Waterfall by Lauren Kate | | Book Review

Series: Teardrop #2

 Publication Date: October 28, 2014 

YA Fantasy

"Goodreads: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen books comes WATERFALL, a novel about love, betrayal, and epic consequences—a world-altering tale told by a girl whose tears have the power to raise the lost continent of Atlantis. This second novel in the Teardrop series is intensely romantic, with strong, hot main characters caught up in a thrilling fantastical love triangle. For readers who love Lauren Kate and the worlds of Alyson Noël, P. C. Cast, Maggie Stiefvater, and Veronica Rossi.

Eureka’s tears have flooded the earth, and now Atlantis is rising, bringing with it its evil king, Atlas. Eureka is the only one who can stop him, but first she must learn how to fight. She travels across the ocean with Cat, her family, and Ander, the gorgeous and mysterious Seedbearer who promises to help her find Solon, an enigmatic lost Seedbearer who knows how to defeat Atlas.


Once on land, Eureka is taunted by gossipwitches, a group of displaced Atlantean sorceresses, and ambushed by locals struggling to survive amid the destruction her tears have wrought. And she feels no closer to facing Atlas or saving the world when Solon lets slip that love is Ander’s weakness, and that any affection he feels toward her makes him age faster.


Trying to make sense of the dark world her sorrow has created, Eureka receives startling insight from an enchanted pond. Her bewildering reflection reveals a soul-crushing secret: if she’s strong enough, Eureka can draw on this knowledge to defeat Atlas—unless her broken heart is just what he needs to fuel his rising kingdom...


In Waterfall, Eureka has the chance to save the world. But she’ll have to give up everything—even love."

Following My Fear

Today, I came across Grace Helbig's commencement speech for Ramapo College and she was making some amazing points that made me see the light of day. She kept saying "follow your fear". I posted a blog called "The Bad Thing About Being a Dreamer" talking about how I have so many dreams and so little opportunities to do them all. When I heard this speech and she was talking about "following your fear," I realized how afraid I am. I'm afraid of my dreams and of my future. I'm afraid that I'm going to fail or I'm not good enough. I'm so scared of my future that I was almost willing to quit. Now, if you know me, you know I don't like quitting so that's a bit of a stretch for me. But, I was almost willing to part with my dreams. Growing up, I remember having all of these dreams and being so willing to follow them. Even in high school, I always said "I know I can do this." But, I still kept trying. I was always so willing to follow my dreams because I always felt like someone is telling me I can't do it. I always felt like people thought I was crazy for saying I was going to go somewhere in life. I think that's what pushed me to go to college and prove them wrong. I wanted to prove everyone wrong. However, once I got to college, I became extremely depressed. I lost all interest in the career path I had chosen and I didn't know what to do. I've changed my major and found my place, but still struggle with this. Even to do this day, I have never had any sort of faith in my self to be better than I thought. Now people tell me "you can do this" and I have no one to prove wrong anymore. I lost my drive. Thanks to Grace Helbig, you beautiful woman you, I now want to follow my fear. However, I don't want just one thing. I want it all. I don't like limitations in life and want the option to do the things I want to do. Yes, I want to do radio. But, that doesn't mean I can't pursue other opportunities. So, today, I vow to follow my fear. I vow to not be scared of my dreams or relationships, for that matter. I want to be a better me. I think I'm getting my drive back. I know I can do this. If I fail, i'll just get back up and try again. If you don't fail in life, what are you actually doing? No one is perfect and to live a wonderful, exciting life, you must fail. But, I know I've got what it takes. I know how hard I've worked. I know I'm good enough.

Paper Towns by John Green | | Book Review

I've been putting this book off for quite sometime, I don't know why. But since the movie comes out this month, here it is!

Publication Date: September 22, 2008

YA Fiction

"Goodreads: Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew..."

Parenting Advice from Someone Who Isn't a Parent

My favorite thing to do when I see something about a viral video of a child on Facebook is to read the comments. Why? Because there are so many 'parents' on there that believe they have a right to tell the parents of that child how to parent.

I was watching a video recently of a mother telling her child that she is pregnant and the child was scolding her for being pregnant. Well not really scolding, but questioning why she needs another one when she has two perfectly good children. So, I read the comments. One of the top comments was "this child has no home training and should respect his elders". I have wrote a post about what I think about respecting your elders, if you'd like to read that, so I won't get started on that part of the comment. However, home training? This child is not a pet. The only training any parent should do is training themselves not to be idiots and say stuff like home training.

I am not even a parent and I know that children say things without thinking especially when they are mad or upset. Children are very smart, yes, and that means all of their ideas come flowing out without thinking most of the time. So why do you think a child should be punished for something like this? Why can't you enjoy something that is cute without making some comment telling them their parenting isn't right? You can't, because no one is perfect and no parent actually knows what they are doing.

There have been many times when a parent jumps to conclusions on these videos also. For example, on the video I spoke about above, the child wasn't buckled in properly. However, you could tell they were not moving and I highly doubt she was going to leave her child unbuckled before they began driving. You literally cannot make any sort of mistake in a video without someone pointing it out and calling them a bad parent. 90% of the time, I overlook the mistake until I see a comment about it. Do you not have anything better to do with your time than to critique someone else's parenting skills? Is it that hard to enjoy something instead of pointing out that "That baby's hair needs to be brushed. I'm calling DFCS". What is wrong with you that you need to get on social media just to tell someone they are a bad parent?

You know, I have a lot of respect for family bloggers on YouTube. They put their life out there everyday or a few times a week when they don't have too. But, fans enjoy and haters love to leave hate comments. On countless occasions I have read comments on the Shaytards YouTube videos where someone says "Avia is a brat" or "Brock needs to be put in time out". Firstly, none of this is your business and second of all, how rude are you to throw out these things? They are kids. Kids do things and yes, some kids need to be disciplined. But, I'm sure if a child needed to be disciplined, they would not be posting whatever it is on the internet.

To the parents out there who don't criticize like these parents, go you! You are an awesome parent and you're clearly not worried about other people's parenting skills. That's how it should be. Unless the child is in immense danger, you have no business to be apart of it. Let the children live and learn. You can't always protect them and no one is perfect.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green | | Book Review

Yes, I know. Another John Green book, but I'm trying to read them all meaning Paper Towns is next!

Publication Date: September 21, 2006

YA Fiction

"Goodreads:

Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself."

Why You SHOULDN'T Respect Your Elders

I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, right? We're all taught to always respect our elders, and who says we shouldn't? Me, I say we shouldn't. Respect and age do not go hand in hand.

Why shouldn't you give a one year old the same amount of respect as the eighty year old? They're both in diapers and struggling to walk, right?You're not going to push either down on the playground, so what's the difference? A lot of people have this idea that you should respect your elders more than someone your age or younger because they are older and have been around longer. True (about the 'been around longer' part). However, that doesn't necessarily mean they know better. That doesn't necessarily mean they deserve to be respected.

Respect is something that is earned. It's a lot like trust. I will always try to respect and trust you no matter what until you've done me wrong or until you have insulted me or something/someone I care about. I'm not saying you shouldn't respect your elders, however you shouldn't only respect them because they are your elders. You should respect them because they are human beings.

I'm so sick of people that are older than me that think I should give them more respect than they give me. Why do you think I don't deserve the same amount of respect as you? Why do you think so highly of yourself to think I don't deserve to be treated like a human being?

In order for me to be able to respect someone, they must in turn respect me. I don't think anyone, old or young, deserves respect if they can't give respect. I was once in Walmart with my dad and there was an old man walking to a locked door and my dad informed the man that it was in fact locked for the night. The man then decided to be rude and basically cuss my dad out. This man did not deserve any sort of respect my dad was trying to give him.

Elders often think that the younger generations are "screwed up" or whatever they're saying. But, aren't our elders the ones that set up the road to us being who we are? This attitude doesn't make me want to respect you.

When an elder says something ignorant as "these kids have no respect anymore" that reflects on you. You raised us, you taught us. We didn't just end up like this for no reason. Your generation taught us to fight for our freedom, to speak our minds, to follow our dreams and not let anything stop us. But, then you come to us and tell us we have no respect? I find that funny because it's not that we don't have respect, it's more like some of these older generations don't have respect. I don't care if you think we are children still, I don't deserve to be treated like one. I don't care if you think my ideas aren't good enough, I'll show you that they are. The "olden days" are over and I don't, as a woman, live to serve you. That's not my job and I'm pretty tired of older men telling me that I need to learn how to cook because I'm going to have to cook for my man someday. This world is so much different from what it used to be and my generation and generations younger than mine are about to fix all of your generations mistakes.

Disclaimer: This is not what I think in the professional world. Oftentimes in the professional world, the people with the most experience and knowledge is of the older generation. Which I will say the older generations often get left out because companies are looking for younger people to work for them. These opinions are for those older people that cut in line because they think they can and for those older generations that often think that the younger generations are messed up. Also, this is a rant.

