#carvethemark

Go follow the artist

Greetings fellow book lovers! My name is Harlow and I decided to create this page so I can share my favorite ya novels and fully immerse myself in the book reading community.

I have always loved to read. As a kid, I spent lots of time zipping through books like Gregor the Overlander and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The time I have spent with books over the years has definitely made an impact on me as an individual and as of this very moment, I am pursuing a career in creative writing in hopes of one day introducing my very own stories to the world!

I thought for my first blog, I would do the Get to know YA Tag so you can learn a little bit more about me :)

1) Favorite book of all time

My favorite YA book of all time has to be The Selection by the lovely Kiera Cass. I first picked up the series in the 8th grade and the rest is history!

2) Favorite book five years ago

My favorite book from five years ago would probably be Divergent by Veronica Roth. When Lionsgate announced that they would be releasing the film adaptation of Divergent, I read the entire series with my friends. I was addicted. I took all of the quizzes trying to purposely be labelled as “divergent” and even bought tattoos from the film so I could be Tris! 

3) Favorite Duology/Trilogy/Series

My favorite series is definitely The Selection. This book series is honestly everything to me. I fell in love with all the characters and for the first time, I really fell in love with writing. The storyline was so unique, like a futuristic bachelor, and I couldn’t put the books down. I am so excited that Netflix is making a movie! I hope they do the books justice! 

4) Last book you read

The last book I read was Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth. I am not really a huge sci-fi reader, but this book was EVERYTHING! I definitely can say that this book topped Divergent by far. 

5) Last book of poetry you read

The last book of poetry I read was Forgotten Coffee Poems by Andrea Cladis. I am not an avid poetry reader. Hopefully that will change this summer!

6) What book most influenced your life

The books that made the biggest impact on my life were definitely The Selection series by Kiera Cass, The Legend series by Marie Lu, and The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. These authors helped me developed a love for reading and helped me discover that writing is something I really want to do professionally. 

7) Book that made you ugly cry

Champion by Marie Lu made me sob. The ending. That’s all I will say.  

8) Book that made you laugh

I definitely would say that City of Bones by Cassandra Clare made me laugh. Jace is just really sassy and it was funny to see what came out of his mouth whenever someone insulted him. 

9) Character you’d like to be for a day

If I had to be a character for a day, I would probably be June Iparis from the Legend series by Marie Lu. June is such a badass. Not only did she get a perfect score on her Trial at age fifteen, but she is also probably the most talented soldier. It would be so cool to see what’s it is like to be in her shoes. 

10) Book so good you dreamt about it

Cinder by Marissa Meyer definitely appeared in my dreams. The character description had me trying to piece together what Linh, Kaito, or Levana looked like in person. The storyline was just so creative and Meyer is such a talented author. 

11) Book you DNF

Sadly, I did not finish Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I started it and then got interrupted by schoolwork. By the time I could pick it up again, I had forgotten what had happened. I do own the book, so I’m hoping to start from the beginning this summer, as many of my friends love the series!

12) Name a book you are excited to read

I am very excited to read Ruined by Amy Tintera! I stumbled across this book on the web when I was searching for good YA recommendations. The summary appealed to me as it incorporated bits of romance, fantasy, and royalty. I did some research on goodreads and there were a lot of positive reviews so I ordered it and it should be arriving sometime soon! 

I am currently reading Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark, and as a chronic pain warrior myself, I cannot begin to adequately express my love for Cyra. The battles she fights against her own body, caregivers who don’t actually care, remedies that are worse than the pain, people in her life who don’t care to understand... I’ve been there. To see this girl whose struggle looks like my own, it’s an amazing feeling. 

She gives me hope, or something like it. 

Cyra makes me feel strong. It’s not hope, exactly. It’s harder, heavier than that. It’s reassurance, perhaps. Or certainty. If hope is seeing the shore when you’re lost at sea, then this is being adrift in the middle of the ocean and suddenly finding that your toes can touch the bottom. You’re not on land, but you won’t drown either.

I had a bad migraine this weekend. The worst in months, and it was honestly a battle not to physically hurt myself in my pain- and panic-fueled haze. I picked up Carve the Mark when I couldn’t sleep through the worst of the migraine’s pain phase, and to be completely honest, I chose it mostly because it was within reach of my bed, I hadn’t read it yet, and I needed something to distract my hands so I would stop clawing at my face. 

I had five migraine days this week. Five days out of seven. And the two days that were pain-free, I spent recovering from one attack and worrying about the next. The attack yesterday was the worst, and hopefully the last, of this particular flare. I spent the day either curled in a ball in my bed, or curled in a ball in my armchair, and it took me over an hour to muster the energy to eat something and take my meds, to start getting the attack under control. The pain was so all-consuming that the absence of pain when my migraine finally ended, woke me up out of a dead sleep at 1:30 this morning. I felt like I could fly, and it was a battle to go back to sleep again. But I was winded by putting my socks on only a few hours later. 

Like Cyra and the strangeness she feels when being touched, I am probably never going to be used to being pain-free again. Chronic is my normal. Exhausted is my normal. Pain, or nausea, or mental fogginess, or any of the dozens of other symptoms that come with my chronic migraine disorder, are my normal.

Cyra makes me realize that the ability to work through my pain, to have accomplishments in spite of it, does not mean my pain is any less. It doesn’t mean I am a liar or a drama queen or a hypochondriac. 

On the other hand, acknowledging my pain, giving into its demands, does not mean I am any less. It does not mean I am a drug-seeker, a whiner, or a lazy, selfish weakling. 

It means I am strong, because I’m still here.

My pain is real, and so am I. It isn’t going anywhere, and neither am I.