Out of the Ordinary

This is a piece of writing I've been working on. This is just a small excerpt from the intro. I was wondering if you would all give me your feedback? Just give me your honest opinion of what you think of it. And if pressed, I may post more.

***

It was impossible to sleep with so much rain pouring down on the roof, and the thunder wasn't really helping either. But with each flash of lightning, Silas found it impossible to keep her eyes shut.
Letting out a disgruntled sigh, she forced herself to sit upright and pulled the sheets around her body. Her husband, Tyrell, was asleep in the bed next to her, sounding like an obnoxious bugler from summer camp with those monstrous snores. Usually Silas slept right through Tyrell's nightly charade but combined with the thunder storm it was just too much tonight. She envied the way he could sleep through anything, and wished she had the same gift.
Leaning her head back against the headboard, her eyes slid shut for a mere second -- but it was just long enough. A flash of lightning. Roaring thunder. And suddenly she was out in the rain, running through a field in her bare feet.
"Sienna, stop!" her mother called. "Come inside! I don't want you getting struck by lightning!"
Sienna giggled, running further as the rain poured down on her springy curls -- she was only four years old.
"But momma! I love the rain!" Another giggled escaping, she twirled around in the downpour, puddles unable to avoid her splashing step.
The woman she called her mother laughed lightly, a small smile slipping past her lips. She was enjoying the fun her daughter was having, momentarily forgetting any dangers.
She watched as Sienna threw her arms toward the sky, begging. More thunder. More rain. Lightning searching for a way to meet the ground, and finding a little girl in a wide open field just far away enough from her house that it was too lazy to travel that much further. Sienna gasped in shock as she was struck. The lightning barely shocked her, feeling a little weary from its search for a conducter. Oblivious to her mother's screams and the fact that she had come this close to harm, she clapped her hands and laughed up at the sky, wanting more. but she wouldn't get it, for her mother had swept her into her arms and was running toward the house screaming for her husband to call the doctor.
With another flash of lightning, the memory faded. Silas was shaking, her breathing off, her mind racing. What had just happened? That memory was hers, it was so real . . . but her name wasn't Sienna. That woman wasn't her mother. She had never been anywhere that it would rain or storm so crazily. And yet it all seemed so familiar. . .
"Tyrell." She shook her husband gently, her mind in a panic. What was happening? She didn't feel well at all, and felt like something was horribly wrong.
"Hm?" Tyrell grumbled, slowly coming to. "What is it?" he grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I feel sick --" She slumped over onto the bed, unconscious.


--Sadie

Maggie by Charles Martin

***SPOILERS***

DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ 'THE DEAD DON'T DANCE'

This book is the sequel to The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin. 

"When Maggie opened her eyes that New Year's Day some seventeen months ago, I felt like I could see again. The fog lifted off my soul, and for the first time since our son had died and she had gone to sleep-some four months, sixteen days, eighteen hours, and nineteen minutes earlier-I took a breath deep enough to fill both my lungs."


Life began again for Dylan Styles when his beloved wife Maggie awoke from a coma. A coma brought on by the intense two-day labor that resulted in heartbreaking loss. In this poignant love story that is redolent with Southern atmosphere, Dylan and Maggie must come to terms with their past before they can embrace their future.

http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Awakening-Series-Charles-Martin/dp/1595540555/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330722195&sr=1-1


This book was definitely as good as the first one. It had a very satisfactory ending, and stayed just as realistic (for the most part) as the first one. It didn't ruin the series or the first book in my opinion, and felt like the perfect second half of their story. I don't think it could have finished in a better way.

So read it and let me know what you think!

--Sadie 

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin

A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he's lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever--or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

The Dead Don't Dance is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's spiritual journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope.

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dont-Dance-Awakening-Series/dp/B002MAQSN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330721799&sr=8-1

I really enjoyed reading this book.  The cover and the title sounded a little strange at first glance, but the book is nothing like it might appear (or sound). This is one of those times where judging a book by its cover is no bueno.

I loved how real the characters were, how there wasn't anything inappropriate (except maybe some mild swearing), the plot-line, and over-all reality of the book. I finished it in one day, and went and checked out the second one the moment I got back to school. It kept me flipping its pages, wanting to know what would happen, how the problem would be solved and IF it would be.

I definitely recommend this book to both guys and girls -- the main character is a man (and so is the author), and it's not too cheesy -- I wouldn't characterize it as a "chick-flick."

So go out there and read it! And let me know what you think.

"For you, a thousand times over." - The Kite Runner

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Recommendation

Well, I have a stealer suggestion for all you fellow lovers of literature!

I'm assuming that because we all like to read, this entails that we all love buying books as well. And what could be better than finding quality books for a killer price?

Of course, this bargain store came as a recommendation from my fellow mute author, Kelsey (mute because she never posts on here -- not a literal mute). And some of you may have heard of this place before. See, I've been to said store many times, but never once thought of buying books there until Kelsey told me all the awesome books she found.

Stealer Book Store? D.I. (Deseret Industries)

They have tons of awesome books all in a fairly good condition or even practically new, and for really cheap! I haven't found one over five dollars. In fact, I think the most expensive was $4.00, and the cheapest was$0.75. I know. Such a great deal!

You can look up the location nearest you on the internet, and I hope you find some awesome books!

Happy Book Shopping!

--Sadie

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

http://www.kathrynstockett.com/stockett-synopsis.htm

Read this book. It really helped me imagine just how horrible it must have been to live in those times when African-Americans never got a break from racial oppression. I can't imagine having lived in those times -- it makes no sense to me why they should be treated as if they're animals just because their skin isn't white. There's a reason I didn't live back then.

This book really touched me -- yes, it made me cry. I also recommend that you watch the movie, because both the book and the movie are amazing. The movie made me cry as well.

The movie is at redbox and probably on Netflix too for all you movie lovers out there. So go read the book and then watch the movie! You're in for an incredible journey.

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Fail

Of course folks, why should you be surprised? As usual, I have failed to stick to my schedule. The Checklist Manifesto was not the first book I read in 2012, nor was it the second. But I'm going to read it -- I'm on Chapter 5 -- and you WILL see a post on here about it!

So do not lose heart! :)

--Sadie

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, okay, Twilight haters out there, don't freak out. Twilight lovers: listen in! I have found a book to beat even the guile and wisdom of romantic fantasy author Stephenie Meyer.

My good friend Hayleigh recommended this book to me, and gave the forewarning of maybe seeming a little Twilight-ish (this coming from the girl who loves making fun of that series with me; no offense). All forewarning ahead of me, I read it anyway! And I'm really glad I did. I loved this book, and I definitely think you should read it. It gives a practical personality for both Sam and Grace and I couldn't help falling in love with the story. I couldn't put the first book down and I immediately went to Hayleigh for the second one right after I finished it! And now I am in search for the rest of the series.

Anywho, I definitely recommend it to any fantasy or romance lovers out there, or even anyone in search of a new book to read!

Synopsis:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

http://maggiestiefvater.com/shiver/books/

First book in the series: Shiver
Followed by: Linger
              and Forever

Don't be thrown off by the fact that there are wolves and even possibly werewolves -- it's not one of those weird animals talking romance kind of books I promise. I was a little weird-ed out by the synopsis on the book and the mention of a girl possibly falling in love with a wolf, but it turned out much better than I expected.

So go read it! Let me know what you think.

Peace Like A River,

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars