Across the Universe and A Million Suns

Time for another book review!

Book: A Million Suns
Author: Beth Revis
Additional Information: Book 2 of 3 in the Across the Universe Trilogy

I first read Across the Universe when a friend at camp suggested it to me. By then, A Million Suns had already come out. I read both books within the week. So you don't get confused, here's the general idea of Across the Universe:

Amy is cryogenically frozen for a journey to Alpha Centauri with her parents.
She is woken up early, and meets Elder, the ship's next leader.
More frozens are being unplugged, though, and life on the ship is so different from what Amy knows.
Together, Amy and Elder must uncover who is behind the lies that consume Godspeed, before it's too late.

Now for A Million Suns:
AMS(A Million Suns) has an amazing plot. In this face-paced novel, discord is let loose upon Godspeed. Elder, as leader of the ship, must attempt to control the discord that's been let loose upon the ship. All the while, Amy is trying to uncover the rest of the lies that envelope Godspeed; there are more than she ever guessed.

If you haven't already, check this series out! The third book, Shades of Earth, comes out next year. :)

Thanksgiving List

My friend, author of Jonni Blogs (http://jonniblogs.blogspot.com/), and I spent the evening making lists and seeing who could come up with the most. We already did xmas carols. Now we're on to thanksgiving foods. See if you can come up with anything to add anything to our list:

turkey
mashed potatoes
stuffing
olives
ham
pies
green beans
biscuits
corn
cranberry sauce
gravy
mozzarella cheese
butter
beets


In my family, we buy lottery tickets for each place setting. Everyone loves this tradition, even though the most someone ever won was twenty dollars. There's no place like home for the holidays. :) What are some of your traditions? Comment below!

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy Thanksgiving,

-Erica
Author of Erica's Odds & Ends

Math Challenge

 

…..89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, x…….

 

Time to offer you all a challenge! What is the value of x? No googling. Bonus: what sequence is this?

Excercise is important, so try this challenge and excercise your brain today. :)

Finally, I want to share a quote I found. Not sure who said it, but here it is anyway:

 

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."

Amazing Leadership Quotes

"Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure.” -Stanley McChrystal

"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation." ~ Roger Staubach

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ~Winston Churchill

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas Edison

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
- Mark Victor Hansen

"One person can make a difference and everyone should try" -John F. Kennedy

Video Tutorial: My Blog Background

It's the holiday season! Well, almost. Starting this Friday, one of the radio stations will play nothing but Christmas music until December 25th. What's your all time favorite Christmas carol? Also, stores are preparing for Black Friday. Like my cool background and want to know how to make one in Photoshop? Here's a video tutorial I made for it:

SAT Prep and Jessica Khoury Contest

Hi, everyone!

If anyone is preparing to take their SAT, I have an awesome site: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day

Jessica Khoury, author of Origin, is doing a contest. Just be one of the first fifty people to submit a pic of you with your copy of Origin to win some swag. :)

Perfection

No one is perfect- that's why pencils have erasers. (Not sure where that quote is from, but it's awesome!)

MicroObservatory

Looking for something totally awesome to do? Check out MicroObservatory! This site allows you to control the telescopes and take your own images of celestial objects. Here's the link: http://mo-www.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/OWN/Own.pl

Let me know how your images come out! :)

Why I Love YA

I love YA books. They're the best genre out there, spanning the ranges of sci-fi, romance, comedy, and more. They allow me to see myself in them. Teens as the protagonists make the story interesting. We're not perfect and don't pretend to be. Readers can empathize with teens' triumphs as well as their failures. Teens do not have all the experience that adults do, but they also have the clear vision to see things can't or won't. Teens aren't afraid to be different and they often can be quite rebellious, making dynamic characters. YA is written not only to entertain but for us to understand ourselves. :)