Some girls are witches with a capital 'B'

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts

246 pages

Released: January 2010

Buy it @ book depository

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard—falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale

Review

Wow! What a bunch of cruel girls. A friend recommended this book to me a while ago, so I thought I should give it a go. Well after listening for only a short amount of time I realised what kind of book this is. Most people during their time at school have faced bullying or been a bully, I know I have! Years 8 & 9 at high school were some of the worst years of my life. So this book brought back some bad memories. I don't know why I kept reading, I think it's because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was a little like a train wreck where you can't look away. I also think it's because I wanted to see if the girls would realise what they've done and feel some sort of remorse for it. Unfortunately that never happened.

Listening to this it felt very much like the movie "Mean Girls" but 10 times worse mean pranks and no humor at all! The story is about a popular group of girls and one girl from the group is ostracized by the rest because of a rumor that was spread, even though we know the truth and it is horrible. Through the whole book the popular group are making the main character, Regina's life a living hell. Regina does get a bit back though, but after all of this I don't know if the girls really learnt a lesson in realising to take responsibility for there actions.

It's very hard to rate a book that you didn't particularly like the characters or like the story but I guess that's the whole point to this story to make you dislike the characters etc, so actually the author has done her job well. Because of this reason and also it was written so well, I decided to give it 3 stars because it deserves it but not 4 in my eyes. Even saying that I will definitely pick up and read any other books I find by Courtney Summers because I think she has a fantastic way of writing about something that feels so real and everyone can relate to.

On the cover

I wouldn't pick up this book based on this cover, I like the bright red locker but it's not that exciting in my opinion. But after reading this though if I see any book written by Courtney Summers I will definitely pick it up.

What I'm listening to next: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Happy Cucpcake Nails

A while back I saw these adorable nails by The Crafty Ninja and thought they would be awesome to re-create. Check out her post to see how she did hers and see how I did mine below.

They weren't as difficult as I thought they would be, but I found that my black nail polish was getting a bit stringy so that ruined my middle finger's eyes.

Other than that, I loved trying to re-create them and putting my own spin on them.
I even posed with one of my cute cupcake lolly jars - very kawaii!

Have you been inspired by someone else's nailart and tried to re-create it? 

I'd love to see yours

This book is not defective

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts

312 pages

Released: March 2013

Buy it @ Angus & Robertson

We, the Martin family, were like inverse superheroes, marked by our defects. Dad was addicted to beer and bootlegs. Gully had "social difficulties" that manifested in his wearing a pig snout mask 24-7. I was surface clean but underneath a weird hormonal stew was simmering...

It's summer in St Kilda. Fifteen-year-old Sky is looking forward to great records and nefarious activities with Nancy, her older, wilder friend. Her brother – Super Agent Gully – is on a mission to unmask the degenerate who bricked the shop window. Bill the Patriarch seems content to drink while the shop slides into bankruptcy. A poster of a mysterious girl and her connection to Luke, the tragi-hot new employee sends Sky on an exploration into the dark heart of the suburb. Love is strange. Family Rules. In between there are teenage messes, rock star spawn, violent fangirls, creepy old guys and accidents waiting to happen. If the world truly is going to hell in a hand-basket then at least the soundtrack is kicking. Sky Martin is Girl Defective: funny, real and dark at the edges.

Review

I could not put this down, I read it in two sittings! The way Simmone Howell sucks you into her story and characters is magic. This book is about a girl discovering who she is and finding "her people". It's a story of finding love, uncovering secrets and lots of music.

I felt like such a loser when I was reading this! There were so many music references that I didn't get because I didn't know the artists that the characters were talking about. It's another book I've read that is set in Australia, specifically St Kilda (a suburb in Melbourne). I live close to St Kilda and have visited many times so it was cool to read about places I have been.

A huge part of enjoying any book is enjoying the characters and Simmone knows how to write a good character. Sky is a rebel teenager, more than I ever was, but I guess living in St Kilda can do that to a girl. Gully is Sky's younger brother and when reading this you know that Gully has Asperger's or is on the autism spectrum but it's never spelled out. I really liked that about this book, everyone accepts him for who he is but doesn't label him. He could be difficult at times but I really liked Gully and thought he was a cool little dude.

Other than the characters, the intrigue was a big reason for my want to keep reading. I NEEDED to know why the girl in the graffiti was so sad. There were also moments of romance that were really nice, they gave me all the normal butterfly feelings in my stomach.

I have listened to Simmone Howell talk about writing and she also read the first chapter from this book. It made me want to read it oh so more. Now that I've read it all for myself I want to get my hands on Simmone's other books!

On the cover

This cover is so cool! The girl on the front looks so sad and I want to know why. It reminds me of Graffiti Moon and I almost feel like Shadow could have painted it. 

What I'm reading next: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Galaxy Nails

Galaxy Nails are all over the Internet at the moment. There are lots of different ways of doing it and plenty of youtube videos to show you how to do it, My friend even did a post over on her blog.

So I'm going to show you a few pictures of what I did. The base colour was ChiChi - It's Raining men. After this was completely dry I used make up sponges to sponge on all the different colours. I used 6 different colours to try to re-create a outer space look.
The colours were: OPI - Not like the movies, Revlon - Minted, Revlon - Pink Ice, BYS - Thank god it's Friday, Maybelline Colorama - Urban Orange & BYS - Sunshine. To finish it off and give it that little something extra I added a light sparkle polish which was ChiChi - Paparazzi Princess.

As you can see I got a bit carried away and didn't take any photos of putting Orange & Yellow nail polish on but you get the idea. I used a dotting tool to make the white dots or planets/stars.

 This is the final product. I'm not as happy with this, but it was very easy so I can always try it again with different colour combinations.

Have you tried this mani before? Let me know, I'd love to see it!

The Piper's Son was a little lacking.

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts

328 pages

Released: March 2010

Buy it @ book depository

Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it's Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can't forget. Shooting for oblivion, he's hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom's in no shape to mend what's broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper's Son redefines what it means to go home again.

Review

I read "Finnikin of the rock" in May and really loved it, so I thought I'd give another one of Melina Marchetta's books a go. Unfortunately, I wasn't as impressed with this. I didn't know that this was sort of a companion novel to "Saving Francesca", which I haven't read. I really wished I had read "Saving Francesca" first because I may have been a bit more invested in this.

The book is written from the third person but focuses mainly on Tom Mackee and his Aunty Georgie. Both of them weren't very interesting, so maybe that's why I didn't like this all that much. It's a shame I didn't feel as fondly for this as others did, I've seen many reviews from people who are in love with this.

After reading this though it makes me want to read "Saving Francesca" because Francesca was an awesome secondary character! I can imagine a book from her as the main character would be awesome. Another secondary character that I really liked was Tom's little sister. She isn't a big character, but she has balls and is totally cool! I wanted to read more about her.

On a side note, It was cool knowing this book is set in Australia because I got all the slang and references.

On the cover

This cover screams waking up after a big night out and not sure where you stayed. The backdrop looks exactly like a street in the city. It's not the best looking cover, but it's cool. 

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Good old classic movies

I love watching movies and I watch so many new movies that I thought it's time I watched some of those good classic films. Working at the library I have some perks because I was able to borrow all these for free. Enjoy all these wonderful trailers and a short review of each movie by me! :)

Some like it hot (1959) in B & W 

Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis & Jack Lemon

This was very funny and this being my first ever Marilyn Monroe movie, she didn't disappoint! She is cute and sexy just like I imagined. It's a shame this wasn't in colour because I would've loved to see all the beautiful dresses Marilyn wears. I actually knew the two male actors in this and they were fantastic as well. Great start to my Marilyn Monroe viewing.

