Lin Ryals's Blog, page 24

Teen Tuesday: Renegades

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Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice. The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone… except the villains they once overthrew. Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Goodreads

My thoughts: Plot – I actually found the plot quite interesting. It was interesting how the lines between good and evil were blurry since we were following a villain.
Characters – The characters were well written. They all had unique personality traits that fit them well. My favorite character was Adrian “Sketch”. His power was the ability to draw anything he wished and bring it to life. It’s based on intention and not his actual drawing. For example, when he was a child he drew dinosaurs that looked like squiggly lines, but these squiggly lines bit people on the toes. Many of the prodigies (people with super powers) had very unique abilities that are not commonly found in traditional super hero entertainment. Even Adrian’s father, who was pretty much the equivalent to Superman, just had a layer of chromium (unbreakable metal) under his skin. Basically, the powers were cool.
I like this book and recommend it to everyone who likes superheroes. I give it four and a half stars. ****-

Teen Reviewer: Collin

Competitions, Grafting, and Art

Mondays are all about me! I take Mondays to share a bit about my personal life and things that have happened throughout the week. It’s not always book related.

I’m a mom first and foremost, so one of the main things in my life is my children. Let me start with them and some of their accomplishments this week because they’re pretty good ones.

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My son, Collin, who also reviews on here some Tuesdays, is very interested in plants. This is a big thing for him, because a lot of his interests involve youtube and anime.



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Friday afternoon, he spent 2 hours with a friend who is into fruit bearing plants and backyard gardening. He had a power point presentation and everything. My thirteen year old son was completely engaged!



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Saturday morning, he went over to this man’s house and learned about grafting. They grafted pear trees and apple trees together. Collin even did one by himself.

My daughter, R, is a competitive dancer and this weekend was the Regional Competition. Spoiler!! All 3 of her dances are going on to Nationals! Scores are done weird. Instead of giving them number scores, they’re presented with gem stones. So, highest to lowest it goes – Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Amethyst.

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Waves was my favorite dance she did. This was a contemporary dance and they scored Ruby. They also won the Shooting Star for this one and scored FIRST place overall.

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Jump, Jive, and Wail was jazz! She has a lot of sass. Can you tell?
This dance received Emerald and came in Second overall. It lost to Waves. LOL!

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Finally, we have Happy Birthday. It was a large group number, so it was in a different category. They earned Ruby (the judges were pretty stingy with those Diamonds.) This earned them the Regional Grand Champ award with a trophy that was taller than my daughter. They were VERY excited about this one.

Down the TBR Hole #1

Do you ever look at the TBR list on Goodreads and feel completely overwhelmed? I do!! That’s exactly why I LOVE this idea!!!

Friday Blog Hops

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“Her back smashed to a wall, Tish’s entire side rattling. She screamed in agony when the sword finally fell out of her hand. The monster attacking her eyed up the easy kill, raised his weapon high to sin the day, and…” #Friday56

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“She was dead. The thought rattled about in her head as she stared from one armored slat where eyes should be, to another. It banged especially loud when the portcullis slammed shut right behind the cart that brought them all to her doom.”

Book Spotlight: Out Of Body

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Synopsis (Goodreads): Harley Baker’s obsession with the afterlife leads him to experiment with astral projection, but when he doesn’t take the necessary precautions before an OBE, he comes back to find that a demon has taken over his body. While in spirit form, Harley watches the impostor romance the girl he’s crushing on, ace his college exams, and impress his best friend with opportunities for wealth beyond his wildest dreams. Not only does Harley have to figure out how to get his body back before he’s trapped in the astral plane forever, but he has to stop the demon from a plan that will veil the world in darkness and enslave the human race.

Mom’s Note: I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. However, I didn’t finish it because of some content I was uncomfortable reading. Along with a lot of cussing, there’s a self-masturbating, porn watching, semen drinking demon. I thought maybe this happens just once, but then it happened a second time. I can’t review this book, because I didn’t read it in it’s entirety. It may have been awesome! Instead, I’ll just spotlight it and you can decide if you would like to read it. If you’re comfortable with this type of content, then it may be a great book for you. The writing was well done and the story flowed well. This book is going in my DNF (did not finish) pile.

