A Song or A Story?

Often times, some people will classify literature as the following:

• books
• poems
• essays
• speeches

These may all be true, but there’s something missing. Why isn’t “songs” mentioned? Don’t they tell as much of a story as a book or poem does? If we dissected the lyrics of a song, they express the feelings and tale of what the music artist is thinking, wouldn’t you agree? Let’s look at the song Wide Awake, a popular song by Katy Perry at the moment:

I’m wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I’m wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong                                                                                                           I’m wide awake
And now it’s clear to me
That everything you see
Ain’t always what it seems
I’m wide awake
Yeah, I was dreaming for so long                                                                                                             I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn’t dive in
Wouldn’t bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
Till I woke up on
On the concrete                                                                                                                                       Falling from cloud 9
Crashing from the high
I’m letting go tonight
Yeah I’m Falling from cloud 9                                                                                                                   I’m wide awake
Not losing any sleep
I picked up every piece
And landed on my feet
I’m wide awake
Need nothing to complete myself                                                                                                           I’m wide awake
Yeah, I am born again
Outta the lion’s den
I don’t have to pretend
And it’s too late
The story’s over now,  the end                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Thunder rumbling
Castles crumbling
I am trying to hold on
God knows that I tried
Seeing the bright side
I’m not blind anymore                                                                                                                              

The lyrics mean different things to different people, depending on what’s going on in their lives.  Maybe it might be that it means nothing at all, just another song. Or perhaps you’re going through a tough time and the song applies perfectly to you. The song speaks for Katy about something that she’s going through, and it helps get an insight on the story she’s trying to tell.

Still don’t get what I mean? Let’s try a different song. A section from Enchanted by Taylor Swift:

There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired lonely place
Walls of insincerity,
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Your eyes whispered, “Have we met?”
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you
This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go
I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I’ll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don’t you let it go
I’m wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I’ll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

This song tells us the tale of an experience Taylor had while at another party she wasn’t interested in being at when she met a guy she was “enchanted” to meet (some believe that she actually wrote this song for Adam Young, otherwise known as Owl City).

Most songs are wrote for a reason. Most. There are some, that you wonder what the writer was trying to say to us. Like these lines from a song called Planetary (GO!) by My Chemical Romance:

There might be something outside your window
But you just never know
There could be something right past the turnpike gates
But you’ll just never know
If my velocity starts to make you sweat,
Then just don’t let go
And if their Heaven ain’t got a vacancy
Then we just, then we just, then we just
Then we just get up and go!

It’s a fun song and we love it, but we just don’t see the story behind it.

So next time you listen to a song, can you decipher the tale behind it?

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to an amazing cousin and best friend!! Love you Anna!
~posted by Sofia~

Sofia’s Book Reviews: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

Such a simple cover, but such a detailed book.
In the previous entry, I wrote about how I stopped halfway through reading CITY OF LOST SOULS to read another book. This is that book.
I have heard about this book through Twitter for a while now, and all everyone was saying was that it was amazing. So I went out and bought it. When I got home, I skimmed the synopsis on the inside of the cover, and immediately thought that I should have done this while at the store. I had bought a cancer story.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I have absolutely nothing against people with cancer. I know three people that I love very much that have had cancer at one point in their lives. But, I don’t really like curling up and reading a book that’s going to make me cry. And when I saw the words “Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis”, I became a stereotype and immediately assumed that this would be exactly the book that’s going to make me cry. And I was right.
If you must know, I did cry. But only two single tears! So I’m not that much of a wimp.
I do wonder about the other book wrote by this author, LOOKING FOR ALASKA. I’m considering reading it because this book was so good. Has anyone read it? Leave a comment if you have, and tell me if you think I should check it out.
Now, this author also has a YouTube channel, and you can watch him and his brother Hank (the Vlogbrothers) here.
He also has over a million followers on Twitter, which is amazing (@realjohngreen).
Anyways, this book is sad, funny, and romantic. It’s a really easy read (I stayed up late and finished it in a night), and that’s a good thing, because you won’t want to put it down.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment, because we love hearing from you. If you do though, please don’t say anything that would give away the story, because there might be people that haven’t read it yet but want to. Thanks!

