I can hardly hear to think

a 21 year-old progressive-thinker, guitar-player, awesome-sister, English-major, chronic day-dreamer, music-lover, terrible-dancer, aspiring-writer, addicted online-shopper, cynical disbeliever, an okay-driver, inattentive listener, insomniatic sleeper, over-achiever, obsessive reader, and always a horizon chaser because my biggest fear is becoming a life-waster ...you may think that I'm wacky but I know they'll come get me, come get me someday If not tomorrow then maybe today

[allystoner-blog]

[allystoner-blog]

Review of Matched

Sure, we're all getting a little tired of the Dystopia hype, but at least it seems to be more intriguing then the quickly dying Vampire Romance hype which was wild but clearly not as immortal as its sparkling heroes. However, I'm one of those people that can look past all the trends and recognize a good voice when I hear one. --- Matched reminded me of Delirium by Lauren Oliver which reminded me of about a million other things, most notably The Giver by Lois Lowry, whom many seem to credit for the Dystopian-style YA novel. Delirium was interesting and fast-paced which is all I can ask for in a book, but the voice of the narrator in Delirium was too hidden behind the much louder voice of Lauren Oliver who spoke like someone who thought she knew what she was talking about, but more or less, was as lost as a heroine in a dystopian love story. --- While Lauren Oliver's language left me rereading passages in confusion and her incoherent metaphors made me stop on multiple occasions to say, "Wait, what?" Ally Condie excels where Oliver only tried to hit but often missed. --- Condie's voice has the kind of classic poetry in it that reminded me more of Emily Bronte than Susan Collins, and her love story was as passionate and doomed as Catherine and Heathcliff. Lauren Oliver's made a swing for that kind of love story but where her readers were stuck reading metaphors about sea gulls, Condie's readers were entranced by the poetry of a deeper kind of passion. --- The premise of Matched is familiar to the avid Dystopia reader, but she hit home where others faltered. I was less concerned by the familiarity of the match-making system, the pills that control emotions, and the vague representation of "The Society" because she made her characters tangible in ways that other authors had barely grazed the surface. --- Like poetry by Tennyson or Dickinson, some words were not meant for a purpose other than to sound beautiful and invoke personal feelings in the reader. Such is Matched. While the story itself is just the backdrop for Condie's prose, the characters and their alive and passionate voices are what set this book apart from those that share its shelf at Barnes and Noble. --- Condie's voice did not over power Cassia and Cassia's story but rather enhanced it, putting real feelings and real emotions in a setting that is as fantasy to the modern teenager as Hogwarts. I appreciated a heroine like Cassia who felt things so vivdly that I couldn't help but cry a little when the Officials cut down the maple tree in her front yard or take her artifact from her. It was a breath of fresh air for me who was sourly disappointed in reading about other Dystopian heroines, like Katniss who is quite devoid of emotion. --- Like poetry, Condie uses words to connect the reader to personal feelings. Whether she is describing the feel of Ky's hand on Cassia's or the colors of the Grand Canyon, it was as if I were writing the words rather than reading them. That is what effective writers can do. They can reach the reader in such a way that their story becomes the reader's story. --- Admirably, Condie did reach out to other poets as inspiration for Cassia's feelings, such as Tennyson, Dickinson, and Thomas. I was pleasantly surprised by the poems she did choose to use in her books because I am very weary of authors who use well known poetry from Shakespeare in hopes that the reader will not be well-versed enough in poetry that they respect the author for referencing something as classic as Shakespeare. While Shakespeare has its place in history, his words were about as poetic in his time as the words of the host of American Idol. When an author chooses to reference Romeo and Juliet (oh, just kill me) or a misinterpreted sonnet, I choose to assume that that author knows absolutely nothing about true poetry. --- Unlike in other Dystopian novels, such as Delirium, I found myself rereading Condie's passages, not because her metaphors were out-of-the-blue, throwing me out of the story and wondering what they were doing there in the first place, but because her words wove together so beautifully that I just wanted to appreciate them again. --- People who just like dystopian fiction may not be all too impressed with the familiar and predictable plot of Matched. However, Matched is more for the reader who enjoys to read about love. Whether it's love between a boy and a girl or love of words. Condie's true intent shines through here, when Cassia falls in love with writing words. Matched doesn't have an ulterior motive to warn the populace of potential evils of a controlling society, as Katniss's revolution suggests. but it simply, and beautifully, shows that love and passion is what is missing from the world, and the ability to express ourselves so poetically is a freedom that the current generation is already choosing to leave behind. Cassia finds it horrific that her society has chosen only a Hundred Poems to record in history out of potentially millions, but I find it ironic that the average young adult reader could not name twenty poems, let alone a hundred. The fact that most of the reviews here concentrate only on the skeleton plot of Matched and do not mention the style or language at all is proof that it doesn't take a distant future Society to remove poetry and simple beauties out of a world so fixated on being original and "edgy". I'll give The Hunger Games one point for edge. But I'll give Matched 100 points for beauty.

[allystoner-blog]

I just found this poem I wrote about 4 years ago XD

I tossed it out

I don’t need that  

An old CD  

With a broken case

A scratchy disc

Reminds me  

Of a simpler place    

But now times are hard  

And I am grown

And moving on  

So fast

Time to leave behind  

Outdated, immature

Childish things

From my past  

I dug it from the trash

Rescued it again

Parting Has always been

Too mush sorrow

And not enough sweet

I pop it in the player

And hear  

That familiar beat  

It starts out soft

And kind of slow

A tiny little voice

A few small strums

Lots of Oooos

And a high-pitched “Oh”  

The crash of cymbals

The clang of guitars

When a keyboard

Hits the high notes

The real fun starts

  I can’t believe I’d throw

This treasure away

Mmm-bopping And du-bopping

Nothing  In the world

Ever sounded this gay  

I kiss the orangish cover

Those three pouty lips

And long blonde hair

I return the case

To my shelf

The very top

Its rightful place  

My roommate

Finds me this way

Dancing and singing

My reputation away

She crosses her arms

“Not this again,” she says

I tell her I’m sure

I don’t know what she means

Then I turn the music up

And she grits her teeth

In such an angry way

She practically screams

“Haven’t I

Suffered enough?

Do you have to listen To Hanson

Everyday?”  

[allystoner-blog]

Being in love sucks.

And it's a bitch.

[stormthecitadel]

Pronounciation?

[allystoner-blog]

ohmoveover:

homemadedarkmark:

stormthecitadel:

I’ve been wondering how people say things in the Harry Potter series. Words like…

WORDS AND HOW I SAW THEM

Accio (Ah-see-oh)

Gellert (Geh-lurt)

Blaise (BLAYS)

Those are all I can think of right now, any others you can think of?

I say Gellaht just because of my accent but I hear it in my head [[Gel-art]] that’s how I pronounce Blaise

I say Akeeo for Accio. 

I say “akeeo” for accio.. |:

I always said Ak-see-oh for accio. I also said Drack- oh, like Dracula, for Draco.

...until I saw the movie, and all that I knew to be true was destroyed.

[allystoner-blog]

That's my boyfriend's comment down there.

Proud of him. <3

[allystoner-blog]

[livtherippper]

[allystoner-blog]

welcome-to-breaktown:

shoutitout94:

juliehawkins:

wannabenewyorker:

saysanti:

wecanconquer:

zahavah:

oliviaplague:

only hanson fans will get this… lol.

oh and if you take credit for this, i will drop kick your ass.

 By far the most amazing Insanity Wolf I have ever seen.

[allystoner-blog]

[allystoner-blog]

[allystoner-blog]

Omaha :D

[allystoner-blog]

Got this signed during the meet and greet. Perfect.

[wuifewdsjkfewdck-deactivated202]

I share my birthday with Harry Potter.

[allystoner-blog]

-acciofirebolt:

lizstomania:

potterpsycho:

(via youngashes)

I SHARE MINE WITH VOLDEMORT!

MINE IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS & VOLDEMORT’S DEATH

I share my birthday with Brendan Gleeson, who plays Mad-eye moody.. if that counts. ;_;

I have the same birthday as Regalus Black's third year Potions partner's little sister's best friend's cat. If that counts. I think it does.

[allystoner-blog]

He didn't really even say the words. Not exactly. But I cried anyway.

:')

[allystoner-blog]

Five times Fourteen

Five things you will find if you open my bag:

Phone.

Wallet but no money.

Strawberry Chapstick.

A book.

Tampons.  You never know when.

Five things in my bedroom:

Old English essays dating back to middle school.

A book shelf that is too small for the book collection it houses.

My stuffed Yoda.

Framed Hanson posters/pictures.

The entire series of Dawson's Creek

Five things I’ve always wanted to do in my life:

SCUBA dive at the Great Barrier Reef.

Publish Children's books.

Live in Europe.

Adopt a child.

Ride a unicorn.

Five things that make me very happy:

My kitty.

Texts from my boyfriend.

Rereading Harry Potter.

Live music.

Making my mom proud.

Five things I’m into:

College. I have to be.

Concerts.

Writing.

Playing guitar.

True Blood.

Five things on my To-Do list:

Buy textbooks for next semester.

Apply to grad schools.

Apply to jobs in case I decide against grad school.

Save some money.

Graduate in May.

Five things some people may or may not know about you:

1. I say I want to move to the east coast, or anywhere far from Oklahoma, but I'm not even sure if that's true. Sometimes I think I could live here forever and never regret it.

2. I try to be open minded, but to be honest, I like what I like and I really don't care about your favorite band or video game or the book that you swear I should read because you just know I'll love it.

3.  If you see me with my pets, you'll think I'm a real animal lover. But actually, I love exactly three animals. One is my kitty. The other two are my German Shepards Penny and Bear. And no, I don't think your cat is that cute. Please don't make me pet him.

4.  I love Disney Channel movies. Like the really stupid ones. From Cadet Kelly to Starstruck. They make me happy.

5. For someone who is terrified of apocalypse zombie/vampire movies/tv/books, I absorb an unhealthy amount of those kinds of stories. I've probably read and seen every zombie apocalypse piece of fiction that is available. I get nightmares every time too.

Five most important moments of the last year:

Making it through that god-awful internship.

Saving enough money to go to NYC in April to see Hanson.

Meeting David, my boyfriend.

Meeting Penny, my dog. She's a doll.

Feeling comfortable in my own skin.

Five things I enjoy doing during my free time:

I spend most of it with David.

Or on my Macbook

Writing stories

While listening to music

And sometimes watching TV.

Five feelings I am feeling right now:

Tired.

Full.

Hot.

Bored.

Anxious.

Last five songs I played:

Dream On  from Glee

A Whole New World from Aladdin

Liberty Walk - Miley Cyrus

I Want You Back - NSYNC ...oops ^_^

Stay - Sugarland

Five people I have texted or called in the last twenty-four hours:

Mom

David

Kristina, my friend.

And that is all.

Hey, I'm on vacation.

Five things I have on my body right now:

Dress.

Ponytail holder, on my wrist in case of emergencies.

Tattoo.

Earrings.

Macbook, on my lap.

Five things I would really like to learn:

Piano.

Chinese.

To cook non-instant meals.

To do cool hairstyles.

Telepathy.

[allystoner-blog]

Visit Original Link

Best.

Song.

Ever.

Forever.

FIVEFOURTHREETWO

ONE!

[allystoner-blog]