Coral Amber

Foiled by Jane Yolen


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This graphic novel is about a high school girl who is an avid fencer. She feels she doesn’t fit in socially, but focuses on her sport and spending time with her cousin. Things begin to change for her when her mother finds her a new practice fencing foil at a yard sale, a new, cute boy becomes her lab partner at school, and she begins to see color even though she has always been colorblind.

I enjoyed the strong female character and the supernatural elements, but the narrative style was a little different. It had a lot of exposition and flashback that explained how the girl ended up at the point in the book where the actions starts. Unfortunately, the real action is over very quickly after that.

I also disliked how this book alluded to a deeper story that could be uncovered in a later book, but wrapped things up in a way that I wasn’t sure one was going to be published. The odd thing is that if this was a movie, a good director would make all the pacing and flashbacks work well and the book would be a decent first chunk of a movie. I enjoyed a lot of how the artwork was drawn dynamically from interesting points of view, but it could have worked even better in a larger format.

I liked this book, but didn’t love it. I could see it growing on me if further volumes were released to continue the story.

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White Cat by Holly Black


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
White Cat is the first book in a new series about curse workers. It takes place in an alternate reality where some people can manipulate certain things by just touching them with their hands. With just a touch, someone could change your luck, emotions, dreams, or memories. They could break your leg, kill you, or transform you into a cardboard box with nothing more than their pinkie finger. Naturally, everyone wears gloves as a precaution. Magic is illegal, but large crime families control most of the underground magic workers.

The story centers on a teen who is the only non magical person in his entire family. Cassel tries desperately to try to be normal at an elite prep school while the rest of his family works for the mob or is currently in jail for running cons. He has a horrible secret that has nothing to do with magic. He does fine until a strange dream causes him to sleepwalk right onto the school roof. Thinking Cassel was trying to kill himself, the school administration decides he has to leave campus, and his “normal” life to stay with his estranged family.

Cassel begins desperately trying to con his way back into school and deal with his meddling family. The more time he spends digging through his past, the further away his normal life becomes.

The magical elements in this book add a great layer to the usual story of a teen trying to deal with an adult world. He’s an outsider in his own family and has trouble making real connections with others. The stakes get larger and larger as his past, the criminal underworld, and magic collide. I liked that the book was realistic in the way it dealt with people and relationships and didn’t sugarcoat much. Things keep getting thrown at Cassel and he keeps trying to deal with it the best he can, but things don’t go the way anyone expects in the end.

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Libyrinth by Pearl North


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Far in the future a unique girl lives in the Libyrinth, a giant building with mazes of shelves that hold more books than can be counted. Haly has a secret and she is afraid of what will happen if they find out that she can hear the books. All around her, books tell her their stories in their own voices without having to be opened and read. She can even hear the books saying their last, as they are burned by the Eradicators.

The Libyrinthians believe that the written word should be preserved and studied and knowledge is their commodity. The Singers (Eradicators) believe the written word is dead and that knowledge is best remembered and shared in song. There is also a power struggle with nearby literate kingdoms, the Singers who have more advanced technology, and the illiterate peasants that populate small villages that believe in the Song.

If you like a little bit of sci-fi and a little bit of fantasy, this book has both. It takes place in a society where technology advanced far beyond today, but was somehow lost and forgotten. The people have split into societies with vastly different beliefs on knowledge and how it should be treated. When different people are thrust into unfamiliar societies they learn the world is not as they were brought up to believe. They discover unknown pain, horrors, wonders, and beauty, but will anyone see home again when secret forces are set on eradicating the Libyrinth?

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Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another fun book, political issues and personal issues collide now that the two-natured are out. Someone is trying to get Sookie in trouble (again), but it could be any of the many people and supernatural beings that aren’t so fond of our heroine. Luckily Sookie has some family and friends to keep her grounded. The author stays true to her characters that are trying to make the best of a bad (supernatural) situation and establish a “normal” life. Sookie’s sex life is important but not (too) graphic. I feel a couple things were kind of wrapped up quickly in the end, but there can’t be too many cliffhangers or the book wouldn’t feel finished. It was a quick and enjoyable read that I couldn’t wait to get back to anytime I stopped.

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Over the weekend, I bought what can only be called “mom jeans.” They have a comfort-no-gap streatch waistband that reaches my navel. Of course, they bring back brain flinching memories of being called “Urkel” in junior high, but I actually sought them out on purpose. The weight I gained since last time I bought jeans has caused all my lower rise pants to give me a delectable muffin top that I secretly fear will someday land me on peopleofwalmart.com. These high-waisted wonders slim the bulge without cutting into me and make me look taller and leaner. So, in the fight between sweating to the oldies and and shopping with the oldies, laziness has won out for now, but there maybe a rematch this summer.

I spent a lot of time last summer interning at a library to finish my LTA degree. I decided to create the visual part of my final presentation as if it were an undercover spy’s dossier. I might not have finished on time except the due date was pushed back a week at the last minute. Let me know what you think!

Well, sugar cookies shaped like cherry blossoms anyway. My friend and I decided to try out my new cherry blossom shaped cookie cutters to make these delicious treats.

That’s me getting covered in flour while rolling and cutting the dough into cute blossoms.

A closer shot at the shape of the raw dough.

I’m smiling at these cookies because I managed not to burn them. They are happy survivors.

Oh wow, they puffed up so big!

I decided to recut the freshly baked cookies so they kept the stylized cherry blossom shape.

We had fun decorating with different colored icing and blingy crystal sugar sparkles. I kept the super big one all for myself. :-9

I have a lot of projects I’ve done for my library technical assistant classes and I wanted to show them off in a fun way. I created an online portfolio in scrapblog with pictures, videos, and links to my written projects. This took me about a week to make, working a few hours (or more) a day, but I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these creative projects. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Yoda is a four eared cat who has become an internet star since his pictures were posted on the internet by his owner. He isn’t the only genetic anomaly among cats, many can be found with extra toes or ears, but he is one of the cutest. He was also a stray before he was taken in by his loving family and given his fitting name. They found him in an alley by a bar while watching a bears game. He’s quite possibly the coolest cat I’ve seen in a while.

While I’m not a girly-girl by any means, I have trouble not liking anything cherry blossom inspired. Their fleeting beauty in the spring makes me want to celebrate all year long. They are becoming such a popular theme that a resourceful internet search can yeild some classy jewelry online that’s still within a reasonable price range. Here are some of my favorites that are unique and sparkly.
On the right is an adorable ring I found on Amazon that started me on my quest to find more sakura bling. It’s a wrap around ring made with cubic zirconian stones to resemble a single branch.
For a more organic look, I like this ring that has an entire cherry tree branch filled with tiny pink blossoms. I found it on a British website and every customer had rave reviews for it, saying they got complimented whenever they wore it. That was enough to make me very envious.
The Japanese icon for the cherry blossom is a stylized blossom with notches cut out of the petals. This lariat necklace is my favorite representation of that style with both a full blossom and blossom outline. It looks so similar to the blossoms on a retro travel poster I have. It’s a custom piece, so it requires a little more effort to get one, but I think it would be well worth it, don’t you?
Finally, if you need something more glamorous for a more formal occasion, I suggest these cherry blossom earrings made with Swarovski crystal. I found these on Amazon and somewhere there is a matching necklace, but I didn’t like it quite as much as these elegant and simple earrings.
These are my favorite pieces from around the web, but if you find some you like please leave a link in the comments. Who can wait for spring to see the cherry blossoms again?