Camilla-Final Thoughts

Camilla-Final Thoughts

So I did it, I finally did it. After working on this book all semester I finally finished it. It was a very long and slow book but definitely worth the read. I don't want to spoil anything in case you end up reading it (not that anyone will), so I will only share a few broad points.

1. This book has sooo many, wow I didn't really expect that to happen, parts. Which is good, it helps out with the extreme slowness of the book.
2. I really learned to appreciate my life a whole lot more. Poor Camilla just keeps having her world fall apart more and more, losing everything she once knew.
3. I learned how radically different culture was in her time period compared to ours. At 15 she would be treated like a child, then be given alcohol. 

Overall, I thought the book was really good and can't wait to keep reading next semester!

Where the book takes pkace...

The Book Thief

The Book Thief

For my summer reading I read The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. It was one of my favorite books I've read as you can see from My Top Ten! The best part about this book was the perspective it was written in, death. This makes it a little confusing at the beginning but once you figure it out it makes it sooo interesting. The Book Thief  was also a little slow since the events were spread out with lots of time in between.

It's going to be really hard trying to explain just how good this book is without giving away the ending, but I'll try. Markus Zusak is a genius. The figurative language used in his book is some of the most inventive I've ever read. (Okay, maybe I've been exaggerating a little bit, but it is a really good book.) I also really like how he would give away hints to the ending of the book. Some people might not like this, although I think it adds to the story.

Whenever I found out something that hinted at the ending it pushed me to want to read more. This helped with some of the book's slowness. It also made the parts leading up to the ending so much more meaningful. The characters seemed more alive to me.

 

The above picture is from the movie. I watched the movie after I finished the book and as good as it was, it obviously didn't measure up to the book. So many of the scenes that meant the most to me never even made it into the movie. I know they couldn't of added every scene or the movie would be 5 hours long but, I still liked the book better.

 

Okay, I'm going to just keep going off on random rants so I will wrap this post up. Basically, read the book. That's all this post really needs to say. Power through it and finish it. By the end you will have learned more than expected and gained a great story in the process.

 

 

Ok, I had to add this adorable quote from the book. :)

 



The Chance

The Chance

Okay, so I just finished this book I got for my birthday called The Chance. It was sooo good. A little cheesy, as most of my friends made fun of me for reading a "hallmark" type book, but I loved it! The main storyline is pretty simple. Boy meets girl when they are 8. Boy and girl become best friends. Boy and girl start to fall for each other. Girl finds out she has to move. Boy and girl write letters to each other to open in 11 years and burry them beneath a tree. Wow, hard to guess the ending huh? Anyway, even though the ending is predictable the whole process on how they got there wasn't. I loved the book and can't wait to read the quote-on-quote prequel around Christmas.

(by the way the author is the same as my previous 23 book series)

 

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

 

 

Here is the book trailer to show you even more of the storyline...

 

 

 



Someday... I Will Finish

Someday... I Will Finish

 

Camilla has been taking a loooooong time to read due to its slowness, so I will hopefully finish that book and get a final post for it before the end of the semester.

 

Meanwhile, I've been reading more of The Baxter Family Series, by Karen Kingsbury. This is a really long series I started last year and am reading whenever I have spare time. The total series has 23 books in it, 5 mini-series, and 1 stand alone at the end. To help you out, I'll order them below:

 

Redemption Series

1. Redemption

2. Remember

3. Return

4. Rejoice

5. Reunion

Firstborn Series

6. Fame

7. Forgiven

8. Found

9. Family

10. Forever

Sunrise Series

11. Sunrise

12. Summer

13. Someday

14. Sunset

Above The Line Series

15. Take One

16. Take Two

17. Take Three

18. Take Four

Bailey Flanigan Series

19. Leaving

20. Learning

21. Longing

22. Loving

And it ends with...

23. Coming Home: A Story of Undying Hope

 

So now you can see what I've gotten myself into. If you've figured it out by the title yet, I just finished Someday (#13) and have quite a ways to go. The series revolves mostly around the Baxter Family and all the drama in their life. Some other families that live in their town are in it too but it's mostly them. You can kind of tell it's a book because no one has that many bad things happen to them in their lifetime, but it makes for a great story. :)

The book Someday revolves around 4 or so main stories going on at once, each of them intermingling with each other. The biggest story is about Dayne and Katy Matthews, (Dayne is one of the Baxter kids but was adopted and therefore has a different last name). They are both actors and during this book they are separated. Dayne is in Mexico shooting a film with his ex (who is still very interested  in him) and Katy is in London shooting a film. Their story is about them fighting for their new marriage while every tabloid is splitting them up.
Meanwhile, Dayne's brother and attorney Luke Baxter is struggling in his own marriage with his wife Reagan. Luke goes down some bad paths in this book, but I won't get into that and am hoping it gets revolved in the future.
Another main story revolves around Ashley Baxter Blake. She and her husband Landon lost their first daughter, Sarah, an hour after her birth in the last book. It was realllllly sad!!! Anyway, in this book they are recovering and Ashley is trying hard to find good things that came, or could come out of Sarah's life. She ends up opening a pregnancy crisis center called Sarah's Door with her sister Dr. Brooke Baxter (I don't think it ever mentions her married last name??).
The last major story is about their dad, John Baxter. Books and books before, in Reunion, their mother, Elizabeth Baxter, passed away and now John is proposing to Elizabeth's best friend, also a widow. His story is about him finally coming to terms with his wife's death enough to propose again. He is also planning on selling the Baxter house where he and Elizabeth lived while they raised 5 of their children.
Basically, a LOT of drama happens, and I'm sure more is to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Camilla- First Thoughts

Camilla-First Thoughts

The first book I've started to read this year is Camilla by Madeleine L'Engle, the same woman who wrote A Wrinkle In Time. My Aunt gave it to me for my birthday last year and I am just now getting around to reading it. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

 

Life had always been easy for fifteen-year-old Camilla Dickinson. But now her parents, whom she had always loved and trusted, are behaving like strangers to each other and vying for her allegiance. Camilla is torn between her love for them and her disapproval of their actions.Then she meets Frank, her best friend's brother, who helps her to feel that she is not alone. Can Camilla learn to accept her parents for what they are and step toward her own independence?

 

So far the book has been very slow and hard to sit down and read a bunch of at once. I've gotten through 2 chapters and am already on page 62. A lot of the book so far has just been setting up the setting and characters.

 

Camilla lives in New York sometime during the mid-1900's (I think, it hasn't exactly said). Her family is one of the more wealthy families, they live in a nice apartment and Camilla goes to a good private school. Her entire life has been easy, sheltered. As an only child, her parents gave her all of their attention. Now the book begins as their marriage begins to rock and Camilla is given less and less attention.

 

I am just beginning to read about Camilla's best friend, Luisa, and Luisa's brother, Frank. Luisa and Frank have lived a quite different life from Camilla. Their parents could care less about their well-being and fight very often. They live in a smaller, more dingy apartment. Because of this less sheltered life they've had and their friendship with Camilla, Camilla is beginning to see the world a different way.

 

That is all I have about the book so far, but I'll post more updates soon! 

 

 

Top Ten Books

Top Ten Books

 So this is my first post, for everyone out there who may happen to stumble across this someday. I am writing this blog right now for English class, which means it will be all about books. But really, I'd probably blog about that anyway. So I may come back later and do a post just about my summer reading but for now I will do as I please. Ready? Here is a part of brain, on your screen. Okay that sounded really gross!



The Top Ten Books That  Impacted My Life:





1. Only Emma, by Sally Warner (Seriously I read this book like 30 times when I was little)





2. Little House on the Prairie Series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I was very sad when I finally finished the series and Laura was all grown up...) 

3. Regarding the Fountain: A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks, by  Kate Klise, M. Sarah Klise (I loved the way they wrote this book, it was all in letters or labels or anything but normal writing, so cool to a 5th grader!)



4. Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levinen (Always has, always will be, a huge favorite! Love the ending!)




5. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Mongomery (I read this book when I was younger and cried when it was over because I wanted to keep reading)




 

  6. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling (Do these not impact everyone?)




7. The Gallagher Girl Book Series, by Ally Carter (I was obsessed with these in 7th grade and have quotes from them all over my room)




8. A Charmed Life, by Jenny B. Jones (Read it, it needs no words)



9. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Still working on it, but I love the story!)


 

10. The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak (This was my summer reading, so I will explain later)