Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan // Review

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

Published on January 1st 2014

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Middle Grade
Pages: 336
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 5/5 Stars 

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week. 
                                                                                                                                                                                  So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume--a must for home, library, and classroom shelves--as stunning as it is entertaining. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  - Synopsis from Goodreads                                                                          

THOUGHTS:

Percy is just so amazing and I could read in his perspective forever man!!! He's so sassy and funny and I just wish he was real so that we could be BFFs. It was a really interesting book and I actually learnt a lot of stuff about Greek mythology that I didn't know before. I love Greek mythology because of the Percy Jackson series and I started reading this series in grade 6 so it's very special to me :) I'm defenitely going to miss Percy and I'm very sad that its over :( It's been a ride Percy, I will miss you   ( : ''''' ((((( <-- lyke if u cri everytim)

IN SUMMARY:

PLOT: Really fun take on greek mythology. Loved all the stories on each God. 

WRITING: Percy's perspective is so fun to read and Rick Riordan's writing is so great. It is middle grade so some people might find the writing a bit juvenile, but I really like it! 

CHARACTERS: All the Gods were so fun to read about and Percy described each of them in a really fun, interesting way. Some of the gods are pretty sketchy haha 

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QUOTES:

“So Aphrodite married Hephaestus and the celebrity ship Aphrophaestus completely dominated Olympian tabloid news for like a thousand years. Did they live happily ever after? HAHAHAHAHA. No.” 

“I wake up every morning and think: You know what would be good today? Not dying.” 

“I mean, five gods in one stomach—dang. That's enough for doubles tennis, including a ref. They'd been down there so long, they were probably hoping Kronos would swallow down a deck of cards or a Monopoly game.”

“If I ever become a king, I’m totally going to ask him for an army of giant golden acid-spitting llamas. Okay, sorry. I got distracted again.” 

“G.I. Joe boxers!’ Apollo screamed. ‘OH—oh, I can’t even... HAHAHAHAHA!’ ‘Aphrodite,’ Athena giggled. ‘You look simply lovely.’ The gods couldn't stop laughing. Soon they were rolling on the floor, wiping tears from their eyes, taking photos with their phones to post on Tumblr.” 

“Hey girl," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You must be the riptide, 'cause you sweep me off my feet."
He'd be practicing that pickup line for years. He was glad he finally got yo use it.” 

“Me, I’m late to meet my girlfriend. Annabeth is going to kill me.
Hope you enjoyed the stories. Stay safe out there, demigods.
Peace from Manhattan,
Percy Jackson” 

(pretty much the whole book lol)

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

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-Ana :)

The One by Kiera Cass // Review

The One by Kiera Cass

Published on May 6th 2014

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 4/5 Stars 

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.
                                                                                                                        When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                - Synopsis from Goodreads                                                                                                                         

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK OR THIS BOOK I SUGGEST NOT READING THIS REVIEW!! JUST KNOW THAT THIS IS MY FAVE OF THE SERIES SO FAR (HAVEN'T READ THE HEIR YET) 

THOUGHTS:

This book was definitely my fave of the series and it was really easy to read. I was in a reading slump before I read this and it really helped me get out of it and it put me in a reading mood. There was a lot of character development in this book and the plot was really interesting and exciting. I really like the rebel stuff in this book a lot more than the other books. Don't really have much to say but Maxon near the end was my fave ahhh!

IN SUMMARY:

PLOT: Nice continuation. Rebels were very interesting but again it was pretty normal in dystopian. Ending was also v predictable as it was written pretty much like a typical dystopian.

WRITING: Just normal writing I guess but very easy to read. Dialogue was better than the other ones. 

CHARACTERS: A lot of development but America was still kinda annoying. Maxon is till my fave hehe

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QUOTES:

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.” 

“Maxon: “To be clear, no one agrees with you.”

America: “To be clear, I don’t care.” 

“Bravery hides in amazing places.”

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

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I think this series is great if you're in a reading slump. Sooo easy to read!!!

-Ana :)

The Elite by Kiera Cass // Review & Discussion

The Elite by Kiera Cass

Published on April 23rd 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 4/5 Stars 

The Selection began with thirty-five girls.                                                                                                                                                                                         Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?
                                                                                                                                                                                  America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          - Synopsis from Goodreads                                             

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK OR THIS BOOK I SUGGEST NOT READING THIS REVIEW!! JUST KNOW THAT I LIKED THIS BOOK MORE THAN THE FIRST ONE, BUT I STILL WAS V ANNOYED WITH AMERICA. 

