Book Review: Surfacing by Margaret Atwood.

I decided that for my first books review, I would do what I had to read for summer reading this year, Surfacing by Margaret Atwood. These book reviews shall go on a lovely one-five star system, which will conveniently be located at the end of the review. ;)

So, to start this off, I have to say that this book starts off slow. It's about a woman, who is unnamed, who goes to the cabin she grew up on with her boyfriend, Joe, and her seemingly-happily-married friends, Anna and David, because her father went missing.

At first the novel starts of slow, describing what seems to be a typical vacation. Yet, you can feel that something's about happen, and, as the book progresses, you can see a strange sort of thought process enter the narrator's head. She feels that her father left behind a mystery, a message, that she must unravel. At this point, things start getting interesting, to say the least. 

She starts to slowly resent her friends and, since this has shown up at the beginning of the book, we hear even more hinting to a husband and a child she had, but never wanted and abandoned. The book begins to take another turn as she tries to figure out what happened to her father. Meanwhile, she also learns that David and Anna's marriage is not all that happy. The thing with David is that he's extremely sexist. We learn some things about him, scandalous things, and soon he exhibits abusive behavior towards Anna. She begins to tell the narrator of the things he does to her and you can even see him undermining her and even forcing her to do a thing or two against her will. Written in a time where the feminist movement was gaining power, you definitely see the two conflicting themes in the novel. 

Yet, those become irrelevant in the end as she enters a primal state where she is run completely on her fear in hopes of finally discovering the whereabouts of her father, despite him being presumed dead. You become absorbed with how she lives and distrust. 

Surfacing is truly an absorbing novel, despite it's slow start, and is probably one of the most interesting, albeit strange, psychological thrillers I have read. I give it a lovely four-and-a-half-stars.

I Swear, I'm Not Dead

So, I'm sure some of you may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere Friday and the lack of book review on Thursday. Well, I can easily explain that in one word: Vacation.
Yup, I was at one of my favorite cities in the world-San Francisco. I was eating the food, visiting SF State, checking out bookstores, the works. I also got a nice relief from the unbearable heat that has been haunting Northern Nevada.
So, now, I feel the need to give advice on how to survive on a vacation to the city by the bay.

First:
ALWAYS DRESS WARMLY. That city is cold, staying at about the fifties-sixties range. Even if you live in the hottest place ever, you should at least bring along a hoodie and jeans. Close-toed shoes would also be advised.

Second: 
Don't drive. San Francisco traffic is horrible. The city has public transportation almost everywhere and the buses run relatively late. You can also take the trolley, a train that seems to be seen on the Embarcadero (pardon my spelling), a trolley, or even a taxi. Hell, if you're close enough to the location, walk! Get some exercise. Just don't drive. Though should be a commonly accepted fact at this point. XD

Third:
Don't even do everything on your list. Have fun, don't plan things. Wander around. Maybe even go somewhere that isn't a typical tourist-y thing. Go to a bookstore, a library. Relax, just check it out. San Francisco's a big city and probably one of my favorites. I just love being there and if you need a cool new place to vacation, I would certainly say giving San Francisco a shot.

Well, that's it for now. Au revoir, my friends!

Life and Writing

Hello, dear friends! As I've said before, I am continuing my weekly blog posts! This is quite an achievement on my part. :) 

Now, on to some important stuff. So, Sparks has been doing wonderfully. I should be finished by the end of summer. Which suddenly leaves me with two incomplete novels to write. As I've explained before, I plan to have these novels done by the beginning of December. So, essentially I am writing three novels in about four-and-a-half months. Then I have a goal. What does this goal entail? Well, it involves rewriting Age is Just a Number. I hope to get a version that's slightly better out there for critiques and such so I can start editing that version in the spring and possibly start querying in the summer/fall. For you see, I'm a senior in high school, so college seems like a good place to start trying to set my foot into the publishing world. This, of course, is all long term, but still something I've been thinking about. 

Next thing on the agenda: Books! I've just finished my summer reading, leaving me with time to read whatever I want! Now, I am currently reading The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, who is probably favorite general fiction writers. She writes in a way that you can relate to while still keeping it fun and throwing in a but of romance as well. I definitely advise reading some of her books if you ever need something to read. 

I've also decided on doing a weekly book review. I'll probably do these on Thursdays, so look out for them. The first one is a surprise. Gasp! Well, that's all for now. Happy Writing!

(What will I call this thing on the day when I'm no longer a teenage writer, I wonder?)

Friday Night Black Jack

Ah, I almost forgot to make a blog post for today, but, four minutes to midnight, I remember to make my Friday blog post! 

So, in terms of writing, I have figured the next four chapters of Sparks, so you all will get a decent plot line come August (Hopefully!). Also, the notebook has a page left before it's filled! Meaning that my Irish blessings notebook will get some good use! :)

Next order of business is for anyone in the Reno area! If you want to hear se good, new music, go check out the band Love Like Wes. They're a local band and a good one at that. I'll add a link to their page and YouTube channel tomorrow when I'm not on my phone, but, if you like music with a Train-like vibe who's fun and relaxed, then go check them out! 

Now, that's all for tonight! Back to black jack! 

Bonne nuit! 

Happy Fourth of July! (Well, Fifth, I Suppose)

Hello! So, it appears that for we Americans, we have had the chance to celebrate our Independence Day! Yup, yesterday was the Fourth of July.
For me, it was quite interesting. It started our average, a parade, candy, etc, etc. Then, something changed. Now usually my family goes to the park and checks out the festivities and booths and such for a few hours and just does some general hanging before the family barbecue. Unfortunately, that did not occur.
Well, it did, slightly. My parents, sister, brother, and I all went and ate Indian tacos and drank O.L.L.Es (this really awesome drink made up of water, a lemon, lime, orange, and it has a cherry on top), but we did not stay. Of course, after a lovely barbecue, we planned to back to the park for fireworks. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm happened in the afternoon, making going to the park impossible. At this point, we're just tired and feeling slightly down about the holiday. I mean, with these storms, would we even have a fireworks show?
Thankfully, the rain did stop and the skies cleared. But now my sister and I were the only ones wanting to watch the fireworks, which were made unappealing by large amounts of mud at the park, so my parents did not want to park their car there.
But we saved again by Lizzie, one of my best friends! With her car, she an Sara volunteered to pick my sister and I up and we had a lovely Fourth full of live music, fireworks, and fun with friends. It was a wonderful time and I feel so blessed that I got to participate in such fun. :)
Though the free time did let me get some time in to write! It's a wonderful feeling and now it's back to writing more. Sparks and my mom's birthday await! Au revoir!