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Book Review Wicked Like a Wildfire (Lana Popovic)

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Wicked Like a Wildfire is so well written, that, like its cover, the descriptions are sweet and keep you wanting to read more, and when it overly describes, those small instances are quickly forgiven. Iris and Malina are twins that are different in almost every way except their ability to perform magic, or what they call the gleam.   Iris is headstrong and boisterous, and Malina is peaceful and congenial; Iris cannot get along with her mother, and Malina is favored by her; Iris is the partier, and Malina thinks of a good time as singing songs with her bestie; and Iris dreams of leaving home and using her magic while Malina can’t imagine a life outside supporting her mother. Iris and Malina do not know much about the gleam or their past other than that they have never met their father, their mother’s family was killed because they had it, and they must keep it a secret (they cannot share it with others or practice it) for fear of their lives. As much as Iris and Mal
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Most Google Searched Blog Types

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Rachel Scholz Have you considered writing a blog, but wonder if it’s worth the hassle? Blogs are great for creating business, selling items, and making money off ads. Some blogs that initially had one author that have grown into a larger collection of multiple authors now boast making thousands, and even millions per month ( Forbes ).  You may have several topics you are passionate about and are hoping to blog about them, but, depending on your desired outcome of your blog, you may want to choose a popular topic. I used Google Trends to gather how many Google searches were done for each blog type. My Findings I was surprised to find DIY at the bottom of the list, scoring an average 2531 Google searches per month. But even with a site like Pinterest, it may be a bit more difficult for DIYers to get their information out there. It is no surprise that technology was at the top of the list. In fact, Forbes named four out of the top ten money making blogs as techn
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Book Review: Best Intentions: A Novel (Erika Raskin)

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“Malpractice. Adultery. Class. Race. And murder.” All five ingredients create an intriguing plot, but the tension required in a thriller quickly evaporates. Erika Raskin’s novel opens with a prologue that jumps into the panicked and sporadic thoughts of a convicted murderer named Marti. What makes this trial unique is that Marti is a daughter to a liberal congressman, wife and mother in an unstable marriage, and a hard-working social worker. The plot swings back and forth between the beginning and end of the timeline, slowly etching closer to the middle of the story.  The beginning of the timeline focuses on Marti and her marriage, friendships, family, career, and the end of the timeline focuses on Marti’s arrest and her interview with her lawyer. Most of Marti’s struggles center around her marriage with Elliot. Her husband is a top physician at the local hospital (where Marti also works). Elliot has worked for ten years to become the doctor he is, and most of the ten years
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Book Review: Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng)

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The sliver of hope usually prevalent in any thriller, drama, or classic novel is completely absent in Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You . While waiting for any redeemable characters or any instances of hope, you are given everything that the characters never told, including some things that may have been better left unsaid. A family is searching for their daughter Lydia, who you find out in the first line of the book that she is already dead. Lydia is the middle child of a Chinese American family. Each family member knows Lydia differently because of their interactions with and expectations of her. From her parents who saw her through the hopes and dreams they had for her to the caution her brother had for the boy she hung out with, each family member is trying to piece together exactly what happened. The book is a cycle of parental faults: parents expect their children to live up to their standards and end up acting just like them. Parents expect their child to g
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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)

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Despite some character inconsistencies, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire jumps straight into the fun action now that we intimately know the main characters. Harry has attended Hogwarts for three years now, so everything mystical and weird about it is no longer shiny. He glides through the school with the Marauder's Map with ease, gets by with his made up perilous fortune for a Professor Trelawney exam, and even lands a Christmas school dance date. Harry does not have too much time to get too comfortable, though, when his name is drawn out of the Goblet of Fire, pitting him against three of the strongest students from around the world. Like most middle schoolers, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all are facing the pressure of being themselves despite other's expectations. Hermione, the underdog herself, takes up a moral fight against house elf slavery. Ron, who is always in the lime light of his dragon-studying brother and famous best friend, must swallow his pride and en
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Book Review: The Sun Is Also a Star (Nicola Yoon)

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Three stories collide, making you wonder how it will end: that of Natasha the cynical scientist, Daniel the romantic poet, and the Universe, made up of particles, philosophies and is still unpredictable. Natasha is twelve hours from being deported to Jamaica from New York City, and as always, her fate falls entirely onto her shoulders. Her ideals and outlook on life are not characteristic of a typical young adult but one who has had to take on too much responsibility within their family, leaving her anxious and pessimistic. Because of her impending future, she does not have the time nor the belief that love is a reality. Daniel is bright and on track to go to Harvard. His family emigrated from South Korea when Daniel was born to give his brother and him the chance to succeed academically. Daniel aspires to be a poet, but he knows his family will never understand. He is scheduled for his first interview for Harvard, and on his way, he believes fate has brought him to Natasha.
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Book Review: The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)

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The eerily realistic characterization is done so well in Paula Hawkin's The Girl on the Train that the predictable ending is easily overlook. When my kindle hit 60% read, I put down the book and tried to solve the mystery. With the plot I had been given so far, I was spot on. Because Hawkins does such a great job of intermixing independent plots into one and diving into the psychology behind character's motives, the novel is still enjoyable.     Rachel daily rides on a train to and from work, and as she rides, she imagines a fake life of “Jason and Jess,” a couple living in a house that backs up to the track. She has created jobs, names, and a happy marriage as she looks for the couple each time her train passes. Many of the scenarios she creates mirror what she lost in her previous marriage. She then witnesses something from her train ride at Jason and Jess’s that she must tell the police, but her credibility is outweighed by her fantasies and past alcoholism.   Before
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