I woke today before the sun even tickled the edges of the horizon, and yes, it was painful. What could drive me out of bed at such an ungodly hour? Middle School.
Summer vacation is over!
Despite the awful heat, it’s been a good summer. My daughter had a trip to Florida to spend time with her aunt, numerous sleep overs, a trek to Anna Ruby Falls, and between all of that a lot of time to spend with mom. Some parents might find this a challenge, but my daughter and I have so much in common (at least for the moment) it’s a breeze.
1. Books and More Books
First on our list was to evaluate the summer reading list provided by her school. As usual we found it to be a bit lacking. It was decided that she would try to read as many books as she could before the start of school. She chose a few a from her eighth grade reading list and one from the ninth grade reading list, then the true reading fest began. As of yesterday, she read sixty books total over the course of eighty-one days. Her favorite (and mine for the YA books) was Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari. I won Ashes, Ashes through the Slave Lake Book Auctions!
Epidemics, floods, droughts–for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she’s rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can’t continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There’s something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her.
I knew before I read Ashes, Ashes it would be special. My daughter must have had the same gut feeling since she had to read it first. I relinquished only because I knew the book would be going on my shelf, it has my name in it after all. 😉
Several books made their way into our collection this summer, some from friends and some from Borders (we will miss you).
2. Summer Movies
Priest was released before the end of the school year, but it was the first movie we kicked our summer off with at the $1.99 cinema. We both loved it. Here’s a list of all the films we saw this summer (on the big screen).
1. Priest
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
3. X-Men First Class
4. Captain America
(I also saw Cowboys & Aliens, but without my daughter.)
3. Japanese Animation (or Anime)
Thanks to Netflix we watched a lot of Anime this summer. My favorite by far was Moribito: Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. If you enjoy Anime and haven’t seen this one, look it up!
1. Bleach (I was more forced to watch this insane show.)
2. Moribito
3. Ponyo
4. Planet of the Beast King
5. Spice and Wolf
We also spent time having mother/daughter talks, discussing short story ideas (like how big are bomb shelters–oh yes, she’s my daughter.), and playing the occasional Wii game (we finally finished The Force Unleashed). But the real miracle this summer is that I managed to write, paint and keep up my blogging responsibilities in the midst of everything listed above!! OMG! I did fall a little behind in July, but considering everything I think I did well. 🙂
Amanda Makepeace's Imagination Run Amok 
Sounds like an amazing summer! I’m a huge fan of anime and movies. A very popular one (and my ultimate favorite) is Death Note, though it may be a bit too dark for some.
I’ve never heard of Ashes, Ashes. Would you recommend it?
I just went to Netflix and Death Note is in my Top 10 for Amanda. LOL I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion.
Ashes, Ashes, is a Young Adult novel, if you read those then you might like it. But if you want something more gritty I would suggest Burn Down the Sky. Awesome book (Adult read). You can read my review here:
https://almakepeace.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/burn-down-the-sky-by-james-jaros/
So glad you and your daughter enjoyed the book, Amanda! Hope it led to some interesting discussions!
Thank you again! It was the talk of summer. 🙂
There’s a whole lot of reading going on in your household. Really quite impressive. Woot, woot! 😀
I, too, read and enjoyed the YA novel Ashes, Ashes … and it became a staff pick of mine, with the following comment:
“Lucy and Aidan sitting in a tree: d-y-s-to-p-i-a! First comes floods, then comes droughts, then comes a full on epidemic.”
What did you think of Paranormalcy? Didn’t get a chance to read it myself.
Jan that’s great! Very catchy. 🙂
I loved Paranormalcy. Evie is an incredible character–unforgettable. I have the sequel, Supernaturally, on my side desk. My daughter said it was fabulous! She of course read it first. 😀