Review - One ~ By Leigh Ann Kopans

"One" was one of the BEST  YA Sci-Fi books I have read in a very long time. 

From Amazon:

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak. It makes you a One. Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover. If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances. Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other. Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.

My husband made a comment to me the other day that when I was in school I hated reading and doing book reports.  Now I do it all the time and all because I want to.  This.....is a true statement. I'm sure anyone that reads this blog will eventually figure out I hated to read until about 8 years ago.  I literally read about 2-3 books a YEAR and now I read that a least in a month, sometimes in a week depending on how busy the kids are keeping me.  There is a reason I tell you this, it is because I still tend to prefer certain types of books and YA is on top of my list.  I love YA.  It's my favorite genre to read.  I think a lot of it comes from the fact I didn't read anything when I was a YA. Never for enjoyment, EVER! A good YA novel makes me think.  Now I'm older I like to think.  Go figure. 

One was, hands down, one of the best YA books I have read in ages.  It had everything I love in a good book, great story, strong characters that compliment each other, a little bit of romance, action, mystery of the "what the hell is going on here" sort!  It made me think.  It made me use my brain to try and figure out what those "Hubsters" (that's my term not one from the book) are doing to these poor kids!

One is told from our heroine's point of view.  Merrin is a One though deep down she believes she can and will be something more.  She wants to work at the Biotech Hub and is currently trying for an internship there when she is transferred from Superior High to Nelson High.  She isn't really thrilled about the change but things become better when she meets Elias.  Also a one, Elias starts showing interest in Merrin and eventually the have a great connection which leads them to find out that together they can fly.  I found both of these characters to be strong independently and even stronger together, as most great couples are in real life, making each other better.

There were a lot of elements of who is doing what to whom and why in this book.  Everyone seems to have an unknown agenda which you figure at some point is going to cross into one big reason for everyone doing what they are.  This is always an element that keeps me reading, especially when you can see everything is coming together really quick!  I sent a tweet to Leigh Ann Kopans at this point cursing her because I had to leave for church shortly and didn't want to stop reading to even shower!  So here's my word of advice......when you are about 2/3 of the way into the book, give the kids a Sam's Club size box of snacks, a case of juice boxes, put on Nickelodeon and just read!  You won't want to put it down!

Now a bit about Leigh Ann Kopans.  I am always interested to see when I try a new author how I'm going to like them.  Will their writing be a style that clicks with me?  Can they actually write?  Are they going to be too detailed to keep me intersted?  This being the first of her novels, I was extremely impressed!  She is a very well balanced writer, meaning detailed but not boring, able to create a world that I can see and feel like I'm in because its a world within our own world.  Her characters were independently strong but made a unified couple, excellent together having a need for each other without being needy for each other.  You are a very, VERY talented writer Ms. Kopans and I can't wait to see what other stories are rolling around in your head just waiting for us to enjoy!  (No pressure of course!)

Since we don't do "official" ratings here at The Sarcastic Palmtree, (it is way too much stress on me to do a 1-5 stars so I prefer to make my own up) I would like to now give you my official, unofficial rating:

I give "One" by Leigh Ann Kopans

 10 of my favorite things....

Palm trees! 

(There is no higher honor coming from me!  Palm trees are my favorite things on earth!)

I would recommend "One" to everyone and anyone!  It is appropriate for all ages!  Grab your copy today!  

Up next from Leigh Ann Kopans...

Release date October 8th

The Sarcastic Pamtree will be participating in the blog tour (October 17 is our big day) and I cannot wait to share my review!

This review was done by Flamingo

Follow me on twitter @lynniespalmtree

Fall TV ~ The Sarcastic Palmtree Can't Wait!

This fall TV line up brought to you by

Banana

&

Flamingo

It's that time again! 

The kids are going back to school.  The leaves are turning color.  The crispness of fall is in the air...

But most important...

 Banana and Flamingo can't wait to start watching their favorite TV shows again!

Since our blog highlights 
all things

entertainment we thought we would share the shows we like to watch on TV and our favorite things about these shows!  So sit back, make a snack, grab a cold Coke Zero and enjoy...

The Sarcastic Palmtree Fall TV Preview!!! 

