Today In The Literary World

Guess what today is! So many things in the literary world.

First and foremost, it's Harry Potter's 31st birthday! It's been twenty years since Hagrid knocked down that door and told him that he's a wizard. Happy, happy memories. It's also Ms. Rowling's birthday, so a big shout out to her. She was the one that created this, after all.

My cake looks nothing like this.

Pottermore clues started today! There will be clues on the website (www.pottermore.com) to enter the site early. They will be about one of the seven books, and only a certain number of people can enter early each day. If you didn't get there fast enough today, it's okay. There will be more clues until August 6th for the beta site. After that you'll just have to wait until October like the rest of the world.

Today is also Meg Cabot day, as proclaimed by the governor of Bloomington, Indiana, where Ms. Cabot grew up.

So get out your HP movies and Meg Cabot books, because that's the way I'll be spending today. And eating the giant Hogwarts Express cake I made yesterday.

Happy 31st everyone!

In My Mailbox: 1

In My Mailbox is a meme brought to us from The Story Siren.

Bought:

Lost Voices By Sarah Porter

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Twisted by Sara Shepard

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Wildefire By Karsten Knight

Won:

Dead Rules by Randy Russell

A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie by Matt Blackstone

For School:

Lord of the Flies: William Golding

Many thanks to Macmillan and Cari's Book Blog! And my gratitude to Bella Street for helping me figure out some things!! Go check out her sparkling disco ball!!! :)

~~Sam

What Happened To Goodbye

Since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move - four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, Mclean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, Mclean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself - whoever that is. Perhaps her neighbor Dave, an academic superstar trying to be just a regular guy, can help her find out. Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading. --from bn.com

I love Sarah Dessen. All her books are simply amazing, and this one was nothing less. While her older novels have some heavy reading in them, I didn't think this one did at all. It was more about forgiveness and accepting who you are, knowing that people will judge you by that, but that's life.

Before the book came out I read the synopsis and expected Mclean to have several more personalities from past moves- not just four. But you get what you get- and how would you like to be a dozen odd people? It's no shock when she decides to be her real self in the newest move. I think it's then when you realize that she's ready to move on and forgive. She still has her drawbacks, but as the book progresses she lets those go. Mclean is the poster child of a dynamic character- but aren't all MCs?

Dave, Dave, Dave. Don't we all want a Dave in our life? A genius boy who won't let you go no matter what? All of Dessen's love interests seem to quirky and weird, not your average Mr. Hot & Popular at all. And that's what makes it so fun. You know straight off the bat that they aren't perfect, so it's okay for you to not be also. (I know, I seem to be comparing everything to all her other stuff. It's just so hard not to when you love them all so much.)

While I think there might be some open ended threads with her old friends, there's a happy ending for everyone else- and redemption for a certain character we've learned to hate from some previous books. In the end, this was sweet novel that made me wish that I lived in the world that Sarah Dessen has created in her books, where everything has an ending that will leave you satisfied. And to find out what all of this is, you might just want to go out and get the book, because I guarantee you won't regret it.

Divergent Review!!

Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Review:

I was pleasantly shocked by this book! I usually stay away from the violent, dystopian books, but when you meet the author in person and really like her sense of humor, the book can't be half bad. Truthfully, it was a whole lot better then I thought it would be.

The cover interested me from the start. It has a way of drawing the reader in, seeing what is underneath the surface. It was beautifully crafted and I enjoyed looking at it.

Now to the characters. I really enjoyed Tris's personality. She had a war raging on inside of her that no one would expect. Every little decision she made, she thought about. Even leaving her home to go and see some foreign faction, was Dauntless of her. Tris was the first jumper, and will always be to the Dauntless faction.

Then there's Four, *squealing girl moment* I LOVED HIM!!! Yeah, okay maybe that was a little dramatic, but hey, its the truth. He was the brave, quiet, trainer. Who was always there, standing in the background, watching you improve on your movements and fighting skills. He was a mysterious person from the start and I loved getting to know him throughout Veronica's book.

If you liked the Hunger Games then you would enjoy Divergent. The plot kept me guessing and surprised me around every corner. I give it 51 out of 51 tacos!! That's how much I enjoyed this book!!! I cannot wait for the sequel!!! Well done, well done!!

~~Sam :)

Harry Potter

After ten long years of waiting, we have it. The end. The final battle. The end of an era that has shaped so many people's lives.

I can't tell you how the Harry Potter series has shaped my life. It's turned me into a complete geek, that's for sure. I have read the books dozens of times, literally, I celebrate Harry's birthday at the end of July, and the Lord cannot count how many times I have dressed up as one of the characters.

While I already loved to read when I first started the series, I learned that books can truly take you to different worlds. I can't tell you how many times I've cried while reading these books, no matter where I am (When I'm not supposed to be reading in Science class, during a family road trip...), or have started laughing hysterically (Silent libraries are not the best place for that). I had my first book crush (Why did you have to die Sirius, WHY?), and these were the very first book I read twice.

Millions of people have read this series or watched the movies and felt the same way I am now. Millions of people have cried because 14 long years we've been under the spell of dreaming of a giant castle somewhere in the UK where teenagers learn magic and mischief alike. I hope we will be under this spell for generations to come, that our children will wait by the mailbox before their 11th birthday for a certain letter to come. I hope that we will shelve 7 books along with Austen and Dickens, Wilde and Bronte.

I want to watch Harry go out with a bang, line up with dozens of people close to midnight, dressed up to see my childhood friends for one last adventure. There will be no more midnight book parties for Harry, no more premieres to stand at holding signs and screaming at Dan that we love him. The Boy Who Lived has not died, no, but can't I help but feel so? I don't think I'll ever get past this era, find some new thing that will steal my heart. I feel like all the people who wrote on the sign in front of his parents' house in Godric's Hollow;

Long Live Harry Potter.

"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home," -JK Rowling