From The Stacks - The Overnight Socialite

By: Bridie Clark



Synopsis

Have you ever read Pygmalion or seen My Fair Lady? Well then, you know the basic plot of this book. Lucy Jo Ellis is a girl from small town Minnesota who moves to NYC in pursuit of her dreams of being a fashion designer. Wyatt Hayes IV is wealthy, man about town whose family has reigned over New York for generations. He encounters Lucy and decides to pass her off as the new society “it girl”.

What separates this version of the story from others is not only the setting and the characters but also the subplots. I also learned a lot about the fashion industry.

Why I Like It

It simply boils down to fun characters in interesting situations. All of the characters have full personalities, some may even say over the top. They made the story interesting.

Why I Don’t

The abrupt ending of the book. All of a sudden it was done. I didn’t think there was real conclusion. A couple of relationships were left hanging. Do E and T end up together? What about L and W? The ending wasn’t wrapped in a nice bow and I would have liked it to be. I wonder if it was left hanging a bit with the intention of creating a sequel although I’m not really sure where you go next with the story…

Bonus Round

Not much to have as a bonus…. It could be a cute made for TV movie but that’s about it.

Bottom Line

Cute story, fun, entertaining. Good girl power. Fun escapism.

From The Stacks - Not That Kind of Girl

by: Siobhan Vivian





Synopsis

Natalie Sterling is a girl in control. She starts her senior year knowing what she wants. She wants to become the student council president (only the 9th in school history), she wants to spend a lot of time with her BFF Autumn, and she wants to get in her dream college. And of course she wants to be the best President ever, admired by her peers, achieve excellent grades, and maintain the respect of her teachers. Not too much right?

Well, not on Natalie’s agenda is the appearance of her old babysitting charge Spencer. Spencer is pretty much the opposite of Natalie. In spite of that, Natalie decides to take Spencer under her wing. She tries to help Spencer adjust to the private school environment and become more like the person Natalie wants her to become, a mini-Natalie.

Natalie and her friends attend Ross Academy a private school with the atmosphere of any other high school in America. Cliques, slutty girls, jerky guys, SATs, etcetera, etcetera. Natalie is especially disturbed by the improper actions of her female classmates and their stupidity when dealing with the bonehead guys. Her best friend Autumn had a particularly bad experience early on in high school that confirmed Natalie’s opinions. This is a major issue throughout the book.

Perhaps the most unplanned element of Natalie’s senior year is Conner Hughes. (aka one of my dream guys!) Conner is the quarter back of the football team, popular, HOT, and is interested in Natalie! Drama and swooning ensues! (It’s good I swear!)


Why I Like It


I was Natalie Sterling in high school. Reading this book I relived so many of my high school thoughts, for better and for worse. I was as judgmental, self righteous, and driven as Natalie. (Just call me Natalie Berry or Rachel Sterling. You know because I was a combo of the two.) Somehow I managed to leave high school all right but as I read Natalie’s narration I thought about how I had lived everything she did, mostly. I was on student council, I was a class president, and I had traitorous friends. I had all of her student council woes. I worked a dance that I didn’t have a date to. I came early, stayed late, and decorated a staircase/hallway. This is way more stressful than people think. With an impending class reunion this book particularly brought me back to my high school. Any driven, empowered (current or former) high school girl will find Natalie very relatable.

I like that Natalie battles with a lot issues: what it means to be a feminist, who she is, her sexuality, what it means to be a good friend, and how to let go. I was completely enthralled with this book. Natalie’s narrative voice was wonderful, believable, and just so realistic. Her insecurities…I’ve had them. How do you trust a boy? How do you know he is being truthful with his feelings? Can a jock really be a good guy? (My brothers are “jocks” and I assure you they can.)

I think there are such wonderful lessons in this book for women young and old. We can always analyze ourselves to see if we are comfortable with our behavior. We can check to see if we are being good friends, girlfriends, and just good people. I think to often we get self-righteous and we think we are above certain people and their behavior (or maybe it’s just me here, I hope not). I was a frequent judger in high school (and in college but more so high school). I was like Natalie, I judged, but I really wanted people to reach their full potential. I didn’t realize that I was also shutting myself off to some experiences (like dating). I think this book could be a powerful tool for many girls. It could teach them some lessons: embrace life, be cautious with your actions, stay true to yourself, and be confident in who you are.


Bonus Round


Conner Hughes. I’m serious; I like totally love this guy! He’s awesome. Sure he makes some mistakes but who doesn’t? He is totally sweet, smart, and driven. And he’s going to take over his family’s Christmas Tree farm business! How fun, Christmas year round! He really likes Natalie (maybe even loves her?). He has older sisters, loves his family, and did I mention he’s QB1?!? We’d totally be awesome together! We could bond over football and Christmas! He is the type of guy I always wanted to date in high school! Yay Natalie!

This book would make a great TV movie! Hey abcfamily, I have a new movie for ya. Or maybe CW should jump on the TV movie bandwagon. But whoever makes it, lets not be cheesy. No Mean Girls 2 please. I think some scenes could be spiced up, there could be more interactions with Conner, and this could again be a great learning/empowering tool for girls.


Bottom Line


I loved this book! I couldn’t sleep for thinking about it. I got up early to finish it. I talked out loud to Natalie begging her not to do this or that. Hoping she wouldn’t make the mistake I knew she’s about to! I highly encourage people to read it.

I do wish there was more between Conner and Natalie and that it took place sooner, but the tension was sa-weeet! This was a quick awesome read. Everything ended perfect, just the way I wanted! Yay, yay! Very happy!

From The Stacks - Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn

It’s 10:43pm and I just finished Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. I told myself I would immediately go to bed so as to not completely throw myself off of my working schedule. However, I simply had to write about this book while it is fresh on my mind.




Synopsis

Basically our story begins early in time with the first known human life forms, the cavemen. A young girl and boy wrestle over a precious green stone and tumble into a century long adventure. These two (and a couple of other supporting characters) are reincarnated throughout time. They visit ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, are around Christ, Buddha, and other great historical figures. They are involved in the Civil War, Salem witch trials, and World War II. To name a few.

The story involves our young couple ending up reincarnated in the same time, over time and constantly trying to subconsciously identify their soul mate in that time. They are foiled by the supporting characters and circumstances of their birth. Similar plot lines are repeated over and over again with one or the other living their life in sorrow because their soul mate is no longer with them. They also must “be good” and “make up for past sins” in their current life.


Why I Like It

This book was honestly a little flatter than I was anticipating. I was expecting to be caught up in this epic love story than spanned centuries. And this was that story, kind of. The problem with the structure of the story is that the emotional intensity, sexual tension, and high stakes were never really established because the characters spent so little time in each other’s company. By the time they recognized the soul mate in each other it was to late to have an actual relationship. Something always happened to one or the other before their love was fully actualized. (And besides, if everything worked out early we’d miss half of the book.)

What I did like about this book were the lessons taught, the history shared, and the thinking it provoked. Scholastic published this book for young adults. As such it is carried in the book fairs. *(See story below) The description and cover art I think lend it to be frequently selected by this age group. My sincere hope (and I think that of the author’s) is that this book will teach our young ones not only about history and other religions but how to think and how to be understanding. There are several key issues addressed (somewhat indirectly) in the book including slavery, fearing those different from ourselves, and making the world a better place. I think this book has the potential to be eye opening for many a young reader.

Overall it was a well-written book. I wish readers didn’t have to spend so much time at the beginning of the book trying to figure out which character you’re dealing with now. It would be nice to have a little more consistency in the names; like if the primary female character’s names all began with the letter T. However I understand due to the nature of the story (spanning centuries and cultures) that is extremely difficult. And again I wish when we got the final reincarnation there was a little more intensity in the romantic relationship. Again the structure of the story doesn’t lend itself to that. I also believe the telling an epic love story was not the primary goal of the author. I think she wanted to share the concepts of reincarnation, karma, and intense thought with young readers and this story line was her way to do it.

Bonus Round

Not much of a bonus here. This story could have the potential to make a good mini-series or movie.

Cyclical structure of the story, consistent themes, and full circle ending was sweet.

Bonus: early part of the story highly resembled Aida, which got the soundtrack stuck in my head. Now there’s some intense sexual tension/love.

Bottom Line
Good read. Made me think. Worth reading once. Wouldn’t buy it.

*This book was a part of an awesome bulk Amazon order that totaled under $26!!! I was really excited when this book arrived and asked my littlest sister to read the flap. She informed me (in her best teenage girl voice) that she didn’t need to. She’s already read it and has the book. “What?!?!” I exclaimed. I demanded to know when this happened and why she didn’t tell me. I was told that she got it at a book fair. No comment on not being told. Really wish I’d known she had this book because I would not have bought it (especially because mine is hard back) and could have bought another book instead! Oh well, Ce la vie.

PS: This only took me 20 minutes to write. Sweet! Nighty Night!

From The Stacks – I Am Number Four by: Pittacus Lore

Synopsis

So basically there’s this planet called Lorien that is attacked by Mogordians (aka creepy bad guys). As the Mogordians attack nine children (with special abilities) and their guardians escape the planet in an attempt to keep their race alive. When the Mogordians attack the planet they kill everyone and eventually they destroy all life on the planet. (Lorien is like Earth but people have all of these special abilities and their technology is more advanced than ours.)
So anyway these kids who escape Lorien have a charm put on them in an attempt to protect them. When one of the kids dies the others are made aware by the presence of a scar on their leg. (Ouch, but cool design.) These Lorien Legacies (the kids) are being hunted by the Mogordians so they all live life on the edge and with the threat of leaving their current home at a moments notice always over their head. And oh yeah, they can’t live together because of the charm somehow, (author was a little vague on that) and for increased protection. Oh, and the charm makes it so that the Loriens can only be killed in order. 1, 2, 3, etc. (Hope they answer how the order was decided at some point.)
Anyway, all this space alien stuff is okay. I like Star Wars as much as the next girl, maybe more. (I had a big thing for Obi-Wan Kenobi and read a lot of books etc. Plus I have my own copies of the original trilogy, love that Han Solo and I would totally be Princes Leia!) Ahem, geek moment over back to the point, what is more engaging about the story is Number Four or John’s narration. His struggle with fitting in, falling in love, and discovering his inner-Lorien.

Why I Like It

I enjoyed this new story of teen angst, drama, and love. I also enjoyed the innovation of this new space story, very creative. I like the drama of the story, the presentation of the book, and the listed author as a character in the book. It’s also a story that has intrigued me enough to continue thinking about it. I wonder what will happen next, what secrets of Lorien will be revealed, and how everything will fit together.
I also really enjoyed the characters, which I have discovered is pivotal to my enjoyment of a story. (If the characters suck the plot has to be damn good.) Anyway, good depth to the characters and good interaction and rapport between them. The Henri-John relationship was particularly nice.
John starts dating (against Henri’s wishes) the super cool Sarah. She’s one of the awesome high school characters that you wish you were. Gorgeous, smart, creative, nice, and everybody likes her and wants to date her! (No I’m not jealous.) But what’s best about Sarah is she doesn’t do what’s popular she does what she wants and that includes dating hot new guy John. John and Sarah have a really sweet relationship where the tension increases as the story goes on. (Was kinda holding out for a “getting it on” scene.) But there was totally a Twilight leg/bed scene, which was satisfactory for the first book. Again, without giving too much away a character is introduced late in the book who will provide an excellent third person for a John/Sarah/‘mystery character’ Triangle. Yay, yay, more tension!
One of my favorite characters is Bernie Kosar, John’s dog. He is like a totally badass dog who protects John and for a beagle is super cute. (Being in the thralls of puppy love with my own dogs I was particularly susceptible to Bernie’s charm, especially since I read a good chunk of the book with a dog in my lap.) There’s more to Bernie than meets the eye but I hate to give away spoilers so I won’t say anymore…but did I mention he’s named after a football player? Nice. (Doesn’t matter I’ve never heard of him.)
I also like that this story will appeal to both boys and girls. Faced a big dilemma as to who to lend out/offer this book to first. Brother, sister, bff? I think the movie will also help book sales. (But that’s the marketer in me.)
I think there are also some underlying themes/messages in this book, especially that of green living. Basically the reason why the bad guy Mogordians are SO bad is because when they take over a planet they destroy it. There technology requires the life source of other living things. This can totally be translated to our current use (and waste) of resources. Perhaps the author is trying to impress upon young adults the importance of valuing the gifts of our planet and treating them with respect. I also suspect that he is a big sci-fi geek who is totally into aliens.

Bonus Round - Movie!

The movie, I Am Number Four will be released at the end of February 2011. Which is what prompted to be to read the book and spend the extra bucks for a hardback copy, not to mention debate between the movie cover and the original cover. The book purist in me decided on the original cover. Tough decision though because….hot Alex Pettyfer is the star of the movie! I’m really digging him. (Although, bummer is I couldn’t really picture John/Four as a character on his own. I pictured him as Alex.) AND Quinn Fabray from Glee is his love interest Sarah!!!! Yay for Quinn being in other stuff besides Glee! Makes me happy. Over all I’m pretty excited for the movie. I think it’ll be a good one. Good action, adventure, special effects, and sexual tension.







I enjoyed the book but am not sure it’s for everyone. It’s a little more sci-fi than I’ve read in a long time. It was a good engaging story and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. There promises to be a lot of adventure, intrigue, and love. The story wasn’t as engrossing and all consuming as I’d like, maybe because the author is a guy. :) And maybe because I had a lot going on the weekend I read it including The Packers, Titanic, and cheerleaders.

Bottom line: good book, good story, but I’m not obsessed. Looking forward to the rest of the series (and for someone else to read it so I have someone to talk to about it) and I’ve already put the next book in my Amazon Wish List. By the way, the next book doesn’t come out until August.

And the Folie goes to….

Confession: I have an obsessive personality. It’s one of the thing I discovered about myself in college. The Internet, computers, and instantly downloading/ordering items has not helped this personality trait of mine. In fact, it’s made it worse.

I am currently obsessed with the Disney movie, yes Disney, Tangled.

Tangled

So when I say I’m obsessed, I mean that the week I saw the movie I downloaded songs from the soundtrack and within a day knew every word to those songs. I also mean that I think about it a lot. I wonder what it would be like to be stuck in a tower, and I tried to convince my 21-year-old cousin and my 20-year-old sister to go see the movie again with me. (They voted for Fighter, what’s with that? Not that we ended up seeing a movie anyway.)

Let me back up. First of all I saw Tangled on New Year’s Day with my BFFs, the lovely ladies of this blog. Yes that’s right these awesome 23 year olds started the year off right with Disney. Hey, at least we didn’t wear our Tiaras to the movie! (Don’t think we didn’t think about it.) ☺ In all seriousness it was the perfect group of people to see the movie with and a wonderful way to start the year. (Add in the purchase of pillow pets after the movie and you have a wonderfully mature start to the year. And we wonder why we don’t have boyfriends.)

I love Disney. I love fairy tales. (Even though I can recognize their sometimes anti-feminist themes I still love them. I would TOTALLY be a princess if the opportunity some how magically presented itself! Prince Harry are you listening? My name is Cait, your brother is marrying a Kate. I think we’d be perfect for each other. I like to drink and help people. Mission trips to Africa? I’ve got the flask. Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!)

Anyway, the combination of Disney and fairy tales always sucks me in and wins me over. (I love that Disney Princesses are making a comeback. Hope there’s some left for when I have kids. Ooops, digressed again. Damn.) Anywho, Disney+ princess+ Mandy freakin’ Moore + hunky prince (kinda) + Alan Menkin Disney music magic + wit + sun imagery (yay warmth and happiness) + totally artsy scenes = Amazingness for me to obsess over!!!

Mandy Moore is one of my all time favs! I would SO be her. She’s just so awesome! She beautiful in a cute way non-intimidating way. She’s artsy. Can pull of all kinds of hair dos. She has a beautiful voice that I enjoy for its differentness from the power house vocals of Christina and Kelly (although I love them too!) And I’m like obsessed with Because I Said So. Watched it SO many times! I want her apartment SO bad!

Tangled has what many Disney movies before it has: clever writing, engaging story, enjoyable for all ages, and always the missing parent(s) factor. The most recent Disney Princess movies give a lot more power to their female heroines. They are no longer just DID’s (Damsels In Distress, Hercules peeps).

Like previously mentioned the music is fab, including the ‘Healing Incantation’. Yes, I downloaded that one too. Alan Menken is a genius! I’m really into the duet from the movie. The actor who plays Eugene, emphasis on the u, sings his part in the song and it is so darling. And of course Mandy is awesome. How could she not be?

Confession: I thought this movie looked stupid when the previews first came out. I really didn’t get the hair (didn’t it seem to have a life of its own in the previews?) Well it doesn’t. And it seemed like a story we’d all seen/heard before. And of course to some degree it was. We all know the girl is stuck in the tower but how/why and how/why she escapes plus the characters is what sets this one apart.

