Reader Turned Writer

I remember in high school being super busy--I was, obviously, in school all day, then I had work right after each day, I was highly involved with a dance company and my church, and often had family and friend events planned. I had (and mostly hit) some highly ambitious goals and felt that my life was busy. I looked forward to adult life, when I would "have more time" to simply read. As a young mother of an almost two year, three and a half year old (while pregnant), I laugh a little at this. Nevertheless, as I've gotten older, I've found reading has become more important to me in my life, and so I have worked hard to make it a priority. This has been a process for me and, like I believe most people, my passion for reading often comes in phases or waves. At some times in my life, I don't have that ambition to read and at others, it's all I want to do. Regardless of phase, here are some of the ways I have found in my own life as a stay at home mother to ...

Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh  This is a dystopian novel, where some aliens have come and taken over the humans by smothering their emotions. It follows a girl who is different from the rest (she feels emotions, etc.) and has to hide it. It was an interesting premise and the plot kept me interested in what was going to happen next, but I wasn't impressed with the overall book. The plot felt forced, as if the bad guys should have caught the main character ages ago but doesn't for some reason. I also never grew super attached to the characters; the plot drove me forward, not any care I had for the character's well being. That's a pretty big deal for me. There are four books total in the series (one book for each season), but as of right now, I'm not going to be continuing it. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo  This was a charming read! I had before from other moms how fun this book was (and how much their kids liked it). It follows a mouse who falls in lov...