Delirium

I was looking for a new book to read, while I waited for the one I really wanted to read to be available at the library. I'm not a fan of buying books if I can rent them/check them out for free. The book I chose was comparable to The Hunger Games. 

The United States Of America has found a way to cure the infected people and maintain control.  When a person turns 18, they undergo a brain procedure that will prevent them from becoming infected. The disease: LOVE.  Prior to turning 18, you must go through testing so they can determine if/what college you will go to, what you will study, who you will marry, and how many children you will have. 

Lena is counting down the days to your 18th birthday for the procedure.  She is ready to be cured before she is infected.  The infected are either killed, held in The Crypts, or flee the city to live in the Wilds, never being allowed to return.  When Lena and her best friend Hana were out for a jog one evening, they meet a cured man, who takes a liking to Lena.  She thought she was safe to be around him, having the feelings of the disease inside of her, because he is cured, so no harm can come from it.  Turns out, he isn't cured afterall. 

While secretly dating Alex, lying to her family, and falling victim to the disease of love, Lena is no longer is eager for the cure.  They plan to run away into the Wilds and be together forever, until the protectors discover that she is infected!!  The evening before her re-scheduled procedure, Lena escapes her house and runs off with Alex, only to have the police, protectors and helicopters chasing after them as they drive quickly towards the Wilds to escape for good. 

I have to admit, I was very upset up the ending of this book. I know this is a series, and am now eager to see the next book to know what happens to Lena. 

For One More Day

This is a great, quick read. I am a slow reader and within less than 2 hours, I was halfway through the book and engulfed in the story.

It jumps around from the main character's current life, to life growing up, to telling stories about what he did growing up.

This is a great read about a man who loves his divorced mother and father; who is always eager to please his father, who is rarely even in the man's life.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Welcome to The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, an all-girls school.  Anyone looking at this elite private boarding school would see just what The Gallagher Academy wants you to see--a preppy school for privileged girls, complete with a guardhouse and stone wall to keep the curious away from their precious charges. And they'd be right, of course, and yet they would be so very, very wrong!

Because The Gallagher Academy isn't exactly what it appears to be. It's an elite school, that's for sure, and the only boys who grace its grounds are the male teachers. After that, though, the similarities between The Gallagher Academy and every other elite boarding school in the world ends. Instead of math and reading, English and horseback-riding, the girls who attend this school take courses in Covert Operations, Ancient Languages, Countries of the World, Culture and Assimilation, and Protection and Enforcement. The Gallagher Academy is, in a word, a school for spies.

Cammie Morgan is a sophomore here, living in a room with her two best friends, Liz and Bex, when a new girl shows up and the only place available for her to stay, is with Cammie and her friends.  Just like the rest of the town judges all these ‘snotty’ girls, Cammie is quick to judge Macey, the tall, beautiful, skinny legs roommate who seems not fitting for the smarts you need in this spy school. 

But then things start to get a little out of control.  Cammie meets a boy in town, Josh, while on a CoveOps assignment for class.  But now Cammie is balancing on a dangerous ledge--knowing that no one outside of the gates of The Gallagher Academy can ever know who she truly is, and wanting nothing more than to spill all of her secrets to Josh.

As lies tangle with truths, as first love duels with obligation, Cammie will need to learn exactly what it means to be a spy, and a young girl falling in love, and loyalty to her friends/classmates.

I’ve rated this 4.5 out of 5 as this was a book I couldn’t put down, even after my 13 year old step-daughter informed me that this is the same book her middle school announcements encourage them to read each morning. 

Family car

Wow – It’s been two months and I haven’t posted about this yet.  I’ve been saying for a year that by summer 2014 I will have my first SUV. I’ve had trucks and cars, and fortunately, I didn’t buy a single one. They were given to my by my parents.  I’m 30 now, time to get my own car! The truck I’m driving is small. Doesn’t fit the kids in it, is now 15 years old, with almost 350 thousand miles on it. SHEESH! One day, it will break down and I won’t be able to afford to fix it.  Me and Bo have been looking for a few weekends. I’ve compiled a spreadsheet of the possible vehicles I want, then researched them, crossing off the ones with the worst reviews and least gas mpg.  We test drove several, and kept coming back for the same make/model. We went up to Houston looking around on a Saturday, found one that drove great, but was brand new and we did NOT want a brand new vehicle.  He said they didn’t have any others ,but would ‘run some numbers’ on the new one. While he stepped away, Bo got on his computer and pulled up a list of vehicles they had on the lot, and saw a 2011 that fits what we wanted. We asked him about it when he came back, and ended up leaving in it that very night. It’s a 2011  Chevy Traverse, and it’s wonderful! It seats 8 people. I haven’t gotten it 100% full yet, but the kids love the room and space and it drives so great and wonderful.  I’m so super excited!!  Here’s me with the new car the morning after I got it.