Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Pages: 432

Genre: Sci-fi

Series: Avalon #1

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Jan 2, 2014

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.

I'll admit, going into this, I was just a bit unsure. I'm not one for alien/otherworldly sci-fi, but Mindee Arnett? Galactic thieves and mercenaries? I was willing to risk it--and I am so glad I did.

Avalon is one of those stories that starts off with a bang and just keeps climbing up. The plot was one of those that doesn't let you rest, doesn't give you any worry-free time, and just intrigues more and more. Excluding all the plot twists (which were more than shocking) what surprised me was that what I thought was going to be the main conflict was resolved in only a few pages. Curiouser and curiouser, right?
Either way, it was what happened after that made everything even more interesting and even more cutthroat.

I will say that there was a twist I did predict from the first half of the book, but it was how I was right that made me gape. You have to hand it to Arnett--she sure knows how to keep you hanging and coming back for more! I read maybe a chapter of Avalon and then read the rest in one sitting. Because who can resist something like this book (that felt like an intergalactic horror story for a few chapters!)

And then the worldbuilding! I'm just blown away by all the science and every meticulous detail and research that probably went into this book. From dimensions to spaceships to lost planets and genetics, Avalon pretty much covers all your sci-fi needs! It's really just a gorgeous book.

There's a rather large cast of characters, but you just fall in love with each and every one of them (them being the good guys, I mean!) It was amazing how the team operated and how well they worked together and laughed together, more family than just some random teens stuck together. What I loved so much though, was how different each character was from one another. Some were more somber, most always joking, but each of them had their own quirks and habits that just made them stand out a bit and just make you love them, especially Jeth.
I don't read many male POVs, but props to Arnett for making a pretty believable voice and a protagonist you couldn't help but cheer for! Jeth was a rather complex character who had his faults and strengths and, like I already said--you can't help but fall in love with him!

Speaking of falling in love, the romance was the only thing I wasn't so sure on. While I did love the fact that romance took a back seat on this one, with only a kiss or two at most, I still felt a bit irritated by it in the beginning, especially considering that there's a bit of insta love when they first met, Jeth remarking on how beautiful Sierra, our love interest was, or something like that. I also felt a bit awkward because of a certain other character I felt like (almost wished) had feelings for Jeth. Then again, I'd probably have an issue with love triangles, so maybe not?

Avalon is an absolute must read for fans of hardcore (or not!) fans of sci-fi. I can almost guarantee you'll love this book with it's unbelievable twists and jaw dropping turns! I really just loved this read because honestly. Intergalactic thieves. 

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Parallel by Lauren Miller

Goodreads Blurb

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She'd go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she's in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it's as if her past has been rewritten.
With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby's life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby's senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby's never even met.
As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that's finally within reach.

Oh my God. That ending.

Parallel really surprised me with it's...thoroughness I guess. The worldbuilding/science of this was absolutely wonderful and well thought out. Miller obviously did her research, making this book so much more real, an added bonus with the contemporary feel this book had! And while it was confusing at times, it definitely helped explain a lot and the book so much more interesting, knowing why this or that was happening.

I really did love how we would switch between Parallel Abby and "Real" Abby throughout chapters, though I think it would've been just as amazing without the Parallel Abby parts! They were obviously completely different people, yet so similar. I was always guessing what Parallel Abby's actions were going to affect and my gut clenched every time she did something I knew would do something! It was really like reading two different scenarios, all stemming from one point--it was fascinating and completely well done.

The romance was definitely...interesting. While our love interests were decidedly different, they were also...similar...yeah, I don't make sense. But I definitely chose a team and did not like who Abby picked. Sure, he was sweet, but I liked the other guy so much better!
One of the other major romances was Caitlin (the BFF) and Tyler (the other BFF!). I felt like they were way too adorable with each other and honestly would love to get a story on their relationship!