All right Banana are you ready to rock? 

 Let's start off with some old favorites that we've been 

watching for a while...

 I have watched Grey's Anatomy since the very first episode.  It is hands down one of my favorite shows.  Although the cast has changed over the years it has managed to keep my interest and always be a show I look forward to every fall.

Well... I wasn't always a big enough of a kid to watch this show so I finally got to really start about halfway through season 8 around the crossover with the popular spinoff private practice.  I have watched almost all the reruns of the rest of the series since then and love it.  I can't wait to see if this is it for the series because of Christina Yang leaving but I can say it definitely won't be the same without her... :/

Another show I have watched since it started and will continue to watch as long as Ian Somerhaulder stays on.  His acting and delivery is impeccable as well as the fact that he is probably one of the hottest guys in Hollywood in my opinion!  

I started watching this show last season... I think that most of the actors do a great job and the one thing I love most is all of Damon's humorous remarks... Take it from me!  If you want to watch something with Vampires in it, this would be the first place to start.

If you aren't watching Hart of Dixie you're missing out on a really good time!  I love anything with a southern flair and this show has it.  From redneck hottie Wade to a southern belle named Lemon this show doesn't miss! Oh yeah, and don't forget the mayors pet alligator Burt Reynolds!!  He keeps everyone on their toes!

I agree... If you aren't watching this show, you must not watch TV much.  This show has the perfect amount of comedy and drama that I'm always interested, but always laughing as well! 

I'm turning this one completely over to Banana.  All I know about this show is Captain Hook is hot!

I couldn't have summed up the series better...  ;)

I watched this show from the beginning and I'm glad I took a chance on it.  I have always been kept interested with the different twist and turns throughout each season and in some way the finale always keeps you wanting to watch it, but it's always been able to wrap up the season so you can start anew on the next, which means you can start at the beginning of this upcoming season and be practically caught up... I'm also looking forward to the new spinoff series "Once Upon A Time: In Wonderland"!  I can't wait to see what they do there...

I don't need a reason other than the one in the picture above to watch this show... Stephen Amell is SMOKIN'!!  This show is actually one my HUSBAND watches and enjoys as well.  It's full of action as well as a flashback storyline that works really well with the current day story.  It's well written and well cast.  I love it!  


I love this show too!  It's got all the drama and action you want and need in a show!  I really like how the flashback storyline is normally connected to the current day one!  I can't wait to see what happens this season!

As far as Castle goes, thank heavens for TV on DVD!!  I love this show but we didn't start watching it until season 3 was out.  I'm so glad we got hooked on it!  I love the tension between Castle and Beckett. This show has some amazing aspects to it, crime drama as well as romance and it is hilarious!

Well I am also grateful we got hooked on this show!  The tension between these two has been great but I'm really waiting to see what Beckett's answer is to the question Castle asked her at the end of the season.  That's always one thing I have loved about this show is that there's normally a big cliffhanger that makes you wanna come back again for next season.  I'm also really hope Beckett accepts her new job, but we all know that for some reason or another she will come back to the precinct. 

 

 

Survivor is a show we enjoy every season and we weren't going to include it on the list originally until we read the premise for this new season!  Banana, do you want to give the dirty details??

I guess I will... 

For all of you survivor fans that have been watching for the past few seasons, you would know that they will normally keep bringing old castaways back... well guess what they're doing again this season...

There will be returning favorites that will show up with a family member the night before Day 1 and they will spend the night, just the two of them, on a random part of the island.  Then once all the contestants meet together on Day 1, there will be a twist posed the minute they get there... well, actually there are a couple....  The returning favorites will be on one tribe and the family member will be on the other tribe!

Think that's it?  Of course not!  This is survivor!  (and I kinda already said there would be more than one twist...)  Immediately after the two tribes are formed, each will vote off a member of their tribe.  Then the family member of the person voted out can decide to trade places with them if they want to, which could put a new person on a returning tribe and vice versa...  Then once all that stuff is done with the two people will go to... REDEMPTION ISLAND!  That's right folks!  You heard it here first!  Redemption Island is coming back, with some new twists to keep it fresh!  ;)

1.  Redemption Island will have three people playing instead of two (which is what they've normally done in the past)  

2.  A family member of a castaway participating in the challenge can switch with them and play in the challenge, but if they win they will still have to stay at Redemption Island until the next challenge if they are to swap back

3.  The person who comes in 1st Place will get a hint to the hidden immunity idol at one of the two camps, the person who comes in Last Place will be officially kicked off the show, and the guy who comes in 2nd Place is just lucky he finished before the loser did..  ;)

I think that covers all the "new" stuff that will be happening this season... I can't wait to see what will happen with this kind of dynamic...  There's just one question left to answer... Is blood thicker than water?

I think that about does it for the old favorites.  Let's switch gears and talk about the new stuff coming up this season!

YES!  They're bringing it back!  24 is one of my favorite TV shows EVER!!  I watched it from episode 1 and never quit.  I am ecstatic to have it come back this year.  I am curious however to see how they fit it into the new format of fewer than 24 episodes. 

I have also watched this show from episode 1... but I just watched the whole series in the past year and never had to wait a week for a new episode so it will be interesting to see if I can deal with waiting this season.  For those of you who don't know... They are doing a 12 episode format this year (each episode covers 2 hours instead of 1) so it's what they like to call a "miniseries".  This worries me because normally miniseries only happen once... There's never really been a "second miniseries".  We have to enjoy the last few hours we have left because we never know when they will bring it back again... Or IF they will bring it back again... 

Ahhh, more vampires!  I am hopeful this spin off works well as I love Vampire Diaries so much.  I am a HUGE fan of Daniel Gilles (Elijah) and look forward to seeing him on a weekly basis.  

I am also hopeful for this spinoff to work as well... just not because I think Elijah is hot!  I loved the original family in The Vampire Diaries and I think that they have enough awesomeness to start their own show up...  ;)

Being the HUGE Avengers nerd that I am, I can't wait for this show!  I am thrilled to find out Agent Coulson is alive and well and that he is going to bring us so new awesomeness in this show!

I was RELIEVED when I found out #Coulssonlives because he was such an awesome character in the Avengers!  I can't wait to see if Agent Maria Hill will be less annoying and cheesy because I think she will be in Avengers 2.  I am optimistic for her character though because I used to think the same thing of Coulson when he made appearances in the Marvel movies leading up to Avengers.  All in all... I am excited to see how this show turns out!  :D

Okay, moment of truth..... I am watching this show for Robbie Amell.  I know, lame, but he is the cousin of the previously mentioned Stephen Amell (super hot guy from Arrow) and therefore we will now have Amell Wednesdays on the CW!  I can think of a few things that might be better but as far as TV goes, there is a good chance I will be looking forward to Wednesdays.

I know what you're thinking... yes, I am also going to be looking forward to Amell Wednesdays... just not because I think they're hot.  I am genuinely interested in this show because it looks cool and I really don't have any Sci-Fi shows to watch!  I am also excited because I think the CW is finally starting to pick up on some good quality shows that will make them a network to watch!  ;)

 Now, on to the honorable mentions!

It was bound to happen sooner or later......HOCKEY!  The season can't start soon enough and I'm looking forward to great things from the Wild this year!  This is my #1 pick for fall TV but it isn't exactly a "show" so it has to get stuck down here with the honorable mentions.  Let's all get WILD!!!

I like hockey... hockey is my favorite sport... and this is my favorite team... I'm sure we won't be having that many TV blog posts because we will be watching hockey instead of TV...  ;)

Yes, we watch this DWTS.  I enjoy seeing who is actually a good dancer.....or not.  :D

I will only watch this show if they have good celebrities on... like the winner of last season... Kellie Pickler!  but that's pretty much the extent of it...

This is pretty much the only sitcom we still watch.  It's really cute and funny and I absolutely love Nancy Travis!!  If you aren't watching this one I would certainly recommend it!


It's a sad world we live in... there's really only one good sitcom that comes on every week... I wish I lived in a time where Friends and Seinfeld and Frasier were all on so I could look forward to those every week... but sadly... I'm sitting here hoping and praying for a Friends reunion!  I love the kids on this show... they are all so different and I think that's what makes this show so funny.  I really like the youngest daughter, Eve, because she's sarcastic... and I love sarcastic people!  

