Book Review!!!!!!!!

Hey World!!!!!!! Today I'm going to be very intellectual and wise and write a book review......well, maybe not intellectual and wise, but I am going to write a book review!!!!!!

Recently I've been reading the first book in the Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot, titled Size 12 is Not Fat. If the title hasn't already got you hooked, then you're probably considerably smaller than a size 12.
 
This is one of those books that is simply a pleasure to read. It is written well, and the main character is spunky, lively, and vivacious; I kind of wish she was real so we could hang out!!!!

On to plot: the story is about Heather Wells, a 28-year-old woman who is, obviously, a size 12. When Heather was a teenager, she was a famous pop star - think Britney Spears, except not perhaps as famous. However, she ended up breaking up with her boy band finance after catching him cheating, losing her recording contract after asking if she could sing her own material, and losing all her money when her mother ran off to Argentina. So now Heather works in a residence hall at New York College, attempting to fulfill a six-month probationary period before enrolling in the college and getting access to a cheaper degree. She's living with the attractive, intelligent older brother of her ex; not in a romantic way, as he's her landlord (she's majorly in love with him though). This is the basic background; sound sort of boring? Well, it's not!!!!! Because it's also a MURDER MYSTERY!!!!!! Girls in her dorm are dying, and Heather's playing super snoop!!!!!! I won't say any more, but trust me, it's really good! Plus it's a series, so there'll be more!

I love this book, so definitely give it a shot - I swear you'll love it, whether you're a size 0 or 28!!!!!!!!! :)

A Round of Applause!

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Billy Elliot:The Musical live on stage. What an incredible experience! There really is nothing like professional theater.




Having always been a BIG fan of the original movie Billy Elliot, starring Jamie Bell, I admit that I was a little apprehensive about its transition to the musical stage. After all, Broadway musicals, while being fabulous, are known for their singing, dancing, and, mainly, their excessive cheesiness. How would a poignant, sometimes funny but sometimes very serious, moving story such as Billy Elliot be altered to work on Broadway?

As it turned out, exceedingly well! The music was dramatic, harmonic, and very, very LOUD (in a good way). The dancing blew my mind, both Billy's as well as the hilarious and talented ensemble. The  comedy was not overdone, but was perfect for a live audience (for example, the riotous "Expressing Yourself" in which Billy and his best friend Michael dress up in women's clothing and tap dance!); and the poignancy still resounded in the tear-jerking scenes between Billy and his memory of his deceased mother.

I was moved to tears, laughs, and getting on my feet to dance along throughout the course of the night. I would definitely recommend this musical for anyone who wants a fun night out at the theater; but please note that this is not really a kid's show, as the swearing and occasional "adult" themes made it a little awkward for parents of young ones in the audience. But if you're "born to boogie" and feel the desire to "express yourself", buy up tickets now and get ready to feel the "electricity"! :)

A Not-So-Guilty Pleasure

I'm a teenage girl, so I love watching TV shows that "get" me; you know, they're set in a high school, with cute boys, fun fashions, and lots and lots of drama. There are many shows out there that attempt to hit that perfect balance of over-dramatic television scenarios and realistic, every day life. One that I feel may have missed the mark on that mix but is still one of my all-time favorite shows is native to Canada: Degrassi.

Yes, I know what you're all thinking: That's a TERRIBLE show!!!!! And, yes. I agree that it is not really that good of a show. It's completely over the top in the drama department, the stories are tired and old, and sometimes the acting is sub-par. Well, a lot of the time, actually.

But I still cannot stop watching this show. I am obsessed and not afraid to say so. It's so addicting that when it's not available to me, I literally feel like I am missing an important and vital part of my life. It's so ridiculous but yet it's SO GOOD!!!! Every single episode (including the season finales) ends with at least one cliffhanger, so you are forced to make the impossibly difficult choice of  climbing back up to watch the next episode or season or choosing to give up on the show and therefore forever be questioning, "What did that kiss between Claire and Eli mean for their relationship?????" (Luckily, they're back together; sorry for the spoiler!)

So feel free to laugh at the hilarity of this never-ending teenage spectacle; I know I do. Then, after laughing over and rehashing every single second of that day's thirty-minute episode, with my fellow Degrassi obsessies, I hurry home to turn on TeenNick to find out what in the WORLD is coming next at Degrassi Community School. Pregnancies, STIs, bullying, or just regular teenage angst abound; but we the couch potatoes as well as the wonderful, captivating high schoolers on TV can all proudly join together in Degrassi's truly inspirational anthem: "Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through". With Degrassi to guide me, I know I'll "be the best that I can be"! :)

Praise for Robert Cormier

Who here has heard of Robert Cormier? I kind of had....I knew he wrote fiction books for teens, but I'd never actually read any of them.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I read I am the Cheese in about two hours. I'm not trying to brag about my reading speed - I honestly could NOT put this book down! I was completely riveted from page one all the way until the end. It was a masterpiece!!!!

