Finding Audrey

From Goodreads:    An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.






My Thoughts:

-    I really enjoyed this book! It had a lot of heart and humor.

-    I'm guessing Audrey was bullied at school and something terrible went down. The book doesn't really say what happened. There are hints, but it doesn't explain anything. In the end, it doesn't matter what happened. The book focuses on Audrey's healing process, which I loved. The title is perfect because Audrey is truly finding herself. 

-    I really liked Frank. He was a great brother, and I liked his relationship with Audrey. He was very supportive, but he also teased Audrey. It was a great sibling relationship. 

-    Linus was sweet. He was a perfect boy next door kind of guy. I liked the different ways he helped Audrey climb out of her shell.

-    The mom drove me crazy!! I think it is because she reminded me of my mom. Memories of getting yelled at for dumb things were brought back. My mom also hated how much time me and my siblings spent on the computer and video games. I also got yelled at for reading too much or being outside too much. I just couldn't win.

-    All those trips to Starbucks made me crave Starbucks something fierce! I may have visited Starbucks a couple times while reading this. Yummmmm! I heart Frappes!

-    I loved that this took place in England, and I loved that it wasn't translated! Woo!

-    Just FYI, there are some F-bombs throughout the book and deity swears.

-    This was a really great book, and I needed something like this right now. I've been struggling to find a book that sticks, and this one stuck big time! I want to look into other books by this author!

Fan Art Friday: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Wow! I knew I would find a lot for this book, but I was still amazed! I tried to only include art that was not based on the book illustrations or the movie. This might be the longest FAF I've ever done, but I couldn't leave out any of these! They are all SO good! I only included art specifically for The Sorcerer's Stone, so no generic Harry Potter art. I hope you enjoy looking through all the amazing artwork!

Aren't these amazing!?!?

I can't pick a favorite! I love the unique art styles. Each on is so different. I also love all the different scenes portrayed.

Which is your favorite?

All the pictures are linked to the artist/source where I found them. If you'd like to see them better or see more from a specific artist, please click on the picture.

Sunny Side Up

Goodreads Says:    Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer.  At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all.  But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park.  It’s full of . . . old people.  Really old people.
 
Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around.  She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors.  But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place?  The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .

My Thoughts:

-    I was pleasantly surprised by this book! It was wonderful, and I really needed a good book. I've given 2 stars to the last three books I've read, so I'm glad I finally found a good one!

-    I thought this book was going to be a fluff book about a girl and her summer adventures, but it was so much more! 

-    Sunny's family is struggling, and I loved how Sunny's story was told through flashbacks. I really wanted to find out more about her brother and what happened to Sunny that made her parents send her to live with her Grandpa for the summer. I really felt sorry for Sunny and her family. Having a family member with addiction is never fun, and I know from first hand experience how hard it is on everyone.

-    I loved all the comic book references! Great stuff! 

-    I'm glad Sunny had a kid her age to hang out with. 

-    The illustrations were very cartoony and fun. 

-    I really warmed up to Sunny's grandpa by the end of the book. At first he seemed like a stereotypical grumpy old man, but he has a kind heart and genuinely cared for Sunny and her family.

-    The ending was great! I loved that Sunny's summer wasn't a total bust. She had fun and made good memories. I also loved the message of hope at the end.

-    I'm really impressed that this book for younger audiences touches on a hard concept, and it handles the addiction problem in a very real and tasteful way. Well done!

Splintered

From Goodreads:    This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts:

-    I am SO disappointed! I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, but when I finally got around to it, ugh! 

-    The writing style really killed the book for me. It really distracted from the story. There was a whole lot of telling and not a lot of showing. I felt like I was reading. I love reading, but I don't want to feel like I'm reading. I want to be immersed in the story, and I wasn't. 

-    On top of the writing being really descriptive and distracting, the characters were lame. I didn't like any of them. I don't understand why Jeb was even in the story. He was pointless. I didn't like Alyssa or Morpheus at all. 

-    Here is strike three! The story was blah! I didn't like it. Alyssa had to complete these tasks in Wonderland, but most of them happened by accident or Morpheus made them happen. The story led to nowhere. 

