Book Review: Lemonade Mouth

Hey guys! Today I'm reviewing Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes for you! If you watched Disney channel when you were younger, you probably saw Lemonade Mouth with the detention kids turned rock stars. But I am here to tell you, this book is definitely not the same as the movie. It is more young adult than child.

The book starts off with Wen, Charlie, Mo, Olivia, and Stella finding themselves in detention on the same fateful day for various reasons (for example, Mo is caught making out in the trees and Wen has a not-so-Disney-esque guy problem in front of his class). None of them immediately click and make a fabulous show tune like in the movie- they actually start by signing/playing to the beat of a commercial. The music teacher, Mrs. Reznik, encourages them to become a band and none are particularly enthralled with the idea. Stella eventually turns their frowns upside down, they give the band a go, and sign up to play at the Halloween Party, much against the competing band's wishes. When Lemonade Mouth comes onto the stage, the crowd is in for a strangely amazing blend of ukulele (Stella), vocals (Olivia), trumpet (Wen), drums (Charlie), and bass (Mo). Everyone falls in love with their music and Lemonade Mouth is instantly famous around town. Now, now, obviously I'm not going to give away the rest, but I will say that, as in every book, the characters have difficulties at home, with each other, and with their classmates. At one point Lemonade Mouth calls it quits. Is it fate or coincidence that this band seems destined to take over the world (or at least the radio)?

Okay. Lemonade Mouth was awesome. Seriously! If you liked the movie please give this a try! The way it was written seemed so, I don't know, fluid. Each chapter had multiple points of view so I felt like I was being told the story by each of the characters. The best parts were when the music was described. It's really hard to explain, but I could practically hear the music! I was also pleasantly surprised by the characters. They were quite different from the movie, which I was not expecting. Olivia is incredibly shy and scared (and a little strange) and she has contact with her father throughout the book. Mo wasn't all that different, so I won't really comment on her. Stella had a stranger home life and she definitely rebelled more than in the movie. The largest change for Wen was that he had a crush on his father's girlfriend, which made things infinitely more complicated for him. Charlie was the most different because he had his dead twin's voice in his head. Eventually he overcame it and the voice stopped, but it acted as his alter ego almost. The part I loved the most was that the wimpy freshmen came together and changed the way people acted at school. Although it is a tad cliché, the message was there and it was definitely well written!
A 5/5 stars!

What did you guys think? Have you read Lemonade Mouth or seen the movie?

Have a great weekend!

Au Revoir!

"How could you ever feel comfortable if no matter where you went you felt like you belonged someplace else?" - Lemonade Mouth

Book Review: The Sisterhood Everlasting

 Hey guys! Long time, no see! Today I have a book review of The Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares. Enjoy!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

The Sisterhood Everlasting, the last installment of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, was about the girls (Bridget, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby) around 10 years after the previous book; each is doing their own thing, barely having time to contact one another. Carmen is an actress in NYC, Lena is teaching at RISD, Bridget is over in California, and Tibby, who has practically cut herself off from the others, is in Australia. Eventually, the girls get letters from Tibby saying that she bought tickets for them to go to Greece. Of course, they are overjoyed, but when they arrive, Tibby is nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, they find that Tibby has passed on while in Greece (she drowned, but later they find out she was suffering from Huntington's Chorea) which leaves them shocked and sad about what has occurred. All the girls are depressed and they don't really have any idea what to do with their life. Each one goes through some growing up, many love interests, and eventually finds their path.

All good things have to come to an end, huh? Well, this was quite the end.

Honestly, this book was a little depressing. It was hard to see Bridget, Lena, and Carmen be so lost without Tibby. It was hard not to feel so attached to them. And it was hard not to feel like I was going through the whole thing with them. Throughout the entire book I had the awful feeling in my chest- the one you get when you're reading or watching something really sad but you can't cry over it. 

Unfortunately I had read major MAJOR spoilers about Tibby so when I got to the part where she died I was prepared. 

There are a few things I need to get off my chest:

Lena FINALLY got together with Kostos. (woohoo!)

Carmen FINALLY broke up with that idiot Jones. (yes!)

Bridget FINALLY settled down with Eric. (goodness me!)

And Tibby? There are really no words to describe how good of a friend she was and how sad her death was!

Overall, this was a great last book. Quite sad, but still great. If you are a crier, grab some tissues, my friends. At first it was hard to read because it just felt so grown up and mature, but as I read on, it really made sense that Ann Brashares (the author) wrote it this way. The girls are all older and they have real, grown up problems, rather than the fun, in-the-moment whims of the other novels. In addition, it was really a thought provoking book due to the death of Tibby and the things the girls went through. It made me really appreciate my life right now, and it made me want to do something more with my life, not just live to live (so cliché, I know). The only thing that I really have a complaint about is the characters. I just couldn't relate to them! Maybe it's because I'm not 29 and I haven't experienced a loss like that before, but throughout the book it blew my mind that they weren't doing what they wanted to do and that they were just so lost!

Have you read the Sisterhood series? Did you like the ending? Comment below!

Hope you liked this! School's almost done now (one day left!) so there will be many more book reviews and cool things coming. My family is traveling to Kaui soon, so I will have pictures, places we went, and everything else!

Au Revoir!

"And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." - C. S. Lewis

Story Time: A Trio of Driving Stories

Recently I've had some unfortunate driving incidents so I thought I would share some of my more memorable experiences with you guys. If you feel like you've made some stupid mistakes on the road, you are not alone.

The Life Flashes Before My Eyes Moment

About a week ago, I was about to take a left turn out of my neighborhood and onto a country road (45 mph), when I almost caused a major accident. There was a car behind me and that always makes me a little on edge, like I shouldn't be waiting for a long time to take my turn. There were two cars coming from the right, both of which I let pass. There were also a couple cars coming from the left. I thought I had enough time to take my turn before the car came, but apparently I didn't. I was pulling out and, boy, was that car comin' fast. It slammed on its breaks and honked its horn and, thankfully, I completed my turn, but if I had hesitated for just one more second, crash!!!! Needless to say, I was in shock the entire morning, continuously thanking God for keeping me safe, and wondering what would have happened if the crash had actually happened. Moral of the story: be safe, not sorry and if you are on a county road, do not take turns when cars are coming. 

The Stoplight Mishap 

This one happened on the drive home from school on the same day as the traumatizing experience relayed above. I was driving home (obviously) and I guess I wasn't paying very much attention. I could have sworn the light was red so I slowed down and stopped. Then I got lost in thought, as one does at stoplights, and I couldn't think of why the guy in the car on the perpendicular road was stopped. Suddenly, I heard a horn, I snapped out of it and resized that the light was in fact green! To make it worse there was a really long line of cars behind me! 

The Slippery Slope: A Theatrical Performance on Ice

Ahhh, one of the first experiences sliding on ice. Not so good times! Well, it was a dark and snowy night when a teenage girl (me) was driving to volunteer at her high school. I was almost to school when I noticed a line of cars slowing down by the railroad tracks. Not an uncommon occurrence. Only this time everyone stopped-- there had been an accident not twenty feet past the tracks. Of course, I slammed on my breaks when I found that everyone was stopping. And you know that little dip by railroad tracks leading up to them? Yeah, I was at the little dip part which didn't help for slowing down. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes as my car slowly skidded across the ice towards the back of the car in front of me. Thankfully, I stopped inches away from the car and narrowly avoided an accident!

I hope you guys enjoyed this! It's a little different, I've never shared stories like these on the Internet! I whole heartedly apologize for not posting for such a long time. Junior year is a beast, but just over a month left and then a normal posting schedule! Book reviews and summer things galore! Woohoo! Just a heads up, I will not be posting until after May 15th or so because I need to focus on school and tests. And for all you Bloglovin people out there, hello! and thanks for the over 260 followers!

Do you guys have any memorable driving incidents? What was the first time driving like for you?
Let me know in the comments!

Au Revoir!

"What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?" - John Green