Monthly Highlights - June 2017

   June flew by way quicker than I thought it could - I would say that it was an amazing month (and I think it was?), but honestly, it went rushing away too fast for me to really remember xD.

   - Our nest-full of baby robins fledged - funny thing was, one of my sisters and I were standing next to the nest, trying to take a picture of the last bird before it left, and it jumped up and flew away (directly in front of our faces!) right after the shutter clicked xD.

   - Celebrating my younger sister's birthday with cake, ice cream, presents, and tons of jumping on our trampoline!

   - Buying LOTS of books. I only mention one of the books I got down in the 'Bookish' section (it was the only brand-new book that I got, all the others were used - in almost perfect condition (because I am the pickiest bookdragon to ever live), but still used xD), though in reality, I'm overloaded with books right now. My TBR has exploded and my bookshelf is about to topple over and crush me. Send help xD. 

   - Fireworks. I know, I know - it's not even July yet, but people in my neighborhood light 'em early xD. It's SO much fun to jump in our trampoline late in the evening and hear tons of bangs - and the 4th is one of my favorite holidays, so every loud boom makes me even more excited! 
 

   The words were so scattered.

   I was literally everywhere, writing everything xD. So let's see what I can unscramble to tell y'all, huh?

   - I wrote ... well, around 11,040 words in June. I think. Maybe. Honestly I only have a rough estimate because, as I said, I was very scattered. But hey - there's the best estimate I can give you xD. And despite the fact that my words were everywhere, June was a pretty okay month for writing.

   - The Snow White retelling/s are happening, people! The retelling idea that I initially had is coming together, slowly but surely. I'm hoping to get the zero and hopefully the first draft of it done in June ;). And then, besides that, dozens of other retelling ideas have been bombarding me and demanding to be written. I'm currently leaving (most of) them on the back burner and seeing which ones survive the longest xD.

   - I've been itching to post another short story on here (like I did with 10 'Till Midnight and The Testing) ... so maybe that will happen in July/August? We shall see? Who can tell? (+ July is going to be a killer month, so if I don't die from sheer stress, I guess I'll have to post one just to celebrate. Maybe xD)

   - The Lost Kingdom Of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine. All of Gail Carson Levine's books are fun for a lighter read, and The Lost Kingdom Of Bamarre didn't disappoint! I think it was actually supposed to be a retelling of Rapunzel, which I didn't know going into the story, but it was pretty easy to realize once I got into the book. However, I did feel like it was just kind of thrown in there? Most retellings feel like the original fairytale is completely meshed into the book, but it felt like Rapunzel was tossed randomly into The Lost Kingdom Of Bamarre just so that it could be a retelling. All that said, the book was still a wonderful work of art, and I give it a shiny four stars.     

   - Harry Potter And The Cursed Child by [who?]. So many mixed thoughts on this one - I don't really consider it part of the Harry Potter series (that series ended at seven books and will STAY at seven books *crosses arms*), and if I did I don't think I'd like it much - but if I view it as more of a fanfiction, then it's pretty good. A lot of people seem to have trouble reading this book, seeing as it's written in script-form, and I always have trouble for the first few pages ... but then I start seeing it as a movie in my head, and filling in the details where there are none. And it was a lot of fun :D. Four stars!  

   - The Evaporation Of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber. Um. I'm not really sure what to say about it? I wanted to like it so bad - it's been so hyped lately, and the premise was one of the best that I've read. But honestly, it didn't hold up for me. I was actually planning to review it, but I'm not sure if I want to review a book that I can't give a very good rating? I have a feeling that this is going to be a very unpopular opinion, but there it is. I'll give it three stars - and if it weren't for the fact that I still think the idea of the story itself was so good, it would probably only be two and a half.

   - The Warden And The Wolf King by Andrew Peterson. I literally had to write my thoughts about this book last because OH MY. My mind's still reeling from this book, and I read it at the beginning of the month. Such incredible things were done in a MIDDLE GRADE book that I have never seen done in a YA book. We've got to step up our game, writers xD. But all of that aside - this book inspired me and made me want to write better stories. And it also reduced me to a puddle of feels and made me want to reread it promptly. So it gets five stars from me!

   Also, I bought a brand-new copy of Heartless (and if you know me, you know I don't buy brand new copies very often. Even if they smell amazing and it's so much fun to find room for just one more on my overly full shelves xD)! It's so gorgeous and aesthetic and so perfect for book-pictures.

   I just love it so much <3.

   (and if you want more of my bookish thoughts, you can find my book review of Resistance, by Jaye L. Knight, over on the Pursue Magazine blog!)

 

   - Mary introduced us to her AMAZING-sounding new novella, Behind The Velvet Curtain. I want the thing so bad, I could die.

   - The amazing Alea Harper got a literary agent - I'm so so excited for her!

   - Victoria did an awesome post on how to make our stories deeper, by comparing the new and the old Beauty And The Beast movies.

   - Julia published a book of her poetry and OH MY does it look gorgeous <3. 

   - Jane Maree posted three ways to get rid of impossibly persistent story ideas - and shared some of her awesome snippets in the same post, so it gets extra points xD.

   - Abbiee did a hilarious post/tag that SHE CREATED about old and apparently horrendous stories that she had written when she was younger. I loved it and I may or may not steal the tag and do it in July xD.

   Well, July is going to be a KILLER month for me, seeing as I'm participating in Camp NaNoWriMo (with a bigger goal than I had last time), whilst juggling life (tons of stuff going on in that area) and studying for my ACT test.

   All that being said, July's going to be a month full of lighter posts that are mostly just for fun - and I think you guys are going to be having a lot of fun, too (*cough* check back on July 3rd for something really special *cough*)!

~ Savannah Grace 

   How was your June? Did we read any of the same books? Have you written / are you writing any retellings?