Pandemonium - Lauren Oliver

"The big ending was jaw-dropping in more than one sense and I am officially (once again) anxiously awaiting the third novel." - Miss Remmers

Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Challenges: 75+ Challenge

"I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame."

Talk about a book you can't wait to get your hands on! When I finished "Delirium" (just over a year ago) I couldn't wait to read "Pandemonium" to find out what would happen to Lena and Alex. "Pandemonium" (do you think Lauren purposefully makes her titles hard to spell?) begins with Lena as a working part of the resistance and then goes between the "then" and the "now." At first I found this a bit confusing because I didn't really care about the "then" but as the story progressed I found myself addicted to both story veins.

New characters are introduced and new twists in "Pandemonium." I definitely believed in the resistance and their characters and loved the Hansel and Gretal bread crumbs that Oliver left for readers to find. I will say I'm not so sure about this Julian character. It's not that I disliked him, but more that I just didn't believe him. And I don't think I believed this particular Lena as well. Not that this bothered me throughout the novel because the plot was amazing on its own, but I do think it's worth mentioning (without being too specific).

I missed Alex. I missed his vision and his passion, but I guess it's a sense of irony that Lena (the believer in the society) makes it to the resistance and Alex .... well, you know. I don't want to say anything further in case of a mistaken spoiler from "Delirium." But I will say that this book did not suffer from sophomore-itis (as my students currently are). The plot was just as fast paced and riveting and, despite the character changes and minor flaws, I still loved the characters. The big ending was jaw-dropping in more than one sense (albeit a bit predictable) and I am officially (once again) anxiously awaiting the third novel.

How does Lauren Oliver do this to me?!

-Connect with the author: Website | Blog | Goodreads | Twitter
-BUY THE BOOK: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble | Nook

To the FTC, with love: ARC from Publisher (Thank you!)

Escaping Titanic: A Young Girl's True Story of Survival - Marybeth Lorbiecki

"It's definitely the end of the story that has the most heart." - Miss Remmers


Release Date: February 1st, 2012
Publisher: Capstone
Challenges: NetGalley Challenge, 75+ Challenge, eBook Challenge

"Commemorate the Titanic's disastrous voyage with this harrowing tale of survival. Follow the true story of young Ruth Elizabeth Becker as her awe of the mighty Titanic turns to horror when she is separated from her mother and siblings."

Wait, what!? A picture book on Miss Remmers' Review!!

Yes, folks - today I am reviewing a 34 page picture book! With the centennial of the Titanic this year, I am on a binge (or so it seems). Anyway, as this the first picture book I've ever reviewed - I didn't really know what to expect. It was definitely quick and, while I couldn't see the pictures in color (old Nook), the pictures looked great too! The story moved really fast, but I guess that can be expected?

My favorite part of this story is definitely the end; turns out our protagonist really lived and survived the Titanic. I don't want to give anything away, but it's definitely the end of the story that has the most heart.^

^No pun intended as to Heart of the Ocean, Celine Dion, Titanic 1997.

-Connect with the author: Website | Goodreads
-BUY THE BOOK: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

To the FTC, with love: eGalley from NetGalley

Pinterest Project Creations for the Uncreative (8)

What is with me and food?! Anyway, this project is a few weeks old but I thought I'd still share.

I love buffalo sauce and I especially love buffalo chicken. So when I saw this recipe (Pinterest Link | Recipe) I knew I had to try it and I figured the family New Year's Eve party would be the ideal time (yes, that's how old this project is).

Now, I know I'm totally making an excuse - but remember, I'm not a good cook. The big problem with this recipe is that how it is written implies the whole thing should really take less than twenty minutes. What all new "home makers/cooks" need to realize is that this doesn't factor in cooking the chicken. The recipe says this exactly:


1. Preheat oven, or toaster oven, to 350*.

2. Mix all ingredients together, hold 1/2 cup cheese. The Kitchen Aid with a paddle attachment does an amazing job of creaming it all together. Super easy!

3. Transfer to 9×5 loaf fan (or another baking dish), sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

4. Bake for 15 minutes.

4. Broil for 1-2 minutes to get the cheese extra golden on top.

Nowhere here does it say "Cook the chicken then do all this stuff." So before you freak out, yes I did cook the chicken, BUT I was definitely stressing out because I only allowed myself 30 minutes to put this concoction together before we left (and cooking the chicken wasn't part of the plan). So I wasn't completely unprepared and unimpressed. 

It was extremely stressful because I hate being late (especially when everyone else is always thirty minutes early - or so it seems). I even yelled at D a couple times! I ended up not having the fifteen minutes that recipe requires because I was already leaving at the time I was supposed to be there (across town). So I ended up baking it for ten minutes, grabbing hot plates and a towel, taking it to my sister-in-laws and putting it in their oven for more time (which is completely embarrassing). 

I also didn't know what "shredding" chicken meant and since I didn't have the time to google it, I just cut it up really small. 

Anyway, if you can't tell, this was a completely stressful experience. Granted, it was mostly my fault for not looking into the recipe a little bit more and planning ahead - but what a hot mess! This picture was taken while I was at a stop light on my way over.

It wasn't a bad recipe, but I wasn't really impressed either. But this could be due to the stress it put me through. I loved the buffalo taste but didn't like the chicken chunks. It also made WAY more than it said it did - notice the difference in pans?

Anyway, final verdict: Complete Stresser (on my part). But I'll probably try it one more time while following the directions and not planning on transporting it.

Social Media Map

The Grad Class I talked about last week is basically centered around social media and technology with an emphasis of its use in the classroom/library. One of the things this week that was brought to my attention was this Social Media Map. It's rather small, but if you're interested you can download it here in full.

I've been taking my time with social media and moving at my own pace. In 2005 I joined MySpace and in 2006 I upgraded to Facebook (I had to wait for my college email - remember those days?). I started with this blog in 2009, I joined Twitter and Goodreads shortly thereafter, and now I'm considering the addition of Google + and a Facebook Blog Page. I'm still not a part of Tumblr (and don't really plan to join).

My question for you is - how many of these social media mediums do you use? What role has social media played in your blogging profession? What social media mediums are you hesitant to try? Why?

Pinterest Project Creations for the Uncreative (7)

Wow, it has been forever since my last Pinterest Post (remember the Kit Kat cake?)! Well on the opposite side of the health spectrum: this time I'm talking Green Smoothies (Pinterest Link | Recipe Link)!

I've tried these healthy shakes before (using oatmeal, spinach, plain yogurt, bananas, strawberries, cinnamon, honey - and even peanut butter), but the problem is that I never get up early enough to make the shakes! And, even though I know they're good for me and they don't taste THAT bad, they don't taste good either and I end up not eating them.

But that was all going to change this time - or so I thought.

I ended up making this shake the night before and it wasn't awful. But when I got up the next morning and put it in my school bag it was much more solidified than liquid so it the texture was pretty rough going down.

I ended up throwing a most of it huge chunk of it out. I'll try this one more time tomorrow morning (if I can wake up) because I do like the idea of a breakfast to go that is healthy and I think, if it's a liquid, I can just suffer through it. But don't let anyone fool you - healthy does not taste good.

Fallen in Love - Lauren Kate

"Even though they were separate stories, I flowed from one story to the next seamlessly because they were set up in a way that was just completely natural." - Miss Remmers


Release Date: January 24th, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Challenges: NetGalley Challenge, eBook Challenge, +75 Challenge

"What makes your heart race a little faster? Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's FALLEN IN LOVE, four wholly original new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. FALLEN IN LOVE gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of FALLEN characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda."

So I'm going to admit that I definitely did not do my research before beginning this book. I had no idea that it was four short stories (albeit connect short stories) put into one novel. I, apparently, did not read the synopsis that I have provided for you in this review. So in case you skipped over the synopsis, know that this book is compiled of four short stories entitled "The Valentine of Shelby and Miles," "The Valentine of Roland," "The Valentine of Arriane," and "The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda." 


The first short story was probably my favorite, although now that I think about it there were definitely some unrelated loose ends (the hat and it's importance?). Shelby and Miles are two characters that I feel like I've invested in and care about. Roland and Arriane, however, I haven't put any emotional investment into and therefore, sorry to say it, I just didn't really care about their Valentines. Granted, it was interesting to see Roland and Arriane as an MC - but the changing of the POV really threw me off. Not because I couldn't keep up, but because this book is so entirely different than any of the previous novels. At times the style and the tone was so foreign, I had to make sure I was reading the right book by Lauren Kate.


That all said, I loved how intricately woven all four of these stories were. Even though they were separate stories, I flowed from one story to the next seamlessly because they were set up in a way that was just completely natural. 


Overall, I'm glad I got this title from NetGalley and I think if I would have, oh, I don't know, read the synopsis, I would have been more prepared. The only other "point five" novella I've read is "Summer's Crossing" by Julie Kagawa, so I was prepared for a novel that had to do with the plot as a whole - not four more or less random (but perfectly linked together) stories.


I also noticed this quote (directly from Shakespeare) that I really appreciated: "Seek happy nights to happy days."

-Visit Lauren around the web here: Website | Goodreads | Twitter
-BUY THE BOOK: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes and Noble | Nook

To the FTC, with love: eGalley from NetGalley