Paper Doll

If you are looking for a good devotional style book to read, check out Paper Doll by Natalie Lloyd. If you are not looking for a good devotional book but instead just an all around good book, check out Paper Doll by Natalie Lloyd. If you do not read, find someone and have them read to you Paper Doll by Natalie Lloyd.

I am now reading this book for a second time, and falling head over heels in love. Sentances upon sentances are highlighted, notes were made. This book isn't your average book (Even without the beautiful hot pink cover) and I say this in a good way.


Paperdoll is about what happens when an ordinary girl meets an extraordinary God. It is based off the passage in John about the Samaritian woman by the well who meets Jesus. I recieved this book as a gift from the author, the amazingly beautiful and wonderful Natalie Lloyd. It has been on my wish list for a while, and I was more then happy to devour each and every word. What I didn't expect, though, was to want to go to bed early so I could read more, and to have such strong emotions rise as I read this book. I went from crying to laughing to heartache to realizations in only a chapter. Natalie writes in a way that is relatable to young women, and in a way that touched my own heart. It isn't a preachy kind of devotional book either, and characters like Reese Witherspoon, Ashley Judd, Natalie's brother and her grandmother all appear in this book. There are go-go boots and sunrises and paintbrushes and movie references. This book has it all. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars, and would encourage anyone and everyone who has ever struggled in any way (Which is all of us, right?) to go out and buy this book!

Limos, Lattes and My Life On The Fringe

Limos, Lattes and My Life On The Fringe is the fourth book in the real life series by Nancy Rue. This is the story of Tyler Bonning, an average, african american teenager who is nominated for prom queen as a joke. That theme alone would make for a pretty interesting story, but when Tyler decides to turn her nomination into a cause and starts the Prom for Everyone campaign, a whole new level of crazy is added to her life. When you combine all of that with a cute boy who helps Tyler with her campaign, a sister who isn't the easiest person to get along with, parents who don't seem to understand, a new french friend, some old friends causing some new issues, and a strange book called RL, that's Tyler's life.
The main characters in this story are Tyler herself, Patrick, Valleri, Yuri, Sunny, and her parents. The minor characters include Dierdre, Matthew, Candace, Kenny, Hayley, Alyssa, Joanna, Egan, Youtube, Fred, Ryleigh (a character I named) Graham and Noelle.
Tyler overcame the challenges she faced regarding the the way she's percieved by others, the Ruling Class, and the K-Mart kids, doing the right thing and God, just to name a few.
My favorite character in this book would have to be Tyler. Even though I'm not a brainy, african american teeanger, I did relate with her, in the way she clearly struggled with her own identity. Once she decided something,though, she stuck to it, even if other people were trying to shut her down or obsticals came up in her way.
My favorite scene in this book is probably the scene where Patrick comes to visit Tyler in the hospital. It's near the end of the book, and it's not the scene where Tyler's true strength comes out or where she makes a total turn around, but it's the scene where she confesses the love that's been building up in her heart for Patrick. It was really sweet, and I absolutely loved it.
I really liked this book because the challenges Tyler faces are real and relatable. By the end of this book, I was in tears, though I wasn't sure why. I was just sitting there, with tears streaming down my face, holding the book to my chest. I would recommend reading this book, because even though at some parts the whole 'smart kid' language got a little hard to understand, the theme of the book was amazing and by the end, it did touch my heart enough to make me cry. I was unable to put this book down, just ask my mom. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5. I'm sad the RL series is over, but this book was amazing work by Nancy Rue, and left me wanting more, and more, and more...

I am....

Procrastinating. We're leaving for town in just over an hour, and I still have math to do, which I do not want to do, so I am procrastinating, hoping that, just maybe, I won't have enough time and will have to wait until tomorrow. It's not a very smart plan, but it's true.
For Father's day yesterday, (If you missed the pic of my dad and cute little adorable me that I posted yesterday, go check it out. I'm pretty cute :) We went to see Kung Foo Panda 2. Besides making me have an insatisfiable craving for chinese food, it was good. It was in 3D, and I'm not a huge fan of 3D, but the movie was still good. There was a lot of good quotes, sort of made me wish that I could have had my notebook and been able to write stuff down in the dark. Sadly, I do not have that super power, and I forgot to bring a notebook.
And... in case you were looking for a book to read this summer, here's my second pick for the summer reading list. It is... Motercycles, Sushi and One Strange Book by author Nancy Rue. I did a review on it last summer, as part of a book tour. For some reason it's not letting me post the link, but if you want to check it out, it's from August of last year, titled Motercycles, Sushi and One Strange Book, and it's also under reviews. I'll add reviews to the label of this post, and then if you click on that you should be able to see all the reviews. I hope. I'm reading it again, because I am so in love with it. If I had to pick a favorite book, like an all time top favorite, this one would definatly be in the running. So check it out.
And... I probably should stop procrastinating and at least get SOME work done before we leave.

'A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat's never trying'

Just Listen ~ Book number 1 on my summer reading list

Like I mentioned before, this summer I want to do a summer reading list of some of my favorite summer reads. It's taken me forever to start this, because I'm always afraid once I make the list, I'll find more that I want to add. So I'm doing it this way... Book reviews! For every book that I think would make a good summer read, I'll write a review on it, that way I can just keep adding to the list when I find another book that's 'summer reading worthy.' So... here's the first book on my list, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen!


Just Listen is a novel written by Sarah Dessen. It's the story of Annabel Greene, the girl who has everything. Or she was. Now she's the girl that has nothing. Dealing with losing her best friend, her anorexic sister, and a chaotic home is a lot for Annabel to handle. Then she meets Owen Armstrong. Owen is tall, dark and handsome, and totally obsessed with music. He's also addicted to telling the truth. And maybe, with Owen's help, Annabel can face the truth of what happened that night when She and Sophie stopped being friends.
The main characters of this book would be Annabel herself, Owen, Sophie, Annabel's ex-best friend, and Whitney, one of Annabel's sisters.
The minor characters include Kristen, Annabel's other sister, Grace, Annabel's mom, Mallory, Owen's sister, Emily, Sophie's best friend after Annabel, Clarke, Annabel's ex best friend, Rolly, the guy who works on the radio show with Owen, and Will, Sophie's boyfriend.
As always, in Sarah Dessen's book, there is a little bit of mild language. It's nothing bad, and I barely even noticed it as I got wrapped up in Annabel's story. (Just in case any of you were wondering.)
It's hard to pick my favorite character from this book, because there were so many and each character was special and unique.
It's also really hard to pick my favorite scene in the book, but I think it would have to be the one where Annabel shows up at Owen's radio show REALLY early one morning, and then she tells him "Don't think or judge, just listen." Either that or the scene at the court house where Owen beats up this one guy for... Well, I can't tell you that. I know it's going to sound wierd, but that scene was so sweet.
I can't say a lot about this book without giving it away, but it's a really good book, and Sarah Dessen hit's the nail on the head again with this one, with her insight into the life of teen girls. I think you'll find yourself relating to some of the characters in this book, just like I did. I would rate this book a 4.3 out of 5. (I know, they are all rated so high, but they are all SO good!) This was a very real book. It made me think, and by the end I didn't want the story to be over. So if you're trying to find a book for a summer read, maybe consider Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

Tournaments, cocoa and one wrong move

Tournaments, cocoa and one wrong move is the third book in the real life series by Nancy Rue. This is the story of the life of Cassidy Brewster, a basketball all star who tears her ACL, and is unable to play for the remainder of the season. It would be a pretty boring story, if it wasn't for dobermin pincsher dad's and her almost sister in law Gretchen trying to help, and giving her illegal steriods that get her kicked off the team, and put into the at risk class at school, and befriending some of those kids, and getting into loads of mischeif, and the surgery needed to fix her ACL, her friend's, her team, stabbing her in the back, and being a social outcast, and a strange book called RL. The main characters in this story are Cassidy, her friends Ruthie, Tank, Lizzard, Uma and Rafe, her basketball team, Kara, Hilary, M.J, Selena and her coach, her physical therpist Ben, her almost sister in law Gretchen, and her parents. The minor characters include her brother, Aaron, Emily, one of the second class girls on the team, Jimmy Sanchez, the trainer, Mrs. P.W, her art teacher, Dr. Horton, Ms. Edelstine, her study hall teacher, and Mr. Lasalle. Cassidy overcame the challenges that she faced regarding her family and friends, God, basketball, the use of sterioids and learning that there may be more then what meets the eye. My favorite character in this book was Cassidy. She was a strong person and wasn't affraid to get down on other people's level and stand up for what she believed in. My favorite scene in the book is probably when Cassidy and Rafe are saying goodbye, and Rafe tells her that she is not a loser. It is one of the last scene's in the book, and it is really a turning point for Cassidy, in my opinion. I really liked this book because most people can relate to at least one of the challenges Cassidy and her friend's face, and the real life answers Cassidy found, within herself, in God, and in RL. I would recommend this book, definatly. I am reading through it again, and I just can't stay away. I would rate this book a 4.8 out of five. Again, this was brilliant work by author Nancy Rue!

Motercycles, Sushi and One Strange Book

Moterecycles, Sushi and One Strange Book is the first book in the RL series by Nancy Rue.
The story is the life of Jessie Hatcher, a 15 year old girl with ADHD living with her bi-polar mother. When Jessie is given the shocking news that her father is back in town and wants to meet her, it sends her world crashing. When her mom is taken to the mental hospital, Jessie goes to live with her dad in Saint Augustine, Florida. There she meets new friends, learns to master the art of sushi, get along with a less then easy to get along with sister and sees the sights from the back of a motercycle, and finds RL. The main characters in this book are Jessie, Rocky, Weezie, Jessie's dad Lou, Rose and Bonsai, her sushi teacher. The minor characters include Jessie's mom Brooke, her friend Chelsea, her friend Marcus, Jessie's grandpa, Simone, Emma, Katrina, Travis, and Hank. Jessie overcame the challenges of her ADHD, and learned to accept herself as who she was, a child of God. My favorite character is Rocky. He doesn't pretend to be something he's not. he's real and honest. My favorite scene in this book comes at the end of the book were Jessie is finally sure of herself enough to stand up to her mom. I really liked this book becaause of how relatable the characters are and the real life answers RL gives. I would totally recommend this book. I loved it. I would rate it 4.8. Not quite a 5 because sometimes it was hard to follow Jessie's thoughts but all over, a totally amazing book.
Again, Nancy Rue has blown me away. This book definatly goes on my list of favorites