All right, here's my spoiler alert: I'm going to talk about the whole book, including the end, so if you haven't read it, please don't read ahead!!!! The twist ending is totally the best part of the book and trust me, you don't want to ruin it. If you've already read it or don't really care about reading it, read on!

When it started as Adam on his bike, I was like, "Ok, this is interesting. I'm really curious about what's going on here." As the recorded interview sessions began, I was like, "O-k, this is....interesting. I'm REALLY curious about what's going on here." Then the ending came, and I was like, "Say WHAT?!?!"

It turns out that throughout the entire book, Adam is just riding about his mental hospital! His parents are dead (well, at least his mom is) and the guy who killed them and put Adam in the institution was the man assigned to protect them! OMG!!! This is a classic twist ending; I feel like since this book, there's been a lot of movies and books where the character ends up to have been in a mental hospital the whole time. For example, I believe Shutter Island has a similar twist (I haven't actually seen that yet - I'm a little scared to, because I heard it's pretty creepy!)

Anyways, this is my first Robert Cormier experience, and I must say that it was great! I'm definitely going to look into his other books and read some of them. I heard The Chocolate War is good, so I think I'll delve into that one next!

Back to School?

The other day I went into Walgreens to buy some gum and what did I see???? The Back To School aisle!!! Aaaaahhh!!!! Did I miss something? Does school start in early August now???


I don't actually mind back to school season; I'm a total nerd and happen to be in LOVE with school supplies (fresh notebooks, pens, binders....beautiful!). But not quite yet! I like to think about returning to school in August; you know, when school is actually around the corner?

Stores are always ahead of the game, though. Who says we need to wait until December for the Christmas decorations to show up on the racks? Back to school is clearly no exception.

The aforementioned Walgreens aisle was actually fantastic, though. They'd made cardboard school buses to hold the supplies! I mean, how cool is that? I'm speaking literally (like I said, I'm a nerd). I just feel like I'm being pushed to start the back to school shopping season before I actually want to. Plus, sometimes stores have gotten rid of their merchandise right around the time you actually want to buy it! What's up with that?

This hasn't really been my best rant, mostly because I actually quite LIKE back to school season....I just wish I could have stumbled upon the heaven of school supplies in mid-August instead of mid-July. Oh well; now that the school supplies bug has bitten me once again, I have to admit that there's a part of me that can't wait to head over to Staples, Target, and Walgreens to start buying my back to school equipment - but trust me, there's a much bigger part that will hold me in summer mode!!! (Well, at least for a few more weeks!) ;-)

Summertime!!!!

 Well, it's coming up to that time of year again: Summer!! With it comes vacation, reading, the beach, and sleeping in! I'm so excited for the sunshine, the cool breezes, and all the wonderful things that summer brings.

School isn't really so bad, but I love that we get a break during summer. I need rest! I'm super excited to have time to do all the things I love without worrying about homework, tests, or grades. I want to read books, write for my blogs, and just relax.

I'm also super excited for the sunshine!!!! I love relaxing on the beach with the sun beating down on your face, arms, and legs. It's so relaxing and fun!

I can't wait for summer! :-)

Cue the Lights, Cue the Music...It's Broadway!

 I can't lie to you, dear readers; I have always been, and always will be, a Broadway musical fan. I just love seeing musicals, singing shows from musicals, and performing in musicals. I've done a bunch at my school and a few in the community theater in town. I just get such a thrill from performing! For me, nothing beats the roar of a crowd after you've just nailed that dance routine, or the thunderous applause after you've hit that high note.

I also love watching musicals. From classics like Music Man, 42nd Street, and My Fair Lady, to modern-day wonders like The Drowsy Chaperone, Rent, and Wicked, I can't get enough. Some people say that musicals are silly and cheesy. While that point is valid, sometimes, I still really love them.

One show that I would recommend for anyone who loves musicals or theater is the TV show Smash. Literally, this is one of the best shows ever! It's about a group of professional actors, writers, and directors putting on a brand-new musical about Marilyn Monroe. The musical in the show is called Bombshell. It features original songs, but the show isn't just about the play itself. It also follows the lives of all the characters, and you really get to know them over the course of the show. The best part is that the characters aren't black and white, but have a mix of good and bad qualities (except for Ellis, who is literally just bad).

