#BookWorm: Orphan Train

Hello fellow readers,

OH boy guys. I just finished the book Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. All I can say is WOW. People actually went through things like this. And currently go through modern day versions of this. Blows my freaking mind how blessed I am with the life I live. That is all I can say after reading this and reading White Oleander. Wow. So what is this book about you may ask? It's about a girl named Molly who gets into trouble because she stole a library book. She has to do community service hours, and her foster parents have just about had it, but decide to give her a chance to complete her hours before making any drastic moves. Molly's boyfriend Jack sets her up with an opportunity to help a ninety-one year old lady unpack and get rid of items in her old mansion. While helping Vivian go through the items, Molly finds out each one has a special meaning and memory attached to it. Hearing Vivian's story changes both of their lives forever.

This book was semi-predictable. But there were times of unpredictability as well. It kept me interested, going back and forth between present day and the past, as well as the lovable characters. The ending was kind of anti-climactic, but it was a good book nonetheless. Overall I'd say it's an 8.5/10. It really makes you count your blessings. Hearing the things some people go through in their lifetime can really make me think twice and appreciate things in my life more. Definitely a recommended read.

What did you think of Orphan Train? Did you find it to be an eye-opener too? Let me know, I would love to hear!

Thanks for reading with me,

- Olivia :)

DIY Patriotic Baking

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a happy Fourth of July! With the 4th spirit last weekend, my younger siblings and I got to baking on a rainy day and came up with some patriotic treats! Here's what we made:

1) Star Shaped Brownies
Basically make regular brownies, and use a star cookie cutter to cut it. This was difficult and they don't like to stay together, but they turned out super cute! A tip would be to make them on the thinner side.

2) Flag Cupcakes
This was a super cute and super easy idea. We made funfetti cupcakes (hint add an extra egg to make them more delicious). Then we took regular frosting and used a frosting tip to make it come out neatly.

3) Chocolate Covered Oreos
Melt whatever kind of chocolate you want, either white chocolate, red morsel chocolates, or blue morsel chocolates. We then used decorative icing to decorate the cookies, but you could use different colored melted chocolates to make designs as well, it just may be more difficult.

There are so many different ideas, but I found these to be pretty easy and cute! What other ideas have you seen for patriotic treats? Let me know! I always love to try new things :) We had a great long weekend in Wilmington, NC. More coming up soon about my favorite things to see, do and eat in this great city soon!

- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: Wilde Lake

Hello fellow readers,

On my last trip to the library I went in to pick up three reserved books and came out with five books and a movie. Can you tell I have a hard time just picking up a couple of books? I found some great reads, and new-to-me authors that I am looking forward to exploring! Our library has a sections called "Lucky Day" reads. Basically new and popular books that you can't reserve online, and can only keep for a day. This pushed back Orphan Train on my list, but I actually was glad I picked this new read up! It's called Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman who is a NYT Bestselling Author, yet I have never read anything by her. I LOVE finding reads like this because now I want to read her other books! Anywho, about the book. So Wilde Lake is about a lady name Lu, who is a lawyer just like her dad. It goes back and forth between present and past, which I liked, and there are three cases that she is trying to figure out, all which end up involving people she knows including her older brother AJ. When Lu becomes a new state attorney, she gets a new murder case dropped into her lap about a man who went to her high-school that murdered what appears to be a random woman for unknown reasons. As she digs into the case she finds out more about her past, and things in her life begin to change.


This book, while an easy read, kept me interested. There was a little too much cheating and sexual stuff in it for my liking, but besides that the plot was interesting! I've never read Laura Lippman before, so I was unsure what to expect, but I would read her again! It wasn't the best mystery I had ever read, some predictability to it, but overall I couldn't guess the ending from the start. I would rate it a 7.5/10. Not amazing, but pretty darn good for a random find!

My stack of reads has grown, and I am trying to take more time to read at night if I can keep my eyes open! I'm hoping to spend more time reading throughout the summer and dwindle my list down again! Have  you all read anything by this author? Or have any other mystery/thriller books you love? Let me know! I'd love to add them to my ever-growing list!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia :)