A Witch is a Witch, Or is She?

Ok, so my favorite writer for the past two years has been Melissa de la Cruz of the Blue Bloods and the Ashleys series. I have loved almost every book that she has written; there was one that I got less than a chapter into and pitched it. But this book was great!

The Witches of East End is the first in her new series about a pair of sisters and their mother who try to live quiet lives without magic in a simple cottage in the Hamptons. Now, I feel that I must add that this is not a "pretty, rich, white girls with problems they created" type book. In fact not all the problems that come their way are not their fault. The troubles tend to come to them because they are a little generous. You see, they have been banned from using their powers but then one of them does to help a friend who's been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. Then they all start helping people. THEN they get accused of being witches. So much for laying low. The story is interesting an since it will be a series, I'm anxiously waiting for the next installment.

Speaking of series: if you have read the Blue Bloods series of the same author (which you should in order to be able to laugh at certain jokes) you will recognize character that have cameos. I'm not saying that you should read all of those to be able to understand this book, but I am saying that you should read this between Blue Blood books 7 and 8. Mimi talks about this book, therefore it's crucial for BB fans to read this.

Ok, that's all. I have to keep this short today.

-me

Zhànshén Mars

So, I have to tell you this right off the bat: I do not like all manga nor do I consider myself to be a fangirl.

Alright, now that I've got that out of the way: I LOVE "Mars". I have read and reread this series and I have watched the Taiwanese (in Chinese) mini series that gave the book even more life.

Mars is an incredibe 15 part series by Fuyumi Soryo. The characters that she has created are so dynamic. Kira is a shy girl who has endured abuse from teachers and her stepfather. Rei is an outspoken motorcycle racer whose childhood has left him with big gapping holes in his soul as well.

I like this story for a lot of reasons one being that Soryo talks about things that make people uncomfortable especially when the subjects are teenagers. She illustrates teen suicide, mental illness, the struggle to become sexually free after sexual abuse, girl on girl violence and the idea that broken families exist despite the socioeconomic status. The subject matter allows for the characters to experience some pretty dark moments, but through Soryo's writting and illustration there is always that feeling of hope, that things will get better. Really, I can't ask for anymore than that. This series is absolutely amazing and I share it with everyone.

Now, in case you were wondering if the 21 episode miniseries does the manga justice the answer is yes. Absolutely yes. If you can find it online watch it, if you can't message me and I'll send you the link. Only downside is the music though... thought I should warn you.

Read. Watch. Enjoy!

-me

Whoops : or Ahh!! Real Monsters!

so, I've never been good at keeping a journal, like ever, so keeping this blog... well I kinda forgot about it. I will do better. I promise to try and be concious of it. Also, I've decided not to talk to much about a book's plot if it is in a series so that I won't give anything away. But hey, if it's a stand alone book...

So I started ready the Monster High series by Lisi Harrison, and when I say started I mean that I've read all three and amd anxiously waited for the fourth to come out in the spring. Ms Harrison is the woman who brought us The Clique and Alphas. That being said although I initially loved the idea of famous monster's children (or grandchildren) attending a normal high school while reluctantly "hiding with pride" I was afriad that the story would be well, shallow.

Ms. Harrison's character in her previous stories have tended to be incredibly one dementional. I am glad to announce that this series has been great so far. Heck, she even has a mean girl learn her lesson. I do hope that she doesn't turn it into a Sharpay from HSM where she has to relearn her lesson over and over. Done with the rant. Anyway...

I love her descion to use nearly all of the different characters that Universal Studios expored in the 1930s. The books have everything from swamp monstors to mummies and Hyde to the son of Medusa. All of the characters are very different from each other and even though some of the are popular kids at the school, Lisi harrison does a great job at making sure that they all have different goals and anxieties. Not all of them are popular by the way, some of them are practically inivisble to those around them especially Billy (but he actual is invisible).

There is also a good mix of "normies" or normal kids like Melody and her sister Candace who move to Oregon from Beverly Hills at the beginning of the first book.

I say read the books or buy them for a girl you know. It's a great way to introduce scifi to younger people with being too out there. Another plus is that it's a series and introducing a series to a young reader is the best way to ensure that they continue reading. Simply put: if they love the characters, they will want to know what happens to them.

*Side note: my brother Josh and I will be dressing up andClawd and Clawdeen Wolf, werewolf siblings at the high school. there is also a cartoon for MonsterHigh on youtube, but be aware that it doesn't follow the storyline of the book AT ALL. I still think it's cute though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqo8WiYzkAA&context=C2c762UDOEgsToPDskIyhSw3sY4Bp9D3w8qpOnC9

Changed

Okay, so the first book I want to talk about is "My Love, My Love: Or the Peasant Girl" by Rosa Guy. I originally bought this book when I was cast as TiMoune in Once on This Island, the musical that was spawned from the book. I wanted to get to know my character better to bring that familiarity to the show. What I didn't expect, however, was that the Ms. Guy's book would changed my veiw of the world and essentially my life.
"My Love, My Love" tells the story of a timoune, an orphan, who falls in love with rich boy, Daniel, from the other side of the island. Desiree first discovers Daniel when he crashes his car into a tree and is seriously injured. She rescues and trades her soul for his when the PapaGe the demon of death comes for him. Soon Daniel's family comes for him and Desiree is left alone. But, because Desiree promised her soul away, she sets of to find him believing that she must watch over him. To her Daniel's life is her responsibility. She does find him and the two quickly grow very close and she falls in love with him. The story progresses as Desiree is haunted by PapaGe, rich men from other countries want to steal her away and Daniel's fiance comes back from France.
This story is stands to pose the question "Can love conquer death?"

The character Desiree inspires me to not let anything or anyone stop me or stand in my way especially when it is something that I know I am meant to do. She also taught me to love. I have always been afraid to fall in love but reading about this girl's struggle showed me that I was wrong. I should love and love boldly when that special someone comes into my life.

Everyone should read this book!

A Step in a Different Direction

First I'd like to start off by saying that I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. Things have gotten a little crazy a family member died, DKS reconciliation, horrible pms; it's been a long couple of weeks. I remembered the reason that I was never good at keeping a journal: because I'm not good at writing about myself. So, I've decided to take my blog in a different direction. I will know be dedicating my writing to one of the things that consumes my life. Books! I love to read. Besides theatre reading takes up a bunch of my time.

My next blog will have a book review! Yay!

1985 Mercedes 300D

I have a car and his name is Stanley. Stanley is experiencing a midlife crisis. You see, he is almost 30 years old and in car years that like 55. Stanley loves to sing and by sing I mean screech his breaks. I love Stanley but sometimes I don't feel that he loves me back. Especially last night, see we had fight. I wanted him to start but he didn't want to. I tried and tried. I tried the radio and it came on. The lights also came on. Stanley! Try to turn on! Please! Try! But he wouldn't. Someone tried to give us a jump and Stanley refused. He would have no part in this peer mediation. So I ended up leaving him... in a parking lot.

will write again

me

well, to be fair...

I'm back again! Miss me? Last time I wrote about my successful date and how I was asked if I'd like to go on a second one (yay). I also wrote that my ex DS and I were going to attempt to be friends who occasional go on one-on-one dates. Our first of these experiences was last night (Thursday). We went to a sushi bar and you know what? It was fun! Neither of us got sushi exactly, mine contained chicken instead of fish and he opted out of sushi completely and went for Teriyaki chicken. We also had Gyozo (pork pot stickers) and it was soooo good. I also realized that I had never really understood the NBA draft process before. I seriously think that he explained it to me like 10 before I truly got it. Then we were saying the same things to each other in different words and by the end of it we just laughed because neither of us understood what the other was talking about.

Another great happening was judging my first show. I went and saw a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Judging a children's play is both fun and challenging. It's always nice to see young people in their first attempts at showing the world that they can emote and do more than play a sport. But, at the same time it can be painful. Choreographers forget that just because they are children doesn't mean that the performers should spend a six minute song doing one long box step. There is also the problem of male leads that whose voices are changing not to mention rowdy audiences. it was a good experience all the same. I learned and that is the same that the kids are doing: learning.

Watching the show also made me realize how spoiled I was with the youth theatre I grew up with. we had professional directors, musical directors and choreographers. For instance I have done 3 shows with a women who currently choreographs shows for Disney around the world, box step we did not. And, the director has performed for the like s of Michael Jackson, the Wayans Brothers and Saudi Arabian dynasty. I was very, very spoiled. So I am determined to not judge the youth shows that I see to other theatres but within itself instead. If the dance moves were really simple and someone still flubs them, points off. I won't penalize the kids on the adults' jobs; it isn't their fault that the costumes don't fit. It is however their job to know the lines.

I want to be a fair judge, like Solomon. Don't worry, I won't be cutting any babies up. Tomorrow, I get to judge my second show. Yay!

will write again

me