Book Review: The Maze Runner

Happy Tuesday! So I know this book came out a while ago, and the movie is out now and I've heard lots of good things about it but this is the first time I've actually gotten a chance to read it. And I finished this book a couple of hours ago. If you haven't read the book already, here's a brief synopsis according to GoodReads:

"If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.
Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
Everything is going to change.
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run."

I will admit, I wasn't dying to read this book. I thought it was a book more geared toward guys, and that it wasn't going to be very interesting for a girl. Oh no, was I wrong. This book was fantastic! Right from the very beginning, James Dashner was able to set the hook. There was never a dull moment, never a boring lull that sometimes books have. It kept me at the edge of my seat, and when I read the last sentence, I was very angry with myself for not buying the rest of the books in the series right away. Dashner did a fantastic job keeping the reader interested. Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger, the end of the book being the biggest cliffhanger yet. 

To paint a better picture, the book starts out with Thomas waking up in the lift, like stated above. He arrives in the Glade, where there's a whole colony of boys living. He has no memory of his past, no idea where he is. And neither do the other boys there. The only thing they know is that there's a huge maze in the Glade, and that is the key to finding their way out. Every day the runners explore the maze, hoping to find a way out or a clue or something. 

After Thomas arrives, lots of strange stuff starts happening, including the arrival of the first girl ever in the short two year history of the Glade. I don't want to give away too much of the book, but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good ol' fashioned YA Dystopian novel. If you liked the Hunger Games, I'm sure you'll enjoy this. 

Also, I know on GoodReads a lot of people have been saying that the writing wasn't very good. And while I'll agree, that wasn't why I kept reading. I kept reading because even though the writing style may not have been the best, the plot Dashner came up with was incredible. It was well thought out and creative. Plus there's the bit of new slang that the characters use, which was ultimately refreshing. Sometimes new, made up words are a lot of fun to read. 

Hello Fall!

Hello Fall, you sexy son of a bitch. We've missed you! The leaves are starting to change, the temperature is dropping to perfection and life is goooooood. As of today there is 27 days until I get to see Dan, and I hope it goes quick. I have a whole list of things that we're going to do, since this is the first time we've been able to do fall-y things together. Pumpkin picking, carving said pumpkins, Halloween party.. all of that jazz. I can't wait :) 

On Saturday we meandered down to the State Fair grounds for Harvest Fest, which turned out to be really cute and fun. It was me and my sister, my co-worker and her daughter, and another one of the new girls at work. 

And then on Sunday, my family took advantage of the beautiful weather and we all cruised up to Holy Hill. You might remember my post from back in May, which you can read right here if you missed it. This time around, the scenery looks a lot different. It's absolutely beautiful, and we were having so much fun running around snapping pictures of the beautiful trees and the church. And this time we got to go inside, so I got pictures from in there, too. 

And it was such a beautiful, clear day, that if I zoomed far enough on my camera, I could see the Milwaukee skyline. Keep in mind, Holy Hill is about 33 miles away from Milwaukee. 

Have a great October 1st everyone! 

The Bristol Renaissance Faire

This was probably one of the most amazing and awesome places I have ever been to. I know it doesn't look like much from the picture, but once you get past the gate, a whole world of awesome was waiting. 

As you guys know, Dan came to surprise me last weekend, like the best boyfriend that he is. On Sunday, my mom decided that she was going to take all of us (me, Dan, and my sisters) down to the Renaissance Faire, because we had never been there before and it's something I always wanted to experience. 

It was so much cooler than I had ever imagined it to be! It really was like walking into a new world. If it weren't for the people in regular modern day clothes, I would have thought that it was really the 1500's. 

There were tons of little shops selling all different kinds of Medieval things. Jewelry, swords and other weapons, clothing, the whole deal. My inner fangirl was going crazy. They were selling food that was popular back then, like huge turkey legs. Dan and I shared one, and holy cow! It was huge! 

I feel like the worst blogger in the world because I was so busy taking in all of the wonderful things that I kept forgetting to take pictures. 

They had different kinds of shows going on, too. For example, we watched two guys, Dirk and Guido, do a sword fight. They threw in comedy and had every body laughing. If you want to check them out, head over here. 

Dan also bought me this beautiful chain maille bracelet from one of the shops.

We found a pattern we really liked and then they handmade me a bracelet using the colors I picked out. I used sapphire and silver, and it turned out gorgeous. To check out more of their work, you can check them out right over here. 

I hope I get to go back next year, I just read on the website that costume rentals are available and I would absolutely love to dress up! 

For more information, and more pictures, of the Renaissance Faire, you can check out there website by clicking right here!

The Upper Penninsula - Memorial Weekend Recap

So I haven't been the best blogger, I know. I've been super busy! I spent all last week with Dan doing a whole bunch of different stuff, and then on Wednesday we decided that I was going to take a spontaneous road trip up north with him and stay the weekend. His dad lives up there, so it was mostly a trip to get him up there before he has to go back to Detroit for his internship.

So when we got there, his dad had a bonfire going and his aunt and uncle were up there. So all hung out for a while before everyone headed inside for bed. The next day I took a sauna (having a Finnish boyfriend has it's perks).

After that we took his 4-wheeler to go exploring around the area. And let me tell you, it gets really dusty out there. A lot of roads out there are dirt roads, so riding the 4-wheeler around, you kick up a bunch of dust and you get kind of dirty. For future reference, ya know. 

We stopped on a bridge that went over the Escanaba River, and then meandered under the bridge to continue exploring closer to the water. 

After we explored around the bridge we continued on our merry way to Boney Falls and the Boney Falls dam.

We finished our day off with watching both Madagascar movies. Because we're actually little kids. :)

On Sunday we went into town to spend a little time with Dan's grandpa and uncle. They live right on the Escanaba river, and they've got the most beautiful backyard. Dan did a little fishing while we were there, but didn't catch anything. 

After we got back from that, Dan and I loaded up the 4-wheeler again and took off, heading for a place to go fishing at. 

See a little peek of the river in that last picture? We found this cool set up way back in the woods, but the bugs were so horrible that we didn't stay for very long. We spent most of our time cruising around on all these back roads, and it was a really fun time. When we got back we took turns in the sauna again and watched a movie before bed time. Which I ended up falling asleep during. But can you blame me, with all the adventures going on here? 

Monday morning I got all my stuff packed up and said goodbye before I headed out. Leaving sucks, and it gets harder every time. At least I have a bunch of good memories to reflect on until I see him again. At least I got this pretty picture on the way home:

I took it as my own personal message from up there that soon we won't have to say goodbye anymore <3 

Holy Hill

Hey guys! I'm sure you're all wondering why I haven't been blogging this past weekend. No? Well I'm going to tell you anyway. This is why:

He's home! He got in on Friday night, so between spending time with him and (unfortunately) still having to work, I've been busy. Yesterday (Sunday) we decided to take a trip up to Holy Hill with my sister and her boyfriend for a double date of sorts. Holy Hill is this huge church around where I live, with Friars and everything. If you want to check it out, go here. Note: I'm not Catholic, I just really love the church.



Pretty awesome, huh? I really wanted to go inside, but there was a concert going on in there so we couldn't get in. If you want to see the inside, the website has a bunch of pictures. Since the church sits up on a bluff, the view from there is pretty spectacular. But even more so than that, the right tower you can see in the picture up there is open for people to climb. Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of heights, but climbing all the way up there is a little nerve-wracking but completely amazing at the same time. And the view, oh man.

It's one of those places that really make you think about how beautiful the world really is. When we look at it from the ground, we tend to miss the big picture. When you get to experience a view like this, though, you get a whole new perspective. 

Once we got back down from the tower, we checked out this area where it gave the whole history on the place, including the very first relic that was constructed in 1858. The cross was carried up the hill by the first reverend and his son-in-law. 

And then of course, there were some goofing offs after we left the park :)

I'm so in love with this guy.