The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Over Memorial Day weekend, I finished The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Set in Alaska during the 1920's, this book follows an elderly couple struggling with keeping their marriage afloat after being unable to have children. As they try to get through the harsh Alaskan winter, they spontaneously build a girl out of snow. The next morning, she's gone, and a few days later, a girl wearing the same scarf and mittens Mabel put on the snow child emerges from the woods. As Mabel and Jack grow attached to the girl named Faina, they find themselves mending their relationship without realizing. But they start question if she's too good to be true. Are they imagining it all, or have their wishes been granted in the least expected way?

I fell in love with this book the second I started reading it. The first chapter is Mabel considering suicide, and coming close to committing it. Even though that is a very serious topic, it instantly hooks the reader with Ivey's incredible poetic writing style. I have never been a huge fan of books written in third-person. When it comes to third-person, you either pull it off beautifully or you flop. This book was definitely not a flop. There was no other way to write this book. What I also found interesting was Ivey never put quotes around Faina's words, nor Mabel or Jack or whomever's response.

This book is one of the best books I've read for school as well as one of my personal favorites. Five out of five stars!!!

Hint Fiction Continued

Do you remember my Hint Fiction post from last week? Well I decided to take one of them and make them into a super short story!

Endings

Sweat dripped down my brow as I concentrated even more. The ending is always the hardest.

The first 75 pages or so are always the easiest. Those are the glory days of writing a novel. You're so excited about the new characters and the new plot and the new conflicts. Then you get to the middle of the story. This is usually the hardest part because it's hard to not make it boring. You have to keep the reader intrigued until they get to the end. It's a challenge, for sure.

Then there's the ending. You have so many versions of a perfect ending that you don't know which one fits best. But then you find the perfect ending, and the last 50 pages are smooth sailing from there.

I finally get there, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Hope you enjoyed this short and sweet post:)

My Music Library Playlists

Just a little update:)

On my Spotify account I have playlists of all the songs mention in My Music Library!

My account is seaisabella so if you want to go follow them I will create them as I create new editions of My Music Library.

I have My Music Library #1 completely already and I will create 2 and 3 soon:)

Love ya!

My Music Library #3

For this edition of My Music Library, I'm going to be sharing songs that inspire me:)

1) "Young Blood" Bea Miller
I have loved this song ever since it came out last year. This song says 'We may be young, but we can still extremely kick ass!' That is the only way I can explain this song:P I listen to this song when someone down-grades me and I just want to scream 'I'm not a baby! I can handle myself and my problems just as well as you can!' This song is the perfect combination of F you and incredible music.

2) "Brave Honest Beautiful" Fifth Harmony
When I ask some of my friends about Fifth Harmony's album Reflection, they say their least favorite track is "Brave Honest Beautiful." I myself wasn't a huge fan of the song when I first listened to it, but it has grown on me as I listened to it more. It has a great message, the girls' vocals are perfection, I love Meghan Trainer's verse, and the lyrics are so cool! I mean, Beyonce, Shakira, Rihanna, AND Madonna are mentioned in the chores! What more could you ask for?

3) "Brave" Sara Baraeilles
I love this song! It's so fun and upbeat but meaningful and heartfelt. I remember in an interview Baraeilles said this song was for one of her friends who was having trouble coming out. But when she released it, the message reached multiple audiences. People suffering for all different reasons listened to it to get through the tough times, myself included.

4) "Afterlife" Ingrid Michaelson
I discovered and fell in love with Ingrid Michaelson the second I heard this song. I heard "Girls Chase Boys" on the radio and I liked it, but I LOVE "Afterlife." I'm still unsure on what the exact message it, but it still lifts my spirits when I need it to.

5) "Warriors" Imagine Dragons
I'm also in loved with this song. The thing I think I loved the most is the lyric "We are the warriors." Whenever I'm feeling lonely I listen to this song and I feel like I'm in the group with just one listen. Plus, I love Imagine Dragons:)

6) "Part of Me" Katy Perry
I'm a fan of Katy Perry. I think that she gives her listeners a taste of her queen-of-pop side but still being a serious artist. This song reminds me to not change myself because of other people's opinions or actions. Ironically, this reminds me of Stargirl :P. And I think this was kind of already addressed, but it's Katy Perry--that's all you need to know.

7) "People Like Us" Kelly Clarkson
When this song came out, I immediately loved it. I have been a fan of Kelly Clarkson for a long time, and this song was the cherry on top. The message it absolutely beautiful and I don't know what I would do without this song.

8) "Smile" Mikky Ekko
I first heard this song of the Paper Towns trailer (if you haven't seen it, you need to rethink your life choices:P). Thank God YouTube said what song it was as it was playing. If that little annotation wasn't there, I would have probably cried. Anyway, this song it just so good. At that time, I only her Mikky Ekko on Rihanna's song "Stay" and I loved him then, but now I think I need to listen to more of his stuff.

