Fictional Books I Want to Read in 2018

Hey everyone! I wanted to share what books I really want to get to in this New Year! Since I don’t read as much as I used to, I wanted to keep this post small and to the point. Majority of these books have been released already and some I am still waiting for! The list is an no particular order. Without further ado, let’s get started! (all links lead you to the goodreads page)

 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas a YA Realistic Fiction take on the black lives matter movement and police brutality.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbree a YA Contemporary book about a girl who’s an “overnight” internet sensation and when an online flirtation can happen in real life, how will she tell him that she’s a romantic asexual?

Ringer (Replica #2) by Lauren Oliver a continuation of the YA SciFi Dystopian novel Replica. After discovering some uncomfortable truths about the Haven Institute and cloning, we see what happens afterwards in Ringer.

Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2) by Kerri Maniscalco the continuation of the YA Historical Fiction Mystery Stalking Jack the Ripper, we follow the main character Audrey in another adventure featuring Vlad the Impaler. 

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff in continuation of the amazing YA SciFi novels Illuminae and Gemina, comes Obsidio with more action and adventure. This is the finale of the teams and oh my heart be still.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1) by Leigh Bardugo a YA Fantasy following one of my favorite heroes, Diana, who has risked exile for saving a mortal which changes everything.

Unearthed (Unearthed #1) by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner a YA SciFi that has to do with earth getting a message from a long extinct alien race, infiltration, secrets, and survival.

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) by Tomy Adeyemi a YA Fantasy about magic disappearing in Orïsha under orders of a ruthless king, yet the main character is struggling with controlling her powers and feelings towards the enemy.

Daughter of the Pirate King (Daughter of the Pirate King #1) by Tricia Levenseller  a YA fantasy that has a female pirate, adventure, and hidden map!

Renegades (Renegades #1) by Marissa Meyer a YA Fantasy about secret identities, powers, vengeance, and justice.

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell a YA Fantasy filled with time-travel and historical fiction, one character has to travel back in time to 1902 to steal an ancient book. However Old New York is filled with gangs, secret societies, and too much magic.

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff this Adult Fantasy continues the journey of our ruthless assassin main character where she is still looking for revenge.

The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2) by Katherine Arden a Fantasy Historical Fiction, this story continues the adventure of main character Vasya and what lies ahead for her.

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and that is all for this post! any of these books you’re looking forward too? or you’ve read already? i would love to know your thoughts in the comments!

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twitter: @chicnerdreads

January Wrap-Up 2017

HI EVERYONE!!! How’s your day treating you so far? How about month? How’s the new year so far? Cause here in the USA we’re going through it and we need a miracle like yesterday. K thanks lol. Anyways, I read 3 books and 1 I’ve DNFed. Let’s jump right into what I’ve been reading and up to =)

What I Read:

 

Broken Flowers by R.M. Drake ★★★★
Genre: Poetry
This is my second R.M. Drake. I love his writing and he talks a lot about loss and brokenness within yourself and relationships. I have a non-spoiler review with even some of the poems here.

 

 

 

 

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ★★★★★
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
My favorite of the month!! What a magical world I got to live in for the days that I read this. This circus is everything I would love to visit and more! I have a full non spoiler book review here. I would love to reread this one day in the future and may be even see it as a movie adaptation. This one definitely deserves all the hype!

 

 

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Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James 
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dystopian
This is the one I DNFed. Not because it’s bad cause trust me, I was really liking it. However, with everything that is going on in the country I live (USA) which is very much like a dystopian novel at the moment, it was affecting my reading experiencing with this one. So I decided to put it down till I am ready to pick it up again.

 

 

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The You I’ve Never Known by Ellen Hopkins ★★★★ 
Genre: YA, Verse, Realistic Fiction, LGTBQ+
Definitely a heart wrenching novel about two girls that don’t even know each other but eventually cross paths. About knowing yourself, relationships, and family dynamic. I have a non spoiler review for this book here.

 

 

 

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Poetry:
Another month where I know I didn’t post much poetry. And I’ll explain all of that in another post I have coming on Friday. Here’s what I did post in January though:
People I Once Knew – Part 15
so what do you think?
People I Once Knew – Part 16
women’s march
looking at human’s on my train ride
and we’re all just entertainers

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Memes of the month:
I participated in some meme’s this month that mention other books that I’m excited for!
Waiting on Wednesday – The Seafarer’s Kiss
WWW Wednesday
Top Ten Tuesday – Graphic Novels

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Exciting News!

I FINISHED MY FIRST DRAFT OF MY POETRY BOOK COMING THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I literally cried once I typed up the last poem. I cannot wait to share with you all more details in the next coming months! I can’t believe this is happening. I didn’t even have this book in mind till I was a few poems in and thought that I should just make a book out of it. I know I’m being vague but just give me some time, I will eventually share the synopsis, links, and all that good stuff coming in a few weeks. I’m still working on some things and haven’t set an official date but it’s looking like June =)

what have you all beautiful human beings been up to? did you read any of these books? let’s talk in the comments!

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Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)

 

The You I’ve Never Known Spoiler Free Book Review

Title: The You I’ve Never Known
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Genre: YA, Verse, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Book
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I will not be placing a synopsis because it gives the whole plot and purpose of the book away. If you’re really interested in checking it out on Goodreads, then click here. I’m going to summarize the book the best way I can, however I really do recommend to start this one blind =)

Summary/Plot

Told by two different characters, Ariel and Maya. All Ariel knows is moving around the USA with her dad, she doesn’t know stability and staying in one place. She doesn’t know friendships, education, or a household. According to her dad, home is wherever the both of them are since Ariel’s mom abandoned them when she was little. However, for once in Ariel’s life, her and her dad (Mark) have stayed in Sonora, California for a little over a year and Ariel finally feels normal. Ariel has friends, she’s been to school for a full grade, she’s feeling optimistic about the future, and maybe her and her dad will stop moving around so much. Ariel is also shaken up because she’s experiencing internal battles with herself and sexuality. And having a father who’s a homophobe, living in Sonora that is super conservative, she doesn’t know who to talk to about these feelings she’s experiencing for both Monica and Gabe (I’ll get to them later on in the review).

Maya is trying to run away from her mother who happens to be obsessed with Scientology and Maya wants nothing to do with her and that “cult” as Maya likes to call it. She blames Scientology for changing her mom and her parents divorce. Maya cannot stand her mom because she can’t even have a relationship with her father. All of a sudden her father dies and she even goes to his funeral without consent of her mother because she would’ve refused. Maya’s mom wants to move them to LA to be a part of the Church of Scientology but Maya has other plans.

And somehow in all of this, Maya and Ariel meet and things take a turn.

Writing

I loved the writing! The book is written both in verse and prose but mostly verse. Ariel’s POV is verse and Maya’s POV is in prose. I don’t know if any of you know this but Ellen Hopkins is one of my all time favorite authors and a big inspiration to me because of the way she writes her books. As a poetry writer myself, Ellen is like my mom lol.

Ellen Hopkins uses different techniques when she writes in verse. Sometimes she’s saying two different things in the same page and I’m still trying to figure out HOW she does that. With a few words, Ellen Hopkins will paint you the world and characters with vivid emotions.

Characters

I feel like I touched based a little too much with Ariel and Maya in the summary/plot, therefore I will move onto the other characters in this book that we get to meet. I want to discuss a little on Ariel’s dad, Mark. I found him to be a complete asshole, however Ariel makes so many excuses for him and you can clearly see the abuse that is going on between child and father. Mark is an abusive father; physically, emotionally, and mentally. He is a very manipulative character. Not just to Ariel but his girlfriend Zelda as well. Both victims to his schemes and lies. Ariel always playing protector since it’s always been him and her and her dad always spoke so bad about Ariel’s mom and that she never questioned him. He  is very good in gaslighting.

We also get to meet “The Freak Club” which consist of Ariel, Monica, and Syrah. They call themselves that because they all have “dysfunctional” things going on. And I use quotation marks because not all is wrong. Monica is a Lesbian Mexican American who is not out to her family because she feels like her family wouldn’t accept it. I loved Monica’s character and even though her character felt just slightly stereotypical to me (the Latina bff who always has to say something in Spanish here and there to her non-spanish speaking friends, you know, in order to prove to us the reader that they’re Latinx), Ellen Hopkins wrote her really well. When Hopkins wrote in Spanish, she got the accents right and she even got the Mexican food right! It’s so important to me as a Latina myself that when people write about us, they get our language and culture correct. Monica and Syrah are both very supporting characters towards Ariel and what she’s going through with her internal struggle of bisexuality. Monica and Ariel have feelings for one another but Monica knows that Ariel is having a hard time. And I love that Monica is still willing to be there in the end for Ariel no matter what happens. I love the female friendships in this book because I feel like we don’t get much of that in YA. We definitely see a lot of Monica and Syrah throughout the book.

