PrincessReviews

Sparkle's Song

2012-01-27T03:05:00.000-05:00

Title:
Sparkle's Song

Author:
Samantha Hale

Illustrations:
Mariana Ruiz Johnson

Hbk & PbK
26x26.5

Pages:
32

Publication Date:
Feb 2012

RRP:
£11.99

About the Author: (Press Release Packet)

American author, Samantha Hale, is
a film maker, who directed ‘Map
the Music’ about the power music
has in everyday life.

Summary: (Press Release Packet)

Sparkle’s life feels empty without music, so
when she hears music coming from the
forest she cannot help but follow it.

Sparkle is sent to live with her Aunt Mildred in the middle
of nowhere. Sparkle’s radio is banned from the house.
One day whilst playing outside Sparkle hears beautiful
music coming from the forest. She goes in search of it but
soon finds herself lost amongst the trees.
She meets a songbird and a group of talking instruments,
where she learns why her aunt has banned music.
She returns home and persuades her Aunt to play the
piano with her.

I'd Recommend to...
Parents to read as a bedtime story

My Rating:
4/5

My Thoughts:
Sparkle is sent to live with her Aunt when her parents die. Her aunt doesn't want to hear any music because it reminds her of Sparkle's mother. Instruments in the woods start to play music. Sparkle hears and follows them. They play together and become friends. Sparkle tells her Aunt about them and they go to play together.
This is a cute children's book that could quickly become a famous nighttime story book. It's a cute story and I love how much Sparkle loves music and how the trees are dancing.

Night

2012-01-26T12:56:00.002-05:00

"How could it be possible for them to burn people, children, and for the world to keep silent?" (Wiesel 41). This quote best explains Wiesel's main theme, the theme being that we live in a very cruel, harsh world. Seeing the children being thrown into the flames was Elie's first traumatic sighting. It was the first horrific thing that started his realization of how crude the world can be. Later, he sees people being hanged, even a little boy-child. People get sick. People get badly beaten and whipped - including him - and people die. Starvation is a big issue since the Jews are barely getting enough food to live. Elie lives with this for 11 months in concentration camps. 11 months is almost a year. No one comes to help or save them in all that time. The world can be very mean, unfair, and horrific at times.

Elie starts off the books as a very religious Jew, extremely devoted to God. He even wants to study and learn the Cabbala. When he first arrives at the concentration camp, he can't believe his eyes. In that first night at Birkenau, he starts to loose his faith. "Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust" (Wiesel 43). He had witnessed traumatizing events, such as the burning of babies and children. Officers shot old men, along with anyone else they wanted/were told to. Strong Jewish men were forced to put people - living people - in a crematory, even their fathers, like Bela Katz had. At Buna, things just got worse. People were hanged and beaten. They barely got enough food to live. People were always dying. Elie's faith in God continued to shrink and disappear. With the terrible things he was seeing, who could blame him?

It is possible for one person, just one person, of integrity to make a difference. That difference can sometimes be a difference of life or death. If someone sincere, that has good morals and is honest, they can pass on that sincerity to someone else, who will also pass it on. Like one drop of water into the ocean can create a ripple, where that ripple them becomes a wave, if one person is sincere, they can soon create a tidal wave of sincere people. Sincere people don't kill people, so it would save lives. Honesty would also spread, like a wildfire. The truth would be out so people can take action to save others. People of integrity can make a difference and all change starts with a person.

Next To Nothing

2012-01-25T14:23:00.000-05:00

When I first heard Next to Nothing, I immediately thought of Fall Out Boy. When I got home, I YouTubed Fall Out Boy to make sure I wasn't thinking of another band. I wasn't. Next to Nothing sounds really similar to Fall Out Boy, so if you like Fall Out Boy or their type of music, you should definitely check out Next to Nothing!! Also, if you're a fan of the All American Rejects, you might want to check them out. Actually, you should check them out even if you hate Fall Out Boy or the All American Rejects or if you hate music in general because I'm pretty sure there is no way you can hate Next to Nothing!!
I listened to them once and now I can't stop! You'll be hooked soon!
Next to Nothing is a band from Smithsburg, MD, and so far the only CD they have out is their demo, and you need to know them or go to a show to buy it. It's $2. But I'm sure if you go to their facebook and ask for one and send them the $2 (maybe a bit more for S&H) they'll gladly send you one!!
Their next show is tomorrow (January 26, 2012) at the Smithburg Fire Hall at 6PM along with several other bands! If you live anywhere near there, you should go!!
Check out their facebook by clicking on this link!

2012-01-24T05:27:00.001-05:00

Nightlight: A Parody

by The Harvard Lampoon

Summary (from Goodreads)

About three things I am absolutely certain.

First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him--which I assumed was wildly out of his control--that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

Pale and klutzy, Belle Goose arrives in Switchblade, Oregon, looking for adventuree, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strang events--Edwart leaves his Tater Tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!--Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convine Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, escecially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

My Rating: 4.8/5

My Review

Nightlight was seriously funny, there’s no doubt about it. Just so you didn’t get the message from its cover, Nightlight is sort of a parody of the Twilight saga – in book form. What’s great about it is that it wasn’t a word for another funny word book. It’s funny in its own unique and original way, but you can still see a hint of Twilight in its core.

The only problem Nightlight has with their readers is the readers themselves. I’m not so sure which audience the book is trying to appeal to. I mean, Twilight fans definitely wouldn’t spend their money on something that’s insulting the book they love. Twilight haters couldn’t possibly bear with another book that is somehow related to Twilight. All that’s left is the older readers and believe me, most of them did not show the book mercy at all on Goodreads.

Personally, I think it was awesome… and random. It doesn’t depend on juvenile or overused jokes to keep the book alive and hilarious.

Mickey Mouse Hair Clip and Pendant

2012-01-23T08:29:00.000-05:00

You can buy this at http://www.etsy.com/listing/51081317/pendant-and-hair-clip-bowtique-quality

This is a set which includes the hair burette and pendant. On a blue background, on both, is the classic, world-known figure of Mickey Mouse’s head, and Minnie Mouse’s head is right alongside it. They are so cute! My grandmother that lives in Florida used to work at Disney, so for Christmas and/or our birthdays, she would send cutesy things like these to us. It reminds me of good times and they are adorable enough to wear anywhere without being ashamed or thinking people might take you as someone who is overly obsessed with Disney. This set would make the perfect gift for anyone (well, mostly girls!) who loves Disney or has that inner child just waiting for a chance to break free, even for one last time.

Kyle Adams Interview

2012-01-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

I got the chance to interview YouTube sensation, Kyle Adams! Here's the interview! I hope you like it and don't forget to check out his YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter!

PrincessReviews's Tasha Nicole, Kyle Adams
1.Have you always wanted to be a singer?
Yes, for as long as i can remember i have wanted to be a singer, except when i was really little i wanted to be the president lol
2.Who is your role model?
My role model would probably be my mom just because she has always shown me to never give up and that i can do anything.
3.If you could duet with any famous person, who would it be and why?
I would say Jo Dee Messina because i think she is great .. and i would sound good with her.
4.Do you prefer classic blue jeans or some funky color jeans?
I like my blue jeans with some style not just plain farmer blue jeans lol but you wont catch me out in lime green jeans or anything...
5.Where are you from?
Im from Hillsboro, Missouri its a small town of about 2,000 people outside of St. Louis
6.Do you just do covers or do you have some original songs?
No i write a lot of song i have 2 originals up right now on YouTube more to come(:
7.If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
If i could perform any where in the world i would say the Grand Ole Opry because that is the country super stage.
8.How old are you?
I am 18 turned 18 Nov. 26th
9.What's your favorite food?
My favorite food is mexican food.. i LOVE mexican food lol
10. Thanks! Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Thank you all for supporting me it means a lolt to me i love you all and dont forget to follow me @TheKyleAdamsHD (: Thank you

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen Review

2012-01-20T13:22:00.005-05:00

My husband took me out to dinner for my birthday without the kids. Someone at his job recommended it so we thought we would try it out. We drove about an hour plus to get there. We live south of Atlanta and all 3 restaurants in our area are north of Atlanta: Norcross, Marietta and Alpharetta. We went to the one in Norcross.

It was right off of I-85 and was easy to find. Great!

The outside was beautiful. I am sure it would have looked even better during the summer. There were tables outside, tropical plants, ceiling fans, and a pretty fountain in the middle of a courtyard before you get to the front door. It was a pretty big place.

It was not that crowded for a Wednesday night, but it was by no means empty. Inside was darkened a bit for ambience I suppose. The tables were not too close together and there was a bar as well. We were seated right away and our server was there within minutes. She was very polite and quick. I asked what I should try because I had never been there before and of course she recommends everything on the $20+ per entree list called the Chef Selections.

My husband ordered the Texas Redfish Pontchartrain with "Pan-broiled redfish with crabmeat & shrimp in a brown-butter wine sauce, with dirty rice". I had the Big Bay Platter with "Grilled shrimp, Caribbean lobster tail & shrimp montage, with fresh green beans & dirty rice". Most of the entrees come with dirty rice. We also ordered an appetizer: Lump Crab & Spinach Dip with garlic bread. I also had a Caesar salad that was not much to talk about.

The appetizer was good. They give you two pieces of garlic bread. I guess so you won't eat too much.

The food came out in a good amount of time. I'm not much of a lobster eater, but hey, it was my birthday. It tasted ok to me. I ended up giving the rest to my husband. He said it was delicious! The shrimp was tender enough and the green beans and rice were seasoned just right.

We didn't have a dessert.

Overall, it was a nice experience. Would I go back? Maybe. I'm not a seafood person. My husband enjoyed it more than I did. He said he got his "seafood fix" for a while. Apparently, the seafood is flown in fresh daily.

This restaurant has linen napkins, but provides plastic straws with your drinks so it's more dress casual. I did see people wearing jeans. But all the servers are in black slacks, white shirts.

Location: 3/5 because I had to drive so far, but it was still right off the highway.

Ambience: 4/5 because it reminded me of those restaurants in the all-inclusive resorts, where they spend the money to make it look nice enough for you to come back to and recommend to your friends.

Food: 4/5 because it was seasoned and cooked well.

Service: 5/5 because we were listened to and not hurried with our order, the food came out in a reasonable amount of time and hot, and the server was polite.

Overall: 4/5 stars.

The location we went to was:

5635 Jimmy Carter Blvd. Norcross, GA 30071 (770) 849-0600

Book Review: Legon Awakening

2012-01-18T13:57:00.004-05:00

Legon Awakening by Nicholas Taylor.

I received this as a free kindle download. This is the story of Legon and his sister Sasha who are forced from their small mountain village into a world of magic and dragons.

I would not recommend this to readers with weak stomachs because of the detailed violence. People are not just killed, their demise is medically detailed with amounts of blood and which tendons are involved. It sounded slightly clinical in the details. Like someone who had medical training wrote those parts.

That said, the world is well thought out and the author knows it well. Although I didn’t need to know every little detail as sometimes described relating to the mechanics of some of the magic.

The characters’ language was a bit too modern. There was too much modern slang in it and made the story sometimes sound foolish. The language was easy to follow but like one reviewer said, why were they “fist bumping” with elves and calling themselves “hot” when they had on nice clothes in a fantasy. It just seemed out of place especially after what some of these characters went through.

For these reasons it was hard to immerse myself in the story of this world. Was this a distant future or a completely new and fantasy world?

I gave it three stars because of the world built and story potential. The characters were funny sometimes but really not individuals. We knew what everyone was thinking and they pretty much sounded all the same. And when there could have been potential for a character to really stand out, it didn’t happen.

This is a series and I’m not sure of the outcome. I’m not sure the author knows either. Our hero Legon has no idea what he’s destined to do and neither does the reader. Sometimes you have an inkling of where the story will lead, but in this first book of the series I was not made to care enough about Legon to find out his purpose.

Great imagination. Just like Keither there just needs to be a little more writing practice and training to reach the full potential.

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Green/Gold and Red Lip Gloss

2012-01-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

Buy it here!

Official Shop Description:

Have you ever seen the movie Snow White?
This unique lip gloss with green/gold in the bottom and a bright red on top is great for Halloween or dressing up, or just when you want something to make a statement. This item will leave you with green/gold lips after your done with the red.
This lip gloss is not just for looks, while you are out there making your daily fashion statement all of the rich beautiful butters are working on softening, moisturizing and shining your lips. So even after the gloss is off you look great.
Flavored with the natural coffee butter and lightly sweetened with stevia.
All of this yummy-ness comes in a 0.15 oz twisty lip balm tube(2X the amount you get in "slim tubes").

-------------------Warning--------------------
This item will melt in the heat. It doesn't damage the it, try not to leave it in your pocket, or any other hot spots. If you are able to let it remelt in the upright position, it should reform in the correct shape once cooled.

My Thoughts:

I recently received a chapstick from Muse Bath & Body. It’s handmade, and it is a real treat to use. When I first opened it, I have to admit, I smelled it. I know, strange. But I wanted to know what flavor it was, since it was in clear wrapping. It smelled good, and so I put it on my lips. When I went to rub my lips together to make sure it got to every possible part it could reach of my lips, I could feel it working its magic. The more I rub my lips together, the softer they get. My tongue likes to taste what is being put on it, and I’m sure yours is no different. Some chapsticks/lipsticks/lipglosses burn or taste odd in my mouth, and why would I want to put something on my lips when it would burn or be untasty to my mouth? Fortunately, that is not the case with this lip gloss! It doesn’t really have a taste, and it doesn’t burn. Some lip glosses are so tasty you just want to eat them. This one is not like that, but its not bad enough that you can’t wear it on your lips. It’s perfect for a lip-item. You can put it on your lips with confidence. And later you can see the effects of the ingredients softening your lips.

Ingredients:

Organic Coconut Oil, Golden Jojoba butter, Palm Butter, Coffee Butter, Beeswax, Olive Oil, Mica(green, gold, red), Sustainable Stevia

Interview with Jay Londo!

2012-01-15T15:33:00.001-05:00

Here's an interview I recently did with author Jay Londo!
Like the interview and want to get in touch with him? Check out his facebook page!

1. Which books have you written?
I have written eight books finishing my ninth. Published four: "Humanity's last stand" "Alone in the woods" "Silverback island" "Then cave"
2. What inspires you to write?
A very active imagination, wanting to get out. Wanting to share my stories.
3. Do you have any almost-finished-about-to-be-published books?
yes a womens mystery adventure "Attila's lost treasure" and I am writing a period romance war-torn-love.
4. What is your favorite Hawaiian Island to visit?
The big island, most people get caught up on the other islands. But in reality you could fit the rest of the islands on the big island, and have room to spare. There is just so much to see. I would love to move there. You can write anywhere!
5. What is your favorite board game?
By far monopoly, very competive!
6. Do you add ice to your milk, or just refrigerate it?
Just refrigerator, has to be cold. I love milk, I have to have a glass with dinner, and who doesen't like it with warm cookies?
7. Who is your favorite musician?
Katy Perry!
8. Which story are you most proud of writing? What is it about?
"Silverback island, Its set in the eighteeth century. Aboard a whaling ship, that sinks in a storm. Before the survivors can be saved, they have to go through hell. They make it to a very strange island. Just when they feel their safe they are attacked. Night after night they must fight to save themselves. Then they make an amazing discovery that had been a legend. But I can't give away any more.
9. About how often do you go onto facebook each week?
I have to be honest once or twice day. I guess I have to blame my sweet daughter. she sometime lives on it. I had to see what all the fuse was about. I really didn't get into it until about two months ago.
10. Thank you! Is there anything else you'd like to say?
I have to say thank you! It really hard for me to pick just one story of mine. Each one of my stories are completely different. I think my next book will be a childrens book. I love challeging myself. I love writing exciting stories, with strong charaters, stories that suck the reader in, and of course surprising endings. But I do have to come clean. I am the worst speller, and horrible at grammer. But boy do I love to write. I believe if you really want to do something you should, let nothing hold you back. Go for your dreams. Don't wonder what if! And I would love talking to my readers, feel free to facebook me, don't tweet, I don't tweet. I just learned how to use facebook for god sacks. And everyone read Princess Review!

Jay Londo, Tasha Nicole

Frenemies - DCOM

2012-01-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

Movie:
Frenemies

Channel:
Disney

Starring:
Bella Thorne, Zendaya, Stephanie Scott, Nick Robinson, Mary Mouser

Film Rating:
PG

Release Date:
January 13, 2012

Genre:
Drama

Writer:
James Krieg

My Rating:
4.5/5

I'd Recommend to...
kids 7-13, Families

My Thoughts:
In Frenemies, 3 sets of best friends quickly turn into enemies, only to later become the good friends they were meant to be. It's told by Halle and Avalon, through their blog, Geekly Chic.
First up is the story of Jake and his dog, Murray. Jake and Julianne are science partners, forced to do a project together. In order to get an A on the project without doing any work herself, Julianne decides to make Jake her boyfriend - one of three. Murray senses what she is doing and does not like her. When he trashes a love letter from her, Jake gets mad, but when he trashes Jake's favorite award from NASA, he gets madder. Jake runs away to Savannah, who has a major crush on Jake and loves dogs. To find out what happens between Jake, Savannah, Julianne, and Murray, watch Frenemies.
The next story is between the story tellers themselves, Avalon and Halle. Avalon is the fashionista of the two and Halle is the geek. Together their blog, Geekly Chic, gets the attention of Burns Publications. But they only need one of the two, so Avalon and Halle are forced to create competing articles to see who will get the job. It drives them apart, but together they come up with a brilliant story. But who will get the job? Watch Frenemies to find out!
Last, but certainly not least, is the story between Emma and Savannah, two girls from completely different worlds, who look like twins. Avalon and Halle suggest they switch places, and so they do. They soon want their own lives back, until they meet the other's boyfriend/crush. Emma soon makes Jake Savannah's boyfriend, and Savannah is soon going on a date with Emma's boyfriend (still as Emma). This makes both of them insanely jealous. Will things turn out right? Maybe you should try watching Frenemies to find out!
This is a cute movie for kids and preteens. It shows how friendship can overcome everything. It's now playing on Disney Channel, so look at your television guide to see when it is on on your stations/area.

Guest Post by Joann H. Buchanan

2012-01-12T20:51:00.000-05:00

What Writing is to me

I started writing when I was in my teens. My dad, bless his heart, would ground me all the time, leaving me only able to read and write. The thing is, I would run out of books to read and so I would start writing. I soon discovered I could do what I wanted in the worlds I created. I could ride a dragon, turn into a bird or even meet my soul mate. Another thing I discovered was I could punish those who I felt were being mean to me.

As with any teenage girl, I had a lot of drama in my life. The world was coming to an end and life was so unfair because my best friend stole my boyfriend, my locker wouldn’t open and when it did my monthly stuff fell on the ground, my parents wouldn’t let me go to the biggest party of the year or last but not least, the single most important guy in school, Mike Mckinney didn’t know I was alive.

Writing became an outlet for me. It became a way for me to travel across the world and a way for me to express myself. I loved every second of it. Looking back, one thing I remember about high school was how new everything was. The world was huge and I had no idea where I fit in. I didn’t know the other kids were going through the same thing. I also didn’t consider myself an outsider. I was on the swim team, ASB and in the French club. (Yes I was the girl who was sure she was going to live in France and meet my soul mate across the world.) I was also in Drama and loved the stage. It was another place I could be anyone but me. The funny thing is all of that was me. That’s what most people don’t realize about writing. What we write comes from us. Everything exists somewhere within us. The lonely confused kid, the monster who creeps in the night, the angels that take flight and even the hero that saves the day are all inside us just waiting to explore the worlds we create.

As a writer, I was able to discover more about myself than any classroom was able to teach me. Through my writing I was able to stand out in the crowd and in it, I was able to say I have a place.

It took our house burning down for me to see that the universe was trying to tell me something. This is something I will never forget and the single moment that changed my life and direction. On an Easter Sunday a few years ago, My fiancé and I took the children to our church for a fellowship potluck dinner. The children were able to run around the church and find hidden eggs full of candy and other tiny delights. Upon returning home, we were all exhausted. We put the children to bed and then headed to our own room. My eyes grew heavy and I passed out. Somewhere in the middle of the night, my daughter woke up screaming about how hot the house was. John opened the bedroom door and came face to face with a wall of black smoke.

“Grab Carolyne,” he yelled. “The house is on fire!”

I picked up my tiny daughter and wrapped a blanket around her then with some luck I found the door to the outside world. I’ll never forget looking back at the house. Flames erupted from the roof towards the back. I yelled for John and the rest of the children. One by one they came out, coughing in shock but alive and unharmed. A few minutes later a loud explosion sounded from the side of the house. The fire had reached the room where the paint thinner and other chemicals John needed for his business were stored.

We lost everything that night except what was most important , our family. The next day we returned to the house to see if there was anything we could salvage. Making our way through the debris, we ended up in our bedroom. Sitting on my desk, a few inches away from the computer that had melted and burned to nothing was a hard copy of one of my novels and a stack of disks. The entire stack was unharmed. There was no soot on them, no burn marks, none of the disks were melted or messed up in any way and the paper looked as white as the day I printed it out. A miracle had happened. In the middle of all the loss, I was sent a message. Be thankful for what you have . I picked up the stack of paper and disks, held them to my chest and began to cry. Amidst all the ruin, a small ray of light had been shined on me, personally.

After that happened, I stopped being the closet writer. I stopped letting fear control whether or not I sent out my work and I started taking writing serious. I began by joining groups about writing and learning from people who had already been there. I started reading books on writing to grow as a writer. I also started a blog. No when I started all this, I had no idea what to expect. I was as green and any other newbie out there. I still am in a lot of ways.

Writing had given me back my path in life. Once again I had a goal and life was starting to look up. Writing to me is just that, it is a creative endeavor that gives you a chance to share with the world. For me, it helped make me the person I am today. I’m not afraid to set goals and not afraid to have others read what I write. It helps me grow. My life is now and will be forever changed because of it.

This post has been written and provided by Joann H. Buchanan.

The Hunger Games!!

2012-01-12T06:53:00.000-05:00

It's still a long wait before The Hunger Games movie hit the cinemas. While we're waiting, here's some treats for die-hard Hunger Games fans - one of the tracks on the official soundtrack! Sung by Taylor Swift and featuring The Civil Wars, the song absolutely fits the book perfectly. Let's hope the movie will be as amazing as it can get! In the mean time, check out the song on the link below:

Also check out the official channel of The Hunger Games movie for updates!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHungerGamesMovie

And Then Everything Unraveled

2012-01-12T06:42:00.001-05:00

And Then Everything Unraveled
by Jennifer Sturman

Summary (from Goodreads)

Delia Truesdale has no idea her life's about to change forever. She's too busy enjoying the California summer. Her internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing. That is, until everything unravels.

Her mother suddenly goes missing, and everyone thinks she's dead - excpet Delia, who knows T.K.'s way too organized to simply disappear. But Delia's still sent to New York to live with her two aunts - a downtown bohemian and an uptown ice queen.

And in case that's not bad enough, she also has to deal with a snooty new school and trying not to fall for the wrong guy. Oh, and finding her mother.

As she delves deeper into the tangle of conspiracies and lies surrounding T.K.'s disappearance, Delia begins to suspect that the wrong guy may be the right guy...and that some secrets - especially the dangerous ones - were never meant to be unraveled.

My Rating: 4/5

My Review

I wasn’t even interested in this book the first time I saw it at the shop. Until I was randomly rummaging through my friend’s book collection, read a few pages and got really into it in an instant. What I really love about it is that the author doesn’t drag the story around like a sack of potatoes. Like the beginning where the heroine’s mother goes missing, she didn’t take up a lot of space rambling about how it was when her mother was around or anything like that. The book also offers some really interesting characters that we don’t usually see, which pretty much makes up for some of its cliché parts (popular school boy has an instant connection with new girl on the first day).

The only thing off about this book is that things didn’t exactly – as the title says – unravel. It ended with a finale that was obviously another beginning. I guess that’s an excuse to publish a sequel for it, but I really don’t mind. It kept me on my feet the whole time, made me go “aww” at romantic parts and made me realize the brittleness of Mother Nature (coz half of the book is about that too).

Recommendations

I would recommend this to anyone who likes their romance novels served with a slice of mystery.. :D

Reminder - Guest Post

2012-01-11T18:45:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder - if you or anyone you know want to submit a Guest Post, just email me and I'll gladly get it up for you! (Most likely - if it's totally inappropriate, there is no way its going on my blog!) You can email me at PrincessReviews (at) inbox (dot) com!

What is a guest post?
A guest post is a post where a guest - someone not on the blog - creates an article, review, interview, or whatever else they want to be published onto a blog gets the chance to have whatever that is that they want published to be published.
Here at PrincessReviews, we make sure that everyone knows who wrote the article if whoever is publishing it has not written it. The author's name goes in the title and at the beginning and end of the post.

If you liked having your guest posts published, then feel free to email me about becoming part of the PrincessReviews team, where you would get to publish things all the time!

Thanks, and have fun typing!
~Tasha Nicole!~

Interview with Zoey Sweete and Luna Sweete

2012-01-10T06:16:00.000-05:00

Zoey Sweete

1. What is Blood Magic about?

Luna Sweete

Blurb: Half vampire and half witch, whose powers stem from an age old bloodline, Renee Draven is hell bent on destroying the evil that has terrorized her lineage and take back the power that was stolen long ago. As foretold by prophecy, Renee prepares to battle Damaskeos, the evil one that has stolen the lives of her ancestors for centuries and taken their power for his own. She must learn to use her power to protect herself while being haunted by visions of the past. Racing against time Renee must find Dante Angelo, the one who is to awaken her vampire side and give her the strength to defeat Damaskeos. As she embarks on her dark journey into a world of demons, vampires, werewolves, and those who hunt them, Renee stumbles across William Angelo, the lost soul she was said to bring home and save. Struggling to stay alive, she is torn between her duties and wanting a normal life. Renee must search for the power within herself to save the lives of those she loves and trust the magic that flows through her blood. Blood Magic takes you on a mystical ride into alternate dimensions and the world of the Draven witches with the supernatural creatures that have sworn to protect them and die for them.

2. Which character from Blood Magic are you most like? How?

Zoey Sweete: I think that I am mostly Renee Draven. Shes always in my head and I use my feelings and personality a lot with her. If shes in bitch mode, its means I was that day. If shes barking out orders then I did that day. I just really connect with her and what she goes through.

Luna Sweete: Tristan, he's the witty funny smart ass that just says whats on his mind even when he needs to keep his mouth shut. I'm the on the spot girl and Tristan is like that.

3. How old were you when you decided to become an author?

Zoey Sweete: I always loved to write, since I was about 12 or 13. My father would tell these off the wall stories and captivate me. He inspired me and I just began writing. He is still my inspiration to this day. Anytijme I feel like I need that pick up or feel ike I need a boost, I just remember if he was here he'd tell me never to give up on y dreams and keep going.

Luna Sweete: Since I was young. My dog and I would go on many adventures together and my imagination just went wild. It was a way to get all those built up feelings out and Zoey and I always wrote together, and made a perfect team, so we wrote out out angst together.

4. What's your favorite song?

Zoey Sweete: Snuff by Slipknot, absolutely love it. Just says everything that is on my mind sometimes and being a writer don't you ever wonder where we get out heartbrok material?

Luna Sweete: Black by Pearl Jam. Calms me down and helps after a hactic day.

5. What is your aall time favorite book.

Zoey Sweete: Rose Madder by Stephen King. He is one of the reasons I am a writer today and the book really put some points in my life in perspective.

Luna Sweete: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. It was a vast array of everything Anne Rice is about and it was wonderful.

6. What would you rather be a vampire or a witch?

Zoey and Luna Sweete: That's a tough one because out female lead is a witch/vampire hybrid and she kicks ass. I would lvoe tht whole vampire thing, the moon and the stars, but having the power of a witch...damn it a toss up.

7. Whta's your favorite ice ream flavor?

Zoey Sweete; Coconut Fudge

Luna Sweete: Chocolate

8. What was it like cowriting a book?

Interesting and fun to say the least...esepcially the 5am writing sessions without any sleep. We had tons of fun together.

9. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Dream big or dont dream at all.

10. Anything else you would like to say?

Yes, we would love to inform everyone that Blood Magic The Draven Witch Series has just recently been signed with a new publisher, Mystic Press and will be released January 18, 2012 along with anew kick ass book cover. We just want to say thank you to all of our loyal fans and family that has supported us from day one. And teo Wendy Hunyor and Mystic Press for taking our series to a new level and making it unbelievable!!! for more infor check out:

http:///www.facebook.com/ZoeySweete

http://www.facebook.com/LunaSweete

http://www.facebook.com/BloodMagic1

http:www.facebook.com/ZLSweete

John Hundley Interview

2012-01-09T18:12:00.000-05:00

Image found on Google Images

1. What is The Draculata Nest about?

Wow. I don’t want to say too much, because I’m afraid I’ll give away some things about the story that are now being revealed to me in the sequel, but The Draculata Nest is set against the backdrop of a war that’s been going on between vampires and werewolves for over twelve millennia, a fight for the future of the human race. Clifford Crane, within whom the lycanthropic gene has slept for over fifty years, is turned into a werewolf by a Uwharrie Indian shaman, herself a werewolf, who thinks Clifford is the red wolf of prophecy, the one foretold to lead the wolves to final victory over the vampires. After turning him, she dies before telling him of the prophecy, and leaving him a lone wolf in a town full of vampires.

When a traveling nest of vampires, masquerading as a troupe of performance artists called Draculata, comes to Clifford’s town and tries to seduce a friend of his, the young and beautiful Danielle Anderson, Clifford intervenes. He kills one of the Draculata vampires, launching a series of events that leads him on a journey of self-discovery and drawing him into the middle of the ancient war.

2. Do you play any games on facebook?

Absolutely not! Many of my friends do, but, I mean, where do y’all find the time?

3. Which is your favorite? Why? (If the answer to Question 2 was a yes)

4. Where is your favorite place to travel to? Why?

I live in North Carolina, and like the state, I’m torn between the mountains and the sea. I love backpacking, so I try to spend a few weeks each year on the trails in the western part of the state. However, I also relish the times I can get to the beach. Incidentally, a great part of the action in the sequel takes place along the Outer Banks, a magical strip of beach on the eastern end of our fair state, where, alas, vampires abound.

5. Do you plan on writing another book soon?

I hope to have The Dragon of Doughton Park finished and published by late spring/early summer 2012. There will be at least one more book , Red Wolf Rising, before Clifford Crane’s story is done.

6. When did you get your first book published?

DN is my first. Thank god for the recent self-publishing revolution. I first published it on amazon kdp over Thanksgiving weekend, 2011.

7. Are you planning on having any book signings? If so, where and when?

Nothing planned, so far.

8. What was your favorite cartoon when you were a kid?

Okay, this is definitely going to date me, but I am still convinced that Rocky and Bullwinkle was the best cartoon show of all time.

9. What inspires you to write?

Since starting the Red Wolf Novels project, I’ve become very intrigued with the characters. I honestly don’t know what they’re going to do next, so each writing session is truly an adventure. More recently, I’ve begun to get feedback from readers who also want to know what will happen next, which is thrilling and inspirational to me.

10. Thank you! Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Thank you for reviewing the book, and I hope everyone enjoys it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

John Hundley, PrincessReviews's Tasha Nicole

Book Review: The Girl Who Could Fly

2012-01-09T11:54:00.001-05:00

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

I was in the Goodwill book section and picked up a couple of books for my daughter and ran across this cover. It looked so interesting that I paid my 75¢ and took it home.

The Girl Who Could Fly is about a little girl named Piper McCloud from a farming community in Lowland County. Not sure where that is but it's quaint with honest, hardworking people. Nothing much had changed in the McCloud family for generations on their 20 acres until Piper came along. And yes, she could fly.

The story flows well and the characters are likeable. Although the McClouds have distinctive "country" language, they are far from bumpkins. They are just simple people with simple ways and a flying child is just too much for them so they forbid Piper to fly and they homeschool her, never letting her interact with the community other than Sunday church and the doctor's office (who mistakenly diagnoses Piper's floating as only being a good climber, saying the McCloud's have a "little monkey"on their hands). But of course if Piper didn't fly and get found out, there would be no story. But instead if the welcome and acceptance she craves, Piper is further ostracized. Because flying feels so "right" to her, she can't understand why everyone else feels it's bad.

So in comes a government agency headed by Dr. Letitia Hellion who promises Piper that she can go to an institute where she will feel understood and everything will make sense to the confused little girl. But is this the best place for Piper and her unique ability when she has to leave home and her parents for the first time in her short life?

The Girl Who Could Fly is a great story about having a heart, following your heart, believing in and trusting yourself, and never giving up. Piper is a strong, pure-hearted character that is entertaining and sometimes exasperating as she talks constantly. But I have one of those talkers at home so I could relate to Piper's ma and pa's frustrations and love for their little girl.

It is also exciting and harrowing, creative but not completely unique. A little long, but never boring. I gave it a 4 out of 5.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.3

Dragon's Pupils: The Peaks Giveaway!

2012-01-08T11:01:00.000-05:00

Dragon's Pupils: The Peaks is the second book in the Dragon's Pupils series. Author Martin Chushui is willing to giveaway an ebook version of The Peaks. (The first book in the series, The Sword Guest, is available for free on Barnes&Noble, Amazon UK, and Smashwords.)

Here are some blurbs about both of the books in the series. Both blurbs are from an email Martin has sent me, and I did not write up any of it. Also, I don't know why it has >>>>>> before everything. Just ignore it, please.

*Dragon's Pupils - The Sword Guest (Dragon's Pupils Series Book
>>>>>>>>> 1)**
>>>>>>>>> **[Kindle
>>>>>>>>> Edition]***
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> When East and West combine…
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Half-Chinese, half-Australian, Liz is not interested in her
>>>>>>>>> father’s
>>>>>>>>> ancient Tao wisdom, or his cryptic tales. She is more concerned
>>>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>>>> environmental issues—particularly the plan to mine one of
>>>>>>>>> Australia’s
>>>>>>>>> great
>>>>>>>>> landmarks, Wave Rock. Her father’s latest gift, a Chinese
>>>>>>>>> calligraphy
>>>>>>>>> pen,
>>>>>>>>> seems set to take its place in her bottom drawer forever.
>>>>>>>>> Then Wave Rock is blasted open by something more than a mining
>>>>>>>>> operation,
>>>>>>>>> and Liz finds that she must battle monsters from ancient times as
>>>>>>>>> well
>>>>>>>>> as
>>>>>>>>> creatures from other worlds, all intent on destroying Earth. She
>>>>>>>>> must
>>>>>>>>> call
>>>>>>>>> on all her powers, from both her Eastern heritage and her Western
>>>>>>>>> upbringing, to save her world. Her pen becomes her way into a new
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> magical world, and Liz discovers she has powers—and allies—that
>>>>>>>>> she
>>>>>>>>> never
>>>>>>>>> could have guessed.
>>>>>>>>> An exciting, fast-paced tale that combines the wisdom of ancient
>>>>>>>>> tradition
>>>>>>>>> with the pace of a Kung Fu movie and brings them to life in
>>>>>>>>> contemporary
>>>>>>>>> Australia, this exciting tale takes the best of two cultures and
>>>>>>>>> blends
>>>>>>>>> them to open up a new world of adventure and mystery.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Dragon's Pupils - The Peaks (Dragon's Pupils Series Book 2)
>>>>>>>>> [Kindle
>>>>>>>>> Edition]
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Powerful and invincible they ride across vast desert landscapes,
>>>>>>>>> hunting
>>>>>>>>> and slaying vampires under the cover of night. Jian Ke, the sword
>>>>>>>>> guests
>>>>>>>>> are more famous than ever! Admired by millions of TV fans around
>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> nation
>>>>>>>>> as they pursue a life of action and adventure: a splendid
>>>>>>>>> tapestry
>>>>>>>>> depicting Liz, Henry and Sue at the top of their game. With her
>>>>>>>>> paintbrush
>>>>>>>>> in hand Liz is prepared to take on a hoard of vampires, an army
>>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>> aliens
>>>>>>>>> and even her first kiss from the man of her dreams, Sue’s
>>>>>>>>> handsome
>>>>>>>>> older
>>>>>>>>> brother.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Life couldn’t be better until everything falls to pieces.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Liz must now face her biggest fears as the world she once knew
>>>>>>>>> slips
>>>>>>>>> through her fingers. No-one will be left untouched by the chaos
>>>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>>>> ensues. Armed only with her knowledge of Tai Chi, Liz must fight
>>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>>> what
>>>>>>>>> she has lost and begin the climb of her life. An unforgettable
>>>>>>>>> journey
>>>>>>>>> will
>>>>>>>>> take her to the Peaks.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> “Dragon’s Pupils – The Peaks,” the second instalment of the
>>>>>>>>> Dragon’s
>>>>>>>>> Pupils
>>>>>>>>> series, follows the drama of Liz’s life as she fights monsters,
>>>>>>>>> wields
>>>>>>>>> magic and longs for forbidden love. It is a journey which will
>>>>>>>>> take
>>>>>>>>> you
>>>>>>>>> through Australia’s most beautiful landscapes and ultimately
>>>>>>>>> witnesses
>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> transformation Liz undergoes, as she rises to meet her latest
>>>>>>>>> challenge.

To enter this giveaway, you must follow PrincessReviews. Leave a comment with your GFC name and your email on the bottom of this post.
For an additional entry, leave a separate comment with your facebook name and your email. You must be friends with Princess Reviews (Tasha Nicole) on facebook.

You will have until Saturday, January 21st, 2012 to enter.
Thank you and good luck to all!

The Clone Codes

2012-01-08T01:23:00.003-05:00

The Clone Codes
by The McKissacks

Summary (from Goodreads)

The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement.

After her mother's arrest for treason, Leanna must escape as she is chased by a ruthless bounty hunter. Soon Leanna finds herself living among the Firsts, and nothing will ever be the same again. But what does The World Federation want with the daughter of a traitor? So much is uncertain. Danger hides everywhere. Fear takes over. With help from unlikely sources, Leanna learns the origin of The Liberty Bell Movement and how its members may have answers about her past-and her new reality.

As family secrets are revealed, Leanna must face startling truths about self-identity and freedom. Through time travel, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence, this exhilarating adventure asks what it means to be human and explores the sacrifices an entire society will make to find out.

My Rating: 3.5/5

My Review

So Sci-fi isn’t the type of genre I would usually go for, but the summary for The Clone Codes on the Scholastic catalogue was so appealing that I just had to get it. Well, if I was a diehard sci-fi fan, I don’t think I would be much excited about this book. It has a good setting and a great storyline that might just explode into something wicked awesome… but didn’t.

The book started amazing – the McKissacks really had a way of creating a scene and making it so real that is can be passed as reality. The most exciting part was the middle. Like any other book, The Clone Codes had its twists and turns, but they were the ones that can give you a heart attack… a good one. But when it came to the end, I was slightly disappointed. It was like the authors didn’t know what to write next and just started taking turns writing random paragraphs at that point. The entire story just stopped midway. There wasn’t any explanation.

Don’t get me wrong, I really loved this book. Though I had to give it four stars because I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. After that I took another half a star because they never really gave their hopeless romantic readers an explanation on the lovebirds of the story. This book had so much potential in being better. I think one of the main reasons it didn't do better was the fact that it was too short for the story the authors was trying to create. I heard there is going to be a sequel - and believe it or not – I’m getting it. And only after I get my fair share of Whos and Whys, I will die in peace.

Recommendations

I wouldn't recommend The Clone Codes for avid Sci-fi readers, but if you're one of those people who would read anything you get your hands on, this book would do just fine. It's short, sweet and doesn't take up a lot of your time.

Skid Out

2012-01-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

Title:
Skid Out

Author:
Ann Marie Frohoff

Series:
Heavy Influence Trilogy

Book:
Prequel

Summary: (email from the author)
Debut author, Ann Marie Frohoff (aka @rockinwriterchk on Twitter), has re-imagined music entertainment in this edgy modern day “Walk the Line” meets Degrassi tale of intense, reckless young love & rock'n roll. Alternative Rock is the genre. It's a fictional tale, and each book comes with a soundtrack of original music, of which the lyrics appear in the pages of the books. Some of the musicians who have contributed to this series are Matt Reich of Lights Resolve, Nick Long of Dead Country and Chris Bowman of Bad Suns.

Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/heavyinfluence

My Rating:
10/5

I'd Recommend to...
Everyone!!

My Thoughts:
Oh. My. Goodness! This book....wow. This book is completely amazing in every single way possible! I started reading it and before I knew it, it was over! It's a book that is completely relate-able and I think that's why I was so into it, because I could relate to it so much. It went by way too fast, and I cannot wait to read the books in the Trilogy! I really don't know what else to say, except that this is a wonderful book (well, prequel) that I would strongly suggest to everyone! It was short, but it's a prequel, so it's supposed to be. Just...wow. I'm still amazed by Skid Out!!

Dakine Prom Backpack

2012-01-05T18:10:00.000-05:00

I use the Dakine Prom Backpack for things for school. It carries tons, and I mean tons! (I once weighed my backpack - with everything in it - and it weighed 38.4 pounds!) That's two huge textbooks, 4 bulging binders, a small textbook, a workbook, a for-pleasure book, and the backpack still had room in it for more! The straps on my backpack last year broke within a few weeks; I've had this one all year (since August) and it's still going strong! It has tons of room, can hold tons of stuff, and is a comfortable enough to use around school all day. Plus, you can select which print or color you want - it comes in an assortment of colors/prints and you are sure to like one of them! So, when your current backpack breaks, or it's time for a replacement or new one, think about getting the Dakine Prom as your new backpack! (You can purchase it online at http://www.zappos.com/dakine-prom-backpack-belle?zlfid=111)

New Year, New Posts!

2012-01-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hello, everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Happy New Year! It's now 2012!
A new year means new posts on PrincessReviews! I was just wondering if I could get some feedback on last year's posts! What did you like? What did you not like? What do you want to see more of? What would you like added?
Please let me know by commenting below! I will take all your comments into consideration and use them to make 2012 the best year PrincessReviews will have so far! :D
Thank you!

New Shows on ABC Family! *NOT A REVIEW**

2012-01-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

ABC Family has started its winter premiers of everyone's favorite shows!! :D
Here's a list of the shows and times they're new on ABC Family!!

Pretty Little Liars: Monday 8PM
The Lying Game: Monday 9PM

Switched at Birth: Tuesday 8PM
Jane by Design: Tuesday 9PM

On NICKELODEON, starting Monday January 9:
House of Anubis: Everyday 7PM

Swag Giveaway Winner!

2012-01-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to

KELLY D

for winning the Swag Giveaway!!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T17:43:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!

How did you spend your holidays? Let us know below!

Some people say the world is going to end in 2012. Do you believe them? Why or why not? We want to know!

Leave comments below!!

CD Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to

GUSH

and

ORCHID

for winning the CD GIVEAWAY!!

They will both be receiving a mixed CD of 20 songs of my choosing in their desired genres.

Thank you!

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-26T18:28:00.000-05:00

I bought some Otis Spunkmeyer oatmeal raisin cookies from my nephew to help with his fundraising, and those cookies were so good! I said "were" because I ate most of them. I think my kids had like five out of an entire pail of the bake ready deliciousness! I give these cookies a 5 out of 5. So if your niece or nephew or grandkids are selling them, buy more than one package, one for them and one entire one for you. Well, maybe two, I mean I think it only made like 36 cookies. That's way too few.Since all my Otis cookies were gone before Thanksgiving, I was feeling the cravings for oatmeal raisin cookies. I decided to try Betty Crocker. I didn't have high hopes. I mean what was better than an Otis Spunkmeyer oatmeal raisin cookies? So it came in a package that required mixing. Great! Q-time with my little girl. Well I didn't wait for the stick of butter (yes an entire stick, my arteries!) to "soften" properly so some of the teaspoons of mix had whole chunks of cold butter in them. Added some water and an egg. Baked them and they smelled good. So really good. And it was agony waiting for them to cool. I didn't even wait for my daughter to come back from putting on her pajamas to try one. So good! Even my daughter is asking for one for every meal for dessert. Why did I ever doubt Betty? I give her cookies 4 out of 5 only because I had to add my own raisins.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2011-12-26T06:06:00.000-05:00

Title:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Author:

Barbara Robinson

About the Author: (Inside Cover)

Barbara Robinson was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, and received her B.A. from Allegheny College. She has written several books for children, including the sequel to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever entitled The Best School Year Ever. Her short stories have frequently appeared in well-known women's magazines.

Summary: (Inside Cover)

The Herdmans are absolutely the worse kids in the history of the world.

Called one of America's favorite Christmas stories, and now a classic television movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been a favorite of young readers the world over since 1972. Funny, memorable, and outrageous, it is the story of a family of incorrigible children who discover the Christmas story for the first time and help everyone else rediscover its true meaning.

The Herdmans-Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and Gladys-are horrible. They awful things like lie and steal and smoke cigars. They threaten to stuff pussy willows down their enemies' ears and set fire to Fred Shoemaker's old tool house. They are the worst thing that ever happened to their school, and it's hardly surprising when they extend their reign of terror to the church and take over the annual Christmas pageant.

The Herdmans have never heard the Christmas story before, and their interpretation of the events, which includes beating up Herod and finding some decent gifts for the Wise Men to bring, promises disaster and has the whole town up in arms. But the Herdmans are no ordinary kids, and this year's Christmas pageant is full of surprises for everyone, especially the Herdmans themselves.

I'd Recommend to...

Grandparents/Parents to read to their Children

My Rating:

3.7/5

My Thoughts:

The Herdmans are just overall bad people. They can't do anything nice or right and always mess things up and make them disasters. At least, that's what the people of their town think. But when Charlie opens his mouth and mentions that they get refreshments at church, the Herdmans decide to check it out for themselves. Soon, it is time for the Christmas Play. The main roles are cast by who would like to volunteer for them, and only the Herdmans volunteer. The play is taken over and run by these creatures thought to be "the worst kids in the history of the world".

They have never heard the Christmas story before, and truly get into learning about it, and truly caring. At rehearsals, they never once managed to get through the entire play once, yet on the night of the play, it goes wonderfully with a few surprises that only seemed to make the experience more real.

This book proves that even the worst kids can turn out to be pure at heart; they just need the chance and to be taught how to behave. A touching story, this book had my grandmother in tears and in giggles pretty much the entire time.

I would suggest that each night at the bedside, parents or grandparents read a chapter or two to their child before they go to sleep, starting a week before Christmas Eve (there are seven chapters). It's a good book to do that with, and it creates family time that is needed in each family.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

2011-12-25T04:39:00.000-05:00

Movie:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Starring:
Justin Long, Matthew Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, Amy Poehler, Alan Tudyk

Time:
87 minutes

Rated:
G

Genres:
Animation, Comedy, Family

Date it Came Out:
December 16, 2011

Director:
Mike Mitchell

Summary: (IMDb)
Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. They discover their new turf is not as deserted as it seems.

IMDb Rating:
2.9/10

My Rating:
9.5/10

I'd Recommend to...
Families

My Thoughts:
Before flying off to the International Music Awards, the Chipmunks and Chipettes are off on a family vacation - a cruise in the tropics. Alvin behaves as any chipmunk-kid would, but it almost gets them kicked off the ship. When he is doing the one thing allowed - shuffleboard - he gets bored. When he sees a kite flying high in the sky, he comes up with a scheme to use it to go hang-gliding. The winds become too strong, and Alvin and his team helping to keep him from letting the wind take over, fly into the air, pulling the chair the string is tied to, and Dave, their manager/father, with them. They fly into the sky, and Dave goes to the real glider in hopes of going after them. Ian, the chipmunks and chipettes old manager, tries to stop him, and they end up dropping the flotation and plummeting into the water, far behind the disappearing cruise. The chipmunks all make it to an island, and using Ian's bird costume as a floaty, Dave and Ian soon arrive at the island as well.
When Simon gets bit by a spider, he becomes Simone and takes the fun, careless-ness of Alvin and makes it his own, upsetting Alvin. Simone shows his affection towards Jeanette majorly, and Brittany becomes sad that she is no longer the pretty one.
Finally, they have found each other - Dave and the 'munks. But when the volcano on the island starts to erupt and the greedy island-goer, Zoe, has captured Jeanette in hopes of uncovering the hidden gold, will Alvin and the gang make it out on time? You simply must watch the movie to find out!
It was a cute movie with a good plot line and cool songs. The chipmunk voices were less annoying than I thought they were going to be. A whole movie of hearing those high, squeaky voices? Not as bad as it sounds. I usually don't like movies, but this one I enjoyed. I definitely suggest people go to see it.

Revealing Eden

2011-12-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

Title:
Revealing Eden

Author:
Victoria Foyt

Series:
Save The Pearls

Book:
1

About the Author: (inside book cover)
Victoria Foyt's previous novel, The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond, a young adult super-natural mystery, met with critical acclaim, including a Must Read, five-star review from TeensReadToo.com: "Foyt has created a compelling character and an electrifying story that will hold readers until the last page."
An accomplished screenwriter and actress, she graduated from the University of Miami in her hometown of Coral Gables, Florida. She speaks fluent French and Spanish, and lives in Santa Monica, California.
You can connect with her at VictoriaFoyt.com or Facebook.com/VictoriaFoyt.

Summary: (inside book cover)
Would you betray your loved ones-and maybe your entire race-to avoid a horrible death?
In a post-apocalyptic world where resistance to an overheated environment defines class and beauty, Eden Newman's white skin brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. The clock is ticking: if Eden doesn't mate before her eighteenth birthday, she'll be left outside to die.
If only a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class will pick up her mate option, she'll be safe. But no matter how much Eden darkens her skin and hair, she's still a Pearl, still ugly-cursed with a tragically low mate-rate of 15%.
Just maybe one Coal sees the real Eden and will save her-she has begun secretly dating her handsome co-worker Jamal. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she is thrown into the eye of the storm-and the remaining patch of rain forest, a strange and dangerous land.
Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. To survive, Eden must change-but only is she can redefine her ideas of beauty-and of true love.
Acclaimed writer Victoria Foyt blends equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this captivating novel set in a terrifying future, which is all too easy to imagine.

I'd Recommend to...
Teenagers

My Rating:
4.8/5

My Thoughts:
Its the future. Global Warming has threatened to take out the planet, and most of it is too hot for people. People are forced to live underground in tunnels, and the Meltdown has wiped the population of most whites, rearranging the system.
Eden Newman is a Pearl (a white). She is upset by this an wishes to be a Coal (black). She must mate in the next 6 months, or else they leave her outside to die in the heat, with no Oxy (the drug everyone is on in the time period). She's been dating Jamal, a coal, hoping he would be her mate. Unfortunately, he turns against her and was just using her. She sets the place on fire, and Bramford saves her and her father, taking them to the Rainforest. Many feelings are experienced and expressed, and Eden grows in several ways.
I would totally recommend this book and I can't wait until the next one comes out. I liked the uses of the Spanish language in it, how it wasn't all English. I also enjoyed the scientific names of all the creatures that were included-it showed that Victoria Foyt really knew what she was talking about and that she is a very intelligent woman, much like the Spanish words did.
I was captivated before I even opened the book! The cover had me hooked and the story just kept me going. On the cover, the title is pushed forward, as if it was brial. So I was already almost mesmerized as I opened the cover of the wonderful book. As soon as I started reading, I truly could not stop. I wouldn't go to bed until late at night, because the book would keep me up; I just simply had to finish! Finally, I did. And it still leaves me wanting more! I cannot wait to read the next book in the Save the Pearls series and find out more about the adventures of Eden, Ronson, and Logan.

Robe of Skulls Giveaway WINNER

2011-12-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

Only 3 people entered this giveaway. :(
Oh well.

The winner of the Robe of Skulls Giveaway is...

GUSH!

Unlovable Giveaway WINNER

2011-12-22T01:17:00.001-05:00

A giveaway was recently held here on PrincessReviews, from November 17, 2011 until December 17, 2011, for a copy of Unlovable by Sherry Gammon. Sherry was willing enough to sponsor, support, and provide for this wonderful giveaway.
Random.org was used to select a winner from the comments received on the giveaway's post. There were a few entries, but only one could win.

The winner of Unlovable is....

JENNIFER S!!!!!!

Congratulations and thank you to all who entered!
There are always fun things and giveaways on PrincessReviews, so come back as often as you can!

Kleenex Cool Touch

2011-12-21T01:07:00.000-05:00

I've had a runny nose ever since it started to get cold out. My nose started to get red, chapped, and sore. The other day, my mother came home with a box of Kleenex Cool Touch Tissues for me to use. I was a bit skeptical at first, since regular tissues didn't seem to be working. This is going to sound a bit dramatic, but these tissues send me to Heaven every time I use them. The are so soft, and the cooling effect is definitely there! They feel amazing against my skin, and my nose is no longer irritated, even though it is still running just as much.

Its really amazing how they're actually doing what they're advertised to do. Not many products actually fulfill their purposes or expectations, but these tissues went well beyond my expectations! I would definitely recommend these to anyone in need of a tissue or anyone with an irritated nose, or just anyone in general! These tissues make having a bad nose fun!

Darkness

2011-12-20T01:45:00.002-05:00

Title:
Darkness

Author:
Joann Martin Sowles

About the Author: (GoodReads)
Joann I Martin Sowles is the author of The Brookehaven Vampires series. Her first release, Laney, is now available. Book 2, Darkness, will be released in 2011.

Summary: (Goodreads)
Not long ago, Laney Alexander was living a carefree life, that is, until she was thrown into a world full of creatures only the imagination thought possible. Now, after surviving a terrifying night, Laney and Oliver are lying low at Julz's place, relieved to be in each other's arms once again. But fate seems to have other plans...
Julz is not happy to have visitors in her home and emotions run high. Laney is pushed to her limits as she watches Carter fight for his life and her relationship with Oliver becomes strained as she discovers secrets about Julz that could tear them apart.
As she reaches her boiling point, disaster strikes and her life is shattered. Laney must come to terms with what has unfolded. Will she lose her way and let the darkness consume her or will she find her light in Oliver?
Secrets will be revealed. Hearts will be broken. Lives will be lost. Darkness will fall.

I'd Recommend to..
People who've read Laney

My Rating:
3/5

My Thoughts:
To me, this book didn't make much sense because of the fact that I didn't read the first book in the series, Laney. There were several references about what had previously happened, but since I didn't read it, I didn't understand them. This book is definitely a continuation of Laney, so if you liked it, I'd strongly recommend reading Darkness.
In the beginning, I didn't really 'get' the plot, but as I read more, I did. Towards the end, (when Carter and Delaney get drunk) I was laughing out loud and I just couldn't stop. It was so funny! And I could also see parts of it playing in my head, like a movie. To me, that makes a good book.
I just would have included a bit more on why she didn't think the town was safe and what had gone on before the book started.

The Call of the Wild

2011-12-19T04:40:00.000-05:00

Title:

The Call of the Wild

Author:

Jack London

About the Author: (GoodReads)

Jack London was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. At his peak, he was the highest paid and the most popular of all living writers. Because of early financial difficulties, he was largely self educated past grammar school.
London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondike during the Gold Rush and at various times was an oyster pirate, a seaman, a sealer, and a hobo. His first work was published in 1898. From there he went on to write such American classics as Call of the Wild, Sea Wolf, and White Fang.

Summary: (GoodReads)

An unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, is forcibly taken to Alaska where he eventually becomes leader of a wolf pack.

I'd Recommend to...

English students

My Rating:

2.5/5

My Thoughts:

In The Call of the Wild, Buck is the main character. Buck is a 140 pound St. Bernard / Scottish Shepard dog mix. In the beginning of the book, Buck lived in the Santa Clara Valley, not having to do anything he didn't want to. He was 'head-dog' of his grand, royal, comfortable life and he was living life and enjoying every minute of it. But when his greedy gardener cannot pay his gambling wages, Buck is secretly sold to Canadian mail carriers in the Arctic. Buck is forced to become a sled dog. He is a quick learner and is soon living the way the Huskies do. His instincts start to kick in. He fights, kills, and becomes alpha in his team. Soon the instincts get too strong and when he finds his masters dead, after killing the Indians responsible, goes off to join a local pack of wolves.

This novel is all about adaptation and accepting change, which is why the theme of this is "Adapting to change is a necessary key to survival". Buck is taken to a completely new terrain where absolutely nothing is even remotely similar to his previous life as a pet. He learns quickly though, and he needs to. Several times Buck would have been killed if he didn't quickly adapt. Curly, another dog taken to the arctic, died immediately when he tried to make friends. Dogs get into tons of fights in Alaska (where this story takes place), including Buck, and if he could not have adapted he would have been killed. It is also very, very cold in the arctic, where as in California, where he is from, it rarely gets below 70 degrees. Buck also didn't get much food up North and would have quickly died without his body accepting the change in the amount of food he was to receive.

The Call of the Wild is all about Buck and his changes. It is a classic. It's also a book of literary merit, and therefore is required to read in most English classes. Outside of English, I'm not sure I would have read this, but I'm glad I did.

Victoria Foyt Interview

2011-12-18T07:47:00.010-05:00

What inspires you to write?

A burning question usually inspires me, what if? In Revealing Eden (Save The Pearls Part One): what would happen if global warming turned today’s prevailing beauty standards upside down? In the story, because Caucasians have less melanin in their skin to protect them from the sun’s burning rays, they are branded as inferior Pearls. Dark-skinned people, or Coals, have more resistance to the Heat, and therefore, now rule society. Eden Newman, a lithe blue-eyed blonde, would be considered gorgeous in our day, while in the future she has to beg for a mate or suffer an early death. The direction in which my “what if” question took me greatly surprised me, as it often does.

How old were you when your first novel was published?

In my forties, that’s all I’ll say. Looking back, I see that the seemingly circuitous path I took from studying foreign languages and literature in college, to acting and screenwriting and directing afterwards, all provided key tools I would need as a novelist. Meanwhile, I was accumulating invaluable life experiences and insights, which gives a writer his or her unique “voice.” By the time I started my first novel in my thirties, my words flew onto the page, and I haven’t stopped since.

Which films did you co-wrote?

Several indie films, all of which were directed by Henry Jaglom: Babyfever; Last Summer In the Hamptons, Festival In Cannes, Going Shopping and Déjà vu, which is my favorite, and has become somewhat of a cult classic. My work as a screenwriter definitely improved my sense of dialogue and place. It also added a distinctive visual orientation to my writing.

Which have you starred in?

All of the above, except for Festival In Cannes. At the time it went into production, I was busy writing a novel and had to turn down the starring part. It was a tough decision, but finally, I needed to commit to my heart’s desire, which I’m glad I did.

What's your favorite Bath and Body Works scent?

I love Warm Vanilla Sugar—both seductive and comforting. I discovered it years ago at their shop in the charming city of La Jolla and couldn’t resist it.

What is Revealing Eden about?

REVEALING EDEN (Save The Pearls Part One) is a fantasy sci-fi adventure romance that, to my amazement, fulfills all of the requirements of each genre and yet, is a unique page-turner. I didn’t set out with such lofty goals, I simply had to tell Eden’s story, which in truth, is a pastiche of my own fears and dreams. Doomed unless she mates soon, Eden Newman, a white Pearl, hopes a Coal from the dark-skinned ruling class will save her. But when she unwittingly compromises her father’s secret biological experiment, perhaps mankind’s only hope, Eden is cast out—into the last patch of rainforest and also the arms of a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction to him. To survive, Eden must change—but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty—and of love.

Which was your favorite magazine to be in?

I was thrilled when my publicist announced that I was going to be in Vogue! I immediately decided to lose 5 pounds, but I was in Italy at the time. Who can diet there? I fretted about what to wear and was very relieved when I learned that the magazine’s stylist would bring a selection of clothes. Great, as long as they didn’t bring bathing suits, I joked. The day came and two lovely stylists arrived at my house with several wardrobe trunks. I watched with great anticipation as the women unpacked the items, setting out Louboutin shoes, which had just started to become popular, accessories, and then, oh no—a rack full of bathing suits! I stared dumbfounded at the skimpy suits. It was a mistake. Didn’t they know I’d had two kids? I hadn’t prepared anything else to wear and, near tears, began frantically to root through my closet. Finally, the editor and I pulled together something simple that, in the end, reflected my style best. It was so much fun.

Who was your favorite talk show host? Why?

I adore Oprah! She’s so authentic and powerful. She radiates real beauty. I praise her efforts at encouraging reading. And I admire her motto: “live your best life”, which isn’t about competition, but being true to yourself. When I wrote an article for her magazine, O at Home, the efficiency, professionalism, and positive nature of her staff impressed me, and seemed to reflect Oprah’s great qualities.

Can you describe Lexie Diamond?

Lexie Diamond believes that cyberspace is the key to a realer reality than the so-called real world, or “Bubble,” in which everyone else is trapped. She has a hard time understanding why people don’t see how fake their lives are, or why their “Monitor A” type speech clearly doesn’t match the subtext she “hears” on “Monitor B” Disaffected and socially inept, she finds solace in her alter-ego, a computer she names Ajna-Mac (ajna is the Sanskrit word for third eye.) Then a tragic accident rocks Lexie’s cyber-driven world and forces her to navigate the real world. With the help of an unexpected ally—her first actual friend—not only is Lexie drawn in a mystery surrounding the accident, but she discovers more magic in the Web that she ever dreamed possible. Along the way, her beliefs are challenged, her family is turned upside down, and her future is threatened. Finally, Lexie must decide what is real and what is virtual.

Do you have more of an East-Coast style or more of a West-Coast style?

My style is more tropical, an island mentality. I grew up in Coral Gables, a suburb of Miami, just off Biscayne Bay, and spent my days swimming in warm water, often eating lobsters that my brothers caught off of our dock. That sense of freedom and oneness with nature has never left me. Even in the midst of intense production or social activity, I can tap into a wellspring of inner peace that I discovered when sailing on calm seas.

Which book was the most fun to write?

REVEALING EDEN (Save The Pearls Part One) was a thrill to write. One of the great gifts of being a writer is what your characters reveal about yourself. Eden Newman, the seventeen-year-old protagonist, uses her head, not her heart, to navigate the world. I definitely have had to work at opening my heart and, like her, to stop judging myself based on my appearance. I loved watching Eden transform from this oppressed, frightened girl to someone who is willing to embrace her strength, her inner beauty and even, true love. And then, I really enjoyed creating her surly love interest, beastly Bramford, who turned out to be so hot!

Which character from any movie, or any book, or any television show are you most like and why?

I’ve always identified with Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip. She is slightly out of touch with social cues and clearly in need of some TLC.

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

I love to hear from readers! Please visit me at VictoriaFoyt.com or at facebook.com/VictoriaFoyt. And thanks for all the cool videos you’ve uploaded at SaveThePearls.com. You make it all worthwhile.

Victoria Foyt, PrincessReviews's Tasha Nicole

The 12 Days of Facebook

2011-12-17T05:05:00.038-05:00

I did NOT create this and in NO way am I trying to pass it off as being my own!
This was someone's Facebook status and I liked it, so I figured I'd share it with all of you!

On the First Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, a Creep Who Won't Stop Inboxing Me!

On the Second Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 2 Friends-A-Poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Third Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 3 Photo Tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 4 Game Requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 5 Drama Queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2-friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 6 Party Invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 7 Stalkers Stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 8 Friends Complaining, 7 stalkers stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 9 Busted Barbies, 8 friends complaining, 7 stalkers stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 10 Corny Topics, 9 busted barbies, 8 friends complaining, 7 stalkers stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 11 Friends Just Watching, 10 corny topics, 9 busted barbies, 8 friends complaining, 7 stalkers stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my Facebook gave to me, 12 Dudes I'm Blocking, 11 friends just watching, 10 corny topics, 9 busted barbies, 8 friends complaining, 7 stalkers stalking, 6 party invites, 5 drama queens, 4 game requests, 3 photo tags, 2 friends-a-poking, and a creep who won't stop inboxing me!

Merry Christmas!

I've Never Been to the Ukraine: Book Review The Septavalent Stone

2011-12-16T13:22:00.002-05:00

The Septavalent Stone

by J.O. Jones

I was not ready for this book. I had read an excerpt of the story on J.O. Jones’ blog (http://theseven-piecestone.blogspot.com/). It was the first chapter. It was interesting and funny and it hooked me. I bought it on Amazon Kindle and downloaded it for 99 cents. It took me about a month and a half before I got a chance to finally read it. And then it took me another two or so weeks to read it.

The first chapter is not what the book is about. I had gotten to know and like those characters and then most of them disappeared. So we’re left with Uncle Jeffrey who is only a gateway character to our hero? Andrew, Uncle Jeffrey’s estranged sister’s son (nephew).

So this book is about Andrew who goes to a magical medical school for people with “unique” ailments (like being a ghost that starts living. Apparently to ghosts living is the worst thing that could happen to them) and how Andrew’s family ends up causing more trouble at a school with secrets that it doesn’t want to be revealed. Andrew is from Nigeria where I have never been and the magical medical school is in the Ukraine where Andrew AND I have never been. It is a really interesting combination.

I’m not totally sure what to make of this book. It is not like other books I have read about magic or fantasy or medicine for that matter. The locales are new to me and I am just in awe of the originality of this story and how it was all laid out. The main character Andrew becomes just like the reader in some ways because he has no idea what is going on and no one will tell him. Everything is revealed layer by layer until by the end you’re like. “Oooohh! I get it. I think.”

So I still haven’t told you what happens in the story. Well, after a lengthy and almost boring stay in chapters 1, 2 and 3, we finally get some action. Andrew has spent the first couple of chapters getting his visa to go to the Ukraine for school. There are some sparse exciting parts, but not enough to have gotten me through it any faster. So he finally gets to the Ukraine and everything is fantastic! There is magic, medicine and lots of mystery. (Loved the fairy wallpaper, by the way.)

It is not until almost nearing the end that we find out that Andrew has the Septavalent Stone and that he could unlock its power. But the stone in the wrong hands…you know the deal. He has a bossy cousin named Aloysia who is also at the school and who is bent on getting the stone. She’s Uncle Jeffrey’s daughter who turns out to be a BIG help and not a bad person after all because she seems to know everything and figures out everything, but still just tells Andrew information in bits and pieces. I guess that little plot device kept me reading because I was like “What is going on?”

Well, this is getting long. So I gave it a 4 out of 5. There are some grammar errors. I was kind of mad that many characters were introduced and then never heard from again without so much as a good-bye. Other characters were completely useless and they still spent a lot of time talking. And then it bugged me that the point of view jumped around a bit from character to character without warning, but it wasn’t that hard to follow. And Andrew was too passive. But the incredible background, locales, entertaining and diverse personalities, completely weird medical practices and ailments as well as the cool mysteries (yes, that’s plural) kept me reading to the end; and I liked how it ended between the cousins.

Get past the first couple of chapters and you’re in for a surprise. This could totally be a series about the school and/or the other characters, not necessarily Andrew. I would definitely read more by this author.

Austin Jones - Tooth Pick Booty

2011-12-16T04:56:00.018-05:00

Okay, so I know this song isn't serious (besides, I think the lyrics are totally...odd!) but Austin can seriously rap! Just thought I'd post this so you all could decide for yourself what you think, and go buy it on iTunes if you like it! I like it, and if I get any iTunes giftcards for Christmas, I'm definitely going to buy it! :D
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tooth-pick-booty-single/id488421297 is the link to go get it!
So what do you think of Austin's new song? (Well, new version.) Post a comment below to let us know! Or you can let him know on his facebook page!

Swag Giveaway

2011-12-15T02:22:00.003-05:00

This is an International Giveaway! The winner will receive a bookmark signed by Amy Brecount White, a picture signed by Tasha Nicole (owner of PrincessReviews), a Courage bracelet, and a pen!
To enter, simply follow PrincessReviews and leave a comment with your GFC name and email address!
Random.org will be used to pick the winner.
You have until January 1st to enter!

CD Giveaway

2011-12-14T01:43:00.001-05:00

4 Lucky PrincessReviews Followers will win a mix CD made with 20 songs selected by Tasha Nicole, the owner of PrincessReviews. You get to pick the genre - or type of music - of the songs on the CD though, and Tasha has a huge selection of songs so you're sure to get something you will like!

This is a contest for people in the United States and Canada only! You may enter until December 25th!

To enter, you must follow PrincessReviews on GFC.

How to Enter:

Write a comment with your GFC name and email address. Then put which genre you would like the CD to be!

If you are PrincessReviews's friend on Facebook, create a SEPARATE comment with your Facebook name, email address, and preferred genre.

Random.org will be used to choose winners.

GENRES AVAILABLE:
Country

Pop

Rock/Metal/Alternative

Hip Hop/Rap

Thanks, Good Luck, and Happy Holidays!

The Robe of Skulls Giveaway

2011-12-13T01:21:00.001-05:00

It's the Holiday Season, so we're gonna be having Holiday Giveaways here on PrincessReviews!
This giveaway is for a paperback copy of The Robe of Skulls (The First Tale from the Five Kingdoms) and a cardboard bookmark. This is a US only giveaway!
To enter, simply FOLLOW PRINCESSREVIEWS on GFC, and leave a comment with your GFC name and email. If you are PrincessReviews's friend on Facebook, add an ADDITIONAL comment with your facebook name and email.
Random.org will be used to pick the winner.
You have from now until December 20, 2011 (Next Tuesday) to enter!
Thanks and Good Luck!

Happy Feet 2

2011-12-12T01:06:00.022-05:00

Movie:

Happy Feet 2

Starring:

P!nk, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Elijah Wood, Sofia Vegara

Rating:

Length:

100 Minutes

Genre:

Animation, Comedy, Family

Release:

November 18, 2011

Director:

George Miller

Writer:

George Miller and 7 others

IMDb Summary:

Mumble's son, Erik, is struggling to realize his talents in the Emperor Penguin world. Meanwhile, Mumble and his family and friends discover a new threat their home -- one that will take everyone working together to save them.

