Books Of The Year-2014

*This is through November 22, 2014: These are books that I've read and enjoyed and may not be published in 2014

For those of you who don't know, I am a major bookworm. Since I work at a library, I have access to a ton of books, perhaps first dibs on many. I've read over 40 books this year, and I wanted to take the time to give you the books that I really loved, so maybe you'll love it too!
 
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Just One Day, Just One Year, and Just One Night by Gayle Forman
I've read 'If I Stay' and 'Where She Went' this past year, however I found that these two were even more amazing to read in themselves. They tell the story of a couple that meets in London, goes to Paris, and then loses each other for an entire year. "Just One Day" was told in the point of view of good girl Allyson, "Just One Year" was told by Willehm, and the e-book novella "Just One Night" was told in third person point of view. I loved these books even more than "If I Stay" because it's less depressing and it's a beautiful love story. 
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
This book was such a great one to read. It's about Samantha Reed whose been watching the Garrett family next door for all of her life. However, she then makes the trip to the other side of the fence, and quickly falls for Jase Garret. This book is heartbreaking, yet beautifully written. I reccomend it, especially now that it isn't summer. 
Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers; Book of Love by Lynn Weingarten
This surprisingly took me only two days to read for both books. This is about Lucy, who is helplessly in puppy love with her boyfriend Alex. He breaks up with her on the first day back to school. She then encounters 'The Sisterhood' who break hearts for fun and become more powerful. This book is so great because it combines magic with a love story. I loved reading this and I am sure that you will too!
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
How romantic-this is about a girl whose engaged to someone who may or may not be right for her. However, she picks up the cell phone of someone's secretary, only to fall for the person himself. I loved this book because it has all of the class hallmarks to a chick lit story. However, it's such an interesting concept. I hope that it becomes a movie someday.

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
 This is about college girl Cath and her sister Wren who are going off to college. Cath is obsessed with a Harry Potterlike series and writes fanfiction about it. It tells the story about her as she navigates her life without her sister, and without her fanfiction. I loved this book because I can relate to Cath-I honestly spend more time with books and writing as you can tell. Rowell, writes a lot of interesting books from 'Eleanor and Park' and a book that I have yet to read called 'Landline'. Great books!
What have you been reading? Let me know so I can check it out!

He and She Saturdays-Even Those on Diets Are Hungry for Love.

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We ended up at some Italian restaurant that was probably family owned. Andrew must have been there thousands of times before, with his family, because the host shook his hand and acknowledged him by name. Andrew blushed as the owner went on about how pretty I was, and how much it was a pleasure to meet the apple of Andrew’s eye. Andrew probably wanted to crawl under a rock, which was okay because that proved that he really liked me. At least, that’s what Daphne told me.

            “So you come here often?” I asked, trying to make a joke out of it. I didn’t want him to think that he was making a fool out of himself, you know. For the first time in my life, I found someone that was in fact falling for me in the same way that I was falling for them, and I wasn’t sure what the hell I was feeling. Happiness, maybe? Sadness, because who knows what what would come out of it. Love, yes. But I’ve read too many Nicholas Sparks novels to know that there could be a bridge under troubled waters to know what was really going to happen.

            He nodded. “My mom used to date the owner.”

            “And that’s not awkward?” I asked.

            “Not really. They were kids, so now they are just old friends.”

            “And regulars at their restaurant?” I asked.

            He laughed. It’s also a good sign when a guy laughs at your jokes. It shows that they are in fact into you. That’s always a good thing.

            “Yes”, he said. “I guess that sometimes that happens too.”

            I smiled. “I think I like you Andrew.” As soon as I said them, I wished that I could take them back. What if it was too soon into this for us to really be so blunt when it came to those things? What if I was the only one who was feeling the buzz of a first date? I was left on the limb that I had taken all by myself. What did he have to say for himself?

            He smiled, and then said “I think that I like you too. Will you be my girlfriend?”

He and She Saturdays-Love Games

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I wasn’t sure what I was going to expect when I was being led to Andrew’s car. I’ve never been in a car, alone, with a guy that I liked. I’ve never even been anywhere alone with a guy that I liked. It felt weird, mainly because I didn’t know what to expect. I surely didn’t hope that it would be awkward.

“So”, Andrew said, as he got into the driver’s side.

I nodded, not sure knowing what to say. “So. Nice car”.

“Thanks”, he said shyly. “Do you like music?”

I nodded. Who didn’t like music. “Yes.”

“Well what kind? Before we go on a great conquest, I would like to get some awesome music to get us in the mood to you know.”

“To have sex? You didn’t strike me as that kind of guy.”

“I meant to be on this date…”

“Oh.”

Well so much for making things not awkward, and I just have opened the biggest can of awkward worms ever. Way to go, Cat.

“You sound sorely disappointed.”

“No. Not at all.” Suddenly, heat began to rise up in my cheeks. “I mean I’m sure that sex with you would be very nice, and all, but I am only 16 years old, and this is our first date, and I really need to you know fall in love with you and get to know you before I can ever think about having sex with you. And even then, we’ll have to get tested, and use protection before we do.” I was talking way too much. Way to go Cat.

He looked at me smiling. I could feel some sort of laughter in the mix as well. Probably he was internally laughing at me inside.

“I’m sorry this is awkward, weird, and I’m just talking way too much,” I said.

He began to laugh. ‘Oh great’, I thought. ‘I blew it. Way to go.’

“I appreciate knowing that, but I was just teasing you.”

“Oh,” I said, trying to hid my burning red cheeks, and my embarrassment.

“Sorry. But I do appreciate knowing your views about sex”, he said. “Gives me a preview of what I can expect.” He grinned.

“Is that okay?”

He looked into my eyes. It was a good thing that we were at a red light. “Cathleen,” he said softly in a tone that his friends would I’m sure mock him for using. It was soft, careful, as if he was worried that somehow that he would break me. “You’re more than okay.”

We got to the game about ten minutes early. Although this was my third year of high school, I have never been to a sporting event. Needless to say, I didn’t know what to expect. I was half-expecting foam fingers to be wagged into my face. However, when I got there, things were very much different. The football field was far from packed, and it was a lot colder than I expected. The drumline (our school didn’t have a pepband) was pounding loudly to anyone who would listen to them, making it known to the other team that they wouldn’t be going down without a difficult fight. Ollie the Otter, (our mascot) was dancing around to the beat, while the cheerleaders were doing their last minute stretches. It was go time.

“Cat do you want anything?” Andrew asked, handing me my ticket. Despite the fact that this was our school, we still had to pay five dollars to get in. Well, Andrew did because he insisted.

I turned around. We were standing near where the food was being sold. I hadn’t had anything to eat since my turkey sandwich at lunch, yet I wasn’t hungry. My stomach was too tied up in knots of nerves to really be fed.

“Do you wanna share a pretzel?” I asked. I figured I should at least eat a little something before dinner.

He smiled. “Sure. I would love to. But I wouldn’t mind getting you your own, you know.”

“Sharing is caring.”

“Okay. Do you want salt with that?”

“Sure, thank you.”

He smiled. I can tell that he was happy to be able to buy the girl that he liked something to eat. I can imagine him on a white horse or something.

Okay, I was getting a bit too carried away. But, this just goes to show. Chilvery is surely not dead.

“You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.”

I smiled. For that brief moment in time, I felt like a diamond. I felt shiny, like everyone thought I was beautiful. In reality, not many people probably did because not everyone in the world even knew of my existence. There’s something about the first flutter of love that makes every waking moment when you’re with that person feel amazing. You feel like you’re sparking, and you just want to show them off to the world. Because someone thinks that you’re amazing, and you think they are amazing too.

“Shall we?” Andrew asked, holding my hand.

I smiled. “Yes, we shall.”

I could tell you a lot of things about what happened next. I can tell you that Andrew put his arm around me, holding me so close that I can smell the scent of his mint-flavored gum on his breath. I can tell you that he smelled very nice, as I did expect. I can tell you how warm his body felt, in comparison to the chilly fall air. However, I can’t tell you who won the game, or even what the score was. Everything else simply didn’t feel as important as Andrew. Andrew, this super amazing guy, who liked me for some strange reason that I didn’t understand. I wondered what he was thinking. I wondered if he was happy, or if he was enjoying the pretzel, even though he had let me have most of it.

I had lost all track of time however when people were gathering their things I could tell that it was time to leave.

“Ready for dinner?” Andrew asked. His eyes sparkled in the darkness, signaling  that perhaps that there was more ahead.

I nodded. This date was perfect, and I couldn’t wait to see what he had up his sleeve next.

He and She Saturdays-Do We All Get Anxious For Dates?

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Before I knew it, Friday night came. The week had passed, the days spent with me gazing at Andrew from afar, and Andrew returning my gaze when he thought that I wasn’t looking. The nights were spent with him texting me about something mundane and then ended up talking about whatever our hearts desired. I knew that there must have been a legit reason why he was texting me so much. He liked me, it was obvious. I didn’t however want to believe it because I didn’t want to get my hopes up and end up getting disappointed.

As I sat in front of my vanity, my outfits that I bought with Daphne were sprawled across my bed, I still felt confused. There were so many things that I didn’t know about tonight. Was the outfit that I picked out right? Should I hold his hand? Or worse, what if he kissed me? Was I good at kissing?

The last time that I was kissed was when I was 13 with my middle school boyfriend. His name was Carter, and he was the bee’s knees at our middle school. He asked me to dance, and of course I said yes. My first kiss was during the song ‘Love In This Club”, by Usher. It was a beautiful moment. We ended up breaking up a few weeks later, but still I wondered if it was my kissing skills that drove him away. To this day, I will never know. However, I tried not to let that thought plague me tonight as I got ready for my big date with Andrew. Andrew who wasn’t Carter, nope not one bit.

I wasn’t sure what I was trying to go for tonight. Should I go for a look that was more sassy? How hard should I try? I mean I know for a fact that he likes me. I like him, and I want to impress him. So, how hard should I try? Should I even be trying at all? Of course, I should at least put some effort into my appearance.

Time for a call to Daphne. She was good at this sort of stuff, she’d know what to say. The phone nearly slipped out of my hand each time that I tried dialing her number.

“Hello”, she said.

“Help”, I said.

She sighed. “You’re going to be fine.”

“I am so nervous that I can’t eat. Or even sit up straight. I fail at dating.”

“You’re also new at dating.”

“And so far it sucks”.

“Andrew is a great guy. And you haven’t even went out with him. Everyone has these experiences when they go out with someone that they really like for the first time. Plus, Andrew seems to already like you. It’s going to be amazing.”

“But, I’m still nervous.”

“And that’s okay.”

“It is?” I was puzzled.

“Yes.”

“How so?”

“Because we’ve all been there. It’s perfectly fine to be nervous when you’re new at something. It’s all going to go away eventually. Trust me.”

“Were you nervous about your first date?” I asked. I remembered it vaguely. It was a few years ago, with some guy named Michael. I didn’t remember much, other than he was a few years older than us. I believed that he was a senior when Daphne was a freshman. The relationship was short-lived though because Michael had wanted to move a lot faster than she did. Daphne dumped him for Sam, the artsy guitarist that lasted for about two months. He was her first love.

“Keep in mind, you’re the exact same age as Andrew.”

“That is true. I do have that going for me.”

“It’s going to be great. Start getting excited!”

I took a deep breath. “I will.”

“Say it like you mean it!”

“I will!”

“Okay, go get him Tiger!” she exclaimed.

“I will!”

I hung up, and that blast of confidence lasted until I tied the white laces of my Chuck Taylors.

About an hour later, Andrew was making small talk with my father. My father had decided to put on his Robert Deniro impression, which was really hard for a middle-aged Irish man to do. I had half expected that, when my older sister Brielle began to date Kevin, who was now her boyfriend of five years. (They had begun dating when she was 16.) However, now that the spotlight was turned on me, it still felt even more embarrassing. I can finally relate to her pain.

“So”, my dad said. He was the one that got the door. That was the rule. “You wanna take my daughter out?”

“Yes sir”, Andrew said. He was careful on his words, almost to the point where he himself was wondering whether or not to take my ridiculous father seriously or not.

“You better treat her right or I swear to God-“

“Dad”, my older sister Casey cut in. “I am so sorry for my father. He’s really a nice person but he has control issues with any men in his daughters’ lives. I’m Casey, Cathleen’s normal sibling. I swear my father is a nice person. Would you like to come in? Cathleen is waiting for you.”

Andrew nodded, and he looked a little more relieved.

“Hi”, I said. My palms were sweaty.

“Hey”, he said, smiling. “You look awfully nice tonight.”

My dad shot him a dirty look. I prayed that Andrew didn’t even see it.

“Thanks, you do too.”

“Thanks. Do you want to go?” he said. I bet he couldn’t wait to bolt out of this awkward situation. My dad was giving him dirty looks as if giving them was going out of style. Casey was doing the same thing to Dad. Whoever said getting rid of dirty looks was more dirty looks was clearly wrong.

“Sure.”

Andrew followed me out of the door. He even opened the door for me, which was always a plus when a guy did that in my dad’s book. I still can feel the weight of my Dad’s stare as we walked out. I’m pretty sure that Andrew was thinking ‘Thank God for getting me out of here.’

“Sorry about my Dad”, I said as he lead me to the car. “He’s just overly protective of his daughters.”

“I can see that.”

“Are you afraid of that?”

“Should I be? I have no plans to hurt you.” He held open the door of his Toyota Rave Four. It was dark, but I can still kind of make out that it was silver. I wondered if this was his mother or father’s that he borrowed for the night.

“You don’t?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Well that’s good to know.”

He smiled. He started the car, and suddenly some of my nerves seemed to melt away. I hoped that my father pretending to be a member of the Mafia would be the only awkward moment of the night.

He and She Saturday-Foreplay to Dating.

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“So let me get this straight-he kissed you on the cheek?” Daphne asked for yet the hundredth time.

I nodded, not really minding to tell this story again. When I left Andrew, I made a beeline for Daphne’s house where we spent the last two hours replaying what had just happened. We were typical high school girls, and whenever a boy told us we were beautiful we would spend moments analyzing it. Why would he call us beautiful? Did he like us? Did he really like us, or was he just lying?

Being a high school juinior with no self confidence can truly be annoying.

“I told you that he liked you”, she said.

“I know you did.”

“You’re going to have a good time”, she said. “Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

I nodded. “But I have a week to figure it out.”

She smiled excitedly. “I know! We should go shopping because you’re going to want to find a super-awesome outfit.”

I narrowed my gaze at her. “But, my outfits are already super-awesome. “

“So, one more outfit isn’t going to hurt.”

“That just gives you an excuse to shop.”

She laughed. “Well, it does give me that. What do you have against shopping?”

“Nothing, except that you do an awful lot of it.”

“I need things.”

I looked into her crowded closet, full of shoes in multiple colors and styles, jeans in a variety of washes, and a whole rainbow of shirts.

“Not in every color.”

“Yes I do! That way, I have the basics.”

I rolled my eyes. “The basics would be in a few colors that go with everything. Not every color.”

“Don’t hate on me just because I have a more awesome wardrobe than you.” She stuck out her tongue at me.

“My wardrobe is pretty fine thank you very much. And I don’t have one of everything in every color.”

We laughed. That was the thing about Daphne. We could tease each other about just about anything, and then  as soon as you think that we probably had enough of each other for good, we suddenly burst out laughing. It was the way that our friendship always was, is, and will be.

“So, what do you say?” Daphne asked as we finished our explosions of laughter. “Wanna hit the mall?”

I smiled weakly, not sure what was going to be in store for me. “Sure”.

Two hours later, I spent more money than I should have, and had more bags that were digging a read mark in my hands as a result. This was the work of Daphne, who had insisted that I would buy a few options, just because you can’t really predict the weather. What if it was cold? What if there was suddenly a heat wave? Daphne had an excuse for buying just about everything, as long as it was on sale.

I heard a soft muted ping from inside of my bag. Part of me hoped that it was Andrew, but the other part of me told myself that I shouldn’t get my hopes up. The tips of my mouth creased into a smile, because I didn’t know the number. Therefore, it must be Andrew.

Andrew; Hi, it’s Andrew. I wanted to give you my number, just so you can have it. I hope you’re having a great day, and that you’re not creeped out by how early I am to text you.

Me; I am not creeped out. I am happy that you’re texting me.

Andrew; I am too. :D

Me: What’s up?

Andrew: Not much, and you?

Me: Not much, just got back from a shopping trip with my best friend.

Andrew: Ooh, girl’s night out? Did you buy anything interesting?

Me; Not really. I bought something to wear to our date next week.

Andrew; I look foreward to seeing that. I bet that you’ll look amazing. You always do :D

Me: Well, thank you.

Andrew: You don’t seem happy that I think that you’re cute..?

Me: Because I don’t believe you.

Andrew: Well, believe it. I think that you’re extremely cute. I think that you’re amazing, and I know that it’s too soon for me to be saying that.

Me: Nope, not at all.

Andrew: Good, cause I do.

Me: You’re very cliché.

Andrew: I guess that’s a good thing then.

Me: Not for me.

Andrew: Why not?

Me: I am not a huge fan of the whole cliché romantic movie thing.

Andrew: Aren’t all girls a fan of things like that?

Me: That is such a stereotype.

Andrew: Really?

Me: Well, you shouldn’t believe in stereotypes.

Andrew: Why not?

Me: Because they are not always true.

Andrew: I am sorry to assume that.

Me: You know what they say when you assume things.

Andrew: Yes, I do.

I looked at the clock, and wiped my tired eyes. It was almost midnight, and I was sitting in the same position that I was earlier. My bags still had clothes in them, and I’m sure that by now they were probably more wrinkled then the old women in titanic.

Me: We’ve been texting for pretty much all night. I’m tired and I’m gonna go to bed. Mind if I text you tomorrow?

Andrew: Of course, not. I hope you sleep well, my darling.

Me: I am not yours yet.

Andrew: But, you will be.

I closed my phone, and shut it. I couldn’t sleep right now, so I hung my clothes up. I got my pajamas on, and just laid there. I didn’t know what to think, or what this was, but I was falling to some unknown gravity. Was this what falling in love felt like?  Or was this what falling in love with someone who was falling in love with you too felt like.

If it did, then it felt nice.