Abducted by Two Boys Kissing

I read Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan as part of my...

THE HEADLINE: How long can you kiss? Thirty-two hours sound long enough?

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: I had a really hard time coming up with what the headline for this book would be because the book is about so much more than two boys trying to break the world record for the longest kiss. The book works its way through 5 different story lines, but in the end I decided for the headline I would stick to the story line the book was titled after...simply because it was easiest.
The book gets its name from the story line of Harry and Craig. They are ex-boyfriends who are trying desperately to maintain a friendship. Then one night a friend of theirs is attacked simply for being gay. Harry and Craig decide to break the world record for the longest kiss as a way of showing the world that there is nothing wrong with two boys kissing. In the book the world record they have to break is just over 32 hours, so the book takes place over that weekend.
Ryan and Avery are two boys who meet the night before the big kiss and then have their first couple of dates throughout the course of those two days. They were my favorite couple because everything was so new and exciting.
Neil and Peter are two boys who have been together for over a year. Even though their relationship is pretty solid they still have obstacles and bumps along the road to navigate.
Then there is also a story line that follows a teenager named Cooper. His life seemingly implodes when his parents violently confront him about being gay and he runs from the house. He spends the weekend completely lost.
I had read that the book was based on the fact that two boys, Matty and Bobby, actually did come together and broke the world record for the longest kiss in real life and then four days later, in a town not to far away, another boy, Tyler, committed suicide. Knowing this made reading Cooper's story line extremely emotional because I had an idea of what message he was supposed to be demonstrating.
The 5th story line, technically wasn't a story line at all, it was the narration. Levithan uses the voice of the universal "we" to represent all of the past generations of homosexual men who have passed on. As angels they are watching over then current generation of men as they start to figure out their place in the world. Levithan was using the contrast between the past generation and the current one to show how far we have come in excepting and supporting equality, and at the same time, how very very far we still have to go.

THE ABDUCTOR: I was completely abducted by that 5th story line. That ingenious decision elevated the power and volume found in this book.

So many of us had to make our own families. So many of us had to pretend when we were home. So many of us had to leave. But every single one of us wishes we hadn't had to. Every single one of us wishes our family had acted like our family, that even when we found a new family, we hadn't had to leave the other one behind. Every single one of us would have loved to have been loved unconditionally by our parents. 

THE POINT OF ABDUCTION: I was excited to get to when Harry and Craig actually started their Big Kiss because I wanted to see all the work that went into it. But I think each of the story lines had their own point of abductions. When Neil and Peter hit their first bump in the road (at least the first one featured in this book). When Ryan and Avery first went out in the canoe. When Cooper ran from his parents. And most moving of all, each time the "we" reflected on their battle with AIDS.

PICK UP LINE: My pen was working overtime underlining in this book. And while there were so many quotes I could share that were incredibly powerful, there was one lighter one that I personally loved.

We often believe the truest measure of a relationship is the ability to lay ourselves bare. But there's something to be said for parading your plumage as well, finding truth as much in the silly as the severe. 

It may seem strange, but sometimes I do feel like it is easier to be serious with people and yet incredibly difficult to show off my silly crazy ridiculous side. Because believe me...I can get pretty silly!

ABDUCTION RATING: The heartrending power behind having one generation that was lost to a senseless disease reflect of the hope and promise found in the generations to come was brilliant. In the end I sincerely believe Two Boys Kissing will forever be one of the most important books I have ever read.

Abducted By Love Is The Higher Law

I read Love is the Higher Law as part of my 

If you'd like to participate just read and post about ANY David Levithan book in the month of February and enter your link HERE

THE HEADLINE: New York City, Sept. 11th 2001. Billions of lives changed forever. Here are three of those stories.

THE ABDUCTOR: Of all the main characters my favorite by far was Peter. Mostly just because he was the most likable of the three. He was very much the "everyday" type character who turned to music for his healing.

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: I have always been slightly hesitant to read this book because I rightly assumed this book would be overflowing with emotions, and since I easily cry at everything, I assumed this book would be beyond depressing.
However, I am glad to say that on that account I was wrong.

Love is the Higher Law is split between three perspectives for the narration; Claire, Jasper, and Peter. So the first three chapters were pretty shaky for me because that was when each character told their story of where they were when the planes crashed and the towers fell. Of course those stories are going to bring up emotions and memories of that day for any reader. But that was really the only part of the book that was emotional for me. The rest was their story of recovery.