Gabe is introduced a little later in the book, he is Zelda’s (Mark’s girlfriend) nephew and he comes into town to stay a while with Zelda while he tries to figure some things out. Gabe and Ariel hit it off which confuses Ariel even more. Gabe, another supportive character is just a sweet charming guy trying to get by. He sees the abuse of Ariel’s father and tries to protect her but there’s only so much someone can do.

Thoughts

I loved this book. You might be wondering why I say love when I gave it a 4 star. The reason why I gave it a 4 star was because it got repetitive at times and I wish that what happened more towards the end was extended and the repetition was cut off. Ellen Hopkins writes truths in this book. She writes about how bisexuals are perceived and how even Ariel perceives herself because of social standards towards bi people. Ellen Hopkins also leaves a Authors Note talking about how she wrote this book based off her own experience which had me crying at the end. And I won’t discuss the authors note because it will lead to the spoiler and plot of the book. With Ariel moving so much and the way Ellen Hopkins talks about the instability of staying in one place and even sleeping in the car with her dad for weeks at a time, I asked myself about her health. Hopkins, covered all my questions about how her health was and even her lack of education. I liked the diversity of this book, Ellen never disappoints with her diverse cast of characters and their situations. Maya’s story was short but touching and to the point. Which is why I don’t talk much about her because her story is pretty much a major spoiler. The abuse that both Ariel and Maya experience in their own journeys are heart wrenching and sad. I would definitely recommend this book!

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Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)

WWW Wednesday

Hi everyone! I thought I would participate in WWW Wednesday today. This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. You can link your blog post to Sam’s website that way we can interact and find other bloggers =)

The questions are:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

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What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James. So far I am really enjoying it and I’m hoping to finish it by (tomorrow) Thursday. Thankfully I got a ARC at NYCC/BookCon, this book is due to release on Valentines Day.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Not all are free. Not all are equal. Not all will be saved.

Our world belongs to the Equals — aristocrats with magical gifts — and all commoners must serve them for ten years. But behind the gates of England’s grandest estate lies a power that could break the world. 

A girl thirsts for love and knowledge.

Abi is a servant to England’s most powerful family, but her spirit is free. So when she falls for one of the noble-born sons, Abi faces a terrible choice. Uncovering the family’s secrets might win her liberty, but will her heart pay the price? 

A boy dreams of revolution.

Abi’s brother, Luke, is enslaved in a brutal factory town. Far from his family and cruelly oppressed, he makes friends whose ideals could cost him everything. Now Luke has discovered there may be a power even greater than magic: revolution. 

And an aristocrat will remake the world with his dark gifts.

He is a shadow in the glittering world of the Equals, with mysterious powers no one else understands. But will he liberate—or destroy?

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What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. One of my favorite reads of 2017. This book was magical and beautiful. The world was fascinating and wonderful. I also love that it’s a standalone! I have a full non spoiler review for this book here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What do you think you’ll read next?

Ellen Hopkins came out with a new title “The You I’ve Never Known” which was released yesterday (1/24/2017) and since I took the day off as a “self care day”, I decided to hop into Barnes and Noble to buy it! I was going to read something else after Gilded Cage, however, I know myself. My mood instantly changed and I cannot wait to start The You I’ve Never Known. Ellen Hopkins is queen of writing in verse and writing about hard hitting topics in YA. Hopkins isn’t your lovey-dovey magic happy ending type of writer. I love that about her.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

How do you live your life if your past is based on a lie? A new novel in both verse and prose from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ellen Hopkins.

For as long as she can remember, it’s been just Ariel and Dad. Ariel’s mom disappeared when she was a baby. Dad says home is wherever the two of them are, but Ariel is now seventeen and after years of new apartments, new schools, and new faces, all she wants is to put down some roots. Complicating things are Monica and Gabe, both of whom have stirred a different kind of desire.

Maya’s a teenager who’s run from an abusive mother right into the arms of an older man she thinks she can trust. But now she’s isolated with a baby on the way, and life’s getting more complicated than Maya ever could have imagined.

