Student Nurse: Help I'm Drowning

Well, when I started this blog, I'd never intended to actually post things about my life, but I've just started nursing school at Stephen F. Austin State University, and I've decided to chronicle my experience at least a little. This may be a little scatter brained, but here goes.

Two weeks ago today I had what I consider my actual first day in nursing school, with an all day long orientation.  Basically they went over the syllabi for the first semester classes, the dress code etc so we could jump right in to classes on Monday.  We even had reading to do the weekend before school actually started (which practically none of the almost 80 of us actually did. *sheepish look*).  One of the first slides they showed us at orientation was the one pictured above, "Welcome to Nursing School, where every week feels like finals week."  Not the most encouraging of choices.  They told us that if class starts at 8 the doors will be locked at 8 and you will have to wait for an hour or so for a break to get in.  Clinical folders must be in the drop box by 8am sharp Mondays or no credit. Test and overall grade, not just the two together must be at least a 75 to continue in the program.  If you are found to be out of uniform on clinical days you will be sent home and given an F day, three F days and your out of the program.   It seemed to go on and on.
The calendar's alone were enough to make a person's head spin.  I think I remember someone saying that the idea of orientation was to make nursing school less scary or something.  (I can't really remember the exact wording, a lot of what was said after 1 or 2pm didn't make it into my saturated brain.) However they phrased it, if that was their intention I think it had the opposite affect.  They'd told us to go home and consolidate in color code all of our syllabus calendars into one so we could easily see what we had when.  Chapters of reading, homework, virtual simulations, labs, going to actually hospitals in just a few weeks.  Ah! We hadn't even started yet and I was pulling at my hair.  Some days I'm at the school from 8 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon. To further complicate matters, there are variations in the schedule frommweek to week. It took me almost two hours to finish getting it all down and I just remember looking at my completed calendar and thinking "How am I going to keep up with all this?"  I was actually wondering if the professors remembered that as 19-20 somethings we are still supposed to be getting seven or eight hours of sleep every night.

On the first day of class I got there almost half an hour early to make sure I would definitely be in the room before 8, and I wasn't even sure I had the right books. (My back pack weights a ton by the way.  One of the textbooks weighs almost 10 pounds by itself.)  Honestly we probably all looked like a very large herd of deer in front of the headlights of a giant semi.  For the first couple of days I didn't even know for sure which class I was going to, I just knew which room I needed to be in at what time.  One of my classmates summed up most of our feeling really well during our first study group. The student instructor was telling us to make sure we went to our professors if we needed help and one of the guys in the front said,  "I wouldn't even know what to ask, I just feel like I'm drowning."
Luckily, by the middle of this week I felt like I was getting my head above water and now I think I am going to be able to swim.  I'm actually starting to kind of enjoy this.  I like my classmates, I knew several of them from prereqs and I'm getting to know more of my fellow students as we go.
We've got to wear our scrubs a couple of times and, not only do they make me almost feel like a nurse, I love all the pockets on mine.  Seriously, there like nursing cargo pants.  I don't even actually need that many pockets, but I still really like having them. Plus I think scrub pants beat yoga pants as far as comfort goes.
I have come to grips with the fact that weekends will pretty much no longer exist for me.  While my flatmates are able to sleep in or watch tv/movies most of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I just get a whole day or two to catch up on the reading/homework I have to finish before Monday.  It's like every time I get my to do list down to a nice, manageable level and think "Hey, I might actually get to catch up on my show tonight", I realize I have three more things I'm supposed to finish as well. 
 Wednesday we got to practice finding injection sites on each other and then got to use different syringes and practice giving different kinds of shots (not as easy as stick in arm and push plunger, like I thought).  They had us using hot dogs, oranges and foam pads instead of each other luckily.  They even had us take them home to continue practicing/playing with them.  As long as we promised not to stick our pets or our roommates that is. 
 
Our first test was this Friday, over ten chapters, after only 5 actual class days.  I did my best to study during the week, but I still had other reading to do; we didn't even cover all the material for the test until Tuesday.  I studied for several hours after lab on Wednesday and quite literally all day Thursday trying to get ready.  I was so worried that somewhere going through all that information I would miss something important.  I think I did study everything I was supposed to, but nursing tests are hard.  When it's multiple choice there's usually more than one correct answer, maybe all of them are technically right, and you just have to pick the best one. They'd warned us it was going to be that way, but even with the foreknowledge it doesn't make it any less frustrating.   
I didn't do as well on the test as I like, I'm not usually happy with B's, but it wasn't bad for the first test. It turns out I was actually a little above the class average, so that made me feel better about it.  I'm pretty sure I can do better on the next one now that I have a better idea how the test will be set up. I hope I can anyway, but I guess time will tell.

Well, that was my first two weeks of nursing school.  I have a much better outlook on this now than I did two weeks ago.  It's going to be difficult for sure, but now I'm sure I can keep up and do reasonably well. 



  

Tips for College Freshmen

 

Well, the time has come for many of us to make our way back to our respective goulogs *cough* I mean colleges. :P
I'm about to start my junior year (my second "actually away from home" year) and I thought I'd write a post of things I've learned to help those of you who are making the trip for the first time.

Note: These tips are not necessarily in order of importance.

1. Don't stress too much  There's a lot of things to get used to when you first go to college and yes, it will probably be more difficult than your high school learning, but try not to get too stressed. Stressing won't help you.  Do your best, be aware of what you need to do to improve, but recognize that one bad quiz/test grade won't kill your chances of an A in the class. 

2. Don't hide in your dorm room the first few weeks. Trust me, it will be tempting (unless you don't have a good roommate) but don't hide in your dorm whenever you don't have to be in class. Venture into the scary world of the campus a little. Most colleges have activities for you to do, especially the first two weeks. Save barely leaving the room for midterms/finals week.

3. Try not to play on your phone before class. Again, this one is tempting, even if you're like me and don't normally play on your phone that much. The phone is just safer than sitting staring at the wall before the lecture starts or *gasp* speaking to someone near you. But seriously, you'll enjoy your classes more of you have friends in them.  Even if you don't end up with a best friend or even a study buddy, just having one or two people to chat with before class starts is really nice. So at least make an effort.

4. If your professor tells you to read something before the next class, READ IT. They will know if you don't do the reading.  And a lot of the assigned reading will probably come up on tests/quizzes. Even if you think you can skate by without it, you will at the least cheat yourself out of some learning and at worst you'll do poorly on a test because you don't have a clue how to answer half the questions. (One of my professors last semester gave written answer only tests, so if you didn't do the reading there was no multiple choice to help you guess.)

5. Use the study helps available. At least give them a chance. A lot of schools have a variety of options to help you learn like personal tutors or group lessons taught by a student who has already aced the class. I strongly suggest that if you have free study help options, you at least give them a try. Not everything will help you, and if they don't you can stop going, but some of them will help you improve your grade.

6. Time management is your best friend. Stay on top of your homework, reading and writing assignments. DO NOT wait until the day before something is due to start on it. You don't have to be weeks ahead, but do give yourself a little bit of a time buffer in case something comes up. Last semester I had a lot of reading, so I made myself a master schedule of everything I needed to read for every class so I wouldn't miss anything.  Maybe your not a list person but I like being able to see all my assignments so nothing falls through the cracks. (Otherwise you might end up slapping together a paper with one hour to go before it's due. Yes, this happened to me one time early on and trust me, it is very stressful and usually doesn't end well grade wise. Hence I now make lists.)

7. Talk to your professors. If you don't do as well on a test as you'd like GO AND SEE THE PROFESSOR. Most of them genuinely want you to learn and will be more than happy to try to help you. Most of my professors have given me great advice on how to do better when I have asked for help after a less than pleasing grade. Even if  you don't feel what they tell you doesn't helps that much, showing initiative will defiantly raise their opinion of you.  They will remember those office visits if they end up trying to decide whether or not to bump your 89 to a 90.

8. If a professor offers an extra credit opportunity DO IT. I don't care if you have great grades in the class, and I don't care if the assignment is boring/stupid. Do it. You never know, you might end up needing those extra points later in the semester. Not everyone offers extra credit so please, do yourself a favor and take them when you can.

9. Try to go to all your classes. Even if you can't stand to listen to the professor and feel like the class is a waste of your time, go. Attendance often factors into your grade. Some teachers will drop whole letters of you miss too many classes.

10.  Try to be at class early.  This factors into the initiative mentioned in tip 7. Your teachers will like it if you are already there, ready to go when it's time for class to start. ( Just don't be sitting there doing the reading for this class you should have done yesterday.) I always try to be there 10 or 15 minutes early. And then even if you are late, you won't be.

11. Don't study ALL the time. Yes, you need to study, usually for several hours a day at least, but don't study all the time. I know, I struggle with doing this especially near midterms/finals, but there comes a point where your brain will not hold anymore information.  Once you've study for several hours straight take a break. Go for a walk, go to the gym, watch a little TV, read for enjoyment; it doesn't matter what you do, just give your brain a rest. You'll be happier and will actually study better once you come back to it. (Just don't take so many breaks that what you need to be doing isn't getting done.)

And the part of me that won't let the TV volume be on an odd number not divisible by five is telling me not to stop at eleven, but I can't come up with another at the moment.

So anyway, I know these things have helped me and I hope they will do the same for some of you. If you have tips of your own, feel free to share them in the comments. Good luck to everyone in this year's academic endeavors. May all your papers be properly formatted and your Internet connection sound.

Age of Untron Review

Whoa, wrote this the week after the movie came out and thought I published it, but apparently I didn't.  Anyway, here is a belated review of Age of Ultron. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie.  I won't say it's better than the first Avengers, but it was still very well done and defiantly worth seeing.   All the major characters were back, and Barton even got a relatively substantial part.  Thor didn't get as much as I was hoping for, but there were a lot of characters that had to share screen time.  I love watching the whole team interact and there was a lot of really nice dialogue throughout. 

I liked Ultron as a villain and I think the story was interesting and mostly well done. The bit with the Hulk busting up the city could have been cut in my opinion. I feel like that really didn't serve a purpose to the story and was only there to add time to the movie.  And to show off Iron Man's newest suit.  

I really like the Maximoff twins.  At first I wasn't over thrilled with the idea of adding them when I first saw them on the previews; I was rather attached to Days of Future Past's Quicksilver and I felt like there were already too many characters in the move.  But I ended up really liking them and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in the future.  Pietro was very different than the X-Men Quicksilver, which I was glad of so viewers won't have any trouble separating the two.   

There was a small glimpse into Natasha's back story, her initiation into the business, that I would have taken out. It makes since that that would be part of it, but I think the way they told us was random and doesn't really serve a purpose. 

I'm not real sure about Vision. I liked his character well enough, but I almost feel like we could have saved the world without him. *shrug* 

Age of Ultron was a really good movie and I think Marvel fans will be pleased with it. 

Some of my favorite things.  SPOILERS

HAWK'S  FAMILY! I love that. And then I got really worried he was gonna die and I was just like "No, you can't give him a family and then kill him. It's not right." So yes, I was very glad that he made it to the end. 

And I loved pretty much every line captain America had. Him and Thor have always been my favorites.

 It was sad that Pietro died. But my sister and I have decided there's probably around a 60% chance he's not really gone. They never actually said he was dead, just implied that he was.  Plus we can bring back actually dead people with alien juice. *coughCoulsoncough*.  No, I haven't forgiven them for that 'just because we can, we don't need a real reason or a good explanation" resurrection. 

And yeah, I love the new relationship between Clint and Natasha. It's really cute. :)

Once in Oz 1.5

This is the final installment of Once in Oz book one.  Note: This is not the wicked always wins witch. This is her predecessor.  (Started writing this series before they brought her in.)

“Ugh,” Toodles groaned in exasperation.  He’d barely clipped the piece of wood he was trying to chop, merely succeeding in knocking it over.  He set the block of wood back up again and raised the ax awkwardly over his head. 

The corner of Felix’s mouth turned up in half of grin.  “Use your back, not just your arms,” he called to him. 

Toodles managed to get a little more force behind his next blow, but the ax blade only went in far enough to get stuck. 

“She doesn’t even really need this much wood,” Toodles muttered, wriggling the ax free.

“Let me do it.” Felix held out his hand for the ax, which Toodles gladly surrendered.

The younger boy sat down on the ground a few feet away and watched Felix make short work of the log he’d been struggling with. 

“You make it look easy,” he said after a few minutes.

Felix shrugged.  “I used to do this all the time.”

For the next half hour Felix chopped wood and Toodles gathered up the split logs and carried them into the house. 

“How many more do you think it will take,” Felix asked, licking sweat off his upper lip.

“I don’t know,” Toodles answered.  “She said to fill up the wood box in the kitchen.  I keep thinking the next load will fill it up, but it doesn’t.”

“Mm,” Felix grunted, certain magic had something to do with that.  He was about to start chopping again when Natalie came over to them, carrying two wooden buckets. 

“The witch says she wants the floors shining before the sun goes down,” she started.

“Didn’t you sweep the whole house this morning?” Felix asked.

“Yes.  And now she wants the whole thing scrubbed.”  Natalie set the buckets down in front of them.  “She said for you two to take these to the river and fill them up.  Then we get to start in the kitchen.” 

“She’s sending us to fetch water?” Toodles said, grinning. 

“Don’t get excited yet,” Natalie said, glancing around the yard.  “The monkeys are going with you.”

Of course they are, Felix thought.  At least a handful of monkeys had been near them almost continuously since they’d begun two days ago.  They were always finding ways to harass their captives and interfere with their work.

Felix embedded the ax in one of the logs and picked up both the empty buckets in one hand.  He started for the front gate, Toodles hurrying after him.  Felix looked up at the afternoon sun, then at the house and sighed inwardly.  They wouldn’t be finished by sundown.  The witch had undoubtedly waited this late on purpose.    

Half a dozen monkeys waited for them at the gate, one of which was laying about at the others with Felix’s club.  For a moment, Felix had half a mind to snatch it from him and show him how to use it properly, but he thought it better just to let them form ranks around them and lead them outside the wall.  He felt a sharp jolt as he stepped out.

“Ow,” Toodles said, a step behind him.  “Was that the holding spell?”

“That was just to remind us she’s allowing us to leave,” Felix said in a measured tone, aware that the monkeys were listening.  “It would be much worse if we were trying to escape.”

“Worse?” The club wielding monkey chuckled.  “It would kill you.”

                                                   . . .

Natalie looked up from the table she was trying to wrestle up against the wall.  The boys stepped into the room, trailed by a monkey carrying Felix’s club.

“Toodles, you’re soaked,” she said. 

“Yeah.  I tripped,” he shot a glare at the monkey, “and spilled all the water out of my bucket.”

They spent the next few hours scrubbing the stone floors, taking turns going to the river for clean water as they needed it.  Despite their best efforts, as the sun sank below the horizon they still had two rooms to go. 

The witch strode into the room and glowered down at them.  “Not finished my pretties? I’m disappointed.  Well, if I can’t have clean floors I suppose I can at least enjoy teaching you a lesson.”  She smiled in a way that was anything but friendly and turned to leave.  “Once they finish in here, send them up to my study.” 

 Toodles, who had been inching closer to one of the water buckets, snatched it up and tossed the water at her.  The witch froze, rigid for a split second, then turned, sending an energy pulse through the room that knocked them all flat.  She locked her gaze on Natalie.

“Haven’t come to kill a witch eh?” she shouted, stomping over to them.  She reached down, grabbed Natalie by the throat and hauled her up.  “Did you think the water would do it?  Foolish girl, that’s just a myth.”  She lifted Natalie until her feet no longer touched the floor. 

The witch’s fingers tightened around her throat, closing off her air way.  “That is a mistake that’s going to cost you.”

Natalie tried to pry the witch’s fingers loose, tried to kick to free herself, but the witch only laughed and squeezed harder.  Picked up by a tornado, hounded by flying monkeys, enslaved by a witch, and now it would end, worlds away from home.  Natalie tried to blink back the tears in her eyes; if she was going to die she didn’t want to go out blubbering, but she couldn’t stop of few from rolling down her cheeks.

The witch grinned as Natalie’s struggling ebbed.  “Now, this is what happens to little girls who try to kill-ahhh!” She shrieked as if in pain and released Natalie. 

Natalie crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath. 

“No,” the witch growled.  “Not tears. Ugh, you horrible girl.”  She raised a hand to strike Natalie, but before she could, it disintegrated into dust.  “Nooo!” she shrieked again as the rest of her followed. 

For a few seconds the only sound breaking the silence was Natalie’s panting as she stared at the sand that was once the witch.  Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“You all right?” Felix asked.

She nodded, still unable to get her breath.  Felix pulled her to her feet, then walked over to where the witch had stood.   He nudged a pile of clothes with his foot, scattering the green sand underneath.  The wicked witch of the east was no more.

                                                         . . .

“I found it,” Toodles said, hurrying into the room where Felix and Natalie were searching for the witch’s hat.  He skidded to a stop in the middle of the room, holding up a yellow cap.  “It was shoved in a boot in the hall closet.”  He took off his own hat and replaced it with the yellow one.  “What do you think?”

“It’s not really your color,” Natalie said with a smile, hopping off the couch she stood on. 

He grinned.  “Let’s have a word with the conductor monkey and see what he thinks.”

The flying monkeys were all milling about in the yard.  Since the witch’s death, they hadn’t dared lay hands on the captives, but they also hadn’t seemed eager to let them leave. 

Toodles strutted out in front of the group, who began shuffling their feet and flapping their wings nervously, pointing at the hat and muttering to each other.  The one with the conductor’s hat stepped forward and half bowed to Toodles. 

“You are our master now,” it said.  “What is your bidding?”

Toodles drew himself up and put on a stern face. “First, you are to return our belongings.  Then you will leave this place and never return.”

“As you command.” The monkey bowed low.  

“Good.” Toodles nodded satisfaction.  The monkey with Felix’s club came forward and gave it to Toodles and two others hurried off toward the house. 

“If you’re not quick about it, I’ll have your tails,” Toodles called after them.  He took the older boy’s weapon and handed it to him, grinning.  “Let’s have a look at what the witch kept in her pantry, huh?  I’m starving.”

Felix smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, following him toward the house. 

“I’m going to see about those beds upstairs too,” Toodles continued.  “It’s been ages since I slept in a real bed.  Then tomorrow we can go back to finding Glinda.  We’ll be home in no time.”

Short Percy Jackson Fanfic: Luke Learns About Annabeth

These are two selections from a very short story about Luke Castellan and others in Elysium  I was planning to write but haven't gotten around to.  The first one is the beginning, from right after The Last Olympian, and the other would be closer to the end of the short story, after The Mark of Athena.

 

Zoe sat near the edge of the Blessed River, listening to her sisters tell her about all that had happened since she’d died.  It had been over a year they said.  Strange, it seemed longer than that, and yet shorter at the same time.  There had been a battle for Olympus not days ago, and that was what had sent so many of them here.  She found that she wasn’t sad that so many of the huntresses had died.  They had died well, in defense of their lady and her home, and the Lady Artemis had seen to it that they had all been sent to Elysium.  Now, they were reunited, and all she could think of was how glad she was to have them here with her. 

There were many demigods arriving in Elysium as well.  They were gathered not far from where the former huntresses sat, those that had previously died, meeting those that had only just come.  It was a happy gathering, and even though they were demigods, Zoe couldn’t help but smile watching them.

Then her smile faltered.  She recognized the one that had just come.  Tall, well built, and, she had to admit, handsome, with a scar on the left side of his face.  He had been there when she died.  He was the one who had helped the Titans imprison Artemis.  He hung back from the other demigods, looking somewhat like a whipped dog that expected its master to return any moment.  When the other demigods noticed him, they all stopped speaking and a heavy silence fell.  Some turned away, walking farther into Elysium, several ignored him, and a few approached him, and spoke to him in tones too low for Zoe to hear what was said.  He looked confused, as if he couldn’t believe he was here, and wasn’t sure he’d stay.  One of the demigods seemed to be trying to convince him to go further into the realm with him.  The scarred boy refused.  Then, with all the new arrivals in, the crowd of demigods broke up, leaving only the hesitant one.

He is right to be hesitant, Zoe thought.  After what he did to the lady Artemis.  She’d heard a lot of other things he’d been doing since then as well.  Had the gods made a mistake in sending him here? 

She stood, and strode up to him.  “How, by Olympus, did you get here?”

 

“You tell him.”

“Oh no, I’m not telling him.”

“Well somebody needs to.  He’d want us to tell him.”

“Well I don’t want to be the one that has to do it.”

“Cease your bickering,” Zoe snapped, standing.  “I will tell him.”

No one said anything else as she left the building.  No one was sure how the news had come to them.  In Elysium, they only received news from the outside from newly dead souls, and they never heard anything from the other realms of the dead.  But this was big enough that somehow it had rippled through the entire underworld and gotten to them.  She wasn’t sure who had heard it first; she had learned of it from Jodi, a girl who had been a daughter of Hermes and Cabin Councilor at Camp Half-Blood before she was killed by a Cyclops.  She was the one who had called this meeting.

Zoe walked through the streets of Elysium city and out into the surrounding country.  She wasn’t sure where she would find him, but she half hoped it would take some time.  Unfortunately, it did not.  The first place she decided to look was in the large meadow, just outside of the orchard, where many of Elysium’s residents enjoyed spending time.  And there he was, sprawled in the grass under a tree, relaxing in its shade. 

Zoe took a breath and looked around.  There was no one else nearby, none that she could see at all. 

I suppose that is best, she thought, smoothing out her shirt while she tried to think of how she would begin. 

But then he saw her.  He sat up on his elbows and flashed her a grin that cut into her.  That grin that had annoyed her at first, then intrigued her, and now could melt her, and make her often solemn face return the smile.  But not this time. 

He’s happy now.  Will that make this worse or easier to bear?   She decided that it didn’t matter, this was going to be incredibly difficult either way.  You have to tell him.

She squared her shoulders and walked over to him.

“Hey,” he said, “what’s up?”  He reached up and took hold of her arm, trying to pull her down to sit next to him. 

She resisted, jerking her arm away and taking a step back. 

His expression clouded and he sat up the rest of the way.  “What’s wrong?”

Zoe took a breath, finding that she couldn’t look him in the face.  “Luke, something has happened.”

He stood, now concerned.  “What is it?”

“Annabeth,” she started, then made herself look him in the eye, trying to make her voice a little firmer.  “Annabeth fell into Tartarus.”

“What?”

“They were on a quest, and somehow she fell in through the upper world.”

He look away, his breath starting to come rapidly, and shook his head. 

Zoe took a step towards him, searching her mind for anything she could possibly say to him, anything to make this easier for him.

Then, suddenly, he turned and started to run.  Somehow, she knew what he was thinking.

“Luke no,” she said, starting to sprint after him.  “Luke, you can’t.  They won’t let you leave.”

If he heard, he wasn’t listening; he just kept running, but Zoe was a huntress, and she soon caught up to him.  She put her arms around his shoulders, across his chest, trying to hold him back.

“No, Zoe!” he said, struggling against her. “Let me go!  Let me go to her.  It should be me down there.  Not her.  Let me go.”

 His struggling weakened and he let himself fall to his knees.  Zoe tightened her arms around him as she let herself down as well, resting her cheek on his shoulder blade. 

“Let me go,” he said his voice breaking, but she could tell this time he didn’t mean it.   He went to his hands and knees, digging his fingers into the dirt, as the tears came.  Deep, gut wrenching sobs that wracked his entire body. 

Zoe found tears misting her own eyes, as she knelt there with her arms around him, shaking as he shook, her own heart breaking over his pain.  She knew how much he loved Annabeth, how much guilt he still had for the promise to her he had broken.  She wished with everything in her that there was something, anything she could say that would help him.  But she could not, so she simple remained there with him, hoping that at least her presence might be some comfort, so that at least he didn’t have to be alone in his grief.     

Under the Never Sky Trilogy

 

Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi

 

 

 

This is a series I had never heard of until a professor recommended it to me a few months ago.  It has become one of my favorite contemporary young adult series, and I think other fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent will also enjoy it.

 

The story is set in the future, in a time after massive solar flares decimated earth, leaving a dangerous substance call "The Aether" as a permanent fixture in our sky.  The main character, Aria, has grown up in one of the sealed off dome cities that were founded right before the natural disaster.  Inside this shelter, Aria enjoys all the comforts of the virtual worlds that her home provides.  That is until one day an accident gets her labeled as a trouble maker, and she is kicked out into the Outside, the "Death Shop, where there are a hundred ways to die." 

