Catching Up Part 2

On our way to Ohio, we stopped in Detroit the first night to split up the driving. And it was on our way to Detroit that I started To Timbuktu. I finished it…two days later, I believe, after we had visited Oberlin and gone to Cedar Point. It was kind of a perfect book to read on a trip, considering it’s a true story about a couple’s year traveling the world. A different kind of traveling (they went a tiny bit farther then we did…), but still. I liked it. In the spirit of the book, I’ll tell you our own adventures in Ohio.

First we went to Oberlin, because my sister wanted to look at the college there. The campus is beautiful, they have a lot of old buildings that look really, really cool. While my parents and Lissy went on the tour, Abby and I walked around the downtown area, trying to stay cool (it was like 100 degrees that day). We found a used book store, where I bought 2 books! Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (an older publication of it, though I’m not exactly sure when it was published) and a book called Shakespeare’s Heroines by some lady, I can’t remember who wrote it, but it was published in 1898. Yay for old books! Anyway, once we were finished there we drove to a city close to Sandusky where we would be staying for the night. The next day we went to Cedar Point, and it was an interesting day. First of all, it was really, really hot. We went on a few rides, and soon realized that we had to go on a water ride in order to cool off. So we did, and we were soaked for the rest of the day. The biggest ride that I rode on was the Maverick, and it was fun, after the fact. Anyway, later in the day, they started closing down rides because a thunderstorm was coming. So we found shelter in a store, and stayed there till the storm passed. Oh, and the power went out for a little bit while we were in the store. Let’s just say it was an interesting experience. After the storm, we tried to go on other rides, but it kept raining, so we just decided to leave. We pretty much just hung out at the hotel after that, and relaxed.

 To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story

Okay, now back to the book. To Timbuktu was told with pictures and words, Casey wrote the story and her boyfriend, Steven, drew pictures to go along with it. I thought that was really cool, and to read the accounts of their travels was really cool too, even though I don’t necessarily want to go to some of the places they went to. After reading this book, you get the sudden urge to travel. To hear their accounts of some of the beautiful places they went to and the experiences they had, it sounds like something that would be absolutely amazing to do. I hope that someday I get to visit cool places like they did.

 Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3)

After I finished this book, I started Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. This is the third book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, and I have to say it was a great way to end a trilogy. This trilogy follows the account of a pack of werewolves that live in Mercy Falls, Minnesota. But these werewolves are different than the myths. Instead of changing at the full moon (or when they’re angry, like in Twilight), they change when it gets cold. And eventually, they don’t change anymore. Sam is facing this dilemma, because he loves a girl that isn’t a werewolf. But things get really twist and complicated throughout the trilogy, and I loved the whole thing. I liked following all the plot twists and remembering who was who, and trying to figure how it would end. I thought it was great ending to a trilogy.

But where were we in our trip when I read this book? Well I started it when we were on our way home, but instead of going straight home, we stopped at the Detroit Zoo first. That was fun, seeing all the animals and stuff, even though it was still unbelievably hot. I think the coolest thing there was the polar bear exhibit. They had a tunnel that went underneath it, so you could see the polar bears swimming over you. It was really cool. But after the zoo, it was time to go home. And I think we were all ready to be home.

Something cool about Shiver, Linger, and Forever is they’re each printed in the color of the cover. Shiver was printed in blue ink, Linger in green ink, and Forever in red. I thought that was pretty unique, something that makes this trilogy stand out. It was a clever thing in the part of the publishers.

So what’s next, since I’m finally caught up on my reading? How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr.