#BookWorm: The Fever Code

Hello fellow readers,

My latest read was the final prequel in the Maze Runner series by James Dashner, The Fever Code. If you haven't read any of the Maze Runner series, you wouldn't understand this book very well. I definitely suggest reading them in the order that they were released. However, this book would make sense if you didn't read the first prequel, The Kill Order. For some reason the story line does follow but isn't necessarily dependent on The Kill Order to read easily. The Fever Code starts off with characters from The Maze Runner who are taken to WICKED to live prior to the maze trials beginning. The main characters from the original are followed the closest: Thomas, Teresa, Newt, Minho, Alby, and even Chuck. It really helps you understand most everyone's place in the maze and where they came from. That's really all I can say without giving away too much. Everyone knows that they all end up going into the maze, because that is what the first book is about. But the journey of getting there was super intriguing to me.

I read this book in a week, which did not have a lot of free time, so it was a quick and easy read, but also kept me wanting to read more. I think it is definitely worth reading if you are a fan of the series. Remember way back when, when I reviewed the first book, I thought it was super hard to follow and had a hard time keeping up with all the names? This book was not like that. Neither were the rest of the books really. I'm so glad that I gave the rest of the series a chance after not really loving the original, because they were SO good. Overall The Fever Code was 9/10. I really did enjoy it that much. I'm sad that the series is most likely over (book #6 PLEASE James Dashner?!) but honestly the ending answered a lot of questions and really closed the loop with questions I had from the first part of the series. I'm already getting excited for The Death Cure movie that is coming out in 2018, since the last one came out SO long ago!! (2015?!). I'll be attending opening weekend for sure!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia

DIY Spicy Turkey Soup

Hello all,

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and got to spend some time with family! If you have any leftover Turkey and don't want to have leftovers the regular way, try out this spicy chicken soup recipe that is a mock-Carrabba's Mama Mandolas Sicilian Chicken Soup! It is just as good with leftover turkey and pretty simple to make. It's a version of classic chicken noodle soup, but with a little bit different taste and ingredients. It takes about 2 hours between prep and cook time and has a good amount of servings, around 10-12 good size portions. See how to make it below.

What you'll need:


Others:
-Large pot
-Knife for chopping
-Cutting board
-Measuring cup
- Medium pot
- Large spoon
- Metal tongs

Ingredients:
- Leftover turkey
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 celery ribs
- 4 large carrots
- 2 green bell peppers
- 3 medium baking potatos
- 1 can (14. ozs) of diced tomatoes in juice
- 4 garlilc cloves
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 2 Teaspoons pepper
- 1 cup ditalini pasta

How to make it:
1) Finely chop the onions. Dice the celery, carrots, and green peppers into 1/4 inch pieces. Cut the baking potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.
2) Place the onions, celery, green peppers, potatoes, tomatoes with juices, and turkey into a large pot.
3) Cover all with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil on high
4) Add the garlic, salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper and turn down to a medium-low boil
5) Let the soup boil for 1-1 1/2 hours
TIP: Skim the foam off of the surface of the soup during cook times during the cook time.
6) Remove any large pieces of turkey with large tongs and pull it into smaller pieces
7) Cook the ditalini pasta in a medium pot for 10-12 minutes
8) Turn soup to a keep warm or very low setting. Add the pasta and turkey back into the soup mix.
9) Mash some of the potatoes that you can see with the large spoon against the side of the pot and mix into the soup
10) Serve warm and enjoy

This soup turned out almost as good as the Carrabba's version, and was pretty simple to make. I haven't made any kind of soup from scratch other than general chicken noodle, so this is a good twist on a classic meal if you're looking to mix it up a little bit. I'm looking forward to the start of the Christmas season, including putting up our tree and decorations. But I do get sad that fall is ending, since it is my favorite season. Luckily the triangle still has some beautiful color on the trees, so I'll get to enjoy it if even for a couple more more days.

Thanks for reading,
- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: More Than It Hurts You

Hello fellow readers,

Wow. This book took me a long time to get through. What has it been, like almost two months? For some reason More Than It Hurts You by Darin Strauss looked super intriguing to me. Maybe because it has medical issues in it? I guess that's why. The plot is about the Goldin family, Josh, Dori and their infant son Zack. One day Josh gets a call that his son has been brought to the emergency department, and after a long night of trying to figure out what is wrong, they decide to take him home against medical advice. Not long after, police cars are chasing them, claiming that the family is harming the baby. Claiming Munchhausen's syndrome by proxy.  The rest of the story follows the Goldins and Dr. Darlene Stokes, a young African American doctor at St. Jude's in Long Island, NY. The plot thickens when you find out about Darlene's past and what she has done with it in the present time.


The first 100 pages of this book were dull and hard to keep up with. The first section that is written from the perspective of "Intelligent Muhammad" (an ex-convict) was very hard for me to read because of the grammar and language. Obviously the author was trying to make it fit the part, but it was super drawn out, long, boring, and somewhat unimportant. Once you got through the first 100 pages, it got better. More interesting to read and understand. However, the end of the book was kind of disappointing. Not a Gone Girl disappointing, but still disappointing nonetheless. It was interesting to read from a medical perspective, because it makes you realize how insane some people are and how sometimes when you act in a patient's best interest, it doesn't always help the patient and can make things worse. Overall I'd say its about a 6/10. Not the worst book I've read, but definitely not the best.

With the holidays approaching, I have a feeling that I won't have very much free time to read. However I have so many books that I want to dive into that my big stack might motivate me. It's hard being an adult with a real job. When I was in undergrad, I thought I never had any free time. What a joke. College kids enjoy your free time! Read as many books as you can! High school kids you have even more free time so same goes to you! I'll be posting some of my holiday DIYs this year, and keep trying to get through some good books to share with you all. Had anyone else read More Than It Hurts You? Or anything by Darin Srauss? I'm curious to see thoughts. Chang and Eng looked interesting but not sure how much more time I want to invest in this author considering this book wasn't all that amazing. I recently saw a tweet from one of my favorite authors, Sarah Dessen, who said that sometimes she has to shut a book if she's a couple dozen pages in and hates it because life is short and you should read things you love and not waste time on books you start and have to drag yourself to finish, I feel like she may have a point there... Happy reading!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia :)