The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

The Truth About Forever is about a teen named Macy. She is learning to be "fine just fine" after the sudden death of her Father. Macy feels the need to be the perfect daughter her Mother never had in Macy's sister. Macy is living the cookie cutter dream. Perfect boyfriend, perfect grades, prefect job... perfect perfect perfect. There is just one thing, Macy is actually not perfect. She has just being going through the motions of being perfect.

Macy as a character is actually pretty easy to relate to. She is the average kid trying to get through something not so average. She was close to her Father and since his passing she has held the stiff upper lip for her Mother.

Of course, a boy comes along and makes things not so perfect. Wes, is the cliched misunderstood artist type. Tattoo and all. I liked this character even with him being so predictable. I am a sucker for the artsy type though. While "normal" girls lusted over jocks and the "normal" hot guy, I was always getting slimy over the art guys. I don't know what it is about a man who is rough around the edges and creates art that gets me going. Anyway, apparently I have this in common with Macy. She is attracted to Wes from the first time she sees him.

I won't give away why they connect so much but I will say I like the development of the story. I liked the way that this story started, progressed, and ended. It definitely had some eye rolling cliched moments but over all I dug this book.

I would recommend this book to those who have a soft spot for pink books like I do. I would recommend this book to girls who are trying really hard to be something they are not.

While writing this review I am listening to Massive Attack Mezzanine.

Goals Goals Goals...

So I have started the weight release goal for my 30 for 30 and so far have lost 1 pound. Go Malinda! I am counting calories which blows but is super enlightening. I have an app on my phone that makes it very easy to keep track of what I am eating. It is also helping me watch my cholesterol. I come from a long line of heavy folk and have many a bad eating habits. I don't want to jump into a program that is too radical to keep up. So I have altered my path and thus far it isn't easy but it is doable.

I have a great concept for a painting working around my noodle and now I just need a sunny weekend day to make it come to life.

The boyfriend got a call today informing him that he has been hired at the University of Utah hospital. While the money isn't much more than he is currently making it is at least in the field he wants to be in. So YAY for him! My own job hunting hasn't been going awesome thus far and I have been frustrated. I am revamping my resume and hopefully that will bring new life to my hunt. So if anyone knows of any jobs out there that you think I would be rockin for please let me know.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

In short: We follow 17 year old Andy through her emotional tail of her brother's death, her potential suicide, and the heart ache of the French Revolution as she relearns history through the diary of another.

This is not a feel good book. That is not to imply it isn't good, because it is written quite well. I enjoyed the style of Jennifer Donnelly quite a bit. We are instantly curious about this girl Andy who seems way too intense for no reason. We find out later she was present at the accidental killing of her little brother. She has grown up with an eccentric Mother and absent Father. The only thing Andy can hold on to is her music.

Andy can kick some serious ass on the guitar. In this way she reminds me of several musicians I know. All of whom started playing the guitar when they were teenagers at the height of depression. Music is something that I lean on as well. I don't play, but I listen to music every second that I can. I can relate to getting lost on three or four chords of a song.

There is a fair amount of French Revolution history in this book. It made me realize how much I had forgotten about the French Revolution. I went back in my history lessons and expanded them to assist me with the sections of the story that take place in 1795 in Paris.

While, as I said previously, this is not a light read, it is worth the read. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who is currently depressed. There are A LOT of depression triggers in this book if you are prone to the doom and gloom I would be careful of your own mood while reading this book. I always wished that more book reviews gave heads up to us depressives.

I was listening to Norah Jones while writing this review.

School blues....

So... paying for school has been a huge issue for me the entire time I have been going to school. I have only taken grants and loans when shit got desperate. I have tried to solve my money issues by myself. Skip forward many years later and I am out out out of options. I am now applying for scholarships and more FASA just to get two classes paid for. Yep, I am two classes away from getting my AS. Which may not be impressive to you, but I have worked really hard on getting even that far.
It isn't likely that I will be able to get FASA. I have too many credit hours. I have gone through the appeals process once before and it isn't likely that I will be successful a second time. I am hoping that a scholarship comes through but I am not holding my breath. So I will have to wait until next year, or perhaps the one after that to graduate.
I was of the super depressed variety when I figured out I wouldn't be able to finish school this year. I have come to terms with it now. Sometimes I wish I had a wealthy tuition fairy who took care of these things for me. But really, I am glad that I only have a few thousand dollars in student loans. I am glad that it really will only be another year before i can graduate. I have waited this long, what is one more year?

So I have been working on my 30 for 30. I am having a hard time getting back into the writing mode. I have tried at least 30 poems but haven't finished them. I have been doing better with writing in my journal but not as much as I need to.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban By JK Rowling

I am re-reading all the Harry Potter books as a part of a read a long with
This is the first book in this series that I actually enjoyed reading the first time I read it. The first two books were slow and really juvenile. I know they are kids books, but I had been told over and over than adults could enjoy these books as well. This is the book that I started to believe that.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione don't bother me any where near as much in this book as they have in the other books. We get a better understanding of the Dark Lord and the people he surrounded himself with in this book.

We meet Professor Lupin (Mooney), Peter Petegrew (Wormtail), and Sirius Black (Padfoot) in this book. Professor Lupin and Sirius Black are some of my favorite characters. I feel bad for Lupin because he has had a hard time of it with being a werewolf. He is a softer and more thought provoking character as you would from a stereotypical werewolf. Sirius Black as it turns out was best friends with James Potter and is actually Harry's Godfather. I like that Harry, by the end of the book, has a Father figure to talk with and look up to. Harry has been so desperate for connection that is nice to see him finally see someone as family. Wormtail, is just a wormy dude who betrayed his friends and he is the lowest of people. He reminds me of wormy people who flip flop between popular kids in high school.

The writing in this book is greatly improved from the first two. I found myself slipping right into the story and forgetting everything around me. When a story can draw me in effortlessly I really dig it. So often I have to force focus on things that I am reading. I have to say that this book has more of a dark tale to it. We learn about Dementors and those fuckers are creepy!

Soooooo, who would I recommend this book to? I would say anyone who digs the fantasy or kid book thing.

I am listening to Wolf Gang as I write this. You should check them out.