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Author: Christopher John Chater is the author of the novels The Traveler’s Companion, Omegasphere, Aquarius Rising, Out of Body, and the award winning series, Dating in the Apocalypse. He was born in Burbank, California, but has lived all over, the East Coast, the West Coast, and the South. He’s worked in several industries, a production assistant in the film industry, a song plugger in the music industry, and a bartender and server in the hospitality industry. He now lives in San Diego and writes full time.

Teen Tuesday: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

Synopsis (Goodreads): Meet Forrest Gump, the lovable, herculean, and surprisingly savvy hero of this remarkable comic odyssey. After accidentally becoming the star of University of Alabama’s football team, Forrest goes on to become a Vietnam War hero, a world-class Ping-Pong player, a villainous wrestler, and a business tycoon — as he wonders with childlike wisdom at the insanity all around him. In between misadventures, he manages to compare battle scars with Lyndon Johnson, discover the truth about Richard Nixon, and survive the ups and downs of remaining true to his only love, Jenny, on an extraordinary journey through three decades of the American cultural landscape. Forrest Gump has one heck of a story to tell — and you’ve got to read it to believe it….

Review:

Forrest always said, “Bein’ an idiot ain’t no box of chocolates.” Well, after reading this curiously interesting book, I’ve decided I agree.

   Through many hardships, adventures, careers, and friendships, Forrest led a captivating life. He even ended up travelling to outer space with the first woman astronaut and a male monkey named Sue.

   After listening and discovering Forrest’s life story一beginning to end一I realized that Forrest did live an exciting life. However, he sure didn’t strive to be a good person. Through the entire book, I felt like he was always hurting Jenny. His character portrayed in the movie (which I watched first) was entirely different than that of the book. I liked him because he was humorous and innocent, but in the book he was none of that. Plus, there were some uncomfortable bedroom scenes I skipped through, and I absolutely hated the ending.

   However, through all of the aggravating parts of this book, there were also a few laugh-out-loud scenes. I loved the way Forrest managed to inspire Dan when he had hit rock-bottom.

   Overall, I don’t feel like this book had a major life changing impact on me like so many other readers describe. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed through almost the entire thing. I just kept reading, hoping it would get better. To my discouragement, it never did.

   I give this book two stars ** and completely recommend the movie, instead.

Author: Winston Groom is an American novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for his book Forrest Gump, which was adapted into a film in 1994. Groom was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Mobile, Alabama where he attended University Military School (now known as UMS-Wright Preparatory School). He attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta and the Army ROTC, and graduated in 1965. He served in the Army from 1965 to 1969, including a tour in Vietnam. Groom devotes his time to writing history books about American wars. Recently he has lived in Point Clear, Alabama, and Long Island, New York.

Teen Reviewer: Brandi

Teen Tuesday: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

Synopsis (Goodreads): Meet Forrest Gump, the lovable, herculean, and surprisingly savvy hero of this remarkable comic odyssey. After accidentally becoming the star of University of Alabama's football team, Forrest goes on to become a Vietnam War hero, a world-class Ping-Pong player, a villainous wrestler, and a business tycoon -- as he wonders with childlike wisdom at the insanity all around him. In between misadventures, he manages to compare battle scars with Lyndon Johnson, discover the truth about Richard Nixon, and survive the ups and downs of remaining true to his only love, Jenny, on an extraordinary journey through three decades of the American cultural landscape. Forrest Gump has one heck of a story to tell -- and you've got to read it to believe it.... Review: Forrest always said, "Bein' an idiot ain't no box of chocolates." Well, after reading this curiously interesting book, I've decided I agree. Through many hardships, adventures, careers, and friendships, Forrest led a captivating life. He even ended up travelling to outer space with the first woman astronaut and a male monkey named Sue. After listening and discovering Forrest's life story一beginning to end一I realized that Forrest did live an exciting life. However, he sure didn't strive to be a good person. Through the entire book, I felt like he was always hurting Jenny. His character portrayed in the movie (which I watched first) was entirely different than that of the book. I liked him because he was humorous and innocent, but in the book he was none of that. Plus, there were some uncomfortable bedroom scenes I skipped through, and I absolutely hated the ending. However, through all of the aggravating parts of this book, there were also a few laugh-out-loud scenes. I loved the way Forrest managed to inspire Dan when he had hit rock-bottom. Overall, I don't feel like this book had a major life changing impact on me like so many other readers describe. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed through almost the entire thing. I just kept reading, hoping it would get better. To my discouragement, it never did. I give this book two stars ** and completely recommend the movie, instead. Author: Winston Groom is an American novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for his book Forrest Gump, which was adapted into a film in 1994. Groom was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Mobile, Alabama where he attended University Military School (now known as UMS-Wright Preparatory School). He attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta and the Army ROTC, and graduated in 1965. He served in the Army from 1965 to 1969, including a tour in Vietnam. Groom devotes his time to writing history books about American wars. Recently he has lived in Point Clear, Alabama, and Long Island, New York. Teen Reviewer: Brandi

