"Fragments" by Jeffry W. Johnston

"We're dealing with fragments here. Pieces that, by themselves, are hard to understand. But if we could figure out how they fit together..."
-Jeffry W. Johnston, Fragments

 You know, nothing about this book fit together. I can't piece together any good reason to ever read this book. Sure, I've read worse, but honestly there was nothing exciting about this book.

I knew this time would come. Eventually I knew that I would have to write a bad book review. This book was included in a collection of books loaned to me by a friend. I chose this book for this week because I knew it was not like the others I had been reading. I know I need variety in my reviews, so I thought this would be a good addition to my collection.

I began reading, and I instantly knew it was a book for a younger audience. The writing was simple. I continued reading anyway. I figured it couldn't hurt. But: ouch.

For a quick look at how this book made me feel, watch this video!

Chase is in high school and loves to be in front of an audience. He is the best actor at his school, and everyone knows it. Unfortunately, his acting is not the reason he gets attention. The whispers in the halls spread because of the scars on his wrists. Chase attempted suicide. Twice.

Recently, Chase was in a terrible car accident. He was drunk, but he didn't drive. He called his ex-girlfriend, Angie, to pick him up. Two of his friends were in the back seat, and he was in the passenger seat. A drunk driver met them on a sharp turn, but Angie couldn't swerve quickly enough. Chase was the only survivor.

His older brother, Ben, was troubled and was in jail, but his parents basically disowned him. Chase desperately wanted them to forgive Ben because he felt that all of Ben's troubles were his fault. Ultimately it lead to suicidal thoughts.

Most of the story tells of him having flashbacks that the reader doesn't understand, then he goes to his therapist and doesn't tell her anything. It's extremely repetitive. All of his secrets are revealed and all of the flashbacks are explained in the last chapter or so. They were shocking and unexpected, which was good, but that was the only time I really felt any emotion during this book: a whole 2 seconds.

Overall, it was just rather dull. Nothing kept me reading the book, other than the fact that I knew I needed to have a blog written by the end of the week. There was no pull, nothing at the end of each chapter leaving me wanting more.

Unless you want to be incredibly bored, I wouldn't recommend this book.

I'm not saying that suicide is not a serious issue. Those things should not be read lightly. I understand the importance of the message about suicide, but the overall plot was just a dud.

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Do you agree? Do you disagree? If you've read this book, what did you think? Share your thoughts here!

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"Night Road" by Kristin Hannah

"Maybe time didn't heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor or new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob."
-Kristin Hannah, Night Road

Everyone has a best friend. I'm not talking about a huge group of friends that you see at school or work, or the people you talk to during the day just to get by. I'm talking about that one best friend that completes you, that knows you better than yourself. No matter what, they are there.

When I say everyone, I mean everyone but Lexi. Lexi grew up with a drug-addict mother, who was in and out of prison, leaving Lexi in foster care most of the time. Dad was out of the picture, so Lexi had no family, or so she thought. Finally, when Lexi was 14, she discovered she had family.

Her great aunt Eva took her in to love and care for her. Because she was 14, it was time for her to start high school. She was used to being the new girl in a school since she had lived with multiple families over the years. She knew the tricks of blending in, and she did the best she could to not be noticed.

She succeeded in being invisible until she got to her first class. A boy approached her and spoke to her. He was so cute, he left her speechless. Of course, another girl came and led him away. It was obvious he was Mr. Popular at this school, so she knew she shouldn't even bother. But she just couldn't figure out why he came to her.

Soon enough it was time for lunch. Lunch on the first day is the worst! Where do you sit? Lexi took her packed lunch and her copy of Jane Eyre outside to sit in the sunlight. She spots a girl sitting under a tree, in a pink skirt and high top Converse shoes. She immediately likes this girl. Lexi tries to speak to her, but she says that talking to her would be considered "social suicide" and that she would never be a cheerleader if she did. Lexi said she cared nothing about that. The two instantly become friends.

Mia invited Lexi over to her house--her huge, rich-person house. Soon after they got there, the door burst open and several kids her age spilled inside. The cute boy from that morning was there! He walked over to Mia and started talking to her, then he noticed Lexi and froze. Mia introduced him: her twin brother, Zach. Oh no. Lexi knew she didn't need to be attracted to this boy if she wanted to have a good friendship with Mia. This wasn't going to be easy.

After a detailed telling of how Lexi met her new best friend, Mia, the book skips to their senior year. Lexi and Mia are still inseparable. Lexi loved Mia's family, and they loved her in return. Little did they know, Lexi would dramatically change their lives.

This story is told in third person; however, it is told from two different perspectives: Lexi's and Jude's, Mia's mother. Through both perspectives, the reader can see what a teenager goes through, but at the same time what a mother goes through during the same situations.

Jude is concerned about senior year. What mother wouldn't be? This is a huge year for her children: they have to decide on their future, fill out college applications, keep their grades up, score high on big tests, and do all of that while make the most fond of memories. Seniors loved to make memories by having parties. Seniors also loved to drink at these parties. How does a mother keep her children safe in these environments? She doesn't want to hold them hostage and never let them go out with their friends, but what if they drink? She can't always be there next to them to protect them.

Mia was shy, while Zach had a lot of friends. Zach was always there to protect her and be with her. Jude knew it was so important for them to go to the same college. They are both applying for the same schools, but there is never a way to know what will happen. Jude can't imagine what would happen if they didn't have each other.

OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! This was ridiculously hard for me to write. I understand that I summarized a lot more than normal, but I promise I gave nothing away! I struggled with avoiding the major parts of the story. There is just SO much to this story. I feel as if this isn't my best review, which is sad because it's one of the best books I've read so far. I laughed, cried, and felt so many other things during this story. Kristin Hannah will throw you for a loop, for sure.

I can't imagine going through what these people went through in the story. Kristin Hannah sculpted this story to perfection. It's not some happy, mushy, unrealistic love story. There are no over the top romantic gestures, or anything like that. The character's reactions are all so realistic to the situations they face.

Night Road takes you through happiness, love, fear, grief, confusion, hopelessness, and back again. The writing in this book is outstanding.

Earlier I mentioned seniors partying and drinking. There are scenes in this book that demonstrate this behavior. There is sexual content; however it is not descriptive. For the most part, anyone can read this book. I believe that the reader should at least be 13 years old, but if a younger reader is mature, it should be fine. Profanity is not absent, but it is scarce.

As far as the drinking goes, I want to take a second to mention drunk driving. It's simple: just don't do it. If you choose to drink, make sure that you have a driver. If you don't have a driver, then don't drink. If you make the mistake to drink when no ride is available, call someone. Driving is never the right choice. Be safe. It's not worth the risk.

Read this book. No, that's not a suggestion, it is a DEMAND! No regrets accompany this read! After reading, tell me what you think! Or simply tell me what you thought of the review! Good? Bad? Anything! Anyone can leave comments right here!

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"A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard

"Lonely, that's how I feel. Lonely and incomplete. I want to run, but have no idea where to run to. I want to yell, but I don't want to hurt anybody. I want to say something, but I don't know what to say. Love is the easy part; it's the living without the love you need that is hard."
-Jaycee Dugard, A Stolen Life

Jaycee Dugard was 11 years old when she was kidnapped down the street from her very own home in Lake Tahoe. She was walking to meet the bus to go to school that morning when a man pulled up next to her, rolled down the window, and asked for directions. He immediately used a stun gun on her, and she fell to the ground. Jaycee tried to scramble away from him on the ground, but he grabbed her by her legs and threw her into the back of his vehicle. Shoving her in the floorboard, he covered her with a thick blanket and placed something heavy on top of her.

Unfortunately, this story is not fiction like the other books I write about. This week I decided to read a memoir. Everything in this post is true. Some of you may remember seeing about her story in the news. She was found and rescued recently in 2009, just four years ago. That man, Phillip Garrido, kept her captive for 18 years. I'm only 20, so I couldn't imagine being taken away from my family, my friends, and my entire world for 18 years. That is the majority of my lifetime.

I'm not going to go into detail about the physical and mental abuse Phillip Garrido put her through. I feel as though I have no right to try to explain her situation in my own words. I honestly have no words. There is no other way to explain what happened besides the way she does in her memoir. Her life was taken from her; not physically, but she didn't get to live her life. She never got to go to high school, or college. She never got to get her driver's license. She never had a first crush, first kiss, first love, or first anything. In 2009, when she was reunited with her mother, sister, and aunt, she finally got to experience things life had to offer her.

She got to begin a new life with her family, along with her two daughters. She had her first daughter when she was 14, and her second when she was 17. The girls were raised in Phillip Garrido's "backyard."

I've always seen these kinds of stories on the news, but I never really gave them much thought. They always seemed like just "stories." The news doesn't tell you how it affected the person, though. You only find out the facts: who was the victim, who was the criminal, what happened, when, where, how, etc. Reading A Stolen Life really made me realize what actually happens. It makes me sick that people actually treat other people in ways like Phillip Garrido treated Jaycee.

Read Jaycee Dugard's  memoir, A Stolen Life, and see what she went through.

Since her rescue, Jaycee has founded the JAYC foundation, Inc. (Just Ask Yourself to Care). The focus of JAYC is to serve families that have experienced abduction or other traumatic experiences through compassion and educational programs. You can give donations, purchase the book, or purchase apparel on the JAYC Web site (link provided above). Visit the site to see more information.

"Slammed" by Colleen Hoover

"Push your boundaries...that's what they're there for."
- Colleen Hoover, Slammed

Layken, along with her younger brother, Kel, and her mother, Julie, moved from Texas to Michigan after her father died. As soon as they pull the U-haul into the driveway, Kel sees a boy his age and instantly begins fighting him with an imaginary sword. Layken decides to sulk in the driver's seat, not excited about her new house -- not home. Kel approaches her and tries to bring her into the games. She hops out of the truck to chase after her little brother and his new friend when she runs into the little boy's older brother. His very cute older brother! There is an instant attraction between the two, and oh, what do you know? He lives across the street. PERFECT!!

After a few encounters over the next couple of days, Will, the cute boy across the street, asks her on a date. No dinner, no movie, but no disappointments. Layken couldn't have asked for a better date, and she couldn't wait to see him again.

Monday morning rolls around and Layken has to go to her new school. Lost and looking for her third period class, she sees Will! Not sure why he is there, she gets excited anyway and runs to him and hugs him. He pushes her away, wide-eyed. Why is he being so weird? She begins to assume he is there to visit his girlfriend, so she storms off, angry. He tells her to wait, just as a student comes outside of the classroom: "Mr. Cooper?"

OH. MY. GOSH. He's the teacher??

Sure, we've all had a crush on our teacher at some time. You get to class on that first day, and the teacher is young and SO cute. Don't deny it, it's happened to all of us! Especially for the boys. Countless times have I heard of the new "hot" teacher. Normally we just sit in our desk and drool over the teacher; we don't necessarily go on a date with him/her.

To be fair, Layken didn't know. What now? There is no way a teacher can date a student! They somehow have to stay away from each other, but how will that work when they live across the street and her desk is in the front row of his third period class? Find out in Slammed!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO AN EXCERPT FROM "SLAMMED!!"
http://jschool.troy.edu/~advtech115/required.html
(I recorded this myself!)

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After reading Hoover's Slammed, make sure to read the sequel, Point of Retreat. It's from Will's point of view instead of Layken's but it picks up where the first left off. I didn't think Slammed could be topped, but Hoover proved me wrong! These books are "butterflying" amazing!

Let me know what you think! I hope you love these books just as much as I do!

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky

“So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”
- Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Your freshman year of high school is full of all sorts of things: good, bad, and in between. It's scary going to the bigger school and having to meet new people. Not to mention all the pressures that are presented.

It was no different for Charlie. It was his freshman year, and he had no friends. His only friend committed suicide, and his home life wasn't much better, either. So he felt completely alone.
 

Soon enough, Charlie met Patrick in one of his classes. Even though Patrick was a senior, he was still in a freshman shop class because he never passed. Charlie went to his first high school football game and was looking for a place to sit when Patrick invited him to sit next to him. And that's when he met her: Sam.