I'd Recommend To...

Grandmothers

My Rating:

3.5/5

My Thoughts:

My grandmother loved this movie, and all of the music in it. I didn't want to be there, so I didn't really wanna watch it, look forward to it, or have fun, but I did find myself enjoying it a bit.

Bill and Will the Crill definitely seemed to me to be a gay couple lol but I thought Erik was so cutee lol. I liked his big blue eyes.

umm...my grandmother said there was a lot of symbolism that kids don't get or understand and stuff in it, so thats why older people should see it.

People's Book Prize Nomination

2011-12-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

The Fearsome Beastie (see PrincessReviews's review here) is a Nominee for the People's Book Prize!!!!
Giles Paley-Phillips, the author, would very much appreciate any votes that she can receive for her wonderful children's book!
You can vote for it by clicking here, or by going to http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/book.php?id=679.
Thank you! :)

5th Year! Yay National Novel Writing Month!

2011-12-07T22:25:00.005-05:00

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo www.nanowrimo.org) is an online contest open worldwide to writers and aspiring writers of all ages. They have the regular writing contest, which is to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days (November 1-30). They also have the same contest in the Young Writers Program: 50,000 in 30 days (November 1-30) for ages 17 and under. They have a similar contest April 1-30 called Script Frenzy for those who like to write scripts rather than novels. And they just started Camp NaNoWriMo to write novels over the summer (July and August 2011 was the first year).

This is a totally free contest and you can sign up anytime throughout the months that the contests are held (example: November 25 or April 17). And you win cool prizes like a certificate of completion and badges to put on your website announcing to the world that you are a participant or winner. I know. You’re thinking, “What’s the point?” The point is that this is for YOU, the writer. I think this is a really awesome concept. I give this contest a 5 out of 5.

What I really like about this contest is that it is on an honor system. The rules are that you must write a completely new story starting from page 1, line 1, and first word. (It’s ok to outline, though) You must write 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30 and upload your manuscript for verification when you hit 50K. It even tells you how to encrypt it if you’re worried about people taking your idea. If you cheat in the contest, the only one you are cheating is YOU. This is a great experience to see what you can really do. And it is totally ok if you don’t reach 50K by the end of the month. Everyone is still cheering for you because you started that novel.

There is a great support system of pep talks emailed to you if you want. You can subscribe to forums. And there is a forum for everything you can think of for every genre and style of writing. You can participate in write-ins in your area. A write-in is just meeting somewhere with other writers who are doing the contest too. This is a great way to network with local authors in your area. There is a region for you almost anywhere around the country and around the world.

NaNoWriMo is run by a non-profit organization called the Office of Letters and Light. That’s NON-PROFIT which means they do it out of the kindness of their hearts. But they have no aversion to a donation of $10 or so. You can even buy cool T-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, decals, etc. to help support the programs. They partner with school, libraries, and educators. This is about promoting reading and writing and enjoying the craft. This is the 13^th year that they have hosted the contest. This is my 5^th year entering the contest. I’ve won 3 times (completed one year at 11:50pm November 30^th, whew!). Didn’t even get close 1 time. And “Was I supposed to be doing something this November?” 1 time.

But I have had fun every year. I just stop thinking about writing that perfect novel and just write for the enjoyment of writing a story. So what if the novel you wrote in November sucks. YOU WROTE A 50,000 WORD NOVEL IN 30 DAYS! That’s AWESOME! Besides that’s what December is for: editing.

By the way, they also have sponsors now that are also offering cool prizes like free copies of the book you wrote during the contest or discounts on writing software if you do win.

Footloose

2011-12-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

Movie:
2011 Version of
FOOTLOOSE

Starring:
Kenny Wormwald,
Julianne Hough

Rating:
PG13

My Rating:
3/5

My Thoughts:
I'm not gonna lie, this movie totally depressed me. Maybe it was that it started off with a car accident, and just over a month before I saw it, my friend died in a car accident. Maybe it was that the main guy reminded me of a friend who doesn't talk to me anymore. Maybe it was that the main girl is so skinny and pretty and I wished I looked like her. I'm not quite sure what it was, I just know it depressed me. Just listening to the "Footloose" song depressed me up until like 2 weeks ago. But it's all good now:) lol
According to my mom, this movie was pretty much just like the original, except the ban on the original didn't start because of car accident.
In this movie, dancing, loud music, and tons of other teenage-ish things are banned in the small, Georgia town, because a few years before kids died in a car accident coming back from a dance. When Ren McCormic moves in from Boston, he doesn't know any of thier crazy laws and gets into tons of trouble. He decides to stand up for dancing, since he thinks he can change that, when he couldn't change his mother's cancer. they have a dance, and I think the law gets lifted. I had to pee towards the end, so I'm not quite sure if the ban was lifted or not, haha.
mkay, well I have a mega busy day tomorrow and it's late. So I'll review something else probably Friday, cause like I said, I'm mega busy tomorrow.

Lack of Posts

2011-12-05T17:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry, guys, about the lack of new posts! I've been really busy with Cheerleading!! :)
Anyway, I have tons of things to review, so I'll try getting them up ASAP. I don't like leaving the blog without a new post each day, so I'm terribly sorry.
Thanks for your understanding!
~Tasha Nicole <3

Geek Girl Book vs. Geek Charming Movie

2011-11-26T20:49:00.000-05:00

Geek Girl is a book by Cindy C Bennett and Geek Charming is a Disney Channel Original Movie. Geek Girl and Geek Charming are both very similar in many ways. This post is here to compare and contrast the two.
Well, for starters, they are both about boy geeks and their not-very-geeky love interests. In Geek Charming, the female role is a highly-popular once geek, while in Geek Girl, the girl is a rebelous goth chick, with an inner geek.
Obviously, the biggest difference, is that Geek Charming (though based off a book) is a movie and Geek Girl is a book.
In Geek Charming, the 'geek' confronts the popular girl to get her to be in his movie, while in Geek Girl the goth goes up to the 'geek' to try to change him. In both, they end up becoming 'geeks' themselves.

Here are the reviews I wrote for both, so you can compare and contrast them yourself.
GEEK GIRL:
In Geek Girl, a goth makes a bet with her friends that she can turn a geekly nerd into a bad boy. Jen starts out on her quest to turn Trevor, only to find herself quickly falling for him, and even starting to like some of the things that he enjoys. She decides to drop the bet, but her friend, Beth, doesn't like this. She tells Trevor about the original bet, which angers and upsets him. Jen and Trev start to ignore each other, and the only way to find out if they can overcome the hurt is if you read Geek Girl yourself.
This book was so good, I started it and literally did not put it down until I finished it! I haven't read a book that good in a while. It has the classic plot of two people from completely different worlds falling for each other. The book itself is written in the present, as if those things are going on as you read them. Most books tend to use past-tense of most things, not really giving you the same "in the story" feel (where you feel like you are actually in the story) that you get in this book. I really enjoyed that, since it made you feel more into the book and connected with it, as if you were a part of it. In some parts, it was quite easy to believe that you were Jen. Other parts, you wanted to feel sorry for her, and the emotions throughout this book definatly come alive when you read it. This is a book I would definately recommend to my friends, and I'm sure most people would agree.

GEEK CHARMING:
Dylan Shoenfield is the most popular girl in school, and all she wants is to be Blossom Queen at the Spring Formal. When a film geek needs to do a documentary to win a trip to LA, he picks Dylan, hoping to find out the secrets of being popular. Instead he finds a smart, funny, caring girl whose boyfriend breaks up with her right before Spring Formal. Her friends ditch her, and she finds out who was and will be always there for her, even from before her mother, Past Blossom Queen, died.
This was a cute little family movie, much to be expected from being on the Disney Channel. The movie was based on the novel, and it does make me want to read the book.

Both are definitely great, and I recommend the two to whoever wants to check them out!

Thanksgiving Giveaway!!

2011-11-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for all of our PrincessReviews followers that we are having a giveaway just for the followers!!
You MUST follow PrincessReviews to enter!!!

To enter, simply leave a comment with how you follow PrincessReviews and your email so we can contact you if you win. Please leave one comment per way you follow (ex. if you follow on GFC and Networked Blogs, you'd leave two comments).

This is an international giveaway.

The winner will receive a personalized thank you note and a signed picture of Tasha.

Black Friday

2011-11-25T12:53:00.000-05:00

Black Friday is definitely one of the most popular shopping days of the year, in the United States at least. People wait in line for days to get items for a discounted price, the crowds are crazy, and I have never, ever gone. I really want to, but my parents are always working, and though my grandmother offered to take me this year, she wouldn't buy me anything most likely.

But if you've gone, we'd love to hear about your experiences, your purchases, and any advice you might have for future Black Friday-ers!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2011-11-24T11:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I am so thankful for each and every one of you! Without you, PrincessReviews wouldn't be. Thank you so much to all of you guys! I love all of you!
What are you thankful for?
Leave a comment and let us know!

Unlovable Giveaway!

2011-11-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

Sherry Gammon, author of Unlovable, is nice enough to give away a copy of Unlovable here on PrincessReviews!!
This giveaway will run until today until Saturday, December 17th, so that it will have time to get to the winner by Christmas.
To enter, simply "like" Sherry Gammon's facebook page, and leave a comment with your Facebook name (so we know that you liked it), and your email (so we can contact you if you win).
You can recieve additional entries by following PrincessReviews (it doesn't matter how, but each way will earn you one additional entry), and by following Sherry Gammon's blog, Word Paintings Unlimited. Leave an additional comment for each additional entry, stating what blog you follow and how (GFC, Networked Blogs, email subscirber, etc). Again, don't forget to include your email in case you win.
Random.org will be used to select the winner!
Thank you, and Good Luck!

Geek Girl

2011-11-16T01:00:00.000-05:00

Title:
Geek Girl

Author:
Cindy C. Bennett

Publisher:
Cedar Fort

Imprint:
Sweetwater Books

Pub Date:
12/08/2011

ISBN:
9781599559254

Category:
FICTION - JUVENILE: Action & Adventure (incl. Interactive Adventures): Action & Adventure

Summary: (back of the book)
“Think I could turn that boy bad?” My two best friends—my only two friends, really—follow my gaze and laugh.

“Trevor Hoffman?” Beth scoffs. “No way, Jen.”
“I bet I could,” I say, shrugging.
“Why him?” Beth asks. “Why not any of the other nerds sitting there with him?”
“Because,” I say slowly, “he isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill geek. Trevor Hoffman is different. He would be a little more difficult to take down, more of a challenge, you know?”
Jen’s life of rebelling and sneaking out is growing stale. In an effort to combat her boredom, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a nice little geek, into a “bad boy.” She’s immediately pulled into Trevor’s world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even—ugh!—bowling. Unexpectedly, Jen discovers that hanging out with Trevor isn’t so bad after all. But when Trevor finds out about the wager, all bets are off.
I'd Recommend To...
anyone, friends, girls

My Rating:
5/5

My Thoughts:
In Geek Girl, a goth makes a bet with her friends that she can turn a geekly nerd into a bad boy. Jen starts out on her quest to turn Trevor, only to find herself quickly falling for him, and even starting to like some of the things that he enjoys. She decides to drop the bet, but her friend, Beth, doesn't like this. She tells Trevor about the original bet, which angers and upsets him. Jen and Trev start to ignore each other, and the only way to find out if they can overcome the hurt is if you read Geek Girl yourself.

This book was so good, I started it and literally did not put it down until I finished it! I haven't read a book that good in a while. It has the classic plot of two people from completely different worlds falling for each other. The book itself is written in the present, as if those things are going on as you read them. Most books tend to use past-tense of most things, not really giving you the same "in the story" feel (where you feel like you are actually in the story) that you get in this book. I really enjoyed that, since it made you feel more into the book and connected with it, as if you were a part of it. In some parts, it was quite easy to believe that you were Jen. Other parts, you wanted to feel sorry for her, and the emotions throughout this book definatly come alive when you read it. This is a book I would definately recommend to my friends, and I'm sure most people would agree.

Mr. Young

2011-11-15T19:53:00.000-05:00

TV Show:
Mr. Young

Channel:
Disney XD

New on:
Tuesday-Thursday
8PM

Starring:
Brandon Meyer

I'd Reccomend to...
Middle Schoolers

My Rating:
3.8/5

My Thoughts:
Mr. Young is about Adam Young, a 14-year-old genious who has been asked to be hired by NASA, being a teacher at a High School. Echo is a girl in his class who he is crushing on, and his best friend is also his student. Slab is the bully. The series is about everyday life and issues at the school, when your teacher is your age.
The mother cannot act, at all! It is horrible! The sister's is okay, but definately could improve! The rest of the cast is fine. That's my only major issue.

A&P

2011-11-14T06:24:00.001-05:00

Review of “A&P” by John Updike
by Tasha Nicole Haight

Have you ever done something on an impulse or out of anger, and immediately regretted it? Well, that’s exactly how Sammy felt when he quit his job at A&P, hoping to impress a few girls dressed in bikinis when they get kicked out because of their inappropriate attire. In “A&P”, John Updike develops the theme to not make a major decision out of anger. He does this by clearly explaining the situation in which Sammy impulsively quits his job, which he soon regrets.

Things start to go bad as soon as three bikini-clad girls walk into the A&P store, and Sammy cannot look away. When the girls walk in, Sammy can’t even think straight. “I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not” (Updike). He states that “it’s one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach, where what with the glare nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A & P, under the fluorescent lights” (Updike). Sammy is mesmerized by the girls and would do anything to impress them.

Once the girls have found what they needed, the manager, Lengel, sees them and kicks them out causing Sammy to get angry. “Girls, this isn’t the beach” (Updike) starts Lengel’s tirade on how they are inappropriately dressed and should not come back without proper clothes on. Angrily, Sammy hits the No Sale tab. He starts “defending a privileged upper class that does not even acknowledge his existence” (Peck), making him madder. When Lengel sends them out, Sammy acts on an impulse.

Sammy quits. He very soon regrets it, too. He knows that he doesn’t really want to quit, he just wants to impress the girls, but the girls completely ignore him and leave. “But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it” (Updike). Still with a chance to keep his job, and knowing he doesn’t want to hurt his parents by quitting, but also knowing he threatened to quit, and believing you cannot back out of a proposal, Sammy quits with rue. Lengel tells him that he will “feel this for the rest of your life” (Updike) and Sammy knows it to also be true. It was stated very well when a critic wrote that “this noble and still uncorrupted youth has acted rashly and lost everything” (Peck). As Sammy leaves the store, his stomach drops when he realizes what he’s done.

Like Sammy, if you do something impulsively, or angrily, that will affect you in the future, without a strong cause or reason, you might very soon regret doing so. Sammy acted out of anger and the need to impress those who ignored him, and it cost him a job, some of his pride, and he regretted it faster than he actually did it. The theme is used in this story to prove that and to show how making decisions impulsively is not so good and that you should try to think things through before committing what could be a life changer.

Works Cited

Peck, David. “A & P”. Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Nov. 2011.

Updike, John. “A&P”. Short Story Handout.

Unlovable

2011-11-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

Title:
Unlovable

Author:
Sherry Gammon

Published:
January 20, 2011

Genre:
Fiction, YA, Thriller, Suspense

About the Author: (Smashwords)
Unlovable is the debut novel for author Sherry Gammon, and is the first novel in the Port Fare Series. Seeking clean romance novels for her and her three daughters to read and enjoy was no easy challenge. It was because of this frustration the PORT FARE SERIES was born. UNLOVABLE is book one, book two titled UNBELIEVABLE is the story of Cole's journey for love, and the final novel in the series, UNBEARABLE, is Booker's story.

Sherry has been writing for several years. Her work has been in several newspapers, and an educational Magazine.She and her husband,along with their children and a couple of crazy dogs, call Upstate New York home.

Summary: (Smashwords)
Port Fare, New York, has fallen into the clutches of true evil. The Dreser brothers have arrived with a scheme to increase drug sales in the area by whatever means possible. Seth Prescott is part of MET, Mobile Enforcement Teams, a branch of the DEA. He's been assigned to work undercover at Port Fare High, and things aren't going very well, until senior Maggie Brown enters the equation. He's harbored a secret crush on her from day one, and now that she is in the center of the case, he's trying to stay clear and objective while walking the line between business and unrequited love.

Maggie is truly the poster child for Heroin Chic, complete with jutting bones and dark-ringed eyes, but is she an addict, or is there another reason for her appearance? She struggles with her feelings for Seth, fearing he is just another person who will eventually let her down, as everyone in her life has done thus far.
Maggie has spent her life caring for her alcoholic mother. A task that has left her heavily burdened and alone. Before long, her mother's health takes a turn for the worst, sending Maggie's life into a tale-spin.
While Seth works relentlessly to inject fear into the dealers and flush them out into the open, Maggie fights to stay alive as the hunt turns deadly.
Seth and Maggie's romantic journey is one of humor, heartbreak, and self-discovery.

I'd Recommend To...
Teenagers

My Rating:
4.8/5

My Thoughts:
Well, first of, let me just say that I have a 5-page English Paper, some Spanish homework, and Honors PreCalc Extra Credit that I need to do, that's due in about 16 hours, that I haven't even started because I was too preoccupied with this book! Oh, and I have to create 1 minute, 30 seconds choreography to dance to Barbie Girl, too. But that's not due until Thursday. Oh well! xD
Just kidding, it's only a 5-paragraph English paper, not 5 pages (the rest are all true though, and I have to annotate another story for English, too) hahahahahaha!!! But seriously, this book was so good that I did not want to put it down, at all.
Seth Prescott is an undercover MET agent, posing as a senior at Port Fare High School, in western New York. It is his job to find out who is using drugs, especially heroin, so he can track down the dealer, to track the supplier. He is handsome, rich, and powerful enough that when he is assigned to be friends with the populars, he has no problem - in fact, the head cheerleader, Hillary, develops a "crush" on him, though he instead notices a quiet, much too thin, girl named Maggie Brown. A while later, while trying to sum up the courage to ask her out, his mission gets switched to watch out for Barbara Brown, and her daughter, none other than Maggie Brown herself! From the start, Seth doesn't believe she is doing drugs, especially with her 4.0 GPA and kid-loving nature, but none the less, has to make sure. Little does he know, she has noticed him, too, and falls well into his plan, though her guard is up, and she won't let him get to far in her heart, since her own mother, a drunk 24/7, has not once told her she loves her, and instead only expresses her love toward Vodka, throwing nasty, emotionally-scarring, hurtful verbal abuses at her daughter. Eventually, she lets her many walls down, only to have some drug dealers try and kill her mother, and break her heart, telling her the truth about who Seth is. After a while, they come to terms with each other, expressing a common theme of "true love conquers over all". This book is a roller-coaster of emotions for Maggie, and since it is so, well, its hard to image it ever actually happening, but its written so life-like that it definitely seems real, that at some points its an emotional roller coaster for those reading it, too.
Unlovable was one of those rare ones where I could actually visualize what was happening, and that never happens. It happened for part of one other book, but usually the visualizing happens in daydreams during class after I've read a good book.
The plot was pretty good and had you on edge pretty much the whole time. At some parts, like when you knew that Maggie was going to find out and flip out on Seth, you could predict, but the prediction always turned up to be at least a little bit different of the actual storyline.
The dialogue was very realistic as well, so props to that! The teenaged librarian spoke with such a teenagish dialect, it truly made the story more realistic. She used "like" all the time, something that I myself happen to do all the time, so I could relate, making the story more real.
In the story, it seemed Booker and Cole, sometimes even Seth, were saying how young Maggie is. She most definitely is too young for Booker, being 10 years her elder, but Seth is only 3 and a half years her senior, which to me seems the perfect amount of an age difference.
One thing that sort of bugged me, but not immensely, was the fact that Seth comes from the rich side of town, while Maggie is often referred to as "Trailer Trash". It seems in all plot lines, the two come from different worlds, such as this. Other examples are one being human while the other is a vampire, one being a geek, the other a princess or goth, or something other than the usual for whatever the scenario may be. But I guess that it simply adds to the well-known saying 'Opposites attract'.
The Preface and part of the last chapter before the Epiloge did confuse me a bit. It was the exact same,
"Before I could reach his lifeless form, Alan grabbed my face and lifted me onto my tiptoes; my lungs battered begged for air. Dragging his slimy mouth along my neck he muttered, “I’ve waited so long to have you, I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to control myself as long as I’d hoped.”

He then stopped and pinched his eyes shut before dropping me back to the ground. “No, Alan, you can wait a bit longer for your revenge,” he counseled himself while stroking my hair. “But maybe a little taste wouldn’t hurt.” He jerked my face to his, dropping his foul lips to mine.
Something inside me snapped. If I was going to die, I was going to go out fighting, so fight I did. I raked my fingers over his face, digging up flesh, and while forcing my thumbs into his eyes, I brought my leg up between his, hard, crushing his groin.
He stumbled and fell on top of me, pinning my battered body to the ground. His weight added unwanted pressure to my already tender ribs, and I screamed out.
However, Alan’s screams overshadowed mine; he was in serious pain. I began scratching, biting, and punching every inch of him I could make purchase with, holding nothing back. Still reeling from my well-placed knee, he spewed out a list of profanities a mile long as I broke free and forced my broken body across the kitchen floor toward the gun. I was almost to the drawer, when, from his prostate position, he hooked my foot, dragging me back several feet.
I looked back at his sweaty face, now scarred and bleeding thanks to my fingernails as he leered at me. “You. Will. Pay. For. That.” Reaching into a pocket by his left knee" (Gammon 3), yet then, in Chapter 1, it went to talk about a girl whom Alan had previously killed who had a 6th degree black belt in karate, or something along those lines. When I got to this part in the last chapter, it throughly confused me, but I kept reading anyway, and assumed that the author provied that as the preface as a way of foreshadowing, instead of having that lead up to how the story would start, which was an interesting way of doing so, even if it was a bit confusing.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book and I cannot wait to read books 2 and 3 in the Port Fare series, Unbelievable and Unbearable. I would definately recommend this book to my friends, and I hope most of you get the chance to read it.

Geek Charming: The Movie

2011-11-12T15:10:00.000-05:00

Movie:
Geek Charming

Channel:
Disney

Times:
Premiered Yesterday (Friday, November 11, 2011) @ 8.
Encore is at 9PM on Sunday, November 13, 2011

Starring:
Sarah Hyland, Matt Prokop

I'd Reccomend to...
Families

My Rating:
4/5

My Thoughts:
Dylan Shoenfield is the most popular girl in school, and all she wants is to be Blossom Queen at the Spring Formal. When a film geek needs to do a documentary to win a trip to LA, he picks Dylan, hoping to find out the secrets of being popular. Instead he finds a smart, funny, caring girl whose boyfriend breaks up with her right before Spring Formal. Her friends ditch her, and she finds out who was and will be always there for her, even from before her mother, Past Blossom Queen, died.
This was a cute little family movie, much to be expected from being on the Disney Channel. The movie was based on the novel, and it does make me want to read the book. It did remind me a lot of Geek Girl (review to come), though there were obviously many differences, and a post will be up later comparing them.

Once Upon A Time

2011-11-11T23:47:00.005-05:00

Oh, I like almost all kinds of magic and fantasy and science fiction stuff. So I knew this was my type of show.

Once Upon A Time is on ABC on Sundays. Check your local listings. The premise of the show is that all the fairy tale characters have lost their memories and have been trapped in our world in a town called Storybrook for 28 years due to the Ultimate curse cast by the evil queen who tried to kill Snow White. But a hero is coming and the ultimate battle will begin.

Three episodes have aired so far and I had to record them on my DVR so I ended up watching all 3 episodes almost back-to-back and I am hooked. The second show had me talking back to the screen. For me, that means it has gotten inside my head and I won't rest until I see the end.

The show is set up to show what's going on in the present in our world and in a series of flashbacks in fairy tale land. But it interweaves the past with the present so well that I had no problem following it. If you have questions about the present, then the flashbacks explains the who, what and how. There are surprises throughout though so everything is not as easily resolved as you would think. I can not really tell much about it without telling the story.

And based on the preview I saw at the end of the third show, every fairy tale looks like they are going to have a part of their stories told. And these are not the way I remembered the fairy tales. They each seem to have a unique twist to them. Like Snow White being a thief and bandit in one part. But all the stories are blended together because of the central characters and the fact that none of the characters can ever leave the town (or bad things will happen).

The cool thing about this show, so far, is that you already know the ending (good wins over evil), but they still keep you interested enough to see how it happens. Because characters are popping up and angles are being explored that put obstacles in the way to an easy ending. It has action and drama and true love all leading you toward happy endings because of course, that's how all fairy tales end.

I give it a 5 out of 5 (so far)

TV-PG rating with some violence and scary situations.

Sherry Gammon Interview

2011-11-11T18:56:00.000-05:00

PrincessReviews, Sherry Gammon
1. What is Unlovable about?

Unlovable is about enduring, never giving up. Maggie, a 17 year old senior at Port Fare High has been dealt a pretty tough hand in life. She has to care for a truly cruel mother, and try and get through high school with good grades so she can get scholarship money for college. Her mother gets involved with some pretty wicked people and puts Maggie's life in danger. Enter Seth Prescott, undercover cop and all around hottie!

2. Is this your first published book?
Yes. It is not the first book I have ever written, but it is the first book I tried to publish.

3. How old were you when you decided you wanted to publish a book?
Probably twenty. It was after taking a writing class in college. The teacher encouraged me to publish after I had written a story she liked.

4. What is your favorite candy?
Snickers---with almonds!

5. Which character from any of your books are you most like?
I gave each of my main characters one of my personality traits. Why? It really helps me to feel closer to the character, it helps me to identify with them. So I guess you could say I am like all of my characters in some way or another.

6. What inspires you to write?
I love to write. Writing helps me to find closure on things that bother me, and I find it to be a very helpful outlet for my brain. When my head is too crowded with thoughts, writing helps me deal with the overload.

7. What style do you consider your clothing fashion?
Jeans and tee shirts!
Does that affect your writing in any way?
No, it is just very comfortable;}

8. Who is the main character in Unlovable and can you describe her?
Maggie is 17, skinny, and devoted to her mother. She is tough, she doesn’t trust anyone, and she relies on even fewer! I love Maggie. She is a fighter who never gives up!

9. What's your favorite TV show?
Bones and Psych! I don't watch very much TV, but I do enjoy those two shows.

10. Thank you! Is there anything else you'd like to add?
THANK YOU! I appreciate book bloggers so very much. You are our line to the reader, the lifeline it you will, and you help us out so very much! -And I've heard the pay sucks!;}}

Check out her facebook and her blog, too!

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension

2011-11-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

Movie:
Phinease and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension

Starring:
Vincent Martella, Allison Stoner, Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso

Channel:
Disney

I'd Recommend to....
6-13 year olds

My Rating:
4.5/5

My Thoughts:
Phineas and Ferb find out that their pet platapus, Perry, is truly a secret agent. They go into another demention where Dr. Doofinsmirtz is evil and has taken over. Phineas and Ferb need to get back to thier world, along with Perry.
I love Phineas and Ferb, so naturally I loved this movie. The ending was cute, but I can't give it away; you have to watch it yourself!

Take Me Home Tonight (movie review)

2011-11-04T14:10:00.004-04:00

Take Me Home Tonight (film 2011)

Starring Topher Grace and Anna Faris

My rating is 2 out of 5.

Yes, harsh I know. And I usually like 80’s throwback movies. The clothes alone are worth watching 80's inspired movies. I rented it from Redbox. I had a free code and it was between this or Bridesmaids. I had heard Bridesmaids was funny, but the lure of seeing 80’s clothes and dancing was too strong.

This movie is about this supposedly really smart guy, an MIT graduate, named Matt (Topher Grace) who works at a video store (the actual videos that have brown tape in them that takes 10 minutes to rewind). He does not know what he wants to do with his life, so he’s not making any decisions at all. His twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris), who seems really smart too, has applied to graduate school and is too scared to open the letter from the university at the beginning of the movie and instead accepts a marriage proposal from her idiot boyfriend.

First of all, they totally don’t use Anna Faris’ comedic talent in the movie. Then Topher Grace’s character hovers between average and a loser. He sees his high school crush, Tori (who for the whole movie I thought was Kristen Stewart from those Twilight movies and she was actually Number 6 from the I Am Number Four movie), and spends the whole movie trying to woo her without telling her the whole truth about himself.

It was a mediocre movie at best. Not even a good romantic comedy. And Topher’s “sidekick” Barry (Dan Fogler) is not even funny. I did not laugh at this movie and the dancing was not 80’s enough. Anybody could have played the part of Matt and Wendy. The music was classic 80’s and I liked the songs. I knew some of them (not because I was an 80’s child but because I listen to the Big 80’s Weekend on B98.5 FM out of Atlanta every weekend.) The acting was decent, but the script was not really original in the least. I guess it was supposed to be like the movies from that era, and unfortunately became too much like the movies from that time concerning storyline. So since I’ve probably seen more 80’s movies than people my age (34), I’ve probably seen this storyline a few times.

I would not recommend this movie nor would I watch it again even if it came on TV and nothing else was on. I didn’t give it a 1 out of 5 because I like Anna Faris, even if she was not funny in this one.

Happy Halloween (IK, it's late!)

2011-11-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry! I know this is late, but

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(October 31)

HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY!!

(November 1st)

and to our Mexican friends....(and whatever other countries celebrate it, though none do it like Mexico!)

Happy EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS!!!!!

(November 2)

Zombies vs Unicorns, Yeah That's Right

2011-11-02T12:41:00.005-04:00

I'm not much of a horror book fan, but Zombies vs. Unicorns balanced it out with humor. The two editors try to convince the reader that one or the other is better. Some of the stories are (to quote the editors) "haunting," while others are for pure enjoyment. Many of the main characters are young adults under 18 and so this book is geared to that audience. It shows that strength and good sense can happen at a young age as these characters face adult situations (mainly in the post-infection worlds of the zombie stories). I am well past YA age but I enjoyed the stories. It made me wonder, though, what is the lure of such dark fantasy for this age group? I would be very hestitant to let my 14 year old read this.

Turned at Midnight

2011-11-01T16:52:00.000-04:00

Title:

Turned at Dark

Author:

C.C. Hunter

Series:

Shadow Falls

Format: Kindle Edition

File Size: 132 KB

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (March 15, 2011)

Sold by: Macmillan

Language: English

ASIN: B004QGY35W

Summary: (amazon.com)
Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang did not believe in ghosts, until she sees her dead cousin in a dark alley. She did not believe in vampires, until she turns into one. Should she follow her vampire cousin’s lead and walk away from everything she knows, or join Shadow Falls, a camp for special teens.

Don’t miss the first book in the Shadow Falls series, Born at Midnight, on sale March 2011.

I'd Recommend to..
anyone who wants a short read

My Rating:
4/5

My Thoughts:
Della gets attacked when coming home from a party, and is turned into a vampire. She needs to learn how to deal, and needs to decide how to do that.
Its a quick short story, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. It's a nice, quick, easy read and I'd recommend it if you have like 15 minutes of boredum lol.

Geraldo No Last Name

2011-10-30T20:01:00.000-04:00

Title:
Geraldo No Last Name

Author:
Sandra Cisneros

I'd Recommend to...
English students

My Rating:
2/5

My Thoughts:
Geraldo No Last Name is about Marin's friend telling the story of what happened to Marin. She met a guy named Geraldo at a dance, then he was killed in a hit and run car accident. She was the last person to see him alive, so she has been questioned by many.
This is an extreemely short story - not even two pages long. We read it in English to learn about style, and most of the students didn't like the story at all. I didn't think it was that bad, but it definatley seemed a bit pointless, and I didn't really get anything out of it. It didn't even help me learn about style, which it was supposed to.

To Kill a Mockingbird

2011-10-29T15:35:00.000-04:00

Title:
To Kill a Mockingbird

Author:
Harper Lee

Published:
1960

Summary: (back of the 50th Edition book)
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy, Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill a Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior-to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into ten languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal.
Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded a s masterpiece of American literature.

I'd Recommend to:
High School and College students

Rating:
3.5/5

My Thoughts:
“Jem was a born hero” (Lee 52). Jem, his sister, Scout, their father, Atticus, and their friend, Dill, are all a part of the stories that are To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally a bunch of short stories, Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, put them together to create a bestseller, winning herself a Pulitzer Prize in the process. It was published in 1960, and has never been out of print since. It’s even sold over a million copies every year! It has inspired many – politicians, artists, writers, and even regular people. It’s been so inspiring that a well-seen movie has come out of it. Based on the recognition it has received along with the life lessons Atticus and the other adults in the book have taught the children and the fact that there are still racial and bias injustices nowadays, it is obvious that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is clearly of strong contemporary significance, not merely pleasant, undemanding reading.

Children, as well as some adults, of today’s time can still apply the life lessons taught in To Kill a Mockingbird, being one of the reasons it is of strong contemporary significance. Though he taught many of the lessons in the book, Atticus did not teach this one. The neighbor, Miss Maudie did. When Scout was questioning the Radleys, neighbors of the Finches, about their social activities and religion, Miss Maudie wisely stated, “There are just some kind of men who-who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one” (Lee 60). The underlying message in this quote is to live in the moment. Do not always worry about what will happen way in the future, because if it prevents you from having fun now, it’s not always worth it. Miss Maudie taught a general life lesson that can be applied to anyone, of any age, at any time. Another reason for To Kill a Mockingbird to be a masterpiece is that there are still issues of racial and bias injustices. One of the main parts of the story was that Tom Robinson, an African American, was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Though Atticus proved Tom completely innocent, making it clear there was no possible way he could have done what he was accused of, Tom was still found guilty by the jury because he is not white. It is true that there are no more major issues today, but people, especially in the South, are still not equal, as stated in the Constitution with “All men are created equal”. If so, then why has that still not been accomplished? Caucasians still seem to be superior to African Americans and that is one thing that is happing in To Kill A Mockingbird, making it still relevant today, which is what “contemporary significance” means.
Though like most critics, there are many different points of views, and one happens to say that To Kill a Mockingbird is merely pleasant, undemanding reading. One reason people seem to think this is because they claim that the narrator is an unreliable resource. Of course, that is not true. Scout is a child as the story takes place. She is very reliable because she was actually there first hand and children’s minds can remember more and comprehend a lot more than the average adult mind, because they are more open to things and they have yet to be taught most judgments that adults end up putting in their minds. Because of that, they are extremely reliable because they tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” as Atticus, being a lawyer, would say. In “The Long Life of a Mockingbird”, a book called Twitterature is quoted, as a fan with a Twitter account agrees that children are a more reliable source for information. It says “@BooScout went to the trial. Tom seems innocent. Also, it occurs that our town is full of racists. Perhaps only the eyes of a child can see the truth” (Philpot 53). Another attempt at proving that To Kill a Mockingbird is intended for a light, leisurely read is that the plot is all over the place and that there are a lot of unnecessary details, which is absolutely absurd. The first part of the story has to do with Boo Radley, which is where most people find that there is no real meaning. Boo Radley is extremely important because at the end, it is because of him that Jem and Scout live. “Taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service” (Lee 369) was said when Mr. Author “Boo” Radley was mentioned, near the end. As stated before, To Kill a Mockingbird was originally a bunch of short stories, which if you think about it, makes it certain that each chapter does indeed have a part in the story. Part 1 sets the scene up for Part 2 and without it, you would have little idea of what was going on, and by the resolution you would be totally lost. This proves that each section and each little piece and detail of the story are very important and cannot be lost.
To Kill a Mockingbird has been overly proved that it is not merely pleasant, undemanding reading, and is indeed a work of strong, contemporary significance because of the injustices and life lessons still relevant to today’s society. There definitely is still value in the storyline that makes it a classic and makes it still a book people can read and relate to in the present, though it is no longer 1930 (when the events in the story took place) or 1960 (when the book was originally published). The opposing side trying to prove that Harper Lee’s prize-winning novel is not very memorable does have some good points, but each of their claims can be refuted and proven incorrect. It is an opinion though, whether the book is major or not, but either way, any sensible reader would quickly agree that it contains strong, contemporary significance.

Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing. 2010. Print.
Philpot, Chelsey. “The Long Life of a Mockingbird.” The Horn Book Magazine May-June 2011: 51-55. Print.

Four Weddings

2011-10-26T20:45:00.001-04:00

TV Show: Four Weddings

Channel: TLC

My Thoughts: Four brides all attend and rate and judge each others weddings to see who will be rewarded with a dream honeymoon based on the scores the other brides give them. They're judged on overall experience, venue, dress, and food.
This show is on everyday after What Not To Wear, so naturally, I watch t his too. Its cool to see how the different weddings are and to see how people judge weddings. Some of the dream honeymoons they've had has not seemed so spectacular to me, though. But it also shows how much they spent on the wedding, so you can see like how much things cost.

I'd Reccommend to...late teens/early twenties/bored people

My Rating: 4/5

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What Not To Wear

2011-10-25T16:31:00.000-04:00

TV Show:

What Not To Wear

Channel:

TLC: The Learning Channel

My Thoughts:

What Not To Wear is a fabulous show that is on every day. Family and friends can nominate people that they think need a fashion makeover to be on it, and the few selected get to go through a whole makeover. They get shown why what they wear is inappropriate and learn how to make it better. They go shopping by themselves, then with the professionals, get their hair and makeup done, and get to reveal it to their hometown. Most starting points are how most people dress, so it's great to see how - and why you need - to improve your own wordrobe and style.

My Rating:

4.8/5

I'd Reccommend to:

anyone who wants to be more stylish

Advice/Feedback Post #1

2011-10-08T11:19:00.002-04:00

If you have any feedback, comments, or critizism about PrincessReviews, or would like to have your advice answered, please leave a comment below

Hi tasha. I'm going through a very difficult situation and could really use some advice. I have an 18 month old daughter and her father wanted nothing to do with us. So I just decided to leave him alone. Now I've been seeing this guy for awhile and I just found out I'm pregnant. The problem is he still lives with his sons mother. Theyre not together he lives there for his son. He wants me to have an abortion which I never believed in. I actually want to have this baby I'm just afraid that if I do we won't be together. I'm afraid it will make it very hard to find someone to be with if I do. But as I said I want this baby. I was on birth control and still got pregnant. So I believe thats a miracle and I think its selfish to kill a baby just because its the wrong time. Have any advice?

It's really quite simple. If he loves you, he will stay with you and love you and your kid. If not, I've seen tons of tv shows where people with kids find people to be with. Sorry its short advice, but I think it kindda gets to the point.

Suicide is NEVER the Answer

2011-10-06T16:13:00.001-04:00

This is from the website Suicide.org :

If you are not in immediate danger because of thoughts of suicide, but need someone to talk with about your suicidal feelings, please do not hesitate to call one of the following national suicide prevention lines:

1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

Suicide Prevention Lines

You may call these suicide prevention numbers from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day. People are waiting to help you. Call a suicide prevention number right now if you need to. And always remember that it is never okay to act on your thoughts of suicide. Never. Again, call a suicide prevention number now if you need to.

Never act on your thoughts of suicide.

Extensive suicide prevention hotline numbers, categorized by country or state, can be found on the Suicide Prevention Hotlines pages of this web site. Go to the Suicide Prevention Hotlines index page now if you need to.

Suicide is never the answer.

Getting help is the answer.

If you do not need to call any of the suicide prevention numbers above, then please read on. . .
Welcome, my friend, you are not alone. I am very pleased that you are here. And let me remind you that there is nothing more important than your life. Nothing.
My name is Kevin Caruso. I am the Executive Director of Suicide.org and I would like to share some important information with you. The first thing that I want you to know is that virtually every person that I have talked with who attempted suicide, and survived, was glad that they lived. So the emotions that were causing the suicidal feelings did pass. Things got better; the sun did come out. So, let me extend that hope to you.
If you are in intense emotional and/or physical pain, remember that your judgment is being clouded by that pain. If you are considering suicide, you are trying to end that pain. Please do not confuse ending your pain with ending your life. The two are very different.
Let me also tell you that if you are suicidal, you probably are suffering from clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, postpartum depression, PTSD, or something similar. And if you have something along these lines, you actually have a chemical imbalance in your brain -- and you cannot possibly think straight because of it. That is beyond your control. You are not weak. You just need some treatment. This imbalance can occur for several reasons, from genetics to a traumatic life experience, and it is extremely common for people to have this imbalance, so do not feel like you are alone. You are not.

This imbalance may be rectified in several ways, but first you need to be assessed so that the cause may be understood. I would request that you please go to a medical doctor.
The doctor can determine if there is a secondary problem (such as a thyroid problem) that is causing the imbalance. If so, an appropriate medication may be prescribed to you. Next, you should visit a therapist. This will allow another assessment to occur and will also allow you to begin talking about your feelings. If the therapist determines that you need a prescription, he or she may refer you to someone who may assist you in that area.
Please leave the option open for taking medication. Some people erroneously believe that they can simply use will power to control their suicidal feelings. The problem with this thinking is that, again, there is probably a chemical imbalance in the brain. And that needs to be treated with medicine. So let me ask you this, my friend. If you had a broken leg, would you get treatment or would you just keep walking on it, writhing in pain, and trying to convince yourself that you just needed will power to overcome the pain? You would get treatment, and you would do so immediately. You would not even think twice about it. And I would most respectfully submit to you that your situation is similar. If you are diagnosed with clinical depression, or something similar, then there is a physical cause for your condition. And you need to seek treatment immediately. It is not just emotion. Please understand this, my friend. The brain, after all, is an organ. And sometimes needs treatment.
If you cannot afford to see a doctor or therapist, please seek out some clinics that have reduced rates. There are many affordable places to go. You can call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) to get listings for clinics in your area. Do not hesitate to call. You can also check in your phone book.
After your initial assessment, you will need to see a therapist long enough to work through all of the issues that are bothering you. Do not be in a hurry -- things will get better. You may feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster ride, but those ups and downs will level out.
My friend, thank you so very much for being here. It means a lot to me because the mere fact you are here indicates that you are reaching out, and that you really do want to live. So, I want you to do something else that is very important. Please make a commitment to stay alive. To not die by suicide, no matter what. Make this commitment for all of the people who care for you, and for yourself. Remember that if you try to end your pain by ending your life, you will start a world of pain for the loved ones that you leave behind. And you will deprive yourself of many wonderful things that you have yet to experience.
Thank you for making that commitment.
Now, my friend, I have told you the things that you should do. So, please get started. Please make an appointment right now to see a doctor and a therapist. If you can't do it now, do it as soon as possible. I care about you very much, and I love you very much, so I want you to get better as soon as possible.
One final thing. Relax. That's right. Relax. Take some deep breaths and do something that you enjoy that relaxes you. Take a bath. Go for a walk. Listen to some nice music. Just take it easy. And engage in these activities that relax you on a regular basis. And let me tell you, my friend, you are on your way. On your way to a better life.
Always remember that there are phone numbers that you can call
24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
from any location in the United States:

1-800-SUICIDE
(1-800-784-2433)

1-800-273-TALK
(1-800-273-8255)
Take care of yourself, and take action now. Your life is extremely important.
And do not forget the commitment that we made together, that you will not end your life -- that you will never, ever, under any circumstances end your life.
You are awesome!
You are a great person!
And I love you!
Take care,
Kevin Caruso
Suicide.org
Founder, Executive Director, Editor-in-Chief
Senior Writer, Forum Administrator

Blog Posting Sorry!

2011-10-04T16:40:00.001-04:00

Hello, all! I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been posting lately, I've been extremely busy. I'm going to try to post more often again, so keep checking back often!

Just a reminder, if you would like to join the Princess Reviews team and create your own posts, just send me an email, leave a comment, or post on my Facebook wall! We'd love to welcome anyone who wants to join!
Thank you!

Advice Posts

2011-09-30T15:19:00.001-04:00

Hello! Some blogs have Advice Columns. Some days, I don't know what to review or post about. On these days, I would like to post an "Advice Column". I know you might not want advice from me, but it could also be like a suggestion column where you give me suggestions on the blog.
Please either post questions as comments on here, or email me them at princessreviews at gmx dot com. Thanks!

Weekend Brain Parties

2011-09-29T21:20:00.002-04:00

Last Weekend's Question:
Who wrote the Vampire Diaries?

Answer:
LJ Smith

Bonus:
What channel is it on?

Answer:
the CW

This Weekend's Question:
When is your school's homecoming?

Hint:
There are no wrong answers.

Pillow Pets

2011-09-28T15:48:00.001-04:00

It's a pillow, it's a pet! It's a pillow pet!

Pillow pets are cute and cuddley pillows in with animal heads. They have a velcro latch so they can become a stuffed animal. I have many and they are cool and awesome. I recommend them.

PS. Sorry this is a short post. I'm tired and I don't feel well and I have to go to dance in a few minutes.

Dance Studio Instructor

2011-09-27T15:30:00.000-04:00

This is a high school report submitted by Tasha Nicole Haight and is credited to Tasha.

Dance Studio Instructors are dance instructors that work and teach in a dance studio. They must specialize in at least one type of dance, such as ballet, jazz, hip hop, or modern. Studio instructors choreograph, or create, dances and teach them to their students. Once the students know the dance, it is the instructor's job to help perfect the dance. The instructor needs to set the dance to music, pick out costumes, and have a recital or competition to show off what his or her students have accomplished.

Anna Pavola, Nicolai Legat, Pierre Beauchamp, Jules Perrot, Valentina Pereyakslavic, Arthur Murray, and Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire are some popular people who were once studio instructors sometime in their life.

To be a studio instructor, college is not required. However, as previously stated, they must specialize in a form of dance. People can specialize in a dance type by having completed a lot of classes of that type of dance and by continuing to go to classes, even when they are an instructor themselves. Studio instructors must be good communicators, be creative and physically fit, be able to teach well, and be able to be honest, fair, and sensitive at the same time. Most importantly, a dance instructor - be it a studio one or not - should love to dance!

Going to college is always a good thing, even if it is not required. If you get hurt and can no longer dance, then you need a back-up plan. College can provide you with that. Some good classes to take in college to become a dance studio instructor are Education, Dance, Business, and Management. Many colleges offer these classes. Butler University, for example, provides a BFA in Performance, BA in Pedagogy, and a BS in Arts Administration. To be admitted into Butler University's dance program, you must also be admitted academically. Kent State also has classes a studio instructor might be interested in, and a common Major-Minor combination at Kent State is a Major in Education and a Minor in Performance.

You could become a studio instructor almost anywhere in the world. You need to be at a dance studio, but geographically most places have studios. The environment is a clean one, where learning is made easy. The starting salary is about $13-25 per hour or class, and can become as much as $50 or more once the instructor is more experienced and has received more credit and a good reputation. Studio instructors can be as young as in High School to start, and can be as old as they want to be until they encounter a physical disability that prevents them from dancing, such as a broken leg, torn ligament, or something of that nature.

Work hours are typically very long in the days, and sometimes even at night. Studio instructors teach classes and sometimes might need to teach private lessons for those who need or want extra help. Job Monkey interviewed a Salsa Dancer who said, "Sometimes I work from 10 in the morning and I don't get home until 10 at night." But the work can pay off and you can be able to advance to being a studio owner, company owner, or professional choreographer if you wish and put forth the effort. If you do become a studio or company owner, one way to Build a Better Business is to update and maintain a website.

As with every career, there are pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages. Some great advantages are that you get paid to do what you love, you get to meet new people, whether they be students, dancers, choreographers, or other instructors, you get to dance all day, and you stay in shape. Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages as well, such as having long work hours, getting little to no rest, and needing to keep your energy level high all the time. But hopefully loving what you do makes up for all the bad things!

Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?

2011-09-26T17:12:00.000-04:00

Title:
Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?

Author:
Tim O'Brien

Summary: (ClassZone)
Billy Boy Watkins steps on a mine in Vietnam, blowing off his foot. The shock of the incident grips Billy and in his ensuing panic, he dies from a heart attack. Private First Class Paul Berlin, a young, inexperienced soldier, witnesses this event and has an intense reaction to Billy's tragic death. Seized by the irony of a young man literally scaring himself to death, Paul must deal with his own fears as he moves through the jungle with his company later that same day.

About the Author: (Wikipedia)
Tim O'Brien (born October 1, 1946 in Minnesota) is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there. He has held the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University-San Marcos several times, from 2003 to 2004, then from 2005 to 2006, and a third time from 2008 to 2009.

I'd Recommend to...
Teachers to use in class

My Rating:
4.7

My Thoughts:
Private First Class Paul Berlin is finishing his first day in the army in the Vietnam War. He is scared senseless and pretends that he is not a solider in a war and that he is back home camping. When Tony, or Buff, talks to him about Billy Boy Watkins's death, Paul cannot stop laughing. Billy Boy died of a heart attack because he was so scared. The story tells of Billy Boy's death and Paul's non-ability to stop laughing and Paul's own fears. It is a short story and a good one to read about war and how though soldiers are thought to be brave and courageous, they are still human and are still scared.

How to Interpret Your Dreams: Guest Post by Jimmy Henderson

2011-09-25T01:06:00.001-04:00

How to interpret your dreams

By Jimmy Henderson

Dreams can be a means to self-or spiritual development, as they are an easy way of receiving information on aspects of our personality that need further work. We also read in sacred scriptures that angels can appear to us in dreams. They can therefore also be a source of guidance.

Keep a dream journal

Keeping a dream-journal is a valuable tool in remembering your dreams, as they usually fade very quickly. You will discover that if you write the details of your dreams down immediately after you wake, your process of recall will become easier. The journal also helps you to provide structure to your work of interpreting the dream.

Dreams are assembled in your subconscious. When you dream, your subconscious is communicating with you by presenting symbolic images in a dramatised and metaphorical form. Being able to record your own ‘language’ of dream-images in a journal will therefore help you interpret your dreams as well as any other visions you may encounter during your spiritual work.

Some dream-images are quite common, as our symbolic processes are the same. However, their meaning usually differs as a result of each person’s unique background and past experiences. I will therefore be supplying you with basic rules and guidelines to help you explore and interpret your own exciting and enigmatic world of dreams.

The dimensions of your dream

The way your dream is put together is very important as it contains elements or clues to its meaning hidden within its context, structure, form and composition. It also uses your present view of the world and framework of concepts, beliefs and ideas. There are a number of different dimensions or levels in your dreams, each having its own set of symbols and meanings. For instance, the background always suggests the context or theme of the message. Try to recall if your dream was light or dark and involved a natural scene or buildings of some sort. What you see as the background is only a clue to the underlying theme of the dream and should not be taken literally. For instance, the sea is often considered a metaphor for the ebb and flow of everyday life, with tides flowing in and out as events unfold. A dream playing out against the backdrop of the sea would probably suggest a problem or situation arising in your normal day-to-day life which requires attention. Likewise, a dream-scene taking place in a desert (which is usually desolate), may suggest a situation in which you feel isolated and alone and are seeking assistance. A dream playing out in semi-darkness may indicate that you are in a crisis (having trouble seeing your way forward). The idea is find a connection between the background of your dream and your present circumstances, needs or state of mind, by looking at the symbolism involved.

Once you have jotted down the background details, the next important step is to remember the immediate surroundings in your dream. This will provide you with more information on your present situation and state of mind as well as your outlook on the world. For instance, in ‘looking out’ onto the world, you would normally use the windows of your home or office. And in your dream, any building in which you find yourself would be a metaphor for ‘where you are’ at the moment. Try to recall the characteristics of the structure, as these can usually be related to your current situation or world-view. For example, a ‘small’ window could suggest your having a limited outlook on life. A dark and damp building could relate to your being in an unpleasant situation or having a negative view of the world. And a building or house in shambles could suggest that your present situation, state of mind or outlook, is chaotic.

Moving away from the immediate surroundings in your dream, focus on the activity which took place. The type of drama, scenario or situation that is being played out, reveals the content of the message, which as I said, could be related to an unfulfilled need in your life or to some other issue which requires attention. You now need to ask yourself how the activity in your dream can be applied (metaphorically) or related (symbolically) to your present situation. For instance, a scene involving travel could be a call for change, or the broadening of your boundaries and the opening of your mind. A battle or conflict in your dream could be referring to a similar situation within yourself. Any threatening situation may be a warning of a matter that urgently needs to be resolved, something which is a real threat to your mental well-being or inner peace.

