 Blue Moon is the sequel to Evermore. Coupled with Evermore, it’s the second in the Immortals series. I like the supernatural elements–they’re slightly hokey, but not too bad. Without posting any spoilers, I will say that I liked this book.
The thing that struck me the most is that there are several scenes that I related to, which I can only refer to as High School Hell. I really empathized with the main character, and felt drawn in to the plot. For a sequel, the story is still interesting, although there are a few moments toward the end that seem too neatly wrapped up. Then again, I don’t expect too much from a young adult novel, lol.
Once I got to the end, I found out that there is a third book in the series, Shadowland, which I plan to read. (I thought it was going to be released in February 2010 since that’s what it said in the back of my copy of Blue Moon. But I looked up Shadowland on Amazon, and it shows the pub date as November 2009. Anyway, Shadowland has been released, and I found it locally at Borders.)
I’m assuming this is a trilogy, which is ok with me. I’d like to see the story wrapped up. The characters are likeable, but I’m not so attached to them that I don’t want the series to end. I’m hoping I’ll find resolution in the third book.
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 This is another young adult supernatural novel. Prior to reading this, I had just read Hush, Hush and really liked it, so I was hoping that Evermore would be as enjoyable.
The protagonist is a teenage girl named Ever. She recently lost her parents, sister, and family dog (Buttercup, how cute is that) in a car accident. Ever alone survived. However, after the accident, she can now see people’s auras and hear their thoughts. Her internal world is a mess of noise and chaos.
Then Ever meets Damen, whose thoughts she can’t read. In addition, whenever she talks with him or is touched by him, other people’s voices and auras disappear. With Damen, she’s somewhat normal again. Predictably, Ever falls in love with Damen, but that’s hardly the main plot.
The story takes a few turns that I didn’t expect, and these parts weren’t too cheesy. They were just fantastic enough to keep me reading, though the book wasn’t the all-night page turner I had expected. Regardless, I enjoyed the ending and the book overall. There’s a sequel, and I’m interested to find out what happens next. As always, it’s interesting to see if the sequel can live up to the first book.
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I have too many hobbies and not enough time to indulge them all. Usually, I knit or crochet or read, and the rest (writing, sewing) just kind of fall by the wayside. I had a three-day weekend, so I figured I could get a bit of sewing done.
I finally made a box bag! I used a combination of these two tutorials. Everything was easy until I got to the boxing of the corners–it took me way, way, WAY too long to figure it out, but I finally did. yay!
The fabric (both exterior and lining) are from Hancock Fabrics. Once I figured out the concept, making a second bag was a snap:
I love this fabric. I found it on Etsy, and at Hancock Fabrics I found a matching lining that’s kind of perfect for it:
I’ll probably keep knitting notions or maybe a small WIP in it. I’m sure I’ll make more of these since I took so much time learning the concept, haha. Next, I made a tote bag:
…which I love! This is the tutorial I used. Again, the main fabric is from Etsy and the lining is just a plain cotton in a coordinating color. Best of all, it holds lots of books:
I was able to fit six mass market paperbacks in here, with room to spare. This would be good to take book shopping with me–reusable, no plastic bags, etc. I’d like to make this bag again, but possibly in a larger size to use as a knitting tote.
I’m working on building up a small fabric stash, and hopefully I can juggle work/knitting/crochet/reading and make more time for sewing. I’m starting my final semester of school on February 1st, so I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have…but I’ll try!
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 It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back. What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)
I read more books in 2009 than I had in 2008, so I have quite a few to choose from. Here are my favorites from this year:
- Harry Potter book 1 (and the rest of the series) by J. K. Rowling
I finally read HP! I don’t really know why I waited so long, because once I read the books, I loved them, as well as the film adaptations. This is one case where the books lived up to all the hype surrounding them. I totally get it now.
- Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
I loved everything about this book–the characters, the writing style, the story. The subject matter is pretty grim, but told in a powerful way. These are characters who have stayed with me, months after I’ve read the book.
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (and the sequel)
I wasn’t sure if I’d like this one too much, but I’m so glad I read it. It’s filled with action and suspense, but underneath is a striking morality tale–kind of like HP, but without the wizardry, maybe?  I can’t wait for the third novel, which comes out later in 2010.
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 #33 of 52 – 52 Books in (Slightly More Than) 52 Weeks
Slightly spoilery post follows, but mostly it’s a comparison/contrast between this book and Twilight.
I heard that this book was like Twilight, but with angels instead of vampires. I figured I’d give it a try. Young adult fiction is so fun to read. For one thing, it’s easy to read, which means the reading tends to go by rather quickly. Reading YA novels is like knitting a hat with chunky yarn: instant gratification. And of course, it’s no secret that I’m Twilight obsessed.
I have to say, Hush, Hush is pretty similar to Twilight. There’s a teenage girl, Nora, who is drawn to a mysterious boy at school, Patch. But he’s got a secret that’s he’s keeping from her and everyone else in town. Oh, and it’s obvious that he’s a fallen angel–just look at the book cover (which is rather awesome, by the way). The official “reveal,” though, doesn’t take place until late in the story.
The climax of the novel was kind of iffy for me. I sped through the first half to two-thirds of the book, but slowed down just when the plot was being fully revealed. I think the story lost some momentum at that point. Also, I wasn’t crazy about the ending–it felt kind of flat and wasn’t very well written. But again, overall the book is a nice bit of fluff, and I did enjoy it.
Maybe I shouldn’t keep comparing it to Twilight, but I guess it’s kind of unavoidable when both books seem to follow the same formula. Nora is definitely less annoying than Bella Swan. Nora’s not as needy and whiny, though she does make questionable choices. She is headstrong, but she’s feisty in a way that Bella just isn’t. Book Bella is just ridiculous sometimes (some would say, all the time). Bella’s way too old-fashioned and unrealistic (”Holy crow!”), whereas Nora clearly lives in the 21st century. In other words, in the Bella vs. Nora smackdown, my money is on Nora.
Also: no sparkly vampires in this book. Sexy fallen angels, yes. By the way–Hush, Hush is much spicier than Twilight. There’s no full-on sexin’, but there’s a blessed lack of Twilight’s super cheese, i.e. “marble skin,” “scintillating arms,” etc., etc. Thank goodness.
Apparently, there’s going to be a sequel to Hush, Hush called Crescendo, which I’m sure I’ll read. Sometimes, fluffy fiction is all I want, and this book definitely served its purpose. It’s somewhat mindless entertainment, and good fun.
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