I said earlier that my favorite character was Peter because I was really rooting for him. But the flip side of that would be why didn't I like the other two.

Well, I think I didn't like Claire as much because she left me unsettled. Claire responded to that days tragic events by jumping up and doing something about it. She volunteered, she got involved. She educated herself about the world around her and took charge as best she could in her community. I think she unsettled me because in an ideal world I would like to say that I would do the same, but I know that isn't true.

No, if I had been in New York that day I can pretty much guarantee I would have reacted the way Jasper did. Jasper reacted with anger. He didn't go around punching walls or seeking revenge, I don't mean that kind of anger. But you could just tell that he felt so violated by what had happened and his anger and bitterness towards that day reacted in him withdrawing from the people around him and just not really caring. Which is not to say that Jasper was a bad guy, because he wasn't. It just unsettled me because I could see so much of myself in those coping mechanisms.

In the end I loved the way that David Levithan gave each of these characters their own path and their own redemption, and the way he intertwined them through out all of it.

PICK UP LINE:

I feel emptier this morning. That empty space goes inside. It is not the whole story, but it is a part of it. And the rest of the story is: We love and we feel and we try and we hope.

POINT OF ABDUCTION: For me the point of abduction was right at the beginning, reading how the events unfolded for each character. It is crazy for me to think that there are teenagers out there in the world reading this book who don't remember the events of that day because they were so young when it happened. But the way that Levithan hits the ground running with each  of their stories sucks you right into that day.

ABDUCTION RATING:

Highly emotional but there isn't an author out there that I would trust more to write about that day. 

Abducted by How They Met And Other Stories

THE HEADLINE: A collection that brings back the nostalgia of falling in love, having our hearts broken, and the process of picking up the pieces.

THE ABDUCTOR: David Levithan. This is a book that is a collection of 18 of his short stories. Although there were definitely some I liked more than others, all in all Levithan is the thread that connects them.
And let us not forget, even what could be considered the worst of Levithan is still better than no Levithan at all!

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: A collection of short stories by any author is going to have its ups and downs. There will be stories that are adorable and leave you smiling and others that leave you scratching your head going “Huh?”

One of the aspects of Levithan’s writing that makes this collection of short stories stand out, is his ability to highlight the unsuspecting relationships. Most of the stories are not just about the two people who might be falling in or out of love. Most of the stories feature amazing relationships between strangers, siblings, friends, and parents.

My favorite story was the first piece titled Starbucks Boy, but the relationship that is featured primarily in that
story is not that of Gabriel meeting Justin. No, the most endearing relationship in the story is between the Gabriel and the little girl he is babysitting for the summer, Arabella.

I’m a hopeless romantic at heart so of course my favorite pieces are going to be the ones with the perfect-bow-tied-happy endings. However, the ones that had the more thought provoking endings offered a needed balance to the collection.

PICK UP LINE: The very first sentences I underlined in How They Met And Other Stories was actually found in the author’s note that was featured prior to the table of contents!

As you guys may know the reason I decided to host Levithan Loveathon in February was because I had read the David Levithan started writing short stories as Valentine’s Day gifts for his friends. Well, Levithan elaborates on this in the Author’s Note at the beginning of this collection (fun fact: he mentions that it all started in his Junior year of high school!). The last lines of the note read:

How They Met refers not only to the characters in the stories but to the stories themselves. Here they are, meeting for the first time. In the same way that paragraphs meet, and sentences meet, and words meet. Enjoy the intersections.

POINT OF ABDUCTION: As I said my favorite story included in the collection was the very first story called Starbucks Boy. And for me the point of abduction in that story was when Gabriel mentions that each time you do something for a crush, you run the risk of writing a new chapter in your own book titled “Things Done In The Name of Crushes.” When I read that I instantly flashed back to all of the horrifically embarrassing things I did in the name of a crush. Then I thought it would be funny if I actually ever did write a collection of all the stories of the stuff I did in the name of a crush. Then my stomach immediately started turning and I thought better about it.

After mentioning the idea of each of our own books titled “Things Done In The Name of Crushes” he writes…

One successful gesture, one successful relationship would suddenly turn it into a History of Stupid Things Done In The Name of Crushes That Were All Redeemed In the End.

Gotta love that optimism!

ABDUCTION RATING:  How They Met And Other Stories was a great choice to kick off this years Loveathon! And a must read for any true Levithan fan, since these are the stories that started it all!

2014 Levithan Love-a-thon!!!

I'm so excited to announce this year's Levithan Love-a-thon!!!

For those new to the feature, here is the drill:

David Levithan is my favorite author and every February I dedicate my blog to his books.

This is my third attempt at this feature. Last year was an epic failure because I got really distracted by school and didn't keep up with it. This year I am going to keep things simple and just do what I can.

The plan is to feature three David Levithan reviews; How They Met and Other Stories (will be posted on 2.1.14), Love is the Higher Law (will be posted 2.14.14), and Two Boys Kissing (will be posted on 2.28.14)

I also have a new feature that I'm excited about. David Levithan has said that he has a love of photography. And apparently, one year he made a New Year's Resolution to take a picture every day. He enjoyed the challenge so much that he has continued doing it ever since.

Now, I don't think I could manage to take a picture every day. And I seriously doubt that I would be able to do it even longer than that. But I can do anything for a month! Especially considering the fact that February is the shortest month! So, for the month of February I will take a picture every day and I will post my pictures on the 10th, the 20th, and the 28th. I promise to make sure that not every picture is of my dog.

I'm excited about trying this activity because I'm a big believer that the observation of an action changes the action. So if you spend the whole day looking for beauty, you may just end up finding the beauty in everything around you.

Now, you may be asking yourself, how can I join in all the fun!?!?!

This year I'm going to keep the prizes simple.

Anyone who reads a David Levithan book and posts about it on their blog or twitter, or if you take photos and post about them on your blog or twitter, you can enter to win either a gift bag of goodies or a gift card from Amazon.

The number of prizes given out will depend on how many people join in. More People = More Prizes!!!

You can submit your entries any time between February 1st - midnight on February 28th. Winners will be announced on Sunday March 2nd.



I may be one of the last people still using google docs but like I said, I'm trying to keep this simple and I don't have time to learn a new thing right now. Maybe next year!

Abducted by Lucky Harbor

Just before Christmas my friend Kim introduced me to a romance series called Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis. Normally it takes me about two weeks to read one book, but in just over two weeks I have read THREE of these books! And that is read read folks, not audio books! So, anyways, the series is basically centered around this town called Lucky Harbor but each book is its own relationship story. The first three are focused on the three sisters; Maddie, Tara, and Chloe. I figured since I read them each so quickly I would review them all together.

THE HEADLINE: Three sisters come together to rebuild their lives and find love in the process!

THE ABDUCTOR: In the first book, Simply Irresistible, we are abducted by Maddie and Jax. In The Sweetest thing it is Tara and Ford. And in Head Over Heels (my favorite) it is Chloe and Sawyer!

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: I loved the relationships between each of the sisters. When they first come to Lucky Harbor they hardly know each other. Their mom was a wanderer and Maddie and Tara were each raised by their dads. Chloe was the only one that was raised by their mom, but because her mom never wanted to stay in one place she was never able to have any stability and she didn't even know who her dad was.

After their mom dies she leaves them a run down inn in Lucky Harbor and the three come together to decide if they should sell or try to make a go at running the inn themselves. Maddie is recovering from a bad relationship, Tara has just ended an unhappy marriage, and Chloe, though she doesn't even realize it herself, is just looking for a family.

Each of the girls end up finding love in unexpected places, but they also come together and find themselves in the process. Yes, these are romance novels so there are some sexy sexy scenes! But they are also just gushy stories about falling in love and are fun to read!

I have a talent for falling in love with side characters when I read a book, so when I read Simply Irresistible,
even though the main guy was Jax, I was interested in one of his best friends, Sawyer. Once I realized that the third book was about him and Chloe I got really excited and rushed through the second book just to get to their story!

And that is kind of the fun thing about the Lucky Harbor series. As you are reading the books you can find all these side characters that you get to watch fall in love later. It is fun to try and spot which girls will become lucky ladies in future books, and which guys they just might get paired with.

