Melody Writes

Most of the time growing up I was happy to live in the country. There were plenty of forests, creeks and places to explore. However, every time I read Harriet the Spy , I cursed our remote existence. I longed for a "spy route" of my own, but there was no one to spy on except my parents and younger brother. I must have read Harriet the Spy at least a dozen times and it's hard to think of a single book that has impacted my life more. Even the use of my middle initial stems from Harriet's insistence on being referred to as Harriet M. Welsch, despite having no middle name. Recently, I decided to read the book as an adult for the first time, which offered me a different perspective on one of my favourite childhood novels. Spoilers ahead! The story is about a young girl taking her first steps toward being an adult. At first, Harriet spends all her time inside her notebook, literally and figuratively. She writes observations about her friends, family, and a series of...

I have been a fan of Stephen King for a long time and as part of my original blog, I attempted to read/reread all of his work and look at how it developed over time. Eventually, I had to scrap this project because King wrote so many books and I found I was missing out on a lot of other authors. Also, while I will always be a fan, I will also be the first to admit that I don't enjoy ALL of his books and I didn't want to spend time forcing my way through books I didn't want to read when there are so many I do want to read. I thought that since Stephen King is a major influence in my life and my writing, that it would be appropriate to kick off this new blog by republishing my original review of Carrie , Stephen King's first published novel. Original Review:   Blood. From the opening scene where Carrie gets her first period at the late age of sixteen, through the prank she suffers at the prom that everyone knows about, to the aftermath where Carrie has her r...