Third Grade Letter to Myself

A letter came for me in the mail last Thursday.  A letter that I wrote to myself in third grade.  A letter that I thought I would share with you because so much has changed in the past nine years, but some things are still the same.  So here it is:

January 25, 2006
Dear Grown-up Juliann,
I am in the 3rd grade at ----- School.  It is an elementary school, pre k to 5th grade.  My friends are ES, JP, CC, LK, C&JJ.  My friends are out of this world.  I have many other friends too.  I live on ----.  My teachers are Mrs. T, Mrs. W, and Miss S.  I'm going to do a play called The Boston Tea Party.  I am 9 years old.  I love to play soccer, lacrosse, baseball, figure skating, and swimming.  My favorite authors are Lemony Snicket, Ronald Dahl, and J.K.Rowling.  I am 51 inches.  My favorite candy is Now and Laters and Rolos.  My favorite holiday is Christmas.  I also like Halloween.  I like puppies and dogs as my favorite animal.  When I grow up I want to live in ------- like I do now.  My favorite singer is Kelly Clarkson.  I like Fallout Boy too.  My favorite colors are greens and blues.  I love to read.  I am reading Matilda. I like the Red Sox and the Pats.  I want to live in Boston because the sing says, "Boston You're My Home."  My cousins are weird too.  My friend E and I (when we were little) painted ourselves when we were in bathing suits.
Sincerely,
Juliann

Receiving and reading this letter made me laugh and cringe and reflect on everything that my life has been since third grade.  Some of the friends I talked about are still my best friends and some I only say hello to in passing these days.  I only play tennis now and that wasn't even on my radar when I was in third grade.  I still love to read, which you guys probably could have guessed.  The fact that I made sure to say I have more friends than I listed is a little ridiculous.  Also, the fact hat I said my cousins are just as weirs as I am without any talk of cousins beforehand is so random.  My reasoning for wanting to live in Boston is valid though.  HAHA No it's not.  I know exactly what I was talking about in that last sentence memory because my mom has a picture of it.  I don't remember the actual day.  This writing is just a random list of things.  However, it's fun to read because it was written by me for me.  It reminds me of where my mindset was in third grade as opposed to where I am now.

Did any of you write letters in elementary school to your future self?  Have any of you received yours back?  Wasn't it fun to read?

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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Apolonia by Jamie McGuire | Book Review

Apolonia by Jamie McGuire

Reading Group Rating: Slightly Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: “They killed me, but I survived.”

Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one. Not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing, not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around, and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits on the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.

When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself submersed in a world that holds even more secrets than she could imagine--even darker secrets than her own.

Cover: The cover of this novel is really interesting.  It's very busy in a very artistic way, every time you look at it you seem to see something new.  It's got the code, rocks, colors, and much more.

My Review: I loved this novel!  You guys all know I love Jamie McGuire, but this is not The Beautiful Series at all.  I have read Red Hill so I know she likes to also write about sci-fi stuff, but this book went above all of my expectations.  I loved it.  I loved how she was able to combine a teenage tragedy with a teenage romance and saving the world.  It's quite the page turner because you don't know which boy Rory is going to chose, why her parents and best friend were murdered, or if she was going to survive to the end of the novel.  I would definitely recommend this novel to any of my friends because it covers so many topics.  There's something for everyone inside one, 228 page book.  

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart | Book Review

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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Reading Group Rating: Teens

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5

Given Summary: A beautiful and distinguished family.  A private island.  A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.  A group of four friends-the Liars-whose friendship turns destructive.  A revolution.  An accident.  A secret.  Lies upon lies.  True love.  The truth. 

Cover: The cover depicts three people.  Two boys and I girl.  I think that this is Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, but it very well could be Cadence.  I think it's the last scene with the three characters before they go off into heaven or wherever you go after you die.

Summary: Find out why I no longer write summaries 

My Review: This book threw me off.  I was not expecting that plot twist!  With every page I had a new question, but ghosts (or whatever you want to consider them) was not what I was expecting.  For all of the money in the world I wouldn't have expected this to turn into a supernatural novel.  And that's something I really liked about it!  I don't even know how to explain this novel because some people may even say that this isn't supernatural, that people have had experiences with spirits that are maybe a little similar to this... I really liked it.  This novel shows how destructive having a lot of money can be.  We all want to say we own a private island, but at what cost are you willing to own that island?  Would you want to be responsible for the reputation of the name connected to that money?  Would you want your parents to be divorced because your dad couldn't live up to that name?  Would you want your mom to tell you to be close to your grandfather so that you become the heir?  Money does weird things to people when they have too much of it.  But it's also hard to make a change.  The kids try to destroy the house, but they end up killing each other.  It makes you wonder what they could have done to get the message across that their family needed to change. 

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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After Dark by M. Pierce | Book Review

After Dark by M. Pierce

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Reading Group Rating: M for Mature

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Given Summary: Matt Sky is trying to return to normal, having faked his death and come back to life. He and Hannah move back in together, and Matt attempts to put his demons to rest as they strive to grow their relationship into something durable and honest. But as the two become more and more entangled, and the heat between them intensifies in all the best possible ways, Matt's desire for Hannah ignites cravings he has kept at bay for a long, long time.

Hannah finally has the life she's always wanted: she's pursuing her career as a literary agent at Granite Wing Agency, she is writing her first novel, and she is living with her hot, passionate lover. But as Matt and Hannah explore a new intimacy, Hannah finds that there are parts of Matt-dark, wild, uncontrollable parts-that he has yet to show her…that he has yet to show anyone.

Under the surface of Matt and Hannah's domestic bliss, deeply buried secrets burn, and all of a sudden, the least foreseen obstacle threatens to shatter everything they've worked so hard for.

Cover: This is the third book in the Night Owl series and if you line all three books up against each other the ribbon connects and weaves through all three covers.  I love this feature of the books.  I think it's really cool and creative.

Summary: Find out why I no longer write summaries 

My Review: This is the third and final novel in the Night Owl trilogy!!  It was a little sad to see it come to an end, but I did like how it ended.  Everything just kind of fell into place.  Well, minus Seth of course (*cries*).  This novel dealt with some regret on Matt's side as he wasn't on the best terms with Seth because of what happened with him and Hannah back in Last Light.  It majorly discussed family and what you're willing to do for your family.  Nate flew to Matt and tried to help him instead of going to Seth's funeral.  Matt adopts Chrissy's baby, even without Hannah's permission, because he knows that's the right thing to do.  Hannah find the perfect house with Matt in mind.  Hannah also does some new things sexually that she never imagined doing before meeting Matt (*blushes*).  A lot of the book is everyone trying to make Matt happy, but he does suffer from some serious anxiety so little things that maybe wouldn't bother us so much have a huge impact on him.  I love that they got married!!!!  They went through a lot together and they didn't know each other for years and years like some people do, but honestly who else were they supposed to end up with of not each other?  Matt, at least, would have been single forever.  It takes a very special girl to put up with everything he put Hannah through.  I'm saddened to see this trilogy end, but I'm excited to see what m.pierce comes up with next!
P.S. I totally think m.pierce is a woman...what do you think?

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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Bleed Like Me by C. Desir | Book Review

Bleed Like Me by C. Desir 

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Reading Group Rating: Sensitive Subject Matter (drugs and cutting)

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: Seventeen-year-old Amelia Gannon (just ?Gannon? to her friends) is invisible to almost everyone in her life. To her parents, to her teachers?even her best friend, who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding. Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach.

Then she meets Michael Brooks, and for the first time, she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being. Obnoxious, controlling, damaged, and addictive, he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed. Each moment together is a passionate, painful relief.

But as the relationship deepens, Gannon starts to feel as if she?s standing at the foot of a dam about to burst. She?s given up everything and everyone in her life for him, but somehow nothing is enough for Brooks?until he poses the ultimate test.

Bleed Like Me is a piercing, intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.

Cover: The cover of this novel shows a heart bleeding into another.  The blood refers to the cutting that occurs in the novel and the hearts represent love.  After reading the novel you may be able to think of the cover as asking whether or not you would bleed for the one you love or how far are you willing to go?  That seems to be a theme in C. Desir's books.

Summary: Find out why I no longer write summaries

My Review: Again, C. Desir gives us a book that makes us think about ourselves and can spur great discussions.  If Gannon didn't feel completely invisible to the world would she have ended up cutting herself and running away with Brooks?  But at the same time it seems like she isolated herself.  She was afraid to have friends because she was afraid to bring them to her house.  The thing is, if you become friends with someone you can explain to them that your house isn't the hang out house because your little brothers are crazy and honestly, a real friend won't care.  You guys will figure out another place to spend time.  It's important to be honest with your friends, but also your family.  If you feel like you need more time to be with your parents, or just be noticed by them, make it known.  It's important to be happy in life and your loved ones should understand that, it should never get to the point where you have to hurt yourself to feel something.  Cutting is a serious issue and if that is something you are doing or contemplating, you need to find someone to confide in.  There is always someone who is willing to listen to you, I promise.  This novel deals with so many topics: family, lack of friends, self-harm, drugs, obsession, addiction.  All very serious issues that we all have different opinions of.  I think C. Desir does a fantastic job of showing how they can all go hand in hand and quickly escalate into a very bad situation.  Bleed Like Me is the perfect book to exemplify the "it can't happen to me attitude" that I think any young adult can learn something from.   

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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