tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6351972574748063002024-03-05T02:17:35.872-06:00Hannah and Natalie's Infinite BookshelfConversational book reviews of two zany best friends.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-59029737544158592662014-04-19T17:05:00.001-05:002014-04-19T17:05:14.354-05:00The House of Hades Review!<b>Note: </b>This review is a little (lot) late because it was saved as a draft for a few months. Oops. -Hannah<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Because Natalie is no fun and hasn't ready any of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus books, Emma and I are going to review <u>The House of Hades!</u><br />
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<a href="webkit-fake-url://17636B60-8BAD-4738-94EC-D59577904DF8/12127810-the-house-of-hades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="12127810-the-house-of-hades.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="webkit-fake-url://17636B60-8BAD-4738-94EC-D59577904DF8/12127810-the-house-of-hades.jpg" width="131" /></a><i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;"></span>At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape? </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b>We are going to spoil the Hades out of this book! Skip to the end if you don't want to be spoiled.</b></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><br />Emma: </b>so here we go! Starting with the dedication--GARR!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Hannah: </b>the cliffhanger from Mark of Athena was worse than the cliffhanger in Catching Fire, which was previously my standard for evil cliffhangers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Emma: </b>I was very happy that it only took five chapters to get to Annabeth's pov because knowing</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> Rick Riordan I thought we weren't going to get to them till halfway through the book.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: It was also nice to have all seven of the prophecized (?) about narrate HoH, but the chapter division wasn't as even as in the previous books, and it seemed like we hardly ever heard from Jason and Piper.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: Also, I would have liked a chapter from Nico's point of view.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: I get that he wasn't one of the seven in the prophecy, but his freaking character development!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: Yeah! I totally saw the whole Percy crush coming, but I think I was the only person who did.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: Yay for Nico! YA & middle grade needs more characters like him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I was very happy, but one of my friends was devastated only because now she can't marry him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: So the only reason she can't marry him is because he's gay, not because he's a fictional character.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: Just a technicality :)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: Next character--Bob. Best reformed Titan ever. A chapter from Bob's P.O.V. would have been pretty cool too.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I also loved Small Bob the saber tooth kitty. He was definitely the smartest cat in Tartarus. Side note: Bob the Titan is the antithesis of Angel Bob from Doctor Who.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: One more Underworld thing and we'll move on. I can't believe Annabeth lost Daedalus's laptop, her invisibility hat, and her dagger!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I did enjoy Annabeth's new sword though. And now we finish up in Tartarus with the best quote "Another cosmic joke for Gaea to laugh at: Annabeth dies trying to keep her boyfriend, son of Poseidon, from drowning."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: How about Leo and Calypso? They were so cute together, and now Leo can stop being a seventh wheel to the rest of the couples.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I thought their fighting was hilarious and can't wait to see how their relationship plays out.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: Also, yay for Leo getting Frank that fireproof bag. Speaking of Frank, he and Hazel are probably my favorite couple.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I think Percabeth still wins but it was really great that Frank got to have his awesome hero moment and is now praetor even if Hazel didn't get to see it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: Hazel and Frank still had great storylines and lots of growth.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma; Speaking of awesome couples--I can't believe Coach Hedge is a father!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: There was enough other couple stuff happening with Coach Hedge, Percabeth, Hank (Frankzel?) that it wasn't so bad that Jason and Piper weren't really important in HoH. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: Yeah, although Piper saved the day from Khione with her awesome charmspeak, Jason didn't do much.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: Oh, well. The whole Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus plot was a bit more exciting.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;"><b>End Spoilers</b></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma: I thought that while the book was pretty good, it wasn't quite as ingenious as his other books.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Hannah: HoH was definitely up to the Rick Riordan standard. Not my favorite, but the plot was still fast paced and engaging--it didn't feel like 600 pages and the characters are awesome as always. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emma's Rating:</span><span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="font-family: Bentham; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">✭✭✭✭1/2</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Hannah's Rating: <span style="font-family: Bentham; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">✭✭✭✭1/2</span></span><br />
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<br />Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09048795154172601837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-27762622944582056642013-11-23T15:37:00.000-06:002013-11-23T15:38:04.808-06:00Love is Love Double Discussion!!!*blog makes cricket noises from lack of posting*<br />
*Hannah smashes crickets*<br />
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<b>Natalie</b>: Blame school.<br />
<b>Hannah</b>: Seriously. And blame college applications.<br />
<b>Natalie:</b> Basically, we have a lot of excuses.<br />
<b>Hannah:</b> We're bad bloggers.<br />
<b>Natalie:</b> Sorry about that. You can hate us if you want to.<br />
<b>Hannah:</b> But to make up for it (and hopefully make you hate us less), we have a double book discussion today!<br />
<b>Natalie</b>: On to the discussions!<br />
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<b>Natalie</b>: One of the panels we really enjoyed at the Decatur Book Festival was the Love is Love Panel. This panel discussed LGBT in YA books.<br />
<b>Hannah</b>: There were two authors, Sara Farizan and David Levithan. They both discussed their latest books (until it started storming).<br />
<b>Natalie</b>: If You Could Be Mine is Sara's fantastic debut novel:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants, in the body she wants to be loved in, without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">(Cover and synopsis from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17302571-if-you-could-be-mine?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah:</b> This book was really unique.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>We've never read anything like it before.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>It was cool that it was set in a different country and we got to learn about their culture.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>The book deals with two lesbian best friends and it was interesting to see how a different culture handled it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>The characters were my favorite part of the book. They were very likable.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">*Hannah takes a break to play FreeFlow*</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>Apparently it's my turn to talk...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I really liked the characters too. They were very real and convincing. I felt bad for them and their situation, but they were also able to lighten the mood through humor.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah:</b> It was great to have characters that made you laugh with them and then made your heart break a little bit for them.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>We don't want to say too much about the plot because we don't want to spoil it, but it was a beautiful story with amazing writing that captured our attention and emotions. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>We were so glad to be able to meet Sara and we highly highly recommend her book.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364194940l/17237214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1364194940l/17237214.jpg" width="225" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><em>New York Times</em> bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.<br />While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">(Cover and synopsis from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17237214-two-boys-kissing?from_search=true" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>)</span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>At the Love is Love panel, David Levithan said that he tried to write the stereotypical David Levithan novel, or something like that. It's been a while since that panel, so excuse our memories. Anyway, it totally worked. <i>Two Boys Kissing </i>was absolutely amazing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>We both read it during the car ride home from Decatur. And we both loved it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah:</b> It was short and sweet, like all David Levithan books. This one is tied with <i>Love is the Higher Law</i> for my favorite of his books.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie:</b> It tackles many social issues in a raw, open way.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>The best part was the omniscient narrator. I love books with omniscient narrators and it seems like there aren't enough.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>All of the characters are real, flawed, and believable. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Basically, go read this book now. Or else...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-87276899682494821162013-11-03T19:34:00.003-06:002013-11-03T19:34:50.753-06:00Sooooooooo..........<b>Natalie</b>: Soooooo, things have been a little quiet around here lately. We apologize for that. Life has been a little crazy lately. With college applications (Hannah) and NaNoWriMo (Natalie), we haven't had a ton of free time to write blog posts. We're super sorry and we hope that you guys stick with us because we have some awesome things planned for later this month! Sorry again and I promise we will be back soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-152514914636659282013-09-14T21:44:00.001-05:002013-09-15T12:37:34.809-05:00Decatur Book Festival 2013!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Hannah: </b>Over Labor Day weekend we got to take a road trip to Decatur, Georgia for the Decatur Book Festival!<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>It was super fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetobbAeFxPuaAP1eWHNSuGCcohAbcmMZ_pDN7TDvj8TVpwuGxGQ8n83bwFkaV6R1xgSIh_DI7UpmJgRnSpD4vIoMoUjo5dZ14sV-Si3bPr9tQQ2Emfm4djbZRC5A9tZPTdh-apIc3xkCD/s1600/P1040134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhetobbAeFxPuaAP1eWHNSuGCcohAbcmMZ_pDN7TDvj8TVpwuGxGQ8n83bwFkaV6R1xgSIh_DI7UpmJgRnSpD4vIoMoUjo5dZ14sV-Si3bPr9tQQ2Emfm4djbZRC5A9tZPTdh-apIc3xkCD/s1600/P1040134.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Myra McEntire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>*Emma pops in*</i></div>
<b>Emma: </b>Hello! *waves*<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Emma is going to help us recap the festival since she was along for the (nine hour) ride.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>And she was our sherpa!<br />
<b>Emma: </b>That basically meant that I held umbrellas and saved seats.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Have Natalie and I told you how awesome you are lately, Emma?<br />
<b>Emma: </b>Not particularly.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Well, you're awesome!!!<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Part One: It's a Party in the Min-i-van</span></span></i></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
<b>Hannah: </b>We started our car ride with the playlist that Natalie and I specially made for DBF. That didn't annoy our mothers at all.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Especially when we turned "Party in the U.S.A." into Party in the Minivan.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>We did actually pass <i>a </i>Hollywood sign somewhere in the middle of Illinois. Though it was on our left, not on our right.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Then I started reading <i>Wuthering Heights, </i>which I had to finish for school.<br />
<b><br /></b>
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<b>Natalie: W</b>e stopped at the Metropolis rest stop, where Hannah and Emma's mom got us <u>Great River Road in Illinois National Scenic Byway</u> coloring books! Then I told Hannah to "finish your book for AP Lit so we can be like five year olds!"<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Then we colored in a picture of "dear" and then corrected all of the spelling and grammar mistakes in the GRRiINSB coloring books. And then commented on how nerdy we are.<br />
<b><br /></b>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We only had orange, purple, and red Sharpies</td></tr>
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<b>Emma: </b>After the coloring got boring, I started knitting a veryvery long Doctor Who scarf.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Hannah & Natalie: </b>We don't understand this.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Then Emma taught us to knit pygmy puffs (and we again commented on our nerdiness) and Natalie got mad at her knitting needles. A lot.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>I can now say from experience that knitting sucks. Unless you're good at it. Which I am not.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>Then Lee, our Australian GPS, told us we were almost at the hotel, so we bounced around excitedly.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Until we saw the hotel.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">Part Two: Alarm goes "whoop, whoop"</span></b></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f1c232;"><br /></span></b></i></span>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The hotel we stayed at will forever be referred to as the hotel from hell.</span><br />
<b>Emma: </b>They lost our reservation.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Our room was on a partially smoking floor.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>There was a hair in our coffee pot.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>The floors were so gross that our mom didn't even let us put our suitcases on the floor.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>The lampshade had holes in it.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>And the ceiling had a . . . bladder.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were afraid the ceiling would leak</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Hannah: </b>We gave up on the hotel and left for dinner.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>The elevator apparently was the Great Glass Elevator from<i> Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i>.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Hannah: </b>And we saw these signs. . .<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Natalie: </b>So then we went out to dinner with Hannah and Emma's cousins. We started to get lost and eventually figured out that we needed to go in a "Waffle-Housery direction".<br />
<b>Emma: </b>When we finally got there, we told our cousins all about our <i>lovely </i>hotel.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>They told us to leave the ceiling bladder at the hotel and let us stay in their apartment.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>By the way, thankyouthankyouthankyou!<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">Part Three: "It's like the South is french kissing me all over!"--Robyn Schneider</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f6b26b;"><br /></span></span></i></b>
<b>Emma: </b>We got there super-early and staked out some nice shady seats because it was like a billion and three degrees out.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>We're St. Louis girls, who are used to humidity but not the hot Georgia sun.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Hannah: </b>The first panel was the Sci-Fi Panel with D.J. MacHale and Rick Yancey.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D.J. MacHale</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rick Yancey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Natalie: </b>This was the first panel, so we didn't know how the signing line worked. So we ended up at the end of a very long line.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Next was the Zombies and Others Who Are Not Quite Dead Yet Panel with Amy Tintera and Jonathan Maberry.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Which I missed because I was still in the signing line from the previous panel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Amy Tintera</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Emma: </b>Well, How Did I Get Here? with Myra McEntire, Lauren Miller, and Michelle Hodkin was the next panel. The authors were all very funny, as was the moderator.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>We didn't understand how all of them had jeans on. Myra and Michelle even had black jackets! We were grossly hot in shorts and t-shirts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moderator, Lauren Miller, Myra McEntire, Michelle Hodkin</td></tr>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Natalie: </b>Next was Francesca Lia Block. I got her new book, <i>Love in the Time of Global Warming</i>, which is really really pretty.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Natalie stroked the cover for about ten minutes after she bought it.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>It's pretty!<br />
<b>Emma: </b>Robyn Schneider, Lauren Morrill, and Bridie Clark were on the Love and Romance Panel. We all enjoyed the panel, as all the authors were hilarious. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_BjoLh8qmPjFGjv3tjaJSFFinhXAtWzVBM5BwAKNJG5W0u88PQohDBySaCtDQogEc3qKaI-mlzVn-CrPfiQ2e-p6B596qFRWPShXdwLhsqU-jdkc39YmH-dKhtU-MVlUjl-Im1zsGkHs/s1600/P1040145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_BjoLh8qmPjFGjv3tjaJSFFinhXAtWzVBM5BwAKNJG5W0u88PQohDBySaCtDQogEc3qKaI-mlzVn-CrPfiQ2e-p6B596qFRWPShXdwLhsqU-jdkc39YmH-dKhtU-MVlUjl-Im1zsGkHs/s1600/P1040145.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terra McVoy (moderator), Bridie Clark, Lauren Morrill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>We took a picture with Robyn Schneider during the signing line, and she tried to crawl under the table because she was afraid the picture would look bad. Unfortunately, there was a table cloth in the way.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEtqIy5dDk_c_5UriRXLNDK7S002UZff-meeqvPro09Vu1cfxryo41_KlGcA43yxeytSliaK45vYqv5yH5B-p9uYNzgTrxj_4TRfPJpD8V-Vz5aRxaNv_U_xfuBbxrgtpWUv1rNDlqW2z/s1600/P1040147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEtqIy5dDk_c_5UriRXLNDK7S002UZff-meeqvPro09Vu1cfxryo41_KlGcA43yxeytSliaK45vYqv5yH5B-p9uYNzgTrxj_4TRfPJpD8V-Vz5aRxaNv_U_xfuBbxrgtpWUv1rNDlqW2z/s1600/P1040147.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Robyn Schneider</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Lauren Morrill was also awesome! We talked Gilmore Girls couples (Rory and Jess are the best) and lamented Bunheads.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8VgdTWCSKCOKcdYKIX2UQAK8wH3d3y_ddQHFJ3HPiPV7ykHx9Ql_WhJZVJCKxcFWt1n0RPTCdqrD3O5ERX3HBrgPnQitqKn-ZZ72BbYFm1TZMLqYqqOFsdg50EoC0x_1m-T4IfW-1hX5/s1600/P1040146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8VgdTWCSKCOKcdYKIX2UQAK8wH3d3y_ddQHFJ3HPiPV7ykHx9Ql_WhJZVJCKxcFWt1n0RPTCdqrD3O5ERX3HBrgPnQitqKn-ZZ72BbYFm1TZMLqYqqOFsdg50EoC0x_1m-T4IfW-1hX5/s1600/P1040146.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Lauren Morrill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<b>Emma: </b>The last panel we went to was the More Sci-Fi Thrills and Chills, with Robin Wasserman and Geoffrey Girard.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>When Robin Wasserman signed her alibi in <i>Who Done It?</i>, she said that she still had not gotten a copy of the book.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-rR3yEIETifOik74jV5usMrOktKOqGHFpplA4M2I4phU89fTloUykTlV66c5hShFwHSR1VSDYNFNlnXKI8un7NTxL-grHrudqMDiDDBcdk9n7onLxXNeumPPNq8thf13pXxlLEBiDsh4/s1600/P1040160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-rR3yEIETifOik74jV5usMrOktKOqGHFpplA4M2I4phU89fTloUykTlV66c5hShFwHSR1VSDYNFNlnXKI8un7NTxL-grHrudqMDiDDBcdk9n7onLxXNeumPPNq8thf13pXxlLEBiDsh4/s1600/P1040160.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Robin Wasserman</td></tr>
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">Part Four: "This is the most biblical reading I've ever given"--David Levithan</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;"><br /></span></span></i></b>
<b>Natalie: </b>The weather was perfect when we arrived at the Fierce Reads Panel. Leigh Bardugo, Gennifer Albin, Anna Banks, and Marie Rutkoski were all hilarious.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>The q&a started off with Leigh Bardugo's twitter dance. That video is floating around on instagram if you want to see it.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>The best quotes of the panel were courtesy of Anna Banks.<br />
"Everything I say is under the influence of Benadryl."<br />
"That's how I felt about outlines: bra in the shower"<br />
"I thought I could write a book when I first read Twilight"<br />
"I set out to be really charming and that didn't work out" (on what she wanted to be when she grows up)<br />
<b>Emma: </b>Leigh Bardugo was a close second in hilarity<br />
"I have metaphorical allergies so I want to go to a metaphorical spa"<br />
"And I occasionally have broccoli in my hair"<br />
"I don't agree!!! Thank you."<br />
"It's like you have taken a giant pile of crap and spread it on the screen and said I wrote that!" (on first drafts)<br />
"He asked me if I had minions, which I don't, but then he introduced me to his." (On talking to George R. R. Martin)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtqf-Oko_4ZdWGtY7vKdO7ljWmzQI2gS8ps_hmDJOqYqJrRJQwntdAi4W7-T9WE8wzNqc1QpI32SkkjUuFXB1yYoiRQAcUABghmkr7XWFNs_PUd8vhkgYNicGopICQclRjBl-QcEVOZuT/s1600/P1040219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtqf-Oko_4ZdWGtY7vKdO7ljWmzQI2gS8ps_hmDJOqYqJrRJQwntdAi4W7-T9WE8wzNqc1QpI32SkkjUuFXB1yYoiRQAcUABghmkr7XWFNs_PUd8vhkgYNicGopICQclRjBl-QcEVOZuT/s1600/P1040219.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Leigh Bardugo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYvNJXAjYLpeJhMjH0A2H3p39sNQDv3s4mhr6jbzayypKRge1DIxb2d3A58QDjFV3YIlbC1ZUWTzWwBAGxjeE8KiP8NYN1RFp5ITryxIpmwal-5mioTYYYBYUZZIIxMGs3jjbzGLuhUDF/s1600/P1040173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYvNJXAjYLpeJhMjH0A2H3p39sNQDv3s4mhr6jbzayypKRge1DIxb2d3A58QDjFV3YIlbC1ZUWTzWwBAGxjeE8KiP8NYN1RFp5ITryxIpmwal-5mioTYYYBYUZZIIxMGs3jjbzGLuhUDF/s1600/P1040173.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leigh Bardugo, Marie Rutkoski</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoGFLJIaSVeEqr0pFsys5JYhPncU_r9bgN5QCA-55laXKlKKaF_HL8TwyvM4Rs0QNeS9t8sTa0Lw0SrnXLMOfdyefaLrk4-nMl8NHAo3ZVsxuOj2NmpyT-LwlqjCee9NxUvUPydMd6XEb/s1600/P1040172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoGFLJIaSVeEqr0pFsys5JYhPncU_r9bgN5QCA-55laXKlKKaF_HL8TwyvM4Rs0QNeS9t8sTa0Lw0SrnXLMOfdyefaLrk4-nMl8NHAo3ZVsxuOj2NmpyT-LwlqjCee9NxUvUPydMd6XEb/s1600/P1040172.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leigh Bardugo, Marie Rutkoski, Gennifer Albin, Anna Banks (who has a pole covering her face. Sorry!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Hannah: </b>Next was one of the panels we were most looking forward too, the Love is Love Panel with David Levithan and Sara Farizan!<br />
<b>Emma: </b>We missed the first few minutes of Sara's reading because the Fierce Reads signing line was kinda long. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">:(</span></b></span><br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Then David Levithan started reading from <i>Two Boys Kissing <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">and it started to thunder ominously. Hence the quote used for the title of this section.</span></i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_Ae8PmTzkNvldcKQKEYE6R7rALnNMiytQjpO8W7RNUoIVNEBCylhvDRMg3_TogwVyFzpwnR5mxgLfuFSt-KXEC5Leu2mOPk5lSy2AhqQtGo-p-Pub_17_y8JT_LnVKH-TPjF894TPuLv/s1600/P1040189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_Ae8PmTzkNvldcKQKEYE6R7rALnNMiytQjpO8W7RNUoIVNEBCylhvDRMg3_TogwVyFzpwnR5mxgLfuFSt-KXEC5Leu2mOPk5lSy2AhqQtGo-p-Pub_17_y8JT_LnVKH-TPjF894TPuLv/s1600/P1040189.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's always the lesbians who fall for me. That's why I'm single."--David Levithan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Hannah: </b>The weather got bad and we were all ushered under the signing line tent, with its metal poles, because apparently it is magical and will protect us all from the ominous weather. </span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m7jqsKd25WVswvHWNBNYgGx4jdKOi2ruZBjHnzYbxOafl0_sae6m4EfOriCGhOurhvZjQZnobfzL4OI0JPAGrq1un3v2996MmWLH2_BNBY6UnOVjB2jHBtdZhKS-TpvGnCZAd42OYxbX/s1600/P1040190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m7jqsKd25WVswvHWNBNYgGx4jdKOi2ruZBjHnzYbxOafl0_sae6m4EfOriCGhOurhvZjQZnobfzL4OI0JPAGrq1un3v2996MmWLH2_BNBY6UnOVjB2jHBtdZhKS-TpvGnCZAd42OYxbX/s1600/P1040190.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Not trusting the magical metal tent*</td></tr>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>Natalie: </b>Then we finally got our books signed by David Levithan and Sara Farizan, and we only got a little bit wet. (Thanks to our sherpa holding an umbrella over us)</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>Hannah: </b>Actually, I think the umbrella was over the books, not us. Because they are more important. </span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2zxv09RkU7rPZlDVy84ugcTNMPo5ESkGRkEQvZ6uH79lWZfdj31XCoAwxKR310cdACSGpY9jwSGF71-23XcTV4_kLz3LC_jcbX75VC9OQp5LCwJ3W2dEbG5AJtebiJ6OIcW7Gauo4xyF/s1600/P1040218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2zxv09RkU7rPZlDVy84ugcTNMPo5ESkGRkEQvZ6uH79lWZfdj31XCoAwxKR310cdACSGpY9jwSGF71-23XcTV4_kLz3LC_jcbX75VC9OQp5LCwJ3W2dEbG5AJtebiJ6OIcW7Gauo4xyF/s1600/P1040218.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With David Levithan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Emma, Hannah, & Natalie: </b>Next we got to meet SUSAN BETH PFEFFER!!!!!<br />
<b>Emma: </b>And we learned that the P is silent in Pfeffer.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>But it's still more fun to pronounce the P and say P-feffer.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>She went on the stage early so people could ask questions, so we got a picture with her!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGmNm5qpOrkCqpvHPN7Imsjd6GlnZwl9uv4HiKKPAPU9rnWZmPxhdRCF7fsdeB_cpHxwGo3FOG8XgevQ6STb7XvwPVcLO3fgvpPh-rhyphenhyphenmRsfxmaO3CG-ilgvQYFBr4lzsqZuPcpNWbKuA/s1600/P1040200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGmNm5qpOrkCqpvHPN7Imsjd6GlnZwl9uv4HiKKPAPU9rnWZmPxhdRCF7fsdeB_cpHxwGo3FOG8XgevQ6STb7XvwPVcLO3fgvpPh-rhyphenhyphenmRsfxmaO3CG-ilgvQYFBr4lzsqZuPcpNWbKuA/s1600/P1040200.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Susan Pfeffer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Natalie: </b>She was super nice and funny. And we only fangirled a little. Fine, a lot.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>Hannah and I share a lot of books, including the whole Life as We Knew It Series. Susan Beth Pfeffer alternated signing them Hannah & Emma and Emma & Hannah, which was funny and nice of her.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0tjaO1JE7WFxDSXc6jPhzs9bOMq-VKlD-WqPbCDZkQID2jX-4JEM0102jsc1UX41qar_mO8OFqHflhehQNpVBBlZyTUxZb9maaLn2DBF4fxXHz5dh3QpX1Y0EzKelbOQO52yg7w8O1gM/s1600/P1040211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0tjaO1JE7WFxDSXc6jPhzs9bOMq-VKlD-WqPbCDZkQID2jX-4JEM0102jsc1UX41qar_mO8OFqHflhehQNpVBBlZyTUxZb9maaLn2DBF4fxXHz5dh3QpX1Y0EzKelbOQO52yg7w8O1gM/s1600/P1040211.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susan Pfeffer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Natalie: </b>We had a break in between panels, so we wandered about the wet square. And we met Mirabelle, an adorable dog, who has her own book series.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9GIKQ_P2WQxq-hlKaMVCc1LQ-qCkvlabkrz8g-XBJqYgTHJVuShyDSWakBPO3Myc5yIWuDxsmz-2RGT_7MeOqrQ4FT9i7EG9tQOtj-M1DnfBwkzK0t0ec8KXMQVQmu4pBQeODVY9jYQD/s1600/P1040212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9GIKQ_P2WQxq-hlKaMVCc1LQ-qCkvlabkrz8g-XBJqYgTHJVuShyDSWakBPO3Myc5yIWuDxsmz-2RGT_7MeOqrQ4FT9i7EG9tQOtj-M1DnfBwkzK0t0ec8KXMQVQmu4pBQeODVY9jYQD/s1600/P1040212.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't Mirabelle look thrilled to be posing with us?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Natalie: </b>Next was the blogger panel, which was interesting and made us realize that we have no idea what we are doing.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Then we got to eat dinner with Sara Farizan!<br />
<b>Emma: </b>!!!!!<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Turns out Sara knew our cousins from college.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4ela_dLP224r_giZmkJvkvQGxqAiX2zI_DpkufNheJffXJLDAXmaFH39nx2VrEYoSeTPalSHXohg1dDWuRZACrL-S39MdJHRM5F247l0o3m61VPNU04j4kV9JmgGwXQa0EKTRd05f5oY/s1600/P1040237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4ela_dLP224r_giZmkJvkvQGxqAiX2zI_DpkufNheJffXJLDAXmaFH39nx2VrEYoSeTPalSHXohg1dDWuRZACrL-S39MdJHRM5F247l0o3m61VPNU04j4kV9JmgGwXQa0EKTRd05f5oY/s1600/P1040237.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Sara Farizan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Natalie: </b>Anyway, dinner was awesome. We talked writing and book nerdiness with Sara, and ate yummy potato rounds.<br />
<b>Emma: </b>They reminded us of Trader Joe's popped potato chips, which we ate a ton of in the car, so we decided they were the official food of our trip.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzR7-hx_-rVYI9bNj7X8S3qG_unnHQzxD5rTQ5EfxAMuIkGWURqYVng_qGaDTwqwaJh5kMwYeOLBoH68BSSAYz9lIY0z6nZWYl9JK1a8_h-hdNAkLL2zueluIei3luhxwsLAMTNBYqQzm5/s1600/P1040234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzR7-hx_-rVYI9bNj7X8S3qG_unnHQzxD5rTQ5EfxAMuIkGWURqYVng_qGaDTwqwaJh5kMwYeOLBoH68BSSAYz9lIY0z6nZWYl9JK1a8_h-hdNAkLL2zueluIei3luhxwsLAMTNBYqQzm5/s1600/P1040234.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So good!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e69138;">Part Five: The End (plus random pictures)</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b4a7d6;"><br /></span></span></i></b>
We had such a fun trip and we hope we can go back next year!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0xW2-D8N2vJfue5o0by5-I9E7qvpg6bMhyphenhyphenjfq5m1Prap2MYXxQhQrmM09bj3hmR0Rbh0QDNTURECJ91SJ04wORwqFR0qFb_U0E0Y32X-CVM-Evyeizk6JKMO79QAC0SpADb-RKnZdbj8/s1600/P1040155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm0xW2-D8N2vJfue5o0by5-I9E7qvpg6bMhyphenhyphenjfq5m1Prap2MYXxQhQrmM09bj3hmR0Rbh0QDNTURECJ91SJ04wORwqFR0qFb_U0E0Y32X-CVM-Evyeizk6JKMO79QAC0SpADb-RKnZdbj8/s1600/P1040155.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma wore these earrings on the first day and got tons of compliments! We think she should open an Etsy store.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj4pvE5jkyuZ6J_24zyItADE7p9zcF_d_Df8sWQQyzTGc_XYTIm6izNUyG3JkpYuZcNeoz5MTp35BO3dI7bq6tSBW_2ZIqO-BkQR4beNrShYC5x3vB6DVw6Sjqssehyphenhyphenn77lAc0p0S4Qwh/s1600/P1040114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwj4pvE5jkyuZ6J_24zyItADE7p9zcF_d_Df8sWQQyzTGc_XYTIm6izNUyG3JkpYuZcNeoz5MTp35BO3dI7bq6tSBW_2ZIqO-BkQR4beNrShYC5x3vB6DVw6Sjqssehyphenhyphenn77lAc0p0S4Qwh/s1600/P1040114.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Shop of Stories</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtNDAY6OE6fKLgmGeu8Jm8zGJFRFKmw00i0uPdUU45oQm4fBlX_IRx6_WmjOPCu0y_Dgeez3ob5OjpL4xWdHK_o3NGalNGJ3npGEvI2mSovdlG_W0Lm6JeyCzWx0l7Hlkmb2p5ijRCOjp/s1600/P1040111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtNDAY6OE6fKLgmGeu8Jm8zGJFRFKmw00i0uPdUU45oQm4fBlX_IRx6_WmjOPCu0y_Dgeez3ob5OjpL4xWdHK_o3NGalNGJ3npGEvI2mSovdlG_W0Lm6JeyCzWx0l7Hlkmb2p5ijRCOjp/s1600/P1040111.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">We saw these in Little Shop of Stories and flipped out! We love the new covers!</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-UId79m7RrU8dtK5tHzkteXN8lD6Qi_DwjK6jcVNLeKVzLMbNhSMA9MBRkpXNDwgBBqLiXZuOEV-K_JQA3Vw3-JAn3lStFX4DaTceqfrJQUBcasmnkNSvBd9k74xGDA49jk4P_qHtQqo/s1600/P1040246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg-UId79m7RrU8dtK5tHzkteXN8lD6Qi_DwjK6jcVNLeKVzLMbNhSMA9MBRkpXNDwgBBqLiXZuOEV-K_JQA3Vw3-JAn3lStFX4DaTceqfrJQUBcasmnkNSvBd9k74xGDA49jk4P_qHtQqo/s1600/P1040246.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of our books! (And some slightly crappy lighting)</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KvUtB8xmk7olW2o-tQ6-osrD6Az5KCDyVvyAm84_fwZIGEpCFOzmYE4d8RJ09oRrpaUkxfya1FCW35EEAezrEfl6MEDTDlozpHXl1i7IH1TsapQjUE7HgkGtmZ9t-BQnwssc4T2yCmbe/s1600/P1040240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KvUtB8xmk7olW2o-tQ6-osrD6Az5KCDyVvyAm84_fwZIGEpCFOzmYE4d8RJ09oRrpaUkxfya1FCW35EEAezrEfl6MEDTDlozpHXl1i7IH1TsapQjUE7HgkGtmZ9t-BQnwssc4T2yCmbe/s1600/P1040240.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got a some cool swag. The "Let's all privateer" button is Natalie's favorite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The song that was stuck in our heads for the majority of the trip: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTbPO4ys7jg">No One Knows by The Section Quartet</a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTbPO4ys7jg"></a><b>Disclaimer:</b> We cannot guarantee the accuracy of any quotes. We only paraphrased from our memories. Or something. So they could be wrong, but they should be mostly right.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Zj0GFbqYdMX4BvA-G-v3-LhFUTQM2Zp_ygFArwVLbql69uoGXvBDMIKJA3z2CrdunNK6XF2BbcWkkqNXZMkNeR7u8r0J0UFvv4SijYfx-35WO9fa0BVohJvJ55M_RGic9HY1d1l7vvea/s1600/P1040251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Zj0GFbqYdMX4BvA-G-v3-LhFUTQM2Zp_ygFArwVLbql69uoGXvBDMIKJA3z2CrdunNK6XF2BbcWkkqNXZMkNeR7u8r0J0UFvv4SijYfx-35WO9fa0BVohJvJ55M_RGic9HY1d1l7vvea/s1600/P1040251.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma and her pygmy puff say thanks for reading!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i>One last note: We have some extra swag from this and the RT Booklover's Convention that we went to last May. Would any of you be interested in a giveaway? Let us know in the comments!</i></b>Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09048795154172601837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-73196299884929212952013-08-25T20:33:00.004-05:002013-08-25T20:34:04.102-05:00Decatur Book Festival!!!<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This post is brought to you by exclamation points, SENTENCES IN ALL CAPS, and the word 'excited'.</span></i><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">FIVE DAYS!!!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe you should clarify.</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The title clarifies it.</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I guess I'll clarify it then. We're going to the Decatur Book Festival!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">WE'RE SO EXCITED!