More Than Just Painted Nails and Highlighted Hair

I read the most amazing nonfiction book this week. And you know it has to be good, because I usually hate nonfiction books. But this one made the real world just as amazing as a fantasy one. It's called the Kabul Beauty School, by Deborah Rodriguez, and follows Rodriguez as she travels to war-torn Afghanistan, after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001. At first, surrounded by doctors, engineers, and therapists, she feels out of place, and worries that she can't make an impact in the Afghan people's destroyed lives. But she soon discovers one thing that she, and only she, can bring to Kabul, Afghanistan: a beauty school for the many Afghan women she befriends on her trip. And soon the Kabul Beauty School becomes more than just teaching women to die hair and paint nails; it becomes an escape from prejudice, abusive husbands, and a country that doesn't appreciate women. It's a really amazing story, and everybody should read it. it will make you laugh, cry, and want to fly to Afghanistan right now, this minute, to meet the amazing women whose stories are told.

Gifts Of Red Glass

So, for my birthday, I did get a few books...and a few more gift certificates to buy them, which are always good too. One of the books I got was Red Glass, by Laura Resau. It's an amazing, funny, touching story about illegal Mexican immigrants, red glass, chickens, road trips, and facing your fears. It follows the story of Sophie's sixteenth summer, and the little 6 year old boy who burrows his way into it, bringing more worries and fears to pile on top of Sophie's already higher than average pile. His name is Pablo, and he's discovered at a hospital with her stepfather's business card in his pocket. Thus starts her summer, and the road trip to find Pablo's family, where she discovers stars, strength, limes, salsa dancing, perspective, and....Angel. The story's really well written, and I recommend it to anyone who likes Hispanic culture, journeys, or a book to read...one with words. It's one of the better ones in that category.

Last Night of Being 14....

Well, as you may have guessed from the title, I turn 15 tomorrow! Crazy, right? I'm pretty excited. Hopefully more books will be floating my way...always good in my opinion. The more books, the better.

Speaking of books, I have a few recommendations, to make up for the time I've spent not posting and enjoying the sparse sunshine (while I'm not slaving to finish my homework). The first is Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin. It follows the story of Naomi, who slips while walking down the stairs at her high school and wakes up in an ambulance with the past 4 years of her memory erased. She can remember up to 7th grade, but the last year of middle school and the first 2 and 1/2 of high school are total mysteries. She has to re-learn who she is, and discovers who her real friends are in the process. It's a really good book...funny, mysterious, sad, romantic, even heartbreaking at times...all melded together into a novel you can't put down. At least I couldn't. It does have a little bit of inappropriate material in it, so I'd wait till at least 7th or 8th grade to read it...unless you're really mature.

That's the cover...I really like how it's laid out. Very nifty. So...good read there.

Another good read is Saffy's Angel and the following books (Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After, and Forever Rose, which I haven't gotten to read yet, but am looking forward too). They follow the eccentric Casson family (all named for paint colors by their artist parents) -Rose, Indigo, Saffron, Cadmium, their mother Eve and their father Bill-and the people they meet along the way. These include Michael, Caddy's dricing teacher who may be something more, Sarah the wheelchair girl from down the lane, Tom from America, and many more. Saffy's Angel follows Saffron as she discovers that she was adopted after her mother, Eve's sister, was killed in a car crash. When she discovers a note in her grandfather's will, it leads her on a wild race to find her stone angel and herself along the way. Meanwhile, back at home, Caddy attempts to pass her driving test after nearly 100 lessons, Indigo faces his fears by rappeling out his bedroom window, and Rose paints the walls. It's an amazing book and series, which will cause you to wish you'd been born a Casson.

Another nifty cover...the world's full of them, it seems.

Well, I've gotta go enjoy the last hours of being 14! Hope you're having a great week, and happy reading!

May Day, Drug Lords, and Cookies

Happy May Day everybody! Well, I guess that was yesterday. But, still. Happy May Day!

SO, some book reccomendations. I've been a bit lacking in these, and all other posts lately. Sorry about that! Track is coming towards the championships (JV for me) and I've had a lot of homework. But, as always, I still find time to read.

One book I'm currently reading is The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. It's about a clone, Matteo Alacran, who's a copy of El Patron, a dangerous powerful drug lord who practically owns Opium, a country which takes up the land between the US and what used to be Mexico. He must come to grips with what it means to be a clone, and the danger he is in. Will he be able to escape and save himself? I don't know. I haven't finished the book yet. But I really hope so. If you like science fiction, action, or mysteries, and don't mind a little horror or weird science, this is a great book, and written really well.

And to leave you with a poem I wrote for English, on a subject close to my heart:

Butterscotch
Reminds me of days spent
Watching the mixer
Turning the amber
Dough
Waiting for the ding
Of the timer
Tasting the
Gold
Hot
Treasure
Of Sunday afternoons

Hope you enjoyed that. I'll be back soon, with more of the same. And some of the different. Just to mix it up a little. :)

Spring Break Photos

Today was photo upload day, and so I have some photos from Spring Break I'd like to share with you. I went out to Waldron, an island in the San Juan islands, and had tons of fun out there. Then we came home and had an easter egg hunt in the rain. All good Northwestern fun, right?

Here's our group (friends, family, next door neighbor, dog) piled in the back of my grandma and step-grandpa's old beat-up Waldron truck.

This is the aforementioned relatives cabin- small, cozy, and crammed. But I like it that way. My grandma has a weaving studio in the back, and they have a huge wood stove which they cook delicious meals on. Especially tortillas and pies.

How can you resist that face? So cute and fuzzy!

The intrepid Easter egg hunting party...armed with baskets and rain gear.

And last, but definetly not least, our new kitchen cabinets, built by my grandpa and installed by us! Yay! No more green plastic tubs for us!
And that was Spring Break! Stay tuned...there are some book reviews coming your way next post! And have a great spring day!

I Love My Bike!

I've been able to ride too school these past two days, and I am loving it! The weather is finally nice, and I'm hoping it lasts. *crossing fingers and knocking on wood* One of the perks of riding is my bike. I have an Xtracycle, an especially rad bike.

Here's a picture of me on the first day of school this year, ready to board my bike and start highschool:

Isn't the bike cool? It has two saddlebags, where my backpack, lunchbox, runing stuff, and violin reside, and a place where people can sit as I ride them around. It makes the load much easier to bear.

If you'd like to know more about Xtracycles, you can look at the homepage of the company that makes them, http://www.xtracycle.com/. If you live around here, you can get them at The Hub, my favorite used bike store ever. And you can visit them here: http://www.pedalproject.org/.

Bikes in general are pretty cool; always good to lower your carbon footprint. Plus, you get excersize and you feel good about yourself and the environment. So get out and be the engine today!

Springing into...Spring!

Hey guys! I'm really sorry i haven't posted in ages and ages...there was the adnoids, and then I got the stomach flu, and so I was buried in make-up work and homework. Plus track turnouts. But it's Spring Break (rejoice!) and so now I have time to do stuff! It's a very weird concept, having time... :)

Speaking of track, I had my first meet on Wednesdsay. I ran the 800, and my time was 3 minutes, 9 seconds, which isn't bad...that's a PR (personal record) for me! Not to mention that by the time we ran at 6 pm, there was standing water on the track, it was raining so hard we could barely see, and we'd been standing in the cold for about 4 hours. Not the funnest experience of my life. I'm hoping the next one's a bit warmer.

And we even have sun today! I am thrilled. My mom is outside gardening...making up for all the rain we've had. Our garden is beginning to bloom! It's beautiful. Observe:


Isn't it wonderful? I'm loving the sun and the flowers...and just spring. It's my favorite season!