Sam is Patrick's step-sister, and love at first sight for Charlie. The three instantly become inseparable. They brought Charlie into their lives and showed him how to live! They showed him how to be himself and have fun!

One of the most well-known scenes in the book is when the three were riding in Patrick's truck, and Sam climbed in back and stood up in the truck bed as they drove through a tunnel with the stereo blaring. Charlie was introduced to new music, and a new sense of emotions.

This book was written as multiple letters from Charlie to a person we don't know. He tells the anonymous person about what is going on with his family, school, his friends, and how he is growing up.  He basically just tells his story of how he developed from being the wallflower to being his own person.

Read about Charlie's struggles, memories, and life-changing moments. Reading this made me view things a little differently. You never really know what someone is going through unless they tell you. If someone isn't outgoing and doesn't do all of the "cool" things, it doesn't mean he/she isn't an incredibly beautiful soul. We all go through different hardships throughout our lifetime, we just have to find friends that will help us through those times and love us no matter what.

Don't let what other people think hold you back! Don't hold yourself back! Just live life, but live it in center stage, not in the audience.

This is now a major motion picture, starring Emma Watson! It was released in fall of 2012 and is now available on DVD. Watch the trailer:

The movie is rated PG-13; however, the movie leaves out a lot of things in the book. In my opinion, the reader needs to be at least 16. There is a lot of mature content within this book.


A BIG THANK YOU to my friends this week for being in my pictures: Nolan (Charlie), Rachel (Sam), and Cameron (Patrick).

"The Following" by Dale Roberts

"The most formidable foe you will ever have to face...is you."
-Dale Roberts, The Following

This is the first book I've reviewed written by a male author, so I finally didn't read a mushy love story! I thought it was time to mix things up a bit. The Following was not suggested to me by anyone I know or anything like that. I discovered this book through Twitter. The author, Dale Roberts, followed me on Twitter one day, and I took a look at his profile. It said, "NYT, Bestselling Kindle author." WOW!! I'm not sure how he discovered my name, but I was honored to be followed by him. Naturally, I looked for his books on Amazon, and I picked The Following. It had been quite a while since I had read a thriller, so I was excited to read this book.

The main character, Tyson Palmer, was a young journalist. Of course, that gave me an instant connection to this man. There had been a house fire, possibly arson. Tyson wanted to investigate the scene to see if there was a story there, but he was not wanted there. He made his way to the ambulance where a man was wearing an oxygen mask. Questioning the man, Tyson discovered that there might be a hard news story behind the fire. The injured man claimed that there was a group that had been after him for quite some time, and they most likely started the fire. He described the group to be a self-help organization that suck people in and brainwash them into doing their own missions.

Tyson wanted to dig deeper to find a story there. Pulitzer, maybe? He decided to join the group to strictly research and get the story from the inside. His boss, his friends, and even his mother warned him otherwise. They insisted that he didn't know what groups like that were capable of. Tyson was confident that he would not be brainwashed.

So what's the story behind this self-help group? What happens to Tyson? Who started that fire?

Find out for yourself in Dale Robert's The Following.

Honestly, when I began this book, I didn't know how it was going to turn out. It kept me interested, no doubt, but that self-help group was creeping me out! I believe that was the intended effect, because it went with mood of the story. My thoughts of the group went back and forth. One moment it seemed as though they were the manipulating types as Tyson suspected, but at other times I wasn't sure what to think about them. Roberts had me guessing until the very last page. I loved reading this thriller!

This week for my journalism class, I am supposed to "build a case" based on my own opinion. I wanted to do something relative to the book to tie everything together. It needed to be something I could research, so my opinion on the book doesn't suffice. I decided to feed off of a quote in the book:

"If God is all powerful, can he make a rock so big he can't move it?"
-Dale Roberts, The Following

This was spoken in one of the training sessions with the self-help group in the story. I'm not assuming that this is Roberts' point of view. I understand he was writing in the point of view of the trainer. The following argument does not reflect the view of Dale Roberts or his novel. It is strictly my own opinions and research.

Being a Christian, I did not like this statement. I firmly believe that God IS "all powerful" as the quote says, but his power should not be questioned. Isaiah 26:4 states, "Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." God is described as a rock in this passage, an everlasting rock, at that. Nothing can be greater.

The trainer in the book only said this to make the participants believe that he/she was his/her own god. I believe this view is reflected in many aspects of the world today. Our country was built on Christian beliefs, but it is not practiced as it should be.

“It is about the greatness of God, not the significance of man. God made man small and the universe big to say something about himself.”
— John Piper

John Piper is the founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.

God did not make us small or powerless to make us feel insignificant or worthless. He created us this way to show how powerful He is. Everyone in the group believed those words from the trainer. They all fell for his taunting.

There will always be temptation in the world and people telling us that God isn't real. I will never believe that. I have faith in my Father. His love is what gets me through each day. I try to show His love in everything I do, including writing these blogs.

Everyone can appreciate sun-power.  The sun lights our days so we can see nature all around us.  (Even a blind person can feel the warmth of the sun.)
-Institution for Creation Research

http://www.icr.org/power-of-God/ 

 God's power can be seen EVERYWHERE! We just have to open our eyes! I love how it states that "even a blind person can feel" it! It's not the physical things we see. It's all about faith!

For more scientific proof of God's power, watch Louie Giglio speaks on some of the physical aspects of the universe that shows just how powerful God is in this video: (There are a total of five videos; this is the first). All of the videos can be accessed on YouTube.

"The MacKinnon Series" by J.A. Templeton

"I couldn't feel anything-except for the pain. Nothing could take away the pain."
-J.A. Templeton, The Deepest Cut

"Maybe there was such a thing as being scared to death..."
-J.A. Templeton, The Haunted

"She had haunted me for months now, and I was ready to put it behind me forever."
-J.A. Templeton, The Departed

I struck gold in the free books on Amazon over Christmas break. Not only did I find "Waking Up Married" by Mira Lyn Kelly, I also found "The Deepest Cut" by J.A. Templeton. When I read the sample, it was obvious that this book was targeted toward a young adult, or high school, audience. The plot was excellent, so I didn't care if it wasn't meant for my age group.

I can't imagine ever losing a parent, or any loved one close to me for that matter. I don't ever want to know what that feels like. Riley, along with her brother and father, lost her mother in a car accident recently. People, especially teenagers can be affected by this in many different ways. Some become seclusive, some become depressed, and others start seeing ghosts. Right?

Riley isn't exactly sure why she woke up in the hospital with the ability to see ghosts, but she has had to deal with it for almost a year now. She was sent to the psychiatrist, but what does that help? Thinking that the trauma of it all was just too much, the doctor suggested that they move. Naturally, they move to Scotland. Moving into an old inn next to an ancient castle didn't exactly solve the problem.

While exploring around the castle, a young ghost approached her. Never before had she interacted with a ghost her own age. She grew to really love his company, and finally she grew to love him completely. Too bad another ghost wanted her dead.

Laria would stop at nothing.

This isn't your average campfire ghost story. Templeton had me shaking under my sheets when I read every night. I went through all three books like wildfire. There are so many twists; I was always on my toes. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, Templeton would throw me for another loop. There was never a dull moment in these books! The emotions that Riley feels were so real, that I felt them, myself. Templeton's details and imagery will make you think that Laria is watching you, too.

There is also a novella by J.A. Templeton, The MacKinnon Curse, but I did not have the pleasure of reading it just yet. I decided I should probably venture to other books so I could write about them here.

Templeton's books are available on on the Kindle! The first book is free, while the other two were $2.99 each, or at least around that much. Find out why Laria wants to haunt and kill Riley.

This week I did not make my own version of the covers. The covers were all too similar, so I decided to just take pictures representing the series. The first photo shows Laria haunting Riley. She is ALWAYS there. The second is a close-up of Laria. The third represents a scene from the final book where Riley and her friends tamper with a Wigi board. Laria and an accomplice appears at the party. Again, I'm not the best at photoshop, but I tried!

Special thanks to Brandey for posing as Riley, Katy for posing as Laria, and Tabby and Dani for helping with the party scene!