Nevermore by James Patterson

I preordered this one! It’s book 8, the final book in the Maximum Ride series. It’s been a really long time since a book in this series has come out, or at least a really long time for James Patterson…I give the guy some credit though because he’s working on about a million books at once. But still…I started this series as a teenager, and I even remember picking up book 1 for the first time.

I had actually been to my bookstore several times, picked up the first book, read the side flap, and put it back on the shelf at least four times before I finally decided to purchase it. The cover obviously kept appealing to me, but the summary sounded so cheesy. Right at the top of the inside flap, it says, “Do not put this book down. I’m dead serious –your life could depend on it.” And while I could see this statement maybe appealing to a much younger crowd, I thought it was trying way too hard. (And as an arrogant teen, I would giggle, and just say, “No thanks.”) Yet, I still bought it or maybe talked my dad into buying for me, and I’m glad I did because the story, while yes, maybe a little bit cheesy at times, has remained one of the most action-packed, engaging stories I’ve ever read. And I kept with this series for the past seven years because of this awesome story.

As all last books in series go, it was a little bit hard and sad to read. It’s not ever easy for me to say goodbye to characters. And I’m sorry if this is kind of turning into a review of the series as a whole as compared to just the last book, but I haven’t reviewed any of the other books on this blog yet and I feel like I can really judge a final book best by comparing it with all the books before it.

It takes place at the end of the world. Angel, the youngest child in Max’s (short for Maximum) gang has been captured again. Max (female!) and her flock/family are all kids who have been experimented on, tortured, poked, and trained in a science facility for most of their young lives. They also all have wings, and they can all fly. A big theme throughout the series is normalcy and how much these kids wish for normal childhoods. They’re always on the run, always fighting, and always trying to help save the world. There’s epic sky battles, kidnappings, children dying, mad scientists, human (or human hybrid) rights, family mysteries, special powers (on top of flying!), and an ever present upcoming apocalypse.

This final book begins with apocalypse, and you know I loved every second of that! There’s politics, crazy weather going out of crazy proportions, an island of genetically different children, seriously awesome love triangle scenes, lots of fighting, clones, torture, and so many questions answered! Patterson was not afraid to pretty much end the world, and I was really impressed by this.

The book was missing a lot of the action and suspense that the others in this series brought to the table. This one was more about ending things and about deciding things, and about characters becoming who they’re meant to be. I do still have some questions about the end of it all, and I kind of wish more was explained better at the very end. Also, a whole gang of characters (Fang’s gang to be exact) kind of got abandoned and then never mentioned again. Why couldn’t they have been on the island?

Also, I was never really sure why so many people just accepted that they weren’t meant to survive. And this was way before the serious weather damage. Why were they so willing to die for a select few to live? Some of that just didn’t make sense to me. Though, I did pick up on a lot of political parody with all the 1 percent lives stuff, and that was awesome.

I also kind of think Max took Fang back in way too quickly. I was definitely team Fang, but I felt like that reunion was a little rushed. And Max doesn’t normally forgive and forget that quickly. But, that’s okay. I still get why that needed to happen, so I’ll take it.

I did want a little more action. But overall, I really enjoyed this one. I liked seeing all the missions the kids went on throughout the series come together. All that global warming stuff (that I felt was kind of preached at me in the one book I didn’t like that much) made a lot more sense now. Max never ceased to amaze me. She is one strong bird kid! Really, I would not mind having her as a leader. I give this a 9/10. (But if I were rating the whole series, it would definitely be a 10/10 from me). I’m just so sad that it’s all over.

A Good Week in Books (18)

I definitely had a good week in books this week! I’ve sort of slowly been regaining my sanity after Leaky Con last week. It’s taken a week to calm down, seriously. And I’m enjoying my last days of summer before my school library starts up again. And enjoying summer for me always means reading a lot of books! I got two new ones in the mail for review. I purchased two books (in paperback!). And I received a nice, little haul of books from Net Galley!

For Review (Thank you Disney Hyperion!):

 
False Memory by Dan Krokos (I’ve read, reviewed, and loved this one already and I’m so happy to have a finished copy!)
The DemiGod Diaries by Rick Riordan

Purchased:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (I have read so many fantastic reviews for this one!)
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (I have read really good reviews for this one and it just sounds so interesting!)

From Net Galley (Thank you Harlequin, Disney Hyperion, and Cedar Fort!):

 
Covet by Melissa Darnell (9/25/12)
The Archived by Victoria Schwab (1/22/13)
Shadowlands by Kate Brian (1/8/13)
Refuge by Carole Rummage (11/13/12)

How was your week in books?

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

I love Jane Austen and I love Diana Peterfreund. As soon as I heard about this book (a dystopia/sci-fi version of Persuasion), I added it to my TBR piles. Besides Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. I love the letters in the novel. I love the side characters and I love how intelligent and wonderful the main character is.

In a world of Austen re-do’s, I know what I can expect. On a rare occasion will something like the movie, Clueless, or the book Bridget Jones’ Diary come to be and shock me back into my Austen obsessions. But, never do these movies or modernizations really quite compare. And then I read some mixed reviews for this book, which caused a level of skepticism on my part. However, Peterfreund’s book does compare to Austen.

I seriously read this in one go. I was so lost in the language, the prolonged romance, the letters, and responsibilities of Elliot, the main character that there were moments where I had to actually remind myself that I was not reading Jane Austen.

The book takes place in the future. And actually, in Elliot’s future there is little to no technology. Because of the mistakes of the people in the past and their experiments with technology, science, and genetics, a large portion of the world’s population is born with severe mental delays. These people are called the Reduced. Its taken several generations, but now in Elliot’s time people are now finally being born with no mental delays or learning disabilities and these people are called Posts.

But despite the fact that people seem to be doing better, technology is still very frowned down upon. The nobility and the ones with power in Elliot’s world are the religious, are the ones in history who kept claiming that people are not God, and that people have no right to change what God has already made. They are against bettering eyesight, they are against machines that cut down on labor, they are against developing advanced medicine, they are against using electricity, or doing anything fast. I kind of pictured a lot of extremely wealthy Amish survivors.

And with the increase in Posts came an increase in a lot of other things. More and more Posts and Reduced start leaving their serving jobs for hopes of a better future. And more and more evidence is showing a slow growth in science again. Elliot is of the upper class, and her childhood sweetheart, Kai, is a Post. The book takes place four years after Kai leaves his position and leaves Elliot to go find freedom. She was supposed to marry him and go with him but at the last minute decided she couldn’t.

Unlike in the original where the main character is persuaded by a well-meaning friend not to follow the one she loves, here, Elliot is persuaded by responsibility to all the Reduced and Posts left on her estate, trapped into miserable lives because of her father. Her father is pretty much evil. After years, though, Kai comes back to the estate, with a new name: Captain Malakai Wentforth and new friends. He’s with a fleet who rent Elliot’s family’s land to build a ship.

It’s clear that Kai has gone through some changes, one of which is to be eternally grumpy and jerk-faced to Elliot.  Seriously, there were moment I literally wished I could jump into the pages and punch him in the face. And the story goes along so well with Persuasion. There’s the same scary moment by the cliffs. There’s the same young neighbor that everyone believes Kai to now be in love with. There’s  the ridiculous family that almost seems impossible to have to link Elliot to.  And there is so much tension between Kai and Elliot. Now of course there’s also star-gazing, ship-building, horse-racing, and out-door concerts.

Also like with Austen, are the letters! Before each new chapter are letters written back and forth between Kai and Elliot from when they first learned how to write up until the day Kai left. While the book stays on track, the letters are mixed around in years and relevance to what’s happening in the story. A lot is explained about the world, about politics, and about Elliot’s awful family in these letters. And it was so nice to get descriptions of things from this style of writing. It was very unique for YA. And of course my favorite letter is the one written by the guy at the end, and Peterfreund has her own beautiful version of it.

I loved the style! I loved the letters. I loved Elliot and all she endured to protect her people. I love that she felt the need to include her Reduced friend at the end. I loved all of Elliot’s mini rebellions with musical instruments and secret letter placements. I loved that she used science to figure out how to save her land and farm. She developed a kind of wheat that would grow better and provide her people with enough food for the upcoming winter. Too bad her father cut it all down to build a stupid racetrack.

I loved the horses. I loved the sad stories of all the Posts you meet who come stay on her lands. I loved her grandfather and how he sort of represented Elliot’s confusion about what was right and wrong. Yes, technology made the Reduced what they were, but what if technology could save lives too, save her grandfather? I loved everything about ship-building and discovering new places. The recurring theme of stars was beautifully executed. The politics and all of the religion versus science debates seemed so probable and so understandable.

The bad characters in this book were so awful and the things that happened to some of the Posts were terrible enough to make me gasp out loud and cry. I felt so bad for Elliot at certain points that I even found myself crying for her. The side characters were wonderful too, and I really found myself cheering for all her friends.

I did find the book a little confusing at first because nothing was described normally. It was mostly described over time in letters and I can see how this would frustrate people. I can also see how people who have never read Persuasion or Austen at all might not like it. It’s all the similarities in style, voice, and wit that truly made this book stand out as something uniquely special. And part of reading Jane Austen is knowing Jane Austen’s formula. Not knowing the formula going into this definitely could mess with what should be your ultimate love for the book as a whole. It gets a 10/10 from me. Really, I was just so impressed here.

The Kill Order by James Dashner

So, I love James Dashner! I love being able to recommend a for sure read-alike for the Hunger Games to a boy. The Maze Runner never disappoints anybody. It wheels you in from the first page. And Dashner’s whole series had a way of sucking you in until it was finished. As soon as this appeared on Net Galley, I snagged it. Thank you Delacorte Books for Young Readers.

I was a little disappointed in this prequel. When you have read the whole series and you think prequel, you automatically think, “We finally get to see what Thomas refuses to remember!” You are wrong. The book has nothing really much to do with Thomas; it pre-dates Thomas. And I guess I would have figured that out if I actually had read anything about it before diving in. But, where’s the fun in that…?

The book is about a whole new set of characters. The only bits that mention characters from the loved prior series are the very beginning and the very end. And while I loved the new characters and I loved the whole end of the world story that led to the characters in the series I love, I just kept hoping for more connections. I wanted to know what Thomas refuses to remember! And now I’m fairly certain I will never get to know.

Yes, it does still wheel you in till you get to the point where other people in the real world need to communicate with you, and you just keep saying, “in a moment.” Really. It begins in a village of survivors. Sun flares, tsunamis, and other more natural worldly disasters have already taken place, and after the few survivors finally have wound down a little bit and gotten used to a more rustic (no electricity or email) lifestyle, out comes the virus.

It’s terrifying to witness the virus filled darts raining down on the survivors, especially when the survivors are all under the impression that the giant ships coming up to them are there to bring good things. Mark, the main character who was a lot like Thomas (I kind of kept thinking he would end up being Thomas’ dad, but was wrong), was actually one of the few people who really didn’t think good things were possible and was quick to help protect his village.

Mark, along with Trina, Alec, and Lana had all escaped the natural disasters that happened to New York City together. Mark and Trina, best friends, were riding the subway on her birthday. When the train stopped (which never happens in the future), the whole train of people evacuates. Mark and Trina wait a little longer to see if it will turn on, but it doesn’t. When they do finally exit through the underground tunnels, they witness firsthand how the sun can burn people to death. They thankfully soon meet up with Alec and Lana underground. They both have military training and help Mark and Trina get out of the tunnels before they flood from an increase of water.

Between the people burning to death from the sun and then the subway tunnels overflowing with water (because the heat from outside messes with water levels), to the gangs of violence amongst the terrified survivors, it seems like a miracle that Marks’ group makes it to the top of a sky scraper before all of NYC is lost to water. There’s ship stealing, food foraging, stealing, fighting, and surviving that leads up to the group’s making their way to a village.

