Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have been on the waiting list (from my library) for this book for months! Last week I finally got the exciting email saying it was available for me!

To be honest, I hadn't heard about this book until talk of the movie with Shailene Woodley. But once I read the description, I was hooked. It definitively reminded me of Hunger Games, which I loved, so I knew it was a must read.

Beatrice lives in a society that is divided in to 5 factions that are based on a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

When children reach the age of 16 they take an apptitude test to decide which faction to join and dedicate the rest of their lives to. Beatrice has grown up Abnegation, but she is very conflicted when forced to chose her faction; does she choose her family or who she is inside? Of course Beatrice doesn't fit into one faction and she learns this is because she is Divergent - something she must never tell anyone.

I was fascinated by this idea of dividing people based on these traits, and how each of the factions behaved. The internal struggle Beatrice has between holding back her instincts and acting according to her faction was very believable. It was interesting all the ways her Abnegation upbringing affected her daily activities in her new faction. She was so innocent and oblivious in her feelings for Four. I really loved reading as their relationship developed.

Roth is amazing with her details. I can really picture the Dauntless Headquarters, and I am excited to see how it looks on the big screen. I could not put the book down and I finished it in 2 days.

I am currently #4 on the list for Insurgent, but I doubt I can wait that long to read it! I'm sure I will be 'one-clicking' any minute now. The 3rd book in the series, Allegiant, is due out October 22, 2013.

I can't wait to see the Divergent movie in March 2014! I think Shailene will make a great Tris! If you need more convincing check out the trailer -



Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars. If you loved Hunger Games, you will enjoy Divergent. Even if you think you don't like "Sci-Fi" (which I thought I hated until I realized that both HG and Divergent are Sci-Fi) you will enjoy this book. It has action, romance, drama - it's a story so many of us can relate to - coming in to adulthood and finding where you belong.

Buy Divergent on Amazon.

Under Cabinet Magnetic Spice Rack

We have been looking for a spice rack solution for our kitchen. Our spices are in a cabinet on the opposite side of the kitchen as our stove, and it's above the sink - Not Convenient at all! We looked at different magnetic racks, but none had the quality we were looking for, nor did we have any wall space. I decided to make my own magnetic jars and we decided to have them magnetize to the under side of our top cabinets!

First, we used some left over sheet metal to create a surface for the magnets to stick to. We used construction adhesive to glue the metal to the under side of the cabinets. We used clamps to hold it in place while it dried.

Another option for a magnetic surface is using an old cookie sheet or painting the surface with magnetic paint.

I found some small canning jars at Hobby Lobby to store the spices in. We glued a super strong magnet to the lid of each jar. I found the super strong magnets at Home Depot.

I purchased some vinyl chalkboard labels so we could write what spices were in each jar, that way we could reuse the labels if we changed the spices.

Once all the jars are assembled and filled with spices all we had to do was stick the jars up!

I love how the spices look! They are super convenient and take up no counter top space! We can easily fit more jars so we will be adding some as soon as Hobby Lobby gets more in! 

The Spectacular Now: The Movie

Over Labor Day weekend I was able to see The Spectacular Now movie. This movie is based on the book by Tim Tharp, which I really enjoyed, and it stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.

Miles and Shailene were amazing! I thought Aimee was a weak, sad girl in the novel, but Shailene portrayed her as a strong female who grew up and became even stronger. On the contrary, I believed Sutter's confidence throughout the novel, but maybe that was because it was told from his point of view. In the movie I could see through his act, which I think went well with the movie's ending. I see Shailene becoming the new Hollywood It Girl, especially with her upcoming movies (Divergent, The Fault on Our Stars).

The movie was very fast paced and if you haven't read the book I don't know if you would fully understand the characters. The movie left out just how troubled Sutter was, it was more implied based on other's reactions.

I was very pleased with the movie's ending. While it wasn't a 180 from the book ending, it showed that maybe Sutter can change, and maybe there is hope for he and Aimee in the future.

Overall, I loved The Spectacular Now movie and book! I would recommend reading the book before seeing the movie, and I think you will enjoy both stories for very different reasons.

The next book-soon-to-be-a-movie combination I'm reading is The Wolf of Wall Street, the movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and comes out in November.