Boyfriends, Burrito's and an Ocean of Trouble

Boyfriends, Burrito's and an Ocean of Trouble is the second book in the RL series by Nancy Rue. It's the story of Bryn Christopher. She was in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Preston Oliver. When a Car accident reveals Bryn's bruises, she is talked into testifying against him, the most powerful jock in school. It's an Ocean of trouble when Bryn's grandmother, Mim, arrives and decides to teach Bryn the ways of surfing, and a good old Mexican Burrito. It's a lot of ups, and downs, for Bryn in the days leading up to the trail. One things brings her comfort and understanding in these long days, a strange book she found in the hospital waiting room. It seems to speak to her, and understand her real life. The main characters in this book are Bryn, her dad, Mim, Preston, Andrew, Regan, Fielding and Shawn. The minor characters, in my opinion, are Bryn's Mom, her sister Tara, Goof, Kale, Kayla Dorchester, Will Quintera, Vanessa Woodhouse, Isabel and Emma. My favorite character in this book is probably Bryn. She was forced to deal with the trial, and Preston and his friends. She had to cope with the retaliation of Preston's posse and with personal attacks being made against her. But in the end, Bryn learns more about herself and who she is as a person. My favorite scene in this book was probably the one where Bryn finally stands up to Preston. She tells him who she is and is strong in the face of a challenge. When He says he'll destroy her, that she'll never be the same, she say's he's right. She has God. I liked this book because of the real challenges Bryn faced and how she dealt with them. It was amazing to watch her transform into a new being once she began reading about Yeshua. My rating on this book is 4.5 out of 5. I think it was very well written and had a lot of great lessons in it. The surfing and court language did get to be a little bit much once in a while but maybe that's just me. Over all it was a really good book. I'd recommend it for it's great lessons in friendships, dating and family values. Besides all that, it had a really good story line and very real characters that you can relate with. Once again, Nancy has created a book that went beyond my expectations.

To check out the rest of the RL books, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQaovHGmx8

One more day!

Apparently my days are really off. I was thinking I didn't do my first review until Thursday but I just realized I do it TOMORROW! That means I should probably get everything ready so I actually have something to say to you. It was Jaxon's birthday yesterday. My family came over here for burgers and hot dogs and a Car's cake. Jaxon got a kid's quad, which he already loves riding. Tonight is my parent's anniversary and I'm babysitting the kids while they go out for supper and a movie. 19 years, and sorry if I wasn't supposed to say that mom.
On Canada day we went over to some friend's house for a BBQ. The old ladies, aka the mothers, decided to be really cool and go ride the golf cart. They decided to drive past the window doing all these goofy poses, then switch people and come around again. It was all fun and games, until someone fell off. It was hilarious watching these old ladies act like they were 12, maybe even younger because I'm sure no 12 year old, in their right mind, would do that. But it was funny to watch. Me and my Dad went to see twilight Eclipse the other night. Let's just say I like the books better. So, I guess I'll be writing to you tomorrow with my first review. Can't wait.

Nancy Rue!!!!!!!!

Well since I'm going to be doing the book reviews (motercycles, sushi and one strange book and boyfriends,burritos and an ocean of trouble, both by Nancy Rue) I thought I would show you a little bit about who Nancy is. I did the author spotlight a while back (I'm not sure how to add a link so you can just find it. I think it will be on the side, under author spotlight) anyway that has some Q and A's with Nancy. In case you didn't know, Nancy is a tween, teen and adult fiction writer. Here are some pictures of Nancy, to prepare you for the book reviews, on July 7 and 13.


Here are some of the other books Nancy has written.

This is the picture of Nancy Rue, as seen on the back of her books

And this is a lovely picture of Nancy, on one of her many travels. I personally really love this picture.

Can't wait until I can do the first review. I'm counting the days!

Exciting News!!!!

I have some exciting news! I'm going to be part of a blog tour!
I'll review the books listed below on the dates listed.I'll tell a little bit about what the book was about, the main characters, the challenge they overcame and who my favorite character was. I'll tell you how I liked this book, my favorite scene from the novel. I'll tell you if I would recommend this book to anyone else and why. I'll give my overall score of this book, the author, title, genre...
The books and dates are... (drumroll please)

• July 7- Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble
• July 13- Motercycles, Sushi and One Strange Book

I can't wait to review these books for you.