12 things I have learned

1. I have learned many components of a sucessful blog, such as including lists and links
2. I have learned how to creat a donation button for a website
3. I have learned how to make a privacy policy
4. I have learned how to use affiliate programs and add them to my sight
5. I have learned how to put my articles in a database
6. I have learned how to publish an ebook
7. I have learned how to use HTML on my blogs and website
8. I have learned how to put my website on search engines
9. I have learned how to use Google AdSense
10. I have learned how to create a business plan
11. I have learned how to properly choose a correct keyword for my site
12. I have learned how to use webs.com and make a website!

Thanks

In this blog post, I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all of my constant readers.  It has been a pleasure reading and writing for you.  I truly enjoy knowing that there are other book lovers out there like myself.  I truly feel that books can make a whole world of difference when growing up.  I feel that it is because of books and the stories that they hold that makes me who I am today.  While listening to my mother read me stories, I became enchanted, which I believe is where I got my imagination.  With imagination, you become a more positive, optimistic person in the world and just have the need and want to do more.  This is why I think it is so important that you read to your children and continue to read yourself.  As always, if there is anything that you want me to read or review, or even both, please let me know.  I am very open to suggestions.  Also, feel free to write your opinions on my blog, even if you do not agree with what I had to say, I would still like to hear them.  I love listening to other peoples thoughts and you could possibly even change the thoughts that I once had.  As always, it has been a pleasure writing for you and please continue to be one of my favorite readers! ~Erica

Insurgent

To be honest, I have not yet finished Insurgent by Veronica Roth, but I am halfway done and since I rarely give away the ending anyways, I thought I would go ahead and review this book.  The book has been long awaited by Divergent fans and it has finally come.  I have heard many complaints about the lack of action in this book compared to Divergent.  To those people, I have one question.  Have you read past the second chapter?  If not, keep reading.  The book cannot start out completely action, it has give some sort of back round to the story and tie up loose ties or else the book would make no sense.  So if you are one of those people who put the book down, pick it back up, it gets much better.  With that, Insurgent takes you into a whole different setting compared to Divergent.  In Divergent there were so many rules and everyone watching Tris that she had little choice on most of her decisions.  In Insurgent, since Tris and Four escaped and are now considered the enemy, they have all the choices in the world.  Now they just have to worry that they are making the right one.  I also like how the book ties in a lot of their families past to the way that Tris and Four are now.  Many secrets of their family come alight and they are not happy.  The conclusion of this is that you should read the book.  I am currently loving it, so I think you will too!

Stargirl

In this day and age I find that more and more people are becoming individuals and are no longer feeling the need to conform.  This is great for society and I feel also increases the happiness of people because they are truly being themselves.  With this, you would think that people would become more accepting of one another, however I have noticed just the opposite.  It seems that everyday you see more and more stories of students and adults alike being bullied on the news.  This is just shocking to me because I see no reason to EVER make fun of someone because they are different.  With this theme going I believe that it is very important to read books promoting individualism and targeting bullying at the same time.  I believe that Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is a perfect example of this.  The book starts off with a boy named Leo who moves to a new school.  Being a nice and good looking kid, he makes friends very quickly and becomes popular.  While at this school he notices a girl named Susan who can be described as very different.  She often times dresses in different costumes ranging from a cowgirl to a flapper from the twenties.  She also dances in the rain and speaks of off the wall topics.  Leo's friends are always persuading him to make fun of Susan but he refuses to.  Instead he makes friends with her and realizes what can happen when you don't give into peer pressure and open your heart.  I think it is very important for young people to read books like this.  Maybe it could make them think just once before deciding to bully somebody. 

The Giver

Many of the books which we are required to read in school are not necessarily our favorites.  Yes, usually we enjoy some aspect of them and learn a valuable life lesson, but let's be honest, there is probably a book out there that we would rather be reading.  I was required to read The Giver by Lois Lowry when I was in high school and I'm so glad that they made me.  Not only does this book give a lesson to be learned, but it completely engrosses you into the plot.  The book is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a community where you are given roles that you must do for the rest of your life when you are twelve.  Jonas soon turns twelve and is told that he will work for the giver which is one of the best jobs that one can get.  He is soon shocked when he starts his job because of the horrible things they want him to do.  He quickly learns how corrupt the society is that he lives in and he must decide what to do about it.  Even though this book is not a recent release, I have noticed a lot of book that have just came out have a very similar theme to them.  For instance, Divergent and Delirium both have a corrupt society where one must choose the role they are to live in.  I am all for these types of books because they really do a great job at keeping the reader guessing.  The Giver is a type of book that everyone needs to read! 

Deception

Deception by Lee Nichols is book one in the Haunting Emma Series.  The starts of with a teenager named Emma who lives with both of her parents.  Her parents tell her that they need to leave for a short business trip so she is left at the house alone.  The business trips turns out not to be so short when they do not arrive home and Emma cannot get ahold of them.  Soon her older brother's best friend Bennett comes to get her and tells her that he has everything under control and that she needs to go pack.  He tells her that he is taking her back with him to Maine and that she will be going to school there.  When Emma arrives in Maine, she finds that she will be staying at a mansion with lots of household help to meet her every needs.  Did I mention that the help were ghosts?  Emma is floored when she discovers this and Bennett tells her that she has most likely been seeing ghosts all along but has only now realized it.  She finds that all of the ghosts are very kind and that she likes them all quite a bit.  She also finds that she is a ghost keep with power of the ghosts if she pleases and so are her parents.  Putting two and two together, she thinks her parents have been taken by evil ghosts.  Bennett assures her that they are fine, however, they had to leave because many ghosts were trying to find there way to her.  Soon after Bennett tell her this, strange things start happening to her at school.  Will Emma be able to save herself and her family?  You know the drill, you will have to read this book to find out.  It is my favorite book about ghosts so far and I think you will really enjoy it too!

The Water Mirror

Like many fantasy books, The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer does not disappoint.  The story is told through the perspective of a young girl named Merle living in Italy.  This is not normal Italy however, because magic is a part of citizen's everyday life, whether or not they are allowed to use it.  She is an orphan but is taken to work for a magic mirror maker who is very kind to her.  She does not mention while there that she has a magic mirror of her own.  Ever since Merle was born, she has had a magic water mirror that she can reach her whole arm into without getting wet.  Sometimes she can even feel someone holding her hand.  While working at the shop, she finds that the magic mirror maker has a rival who is a magic cloth weaver.  Merle and the other workers decide to do a prank on the magic cloth weaver.  It is while doing this prank that Merle meets Serafin, who will soon be her right-hand man for all their adventures.  Soon Italy is taken over by the Egyptian empire and Merle finds that none of them are safe, especially those who possess magic.  Together, Serafin and Merle flee together but are unable to get far because of the many soldiers patrolling the streets riding on stone lions.  Will Merle and Serafin reach safety?  You will have to read it to find out.  The Water Mirror is the first of a trilogy and my favorite.  It gives you the right amount of action and mystery.  I recommend this book to fantasy lovers!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Have you read Twilight?  Who am I kidding, of course you have!  Well if you liked Twilight then you will like The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer as well.  The reason that I love this book so much is that we have spent this whole Twilight series listening to the thoughts of the good guys.  We never once wondered what the bad guys were thinking, how they got that way, or if they were even bad after all.  The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner takes you into the perspective of Bree, one of the new born vampires from the third Twilight novel: Eclipse.  It shows how Bree woke up to find her life totally changed.  Instead of being the good girl that she once was, she finds herself wanting to bit people and craving their blood.  Sounds more like a victim than a villain doesn't it?  Bree was also fooled the whole time they were training to fight the Cullens being told that they were going to kill them and they would have to be the first to fight if they want to live.  Bree soon found out that they weren't being honest with her and refused to fight the Cullens.  If you have read Eclipse, then you already know how this ends for Bree, but the story of how she got there is excellent.  It is very short, so you can read it in one day but you will wish it was longer for you will enjoy every minute of it!

Here, There Be Dragons

Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen is book one of the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series.  If you're not into fantasy and dragons, then you will not like this book, however, if it is adventure that you crave, then you will love Here, There Be Dragons.  The book starts off in the perspective of three scholars who are all strangers.  They soon meet when their mentor dies and after that weird things start happening.  They find themselves being chased by people that they have never met and are starting to live in fear.  They soon meet a man named Bert who promises to help them and entrusts John, one of the scholars, with a magical book called the Imaginarium Geographic.  They soon find that this book gives them direction to all the fictional places, which turn out to be not so fiction, in the imaginary world.  Mordred, the villain in this series, wants the book badly for with it he can bring about his evil to all places.  It is imperative that the scholars destroy the book so that he cannot do harm.  On the way to destroy the book at the Keep of Time, they lose the book and find out that it is in the hands of Mordred.  Can they get the book back?  Read this book and find out!  I think that this book is a very good read, but it can get a bit confusing with all the different characters.  I find that some of these characters are also not needed so it would have been best for the authors to narrow them down a bit.  Nonetheless, this a good book, so go read it!

Awesome Website

Since my last post was about an awesome blog, I thought that I would also mention an awesome website as well.  This website not only reviews books, but analyzes books, reviews products, and solves problems as well.  As of now it has an article showing the proper way to write a book review.  That's great because that is what all of these posts are about, book reviews!  So now instead of just reading my posts, you can comment on them and give your own opinion!  Also on this website, are several analysis of some of the most popular books out there such as The Hunger Games and Twilight.  These articles talk about what makes the fans fall madly in love with these books and some of the underlying themes that you maybe have not thought about.  There is also a product review of the Kindle on the website.  It not only explains the features and benefits of the Kindle, but tell you how to use it for the new Kindle users out there.  Lastly, the website solves a problem that many might have, how to enjoy reading again.  It will tell you why you may be hating reading so much and how to get back to the point, or getting there for the first time of loving books again.  The best part of this website is that it is written by (yes I'll admit it) me!  So if there are any other articles or reviews that you would like to see written, let me know and visit my website!

GoodReads

I would like to take some time today to discuss another awesome blog that discusses Young Adult books and why I like it so much.  Goodreads has a huge library of all sorts of different books that are out there.  Like myself, they give a brief summary of the book and discuss the pros and cons.  Goodreads, however, gives the readers of the blog option to mark the book as either read or not read and the opportunity to rate the book.  This is awesome because when somebody goes to their blog to search for a book, when you type the book in, it will give you an average rating.  This way you know whether majority of people enjoyed the book or if it was not a fan favorite.  I also like the tracking aspect of the books that you have read.  I, myself have accidentally bought a book that I have read in the past.  Once started reading it, I find myself thinking that it sounds very familiar.  By keeping track of the books that you have read on this blog, you no longer have the worries of accidentally re-reading something when you could be exploring new books.  Like my blog, there is a section for comments under the books.  I do find them a bit overwhelming though, because it seems that so many people use this blog and they all leave comments.  I find that some of the comments are a bit confusing and not truly relating to what the blog post was about.  Nonetheless, I think that Goodreads is a great blog and truly helps you pick out your next great read!

Echoes

Echoes by Melinda Metz does not disappoint.  Previously known as the first three books in the fingerprints series, Metz has put these three books together to make the perfect novel.  The novel is about a girl named Rae who thinks she is going crazy when she starts hearing other peoples thoughts.  She was previously a very popular girl, but when she has a meltdown at school, everyone begins to think of her in a different way.  Rae spends some time at a mental hospital where they think they have gotten everything under control.  She goes back to school only to learn that everything is not under control.  She soon starts hearing voices again, only she keeps it to herself in fear that she will be put back into the hospital.  Based on trial and error, she finds that the thoughts that she is hearing are the thoughts that she is getting off of finger prints.  When she touches someones finger print, she finds herself listening to the very thing that they were thinking when they left the mark.  Soon after this discovery, she almost dies in the bathroom at her therapist from a small bomb.  Other incidents like this are soon happening and she comes to the conclusion that someone is trying to kill her.  She starts to use her fingerprint skill to her advantage to find out who wants her dead.  The mystery book is awesome and deserves everyone's read!  Melinda Metz is one of my favorite authors and writes many other great books such a Crave.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reason Why by Jay Asher is a great read.  It is very emotional, however it gives you great insight to what goes on in a teenagers mind and how a couple of kind words can make all the difference in someone's life.  The story starts off with a boy named Clay who is out mailing a mysterious package.  He then goes on to tell us about a girl who went to his school named Jenny.  Clay had always had a crush on Jenny, however she was very shy so he never had a chance to get close with her.  Two weeks prior, Jenny had killed herself suddenly with no one suspecting it.  It was always a mystery to Clay why she had done that until he got a tape in the mail that was from her.  In this tape, she lists the thirteen reasons why, also the thirteen people, which forced her to kill herself.  When Clay finds this out, he becomes very emotional and very nervous to what the tape says about him, for he feels that he never did anything to Jenny except for being her friend.  This book takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and at the same time teaches you how to be a friend to others and how to change someone's life.  Despite how serious this book is, it is a good one and worth the read.  It is very hard to put down and will not disappoint you, just remember to bring the tissues.

Bliss

Bliss by Lauren Myracle is a great read.  It kept me captivated throughout the whole book and I was unable to predict anything that happened.  The story is told through the perspective of Bliss Inthemorningdew.  Her name sounds so weird because she was raised by her hippie parents but has now gone on to live with her grandmother.  She is an incoming freshman and not only is it her first time at high school, but her first time at school in general.  Despite this, she is actually very smart because she read a lot when she was with her parents.  What makes her such a good character is that she is completely heartfelt and kind to everyone since she didn't have to go through the dreaded days of cliques and popularity.  When she gets to school, she immediately makes friends with a girl who is considered very unpopular and weird by the name of Sandy.  Bliss understands that she needs a friend and becomes close with her.  At the same time Bliss also makes friends with the most popular girl in school, Sarah, who also turns out to be very kind.  Sandy immediately becomes very jealous and starts telling Bliss of untrue, awful things about Sarah.  Sensing Sandy's jealous behavior, Bliss just continues to be friends with both of them.  This is where things get a bit scary.  Sandy starts to become dangerous and who knows what she is going to do.  Mix Sandy's crazy behavior with some paranormal activity at the school and this book becomes a page-turner.  It reminded me of the movie thriller Roommates (which came out far after this book).  I would urge all of you to go read this book.  It is very good and keeps you captivated the whole way through.

Shadow

Shadow by Jenny Moss I felt had great potential, but it failed to live up to it.  The book starts off strong with the main character Shadow.  Shadow, like her name, is actually the queen's shadow.  She has to follow her everywhere and do everything that she says despite how mean the queen is to her.  Shadow keeps a journal of her life and all the things that the queen says to her with infuriates the queen since she cannot read what it says.  The queen is terrified of the prophecy that follows her, saying that she will die before her 16th birthday.  With her birthday fast approaching, it is Shadows job to look after her, even if it means sacrificing her own life.  The queen's death does indeed happen, however, a young, handsome knight by the name of Sir Kenway helps Shadow escape.  Together they make their way from the castle for Shadow is wanted for the queen's death even though she did not do it.  Throughout their journey it becomes apparent that there is a spark between them and that they could be more than friends.  She continues to write about this in her journal as well.  They both know that this could never happen though, because she is a shadow and he is a knight.  During their journey, they find a man who knows all about Shadow's past and how she became the shadow of the queen.  What she finds is shocking.  I won't tell you because it is the best part of the book. 

I felt that the book started off really strong with an excellent plot with the death of the queen and all, but the journey portion went very slow.  I felt like we were told a lot of pointless information along the way that had nothing to do with the story.  I soon learned after reading this book that it was the authors first novel.  I think she did a good job for it being her first, and I would be willing to give her other books a try if she ever comes out with anymore.

To get a journal just like Shaddow's, visit my cafepress store where you will see a similar journal as well as other accessories. 

Un Lun Dun

Un Lun Dun is a original and very entertaining books for young adults and kids alike.  This book, written by China Mieville, is told through the perspective of a small girl living in London.  She has always been though of as weird for her whole life because she has believed in supernatural things.  Supernatural takes on a whole new meaning when she is transported into a whole new world called Un Lun Dun, later she finds that it is actually UnLondon.  While she is here she finds mystical creatures, danger, excitement, and new friends.  She has a great mission at hand to save the world of UnLondon.  Many would wonder why this world would matter to her.  Firstly, she cannot get back to her old world without saving this one.  When she tries to return home, she learns that her parents have completely forgotten about her and will not remember her until she saves UnLondon.  Also she finds out that if she does not save UnLondon in enough time then the chaos that is there will soon trickle into London.  She has no choice but to try to save both worlds but has no idea who to trust along the way for many of her "friends" have many different motives.  I would recommend this book to anyone with an imagination or who have dreamed of traveling to new lands.  I feel that the book can get overly descriptive with names and settings at some points, but if you can over look all of that then you are in for a great read!

Radiance

Radiance by Alyson Noel is a spin off series from the Everlasting series.  The book is the first in the series and is told through the perspective of Riley, Ever's sister.  Riley died at a very young age in a car accident with her parents and has recently decided to move on from her sisters life and go into the after-life.  This book talks about her life after she has decided to move on.  When she reaches the after-life, she finds that it is very similar to the life that she had already been living.  She even has to go to school.  She soon finds that there is more to this school though.  She is told that it is her mission to visit other ghosts who are still haunting their former life and convince them to move on.  Her partner is not very friendly and doesn't think that she will do a good job.  She does great on her first mission, but her second proves to be much harder.  I will let you read the book to find out what happens next.  This book is great for the readers who are big fans of Ever's series.  If you have not read the previous books, then you will probably not find these books very entertaining.  It is not a ground breaking book by any means, but it is a nice, light read for the summer.

Where She Went

If you have read my previous blog posts, then you have read my recommendation of If I Stay.  If you haven't read it yet, stop reading now!  This book, Where She Went by Gayle Forman, is the sequel and will contain spoilers of the first.  In the book Where She Went, it is told through the perspective of the boyfriend.  When they break up he is left lonely and alone.  He soon finds himself to be a big time rock star with girls being thrown at him right and left but he still cannot get her out of his mind.  He soon starts dating a Hollywood star who is a bit of a brat but stays with her nonetheless.  While he is in New York he sees a big billboard sign of a Cello concert coming into town and his ex-girlfriends face is plastered on it.  He then decides that he is going to go to that concert to see her and just say hello.  When he goes back stage to see her all of his emotions come rushing back.  He asks her out to eat and they end up spend the whole night together until the morning.  It is then up to them to decide if they can put the past aside and make this relationship work or if too much has happen to salvage what they once had.  This book is very emotional and make you think of all the obstacles that come with and that love is never easy.  I would recommend this book to anyone who has read If I Stay.  If you have not read If I Stay yet, then go read it and then read Where She Went.  Believe me, these books are great and worth it!

Airborn

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel is an awesome read!  It is told from the perspective of Matt Cruse who dreams of being an airship pilot.  Until then, he is working with crew and watching from the crows nest.  It is while working there that he sees a hot air balloon in the sky.  He notifies the captain who then tell Matt to board the hot air balloon to check for life.  He is shocked when he finds an old man laying unconscious on the floor.  Once the man is back on the airship, he wakes up and starts rambling about imaginary creatures in the sky.  Everyone dismisses him as being crazy, however Matt is intrigued.  The man soon dies without being able to tell Matt what he saw out there for certain.  The action does not stop there though.  Once the airship lands, it is taken over by pirates who are killing and willing to kill more.  Matt manages to escape to look for help.  He finds that another girl who was a passenger also managed to escape and together they go into the jungle in hopes of finding help.  When they get into the jungle they stumble upon many creatures that they have never known existed, some of them resembling what the old man described.  Now they are not only in danger of pirates but they are also in danger of these wild animals.  This is book one of the Matt Cruse series and is excellent.  Kenneth Oppel does a great job of being descriptive without boring the readers.  I would recommend anyone to read this book.

If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is wonderful, tear-jerking novel.  It starts off by showing a girl named Mia who lives an incredibly happy life with both of her parents and her brother.  Mia, like her parents, is very gifted musically, playing the Cello.  Unlike many sibling relationships, she actually gets along with her brother.  Mia also has a wonderful boyfriend in her life that cares for her very much.  So as you can tell, Mia has it all going for her, until one dreadful day.  It was the middle of winter and Mia and her family decided to drive the neighboring town to visit her grandparents.  It is on the way there that they get into a tragic car accident that kills both of her parents instantly and leaves both her and her brother clinging on to life.

They are immediately taken to the hospital where Mia has an out of body experience and can see and hear those around her even though she is unconscious.  Her boyfriend soon comes and expresses how much he loves her and needs her to stay.  It is around this time that she finds out from her grandparents that her brother didn't make it.  It is then up to Mia to decide if she wants to stay, fight, and live or give up.

There will not be a dry chapter when reading this book, so either read it at home, or wear water-proof mascara for sure, because you will be crying the whole time.  With that said, even though it is sad, it is worth the read!

The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is an amazing read!  It is the first book of the Chaos Walking Trilogy and there is nothing out there like it.  Beware: once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down.  The book starts out with a boy named Todd who lives in a fictional place.  The small town that he lives in is called Prentisstown.  Todd is told the history of this town at a young age.  He is told that all the women died from a disease and all that is left is men.  As a result from this disease, the men can hear each other's thoughts, as well as the wild life around them.  The thoughts they can hear from one another is called noise.  Todd soon learns that many of these stories are fictional and that his adoptive parents are planning their escape from the town.  The secret soon comes out and Todd is in danger for being associated with them.  He finds a bag that has he deceased mother's diary in it and runs out of town.  On his journey to safety, Todd discovers a spot where he can no longer hear the thoughts of those around him.  He finds a girl standing there who is the cause of the silence.  He is shocked to find her because all women are supposed to be dead, but he is more shocked by the fact that he can't hear her noise.  Together they take off, heading to safety, with many of their enemies trailing right behind them.  Do they make it?  You will have to read it to find out.  Believe me, it's worth it.