Teen Tuesday: The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Synopsis (Goodreads): Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love. Review: Two souls, one body. Melanie and Wanda are forced to share the same body and mind when aliens take over the planet. When I first saw this book, I was a bit skeptical. I had previously tried to read the Twilight series, but I didn’t like the amount of romance the books had. However, I was genuinely surprised. I loved it! My favorite part was toward the end when Melanie and Wanda finally get seperate bodies. I love Melanie’s character. She is so strong and caring, and not only manages to stand up for herself, but defends others as well. My only complaint is that I wish Stephenie Meyer would have spent a little more time in wrapping up the end instead of dragging out the middle. Overall, I rate this book five stars ***** and hope everyone will enjoy this book as much as I have. Author: I was born in Connecticut in 1973, during a brief blip in my family's otherwise western U.S. existence. We were settled in Phoenix by the time I was four, and I think of myself as a native. The unusual spelling of my name was a gift from my father, Stephen (+ ie = me). Though I have had my name spelled wrong on pretty much everything my entire life long, I must admit that it makes it easier to Google myself now. I filled the "Jan Brady" spot in my family--the second of three girls; however, unlike the Bradys, none of my three brothers are steps, and all of them are younger than all the girls. I went to high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, the kind of place where every fall a few girls would come back to school with new noses and there were Porsches in the student lot. (For the record, I have my original nose and never had a car until I was in my twenties.) I was awarded a National Merit Scholarship, and I used it to pay my way to Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. I majored in English but concentrated on literature rather than creative writing, mostly because I didn't consider reading books "work." (As long as I was going to be doing something anyway, I might as well get course credit for it, right?) I met my husband, Pancho (his real name is Christiaan), when I was four, but we were never anywhere close to being childhood sweethearts; in fact, though we saw each other at least weekly through church activities, I can't recall a single instance when we so much as greeted each other with a friendly wave, let alone exchanged actual words. This may have been for the best, because when we did eventually get around to exchanging words, sixteen years after our first meeting, it only took nine months from the first "hello" to the wedding; of course, we were able to skip over a lot of the getting-to-know you parts. (Many of our conversations would go something like this: "This one time, when I was ten, I broke my hand at a party when--" "Yeah. I know what happened. I was there, remember?") We've been married for ten-and-a-half years now and have three beautiful, brilliant, wonderful boys who often remind me of chimpanzees on crack. I can't write without music, and my biggest muse is, ironically enough, the band Muse. My other favorite sources of inspiration are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, The All American Rejects, Travis, The Strokes, Brand New, U2, Kasabian, Jimmy Eat World, and Weezer, to mention a few.

Reviewer: Jade

Teen Tuesday: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Synopsis (Goodreads): Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Review: Two souls, one body. Melanie and Wanda are forced to share the same body and mind when aliens take over the planet.

When I first saw this book, I was a bit skeptical. I had previously tried to read the Twilight series, but I didn’t like the amount of romance the books had. However, I was genuinely surprised. I loved it!

My favorite part was toward the end when Melanie and Wanda finally get seperate bodies. I love Melanie’s character. She is so strong and caring, and not only manages to stand up for herself, but defends others as well.

My only complaint is that I wish Stephenie Meyer would have spent a little more time in wrapping up the end instead of dragging out the middle.

Overall, I rate this book five stars ***** and hope everyone will enjoy this book as much as I have.

Author: I was born in Connecticut in 1973, during a brief blip in my family’s otherwise western U.S. existence. We were settled in Phoenix by the time I was four, and I think of myself as a native. The unusual spelling of my name was a gift from my father, Stephen (+ ie = me). Though I have had my name spelled wrong on pretty much everything my entire life long, I must admit that it makes it easier to Google myself now.