And I loved our characters too--okay, maybe not Parallel Abby. She was so different from "Real" Abby , though it may just have been the situation. "Real" Abby was so headstrong and honest, and I loved how much she trusted Caitlin and how she wasn't dumb enough to figure it out on her own, like some YA characters. She knew she needed help, and she knew where to go--something that will always score brownie points.
Caitlin was an amazing BFF and absolutely lovable, in my opinion. Smart girls? Totally kickass. Like, seriously. She was kickass.

The plot was absolutely mindblowing. While it's a bit slow at first, it quickly speeds up and, strangely, made me tear up. I don't even know! There were so many things that made me cringe in expectation and honestly, scared me a bit! And the ending. Don't even get me started. That was...oh my GOD. I can't even. Just leave me alone in a corner to cry bittersweetly.

Dealing with the universal question of "What if" and touching on topics like soulmates and parallel worlds, Parallel is an absolute must read that I would love to shove in your face  honest-to-God think everyone should read. Absolutely mind bending, wonderful, and beautiful, Parallel is going to twist your perspective on life and the choices you make everyday.

Pages: 419
Genre: Sci-fi
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Merp Squad Week: Nikki (Fiction Freak)

This is allllll me.

1) Talk about how you started getting involved in our Merp Squad Talks--if you can even remember.
 Basically we kept tagging each other. It was hilarious. It was like no matter what we did we always ended up tagging each other because we just talked to each other so much lol! I think I was just a magnet to crazy? I mean, it’d make sense right?

2) Who's a Merp Squadder you haven't talked to in a while and really really need to?

JESSI. I haven’t talked to her in forever. ._. Tis the most troubling thing ever.

3) Who would you like to strangle hug the most?

EVERYONE! :D But especially Eileen since she’s my BFF. I GET TO STRANGLE HUG HER NEXT MONTH. But if that doesn’t count then Annabelle. Because she always says she loves me more than I love her which isn’t possible AND SHE ALWAYS PULLS OUT THE ANGEL CARD (She’s the angel out of all of us)

4) If you could give a nickname (that has nothing to do with their NAME) to all the Merp Squadders, what would they be?

Eileen-Spazzy Alligator the Second. Because. SHE IS A SPAZZY AWESOME ALLIGATOR.

Annabelle-Sparkly Angel. Who Lies.

Inky-Member of Team Morpheus (^_^)

Jessi-BLACK SHEEP OF DESIGN AWESOME

5) Favorite thing of each Merp Squadder's blog?

Annabelle-I love her review format. Seriously.

Jessi-HER AWESOME DESIGN. SERIOUSLY. DESIGN FAIRY.

Inky-The gifs. Always the gifs.

Eileen-SO FORMAL AND SUCH PRO REVIEWS. I AM JEALOUS.

6) TYPICAL QUESTION: What made you start blogging and how is it different from what you expected?

Boredom. Always the boredom. At the time I just discovered blogs. And stupidly thought there were only a few, maybe 5 total. I decided to make one. THE DESIGN WAS HORRIBLE.

It’s different because I never knew that there could be so many awesome and wonderful people who loved books as much as I did! I was sort of the awkward one out reading while everyone else actually participated in Gym (thankfully I was a teacher’s pet so I didn’t get in trouble for not participating. Teehee.)

7) What is the BEST thing about blogging?

THE PEOPLE. The friends you get out of blogging especially! The Merp Squad and a whole slew of other amazing friends!

8) How did you do/choose your design?

I like blue. And I couldn’t decide what else looked cool with blue, and I hate blogs that are completely one color (BLACK IS NOT A COLOR. *sniffs* Okay, so maybe I messed up. Dunno how to make it better.) So I just chose black. As for the banner—picmonkey and photobucket.

9) Your Top 5 books of 2013 are...

Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton (Oh my God you guys. Fear)

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (I literally clung to a wall and screamed at my friends for 4 minutes.)

The Program by Suzanne Young (I sort of sobbed into my pillow. It also gave me my first real book hangover)

In the Shadow of Blackbirds (OH MY GOD LOVE.)

Splintered would be on there, but I read it in 2012!

10) WHAT IS A QUESTION YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED BUT WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER. And answer it. (STOLEN FROM EILEEN.)

HOW DID HITLER BENEFIT THE WORLD.

Okay, this is probably a really stupid answer, but someone asked me this (okay, so I’m kind of cheating the question too) and I’ve been pondering on an answer. SO my answer is: HIS ACTIONS PROVED THAT PREJUDICE AND RACISM WERE TERRIBLE THINGS AND WOULD RIP HUMANITY APART AND HELPED US WITH WORLD PEACE WHEN HE DIED.

Other than that: Have you ever wanted Pokemon to be real.

Yes. Yes I have

11) What is everything you know about Eileen?

…everything? ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING? *realizes I came up with these questions* Oh. So not everything. That would take forever. Well. She has a hilarious brother, she’s super pretty, we have pretty much opposite tastes in contemporary, she practically worships the Iron Fey series, she loves Taylor Swift (though not as much as before), she loves the color pink, she has a ton of stuffed animals, she promises away books like crazy, she’s super super nice, she stresses over things that won’t happen, she loves red velvet foooooodddd (who doesn’t) and is addicted to croissants, although she hasn’t had some in a while. She loves snapchat. And takes a lot of selfies when bored. She wants to be a Broadway singer (and she’s soprano.) She also, for some reason, puts up with me. ALSO, she has possibly the MOST DRAMATIC LIFE in summer camp history. Stick her in a YA book, y'all. 

Merp Squad Week: Jessi (Auntie Spinelli Reads)

Nikki: Talk about how you started getting involved in our Merp Squad Talks--if you can even remember.

Jessi: OH MY GOSH. I honestly have no clue! I have the most horrible memory, as you probably already know.

N: Who's a Merp Squadder you haven't talked to in a while and really really need to?

J: Eileen, she's been so quiet lately!

N: Who would you like to strangle hug the most?

J: Inky! She's my Nator Twinsies :)

N: If you could give a nickname (that has nothing to do with their NAME) to all the Merp Squadders, what would they be?

J: Nothing to do with their name? Goodness...

WELL Inky is already Nator Twin and I have dubbed Nikki as Master Loopholer. Eileen should be Bubbles because she's bubbly (so original, I know) and Annabelle can be...ummm....Twinkles? Lol I have no idea. I obviously suck at nicknames >.>

N: Favorite thing of each Merp Squadder's blog?

J: That they're all unique to each Merpers' personality! 

N: TYPICAL QUESTION: What made you start blogging and how is it different from what you expected?

J: I stumbled on another blog while looking for pictures of books, and since I was already thinking of doing a small review/summary of my own for the books I read, I thought, 'I could totally do this!'

N: What is the BEST thing about blogging?

J: Besides the reading? The people!

N: How did you do/choose your design?

J: I like something simple and easy on the eyes, and I'm a huge fan of sea themes.

N: Your Top 5 books of 2013 are...

J: So far:

1) Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

2) Blood Red Road by Moira Young (I listened to the audio!)

3) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

4) City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (JERRIT)

5) The Rules by Stacey Kade

N: WHAT IS A QUESTION YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED BUT WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER. And answer it. (STOLEN FROM EILEEN.)

J: Oh lord. Um...um...IF YOU COULD BE ANY CHARACTER ON FINDING NEMO, WHO WOULD YOU BE?! And the answer is most definitely Dory. I would be Dory.

N: What is everything you know about Nikki? (MEEEE)

J: What do I know about Nikki? She's small and Asian and adorable and really shy on camera but so NOT shy on twitter...tweets like a maniac and is not afraid to talk to authors (give me some of that courage, woman!) and LOVES to fangirl! She's fabulous at brainstorming new ideas and is a great motivator for lazy people like me. She's pretty freaking awesome and I don't know what I'd do without her epic spunkiness in my life ;D

N: Why Geo?

J: Well it's short for Geobob Spinelli...it's a bit of an silly inside joke that stemmed from a total verbal misunderstanding, lmao. It kind of stuck and Geo has been my nickname ever since!

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Merp Squad Week: Inky (Book Haven Extraordinaire)

Nikki: Talk about how you started getting involved in our Merp Squad Talks--if you can even remember.

Inky/Hannah: I'm just like so epic that you all just couldn't stay away from me! No, just kidding. Well we all kinda knew each other and would just tag each other all the time when we thought of something that was similar to the other person or whatever, and well...we just were. It was like a Big Bang..but for the Merpers!

(Click to go to Book Haven Extraordinaire)  

N:Who's a Merp Squadder you haven't talked to in a while and really really need to?

I/H:Annabananabelle! Wails. I miss chatting it up with her about Lord of the Rings, or yummy books, or glitter or Mr. Thornton, or ANYTHING! She's been busy and I've been busy, so we haven't been able to talk very much. But hopefully soon! hugs

N:Who would you like to strangle hug the most?

I/H:Um, well ALL OF YOU, obviously. But I'm gonna have to say Jessinator! She's my twinny-winnie! I want to meet her so freaking bad.

N:If you could give a nickname (that has nothing to do with their NAME) to all the Merp Squadders, what would they be?

I/H:To everyone as a whole? The Nerdigans. It's like a better version of the Backyardigans! Because we are a crazy rag-tag group of five with vivid imaginations, and we are all nerds in our own awesome way!

Individually? Well, Um, I already HAVE nicknames for all of you, so this should be interesting. hurriedly thinks up some random nicknames.

·         To Anna, besides her Inky dubbed name Annabananabelle, she'd be Glitterella. Why? She could TOTALLY be a princess, and um she's the queen of glitter! Glitterella for the win!

·         I hereby dub Eileen [ahem, Leen Machine].....The Great Croissantini, because she could totally be in a circus, and what is yummier than a Croissant? Righ Leeny?

·         Nikster here, needs something totally special, so I'm gonna call you Chewjebbie. Please don't ask, but I'm ASSUMING you like Star Wars. The second half? I'm just making it public that you're really Team Jeb. I know you're to shy to do it yourself.

·         Lastly I could totally see Jessi being Catastica. It sounds superheroish, [BOOM, Nator!] and she loves cats. There was never a better match to be made.

Those are like the most random names ever....but heck, I had to make something up! Whatever, you all have a new [strikethrough]hopefully[strikethrough] awesome nickname!

N:Favorite thing of each Merp Squadder's blog?

I/H:

·         Nikki has a passion about her blogging, and her squeals are complete honesty! I love her excitement and ever-present spazz.

·         Eileen, as I have told her MANY times, has like the most professional reviews ever. I am so jealous at her ability to sound grown up and brilliant. Because that's what she is! Brilly. 

·         Annabelle's blog TOTALLY sparkles. She is so dedicated and thoughtful with her reviews, and beyond that? She's friendly! Her rosy blog [haha, get it?] is one of my faves to read!

·         Jessi designed her blog herself. I am gonna be in awe till the end of times. She makes cool banners, and her reviews are honest and down to the core. Oh and SHE PICKS THE BEST. QUOTES. EVER. Yup.

N:What made you start blogging and how is it different from what you expected?

I/H:I needed a place to put all my bookish brain vomit, DUH. I always have to talk about the books I read to someone, whether raving or ranty. And this is another way to do that! With awesome people!

It's really different because I've changed. I'm so picky now, and have really high-standards in what I want to see in a book. I can't just sit down and enjoy anything anymore, like I did as a kid. Not to mention all the time blogging takes. I tell myself all the time, “Oh I'll just Whip Out A Review”......THIS Is A LIE. Have you seen my reviews? They are HUGE. And finding just the right gif takes a long time. Sigh. If only...

N:What is the BEST thing about blogging?

I/H:We all say the exact same thing because it's true. YOU. Everyone I've met, spazzed with, all the authors I've spammed with love, all the books I've discovered! All from blogging! happy dance

N:How did you do/choose your design?

I/H:I can't design anything artistic for the life of me. I've tried. IT DOESN'T WORK. But I've known some incredibly talented people who've helped me move beyond the basic free backgrounds I've had, Lisseth gave me my vintage look and more recently, Jessi turned me into the greenilicious starry-eyed wonder that I am now! I love those peeps. They're so awesome, and they made my blog a total fit for me!

N:Your Top 5 books of 2013 are...

I/H:I'm interpreting this two ways. A) I've already read and B)most excited for! Because the more books the merrier right?

Top 5 favorites that I've read? Let The Sky Fall, The Rules, The Program, Transparent and The Selection. Read my reviews for all the fangirl feels!

Top 5 that need to come out already? The House of Hades [PERCY!!!!!], Allegiant [No explanation needed here!], DECEPTION [ I want me some Logan, NOW!], Champion [the COVER. The story. WANT conclusion!], and Crown of Midnight [CHAOL WINS. Always]

N:WHAT IS A QUESTION YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED BUT WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER. And answer it. (Totally stolen from Eileen)

I/H:Since you stole the question, from Eileen, I'm gonna steal the same answer...blame my current lack of creativity.

Have you had a dream where you kissed Mr. Darcy?

Why yes I have.

N:Tell us everything you know about Jessi!

I/H:BAHAHAHA. I should just write a tell-all book about her..... but being serious, Um I'm not gonna tell you EVERYTHING obviously, but she's amazing, is gonna be a crazy old woman in a house full of cats in twenty years, has cameraphobia, is completely epic, writes amazing reviews, won't stop bugging me about switching to Wordpress, designs prettiful blogs, hates oranges, is made of snark extraordinaire, got me saying BAHA, and is probably the BEST Nator twin a girl could ask for.

N:Why Inky? And WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NICKNAME (Obviously TWSNBI)

I/H:Why? Because I like having a fun name, and with Inky, it's not only proclaiming my love for reading! I could use it to share my love for writing! Inky could work for just about any literary addiction/love I ever have! Inky=Word Lover Extraordinaire.

I've actually been given quite a few nicknames [which makes me happy!] Here are the five prominent ones;

·         Eileen bestowed me with with the name Hinky, my own mashup name{Hannah + Inky}, to save her from getting confused by calling me by both my names. I love it. It's short and sassy. Hinky at your service.

·         Inkinator, is my nickname from Jessi and a part of our little twin-ship! I loves it. I feel like a superhero. And it's just a special name that has been spoofed and loved between the two of us. Inside awesomeness!

·         Then, there is TWSNBI, quite a mouthful, but I still love it because YOU [nikki] gave it to me! It stands for “THOU WHO SHALL NOT BE INKED”. I don't know where it came from, (NIKKI INSERT: GASP! It's from Thou Who Shall Not be Named, BUT OF COURSE.) but it's kinda legit. I've never been called a sentence before! I loves that one!

·         Megan(http://thebookbabesreads.blogspot.com/ ) calls me Inks. I call her Megs. I love that pet name! It is short and sweet and fun. And of course, I wear Inks with pride. O.O lightbulb!!! Inks would be an adorable name for a baby octopus!!!

·         And lastly, I am known as Inkykins!!! Darling Ashley (http://www.nosegraze.com/) [ASHEYBABY] gave me this one out of the blue! I love this one! It's endearing and just so freaking awesome! I get all warm and fuzzy when she calls me that.

·         I love like EVERY single nickname I've gotten. And for the record, I'm always open to new ones!

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Merp Squad Week: Eileen (Singing and Reading in the Rain)

Nikki: Talk about how you started getting involved in our Merp Squad Talks--if you can even remember.

Eileen: Well, I think for me it was where I was talking to Hinky (What I call Hannah/Inky) and she was all like to me, "We need to come up with a name for us!" And I was like, "YES WE SHOULD!" A week or so later she came back with MERP SQUAD and I was like, "THIS IS AWESOME I LOVE IT!!" And then I always ended up tagged in the Merp Squad conversations we had and it would always be during the WORST times because I'd be in a singing lesson or something so I'd open my sucky BlackBerry afterwards, which always took maybe hours because it would crash with all the notifications.

And that is how I got involved!

(Click to go to Singing and Reading in the Rain) 

N: Who's a Merp Squadder you haven't talked to in a while and really really need to?

E: Well, I haven't talked to YOU since yesterday, I talked to Annabelle last night, and I talked to Jessi two days ago, SO HINKY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE? No, wait I talked to her two days ago too! I think definitely Jessi because I never text her and I need to catch up with her soon! I wish I could like split myself into five pieces, and one part of me would do my work and each of the other parts of me would talk to every other Merp Squader.

N: Who would you like to strangle hug the most?

E: WELL, I would love to strangle EVERYBODY equally. But Annabelle and I have this thing planned where we're going to run in slow-motion towards each other with that flowery music in the background and then hug like those 60's movies! I actually get to strangle you Nikki in August so I don't know if that counts since I technically WILL strangle you.

N: If you could give a nickname (that has nothing to do with their NAME) to all the Merp Squadders, what would they be?

E: In alphabetical order:

Annabelle: Red Velvet Cupcake (or Twinny, but since I guess we have to give NEW nicknames, I can't use Twinny)/Anti-Autocorrect/Hater of 4s

Hinky: Writer of Epic Proportions/EAT A KIWI/Do you hear the people sing?

Jessi: Design Goddess/The Awesome Sometimes Black Sheep that We All Love Hardcore

Nikki: "I'm going to loophole out of this question now but Eileen won the last loophole contest so obviously she's better than me JKJK I'm still the Loophole Queen"

N: Favorite thing of each Merp Squadder's blog?

E: Again, in alphabetical order:

Annabelle: I love her blog it's, like, literally perfect! Her reviews are so eloquent and she covers all of her points so perfectly. If she has a complaint, then she explains why she didn't like it so well and fully that I feel like I've read the book, and if it's a book I loved and she hated, I'm still like, "I hate this book too! WAIT NO STOP IT PERSUASION!"

Hinky: Her vlogs are amazing and so epically awesome! They are insanely cheerful and spazzy and I cannot get enough of them! Her review style is really fantastic too, because they're profound at the same time crazy fun to read, which is the best kind of review in my opinion. And her interviews are so laid back, but at the same time they really let you get to know the author!

Jessi: Jessi makes crazy-cool graphics and she has such a wide variety of things on her blog, from interviews to reviews to guest posts to excerpts...it's a great plethora, seriously. And I am in love with her reviewing style because she has this perfect mix of funny ranting and professionalism, and it's fantastic!

Nikki: The one who believes her reviews suck but they obviously don't because everybody always says they're really great. They are. They totally are. And that's all I have to say about that.

N: TYPICAL QUESTION: What made you start blogging and how is it different from what you expected?

E: Okay, so I have this insanely long-winded story about how Julie Kagawa was holding an ARC contest for her ARC of The Iron Knight, and while I was in a frenzy after The Iron Queen, I saw it and jumped. It was like, "Write out your perfect day with Ash" and then she said to post it on your blog. I didn't really understand at first, so I resposted the same thing I wrote five bajillion times in the comment form because I kept thinking she wouldn't know who I was so at first I had an anonymous entry, and then I used one with my name, and then I did another one with my name and email, and then I opened a blog and posted it. Of course, it was the same exact entry every time so she probably thought I stole the entry from that anonymous comment BUT I DIDN'T I SWEAR. Not one of my most brilliant moments. But I kept the blog up, one day I accidentally deleted my email, so I started a new one up that was the same exact thing, and I kept going.

