Green Review

Author: Ted Dekker

Characters: Excellent! There’s one name inconsistency, but for the most part, the characters are just as amazing as in the rest of the series, even if one or two do give you a slight desire to yell at them even now and then.

4/5

Location: Very good! As usual, Dekker does an excellent job in the setting, with just the right amount of clear description.

4/5

Plot: Amazing! Dekker does an excellent job of finishing the series and linking if back to Black in the most surprising way. This plot has even more twists and turns than usual, and I quite literally could hardly put it down.

4/5

Other: I will note that this book is a bit creepier than the rest in some ways, and I wouldn’t advise reading it late at night, or near the time when you’re going to sleep.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Series Rating: 4/5

The Treasure Part Two

Hello, everyone! I’m back, with more of The Treasure! Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s part one. And now, on with the tale!

Part Two

That evening, as Melody hurried through the castle halls to her tiny room, she came upon Luke. Much to her surprise, he stopped her and pressed a small burlap sack into her tiny hand.

            “There’s a Treasure inside.” he whispered. “It’s from your true Father, and it will guide you to your real home.”

            “My true Father?” Melody looked quizzically at Luke. “My real home? What do you mean?”

            “You’ll see.” He replied, smiling. Then, with eyes shining, he bowed and hurried away.

            When Melody reached her room, she opened the sack and reached inside with a trembling hand. She pulled out an old book, bound in brown leather. “A book?” she said to herself. “How’s a book a treasure?” She stared at the book a few minutes longer, then told herself “Well, I might as well read it.” And with that, she opened the ancient tome and began to read.

            As Melody read on and on into the night, she realized why Luke had called this book a treasure. The tale within was better than any Melody had heard or read. It seemed real, oh so real! She learned of the Great King, the King who was father to everyone. She read how he had worked in the lives of the people who had gone before. She learned who The Voice was-a servant of the Enemy, The Dark Lord who had tried to take the Great King’s throne. But best of all, she learned how the Great King sent his son, the Prince of Peace, to die for all people, to save them and to make a way to the true home of all who believed in him-The Kingdom of Light. When she finally reached the end of the book, it was midnight, and she was very tired. But, despite this, she knew that she wanted to know more, though she also knew that she would have to wait until morning to learn more. Before she fell asleep, she tucked The Treasure under her pillow. She slept better that night than she had in all her thirteen years.

What will happen next? There’s only one way to find out: keep checking back for more! What did you think of it? Please comment and let me know!

-Sarah

Hybrid Falcon

Hello, everyone! I have returned, with some more of my photography! Here's today's picture.

This was taken at the same time as last week's picture. This one is a hybrid falcon that I managed to catch when it was flapping its wings rather violently. What do you think of it? Please comment and let me know!

-Sarah

Book Sales and My Tales

Hello, everyone! It’s Saturday, and that means that it’s time for an update on what I’ve been doing this week!

·        I have gotten a lot of work done on The Call. All I have left to do is rescue three of my characters from the bad guys’ fortress, which should be easy enough once I figure out exactly how to do it. Of course, I need a little wrap-up scene, but that’ll be fairly easy too.

·        Unfortunately, I have gotten no work done on my other novel. The reason for this is that I’ve been focusing all my attention on The Call in the hopes of finishing it by the end of the month. However, since I should finish it sometime in the next few days, I’ll have time to work on my novel about Destiny Lawrence.

·        Although I’ve been doing all this writing, I’ve still had time to read. Most notable of the books I’ve read lately was Warrior, by Bryan Davis. It was good, though not my favorite. You can expect a review of it to be posted on here after I finish reviewing the Circle Series.

·        Yesterday, Friday the 24^th, we went to a book sale. Now, this wasn’t just any book sale. This was the biggest book sale in our area. In the past, I’ve gotten plenty of good deals at it, so on Thursday, I was extremely excited. Then, Friday morning, I somehow managed to forget that it was that day until after we planned to leave. We got there late, but I still found some good books, including Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini and The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan.

Well, that’s about it. Thanks for stopping by!

-Sarah

The Treasure Part One

Hello, everyone! I’m back, with more of my tales! This one is called The Treasure. It was the first of my Tales of the Great King stories. I hope you like it!

Part One

Melody rushed through the dark castle halls, desperate to get back to the outside world. She, unlike many of the other castle servants, was not afraid of what lay outside, she was only afraid of what lay inside the castle. Rather who lived inside the castle. That was The Voice. Harsh and cruel, it belonged to the lord of the land. She feared it, and hated it. She never said this out loud. She did her best not to let it be known that she hated The Voice. To do so would mean trial before the Wraith Court, a court made up of The Voice’s greatest servants. For a servant like her, appearing before that court would likely mean a quick death, or worse, torture in the deepest, darkest dungeons, from which none except The Voice’s most trusted servants returned alive. The Voice, that was Melody’s name for him. To her, he was little more than a voice and a dark presence hovering above her, waiting to pounce. She had never seen him. The only ones who had were the Wraiths, a group of his closest, most trusted, and cruelest servants and knights. Melody shivered at the thought of them. They were almost as evil as The Voice, and she was so afraid of them!

