where she went

At first I was a little disappointed to find that this book was told from Adam’s perspective because I really loved Mia so much, but getting into it I don’t think I would have changed one single thing.

This book as was its predecessor was perfect.  (If you haven’t read If I Stay stop reading this review right now and go get it!  I will now be spoiling If I Stay).  It’s been three years since Mia lost her entire family in a horrific car accident.  Three years since she woke up in the hospital and began her life again.  Three years since she walked away from Adam and everything she knew in Oregon.

Adam’s band Shooting Star is now a worldwide sensation, but Adam finds little pleasure in the fame and even in the music.  Wandering around New York trying to escape his demons and fears he finds himself in front of an auditorium featuring none other than Mia.  Before he realizes it he finds himself in Mia’s company one more time for one day before each sets out for their own separate tours.

While this book didn’t have the same heart stopping intenseness than If I Stay had it had it’s own version of intensity.  The writing is just as haunting and real.  I can’t express how much I loved this book despite thinking I wouldn’t.

The writing is amazing.  The only thing I found out of place were the snippets of lyrics from Shooting Star’s breakthrough CD, written by Adam during his dark time.  They weren’t that spectacular, they didn’t speak to me the way they should have.

**********a couple of quotes, slightly spoiler-ish**********

Just like in If I Stay there were moments that I had to stop and write down so I could remember them.  Here’s two:

“I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me.  And maybe that was the seed of it, but from that one little seed grew this tumor of a flowering plant.  And I’m the one who nurtures it.  I water it.  I care for it.  I nibble from its poison berries.  I let it wrap around my neck, choking the air right out of me.  I’ve done that.  All by myself.  All to myself.”

“It felt like a gift.  From them.  For my first recital ever, they gave me a cello.  And for this one, they gave me you.”

Seriously people, go read these books.

just a bit of amazing

Only 2/3 of the way through the book so far.  Y’all know how I felt about If I Stay and while this one is different it’s still pretty powerful.  I leave you with this bit of the book that I love.  Maybe it won’t make too much sense to you, especially if you haven’t read If I Stay, but it brought a hitch to my breath.

“Can you hear them now?”
She pauses, listens, nods.
“What are they saying?”
“They’re saying it’s so good to see you, Adam.”

Music Makes the World Go Round

Some of my favorite quotes are from songs.  After all, aren't lyrics just poetry set to music?  I think so.  And because I'm being lazy, I'm crediting the singer and not necessarily the songwriter because I am lazy.

'Take your records, take your freedom, take your memories I don't need them.  Take your space and all your reason, but you'll think of me.'  -Keith Urban, You'll Think of Me

'I've thrown away everything I've written you.  Anything just to keep my mind from thinking how I had you once, oh I can't forget that.  Sometimes I wish I could lose you again.'  -Jimmy Eat World, Your House

'See I'm all about them words, over numbers, unencumbered, numbered words.  Hundreds of pages, pages, pages more words, more words than I have ever heard and I feel so alive.  'Cause you and I both loved what I spoke of and others just read of, others just read of.'  -Jason Mraz, You & I Both

'I will meet you in some place where the light lends itself to soft repose.  I will let you undress me, but I warn you I have thorns like any rose.  And you could hurt me with your bare hands.  You could hurt me using the sharp end of what you say.  I am lost to you now.  There's no amount of reason to save me.'  -Jewel, Break Me

'Her feelings she hides.  Her dreams she can't find.  She's losing her mind.  She's falling behind.  She can't find her place.  She's losing her faith.  She's fallen from grace.  She's all over the place.'  -Avril Lavigne, Nobody's Home

'And I see you fogging up the mirror, vapor round your body glistens in the shower and I wanna stay right here and go down on you for an hour.'  -Third Eye Blind, Blinded

'I don't wanna waste another moment saying things we never meant to say.'  -Michelle Branch, Breathe

'Home is a feeling I buried in you.  I'm all right.  It only hurts when I breathe.'  -Melissa Etheridge, Breathe

'I've been everybody else now I wanna be something closer to myself.'  -Kendall Payne, Closer to Myself

'I'll get past what was if I live long enough.'  -LeAnn Rimes, One of These Days

'You hurt me more than I ever would have imagined.  You made my world stand still and in that stillness there was a freedome I never felt before.'  -Sarah McLachlan, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

'What will it do to me knowing we'll always be under one sun.'  -Zoppi, One Sun

'If I am another waste of everything you dreamed of I will let you down.'  -Nine Days, If I Am

''Cause you can't make somebody see with the simple words you say.  All the beauty from within, sometimes they just look away.'  -Martina McBride, Good Bye

'Oh God, if you're out there won't you hear me?  I know that we've never talked before.  Oh God, the man I love is leaving.  Won't you take him when he comes to your door?'  -Sarah McLachlan, Hold On

'There it was there, baby you peed my name in the snow.'  -Bif Naked, Anything

So I'm going to start doing these every other week instead of every week.  I don't want to run out of quotes, you know?

Why Kevin Smith is So Rad, Part I

I was going to do a quote post dedicated to the awesomeness that is Kevin Smith, but I have a lot of quotes and some a really long because well, sometimes Kevin lets his characters go on for awhile.  I’ve decided to do numerous Kevin Smith quote posts and this one is just one quote from Chasing Amy, which is most definitely my second favorite Kevin Smith movie.  What’s my favorite, you ask?  You’ll find out another time oh curious friends of mine!

‘Why me, you know?  Why now?’

‘Well, why not you?’

‘Well, I’m a guy.  You’re attracted to girls.’

‘I see you’ve been taking notes.  Historically yes, that’s true.’

‘Then why this?’

‘Well, I’ve given that a lot of thought, you know?  I mean now that I’m being ostracized by my friends I’ve had plenty of time to think about it and what I’ve come up with is really simple.  I came to this on my own terms, you know?  I didn’t just heed what I was taught – men and women should be together, just the natural way – that kind of thing.  I’m not with you because of what family, society, life tried to instill in me from day one.  The way the world is, how seldom it is that you meet that one person who just gets you … it’s so rare.  My parents didn’t really have it.  There were no examples set for me in the world of male/female relationships and to cut one’s self off from finding that person, to immediately half your options by eliminating the possibility of finding that one person within your own gender, that just seemed stupid to me.  So I didn’t.  But then you came along.  You, the one least likely.  I mean you were a guy.’

‘Still am.’

‘And while I was falling for you I put a ceiling on that because you were a guy.  Until I remembered why I opened the door to women in the first place.  To not limit the likelihood of finding the one person who’d compliment me so completely.  So here we are.  I was thorough when I looked for you and I feel justified lying in your arms ‘cause I got here on my own terms and I have no questions there was someplace I didn’t look and for me that makes all the difference.’
-Holden & Alyssa

Why Joss Whedon is So Rad

Anyone who knows me knows that I ♥ Buffy Summers.  She is my all time favorite ass-kicking heroine.  I have multitudes of Buffy paraphernalia including (but not limited to) The Chosen Collection DVD box set of the complete series, many, many BTVS comic books, the trading cards, and of course, these bad girls:

Aren’t they so fabulous?

So here’s a Quote Day dedicated to Buffy.

'Does looking at guns make you want to have sex?'
'I'm 17.  Looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex.'
-Cordelia & Xander

'I have my pride.  Okay.  I don't have a lot of my pride, but I have enough so that I can't do this.'
-Xander

'You're looking at my neck!'
'What?'
'You were checking out my neck!  I saw that!'
'No, I wasn't.'
'Just keep your distance pal.'
'I wasn't checking out your neck.'
'I told you to eat before we left.'
-Xander & Angel

'Passion.  It lies in all of us.  Sleeping, waiting and though unwanted, unbidden it will stir, open its jaws and howl.'
-Angel

'A vampire in love with a slayer.  It's rather poetic.'
-Giles

'Ooh gang, did you hear that?  A bonus day of class plus Cordelia.  Mix in a little rectal surgery and it's my best day ever!
-Xander

'I've had it!  Spike is going down!  You can attack me, you can send assassins after me, that's fine, but nobody messes with my boyfriend.'
-Buffy

'A black eye heals, but cowardice has an unlimited shelf life.'
-Xander

'There are some things I can just smell.  It's like a sixth sense.'
'No, actually that would be one of the five.'
-Principal Snyder & Giles

'Well, every school has them.  See, you start a new school, you get your desks, some blackboards and some mean kids.'
-Xander

'So are we going Bronzing tonight?  Or, of course, we could take a hammer and pound our enemies into talcum powder, but darn it, we did that last night!'
-Xander

'I don't like vampires.  I'm going to take a stand and say they're not good.'
-Xander

'I think I speak for everyone when I say, huh?'
-Buffy

'We saved the world.  I say we have a party.'
-Buffy

'It's like this dream I had about Xander except that it wasn't about Xander, it was about someone else and it wasn't even me, it was a friend of mine and ... she doesn't remember it!'
-Willow

'It must have been wonderful.  To put on some fantabulous gown and go to a ball like a princess.  And have horses and servants and yet more gowns!'
-Buffy

'We're right behind you, only further back.'
-Xander

'I knew it!  Not in the sense that I had the slightest idea what was going on, but I knew there was something I didn't know!'
-Willow

'What are you doing here?  Five words or less.'
'Out. For. A. Walk. ... Bitch.'
-Buffy & Spike

'Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals on legs.'
-Spike

OK.  That's enough for now.  I guess I'll save the rest for another day!

Happy Love Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!  Here’s some quotes on love and kisses to get you through the day!

‘People who throw kisses are mighty, hopelessly lazy.’ – Bob Hope

‘Her lips on his could tell him better than all her stumbling words.’ – Margaret Mitchell

‘You are always new.  The last of your kisses was ever the sweetest …’ – John Keats

'Love is an illusion.'
'It's the only illusion that counts, my friend.'
'Says who?'
'Anyone who's ever been in love.'
'Love sucks.'
'So does your attitude.'
-Kirbo & Kevin, St. Elmo's Fire

‘A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.’ – Ingrid Bergman

‘… the kisses, which bring me back to life.’ – George Sand

‘Love Never Dies.’ – Tagline from Dracula

‘When kissing a cowboy in the rain, make sure you both fit under his hat.’ – A Cowgirls’ Guide to Life

‘I know my love is not worthy of you.  It’s just like reaching for a star.  You know you’ll never touch it, but you’ll always keep trying.  That’s why I wanted you to have this.  No strings attached.  Just the one attached to my heart.’ – Steve Urkel, Family Matters

‘I have found men who didn’t know how to kiss.  I’ve always found time to teach them.’ – Mae West
‘may you live for a thousand years and I be there to count them.’ – Robert Smith Surtees

‘Women still remember the first kiss after men have forgotten the last.’ – Remy de Gourmont

‘Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.’ – Percy Bysshe Shelley

‘A kiss is something you cannot give without taking and cannot take without giving.’ – Anonymous

‘We kiss.  And it feels like we have just shrugged off the world.’ – Jim Shahin

‘Kissing power is stonger than willpower.’ – Abigail van Buren

‘Sky and sea keep harm from me.  Earth and fire bring my desire.’ – L.J. Smith

‘I want to live and breathe you.  I want to hold you for hours and talk about nothing.  I want to lie next to you for days and forget where I am and I want to not know where I end and you begin.’ – Isabel, Relativity

That's it for today people.  Go out and kiss someone!

Say What?

I’ve always ‘collected’ quotes.  Anytime I heard or read something funny or poignant, something that moved me in some way I would jot it down somewhere.  So every Monday I’m going to post some quotes that I’ve loved over the years.

When I worked at Cucina! Cucina! (Macaroni Grill before there was Macaroni Grill) we had to have some sort of neckwear that ‘told a story’ about us.  It was the lamest thing ever.  Think Joanna and her 37 pieces of flair in Office Space.  Yeah, lame.  So I wrote out a bunch of quotes on index cards, strung them through some ribbon and wore that around my neck.  That lasted awhile until I finally gave up and walked around with a tiny bottle of vodka instead.  Hey, they were refillable.

So here’s my Cucina flair.

‘Anything less than mad, passionate, extraordinary love is a waste of time.  I mean, there are too many mediocre things in life and love shouldn’t be one of them.’ – Frankie, Dream for an Insomniac

‘Foolin’ a man ain’t all that hard.  Finding one that ain’t a fool is a lot harder.’ – A Cowgirl’s Guide to Life

‘I can walk like a man, but I’m not one.’ – Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

‘Yep, vampires and real.  A lot of them live in Sunnydale.  Willow will fill you in.’ ‘I know, it’s hard to accept at first.’ ‘Actually, it explains a lot.’ – Xander, Willow & Oz, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

‘If not for bravery the soul would surely die.’ – Richard Marx

‘It’s time for me to act like a man … and hide.’ – Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

‘and I would stand inside my hell and hold the hand of death just to reach you.’ – Melissa Etheridge

‘To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.’ –Gautier

‘…once he drew with one long kiss my whole soul thru my lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.’ – Alfred, Lord Tennyson

‘I never thought I was worth anything until I met Ricky, but I never believed I was anything until I died.’ – Darby, Second Noah

‘I laugh in the face of danger.  Then I hide until it goes away.’ – Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

‘Troy, aren’t you excited?!’ ‘I’m bursting with fruit flavor.’ – Lelana & Troy, Reality Bites