Category: Blog Posts

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (non-spoiler review)

~ DjenneGrant ~ Leave a comment

HEY! 

I’ve been reading this book since 2016. I wanted to finally read something by the well known Octavia E. Butler. I decided to do a family book club and only one of my sisters actually finished the book. lol

I was starting my college career at Purchase College and decided not to read this book. I am not used to reading adult sci-fi. I feel like adult sci-fi takes a much longer time to get to the main focus of the novel. It’s filled with detail but YA sci-fi gets right into the action which makes it far more exciting in my opinion.

I had to finish this book in order to write my senior project. Once again, it’s taken me months to read it.

When I finally did, I obviously loved it. It could possibly be because of my senior project work but I started reading it and connecting the story to things that happen in real life. I know I can really use this book to help my project which is exciting.

Anyways, let’s begin the review. 

Didn’t like:
I feel like we spent a big chunk of time learning about the MC, Lauren’s, day to day life. I found that to be pretty boring.

Non-spoiler but the MC has this ability that seemed pretty useless in the first book, I hope the next book gives use to this power.

I didn’t like who the MC’s ended up with.

Liked:

I did really like the dystopian world. I feel like Butler created a truly realistic world and a very awesome and intelligent MC.

I love that the main character was black and hella smart. She was smarter than everyone around her and was so creative.

I feel like it was really well written, I got super emotional at some points but I was so wrapped up into it, I couldn’t put it down.

I’m interested in seeing if anyone will die in the next book. The world they live in means death at any turn and I’m so curious to see who will be next. (morbid, I know)

I give the book 4/5 stars. An additional star because the writer and MC were black.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading!

Have you read this book? What did you enjoy?

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let’s take a chance

~ DjenneGrant ~ Leave a comment


let’s take a chance
 what’s living in our truth
 let’s be authentic with ourselves
 always and completely

 let’s acknowledge when we must
 forgive ourselves, others, circumstances

 Let’s  be clear about what we need,
always and allow ourselves to

be responsible about that

we are made of love and deserve

love. I am now aware of that

I apologize to myself

for taking so long to realize that

but I forgive myself

 

I’m going to own up to my mistakes

to stay in my integrity;

continue to persevere

and to gain a deeper understanding

love myself


to all the boys who never loved me

~ DjenneGrant ~ Leave a comment

I obviously had a year of some mild heartbreak……

To All The Boys Who Never Loved Me
 I’d like to say you’re stupid

 how could you choose
 the skip over
 my expensive
 hopeless romantic love

 how dumb could you be
 the skip over all this treasure
 the fall for knock-off love

To All The Boys Who Never Loved Me
 I gave you so much of me
 I gave you a taste of my
 love, my appreciation and you
 used it as a doormat

To All The Boys Who Never Loved Me
 I want to thank you

 I want to thank you
 for your stupid choices

 although I got hurt
 I am also happy
 I am happy that I’ve
Learned

 I’ve learned that in “loving”
 You, I forgot to love myself
 I forgot how important
 I am while “loving” you

 I want to thank you
 for not loving me back
 because I love I would
Have given you would
 have ruined me

 I would have broken
 myself in half to make
 you happy

 so all the boys who never loved me
 I thank you for

helping me realize

I needed to love myself

thank you for not loving me back
 now I can love someone better,
 Me

to all the boys who never loved me
thank you for being dumb as hell
thank you for not loving me
while you were still broken
because two broken people
don’t make a whole one

thank you for coming into my life
to help me grow
and become a better me
I just wish the same
because you were just as dumb as me.

Featured imagine found on Twitter.

 

Home

~ DjenneGrant ~ 2 Comments

I wrote a poem about the home that I’ve been dreaming about for the past few months. The place I plan on staying by myself and feeling the most comfort.

Home

where tea is overflowing
 and coziness is one step away

 we’re soft music will fill the silence
 we’re the only troubling voices
are your own or your pets

 where you choose to be social
 when calling to chat is in your power

 where the characters in your books
 become well-known friends

 where you can hear and acknowledge
 what your heart asks of you

 where creativity is around every corner

 where my heart can finally sit still
 warm and loved
 it is home.

The featured image was found on tumblr.

Intertwined

~ DjenneGrant ~ Leave a comment

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I have a feelings it’s going to be a GREAT year!!! I’M STARTING OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH POEMS!!! I WROTE A BUNCH BEFORE THE YEAR ENDED!

