Book Review-The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I originally wrote this book review on GoodReads, but thought I would post it on here, too. If some of the stuff in the disclaimer came across as harsh and mean, I am not meaning it to be. I just wanted to get my point across. Enjoy!

****Spoilers Throughout This Review****
Disclaimer: Like other people that gave the book a bad review have mentioned, I am allowed to have opinions on the book that differ from other people's opinions, and I would greatly appreciate it if I didn't get hate because of what I say in my review. If you don't think you can handle negative opinions of the book, I would suggest you stop reading this review now. I know that this is a very popular book that most people love, and I respect their opinions, and I am not trying to discredit their opinions or say that they are wrong for what they think of the book. 

The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is because I thought some of the plot twists in the book were interesting and I felt for the characters a little bit towards the end. The Fault In Our Stars has been a book that has been at the top of my to-read list for quite some time because everyone I talked to said it was a marvelous, emotion-filled book that will leave you speechless and sad by the end. I went into the book with really high expectations and finished the book really disappointed. I just didn't find the story super deep at all and I found the characters were highly annoying. It might have something to do with the fact that I am a young adult now (19 years old) and am kind of picky and critical about the books I read, but I just didn't think the book was as great as everyone says it is.

I am aware that this is a book about two teenagers with cancer, and I understand that they are going through a lot of difficult things in their lives, but I still thought they were annoying, pretentious, hard to connect with emotionally, and their choice of vocabulary was very unrealistic. 

I thought it was nice and touching of John Green to write a book about teens with cancer, that is dedicated to a girl that died of cancer. However, I thought that he tried way too hard to try and relate to teenagers. I understand that his books are targeted mainly towards teenage girls, but I feel like he went about trying to catch their attention and relate to them the wrong way. He often used childish sounding phrases and words (one that really bothered me was "condomy problems"-I have never ever heard someone say that, ever), which I think he did to try and make his characters sound quirky and relatable, but I did not fall for it at all. It just didn't come off as relatable or cute to me.

Then other times, Hazel and Augustus used phrases and words that sounded like they came from the seventeenth century (one phrase that Augustus used that irks me is when he talks about the "metaphorical resonance" of an unused swing set. Teenagers just don't say things like that). Throughout the book, both Hazel and Augustus would randomly spew out really long, unused word-filled speeches to each other, which is something that teenagers just don't do.  Whenever I would read one of said speeches they made to each other, I couldn't help but picture them reading the speeches off of a little notecard because I just cant picture people as young as them (or anyone else for that matter) being able to come up with the stuff they said off of the top of their head. One example of this, so you know what I am talking about is here:
"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” 

And here:
“There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.”
Like I have already mentioned, I think it is very sad that Augustus died and that both Hazel and Augustus have cancer, but I could not really connect to their characters because I find it hard to relate to characters that are as pretentious and annoying as both of them were. I know that there are a lot of highly intelligent young people with advanced vocabulary, but (not trying to sound like I know every teenager in the world, I promise) even really smart people usually cannot say really long speeches like the two examples above without actually writing them out and thinking them over first.

Some other small things that I did not like about the book are:
-The fact that Hazel went over to some guy (Augustus)'s house that she just met like an hour ago, even though he could be a (*Trigger Warning*) rapist or a psychotic killer.
-The whole thing with Augustus putting the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it and saying that he was putting the killing thing in his mouth without letting it kill him. I thought it was a neat concept when he first mentioned it, but when I actually thought about it I realized that he bought a pack of cigarettes regularly just to prove a metaphor, but he is helping cigarette companies by buying cigarettes from them.
-This might just be me being somewhat sensitive, but I thought it was really rude of Hazel and Augustus to make out in the Anne Frank house. Sure, it was supposed to be romantic and they were having a moment, but I don't think it was right of them to do that there. And the fact that everyone clapped for them (you would think people would think their behavior was rude) and the two bowed and curtsied after just made it feel unreal and like they were just putting on a show or something.
-This is just a little minor thing that I'm mostly just noting because it's something small I observed, but I thought it was kind of strange that Hazel sold that swing set to someone without asking her parents about it first. Maybe she did ask them to sell it and it was one of those things that isn't mentioned in the book, but maybe she didn't ask them and they wanted to keep it.

Now some good things about the book:
-I thought that the plot line was good. It was neat but kind of sad that Hazel and Augustus were so looking forward to meeting Peter Van Houten, only to find him to be a big disappointment. This is the part of the book that I was most engaged in, I think.  I also thought it was good that he made up for his extremely rude behavior by showing up to Augustus's funeral (even if Hazel wasn't happy about it), and I thought it was really sad when he revealed that he wrote An Imperial Affliction in memory of his daughter that died of cancer when she was eight. 
-I also thought that even though it was pretty predictable (since he would wince and stuff when Hazel would touch him), it was sad that Augustus ended up dying of cancer even though he seemed like the healthier one throughout most of the book. I didn't cry or anything (like I thought I would before I actually read the book), but I definitely felt Hazel's pain when Augustus passed.