I wrote this post because I really wanted to express my love of musicals. I hadn't done that yet on this blog, so I wanted to make sure there was at least one post about them. I hope that if I have any readers that are musical fans, they'll read this article and agree with me. Go Broadway! :-)

Summer Reading Approaches

Hello everyone. As the school year finally begins to draw to a close, I can begin to focus on spending my time on things I enjoy; relaxing, writing, and, one of my favorite past times, reading.


My high school requires that we read three books over the summer, one of which is the same one everybody in thew grade reads, while the two others are ones we choose off of a list. I imagine that this is a pain for some people, but I personally like it. It introduces me to new, classic, and challenging books. I'm a total nerd when it comes to reading, so I just love choosing the hardest books on the list and really pushing myself.

This summer, I plan to tackle two challenging but very interesting reads. One is Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, which chronicles the adventures of a Black man in the fifties as he journeys from a university in the South to Harlem in NYC. I've just learned about that time period in my AP US History course at school, so I think that'll be interesting. My other goal is to read Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Yes, yes, I know; it's long. However, I read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina last summer and enjoyed it, so I'm hoping this one will be just as good.

There are other books on the list that I'm interested in, which I can maybe try and read if I have time or some other time. I just think reading is so great! It's like creating a movie inside your own head, where you can decide for yourself what the characters look like based on the descriptions in the story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking TV; I love it. I just think there's something wonderful about opening a book, especially a good one by a talented writer (which I hope some day to be). With any luck, perhaps those of you are reading my blog can take some time this summer to read a book as well. Let's make reading cool! :-)

The College Adventure

Being seventeen and a junior in high school, I've recently embarked on the journey of college. I'm doing all sorts of research into the process; exploring majors, locations, and financial aid.

 The amount of options for college that exist out there is overwhelming. It's so hard to know where to look and what to look for. Luckily, I've been able to narrow down my search slightly.

I want to double major in Communications and Anthropology. I want a college in the northeastern area. I'd prefer a larger student body, though I'm not opposed to small schools as well. I want a proper campus college.

These seemingly unhelpful and obvious requirements actually help a lot when narrowing down the search. It's still hard, though. Today I visited Boston University, which is one of my top choices. It was pretty cool. It was right in the city, but still had that stereotypical campus feel most colleges have. I toured the College of Communications building, which was really high tech and very impressive. The only major issue with BU is the cost.

Why do colleges cost so much? It seems unnecessary. Some places charge more than $50,000 a year! It's insane! Also, living in Massachusetts, the sheer number of choices of nearby colleges is super daunting. I ask my friends about what colleges they're thinking about, and they come up with names of places I've never even heard of. The whole thing is a huge, overwhelming, terrifying process.

But it's also so exciting! I can't wait to begin my studies, wherever I end up (my top picks are BU and UMass Amherst, if you're interested). Communications will be FASCINATING, because I love writing. That's definitely going to lead into a career for me, I hope. Anthropology is also so exciting! I can't wait to learn more in depth about where humans came from, and what current cultures in the world are like. This whole college adventure is scary at times, but it's also fun. I guess I just need to focus on getting in! :-)

Image Two: http://www.cmi-fl.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/college.jpg
Image One: http://checkoutacollege.com/images/pic-4-year-colleges.jpg

Welcome to Flo's Focus!

Hi. Welcome to my blog! You are now entering the mind of a typical American teenage girl. This is my place to express my opinions on life, hopefully in an interesting way. My hopes, dreams, and disappointments will be documented here for the world to see. It's very exciting!

A little bit about me first. I love writing and reading. I dance, do theater, and am totally in love with fashion (take a look at my fashion blog, "Flo's Fashion Focus"!). I'm interested in anthropology, which is the study of humans throughout history and prehistory as well as the study of current human cultures. I want to go to college, and am currently in the process of researching and visiting schools.

My life isn't really that exciting. I hang out with friends, spend an insane amount of time doing homework, and watch a little too much TV. :-) I'm excited and nervous about my future, and I want to someday make an expression on the world by doing something important. I'm average, but I'm me. This blog is me. I hope you find it interesting, but I'm not doing this to gain approval. I'm doing this because I want to, plus I love writing my opinions. If you decide to read more of my posts, I hope you enjoy them - if not, that's fine! I'll keep writing, and I'll be happy. I love documenting life!

- Flo