tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733766149591468542024-03-13T00:59:11.518+00:00Growing WingsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-29319560408317721572016-08-24T21:49:00.000+01:002016-08-24T21:49:00.742+01:00Book Review: Reconstructing Amelia<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>T<span id="goog_869780667"></span><span id="goog_869780668"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>itle: </b>Reconstructing Amelia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b>Kimberly McCreight </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b>HaperCollins</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>April 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>405</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Kindle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reconstructing-Amelia-gripping-discovering-daughters-ebook/dp/B008J40I4M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1471636211&sr=1-1&keywords=reconstructing+amelia" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/kimmccreight" target="_blank">@kimberlymccreight</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Stressed out single mother and law firm partner, Kate, is in the meeting of her career when she is interrupted by a telephone call to say that her teenaged daughter, Amelia, has been suspended from her exclusive Brooklyn prep school for cheating on an exam. Torn between her head and her heart, she eventually arrives at St. Grace's an hour late, to be greeted by siren wailing and ambulance lights blazing Her daughter has jumped off of the roof of the school, apparently in shame of being caught. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A grieving Kate can't accept that her daughter would kill herself. It was just the two of them and Amelia would never leave her alone like this. And so begins the investigation that takes her deep into Amelia's private world, into her journal, her email account and the mind of a troubled girl. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then Kate receives an anonymous test simply saying: AMELIA DIDN'T JUMP. Is someone playing with her, or has she been right all along?</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had so many mixed feelings about this book. There were points where I loved it but towards the end I was left feeling disappointed. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">McCreight had such an amazing way to connect with the reader. She managed to write heart wrenching descriptions of Kate's grief and you couldn't help but to feel that emptiness as you tried to understand what she was going through. The chapters would interchange between Kate investigating her daughter's death and Amelia's life in the weeks leading up to her death. Between the alternating point of views, we got given the chance to be able to try and piece together what we thought had happened to Amelia before reaching the ending. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">What I loved about this book what that at every point where you thought that you were sure of something, McCreight would add a little piece of information that changed the way you thought about the entire case. It really kept me on my toes when I was reading and I was desperate to find out what was going to happen at the end. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The ending, however, made my excitement about the book die out. There was so much more that I wanted from it, so much more that I think would have given the book the justice it deserved. But in the end, it left me feeling a little deflated and I put the book down wishing that there was an alternate ending. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">There were subjects in the book, relating to mental health, that were only ever suggested to. I would have loved to see a slightly more in depth description of how it related to the plot of the story. It was briefly skimmed over in two separate cases and I feel that there was a lot more scope to really tie it into the story and really thicken the plot from it.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel like the epilogue to the book didn't really tie up all the ends that it needed to. I completely understand writers wanting the reader to be able to come to their own conclusions but there were things left in the middle of the story that just needed to see some closure and we really didn't get it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I did enjoy the book but there were so many things that I was still waiting for when I had put my tablet down. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 21.12px;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 21.12px;">★</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 21.12px;">★</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-70755448361438116262016-08-19T20:29:00.000+01:002016-08-19T20:29:44.191+01:00Looking Back At: Year 12 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Displays have been taken down, chairs are up on tables, summer is well and truly underway and I have officially finished year 12. The past academic year was filled with so many new experiences and meeting a load of new people. It's been such a great school year and here's what's been happening. </span></center>
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I decided to go to sixth form instead of going to the local college and that meant me changing schools and not having any of my old friends who had opted for college or a more popular sixth form. It was daunting to start in a new place along with having to start A Levels but I wouldn't change it for the world. After a week or so, I managed to settle in pretty quickly and find people in my classes that I got along with. </span></center>
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It would be a lie for me to say that A Levels started off pretty easily for me. Whilst it wasn't difficult for me to settle in to sixth form life, I did struggle adjusting to the pace of my lessons and the amount of work that was needed. My first mock exam in my maths class was so disappointing for me but it gave me a push in the right direction and I was more determined than ever to make sure that my January mock exams were better. Thankfully, I managed to turn my maths grade around in two months and my maths teacher was more than happy with me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a year that has gone by so quickly but if I'm completely honest I've enjoyed it so much more than any of my years in secondary school. It's been the first time where I feel like I've completely enjoyed all of my classes, I've loved the challenge of my lessons and I feel like I have a group of friends that I feel comfortable with and fit in with. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This entire year has been a little bit hectic with everything going on. However, towards the end of the year, I had the chance to apply for the senior prefect team and managed to get a place on there as well as becoming the Head of the Year 12 Prefects. I've gone to HE+ meetings, had the chance to visit Cambridge and had some amazing evenings with my friends. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Results topped what has been an amazing year so as Year 13 dawns, I'm going in a little more confident compared to what I started last year with, a spring in my step and a new determination to get through sixth form and apply to university. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck to everyone that is going to be starting a new school year. I would love to hear what your favourite parts of the year were! </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-61924388742992052772016-06-02T20:11:00.002+01:002016-06-02T20:11:32.572+01:00Book Review: The Versions of Us <div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>The Versions of Us</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b>Laura Barnett</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/Weidenfeld-and-Nicolson/Index.page" target="_blank">Weidenfeld & Nicolson</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>June 4th 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>401</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Versions-of-Us/9781474600897" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/laura_jbarnett?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">@laura_jbarnett</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'What if you had said yes?... Jim and Eva are nineteen and students at Cambridge, when their paths first cross in 1958. Jim is walking along a lane when a woman approaching him on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. What happens next will determine the rest of their lives. We follow three different versions of their future - together and apart - as their love story takes on different incarnations and twists and turns to the conclusion in the present day.'</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'The Versions of Us' was a book that I had heard a lot about from people around me and it was always one of the front facing books whenever I walked into Waterstones but one that I never seemed to pick up. Eventually, whilst I was away in Cambridge for a trip, I ended up deciding that I was going to buy it and see what everyone was raving about. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We end up following three different versions of Jim and Eva's life from when the first met each other in university to much later in their adult life. We see how the smallest changes in the decisions they make impact their lives and the routes they end up taking. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a while, I was put off of reading any kind of book that heavily involved romance. I couldn't find one that worked at the right pace for me, was somewhat realistic and that I was able to enjoy at the same time. Ultimately, I thought I would just give them a break which was why I ended up putting of reading this book for so long. 'The Versions of Us' managed to draw me back into the world of romantic literature and showed how beautifully and elegantly they could be executed. Barnett wrote the story in such an amazing way that I became emotionally attached to the characters very quickly. Every feeling of anger, heartbreak and happiness felt by Jim and Eva was also felt by me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did find that it wasn't the kind of book that I was able to put down and easily pick up from where I left off. For me, it took me a little bit of time to be able to recall what happened in each version of the story so I knew exactly what was going on in each chapter. So, I'd definitely say to read this book when you know you have a lot of time because exam season is definitely not that time!</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was such a good pace throughout the book as you moved across the years with Jim and Eva. Laura Barnett put them both through trials that everyday people have to go through which made it all the more enjoyable to read. It was nice to be able to get my teeth into a book where the characters all have flaws that they need to deal with but not in a way that made them unrealistic and hard to relate to. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The novel was heartbreaking and I was holding back tears as I finished the last chapter and shut the book. It ended up giving me a lot to think about long after I had put the book down but those are the kind of books, A lot of emotions were invoked and it lead me to winder the different versions of my own life had I decided upon things differently.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is definitely a book that I will be recommending to anyone I know! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: </b></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">★</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-51109227439883632542016-03-30T20:13:00.000+01:002016-03-30T20:13:06.286+01:00Book Review: Binge<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Binge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/tyleroakley" target="_blank">Tyler Oakley</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/" target="_blank">Simon & Schuster UK</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>20/10/2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>307</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Hardback </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Binge-Tyler-Oakley/9781471145131" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/tyleroakley" target="_blank">@tyleroakley</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Pop culture phenomenon. social rights advocate, and the most prominent LGBTQ+ voice on YouTube, Tyler Oakley brings you his first collection of witty, personal, and hilarious essays. </span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For someone who made a career out of over-sharing on the Internet, Tyler has a shocking number of personal mishaps and shenanigans to reveal is his first book: experiencing a legitimate rage blackout in a Cheesecake Factory; negotiating a tense standoff with a White House official; crashing a car in front of his entire high school, in an Arby's uniform; projectile vomiting while bartering with a grandmother; and so much more. In Binge, Tyler delivers his best untold, hilariously side-splitting moments with the trademark flair that made him a star. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tyler Oakley's 'Binge' was a book that managed to evoke a lot of emotions inside of me. It's hard to write a review of this book without giving too much away and that's the last thing I want to do. Tyler one of the few YouTubers that I follow and I love his videos. His sheer honesty about everything is something that makes me go back to watch every new video. His book was something that I was pretty excited for as soon as I heard about it and knowing that they were going to be essays about his life, I wondered what else he had to tell us that he hadn't already shared. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trust me when I say that there's a lot. There were chapters that I balled my eyes out to, ones where I physically laughed out loud but these stories remind you that Tyler is just a regular person. He dealt with the troubles of High School like we all have, cope with love and heartbreak and shows us how fame was not something that he's used to but something that he's learning to deal with and love along with the way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I loved how he didn't decide to put these essays into chronological order just to make it into autobiography. It's just a collection of his essays in the most Tyler Oakley way possible. And whilst YouTubers books are ones that I don't have the tendency to read, I'm so glad that I decided to pick up this one. Some of the messages that were sent across in this book were ones that I know will help me when days are going so well and some of them will just remind me to laugh when things go horrendously wrong. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Definitely a book to pick up if you want to know a little bit more about Tyler and laugh out loud! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-73978532479064600692016-03-26T11:30:00.000+00:002016-03-26T11:30:01.396+00:00Book Review: The Queen of the Tearling<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>The Queen of the Tearling</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b>Bantam</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Series: </b>The Tearling Trilogy #1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>16/07/2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>512</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Queen-of-the-Tearling/9780857502476" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'Kelsea Glynn is the sole heir to the throne of Tearling but has been raised in secret by foster parents after her mother – Queen Elyssa, as vain as she was stupid – was murdered for ruining her kingdom. For 18 years, the Tearling has been ruled by Kelsea’s uncle in the role of Regent however he is but the debauched puppet of the Red Queen, the sorceress-tyrant of neighbouring realm of Mortmesme. On Kelsea’s 19th birthday, the tattered remnants of her mother’s guard - each pledged to defend the queen to the death - arrive to bring this most un-regal young woman out of hiding...</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>And so begins her journey back to her kingdom’s heart, to claim the throne, earn the loyalty of her people, overturn her mother’s legacy and redeem the Tearling from the forces of corruption and dark magic that are threatening to destroy it. But Kelsea's story is not just about her learning the true nature of her inheritance - it's about a heroine who must learn to acknowledge and live with the realities of coming of age in all its insecurities and attractions, alongside the ethical dilemmas of ruling justly and fairly while simply trying to stay alive...</i></span></div>
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After a massive reading slump <i>The Queen of the Tearling</i> was exactly what I needed to pick me up out of it and pull me back into the world of books. There were so many things that I loved about this book and it made me devour it quicker than I thought I would have been able to during term time. It was the type of book that completely captured my attention and drew me in from start to finish. To find a book that makes me fall in love with every part and wonder where time has gone can be rare but Johansen hit the nail on the head with this one. </span></center>
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There are times where I can find a main character extremely annoying. They just don't bode well with me. I struggle to relate to them because there's one trait that just ticks me off. But with Kelsea, she was something that I loved. She was a character that I think Johansen really let grow in the books. There was so much character development within the book but it was also extremely realistic. She was a strong female character who also had to realise that she had flaws that were going to hinder her. It was nice to see that as much as she was a female who knew that she had to take control, she was also someone that knew that she had to listen to the people that were around her in order to become a better person. </span></center>
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This was the kind of book where when I was reading it, I didn't see where all of the pages were going and when I had gotten to the end, I wanted more. The plot was extremely well executed and there was constantly some action that was going on. There was something that always had me hooked and wanting to turn the page and that's the kind of book that I loved to read!</span></center>
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I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book. There are so many questions that have been left unanswered and I ready to carry on my journey with Kelsea. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span></span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-12039659010392881432016-03-23T19:50:00.000+00:002016-03-23T19:50:00.180+00:00My A-Z of advice <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I saw this writing prompt I was really interested in it and wanted to use it as a post. So, I decided why not! I'm going to do a whole A-Z list of advice, some which might be serious, some a little more light-hearted. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>A</b>lways have code names ready, you'll never know when you're going to need them. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>B</b>ubbles are a great way to stop feeling stressed.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>C</b>ake can solve everything if you let it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>D</b>on't end on a bad note with people. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>E</b>ventually, everything will fall into place. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>F</b>ancy food is not always the best food. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>G</b>eneric advice is sometimes the best advice.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>H</b>eavy objects should not be handled alone if you can't carry them. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I</b>n times of doubt, dance it out! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>J</b>okes that are corny are the best ones to make. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>K</b>it kats are worth taking a break for.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>L</b>ove without holding yourself back </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>M</b>ovies are great to curl up and watch when you aren't feeling well. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>N</b>ever insult a Hufflepuff.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>O</b>ranges are hard to peel but are worth the struggle! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>P</b>hotos can be a huge pain sometimes but take a lot of them. You won't regret it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Q</b>uestions aren't stupid if you're want to know more. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>R</b>isks are sometimes worth taking. You just need to know which ones you want to take. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>S</b>mile at everyone, no matter how bad your day is. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>T</b>ravel the world and see everything that you want to see. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>U</b>nderline titles or teachers will spend ten minutes telling your class the importance of it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>V</b>icks is great when you have a blocked nose. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>W</b>hen in doubt, flip a coin. You'll know what you want the result to be. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>X</b>ylophones are very respectable instruments. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Y</b>ell when you need to but not at the people you love. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Z</b>ebra crossings are there for a reason. </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-35608606086466040122016-03-19T13:18:00.000+00:002016-03-19T13:18:00.209+00:00Top Ten: Book Series' I'm Dying To Finish (#1)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Books are an amazing thing but the only problem that I have with them is that half of the time when I pick a book up, I don't actually realise that it's part of a series. And sometimes I have to wait a while to get the next book in the series. Here are the top ten book series' that I am dying to finish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> 1) The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness</span><br />
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kA7HoGibL._SY300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kA7HoGibL._SY300_.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">I've only read the first book in the series and I loved it. My sister has the other two books but I haven't gotten around to borrowing them off of her yet. But hopefully I'm going to read them soon. The first book had me completely take in. </span><br />
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<a href="http://38.media.tumblr.com/14b3e21a3e95908c28f223a689da682f/tumblr_mixxgtPAsX1s3jza0o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://38.media.tumblr.com/14b3e21a3e95908c28f223a689da682f/tumblr_mixxgtPAsX1s3jza0o1_500.jpg" height="156" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">2) The Anna and the French Kiss Series by Stephanie Perkins</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">Yet another trilogy where I have only read the first book. I've only got it in ebook version and I really want the three books in hardback. I cannot stop raving about 'Anna and the French Kiss' so I can't wait to see what the next two books in the series hold. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1376830627l/18339438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1376830627l/18339438.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">3) The Eve Summer Sequence by G&P Gallacher</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">The next book hasn't come out yet, so I'm only able to read the first book. The next one should be coming out soon and I can't wait to read it. It was such a nice read that had me hooked from the very start and there are so many more things that I want to know about so book two, please come along soon! </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.worthpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Lord-of-the-Rings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.worthpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Lord-of-the-Rings.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">4) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">I was dying to read the first book and I fell in love with it instantly. 'The Fellowship of the Ring' was so well written and I loved all the settings. I knew it was a book that I had to pick up after reading 'The Hobbit' and now I just need to get my hands on the next two books. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.mphclick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Cirque-Du-Freak-Books-738x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mphclick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Cirque-Du-Freak-Books-738x1024.jpg" height="200" width="143" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">5) The Cirque Du Freak Series by Darren Shan </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">This is a slightly longer series, but one that I still want to finish! 'A Living Nightmare' was ever-so-slightly creepy but still really enjoyable. It's a story that I still really want to follow and finish.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/InheritanceCycleCovers.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/InheritanceCycleCovers.png" height="200" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">6) The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">I've got all of the books in the the house and I've read and reread Eragon and gotten halfway through 'Eldest'. I have no idea why I ended up putting it down but I'm really looking forward to reading the whole series and seeing what happens to Eragon. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.malindalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/pll-novels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.malindalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/pll-novels.jpg" height="179" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">7) Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">This book series is quite big (there are a few more books than the picture shows) so it might take me a little while to finish off but I am determined to get to the end. My sister got me the first book after we watched the show and I wanted to see what the book was like. I ended up getting the second one but I'm in the debate at the moment since wherever I look I can't find the last few books in the covers that I have, which is bugging me a lot. So, I'm going to have to see what happens with the covers with those before I get them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">8) The Percy Jackson Series </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">I got the first book from my uncle at Christmas and now I'm hooked. One of my friends loves the series and talks to me about it and it's made me want to get the rest. As well as that, I love learning about Greek Mythology and the books teach you some parts of it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">9) The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchet</span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">There are currently 41 books in the Discworld series, and I only have two books. I love the world that Terry Pratchett has created and the books I've got are in the middle of the series Even though you can read the books as stand alones, I want to get the first book and work my way slowly through the whole series. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369559695l/16248113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369559695l/16248113.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">10) The School for Good and Evil Trilogy by Soman Chainani </span></span></span><br />
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</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">I really did love the first book, since it took fairy tales in a completely new twist. But the first book left it on a bit of a cliff hanger so I'm dying to find out what's going to go on at the schools. I've heard a few things floating around the place but I want to find out before I get any spoilers. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 19.31999969482422px;">So, those are the top ten book series' that I am dying to finish. What are yours?</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-65893499554109008082016-03-16T09:45:00.000+00:002016-03-18T20:02:33.501+00:00Book Review: Eragon <div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Eragon </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b>Christopher Paolini </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b>Random House Children's Publishing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Series: </b>The Inheritance Cycle #1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>28/08/2003</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>503 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b>Book Depository </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/paolini" target="_blank">@paolini</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling , Eragon soon realises he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hand. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Eragon' follows the story of the Eragon and a dragon as the make their way through Alagaesia trying to figure out what the King of the Empire, Galbatorix, is doing, trying to defeat Urgals along the way. From the moment you open the book, you are transported into their world.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paolini does not hesitate to throw you into the world he has created and slowly feeds you information to get to grips on Alagaesia and its history. The world was created beautifully and you're able to see the effort he put into creating it. As you are taken through villages, traipsing across desserts and battling your way to the Varden, Paolini has made sure that you have a clear picture about where Eragon is on his journey. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The book, admittedly, does have a lot of information but not in a way that it feels as though it's all being thrown at you with no time to digest what is going on. Information is given at exactly the right time and it triggered thoughts and theories about what was going to happen next. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It didn't take long for me to get attached to any of the characters. Eragon was a character that did get on my nerves at times as he didn't seem as grateful about things as he could be and seemed to take many things for granted. I don't think for me, there was a character that I really got attached to. More than emotions, we got thoughts of the character and their actions. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were parts where it was hard to push through the book. Things did seem to drag on a little but thankfully, they didn't carry on for too long. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys 'The Lord of the Rings' an amazing book for anyone who loves fantasy and wants to get lost in a journey between a boy and his dragon. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-78515490301680166612016-03-12T09:45:00.000+00:002016-03-12T09:45:16.878+00:00Book Review: The Elephant in the Garden <div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>The Elephant in the Garden </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="http://michaelmorpurgo.com/" target="_blank">Michael Mopurgo</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/" target="_blank">HarperCollins</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>09/06/2011</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>233</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Gift </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Elephant-Garden-Michael-Morpurgo/9780007339587" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'Lizzie and Karl's mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don't run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route with an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family. </i> </span></div>
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Admittedly, Michael Mopurgo's book may be aimed for a younger reader than myself, but age was not something that stopped me from reading this book. I was give a box set of his for my 13th birthday and for some reason I had never gotten the chance to read any of them, I'm glad I finally got around to picking one out from there. </span></center>
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'The Elephant in the Garden' tells the story of Elizabeth who is in a nursing home to one of the nurses and her son, Karl. She talks about her time in World War Two in Germany and how her and her family escaped the city of Dresden after it was bombed along with and elephant. </span></center>
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There were a good few reasons that I enjoyed this story. It was just a book that you good read and just enjoy. It showed how strong family values and how this small family of three had to pull through a very harsh winter. How things weren't always easy but they did it as a family. It taught people the importance of family, even in the hardest of times. </span></center>
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What I did really like about this book is that it showed World War Two from the German civilian's point of view which I think is something that people need to read and learn about. Sometimes, I think people forget that the people of Germany still had to live through the war like everyone else and not everyone agreed with what was going on. Personally, I think this book will be able to show younger readers and older readers exactly like. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mopurgo's writing style was something that I really did enjoy reading. It was quite easy to read and had a really nice flow to it. It wasn't patronising and it drew you into the plot. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though it wasn't a book that I'</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">m head over heels in love with. I still did enjoy it and I think it's a book for someone who loves reading about civilians in the war without it being all too heavy.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-22163035936491851582016-03-09T17:08:00.000+00:002016-03-09T17:08:00.705+00:006 Reasons Why I Loved The Real Prom Queens of Westfield High <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-5656441145246710042016-03-05T17:11:00.000+00:002016-03-08T20:01:35.398+00:00Movie Review: Twilight<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Twilight </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Based On: </b>Stephanie Meyer's - Twilight </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Running Time: </b>122 minutes </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Director: </b>Catherine Hardwicke </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Writer: </b>Melissa Rosenberg </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Stars: </b>Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'Bella Swan has always been a little bit different. Never one to run with the crowd, Bella never cared about fitting in with the trendy, plastic girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother remarried and Bella chooses to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she didn't expect much of anything to change. But things do change when she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen. For Edward is nothing like any boy she's ever met. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>He's nothing like anyone she's ever met, period. He's intelligent and witty, and he seems to see straight into her soul. In no time at all, they are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance - unorthodox because Edward really isn't like the other boys. He can run faster than a mountain lion. He can stop a moving car with his bare hands. Oh, and he hasn't aged since 1918. Like all vampires, he's immortal. That's right - vampire. But he doesn't have fangs - that's just in the movies. And he doesn't drink human blood, though Edward and his family are unique among vampires in that lifestyle choice. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>To Edward, Bella is that thing he has waited 90 years for - a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. Somehow or other, they will have to manage their unmanageable love. But when unexpected visitors come to town and realize that there is a human among them Edward must fight to save Bella? A modern, visual, and visceral Romeo and Juliet story of the ultimate forbidden love affair - between vampire and mortal.'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are a good few things that I love about this movie and then one or two things that I had problems with. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the main things that I loved about this movie is how the kept the awkward father-daughter relationship between Charlie and Bella. Charlie's character was one that I did laugh at so many times in the movie. And no matter how many times I watch it, I will always laugh at some of his lines. Billy Burke did a great job at playing Bella's over protective father. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of Bella's friends gave some great comic relief in the movie. All the way from her first day at school to the Prom. I couldn't help but laugh at the way Mike tries to flirt with her and the way the girls talk about Edward Cullen and ask Bella for advice with dresses and the boys. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The soundtrack to the movie was absolutely beautiful. It's just breathtaking. The mix of the classical music in the film with some more recent music. It all just fit together and slotted into the scenes quite perfectly. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The flashbacks in the movie was both really useful and really well made. The fact that they used a sepia tone for them reinstated the fact that it was looking back. It was really nice to see the legends between the werewolves and the vampires and to see the way that Edward was turned into a vampire. Even though it wasn't needed, I thought it was really nice to watch and just gave the movie something a little more. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll be honest though, some of the acting did seem a little stiff. I get that the characters like Edward and Bella were supposed to be quite awkward, even with each other but it still felt very static. It wasn't the whole way through the movie, there was just the odd scene where it did seem more awkward than I thought it would be. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of the camera angles in the movie were a little bit odd and it did seem like the camera was shaking a bit as well.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But other than those two small points, I did love the movie. It was really enjoyable to watch and the scenery in it was quite beautiful in some of the scenes. I would be more than happy to keep watching this movie. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-12973675848635457362016-02-27T17:09:00.000+00:002016-02-27T17:09:00.954+00:00Cwtched Up With A Classic: Of Mice and Men <div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first English Literature exam is in January and my English class has started to read 'Of Mice and Men' to get ready for it, I finished the book a good few weeks ago and all I can say is that I am completely in love with it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This book was so much more than I expected it to be and it's one that I'm glad that we're taking into the exam because I enjoyed it which will hopefully mean that the story will stick better in my head. This whole book is based around George and Lennie and the decisions that they make both as a pair and individuals and how that has an effect on their life. There were so many places where the plot surprised me and where I was hoping for the best with some characters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the main things that I found with this book is that I got really attached to George and Lennie. I found it impossible not to feel for them and wish that they had a better life.Steinbeck created these characters in a way that you can't help but run through every single emotion that they're feeling. George has ended up becoming one of if not my favourite character. I love the way that he's always looking out for Lennie and how he tries to make the both of them happy and stand up for Lennie the best he can. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a really cleverly crafted book. There were a lot of emotional moments and a lot of themes that ran throughout the book. Friendship was an extremely strong theme that continuously ran throughout the book and it was so enjoyable to read. It's the kind of book that I could quite easily just go back to and read again, which is good since I need to re-read it for my exam anyway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was such an enjoyable book though and I'm really glad that I had the chance to read it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-1790931909231597762016-02-24T17:10:00.000+00:002016-03-08T20:02:12.850+00:00Book Review: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="http://davidlevithan.com/" target="_blank">David Levithan</a> & <a href="http://www.rachelcohn.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Cohn</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/ember/" target="_blank">Ember</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>28/08/2007</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>183</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Gift</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Nick-Norahs-Infinite-Playlist-Rachel-Cohn/9780375835339" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'It all started when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked into his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City - and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm going to get to the point right at the start of this review. I was disappointed in this book. I've read Cohn and Levithan's collaboration before when I had read 'Dash and Lily's Book of Dares' and I enjoyed it. This book, however, not so much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The beginning seemed to be pretty promising and I was enjoying it quite a bit. I liked Nick and his friends and Norah seemed okay too. About 80 pages into the book, I started to lose interest. Both Nick and Norah ended up being characters that I didn't really enjoy reading. Norah didn't seem to know what she wanted to do. Her mind seemed to be everywhere with everything. One minute she'd decide something and the next she would change her mind. For me, it was a little annoying to read. Nick's POV didn't seem to really give me much about himself. There wasn't a whole load I really learnt about the person he was. I just thought that there could have been a lot more character interaction because there would be a page or two with no speech and just what they were thinking and there were points I didn't think it was really necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another thing about this book is that there is a lot of swearing. More than I thought there would be. There wouldn't be any for a couple of pages and then it would be in every other line. I don't mind if there is swearing in books but it just felt like there was an excessive use of it </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★1/2</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-57737994084663458992016-02-20T17:11:00.000+00:002016-03-08T20:02:25.384+00:00Movie Review: Water For Elephants <div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Water For Elephants </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Based On: </b>Sara Gruen's - 'Water For Elephants' </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Running Time: </b>120 minutes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Director: </b>Francis Lawrence </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Writer: </b>Richard LaGravenese</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Stars: </b>Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'After his parents' death. Jacob Jankowski is left penniless and homeless. Events lead to him joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss, August, whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be cautious around him, including his beautiful and quiet wife, Marlena, who August is very possessive of and who Jacob finds himself soon falling in love with.'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was a movie, that from the very beginning evoked emotions in me that I was not ready for and it did not stop doing that. 'Water for Elephants' has been a movie and a book that I've wanted to read and watch for a while. When I saw that the movie was being played on TV I knew that I had to watch and I wasn't disappointed at all! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The soundtrack to the whole movie was amazing! Some parts was just really elegant and quite magical and then in some parts you had the huge big band jazz music which I love. All the music suited the movie so well. And the huge party scenes made me smile because of all the music that went along with it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The movie was told in a flashback format which was done really nicely and to be honest, I think it made me more emotional because it was done in that style. Jacob would speak over one or two pieces of the music which was quite nice because it just gave a little bit more explanation about things. It was linked back to the Wall Street Crash so it did have a nice bit of history along with the plot line. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was in love with the scenery of the movie but that might be because I love seeing old circuses. They showed the way that the circus was put up and it just made it so much more enjoyable to watch. They had circus performers in the background of some of the scenes which was really nice to see because it made it realistic. It was nice to be able to see the classic clowns and the juggling.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">August was the perfect villain an Walz played the character so, so well.He brought the character completely to life, you were able to tell that there was something wrong with the character and I ended up hating him so much. You wanted karma to come around to him after everything he did. Waltz made sure that in the end, you would have no pity for his character. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm a huge fan of Robert Pattinson and his acting and he did an amazing job in this movie. There were some really emotional scenes that he had to act in and he did and fantastic job. I felt so bad for Jacob and I loved seeing him get along with all the other performers in the circus and how some of them formed a small family between them all. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though there were a few emotional moments, but they were mixed in with moments that made me both laugh and smile. It was a really nice balance because without it, the movie could be seen as very serious and quite heavy. Having it broken up with some comedic moments really just made it easier to watch. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The one thing that really did sell this movie to me was that it wasn't 'insta love'. We didn't see Marlena and Jacob just fall in love straight away, as soon as they saw each other. It was gradual and seemed a lot more realistic. I was worried that it was going to be them just falling in love with each other straight from the off, but you could see the way that they're feeling developed for each other. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm really glad that I ended up watching this movie and I'm really looking forward to reading the book now. Definitely one that I'm going to end up getting on DVD. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★1/2</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-70816990238187573942016-02-17T17:15:00.000+00:002016-03-08T20:02:35.061+00:00Book Review: Pretty Little Liars <div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Pretty Little Liars </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/93970.Sara_Shepard" target="_blank">Sara Shepard</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.atombooks.net/" target="_blank">Atom</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Series: </b>Pretty Little Liars #1</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>01/11/2010</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>244</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Gift</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Pretty-Little-Liars-TV-Sara-Shepard/9780062009548" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/sarabooks" target="_blank">@sarabooks</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back?'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Pretty Little Liars' is a book that will no doubt set you on edge at the very first chapter. I was hooked on it to find out what was going to happen. I had this book as a gift from my sister after we started to watch the TV show and were obsessed with it . After finding out it was a book, I really wanted to read it. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shepard knows exactly how to set her readers on the edge of their seat and has woven suspense in a way that makes you want to keep on reading but put the book down all at the same time. This book was so creepy for me, I never reread it in the nights and have to make sure that there are people around me. But don't let that put you off because that is the exact reason that you should read it! </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was worried that the secrets that the four would hold wouldn't be realistic but they are and they're ones that I think some people can relate to. The book is a constant page turner and I found myself getting attached to Spencer and Aria the most in the book, just because of the fact that I was mostly interested in their stories and thought that we could have heard a little bit more about Emily and Hannah. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Half of the time, I had no idea where the book was going to go and what was going to happen next. Shepard does her best to make the book predictable in terms of who is sending the text messages and I just couldn't guess at all who it was and I still don't have a clue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give away the secrets and I don't the suspense in the book to be lost. All I will say though is that it's left on a huge cliffhanger that leaves you wanting to read the rest of the series. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating:<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-9260520464348203952016-02-13T18:34:00.000+00:002016-02-13T18:34:01.297+00:00Wanderlust: Barcelona (#2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x_I-S5twJpcZFIuGatTdoFyl-zq8Y52HFTdBxy3wzDLj0IApn6EXWl5B5msdRpct-mws_ORMbIGcho3AyFi-Hivj-oBZ_sqee9DHhJPJtFVUaEkOVpmT9YkPjVs4n6zZRGudtyUUvxKf/s1600/barcelona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x_I-S5twJpcZFIuGatTdoFyl-zq8Y52HFTdBxy3wzDLj0IApn6EXWl5B5msdRpct-mws_ORMbIGcho3AyFi-Hivj-oBZ_sqee9DHhJPJtFVUaEkOVpmT9YkPjVs4n6zZRGudtyUUvxKf/s1600/barcelona.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another place that I am dying to go in Barcelona, Spain and I'm not ashamed to say that this first stemmed from my love of 'Cheetah Girls 2'. The architecture there seems absolutely stunning and I love architecture. I find it really interesting to look at and think about how it was designed and made so that it could still be a safe structure whilst being so unique. </span></center>
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The Sagrada Familia is definitely a place that I would want to visit. The architecture that go into churches just look so amazing. All the small intricate details both inside and out. You can tell that a lot of thought and time went into it. I also love hearing the stories about the churches as well. When and why it was built and the traditions of the church now. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Torre Agbar is a skyscraper that always seems to be seen in any vantage point photographs that I see of Barcelona. It's a 38-story skyscraper that just looks amazing. The way that it looks in the night when the building it all lit up just looks fantastic. It's currently the tallest building in Barcelona at 142 metres high. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love looking at botanical gardens and the Jardi Botanic Barcelona looks like the perfect place to just be able to wander around for a while at your own pace if you just want a relaxing day out. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria looks like such a vibrant and exciting place to go. Local markets of different countries are something that I want to see a lot more of when I go away on holiday and this one just looks like it's bursting with life. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those are just a few of the things that I would love to go and see if I get the chance to go and see Barcelona but there are a few other things that are on the list. </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-69814389015606800612016-02-10T15:39:00.000+00:002016-02-10T15:39:03.374+00:00Coping With My First Term in Sixth Form<center style="text-align: left;">
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My first term in sixth form was probably one of the scariest things I have experienced for a lot of reasons. It was an entirely new school for me and I pretty much knew no one there, A Levels just seemed like a daunting prospect to me and the school was massive compared to my old one. But now it's all done and dusted with and I can say that I survived that first term. </span></center>
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Settling in wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be. I quickly got to know the people n my form class and classes and started to make friends and it didn't take me long to find a group of friends that I got a long with pretty well and individually were in my classes as well. One of the biggest hurdles to get through when joining a new school seemed to be cleared after three weeks of being there and I could not have been more grateful. </span></center>
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My subjects seemed to be a completely different ball game compared to GCSE but that was something that I had been prepared for. I knew that it was going to be a pretty big leap going to GCSE to A Level but experiencing it was completely different. Maths was an entirely new syllabus for me since I hadn't done additional maths but it was something that I knew had to adjust to quickly. Whilst physics and maths were subjects that I found myself falling in love with even more, biology was a subject that I really wasn't enjoying and if anything, I was dreading my lessons so much. After two weeks of trying to get through the lessons, I realised that maybe this wasn't the subject for me and I decided to have a chat with my head of year to swap my subject around. I initially wanted to swap Biology around for History but it turned out that the History class was completely full with people moving into the class. So, in the end I decided that I would swap to Economics instead. That came with it's ow task of copying two weeks of the course up and trying to catch up with the basics that were right at the start of the course. I managed to get my head around it all though and enjoyed it a lot more than I did Biology. </span></center>
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Towards the beginning of the term I decided that I was going to sign up to become a Prefect. The title doesn't particularly entail much and is mostly me having to make sure none of the lower school come into the building during lunchtime for half an hour once a week and help out the Parents' Evening and Open Evenings. As well as that, I managed to get a space on the HE+ program which is a scheme that's run by Cambridge University to teach students in Year 12 out of the syllabus and give them advice on applying to Russell Group Universities. Even though it's not the most exciting Tuesday evening, I have people there that help me get through it. </span></center>
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Altogether, my first term in sixth form was enjoyable but still very stressful. I don't think anything was going to prepare me for what A Levels were going to bring with them but I'm slowly adjusting to them and getting use to them. </span></center>
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I hope everyone's having a good second term back in school/college right now and everything has settled down.</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-32500651605295063412016-02-06T19:49:00.000+00:002016-02-06T21:01:02.258+00:00Looking Back At: January 2016<h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">For me, January is always a month that's slow to go by and it's never the happiest of months after the high energy of Christmas quickly come crashing down. Heading back to school does nothing to help that either and after finishing my first term in sixth form the school thought that it would be a great time to start mock exams off. So, heading back to school was exactly a cheerful experience at the beginning of the month. Thankfully, I only had four mocks to sit: two maths, one economics and one for physics. And respectively I ended up getting 2 As, a B and a C which I was definitely pleased with. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Other than that, it's been a pretty quiet month. I've seen the arrival of my new bookcase which I was extremely excited for. My room had been painted in August and since then my books have been residing in boxes in my parents' room since I haven't been able to find a bookcase that I've liked and would fit in my room since I haven't got much space. But I finally found one and nothing has brought me greater joy than to see my book all lined up on shelves. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I've been slowly getting myself back into blogging and it's been helping me find a balance between school work and just having me time again. It's been so nice to just be able to write since all of my subjects are maths based. Hopefully, I'm going to be able to keep this up for now, even if I'm just posting twice a month to start of with until I get back into the swing of things again. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I'm so glad that this has been a month that I've slowly been able to get back into reading. I set my reading challenge a lot lower than previous years, down to 15 books but I had to make it realistic. I've been so busy with sixth form, I wasn't sure how much time I would have to read when summer came along and towards the end of the year when I'll hopefully be applying to Uni. But, whilst it's been quiet I thought I would get a head start. </span></span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So, here's what I've managed to read: </span></span></center>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Binge by Tyler Oakley </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K Rowling </span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle </span></span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></li>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BA7zXOnTJee/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Who needs A Levels when I could bake my way to success? { #baking #redvelevet #cupcakes #food }</a></div>
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A photo posted by Saira Ahmed (@sai_498) on <time datetime="2016-01-24T20:00:15+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 24, 2016 at 12:00pm PST</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BAslYm6xM3U/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Nothing will beat the beauty of words lying gracefully across a page, especially after a bad day. Slowly but surely making some progress with Sherlock. It might be a long book but it's so beautifully written, the words seem to flow so nicely. I really am hoping that I can make so more progress once mock exams are done. { #bibliophile #books #bookworm #bookblogger #igreads #bookstagram #theadventuresofsherlockholmes #sherlockholmes #sherlock #johnwatson #reading #currentlyreading #sixthform #alevels #mockexams #goodreads #goodreadschallenge }</a></div>
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A photo posted by Saira (@growingxwings) on <time datetime="2016-01-18T22:09:30+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 18, 2016 at 2:09pm PST</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBHqz7hxMxk/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Currently reading: Beginners Guide - Engineering by Natasha McCarthy. One of the most interesting books that I've dread and it's definitely made me fall in love with engineering so much more. { #igreads #bookstagram #bookwork #bibliophile #begineersguide #engineer #engineering }</a></div>
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A photo posted by Saira (@growingxwings) on <time datetime="2016-01-29T10:36:25+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 29, 2016 at 2:36am PST</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBIqksgRM7e/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">I've been working on filling this bookshelf this evening. Since I've had my room repainted all of my books have been residing in my parents' room. It's funny how empty it's felt in there until I've had my gorgeous book back with me again. { #bibliophile #booklover #bookblogger #bookshelf #roomdecoration #inprogress #ya }</a></div>
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A photo posted by Saira (@growingxwings) on <time datetime="2016-01-29T19:53:34+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 29, 2016 at 11:53am PST</time></div>
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A photo posted by Saira (@growingxwings) on <time datetime="2016-01-31T22:41:56+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 31, 2016 at 2:41pm PST</time></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I hope you all have had a good start to the year!
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-17114933275050013672016-02-03T19:28:00.000+00:002016-02-03T19:28:18.186+00:00Book Review: Eleanor & Park<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Eleanor & Park </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/" target="_blank">Rainbow Rowell</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/" target="_blank">Orion</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>12/04/2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>325</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Library </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Eleanor-Park-Rainbow-Rowell/9781409120544" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/rainbowrowell" target="_blank">@rainbowrowell</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>'<b>Eleanor </b>is the new girl in tow, with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and her unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Park </b>is the boy at the back of the bus. Black t-shirts, headphone, head in a book - he things he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor... never to Eleanor. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall for each other. They fall in love they way you do the first time, when you're young, and you feel as if you have nothing and everything to lose.'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was the first Rainbow Rowell book that I picked up and I can quite happily say that I was not at all disappointed in what I read. I had started to read this book with high hopes and if anything, this book exceeded all expectation. Rainbow Rowell, you have yourself a new fan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'Eleanor & Park' was a memorising story of two people discovering love for the very first time and how they cope with that. It was such a beautifully written story and Rowell's writing style was something that I gelled with so well. I couldn't get through the book faster once I had started it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her characters were perfectly written. I loved how they weren't your stereotypical character. Both Eleanor and Park had insecurities that they knew about and they didn't like and didn't really come to terms with feeling comfortable with. It was nice seeing that side of characters, seeing them not feel comfortable with the way they look or just who they are as a person. They had problems and they were realistic problems, ones that you would come across. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rowell has no problem with throwing diverse characters into this story with made it such a refreshing read. We see different cultures in there and the way that those cultures effect the characters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The plot itself was written so well. There were parts where my heart just ached for some characters and the plight that they were in. You couldn't help but empathise with them. Though you could see where the plot was going, it wasn't in an annoying predictable way that you didn't want to read the rest of the book. I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right, to see how things were going to end. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Did I expect the ending? No, not at all. It's such a heart breaking book that when I read the ending, I wish that it didn't finish there. I am yearning for more of Eleanor and Park's story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can give nothing but praise for this book and I'll definitely be picking up more of Rowell's books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rating: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-60111737917701105502016-01-29T19:27:00.001+00:002016-01-29T19:27:52.286+00:00Book Review: Clockwork Prince<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Title: </b>Clockwork Prince</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b><a href="http://www.cassandraclare.com/" target="_blank">Cassandra Clare</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b><a href="http://www.walker.co.uk/" target="_blank">Walker & Company</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Series: </b>The Infernal Devices #2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>01/05/2012</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>500</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/cassieclare" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Author Twitter: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/cassieclare" target="_blank">@cassieclare</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more towards Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will - the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do? As their dangerous search for the truth leads the friends to peril, Tessa's heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As usual when I read Clare's books, her prologue immediately makes me want to devour the rest of the novel. It's something that you can't ignore and always plays on your mind whilst reading the story. In the second instalment of 'The Infernal Devices' Clare's writing didn't fail to take me back in time before transporting me into the world of Shadowhunter and Downworlders. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was incredibly easy for me to be able to nip in and out of the different story line were working alongside each other in this book. I didn't struggle to keep up with what was going on with each character and idea that Clare had woven in. If anything it made me want to keep reading so I could find out more about each one of them. A fantastic job was done here about making sure to keep the reader interested and at the same time, making sure that we weren't left confused or in the dark about things. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The character development in this book was great and I still am a huge fan of Henry Branwell. The relationship between Jem and Will is always great to read but it was nice to see them not be the perfect pair all the time and have to face some problems that were shown in the book. It made their friendship seem a lot more realistic in my eyes. However, Tessa did manage to annoy me in some parts of the book since I did feel she was a bit indecisive when trying to figure things out and make decisions. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been a while since I read 'Clockwork Angel' and with the books being as thick as they are I was worried that I wouldn't remember what was going on. That's wasn't a problem though, since when I started the books I seemed to remember what had happened and where there were hole in my memory, Clare filled them in quite nicely. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I cannot wait to read the last book in the series now and I hope it will be able to put to rest all of the questions that 'Clockwork Prince' has given me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Rating: </b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">★1/2</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-45923741852930767972015-12-30T14:03:00.001+00:002015-12-30T14:03:59.887+00:00Looking Back At: 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just want to start off with saying that I'm extremely sorry about the extended break that I've taken from this blog. As soon as exam season came around in May I was so busy and I didn't end up getting back into blogging once it was over. But I'm back and hoping that I can stay around for a little while longer again. </span></center>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2oqk3cdzNY-192_U5KY0gV0VWYFHcx4Q5jISoA0n9MreClVbGsq-DnY1TEVU6BN5KWeyoNaOVM68JVvIJIBcCWeRN5QOHwPu3NhWzADsT35ASm04qjj3esX8WdXrvOlAjf7lLwtFIXD4/s1600/10546743_693506840770851_1748169658_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2oqk3cdzNY-192_U5KY0gV0VWYFHcx4Q5jISoA0n9MreClVbGsq-DnY1TEVU6BN5KWeyoNaOVM68JVvIJIBcCWeRN5QOHwPu3NhWzADsT35ASm04qjj3esX8WdXrvOlAjf7lLwtFIXD4/s200/10546743_693506840770851_1748169658_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2015 has been an absolutely amazing year for me! It's been one of my best years with so far with so much going on, a lot of good news and new adventures. I can't begin to tell you how much joy this year ended up bringing me and I'm so sad to see the end of it. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January kicked off the start of this brilliant year since I brought 2015 in with my sister in New York! I still can't believe that I had the chance to do that and it definitely made sure that my year got off on the right foot. With musicals and sight seeing around the city, I couldn't have asked for anything more. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were a few exams to sit when I got back home though. However, January also become the month that got offered my very first job! There was a new store opening in the city centre and I applied with the thought that I may not get it but it doesn't hurt to try. I got a call towards the end of January after my interview offering me the job and I'm still working there now. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May and June were both extremely stressful and emotional. Exams were in full swing and it was just crazy. It was the last hurdle to jump before I was able to completely finish school and I don't know how I managed to get out of it with my sanity. June also meant me saying goodbye to secondary school which was slightly upsetting. Unlike the majority of my year group, I was heading to sixth form with one other person in my year going with me. So, June was a time of goodbyes for me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last day had me in near tears and I was doing everything I could not to cry like a baby. My leavers' assembly left me in fits of laughter though as we sat in the main hall as a year group for the last time. I couldn't believe I had made it through five years of secondary school and was finally saying goodbye. Prom night left me with a huge smile on my face and it was the perfect way to end five years and say goodbye to everyone. I danced and screamed songs at the top of my lungs and knew that I was leaving with a new adventure waiting for me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Exams were finished, prom was done and summer started for me a month earlier than everyone and I loved it. Three months off to spend with my family with the looming thought of school in the back of my mind. We did day trips to Liverpool and Chester Zoo, I did workshops in Lush. It was a holiday that I was actually able to enjoy and the weather could have been a lot worse! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as some amazing days spent with my family in August, I knew that it also meant that GCSE results would be coming out and I was anxious to have that brown envelope in my hand. Results day had been far from what I had expected and it was truly memorable. I ended up having to open my results on Welsh radio which I hoped meant that they were okay. The shock I felt that day when I saw that day was astounding and I nearly cried when I saw my maths mark. I walked out of school a few hours later with 3 A*s and 8 As. </span></center>
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Those results meant that I was able to move on to another exciting part in my life and one that made 2015 even better. I was joining sixth form which was a part of a school that I had never gone to. September was extremely exciting but also nerve wracking for me. Thankfully, I settled into sixth form life pretty well. I adore the subjects that I've taken and found a group of friends that I really get along with. Even though the work is a lot harder. I love the challenge of it all. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December has been a brilliant month. I've managed to survive my first term in sixth form and also took a trip to Bath with my sister and my mother to have a look around at the Christmas markets which was a present for my results from my sister. Even though it was extremely busy, it was brilliant. The city was so gorgeous and the markets were lovely to have a look around in. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, 2015 has been a really good year for me. Especially academically. I feel like I've finally found my feet and for the first time in a long time I've looked forward to going to school. I can't wait to see what 2016 will hold for me and my family and I can only hope that it'll be ten times better! </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy new year my lovelies and I hope 2015 gave you everything that you hoped for and 2016 will too! </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-11228032338062257232015-10-28T16:23:00.000+00:002015-10-28T16:23:00.262+00:00This Is Halloween?<center style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Halloween and in all honesty it isn't a holiday that I really celebrate to the extreme like some people do but I still enjoy the day and the run up to it! There are a few aspects of the holiday that I love. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_437433253"></span><span id="goog_437433254"></span>Halloween movies are always great to watch. Admittedly I don't watch any super scary movies, okay, I don't watch scary movies at all to be honest. But I love watching 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Corpse Bride' around Halloween because even though they aren't scary movies they do have a spooky, Halloween sort of feel to them. I also love watching the 'Disney Halloweentown' movies. Some people might think that they're slightly childish but I really do enjoy the movies. It doesn't feel right watching them any other time of the year. So, I have to wait until Halloween comes around. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than that, Halloween is quite a quiet time of the year. When I was younger I did love dressing up for the Halloween disco at my primary school. I loves searching for a costume that I wanted to wear and then see what everyone else was wearing. Enough though I never won best dressed, it never bothered me and I really enjoyed the nights. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do love seeing some of the houses and shops around the area get decorate for Halloween though. Some places seem to go all out for the seasonal holiday which always makes me smile because even though some of the decoration can be seen as quite corny I still love seeing them and sometimes Halloween can be the best time of year to find some really snazzy decorations. We went to 'Asda' the other day and when to the Halloween aisle, but I have no idea why, and we came across these really nice white candles that had this black lace around the side of the candle. I don't know what made is specifically Halloween related but it look really lovely. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, how do you guys celebrate Halloween? </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-6219609917722739622015-08-05T16:56:00.000+01:002015-08-05T16:56:00.445+01:00Summer: A Love-Hate Relationship <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Summer, such a lovely time of the year but one where I battle a love-hate relationship with it. Part of me loves summer time and part of me can't wait to see the back of it sometimes. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Summer gives me the longest break from school within the school year. A time where I have no lessons to go to and can't spend time the way I want to spend it. I don't have to worry about homework or coursework being due in the next week. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get the chance to spend time with my family. The school year always seems to be busy, straight after school come home and do revision or any homework I have and I don't really get the time to sit down and spend time with my family. Not as much as I want to anyway. So, summer gives me the chance to spend as much time with them I want without the nagging thought of work in the back of my mind. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I live in a city that is surrounded by beaches and they're even more enjoyable when the Sun's out. Going out for drives around the coast and going for the odd picnic is nice in the Sun and although we can still go for the drives in the winter, picnics aren't really as enjoyable in the rain. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ice cream is always a great reason to love summer. I sometimes feel strange having it when it's in the middle of winter but in summer I have to qualms with eating it. As well as that, I love hearing the ice cream van going along the roads. Especially in the evening. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other hand though, sometimes it gets a little too sunny. The sort of heat where it's too warn to do anything and all you really want to do is sit in the house with all the windows open and with the fan on. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Flies! You have no idea how much flies make me hate summer. Especially Blue Bottles. They're such a pain to me. I can't stand them when they fly around my ears and just the annoying buzzing sound. I am really not a huge fan of them at all.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, sometimes summer holidays, I find, can be too long for me. I feel like there's only so much you can do, and then it comes to a point where I just want to go back so I'm productive and can see all my friends. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what's your relationship with summer like?</span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-63497847318077546192015-07-31T10:39:00.000+01:002015-07-31T10:39:00.619+01:00Happy Birthday: J.K. Rowling!<center></center><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you may or may not know, today marks J.K. Rowling's 50th birthday! So, to celebrate, I'm doing 5 facts about the creator of Harry Potter!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11XaGkZiK61axABr2Bv0o5BwvrxKRnLQXxRNvQAdsH9hGe5EVJTe9ERcdbi9wHY-QltZuOgaQ2JhrTlY2YKi7Ak1oy2GZInm4rsNtKITQyNOEWuDi3wHMxZw4t3z0t2VwUfkyICQiS8-P/s1600/j.k+rowling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11XaGkZiK61axABr2Bv0o5BwvrxKRnLQXxRNvQAdsH9hGe5EVJTe9ERcdbi9wHY-QltZuOgaQ2JhrTlY2YKi7Ak1oy2GZInm4rsNtKITQyNOEWuDi3wHMxZw4t3z0t2VwUfkyICQiS8-P/s1600/j.k+rowling.jpg" /></a></div><center></center><center></center><center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYtSPC7_uyRb-9pU-TOi2l0FSy2ptoBclV3KHR_ezjJUakjFZxBdRU7MDu61jUCixEZVvul8tWU9fkDp87Szp6nS1RAw9kjfaUo-wptPfnsMiHjqezaEjOgn7l7i3T7_lU-BtNyCoZXQc/s1600/signature1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo signature1_zpsda2bb39d.jpg"/></center>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17222074533916707359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73376614959146854.post-57195174970129307142015-07-29T16:08:00.000+01:002015-07-29T16:13:07.491+01:00Book Review: Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List<div style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(222, 222, 222); padding: 8px 8px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Author: </b>David Levithan & Rachel Cohn </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Publisher: </b>Electric Monkey </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Release Date: </b>03/07/2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pages: </b>256</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Service: </b>Bought </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Format: </b>Paperback </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Buy: </b>Book Depository </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>'Any great friendship can be as confusing, treacherous, inspiring and wonderful as any great romance. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Naomi and Ely have bee best friends forever. Naomi loves and is in love with Ely, and Ely loves Naomi but prefers to be in love with boys. So, they create their 'No Kiss List' of people neither of them is allowed to kiss. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>And this works fine - until Bruce. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Bruce is Naomi's boyfriend, so there's no reason to put him on the List. But Ely kissed Bruce - and the resulting fallout is going to change the world.'</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List' was a book that I was looking forward to read. After reading two of Levithan's and Cohn's co-written books, I had enjoyed one but ended up not finishing the other. For me, this was the decider as to whether or not I would pick up another book from the both of them. The blurb sounded great and I ended up buying it.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My biggest mistake was not flicking through the book whilst I was in Waterstones which is weird because that's what I usually do. The reason why I'm a little annoyed that I didn't is because I don't think I would've picked up the book if I had. As I began to read the book there were emoticons that were replacing words. At first it wasn't too bad, I thought it would be something that would slowly be gone as the book progressed. There were a few pages were there was nothing and then it would start again. To be honest, I found it extremely annoying. Some of them I didn't understand and altogether, it just bugged me. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did enjoy where the story was going though. I think it was one that people were able to relate to in terms that there are people out there who like their but their friend has a different sexual orientation. I love the pieces of humour that were thrown into the chapters, it made it a more enjoyable read and it did make me smile. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The characters, for me, were a little annoying though. Naomi was a character I just really struggled to like. She just seemed to whine a lot and wasn't a likeable character. I just feel as though she overreacted to what was going on in the book and seemed to keep using people. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end I had to DNF this book. I just struggled to enjoy it. I flicked through the pages to see what happened at the end because I was interested in seeing what happened and the plot was something I didn want to follow. However, I just really didn't enjoy the writing so I had to put it down. I was struggling to get through it and it just wasn't something that I was looking forward to read. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rating: </b>DNF </span></center>
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