NaNoWriMo 2014: Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

The next day was just as weird.

“Hey Leah!” I called once I saw my best friend heading to our bus stop. “Hey Rachel!” Leah replied, as soon as she knew who had just called her. There was know law that was stopping others from sharing there DDKs. On the other hand, people with 100 or over were instructed to keep them private. “What was your DDK?” Leah asks me. “Ninety-Five Years” I reply. “Oh. I got 90 years.” Says Leah. What is she surprised about? It almost sounds like she’s dis heartened. If she’s mad at somebody it should be the scientists, not me. We hop on the school bus, making sure that my brother is right ahead of me.

“Did you hear about Derek Smool?” Leah asks. I’ve heard of him before. He’s been very sick and nobody knows what’s wrong with him. Unfortunately, he’s only twenty- two. If he dies, all of the scientists will be fined.

“What happened?” I ask. “He Died.” Leah replies.

“Oh my god. What are they doing now? Investigating? Fining the scientists?” I reply, in complete and utter shock. Leah states “There doing as much as they can. Nobody knows what his medical condition was before and if the fine the scientists, they’ll keep there mouth closed for ever. Nobody will ever know what happened.”
Once we arrived to school, everyone was buzzing, even the young ones. This was quite the shock, as these were claimed to be the top scientists ever found. What if there was a secret? What if I found out?

December Reading Challenge!

Every month, I’m going to try and do a monthly reading challenge!

This December, I’m going to try to buy all of my books on my e-reader!
I have the black Kobo Touch, which I actually did a review for! Here’s the link:https://readingreadingalldaylong.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/kobo-touch-review/

I’m going to be basing my December TBR based around this challenge, and I hope you guys will join me to!

You don’t have to read ALL e-books, but if you BUY books, then you will have to get them on your e-reader!

Good Night Book Lions!

Scholastic Book Fair Haul!

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to be sharing with you what I got from my schools Scholastic Book Fair! The book fair was last week from November 11-November 13.

November 11:
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

November 12:
The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Zita the Space Girl

November 13:
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Girl who was Supposed to DIE by April Henry
The Ghost at Crutch Field Hall by Mary Downing Hahn
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Those are all of the books that I got at the scholastic book fair!

Good Night Book Lions

NaNoWriMo 2014: Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

That Night, was quite an adventure.
After dinner, my parents asked to speak with me, and David was instructed to leave. David was usually a good kid, but tonight he wanted to stay with me. My parents bribed him with a small candy, and luckily that won him over.

Although, now that my parents could talk with me, I wish that David had stayed by my side.

“Now, Rachel, don’t be scared.” My mother taunted. “What did they tell you your date was?” “Why should I tell you? Why should I even talk about this with you, as you already know my date!” I replied. They could probably see by this point that I was getting pretty annoyed or even agitated. So, for 10 minutes we just sat there. In a dreadful silence. “I got ninety-five years.”

Quick Thought 002: Can I still read YA, even if I’m not a teenager?

Today, I thought I would tackle the big reading question.

Can I still read YA, even if I’m not a teenager? ABSOLUTELY!

Although YA is somewhat read by Young Adults, books are for everyone! I still read a few middle grade books and I am a teen! Nobody will care. Some YA books have a deeper meaning then some adult books.

And if you really want me to say this, at least you are reading!

So my answer is YES.

Good Night Book Lions!

*Check back tommorow for my NaNoWriMo book chapter 2!

Toronto International Book Fair 2014: Experience!

Hi everyone!

This will be my Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair post! I went on Saturday, November 15, 2014. I had an amazing time at this event and hope to go again next year!

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When coming up for the first time, you will see a beautiful ceiling decoration filled with alphabetical letters!

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Once you come up the escalator onto the TIBF floor, there is a huge entrance sign, that is full of bright colours and fun!

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Once entering, you will see many different sections! This section was the TIBF national pavilion, filled with religious books and Canadian souvenirs.

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As you can imagine, there is tons of holidays items, such as, Recipes and Christmas ornaments/trinkets.

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There is even an Ontario farm booth, where there is a cute little duck and you can even take pictures with him!

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They also had many wonderful indie speakers!

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As well, there were many wonderful authors, including Kathy Rechies, who is the writer for the “Bones” book series. The Bones TV series was inspired by her books.

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They also had amazing health and fitness speakers, such as Tosca Reno.

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This was a poster found in the Penguin Books section. They were advertising this book, and even had samples of a few of the recipes that you could taste. My mother really enjoyed the small granola bars.

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In the DK books section, they had a lego figure of Master Yoda, from Star Wars! It was huge!