The next dimension involves the actual images, characters and objects that were presented. In terms of Gestalt psychology, every object or person (character) in a dream represents a certain aspect of yourself and you will need to ask yourself what aspect of your personality the figure represented. Look at the attributes of the characters involved. Were they large or small, aggressive or loving, threatening or supportive? For example, a poor, abused and helpless child could suggest your wounded ‘inner child’. A richly dressed, opulent figure could symbolically point to abundance or a desire for riches, depending on the context and what actions are taking place. For example, a fight with another figure in your dream could be pointing to a conflict within yourself that needs to be resolved.

Finally, consider each object that appeared in your dream. Each will have a particular symbolic significance and add detail to the final meaning of your dream. Objects can often be interpreted in terms of their practical uses or effects in everyday life and applied (metaphorically) to your present situation or path in life. For instance, a large boulder on your path would suggest an obstacle to be overcome and a crossroads, a decision to be made. Once again, the guideline is to consider what you will need to do in real life when confronted with such a situation or object and re-phrase the answer in a metaphorical form.

To unlock the final meaning and message of the dream, you will need to learn to link and combine the information obtained from each level or dimension of symbols, into an integrated whole. This is a straightforward process which involves applying your knowledge and reasoning.

The role of intuition

Your intuition can also play a great role in interpreting your dreams. You can actually learn to ‘sense' the meaning of dream-scenes, activities, characters and objects with practice. The development of intuition will be discussed in a later article.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Jimmy Henderson a well-known metaphysical teacher and regular radio talk show guest. He is the author of a number of articles as well as two self-help books entitled ‘Multi-Dimensional Thinking’ and ‘Multi-Dimensional Perception’ which are available on Amazon.com.

And through his website www.jimmyhendersonbooks.com

Intution and the Ego-Voice: Guest Post by Jimmy Henderson

2011-09-24T01:54:00.001-04:00

Intuition and the ego–voice

By Jimmy Henderson
We all presently function under the guise of a false sense of self or ‘ego’ formed by our experiences in this world. The ego is not who we really are, but is little more than an accumulation of self-awareness surrounded by a collection of self-centred thoughts and beliefs, doubts, fears and insecurities. Somewhere in the midst of all this clutter is still that oasis of pure consciousness (our true nature or authentic self) which sometimes reveals itself in moments of guidance, insight and intuition.

This self-limiting chatter from the ego is usually known as self-talk or mind-talk. However, I prefer the term ‘ego-voice’, which links it clearly back to our self-image and feelings of self-esteem. Put simply, the ego-voice is that which we are continually telling ourselves, and, unfortunately, in most challenging situations, usually takes the form of negative self-statements or beliefs. For example, ‘I will never accomplish this’, ‘I am not good enough’, or ‘I will never find anyone else’. This is not intuition, which originates on a far higher level than the ego. And when working with intuition, it will be important to distinguish between the ego–voice and true intuitive messages.

There are a few guidelines which will help you in this regard. For instance, the ego-voice is usually quite self-deprecating, loud and persistent, whereas true intuitions are constructive, more fleeting and gentle. Perhaps this can be better understood using the analogy of a fisherman. It requires years of practice and dedication in order to be successful at fishing. I have seen them standing patiently for long hours in the early hours of the morning. If you speak to them they always have a prior expectation and a high level of confidence that they will catch a fish. When the line has been cast, an experienced fisherman can tell the difference between the subtle nibble of a fish, the tugs or movements of the currents and being stuck in the rocks. A bite is fleeting and subtle, but still precise. The fisherman responds quickly and without thinking. It is only once the fish has been properly hooked that he or she will reel it in. Once the fish is landed, fishermen are always very happy and grateful for this gift of the sea.

Let us apply this analogy to our own attempts at working with intuition. It takes time to perfect our intuition (practice and dedication). Second, we should always reveal an expectation and full confidence that the intuition will be forthcoming. Third, we can learn to tell the difference between a true intuition, the ego-voice, or normal conscious thinking. A true intuition is also fleeting, transient, yet immediate and precise. There is no thinking involved. If it is in the form of an image, the impression will remain briefly even if our attention lapses for a moment, whereas an impression or image produced by an overactive imagination will disappear as soon as our attention is shifted. Any intuitive message should receive an immediate acknowledgement and expression of gratitude. This cements our relationship with our subconscious mind.

Controlling the ego-voice

Our intuition works best with a quiet and balanced state of mind. And the good news is that the chatter and mind-content that produces the ego-voice can be stilled and eventually cleared of negativity. This stillness comes from the rediscovery of our inner spiritual centre through the practice of meditation. And the ego-voice which tells us that we are a failure or that no-one cares can be directly challenged through counselling or the use of positive affirmations.

Jimmy Henderson is a metaphysical teacher and author of a number of self-help books and articles. www.jimmyhendersonbooks.com

Mind-Techniques for Motivation and Success: Guest Post by Jimmy Henderson

2011-09-23T01:51:00.000-04:00

Mind-techniques for motivation and success

By Jimmy Henderson

We all have a subconscious part of our mind which functions as a sort of ‘automatic pilot’ to regulate our bodily functions such as breathing and heartbeat as well as some important mental activities. Throughout our lives we have filled up this subconscious mind with beliefs about ourselves which form unwritten ‘rules’ and govern our thinking and perceptions. The problem is that, if these beliefs are limiting or negative, they can reduce our level of motivation and chances of success.

If we really wish to be self-motivated and achieve success, we have to create the psychological space for this to happen by seeing ourselves as having an almost limitless potential and not allowing ourselves to be governed by these self-imposed limits. Fortunately, research has shown that we can change these negative internal ‘rules’ simply by assimilating powerful new thoughts and ideas about ourselves and the world. And there are a number of subliminal mind-techniques we can use to do this:

Affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements directed at self-empowerment which we repeat to ourselves over and over until they filter through into our subconscious mind where they replace the negative beliefs. For example,

• ‘I release all negative thoughts about myself’

• ‘I am a positive and successful person’

• ‘I will not allow this person, situation or event to hold me back’

• ‘I will not be bothered by the negativity of others’

It often helps to stand in front of a mirror when we do this. Affirmations should be repeated at least three times a day.

Intentions

An intention is more powerful than an affirmation, but requires a very specific state of mind, being a single and precise thought as to exactly what we expect or require from ourselves. It is like an instruction to our subconscious mind. However, it must be simply-worded and unambiguous. It can be said out aloud, or in our minds, but it is useful to begin by stating these intentions verbally until we become used to the process.

Here are a number of examples:

• ‘I now remove all negative thoughts from my mind’

• ‘I now begin this project with the view of success’

• ‘I now open my mind to only thoughts of success’

The power of an intention is that there is no hesitation or doubt, and this is proven by saying it only once with total confidence and conviction, then releasing it by putting it out of our minds. Once we have set the intention, we need to proceed with our next action with the full belief that what we have said, will actually happen.

Meditation

Our state of mind is very important for motivation and success, and we can easily change this by using certain mental exercises. Research has shown that the best state for reducing anxiety and reaching a point of focus, clarity and creativity is the Alpha wave state. This is a low frequency brainwave pattern which has been shown to be ideal for relaxation and working with the mind. When practicing this technique, soft, meditative music can also be played to enhance the effect.

A simple method of reaching this state is by means of slow counting and moving our focus away from our surroundings to our breathing.

For example, sit quietly and comfortably, close your eyes and begin to breathe to a count of one to four. Focus on nothing else but the counting (either aloud or in your mind).

Breathe in 1,2,3,4, hold your breath, 1,2,3,4, breathe out 1,2,3,4, hold your breath 1,2,3,4, breathe in 1,2,3,4, and so on.

Carry on with the counting and breathing until your mind is free of all thought, completely quiet and you feel totally relaxed.

Try to meditate in this way for at least twenty seconds a few times each day. This will help to clear your mind of distractions and provide you with a deeper self-awareness and insight which are useful for decision-making and ultimately, success.

Visualization

Research also shows that our subconscious mind cannot always differentiate between an inner (imagined) experience and an identical real-life situation. An example of this would be the cold sweats, rapid breathing and increased heart-rate we experience during a bad dream.

Second, we all have the power to create a mental picture of any scene or situation within our consciousness. And this has a similar effect on our body and emotional state as what would occur had we experienced this event in real-life. In other words, we can change our negative and limiting internal ‘rules’, as well as de-motivating emotional states, simply by sitting quietly and visualizing ourselves as happy and achieving a goal or a desired outcome in our career.

This sounds a bit like daydreaming, but it is far more focused and powerful, and as I said, can change our subconscious feelings and self-beliefs, making us feel more confident and positive, at least for a while. However, over time these feelings can become embedded in our subconscious and bring about real change. In fact, psychological research has shown that the more positive and confident actions resulting from this exercise can actually become a self-fulfilling prophecy and attract those very situations which we have visualized.

This exercise can also be used in conjunction with a vision-board, in which we paste or stick

cut-out pictures representing our desired successes on a board, and use these pictures as a basis for our visualization.

Jimmy Henderson is a trauma counsellor as well as a well-known metaphysical teacher and regular radio talk show guest. He is the author of a number of articles as well as two self-help books working with the power of the mind entitled ‘Multi-Dimensional Thinking’ and ‘Multi-Dimensional Perception’ which are available at Exclusive books. He is currently completing his MA degree in Cognitive Psychology with UNISA.

Weekend Brain Parties

2011-09-22T09:04:00.001-04:00

Last Weekend's Question:
When is Halloween?

Answer:
October 31.
It should hurry up!

Bonus:
What will you be?

Answer:
there is no correct answer.

This Weekend's Question:

Who wrote The Vampire Diaries?

Hint:

the books, not tv show - tho the show was based off the books.

Bonus:

What channel is the TV show on?

Hint:

its on Thursdays.

Cat Calls

2011-09-21T01:50:00.000-04:00

Title:
Cat Calls

Author:
Cynthia Leitich Smith

About the Author: (her website)

New York Times best-selling and award-winning author Cynthia Leitich Smith writes fiction for everyone, but she has a particular affection for young readers, from kids to twenty-somethings.

Cynthia's fiction is noted for its diversity, humor, lyricism, imaginativeness, compelling action, and mid-to-southwestern settings.

Summary: (her website)
none

I'd Recommend To....
anyone

My Rating:
4.8/5

My Thoughts:
Cat Calls is a free short story on Amazon.com. It's about a girl named Tiffany whose father died before she was born. She gets to spend the whole summer with her grandmother who is a physic fortune teller and who is leaving Tiffany to be the teller tonight. By herself. The first fortune turns out horrible, but then she starts to get the hang of things. When she has a vision about Trevor that scares her, she goes after him, only to find out something extremely interesting and amazing.
It was a really good short story and it really makes me want to read more books by Cynthia. I suggest you check it out.

The Leap

2011-09-20T06:18:00.021-04:00

Title:
The Leap

Author:
Louise Erdrich

About the Author: (goodreads)
Karen Louise Erdrich is a Native American author of novels, poetry, and children's books. She is an enrolled member of the Anishinaabe nation (also known as Ojibway and Chippewa). She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant Native writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance.

Summary: (goodreads)
none

I'd Recommend to...
Anyone

My Rating::
4.7/5

My Thoughts:
The narrarator owes her life to her mother 3 times. The first is when a tragic accident kills her mother's first husband, and her sister. Her mother was Anna of the Flying Avalons and one afternoon they were performing and out of nowhere a storm errupts. Lightning stikes the tent, killing Harry and burning Anna's hands. In the hospital, she meets her second husband, the narrator's father, becoming the second time her life belongs to her. The last is when a fire starts and the narrator is trapped in her room. Her mother uses her acrobatic skills to swing into the house and save her child. They jump out of the window.
That took some real courage on Anna's behalf. The child really couldn't help being held onto while her mother jumped. For you see, it was when Anna was falling at the accident in the circus that she could have died and that her first child did die. It took a lot of guts for her to use her acrobatics again to save her child. That just goes to show you what a mother will do for her kid.
We read this book in English 2 Honors last week and it was a cute short story. Basically, the whole book is one big flashback except fot the begining and some little sentences when she's saying that its one of the three times.

The Pedestrian

2011-09-19T05:59:00.035-04:00

Title:
The Pedestrian

Author:
Ray Bradbury

About the Author: (goodreads)
Ray Bradbury, American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and poet, was born August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from a Los Angeles high school in 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a "student of life," selling newspapers on L.A. street corners from 1938 to 1942, spending his nights in the public library and his days at the typewriter. He became a full-time writer in 1943, and contributed numerous short stories to periodicals before publishing a collection of them, Dark Carnival, in 1947.

Summary: (goodreads)
none

I'd Recommend to....
Anyone

My Rating:
4/5

My Thoughts:
Its a dark, cold, November night in the year 2053. Leonard Mead is out for a walk. This is unusual -no, unheard of! No one goes out and walks anymore, they all just sit infront of their televisions, rotting away like a bunch of couch potatoes. Everyone execpt Leonard. Every night for the past 10 years he has gone out for a walk. He doesn't even own a television set!
As he is out, minding his own business, talking to the houses he passes, a robot police car - the only one for 3 MILLION people - stops him. When asked what he is doing, he replies walking, and when asked why, he replies to see and to walk. These answers do not satisfy the police car, and poor Leonard is arrested.
Leonard exemplifies mental courage and the courage to be different. His house is warm and bright while everyone else's is like tombstones, and again, he doesn't own a television set when everyone else does. He would rather be out walking then rotting away. He is a writer when no one reads anymore. In all ten years, he has never seen another person walking. It definately takes courage to be different, and he is definately different. Lady GaGa also chooses to be different, and so did Rosa Parks. Rosa refused to give up her seat, showing courage to be different, since everyone else was following the law.
Some people might think Ray Bradbury is being overly pessimistic about the power of television and technology in the future, but remember, when he wrote this story, tv was the latest thing and all anyone wanted to do was watch it. How was he supposed to know that the buzz of it would fade? After all, he really did get stopped by a police man for talking a walk because it was so out of the ordiany.

Of Mice and Men: The American Dream

2011-09-18T05:50:00.011-04:00

I previously reviewed this book, back in September of 2010. This review is more of an intense review of Steinbeck's American Dream as described in Of Mice and Men. This was part of a report I handed in in 9th grade. Again, feel free to critisize in the comments below!

Title:
Of Mice and Men

Author:
John Steinbeck

About the Author: (goodreads)
John Steinbeck III was an American writer. He wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and the novella Of Mice and Men, published in 1937. In all, he wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories.

Summary: (goodreads)
The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to reign in his immense physical strength.

I'd Recommend to...
8-9th grade

My Rating:
4.5

My Thoughts:
The American Dream is defined in many ways. Based on some research and this story, the definition that most relates to Of Mice and Men's American Dream is being able to have and create the ideal life with nothing or little to start with. John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice And Men, does not believe that the American Dream is attainable. If he did, then he would have had less obstacles for his characters to overcome, and at least one of them would have attained the American Dream. Instead all of them did not reach it and some even died, like Curley's wife and Lennie.

George and Lennie had their own American Dream that Candy and Crook also eventually dreamt. The place they are looking to buy is 10 acres with a windmill. "Got a little shack on it, an' a chicken run. Got a kitchen, orchard, cherries, apples, peaches, 'cots, nuts, got a few berries. They's a place for alfalfa and plenty water to flood it." (57) They also want to build a place for rabbits, and a smokehouse to cook the bacon, ham, and sausages they would get from the pigs. They would can the fruit and tomatoes when they came in, and have thick cow or goat cream. They want a place where they can live and belong, without having to run anywhere or get into any trouble. But, like all great rewards, there were some challenges that came first.
There are many challenges toward the American Dream in Of Mice And Men. Even today there are some challenges. Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men have one or more disadvantages. For example, Lennie has the mind of child, even though he is a giant adult. George's main disadvantage is that he must take care of Lennie. There are plenty more as well, like how Crook is black and crippled, or how Candy is old and missing a hand. All of these prevent them from achieving their American Dream. Nowadays, people also have challenges, like not being able to afford something. Cancer and other sicknesses are also problems that happen that could stop you from getting the American Dream.
Even if it was easy to achieve, there would just a be a more higher dream, which would not be attainable. The American Dream keeps you going and pushing yourself. If everyone or anyone could reach it, we wouldn't work as hard, unless there was a new American Dream, which there very well could be. But it would be set higher and be just as impossible as the American Dream now. Some people even question that there is an American Dream.
~Written by Tasha Nicole Haight, 2010.

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Next To Nothing

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Book Review: Legon Awakening

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Guest Post by Joann H. Buchanan

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New Shows on ABC Family! *NOT A REVIEW**

Swag Giveaway Winner!

Happy New Year!!

CD Giveaway Winners!

Christmas Cookies

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

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Darkness

The Call of the Wild

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The 12 Days of Facebook

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Austin Jones - Tooth Pick Booty

Swag Giveaway

CD Giveaway

The Robe of Skulls Giveaway

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Footloose

Lack of Posts

Geek Girl Book vs. Geek Charming Movie

Thanksgiving Giveaway!!

Black Friday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Unlovable Giveaway!

Geek Girl

Mr. Young

A&P

Unlovable

Geek Charming: The Movie

Once Upon A Time

Sherry Gammon Interview

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension

Take Me Home Tonight (movie review)

Happy Halloween (IK, it's late!)

Zombies vs Unicorns, Yeah That's Right

Turned at Midnight

Geraldo No Last Name

To Kill a Mockingbird

Four Weddings

What Not To Wear

Advice/Feedback Post #1

Suicide is NEVER the Answer

1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

Suicide Prevention Lines

Never act on your thoughts of suicide.

Suicide is never the answer.

Getting help is the answer.

Blog Posting Sorry!

Advice Posts

Weekend Brain Parties

Pillow Pets

1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)