Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn’t going to succumb to madness because of a latent strain—she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn’t human. She is a changeling—half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her.
When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she’s ravaged on the world that’s about to poison her.
Hardcover, 417 pages Published February 14th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN 0385738315 (ISBN13: 9780385738316)
In the first book The Iron Thorn, Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine, setting war about all the lands. The gates that have always been closed, have been opened and creatures have set an all-out war amongst each other. Aoife is taken to the Mist lands to stay safe from the danger with her brother and friends, but soon finds that even they are not welcomed there. The more the portals are opened, the easier the Proctors can find them. Aoife cannot fall into the hands of the Proctors because it just may mean death for her, her friends and her family.
Aoife knows that she is the only one who can save their world, by setting all the things right, but everybody is advising Aoife that what is done is done. They must fight and make due with what has happened. When Aoife gets the opportunity to be with her father again, she is more unhappy than ever and has to be true to herself. The Proctors soon get to her, and use her for their own advantage, with the threat of keeping her boyfriend jailed until she completes her tasks. But all Aoife can think about is finding her mother, to see if the the rumors of the Clock are true. And to do that, she must betray her father, her family and head out on her own.
What we have come to know about Aoife in The Iron Thorn is challenged a bit in the beginning of The Nightmare Garden. The once strong, determined and very stubborn Aoife becomes more timid when confronted by her father – a man she has not seen since she was a child. She is confronted with those emotions of being abandoned by him and his newly formed authority over her. But this doesn’t last for long. Aoife could not have gotten as far as she has in her travels, without the tenacity that we have come to know and love in her.
Aoife has to experience a lot of sad, hard times in this novel. It is heartbreak after heartbreak and each time she is having to force through another blockade she grows stronger and harder than ever. She is one of my absolute favourite heroines. A girl that doesn’t know what it’s like to have it easy. She spends her whole life knowing that she is going to become crazy or contract her “weird” as they refer to it in this book. But unlike the stories of the weird she has heard about, she overcomes and learns to wield it, magically. She becomes stronger and pushes harder.
There is a lot of travelling in this series and each new land brings a whole new dark, mystical adventure. The descriptions of the mists/ether/ open starry skied lands are completely mind blowing and visually engrossing. I loved every minute of the book. It’s going to get you thinking, especially the ending, about what kind of repercussions the actions of one world can have on all the others. I cannot wait to read the next instalment.
I think my taste in music is contagious. My daughter (who is a self-confessed Japan-o-holic) now enjoys sitting down with me to watch Pop Asia. We have a giggle over some of the dance sequences and we still snicker over the thought of Girls Generation having ‘a boy chicken’ in their song ‘I got a boy’. (At least that’s what it sounds like they’re saying)
Lets make a long story short, today we’re heading to Taiwan.
To kick things off I give you an oldie but a goodie from F.I.R called Fly Away. This video reminds me of the style many Music Videos took on in the 1990’s and a this one has a sound to match. Careful of the gunshots sounding at the beginning, they’re a tad loud.
I find humour very appealing when life is getting a little too serious, so this number from Jay Chou fits the build. Gong Gong With a Headache… Yup that’s the name of the song. The ‘lady’ in the bath, yikes!
Where’s the girl group I can hear you all demanding… So how about the band S.H.E with their girl power song called Shero. Who needs to wait for a hero when you can save yourself? I agree ladies. Nice touches of gold glitter, diamonds and computer graphics. This may be from 2010, but it stands the test of time. Makes me want to pump my fist in the air and spell words in a loud, cranky voice.
These last two are from the same guy, Wang Lee Hom. Two totally different offerings and yet they’re both pretty cool. From 2010’ish comes Bo Ya Cuts the Strings
This has the best Gu-Zheng solo EVER!
Then we have the most recent song to be released by this philanthropic guy, and this one got my attention because it has a guest appearance by none other than Jackie Chan. I dare you to sit still while watching 12 Zodiacs. Oooooweeeeee!
Come one, come all!! Welcome to my review of Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles!
Gulping down the three books in the Perfect Chemistry series (Perfect Chemistry, Rules of Attraction and Chain Reaction), I still didn’t have enough. I loved Simone Elkeles, her writings style, and the way she built relationships between her characters. On my hunt for more, I learned that she had another series out called Leaving Paradise, which I was dying to get my hands on!
“Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as “criminal” and “freak.” Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.”
Leaving Paradise changes points of view in every chapter, going back and forth between the two main characters, Maggie and Caleb, which allowed the reader to really get into their heads, see what they’re thinking and learn what the truth is.
Having spent the last few months in juvenile prison, due to the accident, Caleb’s release day had finally arrived, but upon his arrival, nothing is the same. Not his sister, who has gone Goth and barely talks to him, his dad who doesn’t take the lead, nor his mom, who is doing drugs.
Just like Caleb, Maggie’s life has changed from a year ago. After months of being in the hospital and physical therapy, Maggie is finally out of her wheelchair and is able to walk again, but now with a limp.
Hearing that Caleb is back in town, Maggie starts to worry, and both try their best to avoid one another. But staying away from someone, who lives in the same small town, and goes to the same school, can be pretty hard to do. Maggie and Caleb both start working for the same elderly lady; Maggie doing any housework that Ms Reynolds needs help with, and Caleb building her a gazebo in her backyard.
Spending so much time together, and having no one else to turn to with their pain, the two become very close, and two people who hated and blamed each, gradually come to have feelings for one another.
