Lost Girls Adventures

By James Dashner
The concept of this book was interesting. Thomas wakes up to find himself trapped in a maze with about 50 or 60 other teen aged boys. He has no idea how he got there, what he's doing there and has no memory of his life up to this point.

The boys seem mature in many aspects, they are able to care for themselves in their own little community, stay organized each doing their own jobs with no adults to keep them in line. They have their own rules and consequences for breaking the rules. It's impressive until they open their mouths. It felt like every other word was either greenie, shank, shuck, klunk or slinthead. Their slang grew old real quick.

Thomas has absolutely no clue what's going on but don't expect any answers from the other Gladers because they can't be bothered to give him any.

By Sue Monk Kidd
This story begins on a peach farm in the American South back in 1964. Lily is a 14 year old girl who was left living with her abusive father after her mother died when Lily was merely 4 years old under circumstances that she feels responsible for. Lily has only a small box with some personal items belonging to her mother, one item is a photo with a single word written on the back, Tiburon. Desperate to escape her father’s wrath and determined to find out more about her mother, Lily runs away from home with Rosaleen, their sassy housekeeper and heads to Tiburon, South Carolina.

The two find their way to the Boatwright sisters who run a bee keeping business. August Boatwright takes Lily under her wing and teaches her many things: how to care for bees, make honey products; she also teaches her about life, what it’s like to be part of a loving family and most importantly, forgiveness.

By Bridget Zinn

Poison starts off with our bad-ass heroine, Kyra, committing a B&E at the former residence she shared with fellow Master Potioners Ned and her ex-fiance Hal. She is on the run from the Queens Guard after a failed attempt to kill the future Queen Ariana, who also happens to be her best friend. Or was. Before the whole attempted murder thing.

With her poisons ready and a newly acquired pig with an extraordinary sense of smell, she sets off to find the princess and finish what she started. Along the way she meets the charming, witty and handsome traveler Fred who is more than he appears. And Kyra just can’t stop thinking about him.

If I had to sum up Poison in one word it would be “fun”. I really enjoyed this book even though it was aimed at teens. It has all the fantasy elements you’d expect- action, adventure, magic, weapons, humor and just a pinch of romance.

We took a trip to the Florida Museum of Natural History to take a stroll through the Butterfly Rainforest. I wasn't sure we would see many butterflies considering spring doesn't officially begin for a couple more weeks but there were so many butterflies! We had to be very careful where we stepped. They flit around landing wherever they please. We also had to watch out for quail crossing our path. This is a fun adventure for anyone who loves butterflies.








We definitely want to return in September for ButterflyFest!

Our second adventure for the month of February led us to Forever Florida in St. Cloud. We were looking for a unique experience and we found it! This place is a 4,700 acre nature preserve where we spotted plenty of wildlife on our ride from the check in center to the zipline towers. We saw several alligators including a mom and her babies soaking up the sun, wild pigs, turkey and deer roaming free. We were also on constant watch for snakes. Wouldn’t want to step on one of those! The staff was very friendly and accommodating for friends or relatives that just wanted to observe our madness.

We signed up for the Thrill Pack adventure which began with a seven story assisted free fall. We climbed to the top of a seven story tower and jumped off! Okay it was more of a step and small push off, but it certainly got our blood pumping. We were a tad nervous. We hoped the Panther Pounce, as it’s called, would be saved for the end of our adventure, after our adrenaline had kicked in. No such luck. We loved the encouraging word etched in the dirt below as we took our leap of faith. “SPLAT”

Surprisingly it was a nice smooth descent. It didn’t feel like falling so much as floating down. Now that the “worst” was over we headed up another tower. The Rattlesnake Zipline Roller Coaster was next on our thrill list and we couldn’t wait to hop on! Unfortunately, it was a windy day which caused people in our group to get off to a very slow start on this zipline. I did not want to get stuck hanging around out there waiting for someone to give me a push so I was determined to take a running jump off of that tower.

It was a slow start but I didn’t get stuck! I was so proud of myself, until I hit that first big dip. For a split second the ropes I had been griping for dear life went slack and my brain suddenly went, “I have just made a terrible mistake.” I felt like I was riding a roller coaster and it suddenly derailed in mid air. We have to give this ride 5 stars for the thrill factor alone. It definitely exceeded our expectations! Best. Zip. Ever.

Our last zip was called the Peregrine Plunge, a 1,300 foot zip where you can race a buddy while soaring like a falcon. This was so smooth and easy, until I tried to spin around. It didn’t go quite as planned but it was super fun!
This zipline adventure is definitely one of our top favorites!

By Sara Gruen
I knew very little about this book going in. I kept seeing it pop up all over the place and I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. Here’s what I knew, or thought I knew, before I started reading:

1. This book is about a circus and some guy that may or may not give elephants water.
2. This book is also a fantastic movie! At least that’s what I kept hearing. I generally tend to read the book before I see the film, so that wasn’t helpful.
3. There are probably elephants in this book.

What this book is actually about:
Jacob is 90 or 93 years old, he can’t quite recall which, and living in a nursing home. He reminiscences about his early years while he waits for his family to visit and take him to the circus. We learn about young Jacob who drops out of college, where he was studying to become a veterinarian,