The Seer of Shadows

The Seer of Shadows by AVI

This spooky thriller about a young boy (Horace) apprenticed to a famous photographer drew me in very quickly and didn’t let ago until the very end. In an attempt to earn some extra cash Horace’s boss claims to be able to take pictures of people in such a way that the ghosts of their relatives reemerge. Horace thinks this is ridiculous at first but when he starts to take his own pictures, the results baffle him beyond his wildest dreams.

absolutely amazing...

I would love to be able to dance like that one day.. ;)

Randomness: I just want all my friends in Idaho to know that I am thinking about ALL of you a LOT and missing you so much! XOXO

Bookstore Fun

A couple of days ago, I went to Borders with my family. My mom had to pick up a CD and so right then and there I decided I was going to buy a book. I didn't know what book, but I was going to get one and bring it home with me. I'm not really used to going into bookstores, since my whole life I lived in a very small town with pretty small bookstores and I usually just purchased from Amazon.com. Anyways, I stepped into this wonderful place and was floored.

"How in the world am I going to pick out one or two books?"
"Impossible!"

So, I found my way to the section of the store that had Young Adult Fiction and Middle Grade Fiction. I didn't even know where to start. I walked up and down the aisles, acting like a 4 year old on Christmas morning.

"I've read that!"
"OH MY GOSH, it's THAT book!"
"Lisa Yee's American Girl Book? No way!"

"I know that author!"
"Oh, I had a great talk with that author a couple of days ago"
"Oh, isn't that that book that Erin said was really good?"

Get the picture? I had to give myself some rules to make the process a little simpler. I will not purchase a book I have read. I will not purchase a book I already own. (Yeah, I like multiple copies) So, I looked and I looked and I finally settled on Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. I've heard loads and loads of stuff about this one. Ok, so after finally finding a book, I had to make another really hard decision. Paperback or Hardcover? *screams* I tend to go towards hardcover books, but for some reason it didn't have the really cool silver Newbery Award sticker that the paperback one did. I chose the paperback.

Wahoo! I finally found one! Yeah me! I was very happy with my prize and went to go brag about it my younger sisters who were in the children's section. Of course, knowing me, I couldn't NOT browse this section. *walking down the row, sees a book, gasp for breath* Its, Its, Its, Sienna Mercer's new third book in her MY TWIN THE VAMPIRE series. I adore this series. It's so cute and just it really really (as vampires say) sucks! I grabbed it off the shelf and claimed it as mine.

Now, I had two beautiful treasures to take home with me and read (after I finished my homework of course......NOT)

Love to you all!

Random Words

conspectus \kuhn-SPEK-tuhs\ a sketch, survey, or outline of a subject.

Eagerly the Austen family went at their productions, choosing plays that represented, as Gay says, a conspectus of late 18th-century fashionable comic theatre.-- John Mullan, "Behind the scenes", The Guardian, August 31, 2002

missive\MIS-iv\a written message; a letter.

Well, somebody sent the invitation, I said, getting back to the mysterious missive.-- Jane Heller, Name Dropping

vivify\VIV-uh-fy\ to endue with life; to enliven.

Stories not only provide context for statistical statements but canillustrate and vivify them as well.-- John Allen Paulos, Once Upoin a Number

apogee\AP-uh-jee\ the highest point.

How can we suppose that science has reached its apogee in the twentieth century?-- John Maddox, What Remains To Be Discovered

Weird, Unique, and Beautiful Pictures

God is Amazing.....

Imperial Moth Caterpillar

Nature

American Crocodile

Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake

Niagra Falls at Night

Gorilla (I love these animals!)

NEWS and lots of it!

1. The Newbery Awards were announced today along with a bunch of other awards!

NEWBERY WINNER:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz.
Um, never heard of this one. BUT, it is going on my to-read list of 2008!

NEWBERY HONOR BOOKS:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ok, so I've heard of this one..that should count for something. ;)

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
YES YES YES!!! I've read this one!!! Very good!

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Sadly, never heard of it.

Caldecott Award
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
*faints* I absolutely love this book! It rocks!

Michael L. Printz Award
Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
This my friends is also one of the nominee's for Cybils Science Fiction/Fantasy Award for 2007. Very exciting!

2. The Golden Globe Awards were announced yesterday. Last year I had watched a lot of the nominee's but this year, I think I saw one. (heh) Anyways, there were two awards I was really excited about. One of my really good friends saw this movie and absolutely LOVED it. The funny thing is, it is NOT my type of movie. So, when I saw the winners of these awards I thought of her. Go Sweeney Todd!

Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

AND...the one movie I saw.
Best Animated Film
Ratatouille

3. I would LOVE to tell you all something and I'm just going to come out and just say it. I GOT THE LEAD ROLE IN A PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!! *ahem* This morning at exactly 7: 47ish I found out that I recieved Viola in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. :) *smiles*

Book of a Thousand Days

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

“Day 528
Today I thought I would like to die,
so I went into the cellar and smacked
a few rats with the broom. It helped some.”

Dashti and her Lady Saren are locked up in a tower for seven years. Why? Lady Saren refused to marry a man her father chose for her. Why? She is in love with someone else. Saren’s faithful maid Dashti chronicles almost everyday of their imprisonment with her personal thoughts and troubles. She thinks that once they get out of this tower all their problems will be over, but she is sadly mistaken.

This was one of my ultimate favorite books of 2007. The emotions were overwhelming and vivid and the characters were utterly amazing. I really can’t say much more than that.

happy happy

I really enjoy ice skating! Doing it and watching it. A month ago, I submitted a question to the official skating magazine in a "fan interview" opportunity. IT GOT PICKED! It got published along with about 15 more questions from kids all around the United States. :) This would be my third time being published in one of these magazines!!!