Ariel and Maya’s lives collide unexpectedly when Ariel’s mother shows up out of the blue with wild accusations: Ariel wasn’t abandoned. Her father kidnapped her fourteen years ago.

What is Ariel supposed to believe? Is it possible Dad’s woven her entire history into a tapestry of lies? How can she choose between the mother she’s been taught to mistrust and the father who has taken care of her all these years?

In bestselling author Ellen Hopkins’s deft hands, Ariel’s emotionally charged journey to find out the truth of who she really is balances beautifully with Maya’s story of loss and redemption. This is a memorable portrait of two young women trying to make sense of their lives and coming face to face with themselves—for both the last and the very first time.

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what do you think of these titles? do you plan on reading any of them or have you? let’s chat in the comments!

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Instagram: @chicnerdreads
Twitter: @ChicNerdReads
Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine. On every Wednesday you discuss a book that you are highly anticipating.

I’m kind of mad at myself because I completely forgot to mention this book at last weeks Top Ten Tuesday: 2017 Anticipated Releases because this author is like my Queen and Teacher of Verse lol. But at least she get’s her own post now, right? Thanks to Payton @ Payton’s Book Thoughts for the kindly reminder in her post lol. Check her blog out, she’s so cool and fun =)

This weeks pick is:

The You I’ve Never Known
by Ellen Hopkins

Release Date: January 24th, 2017

Synopsis from Goodreads:

How do you live your life if your past is based on a lie? A new novel in both verse and prose from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ellen Hopkins.

Arielle’s life is a blur of new apartments, new schools, and new faces. Since her mother abandoned the family, Arielle has lived nomadically with her father as he moves from job to job. All she’s ever wanted is to stay in one place for an entire school year, and it looks like she might finally get her wish. With a real friend, Monica, who might be even more than a friend soon, things are starting to look up.

But Arielle’s life is upended—and not by her father, but by her mom, who reveals that she never left Arielle. Instead, Arielle’s father kidnapped her, and her mom has been left searching ever since. She wants to take Arielle away, but Arielle has no connection with her mother, and despite everything, still loves her father. How can she choose between the mother she’s been taught to mistrust and the father who sewed that suspicion?

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THAT SYNOPSIS!!! THAT COVER!!! OMGOMGOMGOMG!! I cannot wait to have this book in my hands and devour all of it. I’ve always loved Ellen Hopkins writing and she’s very honest with it all. Ellen Hopkins is known for her writing in verse. She’s also a YA Realistic Fiction writer. She does not hide the reality of situations, she does not give you happy cute stories. She gives you emotion filled writing that will have you crying and feeling sympathy for all these characters.

If you have yet to read any of her books, I would suggest reading Identical, Crank, Burned, and Tricks.

Have you read anything from Ellen Hopkins? What are your thoughts? Let’s chat in the comments!

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Friend me on Goodreads: Gretchen (ChicNerdReads)

Mini Review Monday – Identical (Spoiler Free)

Hey everyone! Here I am with another Mini Review Monday created by me, where you write a short review for a book/series you haven’t reviewed on your blog. Because either you read the book before you started blogging or you never got around to it. If you decide to participate in this new meme, please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments below. Also! Let the people know if it’s a non-spoiler/spoiler review.

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Title: Identical
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction, Verse
Published: August 26, 2008
Read: Autumn of 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Do twins begin in the womb?
Or in a better place?

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family — on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that’s where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she’s the misplaced focus of Daddy’s love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites — and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept — from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it’s obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is — who?

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I will never forget my feelings and thought process while reading this book so many years ago. Till this day, this stands as one of my favorite books ever. It impacted me.

Ellen Hopkins is not only an author who writes in verse but she writes Realistic Fiction that has tons of trigger warnings. I’m not much into Realistic Fiction, however, Hopkins has always been an exception for me.

Identical isn’t only about twin sisters living this teenage rebellion. It’s about mental illness and survival. If you haven’t read any Ellen Hopkins books, please start with this one. You will not regret it.

Identical is told by both sisters, Kae and Rae. We the readers get to see the minds of these  twins who look exactly like one another living separate lives with so many secrets. Family plays a really big role here too with their actions and way of living because the twins are trying to prove something to each parent. But is that ever enough?

Identical will make you think what is right and wrong. Will make you think outside the box. This is not a light and fluffy read. This is a painful read with hard truths.

Photo Credit Here

Photo Credit Here

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The Birthstone Tag

Thank you Sean over at KingdomBookBlog for tagging me!!!

From what I understand of this book tag is that each question is associated with a birthstone of each month. Let’s get started!

1. JANUARY (GARNET): ASSOCIATED WITH WARDING OFF NEGATIVE FORCES AND DARK ENERGIES – NAME A BOOK WITH THE DARKEST/EVILEST CHARACTER YOU CAN THINK OF
   

   Amarantha. Ugh!!!

2. FEBRUARY (AMETHYST): PURPLE IS ASSOCIATED WITH ROYALTY – NAME A BOOK WITH REGAL QUALITIES… YOU CAN BASE THIS OFF OF CHARACTERS OF CHOOSE THE KING OF ALL BOOKS
   

   SLAAAAAAYYYYYYY QUEEEEENNNNNN!

3. MARCH (AQUAMARINE): WASHED OUT – NAME A ‘WISHY WASHY’ CHARACTER, A CHARACTER WHO IS NOT STRONG OR A FOLLOWER
   

   Caleb!!!!

4. APRIL (DIAMOND): A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH – NAME A BOOK THAT YOU LOVED BUT IS NOT WELL KNOWN
   

   Maybe because the book is kind of old, that’s why I don’t see it around but I haven’t seen one booktuber or book blogger talk about this book. NOT ONE!! And I love this book so freaking much.

5. MAY (EMERALD): SAID TO BALANCE ENERGY – NAME TWO CHARACTERS WHO BALANCE EACH OTHER WELL
   

   Day and June ❤

6. JUNE (PEARL): ASSOCIATED WITH LOYALTY – NAME A CHARACTER WHO IS LOYAL TO THE END
   
   HOLIDAY!!!! THROUGHOUT THIS SERIES, THE SPIN OFF AND THE NOVELLAS!! LOYAL TO THE END FOR HER SCHOOL, STUDENTS, AND FAMILY!
7. JULY (RUBY): BLOOD RED – NAME A BOOK THAT MADE YOUR BLOOD BOIL, ONE THAT MADE YOU ANGRY
   
   

   

   
   
   

   So let me explain to you what happened. I LOVED Nocte (the first book in the trilogy). I enjoyed it so much that I was telling all my friends about it. Then I got to second book and it was ehh alright. But that last book, Lux??? THAT LAST FREAKING BOOK?!?!?!??!?!?! WAS THE WORST THING EVER!!!!! I WAS SO MAD!! I had to tell my friends “DON’T BUY IT!!!!!! CANCEL THE ORDER IF YOU HAVE TOOO!!” It’s horrible, in my opinion.

8. AUGUST (PERIDOT): PALE GREEN (IT PALES IN COMPARISON TO OTHER GEMS) – NAME A SUPPORTING CHARACTER WHO YOU LIKE BETTER THAN THE MAIN CHARACTER
   scrolls through the read shelf on goodreads and finds nothing
   
9. SEPTEMBER (SAPPHIRE): BLUE LIKE THE OCEAN WHICH IS CALMING – NAME A BOOK THAT HAD A CALMING AFFECT ON YOU
   
   

   

   

   I didn’t feel like I was on the edge of my seat while reading this trilogy. It was just so perfect and cute and heart warming.

10. OCTOBER (OPAL): IRIDESCENT – NAME AN IRIDESCENT BOOK, THIS CAN BE A BOOK WITH A BEAUTIFUL COVER (SHINY? LOTS OF COLOUR?) OR YOU CAN BASE IT OFF OF A CHARACTER (QUIRKY? COLOURFUL?)
    

    IKO!!!!!!!! So quirky and funny!

11. NOVEMBER (TOPAZ): ASSOCIATED WITH RESILIENCE – NAME A BOOKS WITH A CHARACTER WHO RISES TO THE TOP IN A TIME OF ADVERSITY
    
    

    

    

    

    I’m just going to leave that there.

12. DECEMBER (BLUE ZIRCON): ASSOCIATED WITH FRIENDSHIP – NAME A BOOK WITH A FRIENDSHIP YOU WANT TO BE APART OF
    
    Can I be apart of Beth and Jennifer’s friendship and emails?? Pretty please?!?!?!

 

I TAG EVERYONE!!!!!!!!