-    So the writing, the characters, and the story were lame! Why did I even finish the book?

-    There was SO much potential for this book. I think if the story had been executed differently, I would have really liked it. 

-    There were two things I really liked. The bizarre and creepy creatures were imaginative and awesome. I liked how they were twisted versions of the classic Wonderland creatures. The environment was dark, creepy, and awesome.

-    Needless to say, I will not be continuing the series. I had power through the last 100 pages of this book, and it was not fun. 

The BFG

My Thoughts:

-    Gnome and Hubby took me to see this for my birthday last week. It was fun!

-    This was the first Roald Dahl book Gnome and I read together. We loved the book, and we enjoyed the movie. It was a good adaptation.

-    Gnome was captivated the whole time, and she laughed a lot. 

-    The BFG looks just like Quentin Blake's illustration. It is awesome! The animators did a create job.

-    The CG is pretty good. I was worried that the giants would look fake, but they looked good.

-    The BFG is the most endearing giant. I loved him! The voice actor did a perfect job! 

-    All the characters were brought to life perfectly. The actors and actresses were brilliant. 

-    The sets were awesome!

Gnome's Thoughts:

-    I liked the whole thing.

Hubby's Thoughts:

-    Overall impression was good.

-    The BFG was very much like the book describes.

-    I liked how much they stuck to the story line.

-    I really really liked the snozzcumbers.

-    The acting was good.

-    They did a good job with the dreams.

Saturday's Warrior

My Thoughts:

-    I used to watch the 1989 version of this when I was a kid. I loved it. I loved the songs and I used to sing along. I remember watching this with my family on Sundays, and we loved it. I was excited when I heard they were remaking it. Sadly, I was disappointed.

-    I didn't like Jimmy. His voice really bugged me. It was really high and whiny. He killed his songs.

-    Julie also bugged me a little bit. 

-    One of the main things that disappointed me was they left out some songs, and they shortened a lot of the songs. There were new songs, and I liked those.

-    The Piano Guys cameo was fun! 

-    I didn't like when Emily haunted Jimmy. It was weird.

-    I liked getting more background on Tod. That was interesting.

-    Overall, I like the 1989 version better. I like the cast better. 

-    This movie is not for everyone. It hits you over the head with religion, mainly LDS religion. There are a few things that are not doctrinally correct, but I can overlook those things and laugh about it.

-    Seeing Alex Boye on the big screen was fun. His family was in our old ward, and it was fun but weird to see him in a movie. When I see him, all I can think about are his cute kids. 

-    After the movie was over, this guy stood up, turned around, and asked everyone (there was about 10 of us in the theater) if we liked the movie. Turns out this guy played Elder Kestler.

He said there were over 360 auditions for his role, and he was the lucky winner. One of the items on his bucket list was to be in a movie, and he is happy he can check that off. He said most of the actors came from LA, and not all of them were LDS. He is LDS and served a mission in his humble way. 

-    If you are a fan of Saturday's Warrior, I'd suggest seeing it.

Boundless

From Goodreads:    The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

My Thoughts:

-    I finally finished this series!! Ugh! It was slow, but I made it!

-    The beginning is really slow, and I just wanted something. . .anything, to happen.

-    The more I read, the more I didn't like Clara.

-    I felt like Christian kept getting the shaft. Wow! He did everything for Clara, and she can't even give him the time of day.

-    The whole Tucker and Clara relationship really annoyed me! It was the classic "I can't be with you because I'm dangerous" crap! All the romance in these books annoyed me! It wasn't done very well. 

-    Angela bugged me through all 3 books, and it didn't get any better.

-    I didn't like any of the characters really. They were all so dramatic and lame.

-    The ending was going to be good, but then it wasn't. It wrapped up all nice and convenient, WAY too convenient. At first I thought the ending was going to be all dramatic and tragic, and I was excited, but then it wasn't, and I was angry. 

-    I'm kinda sad I wasted time on this series. Why did I finish?

Previous Books in the Series:

(covers are linked)