On a serious note: I think part of the reason I’m so into this movie is because of where I’m at in my life. I’m kind of stuck in my own tower waiting for my life to begin. I totally feel Rapunzel’s pain of being stuck in the same rut waiting for that big adventure. Waiting to get a sign of the direction my life is supposed to take. What my purpose is. (Princess? Seriously Harry give me a call! I’d rock it! I’ve seen the Prince and Me a million times, I’m ready!) I do think part of the success of the Disney stories are the relatable themes and characters. But never underestimate a catchy tune.

Anyway, I highly recommend Tangled to all. It’s an hour and a half (or so) of fun. And seriously check out the soundtrack! Good stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with wearing your tiara while viewing.

OMG! Almost forgot the introduction of a heavy-duty frying pan and a major weapon. Epic. We all need to get one. ☺

PS: Must start condensing my writing. No one will want to read these long blogs. Will work on it.

From the Archives: The Story of Rob Pattinson and my Cousin

Samantha:

Okay, here we go...B was in New Jersey on vacation at the Jersey Shore with Snooki (not really, but whatever). While she was there, her friends were calling/texting her saying that Rob was in town shooting "Water for Elephants". He went to the bars every night to just hang out, so downtown Chatt was crazy with girls lining up at whatever bar he would be at that night. B's friend, Ryan, was at a bar just chilling with some friends, and in walks Rob with an entourage - bodyguards and crew from the movie. He called B to tell her, but she was still in NJ. I guess Ryan tried to go to the bathroom, and the bodyguards wouldn't let him because Rob was in there :) B thought by the time she got back from NJ, Rob would be long gone...she was wrong!

B's friend, K, is a bartender at this swanky place in downtown Chatt. A group of guys came in Monday night, and K was their bartender. They started talking, and she finds out that the guys are camera crew from the movie. The one guy falls in love with K and asks for her number so that they can hang out again. Keep in mind, that this guys is in his 30's and not attractive. Also keep in mind, that K has NEVER seen Twilight, and doesn't even care about R Pattz, but she was taking one for the team knowing that B and her friend Laura would freak out!

K and cameraman, Louis, text eachother all day Tuesday. K convinces B to come out with her Tuesday night with hopes that in the absolute slightest chance possible, they would get to meet Rob. While at the bar, K asks Louis to meet them. He can't because they are throwing a wrap party for Rob because it was his last night in town. So, of course, K asks if she can stop by! Louis is like sure, but who's all with you? K says two of my girlfriends (B and Laura) and my friend Trey. Louis tells her no guys allowed. K tells him Trey is gay (he's not), and Louis says cool! The 4 of them head to the party - it is of course at the fanciest, most expensive restaurant in town. The get to the door, and there is a huge line all the way down the street. They go to the doorman and say that they are here for the party, and they drop Louis's name. Sure enough, Louis comes down to get them and brings them up to the private room...where there are only 20 PEOPLE!!! All males (except one female crew member) and all members of the movie crew! The girls definitely stood out as they were 1.) female and 2.) clearly did not work on the movie! A bodyguard approaches them and explains that they are not to "swarm" Rob, basically just leave him alone as this is his only time to just relax and not be chased by crazy girls. They hung out for about 30 minutes or so, and B starts getting antsy because they haven't seen Rob yet. She wants to leave. Her friend, Laura, goes to sit on one of the couches, and then gives B a "get over here NOW" look. B follows and sits down. She looks to her right, and sure enough ROB IS SITTING AT THE BAR BY HIMSELF! He had been there the whole time!!! Converse, jeans, black t-shirt, and black baseball cap - drinking a Bud and chain smoking Camel Lights (gross, but I can get over it)! The girls realize that he's been staring at them the whole night because he has no idea who they are!!!

B is desperately trying to keep her cool (listening to her tell this story is PRICELESS)! Rob starts circulating the room and talking to each crewmember, laughs, hugs, thank-you's all around. B said she was very impressed by how appreciative and sincere he seemed. B joins her group at the bar, and Rob follows - so they end up standing back-to-back with eachother. B was trying to act cool, but she was definitely listening in on his conversation and she "wanted to know what he smelled like, so I started sniffing the air like an idiot!" This is why I love my cousin because I would have done the same thing! :) Louis keeps telling the girls to approach Rob and say hi, but the girls are scared after the lecture they got from his bodyguard. Louis then asks Rob for a "dart" which is apparently what they call cigarettes in England. Rob says sure, hands Lewis a dart, and then started laughing. Like really laughing with his cute little smile because he thought it was so funny that this big, American cameraman actually used an English term. So cute! He then turns to B (who is laughing with him but has no idea why because she didn't know what "dart" meant yet), and says "Hi, how are you?". And then B dies...