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> We plan on getting a lot of books to review-</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: -a</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">nd meeting lots of awesome authors-</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">-like...</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie and Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">SUSAN BETH PFEFFER!!!!!!!!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You might have heard of her. She wrote that little book called LIFE AS WE KNEW IT!!!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We aren't excited about that at all...</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:</span></b></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We're so excited to meet authors, fellow book lovers, and fellow bloggers!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We plan on writing a full recap of the festival so we can tell you about all the awesomeness that went down!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You know it hasn't actually happened yet, right? How do you know that any awesomeness went down?</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">AWESOMENESS WILL GO DOWN!!!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If you say so.</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, be prepared for wacky pictures, funny stories-</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">-and book-squealing, of course!</span><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There's so much to do and we probably won't post another review until after the festival, so we'll see you guys after we get back from Georgia!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-15635226469279910602013-08-13T16:36:00.002-05:002013-08-13T16:38:49.698-05:00Tiger Lily Review!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson</span></span><br />
<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1329681513l/7514925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1329681513l/7514925.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter. </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.</span></i></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Picture and synopsis from </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7514925-tiger-lily" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></i></div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As you may have guessed, we really like pretty covers. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And the cover of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tiger Lily</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> is another cover that we really like. So that means we are going to squeal about it, and Natalie is going to stroke the book. Because Natalie tends to stroke books with pretty covers.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I can't help it! They're pretty!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*insert squealing here*</span></i></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Moving on to the words </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">in </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">the book.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So this book was a retelling of Peter Pan. It was told from Tinker Bell's point of view, which I thought with really cool and interesting.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I liked how the Tink started out narrating pretty objectively, but then she because more biased as the story went on and she became more involved with Tiger Lily and Peter Pan and everything.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The story took popular characters and gave them more depth than the animated Disney versions. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A character that wasn't my favorite was Tiger Lily. She could be so mean to poor Pine Sap. I mean, hasn't Pine Sap suffered enough with a name like Pine Sap?</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I felt like she was trying so hard to be strong and tough that she came across as detached at some points.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> This is an awkward transition, but it's next chronologically in our post it note markings... So I liked how Peter Pan's spelling was very Winnie-the-Pooh. For example: "IN MEMRY OF THE STRANJER". </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Going back to characters, it was cool to learn the story of how Hook got his hook.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The backstories to Hook's hook and the alligator's clock and the Lost Boys and stuff were really neat. It was one of my favorite parts of the retelling.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Another random aside--the evil mermaids were totally like the merpeople in Harry Potter. (Natalie and I are obsessed with Harry Potter).</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I liked the romance between Peter Pan and Tiger Lily, but in the beginning it was rushed and kind of came out of nowhere.</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(And this isn't a spoiler--the back of the book says that PP is a match for TL and they have a bond.)</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But this part is a spoiler so if you don't want to be spoiled..</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The part when Peter killed one of the pirates was kind of a reality check. This book isn't the rainbows and unicorns tale that the Disney movie told. It's dark and gritty, but that's what makes it so good.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">...skip to here!</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>I liked reading about the Sky Eaters, Tiger Lily's tribe. The details about their life were really interesting. My favorite part was how they watched every sunset and remembered them all. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>Another annoyance I had with Tiger Lily was that she wasn't very logical sometimes. She was unhappy with the Sky Eaters, but when opportunities arose for her to change her situation, she didn't take them.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>(and Natalie, too) We kinda hate Wendy. That's all.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>The ending was so powerful for me (I can't say anything else about it because that would spoil it and apparently we're not spoiling anything now). The last page literally had me in tears, which hasn't happened since I read <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Overall Impressions:</span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Tiger Lily was really good. I liked the backstories and Tink's narration, but Tiger Lily was kind of an annoying character. Tiger Lily also could have been a bit more interesting, especially since the book was called Tiger Lily.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>I absolutely loved Tiger Lily. It was such a lush, dark retelling of one of my favorite "fairy tales." The writing was outstanding and so interesting to read. There was such a great cast of characters that were developed through out the story. And I think Hannah is crazy for only giving it 3 stars.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: ✭✭✭</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: ✭✭✭✭✭</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Random Side Note: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Jodi Lynn Anderson also wrote <i>May Bird</i> <i>and the Ever After</i>, which Natalie reviewed six-ish years ago for summer newspaper writing camp that we both went to. (Hannah wrote about the possible-planet-object that caused Pluto to be, in Natalie's words, kicked out of the solar system.)</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-46056434011672440512013-07-29T13:55:00.000-05:002013-07-30T10:14:58.810-05:00Oath of Servitude Review!<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Oath of Servitude by C.E. Wilson</b></span></i></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>This is the story of Teague and Cailin, two teenagers who have been brought together by fate. Teague, a human, struggles to come to terms with the consequences of a recent accident that has destroyed the happy life that he had once enjoyed. Cailin, a pixi, is trying to stay true to herself while fighting against forces beyond her control that have exiled her from her home into this strange world of humans. She fears the darkness. He cannot escape it. But when the two of them are thrown together, they begin to discover the light inside of themselves.</i></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">(Cover and synopsis from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16006933-oath-of-servitude?ac=1">Goodreads.</a>)</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: We were given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.</span><br />
