BOOK REVIEW: Water for Elephants

Huzzah! As the title stays, I finally have a review for you, seeing as I haven't done one since 9, The Island and and Julie and Julie. Bad! So, here I am with a beautiful, beautiful book to tell you about - Water for Elephants.

Sara Gruen is the author, and her first draft of the book was completed through NaNoWriMo, extra coolness! This historical novel is meticulously plotted and researched, with a wonderfully rich, old fashioned writing style, providing smooth sailing for the reader through its 300+ pages.

In the middle of The Depression, Ivy League student Jacob Jankowski's life is turned upside down when his parents are killed in an automobile accident. Unable to take over his father's veterinarian practice as he had always intended, Jacob starts running without knowing where he's going, and ends up on a train ... but it's not just any train. It's The Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

After reading this, I am absolutely in love with the circus. This novel captures you from page one and reaches all five sense; while you're reading it, you're in America in the 1930's, standing on the parched grass as striped canvas tents are hauled into the air, heavy with the smell of popcorn, cotton candy, grease, grain, hay and exotic animals. You'll see the vibrant flashing lights lining the midway, the sequined dresses of the performers; you'll taste the sweet victory of celebrating with alcohol smuggled all the way from Canada in the camels' compartment on the train; hear the deep voice of Uncle Al inviting the crowd to cheer for the elephant, and you'll feel the audience's thunderous response as the Rosie bows towards the stands.

It's a thrilling, romantic story and your heart is sure to be captured by Jacob and the majestic heroine, Rosie the Elephant.

Whoa! Things look different!

Yes, they do!

I decided to freshen my blog style by playing around with the new design stuff. I also REALLY need to get back into doing reviews, because that's sort of why I started this blog in the first place ... so, stay tuned - I have some book reviews coming!

NaNoWriMo!

Hello!

Now, I know I've been away for a long time. And I'm sorry. But I've had zero motivation for decent blog posts lately so all my stuff has been going on Picture Poetry and my tumblr. But I'm back here now, to tell you how excited I am for NaNoWriMo 2010!

I failed miserably last year with only 4,000 words, but I'm hoping I'll do a lot better this year. I already have my story idea, my title AND my book cover, which I made today on Photoshop. Thought I'd show it to you on this public blog seeing as I can claim no copyright to any of the images anyway:

Huzzah! It's about a girl and her siblings setting out on a road trip across Australia to find their long-lost Dad. I think it will be fun to write. I recycled some of the characters from a story I started writing about a year ago, so the character development I already have should give me a jumpstart, seeing as the biggest cause of failure last year was the lack of character development.

So yeah anyway. Hopefully this is the nudge back into proper blogging, so ta ta for now fellow unschoolers (as you're probably the only people who will read this)!

No I won't be the last to love you ♥

Hi.

It's our last night in Maui. My step-aunt and her beautiful, beautiful kiddies came by, so our little ol' house in Haiku was packed with my Grandpa, Grandma Linda, Aunty JJ, Mom, Dad, Justin, Annie, Val, Josie, Jeremy, myself and of course Lily, the crazy dog.

The first thing Jeremy did was give Aunty JJ a blanket because she was leaving on the plane tonight, and you need a blanket on the plane to sleep, he says. What a darling.
It was such a beautiful night. Grandma Linda gave me a pair of beautiful little earrings she has been wanting to pass down to me since I was 8. We took a family photo on the couch. We danced around each other in Grandpa's tiny kitchen, frying eggs and bacon and slapping them on bread for dinner. We laughed about the broken microwave, and Jeremy stirring up the dog, and Josie spitting egg into Annie's lap right when she least suspected it. We talked about a house, two school shirts, a magnifying glass, spilled milk, missing paper towels, the road to Hana, clothes shopping, and a million other things that big families talk about. And it was so perfect, and it felt so right, and I'm going to miss it so much it hurts. I'm scared I won't see them for another five years. I hope it's sooner. Somehow, I think it will be.

See you next week.

Hey little girl, look what you've done - you've gone and stolen my heart.

This is my cousin Jeremy. He's five. He's adorable. And he thinks I'm totally awesome. Love him. I also love his middle name - Kulani. Annie says it means "Stands for Heaven" in Hawaiian. :)

And this is Josie. She's seven. She's gorgeous. She doesn't talk, but she has the cutest laugh ever. Love her.

Chilled on the beach today with my Aunt and cousins. Total bliss. I'm sorry, but I have to say that while I was lying on the beach taking pictures of my cousins, watching them surf, and talking about Hawaiian and stuff with my aunt, I didn't miss you at all.

Back in ten days :)

I can't live with or without you

Finally get the the meaning of those words. Funny how someone can be so wonderful and then so annoying in the space of a minute... so perfect and yet sometimes so unpleasant. But hey, love overcomes any other feeling in the end. :)

"There’s some people in this world who you can just love and love and love no matter what."

I would give anything in the world right now to have the power of teleportation for like, the next 48-72 hours. Like seriously anything.










p.s the quote above is from a book by John Green called An Abundance of Katherines. I have never read it but now I am curious. Can anyone tell me if it's worth investigation?