Intertwined
connected like trees
who’ve grown together

 connected
like souls
who have
 unknowingly morphed
together

sometimes, I don’t know
 what’s yours
 and what’s mine

 sometimes I feel your energy
 as if it’s my own

 sometimes, I think of
when I connected with you

 emotionally in bed talking
about our hurt
hours on the phone
just brightening each other’s day.

 feeling your touch on me.

intertwined.
 not knowing where your
 body started and mine began

 feeling your breathing.
 knowing you’re there for me
 in a way no one has been.

 and no one will be.

 just as you are/

 we are branches that have
 grown so close together

 I don’t know which pieces
 are made of you or which
 is made of me

 we’ve been ripped apart by a storm
 and who knows
 if you will be
 brought back together

 knowing that we are apart,
 are we meant to remain
 broken and Droopy?

 or will we connect
once again?

 what we grow to
stand on our own?

 will we become two different
 trees, blooming
 next to each other
 but never touching?

NEW MOOD ALERT!

~ DjenneGrant ~ Leave a comment

Hey, cuties!!

The way these past few months went, I’ve finally decided that I want to change so much!! I’ve been wanting so much for myself but I haven’t been moving in alignment with my desires and that’s what I really need to be doing.

I want to be healthy and lose weight. I’ve been gaining weight like crazy for the past few months and it wouldn’t be that much of a big deal if I didn’t notice how unhealthy and disgusting I’ve been feeling. I want to actually exercise instead of saying that I will and not doing it. I can work out every day but I don’t. I promise myself that I will now.

I’ve been wanting to fall in love but trying to rush the process with the wrong people. Shit, I’ve even been humoring and dating the wrong people just because I’ve been craving that experience.

I’ve been letting my impulsive behavior get the best of me. I’ve been drinking and eating like there is no tomorrow. I’ve been shoving all this gross shit down my thoughts and making myself feel like trash. I’m over it! I deserve better! I deserve to treat myself better. I want to get focused and begin to HUSTLE!

Doing what I want for my future and start planning for my desires. I WANT TO START WORKING! But I do have an impulsive nature and I’ll need to meditate to keep myself centered. I forget how much I love rushing things. My new aim is to work for what I want and to also be mindful and patient with what comes my way. I am the queen of multitasking and sometimes I don’t finish things off right.

I want to be similar to Alfie Deyes, who used to barely post or be on his game and now look at him, killing the game. Getting shit done. I’ve always loved watching his videos because they inspire me. I feel weird about a white man inspiring me but… I do admire his hustle, even though it won’t come as easily to me as it does to him.

ANYWAYS! Let’s end this off with a recommendation

Stop eating dairy! I’m sitting in this Starbucks with nasty smelling farts because I decided to eat ice cream and cake (with dairy in it) for the past few days. My stomach feels like garbage and my stomach is so bloated, I look pregnant.

Let it Snow by John Green| The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson (spoilers)

~ DjenneGrant ~ 2 Comments

Hello, beauties!

I’m buddy reading Let it Snow with a friend, Marshall (Lostinderry). I plan on being done before Christmas. Every time I finish one of the three stories, I will be writing a review.

Now, let us begin!

I did not like this story! I love love love Christmas romance stories. I am honestly a slut for a good one. This was not it.

When discussing with my fellow buddy reader, Marshall, I realized how much I wanted to write about it. Marshall isn’t very big on teen romance so he felt like the choppy paced story was normal but it totally isn’t!

I’ve read better pieces of romance, fantasy, holiday stories etc. from a teen girl’s narrative and it’s been so much better than this.

I just don’t feel like her actions made sense. She got off the train after the train broke down for no reason and then we get introduced to some boy on the train for no reason then they chose to walk in the snow when there were no urgent situations. Why leave the safety of Waffle House to go to a strange boy’s house? Why is she doing all this?

I’ve read about teen girls in love and granted, teens in love are always stupid because they’re young and don’t have everything together but I feel like there should be more reasoning to her actions. She chose to travel a mile or half a mile during a blizzard and over an icy river because this cute boy had a picture of a “girlfriend” in his wallet which deemed him trustworthy.

A short story like this has to make some logical sense. I feel like the story was forced. I’ve read some truly amazing short stories that are able to fill in the gaps in the story so that the reader isn’t questioning anything. Some are so good that it makes the reader want more.

I just wanted it to end.

There needed to be useful pieces of information that lead her to make all these moves. I don’t even feel like I could understand her personality either.

I feel like even in this story, we were given meaningless information, like when the train was halted and she talked about some bird or something. That was super unnecessary.

The book DRAGGED! The only character I actually liked was the mother. Anyways, fuck that story. I’m on to the next one!!