True Life: I Suck At Journalistic Writing, But I Am Not A Sucky Writer.

“uh… Zoe… you’re in yearbook right?”

“Yes I am! I am a photographer and a designer.”

“But don’t you like, write, and stuff?”

“Uhm, yes?”

“Then, like, why aren’t you a writer in yearbook? Does that mean you suck at writing?”

That is literally a conversation I had the other day in class. Yes, I am on my high schools yearbook staff. Yes, I am just a photographer and a designer. I don’t and I won’t write anything for yearbook. But does that mean I can’t write at all just because my journalistic writing skills aren’t up to standers? I don’t think it does. But today, that is what we are discussing.

I have been writing ever since I could remember. Granted, they were never really all that good until recently when I got serious about it. And not to toot my own horn, but I know I don’t have the writing skills of the average freshman. I have somewhat of a small talent. Not only that, but a passion. But, I suck at journalistic writing. I do. I forget the pesky rules and want to write in first person and it just always falls flat. This is fine with me. It never bothered me. With three years of yearbook under my belt, I know my strong suit is not journalistic writing. But apparently, I am not good in any aspects at all just because I am horrible in one.

This logic is very flawed. It’s like saying someone to someone who can’t play the drums that they are a bad musician, even if they consider themselves to be great at the guitar. See what I mean? That logic is hazy. And, who is to determine whether or not my writing is good? Some outsider, like the random person in my class, can’t just assume everything else I write is a disaster just because I can’t write copy for the yearbook. It’s like having a professional dancer judge a singing contest. It just doesn’t work and frankly doesn’t make any sense.

I know I’m probably just getting a little too worked up on this subject. But writing is my whole life, and I know I don’t discuss it on my blog as much as I want, it’s one of the main things I have going for me in my life. It’s a slap in the face when some outsider makes assumptions like that.

To sum things up: Yes, I am a somewhat good writer in certain aspects. Not others. That does not make me a bad writer.

Totally off topic, but, my read a long for Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid starts soon. Are you participating? Are you using the hashtag? You should. Adi might retweet you. And we are going to get a q&a!! It’d mean the world to me if you participated. We have a goodreads group for this read a long, and also a whole post sort of explaining this read along. Feel free to tweet me any questions @/zoereadsiguess Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

Are U 4 Real? Book Review- SPOILERS!

Are U 4 Real?

3.5 Stars

Summary: Kyla is exactly the kind of girl Alex could never talk to in real life. She’s a gorgeous, outspoken L.A. girl who parties to forget about her absent father and depressed mother. He’s a shy ballet dancer from outside San Francisco who’s never been kissed. Luckily, when these sixteen-year-olds meet for the first time it’s not in real life – it’s in a chat room, where they can share their feelings of isolation and frustration away from the conformity-obsessed high school scene. Alex and Kyla quickly forge a friendship that’s far from virtual – maybe they’re even falling in love. But what happens when the soul mate you’ve never met moves from online to in person?

Sara Kadefors’s wildly romantic, award-winning Swedish bestseller perfectly captures the universal angst of being a teenager, and the perhaps even more universal struggle to negotiate identity in a multi-platform world.

Okay, so.

I did enjoy this book. But my thoughts aren’t very organized so I’m going to have a good section and a bad section, because, well, I can.

GOOD. Alex. Alex was the best character in the book by far. I was never as mad as him as I was with Kyla. He was just such a likeable character overall. I loved his friendship with Val after he came out, too. They were just so cute together. In my head they banter and banter. I liked the family aspect of this book, though at points unrealistic. Alex’s mother really made me feel for her when we found out she wasn’t really good at dancing. She loved it so much and she must have worked so hard and tried but never really made it. So I can see why she wanted to live vicariously through Alex. And Nina was so badass. I sometimes forgot she was younger than Alex. And the fact that Alex’s mom called him Sasha was cute to me. The Russian aspect of the family was so cool. I just love reading about Russians. Lol.

BAD KYLA. I hated her. I didn’t stop hating her until maybe the last 10 pages. Her friends where stupid, she kept hanging out with them even though she knew that they were bad for her. And she stayed with Lucas when he showed many signs of being abusive. She wasn’t tough, she was stupid. A stupid drunk girl. I understood she liked drinking but honestly it was so overplayed. Her mother was also super unrealistic. Like, the father would have found out if her mom wasn’t taking care of her and did something. I find it absolutely unacceptable she wasn’t taken away from her mother. I just ugh, didn’t like Kyla. She is the WHOLE REASON I bumped down this book from a 4.5 to a 3.5.

