I take so many things in my life for granted. 

       The air I breath, the water I drink, the fact I never have to worry about where my next meal is coming from. You grew up on the Ark a ruthless place filled with stale air and rough people. You didn't get to experience Earth until you were sent here to pretty much die. And since then that's exactly what you've been trying to avoid. You are brave and kind and like Lexa said, a leader to fight for. You helped keep your people alive, even if that meant getting put in harms way, or giving up bits and pieces leaving you a little bloody and a little broken. I'm lucky. I got to have a childhood. I got a chance to be a kid and run around, be crazy, play pretend, not have a care in the world. I might have grown up too fast, but I never had the weight of countless lives on my shoulders.

        You know there's a part in a letter where you ask the other person how life is, how they are holding up. I already know the answer to both. You are afraid, anxious, worried about the war. Maybe even thinking about what to do about Lexa. Because underneath it all you're still a teenager, you're still allowed to think about things that may seem small at a time when spears and stuff are being shot at you. Everyone in your life is about to go into war, so i'm guessing they are also scared, and anxious. I can't help but think of what Bellamy said while back, "Who we are, and who we need to be to survive are very different things". There was a lot of sacrifice, particularly on your part to get to this point, to be able to win this war. I want to say something really cliche like it'll get better, you'll be stronger for it. And while they may be true I feel like you deserve more than an "it's okay" after what you've been through.

        You're one years older than me yet you are so much wiser and stronger than I could ever hope to be. You never asked to be a leader, but perhaps that's what makes you such a good one. You said recently that life should be about more than surviving. Amazing how things like war can put life into perspective. How frail and ephemeral it all is. You've been living in a perpetual state of war, fighting the grounders, fighting to live, and now a new war is here. I hope you find something that makes you happy because at the end of all the craziness, the battles, and the the gory moments of life, you want happiness. So if you find it I say hold on to it. 

        I wrote this this in math class. I mean who needs Calculus anyways? You would be in school right now. Maybe you'd be in college, trying to become a doctor like your mom. Instead you are making decisions that make you out to be ruthless while trying to save your people. I think you are bad-ass. Strange how in this world we still can't quite stomach equality between men and women, yet in yours there is equality and the chance for strong bad-ass women to be leaders. I guess what i'm trying to say is that you are someone we can look up to, respect. 

       The world today is crazy. The world you live in is even more so. Yet the battles seem to be similar sometimes. We all fight for love, hope we can find a friend we can rely on 24/7. We look for the happy moments in life. We try to do more than survive, we try to find reasons to live for and then proceed to try and be alive. It's nice to be able to relate to you. It's nice to see someone be so strong and move forward. So keep being a bad-ass.

Love,

Book Talk: The 100 by Kass Morgan

Release Date: September 3, 2013
Book: The 100
Author: Kass Morgan
Number of Pages: 323
Source: Netgalley (I received this in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again

My Musings,

Okay so I LOVE the show. I love the characters, the changing dynamics and relationships, the plot, the story line. Everything. I really wanted to read the book just because I wanted to see what it was like, how it compared to the show. Plus I heard that there was a lot of #bellarke, I ship them so hard. So I read the book with a pretty open mind and I actually really like it.

The writing style isn't really anything special. There aren't incredibly fancy sentences conveying a deep rooted emotion. But it's perfect for this book. The plot is different from the show, but it's good. It surprised me and took me on a journey that I enjoyed. I liked the originality of the story line and the twists and turns it takes. It's not as crazy as the show, but it's pretty good. I love how it was told in different view points. You get to see what Clarke is thinking, what Bellamy is thinking, what Glass is thinking. But because of this changing view point the story line does lag a little bit. It takes a while for things to happen because each character gets a say in what they think, which I actually kind of liked. My mind was a little poisoned by the show because I kept waiting for different things, some happened fast, others didn't come until the end of the book.

The characters are well written, I was able to connect with the characters. They felt real to me. I love Bellamy's character. He is strong and capable and you see him grow in the book. You get to see more of the back story for each of the characters which intensifies the relationship a reader feels with characters in the book. I really felt for Bellamy and Octavia. I wanted to give Well's a hug and then punch him. I wanted to give Clarke advice. That was a big plus in the book. There are different characters in the book than in the show, but you grow to love those two. I honestly don't miss Finn at all. I love Glass. She's willing to do anything for the guy she loves and I respect her for it.

Romance wise, there isn't anything highly original, but I love it. Wells is in love with Clarke. Clarke kind of sort of hates his guts. Within reason of course. Bellamy is cute, sweet, badass and has a giant crush on Clarke and Clarke is crushing on him too. I like the romance and the way it develops. As a reader i'm definitely torn between Wells and Bellamy. Wells has risked everything for Clarke. Bellamy has been through hell and deserves to be happy. I can't wait till the next book!!!

Overall i'm pleased with the way the book happened. I love how different the book is. I love the characters and the original story line.


Coffee for The 100: I recommend a nice warm Caramel Brulee Latte. It's warm and soothing perfect for the WTF moments in the book. 

My Rating: