Mundie Moms

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Book Review: A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies


Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: September 25th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It!


When she wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, Skye knows something terrible has happened to her. It's not until she hears Asher, the dark, rebellious angel she fell in love with, that the memories come flooding back. She tries to put the past behind her, but she knows she'll be forever haunted by the ruthless betrayal that almost took her life.

Skye returns home, but with the knowledge of who she really is, nothing can ever be the same. As she tests the limits of her newfound powers, Skye discovers that she's capable of far more than anyone could have imagined. Both the Order and the Rebellion want her for their side as war between the factions looms. She can't forget the terrifying truth she now knows about the Order, but something holds her back from embracing the Rebellion.

"A Fractured Light" picks up right after "A Beautiful Dark"'s shocking cliffhanger ending and is perfect for fans of Lauren Kate's "Fallen" and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush saga -quoted from Goodreads

An awesome sequel with a killer ending! Picking up right where A Beautiful Dark left off, A Fractured Light takes readers right back into Skye's world. I really enjoyed A Beautiful Dark, and I've been anxiously awaiting to pick up A Fractured Light to find out what happens. While I started off enjoying this book, I did have some back and forth feelings with this book while I read it. I started off really enjoying, and then somewhere during the middle of the book I feel to feeling like it was a good read. I don't know what changed for me. The writing was great, but there just something I felt was lacking a little bit. I think it fell into the "middle book" syndrome, but then towards the end some things happened, like a "holy crap, did he just do that, I didn't see that one coming" twist that got me all excited about this book again. Seriously, that ending was fabulous!

I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the Rebellion and the Guardians, as well as what Skye really is, what her powers can really do (though I think there's still a little bit more we'll learn about in the next book). I liked the surprise twists that come toward the end of the book in regards to what a few of the characters do, and the surprising revelation with one of them. I will say Jocelyn wrote that character perfectly, because I went back and forth on wondering if there was more to them than we get to read about, and I loved their reveal. Along with that, I also enjoyed getting to meet a new character, and finding out more of the back story between them and one of the other characters from book 1. I thought the direction that each of the characters grew in was very fitting for the storyline.

The romance..... I enjoyed it! I liked the direction that Skye and Asher's relationship goes in. I liked being able to see and understand that though Skye is still has a tiny soft spot for Devin, I knew that her feelings really lied with Asher and there was never really any competition as to who she was with and who she really loves. But, there's understandably some feelings she still has and her motives for wanting to keep Devin in her life made sense, especially after what he did to her and what she finds out about herself. Can I just say, WOW to what happens towards and at the end of this book! Seriously, there were some shocking twists that I didn't even see coming. Some of these characters actions totally surprised me. Can I have book three now please? 

If you were a fan of A Beautiful Dark, just wait till you read about all that happens in this book. I can hardly wait to read the final installment in this series, I have a feeling it's going to be incredible! I'd definitely recommend picking this book up. 

TMI Movie News: MTV Reveals the 1st Look of the TMI Movie Set


MTV News reveals the first look at the TMI movie set! Check it out here:


What do you guys think? I can't wait for August 23rd, 2013 to get here!

Thoughtful Thursday: October is BULLYING Prevention Month


October is Bullying Prevention month. Ironically it seems lately that bullying and hate are in the news and found on various social media sites more than ever before. At least to what I recall. It's with the political campaigns (the bashing of both candidates, their religious belief etc), it's against religious groups, athletes, actors/actress, authors, fandoms (fansites) and against various teens (see this news story about the town who rallied around the teenage girl pranked into being on the Homecoming court). It's against people who believe differently, look different, have a different sexual orientation. It's against those who stand up for something they feel is right or something they believe in (see the tragic story of this 14 yr old girl gunned down by the Taliban for taking a stand for her right). The list goes on and on. Bullying goes beyond the news stories. 

Bullying is an every day occurrence in towns all across America, and through out the world. It's happening in homes, in schools, on media outlets like Facebook (Cyberbullying), Tumblr, on blogs etc, and among fandoms, and towards those not in fandoms. 

Here's a sample of some stories in the news I read, all on the same day. It started with the tragic story of the 14 yr who was gunned down by the Taliban, then there was the slandering against Mitt Romney's religious beliefs, hatefully charged comments being said about Obama, the news reports about some sports fans cheering when their own quarterback who had not been playing well in a game was tackled and hurt, then there was a follow up article I read about a student who hard recently taken their own life, and then there was the shocking news story about all the hate actress Stacey Dash is receiving because she came out in support of Mitt Romney (read one of the articles on that here). So just what is bullying and why has it become such an epidemic? 

It seems lately that the lines are blurred with "bullying". People claiming they were just "joking" or "doing a prank" or "expressing their opinion" don't always see themselves as bullies. Some people don't understand that when their actions causes someone harm they are a bully. It seems that line between expressing one's opinion and threatening someone, or joking around and causing someone one harm has become blurred. There is a HUGE difference between sharing/expressing your opinion and personally attacking someone. There is a difference between not liking someone or finding their actions unacceptable and expressing that vs personally attacking them. 

When you personally attack someone you are being a bully, which can also referred to as being a hater. You don't need to threaten, attack (in any form), slander, call names to, post their address and threaten to kill someone, mock them, etc, etc to express your opinion. That's NOT expressing your opinion. That's bullying and being hateful towards someone. You don't have to like someone. You don't have to like their music or listen to it. You don't have to agree with someone's political views. You don't have to like the way someone looks or how they dress, or the way they do thing. You don't have to like the books an author writes or buy them, let alone read them. You certainly don't need to like the fandoms that come from someone's love of said books, or support the movies being made from those book.  You don't have to like those who don't like your favorite author or who don't like the fansites that start because of that. You don't have to like a certain sports team, or believe in the same religious beliefs someone else does. Heck you don't have to like anything about anyone if you don't want, and that's your right, but no one has the right to attack or threaten someone in any way, shape or form. You can express your distaste for something/someone without being hateful and becoming a bully. 

Bullying, according to Wikipedia is defined as: 

Bullying is the use of force or coercion to abuse or intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve an imbalance of social or physical power. It can include verbal harassment or threat, physical assault or coercion and may be directed repeatedly towards particular victims, perhaps on grounds of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ability.[2][3] The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a "target"

...... Bullying consists of three basic types of abuse – emotional, verbal, and physical. It typically involves subtle methods of coercion such as intimidation. 

I feel threats should be added to this definition. It is not okay for anyone to ever feel threatened. Whether those threats are done verbally or by posting their personal information on line, or what have you. That is not okay. Sadly often times suicide is linked by to bullying. Victims of bullying often times feel this is the last result for them to escape the constant attacks against them. We've all heard/read those horrific news stories about a teen or young person who took their own life because the bullying they endured was so much, they felt they couldn't escape it. Or there's those kids/teens who get attacked by a group of people because of something they said / did or didn't so or say, or maybe it's because they are gay. These incidents are not expressions of someone's opinion, these are full on bullying/hate attacks. I do not get why it's okay for another human being to hurt someone. Ever. In any form. It's not okay to make someone hate themselves so much they either contemplate suicide or they do commit it. Yes, it is that person's choice and not anyone else's when it comes to taking their life, but what that person needs is a strong support group around them of family and friends who love them, and take the time helping that suicidal friend/family member through their ordeal. 

Have you ever had a friend commit suicide? A family member? Have you yourself thought about? I have. I know what it's like to feel that void and try to come to terms with why a friend would take their life. Years and years later the why is still thought of. I know what it's like to have thoughts on why is life worth living when you hate yourself so bad because of the way people make you feel. 

But you know what, YOU ARE BETTER THAN THEM

They are not worth losing your life over. YOU have so much to live for. They can not take away your happiness. Fight back by not letting them get to you. Take a stand each day and tell yourself you can do it! You're not alone! If you feel like all hope is lost, TALK TO SOMEONE! Don't wait. Talk to a family member, a friend, anyone. Talk to someone you trust. Call the National Suicide Hotline Number- 1-800-273- TALK (8255). Just talk to someone, and hopefully that someone is a person you trust and know who will take action and get you the help and support you need. 

If you see someone being bullied, take a STAND! If you know someone who's contemplating suicide, help them get the support they need.  You can do more than you think you can in the aid to stop bullying. Together we can call put a stop to bullying by being aware of it, and doing something about it. 



Helpful Links:
Helpful Books for Teens: There are a lot of great books out there that talk about bullying. Here's a few that came to mind and a couple links from publishers and book sellers about bullying
Other Blog Posts about Bullying: Through out the month as I find more articles blogger friends write about bullying I'll add them to this list.
* - indicate books I've read and highly recommend picking up
All images were found on google.
Any hateful comments will be deleted.

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