 

She is found by an Outside "savage" named Peregrin, the son of a tribal leader who, as a result of genetic mutation caused by the centuries old natural disaster, has a heightened sense of sight and smell.  Thrown in together, the two of them are forced to find a way around their differences, and work together to achieve their goal to save both her people and his from the ever more dangerous Aether.

 

 

One of the things I really liked about this series, particularly the first book, is the contrast between Aria's very science fiction world and Peregrin's iron age world.  I think Rossi did a good job of building the separate cultures, and then of giving the characters very realistic biases and stereotypes against the group which was not their own.  I also like how well the tribal society of the Outside, as well as the rest of this fictional world, was thought out. 

 

Another thing I loved are the characters.  I thought everyone,  from Aria to Peregrin, to Roar, to Hess(one of the antagonists), was well developed, with a clear personality, backstory, motivation and flaws.  I like that they behave like real people and I loved watching them interact as their relationships and the storyline developed.

 

Which brings me to the third thing I enjoyed.  I thought the story was well done, and quiet interesting, taking me places that I hadn't expected to go with this series, but in good ways.  It definitely took a different spin to the young adult, futuristic dystopia.  I really enjoyed following the characters as they strove to save their people from the Aether and over all I was pleased by how everything played out. 

I will say that the last two chapters of the third book, Into the Still Blue, did feel a little rushed.  I would have liked a little more out of the last chapter especially, but other than that I don't really have any complaints.

 

I really enjoyed reading this series, and I would definitely recommend it. 

The Host- Book Review

I was going through the files on my computer today and I found this book review that I'd meant to post months ago. 

                                                                       

 

When I started reading The Host I was very reserved about it.  I’m not a Twilight fan and I was “certain” it would be sappy and stupid and not well written.  Those were the negative things I’d heard about the Twilight saga.  But, for several reasons, I gave it a try anyway and I am very glad I did.

I think the story of The Host is really interesting.  It's about a species of aliens that take over the earth by taking up 'host' in humans.  Kind of like extraterrestrial parasites.  Most humans cease to exist once an alien takes them, but when the narrating character, Wanderer, takes up host in Melanie Stryder, she finds her human host is still very present.  The rest of the book is about the interaction and conflict between Wanderer and a group of humans she finds after agreeing to look for Melanie's brother and boyfriend, while they all try to survive in hiding.  

I didn’t find it to be sappy or stupid, like I expected.  For the most part the writing was well done, I only found a few places where the transitions could have been improved, but other than that I didn't notice any problems.  I like the voice given to Wanda’s narration; it’s interesting and works really well with her character and with the story.  

 I was really surprised by how much I liked this book.  For a while I wasn’t even willing to admit how much I really was enjoying the story, but I actually had trouble putting it down.  The characters are well developed and I really enjoy “watching” them interact.  I think Meyer did a good job of having the people behave realistically; how are different personalities going to behave when an alien controlled body- the enemy they all hate and fear- walks into their lives?  This was a question that was fun to explore throughout the book.

I really like the character of Wanda; I think she is one of my favorite fictional females.  There are plenty of in your face, tough as nails women in fiction today.  Wanda is very gentle and non-confrontational, yet has a definite strength in her gentleness and I like that.  It’s a combination we don’t see much of, and I think it makes her character very appealing.

Another criticism I’d heard of Twilight was that neither of the men in Bella’s life were very worthy of attention.  (I haven’t read them, so I can’t really comment on that, but it was one of the negative things I had in my mind going into The Host.)  I was surprised that eventually, I found both Ian and Jared to be men worth having.   Notice I said eventually.  I didn’t really like either one of them at the start, particularly Ian.   MINOR SPOILER I didn’t trust him at the first and even as it continued, it took me a while to accept that he really was sorry for what he’d done to Wanda and that he now wanted to help her.  But in the end, he did become my favorite of the two men.   END SPOILER  I was pleasantly surprised that, as the story continued, both Ian and Jared, while they have their faults, were both good men and I like both of them.           
I can’t believe I almost missed this story because of the Twilight (and resulting Meyer) stigma.  I am so glad I tried it- it's become one of my favorite stories- and I'll definitely be reading it again. 


As to the movie, I also really enjoyed that.   For the most part, the condensation of 600 pages into a two hour film was well handled, though they left out some of the best lines.  The acting is excellent all around, particularly Jake Able and Saoirse Ronan's.  They were perfect.  The Host movie was one of the few book adaptation that I have been, for the most part, happy with and I also recommend you watch it.  After reading the book of course.  :)

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which comes from The Host:  

It's not the face but the expression on it.  It's not the voice, but what you say.  It's not how you look in that body, but what you do with it.  You are beautiful.-  Ian O'Shea

Ships I Refuse to Sail

First off, I apologize for the time gaps between my posts.  I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would post once a week, but I'm so busy with my college work that I now know that is not going to happen.  I will do my best to post every other week if I can, rotating Artemis's story and Once in Oz.  Hopefully later this week I'll post a short story fanfiction from my newest fandom.

But, here's just a fun post for today.  :) 

So, here is a list of fandom ships that I refuse to get on board with.  Several of these will have be running out my cannons every time. 

Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace--  This is my top 'anit-pairing'.  I will blow holes in this ship as long as I have ammo to load into my guns.  Yes, I think that Thalia had a crush on Luke when they were younger, but I think he saw her the same way he saw Annabeth.  They were his sisters.  I have not really seen any evidence of anything more between them.  (Honestly, I always thought it was amusing that Luke had quite a few girls interested in him, but he didn't seem to notice or care.)

 Dramione-- Sorry, I just don't see this one working out.  I know Draco got better by the end of the books, and I have come to love him in some way, but I don't think they would fit well together.  They're both too proud, and headstrong to be a couple; they'd never be able to live together.  Hermione needed an easygoing man, and Draco is not that.
I don't care what the graspers of straws say, there really isn't much indication that that was going on anyway, they hated each other for most of it.  (Cannon says no in the epilogue anyway.) Plus I love Hermione and Ron together very much, so I'm not willing to picture her with any one else. (As a side note, I'm also opposed to Rose and Scorpius just because I feel like it's soul purpose I'd to force all the characters into one family. I do love the idea of Albus and Scorpius being buddies though.)

Cato and Clove- This is last of my big three.  If there was really something between them, Suzanne Collins would have told us in the book.  Which she didn't.  There's not any evidence of a love interest relationship between them.
And I don't know what was going on with Glimmer in the movie either, so before you Clato-ers get worried, I'm just as against that.  (Let's face it, no one was trying to ship Cato with anyone until Cato looked like Alexander Ludwig. I think that has a lot to do with it.)

The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler-- I'll give it to you for the Tenth Doctor and Rose, but I don't think Nine loved Rose the way Ten did.  I think she was more of a companion, a friend, and that they had more of a paternal relationship than Ten and Rose did.  So yes, I think Nine did love Rose, but not in that way.

(I know people try to cite the Bad Wolf kiss as evidence, but that was to save her life, so I don't think that counts.)

Destiel-- I do not know where people get this one.  I wonder sometimes if these people actually watch the show, because Dean could not be any straighter.  He even said in "Live Free or Twihard" when that male vamp called him pretty that "I'm not on your team". And Castiel is an angel who doesn't look at any humans that way.   

Sterek--Sorry folks. I know that this is a popular one among the Teen Wolf fandom, but I really don't know why.  It has been made quite obvious on multiple occasions that they both like women.  I do love both of them, and the dynamic they have with their antagonistic friendship, but I see no actual basis in the show for anything else.

Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoke--  I just don't see this one panning out, and I don't really want it to.  Yes, I do think she is coming to love him and I think he cares about her, but I want her to find someone else.  Oliver ends up making out with every woman he crosses paths with.  I want Felicity to find someone that will be good to her and faithful. (Just FYI, I ship Baricity like FedEx.  But I don't think that's going to work out either.)

Sherlock Holmes with anybody-- Let's face it, as brilliant as Sherlock is, and as much as you can admire him for his mental abilities, he is not the type of person that can be easily loved.  He's selfish, arrogant, and conceited, and he has little or no consideration for the feelings of others.   Plus, he doesn't really like people, so I doubt he's very interested in romance, despite his fling with Irene Adler.   

Those are all I can think of right now.  I apologize if my list includes ships you would go down with.  These are my personal opinions and if you think differently, you are allowed to do so.  We shall just have to agree to disagree.  :)

Once in Oz 1.4

Natalie tested the weight of her new weapon.  She now carried a tree branch the size of a walking stick, which the boys had helped her pull off a tree.  Then, Felix had brought out a buck bone knife, which must have had at least an eight inch blade, and cut off all the smaller twigs growing out of it.  This would definitely be of more use than the branches and rocks she had been using to fend the creatures off.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of her new companions.  Toodles, more than a head shorter than herself, with wavy brown hair and a smile she had yet to see disappear was friendly and seemed good natured enough.  Felix was quieter, or at least had been so far, and harder to read.  She tried to blame her uneasiness about him on the scar running across his face from the middle of his forehead nearly to his jaw.  It was just years of media stereotypes telling her men with scars were up to no good.  Still, she thought, I’ll keep my eyes on him.  She was also having trouble with the idea that they should both be dead.  But even with her misgivings, she was glad for their company.  This wasn’t the type of place she wanted to travel in alone. 

The monkeys at least were more wary now that there were three of them.  They had been walking most of the day and hadn’t run into any again. 

“Look.” Toodles pointed ahead.  “That’s got to be where the wicked witch lives.”

Just coming into view was a large house, surrounded by a high stone wall.  Natalie didn’t think it was quite a castle, but it was close. 

“What kind of witch are we dealing with?” Felix asked. 

“I don’t really know,” Toodles answered, pausing.  “The book never really said much about her powers. Oh well,” he started walking again, “she can’t be as bad as the Dark One.”

 “So you two have had experience with witches before then?” Natalie asked.

“Sort of,” Toodles said.  “Besides, the Dark One is much worse than a witch.”

“It’ll be dark by the time we get there,” Felix said, eyes moving like he was mentally measuring the distance between them and the castle.  “I don’t much like the idea of going up against any kind of witch in the dark.”

“Maybe we’ll be lucky and she’ll be asleep,” Toodles said.  “Then we can take the hat and go before she knows we were there.”

It’s never that easy in the stories, Natalie thought, but kept it to herself.

Night fell nearly an hour before they reached the building.  The group crouched in the cover of the clump of trees nearest the witch’s abode.  Natalie couldn’t help but think that someone must of have seen them crossing the open ground.  However, there was no sign of anyone inside. 

“Do you think she’s the only one who lives here?” she whispered.

“Could be,” Toodles whispered back.  “Wicked witches probably don’t have many friends.”

“How are we going to get in?”

Toodles looked at Felix.  The other boy studied the building for a moment then opened his mouth to say something.  Natalie felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.  The shadows descended on them from the thick foliage above them.  Rough hands seized Natalie’s arms, hair and midriff.  Her staff was wrenched from her hand as she was hoisted into the air. 

“Let me go!” Toodles yelled, biting the arm of one of his captors. 

The flying monkeys carried them over the wall and landed in the courtyard in front of a green-skinned woman with a patch over one eye.  At first, Natalie tried to break free but gave up after seeing a monkey sink its claws into the shoulder of struggling Felix.  All three resigned themselves to glaring at their captors. 

One monkey, wearing what looked like a conductor’s hat, laid the trio’s weapons at the woman’s feet, and made a sweeping bow.

“The tresspassers, as you commanded your wickedness,” it said in a gravelly voice.

“Well my pretties,” the witch crooned, stalking towards them.  “What are we doing out at night, hmm?”  She brushed her long finger nails down Natalie’s jaw line.  “Come to kill a witch?” she snarled and made claws out of her fingers and swatting at Natalie’s face, making her jerk back. “That’s all little girls who fall from the sky are good for.”

“No,” Natalie said, leaning back as far from the witch as the monkeys holding her would let her.  “No, I don’t…”

“Hrrr,” the witch growled, turning on her heal.   “Lock them in the cellar.  I’ll deal with them in the morning.” 

The monkeys half led, half dragged them into the house, through several rooms and then threw them into a cellar, slamming the door behind them.

Natalie shuddered at the sound of their receding laughter, trying not to imagine all the ways a witch could probably kill them.  No one moved for a few minutes, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness of the cellar. 

Toodles climbed back up the stairs and rattled the door.  “Ok,” he said, turning back toward them when it didn’t budge.  “We may not be able to take it and leave before she knows we were here, but this is not a problem.”

“How is this not a problem?” Felix asked. 

“Because I know her weakness,” Toodles said, coming back down the stairs.  “If she gets wet, she’ll melt.  All we have to do is find some water and we won’t have to worry about her.”

                                                         . . .

Natalie started at the sudden jerk on the cellar door.  Toodles inhaled sharply from the corner across from her, then sat up rubbing his eyes. 

She guessed he was the only one of them who had actually slept.   During their search of the cellar, they hadn’t found any water, or anything they could use as a weapon.  Once they gave up on that, Natalie had retired to the corner nearest the door where she’d spent the night listening for the monkeys return.  Even so, she hadn’t heard them coming.

Another jerk on the door and it swung open with a creak.  Natalie blinked at the light, raising a hand to shield her eyes.

Four monkeys hopped down the steps, sneering at their captives in a way that was frightening and ridiculous at the same time.   Two of them took hold of Felix, already on his feet.  One of the others grabbed Natalie’s arm and hauled her up, the remaining one doing the same to Toodles. 

They took them up the steps and into what looked like a sitting room, where the witch reclined on a couch having her breakfast.  Natalie’s stomach rumbled; she hadn’t eaten since the afternoon of the storm, more than three days ago.  She hoped the witch hadn’t heard it.

The witch set down a half-eaten biscuit and stood, beginning to pace the floor in front of them. 

“Well my pretties, what am I going to do with you?  It does seem a bit of a waste to destroy you right off.”  She paused and looked them over, turning up her nose like she was not impressed with what she saw.  “Perhaps I’ll get what use I can out of you first.  You shall be the first of my slaves.”  She ran her fingers through Toodles hair, then shoved him back.  “At least until I subdue this land and get some proper ones.”  The witch looked at one of the monkeys holding Felix.  “They can begin by cleaning up the yard.”

The monkeys bobbed their heads to their mistress and began to lead the captives out. 

“And just in case you get any foolish ideas…” The witch waved her hand toward them.  For a few seconds, Natalie felt a prickling sensations run up and down her skin.  “That is a holding spell.  You won’t be able to set foot outside the outer wall.”