If you live in the USA, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy eating and celebrating with your loved ones. I’m so thankful for all of you, for where I am in my life, and for this amazing holiday!
How are you celebrating?
Author: Jana
Top Ten Things I am Thankful For
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at the other blog I write for, The Broke and the Bookish.
I’m writing this post as I lay sick in bed, so I will admit that I’m having a hard time focusing on things I am thankful for. At the same time, though, I know things could be so much worse than they are. I could be suffering with no cold medicine, no comfortable bed, no TV to keep me entertained, no books to read, and no heat in my home. I have so much to be thankful for!
1. I am thankful for my mom and my sister. We are the Three Musketeers, and we have so much fun together. They are my biggest cheerleaders, my confidants, and my best friends. My mom and I travel together, laugh together, cry together, and are pretty much the same person.
2. I am thankful that I get to live in such a beautiful place! I love Utah, and all my friends and family who live here.
3. I am thankful for all the awesome travel experiences I’ve had throughout my life. Through traveling, I have learned so much about myself, what I am capable of, and how lucky I am. I’ve also learned a lot about culture, language, and what an awesome world we live in.
4. I am thankful for the turn my life has taken this year. I have figured out my life, and I know exactly what I’m going to do with it.
5. I am thankful to be a book blogger! I love everyone I have met through blogging, all the awesome books I have been exposed to, and the opportunities it has provided me. :)
6. I am thankful that I get to teach the 14 and 15-year-old girls at church. They are like my little sisters, and I enjoy getting to know them.
7. I’m thankful for my education. It’s crazy to think about, and I can’t tell you how many times during my first semester of grad school (that I just completed!!) that I wondered what on earth I have done to myself, but there are so many out there who do not have the opportunity to go to school.
8. I’m thankful for music, and the ability I have to connect with it on such a deep level.
9. I’m thankful for my talents of creativity and singing.
10. I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father, and His plan for me.
So, what are YOU thankful for?
Candy and the Cankersaur by Jason Sandberg | Children’s Book Review
When I was a little girl, I loved Danny and the Dinosaur by by Syd Hoff. When I discovered that Candy and the Cankersaur pays tribute to this very book, I was so excited to read it!
Candy and the Cankersaur written and illustrated by Jason Sandberg
Self-published on June 17, 2012
Pages: 32
Format: eBook
Source: From the author
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This is the sweet and funny tale of a young girl named Candy and a Cankersaurus Rex! Candy receives a dinosaur as a gift and is determined to train him to be a good pet.
This book is so much fun, and so cute! It totally and completely reminds me of Danny and the Dinosaur. The colors and the illustration style are just like those in Syd Hoff’s book, and I could not help but think of Danny when I read about Candy.
Candy lives in a mansion with her rich dad. All she wanted was to be able to spend more time with him, but since he was always so busy, he decided she needed a really cool pet to keep her company. All of a sudden, a plan lands in her yard carrying a Cankersaurus Rex from The Island that Time Forgot. Candy was scared at first, but decided her new dinosaur, Cank, would be fun to train. They had a lot of fun together, even though Cank kept biting things, until her jealous neighbor, Chucky, decided to kidnap Cank. If he can’t have a dinosaur, then nobody can. Chucky sells Cank to a circus. But then he felt bad because he took his little crush on Candy too far. Candy, Chucky, and her dad decide to save him.
Candy and the Cankersaur is a sweet book for boys and girls. The colorful pictures and silly story will keep them captivated to the very end. I also love the message the book portrays: friendship is better than having the best toys. That’s something all children can learn. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a fun, colorful story and a good teaching opportunity.
Top Ten Books I Would Recommend to My Non-Bookish Little Sister
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at the other blog I write for, The Broke and the Bookish.
This week’s topic is a fun one! Initially, I had a hard time deciding who to recommend books to, but then all of a sudden it hit me! My little sister does not really read books. She has a few she enjoys like the Narnia series, Twilight, and The Hunger Games. But other than those, she really does not read much. I’ve been able to talk her into a few books, but not nearly enough. It’s hard having a non-bookish sister! She loves movies, though, so I am hoping to come up with a list of books she will like using the movies and the few books she loves. Oh, and travel. She LOVES traveling.