Sofia’s Book Reviews: CITY OF LOST SOULS by Cassandra Clare

If you’ve been to my house… many of you reading this probably (and, no offense, hopefully) haven’t, but one of the things that you’re likely to see is that I have a square on my bookshelf that holds my favorite series’ of books (well, more like crams them in, since my bookshelf is not as big as I would like it to be). I enjoy a lot of books, but the ones placed here are different. This shelf is kind of like the hall of fame for my library.
And, if you know me, you can probably guess that THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series is placed in this shelf.
I started reading the series last year. I had heard about it a little, and saw an advertisement for it in a magazine, but I always decided to pass it up in the bookstores, not willing to take the risk to spend the twenty dollars to buy it. I think what finally pushed me to just live a little and try it was the small, signed-by-the-author postcard that was pinned up on my teacher’s bulletin board. She usually had good judgement when it came to reading, so the next time I walked into Boarders, I picked up the book that had a guy with no shirt on on the cover (after about a twenty minute hesitation). Coincidentally enough, Anna bought the first three books the next week.
Even then, though, I didn’t start reading it until a month and a half after I bought it.
Needless, to say, I became hooked.
Now, the fifth installment of the series came out last month, and I FINALLY was able to buy myself a copy. My big sister was gawking at me when I showed it to her. “How many pages is that?” She had asked.
“About six hundred, I think.”
She didn’t say anything back, but I’m pretty sure her theory that I was insane grew.
The book was great, really, but for some reason, I just couldn’t seem to get into it like I had the others. Maybe it was because of Jace’s… situation (I’m trying not to give anything away!), but I actually put the book down halfway through to read another one I had just bought. Although that wasn’t a major problem, because I finished that one in a night, but still. It’s rare for me to stop in the middle of reading.
There is also one thing that I was… not very happy at all about that happens in the epilogue. I mean, seriously, WHY?! If you read the book, you might understand what I’m talking about. Stupid vampire.
I rate the book four stars out of five stars, because even though all it sounds like I did was complain in the entry, it’s still a work of Cassie’s that I loved. Can’t wait for CLOCKWORK PRINCESS!
Please feel free to leave a comment, we both always LOVE getting those. But, if you do, please try to stay clear of exploiting anything that will give away the book, for the courtesy of those that have not yet read it and want to.

The Song That Basically Inspired The Story

This song– ALICE by Avril Lavigne– is what we were listening to when we got the idea for our novel. We’ve listened to it loads of times since then, whenever we needed an idea.

Sneak Peek… ooooh

“Do you think I’ll ever get out?” I asked.

“If you want something bad enough,” said the man, “in time, it will happen.”

“And what if it doesn’t?”

“My dear, you have so little faith,” he replied. “You’re the main character in this story. Believe. Anything is possible, if you just have faith.”

 

 

I know, it doesn’t really give away anything, but we couldn’t think of anything to write. And if we gave everything away now, you wouldn’t want to read it at all… if it ever gets published.

Sofia’s Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I’ve been itching to get my hands on this delightful sequel to DELIRIUM for a while now, and I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed, although I had my doubts about how the author would succeed in continuing a good story after what happened in the end of the first book. Needless to say, I was proven wrong.
When an author takes away a certain character that they have made the reader grow attatched to, it’s hard to replace them with someone else. Oliver, however, did not seem to have this problem, because now I can’t tell who I like more.
VERY much a cliffhanger, though, so if you are one of those people who need to have all of the books in a series before they start reading so that they don’t run into any stop short endings, I wouldn’t suggest opening this novel just yet.
Four out of five stars.
Much thanks to my teacher who rented it from the library and let me read it before her.

A song by 3Oh13 feat. Neon Hitch that we love… Anna actually listened to it and thought it would be a good song for our soundtrack, and when she looked it up, turns out that it was actually on the soundtrack for the Alice and Wonderland movie.

https://www.youtube.com/v/Np99Vjr4qGU

Sofia’s Book Review: INSURGENT by Veronica Roth

First, I need to say something: BRAVO VERONICA ROTH!
I have been dying to get my hands on this book since I put down the first one, DIVERGENT, but only got it last Monday. However, I have been really busy because of our vacation to Chicago (which, incidentally, is where this book’s setting takes place… and yes I did get happy and excited when I rode on the ferris wheel and went up in the John Hancock building because they are mentioned in both books… don’t judge me), so I didn’t start reading it until Sunday night. I think being sick this week was for once a good thing, because I haven’t been able to put this novel down, and school would’ve stopped me from reading it. Four and Tris almost made me forget about how sore my throat was (and, at the moment, still is).
In my personal opinion, I liked INSURGENT more than I did DIVERGENT. Don’t get me wrong, DIVERGENT is absolutely fantabulous and I tore through the story just as fast as I did this one, but something about the personalities of the characters on top of the riveting plot in this outstanding sequel compelled me to keep turning the pages. I was so tired, but I forced my eyes open, chanting to myself, “Just one more chapter…”
So, if you’re wondering, yes, this series has been officially placed in my list of favorites. Not really a surprise there, though. My sister tells me I’m going to be one of those old ladies that dies alone with nothing but her books and cats.
Sometimes I believe her. Ha.
Anyways, I think I have a favorite quote from this novel, which is weird, since I don’t usually have those with books. Yet, this is the one I remember the most:
“Who cares about everyone… what about me?”
I’m not really sure why, either. Maybe it was the setting. Or because of how sad it sounded.
It is definately a cliff hanger though. So, once again, I am dying to get the next installment of this series.
So, if you have nothing to read, I deeply recommend you go and find yourself a copy of these two books because… well, they’re simply amazing.
Five stars out of five stars.
Have a comment about these two books? Please post them I would love to hear them all!
And, yes, I did take that picture using Instagram. Not too shabby for me, I think.

School

I like school because I get to hang out with my friends. The thing about school I don’t like is the homework. If it weren’t for that school would be fine.
Some schools got out today, but we don’t get out until next week. So unfair… but nobody told me life was fair. ~posted by Anna