I wasn't sure this show was going to take off but it did.  I love Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan.  They work so well together and of course aren't hard to look at either!  ;)


This show is more down towards the bottom of my list unless an episode leaves on a cliffhanger... those always make we want to come back for more!  This show has it all though, comedy, drama, and of course action and that's why I like it! 

Nikita is supposed to be wrapping up this season with a half season.  I will be interested to see how they tie up all the lose ends to this series.  It's one I have enjoyed and I will really miss it.......and Shane West! 

I feel so sad to see this show go... I always liked this show since I first started watching it!  Sadly, because of hockey, I couldn't watch most of last season and then we also got a new DVR which wiped all of our old stuff off.  But I guess I'm okay with it because now I can record 5 things at a time!  ;)

Banana and I have just started watching this series on Netflix.  We are just getting into it but makes me excited we decided to give it a chance!


I used to watch this show with my friend on Netflix through my kindle when I took this computer class... "Wait a second....what?  You were watching this at school?"  I loved it!  I love all the different awesome references that is made for all the many epic things in life.  I also love this show because Dean is hilarious... he has me laughing like 5-10 times an episode!  Now we have yet another great show from the CW Network!  Thank you CW!  "And now pardon us as Banana and I will have a talk about what is appropriate to be doing during class at school!"

Well I think that about sums it all up!  
Let us know what shows you are looking forward to this fall! 
 Have we missed something we should be watching?  
We love to hear from our readers!  
Also be sure to start watching all of these amazing shows if you haven't yet!  
We think they are all really good!  ;) 

Review ~ One Direction - This is us

Well, Coconut and I hit the movie theater this weekend for a mommy daughter date and saw the One Direction movie.  We had a lot of fun and now I will give you some of the highlights that were good for me. 

 Here we are in our 3D glasses waiting for the movie to start!

 I really like this kind of movie for several reasons....

1 - I love behind the scenes stuff.  I knew pretty much nothing about how 1D got together (to my surprise they auditioned for X Factor and Simon Cowell put them together) and although I really like their music I didn't know a thing about any of their personalities or where they came from (other than the obvious, Britain!)

2 - Concert Clips.  As stated above I really do enjoy their music which thrills Coconut and makes Banana and Toucan roll their eyes repeatedly.  Everyone knows how expensive it is to go to a concert and it is a lot of fun to be able to at least get a glimpse of what their performances look like. 

3 - Funny!  I can't tell you how many times Coconut and I were looking at each other and quietly snickering in the theater.  These boys are hilarious!  They are total pranksters and just want to have fun.

4 - Personalities.  As stated in #3, these boys have some fun and crazy personalities.  It was so fun to see how they were all so different but got along so well.  I liked it when they talked about how if just one of them hadn't gone to their audition on X Factor how it never would have happened the same.  They enjoy what they do although they admit it is a lot of hard work and it can be hard on them sometimes.  They all were so fun to see in their own different way.

5 - Family friendly.  I love having a decent movie I can take my kids to.  The other two didn't want to come (apparently 1D is not their thing even for a free afternoon at the movies) but it was so nice to take her to a fun, age appropriate movie!

I thought it would be fun to ask 8 year old Coconut what she thought of the movie. 

Here is her reply:

I loved it!  I loved how funny it was and I loved Harry in the close ups!  And I already knew they were on the X Factor but it was fun to see how they really were on it.  And Niall was really funny but he isn't my favorite, Harry is.  Zayn was pretty talented with his art.  My favorite part was when they were at the end and singing What Makes you Beautiful.  The concert parts were the best! 

Here's Coconut with the 1D boys.....

    and swooning over Harry of course!

This movie was all I expected it to be, just because I knew what I was going into.  If you have a little girl that likes pop music you should make her day and take her to see this film.  It was well worth it for me to just sit with my little bug and have some fun!

The totally made up rating scale at 

The Sarcastic Palmtree gives 

One Direction - This is us... 

8 really fun heart notes

 (even though there is only 5 here) 

because we loved it!