Even though the book had some moments where I felt some emotion, over all I thought the book was disappointing and the characters were really hard to believe and like. I found it hard to really get into the book, and it was a fast read for me. Even though people have their own differing opinions and I respect their right to have their own opinions, I personally think that there are books out there about people with cancer that are way better written than the Fault In Our Stars was. A really good example of a book like this that has a good plot twist is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Also, anything written by Lurlene McDaniel. Her books are really good, but a lot of them end the same way.

Thank you for reading my review of The Fault In Our Stars. I will post reviews for other books when I finish them.

Literacy Narrative Writing Redux (ENG101)

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When I was a little girl, I could not wait to learn how to read. 

I would always have my parents read me a story when I went to bed or even just when I was bored.

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I had a pretty wild imagination, too.

When nobody was around to read me stories, I would look at the pictures on the pages and make up my own stories.

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On my first day of kindergarten, the teacher asked us what we were looking forward to the most.

Most kids said stuff like recess, lunch, and making new friends, but I said that I was looking forward to learning how to read.

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Each week of kindergarten, we would learn all about a different letter of the alphabet. 

For what ever letter we were on that week, we would learn how to write that letter, and we would each have to come up with a word that began with that letter.

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Every afternoon, our teacher would read us a story.

She would ask us to tell her what was happening in each picture to see if we were paying attention, and she would quiz us after she was finished reading us the book.

When we got a 100 on the quiz, we would all get a prize.

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One day after story time, I decided to try reading by myself.

I picked up a book and tried to will myself to understand the words.

At first, none of it made sense at all: all the words just looked like meaningless jumbles of letters to me!

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Then I tried reading the words by separating the words into syllables that I could understand, and it worked a little easier.

It took me a while to read a sentence, but I was on the right track to learning to read.

I kept practicing and practicing, and soon I could read most of the book by myself!

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When I got home from school that day, I ran into the house and yelled "Mommy! Daddy! I learned how to read!"

My parents were really happy for me, and had me read them the book I learned to read.

I was a little nervous to read out loud for someone so I messed up some of the words, but they were still really proud of me.

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I read lots and lots of books throughout kindergarten, and became a better and better reader. 

By the end of the school year, I had a shelf at home that was filled with all my favorite picture books.

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I was really proud of myself. I had learned how to read like I had wanted to.

I could not wait until next school year, so I could get even better at reading!

The End

10 Songs I Love-November 2014

Ghost-Ella Henderson

Hideaway-Kiesza

Budapest-George Ezra

The Driver-Bastille

Lovers On the Sun-David Guetta ft. Sam Martin

Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)-Lilly Wood & The Prick

Hozier-Take Me To Church

Ugly Heart-G.R.L.

Thinking Out Loud-Ed Sheeran

Bang Bang-Jessie J, Ariana Grande, & Nicki Minaj

How to Make Fairy Glow Jars

If you are feeling crafty and want a cheap, easy way to decorate your room, then Fairy Glow Jars will be a fun project for you. They are (mostly) mess-free, and easy to make if you're not the best at DIY projects.

You will need:

-glow in the dark fabric paint

-elmer's glue

-either a small or a large mason jar with a lid

-two paint brushes (one with a pointed tip and one with a flat tip)

-glitter

-a paper plate (or something else to minimize the mess)

Step 1:

Apply a thin layer of Elmer's glue to the part of the lid that doesn't screw onto the jar. Then, sprinkle a generous amount of glitter onto the lid. Set aside to dry.

Step 2:

Squeeze a little bit of each color paint that you want to use on the paper plate. Use the pointed paint brush to dot the inside of the jar with paint. Make sure you do the bottom first, so the paint doesn't smudge on the sides.

Step 3:

Screw the lid on and let the jar sit under a lamp or in the sun for 15-20 minutes. When the time's up, your jar should look like this in the dark:

Voila! You have a Fairy Glow Jar. ❤

These are the other ones I made:

5 Music Artists You Should Listen To

We all have those moments where we want to discover new musicians to listen to because we are tired of listening to the same old stuff. If you have ever been in this situation, then keep reading. I've been listening to alot of new and upcoming artists that are amazing musicians, so I want to share them with you.


1) The first musician is Ingrid Michaelson. She is not exactly a new artist, but not alot of people have heard of her. Her music is Indie-Pop, with upbeat songs that you will fall in love with. Some of her best songs are December Baby, Far Away, Overboard, Starting Now, and The Way I Am.

Music video for "The Way I Am"

2) The next group is Alice In Videoland. They describe their music as a combination of minimal 80's synth pop music with an upbeat electronic body. Their most popular songs are Cut The Crap, Better Off, Lady Killer, She's A Machine, and Got To Go.

Music Video For "Cut the Crap"

3) Emeli Sande is a Scottish soul-pop singer and songwriter. She was discovered in 2010 when she was featured in the song "Diamond Rings". Her music is very powerful and honest. Some of her best songs are Daddy, My Kind of Love, and Heaven.

Music Video For "My Kind Of Love"

4) Alot of people have already heard of the band Walk Off The Earth. They are best known for their cover of Gotye's song Somebody That I Used To Know. They got their start from covering songs on youtube, and being very creative with their instruments. Since then, they have signed with SlapDash records and have gained millions of fans all around the world. 