            Melody spotted the door to the outside world. Gathering her cloak around her, she rushed outside and to a grove of beech trees. This was her favorite place in the world. Here, she could sit and daydream about a better life, a life where she had not been pressed into service when she was seven, a life where she knew who and where her father was, a life where she, her father, and her mother lived together far away from The Voice. She could think there too. There, in her special grove, Melody could think of her life without getting sad or angry. Today, she thought about how much she hated being afraid, and how everyone was afraid of The Voice. She remembered how when the housekeeper was mad at her, she’d say “Work harder, you lazy dog, or I’ll tell the lord of the land about you!” The fear of The Voice was always creating more work for her and the other servants. Except for Luke, she corrected herself. Luke, the newest servant, didn’t seem to be afraid of anything. She giggled to herself. Luke was also incredibly handsome! With longish golden-brown hair and blue-gray eyes, not to mention a fairly athletic build, Luke looked like a prince, or that’s what Melody thought, anyway. He was kind too, Melody thought, fondly. She had seen him help others at the risk of getting punished himself. Suddenly, a bell clanged at the castle, breaking Melody out of her thoughts. She rushed back to the castle, knowing that if she didn’t get back to work quickly, well, she could just say goodbye to her supper.

Well? What did you think? Please comment and tell me! I’d love to know!

-Sarah

White Review

(Sorry for the lack of a review, I don't have the book available at the moment, and I'm not sure where to get a review. The book basically picks up where Red left off.)

Author: Ted Dekker

Characters: Very good! The characters in this book are vibrant and colorful, with favorites from Red and even a few from Black reappearing, along with some new faces.

4/5

Location: Very good! Dekker describes the setting with his usual amount of clarity and vibrance, and the locations are easy to visualize.

4/5

Plot: Excellent! Dekker combines his trademark high-speed action with mystery, a touch of romance, and enough plot twists to keep you on your toes the whole time!

4/5

Other: No other comments.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Hello, everyone! I'm back, with some more of my writing! Since I'm still trying to decide what story to post, I'm posting another poem today! This one doesn't exactly have a name.

It happens to us all.

Everyone.

No one is spared.

Rich and poor alike.

It happens to us all.

We fall.

Drop.

Go down.

So far down.

We fail.

Fall short.

Don’t make it.

We loose.

Get beaten.

Come in last.

Need to do better.

But

We get back up.

Stand up.

Stand tall.

Stay strong.

We try again.

Redo it.

Get a second chance.

Remake it.

We win.

Beat the odds.

Come in first.

Are better.

It happens to us all.

Old and young alike.

No one is left out.

Everyone.

It happens to us all.

 What do you think of it? Please comment and tell me! I'd love to hear what you think of it!

-Sarah

Hello, everyone! I'm back, with more of my photography!

Red Tailed Hawk

This is a picture of a Red Tailed Hawk. It was taken last Septemeber, at the Claudemoore Photo Expo. Although I entered it in another photo expo, it didn't make it. What do you think of it? Please comment and let me know!

-Sarah

I'm Back At Last

Hello, everyone! I am back, finally! Sorry for the long wait, but one thing led to another, and my break ended up being somewhat longer than planned. In other words, every time I planned to write a blog entry, I got distracted. But now I am back, and I do not plan on taking any breaks, extended or otherwise, for quite a while. So, an overview of what’s gone on while I’ve been on blogging break:

·        During one and a half or so weeks of my break, we were cabin camping in the Pennsylvania mountains. This is my favorite vacation, despite the fact that it involves a large amount of something that isn’t exactly my favorite activity: hiking. However, even hiking can be fairly enjoyable if done in comfortable weather and I’m doing it on trails I like, otherwise known as easy trails with nice scenery. And, of course, there’s the fact that cabin camping involves roasting marshmallows over a campfire, something that is certainly one of my favorite treats, and pretty much makes up for the hiking. So, the main things that I disliked on the trip was the lack of internet access (which was bearable, since I at least had my iPod, a few books, and every notebook that I might want) and the mosquitoes and other biting insects. These, unfortunately, seem to view me as an all-you-can-eat buffet on feet. Still, it’s a small price to pay for an enjoyable vacation.

·        Despite all the hiking I did, I managed to find quite a bit of time to work on my stories, and I am very pleased to say that The Call, which I have decided will be the official name of my novel about the three girls, is approximately three-quarters of the way done. The remaining quarter is also the most exciting part of the tale, so I hope to finish this tale fairly soon. My other tale, which is still unnamed, is one-quarter of the way done, and since I plan on it being much shorter than The Call, I hope to finish this soon as well.

·        The reason for the amount of writing I’ve gotten done could have something to do with the lack of new books I’ve found. Although I have gone to the library since my return, they did not have the books I was looking for, a great disappointment to me. Still, I’ll find them eventually.

Well, that’s about it! Thanks for stopping by, and I’m sorry for the long wait for updates.

-Sarah