Breaking Points - Sugarbucket/Bex

LADIES! (And maybe gents) 

Do you like angst? Do you like love? Do you like watching two people, who are clearly meant to be, torture themselves because they don’t believe they deserve to be happy – even though you’re yelling at them through the pages? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then do I have the story for you.

Breaking Points by a young woman named Bex (Sugarbucket is her pen-name). It is absolutely phenomenally written. This isn’t your typical romance novel, no. This is a beautifully crafted novel that will wind you up in the world. She is a true magician with words. I read the first chapter, wary at first, and her writing style made the characters come alive in a professional and expert way. This, clearly, is the way the original book should have been written in the first place.

Done by: girlUnknown.deviantart.com
Jane and Mr. Rochester from film adaption of Jane Eyre.

Yes, I am talking about a FanFiction. And, yes, it is a Twilight fanfic.

NO, NO, NO!! Don’t go anywhere just yet, please! Please! Hear me out!

This is the only fanfic that I will post here. Purely because it is SO spectacularly written. It is about Edward and Rosalie (the bitchy blonde Cullen “sister”). Bex takes Twilight and makes it make sense. Whoa! I know right?? Who thought that could happen? It takes a true writer to concoct something as … wow … as this story. It gives backstory; it uses the canon (the original storyline) to its advantage; it lives and breathes epic romance. I’m serious!

Why do Rosalie and Edward supposedly hate each other? Why is Rosalie such a bitch? Why does Emmett stay with her? Why is Jasper so close to her? Why does Edward love Bella? Why did Stephenie Meyer have Carlisle say that Rosalie and Edward were made for each other? Why does Rosalie really help Bella through her pregnancy?

What if it was because Bella was everything Rosalie was not? What if Jasper saw himself in Rosalie? What if Rosalie saved Emmett? What if Rosalie was raped and beaten to death? What if Rosalie and Edward are scared of themselves? What if happiness was something too foreign to them? What if lies were too easy to tell?

Done by: girlUnknown.deviantart.com
No relation to Breaking Points at all. I just thought it was beautiful and angsty.

Breaking Points has the answers. It spins a beautiful web of story that Stephenie Meyer couldn’t even dream of. (I’m not so subtly making a jab at the fact that Twilight was written because Meyer had a dream of a pretty, sparkly vampire lying in a field with, basically, herself.) This is kind of a satire on the original, too. Every now and then, there’s a quip about the original storyline or Bella’s…well, Bella-ness.

Bex has written a masterpiece. It’s like someone covered all the plot failures of Twilight with superhero Band-Aids. Well, most of them… She has stayed true to the original plot that Meyer created. This is not something that is really fanfic-y and the author runs away in an entirely different direction. Nope. This is true to what Meyer wrote. And, I respect Bex all the more for it. It’s a very difficult thing to write the way she has. Yes, it’s online <here>. And, no, I do not suggest printing it out. You will slaughter an entire forest in the process. She covers all 4 books in 41 Chapters. Don’t be daunted by its length! The chapters vary in length, and in character perspectives, and in doses of angst.

Please, give it a try. This piece deserves so much recognition. The final chapter was just released (you lucky people don’t have to wait for each chapter). Bex is in the process of writing her own novel, which I will definitely be picking up once its finished. Not all FanFiction is bad. Breaking Points is a brilliant example of that fact.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4480646/1/Breaking_Points

Happy Reading!

-Isabel

PS
Here is another review of Breaking Points.

Phobia of the Day

Pteronophobia - The fear of being tickled with feathers.


Courtesy of nursingdegreeguide.org

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

4 1/2 STARS

A classic series for all occasions! His Dark Materials is a wonderfully written trilogy beginning with The Golden Compass – yes, there was a terrible movie adaption – and followed by The Subtle Knife and the finale, The Amber Spyglass. The delicious plot Pullman spins throughout the trilogy is streaked with darkness and nail-biting adventure. Pullman has wound tinges of Christianity into the novels, which have been extremely controversial. However, he is never explicit. For those who may take offence to any sort of religious criticism, it is best to read the book for what it is: a fantasy novel. And it is just that, fantastical.

The Golden Compass follows a young girl, Lyra Belacqua, who was brought up in the secluded world of Jordan College, in Oxford, England. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, has discovered a strange particle called Dust. But, the Magisterium – the powerful Church-like organization – believes that Dust is related to the Original Sin. 
For some reason, Dust is less attracted to children than it is to adults. Thus, the Magisterium begins conducting experiments in the North, carried out by the Magisterium’s scientists. To find out why children are less attractive to Dust – and to keep them from acquiring it – the Magisterium kidnaps young children and their daemons. Daemons are what we would call familiars. Everyone has a daemon, but it seems as though they attract Dust as well. When Lyra is entrusted to a woman named Mrs. Coulter, Lyra begins to understand exactly what is afoot. Armed with a rare “alethiometer” – a “truth teller” – in the shape of a golden pocket watch, Lyra begins her journey to fight in a multi-dimensional battle.

It is a brilliantly written novel, which will have you hanging onto every word. I flew through the book! Lyra is a very likable main character, in my opinion. Despite Lyra’s age – 11 – this is a very adult book. I would suggest His Dark Materials for anyone old enough to understand it – 4^th or 5^th grade and up, perhaps. The series is a timeless classic! It’s beautifully written and very rarely has a dull moment. In my opinion, it’s a masterpiece. I give it 4 ½ stars, purely because … in book 3 … well, you’ll see!

Happy Reading!

-- Isabel

Phobia of the Day

Ornithophobia - The fear of birds — especially pigeons. It is actually a fairly common phobia.


Courtesy of nursingdegreeguide.org

The Scariest Game I Know

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is honestly one of the scariest games I have ever encountered!!

It's a puzzle game! You make your way through a massive castle... but, you're not alone. You're being haunted and hunted by a shadow...among other things. You barely remember who you are, let alone what you're doing there. Thank goodness you've left yourself notes around the castle... if you can remember where you put them. The darkness makes your sanity dwindle, so you must collect tinderboxes to light your path and oil for a lantern

But, light will also give you away. You cannot attack in this game. In Amnesia, you can only hide, run, and solve the puzzles. This game is meant to be played with headphones, or loud volume, in the dark. The graphics are awesome, the background noise... creepiest noises and music ever. This is a first person puzzle game, in which you can interact with pretty much anything that surrounds you. Frictional Games did a phenomenal job!

In the DLC (Downloadable Content), Amnesia: Justine, if you die, you have to start at the very beginning of the game. Luckily, in the original game, that is not the case. So, my suggestion is: save frequently. You never know what the game will throw at you.

I tried playing Amnesia with a friend of mine, and the two of us made it about 10 minutes (maybe fewer) into the game before getting so scared we slammed the laptop shut! We figured we could handle it because we'd watched "Let's Play's" on Youtube. We couldn't... Hahaha!

It's a brilliant game that will run on both Mac and PC. You can download the Demo and the game from their website here. If you're someone who uses Steam, the game and Demo are also available there.

I dare you to give it a try!!

Happy Gaming!
- Isabel

PS
Apparently there's another one appearing in the near future! This is all we know!!
Another Amnesia?!
More  Information  Courtesy of one of my lovely sisters.

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Some Awesome Let's Play's of Amnesia:
GoldGlove's Let's Play
The Best of GoldGlove Plays Amnesia
Toby Plays Amnesia Part 1 and Part 2
Jesse Cox (OMFGaming) Plays Amnesia
TotalBiscuit Plays Amnesia for Halloween: Part 1 and Part 2

Phobia of the Day

Nomophobia - Affects people who are very afraid of losing cell phone contact.


Courtesy of nursingdegreeguide.org

Phobia of the Day

Dromophobia - The fear of crossing streets.

Courtesy of phobialist.com

The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer

4 STARS

The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer, is an underappreciated book. Despite the fact that it won several awards, The House of the Scorpion is not widely known. I first picked this up at my school’s book fair in 5^th or 6^th grade. The cover had a sinister dark red scorpion on the cover, and the back of the book sounded a little spooky. A young boy is to inherit everything from a wealthy lord, El Patron. However, some of El Patron’s power-hungry family is less than thrilled about this. The only chance our protagonist has to survive is to escape.

