Summer Snowflakes

I SAW THE GREATEST SHOWMAN THIS WEEKEND. AND IT IS ACTUALLY THE GREATEST SHOW.

I want to write a proper review, but I can’t yet, because I am so thoroughly in love and lost in fangirling that I just can’t anything. I am just falling over myself being in love with this movie. So just... listen to the song. And believe them that this is, in fact, the greatest show. Then go see the movie ASAP, so you can know what I am feeling and we can just fall over ourselves fangirling together. That is all I ask.

So HAVE YOU SEEN THE GREATEST SHOWMAN???? Which song is your favorite? Though I shared The Greatest Show, and Rewrite the Stars a few weeks ago, I now can’t stop listening to A Million Dreams. The song is just too amazing. So yeah, comment below about The Greatest Showman if you've seen it, or your favorite musical if you haven't (and then go see The Greatest Showman ;) ). Can’t wait to hear from you, and I’ll see you in the comment section!

So... I one hundred and ten percent forgot POTW was a thing I did until yesterday at 11:30. School kinda hit me over the head this semester; I'm still trying to get it together. I do apologize.

The Last Jedi: a Review by Skye. I haven’t seen the movie, but I really liked her review. Beware spoilers, but it’s a fun, fangirling read!

Thoughtful About... Who We Get to Be by Mrs. Roseanna White. A beautiful reminder: as Christians, we get to represent Christ’s light to this dark world. That matters more than anything else.

Giving a Book/Author a Second Chance by Shar. A really intersting and thoughtful post; I’m not sure I’ve ever given a book I didn’t like a second chance, but I liked her analysis of this.

Writing Characters 101: Emotional Plausibliity---Ethnicity and Culture by Intuitive Writing Guide. 100% on point! Simple but very helpful tips.

What Are the Best Types of Settings in YA Books to Bless Our Existence With? by Cait. Because I only just read it and IT’S SO MUCH FUN. Also, the quiz. I received a very unexpected answer (Carnivals and Festivals; unexpected because I almost never read about them). But it had a Greatest Showman gif, so I was pleased.

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So, have you seen the Last Jedi? Ever given a book/author a second chance or written about a character from a different culture than your own? Can’t wait to hear from you, and I’ll see you in the comment section!

So, I ACTUALLY DID IT. I ACTUALLY FINISHED EVERYTHING IN MY HOLIDAY READING HAUL.

via GIPHY

Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am. :p To be fair, I did scan much of A List of Cages and Girls Like Me, and my internet was out for three days during the last week of break, so reading was one of the only things I could do, but STILL. I actually finished all 10 books (including The Girl from Everywhere) in a little less than 3 weeks. I haven’t done that since… probably around 2015, so it really feels like an accomplishment.

Anyways, the part you’ve all been waiting for… THE REVIEWS

Book covers link to Amazon. 😊

It… was… so good. So good that I just want to own my own copy someday, so I can revisit its magic and wonder whenever I want. The plot was delightfully fun, yet simultaneously exciting and with many spices of suspense. The characters were fantastic all the way through, and it was so fascinating how I got to really know every one of them: the prideful prince, the evil aunt, the opposing king, even the poor princess, none of them were what they seemed at the beginning. There was always more to each and the process of getting to dig in and discover who they actually were, it was so eye-opening about the nature of humanity in general. And then there was the writing! Utterly royal but with lovely bits of wit that had me giggling out loud. In the entire story, I found only one thing lacking towards the end, but it is a spoiler and it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the whole thing. As far as content, there was one curse word and a couple of suggestive references, but there were not in a positive light. The main character was actually appalled at them, which I thought was really good.

