I live on an island that is 22 miles long and 7 miles wide, it takes about two hours to travel from the east end to the west side and the only way to get off this island is by air or sea. Thanks to my lovely parents I have been travelling away from home long before I can remember and I love to do it. Honduras, Miami, New York, Jamaica and The Bahamas, I have been to all of these places and a few others but it’s not enough. I have a long list of places I want to see and every few months I get the travel bug, grab my passport and hit the airport. Here are three YA books that not only take my mind around the world but make my body want to travel there too.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Anna Oliphant has been sent to spend her senior year of high school at an American school in Paris, and although Anna is initially against the idea of spending her last year of school away from all of her friends and family, in a foreign country where she doesn’t even speak the language she eventually comes to appreciate and fall in love with the City of Lights. A city that is much more than delicious pastries and an iconic tower. Anna learns to see the city through the eyes of the locals and enjoy all that Paris has to offer. Before reading Anna and the French Kiss I mainly wanted to see Paris for the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre but now I also wish to see it’s multitude of movie theatres (apparently you can find them in clusters around the city), it’s delicious coffee which makes the stuff us westerners drink taste like sludge, and just really bask in the normally overcast romantic atmosphere.
Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon –In Infinity Nick’s already hard life seems to go from bad to worse when he is attacked by his friends for stopping a mugging. Lucky for Nick before his "friends" can finish him off, he is rescued by Kyrian, a mysterious, ultra-rich bachelor with odd sleeping patterns. To pay him back Nick becomes Kyrian's assistant but this arrangement is the least unusual thing to occur in Nick's life. People are turning into zombies, werewolves are on the football team and Nick's new friends are not all entirely human, oh and he's destined to destroy the world. You think with a plot brimming with this much fun and chaos the setting would take a back seat but really New Orleans was a character all in itself the way Sherrilyn Kenyon features it in her books. I would love to stop by all the streets and venues mentioned in this series, eat a beignet and tour one of New Orleans' grand cemeteries.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld – Told from two main points of view, Leviathan is a steampunk novel set during an alternate World War I. Alek is an Austrian prince on the run seeking neutral territory so he can avoid being captured by those responsible for his parent's murder. Deryn is a girl disguised as a boy on board a British royal air ship escorting a scientist to the east. Both characters start off in two different parts of Europe and both characters journeys lead them across the continent towards each other. However, before that happens remember there is a war going on and with war comes danger and adventure. This novel took place in three different countries and each country in Europe is as distinctive as their languages. In this series Scott Westerfeld not only did a great job with the story and characters but with describing and showcasing all the different cultures of the countries the story visits. Before, when I thought of a trip to Europe, it was the home of the romance languages that always came to my mind but after Leviathan it would be a crime to not add Austria and Switzerland to my list.
Readers normally pick up a book to not only enjoy themselves, but to escape the real world for a couple of hours. However, there are also novels out there, like the three above, despite their genre that can also inspire a reader to take a closer look at the real world and explore what it has to offer.
Sandy is a junior technical analyst by day and a book junkie by night, when she is not working or obsessing about books you can catch her watching her favourite characters on TV or sitting in a dark room catching the latest movie release. Scribing Shadows is a blog that features speculative fiction for lovers of middle grade, YA, adult books, and graphic novels.
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I have been dying to Travel and today I was looking into traveling to France and Anna and The French Kiss totally popped into my mind!
ReplyDeleteI love these posts :)) And I would love to travel to New Orleans one day! I have been around a little already but I was never in New Orleans - plus I looove the Infinity series so so much!
ReplyDeleteA very cool post! I've always wanted to travel to Paris and New Orleans . . . there's just something so fascinating about those two places. Mostly because of the histories behind them.
ReplyDeletea cool post. i must read these book . cause i have not yet .
ReplyDeleteInfinity makes me want to live in that world. For me, that book and world is so easy to get into!!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I would love to go to Paris, I'd probably just go to New Orleans. I'm so afraid of flying!
ReplyDeleteOh! The freedom traveling affords. I wish I could travel more often. Your life has been such an adventure so far.
ReplyDeleteLovely guest post, Sandy. Thanks for sharing. I definitely know the feeling of reading a book and instantly wanting to go to the places you've just read about.
I love books that make me want to travel. I usually get the itch in the spring and try to satisfy it with travel books...but books like Anna just make me want to travel more!
ReplyDeleteOf these books I haven't read Infinity and Leviathan - they sound really good! I love Anna and the French Kiss and have wanted to visit Paris ever since. :) Great post!
