Words Of Wisdom: Psalm 139:14

Bring In The Books: Last Dance By Lurlene McDaniel

Last Dance by Lurlene McDaniel's
*I Do Not Own Picture

Okay, so this is my first official Bring In The Books. The Colorado Runaway Series, I guess you could call it my "starter". So, I'll maybe call this my "Other Starter". The book I am going to introduce you to is called Last Dance. (Yes, I know it's a lot like my book, I see). I was looking up books that have a little relation to mine, and Last Dance by Lurlene McDaniel came up. The main character is Rachel Deering, a beautiful 14 year old who is becoming one of the best dancers in the country. But something disturbing comes up. After she unexpectedly collapses at dance class, Rachel is diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It seems to Rachel that her life is over. I can't tell you to rest, because you'll just have to read the book yourself!

Lurlene McDaniel
Author of Last Dance
*I Do Not Own Picture

I'll start off my review with the main character Rachel Deering. She is very whiny and ungrateful. She's very rude to her younger sister and mother. I can understand that, having both a mother and two very younger sisters. Maybe I just don't understand how hard diabetes can be to maintain because I don't have them. But just because we have a disease or any kind of a disability does not mean we should mope around, whine or act like our entire world is ending. I know it can feel that way, but Rachel is just too whiny for my taste. Look at Bethany Hamilton and Nick Vujicic. Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack and Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs, only feet with two toes on one of them. Even though they struggled at the beginning, look where they are now! They didn't let either of their losses over-power them, so why should Rachel be an exception?

Nick Vujicic
*I Do Not Own Picture

Bethany Hamilton
*I Do Not Own Picture

The book is beautifully written, but very short. I'm a person who likes longer books. The one I read was large print too, so that didn't help the shortness of the book, either. It took me probably less than an hour to read. I think if Rachel was different, my review would be better. We can't help every bad thing that happens to us, but we shouldn't let that stop us from truly living. One last issue I have for the book is the title. "Last Dance". I shouldn't give away the ending, but I have to if I want to share my opinion. At the end of the book, Rachel goes on to receive a scholarship. So why did McDaniel call this book "Last Dance", if it wasn't? Rachel will go on to dance even more now. This is what I call "False Title Advertising".

To be clear and for the record, I didn't even know this book existed until I was over 50 pages into my book The Last Dance. "Then why is you book called The Last Dance an exception to the rules?", you may ask. Because that's really what it is about. I cannot tell you the ending of my book, but in all reality, the title and my summary given on my first Writings On The White Fence should tell a lot. In the long run, Last Dance by Lurlene McDaniel gets a 2 1/2 stars out of five for me.


What Did You Think About My Review On This Book? If You Have Read This Book, Tell Me Your Review And Your Rating. For People Who Choose To Read This Book, Share Your Review In The Comments Box!

Shattering The Mirror: The Secret Of Real Beauty

So, you're probably thinking "What's up with this title?" Well, I've been on many blogs lately, and seeing how these bloggers tell about themselves and how they most certainly are not perfect. So, I'm deciding to do one too, for every reader who just might think I'm perfect. It's a very good idea, and it may be a little early to use this, since I don't have all too many readers (But I appreciate the people who do!), but I'm doing it anyways, hopefully to bring in some more readers, and just to help girls who feel the way I do. This isn't usually my writing style, starting nearly every sentence with I'm, I, or any of those words I repeat, but it's all for good reasons.

I'm the kind of person who is quiet in public and crazy at home. I'm the person who turns up my music in my earbuds so loud that I purposely block out every voice that tries to call me. I love cheese and sour cream as taco chip dip, I hate milk and coffee with a vengeance, and I'm pretty okay with kids. I'm the kind of person who angers easily, is mildly violent, who easily falls into an angry rage, who takes every awful comment to heart, who cries easily, but doesn't want anyone to watch. I'm the person who cries at night to make sure no one hears or sees me. I am the person who always says "I'm okay", but wants someone to hug me and say "I know you're not". I'm the person who wakes early, but can stay up an entire night if I wish. I am human.

I've lied countless times in my life, I'd need more than a thousand fingers to count. I'm the person who is mildly insecure about her body figure. I am the person who looks into the mirror and hates the way her body is shaped. I'm the person who criticizes myself on what I do or say. I am a perfectionist in almost everything I do. I'm the person who wishes I could look like my sisters instead of any super-model or actress. I'm the person who can't keep up a routine of daily exercise or a daily diet. I am a person who barely looks in the mirror for more than one moment, but in that one moment despises my waist-line. I'm the person who will go the fridge two feet away for something and forget what I was going for. I am human.

