Books Beauty Bling

It has been a difficult few days, emotionally. With the passing of my mom on Sunday (which I wrote about here,) and the aftermath that follows, it's been hard to stay focused on much. I began reading this novel, Passenger, by Alexandra Bracken, on June 30th, and finished it the evening of the 4th. I immediately attempted to purchase the sequel, Wayfarer, only to discover it is not released until January 3rd. So, now I have a book hangover to deal with.  For some reason I kept confusing this novel in my mind with Salt to the Sea, by  Ruta Sepetys ,  I think because of the similar coloring on the covers. I still have Salt to the Sea on my wishlist, so I can't yet comment on subject matter. I digress. I really loved this books, and Bracken had be sucked in almost right away. The character of Etta is fierce, and bold, and driven. All things I love to see in strong female lead characters. I must not have read the dust jacket description, or if I did, I must have forgot...

I’ve been snooping around my parents house, looking for old photos. I know we have them, my dad loves photography, and I know we have boxes of pictures around here somewhere. Snooping is probably too strong a word, really I’m just searching around. I’m trying to find as many photos of my mom as possible. Most of the photos that are around the house are studio portraits, or other photos of me, from school, from dance. There are few adult pictures of my parents that don’t also include a younger version of me. I want to find these photos because I want to have as many visual reminders of who my mom was, physically, before the cancer came. I want to remember her holding me while I suspiciously suss out Donald Duck, or holding me on her lap in a blue chair that’s almost just as much a part of my childhood memories. I want to remember her smiling, and vibrant, and sometimes, clearly annoyed with the photographer (my dad.) I want all of these as a constant reminder that my mom is so much...