In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
Monday 25 June 2012
Monday 18 June 2012
Review: The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
for a Second Chance Summer playlist go here
orginally posted here
“You are the child of my heart, and I know you’ll make me proud. You already have, every day, just by being yourself.”
Taylor’s family might not be the closest-knit – everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled – but for the most part, they get along fine. Then they get news that changes everything: Her father has pancreatic cancer, and it’s stage four – meaning that there is basically nothing to be done. Her parents decide that the family will spend his last months together at their old summerhouse in the Pocono Mountains.
Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former summer best friend is suddenly around, as is her first boyfriend. . . and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.
As the summer progresses, the Edwards become more of a family, and closer than they’ve ever been before. But all of them very aware that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance – with family, with friends, and with love.
Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former summer best friend is suddenly around, as is her first boyfriend. . . and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.
As the summer progresses, the Edwards become more of a family, and closer than they’ve ever been before. But all of them very aware that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance – with family, with friends, and with love.
Monday 11 June 2012
Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
originally posted here
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
Sunday 10 June 2012
Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
Saturday 9 June 2012
Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
originally posted here
Sixteen-year-old Maya and seventeen-year-old Lochan have never had the chance to be 'normal'. Having pulled together for years to take care of their younger siblings while their wayward, drunken mother leaves them to fend alone, they have had to become much more than simply brother and sister. And now, they have fallen in love. But this is a love that can never be allowed, a love that will have devastating consequences... How can something so wrong feel so right?
Friday 8 June 2012
Review: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Who is the real Mclean?
Since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, Mclean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, Mclean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.
Thursday 7 June 2012
Review: Letting Go by Jeanette Grey
originally posted here
Between taking care of his dying father and putting himself through college, David Mackenzie is approaching his breaking point. A twenty-year-old virgin, he doesn’t have the time or energy to date or socialize. When his father agrees to try medicinal marijuana as a treatment option, David meets an attractive, outgoing young man named Zev, who becomes the friend David never realized he needed. David’s father is nearing the end of his life, and Zev is becoming far more than a shoulder to lean on — he might be David’s first opportunity to embrace life and let go.
Between taking care of his dying father and putting himself through college, David Mackenzie is approaching his breaking point. A twenty-year-old virgin, he doesn’t have the time or energy to date or socialize. When his father agrees to try medicinal marijuana as a treatment option, David meets an attractive, outgoing young man named Zev, who becomes the friend David never realized he needed. David’s father is nearing the end of his life, and Zev is becoming far more than a shoulder to lean on — he might be David’s first opportunity to embrace life and let go.
Wednesday 6 June 2012
Review: Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye
originally posted here
Makenna James thinks her day can’t get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out.
Caden Grayson is amused when a redhead literally falls at his feet. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he’s terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he’s trapped in his own worst nightmare.
To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Pain, Ink, and Inspiration (Or “Jeannie Gets a Tattoo and Lives to Tell About It”)
So, I got a tattoo today. Really, nbd. Just kidding, it’s a HUGE deal!
I’ve been thinking about getting one for the last 20 years or so but was never certain about what I’d get or where I’d get it. I’m really glad I waited because if I had gotten one at 19 I’d be stuck with a floral tramp stamp, I’m almost sure of it. So I approached getting a tattoo much like I approach most things, I wanted something that made me happy and something I could look at every day and be proud of. Basically, I just wanted to really feel like getting this would make it a part of who I am and what’s important to me. What’s important to me? My family, my kids, especially, books, the written word, creativity and fun. I wanted never to lose myself in what society thinks of me, whether it’s a career path I’ve taken or whether someone has labelled me “Mom” or “wife” or “geek,” I want a reflection of who I am to be evident in everything I do, essentially, make my life an inspiration of things that are important to me. I want to inspire. Inspire my kids to be good, kind sould, I want to inspire strangers to be courteous and thoughtful and I want to inspire... SHUT UP JEANNIE.
Really, people just want to know one thing: HOW BAD DID IT HURT?!