Overall, it was a lovely, light read, but with plenty of wonder and wisdom all the same.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

My favorite parts about this book were the writing (which was splendid!) and the suspense (which was powerful). I did figure out some of the mystery before it was revealed, but there were still so many pieces that had way more questions than answers, and I couldn’t put all of it together until it was spelled out at the end. Much of it surprised me, and, really, that isn’t the most common occurrence when it comes to me and mysteries. I read too much Nancy Drew in my pre-teens. :p

Anyways, as for the rest of it… I get that Piper was going through a lot and that that clouded her judgment, but she spent half the book making bad decisions that could’ve literally gotten her killed. I have a lot of trouble reading that, and the older a character is (Piper was 18), the less slack I’ll cut them for repeatedly making the same poor choice. The book also dealt with a lot more dirt and corruption and tragedy than I expected (though that might’ve been my fault for not paying attention), and though it was written with the utmost taste and tact, if you know what’s suggested, you know what’s suggested. All-in-all, I think it was a gripping and well-written mystery, just not what I expected and not quite my cup of tea.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

This was such a charming read, as amusing and clever as it was action-packed and exciting. I loved the descriptions, so colorful, vivid, full of this unique personality that completely encompassed the place and the people. It was absolutely lovely, and I adored every minute.

ALTHOUGH, since I talked about Piper’s choices, I have to talk about theirs: the oldest of these kids is 12 and the youngest is 8 (I think), so I’m cutting them more slack, but they desperately need to wisen up and use their brains, otherwise they are likely to tumble off a cliff or get eaten by a toothy cow long before the Fangs come anywhere near them.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The Nest is amazing in every way: intense and scary and raw and resonant and absolutely heart-racing at the climax. The whole time, there’s this impossible line between dream and reality—but you have no idea which side you’re on. Even as it ends, there’s still this blurried feel to it, like it should’ve been a dream, but it’s just a tad too real, too vivid, to be classified with things that don’t exist.

Also, it’s far less about mental illness than I expected; I’d heard so much about how well it represented and what a great portrayal of OCD it was, but it’s really not about OCD at all. Not to say that it doesn’t portray it well or that people who championed it were wrong, only that that’s not what the story is about. It’s about humans and the impossibility of perfection for anyone, those with and without mental illness. It’s about courage and strength and sacrifice and family. It’s about the lie of normalcy and the power of unconditional love. It’s not just about OCD. It’s about all of us.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This one is so sweet! It has this perfect storytelling feel to the writing, like you’re curled up by the fire on a snowy winter night, a cozy quilt over you and hot cocoa in your hands, and someone you love is sitting across from you, telling you a chilling and epic bedtime story. The three tales intertwine in such an interesting way, and the whole novel is just darling: creative and exciting and suspenseful, but in a much gentler way. It’s the perfect clean YA read: no craziness, no cursing, just sweet romance with much teenage innocence and… well, a fair amount of teenage idiocy, but there are only two lines I can think of that even breach inappropriateness. It’s the perfect sweet little read if you want to ease back into a world of fairy tales and romances, swords and wizards, heroes, heroines, and happily ever afters.

Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5

Though it had its exciting moments and the writing was so hauntingly gorgeous, perfect for the ship-and-island setting, the book as a whole wasn’t a favorite for me. I didn’t love many of the characters and since all of Nixie’s stakes were guesswork (no one knew what would happen if her father found the map), her stakes didn’t feel very real to me. I mean, it was understandable that she didn’t want any risk of losing everything she had, but in my opinion, they had more evidence that nothing would go wrong at all than that anything would (especially considering the mythical creatures, and even people, they kept around). So, to me, her biggest issues seemed too questionable to carry the story, especially the conflict between her and her dad.

However, she and Kash have got to be my favorite romantic ship of this haul: sarcastic, witty best friends with a beautiful, meaningful foundation to their relationship. They could be who they were with each other, they did what they could to protect the other, and they cared about each other in all of the sweetest ways.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
Content Warning: cursing sprinkled throughout.

I had mixed feelings about this one. It was powerful, riveting, heart-stabbing, all those emotional things I thought it would be, and I loved that Julian and Adam’s friends grew up and stepped up when it counted (they were pretty immature at the beginning). But. The start was hard for me to get through. There was a lot of extra stuff, from R-rated words to various sexual references, so much so that I almost DNFed and eventually started scanning, so I could just find out how it ended.

In the end, it was breathtaking, poignant, all the emotional beauties I thought it would hold—but the other stuff did nearly spoil it for me. If you can get past a bowlful of four-letter words in the first few chapters, some random and kinda gross references, and a dash of teenage immaturity, you probably will love the rest of the story. But for me, as much as I loved the emotions and the power of the journey, the bad parts made the good parts hard to appreciate.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Sadly, this one too I scanned—and eventually DNFed—and for the same reasons as A List of Cages. There was less cursing here and more sensual references, but since those actually bother me more and I wasn’t enjoying the rest of it, I just didn’t see a reason to continue. I’m including it in these reviews because I read enough to understand the gist of the story… and even without the extra stuff, it didn’t feel like my style. It had quite a few tropes (overweight girl with hot guy, supposedly evil step mom, etc) and it was written in poetry that just felt overdramatic to me. So, if you like those tropes and you don’t mind poetry (or the other stuff), this one might be for you. But I’m always looking for something that strikes me as new: the situation, the writing style, a single character, anything really. I just want some dash of something that makes an old story feel fresh. Unfortunately, nothing in Girls Like Me stood out, and the poetry felt like it was trying too hard to resonate. In the end, I wasn’t a fan.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5.

This book… it’s hard to even explain what I felt because I went through the entire gamut of emotions while reading: from euphoria to heartbreak, from excitement to horror, from anger to delight to agony … EVERYTHING is somewhere in this book. It starts out very fantasy dangerous, but still with that glow of lightheartedness over it all—then everything just nosedives into absolute shadow. Crap goes down and things get dark. Fast.

But as the ending unfolds, light starts to creep in, and as the story finished, all I could think was that it was the darkest kind of beautiful and so much more than I thought it was going to be. There was beauty and agony, wounds and recovery, wrongs and redemption; the lovely little adventure took an intense turn for the worse, but themes of salvation and mercy, the responsibility of family and the power of unconditional love, they still reigned over it all. While I would be careful about recommending the series to younger, more sensitive children, in my opinion, the ending (so far, since there's two more books in the series) was worth the experience.

I also understand Faith’s “Florid Sword” username now, so that’s pretty cool. 😉

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

It was epic and heart-rending and achingly human. One of those where, as I neared the end, I felt myself not wanting to take the final step. Not wanting to know what would actually happen, fearing the worse, terrified to wish for the best… it was a tantalizingly torturous feeling that only a few books I’ve read have truly pulled off.

But I did finish. And it was worth it. The ending swept me away so completely, I didn’t even know what to do with my life when I finished. And it wasn’t necessarily that the book was so enjoyable, because some parts were way too hard to be called that, but that it was so deep and thought-provoking and strangely beautiful. There was so much horror and evil and darkness, but then! There was light and goodness and love and right winning out in the end. Honestly, it was one of the sweetest, most incredible things I’d ever read. After all they had been through, such hope came out at the end. In my opinion, it was the perfect happy ending.

Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
Content: fair amount of language, a few graphic descriptions of violence.

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And that… is probably the most mini reviews I have ever done at once. Hope you all enjoyed! Have you guys read any of these? What did you think of them? Agree with my opinions, disagree? I’d love to have a conversation with you, and I will see you in the comment section!

Because nostalgia! This band was my absolute favorite from my pre-teens probably till I was about 14 or 15, a couple of years after they disbanded. I just loved their energy and their Jesus-praising lyrics and their dance moves, though. I cannot tell you how many hours I spent trying to learn these steps, but I can proudly say that, at some point in my early teens, I probably knew every move in their entire set. I couldn’t actually perform them (although I tried) because I am not that coordinated, but I knew every step. Also, I realized this song is almost 10 years old (the album came out in April of 2008), so, because it’s a New Year and we spend part of that looking back (or something), I decided to share it. 😊

So, tell me, what’s an old favorite band of yours? Did you ever listen to PureNRG? Tell me honestly, did you try this dance as well? Haha, can’t wait to hear from you, and I’ll see you in the comment section! :D

To Be Known by Ophelia. It’s hard to explain what I felt about this post, but it’s just… so true, so poignant, and beautiful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 😊

Blazing a Trail by Audrey Caylin @ Rebellious Writing. It is so hard to find clean YA these days; often, it really seems like all you have to choose from are books filled with “extra content.” But that’s why, if it does matter to us, we really do have to stand up for it. That’s something I have to keep reminding myself and keep trying to do better at.

