I'll be posting again soon-- but for now, bye! (Don't forget to check out my last post--my bookshelf tour! You'll see it by just scrolling down.)
-Olivia
Happy Easter everyone! I hope you have a great day celebrating Jesus Christ with your friends and family! And hopefully the Easter Bunny visited you. I'll be posting again soon-- but for now, bye! (Don't forget to check out my last post--my bookshelf tour! You'll see it by just scrolling down.) -Olivia
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Hello everyone! I'm very excited, because today I get to do what I've been promising myself (and I might have promised you guys, who knows) I would do for ages.....A BOOKSHELF TOUR! Yep, there's my bookshelf. Sort of. Since I wrote the beginning of this post, I got more books and began expanding upward...so the top shelf is now about a quarter of the way full! But whatever. The first shelf is what I call "The Girly Book" shelf because it's the sort of books only girls really want to read. Also, in real life all the book spines are very vibrant yellows, pinks, blues, and greens. It also includes my dance recital books, yearbooks, and on the far right, nonfiction. (There's not much of it.) My favorite series on this shelf would have to be Main Street, Confectionately Yours, Friends for Keeps, and Allie Finkle. Oh yeah, this shelf also has all my American Girl books! (Sort of. Most of the story ones are on a bookshelf upstairs, but all my "guides" are down on the shelf.) This one is my "Favorite Series" shelf. AND RIGHTLY SO! It has Harry Potter (if you've read my blog, you understand what that means to me), Land of Stories, Mysterious Benedict Society, and the Percy Jackson books. (And one of the Kane Chronicles.) I love them all SO MUCH! I think they're all mentioned a post you can click here to read. It's kind of funny- my favorite genre is realistic fiction, but most of my favorite series' are fantasy. This is also a series' shelf and I love them all, even if they didn't quite get to the favorite series shelf. First we have the Warriors series, which I was obsessed with in 4th grade. I was in a Warriors club and everything. I kind of got tired of those, but I still have them because they are still amazing. Then there's The Series of Unfortunate Events, which everyone knows is FANTABULOUS!!!! Don't let the titles stop you from reading them. Then we go on into the Dear Americas, which I love because I love historical fiction and reading any type of book set as a diary. Next is Babysitter's Club (amazing), Guardians of Ga'Hoole (liked but forgot what happened), and a few other series that are just good. :-) Or amazing. Same thing. Next is a shelf that's a conglomeration of all types of books! We have here some overflow series, single books, a tiny historical fiction section, and yeah. Let's start with the series. There's the Tales from Alcatraz series, which I love, especially since I've been there. There's also Lunch Lady, a few Clive Cussler children books, and then some random single books. As for a few historical fictions, I have Bud, Not Buddy, George Washington's Spy, The Lions of Little Rock, and Fever. _Finally, the last shelf! When I first redid my bookshelf about six months ago, I wanted to keep the top shelf free for decoration. Unfortunately, the books just kept coming and are currently invading it. Right now it has a clock made for me by my friend Emma, a little flower, a clay owl, and then just some random books, including Mother-Daughter Book Camp by Heather Vogel Frederick! I won a giveaway she had on her blog for an ARC of it, and let me tell you, it's amazing. That's the end of my bookshelf tour! It sounds weird, but my bookshelf is a key point in blogging for me. Obviously it provides me with books to keep me happy, but it also is the background for most of the pictures of myself I take for Writer's Digest. So, what does your bookshelf look like? Do you have any of these books? Tell me in the comments! Until next time...
-Olivia Hello all blog readers! Today is a glorious day- the first day of spring was yesterday, so that means winter is gone! Welcome flowers, sunshine, playing outside, and eating popsicles! Also, now we're way closer to summer. And vacation. Anyway, spring really has nothing to do with today's post, which is going to be comparing the popular Disney movie Frozen with the book! Before you turn away in disgust and say, "But Olivia, the book is the same thing as the movie, isn't it? They use the same dialogue and everything, don't they?" HEAR ME OUT! While innocently patrolling the shelves of the library one day, I innocently stumbled along a book called A Frozen Heart, by Elizabeth Rudnick. And it's the story of Frozen- except it includes the thoughts of Anna and (here's the plus) HANS! I instantly grabbed it off the shelf and finished it right away because it was like the movie, except a book. THE MOVIE
THE BOOK
Now that I think about it, he's really not that cute. MOVING ON.....
I KNOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE SAD BUT IT'S JUST SO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I'm done with that now! This was a fun post to write, and I hope you read this book! Comment down below what you thought of the movie Frozen, and if you are going to read the book! See you!
-Olivia Hi everyone! Despite that it's currently cloudy and rainy outside, it's still March! Which means that spring is just around the corner! That has nothing to do with today's post, but I'm just so excited for SPRING! Where I live, we barely had a winter- the weather blended right in with fall and there wasn't any snow or anything. It's sad when there's no snow. So I'm welcoming spring and the change of weather and the flowers and the baby animals and the sunshine in with open arms! Okay, moving on to the post. SO. I've been getting suggestions (like from that survey on this post) and from one of my friends that I really need to be doing more writing! After all, this blog is called Writer's Digest. I've been making some attempts. For instance, the post last month where I gave a prompt and shared my writing? (Sadly no one commented-you guys asked for it! But still. I tried.) Anyway, to work on that not-writing-enough thing, today's post is writing-themed! We're going to do a writing exercise that I'm sure you've heard of or done before or maybe it's new! It's going to be interactive, meaning I'm doing it and my suggestion is to do it as you read. The first step is to go stand in front of your bookshelf or wherever you keep your books. Close your eyes and pick a random one. I'll do the steps along with you. (And I won't cheat, promise!) Okay, I got Needle and Thread by Ann M. Martin. The next step is to open it to any random page- except for this one, we'll do page 123 because it sounds cool. Do that now. Use the first sentence on that page (or if you have to go back to 122 for part of it, that's okay). ***If you really don't like the sentence, then use this alternative page number: 93.*** Here's the first sentence on mine. "I promise that tonight we'll both sit at the kitchen table to do our homework" (Martin 123). And then you can take the story wherever you want! Make up new characters, a new setting, basically just use the sentence from the book as a kickstart. Now make the story your own! I really hope you guys will share your stories in the comments- I will probably put mine down there if I get it done in time and you guys would like to read it. No one's judging it! It's just that this sort of post is really boring if no one actually writes one... :-) Good luck with your stories!
-Olivia Hello there! I'm very happy today, because although by the time you're reading this who knows if I'll be on break still, right now I am! So yay! I hope you have a spring break too. :-) Anyway, today's post is going to be a bunch of quick short tiny reviews of books that were really good (and most of them are in a series) but I just never had the time to write a full out review for them. This way you can still know about them and read them. Lots are ones I enjoyed when I was younger, but are still great for teenagers. Those are the books I'll be rapid-fire reviewing today! Let's begin. THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK BY KRISTEN LEVINE This is a 291-page historical fiction book set in the late 1950s, when segregation between whites and African Americans is tearing apart communities. Marlee, the main character, is so shy that she almost never speaks except to her family, but she's practically a genius at math. When she makes a new friend at school, Liz, she thinks her friendless life could finally be turning over a new leaf. Little does she know that Liz is a light-skinned African American passing for a white so she can get a good education. Both of the girls are order to stay away from each other-but friendship doesn't work that way. I recommend this book because it's interesting to learn about the time period, well written, and you come to love the characters. COUNTING BY 7s BY HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN Counting By 7s is a great 378-page realistic fiction book about a girl named Willow Chance. She's had more tragedy in her life than I'm sure most adults have. She was adopted as a baby, which meant her birth parents either died or couldn't take care of her. Then her adoptive parents are in a car crash and both die. Willow doesn't want to be sent anywhere, and soon she and her new friend Mai (as well as Mai's brother and mother) are caught up in a whirlwind of lies. Desperate to help, Mai's mom Pattie pretends that Willow is related to their family and can live with them. Everything is turning upside down- but can they pull through? THE YEAR OF THE RAT BY GRACE LIN This 182-page book is the sequel to The Year of the Dog and comes before Dumpling Days. In this trio of amazing books, the author Grace Lin uses her stories and experience as a Chinese-American (or Taiwanese-American) girl growing up in New York. It goes through all of Grace's (and Pacy's, which is her Chinese name) experiences with school, friends, and in Dumpling Days, her trip to Taiwan with her family. I recommend this book because it's relatable, realistic, filled with culture, and you never want it to end! MY LAST BEST FRIEND, BY JULIE BOWE My Last Best Friend, a 152-page books that is also a part of a series along with 4 other books, is also amazing realistic fiction. The series paints the life of Ida May, a fourth grader whose best friend has moved away. She meets a new friend, but is scared to get close in case something happens again. Throughout the rest of the books, Ida makes unexpected new friends-and frenemies-and has fun along the way. This is a refreshing read! ALLIE FINKLE'S RULES FOR GIRLS: MOVING DAY, BY MEG CABOT This series has been a friend of mine for a long time. There's a lot of books in it and they all tell of the story of Allie Finkle, who keeps a journal full of rules she's written about life. In the first book, she finds out she's moving- to a creepy, big, haunted-looking house that her parents are going to fix up! At first the move seems terrible, but then Allie meets new friends and things look up. The rest of the books tell about all her dramatic, cat-filled, and funny adventures. I recommend this whole series because it's hilarious, sweet, and altogether awesome! MAIN STREET: WELCOME TO CAMDEN FALLS, BY ANN M. MARTIN This is and always will be one of the series I cherish most! I make an attempt to reread it whenever possible, because it's just so great. It's about two sisters, Flora and Ruby, whose parents have died in a car accident. They go to live with their grandmother, Min, in a tiny little town far from their old house, friends, and life. But with all the friends and fun they make and have throughout the series, soon Camden Falls begins to feel like home. I recommend this because it's such a heartwarming and satisfying series! TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE, BY JESSICA DAY GEORGE This is the story of Cecelia, known as Celie, a princess who lives in the magical Castle Glower. The Castle changes and moves rooms magically- on Tuesdays. There are three other books in the series, all of which are equally amazing! In each of them Celie and her siblings (Bran, Rolf, and Lilah) as well as their friends (Pogue and Lulath) face a different obstacle that threatens either their lives or the Castle's. These books are gripping and all over fabulous. MY LIFE IN PINK AND GREEN, BY LISA GREENWALD Once again, this book is part of series, but here I'm just going to focus on the first one. Meet Lucy, who loves makeup and beauty products and is always helping out with her family's pharmacy. But the pharmacy is struggling- business isn't like it was when it first opened and her family is behind on the payments. On the side, Lucy does makeup for girls going to parties or dances to try to make money. One day Lucy's best friend, Sunny, drags her to a meeting of Earth Club and Lucy realizes what she can do. She starts planning out a green spa by the pharmacy- an income and a business-bringer. But will anyone listen to her? Okay! That took a while, even though the reviews were supposed to be rapid. :-) So, hope you enjoyed and I will see you all next time! Please comment about these books-have you read them? Did you like them? Do you want to read them now?
-Olivia |
welcome!Hey! I'm Olivia. I'm glad you stopped by Writer's Digest! I post every Monday and would love to see you in the comments. categories
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recommendations~The Matched Trilogy, by Ally Condie |