I think it's different because I didn't know you could get so involved in it. I thought it was kind of like you just blog, but you don't really have any friends that you really visit. I always feel like people with YouTube channels are like that; they post videos, like other people's, but I don't think they have any super close friends from YouTube but they probably do. That's what I originally thought but it turned out to be much more different and I like that I get to connect with so many different people. And authors. I didn't know that you could get review copies, either, so I was a pretty clueless blogger for the first few months.

N: What is the BEST thing about blogging?

E: Okay, this is totally a cliché answer, but it is, by far, the bloggers and authors I get to interact with every day. I never imagined there would be people who wanted to talk to me, or people who would help me feel better when I was having a hard day. And bookish people are usually socially awkward, so when you're as socially awkward as the person you're talking to, then you don't feel socially awkward anymore and you don't think they're socially awkward either!

N: How did you do/choose your design?

E: I actually won a design a while ago, and I was telling the designer how I wanted pinks and blues in my design, and I wanted a microphone kind of incorporated in there somewhere because I like singing so much. When she showed me the design, I think I flipped out because it was absolutely GORGEOUS. The colors were so me and they were so perfect and she did such a fantastic job, even though I gave her probably nothing to work with. Seriously, I love my design.

N: Your Top 5 books of 2013 are...

E: Considering I've probably only read about 5 books in 2013 that I've given five stars to: 

Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Renegade by JA Souders

N: WHAT IS A QUESTION YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ASKED BUT WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER. And answer it. (STOLEN FROM EILEEN.)

E: Eileen, what is wrong with your head?

GOOD QUESTION! Not the inside of my head, but the actual size and shape of my head is weird. I have this sort of jut-outy bump on the back of my head that kind of covers the entire back of my head so whenever I lay down on the floor without something soft to cushion my head it starts to hurt because my head is so weird in the back. Also, after I was born the top of my head had a point because the doctors had to vacuum me out because my head was so big.

N: Everything you know about Annabelle?

E: Annabelle wants to be an architect, is going to her dream college (EEP I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!), and she is going to be only 10 hours away from where I live so WIN. She LOVES red velvet cupcakes and sweets and also loves socks. She (I think) hates the yellow and green skittles, only likes Hals' strawberry cream cough drops, has a flowery graduation dress, and OMG I forgot like everything I know about her, this always happens when I'm asked to repeat what I know because I always forget TONS of details. Oh she doesn't have a nearby Crumbs, she has a younger sister, hates Autocorrect and the number 4 because of obvious reasons, her favorite Emojis are the kissy face with the heart and the actual red heart, she loves red and has this class at around 2 that is NOT psychology but it starts with a ph, and it is philosophy. Yes. That.

N: What made you want to become a singer

E: Okay so I bought Taylor Swift's album from Costco when I saw it in its giant display, and I was like to my dad, "WE MUST GET THIS! I don't know who Taylor Swift is BUT WE MUST GET THIS!" That was her Speak Now album and I knew of her but I hadn't actually listened to much of her music. I went home, and at first I only played her first song because it was the only one I'd heard before. But then I decided to play another song and I fell in complete love, and all of a sudden I wanted to be a singer and do what she did.

Fast forward two years, I was starting to fall out of love with Taylor, even though I still LOVE her, I'm just not totally obsessed anymore, but I found something new: Les Misérables. I cried and sobbed and fell in love. Then during a field trip to Broadway, I saw Newsies and I fell in love again. I just couldn't believe how talented the singers were, and I knew that I didn't want to be a singer in the spotlight of the entire country. I just wanted to be a singer on Broadway with actual talent and all of those vibrato and belting techniques. So that's really it.

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