What if, in our stories, girls found the King of Kings
rather than Prince Charming?
What if our fairytales told of truer love?
What if Cinderella prayed?

What if Snow White was by grace saved?
What if fairy godmothers
said wishes couldn’t always come true
but there’s a God above looking out for you?
What if princess wasn’t the goal,
but it was said being a servant to God could make one whole?
What if evil stepmothers repented their sins,
reforming into the beacons of light they always could’ve been?
What if Disney heroines weren’t beautiful, all the same?

What if they were like real girls,
beautiful in their own ways?
What if Barbies stopped fighting over Ken
and fought for something better than men?
What if makeup wasn’t considered play?

What if girls knew the way they looked would always be okay?
Would girls hurt less when the guy in homeroom didn’t know their name?
Would they know “alone” isn’t really alone?
Would it carry less shame?
Would things not be the same?

Would they more often put their hope in more?
Would it change what we are striving for?

Paige Railstone!

So I am probably going to sound like such a poser, jumping on the Paige Railstone bandwagon (tons of people have these past few days), but I couldn't help but get interested in this underground phenom. Paige Railstone, for those of you not in the know, is an awesome DJ, but I find her as a person more interesting than her music. She's had such an exciting life, and she's only 22. She ran away to New York City at fourteen, where she started on her DJ career. Now she basically roams the world, going to small clubs, doing sweet musical mash-ups, living in hotels. She's also just an eloquent, articulate person.. She seems so smart, and I love this quotes of hers: "Sometimes I am Canadian, sometimes European, sometimes African, sometimes Asian. In this world, it is not enough to be who you are. You must also be where you are."

One of my much cooler friends downloaded her debut CD Off the Railstone, which is coming out from DFTBA records, and her music is perfect to dance to! I was grooving around my room to it. Apparently, Paige sings and plays instruments too, though she's very private about it; I'm really curious to hear what her own music sounds like, since she seems to have really natural creative sensibilities.

John Green, YA author, is actually a big fan, and he explains Paige's appeal perfectly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPUNgDh__8. Check it out for more information.

Looking for a roarmantic read?

Or okay, in regular terms, a romantic read?

I suggest Beastly by Alex Flinn. It's a modernized retelling of Beauty and the Beast. In it, the popular, gorgeous, and pretty darn mean Kyle Kingsbury is transformed into a beast by a witch. Because of his one act of kindness, he is given a chance to escape the curse: he has two years to kiss someone and have it be true love. This is pretty difficult, seeing as he's monstrous looking and can't even leave the house. That is, until he discovers a way to have Lindy, a sweet, plain scholarship student Kyle once would've overlooked, stay with him...The book is cute and romantic. It was a touch predictable, but it had enough to make it unique. For example, I loved all the transfiguration chatroom stuff. This book even made me cry a little bit, though I don't guarantee you the same results; I can be pretty sappy. If you do decide to give Beastly a try, bear with Kyle in the beginning, since he's a major jerk. Trust me, though, he has a very rewarding transformation.

Other people must have seen what I saw in the book, since it's being turned into a movie, due out in 2010. I'm so excited about Neil Patrick Harris's involvement; he'll be playing Kyle's blind tutor Will. Knowing Neil Patrick Harris, he'll be perfect at the part. Playing Kyle is Alex Pettyfer. He was in the Alex Rider movie, if anyone's seen that. He's pretty gorgeous, so I see that working, though I'm not too sure about his acting ability yet. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I am a bit worried, however, about the picture I've found of him in presumably his beast state, which I've included in the post. It doesn't strike me as quite beastly enough. The author describes him as having hair all over and looking less human. I pictured him looking a bit more werewolf like. Anyway, Mary Kate Olsen is also in the movie, playing the witch. The person that gives me most pause is Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy. I'm not a huge Vanessa fan, and I can't picture her as the character at all. In the book, Lindy is a plain and sweet rehead.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see, right? With most of these movie adaptions, you have to accept the movie as a seperate entity from the book, which reminds me, I'm off to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the second time today. WOOO!

Summer Reading

It's been forever since I've posted. I got caught up in the busyness of school--and then in the laziness of summer! I've finally decided to grace you all with my posting, though. (Ha, yeah, right, if anybody out there is reading.)

The topic for my first post back?

Summer reading.

And, for the beginning of this post at least, I'm not talking about the fun, beach kind. I'm talking about required-by-school kind. I have four books to read this summer: Crime and Punishment, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Awakening, and Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. As of this post, one down, three to go. I'm currently trudging through Crime and Punishment, and I've got to say, I'm not exactly riveted. I want to like classics. I really do. It just hardly ever ends up happening. I keep wondering to myself if the authors even tried to be slightly entertaining.

Anyone else struggling through summer reading? Or do you have opinions on any of the books I'm reading this summer? I'd love to hear them!

Amidst all the school reading, though, I have had time for one fun book: Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. I stayed up til almost 3 reading it last night. It was adorable and a fun, quick read! I loved seeing the contemporary character in that historical setting, and I also loved the romance. I recommend it!

Imagining Others

I just finished reading Paper Towns by John Green this evening, which I really enjoyed. It was thoughtful, funny, and at some points, quite heartbreaking. Plus, it's by John Green, who, if you've ever seen his videos on YouTube, is totally hilarious. NERDFIGHTERS! DFTBA!

Erm, anyway...the book talks a lot about imagining other people, and if we're able to ever really fully imagine other people, and when we can imagine them best, and how sometimes we're just in love with the idea of a person rather than a person itself. All of this I find rather fascinating, by the way. The fact that we're all in our own shells and we'll always only ever be us, but at the same time, we rely so much on our connections with other people--that these are what make our life full. In fact, wanting to get into someone else's head is one of my main motivators for writing.

One of the scenes I liked in the book was when the main character, Quentin, and his friends were on a road trip. They were playing a game they made up called That Guy is a Gigolo (which is a great name for a game, by the way) where you basically see random people and imagine who they are...what their story is. I can't help but do this sometimes, especially when I see people walking alongside a highway or doing something otherwise strange. Usually my ideas of their lives are somewhat romanticized or melodramatic, and that comes into play in the book too: sometimes what you imagine about others shows more about you than it does about them.

Anyone else like thinking about the possible lives of strangers?

Oh, and speaking of Paper Towns, which cover did you prefer? I read the sad one, but I didn't have much choice in the matter, since I just got the library system to send me a copy. I really can't wait to see what they do cover-wise with the paperback version!

Emotional Investment

In almost all forms of entertainment, emotional investment seems to be key. I know I talked about American Idol earlier, and I'm not going to bore you with more American Idol details, but let's just say, I'm emotionally invested in one of the contestants (ANOOP!) and that's why I keep tuning in. Books are pretty similar. To keep turning the pages, or buying books in a series, you have to be emotionally invested in at least one character.

One series I was emotionally invested in--along with, like, half the world--was Harry Potter. While I, of course, was just as interested in Harry and his quests as everyone else, my most genuine emotional investment involved Hermione and Ron. I think it's because I could really relate to Hermione. I have the bushy brown hair and everything! Since book four or so, I've been on the edge of my seat, waiting for Ron and Hermione to finally be together.

Another book I was emotionally invested in was The Catcher in the Rye. Again, it was the relatability and sympathy of Holden that made me feel this way. I wanted him to not be so lost. I wanted things to be okay for him.

More recently, I just finished reading Jellicoe Road (which is the book I was talking about in my last post). In the beginning of the book, I was not as invested in the main character, Taylor, but by the end, I cared so much about her. I was outraged when she didn't get the information she deserved and was devestated along with her at a disaster towards the end. The book, overall, was very good by the way, and I highly reccomend it.

What are some books you all were emotionally invested in, and what do you think makes you emotionally invest in a book or a character?

Puzzle Pieces

I'm reading a YA book right now that's interesting to say the least. The beginning is confusing, but not in a badly written way. It's more like the author is scattering the puzzle pieces for later on in the book when the reader starts putting them together. I'm far enough in the book that a lot of the things that had me scratching my head earlier on are starting to make sense. Since I'm not done reading it yet, I don't have any official review of the book for you guys, but it sure is intriguing!

What do you guys think of these "puzzle piece" kind of books?

And can anyone guess what book I'm reading? It's fairly big in the YA world...at least when it comes to winning awards. Hint, hint.