The Skinned Trilogy by Robin Wasserman

If you want the most boring, drawn-out trilogy ever, this is your series. Don't get me wrong, I love the general theme of the series: questioning what the ultimate deciding factor of humanity is. But that's also were the interest stops.

The general plot of the story is that a girl by the name of Lia Kahn who went from having it all to experiencing a life threatening accident. Instead of dying, Lia's family download her brain and memories into the the body of a new body. Through this she fights different groups of people against her and makes friends while discovering more about her family.

The trilogy fits the category of science fiction well but it lacks the exciting fast pace of the others in its genre. The character development had so much potential but fell flat of ultimately leading up to anything.

The setting was very interesting and I enjoyed the environment that the author created.

The first two novels offered promise of a sweet romance but in the third book, it became harsh, cold and mediocre and was ultimately a waste of time.

I decided to finish the trilogy even though my gut told me to give it up from the second novel because I thought that the series had promise and that it would come to a nice end. But I was wrong, the ending was anti-climatic and super confusing.

Please tell me what you think about this trilogy. Maybe I missed something important that someone else might have caught to make the story more interesting.

What is gluten? And why is it the enemy?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat products. Gluten can be found in bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, pizza and other food products.

Is gluten dangerous?

Sure, gluten is dangerous to anyone with Celiac Disease. For people with Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disease, their immune system attacks the the gluten and the intestinal tracts itself. This disease only affects a very small amount of people (1%) and many of them don't even know. Gluten-sensitivity harbors the same type of symptoms as Celiac Disease (such as fatigue) but to a less dangerous degree and is more common.

But is gluten dangerous to someone without Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity?

Yep. Granted, it is typically not as dangerous for people without a gluten sensitivity as it is for people with the diagnosed disease. Too much gluten can wreck havoc on the digestive system of people with sensitive stomachs. There are other studies that link gluten with other autoimmune diseases as well. There are other ways in which gluten can hurt the body such as the heart. When the antibodies attack the gluten, they can attack heart tissue as well. However, most people don't feel any dangerous effects towards gluten.

Gluten-free diets are trending. For some, adopting the diet is purely for keeping up with the trend while for others, it's about taking charge of their health. Either way, there are benefits of going gluten-free and the diet should definitely be considered.

Have you ever heard of gluten-free dog food? Because it does exist! The world is becoming gluten-free and the fact that gluten-free dog food exists emphasizes how much this new type of diet is still on the rise.

If you would like to check out more cool things about gluten and living gluten-free, check out this website.

Comment letting me know what you think about this gluten-free "trend."

Pinterest Finds #4 | Sep 9 2015

Sorry for the long time without a post. Since I have clearly been in a blogging slump, I thought that I would do I quick Pinterest inspiration post to hopefully get the ball rolling again.

Here are some of my favorite things on Pinterest. You can click on the header to be taken to the actual pin:

Favorite Pair of Heeled Booties:

This is literally the most adorable pair of booties ever! I particularly love the combination of autumn colors and the adorable laces. The material, although it might not be rain friendly, looks very comfortable. The height of the heel is perfect to be stylish yet comfortable.

Favorite Hoodie:

I will be needing a hoodie come the fall season and I love the design of this one. The front pockets are my favorite and the lovely floral print is super cute. While it is made of denim and therefore not necessarily rainproof, it looks very strong and capable of withstanding wind.

Favorite Pair of Food-Themed Earrings:

I love cute earrings because they make such a big and bold statement in such a simple way. The shiny and matte color of the studs is perfect and definitely will be inspiring some of my future jewelry purchases. 

Favorite Hair Color:

First of all, this hair is perfect by itself and super healthy. But not only is it healthy, but her hair is a perfect light metallic blue. Although my black hair is too thick and dark to dye, it is fun to think about trying out different hair colors.

Tell me what you think of my recent Pinterest finds!

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

At this point, I'm pretty sick of dystopian novels but I walked into this book not knowing anything about it. Imagine my dismay when I realized that this book was yet another dystopian novel. Although this book is technically targeted towards a younger audience (tween) rather than the young adult one, which is what I am most used to, I found the overall topic to be mature and the plot advanced.