THOUGHTS:

OKAY LETS TALK! So this is the second book in the selection series and lets just say I liked it more than the first book, but I didn't love it. I shall go ahead and quote exactly what  I wrote down while reading this: "30 pages in and I'm already annoyed with America - she's stringing both Aspen and Maxon along. C'mon now..." As you guess from the last book and the synopsis of this book, she's stuck between the two and it makes me want to shake her ughhhhhhhh! My biggest problem with this book was America and her indecisiveness. I swear if she was real I would've punched her in the face, sorry. She just keeps making promises to both of them like FRICK NO! STOP! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT MAXON TO GET HURT YA BUM CHEEK. Ya, can you tell how frusturated I was???? America got me like

MAKE UP YOUR FRIGGEN MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Okay moving on... I really did like this book a lot more than the first despite the whole America/Maxon/Aspen thing. I still didn't like how basic America was in the sense that she was our typical dystopian protagonist always against the norm, trying to show how unique she is and how she isn't like other girls. WE GET IT OK. yeesh. I still love Maxon, he's defenitely my fave in the series. Anne, Mary and Lucy added some humour which I really liked. On another note, I really like the Halloween scene because Halloween is my fave holiday ever and I love how they celebrated it at the palace. 

I did like the scenes with the rebels and that whole situation even though it is typical in a dystopian to have a group that wants to overthrow the government. It did add an action element which was cool because it is mostly romance-y. 

IN SUMMARY:

PLOT: Better than the first; more exciting and more action because of the Rebels. Still frustrating though with the typical dystopian elements and America's indecisiveness. 

WRITING: Again, nothing amazing. Descriptive though; I could picture everything really well. Dialogue was still somewhat plain.

CHARACTERS: America was very very very frusturating. Maxon is still my favourite <3. The king is a huge (donkey). The Queen's pretty cool, I like her. Still not a fan of Aspen, like he can leave pls thx. Marlee is probably my fave Elite. 

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QUOTES:

“It turns out I'm absolutely terrible at staying away from you. It's a very serious problem.” 

“You know that you’ve found something amazing, and you want to hold on to it forever; and every second after you have it, you fear the moment you might lose it.”

“Sometimes I feel like we're a knot, too tangled to be taken apart.” 

“He must love you very much,' Gavril said once I had my footing.
I couldn't look at him. 'What makes you say that?' Gavril sighed. 'I've known Maxon since he was a child. He's never stood up to his father like that.” 

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

(BECAUSE OF AMERICA UGH)

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It did really pick up near the end and I was really enjoying it so I continued on with the next book (review coming tomorrow!).

-Ana :)

The Selection by Kiera Cass // Review

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Published on January 1st 2012

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Gift from Brianna
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars 

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
                                                                                                                             But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
                                                                                                                                                                              Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               - Synopsis from Goodreads                                                                                                                                                            

THOUGHTS:

Let's start off with just the notes I wrote while reading this book. First off, America and Aspen made me cringe. It was just very dramatic and "oh we're gonna get married Aspen!!!" LIKE NO!!!!!! YOU AREN'T!!!!!! PLS STOP!!!!!!!!! v cheesy blegh.. I understand - "young love" - but come one people jeez! Just throughout the whole book their relationship bothered me and everytime Aspen came along I was like 

UGH I just really didn't like America and Aspen. Anyways, the whole book gave me major Hunger Games vibes: the whole selection process (being sent off, greeted, pampered), that Gavril guy with the tv show thing was a lot like the presenter in THG, and the castes were pretty much exactly like districts. I didn't really like how similar it was in those aspects. Also America is your typical dystopian character who goes against the norm and is super unique and finds out things that she's not supposed to know and tries to overthrow everything. Pretty redundant so I wish not all dystopians were like this. I was kind of disappointed in the book itself but it was very entertaining and I did continue on with the series! 

On the other hand, I really like Maxon. His dynamic with America was probably my favourite part of the book. The main reason I wanted to pick up the rest of the series was because of Maxon. He's so cute *blushes* I just really love their scenes together and the whole ear tugging thing. They are pretty darn cute together. 

PLOT: Not very unique. Typical dystopian and it was very similair in some elements to THG. The idea of girls being selected to become the prince's wife is pretty strange but it was interesting to read. It is exactly The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games, as people have been claiming. It's also really predictable so there isn't really any huge surprises that can really happen. 

WRITING: The dialogue was quite plain sometimes, it wasn't anything stunning. Nothing much to say about the writing because it was just o.k. But it was very easy to read, and I was able to get through this book pretty quickly. 

CHARACTERS: Aspen and America were really bothering me. Maxon was my favourite out of them all, but I did like some of the other girls in the Selection too. I loved how unique each girl was and how each reacted to the selection. 