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Spoilers may be included) | | Book Review

So, I've been on a John Green kick lately. I read The Fault in Our Stars probably over a year ago and fell in love with that book. I wanted to read more John Green books, so I decided to go for Looking for Alaska.(Sorry about the quality of the photo. I wanted to begin using my own photos for book covers, but I need to look for better lighting!)

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

YA Fiction

"Goodreads Description: Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same."

The Bad Thing About Being a Dreamer

Growing up, I think we all go through these faces of dreams that we all want to achieve one day especially career wise. Some kids want to be President while others want to be Firefighters. When I was growing up, I never had just one dream. That's because I'm a dreamer and I have so many passions in the world which means I could never decide what I wanted. I wanted to be a teacher for about two minutes, then I wanted to be a fashion designer and even had a notebook full of badly drawn clothing, then I wanted to be an actress and even looked up schools/camps/auditions/whatever for me to explore and discover, then I wanted to be a photographer when I got into high school. After I realized becoming a photographer probably wasn't going to happen, I decided on culinary school, cosmetology, and who knows what else. I finally landed on something: music. I began my journey into music my freshman year of college and was a Music Business major for about a semester because I wanted to be a Music Producer. The thing about being a music major is it doesn't really lead you into Music Producing; it's learning your instrument and getting to know classical music to put it shortly. So middle of my first semester, I changed my major to Mass Communications with a concentration in Film and Media hoping that would help me better to get closer to producing.

The thing about being a dreamer is when you start to grow and change and learn, your ideas change with you. I still want to produce, but I can't decide between music, radio, TV, or film. I have so many dreams. I still want to go to cosmetology school or become a pastry chef. I want to be a book editor or book reviewer. I want work with animals. I want to be a YouTuber if I could get the courage to do it. I want to work with makeup. I want to travel the world with no restraints on cash and time.The bad thing about being a dreamer is I just have too many dreams.

I don't understand why we have to be limited to one thing, one career. Why can't we explore all of our interests? Why do marketers say in order to have a successful blog, you must stick to a topic in order to get readers? See, the thing about us dreamers is we don't have one interests. We have many.

This whole idea that people are supposed to have one type of career after they graduate college is beyond silly to me. I want to follow my dreams, but my dreams are not restricted to one area. My dreams are all of the place and I'm fine with that. Why shouldn't I be fine with that? So many people have it in their heads that once you pick your career path, you have to stay only with that. I don't want that. I want to explore all of my interests. But, in order to live and live well, you can't. I think that's why I'm having a hard time with my upcoming graduation.

I think the hardest question for me to answer right now is: What are you wanting to do with your degree after college?

The answer: I don't know right now. I know I graduate soon, but the idea of me having to choose one thing is stressing me out.

Have any of you ever felt this way?

If I Stay & Where She Went by Gayle Forman | | Book Review

Yes, I jumped on that band wagon after If I Stay came out in theaters.Firstly, the movie was wonderful. It was tear jerking and there was a lot of smiles throughout the movie. But we're not going to talk about the movie, we're going to talk about the series. Brace yourself, this is going to be a long review!

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

YA Fiction

"Goodreads Description:

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make. "

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs | | Book Review

On Tuesday, I gave a review of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and this is the second installment of that series. So as promised in the last review, here is the review for Hollow City by Ransom Riggs.

Series: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children #2

Publication Date: January 1, 2014

YA Fantasy/Dark Fantasy

"Goodreads Description: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages."

Cracker Barrel | | Over-hyped

So, I decided that I'm going to do a series of blog posts of things, places, or whatever that I think is over-hyped. This is MY OPINION and I apologize if you disagree. I don't mean to make anyone mad.

So, first on the list is Cracker Barrel. If you like this place, by all means, like it. But, here is my opinion.

In the south, this seems to be a pretty popular place especially for people who didn't grow up in the country. Not sure if this is true, but this is what I have noticed. One thing I like about the restaurant is the store. They have a ton of awesome candies! Here's what I don't like: the food. I grew up in the country and my great grandparents used to garden and my grandparents continue to garden, but it's much smaller. So my idea of country food is a lot of seasoning and cooking with meats and pure deliciousness, while Cracker Barrel's food is just really bland. Their green beans should have been good with a piece of pork, their chicken and dumplings aren't good in my opinion and Pillsbury makes better biscuits than Cracker Barrel.

On a scale from 1 - 10, this place is probably a 6 on the over-hyped scale. I do not like this place and I will never choose to eat here. I have to be forced to eat here.