I filled the “Jan Brady” spot in my family–the second of three girls; however, unlike the Bradys, none of my three brothers are steps, and all of them are younger than all the girls. I went to high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, the kind of place where every fall a few girls would come back to school with new noses and there were Porsches in the student lot. (For the record, I have my original nose and never had a car until I was in my twenties.) I was awarded a National Merit Scholarship, and I used it to pay my way to Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. I majored in English but concentrated on literature rather than creative writing, mostly because I didn’t consider reading books “work.” (As long as I was going to be doing something anyway, I might as well get course credit for it, right?)

I met my husband, Pancho (his real name is Christiaan), when I was four, but we were never anywhere close to being childhood sweethearts; in fact, though we saw each other at least weekly through church activities, I can’t recall a single instance when we so much as greeted each other with a friendly wave, let alone exchanged actual words. This may have been for the best, because when we did eventually get around to exchanging words, sixteen years after our first meeting, it only took nine months from the first “hello” to the wedding; of course, we were able to skip over a lot of the getting-to-know you parts. (Many of our conversations would go something like this: “This one time, when I was ten, I broke my hand at a party when–” “Yeah. I know what happened. I was there, remember?”) We’ve been married for ten-and-a-half years now and have three beautiful, brilliant, wonderful boys who often remind me of chimpanzees on crack. I can’t write without music, and my biggest muse is, ironically enough, the band Muse. My other favorite sources of inspiration are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, The All American Rejects, Travis, The Strokes, Brand New, U2, Kasabian, Jimmy Eat World, and Weezer, to mention a few.

Reviewer: Jade

Book Review: If I Should Die

This is the third book in a series. I recommend starting with the first book so you don't accidentally get any spoilers. Check out Die For Me review here. I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.


Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.


It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.


After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me? My Thoughts: Let me start off by saying that the cover for every single book in this trilogy are gorgeous! There are also 2 novellas that go with the trilogy. I read one of them, but not the other. Not yet, maybe one day. They don't take away from this story at all, but add to one character and his life. It was totally worth ready the extra 100 pages or so of the one I read after reading this one. It helped me find closure for the one character it follows, but I don't want to give any spoilers. Just trust me. It's worth it! :)


About this book. LOVED IT!!! So, the a lot of the things that happened in this book were very predictable for me. However, a friend of mine who read this said she had no idea and it was a surprise for her. So... just read it. You may be right, or you may not be. The pace in this one goes even faster. I read the entire book in a twenty four hour period. It would have been less, but I'm a homeschool mom and do a lot during the day. If I had the time to just sit and read straight through this, then I totally would have. PHENOMENAL!!! The character development, the plot development, the romance, it was just all so perfectly done. I wanted more!! I think that's why I bought a novella. I just had to keep reading. Amy Plum is the author of DIE FOR ME, an international bestselling Young Adult series set in Paris which comprises of three novels (DIE FOR ME, UNTIL I DIE, IF I SHOULD DIE) and three novellas (DIE FOR HER, DIE ONCE MORE, INSIDE THE WORLD OF DIE FOR ME). Her second series is a duology. Amy describes AFTER THE END and UNTIL THE BEGINNING as “a faux-post-apocalyptic, road trip, adventure, romance, thriller with a bit of magic.” Her third series is the DREAMFALL duology, which was optioned for television by DiGa Studios. (MTV’s Teen Wolf, Scream). The second book, NEVERWAKE, releases in August 2018. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages. After being raised in Birmingham, Alabama, in a rather restrictive environment, AMY PLUM escaped to Chicago to an even more restrictive environment at a university that expelled people for dancing. (And where she was called to the dean’s office for “wearing too much black”.) After all of that restrictiveness, she was forced to run far far away, specifically to Paris, France, where she only wore black and danced all she wanted. After five years in Paris, she ventured to London, where she got an M.A. in Medieval Art History, specializing in Early Sienese Painting (1260-1348) mainly because it promised almost no hope of finding a paying job afterward. Amy managed to find work in the world of art and antiques in New York. But after almost a decade of high-pressure lifestyle in the Big Apple, she swapped her American city for a French village of 1300 inhabitants. After signing with HarperCollins for the DIE FOR ME series, Amy left her job as an English professor at Tours University to write full-time. She now lives in Paris with her two children. She is a huge fan of Edward Gorey and Maira Kalman (and collects both of their books and art), as well as David Sedaris, Amadeo Modigliani, and Ira Glass.


For more info on Amy and her books, go here: http://www.amyplumbooks.com/