I’ve been thinking about getting one for the last 20 years or so but was never certain about what I’d get or where I’d get it. I’m really glad I waited because if I had gotten one at 19 I’d be stuck with a floral tramp stamp, I’m almost sure of it. So I approached getting a tattoo much like I approach most things, I wanted something that made me happy and something I could look at every day and be proud of. Basically, I just wanted to really feel like getting this would make it a part of who I am and what’s important to me. What’s important to me? My family, my kids, especially, books, the written word, creativity and fun. I wanted never to lose myself in what society thinks of me, whether it’s a career path I’ve taken or whether someone has labelled me “Mom” or “wife” or “geek,” I want a reflection of who I am to be evident in everything I do, essentially, make my life an inspiration of things that are important to me. I want to inspire. Inspire my kids to be good, kind sould, I want to inspire strangers to be courteous and thoughtful and I want to inspire... SHUT UP JEANNIE.
Really, people just want to know one thing: HOW BAD DID IT HURT?!
Monday 4 June 2012
Review: Forever Freed by Laura Kaye
A heart can break, even one that no longer beats.
I stalk my new neighbors, a single mother and her child, drawn by the irresistible scent of their joy and love. I crave their blood, starved for some healing respite from my ancient grief. Now to lure them into my grasp.
But they surprise me. Little Olivia accepts me without fear or reservation—talking, smiling, offering innocent affection that tugs at my long-lost humanity. Her mother, Samantha, seeks me out when she should stay away, offering sweet friendship, and calling to the forgotten man within me. They lure me instead.
Ah, Dio, Lucien, run and spare them while you can…
I stalk my new neighbors, a single mother and her child, drawn by the irresistible scent of their joy and love. I crave their blood, starved for some healing respite from my ancient grief. Now to lure them into my grasp.
But they surprise me. Little Olivia accepts me without fear or reservation—talking, smiling, offering innocent affection that tugs at my long-lost humanity. Her mother, Samantha, seeks me out when she should stay away, offering sweet friendship, and calling to the forgotten man within me. They lure me instead.
Ah, Dio, Lucien, run and spare them while you can…
Sunday 3 June 2012
Is Clarifying Randomness a Paradox? (or From “Pie to Glambert”)
People that follow both of us on Twitter keep telling us how funny our conversations are. Which confused us very much because this is just how we talk.
A typical conversation on Twitter between us:
@TheyCallMeT_: Tomorrow’s a holiday, I can sleep in!
@gojeannie: Great! Maybe you should eat pancakes.
@TheyCallMeT_: what is with your sudden interest in pancakes lately? You’ve had them three times this week already, once for dinner.
@gojeannie: They are nom good. Almost as delicious as Jeremy Renner.
@TheyCallMeT_: OMG, did you see the gif I tweeted you? It’s this Avengers/Glee AU where Tony and Steve are Blaine’s DADS. Isn’t that All Kinds of GREAT?
@gojeannie: SO PERFECT. I totally see it. Dude, I’m currently obsessed with nutella, did I tell you?
@TheyCallMeT_: are you putting them on your pancakes?
@gojeannie: ...genius! What would I do without you?
Conversation elaborated for dramatic effect, in the event of an actual twitter conversation between us there would be many more mentions of Jeremy Renner and/or Darren Criss. (only short excerpt, this convo could go on and on and on with talks about books, movies, tv shows, celebs, music, fashion, RL stuff ie)
Do you ever do that train of thought thing in your head where you think of something:
Pie.
Then you take that thought and go to another level with it:
The crust is definitely my favorite thing about pie.
And from there it just kind of escalates into something that bears no resemblance to the original thought at all:
The word “crust” reminds me of that goop that’s in the corner of my eye in the morning after I’ve fallen asleep and forgot to take off my eye makeup.
And then it starts to frightenly devolve:
Eye makeup. Guyliner. I wonder what my hubs would look like wearing guy liner. Would he be more Adam Lambert or Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day?
And that’s how you go from pie to Glambert.
Well if that’s ever happened in your head then you kind of get where most of our conversations on Twitter can go. Not that we make any apologies for it, we just want to make you all well aware that following us or this blog may spiral your path of thinking into the depths of confusion. “WTF?!” is a perfectly logical reaction to most things we say. I do believe there was a conversation once about the taste of unicorns. I do believe we determined that they taste like Darren Criss. (Or was it Darren Criss that tastes like unicorns? We may never find out) Mmmm, Darren Criss...nom nom nom...
And...we’ve explained nothing. Yet, again.
WTF?!
A typical conversation on Twitter between us:
@TheyCallMeT_: Tomorrow’s a holiday, I can sleep in!
@gojeannie: Great! Maybe you should eat pancakes.
@TheyCallMeT_: what is with your sudden interest in pancakes lately? You’ve had them three times this week already, once for dinner.
