The #VoicesofYA Tag!

Hey, look who isn't dead!

Me for the past two weeks: Abby, you really need to write a blog post today.
Also me:


{We spent two weeks traveling, and I didn't feel like writing posts any of those nights at any of those hotels and I'm going to stop making excuses now, but just know that I am sorry.}

So I have been tagged by Jonathan to do this tag and it looks super fun so HERE WE ARE FOR A TAG!


Question 1: What draws you to YA?
Mostly... I am a young adult.  So it makes sense.

Question 2: Describe your writing process.  Do you like outlines and structures, or seeing where your story takes you?
I'd love to be a plotter.  I really would.  Unfortunately, I have too many pantser tendencies.  Although I do love when my characters develop themselves into more than I expect.  They do that quite a bit.

Question 3: How long have you been writing?  Where are you in your journey?
I've been writing since I was ten years old, so eight years now.  Which is nuts.  But I'm still learning so much about the craft.  Honestly I feel like I know more about writing than I've actually experienced.  Which isn't great.  But I'm working on it. 

Question 4: What do you need to write?  Coffee?  Music?
MUSIC.  I have to have music.  Like, to write anything.  For example, right now, I have my Disney on Broadway playlist on shuffle.  For writing my stories, I like to have something like this, where it's kind of mindless.  I know the songs so well that I can listen to them without having to listen, if you know what I mean.  Which you probably don't.  But it's hard to explain, lol.

Question 5: If you could offer one piece of advice to another writer, (OTHER THAN "don't give up"), what would it be?
Oof, that's tough.  I think I would have to say... "Write what you love."  Find your favorite genre.  Write that.  Find something you enjoy researching.  Write about it.  Even if it isn't a fiction story, even if it's a short story, even if it's a poem, just write what you're interested in.  If you don't enjoy history, don't try to write a historical fiction.  Does that make sense?

Question 6: What book still has you reeling from its plot twist?
So many, to be honest.  But the one that's coming to mind is "A Time to Die".  Because oh my word, guys.  I'm still a little breathless from that ending.

Question 7: What books are you most anticipating for this year?
Oh dear. *glances at Goodreads* Umm... "The Noble Servant" by Melanie Dickerson (this one is already out, but I haven't read it yet... but I'm so looking forward to it) and "The Ship of the Dead" by Rick Riordan (I'm so ready for this one) are the two that I think I'm most excited for.

Question 8: In your opinion, which YA book/series has the most unique premise?
See, I was going to say the "Out of Time" trilogy for this... but everyone else has said that so now I have to think of something else.  I think I'm going to say the "Gallagher Girls" series by Ally Carter.  I've just started the first book, so I can't say much about it yet, but the premise is so unique.  I mean, it's about a school for spies.  How cool is that?

Question 9: What is your all-time favorite quote from YA?
OH GOODNESS NO DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE.  But are we talking funny quotes?  Because if so, any of Rick Riordan's books are full of them.  But for serious, moving quotes, I really love this quote from Lois Lowry's "Gathering Blue" - "We're the ones who will fill in the blank places.  Maybe we can make it different."  What a life goal, right?

Question 10: What book do you most hope will have a movie adaptation?
Well I would say the "Books of Beginning" trilogy (some of my favorite books of all time), but as they are MG and this is a YA tag, I'll say "Heist Society" by Ally Carter.  Because I really want to see this story on a screen, big or small.  It plays out like a teenaged Leverage, so obviously I need to see it.  Please.

Tagging People:
I don't really know who to tag for this, so if you have a blog and want to do this tag, go ahead and feel free to say that I tagged you.  And then leave me a link to your post so that I can see your answers ;)

~ Abby

Five Reasons Why You Should Watch The Bletchley Circle

Because everything I post apparently has a story behind it, here's the story for this one:

This past week, my brother went to a friend's house to spend the night playing video games and not sleeping or whatever.  He ended up extending it to two nights, so it was just the three of us girls around here.  As we were here for two days with not too much to do, Mom decided that she wanted to browse Netflix and find some shows to watch in the future.  Now this may seem strange, but we've never sat down and just scrolled through the offerings on Netflix, we usually just find something we want and go with that.  But we ended up making a list of shows that we thought were possibilities (always with the thought of if it's bad or nasty in the first episode, we'll stop).  The first one we watched was kind of meh, it wasn't great and it wasn't really clean, and while we had stayed up until 1am watching it, we didn't feel like it had been worth that. 

But then we started this one.

And it was all better.

The Bletchley Circle ran for two seasons from 2012 to 2014, and followed the story of four women in post-WWII England who are trying to live normal lives after working for the government during the war. 

So here's why you should watch The Bletchley Circle:


1. It's short.

The first season is only three episodes, and the second season is only four.  This makes it super binge-worthy.  Each episode is about an hour, so you're only dedicating seven hours of your life to these ladies as opposed to the 50+ I've dedicated to Once Upon a Time (for example).

2. It's historically accurate.

The costumes.  THE COSTUMES, GUYS.  I'm jealous of every single outfit in this show I want them all.  Not only that, but the women's roles in society is accurate, the way they have to acclimate back into society is accurate, and as a history nerd I adored every second of it.

3. It's British.

Dumb reason, I know, but hear me out.  I don't know about you, but I love British television shows.  Now, I still haven't watched Doctor Who or Sherlock, but I love hearing the accents and the lingo.  And I caught myself thinking in a British accent for several days afterward, no joke.  Also, this show is just so British.  What do they do when something goes wrong?  They make tea.  Susan's kids call her "mummy" and it's adorable.

4. GIRL POWER.

Much like "Agent Carter" (another one of my faves), this show features kick-butt women who lead their own lives and don't need no man (except for Susan, who is married to the sweetest guy. I'd marry him.).  We've got a single woman out on her own and living her own life (Millie), a librarian (Jean), a younger woman with an abusive husband and a photographic memory (Lucy), and then of course Susan whose husband is wonderful as I've said, I love him.   But the whole series centers around them going out and solving murders on their own.

5. It's fantastic.

There are heavy themes in this show.  I mean themes like abuse, human trafficking, and, obviously, murder.  But it does it in a way that never ever makes anything seem okay.  Even the others find out that Millie has been smuggling things on the side (which, of course, gets her into trouble), the others make sure that she knows she's in the wrong.  There are consequences for the actions in this show, which is something that is very rare in media these days. 
But on the lighter side, the friendships between the women are wonderful.  There are funny moments.  There's sweetness between Susan and her family, and a cute relationship beginning between Lucy and a Scotland Yard agent in the second season. 

DISCLAIMER:
If you have issues with blood, murder, or things like that, this isn't the show for you. 
But if you're into murder mysteries and awesome women, enjoy, my friends.

~ Abby

May Wrap-up and June TBR

Would someone be so kind as to tell me where May went?  Because it seems like just yesterday it was stretched out before me like the promising month it was.  And now it's gone.  Poof.

May was quite a busy month for me.  I'm not sure I can even remember everything that happened - but most prominently, we conquered recital for another year, and competed in our first Irish dance feis! AND I won first in fast treble jig (which is hard shoe) against like... nine other dancers.  Which is nuts.

Anyway...


What I Read:
(guys I finished 7 books this month.  WHAT EVEN.)

A Time to Die ~ Nadine Brandes

Overview: Parvin Blackwater lives in a society where Numbers are everything.  But when it's discovered that she's been sharing Numbers with her brother, she must face the Wall and the unknown world beyond it.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 (IT WAS AMAZINGGGG)

The Icecutter's Daughter ~ Tracie Peterson

Overview: Merrill Krause is the only woman in the house, fulfilling the promise she made to her dying mother by caring for her father and six older brothers.  But when Rurik Jorgenson rolls into town, the commitment she made to the single life may prove hard to keep.
Rating: 5 out of 5 (a cute, clean, fluffy romance full of twists I didn't expect)

Before the Awakening ~ Greg Rucka

Overview: These are the stories of FN-2187, a stormtrooper, Rey, a scavenger, and Poe, a pilot, in the days before the Resistance changed their lives.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (I enjoyed it a lot, but the writing style wasn't my favorite)

The Blue Fairy Book ~ Andrew Lang

Overview: A book of fairytales, collected by Andrew Lang, featuring tales like "Jack the Giant-Killer", "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp", and "The Black Bull of Norroway".
Rating: 5 out of 5 (I love fairytales... have I mentioned that enough lately?)

Smek for President! ~ Adam Rex

Overview: Tip and J.Lo are back and headed to New Smekworld.  What could go wrong?  Everything.
Rating: 5 out of 5 (I loved it so muuuuuch please everyone read these books)

Beauty Sleep ~ Cameron Dokey

Overview: When Princess Aurore discovers that her curse will affect not only her but her entire kingdom, she ventures into The Forest, trying to undo the evil cast upon her.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (it was good, and very original, but the ending took a twist that left me more... confused than anything else)

Nowhere to Be Found ~ Kristin Eckhart (writing as Emily Thomas)

Overview: A young widow inherits her great-aunt's manor house, and while converting it into a library, stumbles upon a mystery that she never knew existed.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (it was really cute)


What I Watched:

Once Upon a Time:

(how i'm entering every room ever from now on)
THE MUSICAL WAS SO MAGICAL. AND THAT SEASON FINALE, GUYS. AHHHH.

The Bletchley Circle:

So we technically watched this on the first day of June but GUYS. I think I'm going to do a post pretty soon talking about this show because OH MY WORD IT WAS AMAZING. And too short. Way too short.


What I Listened To:

So many musicals, wow.  I had some Psych nostalgia this month with the announcement of THE MOVIE WHICH IS COMING IN DECEMBER, I finally listened to the Mary Poppins Broadway soundtrack (it's really great, btw), Feet Do Yo' Stuff was the song for our tap routine this year at recital, and GUYS GO LISTEN TO DEAR EVAN HANSEN except skip the track "Sincerely, Me", there's some language in that one but the rest of it is beautiful and heart-wrenching and ugh this musical.


What I Posted:
I reviewed A Time To Die
I had a ton of fun doing The Playlist Tag
I also reviewed Nowhere To be Found


What I Plan to Read:
(this is a tentative list, as we're doing a lot of travelling this month because I'M GOING TO THE OYAN SUMMER WORKSHOP GUYS I'M SO EXCITED and thus we have to drive to Kansas. And we all know what road trips mean - reading time!)

The Screwtape Letters ~ C.S. Lewis (I'm already mostly done with this one and I'm really enjoying it so far [hopefully I'll get a review up before I leave?])

The Dark Prophecy ~ Rick Riordan (I finally got my hands on it yay! I can't wait to devour this one, it's hilarious so far)

Masterminds: Payback ~ Gordon Korman (I've been waiting to read this I'm so pumped)

Heist Society ~ Ally Carter (the description of this kind of sounds like Leverage and that of course excites me)

The Quarryman's Bride ~ Tracie Peterson (this is the sequel to The Icecutter's Daughter so I'm excited)


I'm not sorry to see May go, honestly, it was a lot.  Now to packing, I guess...

Favorites of the month?  Most anticipated for June? Let me know down below!

~ Abby