The actual summary was far more detailed, but that is what my young mind took away from it. From that, I figured it would be a good and “age-friendly” book. How wrong I was… The House of the Scorpion is dark. Very dark. I reread it in high school and was shocked to see that a book like this is considered a children’s book, and not as popular as I had thought. The House of the Scorpion is considered a book for “young readers”! I’d like to take the time to set the record straight.

The main character’s name is Matteo Alacran. He was a test-tube baby, a clone, using DNA from El Patron, a powerful drug lord. El Patron loves Matteo because Matteo, essentially, is himself. In this world, clones are not uncommon, but are considered as nothing short of animals. 


El Patron plans for Matt to inherit the fortune and business, and therefore attempts to manipulate the young boy to become his copy. Matt lives surrounded by people who despise him, who call him a monster. As the poppy fields of Alacran Estate are tended to by eejits – humans who are programmed by a chip in their brains – Matt discovers the terrors of the world he’s been brought into. Is escaping the Alacran Estate and its power-hungry inhabitants, enough to save Matt?

The review in Publisher’s Weekly deemed it a book for ages 11-14. I disagree with that bracket. Farmer doesn’t cater to anyone in particular. This is something that can be enjoyed by adults as well. Amazon reviewers gave TheHouse of the Scorpion 4 ½ stars. I’d have to agree wholeheartedly. Nancy Farmer’s writing is quite spectacular. The book does lag at times, as plot develops; but overall the premise of the book and its twisted world, kept me hooked. It raises questions about humanity, morality, and the future. It’s a page-turner that I could barely put down. You can’t say that about many 400-page books. 

I absolutely loved it!!


Happy Reading!
- Isabel

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Other books I suggest by Nancy Farmer:

The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm – 4 Stars 

A Girl Named Disaster – 3 Stars

The Sea of Trolls Trilogy 

Phobia of the Day

Barophobia - The fear of gravity.

Courtesy of phobialist.com

'Ello Out There!

Welcome!

I suppose introductions are in order.

My name is Isabel, and welcome to my blog! A little about me… I’m about 6’0” tall, I like pretty much any music, I’m learning Japanese, I’m a total geek… and I’ve read a ton throughout my life. Everything from teenybopper beach reads, to, well… almost anything in the fiction genre. Granted, many of the books I’ve read cater to girls, but not everything. So, when I recommend something, I’ll say whom I think it’ll appeal to more. But, there’s going to be a lot of fiction. (^w^) I love fiction!

Aren't they ADORABLE!?

<Insert picture of polar bear cubs to make this less blocky----->

Temporary Insanity is named after one of my favorite Alexz Johnson songs. (It’s awesome! I loved “Instant Star”!) I thought it’d be a good name for my blog because … well, it fit, haha! 


I’ve never blogged before, so this is going to take some getting used to. Every now and then I might post one of these, more personal, updates. As I said in my little “About Me” blurb, I’m quite the ranter. I don’t want to give out spoilers, but if there’s something that bothers me, I will rant about them. 


Have no fear, though! I’m going to black out the spoilers... Or, white out. It’ll look a little like this: Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. So, you can highlight the spoiler’s and read them. If you've never watched Star Wars and didn't know that... I apologize. If an entire rant, or post, is about something spoiler-ific, then I’ll say so in the title. Nifty, huh? I’ll try to keep it professional, though, haha!

So, this blog is going to have a number of things going on. Yeah, I’m going to recommend and/or review books I’ve read and enjoyed. I’m not sure I’ll post about anything I didn’t like; because someone out there might actually like the book, and I don’t want to dissuade anyone from reading it. I’m also thinking of doing a “Phobia of the Day” and/or “Word of the Day”! There are some totally outrageous phobias out there, which really need to be shared, haha! Words, too! 


Along with those, if I find something I’d like to share, no matter how nerdy, I’ll share that as well. I might recommend a manga/comic, a show, an anime, a game, or … well, who knows? I’m doing this on a whim. So, I’ll just post whatever comes to mind!

Now, to wrap this up…I’m a college student, and will try to make regular posts. Bi-weekly or weekly, perhaps. But, I can’t make any promises. There’s going to be lots of work. I’ll do my best, though!!

Hope you’re well! And…Welcome!!

Happy Reading!

- Isabel