[REVIEW] The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Synopsis:
An epic battle between good and evil...

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player.

[REVIEW] The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis:
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

[REVIEW] Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

The Update vol. 02

This week had it's highs and lows. I thought the highs would last longer. For the last 3 weeks my son has been setting sick a lot (on and off again). We have gone to the doctor a total of 4 times during the time frame, one X-ray and one ultra sound. I am not very happy with the clinic my sons' doctor is in.

Aside from that, my son and I joined my mother-in-law on a road trip to Atlanta. We enjoyed ourselves during the visit. It was cut short though because my son got sick the first night. It was miserable for him and us. We decided to head back home the next day and to call the doctor back.

My new car freshener. I honestly only got it because it is a flower. 

Friday was really busy because we spent most of the day with to doctor or at the hospital for an ultra sound. In between all that excitement we managed to go to a local lake and feed the ducks. My son had a great time feeding them, he even fed a turtle. The geese were also very happy to have us feed them.

I think my son has started the why phase of the toddler years. He wants to know why we have to do this, why are we going there, why do I have the clean up my toys, why can't I have candy all the time? It is amazing sometimes to see what he is curious about but when Mama says do something there shouldn't be any questions asked. He will learn soon enough.

Bout of Book 11.0 Goals

Time Devoted to Reading

I will be reading for at least an hour or two each day.

My Goals

• I would like to finish 3 books this week.

Books to Read

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• The Giver by Louis Lowry

[REVIEW] Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Synopsis from Goodreads:
This Printz Honor Book is an honest exploration of identity (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship.

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Disney 2014

My little family took a trip to Disney this past week. We left on Friday and headed home on Tuesday. We had loads of fun while we were down there. This was my son's first time at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. I think he enjoyed Animal Kingdom the most because of all the animals we got to see.

Riding the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom

He really enjoyed seeing all the animals. I enjoyed getting 25k steps that day with my fitbit. I would have shot for the extra 5k to reach a goal of 30k in a day but I was tired by the time we got back to the resort that I couldn't walk around the lake.

The next day we went to the Magic Kingdom for my son to really ride all the rides. Unfortunately he really wanted to ride the train. We rode the train for a few stops and got off at Fantasyland because I noticed he could ride everything in that area of the park. It was perfect for us. My husband took him on the junior roller coaster, I thought he would love the thing so much that I would have to ride it but my husband said he didn't enjoy it as soon as they went around a fast corner. He had fun on the Dumbo ride though. The wait for that ride was interesting. We stood in line to get into the big circus tent. When we entered someone gave us a beeper that would light up when it was our turn to get on the ride. Inside was a nice sized playground for the kids to enjoy as they waited for a fun ride. I enjoyed it too.

The Update vol. 01

So this is The Update where I plan to update you about what has been going on in my week. I will have updates on myself, my son and probably my husband too. I hope you enjoy The Update.

This week has been quite busy. My son has been pretty sick for the past two weeks; throwing up and having so diarrhea. It has been a pretty gross two weeks in my house. Luckily I think we figured out what was wrong with him on Thursday and hopefully he will be getting back to normal asap.

Occasionally we were able to make it outside for some fun. My son loves to be outside and hanging out with nature. He is really turning into such a curious little boy. He loves watching the ants work while staying far enough away so that they won't bite him. 

Thursday was pretty eventful not only because my son had an x-ray of his tummy but my husband had an x-ray of his foot. He was working on his Jeep and it fell off the jack and onto his toe. Luckily he only broke one toe and not his entire foot.  Here is a picture of his shoe. I think he was pretty lucky. Thanks Sperry for saving his foot with your leather shoes!

Friday I went clothes shopping for a few things that are more work appropriate. I am so excited to share with you a pair of shoes that I have been dying to have but couldn't find anywhere. The cute cat shoes were found for less than $5 at Wet Seal and I am so stoked to wear this to work when school starts on August 18th!

I hope your week was pretty great. As you can see mine was very exciting and busy this week.  If you enjoyed this post let me know by leaving me a comment or tweeting about it.

You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Goodreads.

Friday Reads Wk5

I am currently reading Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl. I am about 130 pages into it and I absolutely love it so far. I haven't been able to commit as much to reading over the past couple of weeks as I would have liked but I am fine with that. The school year is about to start and I expect to keep reading while the work flow is going.

After I finish Gone Girl I plan to pick up Libba Bray's The Diviners but we will see if I still feel like picking that up when I finish this novel.

Please leave a comment below letting me know what you are reading. I would love to hear about it and any book recommendations would be lovely.