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<b>Natalie: </b>Today we're going to try review the book conversationally, but not spoil anything. Tell us what you think. Hannah, what did you think of the book?<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>This book had a very interesting concept. I really like fantasy books, so I was excited to read a book about pixis.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>The concept was very original, which I liked.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>I also liked the humor in Cailin and Teague's exchanges.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>I liked the way the story was told from many different characters' points of view.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Yeah, it was cool how you still could learn about the pixi-world even after the main character had left it.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>So this was the first book that I've read that was not on paper.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>And that is the last book I will ever read not made of paper. I can't stand not holding an actual book. (By the way, neither of us have e-readers, so we read this book on computers.) It is just not the same.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>This was also the first self-published book I've ever read, so I don't have anything else to compare it to, but in my opinion, this book could have used more editing. I know it probably takes a lot of work to self publish, and it's awesome that the author did that, but there were some grammatical, punctuation, and repetition errors that could have been easily fixed.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>I agree. Whenever I have to write a paper or something for school, I always have a friend look over it because they can always catch those little errors that I skip over because I'm still seeing what I thought I wrote. This book could have benefited from another set of eyes before it was published.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>Now onto the plot.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>I really enjoyed the initial plot of the-pixi-in-a-human-world. However, the pixi-politics plot just wasn't my favorite. The pixi government just seemed mean, and I didn't care for any of the politicians enough to get into that particular plotline. There was also a plotline about Cailin's sisters, a plotline about Owen and Nolkrin, a backstory for Owen, and the relationships between the pixis.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>I think there were too many plotlines being crammed into such a short novel. It was too much to keep straight, and it made it harder to get into the story.<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b>Hannah's sister Emma said that this part won't spoil anything, but it does mention something that happens towards the end of the book. If you think that this might spoil the book for you, skip this part.</b></span><br />
<b>Hannah: </b>I was confused by the love triangle at the end. It didn't make any sense to me.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>It was too out of the blue. You didn't know much about Cailin's relationships with the other pixis before going to the human world, so it was a random guy just proclaiming his love for Cailin.<br />
<b>Hannah: </b>Love triangles have been overdone in lots of YA lately, so they really have to be good for me to get behind them, and, unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>I thought it was really weird.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">End sort-of spoilers.</span></b></span><br />
<b>Hannah: </b>I thought this book had a very intriguing concept, but the execution could have been a bit better. There were funny moments and good characters, just a few too many of them.<br />
<b>Natalie: </b>It was an interesting take on supernatural elements in a realistic setting, but there were too many plotlines and it wasn't as well-woven as it could have been.<br />
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<b>Ratings:</b><br />
<b>Hannah: </b><b><span style="line-height: 19px;">✭</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">✭</span></b><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b></span><b><span style="line-height: 19px;">✭</span><span style="line-height: 19px;">✭</span></b><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah:</b> Now we're off to go feed a turtle named Lloyd.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>Yay!!!</span>Hannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09048795154172601837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-88246017485342468832013-07-18T12:55:00.001-05:002013-07-18T12:55:21.343-05:00If He Had Been With Me Review!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b>If He Had Been With Me</b></i><b> by Laura Nowlin</b></span><br />
<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348497394l/15835031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348497394l/15835031.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>If he had been with me, he wouldn't have died.</i></span></strong></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable—they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...<br />The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy.</i></span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></span></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(Picture and synopsis from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15835031-if-he-had-been-with-me?ac=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>.)</span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We were lucky enough to meet Laura Nowlin at our localish library, and when we told her we were going to review this book, she said to be honest. (More about this at the end...)</span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">And we can honestly say that we loved it!</span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">WE ARE GOING TO SPOIL THE GREEN SOCKS OFF OF THIS BOOK!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT, SKIP TO THE RATING SECTION AT THE END!!!</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie:</b> How about we start with the green socks?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>What do you want to say about the green socks?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>I don't know. It was funny.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Apparently we can't form sentences that actually sound good today. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>How about we squeal about stuff? We can do that!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I want a baby goat named Augusta!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Me too! Even though a goat tried to eat my dress once when I was five.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>But goats are so cute!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Now onto characters that aren't goats.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>I loved Autumn's character, but I didn't like how she thought that she would just marry Jamie and everything would be perfect. Mostly because Jamie irritated me, but also because no high school freshman has their life that planned out. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>It seemed a little naive, especially for someone starting high school. That's around the time that most people realize that happily ever afters don't usually happen in real life.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Though I guess freshman year is a lot of being glad you still have time before having to deal with standardized tests and college searching and everything.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Time for quotes that make us hate Jamie. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"It's hard to predict when Jamie will approve or disapprove of any eccentricity of mine." (page 70)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"'I will never, ever, never leave you,' he says." (page 63) </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"That isn't beautiful. That just sucks." (page 138, while they are discussing the meaning of life)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>And now a character we did like--Finn. He was so nice and he always saw the best in people.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>And even though there was a rift between him and Autumn, he kept it friendly between them. Autumn and Finn had such a great friendship that they were able to go right back into being friends even after the awkward period between them. They were more of best friends than Autumn and Sasha ever could have been. And he was so concerned when Autumn got the black eye from Jamie when they were sledding.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: "</b>'F*** you, Sylvie,' I say." (page 100)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">That was exactly what I was thinking for pretty much the entire book. The author wanted the reader to hate this character and it worked really well. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>That pretty much sums up our feelings for Sylvie.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I loved how <i>If He Had Been With Me</i> was set in Saint Louis, our lovely hometown. I really liked reading and hearing something about how St. Louis winters go on forever and just thinking, <i>yeah, pretty much. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>Also, she mentioned something about how September is a summer month in St. Louis and how the weather doesn't turn cold until October or even November. Sadly, this is true. St. Louis is special in the way that winter and summer drag on forever.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Now for a quote that we book nerds love.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"I want to savor this wonder, this happening of loving a book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is always the best, and I will never read this book for the first time ever again." (page 141).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>Besides Jamie and Sasha, I liked Autumn's friends a lot. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>It was surprising when Angie got pregnant. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>It was, but I did like that she never was that mad that she got pregnant. It wasn't what she ever thought would happen, but she ended up being very happy. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>And Preppy Dave was so supportive.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>I thought that they all should have stopped calling him Preppy Dave when they got married.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Now back to hating Jamie. I hated how he thought Autumn was too depressed so he just didn't want to deal with it, even after he had said he wasn't ever going to leave her. He's a horrible boyfriend and person.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>"Sasha and I have discovered that we have feelings for each other." (page 245) OH REALLY. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie:</b> So let's talk about Finn's death. I didn't like the way he died.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>But it's a tragic ending. Like every single book I read in English last year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>I understood that the author wanted Finn's death to be Sylvie's fault, but I thought he should have just died in the car crash instead of the freak electrocution. My issue with the ending was that after Autumn tried to kill herself, she realizes that she might be pregnant. Suddenly, she doesn't want to die anymore and everything's going to be perfect and Finn is going to live on through this baby that she might have. It's as if this suicide attempt was completely forgotten and now that she might be pregnant, everything's okay. I loved this book so much, but this ending is the reason I didn't give it five stars.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Ratings (no spoilers beyond this point)</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Hannah's Rating:</b> ✭✭✭✭✭</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Natalie's Rating:</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span> ✭✭✭✭1/2</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Overall Impression:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah: </b>I loved this book. The characters, the voice, everything was so interesting and unlike anything I've read before. The ending wasn't my favorite, but I still loved this book. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie: </b>I really enjoyed this book. It was very "character driven" and each of the characters was fantastic. The book was very well written and an addictive read. I took off half a star because I had a problem with the ending, but other than that this book was amazing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkgIgAKKMP1AqYUrYeRZc5rF0O8ucvu60GpPHa1ZFpRCWBoIiMlxtglxigPz3xHZLSNMsiZCD3G7aUk6khZisHN73cStv5RwbYXzTU7t1ViuShE_xOEdnCYC7a8nrU-koTwTNKneA4I_e/s1600/130713_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkgIgAKKMP1AqYUrYeRZc5rF0O8ucvu60GpPHa1ZFpRCWBoIiMlxtglxigPz3xHZLSNMsiZCD3G7aUk6khZisHN73cStv5RwbYXzTU7t1ViuShE_xOEdnCYC7a8nrU-koTwTNKneA4I_e/s1600/130713_001.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma (Hannah's sister), Natalie, Hannah, and Laura Nowlin</td></tr>
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We talked to Laura Nowlin after the reading, and she was really nice and funny. Afterwards we explored the Wizard of Oz storybook exhibit and we posed as munchkins.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8KPWLuQq-v7EwqS0e9TBwU_3O68hRy3hPEOWrJ_ZGPMrUDgO0zkS6BjyN7HR3ygA9Fs6wvF_qrd66zVVwTngNrQLGhMt4BZr6XN4a8lqUyzbXkCtp6574yGus_fAic2EFd5v5-hvXjOi/s1600/Photo0205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8KPWLuQq-v7EwqS0e9TBwU_3O68hRy3hPEOWrJ_ZGPMrUDgO0zkS6BjyN7HR3ygA9Fs6wvF_qrd66zVVwTngNrQLGhMt4BZr6XN4a8lqUyzbXkCtp6574yGus_fAic2EFd5v5-hvXjOi/s1600/Photo0205.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah, Natalie, and Emma<br />
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Aren't we cute munchkins?</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-635197257474806300.post-39278799448636335142013-07-11T15:33:00.001-05:002013-07-13T17:41:32.131-05:00Siege and Storm Review!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hi everybody!!! Welcome to our blog! Since this is our first post, we're going to quickly introduce ourselves. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I'm Hannah.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And I'm Natalie. And we will conversationally review books.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I think we should tell them a little more about us, don't you think?</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I guess.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I love to read (obviously), dance, and be annoyed with my dear friend Natalie. I also play viola in my school's orchestra. I'm trying to come up with what my favorite books are, but I can't think of any right now, so here's a link to my </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9200780-hannah" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. I'm currently reading </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Les Miserables</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> by Victor Hugo.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And I think Hannah's insane for reading that giant, 1,000 page monstrosity. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I only have ninety pages left.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You're crazy. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*sticks her tongue out at Natalie*</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I guess I have to introduce myself now...I'm currently reading <i>Eyes Like Stars </i>by Lisa Mantchev. Here's my <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8964955-natalie" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> and here's a list of things I do:</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Read (Duh. I feel like we shouldn't even have to say this. Why would someone start a book blog if they don't like to read?)</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Write</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Figure skate</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Play the violin</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Take care of our blog mascot, Cole the Royal Rat (more on him to come)</span></span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Annoying my annoying friend Hannah</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We should probably get on with the review now.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*Drumroll*</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Siege and Storm </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">by Leigh Bardugo</span></span></span></b></i></span></div>
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<a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362166252l/14061955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1362166252l/14061955.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.</span></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(picture and synopsis from </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14061955-siege-and-storm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Goodreads</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">WE WILL SPOIL THE HECK OUT OF THIS BOOK AND THE PREVIOUS BOOK, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">SHADOW AND BONE. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, SKIP TO THE RATINGS SECTION!</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And now we will start reviewing this very very very very pretty book.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It's so pretty!!!</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah and Natalie: </span></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*squealing about the cover and the map and the chapter headings*</span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And now that we've gotten that out of the way...</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">...we will now begin discussing this book which is as well written as it is pretty. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">So apparently the Darkling can create creepy shadow people now. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That was very disturbing, but it was an interesting insight as to how evil he was and how much he hated the traditional Grisha rules since he was actually creating matter, which goes against the nature of their powers.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That's very deep. Readers, don't get used to this.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The earliest death is this book was Ivan, the Darkling's right hand man. I thought this was surprising since Ivan had played a somewhat important role in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Shadow and Bone. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">His death was fitting though, since he was killed the same way he had killed others.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It also shows that the Darkling can be defeated since his right hand man, who had to be powerful to get that position, was taken down. If they can bring down Ivan, the Darkling can't be invincible.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Ivan's death was a crack in the Darkling's armor.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">While we're speaking of death, I thought an important decision was made when Strumhond decided that they should fight back and hunt the volcra. The volcra were frightening enemies for a long time and when they decided that they weren't going to be afraid of them anymore, the shift in power was notable.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Another important power shift was when Alina decided she was tired of being a pawn and symbol and decided to lead the Second Army. I really liked seeing Alina take charge and not just be another figurehead.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One of the more disturbing scenes was when Alina rode by the peddlers who were selling supposed relics of her bones. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> That was creepy!</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It was weird that they were worshipping her as a saint when they knew nothing except that she was the Sun Summoner. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Let's talk about Nikolai/Strumhond for a bit.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I loved his character.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">He wasn't my favorite character, but I did like his wit and comebacks.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And that is where we differ. He was definitely my favorite character. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mal was my favorite.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I liked him for the most part, except at the end when he was off brooding in the woods and such.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Even though Nikolai wasn't my favorite, I enjoyed when he told Alina not to punch him and then kissed her.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And he's the younger prince! Did you see that coming?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Nope. That was surprising.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I didn't even remember that there was a second prince, but it was still out of the blue.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now back to Mal! I liked how Alina made him blush when she told him he was a much better kisser than Nikolai after the don't-punch-me-but-I'm-going-to-kiss-you thing.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> That was funny.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I enjoyed Alina's sarcasm throughout the book.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Alina and Mal's banter was hilarious! (For example, the goiter conversation in the first chapter.)</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Speaking of witty dialogue, one of my favorite lines was when Baghra told Alina "You couldn't make a meat pie from what you know" (page 256). I really love Baghra's character.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I felt really bad for her in this book. But what happened to her showed how much the Darkling didn't care about anybody else.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One of my favorite parts was when the Grisha did this: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*hand gesture of fingers interlocking</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I liked that too, but I'm going to laugh at your description.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It's a good description. They converged and did this: *</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">repeat of hand gesture</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It works, but it's also funny.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It's a good representation of what happened! Are you done making fun of me now?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I never said it wasn't a good representation. Moving on...</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> I didn't like the addition of the third love interest in Nikolai. It bothers me that the Darkling is considered a love interest at all. That's like being on </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429045-shatter-me" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Team Warner</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. Guys, Warner and the Darkling are the BAD GUYS. They can have some redeeming qualities, but that doesn't change the fact that they do bad things and I do not want the protagonist to end up with them. And the whole thing with the Darkling in Alina's bedroom was CREEPY. How can you like the dude when he does stuff like that?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*end of rant*</span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I think your rant covered everything about that topic so...</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Did you see Vasily being stupid and making a pact with the Darkling coming?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well I certainly saw the being stupid part coming. I didn't predict that he would make the pact with the Darkling, but it wasn't that surprising when I thought about it.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Vasily's death confused me. Can you really die from getting your arm ripped off?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, can't he if he lost enough blood?</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It seemed like he died very fast. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Well, he did die, so in the least morbid way possible, that's good. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I loved how David was quiet and reserved and then he was all determined and ready to go down fighting in the end.</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Here's another one of my favorite parts of the ending. "Only two were unmarked. Tolya and Tamar led the charge, eyes wild, blades flashing, roaring my name." (page 408)</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I think that Genya will have an important role in the third book, <i>Ruin and Rising</i>, since she is referred to as the Ruined.</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> Time for the ending. Alina really is fulfilling her martyrdom by being willing to die as a saint to stop the Darkling. She's going to earn many more followers even without succeeding.</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I loved the ending, especially Mal not letting Alina destroy herself to stop the Darkling. </span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Natalie: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Alina losing her powers is just like the very beginning when she couldn't get her light to come.</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> It was a great ending and book three cannot come soon enough.</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Ra</b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: large; line-height: 19px;"><b>tings (no spoilers here)</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Hannah's Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Natalie's Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>Overall Impression: </b>READ THIS NOW. Well, read <i>Shadow and Bone </i>first if you haven't. But <i>Siege and Storm </i>is even better than <i>Shadow and Bone</i>. The Grisha series is unique, engaging, and has really pretty covers.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHa7iq8UDKBgmZVNuE3C0NnTXYCXSxroO0S6aBOG25r4zJ_Zgoys6mE3ZgBctxsB8imo4b1OWL8E380KNYSy30Bd8BpdQa_QV4pupdp8HKmT8ED2XbqPFD6_6DDXiYThEldPUc9QakMkR/s1600/siege+and+storm+polish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHa7iq8UDKBgmZVNuE3C0NnTXYCXSxroO0S6aBOG25r4zJ_Zgoys6mE3ZgBctxsB8imo4b1OWL8E380KNYSy30Bd8BpdQa_QV4pupdp8HKmT8ED2XbqPFD6_6DDXiYThEldPUc9QakMkR/s1600/siege+and+storm+polish.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">And here's a picture of the pretty chapter headings and our pretty Shadow and Bone nail polish that we got from Leigh Bardugo at the RT Booklovers Convention.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #181818; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18199766158682383418noreply@blogger.com4