Fav's of 2011: Part I

Alright, so..... My resolution to be better about blogging is already failing. I couldn't blog on Friday and yesterday was awful. So no.... Sorry.

Anyway, I'm making three lists for 2011/2012. 5 fav books of 2011 (whether published or not published in 2011), 5 fav songs to write to in 2011, and 5 fav books I'm looking forward to for 2012.

I'll do the first right now, the second tomorrow (Monday), and the third on Tuesday. This won't interfere with my weekly book review on Wednesday.

Well, the first is 5 fav books of 2011 (whether published or not published in 2011):

1. THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. Of course! Now anytime I hear people talk about it in public I'm like:

2. DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. Wow.... Just wow. That book was SO FREAKING GOOD. It was also the most violent book I've ever read (for those who've read it: really!??!?! A butter knife, Peter!?) I wanted to brutally murder the villain, which I think was the point, I wanted to hug the protagonist, and Tobias couldn't be more awesome... *sigh*, just brilliant awesomeness! Can't wait for her sequel, INSURGENT!

3. NEVERMORE by Kelly Creagh. This was an interesting read because it was advertised as this paranormal-filled novel with tons of Edgar Allen Poe creatures in it. But I thought most of it was more relationship and internal conflict, which I would typically hate. But Creagh's writing-style, paired with her wonderfully addictive characters just made me love. I cannot wait until August to find out what happens to Isobel and Varen next!

4. THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. Oh, this book was so, so, so, so, so, so, so good! It was so powerful and just a wonderful read.

5. HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick. This wasn't a light read, but it wasn't a heavy one. I really liked it-didn't worship it, but I really, really liked it. I don't know. There was just something about it that made me appreciate the characters and the uniqueness of it. :)

Happy Sunday!

-Aaron

INSURGENT Cover & 20 Things

Well, if you haven't seen it, then here it is. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The INSURGENT cover! *harps and angels singing*

Annnnnd boom goes the dynamite. (By the way, if you haven't seen that YouTube video, please search it now. Many minutes of laughs)

IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love how they went with the style of the first cover, but with the Amity faction's symbol. So be-a-utiful! Wonderful! Fantastic! Splendid! Unicornerific!

If you haven't, please go buy DIVERGENT now. It's oh so amazing! It's literally one of my favorite books. You can find my review of it here.

Now that I've gotten out my cover love *wipes drool away*, I'm putting something that I thought would be fun into this post.

So now, without further ado, here are 20 things I have done in life:

1. Broke my head open

2. Had a Central Park snowball fight in New York City

3. Pulled a redneck and ate fried chicken on the roof with my brother on Fourth of July to watch the fireworks around my house

4. Cried for half an hour when I was five because my brother walked into the room wearing a skeleton costume

5. Wore a disguise for a day and fooled all of my merit badge teachers at a Boy Scout camp

6. Played hide 'n' seek in a storage facility until 2 A.M.

7. Fallen asleep walking

8. Finished three months of homework in a week

9. Read a 500 page book in a day

10. Got a giant bag of Krystals with some friends and ate them while watching a movie at the local drive in theater

11. Starred as a sheep in a play

12. Sat on a swing while staring up at a sky full of shooting stars

13. Spent a day with my best friend talking about fantasy worlds and magic

14. Cried while reading THE LAST SONG by Nicholas Sparks

15. Almost gotten frostbite

16. Gotten hypothermia

17. Stayed up until 5 A.M. writing

18. Almost fallen off of a mountain

19. Played against a bunch of kids half my age in a state piano competition

20. Ran out of cool, fun, and/or weird things to write about....

Well, buh-bye. I'm off to listen to some music and read LIFE OF PI.

d-_-b Head-phones-wearing emoticon. :D

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

May 3rd, 2011 - Katherine Tegen Books
Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each one dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue-Candor (the honest), Abnegation (selfless), Dauntless (the brave, Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is-she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are-and where, exactly, where a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her.

I wish I could just write one sentence explaining my opinions of this novel and be done with this. Instead, I'll just write three:

DIVERGENT. Is. Amazing.

Veronica Roth pumped out a novel that didn't let me dip in a toe of her dystopian Chicago, get used to, and start wading in, but instead ripped me out of reality and tossed me onto the floor of a train bulleting over glass buildings forty feet below. And I'm so freaking glad it did.

I don't think I have to tell you the hype about DIVERGENT. It wasn't THE HUNGER GAMES or TWILIGHT kind of hype, obviously, but it was literary hype that sends up a signal shaped like a pen into the sky, summoning thousands of readers to take out their contacts and put on glasses to become what they truly are-YA book nerds. (We don't have capes but we do have imagination, which means we can imagine a cape!)

Anyway, this action-thriller was something I was a bit weary about. Yes, the summary is like being punched in the face by angel, it's so good, and yes that cover made me want to ask a Barnes & Noble store clerk if making out with it would be considered tampering with merchandise. But, I don't typically go for thrillers. I love movie thrillers, but books.... Thriller novels are a whole 'nother spectrum of thriller. They just feel different.

I eventually gave in, and let me repeat, I'm so glad I did. Holy. Friggin'. Amazin'.

The main character, Tris, was totally lovable, and I feel like any person on earth could adapt to her. The action was a bit hard to get through at times, though it was done in a really creative way. I don't know how, but Veronica Roth was able to pull out these really gruesome acts, and still let me keep my lunch in my stomach.

As I mentioned in my last post, Peter is a guy who's on my top ten "Love to hate" list. He was a total egotistical, pompous, jerk. He was perfect.

Tris was by far my favorite character. The thing I loved about it is that it seemed like the characters had the perfect amount of likability in them. The MC, Tris, was the most likable, to me, her possible-beau was the next, and then her best friend, etc. I didn't feel the same amount of sympathy for a minor character as I did for Tris, and I liked that because I think that means that the characters' personalities were balanced really, really well.

Now.... Four. Oh, Four. Four. Four. Four. Four. Four. How I wish I could get rid of 1, 2, and 3, just so we could skip to Four. No, really. Four was that amazing. He was brave and heroic and yet he was tender. Also, he's got a pretty cool tattoo. ;)

My favorite is a split between three-no spoilers, promise.

1. When Tris is in that parlor and she sees the drawing of the ravens and it causes her to do something.... I won't say what, because that's a bit of a spoiler. This scene was so poetic, and I felt so happy when Tris did this-er-"thing", because it was just so beautiful the way it happened. She was letting go, but still honoring.

2. When Tris and Four are on the ferris wheel. Oh, God. So freaking wonderful! Four's reaction was so surprising and yet it made him that much more likable! Also, I love the whole decaying rides and attractions, which I think was another great component to add to the already sad dystopian Chicago.

3. "Then everyone can call you Six." *Cheshire Cat grin* If you've read it, then you know the significance of this quote. It's big, and it's as awesome as Four's back tattoo.

Anyway, read it. It's wonderful. The writing is beautiful, the ending is gripping, and the chracters are perfectly crafted.

-Aaron