5 Of the Most Extraordinary Sea inspired YA Books

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I'm going to let you in on a little secret...I have quite the hankering for anything sea/ocean related.  As a result, I devour every book that I can find that is somehow related to the ocean, selkies, the Titanic, or water in general.

All of these books have made it to my top 5 favorite books list (isn't that odd?!  All sea related!  Am I biased?)  and I can not recommend them more!

They say not to judge a book by it's cover..but all of these covers do the books justice and are just as wonderful of reads as there covers are beautiful.

Twenty Boy Summer:  Sea glass, sea glass, sea glass!!  Oh how I love it.  This is such a nice, light hearted, summer read that us a much harder and deeper underlying meaning that can really grab your soul and make you want to tell your boyfriend you love him!

Sea Change:  I can read this over and over again, Sulkies = < 3  And the cover is to DIE FOR!

Impossible:  I included both versions of the cover, the first being the newest one and the one that I own.  I love both, they each have their strengths.  I think the second is more depicting of the ocean, but they both are truly stunning.  Impossible is based on a celtic song "Scarborough Fair" - which you may have heard sung by Celtic Sisters.  I actually love this book so much I chose to review the sonnet it was inspired by as my Poetry paper for College Lit class.  (A+)

Distant Waves:  The dark contrasts and hallow dress that capture your eyes when looking at the cover are quite a symbol for what's to come in the pages it holds.  This book makes you wonder a lot and question the Titanic and paranormal activity in general...

Seven Tears Into the Sea:  This book is another one of my absolute favorites.  The cover is solid - the darker, stormier, tones that are used in contrast of what one usually pictures when thinking of the ocean depict the story well.  Seven Tears Into the Sea is a lovely book about sulkies, and fills me with nostalgia every time I think of it.

Are there any sea related books you've read that I must know about?  

RESWYT by David Mayer

They say not to judge a book by it's cover, but quite frankly, it's hard not to be attracted to a book in the first place by the cover, especially if it has a slightly cryptic but enticing one such as Reswyt by David Mayer does.

However, not only is the cover compelling me to read this Kindle book, but by looking at the description, it sounds quite intriguing.  Sabines father died in a car accident, and soon afterwards her Grandfather disappears mysteriously, and she is left with being the "transfer kid" from California, and sleepless nights.

However, during the day, when she is able to doze off, she finds herself in strange paranormal lands, but when she discovers that these lands aren't random occurrences, but rather a realm that she has escaped to, and that it is in grave danger of becoming corrupted, she must find a way to save it, with the help of two others, and return the realm back to peace.

I am excited to read RESWYT, as it looks like a new twist on the typical Zombie/Vampire paranormal books that have been flooding the Young Adult world in the past two years.  It looks unique and by reading the description, I feel like I want to know more about Sabines character and find out what happened to her grandfather.   Overall, I'm excited to read RESWYT!

RESWYT - Sponsored Review

RESWYT on Amazon

RESWYT by David Mayer, is a thrilling new Paranormal self published book on the market for Kindle users. Sabine Jahn, is living a hard life, having to move from her hometown and dealing with her Father dying in a car crash and her Grandpa disappearing, it is less than easy. In these months strange things have been happening, and from the lack of sleep she's been experiencing, she begins to find herself in a mystical realm in a realistic dreamland where she runs through the forest with wolves themselves. However, the fate of the realm is in the hands of some unlikely subjects, which include a dead French soldier, an Egyptian God, and very gifted boy. the question is, will she be able to help them save it?

RESWYT looks like a unique and interesting book, that I am looking forward to reading. I love the idea of a paranormal world in a realm between dreamland and real life, which takes a unique spin on the paranormals that we are used to reading. It's interesting to imagine, what if...what if there really is a portal that we can reach in REAL LIFE, that is similar to Sabines situation, where paranormalcy is reality? What do you think?

Eve by Anna Carey

Smart, talented, and attentive Eve is excited to graduate the all girls school that she has spent her life in since the plague struck her world. She's thrilled to become a graduate and move up to studying for her task. However, the night before she's to graduate, she discovers the fate that all of the girls are truly destined to, and knows she needs to escape, any way she can. With some help, she is out and free. However, it is now just the beginning of a frightening and life changing journey to safety for Eve, the question is, will she make it?

I have been excited to read "Eve" for some time now, and was satisfied with the book. Though I couldn't always relate well with the characters and sometimes got very frustrated them, the storyline was lovely and such an interesting point of view. Well after reading this book, I kept thinking about it. What would happen if a plague really did take over and the government abused their powers? Would we all just go along willingly, blindly trusting only to be tricked? Or would we be smarter than that? What would I do? These are all questions that I have been asking myself since reading "Eve." "Eve" was a wonderfully haunting book, and I enjoyed reading Anna Careys first book in this trilogy.

