Favorite Poem Friday (#5)

Morning Swooners,

I haven't fully recovered from the recent loss of my grandpa so my posts are still going to reflect those feelings that i'm going through. I promise i'll buck up to my old self soon, but today just isn't that day. I hope you enjoy today's poem by Charlotte Brontë. Please don't run away just yet, my poem choices will be bubbly soon enough, I promise!

On the Death of Anne Brontë by Charlotte Brontë

There’s little joy in life for me,

And little terror in the grave;

I’ve lived the parting hour to see

Of one I would have died to save.

Calmly to watch the failing breath,

Wishing each sigh might be the last;

Longing to see the shade of death

O’er those belovèd features cast.

The cloud, the stillness that must part

The darling of my life from me;

And then to thank God from my heart,

To thank Him well and fervently;

Although I knew that we had lost

The hope and glory of our life;

And now, benighted, tempest-tossed,

Must bear alone the weary strife.

Quotes (#36)

Morning Swooners.

I've been MIA recently because my grandfather passed away and i'm still trying to deal with my emotions and figure out how to live without him. It's been a week since he passed and I just feel like I need to share this tragedy with you all, my wonderful followers. My grandpa was the best man i've ever known and the literal love of my life. I wish I could tell you everything about him but words will never do him justice. Just know that to know him was to love him and he was a widely loved man. He had a kind heart and was full of life. The biggest jokester i've ever met, he constantly had me laughing. From the moment we met it was love between us and now I have to figure out how to spend the rest of my life without the person I loved most (sorry grandma).

So here are some great quotes that are hitting me in the feels more than anything today.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring


“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.” ― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish


“When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.” 
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Collection)


“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967


“If you gave someone your heart and they died, did they take it with them? Did you spend the rest of forever with a hole inside you that couldn't be filled?” ― Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes


“That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.” ― Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever


“You'll stay with me?' Until the very end,' said James.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


“Does it hurt?" The childish question had escaped Harry's lips before he could stop it.

"Dying? Not at all," said Sirius. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep.”  ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


“Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.”  ― Mitch Albom

Quotes (#35)

~Morning Swooners~

So this is my first day back to school from Spring Break and i'm sooooo tired. I mean, I had a week of staying out late and waking up late to then come back to 8AM classes and traffic. So i'm not enjoying the loss of my free time. Not to mention the loss of an hour of sleep which I already miss so dearly. Life just isn't the same without it (pours out some liquor) So anyway the book i'm currently reading has me so broken inside right now. Such a sad story that is beautifully written. So to share my joy (or sorrow depending on how you look at it) I posted some quotes from the book and I hope you love them as much as I do [read: I hope they break you like they have broken me lol]



“I'll never understand how time can make a moment feel as close as yesterday and as far as years.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“There’s nothing wrong with someone saving my life, I’ve realized, especially when I can’t trust myself to get the job done right. People need people. That’s that.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“Time doesn’t heal all wounds. We both know that’s bullshit; it comes from people who have nothing comforting or original to say.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“I was in love and love died and the pain you've left isn't pain I can see myself having the strength to face again.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“I'm blown away by how happy you make me. Thank you for being there for me when I'm stupid enough to think I'd rather be alone.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished. Sometimes that’s for the best. Some pieces can’t be forced into a puzzle, or at least they shouldn’t be, because they won’t make sense.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“Then there’s the kind of zombie I’ve become now: the one who has lost everything—his brain, his heart, his light, his direction. He wanders the world, bumping into this, tripping over that, but keeps going and going. That is life after death.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me


“History is nothing. It can be recycled or thrown away completely. It isn’t this sacred treasure chest I mistook it to be. We were something, but history isn’t enough to keep something alive forever.”  ― Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me

Favorite Poem Friday (#4)

Today's poem is an oldie but a goodie and kind of hits home for me today. I live with my grandparents and they've both had a lot of health issues recently. In a way it's been a little reminder of their mortality and the fact that they won't be in my life forever. They have both been so strong for so long and they continue to "rage against the dying of the light." They wont be overcome by the darkness and I love them for showing grace and strength during times when they are expected to be scared and angry. So here's to my grandparents, my favorite warriors!

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas 

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

REVIEW: Splintered (Splintered #1) by A. G. Howard

Splintered (Splintered #1) by A.G. Howard

Publication Date: January 1, 2013

Publisher: Amulet Books 
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer  

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble


My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

LOVED. LOVED. LOVED! I truly loved reading this book! (in case you couldn't tell lol)

I had seen this book around the blogosphere for a while and never really had any interest in it until one of my friends read it and raved about it. So I was still skeptical at first, but of course I trust my friends reading choices and decided to give it a try. Boy was I amazed at how hard and fast I fell for this story!! From the synopsis you can see that it's kind of an Alice in Wonderland re-telling, which I totally loved reading. Retellings are kind of my new obsession which works out perfectly because they are popping up everywhere.

The author, A.G. Howard, did such an amazing job writing this story and it was so fun to read. The world building was off the chain! She took our boring and colorless world and turned it into a never ending rabbit hole that lead to a beautiful and fun filled Wonderland!

Alyssa, our MC, is such a fun character to read. She's always known that her family is cursed ever since her (infinite greats) grandmother, Alice Liddell, fell into the rabbit hole and got the family line cursed. The fear that Alyssa has when she starts hearing the bugs and flowers speak to her is so genuinely real that you really feel for her. I mean, I personally think it would be awesome to hear bugs and flowers speak, but after her mother is committed into the asylum for losing her mind for the same things that Alyssa is going through, She becomes extremely worried and fears that she will end up there too.

Then there's Jeb, I mean OHMAHGOD!!!! I think he is so swoony!! Also a bit dramatic, but definitely swoony! Jeb goes above and beyond to protect Alyssa and it's just so romantic to watch it all unfold! I want to say that the love they share is wonderful to see but it's definitely more than that. The bond they share as friends is so special, it honestly makes me jealous. I wish I could find someone that will love me unconditionally the way Jeb loves Alyssa (and the way she loves him.)

Now to Morpheous, I don't even know where to begin with him. I want to say that he's a mix between swoony half the time but also scary the other half of the time! He says some pretty romantic things to Alyssa, which of course gets her to do what he wants, but he also does some pretty scary things that had me questioning his motives. He's definitely a manipulative character but you can tell that he also genuinely cares about her. I definitely had a hard time deciding if I liked him or not but I can tell you for sure that I never trusted him. There were moments when I had to wonder if I actually could trust him but then I realized that if I had to question whether I could trust him then that meant I couldn't.

Overall, I really loved this book and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of this series! If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do!