Music Video For "Little Boxes"

5) My personal favorite group on this list is the band Cimorelli. They are a group of 6 sisters that got their start doing covers on youtube. Growing up in a very musical family, their style is mostly acapella with beautiful harmonies and melodies. Lately, they have released an album, called CimFam E.P.

Video For "I Won't Give Up/When I Look At You"

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and discovering new artists. If you have any more music suggestions that you would like to see in future posts, name them in the comments section and I will be sure to check them out!

10 Items of Clothing Every Girl Should Have (Plus My Favorite Accesories!)

Have you ever looked in your closet and thought, "I have nothing to wear today!"? Have you ever been late to school or work because you can't decide what to wear? If you have, then this article is for you. There are 10 items of clothing every girl should have if she wants to stop worrying about what to wear every day. These items will help you put together cute outfits that are also very affordable.

Item #1: Black Blouse

Almost every girl has at least one black blouse. They are versatile, match with anything, and can take inches off your figure! My favorite way to wear this shirt is with white skinny jeans and black ankle boots. If you don't own a black blouse, you can get them almost anywhere (literally) for an affordable price.

Item #2: Tennis Shoes

Another item everyone should have is tennis shoes. They are comfortable, and once again, go with almost anything. To get an awesome comfy look, match your tennis shoes with blue jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt. Tennis shoes can get pretty pricey. You can get them cheap at WalMart for around $20, but they don't last as long. If you are willing to pay a little more for tennis shoes, good brands are Nike's, Adidas, and Reebok. They cost about $60-$100, but they are well worth the cost.

Item #3: White Dress Shirt

A white dress shirt is an essential everyone should have. It's great for job interviews, picture day, or even date night. Pair this with black dress pants, colorful flats/pumps, and multicolor bracelets and necklaces. 

Item #4: Black Flats

One item that goes with literally everything. You can pair these shoes with jeans and a simple shirt, a cute dress, and even sometimes sweatpants! This is one of the items of clothing you can get almost anywhere. The average price is anywhere from $10-$30.

Item #5: Blue Jeans

Personally my favorite piece of clothing of all time! You can get them in all shapes and sizes: flare, skinny, bootcut, bellbottom, darkwash, lightwash, ripped, and cutoffs. Everyone must have at least one pair of great fitting jeans to go with that cute blouse or comfy t-shirt. The best brands of jeans (to me, at least) are Bullhead, L.E.I., True Religion, and Angels.

Item #6: Summer Dress

Let's face it: everyone has at least one moment where they need to dress up. Whether it be for a wedding, church, or a school event, you need to have something you can wear for when you need to dress up in a hurry. If you have those moments alot, or just like to wear dresses, this kind of dress is perfect for you. Pair it with a simple pair of black flats, and if you are feeling cold, add black tights or leggings.

Item #7: Cotton T-Shirt

We all have those days where we wake up in the morning and just feel like dressing comfortably instead of too out-there. The perfect clothing item for those days is a simple cotton t-shirt. You can either go simple by pairing it with a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes, or you can layer it under or over other shirts or dresses. The good thing about t-shirts is that they come in every style and color you can think of. My favorite brands of t-shirts are Aeropostale, Hanes, Deb's, and Hollister.

Item #8: Tote Bag

This item isn't something you can actually wear, but I feel like it is an essential for every girl. You can use it as an overnight bag, or if you don't have very many books to carry, you can use it as a school bag. Depending on the brand you get, tote bags are usually really durable and last almost forever. A good brand is Aeropostale (I got one from here almost 6 years ago for only $15 and it is still in excellent shape!).

Item #9: Hoodie

If you have ever had those days where you are freezing or just wanna dress comfortably, a hoodie is a good item of clothing. Simple but stylish, you can match a hoodie with jeans and a t-shirt, and if you have the right kind, you can even match it with a dress! The best hoodies (to me) come from places like souvenir shops (at places like beaches or even just a well-known city near you). They have that comfy, homey feeling that makes you feel amazing.

Item #10: Khakis

A weekend pair of pants, or most commonly used for part-time jobs, khakis add a bit of diversity to your closet. You can get them loose-fitting, or if you are the kind of person that likes to show off your figure, form-fitting.

These are my favorite pieces of jewelry. I like stuff that is colorful, easy to wear, and feather-inspired. I got most of the bracelets and earrings from WalMart, but they are excellent quality.

#1, 2, 4-6, & 8: Walmart, $1-10

#3: A souvenir shop in Key West, Florida. $15

#7: Virginia Beach, $8

#9: Unknown :O (but they were $10)

New Banner, Or What?

Using Polyvore, I made this picture for 10 Million Questions. I thought it turned out pretty good, but the more I think about it, I feel like maybe I should have left more room on the left and right sides, and maybe but a bottom piece to the picture frame at the bottom. Other than those two things, what do you think of this picture? I'm debating on whether or not I should use it as a banner for my blog, or if I should just write an article about how to use Polyvore and how I came up with the inspiration for this creation. After you are done reading, comment on this article about what this picture should be used for. Thank you for your input!