ReplyDeleteO.M.G!!! Anna and the French Kiss+Leviathan=TWO OF THE BEST BOOKS IN THE WORLD! I loved both of them, and I totally wanted to visit France before I read AatFK but it spiked my interest even more! :D
ReplyDeleteShreya
Chocolate Coated Reviews
A big yes to Anna & the French Kiss, that really made me wish I was back in Paris :)
ReplyDeleteAgen Bola : Katidis Dicekal Seumur Hidup
ReplyDeleteIndo Eleven - Giorgios Katidis dijatuhi hukuman larangan bermain seumur hidup di timnas oleh federasi sepakbola Yunani, setelah melakukan selebrasi dengan salam fasis. Pemain AEK Athens yang baru berusia 20 tahun itu merayakan gol yang ia cetak atas Veria di Liga Yunani pada Sabtu (16/3) dengan mengangkat tangan khas salam NAZI.
Setelah kejadian itu Federasi Sepak Bola Yunani menggelar pertemuan luar biasa pada Minggu (17/3) kemudian mengambil keputusan bulat, Katidis dilarang membela timnas Yunani di sisa hidupnya. Tindakan sang pemain untuk memberi hormat kepada para penonton dengan salam khas Nazi menentang akal sehat, sangat memperlihatkan rasa tidak hormat kepada semua korban kekejaman Nazi dan melukai kedamaian serta karakter kemanusiaan pada sepak bola. Federasi Sepak Bola Yunani dengan tegas mengutuk tindakan-tindakan seperti itu," demikian pernyataan federasi.
AEK telah meminta sang pemain menghadap ke kantor administrasi klub pada Rabu untuk menjelaskan tindakan-tindakannya, sedangkan di hari yang sama para ofisial Liga Yunani akan bertemu untuk mendiskusikan kasus ini. Media Yunani pada Minggu melaporkan bahwa Katidis diberi waktu berlibur oleh AEK untuk mengunjungi istrinya di Italia, dan masa depannya di klub Athena itu pun kini meragukan.
Setelah pertandingan ia menulis melalui akun Twitternya, "Saya bukan fasis dan saya tidak akan melakukan hal itu jika saya memahami maksudnya. Saya tahu konsekuensi-konsekuensinya dan saya tidak akan pernah melakukannya lagi."
www.indo11.com
Agen Bola Indo11.com melaporkan bahwa pemain Arsenal, Theo Walcott membeberkan alasannya memperpanjang kontrak dengan The Gunners, karena ia diberi kesempatan bermain sebagai penyerang sentral.
ReplyDeleteMenurut berita yang dikutip oleh Indo Eleven, pemain berusia 24 tahun itu mengaku tidak ingin mencuri posisi Olivier Giroud di lini depan The Gunners. Walcot malah berniat membantu striker Timnas Prancis tersebut untuk terus menampilkan performa terbaik.
"Ya, gara-gara diberi kesempatan bermain sebagai penyerang-lah saya bertahan di Emirates Stadium. Tapi saya tak berniat mengubah skema permainan, karena Giroud tengah menunjukkan performa impresifnya," ungkap Walcott.
"Saya juga menginginkan 20 gol di semua kompetisi, setelah itu baru saya menentukan target baru. Namun, saya juga ingin mencetak 15 atau 20 gol di Premier League, dan sekarang saya baru mencetak 11 gol," pungkasnya.
www.indo11.com
Agen Bola : Kompany Harus Prioritaskan Klub Dibanding Timnas
ReplyDeleteManajer Manchester City, Roberto Mancini minta Vincent Kompany untuk lebih memprioritaskan klub dibandingkan timnas. Mancini geram melihat Kompany yang baru saja pulih dari cedera tampil penuh 90 menit saat Belgia mengalahkan Macedonia 1-0, tengah pekan lalu. Terkadang para pemain harus mengerti jika klub lebih penting. Saya tidak mengatakan jika timnas tidak penting dan saya tidak akan melarang para pemain saya untuk tidak memperkuat timnas," ucap Mancini seperti kepada Indo Eleven.
Dia (Kompany) tidak bermain bersama kami sepanjang 60 hari, lalu kemudian bermain untuk Timnas Belgia. Saya tidak setuju dengan itu, terkadang pelatih timnas harus mengerti situasi seperti ini. Para pemain ini bermain untuk klub dan klub juga yang membayar gaji mereka tidak bulan," imbuh Mancini.
Namun Mancini tetap menyambut dengan gembira kembalinya Kompany ke dalam skuad City. Penampilannya bersama timnas disebut Mancini sebagai bukti jika pemain berusia 26 tahun ini sudah pulih dari cedera, meski keputusannya tetap menunggu kondisi terkini. Jika Kompany cedera, atau ia tidak siap bermain untuk kami di akhir pekan nanti. Atau jika ia tidak siap bermain untuk sebulan maka tidak benar baik untuk pemain dan manajer mengizinkannya turun di lapangan," pungkas Mancini.
www.indo11.com