New Schedule

I want to try to organize this blog a little better, so I'm going to create a schedule for posts. Hopefully I'll stick to it. XD Note that this might be every week, or it might be every other week, depending on my ideas for posts and if I time to write them.

Monday: Faith-related posts
Wednesday: Writing
Friday: Top Tens
Saturday: Book Reviews

Sharing the Gospel

Woo! Going for my third post today!

Anyways, I saw this post on Proverbs 31 Teen and wanted to reblog it, but I don't know how, so I'm just sharing the link. :)

Sharing the gospel is that second part of my Goals in Life: Knowing God more and making Him known. It's what God wants us to do, so why are we so shy about it? Why don't we get out there and shout at the top of our lungs, "Jesus died for your sins and then rose again to give you eternal life. All you have to do is believe and place your trust in Him!" I get it. I'm shy, and sometimes talking to someone who might be a complete stranger is scary. I worry- and this is even with people I know- if I'll say the right thing in the right way. But all we need to do is trust God to give us the right words and follow where He leads us, without chickening out. So let's get out there and do it!

Vitro by Jessica Khoury Book Review

Back Cover Copy:

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Seventeen-year-old Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. With the help of Jim Julien, a young charter pilot, she arrives--and discovers a terrifying secret she never imagined: she has a Vitro twin, Lux, who is the culmination of Corpus's dangerous research.

Now Sophie is torn between reuniting with the mother who betrayed her and protecting the genetically enhanced twin she never knew existed. But untangling the twisted strands of these relationships will have to wait, for Sophie and Jim are about to find out just what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

Rating: 4 stars (liked it, would recommend it)

What I Liked:
The concept is a very intriguing one. A girl supposedly receives an email from her scientist mother who's been working on an exotic island for a long while asking for immediate help? Definitely a premise that hooks you and pulls you in. Not to mention just how awesome the setting is. A tropical island off somewhere in the middle of nowhere, one that has such a haunting air about it that pilots don't want to fly anywhere near it? Count me in. Then there's the characters. All of them, from Sophie to Jim to Nicholas to Lux, they're all individuals with unique and... interesting personalities. Lux, I imagine, would have been a pretty difficult character to pull off, especially POV-wise for a few chapters. Jessica Khoury did a pretty good job of this, in my opinion.

What I Didn't Like:
For me, the overall story was definitely a good one; it just didn't pull me in completely and have me walking around the house in circles with a crazy smile on my face as I mumbled under my breath after finishing the last page. Maybe that's just me. One specific thing I noticed when I was reading this book was the way some of the characters were constantly in life-threatening situations and kept making it out. This in itself wasn't really all too much of a problem for me until one of these characters was involved in a situation that made the readers think it (using that word to avoid using the more descriptive he and she) was, by all logical reasoning, dead. Then, and this was the part that annoyed me, this character wasn't dead. *gasp* Recently I've discovered that I just don't like this trope. Readers being led into thinking that the character died, and then the author going "HA! HA! He isn't dead after all! Tricked you!" I realize that others might. I'm just not one of them. It's just a personal preference thing.

Summary:
Vitro by Jessica Khoury has an intriguing premise, great characters, and a good plot, with some minor problems that only slightly detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi novel in a not-too-futuristic world with an exotic setting.

Sunshine Award :-)

(Okay, I tried to make that picture bigger but then it looks weird, so I'm just going to leave it small. XD)

I was nominated by the awesomely awesome Tara Therese (taratherese.wordpress.com) for the Sunshine Award!! This makes me so happy! So, for the Sunshine Award, I share five random facts about myself, answer Tara's questions, nominate a five bloggers, and list five questions for them to answer. Here we go! :D

My 5 Facts:

1. I've tried songwriting before, but my songs never turn out. I want to keep trying, though! Although, my main focus will remain novelling, since I'm definitely much better at that. XD 
2. I am a Panhead. If you don't know what that means you must go listen to Skillet! I shall tell you even before you do so because you are awesome (and not just because you're reading my blog) XD A Panhead is a Skillet fan. :P 
3. I most definitely have a favorite pen, which is totally not weird, right? 
4. Coming up with 5 facts is hard. <<Can that count as one?  My favorite thing from Starbucks is the Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino with no whipped cream. 
5. I've completed two novels, begun countless others, and am working on my third (hopefully) completed one. 

Tara's Questions:

Q: What career appeals to you most?
A: You're making me pick a career?! How cruel can you be?? Just kidding! :P My dream job is a full-time author. However, that might not be completely feasible and might take some time. Also, I tend to be more productive when I'm busier, so I might have a part-time job on top of that anyways. I think teaching would be really cool. If I taught, I'd probably teach high school English or history. A new dream of mine is to open a small bookstore, but again, probably not very feasible.

Q: Do you like to write book reviews?
A: Yeah! Some books I find difficult to review because they were super awesome and I can't find something critical to say at all. *cough cough* Christy Miller series *cough cough* For others, it's just hard for me to put my thoughts into words that readers would actually understand. :P

Q: Which of the four elements would you be?
A: Water. Why? Because, dude. If I'm water, then I can be the ocean. That's just awesome.

Q: Do you like leopard prints?
A: Indifferent. I don't dislike them, but I don't really love them either. Same with zebra stripes. I guess it just depends on the object with the print on it and just what the specific design looks like.

Q: What's it like being an only child/having (a) sibling(s)?
A: Only child right here! When I was little, and still sometimes more recently, I've thought it would be nice to have a sibling, but with just the three of us, our family is really small and close, so I like it this way too. :)

Now, for my nominations! I nominate:

Myth from Panda With a Pencil (http://pandawithapencil.blogspot.com/)
Katie and Anna from Cousins in Christ (http://cousinsinchrist.blogspot.com/)
Lizzie from Junior Novelist for Christ (http://juniornovelist4christ.weebly.com/)
Athelas from Red Lettering (http://craftingstoriesinred.wordpress.com/)
Proverbs 31 Teen (http://proverbs31teen.wordpress.com/)

My questions:

1. Beach or mountains?
2. What's your favorite book? (Yes I'm evil like that. XD)
3. Which book character do you think you're most like?
4. What animal do you think you're most like?
5. What places would you most want to visit, or would you want to travel at all?

Now, I'll be back later today (hopefully) with a writing prompt! :D 

Top Ten Songs- Christian/Worship Music

I've decided that I'm going to try and post a "Top Ten" list every Friday. If I miss a week, I apologize in advance. I've learned that I like making schedules and not sticking with them. :P Anyways, on to the very first Top Tens post! :)

(Note: I started off just making this a top ten songs post, but I found I have way too many favorite songs to fit them all in one top ten list, so I've decided to break it down into genres, and even with that, it's hard to pick just ten songs, so just because a song isn't on this list doesn't mean I don't love it! :D)

Top Ten Christian/Worship Songs:

1. Don't Wake Me by Skillet
2. American Noise by Skillet
3. Hero by Skillet
4. Oceans by Hillsong United
5. Whom Shall I Fear by Chris Tomlin
6. I'm So Sick by Flyleaf
7. Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United
8. All Around Me by Flyleaf
9. Background by Lecrae feat. Andy Mineo- I actually almost named this blog based on this song. :)
10. Awake and Alive by Skillet

YES!! I narrowed it down to ten songs!! Seriously, as I was writing this I started off with sooo many songs, and I had to narrow them down. It was hard! XD And yes, I do realize that these 10 songs come from only 5 different artists. XD

Christy Miller Book Review

I'm in the book reviewing mood, so I'm here to fangirl review the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. I'm going to give you a quick description of my own:

The Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn follows the high school and college years of Christy Miller as she makes new friends, moves to a different state, and grows in her faith.

Things I Loved:

• Christy's walk with Christ. Some of the difficulties she faced and things she realized really helped me in my own walk.
• Todd- he is so sweet, and he's a surfer. PLUS he's a strong Christian. Seriously. Todd, guys. Todd.
• Doug. Doug is like as close to a perfect friend as you can get. He's funny, loyal, kind, a strong Christian, and probably my favorite book character ever. Seriously.  
• Tracy. She is so sweet and optimistic. This girl is almost always happy and positive. 
• Pretty much all of the characters if you can't already tell. xD 
• Todd's and Christy's relationship- soooo adorable. Squeeee!!!!! 

Things I Didn't Like:
Um, is that even a valid question? NOTHING. Okay, I guess I'll admit that I didn't really like the writing style as much, but that's a very minor problem compared to the awesomeness that is Christy Miller. xD

Would I Recommend It?
Of course. Please, go pick up this book as soon as you can and read it. Please. Then we can fangirl together. xD

I would definitely give this series 5 stars, AND there's a Christy & Todd: The Married Years book out now!!! *happy dances* *runs around screaming* *throws confetti*

Okay, I'm done fangirling (for now). xD

How Katheline the Pocket Human Came to Be

The story begins in an afternoon car ride. I was sitting in the backseat, surfing the web on my phone, when I came upon something on the interwebs in which I desired to participate. However, this something requested a name. I did not wish to give this something my real name, so I did what many girls my age would have done- I mentioned the dilemma to my parents. Not long after doing so, my dad proposed I use a pen name. Thus, the pen name Katheline Hansen was born.

Now, that explains where the name Katheline came from, but there is still the question as to where "Pocket Human" came from. That, my friend, was a result of my friends and I hanging out after school in a teacher's room. (A little background first: I am short, very short.) Now, to continue with our story, this particular teacher decided that it would be nice if he measured me to see just how short I really am. He did so to find that I am just barely 5' tall (which is actually a major accomplishment for me. I was really happy when I first found out I'd hit the 5' mark. xD) Well, a conversation ensued, one in which he called me "an adorable little pocket human". The name Pocket Human has stuck.

The End

Hey, everyone!

First and foremost, thanks for checking out my blog! I'm Katheline (that's a pen name, not my real name). Now, to kick off this blog *drumroll* I present to you...

10 Facts About Me =D

• My two goals in life are to know God more and more and to make Him known. 
• I love animals and have 4 dogs, although I really want a horse as well. 
• I love to read, and if it was up to me I'd have a 3-level personal library (I already have the layout planned out, thanks to Pinterest. xD)
• I am a writer who hopes to one day become published. I have also won two NaNoWriMo's! :D
• The beach is amazing. 
• I imagine I'd love to surf if only I knew how. 
• The cold most definitely bothers me. 
• Frozen is an absolutely amazing movie, if you couldn't tell by my reference up there. :P 
• I overuse the words "amazing" and "awesome".
• I use a lot of emoticons, though they are surprisingly sparse in this post. xD

You'll probably catch me blogging about books, writing, my walk with Christ, and just random stuff that I might feel compelled to blog about.

Also, I'm new to the blogging world, so please bear with me as I try to get used to everything. :D Thanks, and stay tuned!