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They even had some adorable “Book-ish Swag” magnets and cards! This one was by far, my favorite!

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As you can imagine, they had some amazing publishing houses, such as Scholastic!

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They also had many other groups, such as Simon and Schuster! I was so happy to meet Michelle Blackwell at the Simon and Schuster booth! I correspond with her often and she is such a lovely person!

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After each event took place, authors had a book signing! This was the long line up for Anne Rice!

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After an amazing and long day at the TIBF, it was time to leave! I had such an amazing time!

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Bye, Bye TIBF! See you next year!

NaNoWriMo 2014: Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“C’mon Rachel! You’re going to be late for school!” yelled David, my four year old brother. “I’m coming!” I shouted. School was always pretty much the same for everyone. I would always sit with my friends at lunch in the cafeteria and would go check on my brother in the kindergarten room. But today was different. Just days before this the law was given that anyone over the age of 12 was aloud to know your DDK. Today was silent, you could hear a pin drop. No one was talking, except the teachers of course. And that was only because that was there job. No one was smiling or laughing, just a glum or straight face was all that was presumed. Amongst the speakers, kids in seventh and eighth grade were being called. They were calling kids by first name, alphabetical order. Lucky for me “Rachel” is near the end. Finally “Rachel Heckter, please come to the first floor meeting room, Rachel Heckter.” That was it. I was told my DDK Mar 14, 2097. Ninety-Five years, huh. Since most DDKs are from genetics, I wonder what my parents received as there DDK.
That afternoon, people were relived. Most got the average of 80-90 years, while others (such as myself), did not.

Alyssa’s Reviews – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. By Judy Blume

Hi Book Lovers!

I haven’t done a book review since JULY! I wanted to make a new one and I thought this would be a perfect book to write a review on! I bought this book yesterday and devoured it! I read it in one day and thought it was amazing! I gave it a 5/5 stars on goodreads! Let’s hop in to this review!

Never heard of this book? NO Problem! (summary by GoodReads.com):

Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she’s anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she’s asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she’s normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she’s got someone else to confide in… someone who always listens.

Plot Line:
I thought that the plot was amazing and in my opinion this is a must read for teens! Although, you may think that this book is about puberty and religion, the bigger picture is helping Margaret find who she really is.

Characters:
There are many main characters in this book.
Margaret is our protagonist and is a loving twelve year old girl.
Her grandmother, Sylvia, is a great role model for Margaret and is so caring for her. I thought she made a great touch to this story.
Nancy is Margaret’s best friend, but is quite annoying and is quite the little snoop!

Setting:
This book takes place in a small town in the New Jersey sub-urbs. Margaret has lived in “the big apple”, New York, for the majority of her life. So, it takes time for Margaret to get used to it.

Overall:
I overall loved this book and (like I previously mentioned) gave it a 5/5 stars! It was amazing and is a must read for teens!

Good Night Book Lions!

NaNoWriMo 2014: PROLOGUE

What if you knew the exact date of when you were going to die?

PROLOGUE

When I was born my parents got my DDK (Dying Date Knowledge). Most peoples would happen in 80 years, or if they were lucky, 90 years. But mine was in 95 years. The scientists believed that I was meant to live for 95 years, although that meant a long and tough life. My parents were ok with that. Glinda Wise, my mother was scheduled for 90 years and my father Tom was scheduled for 90 years, as well. Therefore 90 was sort-of in my blood. I didn’t really understand it though. Why was I the chosen one? Nobody knows the scientists. They have no familys, no life and no understandings. It seems as if they can look into your eyes and tell you when you are supposed to die. I will never know my death date, only my parents will, and when my parents die, I will know. After my parents took in my DDK, we walked into the room. The room is used for people who have very interesting death days. I was one of them.

Sick of NaNoWriMo, CALLING IT QUITS?!, EXPOSING MY STORY.

Hey guys, this will be a serious NaNoWriMo update.

For those of you who have been updating with me for the NaNoWriMo month, I have not been doing so well. I have a ton of school work and projects due, and I don’t think NaNoWriMo will be for me, as far as this year goes.

I have decided to keep my story, and share it with you guys.

Once a week, I will share a new chapter of my story. I will continue working on it, but I will work on it through out the year. I picked a really, really complex topic, so it was very unrealistic that I would stick to it anyways.

Every Friday, for at least 10 weeks (I have 10 finished SHORT chapters) I will be posting a new chapter of my story. I will try to finish one chapter every so often beyond that period of time, so I won’t leave you guys hanging for more!

Check back tomorrow for the prologue!

Good Night Book Lions (and thanks for understanding)!