What do you guys think about this place? Also, let me know what things you think are over-hyped!

Bad Roommates

Over the last four years, I've had my fair share of bad roommates..

So, I'm going to tell you about the bad roommates I've had every year since I've been in college. From Freshman - Junior year. Enjoy!

Freshman Year: I moved into a traditional dorm room that had two beds, two closets, and two desks. We also shared a bathroom with everyone on my hall (this is a story to be told another time). We're going to call her Laura (names will be changed). So Laura and I got along for maybe the first month, I mean I even liked her. My only problem with her at first was that she was a little clingy and always asking when I was coming back to the dorm or where I was. But, then she stopped going to class and slept all day/stayed up all night. I think that's where all of the problems started. So, my first semester, I was a music major and I had a lot of early classes. Because of that, I would go to bed at maybe 11-12 and of course, she wouldn't. Which is fine, but she would turn the lights on, sing, talk on the phone, and watch movies. None of these things would have been a problem, but she was rude about it and wouldn't ever go to sleep. I remember one night, I woke up to her talking about me on the phone with her boyfriend while sitting at my desk and staring at me. Sometimes in the morning, she would get mad at me (if she woke up) because I was getting ready for class and making a little bit of noise. I remember one morning, she actually got up and got ready to do stuff (out of the ordinary for her). She came up to me and said "Just because you wear makeup doesn't mean you're cute" then tried taking it back. So other than that, she was nasty. She hardly ever showered, brushed her teeth, or cleaned anything up. She had a ton of clothes that were everywhere, her hair was all over the place, and she had moldy dishes sitting on her desk for a month at a time. I think I'll end there on this one!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs | | Book Review

Am I the last one to know that they're turning the first book into a movie!? HOW DID I NOT KNOW?! Please tell me this is real!

So, obviously I love this series...

Series: Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children#1

Date Published: June 7th, 2011

YA Fantasy/Dark Fiction

"Goodreads Description: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography."

I just moved my blog!

So, my blog was originally on Wordpress.com (https://thinkingofautumn.wordpress.com/). And I found that I'm not really liking it anymore and I thought I would give blogger a chance. I want my old posts to be on here as well from the other blog, so I may add a post everyday until I get all of my posts over here from there, if not, I'll just start fresh over here. I know this is weird, but hey, follow me for the ride! So, here is a something about me in case you wanted to know!

My name is Autumn and I'm a senior in college; getting my BS in Mass Communications with a concentration in Film & Media Arts and also minoring in Music. I'm from Georgia and I am 22 years of age until November. No fall jokes please :p I am a musician; I play flute and a lot of other random instruments that I'm not that great at. I obsessed with animals and books and whatever else you can think. 

So what will I be writing on this blog? ANYTHING. I mean it. I will post occasional rants, opinion blogs, maybe even some personal "feeling" blogs if I'm up for it, book reviews, lists of random things, movie reviews, maybe one day cooking or beauty related things. I have a lot of interests and I don't like limitations. So join me on my journey of figuring myself out and let's have some fun! :)

If you have any questions for me, please let me know!

Autumn

Don't you dare ask me what I'm going to do with my major...

Among college students, the MOST hated question from anyone (and 'anyone' includes professors, friends, family members, etc) is this: "So... What are you going to do with your major?" Are you kidding me!? Do you know how long it took for me to figure out what I wanted my major to be? I came into college a Music major and I'm leaving college as a Mass Communications major, and I'm not the only one who has changed their major. I have friends who have changed their major 3-4 times in their college career. Hell, I didn't even know if I wanted to go to college until my senior of high school.

Now, why do I say to not ask me this question? The answer is because most college students really don't know what they're going to do with their major. And if they do, most still just have an idea of what direction they're taking their major.

Another reason why you should never ask me this question is because it feels like you're belittling my major. If I was to say "Oh, I'm a Pre-Med major" or something along those lines, most would get an idea of what I'm going to do. But since I'm a Mass Communications major and most people don't know what that is, they're all like "So, you're going into...public speaking?" Nope, nope I am not. I actually hate public speaking. Then, of course, I have to go into explaining what my major is and what I plan on doing. This, all in all, takes way too much time and I'm pretty positive you stopped listening.

"But, Autumn, asking people what they're going to do with their major is just out of habit?"

I know, I know. I do it, too, and then realize what I just did. Curiosity gets the best of you, but this blog post is mostly for those family members at family reunions that you don't know.

Let me know if you agree with this or if I'm being silly. Pretty sure, I'm being silly.

xoxo
Autumn