The guy that was being interviewed is named Stephen Carriere. He is 18 and the 2007 World Junior Champion.

Q.What is the most rewarding thing that ice skating has given you?

A. Skating has made me create a good work ethic for anything I do in life. Especially due to the International Judging System, skating allows me to put all of my effort into working on everything I set out do.

*smiles*

The Silenced

The Silenced by James DeVita

James DeVita (taken from the back of his book): is a professional actor and the resident playwright for the First Stage Children's Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been awarded the Distinguished Play Award from the American Alliance of Theater and Education for his work in theater for youth, and he is a recent recipient of the Literature Fellowship for Fiction from the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and two children.

Marena is haunted by memories of her mother and her old life. Every time she remembers something she tries to write it down, she can’t forget. The only thing left of hers, truly hers is her memory. Now, she is living with her father (who is under house arrest) and her younger brother Daniel in a camp run by the ‘Zero Tolerance Party’. This party is literally taking over their world, forcing them to drop all individualism, and become one, all believing and fighting for the same thing: this horrible government. Marena starts to resist with her friends Dex and Eric. They form a resistance called ‘the White Rose’ based off her mother’s beliefs. Slowly but surely their efforts start to show but will it come crashing to the ground?

The resistance, ‘the White Rose’ is loosely based off a similar resistance around 1942 when the Nazi’s were at large. The story of Marena and her memories is very inspiring. Her courage, strength, and weaknesses are examples of hundreds of people who fought and are fighting now in resistance groups.

Just wanted to say....

GO WISH Miss Erin A HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Love you twin!

Organ Donation

I took Driver's Ed. during Christmas Break and during that a lady came in and talked to us about Organ Donation. I had heard about this my from parents and so I knew exactly what she was talking about. I believe it's a wonderful thing to do. Anyways, during the course of her lecture she mentioned a kid who had recently died. This kid was the mascot for the UNC basketball team, which is a team in my state. I looked it up online and found this amazing video. I recommend watching it. Very eye opening! Click HERE to hear the story of Jason Ray.

2008 Movie Releases

Movies I really want to see this year:

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (no movie poster)
InkHeart (no movie poster)
Jumper
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Wall-E

2008 Book Releases

Books I will make sure to read this year..... I may edit this and add more later one, but I'm not sure yet.

Magic Tree House: Dark Day in the Deep Sea #39 by Mary Pope Osborne

Jessie's Mountain by Kerry Madden

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock


Books without covers:
Babymouse: Monster Mash by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

The Sisters Grimm: Tales from the Hood by Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson

Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson

Bowl Game Time!

EAST CAROLINA vs. BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Hawaii Bowl
December 23, 2007
Score: East Carolina 41
Broncos 38

We were able to watch the game at a friend’s house. They had this HUGE theater room set up with a big screen, comfortable chairs, and really cool sound system. The game started. Unfortunately, the Broncos started weak and they didn’t appear very motivated. Their opponents WERE motivated and took advantage of our temporary weakness.

I have to say that it was hard to watch my team get slaughtered. At one point right before half time we were down 23 points. Then our awesome coach decided to call a no huddle. This usually is only called in the last seconds of the game to complete a last effort drive to try and score. Our game was only in the 2nd quarter. Coach Pete needed to do something and that something worked. We scored and from that moment on the game changed. We squashed everything they had and started coming back. Ok, so then (with just minutes left) we were in position to tie up the game, when one of our freshman receivers fumbled the ball. His second time that night. He single handily had ruined the game. I felt so so bad for this guy. It was 2 days till Christmas.....what a burden for him. So anyways I felt absolutely horrible for him and I didn't want the game to end like this. Then out of nowhere Marty Tadman (the biggest Christian in Idaho) jumped up and intercepted the ball and ran it back in one of the most amazing moments of the game and made a touchdown. He then proceeded to go directly to the miserable freshman. It was all good now. Nothing had been lost. We were tied and that was all that mattered.

Sadly, East Carolina kicked a field goal and won the game. I really would have preferred to have us win, but God is in ultimate control and I think it's almost a win-win situation. All the bronco fans were happy that we came back as much as we did and I think that the East Carolina coach knew that if we had gone into overtime with them, the better team would have won. (But of course that is just my personal opinion)

*lifts cup* TO A GREAT BRONCO SEASON!

I would also like to make special note of Georgia whooping Hawaii in their bowl game. That was very well done! (Wouldn’t you say Hannah?)

*photos from Idahostatesman.com*

Cybils Shortlists were announced yesterday!!!

Here are the links to the lists of all the finalists: (not all the categories are out yet [7th])

Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Middle Grade Fiction

AND NOW for Fantasy and Science Fiction. We decided to split this up into two categories. Young Adult and Middle Grade. I am very happy with our list and pray that the judges who now have to choose 1 out of all these fabulous books will have time, strength, and wisdom.

YA:

MG:

Congratulations to all the authors!

Top Books of 2007

This year I was able to read 120 books and 26, 972 pages!

*My Top 3 of 2007*

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
(review HERE and personal thoughts HERE)

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Northlander (Tales of the Borderlands) by Meg Burden

*Other Absolutely Wonderul Books*

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
(book trailer HERE)
Babymouse Series by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb
(review HERE)
Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
( interview with author HERE)

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
(review HERE and interview with author HERE)
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lytnne Jonell
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

P.S. Stay tuned for my take on the newly announced Cybil Short Lists.
P.S.S. Scroll below to see my Top Movies.