And after a little bit of peace comes the arrows. The adventures really begin when Alec and Mark track down the ship that shot the arrows, ambush it, kill the people working it, and discover the boxes of arrows that alerts them to the virus. There’s a lot of rescuing, fighting, killing, ship driving, and surviving. There’s a small sprinkle of romance (as much as there really can be). And through it all the characters experience the full extent and terror that is the longevity of the virus.

We get to watch the first people shot die right off the bat. Then we watch those that help the ones originally shot get sick. Then we watch more and more people get sick and go crazy. And soon there’s crazy fire-starting cults of crazies who blame demons for all that is wrong. There’s a little girl (around four or five), who gets left behind in a village of dying people because she is thought to be demonic. She was one of the first ones shot with a dart, but has yet to show any signs of illness (mental or physical). Poor, little Deedee is abandoned, beat up, starving, and so hopeless when Mark’s crew finds her and rescues her.

Having read the series, I know the crazy people become more and more zombie-like the longer the virus is around. And I knew it was going to happen, yet it was still so upsetting and terrifying when the infected became the way they did. Mark and his crew realize that the good people who were meant to unify people after the sun flares are actually the ones that shot the darts, in effort to lessen the population and prevent an end of all resources. It gets to a point where it becomes more and more about rescuing Deedee, the one person who seems to be immune, and less about Mark, Trina, Alec, and Lana surviving.

There was not a whole lot of new things in this book. I knew this is what happened because of the rest of the series. But, Dashner still managed to keep me on my toes. I read it practically in one sitting. The suspense and action he writes really compares with no one else in its awesomeness. I really wanted the prequel to be about Thomas’s past, and never really got over that. However, for a story that was completely not what I hoped for, it really kept me interested. I love a good “world coming to an end” book, and frankly this book was that.

I’m not 100% sure why there was a tiny bit at the end, well after Mark’s story finishes, that involves Thomas. At first I was pissed that it was there because it was like a little bit of what I wanted sticking its tongue out at me, saying, “Just kidding…” But, the more I think about it now, the more I like it. I like how things flow together. I really did have a blast reading this book. I give it a 9/10 and definitely still recommend it to fans of this series.

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week, I am waiting on Catherine by April Lindner (1/2/13):

Description on Good Reads:

“A forbidden romance. A modern mystery. Wuthering Heights as you've never seen it before.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad's famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?
Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a sudden illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years -- a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn't die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her -- starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.”

So, I just loved Jane by April Lindner. I thought it was a fantastic modern day version of Jane Eyre. And now the author has moved on to a different Bronte! And I am so excited for this. I like the idea of the two different time periods! I like that rock is incorporated into this one like it was in her other novel as well. The connections this one has to its classic counterpart seem a little more vague, and I’m excited to see how all the everything will play out! I don’t think the cover is as pretty as the last one, but I do feel like it kind of goes well with the last one. I can’t wait to read this! Bring on the Brontes!

False Memory by Dan Krokos (and ARC giveaway)

So, I just got a finished copy of this in the mail for review…and I just finished reading the ARC this morning. I think I also have a digital copy…And I’m actually pretty psyched to have so many copies because it was such a fantastic suspense story! However, if you keep scrolling down, you can enter to win my slightly used ARC copy. (Slightly used means, I took it with me to Leaky Con to have a book to read while standing in line, and it’s been loved a little).

I’ve been excited for this one since I first saw it on Net Galley (thank you Disney Hyperion!). The brief synopsis about memory loss, secret abilities, and genetically altered teenagers made me go, “want!” Plus I kind of love the boy acceptable cover and the scientific looking diamond of symbols on it. I’m not sure what that has to do with the story. If you figured it out, let me know? But, all the same, I love the cover.

Much like another YA book I adore (The Maze Runner…I’m in the middle of the prequel as I speak), the main character of this one wakes up with no memories of herself except for her first name: Miranda. While venturing into a mall to get the essentials, she decides that asking a security guard for help would be the best thing she could do. Unfortunately for her, the security guard doesn’t believe that she has no memories and in an attempt to get her to go away, angers Miranda enough to subconsciously let loose her secret ability. She has the ability to make everyone around her completely terrified. She breathes a certain way, and people are running out of the mall, screaming for their lives. Some people even die in terror, falling off of high surfaces

But, lucky for Miranda, Peter is there for her. He calls her a rose and tells her he knows about what she can do and where she came from. She goes with him to their old home. When there, Miranda learns that her boyfriend altered her medicine intake, which prevents people like her from loosing their memories. Her boyfriend is still missing with their other friend, Olive. And after all of Miranda’s abilities and training and life is explained to her more thoroughly, she leaves on a mission with Peter to go find the other two members of their “family.”

