IS THIS THING ON?!?!

I think I nearly forgot how to blog. It's funny, before the A-Z Challenge, me blogging two weeks apart would have been GOALS, but now it feels so WEIRD.

How dare I leave you for a week longer than I promised! Did you survive?! I do hope so.

Camp was amazing. So, so, so incredible. I met some of the most incredible people and really grew in my relationship with Jesus, which was awesome. But more on that later.

The amount of selfies that happened
was ridiculous.

The reason for my prolonged absence was because my cousins were in town. I kept telling myself that I was going to blog, but it was so hard to break away. I grew up with these cousins (we lived in the same town until I was fourteen) and we're all super close. Especially Alex and myself...she knows me better than anyone, and defines the term "best friend" for me. Anyway, so we were super busy this past week and gone doing crazy things (pool, museum, put-put, the works). But more on that later.

Us being weird. So basically us
being us.

Unfortunately, the insanity is not about to die down. I'm taking an impromptu trip to visit Alex and family (GOING BACK TO MY HOMETOWN YAY!!) with my youngest brother tomorrow. But I have some things lined up for next week, so hopefully I'll still be able to at least blog, if not visit other blogs. But more on that later.

Speaking of which, I've missed reading everyone's blogs so much!! I can't wait to see what y'all have been up to.

Also...I decided to do Camp Nano! Life is already insane enough, might as well add some crazy. I'll be working TBN (which I talked about in my summer goals post). I'm still going to be doing my best to blog two to three times a week though, don't you worry.

LASTLY...a huge round of thanks goes to Rachel Pattinson for nominating me for the Infinity Blog Award! She's a doll, guys, seriously.

I'm supposed to give eleven facts about myself, so here we go. Brace yourselves.

1. I had a make-believe best friend named Katelyn.
2. I had a make-believe villain named Michael Alvin who lived on my top bunk until I moved to the top bunk and then he moved to my closet. He could make himself super tiny during the day and then at night he would come to his full size. He was friends with all of the Disney villains and his sole purpose in life was to marry me. 
3. I used to force my brothers to go on "Michael Alvin" hunts during the day and sometimes I would try to rub the skin off of their faces to see if they were actually Michael Alvin wearing a mask.
4. I had a crush on Ty Pennington (from ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Addition) for like...five years. Or so. (OH MY GOSH, I found out that his name is actually Gary a few weeks ago...like WHAT EVEN my childhood is ruined.)
5. I've been to a different school for each year of high school so far. Thankfully, I'm staying homeschooled for my senior year.
6. I was the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver my sophomore year.
7. My neighbors, cousins, siblings, and I put on Annie the musical in my backyard about seven summers ago. I was Annie (of course, because I always had to be the center of attention). It was terrible. We have a video of it, and let's just say, y'all should be glad that my sass has gotten somewhat under control since then.
8. The first year I did NaNoWriMo, my brother Joseph made an account and pretended to be a guy my age and we messaged for a long time before I discovered that it was actually Joseph. I was so, so, so mad. SO MAD.
9. I HATE Skittles. With a passion.
10. I'm discerning doing a year of missionary work before college. (Prayers appreciated!)
11. I dress up literally every day. The worst part of camp was that I could not bring my maxi skirts or my wedges. Not about that athletic shorts life.

Now for Rachel's questions:

1. If you could be any superhero, who would it be and why?

Black Widow! Because she's kick butt but still feminine and able to depend on others as well as still care about them a lot.
2. If you had to choose between permanently too hot or too cold, which one would you choose?

Too hot! I love love love heat and am still recovering from winter. Actually, I am not really sure that there is such a thing as too hot.
3. What's your ultimate writing dream?

Oh man...honestly, I don't have one. I mean, I have goals, but they're just kind of...there. I'm trying to figure out how God wants me to use my writing in life. Right now, I'm just writing for Him and me, and it's going really well. I guess I would have to say that I'd love to be published. Or have an agent represent me. One of the two would be pretty sweet, but I'm also content where I'm at right now. 

