Warriors in the Crossfire Tour

-by Nancy Bo Flood

Yay! Today I get to write to you about my thoughts on Warriors in the Crossfire!

I was very surprised when I picked up the book because it wasn't about the American or the Japanese side of World War II. It was about the tribe that was caught in the middle. This tribe lives on a Japanese island, but are not considered Japanese, so they really have no place in the war.

My favorite character would have to be Taeyo. He is the main character's bouncy little nephew, and I found myself giggling multiple times when he was mentioned in the book. At one point, he throws coconuts down at his uncle while up in the palm tree.

I loved the author's writing technique as she used short sentences that we would not normally speak in. The language of the natives of the island is different then ours, and it is obvious that she took great care in trying to convey that. Although I did enjoy it, I thought that the end was brought about too quick, and the problem was solved rather rapidly.

A short book trailer.

Visit some other sites involved in this tour:

Whispers of Dawn, Cafe of Dreams, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, 5 Minutes for Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, My Utopia

Warriors in the Crossfire Tour

-by Nancy Bo Flood

Today, I am one of eight other bloggers to participate in the Warriors in the Crossfire tour. To see a book trailer, click here. Later, I will post my thoughts on the book, and my thoughts on the interesting poems in the beginning of each chapter.

But first, about the author. You may ask yourself how a novel in a different country goes about being made. Well, Nancy Bo Flood has lived in many regions, such as Malawi, Hawaii, and Japan. She did her research by actually fishing for turtles and getting surrounded by sharks, as it happens in the book.

To view other participants click on one of the links in the list below:

Whispers of Dawn, Cafe of Dreams, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, 5 Minutes for Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, My Utopia

I might be going back home

Yes, I am home. That's not what I mean, though.

If I am going back home, then the question is, where was I before?

I was in my public school, sitting as I watched my intelligence (or what little I had of it) wither before my eyes as we sat for an entire class period (an hour and 27 minutes, actually). Doing nothing. Doing NOTHING. An hour and a half wasted playing SOLITAIRE. And on the computer, nonetheless.

And what was the cause of this? My teacher failed to print out the pages from our project packets and we had nothing to do. Nothing.

This is not the only reason. 'The only reason what', you ask?

It is not the only reason that I am considering going back home to be home schooled for my senior year of high school.

Yes. Shocker, I know. But I had been mad at my school for awhile, and I realized about a month ago that I can actually do something about it! I can go back home and learn on my own. I was considering getting as much into my head as possible before I head off to college. And for those who don't know me (or never knew this about me), knowledge is big to me.

I have this quote on my wall and it says: "The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing." And I was looking at it when I figured this out for the first time.

...and I'm not saying that my school is bad. I guess public school just isn't right for me. The irony is terrific, but I made this up: school is holding me back from learning.

But anyway, that, and with other reasons, I am just about to leave that life behind and go back home. That is, when my dad says I can, and we go visiting colleges and ask what they do with home schoolers.

Ha. I hope they let me in. I can be quite intimidating.

;)

By the way, I was listening to this while writing this post, so I felt very...smart...writing it. Oh, and Riniel got me into Yiruma, so that is how I found this song. :)

the dumbest mistake today

I forgot my stupid jacket.

In the stupid car.

In the stupid parking lot.

So I sat for half an hour to watch a soccer game with a short-sleeved shirt and flipflops. And it was 50 degrees out. It may not seem horrible. But there was also a wind chill.

I kept on saying to myself, "It's not that bad, just wait 20 more minutes." But it was a constant cold, and I just kept counting down until I could go back into my car (which was warm, by the way).

And that was when I realized that today was Earth day! So I tried to enjoy the *cough* sunshine, and the *cough* nice weather. But there was a beautiful purple tree right outside of the fence, and I was so mad that I didn't bring a camera.

So I sat in the cold hunched over looking at the purple tree and enjoying *cough* the Spring.

~The Catcher in the Rye~

-by J.D. Salinger

I was doing research on articles for my English class last night and realized I never told you my opinion on the book. Well, it pretty much stunk for me.

I am guessing the reason the book is talked about so much is because of all the symbolism that was put into it. I still don't understand half of it.

The funniest part was, though, I had to find articles on the book. Like, reviews and such. But there was so much written about it, I couldn't find anything decent! So, I had to spend about half an hour just trying to find the articles...

All I want to say is that you can read the book if you want, but it didn't do much for me.

And that's it. I don't want to get all mad at the book on here. I can do that in my research paper.

three strikes and you're all out

Spring doesn't come with the 81 degrees.

Spring doesn't come with the green leaves.