How To Write The Perfect Book Review (And Not Eat A Brick Wall In Terror Of The Process) by Cait @ Paper Fury. If you have not read it, read it. Because, at the very least, it will at least entertain you at how incredibly insane the process of being a book reviewer can be. Of course, it’s also fun, or else we wouldn’t do it… but it is insane.

The Gift of Empathy by Mrs. Shannon Dittemore @ GoTeenWriters. This is another one that I don’t really know what to say about it, only that it’s so important and so true. Writing does give us empathy, and it's a vital trait to have in writing and in our daily lives.

I’m Getting Out of My Own Way by Amanda Rose. A powerful truth to fight against self-doubt and do the thing the God has called you to. So good.

Who Would Be Your YA Fictional Nemesis by Epic Reads. Because this quiz is really fun. Also, I got someone from Red Queen. Spoiler if you haven’t read it, but yeah.

Writing Characters 101: Emotional Plausibility – Background by Intuitive Writing Guide. One of my favorite happenings in a story is when I understand why a character does the things they do and I empathize with their emotions. This post is a great place to start with making sure you’re doing that.

When a Writer Actually Writers by Keturah. Her guest post on GoTeenWriters! It’s so good; the simple act of writing really does grow us as writers. And when we make it consistent, things just seem to start happening. Almost like magic. 😊

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Well, that's it for this week! Tell me, what are your top character writing tips? How do you write the perfect book review? Haha, can't wait to hear from you and I'll see you in the comment section!

Happy New Year, everyone!!!! And Happy Blogoversary to me!! :D I both can and cannot believe that this is my fourth blogoversary, haha. On the one hand, there was never really a time I thought I’d stop blogging, so I’m not surprised I’m still here; but on the other, it seems so weird that I’ve been doing this for four years already. Time has just shot by me, in so many ways, but I’m glad I was able to spend so much of it here with all of you. 😊

Without further ado, let us commence the PARTY.

As is tradition at all proper parties, one must have cake. So. Feast your eyes on these internet delicacies.

Source

*sighs dreamily* If that doesn’t make you want to immediately quit your day job and become a gourmet chef, I don’t really know what will.

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For the next event, I regret to inform you that, as is tradition for Summer Snowflakes blogoversaries, it is now time for the reading of an Alexa original awful poem. *clears throat* You have been warned… although it is possible that the poem might not be too awful this year; I may have graduated from simply awful to mildly mediocre. In any case, if you wish to be certain you will keep your eyes, you may skip down to the part after the centered text and continue your day as if such an atrocity never occurred. If on the other hand, your eyes are of little consequence to you and you are willing to take the chance, please, read at your own risk and decide for yourself.

The Fourth Blogoversary Poem

Thank you

From deep in my heart.

Thank you

If you’ve been here from the start.

Thank you

If you came for cute dogs;

Thank you,

Though you’re on the wrong blog

Thank you

If you’ve been here for a day,

Thank you

Because, regardless, you stayed.

Thank you

For your reading so sweet.

Thank you

For your commenting feats.

Thank you

For praying, for being.

Thank you,

For this blog you are seeing

And my life, indeed, would not be the same

Without knowing your names

And you knowing mine.

For your words, oh so kind,

I thank you and thank you and thank you and thank you

For always remaining at my side.

In all of the days and all of the times,

From your heart to mine,

Thank you and thank you and thank you.

In all seriousness though, A MILLION THANKS to every one of you. You are all such beautiful souls, so lovely and supportive. I adore the atmosphere you’ve created, one of kindness and unity and love and encouragement and all those other fuzzy words that should only be used if they’re real. Some parts of the internet, even bookish parts, are incredibly toxic, and it just… I can’t even say how much I appreciate the fact that that kind of poison, we just don’t allow it here. There are times I’m nervous or even defensive about certain posts because I’m afraid some of that toxic attitude will leak in from somewhere or that it’s just lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce the moment I make a “wrong” move, but it has never touched this blog and I am so grateful to every one of you who reads for keeping it that way. You let me know that this place, this tiny corner of the internet, it’s safe. And I appreciate that more than words can say.

Also, thank you for sticking around through all the changes, especially as I started school last year. I think I’ve figured out a schedule (biweekly for each post, if you’ve been a little confused) that actually works for me... even though comments and commenting back STILL take me an age. I am working on that.

But anyways, just… thank you. Thank you for being you and for sticking here with me. 😊

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Now that we’re all sufficiently sniveling and sentimental, ON TO THE QUESTIONS.

What inspired you to do Posts of the Week?

Back in 2015, another blogger started a linkup called Fan Month, where participants spent the month of March basically being a fan and cheering on other content creators, bloggers specifically. As usual, I was incredibly behind in the blogosphere, so I joined up and used the opportunity to catch up on posts. Part of the challenge was to share content you enjoyed and, since I was dedicating all my blog time to fangirling and not posting anything new on Summer Snowflakes, I decided to create Posts of the Week: that way, my blog wouldn’t look completely dead for a month, but I’d also keep to the challenge and maximize my fangirl time.

I was only going to do these posts for the length of the linkup, but when it was over, I realized how much I’d enjoyed that the challenge forced me to make time to read other blogs and engage in the community and all the things like that, plus I also loved sharing people’s posts and cheering bloggers on and just letting them know I liked what they wrote. So, I made Posts of the Week a regular on Summer Snowflakes, and it’s been that way ever since.

What do you prefer doing, writing a brand-new story or editing/rewriting a beloved story?

That is a really good question! I had to think about it for a while before I came up with an answer. I love drafting because I’m a pantser, so discovering who the characters are and all the pieces to what the story will become, that’s always a time of revelations and wonder and I absolutely love it. But there are also downsides: writer’s block, if I have no idea what I’m supposed to be discovering next, and pre-editing blues, if I’ve written myself into a hole and suddenly become aware that the editing process is going to be a beast.

As for editing, I kind of hate it because it often is a beast, but I love refining. When all the deep edits are done and I’m just tweaking a sentence here and there and I’m able to see this shining story that I created. It’s almost as good, if not better, than the original wonder of writing it. So, all of that to say, I don’t know. I used to say I hated editing and only liked drafting, and that’s still kind of true; but at the same time, the end process of editing, especially with a beloved story, is 100% worth it. I can’t really have one without the other and they both have problems I hate and merits I love.

If I absolutely have to pick one though… to my own surprise, I would say refining (not rewriting, but refining) is my favorite part. Because the hardest work is over and I get to see that I’ve created something good. 😊

How do you stay organized?

A full answer to this question would require an extensive and probably rather frightening trip into the darkest depths of my mind, which would be a little much for this blog post, haha. In fact, I don’t think I really am organized. My novel notes, my computer files, my room, my mind, there’s random stuff everywhere; but I know where all of it goes, so it makes sense to me and I’m able to unravel it, one piece at a time, such that it occasionally makes sense to others. Also, I’m a very schedule-oriented person, so before I go to bed each night, I make the next day’s schedule, then review it in the morning and come back to it periodically throughout the day. Between the two, I somehow seem to manage.

Sorry if that’s not really an answer. If there was something in particular you wanted to know about organizing, mention it in the comments and I can try to expand more specifically there. 😊

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That is all for today, folks. Again, A MILLION, BILLION, GAZILLION thanks for reading my blog and commenting and just being the wonderful people you are. I deeply appreciate it and look forward to another year with each and every one of you. 😊

Summer Snowflakes

Summer Snowflakes

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