Now...for the eleven bloggers that I'm nominating! 

1. Ashley
2. Jessica Wolf
3. Opal
4. Nicole S.
5. Jack
6. Abigail Post
7. Candice Williams
8. Rcubed
9. Katie Grace
10. Emily Ann Putzke
11. Jo

(No pressure to do this, guys, seriously...but just want you to know how much I love you and how awesome your blogs are!)

My questions:

1. Would you rather be a butterfly or a bumble bee?
2. Post a paragraph or a stanza of your latest writing project. (I guess that wasn't really a question...will you please post a paragraph or stanza?)
3. What are your blogging goals for the rest of the year?

Okay, now I'm off to go read up on all of your blogs. It's good to be back.

A Blog Tour, a Break, and a BRAND new book!

I hope that you're surviving this week! I have an awesome YOU'RE ALMOST DONE IT'S NEARLY THE WEEKEND treat for you, after two quick announcements. Actually, they might not be quick, because, let's face it, I'm me and nothing is quick, but we'll see. I mean, look at this opening paragraph! It's already three sentences longer than I thought it was going to be. Now four. Now-- you know what, I'm just going to continue.

FIRST OF ALL, I want you to go over to the INCREDIBLE Rachel Pattinson's blog RIGHT THIS INSTANT and SIGN UP to be a part of her book tour, taking place this July! Rachel is a doll and deserves all the support the writing community can give her! So go read the details right now and AGAIN, sign up! (Wow, that whole paragraph is exclamation points. Except now it isn't.)

I'll wait. Waiting. Waiting. Oh my gosh, hurry up!

Okay...back to our regularly scheduled program...

SECONDLY, I'll be taking a break from blogging next week. (Wahhhh...I know, I'm crying too...I know, I know, it's okay...please, try to control yourselves. GOODNESS, it's just a week, not forever!) I will be at summer camp (a "high adventure, outdoor" summer camp-- oh goody! Just what I love--the outdoors!! Actually, I do, I'm just not very athletic and kind of a wimp. But the week is a summer camp/retreat week, so I'm looking forward to spending time with God and seeing what surprises He has in store for our relationship. Man, this is a lot to be in parenthesis. Maybe I should go back and edit so it's not in parenthesis. You know what, nope, I'm just going to leave it. Except I was taught in first grade by Sister Anger Issues that you don't have to read what's inside parenthesis. WELL, at this blog, YOU DO. SO THERE. Anyway...) I'll be gone Sunday through Friday (or maybe Saturday. See, is this a good use of parenthesis?! Yes, yes it is, thank you very much).

OKAY. Finally, let's get to the main point of this post, which is an interview with EMILY ANN PUTZKE. I recently participated in a book tour for her new release AIN'T WE GOT FUN. If you missed it, too bad. Just joking, here's my review of AWGF. But this time I'm not waiting for you to check it out, you'll have to do it on your own time.

Here's a little about Emily:

EMILY ANN PUTZKE and Gi Rowland have two big things in common: their love for God and coffee. Besides writing historical fiction, Emily enjoys being an aunty, photography, Irish dancing, spending time with family, attempting to play the guitar, reenacting, and reading. She loves polka dots, war movies, and all things vintage. Her first novella, It Took a War, was published in December of 2014. You can learn more about Emily Ann Putzke and her books at www.authoremilyannputzke.com and www.facebook.com/authoremilyannputzke.

Who is Gi, you ask? Well, you'd better read AWGF and find out!

And here's a lot about Emily:

AMS: When you were little (we're talking like five), what did you want to be when you grew up?

EP: Many things … a librarian, a cashier, a zookeeper, an artist. I started writing stories when I was about 6 or 7, so the author ambition followed shortly after. 

Quite the extensive list!

AMS: What inspired AWGF? What was the writing process like?

EP: Emily Chapman and I had been wanting to write a story together for a while. We even started a story with handwritten letters, but we both got too busy. Then in December of 2014, Emily emailed me and suggested we try a new story and post the letters on our blogs as we went. We already had picked the names and the Great Depression for a previous story, so we took those and ran with them. We sent the letters through Googledocs, which allowed us both to be able to add suggestions/edits to each other’s letters. We exchanged a ton of emails, sorting out the plot and planning the ending letters.

What a great start to an amazing novel! Google Docs is basically my absolute favorite thing about technology, so incredibly useful. 

AMS: What are the pros and cons of co-authorship?

EP: I love co-authorship because of the collaboration, camaraderie, and bouncing off each other’s ideas. Emily Chapman and I work really well together, and we had tons of fun writing AWGF. The hard part was being flexible, because sometimes our expectations and ideas differed. Also, there’s just so much to think about and coordinate that it was overwhelming at times.

That's awesome that you two were able to click over this. I loved reading AWGF because your writing voices and styles were different, but meshed well together. It does sound overwhelming, though! I'm sure it had its stressful moments.

AMS: Can you tell me about the publishing process for AWGF?

EP: The first thing we had to do after editing AWGF was get a cover and have the book formatted. We hired Rachel Rossano for both jobs, and she did such a great job! We chose to use my publishing imprint, The White Rose Press. We also had to purchase an ISBN, then upload the files to Createspace. Once the files are submitted to Createspace, we ordered proof copies to make sure everything looked ok, then approved it.

Amen to that! The cover is GORGEOUS. 

AMS: What are you working on now? What writing brilliance can we expect next from you?

EP: I’m currently knee deep in rewrites for a novel titled, Resist. It’s based on the true story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, a German brother and sister who wrote a distributed anti-Nazi leaflets during WWII.

Sounds intriguing! I love World War II stories, especially true ones.

AMS: What are your summer writing goals?

EP: I’m hoping to finish the rewriting of Resist this summer, and also write a Sleeping Beauty retelling for the Rooglewood writing contest.

Oh, awesome! I'm debating about writing a retelling too...

AMS: What is your most recent favorite book?

EP: To Kill a Mockingbird. But I’m currently reading All The Light We Cannot See and I’m thinking it might be one of my favorites … but I haven’t finished it yet so I can’t say for sure!

LOVE LOVE LOVE To Kill A Mockingbird!! I read it about five years ago, and totally fell in love with it. Actually, now you mention it, I think I'm going to have to go back and re-read it this summer.

AMS: Is there a particular piece of writing advice you follow to a T?

EP: I love this quote by C.S. Lewis: “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” I have that pinned above my writing desk and I find it really encouraging!

I have never heard that quote, but anything that comes from C.S. Lewis is pure gold, and that's the truth.

AMS: What is your favorite kind of ice-cream?

EP: Definitely chocolate panda paws. I’m a chocoholic.

Oooh, that was my childhood favorite!! Now I'm more of a vanilla girl.

Thanks so much to Emily for doing the interview!! I'll see the rest of you in a week, have a fabulous weekend!!! =)

Partial Letting Go

Sometimes, things go wrong. Specifically, sometimes things get destroyed.

And it hurts.

I'm a planner, and I like to plan everything down to the last detail. I'm a control freak, I like to be in control of my emotions and feelings (or at least, I try to be. Whether or not I succeed is a whole different blog post). I like to be in control of situations, of knowing exactly what to expect. I try to plan things I don't have control over.

I used to be a lot worse. Thankfully, God's grace is leading me to surrender my plans and my need to be in control...but, oh man, did I used to be bad.

I used to do this thing I like to call Partial Letting Go. Okay, let's be honest--I still do it sometimes. I'm very good at it, so sit tight while I explain.

Partial Letting Go is when your mom offers you the last cookie. You really (I mean really) want it but you feel like she might want it too so you say "No, that's okay you can have it". However, your words aren't matching your mental attitude--nor the lust in your eyes as you gaze at the beautiful creation. Not your mom, that would be weird--the cookie.

You gave up the cookie. But just because you want your mom to give it right back up to you.

I'm SO SO SO SO SO guilty of this when it comes to God and life.

Let's face it--somethings just don't work out and nor are they meant to. Some people are meant to be in our lives for a season. And that is okay, it's a part of life. That doesn't mean it hurts less, however, when friendships (or any-other-ships) end.

Sometimes, things go wrong. Sometimes, we can't fix them.

When I finally come to realize this, it's like hitting a brick wall. I come to see that wow, I really am not in control. I didn't plan for this. Then, I'm forced to just surrender-- God, here, have this situation. Which, in reality, I should have been doing throughout the whole of the situation...but, again, different blog post.

Anyway, this is where the Partial Letting Go comes in. I give [insert person, place, or thing] to God...but expect Him to give [person, place, or thing] back. AH! Did you catch that? I expect Him to give it back. Because, for some reason, the planner and control freak that I am thinks that she knows more than the Creator of the Universe.

And then, of course, I become upset when I don't get it back. Sometimes I do...but usually I don't. I get angry at God, saying I gave this to you, I did what I was supposed to do, why isn't this working out?! Why am I still crying?! Why am I hurt?!

Perhaps...my eyes are quite different from His.

Perhaps...I don't see the full picture.

Perhaps...I'm not in control. But perhaps He is.

Perhaps...I'm stuck in the moment.

Perhaps...He's trying to teach me something.

Perhaps all of these are true. Actually, I know all of these are true, but it's really hard to see that in the moment.

It's okay to want it back, when we let it go. But with our want must come an even deeper abiding trust that God knows what is best for us. Not only does He know, He desperately wants what is best for us. And not only that...but He will go as far as He needs to do what is best for us.

He knows. He knows the pain...He cries with you, He holds you. Just surrender....and not just partially, but completely. Praying for you.

Summer Goals and ANNOUNCEMENT.

So I finally sat down today and drafted up my goals for this summer. Actually, I had already put them on paper a few weeks ago, but the paper decided to go MIA (paper has a mind of its own, doncha know). This is take two.

1. AWAKEN-- my MS that I finished months ago. I'm still in love with it, which is a good sign, but it seriously needs some work that I've been putting off. It's like a room in my brain that I'm not ready to demolish but needs such a cleaning that it's exhausting to even open the door.

2/3. WILD-- probably not the actual name, so I should probably shoot for finding a name for that one, too. Anyway, I'm about fourteen chapters into the draft and have no idea what happens next, so I should probably get to outlining...

4. TBN-- is totally outlined. I love this story so much and I'm about six-ish chapters into it. It's kind of a companion to AWAKEN (which is the first in a trilogy--TBN will stand alone), so that's fun.

5. 1950s Concept-- I love the '50s so much. Thinking of doing a mystery/thriller kind of thing involving that time period along with deserted places (probably aquariums). I have a Pinterest Board for it (sort of), but I can't wait to discover the story further.

6. READ-- "What?! Anne Marie, you said these were Summer 2015 Writing Goals." Someone once said that a true writer is always writing. For me, that's so true, and the time that I'm most writing (besides when I'm actually writing) is when I'm reading. I really want to get into lots of classics this summer as well as some (non-raunchy) adult lit and nonfiction (think memoirs) as well as, as stated, writing books. Right now, I'm reading (writing related) Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card and Now Write! Screenwriting edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson. If you have any suggestions (for any of those categories, but especially writing), I'm all ears! ...erm, or rather, eyes...

7. Blog-- so this really isn't anything new, I already try to blog three times a week.

BUT WAIT. 

THERE ACTUALLY IS SOMETHING NEW. 

WHAT THE HECK IS CLAMORING TO BE VISIBLE!?

Well. Let me tell you a story. 

Once upon a time there was a magical writing goddess named Jenny who also happens to be incredibly humorous. Said goddess stumbled (do goddesses stumble?) upon my blog during the A-Z Challenge. Her blog is definitely one of my favorite stops on the internet, literally every time I visit I smile. ANYWAY. She has another blog, where she posts stories (I'll post the link when it's up and running again, right now she's taking a break) and I think that that is such a good idea.

I've tried out Figment and Wattpad, but it's all "oh you read mine and I'll read yours", which I really don't like. I feel like a lot of "writers" who use those sites don't particularly care about anything besides views. Also, a lot of it is just boy band fanfics (REALLY!? I hate fanfics so much, I'm sorry--but that's another post for another time) and porn, neither of which are my thing. 

Personally, I wouldn't care if nobody ever read or commented on my blog...I write for me, y'all are just a bonus. But a really awesome bonus. 

Anyway, one of my journals is completely dedicated to stories. Just random, free written stories. I decided, because of Jenny the Goddess, that maybe I should share some of said stories.

SO! Here it is. Blog number two, which will hopefully soon be filled with lots of stories, fictional and nonfictional and exaggerated and non-exaggerated (but you're going to have to guess which is which, because I'll never tell!).

Head on over to Clamoring To Be Visible and see Story No. 1: THE PROMISE OF COFFEE.

Love you guys.

I FOUND AN OPAL!

Well, actually, I found the Opal. Here she is, in interview format.

AMS: What are your writing goals for this summer?
OS: In New Zealand, we are heading into winter at the moment. It's the busiest time of the school year, so I am lucky if I get a few hours of writing time in any week. When summer comes around again, I'd like to finish my WIP- but summers a while off yet.

I often feel like there is some big conspiracy that life is behind to prohibit writers from writing by producing enough business to make our heads spin.

AMS: What is your favorite character that you've written?
OS: It's hard to say who my all time favorite would be. At the moment I'm fond of a character in my WIP, who seems to be made of bits and pieces from people I know.

Oooh, sounds like a fun one to write! Nearly all of my characters are inspired by aspects of people I know. (Watch out...just joking! ...maybe)
AMS: Favorite author and why?
OS: Ally Carter is always at the top of my list, I love her books. I also like Jodi Picoult, because I love her writing style.

I haven't read either of them! But I do see their names and books all over the place, I'll have to check 'em out.

AMS: Favorite childhood toy?
OS: I played with dolls all through my childhood, so probably the doll I got for my birthday one year. I called her Anna and was played happily together for years.

YAY FOR DOLLS! Why isn't it acceptable for grown-ups to play with dolls?! Maybe that's the reason why we have daughters...

AMS: Best piece of writing advice?
OS: I can never remember how it goes exactly, but I'll give it a go. "Remember when your writing your first draft, you are shoveling the sand into a pile so you can form a sand castle." Or something along those lines.

I've never heard that one before! I really like it, writing it down right now.

AMS: Are there any particular songs that inspire your writing? Which ones?
OS: I listen to a huge range of music, so it's hard to say which songs inspire my writing. It's almost never classical though. I listened to Crash by Jamie Mcdell and Cool Kids by Echosmith on repeat when I first started my current WIP.

Love love love Echosmith.

AMS: Do you share your writing (besides blogging)? If so, with whom?
OS: I used to share some of my writing with a friend at school, but I stopped doing it a while ago. I also have two critique partners. I find that sharing writing I haven't edited myself doesn't generally help. If I have polished a piece, then I am prepared for others to put their thoughts into it. I guess it's important for me to be happy with it before I consider changing anything, even if it a slow way to go about it.

That's interesting! I usually save my writing until the end (by end, when I finish the first draft) to share, but there are a few people I share with as I go along. It keeps me motivated to finish! And it's cool to know that other people are excited about my writing too.

AMS: What are you looking forward to most this summer?
OS: When summer comes back around to New Zealand, sometime in December, I look forward to traveling, seeing my best friend, loud music and dip dying my hair. I don't like summer because of the heat, but over the last few years I've come to cherish the few months of no school when I can put unnatural colors in my hair, sleep in and learn what I choose.

AMEN TO THAT! Love sleep.

AMS: Latest book you've read?
OS: I just finished The Raven Boys, after months and months of letting it drop down my TBR list. I am still confused about what happened, but I came away quite pleased.

I haven't read Raven Boys yet, but I have read other Maggie Stiefvater books and I think she's amazing.

AMS: How often do you write?
OS: I haven't had the time to work on my WIP for a few months now, which is pretty miserable. During the holidays, I might spend the whole day writing, so at the moment I'm just looking ahead to that. Ideally I would get a few hours every week.

Good luck finding the time!

AMS: Favorite ice-cream flavor?
OS: Cookies and Cream! Whoever thought of putting chocolate cookie in ice cream was genius.

PREACH! So utterly, inexplicably beautiful.

Opal can most often be found hidden behind a book or computer. She dreams of one day ruling the world with her cat, Hunter. If she can't rule the world, she hopes to at least change it for the better in some way. Opal blogs at Opal Swirls, where she talks about life, writing, books and whatever else floats through her mind.

Tune back in THIS MONDAY, for my summer goals and a SPECIAL announcement. On the special-o-meter, it's probably like a four or five, so not too big. But kinda cool. Anyway, come back! Because I love you and you're the bestest, most fabulousest readers in the universe. Have an AMAZING weekend!! 

Risks

Recently, I took a risk.

In reality, we're always taking risks, right? Getting out of bed in the morning is a risk. But so is staying in the bed. Loving is a risk. Hating is a risk. Risk, risk, risk. Things hardly turn out the way we plan, in my experience, so it's all a risk.

I suppose I should reword that first sentence. Recently, I took a big, larger-than-normal risk.

I've spent so much of my life being silent through hurt. I subscribed to the belief of "stay silent and let go" mixed with the whole "smile-nod-you're-fine" thing. There is a time and a place for silence, for letting go. For deciding that yeah, it's just better to move on.

But what about those things that are actually really important to us? Or were really important? Are we supposed to just suck it up and keep going?

Why do we hold our feelings so close to our chests all the time? I'm a big believer in emotional chastity, a component of which is being prudent about what emotions/parts of ourselves that we're sharing with whom. But part of emotional chastity is being honest about our feelings and not saying "fine" when things clearly aren't.

Back to my risk.

This past year, I was in a very confusing, very complicated situation that left me incredibly hurt and with a lot of unresolved feelings. Through the whole ordeal, however, I'd smiled and nodded like it was all fine. Until the end, when I just couldn't handle it anymore and ended everything.

Unfortunately, the ending, while it did solve somethings, didn't solve everything and gave me new hurt to work through. I felt like I had held back a lot of myself that really needed to be shared, which was funny, because part of the reason I was in this situation in the first place was because I had totally overshared myself.

Months passed. I learned so much about, well, so much. God really poured His love and grace upon me in ways that I had never experienced. Additionally, the love and support that my friends gave me was unbelievable. I am so blessed.

I talked about my feelings so much to my closest friends, which was really helpful. But there was something missing, a roadblock preventing me from completely moving on. After a lot of prayer, I came to realize that though I had spilled out all my emotions, thoughts, and opinions about what had happened to some people, the person who needed to hear it the most hadn't.

I should point out that just because someone needs something doesn't mean they want something.

Anyway, I don't necessarily run away from confrontation, but I don't speed towards it either. I guess it sort of depends on the situation. How did confrontation mix with this situation, though? Let's just say that the confrontation was Nineveh and I was Jonah. Basically, I was trying to distance myself as much as I could from confrontation.

But the feeling kept nagging me, that I needed to share myself one last time. Not in an attempt to "fix everything", but in an attempt to be honest in a way that I had never been. Just because you know something is right, however, doesn't mean that it isn't scary. I've learned that so many times you'd think I'd have really learned it by now, but not really.

Anyway, so I finally did what I do best. Put a pen to a loose leaf sheet of paper.

An hour and four pages of paper later (filled out front and back), there it all was. All that was held inside me for so long. And I knew that I needed to send it. So I did.

I'm still waiting for a response, and I may be waiting forever. But I believe that I did the right thing and I also know that God is in control. I know that He's holding me, I know that He's been in control of the situation even when I lost control.

Risks. They scare us, but why? I believe that God is in control, so why should I be afraid? Sometimes, God pulls us out of our comfort zones to do incredible things. In fact, He does that more often than not. So hold tight, because He's got this. He's got you.

BONE GAP!

Today is the day, darlings. The day you've all been waiting for. You get to find out what I thought of BONE GAP. In great, great detail. Lucky, lucky you.

BUT FIRST. We have some business to get through.

First order of business is a RESOUNDING HAPPY BIRTHDAY a day late (because how else would it be) to the MAGNIFICENT, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, EVERY-SINGLE-GOOD-ADJECTIVE Faith Hough! Faith seriously inspires me to no end...I'm so blessed to call her my cousin. It's partially her fault my imagination is so big; she and her sisters were literally the most attentive older cousins ever. Pretty sure they played every single game I ever suggested.

Anyway, it's such a joy watching (albeit from afar, as sadly we're separated by many states) her raise her beautiful daughters. She's literally mom goals and writer goals...actually, just plain person goals. She was a huge help when I started this blog and continues to be throughout my writing journey, providing me with insight and feedback. She's the first person I was ever a beta for, and one of the first people I allowed to read my WIP. She's always been there for me...words cannot even express how much I love and appreciate her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FAITH!! <3

Second order of business, go check out Jessica Wolf's latest post that is ON POINT. It's all about not buying into writing either strong or weak women, but real women.

There was a third order of business but I forgot it. So you're spared. For now.

Know what that means? It's time. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GET ON YOUR FEET FOR THE INCREDIBLE BONE GAP! No, seriously. You've probably been sitting for a while, anyway, it's good to get the blood flowing.

Okay, you can sit back down now. Because I know you were listening to me. Probably not, my siblings don't even listen to me. Which is stupid, because I'm the oldest. It's really frustrating, you know, like I'm only trying to help, and I get--ANYWAY.

Before I get any further, here's the summary via Goodreads:

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?
Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.
As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

So. *cracks knuckles*

This book was so absolutely unique. Everything about it was...for lack of a better word, WEIRD. In the best sense.

The setting, for one--Bone Gap. Weird. It was a stereotypical small town (actually kind of reminded me of a somewhat sketchy Avonlea, if that even makes sense) without actually being stereotypical. Sure, there was the typical busy-body, gossipy atmosphere, but it was so different. And weird.

What made it so different, in part, was the characters. Who were even weirder. Every single character, even the side ones, was so well-developed that I could literally guess their responses to situations (on a side note, these characters taught me a lot about writing). The main characters were so...bizarre. Again, in the best sense of the word. Their struggles were struggles that I've never seen any writer tackle before, and Laura Ruby (the author, if you didn't infer that, which if you didn't, shame on you--actually she's a goddess) did it remarkably well.

The story is told from third point of view, which is not my favorite, but it worked very nicely for the story. Also, Laura jumped a lot between different characters. Probably something that wouldn't typically work, but she really worked it.

Another thing that made the town so different was the plot. I was so confused through the majority of it, not due to poor writing, but due to WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THESE PEOPLE OH MY GOSH THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME HOW DOES THIS EVEN FIT TOGETHER. Needless to say, I couldn't put it down. It was weird. However, it was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUSLY weird.

Plus this happened. And made me really happy.

SO GO READ BONE GAP! Right now. I hope you listen better now than when I told you to stand up...sheesh. Have a great week, my lovely readers. Y'all mean the world.