Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby
When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.
After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.
Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake. (via Goodreads)
(I read this at the end of May)
1. (Organ) Transplant hasn't occurred much in YA, and was cool to learn more about
2. The Writing was absolutely beautiful
3. The coffee shop
4. Kayaking
5. I got an ARC of it
6. Her relationship with her parents
7. The whole idea of it, and feeling
8. My heart was being ripped apart as I read it
9. The cover is pretty cool
10. Epigraphs add to each chapter and the book as a whole
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game, directed by Morten Tyldum
This is the only movie I have ever pre-ordered on DVD, and it is my favorite movie.
I found out about this movie while at Mockingjay: Part 1 with my church youth group, and someone sighed and said, "Benedict Cumberbatch." This is what started it all. Later, on January 2, 2015 (I know this date because of events before hand), I watched it and could not stop thinking about it. AT ALL.
So, I watched Sherlock (all 9 episodes in 1 day, sort of), thinking that would get me over the hangover. It didn't, in fact, if anything it added fuel to the fire because I was now in love with Benedict Cumberbatch. It was just so good.
The next weekend, I watched it with my Dad again, and to be honest, I didn't like it quite as much. This may be due to the experience, or something else, but I lied to everyone and said it was better the second time around. I don't remember what was wrong with it, but it just wasn't all the way there.
I read the book Alan Turing: The Engima for my book report at school, and that was probably the hardest thing I ever did. I understood so little of the book, and it is so long, and I am not to that level of math, so it made no sense. I based my essay on the movie, for the most part. Although, I did learn a lot about the machine, and stuff like that.
While I wrote, I would listen to the score, and would always stop one song before the end, so it could take me back to my favorite movie.
My parents wouldn't allow me to see it in theaters a third time, so I had to wait until it came out on DVD, and let me tell you, that was very difficult. Every time I would hear someone talking about The Imitation Game, I would begin to listen to the conversation, like stalking. I also became obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch, and he soon became my safe place on the internet. When I did finally get it on DVD, I worked extra had to get all my schoolwork done before it would be too late to watch it. For the third time, I watched it for the third time in my basement, shivering with excitement.
Later, I watched it with two of my friends (one of whom fell asleep at the beginning), and it was probably the best time I had watched it. The environment was perfect, and I hadn't seen it for awhile, which made it that much better.
A couple weeks ago, I watched it after having a huge fight with my parents, and that time I just needed to see it. I needed it in my life. It was the first time I ever cried while watching it, and that made it different. That was the most recent time I've watched it.
Now, to the actual movie, instead of how I watched the movie.
This is the story of Alan Turing, a mathematician, who broke the German enigma machine (no, this is not a spoiler). That is my one sentence synopsis, which I think is fairly accurate. The screenplay is amazingly well adapted, and the acting is phenomenal. The score has made me cry son multiple occasions, and I still listen to it today. The film and sound editing are good, although I still have no idea what that means. Costumes were perfect. It is just so perfect. Please watch this movie. Please.
Rarely do I rate things, but this would be 10 stars all the way, or whatever you're supposed to rate things with.
This is the only movie I have ever pre-ordered on DVD, and it is my favorite movie.
I found out about this movie while at Mockingjay: Part 1 with my church youth group, and someone sighed and said, "Benedict Cumberbatch." This is what started it all. Later, on January 2, 2015 (I know this date because of events before hand), I watched it and could not stop thinking about it. AT ALL.
So, I watched Sherlock (all 9 episodes in 1 day, sort of), thinking that would get me over the hangover. It didn't, in fact, if anything it added fuel to the fire because I was now in love with Benedict Cumberbatch. It was just so good.
The next weekend, I watched it with my Dad again, and to be honest, I didn't like it quite as much. This may be due to the experience, or something else, but I lied to everyone and said it was better the second time around. I don't remember what was wrong with it, but it just wasn't all the way there.
I read the book Alan Turing: The Engima for my book report at school, and that was probably the hardest thing I ever did. I understood so little of the book, and it is so long, and I am not to that level of math, so it made no sense. I based my essay on the movie, for the most part. Although, I did learn a lot about the machine, and stuff like that.
While I wrote, I would listen to the score, and would always stop one song before the end, so it could take me back to my favorite movie.
My parents wouldn't allow me to see it in theaters a third time, so I had to wait until it came out on DVD, and let me tell you, that was very difficult. Every time I would hear someone talking about The Imitation Game, I would begin to listen to the conversation, like stalking. I also became obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch, and he soon became my safe place on the internet. When I did finally get it on DVD, I worked extra had to get all my schoolwork done before it would be too late to watch it. For the third time, I watched it for the third time in my basement, shivering with excitement.
Later, I watched it with two of my friends (one of whom fell asleep at the beginning), and it was probably the best time I had watched it. The environment was perfect, and I hadn't seen it for awhile, which made it that much better.
A couple weeks ago, I watched it after having a huge fight with my parents, and that time I just needed to see it. I needed it in my life. It was the first time I ever cried while watching it, and that made it different. That was the most recent time I've watched it.
Now, to the actual movie, instead of how I watched the movie.