When I like something, I become obsessed with it. I have habits of picking under my nails, bitting the inside of my lips, biting the inside pockets of my cheeks and letting my mind slip away from the cold world of reality. I am the kind of person who dreams a lot and wishes that the world inside my head was real. I am the kind of person with no talent to provide her future career. I'm the person can write a beautiful novel, but cannot sing a single note or dance a single step. I'm the kind of person who has the straightest and most white teeth, and eagle eyesight. I'm the kind of person who's feet turn in when I walk, I'm the kind of girl who has terrible handwriting, a deep voice, and a more matured look than my age. I'm the person who can be 25 in one moment, and in the next you would think I'm five years old. I am human.

I'm a person who can make macaroni and cheese and snicker doodles, but cannot read directions correctly. I am the person who is a bit lazy, but can be an extremely hard worker in the next moment. I'm a very messy person, but at times can be very organized. I'm the person who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty, but doesn't like to get wet, unexpectedly. I'm the kind of person who is the odd ball of the family, who is the quietest around company, but one of the loudest mouths in the house. I am human.

I'm am the girl who is more a tomboy than a perfect London Miss. I'm a person who loves to horribly fake Southern and British accents, who loves any Western, and dislikes school. I love books, musicals, and can never write, blog, or scroll through Pinterest without music. I love my hot chocolate luke-warm and watered down, and my iced tea with plenty of sugar. I'm the kind of person who only drinks water out of her favorite water bottle, and drinks her sweet tea in a Mason jar. I'm the kind of person who loves to shovel our entire driveway in the cold weather just to be alone. I love to go to the garage or down to our basement to belt out any song that I feel like singing. I'm the person who has major stage fright, is camera shy, and doesn't like to embarrass herself. I'm the person who spends every single moment alone to sing, no matter how bad anyone thinks I sound. I am the kind of person who can't forgive herself for sins and mistakes made in her life, no matter how small it is. I am the kind of person who has trouble letting go of anything. I am human.

These are only little things about me. And all of them are true. The one thing I probably struggle with the most is my body. My weight and my eyes are probably my biggest enemies. And a couple more that I'm not bothering to mention. Now follow me on this journey; I'm the kind of person who could eat a whole Thanksgiving dinner, but pack on every single carb, whereas my sisters could eat that and not pack on a single ounce. I know I should watch my weight, but I don't think people, especially skinny girls who don't pack on the weight as heavily as fellow girls like me, understand how hard that is to do. My shape, to me- I'm no expert, is probably between an hourglass and a circle (apple) shape. Mostly the hourglass. My hips are very wide, as is my bust line, in which I absolutely despise. This is what I mean about Shattering The Mirror. Society today makes girls struggle with their looks. Society today says, if you're not anorexic skinny, have beautiful curves, a rockin' smile, straight teeth, and perfect posture, than you basically belong in the dumpster. But how true is that? The answer? That is far from the truth. God hand-crafted all of us, and it's more important to look beautiful on the inside, no matter how beautiful we are on the outside. The funny thing about me, is that I've never wanted to look like a super-model of an actress. I've always wanted to look like my sisters. So odd, right? Most girls want to look like girls on magazines, but not me. Our mirrors are probably the most awful thing that girls can have in their room, or even in their house. I'm saying this for all the girls who feel the way I do. We are beautiful. Now, I'm going to make a list of recommendation songs for girls to listen to, Christian or not. Sometimes we all need to hear that song that has the exact message that we are going through. There are only a few songs on this list that I made, but these are the main ones that come to mind. I'm hoping to add more.

1. Beautiful For Me by Nichole Nordeman
Beautiful For Me is a Christian song, beautiful sung by Nordeman. It speaks about inner and true beauty, and I couldn't agree more about the message.
2. Who Says Selena Gomez
This is a great song for non-religious people, and Christian. The only thing that I would say is incorrect about these lyrics, is the chorus, "Who says, who says you're not perfect?". That is wrong. No one is perfect. Other than that, the song is very good.
3. Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
Good song for girls. Very good song, very good message.

I truly hope this post helps girls. Whether they struggle with their body shape, braces, glasses, any issue that they may have, maybe listen to some of these songs and remember God loves you.

Women and Young Girls, If You Read This Post, Be Brave. Post One Thing That You Struggle With In The Comments Box. All Of Us Struggle With Something, Big or Little. Before You Go To Bed Tonight, Remember That God Loves You. We Are Beautiful.