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QUOTES:

“True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”

“I hope you find someone you can't live without.I really do. And I hope you never have to know what it's like to have to try and live without them.”

“It's always the fear of looking stupid that stops you from being awesome.”

“He stood and went to read my pin as I approached. “America, is it?” he said, a smile playing on his lips.
“Yes, it is. And I know I’ve heard your name before, but could you remind me?”

“Your Majesty—
Tugging my ear. Whenever.” 

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

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-Ana :)

Just One Day by Gayle Foreman // Review & Discussion

Just One Day by Gayle Foreman

Published on January 8th 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 4/5 Stars (or 3/5 I'm kinda undecided)

Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.
                                                                                                                                                                                    A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the “accidents” of fate,Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.
                                                                                                                                                                                    The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Synopsis from Goodreads                             

THOUGHTS:

To be quite honest, my rating should be lower, but I can't bring myself to do it because this book was so entertaining. The reason I feel like it should be lower is because of the insta-love and how unrealistic the whole story is. But it was so entertaining and such a fun, quick read that I gave it 4 instead of 3 or a 2.5. The insta love was pretty cringey and cliche, but hey not gonna lie it was kinda cute too. But at the same time very very unrealistic. I mean, if I'm a 18 year old girl and some attractive guy comes up to me and says hey go to Paris with me for a day, and I had just met him I'd be like

But Allyson is super chill with it and says yeah, why not I never do anything adventurous. Let's be real: If Willem wasn't attractive, charming or remotely cute, Allyson would have definitely said uh no that's creepy. But that's a whole other discussion. Allyson is described as a shy, not so outgoing girl while her best friend is the total opposite. Allyson is the goody-two-shoes type: hates lying, always follows rules but when she meets Willem she starts to become a bit more adventurous and then everything goes very romance-y, very quick. Idk I just think the main part of the book that really bothered me was how quickly they fell in love and how Allyson just agreed to go to a different country with someone she met for like 2 seconds. But if insta-love is your cup of tea; THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!! 

The ending was very predictable but I still liked it and have already bought the second book and will be picking it up soon! 

PLOT: As mentioned above, the plot is pretty unrealistic but adventurous and quite entertaining to read. If you ignore the fact that Willem and Allyson just met it is quite a cute story. When the big thing happens (will discuss in the spoiler part of this review) it was quite a shock as I did not see that coming so if you like a pretty good twist, you'd like this book. The setting of Europe and especially Paris was so nice because I love it there and I would love to go back again. They even went to Shakespeare and Company!! *squeals*

WRITING: I'm not a huge fan of Gayle Foreman's writing, but I guess it was nicely written. Nothing very very special but it was easy to read and I got through this book in just one day (no pun intended). 

CHARACTERS: There was definitely some character development with Allyson as she stepped out of her comfort zone with Willem and then entered her freshman year of college and made friends. She did bother me quite a bit in the moment of the big twist and after (so pretty much the whole book except for the end) but I still enjoyed reading about her. Dee, her friend in college, was probably my favourite character in the book. He was so funny, I loved it. Willem was pretty cool and I did like him too but he's not one of my absolute favourite characters. I also like the fact that there were more characters introduced when Allyson went to college, like her dorm mates. Interesting dynamic there. And I really like the scenes with Allyson's parents because it seems that in most YA books, the parents are barely there. My favourite character development was Ally near the end of the book as she really took matters into her own hands and did her own thing. I think that's what made the book likeable, was Ally's development. 

SPOILER-Y DISCUSSION: DO NOT READ THIS SECTION UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED. SKIP TO THE QUOTES SECTION!!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

OK friends. Let's discuss. So even though I already touched upon the whole insta-love thing, I just want to go more in depth. Near the end of Allyson and Willem's last day things get intense. During this I was like WOAH WHAT CHILL A BIT PLS OH MY. I actually started laughing out loud a bit because of how ridiculous I thought it was. Jeez people you just friggin met. And then in the morning when Will's not there, Allyson just flips her shit. She starts freaking out and assumes the worst and to be honest, gurlllll you brought this upon yourself if he did just ditch you, (which later we find out is not the case). Honestly I just can't comprehend Allyson's rationale, YA BRB JUST GOING TO GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY WITH SOME GUY I JUST FRIGGEN MET!!!! Can you tell how much that bothered me??? Anyways, once she gets home she become very sad about the whole thing and it becomes kind of a cloud over her head, always there. It becomes kind of an obsession and then she spends the ending part of the book learning french, making money and stuff so that she can go back to Europe and find Willem. That whole ordeal is a whole other load of crap I mean come on that's pretty convenient that you find these people, and make these connections and you happen to hear about a performance and you go and wow would you look at that, its Willem and....another girl??????? I have to admit, I was pretty gutted when I read that part with the other girl. I was holdin out for Allyson to find Willem which she does!!! The ending did kill me a bit, I shut the book and was like wow I totally saw that coming and I hate it. Still going to read the next book though AYY. 

