Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic--Review

Title: Unstoppable
Author: Nick Vujicic
Series: (None)
Pages: 237
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Genre: Non-fiction, Inspirational
My Rating: 5 Stars (as a book in general); 4 Stars (If I go by my biased-ness...I don't really like non-fiction...)

Summary/Description: Nick Vujicic was born with out arms or legs. As a young child, he wondered what his purpose in life could be and wondered if God really loved him. Now, he sees that God has a BIG plan for his life, and nothing can get in the way. In Nick's second book, he tells us how to overcome obstacles in life such as challenges in relationships, jobs, heath, addictions, bullying, and other issues people face. This book encourages the reader to face the challenges life throws at us and become unstoppable.

My thoughts: Well, first, please know that I don't normally read non-fiction, but I really wanted to review this book because I find Nick's story so inspiring. In today's society, people face so many different challenges. Bullying, for example, isn't just in school anymore. It's at work, and on the internet, too. And so many people face disease and disability. Nick is a great person to address these issues and more since he is disabled himself. Unstoppable is so encouraging and really shows you that nothing is impossible with God and no matter how terrible your situation is, there is always a way out and a way to encourage others with your experiences. This book not only told Nick's story, but also other people-young and old-who had gone through the trials that were being described. There were quite a few mentions of human trafficing and slavery. But that is the only thing that I might have a problem with in this book (And also the time when he mentioned not calling someone "mummy"...I practically freaked out, but that's just my own personal issue :P )

More information:
Life Without Limbs website
Attitude is Altitude website


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. (Thank you!)

Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl--Review

Title: Starflower
Author: Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Series: Tales of Goldstone Wood-Book 4
Pages: 348
Publisher: Bethany House
Genre: Fantasy
My rating: 5 Stars

Summary: Years ago, a young faerie queen gave herself over to the Dragon. Becoming his first child, she burned her city and became the fearsome Dragonwitch, Hri Sora. Then the Dragon took her wings. Desperate to get them back, she agreed to get the "Flowing Gold." Hri Sora kidnaps Lady Gleamdren, the only one who knows where this "Flowing Gold" is. Eanrin, the bard, loves Lady Leamdren and vows to get her back. The soldier, Glomar, says the same. They both set out to find Gleamdren, but along the way, they encounter a young mortal girl, Starflower, who is unconscious beside a river. Eanrin rescues Staflower and she travels with them to find Lady Gleamdren. Both Eanrin and Glomar seem to think the Starflower is an unnecessary burden, but Starflower seems linked to the Dragonwitch. Is Starflower the key to Lady Gleamdren's rescue?

My thoughts:  Amazing book! I love Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Tales of Goldstone Wood series.The characters and the stories are beautiful. But sometimes they get confusing. I was a bit confused about some of the faerie characters' names and their places in the story. And then, about halfway through the book, Starflower began to tell her story. It really helped to see her background, but when it kept switching between her story and the regular story with Eanrin, it did get a bit confusing.  But...I still give it 5 stars.


I got this book free for review from Bethany House. (Thank you!)

Shine On Award (From Solace)

Rules:

1. Link back to the Blogger who nominated you.

2. Post the badge on your blog. It's pretty. Do it.

3. Answer the questions posed to you. Regardless of how out-of-left-field they may be.

4. Nominate five bloggers who shine a light in your day and be sure to notify them.

5. Issue some questions you'd like them to answer.

Okay...here we go!

1. Thank you, Solace Utara for giving me this award!

2. The award is up there ^ :D

3. Now for the questions...

1.) Who's your role model?

Hmmm...well, Jesus, of course...but if you were asking about a person here today in physical form, I'd have to say my mom. ♥

2.) Why do you blog?

Well, for this blog here, my English teacher asked me to start it so I could share with others the books that I read. After about maybe a year, my friends got me into Star Wars, and I started blogging about that here. That is how I met a lot of you...through Solace's blog, actually. :)  And then came Doctor Who. So yeah, that's how I started blogging...most of this is thanks to my friends (Solace and all of you included).

3.) How do you view Twilight?

I don't like it. No, I've never read it, but I don't like the idea...of vampires, and other things as well. But I don't hate the people who do like it, and I have nothing against the writer, either.

4.) Describe your style of writing.

Umm, I have no idea how to describe m style of writing...actually, to tell you the truth, I haven't done much writing lately...but I mostly write fantasy stories...and I'm currently trying to write a backstory for a minor Star Wars character. (And I have a few other ideas, but I won't tell you yet...)

5.) When do you get a stroke of inspiration the most?

Shower sometimes...also when I'm going to bed...so generally when I can't write the ideas down... :P

6.) What do you do with your stroke of inspiration?

Try to remember it long enough to write it down...

4. Nominations:

The Sith Photagrapher  (You inspire me on your blog, and on your Facebook page :D )

MasterofOblivion (I know you don't blog much, but you are a great friend)

Molly (I love your comments...thanks!)

Aalya Rain (You haven't blogged in a while, but I love reading your posts!)

Shannon Messenger (I don't know if you will do this award thing, but I LOVE your book!)

Amaranthine (love reading your blog!)

And, I know this doesn't really work this way, but I want to give this award to all my friends, even though you don't have blogs...but I give it to you anyway, because you inspire me. I won't list your names here, but I think you all know who you are if you are reading this...

5. Now...the questions:

1.) What is your favourite genre to read? watch? write?

2.) What kind of music do you like to listen to?

3.) What is your favourite thing to do in your free time?

4.) If you could visit anywhere in the universe (including fictional places), at any time, and with any person...where/when/who would it be [with]? And why?

5.) When you are haing a bad day, what do you do to get in a better mood?

I can't wait to see what you all have to say...and if I didn't give you the award, you can comment your answers below. I'd love to hear from all of you!

Valentine's Day...according to nerds.

I'm a book nerd, so I'm in love with books...




And this is how most of us feel on Valentine's Day, when everyone is thinking about love:

This is how I feel when people make a big deal about not having someone special on Valentine's Day...or any day, really:

And we all know that Always has a special meaning...

(If you want more fandom themed Valentine's posts go here or here.

Links

Take a trip (figuratively) to these places and more with these links:

Blogs:

-The Ultimate Star Wars Blog (Star Wars)

-Wizards' First Rule: People Are Stupid (Books, fantasy, etc.)(This is my friends new blog and I'm her only follower, so please go show her some love and follow her first blog)

-Cupcakes to Lightsabers (pictures and funny stuff..Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc.)

-Whovian News and Reviews, etc. (Doctor Who)

(For more, please see the list of blogs I'm following...they are all awesome, I just don't have time to list them all here. These are the newest ones...)

Facebook pages:

-Cupcakes to Lightsabers

-When You Compare Your Life to Your Fandoms

-Fellowship of the Wizards' Lightsabers

Shopping:

(You can find all sorts of awesome nerdy stuff on these sites...some you may need to search with the right keywords, but it's all there)

-Etsy

-Amazon

-Hot Topic

-Her Universe

-ThinkGeek

Music:

-The Piano Guys

-Lindsey Stirling

-Peter Hollens

Reviews:

(If you are reading this blog, you probably like to read awesome books and watch epic movies, but if you are like me, you like to know if they are worth your time before you start them. These links will help you decide whether you should read that book, watch that movie/show, or listen to that song)

-Plugged In (movies, shows, music)

-The Literate Mother (books)

Just want to let you know, that yes, I have started watching Doctor Who...and I love it...you can find out exactly what I think about it here. :D

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
488 pages

    Sophie Foster has always been...different. From a very young age, she could hear the thoughts of those around her. She is a telepath. But Sophie can't control her ability and hearing everyone's voices all the time is annoying enough to drive her mad.
    On a school field trip, Sophie encounters a strange young man who might have the answers to her questions. He tells her that she is an Elf from the Lost Cities. The young man, Fitz, takes her to what he says is her true home and she is brought before the council. Most of the council is in favour of her staying and learning at their school, but one is not. He is very suspicious of the whole situation. And he is afraid of Sophie. Even the best mind-readers could not break into her mind. But Sopie is allowed to stay.
    But Sophie must keep her ability a secret, and that is proving to be harder than she expected. And now, there is a possibility that her mind could hold secrets that could destroy the Lost Cities.Can Sophie find out the secrets and help save her new frinds?

My thoughts:
This was an amazing book! I'm sure my summary does not even begin to show how great it is...in fact it's probably a very bad summary...I can't really remember all the details...(but that just means I'll read it again. YAY!) Okay...so Shannon Messenger is an amazing author. This is her first book, and she did a great job. Sophie's story really drew me in and the settings and characters were really well written. When I found out that Sophie was an "elf," I wasn't sure how I would like the story...I'm used to elves like the ones in Eragon, adn LOTR, and I don't really like the idea of the little Santa's helper kind in fiction. But it turns out that I was completely fine even thought they weren't really the LOTR kind. Also, the author used a lot of legendary/extint animals and places in the elves' world. Normally, this would probably really bother me, too. But in this story, I was completely fine with it...in fact, it made the story more interesting. Shannon Messenger uses the Lost Cities (i.e. Atlantis, Shangri La, etc.) as the places where the elves live. Also, creaturse like T-rexes and banshees are also in the elves' land. But for some reason, I was completely fine with this kind of stuff in this book. I guess that's just because Shannon Messenger is such an amzing writer!

Now, before you go, please tell me what you think of this book in the comments and rate it with the stars/scale thing below (if you have read it, that is).
And sorry abou the different format...with Blogger being weird, I didn't want to fix it in case it decided to be evil again... :P