All Our Yesterdays by Kristin Terrill
One of the reasons my sister loved The Hunger Games so much is the action. She loves the constant heart pounding action. This is action, and dystopia, and some time travel! I think she’d really like it.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I remember after I read The Hunger Games that I was looking everywhere to find a dystopian novel that was as good. Delirium filled that need for me, and I really loved it.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
The Hunger Games is all about survival in a weird world. So is These Broken Stars! The characters have to beat the odds to survive. My sister also loves Titanic, and this book has a Titanic-ish feel. I think she’d enjoy it!
Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
My sister has always wanted to go to London. Why not visit through Meant to Be?
Wanderlove by Kristin Hubbard
My family has been to Belize before, which is one of the places Wanderlove is set in. I loved reading about Belize. I know how unbelievably hot it is there, and I know what it looks like. It made Wanderlove a lot of fun. Plus, the romance is sweet and she loves romance!
Decked with Holly by Marni Bates
My sister is a Christmas maniac, just like I am! Plus, she adores cruising. This book has both!
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
My sister LOVES flying. And she loves romance! I just know she would love this story.
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
The Little Mermaid is one of my sister’s very favorite Disney movies. I love this mermaid trilogy, and I think it is just as magical as The Little Mermaid.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cinderella is another of my sister’s favorite movies. I think she would adore Cinder, and since she loved The Hunger Games I think she will enjoy this dystopian retelling. Really, she would love the entire series!
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Anna is Disney-like in the perfect romance. And there’s the Paris thing, which my sister would love. She has always wanted to go to Paris. I think she would have a major thing for St. Clair.
So, there you have it! What would you recommend my sister read? She loves romance and kissing and princesses and action.
What person did you choose to recommend books for? I’d love to see what you chose for them to read! Maybe I’ll find something new to pine for. :)
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner | Book Review
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner Series: Starbound #1
Published by Disney Hyperion on December 10, 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.
Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?
Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.
I’ve always been a little iffy on outer space books and usually pass on them, but These Broken Stars sounded too amazing to pass up. It ended up being everything I could have hoped for! As always, my main points are bolded. :)
1. What a unique idea! A ship of vacationing passengers flying through space, only to be knocked out of orbit and crash land on a mysterious planet. These Broken Stars is a combination of Titanic and LOST.
2. I mention LOST, because this planet is wacky. There are whispers and visions and crazy animals and signs of former habitation. And this is all happening for some unknown reason. Are these characters crazy? Are they going insane? Is the planet haunted? Is someone these playing a trick on them? Are they being tested? What s going on!?!
3. These characters are amazing. Since the book really only includes two of them, the authors had to make them interesting or readers would get bored very quickly. I loved Tarver. He is a war hero who is trained in surviving situations like this one. He also comes from a tough life, and has a lot of depth. I loved his strength and his power of motivating Lilac to push on through the pain of hiking in heels and a fancy dress. He has a weak moments in the story, though, which made him more down to earth. His tenderness and dedication are quite endearing. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe, and she is completely thrown out of her comfort zone when she has to take a risk and save herself and Tarver from dying in the crash. She’s not as pretentious as I had expected, which was nice. She quickly adapted to this new life, and grew in maturity. She’s strong, confident, and capable of much more than she realized. 4. The story is told in dual points of view, which I really liked. I find that this is commonly done in survival books, and I always enjoy reading what’s going on in each character’s head.
5. What I did not like were the snippets of Tarver’s post-rescue interrogation at the beginning of every chapter. Because this was done, I knew immediately that they would be rescued. I did not like having the ending spoiled for me, and would have enjoyed the book much more if I had not known this ahead of time.
6. I liked the slow burning romance between Lilac and Tarver. They met on the ship, and while they were both intrigued by one another, they were from two different worlds. Lilac really shot him down and bruised his ego. When they ended up crashing together and being the only two survivors, they were forced to work together or die. They really hated each other for a while, but that began to change and they really cared for each other before they fell in love.
7. There is this mind blowing plot twist that happens, and OH MY THE FEELS. I won’t go into this anymore, but OH MY. I did not know what to do with myself.
8. Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner did an amazing job team writing These Broken Stars. I did not even know this book was written by two authors until I started gathering information to write my review. I’m so impressed that I could not tell! The writing was absolutely lovely.
I can’t wait for the next book! These Broken Stars really surprised me, and was a wonderful way to introduce myself to outer space. I’m so proud of these 2013 debut authors, and hope they continue to write lots together.