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QUOTES:

“Part of me knows one more day won't do anything except postpone the heartbreak. But another part of me believes differently. We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.” 

“Sometimes the best way to find out what you’re supposed to do is by doing the thing you’re not supposed to do.”

“C'est courageux d'aller dans l'inconnu': It is courageous to go into territory unknown.” 

“Travelling's not something you're good at. It's something you do. Like breathing. You can't work too much at it, or it feels like work. You have to surrender yourself to the chaos. To the accidents.” 

“He showed me how to get lost, and then I showed myself how to get found.”

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

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I think that if you really like contemporary's or you're looking for a quick read, you should definitely pick this up!

-Ana :)

Hi Friends!

Hi pals! Long time no see hey? Just posted a review 2 seconds ago so you should check that out, but I just wanted to make a lil post about what I plan for this blog! I really want to start writing more regular posts and also about some different things like tv shows I've been watching and movies and such. I just started The 100 and I have so much to talk about ahh I'm on season 2 episode 14 and shiz is going down so I kinda want to make posts on that as well as other TV shows too.

It seems that after I read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I was in a blogging mood bc of Katy and know I'm reading Onyx and now I really want to blog some more so thank you J Lynn for having a blogger as your main character!! (and thx for creating Daemon)

V excited to be back and hopefully write some pretty sweet posts!! Hope ya like em :)

-Ana :)

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson // Review

I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Published on September 16th 2014

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 371
Format: Hardback
Source: Purchased
Buy It: Amazon • The Book Depository • Goodreads 
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

"A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell                                                                          
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life.                                                                                                                                                             The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
                                                                                                                                        This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               -Synopsis from Goodreads                   

THOUGHTS:

Oh. My. Goodness. People. THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!!!! ah where to even start??? The writing was unlike anything I've ever read before. It was so poetic and artsy and beautiful ahh Jandy Nelson you are a writing god. The characters were all amazing and they all developed beautifully and it was just so amazing to read about them. This book is told in the perspective of about 13 year old Noah and 16 year old Jude (they are twins but they tell perspectives from different times). At first I was unsure about how the story would come together with these different perspectives but oh boy does it work. And it works well. We get information that we can start to put together ourselves before we're actually told. It was beautiful.  I just can't even express how much I love this book. I read it last month and I already want to re-read it. Oscar was so swoony like he's British and a bad boy and he's exactly like Noah Shaw aka bae <3 ahem what? hehe. Anyways, it was so interesting reading about Jude and Noah and how their relationship changed and developed as they grew up. I also loved Grandma Sweetwine's "bible" thing and how religiously Jude used it. Noah was also amazing and seeing his inner struggle with his feelings made me v sad but so hopeful for him because I could see him becoming stronger and more confident. Noah's artsy-ness also was so nice to read and his perspective was so poetic especially when he did the "Portrait:..." thing. So friggin good. Everyone must read this book. Seriously. This is definitely one of my favourite books and possibly my favourite contemporary novel. I recommend it to everyone.

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QUOTES:

“Meeting your soul mate is like walking into a house you've been in before - you will recognize the furniture, the pictures on the wall,the books on the shelves, the contents of drawers: You could find your way around in the dark if you had to.” 

“I love you,” I say to him, only it comes out, “Hey.”
“So damn much,” he says back, only it comes out, “Dude.”
He still won’t meet my eyes.”

“I gave up practically the whole world for you,” I tell him, walking through the front door of my own love story. “The sun, stars, ocean, trees, everything, I gave it all up for you.” 

“When people fall in love, they burst into flames.” 

“Quick, make a wish.
Take a (second or third or fourth) chance.
Remake the world.”

“His soul might be a sun. I’ve never met anyone who had the sun for a soul.” 

“We were all heading for each other on a collision course, no matter what. Maybe some people are just meant to be in the same story.”

“No hot guy should be allowed to have an English accent and drive a motorcycle.
Not to mention wear the leather jacket or sport the cool shades. Hot guys should be forced into footie pajamas.” 

“And why do English people sound smarter than the rest of us? Like they should be awarded the Nobel Prize for a simple greeting?” 

“My heart leaves, hitchhikes right out of my body, heads north, catches a ferry across the Bering Sea and plants itself in Siberia with the polar bears and ibex and long-horned goats until it turns into a teeny-tiny glacier. 

Because I imagined it.” 

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THIS BOOK IN ONE GIF:

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-Ana :)