General Summary:

Honor and her family don't follow the rules. Even her name is seen as broken rule. The weather on their new island is controlled by a big corporation and Earth Mother along with several other factors of their lives. Their life is supposed to be relaxing. But since Honor's family has never paid much attention to the rules, her family is at great risk of disappearing. And eventually, that is what happens to her parents so then Honor sets out to find out what the corporation did to them.

The newer cover (the one above) is gorgeous and once you read the book, it makes perfect sense. 

I have to say that I could hardly put this book down. The writing style is simple and straightforward probably because the reader is supposed to be younger. Chapter transitions were fluid and it was clear that Allegra Goodman knows how to write an entertaining novel despite the recent redundancy of dystopian novels.

But surprisingly, the part of this book that really kept me reading was the setting. I have never read a book where the main reason I kept reading was to find out more about the setting. The setting was like that of a tamer 1989. It was a lot like Big Brother while heavily focusing on the lower classes. 

The characters of the novel were heartwarming and her family was interesting to read about. The young but strong female lead, Honor, is remarkably young for someone who fights big business and corruption.

The only problem that I had with this book (although, some might say that this is a good thing) is that it didn't make me want to keep reading the rest of the series. While I liked that this book's ending wrapped up the plot pretty nicely, I felt like I should have been more motivated to keep up with the series.

Overall, I found it surprisingly good and even though I won't be reading the next book, it was nice reading this one. Let me know your opinions about it or whether you would consider reading it.

End of Summer Bucket List

It's almost the end summer vacation and the start of school and I'm feeling a little down about it. The motivation I had to get things done in the beginning of the summer has slowly faded and I'm feeling really lazy. To make the most out of the last week and a half of summer, I decided to make a bucket list to maximize the remaining amount of time I have before school starts.

Read a book (or two).
I have not done as much summer reading as I wanted to so I want to read as many books as can in this short period of time.

Go back to school shopping.
I bought a few things in July but I know I'll need a few more binders, notebooks, and notecards.

Finish all the shows I started watching.
I started watching a few shows and I need to finish up some of them before school starts.

Empty out and organize all my drawers and the closet.
My room has been getting really messy lately and I've noticed that I can get rid of a lot of things so I might as well donate them.

Sketch.
I've been telling myself to do this all summer so there is no better time to do that than now.

Pin everything into my Pinterest boards.
I love Pinterest and I would love to find ideas and motivation and pinning is super relaxing.

Go thrifting.
I'm looking forward to getting some unique and well-priced items this summer. I have always wanted to do this and I can't think of a better time to.

Try a new type of smoothie everyday.
I love chia seeds and I think trying out new smoothies will be very interesting. I've been doing this for the past three days and I find it so much fun.

Get organized for the upcoming school year.
I really need some goals to the school year. I have to organize my binders and backpack. My backpack tends to become a mess as the year continues so I need to make it super organized now so it stays clean longer and keeping it organized becomes habitual.

Get as must SAT practice in before school stress.
I have a lot of practicing left to do and I would rather not do too much during school.

Practice 10 new hairstyles to use in the upcoming school year.
I need to learn some new hairstyles for the new school year because I usually don't know what to do with my hair on most mornings.

Create a playlist for summer and another for the school year.
I hope the playlist will help relax me and motivate me when I get tired doing homework and need motivation.

Stay up all night watching movies.
I have so many movies that I need to watch! I just want to watch everything in one sitting.

Watch the sun rise.
I've never done this before. I wake up so early that it would be a shame not to.

Meet at least two new people.
Not sure how possible this would be under the time pressure but I might as well try.

Exercise.
I'm probably not going to do this but I might has well include it.

Start waking up earlier.
I know I said that I wake up pretty early as it is but I think waking up an hour earlier will keep me even more alert.

Freak out while watching #fAcetoface.
I can't wait to find out who A is. Finally!

This seems like a short list but I still don't think I'll be able to finish everything before school starts, especially since I only have a week and a half left of summer. But I hope you liked reading this. Please tell me any things on your bucket list!