Gone with the wind (1939) in Colour 

Starring Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh

The clothing/costumes were fabulous, I'm so glad this was in colour! The overall movie though wasn't all that appealing to me. I didn't like it mainly because the main character, Scarlett, was annoying. Oh and the movie was four hours long and it was so depressing the whole time. I have to admit it was filmed very beautifully but unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea. Had to wait til the end of the movie to hear the line I know - "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"

Casablanca (1942) in B & W 

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman & Paul Henreid

"Here's looking at you kid" I loved this so much! No wonder it's considered one of the best classic movies, when it was finished I wanted to watch it all over again! Something I found weird was that Humphrey Bogart has little to no expression in this, I did see him smile once and it was strange. 

A streetcar named desire (1951) in B & W 

Starring Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brandon & Kim Hunter

Was a little slow and I didn't really get what was going on. I had a slight idea but I ended up looking on the Internet to make sure I was right. Marlon Brando has a really hot body and looks nice but he is such a pig, so that puts you off him completely! At least I can say that I've seen Brando yelling "Stella! Hey Stella!"

The Seven Year itch (1955) in Colour 

Starring Marilyn Monroe & Tom Ewell

Marilyn is adorable! If she wasn't in this it would've been a little boring. The story line was quite funny, and I loved that it was in colour so we could see Marilyn in all her glory. Loved the well known subway air scene of course - "Isn't it delicious"

Calamity Jane (1953) in Colour 

Starring Doris Day & Howard Keel

This movie was loads of fun! I love musicals and this was right up my alley. Doris Day plays a fantastic character, such a light-hearted movie with a happy ending. "Whip crack away, whip crack away, whip crack away!"

Psycho (1960) in B & W 

Starring Anthony Perkins & Vera Miles

I recently watched "Hitchcock" starring Anthony Hopkins, who played Alfred Hitchcock and I enjoyed it. It made me want to watch Psycho as I have never seen it before. I thought Psycho was a really good movie. Great acting and had lots of suspense. It's not a gory scary movie, more of a psychological type of scary movie, I highly recommend it!

Have you watched any classic movies and enjoyed them?

Not your average zombie

Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1) by Ilsa Bick

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts

465 pages

Released: September 2011

Buy it @ book depository

It could happen tomorrow . . .

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

Author Ilsa J. Bick crafts a terrifying and thrilling post-apocalyptic novel about a world that could become ours at any moment, where those left standing must learn what it means not just to survive, but to live amidst the devastation.

Review

This was not what I was expecting at all! That's not a bad thing though, it's a really good thing. I was expecting a gory zombie novel, which it is at times, but there was so much more than gore. It was a slightly romantic story where people are trying to survive during a confusing time.

Zombies aren't my favourite thing to read or watch, I think the whole idea of cannibalism is terrifying! But my boyfriend LOVES zombies and wishes the zombie apocalypse was here already... so because of this I've seen a lot of zombie movies and videogames. Normally in those movies there's usually an epidemic/viral outbreak that turns people into the undead. In this book they are called 'the changed' which is a completely different twist on your average zombies.

I think this was more scary because the idea of an electronic impulse knocking out all technology could happen now. Our society relies so much on technology that if everything was suddenly shut off not many people would survive, I know I wouldn't!

The story was very intriguing but the characters were also really easy to like as well. Although Ellie, who is an 8 year old tag along was quite annoying at times, but I guess most kids that age would find it hard to get used to living without technology. Alex is the main character and the story is told from her point of view. She is a very strong female character, but she has her weaknesses and I liked that she was both strong at times while also being weak at times because it makes her real.

There are two male characters in this that are vying for Alex's affections, but it's not a love triangle as such because they happen at different points in the novel (I don't want to give too much away). The romance was very slow paced, no insta love in this book. I like that guys who read this would not be put off because there isn't any mushy love.

Oh and that ending!! I was like "wha....??? There has to be another disc, that can't be the end please!" It was so excruciating, there are so many unanswered questions and you're left hanging. Have the changed become clever? I don't know if I should wait to get the audiobook version or just go out and read the book. I think the latter might win. I highly recommend this to people who would be put off by flesh-eating zombies because it's not a book about just that.

On the cover

That face is so creepy, I think it's the eyes that make it kind of scary - There's no pupils and they're white. I also understand now all the lines across the face, I guess they're to represent the Electro-magnetic pulse.

What I'm listening to next: The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta