End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I think it was hour 7 that was the most daunting. I took a break around lunch for lunch and to do some homework. I was ready to get back to reading after that and I just wasn't quite in the reading mood at that time. Especially since I had just finished reading a new Gallagher Girls book and I had to transition to the depressing A Monster Calls.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter is very engaging and definitely kept me reading through the first fourth of the read-a-thon.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Reading sprints would be great! If there were some, I didn't see them and I'm sorry, but they would be fun!

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I signed up late last year and didn't have cheerleaders, but this year I signed up early and did. I thought it was so cool having people commenting on my blog and tweeting me!

5. How many books did you read?
I read 1 ⅔ books

6. What were the names of the books you read?
I read Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls book 5) and most of A Monster Calls

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
Out of Sight, Out of Time definitely!

8. Which did you enjoy least?
A Monster Calls is really depressing and, while it isn't bad, it probably wasn't the best book to read after an upbeat, action-packed contemporary book

9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I will definitely be participating next time and probably just as a reader. I would love to be a cheerleader, but I also really want to read and I don't know how well I can balance that.

The Mid-Event Survery

We are now on hour 14 (I think) of the Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! A few hours ago we were supposed to be doing our mid-event surveys. I did not do it then (I was busy watching Sherlock), but I am ready to do it now. By the way, I did end up getting an honorable mention for my weird reading position! Anyway...

1. What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

2. How many books have you read so far?


I have read 1 ½ books so far

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?


I just need to finish the second half of A Monster Calls. I probably will sleep the rest of the time.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?


I did have to take some time to do Mandarin homework and clean, but I just try to enjoy those breaks and give myself a rest

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How much I am able to read! I didn't do nearly as well last time.

That's all for now!

So long!

Hannah Claire

Book Staging Challenge

I wanted to do this challenge really quickly. Here is my photo entry. 

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: Update 2

We are now on hour 5! Time flies when you're having fun I guess. Here's just another quick update on my reading progress.

Hour: 5

Currently reading: Out of Sight, Out of Time

Pages read since last update: 91

Pages read so far: 209

Book I plan on reading next: I will either read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness or Marvel's graphic novel adaption of The Wizard of Oz

More updates are coming your way!

So long!

Hannah Claire

Weird Reading Positions Challenge

This mini-challenge is hosted over at Kristina Horner's blog. 

http://kristinahorner.com/deweys-24-hour-readathon/

In this challenge you take a picture of yourself reading in a strange position. I enlisted Lia's help for this and ended up with this picture. 

Of course I would try to read and play piano at the same time!

So long!

Hannah Claire 

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon: update 1

We are now on hour 3, everyone! I am currently reading Out of Sight, Out of Time which is the fifth book in the Gallagher Girls series. I was already 46 pages through it when I started the read-a-Thon. In the past two hours I have managed to read 118 pages of it. I need to take a break for homework soon, but hopefully I can finish this book soon. 

More updates to come!

So long!

Hannah Claire 

Dewey's 24 Readathon: opening meme

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from?

I am reading from Ohio which is in America. 

2. What book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I am really excited about finishing the fifth Gallagher Girls book. 

3. Which snack are you most looking forward to? 

I just got some sour patch kids!

4. Tell us a little something about yourself. 

I am fifteen and homeschooled (mostly). I absolutely love to read!

5. What's one thing I'll do different today from last time?

I have two graphic novels in my stack this time and two other books to read if I get tired of the other. 

Hopefully I'll be posting more soon!

So long!

Hannah Claire 

The Book Thief Playlist

                                            

This playlist is called The Novel Kleptomaniac and is inspired by The Book Thief.

Book Review: Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Torrey Grey is famous. At least, on the internet. Thousands of people watch her popular videos on fashion and beauty. But when Torrey's sister is killed in an accident -- maybe because of Torrey and her videos -- Torrey's perfect world implodes.

Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn't know who to trust. Is queen bee Blair only being sweet because of Torrey's internet infamy? What about Raylene, who is decidedly unpopular, but seems accepts Torrey for who she is? And then there's Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about El dio de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?

I've been looking forward to reading this book ever since I saw a review of it on YouTube. The whole concept sounding really interesting. 

However, I was expecting something a bit lighter. I don't know why, but that was how I thought it was going to be. I don't think I read this book at the right time. I had just finished reading Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson which was a very dark contemporary. Both of these books had the idea of "ghosts" in the sense that they were feeling guilty about the death of a loved one and were "being haunted" by them. This wasn't anything against either of the books, they just shouldn't be read together.

Let's go over the stuff that I didn't like first.

I did not really like most of the characters. Torrey was annoying and superficial. I was really hoping that she would develop into a better person, but she really didn't. Luis was okay, but he wasn't great. He got his feelings hurt too easily. Both of the parents were aggravating. They were rather unrealistic. It was pretty obvious that Raylene was supposed to be the annoying side character, but she was done better than everyone else probably. The best character in the entire book was probably Miranda, Torrey's dead sister. The only problem was that we only got to see her in flashbacks. I loved hearing more about her, but the story was more often focused on Torrey trying to fit in with the popular crowd who was clearly using her. 

That leads me to another point. I didn't like how the story was done. Some things should have been sped up, such as Torrey's plan to become popular. Some things should have been slowed down. What Torrey did at the end should have been extended. It was like the climax and ending happened in sixty pages! The "climax" did have much of a lead-in if you know what I mean. That made it not seem like a climax at all. 

I really wish the whole YouTube and cyber-bullying thing had been more of a focus. The world of YouTube really intrigues me and I wanted to see how it was on the other side of the screen. We did get a few glimpses of this but not nearly enough.

The whole part with The Day of the Dead was just weird. If the author wanted to make that a major part of the book, I think she should have explained it a bit better. Why did they have this celebration? What was with all of the food? And most importantly...

WHY WAS TORREY SO OBSESSED WITH THE CREEPY MAKEUP?!

I don't know why this bothered me so much, but really! What was with that? It was creepy, not beautiful? Was I missing some hidden symbolism? Seriously!

Now, what did I like....

The few YouTube scenes were great!

So were the flashbacks!

Ummm....

...

I guess that's it!

This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't great.

I'd give it 3 ½ stars and say that it was for ages 13 and up.

So long!

Hannah Claire

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review