9) "Don't Forget Where You Belong" One Direction
I have listened to One Direction ever since Up All Night. However, I wouldn't say I'm a die-hard fan. I like their music and I support them, but I don't life, eat, and breath One Direction (Sorry Directioners). I got to say, though, Midnight Memories might be my favorite album by them. First, it is unlike anything they have ever done up to date. It's a mix of rock and pop just like Four, but this one is just different is some way--I can't pin-point what is different, though. "Don't Forget Where You Belong" is one of my favorite songs from Midnight Memories because all their vocals are incredible and the message of the song is so inspirational and heartwarming:)

10) "I Lived" OneRepublic
Ahhh! I love OneRepublic!! I want to make this one short and sweet, so all I have to say it I love this song and it gives me hope for humanity:)

11) "Smile" R5
My best friend's sister is a huge R5 fan, so upon her relentless recommendations I listened to their album. I need to thank her a million times over. This song is one of their new singles that I'm guessing is going to be part of their second album and I couldn't be more proud. First off, the cover art is amazing. Secondly, the song is so different from any of their other stuff. It shows their maturity and them proving they're not the stereotypical pop band. I can't wait to hear more new tracks!

12) "Really Don't Care" Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd
I. Love. This. Song. I am a shameless Lovatic!!!!! Why hasn't Cher Lloyd and Demi Lovato happen until now!? Cher's rapping with Demi's killer vocals creates the most kick ass song of the decade. If you are wondering what I dance to in front of my mirror then now you know. And have you seen the music video? I couldn't be more proud.

13) "Warrior" Demi Lovato
Another Demi Lovato song! Shocker there! "Warrior" is the last track on her album Demi and she couldn't have ended it any better. It's basically all piano, has insane range, and has the most incredible and personal lyrics. This song is one of the most important songs in my library.

14) "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" Sia
Oh, don't we all just love Annie? Except for Ms. Gamzon, of course. This song is from the new 2014 adaptation of Annie, which is definitely worth watching, by the way. Sia, being the amazing singer that she is, adds her own twist to the iconic song and makes it more appealing to our generation. I don't know about you, but I'm still a huge fan of the original;)

15) "Superheros" The Script
I have been a fan of The Script for a while. Their album No Sound Without Silence came out last year, but it didn't get a ton of attention in my opinion. But I sometimes that's a good thing. I love when my favorite songs aren't over-played on the radio; they feel like my own. ("Flares" and "Superheros" are my favorite tracks.) "Superheros" says that being a hero doesn't mean you have to save someone's life. You can be a superhero by just saying hi to one of the classmates you rarely talk to you. You don't know what that could do for them. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I am making a difference by just being happy and smiling at someone as I walk pass them.

So that's it! I hope you gained something from these songs and I hope you go listen to them! You can tell them I sent you;). I'm already working on My Music Library #4 so stay tuned:)

Hint Fiction

I recently discovered Hint Fiction. Hint Fiction is a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story. Most people post their Hint Fiction on Twitter because of the limited amount of characters you can have in one tweet. I think this way of writing is cool because it's so mysterious and unpredictable, plus anyone can do it.

Here are some I wrote:

The People-Outlined Hallway

The petite girl stood in the center of the hallway outlined by other high schoolers. Her hands shook and sweat. She wanted to cry.

How to Block the World Out

She pulled her headphones over her ears to block the world out.

Their Safe, Enchanted Place to Escape

The library was their enchanted place; their safe place. It was where they could escape it all.

Endings

Sweat dripped down my brow as I concentrated even more. The ending is always the hardest.

Improvisation and Life

"Improvisation is making it up as you go," he told me. "It's almost like life."

Now I want to make a Twitter just so I can post these:P

What do you think these are about?? Comment your answer!

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is a contemporary novel about a high school in Mica, Arizona that is suffering from being utter and completely ordinary. But then a girl named Stargirl comes to town and changes everything. She is unlike anyone the narrator Leo as ever seen. She's out-going, extremely kind, and widely unique, while everyone attending Mica High School are trapped in the Status quo. As Stargirl continues to surprise, Leo finds himself falling for her unintentionally. Stargirl and Leo's relationship goes against everything Leo and others have ever known. Tensions rise, and no one knows if or when Mica will go back to normal. But do they want to go back to normal?



It took me a little bit to figure out how I felt about this book. It was definitely unlike anything I have read before, but it was a whole other scale of different. However, I realized it wasn't the book itself rather it was Stargirl. At some spots I thought she was labeling being creepy as being friendly, and it was a little unsettling.

However, what Stargirl stood for and represented I loved. I think Spinelli used Stargirl to convey the theme to the reader. From what I understood, the theme is to be yourself no matter what others say or think and you will be happy. Stargirl was true to herself even though she was shunned for it, but in her eyes, it was their loss because she was the happiest she could be.

I also liked the book being from Leo's point of view rather than the obvious (Stargirl). It gave the reader both ways people viewed Stargirl--a weird outsider or an outgoing, friendly girl.

Even though this novel did have it's flaws, it was definitely effective literature. The overall message and theme is very relatable to all readers, especially teens. All of us have struggled with identity and being true to ourselves at least once in our lives; it's part of adolescence. But reading about Stargirl shows the reader that it's okay to be yourself even if the people around you judge you for it.

**** I give Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 4 our of 5 stars.