Without Kyla, it would be a 4.5 because of the writing style. I don’t know if it was because it was translated or what. it just didn’t flow right at times and was very choppy and not very descriptive. I found it hard to really immerse myself into the story. But again, I don’t know if the writing lost some of its flare in the translation.

So yes, that was my review. Right now I am reading The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy. It’s a middle grade set in the 70’s and I love it. BUT, in October I will be reading Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid!! Join the goodreads group we will have a q&a at the end of October!! Also follow me on twitter to get updated first @/zoereadsiguess. Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

Lets Get Lost READ-A-LONG!!

Oh my god guys.

oh my god guys.

I am cohosting my very first read-a-long! I am so excited!

I am hosting this with Hannah and Jordan over at covertoocover.wordpress.com During the month of October we will be reading Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid. This book just came out in July and honestly I am so looking forward to reading it. Its a road trip book. Whats not to love?  We would be so happy if you guys joined us! I have made a goodreads group for this read-a-long where we will be posting discussions and questions and just talking to each other.  There will be a discussion board for a group discussion and a kik group message being made. More details on that later. Also we have a hashtag to tag all of your posts on every social media platform. it is #letsallgetlost. I look forward to reading with you guys! Comment down below if you join! Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

Daughther of Smoke and Bone Book Review- Spoilers!

3.5/5 stars

Summary:Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review: I loved majority of this book. I really only had 2 major problems, so let’s get into that first.

I did NOT like randomly reading about Madrigal in the random, 50 something pages. I just wasn’t interested and I wanted to go back to Avika and Karou. I think the flashbacks could have been done in short little flashbacks. With this random Madrigal thing, it really confused me. Like the timeline was really confusing throughout this book. But maybe that’s because I always have problems keeping up with fantasy books. But I still got confused. So yeah, those really bumped the stars down. It was at 5 stars up until the Madrigal thing. I just didn’t like it, can you tell?

But I did love the settings. Not only Prague, but the fantasy lands as well. It was just so beautiful. Ah. I would love to go to Elsewhere. It sounded so beautiful and whimsical and ah. Like, can I please come visit?

Okay this is really random but the whole book I tried to determine if I would rather be a seraph or a chimerea. I don’t really know.

I loved the characters. Like, Zuzanna. Yes please I need your short self in my life. One of my favorite scenes is the puppet scene. It just seemed so beautiful and I would love to have transported into the book and watched it myself. I loved Avika. He makes my heart literally melt. How much pain he went through I’m just.. ugh I love you. And Karou. Oh man. She’s just so badass and I loved her.

The plot was really interesting, and it exceeded my expectations. The sudden plot twist with the portals closing and the revelation that everyone might be dead and I just. Ugh. It was totally crazy. It made me so mad that Avika just went and possibly killed Brimstone. I loved Brimstone! At first I was angry with him but now I just have so much respect for him and I just. Man. Theres no way they can be dead. No way. Nooo waayyyyyy.

I’m really interested to see how this series is going to continue. I have ideas. Maybe some kidnappings, eh, something like that. I don’t know. This book was just so amazing and I know no matter what I say can show just how great the plot and the characters where.

I just, the Madrigal thing. I didn’t like that part so much I bumped it down 1 and a half stars. I just, ugh. It was actually painful to read it. But I did! I’m glad I did because I definitely need to pick up soon. Have you guys read this? Did you like the Madrigal story? Why did you or why didn’t you? Comment down below! Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

The Stories and Tales Tag!!

Hey guys, so today I am bringing you a tag. I wasn’t planning on posting until Sunday, but I saw Ariel Bissetts  video(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECAP1TXY9Ao) and I really liked it so I thought I would give it a shot!

1. Tell a story about a book that made you cry.
I could talk about The Fault In Our Stars but John Green, but no.  Bridge to Terebatheia was the very first book to make me cry. My mom told me how great it was and that the movie was coming out. Towards the end when… you know who  is the you know what I was sobbing. I  was so angry and upset that little nine or eight year old me stormed into my mothers room and threw the book at her. She told me that good books are the ones that make you cry.
2. Tell a story about a book that made you laugh out loud.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is literally the funniest book I have ever read. I rarely show emotion when reading, I’m so engrossed that I don’t cry our laugh or gasp. But oh my god. Some of the things Earl says are just so funny I couldn’t laugh. Funniest book I’ve read, hands down.
3. Tell a story about a book you stayed up very late to read.
The second time I read Perks of Being a Wallflower I read it in one sitting. I had just gotten a physical copy and I was so excited that I stayed up and read it. I know, the book is small, but when I read nonstop I take longer so that my mind doesn’t wonder. But, alas, I stayed up way to late reading that.
4. Tell a story about a book you read WITH someone.
I have actually never read a book with someone before. I really want too though, so I don’t know. Its a matter of time.
5. Tell a story about a book you have given someone.
Okay, so one of my friends come over right after I get my new shelf and put all my books on it. She starts looking, and we start talking, and she tells me she’s never read City of Bones. Im like… woah. I told her she needed to read it. I’ve always been hesitant to lend out my books but she was a close friend so I let her. Then, she tells me she’s never read The Lovely Bones either. So, im like, oh my jesus you need to read this book. And, silly me, let her borrow that.  She then reaches where I keep my Ellen Hopkins books. She looks at Crank, and just takes it. Off the shelf. Then leaves. Literally leaves my house. Fast forward three months, I haven’t gotten them back. I make up a lie that my mom got mad at me for lending them out and that she had to give them back. Yep. That happened.
6. Show an inscription you have in a book that was either written for you or someone else.
I actually don’t have any. But I do just have a generic signature inside my copy of All The Light We Cannot See. I made my brother buy it for me to get out of a bet we made. I was so excited to see a signed copy. I finally own one. Yay!
7. Tell the story of a book you will never get rid of and why.
I have 2 lol. The first one is Twilight. That stupid pretensions book sparked my love for reading in the fourth grade. Of course I read the Lemony Snickett books, but I hadn’t read Harry Potter. So Twilight was like my Harry Potter in the aspect of it introduced me to reading.
The second is Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel. Now, I read this book in fourth grade. Why? It had my name in it. Spelled the right way. I remember showing it off to my friends, being like hey… im in this book. It just has really good memories with me and I could never part with it.
8. Tell the story of a book on your shelf that you have never talked about on your blog before.
In my copy of Mockingjay, I wrote Zoe Markham, 2011, gotta party like its 2012. Im almost 98% those were Justin Bieber lyrics. Im honestly not sure.

Alright, so that’s the tag. I tag whoever wants to do it, just make sure to comment on here so I can see it. Annddd, don’t forget to follow my twitter @/zoereadsiguess I will follow back 🙂 Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

On Journaling and the Age Old Excuse, “What If I Do it Wrong?”

I am honestly a journaling freak. Even mention the word and I just get really excited. I tell my close friends all the time they need to journal. “Just do it. DO IT.” Is usually how that conversation starts but I always, always get the same reply.

“What if I do it…. Wrong”

YOU CANNOT DO IT WRONG. Ah. This irritates me. There is no way to do it wrong or right. A journal is your safe haven to do whatever. Paint it in, color in it, doodle in it, do whatever you want to do in it. A book will not judge you. In my journals, I stick in some the dumbest things. But they have memories attached to them. For example: I kept everything that I got on my family trip to Disney. Maps, wrappers, everything. But you know what? It helps me remember my trip better. I did the same thing on my school trip to Washington Dc. If you’re a visual person like me, it’ll help you remember something.

So, let’s say you get a notebook. It is absolutely perfect. The size is just right, the lines aren’t too big or too small or maybe they don’t even exist. But the blank page is just so intimidating. Stop it. The paper won’t judge you. You don’t need to make a first impression. But, if you want, just write about yourself. Where you live, what grade you’re in/what job you have, post a picture of what you look like, your hobbies, favorite movies and things. Just tell who you are in the beginning. Or, you could just jump in and talk about your day. I always take the jumping in route. It’s just easier for me.

Now, the age old question of how much do you write. You write however much you want. You write when you want. There are no rules as to how to write. You could write upside down or right to left. You could not write at all and just put in pictures that describe your emotions and where you are in your life and such. Honestly, like I said, a page will not judge you! Do whatever you want with it. No one will come at you if you don’t write every day.

That’s all for today guys! Do you guys keep a journal? Do you want too? Why do you or why don’t you? Comment down below! I love hearing from you guys. And don’t forget to follow me on twitter @/zoereadsiguess. Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

Updates!

Hey guys,

so I suck at life. I’ve been so slow at reading and posting and I’m so so sorry. to make up for this, I made a twitter! it is zoereadsiguess, feel free to check me out and follow me, if you do be sure to tweet at me so I can follow you back! im hoping to crank some posts out soon. im adjusting to highschool… still. But I promise promise promise im going to post more.

Also! We have a new url to match my twitter because I am that OCD. do you like it? do you enjoy it? I do.

and a huge thank you to everyone who reads, likes, and comments on my posts. it makes me really happy 🙂 im sorry ive been pretty sucky at posting but im trying!! maybe ill aim to post 1 post a week.

I have an idea to also, maybe like once a month, do a little life update. you guys cool with that? I think itll be fun. comment your opinions down below. thanks for reading!