…just kidding! B just kinda said hi back, and Rob kinda walked away. B is kicking herself for not talking more. I genuinely think Rob wanted to talk to them, but you know how embarrassed and awkward he gets - I think he wanted B and the girls to kind of make the first move, you know what I mean? Not like make-out with you first move, but just a "Hey can we like have a real conversation" first move.

Rob left shortly after, and the girls followed him out (Louis is probably not very happy with them, as they promised they were coming back and then never did). They figured Rob had already left, and B and Laura were waiting for K outside the bathroom when who walks out of the men's room and runs right into my beautiful cousin - ROB! He kind of grabs her shoulders to straighten himself and her and smiles while apologizing. B doesn't remember saying anything back to him, haha! Reminds me of our Carter Twins run-in outside the bathroom, except of course Rob is 100 times cooler than the Carter Twins :)

My favorite part of the night, B's friend Laura kept Louis' cigarette butt because it came from Rob. She plans on framing it in a Twilight frame, hahahah! I LOVE it!!!

And that's the end of the story. I wish it would have happened to me :)

Caitlyn:

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I don't know how many times I laughed out loud reading that story! You and your cousin have a real future as story tellers! The adventures of B and Sam, I can see it now. Anyway, WOW. That is so awesome. Cheers to K for being so ballsy and taking one for the team. The story does remind me of our Carter Twins incident mixed with some George from England. hehe :) Oh, how I wish B had talked to him more but I totally understand being shy after the lecture from the bodyguard. I think my favorite part is the sniffing of the air around him. Incredible. Of course I'm typing this reply and am reminded of your story(ies) about your grandma telling you all she wants great grand children and was thinking it would be the coolest thing EVER if your cousin got with Rob and got busy on the great grand babies. (ok it would be cooler if it was you but, she was there.) How awesome would it be if your cousin was the one to break up rob and k-stew!?! ok, sorry for the ramble, I didn't even meet him and I'm dazed just reading about it. Congratulate your cousin on her amazing friends, awesome adventure, and remaining so cool in that situation.

wow

P.S. You should totally submit it to a magazine or something! Twi-Hards and girls everywhere would eat it up!

Sam:

My Mom said the same thing, haha!

hahaha! I'm dying just reading your response :) If Bri and Rob got together, I can't even verbalize my excitement and/or jealousy!

Caitlyn:

I know right!?!? Seriously, after reading your e-mail I had to take a break from my computer and tried to get my brain thinking about something else. I am so enamored with your story, its ridiculous! :) I wish we could have gushed and grinned goofily in person :) This is pretty good tho.

Sam:

It was all I could think about last night :) And this morning :) And now :) haha! Daydreams are flowing like crazy!

Thank goodness for email so that we can gush and grin via letters! It's like Jane Austen times!

Cait:

My Dear Miss DePrez,

How delightful to have received your letter earlier today. I was particularly enchanted by the story of your cousin, the charming Miss B, and her encounter with the dashing young Mr. Pattinson. Imagine meeting in such an unorthodox manner. Mr. Pattinson seems the picture of a perfect gentleman. No wonder you enjoy his company so. As delighted as I am by your cousin's good fortune to meet such a lovely man I am, as your friend, concerned about your involvement in the matter. Does not your cousin know of your sincere regard for Mr. Pattinson? Does not she know that you were once the most intimate of friends? Does she not care of for your feelings on the matter. My dear friend please proceed with caution and guard your heart like the cardinal treasure it is.

Your dear friend always,

Miss McCaslin



Hehe! You could submit your story to your bff mandy at e weekly or to perez or here: mail@seventeen.com or to any other site.

later!

Samantha:

When I say I'm laughing out loud, I mean like really laughing out loud! That was perfection! My response wouldn't even be half as good as that! Can you please talk like this always?

Caitlyn:

Bahaha! That's awesome! Hope those guys you work with didn't give you to weird of a look. Well, when you're inspired words just start to flow! :) I don't think I could always talk like that, too much effort. :)

Cara:

wow! truly love that story! I felt like I was there! or at the very least living my fantasy through your cousin :o) I SO would have sniffed the air too, but I probably would have said something ballsy like "let me buy you a drink" or something while I held sam up from falling down. but woah, its one of the stories that you don't know what to say after it! but I am glad your cousin got to meet him, bc then I can say that I know someone (not really) who has meet rob. and oh! I would have taken a picture of rob, but like focus on us, with like him in the bathroom. like we did with the carter twins! oh rob!


