April Wrap Up and May TBR

April Wrap Up

April is a month that went on and on, but in other ways flew by. April was a big month for us. We had our first ice storm since 1996 and we got 3 days off school. I finished two books in that time. We lost power only twice and only for an hour each time. We were very lucky. I attended prom on April 20th and that was an amazing experience. I read a total of 6 books in April. I'm proud to say I finished every book on my April TBR list besides Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi which I gave up. 

April Wrap Up

1. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult was my favorite book for this month. I love Jodi Picoult as an author and this book was another winner. I didn't want to put it down and finished it quickly. 

(Review)

2. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick was the 2nd book I read in April and it didn't disappoint. I loved Pat and Tiffany and the mental illeness really added to the book. 

(Review)

3. And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry was the 3rd book I read in April. I won this book through a goodreads giveaway and I was excited to read it. I love books about adoption and this was a great book. It was emotional and happy at the same time. I would recommend this book for people who like heartwarming novels.

(Review)

4. Splintered by A.G. Howard became my 2nd disliked book of 2013. I so badly wanted to like this book, but I had a lot of issues with it which you can read about in my review. 

(Review)

5. 311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber was not as good as the 2nd Cedar Cove book, but I really enjoyed the story and the characters. 

(Review)

6. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson was a wonderful book. I really enjoyed this retelling of Peter Pan. Anderson did a wonderful job creating the character of Tiger Lily.

(Review)

May TBR (To Be Read)

I'm going to finish off the Spring of Sarah Dessen challenge this month by finishing the 3 remaining novels I haven't read by her. The others ones are just books I want to read. The books are This Lullaby, Just Listen, and That Summer by Sarah Dessen, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah, and Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett. 

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon

While April was jam packed with Read-a-Thons May is a bit more quiet in that respect. This is the one read-a-thon I found for May and it happens to run throughout my final week of high school ever. You can sign up at bout of books  Any books you see on my May to be read list will be eligible for this read-a-thon. 

Spring into Horror Wrap up

This read-a-thon was really slow at the beginning as I was in a reading slump, but thanks to Dewey's Read-a-thon I was taken out of that slump and I ended up reading quite a few pages.


In 7 days I read 449 pages which is about 64 pages per day.

Book Finished:

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson.










Books Started:

I'm around 170 pages into 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber and enjoying the books.

I read 77 pages of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi for this read-a-thon. Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy the book and ended up giving it up on page 102.

This Week in Books (10) April 28th, 2013

This week in books is going to be a new feature I'm going to be doing on my blog. This week in books is in no way my original idea. It is a combination of Friday reads, its Monday what are you reading, weekly wraps up, and any thing else you can think of. The basic idea is I will be telling you what I read last week and what I would like to read this week which is always subject to change.


Read This Week

I was pretty close to finishing no books this week. Tiger Lily was an amazing book, but I just didn't want to read. Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon pulled me out of my slump and I finished Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson on Saturday.

(Review)







Currently Reading

I started 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber and Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi this week. 

44 Cranberry Point is the 4th book in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series. I'm really enjoying my time listening to it and the characters are being really entertaining.

I'm around 42 pages into Under the Never Sky and so far it isn't bad, but I'm not overly impressed. I don't really know what is going on because we didn't get any background on Aria's situation. I feel like the author just dropped me in and expected me to know what is going on. Although I don't like long introductions and background stories a little paragraph would have been nice. If you have read this book please tell me if it is going to get better soon.

To Read:

I have finally ran through my huge pile of library books so I will kind of have more choice as to what I can read. I have Firefly Lane checked out right now and I can't wait to read it, but I will most likely start Rapunzel Untangled first since I can't renew it because it is so new. You will have to wait and see which book I decide to read next week. I can't believe it is already going to May this week. I'm graduating in about 3 weeks time. I still have a lot I need to get done, but my checklist is slowly getting smaller while my reading pile keeps increasing. 

Thanks for reading

Rachael

Book Review: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (no spoilers)

Book: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Publication: July 3rd, 2012
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

 Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

 Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

 With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

 From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

My Thoughts:

Tiger Lily is a retelling of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan narrated by Tinker Bell about Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily had a very small part in Peter Pan so I was excited to see what Jodi Lynn Anderson would do with her character. In all honesty Jodi Lynn Anderson had a lot of room for imagination while still sticking true to the story of Peter Pan. She did a great job with the story, but I still saw the glimpses of the story of Peter Pan that I fell in love with.

Tinker Bell was a great narrator to this novel although there were many times I forgot it was her talking, she was able to keep an eye on Peter Pan and the pirates when Tiger Lily wasn't with them. This gave us as the reader a unique glimpse into their lives. Tinker Bell is the fairy I love from the Disney movie, but yet Anderson embraced her darker side that we see in Peter Pan. I really loved that aspect of her character.

This novel was about Tiger Lily and Peter Pan's unconventional  love story. I really liked that Jodi Lynn Anderson didn't rush the relationship. It took most of the book before either of their feelings became known and then even after that they weren't in love in the way you would think. Anderson did an amazing job with the character of Peter because he is so forgetful in the original novel he was forgetful in Tiger Lily still. Peter Pan made a different choice in the end than I could ever see him making, but I was okay with his decision. We don't know a whole lot about Tiger Lily from the original novel so Jodi Lynn Anderson had a lot of room to imagine up her character. Tiger Lily was a girl that didn't show her emotions, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't care. Tiger Lily isn't quick to anger and she isn't overly compassionate, but we could see throughout the novel that she cared about her tribe, The Skyeaters and Peter Pan and the lost boys. I especially enjoyed that Anderson embraced the darker elements of Peter Pan. The pirates and the mermaids were no angels and I really enjoyed that although I do wish the pirates had a little bigger part. The mermaids aren't seen for long in the original novel so she really fleshed out their characters for Tiger Lily and did an excellent job.

Tiger Lily is a beautiful novel full of adventure, courage, and love. I really enjoyed my time reading Tiger Lily.  I love the story of Peter Pan and Tiger Lily did not disappoint. I would recommend this novel to all fans of Peter Pan. I think all fans would fall in love with this novel as I did.


Thanks for reading


Rachael

Hour 24 Finish Line and End of Event Survey Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

I'm so excited to have completed my first 24 hour read-a-thon although I did not stay up for the full 24 hours I enjoyed the time I spent reading for this read-a-thon and I know I will be back in October if it lands on a flexible date for me since I will be in college.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? I was out by 11:10 p.m. central time. I'm not a night person at all.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I split my time between an audio book on my computer 44 Cranberry Point, and reading my regular book Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Those are the only suggestions I have. 
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? This read-a-thon is fabulous.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The hourly posts really kept me motivated.
5. How many books did you read? I finished 1, got pretty far through one, and started another one.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber, and Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
8. Which did you enjoy least? Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? wasn't a cheerleader, but they were great motivators.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I would love to participate again and I would likely be a reader again.

Update:

From 9:38 to 10:00 so 22 minutes I listened to page 117 to pg 128 in 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber. That is a total of 11 pages.

Then it was time to start a new book. I went upstairs and made my bed. Then I read this book before I went to sleep. from 10:15 to 10:35 I read pg 0 to pg 17 in Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. That is a total of 20 minutes and 17 pages. 

I took a quick 5 minute break and returned to continued reading Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I read from 10:40 to 11:10 p.m. central time which is 30 minutes and I read from pg 17 to pg 33 which is a total of 16 pages. 

Cumulative Total:

Time Read: 8 hours 6 minutes

Pages Read:296 pages

I'm so proud of myself. I may have only read a 1/3 of the time the read-a-thon was going on, but I have never read that many pages in a day so I'm really proud of myself. I loved participating in Dewey's Read-a-thon and would love to do it again in October. I can't wait to read everybody else's posts.

Rachael

Hour 14 Check In and Mid-Event Survery Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

Whoo we are over halfway through the event and I'm here for my hour 14 update. Wow. 

Mid-Event Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? I'm doing pretty good right now. I have making sure to take frequent breaks so I don't tire from reading so much. My audiobook on my computer has been a nice break. 
2) What have you finished reading? It only took me 13 and 1/2 hours, but I finally finished Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. 
3) What is your favorite read so far? I love both of the books I have been working on. 
4) What about your favorite snacks? Strawberries still. They have been amazing throughout the day. 
5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! I haven't blog hopped too much, but I have found a few that look promising. 

Update:

From 4:18 to 6:00 so 1 hour and 42 to minutes I listened to page 75 yo 117 in 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber. That is a total of 42 pages.

I'm proud to announce after 13 and 1/2 hours of reading on and off I have finished Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I read from 6:25 to 7:05 so 40 minutes and in that time I read from pg 225 to pg 250 so 25 pages.

Then I took a break for supper and was determined to finish the last portion of Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson in one more sitting. I read from 7:30 p.m. to 8:25 p.m. so 55 minutes. In that time I read from pg 250 to pg 292, finishing the amazing novel. A total of 42 pages was read in that time frame. I will get my review written up and it will be up soon. 

Cumulative Total:

Time Read: 6 hours and 54 minutes

Pages Read:252 pages

I hope everybody is still doing great. I'm so excited to have one book under my belt. I still may start Under the Never Sky and see what dent I can make in it. 

Rachael. 

Hour 9 Check In Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

Time for another break for me and another update on how my reading is going. 

From 1:35 to 2:40 so 1 hour and 5 minutes I listened to page 44 to page 75 of 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber so a total of 31 pages. 