Simone Elkeles always has romantic twists for her characters as well as her readers. Instead of being “love at first sight”, its hate, common ground, and then finally love, which is what I really like about this series, and the Perfect Chemistry series. I feel that real love isn’t at first sight, it happens gradually over time.
Both Maggie and Caleb were easy to relate to, and down to earth. They act like normal teenagers would, especially in such a situation; they aren’t over dramatic, or too love-dovey, which is one of the biggest reasons why I enjoyed reading more and more about them.
The book does leave off with a little bit of a cliff-hanger, because Caleb has yet to confess the truth about the night of the accident, but it’s a great stepping stone into the second book, Return To Paradise!
The story was fantastic, the two main characters were perfect, and I absolutely loved the ending and the way things worked out for Maggie and Caleb! Overall the book was good, and finishing it up, I am excited to read Return To Paradise.
Lauren Galley, Teen Mentor, Actress, Model and President of Girls Above Society transitioned from her high school AP program to college at age 16 embarking on a journey driven to create an anchor of empowerment for teen girls. Launching (at age 17) Girls Above Society gives Lauren the platform of teen to teen mentor-ship combined with film visuals creating a social media movement.
As a voice to young teen girls, Lauren has been heard on Fox News, Best Ever You Radio, and as a Co-Host on the UK Radio Show “Tabloid Talk”. Her writing has appeared in International Talent Magazine, Babble, Talented Teens, Living Intentionally, and THINK covering issues of the many pressures young teens are facing in today’s society.
Lauren has recently been named Chief Teen Mentor for Best Ever Teens Website, a development of the Best Ever You Network. As an actress Lauren has also been seen on ABC Family’s “The Lying Game” and National Commercials such as FOX Sports and Jarritos. To book Lauren for a speaking engagement or a “Girl Talk” contact: girlsabovesociety@att.net
Belinda: This afternoon I finished watching the documentary Bully. It focused on the failure of ‘the system’ when it comes to bullying, teen violence and verbal abuse. It barely touched upon the damage that exclusion can have on a person. Girls in particular use exclusion as a way to show dominance and status in the school yard. What message would you have for anyone being excluded, and to someone who witnesses someone else being excluded from a social situation?
Lauren: Being excluded can leave girls with many negative feelings. A Clique of girls will exclude others to show dominance, importance, and the desire to be exclusive psychologically makes one think it must be an amazing group, there’s only a few, so I want to be a part of it. Girls being excluded are left with the feeling “I’m not good enough”. They feel they don’t measure up due to the fact they aren’t pretty enough, popular enough, etc… Girls who put themselves in cliques are full of insecurities and feel the need to “create” a world in which they are special. I remind girls to surround themselves with friends who have the same interests, morals, and values. That clique of popular girls might seem like the best thing ever, but if you really watch and observe, they have closed themselves to so many great, talented, smart girls they will never have the chance to get to know because they are basing their group on popularity and looks. Those Popular girls won’t be popular after that school term and everyone moves on…. Observing someone being excluded would be my cue to go meet that person. Chances are they are the type of person I would want to be friends with!! My friends don’t judge me for my looks, or popularity and I’m very grateful for that ~ I’m not the popular girl and I feel like I have so much more than any girl in a clique!!
Belinda: Cameron Russell made fantastic points in her October 2012 TED talk called Looks aren’t everything. Believe me I’m a model. Do you think the message would have had as much impact if it were presented by a ‘nobody’ in society, and why do you think society is less tolerant of people who are physically ‘different’?
Lauren: The message Cameron gave was received with great impact because of who she is and how she looks. A “nobody” wouldn’t have a chance to drive home this message. We live in a super-driven media society 24/7, that has the power of trending what is “perfect”. Branding a product is now driven by women and men who exemplify the look of perfection. Sex sells … A perfectly normal size 10 girl will never sell a swimsuit because she is not considered sexy enough. Magazine covers, commercials, billboards, and Celebrity News all scream “This is Beautiful!” People are more and more defined by what they look like, not who they are and what they represent. Being physically different in today’s society means you aren’t good enough. My message to teen girls is similar to Cameron’s ~ BU. There’s No One Else Like It”.
Belinda: There is a trend on YouTube of young girls (and boys) asking the global community via their videos to tell them if they’re beautiful or dateable. What do you think are the biggest dangers with a trend such as this?
Lauren: This trend is an attention getting monster! After the girls (and boys) put up the video, they will then obsess over how many likes, comments, etc … they get. Receiving no comments will then cause further low self esteem (that’s why they put it up in the first place, right? They are wondering if they really do look good) which can lead to depression, self-harm, and many times suicide. This simple video has such a negative impact that comes full circle. The girls who get many likes and comments will then feel being sexy is a way to get boys attention, which can lead to being pressured to engage in activities they normally wouldn’t. They put up the video. The guys like it. Now what? This attention-getting idea is defining who they are by what they look like on the outside, not who they are on the inside.
Belinda: How can people get on board with your organization Girls above Society?
Lauren: My ultimate goal for Girls Above Society is to have girls all over the world giving “Girl Talks”. I have a blog and would love for teen girls to send me their stories and/or thoughts on how today’s media-driven society affects them. My monthly Magazine “Girl Power” features a Girl of the Month. I’m always looking for that great role model to feature. Sending in your stories could get you featured in the magazine. I really love communicating with teens today so follow me on Twitter @LaurenMGalley and connect with me through www.girlsabovesociety.org You can purchase a Girls Above Society bracelet for $1.00 with all proceeds going towards “Girl Talks”.
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