Homecoming Festivities!

Alright so I posted a poll and a lot of you had really great ideas for how to make this post really good. I would love love love LOVE if you posted this on your blog and linked it here, because a lot of you said you would :) I love hearing about what's going on in peoples lives and things like that so.... yeah. :)

Homecoming dance was yesterday! Both me and Amanda looked fabulous if I do say so myself :) and we had so much fun! (well at least I know I did) The dj played crappy music, they ran out of water right away, it was steamy in the commons with like 500 people in there and I had a blast! It was a great ending to an awesome homecoming week!

The week is back to normal except for the fact that I have drivers ed both this week and next. Time to watch videos of what happens when you are a bad driver. Everyone that has already had drivers ed says that it's a riveting experience. For someone who can't stand the sight of real or fake blood. I can tell that these next few weeks are going to be interesting.

Were reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in English, and the story is quite interesting. I have no idea how the writer could come up with a story like that, and make it deep. It's quite baffling. (For those of you who don't know, the story is about a man who wakes up a spider one day.)

I'm currently working my way through Hunger by Michael Grant, but it's a slow and steady read and monster huge, I also haven't really been in the mood for reading (or much of anything for that fact).

I'm also getting my aunt's blog set up. Currently has one post, but were working on it! (it's HERE if you want to check it out.)

I shall go to bed, shamelessly seeing as it is 8:30, or maybe I will watch Prince of Persia so I can stare at Jake Gyllenhaal *sighs*. Either way, I will see you guys in the future!

Question:

What is the last movie you've seen? Did you like it? Why?

Link below with your posts please!!!!


xoxo,

Shelbie

What I like in a literary lover.

Hi guys! So... I haven't posted in a LONG time... but in the end of August I was on vacation... and then school started.... and along with that my extracurriculars. BUT I am going to write an actual post right now. I don't have time for a review, but am hoping to get some done this weekend, so I'm going to talk about literary lovers, because everyone has a book crush. Anyways, this will probably turn out a bit rant-ish, so feel free to skim.

I don't know about you, but usually my favorite part of a book is the main guy character, especially if he is extremely sexy. (Jace Wayland anybody?) And of course, it's hard not to lust after all the badasses in YA novels, especially when they have a slightly more than human part of them. (Jace Wayland, Luc from Personal Demons, Nick from The Demon's Lexicon.. need I say more?) But sadly... when it comes down to it, I realize that I gravitate towards the endearing characters in the books I read. However much I may lust for that badass demon or demon slayer I realize that I really like the good old fashioned, boys-next-door, slightly dorky, human guy. Does anyone else just get weak knees when they think of the puppy dog best friend in a book? I don't know what it is... but they're definitely my favorite. When Cole was introduced in Linger, I still had a girlish crush on Sam. And Simon in The Mortal Instruments series... he's sweet and funny! And of course... there's Peeta in The Hunger Games. Or even Tony in Infinite Days... talk about pulling on heartstrings! Anyways, I just want to know what kinds of characters you gravitate towards in books. I know Shelbie will probably be settled firmly in kickass demon slayer territory... but I just have a thing for the boy-next-door. Give me a guy who reads, writes music, plays video games, says dorky things, paints pictures of me, or BAKES. That is my true love.

Anyways, tell me what side you're on... badass or boy next door? And don't say.... "Bad ass with a sensitive side..." because that doesn't count. Just tell me what you think... and why? And feel free to share some of your favorite lit hunks :) I have included my list too. Seperated into bad ass and boy next door of course :) So yeah.... tell me your thoughts!


Favorite Badasses(and a few of just plain jerks, but sexy ones.)
1) Jace Wayland (Mortal Instruments Series)
2) Nick (The Demon's Lexicon)
3) Wesley (The Duff) ---- not exactly badass, but DEFINITELY not boy next door.
4) Luc (Personal Demons)
5) Patch (Hush, Hush)
6) Will (Clockwork Angel)
7) Mr.Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
8) Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)

Yes, the last two don't really fit, but I had no where to put them.

Favorite nice guys/boys next door:
1) Adam (Endless Summer)
2) Doug (Forget You)
3) Tony (Infinite Days)
4) Peeta (The Hunger Games)
5) Simon (Mortal Instruments Series)
6) Alec (Mortal Instruments Series)
7) Sam (Shiver)
8) Wes (The Truth About Forever)
9) Gilbert (Anne of Green Gables)
10) Jem (Clockwork Angel)
11) Han (The Demon King)
12) Amon (The Demon King)

Some are missing.... I know. But I can't remember all of them. Anyways... Enjoy!

Love always,

Amanda

Personal Blog 1

Alrighty, First of all, I forgot to put in that post that this post needs a cool name! If you've got one comment below with it!! :)

So, a lot of people had really good suggestions for this post, if you didn't take the survey you can take it HERE, I hope you do because I love your feedback!

It's homecoming week this week!!! I'm super psyched to get to go to school scrub tomorrow for comfy day. It's nice to not feel like you have to look somewhat presentable. :) I would probably be more excited if our football team might be able to win. But alas, you can't not go to the homecoming game. Maybe by some miracle our team will win. For a while it thought I was going to to a spirit day post for each day of the week. But due to the fact that I have zero minutes to myself these days. That is not a possibility. Maybe next year.

We got our school pictures back and I like mine this year. I look so old! It's weird to think that my High School experience is almost half over! Crazy man!

There's a whole bunch of drama involving someone wanting to ban Speak. Whenever I think about banning books, I think of Fahrenheit 451, I think of how our whole class thought of how unrealistic that type of world was. I am so annoyed that someone thinks that they can decide for the rest of us what we want to read. I'm a strong believer in thinking for yourself and hate when people think it's okay to decide things for me. I proud of how much press that this is getting Speak. I'm not going to lie and say it was my favourite book ever. But it deserves to be read by anyone who wants to read it. I don't care if it's not on the approved reading list.

So, I now leave you with a question to ponder and answer on your own blog.

What did/does your school do for homecoming week?

That's what is on my mind this Sunday. What's on yours?

Make sure to link your blog here:

Shelbie

An Idea....

I thought long and hard about what to do when school is ruling my life and I cant read and review as much as I would like to.

This is what I came up with... but I need your help sorting out the deets.

Either every week or every other week (let me know how often you want me to do this please!) I'll post a review about what's happening in my life at the moment, some of my favourite stuff... and other random things on my mind... and maybe eventually you guys will adopt this and whatever day we pick to put these up, will be a day where we can find out what's going on in everyone's life at the moment.

There will be a poll at the bottom of this post, where you can let me know if you like it or not, and we'll go from there.

Sound cool?

So go forth and tell me your opinion and I will get to writing my first post which will go up right after this.



Thank you for your feedback and support!

xoxo,
Shelbie

Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick

Release Date: 6/22/2010
Publisher: Hyperion
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 264
Overall:

Claire is a #hopelessromantic.
Lottie is determined to set up her BFF with Mr. Perfect.
Will wants his #secretcrush to finally notice him.
Bennett is a man with a plan.

Claire can’t believe it when her dream guy starts following her on Twitter. She never thought he noticed her, and suddenly he seems to understand her better than almost anyone.

But the Twitterverse can be a confusing place, especially when friends act differently online than they do in person. Things get even more complicated when Claire realizes she’s falling for someone else, the last person she ever would have expected….

Told in an innovative format combining tweets, emails, and blogs, Tweet Heart is a contemporary romantic comedy that will set your heart atwitter.

Second review today! This one is going to be a bit different and I'm going to touch on the important stuff for each of the categories in one paragraph.

This story was very unique and very ttyl-esque except it was much easier to follow. The characters were good, my favourite is Bennett, I love his obsession with everything geeky. What can I say? I love my dorks :) I also thought the overall plot was very good and the style was something totally unique!

Overall if you are at the B&N make sure you grab a copy!

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Release Date: 8/21/2007
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 271
Overall:

If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.

She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.

She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She'd get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn't be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can't possibly remember.

She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She wouldn't have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.

She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.

First off, I feel super bad about the fact that I haven't posted in a week. But I've recently found out that I am head of the make-up department for two schools in our district. So that keeps me a little bit busy. When I'm not doing that, I have schoolwork to do. So those are my excuses for why I haven't been around. To the review!

I'm so out of reviewing I don't even know where to start, but it's one of those things were if I don't get back on the wagon now I feel like I'm never going to...

This story was okay. It was written really well but the characters kept annoying me by doing annoying things and not learning from their mistakes. I'm not going to go into detail about how each character specifically annoyed me because that would be what this whole review would be. One person I did like was Will he wasn't nearly as annoying as the rest of the characters :)

Like I said, the story was written very well. It really felt like a person was going through gaining her memory back. It was very real and surprisingly easy to relate to.

Overall. If you don't have anything to read and are going to the library I would pick it up. But I don't think it's good enough to buy.

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie

Another Random Post

Okay, so I feel really bad about being MIA. But seeing as school has started I haven't had time to read. (Minus, the oh so interesting history textbook) So I can't post reviews. But when I have a minute every now and then I'd like to update just so that you guy don't think I either forgot about you or died or somthing. So I'm opening up a question to the peanut gallery...

What do you think Amanda and I could do during that time? Any ideas?

Comment below with what you think we could do and I look forward to seeing your ideas!

Thank you thank you thank you!

Shelbie

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Release Date: 9/14/2010
Publisher: Tor Teens
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 364
Overall:

Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will be more of the same...until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay…for all of them.

First off, I had really high expectations for Personal Demons and I'm disappointed to say I was a little let down.

Characters: Luc = super sexy, super dark and super dangerous. Plus, he drives my favourite car, Shelby Mustang, it's probably the coolest thing to have the same name as a super sweet car (If you don't know what they look like I'll link one HERE) ;). I really enjoyed his journey throughout the book, how after living for forever he finally discovered himself thanks to Frannie. One thing I really hated about her was she was SO wishy washy. I can't say that I have personal experience of being fought over between an Angel and a demon (unfortunately) but I swear, if I change who I think I'm in love with when the other person walks into the room. You all get permission to slap me. Personal Demons didn't have a balanced love triangle (IMO), Gabe just seemed like an annoyance, but hey have you seen his picture on Lisa's website. Yeah, I wouldn't complain if he wanted to tag my soul for heaven :).

The plot was pretty good. Some descriptions were a bit overkill of the distinctions between the Angels and demons, I'm pretty sure we can guess that Luc is the demon without saying that everything he has is black and his locker is number 666. Otherwise, very good.

Overall a pretty good read, I wouldn't elbow my way to the front of the line at the bookstore to make sure you get a copy, but if your all ready going, it wont hurt to pick one up.

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,

Shelbie

My Life at School...

This is going to be a random "What am I up to" post. So if you don't like those feel free to skip.

I started school today. I'm a sophomore this year, I'm in advanced english and math and taking one AP class. I have a feeling this might be an intense year. Anyway, I got to school this morning and my locker combo didn't work, which was awesome because that is like one of my biggest fears. So I went to my counselor and they gave my like 5 different locker combos to try. None of them worked so they had me store my backpack in the office for the duration of the day. That was super awesome.

Do/did you guys have those lame "get to know you" exercises on the first day? On of my personal favs is the scavenger hunt, where you get a piece of paper with character traits like "I own a reptile" or "I like to sing" and you have to find people that fit those. I'll tell you first day of school is always full of many exciting things.

I got my ARC of Personal Demons today! YAYYY! Our friend Looksie Lovitz sent it to me because she is awesome. She definitely had a tape party on the package and I wish that I would have videotaped me opening it because it had an intense taping case. lol. So I got to sign my syllabus' for "homework" tonight and then I am off to read and dance tonight, then go to sleep early to get up early tomorrow for another exciting day at at school. So it begins.

later yall.

Shelbie

Kay Now I Know I'm Obsessed....

I entered a contest!

I have to link the picture somewhere so I thought "Why not to another blog post about my obsession!?" So I'm going to!

I did a cover for The Emerald Talisman by Brenda Pandos and it's over there on the right -->

Isn't it pretty *pets* I'm so proud of it!

Kay, well, that was random :)

Want me to remake your favourite book? Comment with what cover you want me to do :)

Well, bye!

Shelbie

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Release Date: 8/3/2010
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 310
Overall:

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

*** It's 6 am where I am and I still haven't gone to sleep so be prepared for the most rambling nonsense review ever :) ***

This is a book that is in one of the swag bags, Amanda read it and very highly recommended it, but seemed to fail at remembering to lend it to me whenever we saw each other. So when we went shopping on Saturday for the stuff to send off (If you won and are waiting for your stuff sorry! We'll send it soon! Promise!) so I "borrowed" this out of one of the piles and am heavily considering not putting it back. Infinite Days was excellent and I really really really want to keep it. But alas, I will put it back so that we can share the love with the winner. *Sighs*

Where to start? Lenah was a great main character, it was so weird to think of all the things we see and touch daily being new to her, cars, snorkeling, cameras being completely new to her, yet she had to act like she knew exactly what everything was. Challenging no? I have to mention Mr. Heartthrob Justin, because he was very swoon-worthy. Tony stood out to me, he seems like a pretty sweet best friend, very kooky and fun. I wish we got to see more of Rhode. He seems pretty awesome. But he's only seen in flashbacks and like the first chapter. Which is sort of depressing.

Guess what? Rebecca found a way to make a twist on vampires! I know right! Just when you thought that there was no twist that you haven't heard of. There's a way to make them human! The plot was very twisty turny I definitely did not see the ending coming at all. I still don't really, but I think I will save re-reading it for an hour where I'm more sane. Don't you think?

And now, to sleep!

Cover:
Character:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie

My New Obsession...

So lately I've been obsessed with making mock book covers. It's my new obsession! So if you have a cover you'd like me to do, just comment and let me know as I love doing them!

So here's what I've done so far:



So since I posted this at like 6 I have created a new cover. See? I told you I was obsessed. So instead of making a whole new post, I'll just add it here:

Commentary?

Lemme know,

Shelbie

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Release Date: 8/31/2010
Publisher: HarperTeem
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Overall:

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

What a story! I don't think that I've ever heard of a story quite like this. I'm happy to report that I LOVED it!

Evie is pretty much the most awesome heroine to come around in a while. She totally reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Doesn't she? A badass chick with a love for all things pink and sparkly, always with a witty comment up her sleeve and a relationship with her taser, tasey. Paired with Lend a sincere, sweet and swoonworthy love interest, Evie and Lend make a pretty awesome team! I don't know what to say about Reth, because he pretty much made his scenes but if I see him in real life, he is getting the closest heavy thing LAUNCHED. AT. HIM. What do you think?

If you think about it, the plot is really dark. But when you throw in the funny lines and girly-ness you find yourself laughing instead of being mortified. Not that some parts aren't scary or suspenseful, but all you can do is picture Evie with her pink knife and sparkly taser and you just feel better. I don't know what I'm talking about. Nevermind. :)

Overall. Paranormalcy is super awesome and I recommend it super-ly!

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie

Book Blogger Hop 5

It's Friday again! Time for another Blog Hop! Wanna join? It's all at Crazy-for-books.com

Question this Week:

Do you judge a book by it's cover?

Shelbie's Answer:

Yes, I do. A lot. More than I probably should. I think it's only ever failed me once. Some of my favourite books also have my favourite covers. ie. Hush, Hush and Crescendo. Amazing covers and amazing books, no? But if a book has a really interesting sounding plot and a eh cover I'll still read it. So its not like it greatly effects my overall decision that much.

Do you judge books by their covers? Let me know, and if you did by doing a blog hop post link to it. I always love reading them!

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Release Date: 6/26/2007
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304
Overall:

There are two sides to every breakup.

This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.

Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet.

It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care.

But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.

Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

A three day road trip with your ex.... can you imagine a more awkward situation to be in?

Told switching points of view you get to be inside both Courtney and Jordan's heads. Both were very interesting main characters. Courtney was funny and sweet trying to get over the ultamite humiliation of Jordan dumping her for someone he met online. Jordan still likes Courtney and didn't dump her for the same reason that she thinks he did. Backed up with the great supporting characters of BJ and Jocelyn best friends of Courtney and Jordan, who also happen to be dating.

The plot is really cute in an awkward way. You can totally tell that neither of the characters are over each other. Throw in a bunch of hilarious road bumps along the way and you get the fun ride of Two-Way Street.

Not the deepest read ever. But its fun end and summer romace-y and very cute.

Cover:
Characters:
Plot:
Writing:
Ending:

xoxo,
Shelbie