Then I decided it was time to change books and places in my house. I have either been in the computer room or I have been upstairs in the living room in one of our comfy chairs or lying on the couch. 

Then from 2:45 to 3:55 so 1 hour and 5 minutes I read from page 189 to page 225 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I read a total of 36 pages. 

Cumulative Total:

Time Reading: 4 hours and 37 minutes

Pages Read: 143 pages

Good luck to everybody and I will be back to update later.

Rachael 

Hour 6 Check In and Minichallenge Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

Puzzle challenge hosted by One Librarian's Book Reviews

Hour 6 Puzzle Mini Challenge:

Can you guess what book it is? 

If you guessed Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson you would be right. 

Here's my second one:

Can you guess which book this one is? 

If you guessed 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber you would have been corrected. 

Update Time:

While I'm on the computer today I have been working on an audiobook I checked out from the library last week and it needs to go back soon. It is the 4th book in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, 44 Cranberry Point. 

I realize I didn't put this one in my original stack, but that is okay. I read it from 9:30 to 10:05 so about 35 minutes and I read from pg 25 to pg 40 so 15 pages. 

Then my dad and I ran into town for a while so I didn't read again until we came back. 

I read from 11:35 to 12:05 so around 30 minutes. I read from pg 163 to pg 180 so 17 pages. After that I took a break for lunch. Then I resumed reading Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson at 12:48 to 1:00 so 12 minutes and I read from page 180 to pg 189 so a total of 9 pages. 

Cumulative Stats

Time Read: 2 Hours and 27 minutes

Pages Read: 76 pages

I'm off to a good start and really enjoying Tiger Lily and 44 Cranberry Point. I will update again in a few hours. 

Rachael

Hour 2 Check In Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon

I woke up around 7:40 and I started reading at 7:55 to around 9:05 so around an hour and 10 minutes.

I started on pg 128 of Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson and ended on pg 163 so I read a total of 35 pages in that time.


Hope you all are doing well


Rachael

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Starting Line

This Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Starting Line post.


Reading Stack

My goal is to finish Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I'm currently on page 128 out of 292. Then after I finish Tiger Lily I will either start Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi or Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah.

I set alarms throughout the day on my ipod in order to set the times I'm reading and when I can take breaks, but I'm going to be super flexible. If I don't stick to the schedule it won't be a big deal. This will be my first time participating in Dewey's Read-A-Thon although I wish I was in a higher reading mood going into it. I do hope to get a lot done. I have struggled to read at all this week because I just haven't wanted to read although Tiger Lily is amazing. 

Good Luck to everybody with the read-a-thon and I will be back around nine central time to do my first check in. 

Weekday Read-A-Thon Starting Line and Progress

This is the kick off of the weekday read-a-thon.


I'm currently on page 78 of Tiger Lily. My goal is to keep reading from there. I will update after school through this post. 

I basically didn't do very well during this read-a-thon. I read to pg 91 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I read a total of 13 pages.


Thank you to Rebecca and Alison for hosting this event. My only complaint was it being on a Wednesday. I would have prefered it to be on a Thursday where I have more time to read.

Spring into Horror Read-A-Thon Progress

This read-a-thon kicks off my full week of read-a-thons. 

Day 1 April 22

pg 61 to pg 78 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson










Total Pages: 17

Day 2 April 23
no reading.

Day 3 April 24

pg 78 to pg 91 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Total Pages: 13

Day 4 April 25

pg 91 to 108 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Total Pages: 17

Day 5 April 26

pg 108 to pg 128
Total Pages: 20

Day 6 April 27
I participated in Dewey's Read-a-thon yesterday so I got a lot of reading done.

pg 128 to pg 292 in Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I finished this book review will be up soon.

pg 25 to pg 128 in 44 Cranberry Point by Debbie Macomber.

pg 0 to pg 33 in Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.










Total: 296 pages.

Day 7 April 28

pg 33 to pg 77


pg 128 to pg 170

Total: 86 pages

This Week in Books (9) April 21st, 2013

This week in books is going to be a new feature I'm going to be doing on my blog. This week in books is in no way my original idea. It is a combination of Friday reads, its Monday what are you reading, weekly wraps up, and any thing else you can think of. The basic idea is I will be telling you what I read last week and what I would like to read this week which is always subject to change.


Read Last Week

Last week was a big week. I want everybody to remember that Cinderella and Aschenputtel took me probably all of 10 minutes to read. I did spent a lot of time reading this week to finish Splintered which I didn't care for and 311 Pelican Court which I enjoyed. 

Splinted by A.G. Howard (Review)

311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber (Review)

Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault (Review)

Aschenpputtel by Brothers Grimm (Review)

Currently Reading

I'm around 60 pages in and I'm really enjoying Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

To Read

I'm serious this time I'm really going to read Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.