blog entry #3 - writing a book review

Basic Information:
Title: See Me by Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: October 13th, 2015
# Of Pages: 496
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Brief Intro: This book is a kind of cliche romance, but still full of suspense, action, and many emotions.  

Body:
This book takes place in Wilmington, North Carolina. Wilmington is a quiet small beach town on the North Carolina coast. See Me is written in a dual perspective. One is Maria, the other is Colin. Maria and Colin are also the main protagonists in the novel. The mood in the book is fairly tense at times, there is this third perspective that is very threatening to Maria, which the reader doesn't understand until the end of the book.

This book is a romance between Colin and Maria. Colin is an MMA fighter, with a very rough past that has landed him in jail many times. If he messes up on more time, he could face up to 20 years in jail. Maria is a shy family driven girl. One very bad heartbreak really messed up her love life. Colin and Maria met through Maria's sister, Serena, who Colin has classes with in college. They fall deeply in love with each other. Colin becomes very protective over her, especially after they figure out she has a stalker. The truth unfolds, and a lot of pressure is put on their relationship.

Analysis and Evaluation:
I believe the writing of this book was beautiful. Nicholas Sparks is a very beautiful writer in my opinion, and this book didn't change that. Some of the points in the book were kind of boring, and I was having trouble getting through them quickly. For like 175 pages of the book, Colin and Maria were only dating. No action or fighting or anything like that. Just pure dinner dates and romantic gestures. No thank you. Anyways, even though some of the book was slow, it was still very well written.

I think Sparks did achieve his purpose of this book, to entertain. I was entertained throughout this book, and if I wasn't I would have stopped reading.

To Wrap Things Up:
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that likes Nicholas Sparks romance. I put him in a genre of his own because his books deserve as much. Sparks really knows how to tell a story without a cliche plot, and I love that about his novels.


                                         

Researching my author... Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is rich. Very Rich. He has written 18+ bestselling romance novels, capturing the hearts of teens and women today. Some call him "The King of Hearts" because of his romantic knowledge. In general, he is not a very verbal talkative person. He does much better writing books. Fun Fact: Nicholas Sparks doesn't curse. Ever. Not in real life, or in his books. He says:

"Profanity can be an easy fix, a crutch used to express anger or frustration. Creating those emotions without bad language is much more effective. And challenging."

Sparks writes about 2000 words a day and a book a year since 1996. That's 20 years! All of his writing does pay off, his books fly off the shelves. The book sales, 97 million, don't lie. His fan base grows daily, based on the fact that all his books are about true love. A fan of Nicholas says:

"There's a comforting feeling you get when reading a Nicholas Sparks novel, something apart from the characters getting together and experiencing true love. It's that the world in which it happens, even if it's not like the 'real world,' makes sense. It's a simpler world and it's easy to understand - and something about that feels like a rescue. Now, I don;t need a man to rescue me. I’ve worked and been on my own two feet all my life. But that feeling, or notion, of rescue that I get from a Nicholas Sparks book—once in awhile, that’s just nice."

The Notebook is the book that really sparked Sparks’s career. His first two novels remain unpublished, yet The Notebook was a sensation. In a short period of time he was struck with a 1 million dollar deal for its movie rights and a book deal. That’s pretty good for a debut novel.

                               

His family life has had a very big effect of Sparks’s writing. HIs mother died in a horseback riding accident when she was 47, and his dad died in a car accident when he was 54. The grieving author turned to writing as a source of comfort, he wrote about a man who writes letters to his deceased wife and sends them out to sea in bottles. The book, later titled Message in a Bottle, was inspired by his parents' relationship.

Sources Used

http://www.biography.com/people/nicholas-sparks-562686#big-break

http://www.gq.com/story/nicholas-sparks-what-women-want

 

Why do I read?

I read because reading is awesome. I can feel like I am experiencing things that I will never experience in my life. I will never be a teenage boy going to a wizarding school, but Harry Potter sure does make me feel like I am. I absolutely love Harry Potter, it's what got me in to reading. I was only in third grade and I was obsessed. I remember the first time I read Harry Potter, I started reading them because I loved big books. Therefore, I skipped the first three. After almost finishing the fourth book, I went back and read the first ones due to the fact I had no idea what was going on.

I read because it makes me laugh. Books that make me laugh out loud are my favorite, they make me realize that I don't need Netflix or YouTube to laugh all the time. Reading gets me off my phone and computer, and my mom loves that. reading gives me a 100% valid excuse to stay in my room away from my family. Sometimes I really need to get away from them, so I read from when I wake up to when I go to bed (on weekends anyway). They say watching screens before bed is super bad for you, so now I just read for 2 hours instead.

Lastly, I read because I'm forced to. This sounds bad, but it isn't. When I am forced to read I actually have to do it... no excuses. Then that gets me back in to the "swing" of reading so to speak. Now a days it is very hard for me to want to read because I have 2 seasons of Parks And Recreation to watch on Netflix, and I will always choose that. When I am in reading mode I won't touch my computer or phone for days. I want that again, so I read to get back to that place. The place where I will read two books a week for months on end. Setting reading goals and records to break and feeling very accomplished when I achieve them. I miss that a lot, and I have to do to get that again is read!!

FINAL BLOG POST

This is my attitude towards reading.

To be totally honest, I love reading. I read all the time. I like it because it's relaxing, and I like to branch out and discover other authors writing styles, to see who I like and don't like. To make time for reading, I always get my homework done at school or right when I get home. The biggest obstacle I have when making time for it is that I would rather read than study for a test the next day. My best reading experience was reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. That book was so crazy and I still think about the ending sometimes. The worst experience I had was reading Reality Boy by AS King. I hated that book, I didn't see the point in it. Therefore, it took me forever to read it and I was in a reading slump for like 3 weeks. The last time I was "lost" in a book was this February when I was reading Room. We had to drive to Kentucky that day and I read it the entire way there and back, and finished it. That book was amazing. I like choosing my own books because only I know what I like to read. As for my future goals, I want to read more classics. I read two this year and I really enjoyed them.

This is an accurate representation of me blogging.

I think the best part of blogging is being able to track my reading progress throughout the year. The worst part about blogging is remembering to blog, and trying to figure out what to talk about. I think there is value to posting your thoughts online because my teachers and my classmates can see what I'm reading and if they want to read it, they can too. I think that if we did the circle thing where we all talked about what we were reading that could help others find books.

This picture describes my freshman year.

I think I've grown a lot as a student. In middle school, you didn't really have to try very hard for your grades. Now that I'm in high school, you really have to work hard. As a person, I think I've been a lot less shy than I was at the beginning of the year. Being at a new school and trying to make new friends was kind of hard, but I eventually got around to it. I think the most positive experience I have had this year is going to a new church, and entering a youth group. Some goals that I have for my sophomore years is to keep my 4.0, and meet more people. 

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender & Reality Boy

I'm reading three different books at the moment but I chose to write about The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender because it's very different from the others. It is kind of like a historical-fiction (during WW2) fantasy. Ava Lavender is writing this book about her family tree. She starts with her great great grandma, then she eventually gets down to herself and her experiences. Ava is different from other kids because she was born with wings. Nobody knows how or why, she just was. They can't be removed because they are basically vital organs to her. She was also born with a twin brother, Henry, who was born "normal."

So far I like this book, the writing is amazing. Beautiful even. This book is making up for a recent book that I read, Reality Boy by AS King. Reality Boy is about boy who was the star of a reality show when he younger, and now he has mental issues and anger issues because of it. The book had a good message, but some of the parts were unnecessary. One second Gerald would be in class and then he would be eating ice cream with Snow White. This book was just too complicated for me, but I will try more of AS Kings writing.

Something to remember for Thanksgiving by Mary Schmich

1.) The writer wants the reader to feel that "poverty is a state of mind." She (or her dad) states this very clearly at the end of the column. She also wants us to think that no matter how much or how little we have, we are not poor. we always have money, or anything, to give to someone else.

2.) When reading her column, Schmich wants us to remember the times in our lives where we've given something (like money) away to someone else, even if we've had little ourselves. She says "no matter how little you think you have, there's always enough to give some away." She thinks that it is important to understand that it just doesn't happen to her.

3.) The purpose of this column is to explain that, well, poverty is like a state of mind, and giving is receiving. We always have something to give, even if you don't think you have a lot. She relates to this in her column, she says "There's a temptation to feel that what we get, or what we give, is never quite enough." I'm sure everybody feels this, but she is saying that we don't have to.

4.) In her column, she talks about how much she wants a Nutty Buddy. She describes it as "I wanted a Nutty Buddy like I've never wanted a Nutty Buddy before, like I'd never wanted anything. I deserved a Nutty Buddy. I would demand a Nutty Buddy." Now, she probably is literally referring to a Nutty Buddy, but I think she could also be talking about money. Sometimes they deserve money like she thought she deserved a Nutty Buddy, and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don't.

5.)In society, this refers to people during Christmas time, I think. People that think they are poor, feel like they have top get gifts and presents for everyone when they really don't. This really is an eye-opener to society because everybody is closed minded when it comes to money.

Spring Break Blog

For this blog, I will talk about the three books I read during spring break...

First Book ~ The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (361 pages)

This book is another thriller/crime book that I read fairly quickly. It is about a girl named Mia, and her kidnapper Colin living in an old cabin in Minnesota.  Colin was supposed to give her to his boss Dalmar, but he doesn't because he thinks they are going to kill her. He takes her to his family cabin and they hide there because Colin fears that Dalmar is going to find them. This book is written in three POVs. Mia's mom, Eve, before and after her return home. The detective assigned to Mia's case, Gabe, before and after her return home. And Colin, her kidnapper during their "hideout" in the cabin. This book has many plot twists that I really didn't see coming. I loved this book!!

Second Book ~ My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (394 pages)

This book is a contemporary teenage romance book that was really good. It had also had a strong family aspect to it too. It is about a girl named Sam, who had a very strict mother who is running for the state senator throughout the book. She falls for her neighbor Jase Garrett, to whom her mother despises. Her mother always told Sam to stay away from the Garretts, because they were a large, loud, happy family that might of left a few messes in their yard here or there, but Sam's mother hated them for it. Everything is going well for Jase and Sam but it all takes a sharp turn when her mother makes a huge mistake that might cost her the election. I don't want to spoil anything so read this book! The authors writing style was hilarious and I was laughing half the time!

Third Book ~ Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (433 pages)

This book is about two twins, Cath and Wren (like Catherine haha) that go away to the same college. Cath wanted to room with Wren, but Wren kinda wanted to be by herself and make new friends. This left Cath in the dust, so she pretty much stays in her room and writes Simon Snow (this books version of Harry Potter) fanfiction. Her roommate reaches out to her and they start to become friends, so Cath is grateful for that. There is some romance in this book but at the beginning you really don't know who it is going to be with. This is the first Rainbow Rowell book that I have read and I plan to read many more!

1188 pages total. I read too much. Also I started The Duff I am really enjoying it!