There’s so much romantic tension between Peter and Miranda even though Miranda supposedly has a boyfriend. When the other teens are found, it’s Miranda’s first reaction to hurt her boyfriend, Noah, as much as she can. And while she begins to get certain memories back, some romantic in nature, she can’t help but feel completely betrayed and pissed at Noah for deciding for her to take away her memories. Granted, he did everything to protect her, but still. The Love triangle is awesome! Oh, and Olive is in love with Noah; she followed him because she loves him despite the fact that he’s been dating Miranda for a long time.

And why did Noah and Olive run away and take Miranda’s memories away without telling Peter (their trained teen leader)? Noah overheard their father/boss having a video conference with his boss about selling the kids as weapons, and using them to take down an entire major US city. He tried to tell Peter about it, but he didn’t listen. And Noah wanted to go find the rogue he heard rumors about and see if he could help them get rid of the project that involved freaking out an entire city.

The kids decide to go back home for answers before doing anything else too drastic, but unfortunately the people who want to use them as weapons got to their home first. It’s pretty much burnt to a crisp and their “dad” is found dying in the forest.

There’s a lot of fighting, fires, bombs, guns, memory shots, escape scenes, spying, and action in this one! There’s also terrifying secret powers, clones, tattoos used to control kids, missions to destroy entire cities, death, explosions, and love squares (think A Midsummer Night’s Dream). And every time Miranda thinks she has something figured out, she’s wrong. I feel like this would make an awesome movie!

I loved Miranda! I loved that she didn’t forgive her boyfriend for being stupid! I loved how brave she was, and how willing she was to fight for her friends that she doesn’t even really remember. I loved the rogue character. I loved the clones and how they had to fight each other. The mission they went on, pretending to have lost their memories, was so awesome, I was literally biting my nails, waiting to see what would happen.

The romance bits could use a little work. The same make-out scene was described for each of Miranda’s love interests; I really don’t think both boys would kiss her in exactly the same places in exactly the same way. However, I loved all the romantic tension and how believable that triangle was.

I also loved the suspense! Yes, I pretty much guessed most of what happened ahead of time. However, the author did use a lot of foreshadow, and I have a trained eye. But even so, I was on the edge of my seat hoping for these kids to kick some serious butt. I read this super fast and it is so hard to put down! I give it a 9/10, and I highly recommend this one to fans of The Maze Runner and Maximum Ride.

This contest is only open to US followers because I am shipping this one myself. (I do promise to open an international giveaway soon though.) And you have 48 hours to respond to my email with your shipping address or I will choose a different winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Good Week in Books (17) and Leaky Con 2012!

I had a totally awesome week in books. The week started with a little trip to one of my favorite used bookstores where I picked up two fantastic books I’ve been meaning to read for forever! I also received my two preorders (along with another book I’ve been meaning to buy) in the mail! I traded two books last week with a friend (another blogger) and got my two new ones in. And then I went to Leaky Con!!!!!

I don’t know if my love of Harry Potter has come across too often in this blog, but just know that I would not love YA like I do if not for this series, and my inner nerd is about to shine through!

If you don’t know what Leaky Con is, it’s a super fantastic, gigantic Harry Potter conference with people attending from all over the world. Along with the books I brought to get signed (which were a lot…see below), I bought some more to also get signed. I bought one that was already signed too. I also have an Order of the Phoenix movie poster signed by some of the HP actors! I have A Very Potter Musical poster signed by almost all of Team Starkid. If you don’t know who they are, go watch A Very Potter musical on YouTube, and then you will understand.

At the conference, I met some amazing Harry Potter fans! I ran into a blogger or two. I met a lot of actors (including Luna) and authors. I went to YA book panels, a YA author game show, a lot of signings, and a YA party where butterbeer and pumpkin juice were served and mingling with authors encouraged. I waited in a lot of lines. I discussed everything from the Harry Potter books, to the Vlog brothers, to The Hunger Games, to Pride and Prejudice, and Sherlock Holmes and Downton Abbey while there. I also danced my butt off at the ball last night! I saw a live show of Potter puppet pals and went a little crazy while shopping at the Harry Potter vendors. And last not but least, I was in the audience for the first and only live showing of A Very Potter Musical 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year (and yes, Darren Criss was there as Harry!).

These are some pictures of me and my friend Emma enjoying all the conference has to offer:

I have a lot of pictures to share! First, I’m going to share what I got before/outside of Leaky Con. These are the books I got in the mail along with the one autographed book I purchased at the conference:

I have a lot of pictures to share! First, I’m going to mostly share what I got before/outside of Leaky Con. These are the books I got in the mail along with the one autographed book I purchased at the conference.

 
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Nevermore by James Patterson
Hide and Seek  by Sara Shepard
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer (autographed!)

These are the two books I traded for (Thanks, Christina at A Reader of Fictions) and the two used book finds:

 
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares 

These are all the books I brought along with me to get signed. I carried my giant Harry Potter tote filled with books for a long time in that line…but I am so glad I got to meet all these authors and get all these beauties signed:

The Magicians by Lev Grossman (I still need to read this one and the sequel, which I own…but I can’t wait to do so because it’s supposed to be like the adult version of Harry Potter)
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman (also still need to read real bad!)
Zombies VS. Unicorns by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (signed by Holly Black)
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (I already had Levithan’s signature, and now I have John Green’s in there too! Really, it’s one of my all-time favorite books)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Signed by Margaret Stohl)

And these are the books I purchased at the conference to have signed:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (I own slightly deteriorating ARC and wanted the real deal for her autograph!)
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (I now own all of his novels!)
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (Second I got to meet her!)
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (I haven’t read these in forever and I’m so glad to be able to meet author I’d been reading for so long!) 

My Posters:

My swag:

How cute are the earrings? Also, I actually bought two shirts. The blue one you see says StarKid. And I bought a red one that says “My Muggle Friends Just Don’t Understand.” I bought the pink StarKid sunglasses, and I got the blue and red 3-D glasses at the show. They were actually taped to the bottom of my chair. I also got a really cool conference messenger bag filled with conference swag, and some buttons I purchased are on the bag. In the bag was a fancy hard covered year book type book of all the stuff that was happening and when. I have some autographs of Wrock bands and Puppet Pal creators in there...

Here are some more photos from the conference:

The panel: GIRL BOOKS AND BOY BOOKS –moderated by Maureen Johnson. Panelists: Megan Whalen Turner, Robin Wasserman, Stephanie Perkins, Lev Grossman, and John Green

John Green signing my books!

Holly Black, me, and Megan Whalen Turner!

Laini Taylor, me, and Stephanie Perkins!

Daniel Ehrenhaft, Robin Wasserman, me and Margaret Stohl!

There were a lot of things and shows I was not allowed to take pictures of, otherwise I’d post a lot more photos. I have some ball pictures, but they are all kind of dark (go iPhone?). The ball was packed and so much fun because authors, actors, panelists, and fans were all dancing together. It was awesome to see Team Starkid take the stage at the ball and just dance. I do have a little recording of the YA game show hosted by Maureen Johnson, but I’m having difficulties trying to get on here. I might post it a little bit later. It kind of involves John Green getting super competitive and admitting to writing fan fiction under a different name.

And most of all it was just the best feeling in the world to be surrounded by people who all loved the same things I did. I made friends with people from Portland, CA, Australia, Florida, and Atlanta. And yes, it was exhausting. I feel like I need another day to recover from the no sleep and crazy dancing, but still. Even waiting in line was kind of fun because I just got to talk about Potter with people who love it as much as me, that and sing Starkid songs really loudly.