PICK UP LINE: All of these books had great lines but I read them so fast I didn't get the chance to take notes. I remember that Simply Irresistible had a great line about over coming past failures. But at this point the only line I can really remember was when Chloe said “It is always darkest before the dawn, so if you are going to steal your neighbors newspaper that is the best time to do it!”

POINT OF ABDUCTION: I was abducted by each of these books pretty much from the word Go! But I’m trying to remember what got me in each one.

In Simply Irresistible it was after Jax kissed Maddie by his truck. Maddie was abused by her last boyfriend and would sometimes flinch involuntarily when Jax would reach for her. Realizing this, when Jax was kissing her by the truck he very softly warned her before he put his hand up to her face and it was really sexy!

The beginning of the Sweetest Thing did feel kind of shaky to me but I think the turning point was when Ford had a drinking competition with Tara’s ex, Logan. He ends up drunk dialing Tara and admitting to his insecurities and it is really sweet.

In Head Over Heels I was so excited to finally read about Chloe and Sawyer that I really was abducted from the very beginning! But my favorite part was when Sawyer had a really bad day at work and Chloe went to comfort him. It was sweet to see Chloe putting Sawyer first and being aware of his feelings.

ABDUCTION RATING: My abduction ratings shouldn't come as that big of a surprise but they are…

Simply Irresistible

I loved this book because it was the first book so it is when we are introduced to everyone, to the town to the locals, to the men! I was frustrated that people kept telling Maddie she wasn't ready for a relationship with Jax and I didn't like that he expected her to get over her issues from her last relationship so quickly. But watching Jax and Maddie fall in love was fun and watching the sisters come together was great!

The Sweetest Thing

I felt like the beginning was a little shaky but the book eventually evened out. There was a great story about Tara forgiving herself for a past mistake and facing her past. I kept getting a little bit frustrated that Tara and Ford found it so hard to talk to each other. But when you are dealing with those kinds of levels of shame and regret I can see where it is hard to face those you fear you hurt. 

Head Over Heels

WHOO HOO Chloe and Sawyer!!! What else can I say! I waited through two other books to get these two together and when it finally happened I was not disappointed! My heart really went out to Sawyer for all the insecurities that he was dealing from his past. And not only did this book have the love story, but it also had a great resolution to the sister story and a very mild crime drama thrown in! 

Out with the Old in with the New

I am very excited about this new year! I have very high expectations and I think 2014 is going to be awesome!

I've seen a lot of posts going around with survey questions and resolution questions, but I've kind of decided to pull my favorite questions and make my own kind of summary!


BLOGGER RESOLUTIONS: 

blog more!

BOOKS OF 2013 I'M SAD I MISSED: 

All my David Levithan books because I didn't read them the way I should have last February.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. This book is really long so I doubt I'll ever read it, but if I ever was going to, it would have been awesome to read it this year since it was the 50th anniversary (of the date not the book).

The Dinner by Hermon Koch. I read a review for this one back in January and I've desperately wanted to read it ever since! Lucky for me my amazing sister and brother in-law gave it to me for my birthday so now I will definitely be able to read it this year! And I'm going to pick it for my September book club and force my friends to read it too!

BOOKS I WILL MAKE SURE NOT TO MISS IN 2014:

Armada by Ernest Cline and Landlines by Rainbow Rowell

WORST BOOK OF 2013: 

I really can't decide between these three: Carry the One by Carol Anshaw, Fallen by Lauren Kate, and Maybe a Miracle by Brian Strause.

BEST BOOK OF 2013:

Please do not make me choose between Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell! I could give you an answer but I would hate myself afterwards!

MY FAVORITE BOOK BLOGGING MOMENT OF 2013:

Any moment I spent reading DailyLifeWithButtons! Daily Life With Buttons is a blog that was started by my

little sister Lindsey! She moved to Texas a few years back and so I don't get to talk to her too much, at least not as much as when we were kids and shared a room and I kept her up late into the night talking her ear off! Anyway she started her own blog this year, and even though it isn't a "book" blog, I still swell with pride whenever I read it! I'm so proud of her for stepping outside her comfort zone and sharing her life through her writing! I hope all my friends will hop on over and give her some encouragement (hint hint hint!!!)

HOW MANY BOOKS ON YOUR TBR SHELF:

Well as of midnight on New Year's Eve it was 121, it has now already shrunk to 119 and I am desperate to get it down to 75 this year!