This is the story of Alan Turing, a mathematician, who broke the German enigma machine (no, this is not a spoiler). That is my one sentence synopsis, which I think is fairly accurate. The screenplay is amazingly well adapted, and the acting is phenomenal. The score has made me cry son multiple occasions, and I still listen to it today. The film and sound editing are good, although I still have no idea what that means. Costumes were perfect. It is just so perfect. Please watch this movie. Please.
Rarely do I rate things, but this would be 10 stars all the way, or whatever you're supposed to rate things with.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.
He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two.
We are a sensational team. (via Goodreads)
(I read it in February sometime)
Positives:
1. World War II story
2. Dual POVs
3. The second half I couldn't put down
4. Powerful Women (in an era where they were more suppressed)
5. Printz Honor
6. Physical beauty (...is everything. Just kidding)
7. A very complex plot
Negatives:
1. It was very hard for me to get into, so it took me more than three weeks to complete
2. All of Verity's narrative I honestly didn't love (which is like half the book)
3. This is in part due to the fact that I was so slow at reading it, but I got so confused at some parts.
I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.
He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two.
We are a sensational team. (via Goodreads)
(I read it in February sometime)
Positives:
1. World War II story
2. Dual POVs
3. The second half I couldn't put down
4. Powerful Women (in an era where they were more suppressed)
5. Printz Honor
6. Physical beauty (...is everything. Just kidding)
7. A very complex plot
Negatives:
1. It was very hard for me to get into, so it took me more than three weeks to complete
2. All of Verity's narrative I honestly didn't love (which is like half the book)
3. This is in part due to the fact that I was so slow at reading it, but I got so confused at some parts.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Thoughts on Writing
A couple weeks ago, one of my friends said that "If you're a writer, you were born a writer, and you shouldn't need prompts to help you start." I strongly disagree with that for two huge reasons.
One, what does born a writer even mean? You don't pop out of the womb and start penning novels, but you do learn to appreciate every word for what it's worth, and then being to want to create your own. I didn't start writing up until a couple years ago, but that doesn't mean I'm any less of a writer than someone who's been doing it since they could read, or someone who started yesterday. We are all equal.
Two, just because you do write a lot, doesn't mean you don't need prompts to help you. I am actually one of the worst writers for school, because I don't know what to write about without creating a whole new world in my head, a world that I can't fit into two double spaced pages. Prompts help me figure out what I should just begin to spill words out about, and hen bring me back to where it needs to be. Sometimes, I do hate the prompts, but I still appreciate them being there.
Overall, this statement is just so off-putting. It's saying that if you didn't start writing the moment you could hold a pencil, then you can never write, and that if you need help starting, you shouldn't write. I can understand why my friend said it, because she wanted to go along with the conversation, but I feel like it's similar to someone casually being racist or sexist or homophobic. This was a bit of a rant, but I needed to get it out of my system.
One, what does born a writer even mean? You don't pop out of the womb and start penning novels, but you do learn to appreciate every word for what it's worth, and then being to want to create your own. I didn't start writing up until a couple years ago, but that doesn't mean I'm any less of a writer than someone who's been doing it since they could read, or someone who started yesterday. We are all equal.
Two, just because you do write a lot, doesn't mean you don't need prompts to help you. I am actually one of the worst writers for school, because I don't know what to write about without creating a whole new world in my head, a world that I can't fit into two double spaced pages. Prompts help me figure out what I should just begin to spill words out about, and hen bring me back to where it needs to be. Sometimes, I do hate the prompts, but I still appreciate them being there.
Overall, this statement is just so off-putting. It's saying that if you didn't start writing the moment you could hold a pencil, then you can never write, and that if you need help starting, you shouldn't write. I can understand why my friend said it, because she wanted to go along with the conversation, but I feel like it's similar to someone casually being racist or sexist or homophobic. This was a bit of a rant, but I needed to get it out of my system.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
10 Reasons Why I Love Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.
At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's Ordinary People. (via Goodreads)
This is one of the few adult books that I've read, so this is just a warning.
1. Beautiful writing
2. Harvard
3. It made me so sad (although, I did not cry at the book)
4. Julianne Moore stars in the movie. That just has to be here.
5. Forgetting how to lick ice cream (this one really stuck with me)
6. The checklist
7. Butterfly (this is almost the same thing as above, but it's so important that I'm repeating it)
8. The last scene with her youngest daughter
9. Passing it on to one of her children (is it a spoiler if I tell you which one?)
10. Her job, her life, her mind...
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.
At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's Ordinary People. (via Goodreads)
This is one of the few adult books that I've read, so this is just a warning.
1. Beautiful writing
2. Harvard
3. It made me so sad (although, I did not cry at the book)
4. Julianne Moore stars in the movie. That just has to be here.
5. Forgetting how to lick ice cream (this one really stuck with me)
6. The checklist
7. Butterfly (this is almost the same thing as above, but it's so important that I'm repeating it)
8. The last scene with her youngest daughter
9. Passing it on to one of her children (is it a spoiler if I tell you which one?)
10. Her job, her life, her mind...
Saturday, August 8, 2015
10 Reasons Why I Love Crash and Burn by Micheal Hassan
Crash and Burn by Micheal Hassan
On April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved more than a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high-powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal. What you might not know is what came before: a story of two teens whose lives have been inextricably linked since grade school, who were destined, some say, to meet that day in the teachers' lounge of Meadows High. And what you definitely don't know are the words that Burn whispered to Crash right as the siege was ending, a secret that Crash has never revealed.
Until now.
Michael Hassan's shattering novel is a tale of first love and first hate, the story of two high school seniors and the morning that changed their lives forever. It's a portrait of the modern American teenage male, in all his brash, disillusioned, oversexed, schizophrenic, drunk, nihilistic, hopeful, ADHD-diagnosed glory. And it's a powerful meditation on how normal it is to be screwed up, and how screwed up it is to be normal. (via Goodreads)
I read this over MLK weekend, mostly while in a bathtub at a Westin (they have great rooms!)
1. It take place over a very long time period
2. Past and present chapters (you'll see)
3. Messed up main character
4. Mental Health Matters
5. The relationship between Crash and Burn is just so interesting and complex
6. Those last thirty pages...
7. Very pleasant reading experience
8. Pretty long (keep you occupied for awhile) (532 pages)
9. The messed up family dynamic
10. As I've said before, I really enjoy a good being thrown into the spotlight story (he is definitely thrown into the spotlight)
On April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved more than a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high-powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal. What you might not know is what came before: a story of two teens whose lives have been inextricably linked since grade school, who were destined, some say, to meet that day in the teachers' lounge of Meadows High. And what you definitely don't know are the words that Burn whispered to Crash right as the siege was ending, a secret that Crash has never revealed.
Until now.
Michael Hassan's shattering novel is a tale of first love and first hate, the story of two high school seniors and the morning that changed their lives forever. It's a portrait of the modern American teenage male, in all his brash, disillusioned, oversexed, schizophrenic, drunk, nihilistic, hopeful, ADHD-diagnosed glory. And it's a powerful meditation on how normal it is to be screwed up, and how screwed up it is to be normal. (via Goodreads)
I read this over MLK weekend, mostly while in a bathtub at a Westin (they have great rooms!)
1. It take place over a very long time period
2. Past and present chapters (you'll see)
3. Messed up main character
4. Mental Health Matters
5. The relationship between Crash and Burn is just so interesting and complex
6. Those last thirty pages...
7. Very pleasant reading experience
8. Pretty long (keep you occupied for awhile) (532 pages)
9. The messed up family dynamic
10. As I've said before, I really enjoy a good being thrown into the spotlight story (he is definitely thrown into the spotlight)
Friday, August 7, 2015
Whiplash Key Parts (For Me) Movie Review
Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle
Acting: (starring Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons) It won an Oscar for it's acting, the acting is just amazing. Miles Teller is also very good in it, and I honestly think he should've also been nominated for an Oscar because of it.
Soundtrack: Since this movie is all about music, the soundtrack to it wasn't as important to me, although when I did notice it, it was pretty good. I haven't listened to it individually, and might, but probably won't.
Screenplay: (by Damien Chazelle, adapted from the short Whiplash) It was a good story line that fit all the scenes together. I didn't have a problem with it.
Film and Sound Editing: (Tom Cross/ Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley) I don't know exactly what this means, but it won the Oscar for it, so I'd assume it's good.
Directing: Haven't seen it in a while, but from what I can remember, I really liked it.
Diversity: So low. So low. The jazz scene historically has been dominated by African-Americans, yet the two main characters are white men. This didn't upset me the first time I watched it, but it's really upsetting to me now. Even the crew is made up of mostly men, and that is just sad.
Overall: I loved this movie. I watched it twice when I rented it over February break, and then once again when I watched it with a friend for her birthday, and it never got worse (I think). Honestly, I would love to own this movie, but I don't, and that's kind of sad... I highly recommend, and IMDB puts it at #40, so if that matters to you.,,
Acting: (starring Miles Teller and J. K. Simmons) It won an Oscar for it's acting, the acting is just amazing. Miles Teller is also very good in it, and I honestly think he should've also been nominated for an Oscar because of it.
Soundtrack: Since this movie is all about music, the soundtrack to it wasn't as important to me, although when I did notice it, it was pretty good. I haven't listened to it individually, and might, but probably won't.
Screenplay: (by Damien Chazelle, adapted from the short Whiplash) It was a good story line that fit all the scenes together. I didn't have a problem with it.
Film and Sound Editing: (Tom Cross/ Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley) I don't know exactly what this means, but it won the Oscar for it, so I'd assume it's good.
Directing: Haven't seen it in a while, but from what I can remember, I really liked it.
Diversity: So low. So low. The jazz scene historically has been dominated by African-Americans, yet the two main characters are white men. This didn't upset me the first time I watched it, but it's really upsetting to me now. Even the crew is made up of mostly men, and that is just sad.
Overall: I loved this movie. I watched it twice when I rented it over February break, and then once again when I watched it with a friend for her birthday, and it never got worse (I think). Honestly, I would love to own this movie, but I don't, and that's kind of sad... I highly recommend, and IMDB puts it at #40, so if that matters to you.,,
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