@gojeannie: They are nom good. Almost as delicious as Jeremy Renner.
@TheyCallMeT_: OMG, did you see the gif I tweeted you? It’s this Avengers/Glee AU where Tony and Steve are Blaine’s DADS. Isn’t that All Kinds of GREAT?
@gojeannie: SO PERFECT. I totally see it. Dude, I’m currently obsessed with nutella, did I tell you?
@TheyCallMeT_: are you putting them on your pancakes?
@gojeannie: ...genius! What would I do without you?
Conversation elaborated for dramatic effect, in the event of an actual twitter conversation between us there would be many more mentions of Jeremy Renner and/or Darren Criss. (only short excerpt, this convo could go on and on and on with talks about books, movies, tv shows, celebs, music, fashion, RL stuff ie)
Do you ever do that train of thought thing in your head where you think of something:
Pie.
Then you take that thought and go to another level with it:
The crust is definitely my favorite thing about pie.
And from there it just kind of escalates into something that bears no resemblance to the original thought at all:
The word “crust” reminds me of that goop that’s in the corner of my eye in the morning after I’ve fallen asleep and forgot to take off my eye makeup.
And then it starts to frightenly devolve:
Eye makeup. Guyliner. I wonder what my hubs would look like wearing guy liner. Would he be more Adam Lambert or Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day?
And that’s how you go from pie to Glambert.
Well if that’s ever happened in your head then you kind of get where most of our conversations on Twitter can go. Not that we make any apologies for it, we just want to make you all well aware that following us or this blog may spiral your path of thinking into the depths of confusion. “WTF?!” is a perfectly logical reaction to most things we say. I do believe there was a conversation once about the taste of unicorns. I do believe we determined that they taste like Darren Criss. (Or was it Darren Criss that tastes like unicorns? We may never find out) Mmmm, Darren Criss...nom nom nom...
And...we’ve explained nothing. Yet, again.
WTF?!
Saturday 2 June 2012
Daily "Squeeee!"
Today, I got a letter from New York. Seeing that I life in Germany I don't usually get mail from New York so I was of course curious to see what it was.
Inside was this:
A letter with the Penguin Group header, "signed" by Dutton Books and a signed bookplate from John Green!!!
You probably wonder now how I came to get this so below is what happened.
The backstory:
Back in June 2011, John Green announced that he would sign every copy of the first print of his new book The Fault In Our Stars (which is supermegafoxawesome and Jeannie will actually write a real review about it now that she FINALLY read the damn book). (See video here) This means about 150,000 books to be signed until November. So of course everyone went and preordered and anxiously waited for the book release in early January of this year.
As a big John Green fan I, of course, went a head and preordered the book. Sadly, my copy arrived unsigned, as did a lot of other copies order from Amazon UK and Amazon DE. John Green did something amazing tho. After signing all the books he went ahead and send out signed bookplates for everyone that preordered but didn't get his signature.
So this is the very much uninteresting tale of how I came to get a letter from Dutton Books. If you have NOT read The Fault In Our Stars yet (or any other John Green book) WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? In case you are still not sure if you want to read it, here is a video of John Green reading the first chapter and also the second chapter.
Inside was this:
A letter with the Penguin Group header, "signed" by Dutton Books and a signed bookplate from John Green!!!
You probably wonder now how I came to get this so below is what happened.
The backstory:
Back in June 2011, John Green announced that he would sign every copy of the first print of his new book The Fault In Our Stars As a big John Green fan I, of course, went a head and preordered the book. Sadly, my copy arrived unsigned, as did a lot of other copies order from Amazon UK and Amazon DE. John Green did something amazing tho. After signing all the books he went ahead and send out signed bookplates for everyone that preordered but didn't get his signature.
So this is the very much uninteresting tale of how I came to get a letter from Dutton Books. If you have NOT read The Fault In Our Stars yet (or any other John Green book) WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? In case you are still not sure if you want to read it, here is a video of John Green reading the first chapter and also the second chapter.
Review: If I Stay/Where She Went by Gayle Forman
originally posted here
In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck... A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.
Friday 1 June 2012
Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
DUFF: abv. for Designated Ugly Fat Friend; Term men use to describe a fatter, less attractive friend, a woman brings with her to a party or social gathering to make herself look better by comparison. In some cases the more attractive woman will not "put out" for any male, unless one of his friends "takes one for the team" and "hits" the Duff. -- from UrbanDictionary.com
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.
But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
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