Recent Posts

  • Book Review: The White Rose by Amy Ewing

    Title: The White Rose Author: Amy Ewing Series: Lone City #2 Published: October 2015 Publisher: HarperTeen Pages: From: Barnes and Noble Rating: 9/10 I was perusing the Barnes and Noble app on my phone when I came across a book with a shiny white cover of a flower and a girl in the center. It […]

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  • Girl on Fire: Happy anniversary

    [As seen in Creston News Advertiser, August 20, 2015] Today is Aug. 20. Historical events for today include: • the American Civil War ended in 1866, • NASA launched Voyager 2 into space in 1977, • in 1988, a ceasefire was agreed upon after almost eight years of fighting in the Iran-Iraq War, • in […]

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  • Book Review: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

    Title: The Jewel Author: Amy Ewing Series: Lone City #1 Published: September 2014 Publisher: HarperTeen Pages: 358 From: Barnes and Noble Rating: 9/10 Sometimes you come across that one book that kind of blows your mind and makes you think, what if? Well, Amy Ewing’s debut novel The Jewel did that to me.

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  • Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

    Title: Paper Towns Author: John Green Series: None Published: September 2009 Publisher: Speak Pages: 305 From: Walmart Rating: 9/10 A long time ago, like probably ten years or so, I got the novel Looking for Alaska from Barnes and Noble or somewhere. The candle on the cover had caught my eye. I read it and […]

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  • Girl on Fire: Why Cecil’s death matters

    [As seen in Creston News Advertiser, August 6, 2015] There has been a lot of uproar about Cecil the Lion, a mascot of Zimbabwe, Africa, and his death by an American dentist. I saw so many posts on social media and news stories by Time and BBC that I couldn’t read anything else online for […]

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  • Book Review: Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

    Title: The Son of Neptune Author: Rick Riordan Series: Heroes of Olympus Published: October 2011 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Pages: 513 From: Barnes and Noble Rating: 7/10 After finishing The Son of Neptune, the second novel to the second series about Greek gods written by Rick Riordan, I must say I’m losing my steam a little bit. First, […]

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  • Girl on Fire: Awaiting next year’s fairs

    [As seen in Creston News Advertiser, July 30, 2015] The sun baked my skin and scents of wood chips, tilled Iowa earth and cow manure wafted on the warm breeze. I stood with my arms resting on a large metal gate at the south end of the Union County Fair show arena talking to several […]

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  • Book Review: The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

    Title: The Lost Hero Author: Rick Riordan Series: The Heroes of Olympus Published: October 2012 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Pages: 553 From: Walmart Rating: 8/10 So, clearly, I couldn’t stay away. I finished American author Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series not long ago, and attempted to read something in a different genre to give my mind […]

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  • Girl on Fire: Firefighting: not just fighting fires

    [As seen in Creston News Advertiser, July 17, 2015] The sound of nails hammered into wooden planks echoed through a maintenance shed, and voices rang as men yelled to each other for building materials. I was one of more than 10 participants to attend a trench excavation and rescue class at Southwestern Community College, and […]

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  • Book Review: The Secret Place by Tana French

    Title: The Secret Place Author: Tana French Series: Dublin Murder Squad #5 Published: January 2014 Publisher: Viking Penguin Pages: From: Barnes and Noble Rating: 9/10 I’ve read every single novel by author Tana French, ever since she came out with her debut In the Woods back in 2007. Then, I heard French came out with […]

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