Book of the Month: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard!

For the month of June I was a good little reader, because not only did I finally manage to read one book, I ended up reading three! And these books are part of the fabulous PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series by Sara Shepard! Today, for those of you who haven't read the series, I'll just review the first one, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Here's the summery from Goodreads:

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.

Sounds awesome, no? The first thing you should know about this series is to not let the Barbie-like cover fool you. It may look like a harmless MG novel on the outside, but on the inside...it's YA all the way, baby! This book is amazing, it's dark, suspenseful, creepy and full of secrets and lies and twists and turns that'll leave you guessing all the way to the very end!

I also love how the book is told from four POVs! I can hardly handle writing from one, let alone four! But Sara's got it in the bag! I also love how she "goes there" throughout the story, exploring tough subjects such as a student-teacher romance, an eating disorder, infidelity, and figuring out your true sexuality.

Sara explores these subjects with honesty and really makes you experience the feelings that accompany these subjects as if your the one experiencing them, while all the while mixing in a creepy murder mystery, a relentless stalker and of course swoon-worthy boys and kissing!

I devoured this book in just three days and quickly began eating up the rest! In fact, I'm ready to start reading book four! So, take it from me: don't judge a book by it's cover, you might just be surprised at (and love!) what lies between its pages!

Now, go forth my friends and READ THIS BOOK! You won't be sorry! :)

~Ella

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

During the month of May I had the huge pleasure of reading an amazing Middle Grade called A Tale Dark and Grimm by the clever and talented Adam Gidwitz. I don't read a lot of MG, but I'm so glad I decided to read this one! Here's the summary from Adam's website:

Reader, beware.

Warlocks with dark spells, hunters with deadly aim, and bakers with ovens retro-fitted for baking children lurk within these pages.

But if you dare,

Follow Hansel and Gretel as they walk out of their own story and into the wilds—where magic, terror, and a little bit of humor shine like white pebbles lighting the way.

Come on in. It may be frightening, and it’s certainly bloody, but, unlike those other fairy tales you know, this one is true.

Once upon a time, you see, fairy tales were awesome.

I loved this book. From the first page I was hooked, laughing, gasping, and crinkling my nose in disgust. This book has it all! My favorite parts were when the author himself would cut in during the story to offer his own bits of humorous wisdom or advice. This book would be great to read aloud at bedtime or in the classroom and I think it would delight both kids and adults alike! I'm 22 and in college and I loved it! What's awesome about this book is that Adam takes familiar (and not so familiar) fairytales and turns them upside down to create a story full of action, adventure, sibling loyalty, a little romance, a little blood, and finding a place to belong in the world. I highly recommend this book! :)

~Ella

Best book in April....

Source

goes to: Welding Technology Fundementals
(I would have given them bonus points if they changed it to Funde'metals', ha ha.) <--please excuse me, it's finals week.

Anywho, this may seem like an off the wall selection, but not as off as you might think.

Ever heard the expression, write what you know? I have about a million times. What happens though if you have the perfect solution to your plot problem but it means 'Mike' who used to work at a desk job, actually has to work in a motocycle shop for everything to work out? Give up? NEVER! Your solution is to buy a textbook.

Text books can come in every variety but there's one thing that makes them different than any random information you could dig up on mororcyle shops on the internet:
It's guarenteed to be correct. That, my friends is worth the expense.

I'm the first to complain about a teacher who insists on the newest version because on page 88 they changed "a" to "the." It's a pain for poor college students like me, but it means great news for writers like you. It floods the book markets with college textbooks just a year or so old and sells them cheap. (We're talking 20 bucks a pop or less on some) Most of the time they just change a couple pictures or a phrase here or there. 99% of the time the information is the same.*

*this is a completely made up statistic. Made up, but with strong personal opinoin backing it from a college student in the know.

So, what do you think? Ready to invest in some textbooks? If you are there's of course amazon.com. There's also half.com and a sleu of others with a simple google search.

Love is in the Air... Sort of

Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs to have a fiancée in order to capture his dream job, and Daisy is game to play the role. But something funny happens on their way to the altar that changes everything. Now, with the midnight hour approaching, will Daisy lose her prince, or will opposites not only attract but live happily ever after?

After reading the back cover I almost skipped reading this book. It sounded like one of those corny made for TV movies about the successful person who hires the not so successful person to be their “fake fiancé” so they can impress people, and I was a little disappointed that Jennifer Crusie do something so overused. However, I really liked her work and trusted her as an author, so I bought it anyway.

Thankfully, the back cover sorely under described the book. Yes, Daisy and Linc pretended to be engaged, but they didn’t fall in love on their way to the altar. Also, unlike in the TV movies the charade didn’t stop at the altar. Daisy and Linc were too good for their own good, and even though they tried to break off their fake engagement the people at the job Daisy helped Linc get wouldn’t stand for it. Even though they still didn’t love each other they ended up having to go through with the wedding, but the book didn’t stop there. After they got married they were faced with the problem of actually living together.

The book was brilliantly executed with a great comedy of errors feel to it. The best part was watching the characters grow and develop throughout the book. Both characters changed drastically from the first page to the last, but the changes were so natural and well crafted like the characters themselves the reader may find themselves so rapped up in the story that they won’t even realize how much the characters have changed until the end.

Since Jennifer Crusie often collaborates with other writers on projects this was also a nice opportunity to see what her own individual writing style is like. It was very interesting for me to see how different this solo book was from some of her collaborative works and how similar it was to others. For example the style and sense of humor present in The Cinderella Deal was very similar to that of Agnes and the Hitman, which Jennifer Crusie teamed up with Bob Mayer to write. However, the tone and style of The Cinderella Deal seemed vastly different from those of the books she wrote with Anne Stuart and Eileen Dreyer.

- Aaron

Lair, Liar, Pants on Fire!

In March, while on vacation in Mexico for two weeks, I had the absolute pleasure of reading The Liar Society by the famous sister witing duo, Lisa and Laura Roecker! Here's the product description from Amazon:

Since when do the dead send emails?

Kate Lowry's best friend Grace died a year ago. So when she gets an email from her, Kate's more than a little confused.

To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.edu

From: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.edu

Subject: (no subject)

Kate,

I'm here... sort of.

Find Cameron. He knows.

I shouldn't be writing.

Don't tell. They'll hurt you.

Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. She teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not-so)-shining armor-the dangerously hot bad boy, Liam, and her lovestruck neighbor, Seth. But at their elite private school, there are secrets so big people will do anything to protect them-even if it means getting rid of anyone trying to solve a murder...

Sounds juicy, no? :) I've been reading Lisa and Laura's blog for a little over two years now, and their posts always make my day, so when their book finally came into the world, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed! I love a good mystery and Kate's story kept me eagerly turning the pages. The grief and confusion she feels over Grace's death is so raw and real and something I could totally relate to, how everyone tells you to move on with your life and to let that person go, but you just can't seem to find the strength to.

I found it interesting how Kate totally reinvented herself after Grace's death, complete with a fab. set of pearls and pink hair! Kate and her story actually reminded me a lot of another teen detective, Veronica Mars. Both Kate and Veronica are spunky, outspoken and willing to fight for what they believe in and are always on the lookout for justice and the truth, no matter what the cost. But they also have a vulnerable side to them as well and I love when they let their guard down and reveal their true emotions.

And no YA would be complete without a lovable sidekick and a totally hot guy! Seth, Kate's lovesick next door neighbor, is a total brain, loyal, and always willing to help Kate out when she's in a jam. Plus, he loves to snack :P I <3 dorky/lovable sidekicks! But let's not forget Liam *swoon*! He's all mystery and definitely a boy with some secrets, but, try as she might, Kate just can't seem to stay away from him. He may be tall, dark and handsome, but he's also kind, funny, and not afraid to get in harm's way to protect Kate. But also, he's just hot! :)

So, if you like a mystery full of twists and turns that'll leave guessing till the very end, unexpected surprises, hot guys and sassy heroines (with rockin' pink hair) then The Liar Society is the book the book for you!

~Ella

February's Down and Dirty Book

If getting down and dirty is something you're looking to do Mud Works is definitely the book for you. Even though it was written for adults the recipes are designed to be able to be made and used with kids. However, since there’s just something about digging your hands into slimy, squishy, gooy blobs that never gets old it's a book adults can enjoy as well.

One night I was having friends over for dinner but hadn't had a chance to make dessert, so I whipped up a batch of edible peanut butter play-dough, which is one part peanut butter and one part dried milk. When I first put the bowl down on the coffee table everyone just stared at it, but everyone ended up having a blast making and eating dessert sculptures.

However, I prefer the recipes that can be used in model making because I can incorporate them into my writing processes. I like making models of my character and settings, and the recopies make it easy for me to whip up a model when I’m having problems visualizing something. Also each recipe comes with a little blurb about what it works best for, so I can easily find the perfect recipe for my intended purpose.

There’s also something to be said about the recipes I make for my students. After making “goo,” which is about three parts corn starch and one part water, I spent the better part of the day finding excuses to play with it. I had almost as much fun with it as my students did, and it was a great way for them to practice their spelling words. The Jell-O plastic, which is 1 packet of gelatin and 3 tablespoons of water, was also a fun one as it progressively changed from liquid to squishy solid to hard solid. The kids loved the way it felt when it was squishy and turning it into stained glass art using permanent markers once it was solid.

Even though it’s a book that’s designed to be experienced as opposed to just read I’d still recommend Mud Works to anyone who’s a kid at heart, regardless of whether or not you have kids.

-Aaron

Must Love Dogs!

So, without a doubt, I would have to say that the best book I read in January would have to be A Dog Named Slugger by Leigh Brill. Here's the product description from Amazon.com:

The true life story of a dog who changed everything for one woman. For the first time in my life, I didn't need to pretend, I didn't need to be tough: I only needed to be honest. "I have cerebral palsy. I walk funny and my balance is bad. I fall a lot. My hands shake, too. That means I'm not so good at carrying things. And if I drop stuff, sometimes it's hard to just bend down and get it." I waited anxiously for the interviewer's response. She smiled. "It sounds like a service dog could be great for you." So began Leigh Brill's journey toward independence and confidence, all thanks to a trained companion dog named Slugger. The struggling college student and the Labrador with a "a coat like sunshine" and a tail that never stopped wagging became an instant team. Together, they transformed a challenge into a triumph. Together, they inspired and educated everyone they met. Now, Leigh honors her friend with the story of their life, together.

Amazing, right? Not only did the product description and the picture of the adorable lab gracing the front cover compel me to pick up this book, but as soon as I started reading I knew I had found something special. Because it was with this this book, with it's author and it's four-legged sidekick that I felt an instant connection.

Why? Well, not a lot of people online know this about me but I too have Cerebral Palsy and a service dog. So, as you can imagine, I felt an instant kinship with Leigh and Slugger as soon as I began reading their story that only intensified the more I read. Almost from page 1 I started to cry and have cried multiple times during the reading of this book (which, I'll admit, I haven't actually finished reading yet, only because I have a feeling that I'm going to be crying buckets by the end, so I'm avoiding it for as long as possible). Leigh talks of her C.P. and the daily struggles she faces with such honesty and humor that I instantly felt more understood and less alone then I have before, because as much as my friends and family know of my own daily struggles with C.P., it takes a person like Leigh to fully understand what I go through on a daily basis. As Leigh says, "C.P. sucks". :)

But, as much as C.P. sucks, I know that it has been a blessing in disguise for both Leigh and myself in the form of a furry best friend. One of the other reasons why I connected so deeply with Leigh and her story was because of her unwavering bond with her service dog, Slugger. I know exactly what it feels like to love a dog as much as Leigh loves hers, because when I was a freshman in high school I received my first service dog, Ingram. We were together for 9 years and in that time I've never realized until later how deeply I could love and be loved in return. Like Slugger did for Leigh, Ingram was there for me unconditionally, even when I was mad at him or going through the ups and downs of my teenage years and didn't want to talk to anyone, he was there, steadfast and true.

Now, years later, I have a new service dog, Ginger, who, like Ingram, is never afraid to give love, even to those who seem undeserving, and for that, I am grateful. And I'm also immensely grateful to Leigh for having the courage to share her and Slugger's story with the world. For it's stories like yours Leigh that make me hopeful for the future, that make me feel confident that I will not let my condition get the best of me, that I am deserving of love (from both humans and animals) and that I can do anything if I set my mind to it, C.P. be damned! And to that I say, to both you and Slugger...thank you, so much.

~Ella

The BFG Brain Suck

I’m not sure if the BFG the best book I read in January, but it definitely made an impression. At the beginning of the year my host teacher started reading it to her class, and as soon as she opened that book it began to slowly take over my life. All of the kids love it, so of course we have to have a BFG themed party. Trust me Snozzcumbers, Frobscottle, and Whizzpoppers aren’t as much fun to make as they are to read about.

On top of that one of my first grade struggling readers has latched onto this book. She will spend every available moment wading through it one sentence at a time. Now that she’s started reading along with audio books on my i-Pod every morning she greats me at the door with “did you get The B.F.G. on That Thing?!” Not even my i-Pod was safe from The BFG this January.

But I digress. The BFG is an amazing book that I would recommend to any one. However, from a writing point of view there are a number of things that make it amazing.

Word choice: The best part of this book is that the author makes up a lot of his own words, a lot of which are combos of preexisting words. A half dozen different descriptors can be expressed with just one word.

Characters: Even if a character is only mentioned once they still manage to make an impression that lasts the whole book. Every character feels so well rounded and realistic in a completely implausible way, and I think the main way Dahl does this is through the names he gives the characters. Names like Childchewing Giant, the Meatdripping Giant, and the Big Friendly Giant give the reader an instant association with the character.

Visual imagery: There are so many new things and characters being introduced throughout the whole book that is the imagery wasn’t stellar it would be indecipherable. The big thing that helps with this is that this readers are getting the benefit of having the scene described to them from the perspective of both The BFG and Sophie, which really outlines the oddities of the book.

Setting: Roald Dahl creates a whole new society in The BFG, but it’s so realistic that it feels real. Yet Roald doesn’t waist a lot of time describing the setting. He gives it short and sweet making every word count.

The moral of this post is that The BFG is a wonderful, vivid book that I truly do love. I just wish I could get away from it!

- Aaron

The Best Magazine I Read In December

In a recurring theme, the best book I read this December was once again about cooking. Only this time it was a cooking magazine instead of a cook book, but the information was just as interesting if not more so.

My mom picked it out for me the last time she was in the city. Apparently she saw the huge slice of decadent chocolate cake on the cover and thought of me. However, the Taste of Home Celebrations edition had a lot more than that in it.

One thing that I really liked about it was that it was centered on recipes for different holidays and get-togethers. Because of this there was a large variety of radically different recipes in the one magazine. For example “Celebrations” contained recipes for Asian Spring Roles, Spring Pea Soup, Southwest Rib Roast With Salsa, and Elegant Chocolate Torte. It was nice not having to buy eleven different magazine to gain access to such a wide variety of recipes.

However, my favorite aspect of “Celebrations” was that it had little tips and sidebar recipes. More bang for my buck that way. Not only was I able get all of those great recipes, but I was also able to learn how to prepare lobster tail halves and make white Russians. Since I love learning new things this was the perfect cooking magazine for me.

-Aaron

The Best Cookbook I Read in November

As a testament to the type of month I’ve had the only books I’ve read in November were cookbooks. I think that the best book I read in November was Taste of Home: More Fast Fixes With Mixes.

I’m not big on using mixes in cooking, and the only reason I bought this particular cookbook was because I didn’t notice the “with mixes” part of the title until I was already in the check out line. But once I got it home and tried out a few of the recipes I was actually really glad I got it.

Some of the desserts were pretty disgusting, although incredibly good, but all of the other recipes I’ve tried so far are great. A lot of them involve refrigerated crescent roles, which I normally don’t like the taste of, but all of the other ingredients in the recipe really did wonders for the taste. I’d recommend this cookbook to anyone with one small piece of advice, use your own brownie recipe as opposed to a mix whenever possible.

-Aaron

P.S. Oh and...

I WON NANOWRIMO!!!

Belated/Overdue

I needed to do a post on my favorite book that I read in September. It was Frankenstein.

Yes. I'm odd, I LOVE classic novels. Love them. And let's just be frank here, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 18!! And then it was published when she was 20!!

Take a moment to appreciate Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, and the brilliance that was Mrs. Shelley.

Oh and BTW it has NEVER been out of print. Never.

Yeah, think about that!

So I know this is short, and kind of uninformative, but I'm going on the college hunt tomorrow, have three essays to finish and need to sleep eventually tonight. So this is short, very short. My apologies but I needed to do a post, because well I've been slacking. Sorry everybody.

The Best Book I Read In September: Aaron

This month I read Bridge to Terabithia for a Language Arts class I am taking. Bridge to Terabithia is the story of Jess and Leslie, two 5^th graders who don’t quite fit. Jess lives his life trying to hide the things that make him different, but then he meets Leslie who is new to town and who doesn’t try to blend in. At first Jess is suspicious of Leslie, but they gradually start to become friends. This leads to the eventual creation of the magical land of Terabithia which Jess and Leslie rule over as king and queen.

Bridge to Terabithia was a very powerful and moving book, but frankly I have mixed feeling about it. It touches on gender stereotypes, class differences, family relationships, and death among other things, and it was a very rich book in terms of topics covered. The author wasn’t afraid to deal with the issues that kids have to deal with as opposed to the issues that we wish they had to deal with. This is a woman who doesn’t pull any punches, but at the same time she didn’t sacrifice the characters for the sake of the issues. All of the characters seemed so real, and that only added to the emotional impact of the book. I’m not afraid to admit that I actually cried while reading the book, but I wasn’t crying for Jess and Leslie. I was crying because the chapter reminded me of how absolutely helpless I felt when my brothers’ parents died and how lost they looked.

However, that said this just wasn’t my type of book, and it really wasn’t what I was expecting from the title and the description on the back of the book. I was ready for a action packed fantasy about a magical land called Terabithia, but what I got was an emotional tale about love and loss. Despite the fact that Terabithia was mentioned in the title, which would suggest that it would play a big role in the story, the story had next to nothing to do with Terabithia. Honestly, in my opinion the idea of Terabithia was really just a device that was used to bring Leslie and Jess together and to soften the content of the book.

Overall a good and controversial book that I would recommend to anyone who is ready for a serious read.

-Aaron

SSR: August Book I Read

My goal this year was to read the Chronicles of Narnia by Christmas. As you might be able to tell, I'm off to a bit of a slow start. I did however, make a start I guess that means something. I read the first book in this wonderful series by C.S. Lewis just a few weeks ago and was floored by two things: creativity and imagery.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew

Summary: Digory and his friend Polly travel to the Wood between Worlds via Digory's half-crazy, magician man, uncle's yellow and green rings and end up in a world quite unlike the one they come from, called Charn. While there, Digory, as most young boys and girls would do, lets curiosity get to him. He frees the last ruler of Charn, Jadis, an evil queen. An insane adventure begins as the two children try to get rid of the queen and end up finding Aslan, a talking lion and creator of all things in Narnia but not all is well because the two children are not alone, the evil queen has come with them to the new land and threatens all the good things that Aslan has created.

After learning that Digory has brought Jadis to Narnia, Aslan sends him on a mission to get a magical apple. He uses the apple to grow a tree that will act as a shield of protection from Jadis for all the other peoples of Narnia. After seeing all that Aslan can do, Digory begs him to do something to save his mother, who is sick with an illness. From this new tree, Aslan gives Digory an apple so that he may go back home and give it to his mother. This apple is a special thing and it is hardly finished after curing Digory's mother, it grows into a beautiful tree and well, the rest is up to you to read.

Review:

I found this book charming and as I mentioned before, it was wonderfully filled with imagery and creativity. It left me wondering what would happen and at the same time revealed several worlds so completely it was like the book was really a movie playing itself out in my mind. Truly magnificent! Here's a quote from the book so you can begin to understand the richness of this text if you haven't read it.

"Things always work out according to their nature. She has won her heart's desire; she has unwearying strength and endless days like a goddess. But length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery and she already begins to know it. All get what they want; they do not always like it." -Aslan after Jadis has stolen an apple and eaten it for herself.

Recommendation:

There really isn't anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to. It can be a bit long winded for some really young children, but students in third grade and beyond could easily comprehend it. Beyond the imagery and creativeness, this book is frocked with morals from issues with stealing from others, to understanding how one person's actions can change the course of many other people's history. Truly a must read that I will definitely be reading again.

Best Book I Read In August: Aaron

"If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen."

Anges and the Hitman is the story of how Agnes, a food columnist, met Shane, a government sanctioned hitman, and the chaos that ensued. This story involves mob bosses, frying pans, bullet proof trucks, pink flamingoes, dognappers, and lots and lots of food. Best of all, with the exception of one person, everyone who didn’t die lived happily ever after.

If you look up “crazy” in the thesaurus all of the words you see there will also be words that perfectly describe Anges and the Hitman. In fact there’s only one word that I can think of that’s missing from that list, and that word is amazing. Crusie and Mayer, the two authors responsible for this amazing book, threw everything including the kitchen sink into this book and somehow managed to pull it off. This is one of those books that if you tried to explain it to someone who hadn’t read it they would just stare at you like you were a nut, but then once they read it they would look at you and say “I totally know what you were talking about before about Agnes throwing the raspberry sauce and the dognapper falling through the hidden door into the basement that nobody knew was there. That part was so funny.”

Yeah, it’s one of those types of books, but it’s also one of those books that you’ll keep going back to over and over because no mater how many types you’ve read it never ceases to surprise you.

-Aaron

Best Book I Read in August!

The best (and pretty much the only, man, being a college student is a total time suck!) book I read in August was the one, the only...

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl!!!! Here's the book's summery:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Sounds amazing, eh? Well, trust me, it is! For my review, I thought I'd do something a little different. To show my devotion for such an amazing book, I decided to express my feeling in the form of a letter. But, more specifically, a love letter. Enjoy! :)

Dear, Beautiful Creatures,

When we first met, it wasn't love at first sight. The first time I tried reading you, I only made it to chapter two and then gave up. Your summery intrigued me and I knew you were the kind of book I would love to read, but for some reason I wasn't feeling that...connection that a girl and a good book are supposed to feel, so, like a coward, I stopped returning your phone calls (a.k.a. returned you to the library) and hoped that I would eventually forget about you and move on.

But, alas, everywhere I looked, your name was mentioned and I just couldn't get you out of my head, people said you were amazing and fantastic and one of the best books they'd read in a long time, but I just couldn't understand their love for you.

Until...

A few weeks ago I happened to pay a visit to my public library and there you were, sitting all innocent-like on the shelf. I avoided your gaze for as long as I could until, unable to find anything else to read, I plucked you off the shelf, reread your summery for what seemed like the hundredth time and thought, "eh, why not?" And decided to take a chance and check you out to see what all the hubbub was about.

That same day, I took you home and began to read you...and I haven't stopped since.
Once I got past chapter one and began to get into the meat of the story, I was hooked. I fell in love with your luscious setting, your lovable characters and your romance, oh, your romance! And I also fell hard for your sweet and loyal leading man, Ethan and really identified with and felt for your strong-willed and feisty leading lady, Lena. Like Ethan and Lena, now I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. You are to me what other women's clutch purses and cell phones are to them, I have to have you with me wherever I go, or else I would cease to exist.

So thank you, Beautiful Creatures, for coming into my life. These past few weeks with you have been like a dream. You've taught me how to love again and how not to judge a book by its first chapter. I can't wait to read your sequel, Beautiful Darkness (I'm gearing up to write his love letter as we speak! :P)

~Ella