Spring doesn't come with the red tulips and yellow dandelions.

Spring doesn't come when you roll down your windows.

Spring doesn't come when you turn your music up a bit more than you know you should.

Spring doesn't come when you sing a bit louder than you should.

Spring doesn't come with the soft grass.

And Spring doesn't come with the calender.

Spring comes when you are sitting peacefully in your room with the windows cracked. Sitting in your desk reading homework. Sitting in your desk breathing fresh air. Sitting in your desk thinking that "Life is Good."

Spring comes with the wasps.

State of the To Be Read pile.

I just realized that I have a TBR list on the left hand side of my blog. Funny, for some reason, when I changed the blog, I thought for sure I had gotten rid of it.

So, my apologies for any of you who were expecting to hear my opinion on the books that were listed. I either have to update it, or I could get rid of it. Which would you prefer?

I recently got back onto my goodreads account from half a year ago, and that TBR list IS accurate. Some 50 books accurate, that is...

The two weeks without my phone

I survived. I really did. I'm just happy I don't have to look for my phone anymore.

It wasn't a struggle, as most think when they think of a crazed teenager at the loss of her phone. But honestly, I didn't mind to much. I didn't want to go all crazy about it because I would just get more mad that it was lost. I was just hoping it would turn up, sometime or later.

It is nice, though. Somehow, I feel safer. And more in-touch.

But now that I found it, I have to listen to the approximately 4 hundred voice messages.

Cherio.

I found the movie! I found it!

I found the movie that I was expecting!

I found the Pegasuses!

I found the intense fighting scenes!

I found the Hades that was actually creepy!

I found the Medusa that killed with other things besides her gaze! (plus, fangs!)

I found the gods whose hair color stayed the same!

I found the unknown heritage!

I found the really scary creatures!

I found the Olympus with the majestic thrones and floor with clouds surrounding the god's ankles!

I FOUND THE MOVIE. The movie that I was expecting from The Lightning Thief, but didn't get. The movie that sends chills up your spine and makes you glad you are not a demigod, rather than wish and hope and dream that you are. The movie that makes you turn away at the grossness of mythical creatures and the infection of Hades' venom seeping into the main character's arm. The movie that wasn't afraid to kill some of its characters.

FOR: all of you who were disappointed with the Lightning Thief movie, and have a decent stomach that is able to hold down food, (and above the age of 13)...

Go see The Clash of the Titans. You will be satisfied.

Granted, it is not the story of the book at all. It wasn't supposed to be. And I'm not saying I didn't like The Lightning Thief movie, I did, but this movie just... fills in all the gaps.

~Heist Society~

-by Ally Carter

I had obsessed, and obsessed, and obsessed over Ally Carter ever since I put down I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You. Then I went on with Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, and finally Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover. But of the four Ally Carter books that I have read, Heist Society is by far my favorite!

(and I am hearing rumors there is a movie to be made!)

About last year I had seen some reviews of the books online, but I was turned away by the cover. I know, I know, don't judge a book by its cover - heck, that's what one of the books is titled! But usually, a girl with a skirt, straight blond hair, and a cocky smile with glossed lips doesn't set well with me.

You see, I had no idea the book was about spies, for goodness sakes! But after the first book, I was hooked. And the three others led me to Heist Society, which is not in the same series.

I have rated Ally Carter's books in my opinion:

#1 Heist Society
#2 Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
#3 I'd Tell You I Love You But then I'd Have to Kill You
#4 Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

The greatest part is, all three of my sisters have read the entire series, and my youngest is working on the last one now. We play a game that tests how well you pay attention that they play in the book. I will show you an example:

Without scrolling up...hey, stop it...without scrolling up, what is the painting that is reflected in the cover of Heist Society? Of course, it is much easier to play when you are not attached to a computer, but it is very fun to play, especially if you know all the answers ;)

because I cannot sleep

It was the first day of school, and I was sort of happy that our Spring Break is finally over. The break was nice, but it gets kind of boring, I'm not gunna lie.

Anyway, it was the first day of school and I could not pay attention because my mind was still on the previous week, and I started to make a list in my head of the biggest things that happened to me over break:

Number 1. I got braces! (for the second time, I might add)

Number 2. I got kicked in the face because I pulled a horrible, horrible April Fool's joke on someone.

Number 3. I realized I like photography.

Number 4. I got a new golf instructor.

Number 5. I learned that it is impossible for me to get more than 10 hours of sleep.

Number 6. I figured out the ending of my story. (that doesn't mean I finished it, though)

And Number 7. I flew a kite, and reached the end of the string.

p.s. braces:

Yes, I do like my shoes. Why do you ask?