BOOK MOST RECOMMENDED:

Probably Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Only because it crosses so many genre borders. If you love the 80's, if you love sci-fi, if you love dystopians, if you love adventure stories, if you love boy meets girl stories, if you love friendship stories you will LOVE this book!

BEST NEW SERIES:

the Lucky Harbor series by Jill Shalvis! Can't thank Kim enough for that one! And I'm sure my future husband thanks you too

FAVORITE NEW AUTHOR:

I'm going to go with Rainbow Rowell! I feel like she is inside my head! And as much as I loved being introduced to Ernest Cline I've only read the one novel of his so far, where as Rainbow already has other novels out there for me!

FAVORITE BOOK OUT SIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE:

I would say Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. Historical Fiction isn't completely foreign to me but I really don't read that much of it at all. But this book was really good!

MOST SURPRISING BOOK: 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I knew I would like it but I wasn't expecting to LOVE it!!!

MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTERS: 

Eleanor or Park...I really miss those two!

2013 RESOLUTIONS SUMMARY:

Well, my 2013 resolution was to not buy any books this year.
And I ended up buying......24!

BUT when you subtract the books I bought for book club (even though I could have gotten them from the library) and the books I bought to add to my C.S. Lewis collection, and the book Slam by Nick Hornby (that I already had listened to the audio book for and ended up finding for only a $1), and books I bought on my Kindle (because I got them all cheap and they didn't take up actual space on my physical tbr shelf)

THEN you are left with...2. I totally broke my resolution to by my own copy of Eleanor & Park back in September. And then I bought Attachments, that is also by Rainbow Rowell, in December.

I should also add that I was given 10 books from my friends and family. I created a list of all the books I would have bought if I could have through out the year and they totally came through for me on my birthday!

2014 RESOLUTION: 

I am again resolving to not buy any new books this year and I'm hoping I'll do a better job.

The only exceptions will be: books by C.S. Lewis, books bought at book signings and books bought on my Kindle.

Sundays in Bed With...Nano

Today was Daylight Savings Time and I spent my extra hour: SLEEPING!!! and it was glorious!

In other news I have started my 2013 NaNoWriMo! I had a great start on Day 1 but yesterday I had to work and ended up babysitting my niece Isabelle and was way too tired to do anything after that. So now I am about 1000 words behind.

I know I have all day to write today but I also have to study study study for my Spanish test on Tuesday! I got a B last time and now I desperately want an A!

Back to my NaNo project...

My biggest challenge so far has been naming my main character. I usually love boy names for girls so I will give names like Dylan or Jordan to my main protagonists. However this year, I'm totally stumped!

Here is the dilemma:

My main protagonists needs to be an every day girl-next-door kind of character. And I want a name that is very unassuming.

I don't want too strong a name, but I don't want a weak name.

I don't want a common name, but I don't want a name that is too unusual.

And I don't want a name that everyone will have some preconceived idea of who that person is.

For example: I could easily assume that a girl named Dylan listens to classic rock music. Emma and Beth listen to pop and mainstream music. And a character named Kate would obviously listen to thrasher heavy metal!

What is funny is the only name I can think of that sounds perfect is...Courtney.

I mean think of it! Courtney is a name that everybody knows but it isn't too common. I looked on quite a few different Top Baby Names lists and Courtney wasn't on a single one!

And it is not a name that when you hear you automatically assume anything about it.

So what's the problem???

Oh, yeah, it's my name! No wonder I love it so much!

My other challenge this year is that for the first time I am taking part in NaNo as a pantser! For those who don't know "pantser" is the term for people who are flying by the seat of their pants instead of planning out what they are going to write. This is very tricky for me because I am normally a planner when it comes to EVERYTHING!!!

I've written a couple of scenes so far and one of the tricks I'm doing is that any time I write something that is specific to my characters I write it on a postcard and tape it to my closet door. So far I've given each of the main characters a specific color and then anything written in black is just basic plot points and then I'm just kind of going from there.

Right now this is what my door looks like but I'm hoping that by the time the month is over it will be far more colorful!

Anyway, if you are taking part in NaNo this year I hope all is going well and I can't wait to hear about how your progress is going! And for everyone else I hope you have a great Sunday!