Decluttering Kids Toy Rooms

We all know the feeling. You walk into the toy room or your kids bedroom...or the living room, and you think "how did it ever get this messy?" And as soon as you start to clean up....you give up because you can't remember where everything went or how it all FIT in that spot, or you just get to overwhelmed. Here are a few tips that I've found to help keep this rooms that your kids spend time in clutter free!

1) Invisible (floating) bookshelves! These are all the rage and make for a neat conversation piece and way to ORGANIZE your books! Not bad, right? They are easy to make, offer book storage, and if done right, can add interest to your room.

2) Vintage Lockers: Vintage lockers are one of my favorite ways to add storage to my room. You can find them for fairly cheap at thrift stores, and you can store anything in them! Dedicate each different locker for a different thing - you could even add shelves to it to add even more storage room!

3) Have a yard sale: How many of the toys sitting in your house do your kids really play with? Sometimes the best option is to have a yard sale or donate to your thrift store. When you get rid of all the extra things you don't need, it is so much easier to organize, find things, and you automatically feel more light headed and neat!

4) Clean every time a mess is made! Instead of waiting for it all to pile up, clean as you go, it will be much easier!

5) Dedicate one day a month to working your super mom powers and giving the room an ultra cleaning session! Dust, vacuum, sweep, and everything else that goes along with it!

6) Baskets: I consider these organized chaos. Dedicate one basket for each different type of toy...barbies in one, legos in another, coloring books in yet another, label them and you have easy, and cute storage that you can pull out when you need them!

7) Ladders: Vintage ladders make for adorably unique storage. Lean them against your wall and set stuff that isn't played with much, or is more valuable, on the steps. There are a lot of great things you can do with this technique!

8) If you have a special toy room, it's good to only choose the most important toys to keep in your little girls or boys room. Or if you have a boy and a girl, possibly let your girl keep her more "girly" toys in her bedroom and your boy his "boy" toys in his bedroom and keep the toys they both enjoy in your toy room.

9) Always keep creative supplies in your toy room somewhere! Coloring books and crayons, pencils, markers, washable paints, creativity is so good for kids and lets them express themselves and grow!

10) A unique way to keep your weekly sports and classes in your head is to take a old mirror with a unique design, paint it a color that matches your room, and spray the inside with chalkboard paint. You now have an adorable and unique chalkboard to write reminders and dates on it! Don't forget the special I love you notes!

With these tips, your on your way to a fabulously clutter free room! Good luck and let me know how they work for you!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Hereafter

Amelia died, however, all she knows is she drowned in the river and a few very small random facts that had came rushing back at her through the years. She doesn't know how old she is, who her family is, what kind of person she was, or how she died, or why she is still aimlessly wondering on earth, alone and confused. That is, until she saves Joshua's life and finds that he can see her. Soon an unrealistic to most, romance begins and with the comes feelings that Amelia never new she could feel again, and danger that she didn't know was possible.

"Hereafter" captivated me after reading only a few pages in. It pulled me in and didn't let me out again until I was too tired to keep my eyelids open. It was such a beautiful book and the characters feel real and like you wanted to help them. I enjoyed that Joshua was so accepting of Amelia even though he was human and she was ghost, I felt like that was more realistic than how many books turn the "discovery" into a frightening unbelievable drama for the person "discovering." It was a nice change! I did feel as if their relationship should have developed through the story a bit more, it almost felt choppy in some places and like it was moving at an odd pace skipping from spot to spot. I very much enjoyed reading "Hereafter" and look forward to reading more from Tara Hudson!

Prom and Prejudice

Lizzie, being the scholarship student at a prestigious school has not been welcomed with open arms by many. However, she learns to keep her good friends close and be thankful for the opportunity she has at becoming an accomplished pianist. However, throughout the years Lizzie developed a problem with "rich" people, sticking them in a category before she gave them a chance. So when Darcy comes around, she immediately lumps him together with the other people that had given her such a hard time in the past. However, as she unravels his true story, she begins to fall for him harder than she ever imagined.

"Prom and Prejudice" by Elizabeth Eulberg is a hard book for me to review. I can't quite come up with the right words to describe it. This book had so many of the same elements as the original masterpiece, "Pride and Prejudice." I felt like making the characters have not only the same names as in the original (Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, etc.) as well as very similar personality's, I felt like it was a little too obvious. Even so, I did enjoy this book and it was a fun quick read for a nice Summer day!