Book Nerds Across America

I am super excited to be a part of the A Wrinkle in Time blog tour! I recently did my re-read, and now I am just counting down the days until the movie comes out (March 9th -- so close!)

For the Book Nerds Across America stop on the tour, I am going to share with you some of my "life quotes" a la Mrs. Who. For those who need a refresher, Mrs. Who does most of her talking to Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace by answering questions with quotes from famous people.

As for me, I have always felt inspired and motivated by reading quotes from people I admire. Throughout my life, there has been a few quotes that have really spoken to me deeply. These quotes have hit just the right chord in me to inspire me to go beyond myself. Here they are:


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." 
--Proverbs 3:5-6

"We never how high we are until we are called to rise." 
--Emily Dickinson

"Sometimes you have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down."
--Kobi Yamada

"Be brave."
--Veronica Roth

"...I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
--Henry David Thoreau

"Cherish your vision; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts. If you remain true to them, your world will at last be built."
--James Allen

"I am not afraid of the storm for I am learning to sail my ship." 
--Louisa May Alcott

"You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you." 
--Maya Angelou

"I see so many people living like this is a dress rehearsal. This is your life. You have to live it."--My Dad

“Traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt it...that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel... I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby─I just don’t care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it’s mine. Because it looks exactly like me.” 
--Elizabeth Gilbert

“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
--Howard Thurman


I would love to hear some of your favorite quotes! Please share one or some. And when you're done, check out the rest of the stops on the tour:

The Tour Schedule

• Feb 21st | YA Bibliophile 
• Feb 22nd | Adventures of a Book Junkee 
• Feb 23rd | Falling For YA 
• Feb 23rd | Fiktshun 
• Feb 26th | Addicted 2 Novels 
• Feb 27th | Swoony Boys Podcast 
• Feb 28th | Book Nerds Across America 
• Feb 28th | YAWednesdays 
• Mar 1st | Fiction Fare 
• Mar 2nd | Bookish Lifestyle 
• Mar 3rd | Forever Young Adult 
• Mar 5th | That Artsy Reader Girl 
• Mar 5th | Hello, Chelly 
• Mar 6th | Book Briefs 
• Mar 7th | Ex Libris 
• Mar 8th | Reading Teen 

Happy book birthday to Where I Live by Brenda Rufener! This one sounds unique and powerful, and I'm looking forward to checking it out.


Linden Rose has a big secret--she is homeless and living in the halls of her small-town high school. Her position as school blog editor, her best friends, Ham and Seung, and the promise of a future far away are what keep Linden under the radar and moving forward.

But when cool-girl Bea comes to school with a bloody lip, the damage hits too close to home. Linden begins looking at Bea's life, and soon her investigation prompts people to pay more attention. And attention is the last thing she needs.

Linden knows the only way to put a stop to the violence is to tell Bea's story and come to terms with her own painful past. Even if that means breaking her rules for survival and jeopardizing the secrets she's worked so hard to keep. 

Movie Summary
Everyone deserves a great love story. But for Simon it's complicated: no-one knows he's gay and he doesn't know who the anonymous classmate is that he's fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, scary and life-changing.

Flo's Review
I love Love, Simon. I recently made a point of reading the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda so that I would be ready for the movie. Man, did I love that book. (Read my review here.) 

Last week, I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of the movie! It looked my expectations in the eye and said, "Oh, you think you know how good this movie will be? Hold my beer." I had hoped going in that it would be adorable like the book was adorable, but I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did. I seriously loved it so much! 

Yes, it met the Adorable factor I was hoping for, that was in the book and raised it a level. But it was also really funny. I didn't expect to be cracking up as much as I was. I laughed and I cried and it made me nostalgic for my group of high school friends. You know, the ones that you'd just drive around town with listening to music and talking? The ones who knew you better almost as well, if not better, than you knew yourself? Simon's friends were all amazing in this and their relationship was perfect -- it felt genuine and not forced in the slightest. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel as Simon's parents were also killer.

I think if you've read the book and you liked it, then you will like this movie. It did a good job of sticking pretty closely to the book. But I also really think this will be one of those book-to-movies that can stand on its own. I think it will be able to attract fans and viewers outside of those who have read the book, and that these fans will come to know and love the book through the movie first.

Love, Simon comes out March 16th in the U.S. and I already told a friend I would go with her and see it again. And I already can't wait. 

Book Summary
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...

Flo's Review
From the moment I heard this book was a cross between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in space, I was intrigued. What a great concept! I don't know much about Lara Croft, but the Indiana Jones movies were definitely a part of my childhood.

This book was fast-paced and a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing how Jules and Mia figured out the various   puzzles that the Undying left behind. And I adored Mia and Jules together. I loved their relationship, from beginning to end.

Amie and Meagan came to my local bookstore, Books & Books, and I couldn't have been more excited. The two of them together are the best, and they are both so sweet, fun, and approachable.

I just love them, though!

They talked about the audiobook at the event and how they were excited to have Steve West narrating Jules. I knew him from the A Torch Against the Night audiobook and he does have a very enjoyable voice. (Seriously, though. Find a sample to listen to if you can!) Needless to say, he did a great job here as well. And so did Alex McKenna, who read Mia. But one thing I know about myself is that I have an audiobook limit. I can only do about 8 CDs max before it starts to seem too long. And this one was ten. Maybe that's why I struggled with the end. The last bit of the book seemed to drag a little bit for me? Or maybe I just enjoyed being with Jules and Mia and the puzzles and their brains better than anything else.

This is a duology, which is refreshing. I am looking forward to seeing everything wrap up in the next book.