop bickering anything that Claire does she is challenged by Jason at every cornor. We do not discover the true meaning behind this until close to the end, he has good intentions and that is to protect Claire from their kind, Demigods. So in a way it was expected, but it was adorable how they came together. I think there is that one person who gets on your nerves so bad that you kind of have to give in. I liked that part. Also, I thought it was neat that all of the characters names come from other stories in the ancestry. As the plot develops I kept asking myself, Who is Helen's mother? Where is she? What house is she from? Why does the Delos family recognize her face so well? What is the connection?? Well I found this aspect interesting and in my mind sort of hoped that is could be real. What would that be you ask? Well since the Furies control what goes on between the houses and controls history of each family, Faces of people past are portrayed in each generation. Another thing is that sometimes the children do not resemble their parents at all but rather the people they are supposed to role play as. Well I got the answers to all my question towards the end of the book. Turns out Helen's mother is Daphne Atreus. Head of the House of Atreus. She is one of the Daughters of Aphrodite. Each of the two where a necklace called a cestus which connects them. Turns out the romance I was hoping for between Lucas and Helen was doomed from the start. It only took an extremely long story of how Daphne dispised Ajax, Pandora's older brother and brother to Castor and Pallas, but after saving one another they fell in love. Turns out that was a problem for some of the family. Tantalus, the eldest of the family, did not approve of this and ultimately became and Outcast or a Kin-killer. Because of this he cannot make contact with the rest of the family without his sins being revealed to the rest of the family. Anyway Tantalus murdered Ajax and blamed Daphne for the death of his brother. So after thinking for many years that Jerry Hamilton had been her father turns out Ajax is her true father. Then things get even worse. The Delos family is split, There are the ones of whom we have met and know then there are the Hundered. They are what some might call a cult with only one desire, Immortality. They truely believed that they were the only house left and could finally achieve Atlantis and immortality. Boy, were they wrong. So there you have it back to square one. The story is extremely complicated and the ending kept you wondering what it is that Helen must do to end the Blood cycle, save the Rogues, and be able to accept herself as all one person. Cassandra, who belongs to the Furies, left this prophecy at the end,"'The Star-Crossed lovers are in warp and weft of the pattern, and my mothers are compelled to repeat it again and again. Symmetry must be maintained or the fabric of the universe will be ruined. All Four houses have been preserved this way.'" "'Four Houses and Three Heirs, the many voices continued to chant. 'The Star-Crossed lovershave preserved the bloodlines. And the Three shall raise Atlantis.'" "' The Desender must go down to those who cannot forgive and cannot forget. The Descender and her Shield will free the Three from their suffering as she will free the Houses from the cycle of blood for blood.'" Talk about erie and strange. It does keep you wondering and makes you crave more almost to the equivalent of chocolate! I cannot wait to read the next book!!!

Sentences of the Month/ Currently

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Pages this week: 216
Last Week: 958
Total: 3,221

Sentences of the Month:
5. "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

4.."I am whatever I am."
3."Donny glared at me,'Never trust a sneetch, little girl.'"

2."The last cobwebs clearing from her eyes, she decided that if Lucas was gay then she was going to have to get a sex change operation. He would be so worth it."

1."' Impossible, yes.' He admitted, after a few seconds. 'But interesting. Like you. And eternity is a long time. So if you have to spend it with someone, I could see wanting to spend it with someone impossible...but interesting.'"

This sentence is still my favorite and sticks with me all the time. When I think about my friends and the people I know I am usually reffered to as the one who is impossible. I relate very much to this line in Abandon because like John I too can be completely impossible, but at the same time I can act adn say thing different from most people. I have a unique style and sense to the world I see much like John's character.

My Favorite Claims:
1. In Todrick Hall's "I Wanna Be On Glee," Hall's plea to Glee creator Ryan Murphy shows Hall's inventiveness and artistic talents through the music video's cleverly pariodistic lyrics, assertive instrumentals, and effervescent choreography.

2.The use of motivational and inspiring words with the combination of the brotherhood seen in the images of the football game help to infer a sense of dedication and commitment that can only truly be seen on the football field.

3.[During her routine, Shawn Johnson displays powerful tumbling, gracefully swift dance, intense expression, and representative attire; which sets forth a confidently energetic, yet cheerful routine.]

4. Leonid Afremov's vibrant use of color, flowing appearance, and realistic, silky texture illustrates a feeling of whimsical relaxation and majestic euphoria.

5.

Close Readings: Pride of Cincinnati Summer of Love

Observe:
Music: Agressive, Energetic, Lyrical, Vibrant, Chaotic,Powerful

Choreography: Crazy, Colorful, Swift, Modern, Complimentary
     Rifle: Experienced, Rapid, Alive
     Flag: Melodic, Wild, Bright, Ecstatic,
     Dance: Confident, Admiring, Intense,

Space:Inventive, Open, Immense,

Facial Expression: Animated, Excited, Explosive, Passionate, Real

Claim: In Pride of Cincinnati's Summer of Love, the guard's vibrant, chaotic sound, complimentary choreography, and explosive, passionate expression create a outburst of colorful eccentricity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjYDUmmZ9_w

Currently (September 16th 2011)

The Books I have read:
Kisses from Hell by Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, and Francesca Lia Block
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney
Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Pages this Week: 958
Last week: 695
Total: 3,004

Sentences of the Week:
3. "'When you put it that way--not many.' She smiled. 'Especially not girls. Great and noble has usually been reserved for men.'" -Dark Mirror

2. "' And Gentlemen in England now abed / Shall think themselves accursed they were not here.'" -Dark Mirror

1. "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." -Kisses from Hell

I liked this line because it really made you think about what is real to you. I guess you could say it made me realize that not everything is what is seems to be. I feel as though it is talking about desire though. How sometimes what we see is our dream finally coming to life or better yet coming true. Nothing is eveer as we imagine and I feel that this kind of appeals to everyone's life not just my own. I feel like it is talking about Innocence and how the very essence of reality is dreaming. I like this quote because it opens up tunnel vision and with the characters involved in this story it fits the mood created from the passion of Dani and Bram. It really expresses that noth everything is as it seems.

Dark Mirror

The best book I have read so far. The characters, the adventure, the mystery it was all just fantastic. The Book starts out in 1803 England with Lady Victoria Mansfield. All is going perfectly well she is set to be married to Edward Harford and live a life of complete bliss. That would have happened had her mother not discovered her floating above her bed after getting caught up in a dream. Turns out her mother's family had a wee bit of magic in the blood. At this time mages, commoners with magical abilities, were accepted only in the lower classes if you were an aristocrat it meant condemnation. Victoria continues to deny that there is anything wrong and in an act of desperation uses he magic to save her nephew. She is sent away to Lackland abbey where she discovers not all condemn magic but embrace it. She becomes one of the Irregulars and learns to control her powers. When the headquarters is raided she is swept away to WWII through Merlin's Mirror. I like the parallel the author uses in the book between Napoleon and Hitler. They both wanted to conquer the world and both failed to do so. I liked how she used Britian and  the "middle man" that stood in the way of success for both. That made it interesting. The story itself was really clever. I like how she used Dover Castle as the central idea for the story and how during Operation Dynamo there was perfect weather for evacuation which is where she claimed the idea for magic being responsible. That was really clever thinking. Also, I like how she parallels the Irregulars to the future government of England. Instead of it being divided by blood, gender, or family names they are all on an equal level. One in the same. Eventually that is what becomes of the English Government. I'm a history buff so this type of thing makes the story more interesting. Another thing that was different about this story was that the focus was on Tory as an individual and her struggles for identity. The story didn't focus on romance as much as it did self discovery and the journey of honesty. I liked that with each character something new was added to the group as a whole not just ability but the character development made it easier to relate too. I was surprised and cannot wait to read the sequel and find out what happens to Tory and her friends!!