-Zoe

Rumble Book Review- Spoilers!

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

5/5 stars

Summary: “There is no God, no benevolent ruler of the earth, no omnipotent grand poobah of countless universes. Because if there was…my little brother would still be fishing or playing basketball instead of fertilizing cemetery vegetation.”

Matthew Turner doesn’t have faith in anything.

Not in family—his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. And certainly not in some “It Gets Better” psychobabble.

No matter what his girlfriend Hayden says about faith and forgiveness, there’s no way Matt’s letting go of blame. He’s decided to “live large and go out with a huge bang,” and whatever happens happens. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble…a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he’s ever disbelieved into question.

 

Note: This is probably very biased. I love Ellen Hopkins and everything she does touches me. So, yeah. I’m just so hyped for a new Ellen Hopkins book okay I LOVE HER

Okay so I really did enjoy this book. I love the writing style and it didn’t take me too long to fall in love with these charactors. I love Uncle Jesse and Matt and Alexa and I even loved Luke even though we only got glances to him and who he was. I didn’t like Hayden. She annoyed me. Super Christians over all just annoy me. Shoving their faith down your throat and always doing things with their youth group and they don’t think over their own problems they must go to their pastor. I think Hayden is so stupid for leaving Matt. He was such a perfect gentleman to her and respected her faith and she was just so obsessed with god and her relationship with him she can’t be a real teenager.

Okay and the relationships in this book were just. Ugh. I love Alexa and Matt they are perfect and I was so rooting for her when they… yanno. I think it was so rude for Matts dad to bring in his girlfriend who I did not like so I didn’t even remember her name. and I love how sort of close Matt and his mother got. And the weed joke. Oh my god. Oh my god.

THE ENDING! Uncle Jessie and his heart attack. I was so sad I thought he was going to die and I was so emotional. Then the whole Gus blowing up the range. I wish Ellen Hopkins had added atleast 25 more pages to the end of this book. But I think that this means there could be a sequel but I really don’t know how she would go about it. It would probably be more like Perfect, following family members and getting appearances from the other characters. I’m just. Emotional.

THE PLOT TWIST WITH HAYDEN. I cannot, CANNOT believe Hayden was the one who helped spread that Luke was guy and Vince was only trying to look out for Matt. That bitch! And she just lead him on. Like why would you do that? Just leave. I understand his brother passed away but jesus imagine how bad Matt must have felt. He could have been with Alexa! But no. Hayden was too much of a wimp to tell Matt how she feels until he really needs her.

I just loved everything about this book. The writing style is so beautiful. And I loved how different this one seemed than her other ones. There was a lot more LGBTQ in this book and there was only one point of view. Plus I don’t think Ellen has ever really touched on the Christian faith in her books and atheism and things like that. Plus I loved that Matt was intelligent and stayed in school and didn’t do drugs or go to rehab or do stupid things like her other characters have. He seems really level headed. If I was in his shoes I would be a wreck. Like, I wouldn’t eat and I wouldn’t sleep and I don’t think any amount of medication could help me. So yes, I loved this book so much. It will be one of my favorite books of this year.

Sorry I haven’t posted a lot lately, I’ve been busy in school. Ill try and get a writing video out on Sunday. Have you guys read this yet? Do you agree with me? Disagree with me? Let me know! Comment down below. Thanks for reading!

-Zoe xo

Wake Book Review- Spoilers!

Wake by Lisa McMann

2/5 stars

Summary: For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant

Jesus, okay. This book. I did not have a problem with it until the last 60 pages. Just, jesus Christ. That was the dumbest plot twist I have ever read. Cabel, working with the police? What? That was just so dumb. And The Captain. This whole police station and dream thing just sounds like a cult. I was not looking for some secret organization I was looking for a high school girl struggling with her boyfriend.

The plot was very boring. I was expecting for some huge revelation, and the climax was in the last 60 pages what the hell. And the writing style. The writing style. I found it so boring and just, no. there were barely any descriptions and I found it so hard to fully enjoy the story. If Janie didn’t annoy me sometimes and if the writing was different I might actually enjoy this plot. I just was really disappointed.

And by the blurb, I thought it was going be clever and funny. It was not

And the characters. I liked Cabel and Carrie more than I liked Janie. And that rarely happens. I just, Carrie and Cabel had more depth to them and I liked learning about their families and such.

But yeah. Didn’t enjoy it. I’m reading Rumble by Ellen Hopkins currently and I’m HOOKED. HOOKED. So a proper book review will be coming soon. Disagree with me? Tell me why! Agree with me? Awesome, let’s talk. Thanks for reading.

-Zoe xo