Sam:

Best part = Cara saying something ballsy while holding me so I don't fall down :) It would happen!

And the Folie goes to...

"And the Folie goes to..." is the title specific to posts about movies. Folie, obviously referencing the name of this place, means madness. The way this group of friends goes about analyzing every movie we see within an inch of its life, talking about the characters/actors like we know them, and quoting (in)appropriate lines repeatedly in any given situation are probably huge indicators of our madness. Therefore, we've ripped off the Oscars signature line and chosen this label for our cinematic-themed rants.

I'm going to keep this first one positive and upbeat because it is a movie I love, and I simply want to share that with the world :) Also, since we haven't yet proposed any format for this category, it may turn into a gushy mess. You've been warned!

Easy A
First of all, I'm almost positive whoever wrote this movie jumped into my brain and pulled out some list of my favorite things and then used them to create this masterpiece.

Emma Stone (the person who would play me if my life were a movie) is the star of this story. Her love interest is Penn Badgely (the person I would so want to get with if my life were a movie. Or anytime, actually). Those factors alone made this pop up on my radar. Easy A is a movie narrated by Olive through her live video blog. It chronicles her life as one white lie she told a friend spirals out of control, aided by her overly sympathetic actions towards her fellow downtrodden, misfit, misunderstood peers. This movie thrives on the use of the unstable information highway built upon Twitter, texting, Facebook, and the entire internet/mobile network. High school comedies/dramas with witty, self-confident, intelligent heroines (especially ones who end up with the adorably perfect-for-them(and me), insanely attractive and supportive male lead) are like crack to me. This time it was brought to a whole new level of esteem in my eyes with the inclusion of many John Hughes references (a whole montage!), scandalous accusations, beyond-possible hilarious parents, a great soundtrack (including an awesome cover of a great 80s song), references to popular YA titles, lame jokes, sticking it to the closed-minded, egotistical people who get off on bullying and power trips, literary classics we all read in high school integrated into the backbone of the thing, and a wonderful ending.

A happy ending that is just right in my opinion. I could (and have) gushed about this movie far too much. I went to theaters with some AMAZING friends of mine for the first viewing. They agreed, it was pretty much made for me. It was released on DVD right in time for Christmas, and I have infected many people with its charm since that wonderful morning :)

In short: See this movie. I don't know one person who hasn't enjoyed it, it's not crazy long, and even if you don't enjoy the entire story, I dare you not to laugh at least once.

From the Archives

In this blog you will find the scary stuff our minds produce when we start passing ideas back and forth. As far as correspondence goes, we've already had that going since before graduation and Samantha's departure from the state. We're willing to share samples of this particular variety of madness with you, our readers, in any entry henceforth titled "From the Archives." Enjoy? :)

Lindsie
So, I just made us a blog. Anything and everything can be changed. I sent you guys "invites" to become authors. I think one or more of those have to be accepted before I can edit things in a "team blog" type of fashion. I'm reading up on it. Currently I'm the only admin, so only I can do layout type edits, but I will so add ya'll (whoever wants in on the fun) soon as you accept the invites.

Happy (almost) New Year!
Resolution: Create and maintain kick ass group blog.
Status report: In progress.

We're so ahead of the game, we rock.

Caitlyn
LOVE IT!!!! Super stoked! I'm a contributor now! :) So what's the plan? We gonna start posting our e-mails? What all are we gonna put on it? Looking forward to it :)

Lindsie
No clue what the plan is! I was just awake at 2 am and needed something to do, lol. I figure, if someone’s got something to say, do it. Or we can pick some old emails to display as a start. You can try to post something if you want to make sure it works? We can always add or delete anything. We can add permanent pages like the "who we are pages" so if you have ideas on those... let's have at it! It's right before I leave for FL, so I'll make sure to upgrade everyone to admin status so we can have equal edit opportunities :)

Caitlyn
Sweet deal! I like the “who we are page” idea. We'll have to put a good pic of us. :) Another page idea is our top 5's. ;) I like it friend. Good work.

Samantha
One word, ladies: GENIUS!

Cara
I am enjoying the thought for another reason for me to be distracted on the computer :o) We will have to think of some fun stuff to talk about. And also start taking some more pictures of us being together. It'll be the best blog ever!