Splash into Summer: Jade's Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Aside from the cocoa...
we have the rest of the ingredients in our house all the time.

Jade's 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
Original can be found here and in the book Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings. Below you will find a mixture of the two recipes, plus my own words, pictures and observations.

Ingredients and Directions
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
Mix it well. Then add:
1 egg
Mix. Then add:
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
Mix. Then add:
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional...but, in our recipe it was a must!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (we used a capful each)

We won't talk about what that looks like
...it taste pretty darn good, though!

Then:

Cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake bubbles up like when you heat up a marshmallow, but don't worry. It just rises up not over. Let it cool for a bit (unless you want to burn your lips off). We let our cool until it had settled to a normal height and then dumped it out onto a plate. Tip it out onto a plate if you want it to cool thoroughly. ENJOY!

Notes & Tips

1] You may not need to cook the cake the whole 3 minutes...check it at 2ish, if you don't want it to be overly dry. It took our 3 minutes each and I used, as you can see, two different types of mugs.

2] You might need to add extra oil if it isn't moist enough.

3] Unless you are some sort of chocolate/dessert FA-REAK, this seriously makes enough for two or three, if one of them is a preschooler.

4] Eat it with ice cream it's delish!

5] My sister and I decided that the cake definitely must have the chocolate chips.

So, um, yeah my sister and I made this treat while our tiny people weren't around (don't worry they had the leftovers for breakfast! See, we're 'good' parents!). Here we are enjoying it while watching Sherlock. Seriously, it's pretty tasty with some ice cream. Does a little relaxation get any better than this?

Splash into Summer: Everblue by Brenda Pandos

I have no idea why I wanted to read this book. I think I was totally drawn in by the cover; isn't it beautiful? And, then I realized I could get a mermaid book for ever so cheap ($.99 as an ebook on the Nook) and, well, I do love a mermaid book on the cheap.

I love the setting of this book. It's so cool to think that living amongst everyday average people are merpeople and that there are gates to another world where they live and thrive with rules and cities different than our own. I also loved how the gate we see the most is in Lake Tahoe...so VERY different than the other books. I like how the world is created with air bubbles in homes so there can be furniture and human creature comforts. I also like the characters (even though one of the merboys is named Fin...yes, Fin, as in I have one), frankly, I especially like Fin the most of all.

So, if I like all those things about it...why the low-rating? why the dislike? Let me see if I can break it down.

1. The execution of the story
This story is paced like it's a 500 page novel. With little details given over time and/or large chunks given over to explanation of a thing that isn't important at that moment. This book takes up practically a whole year.

2. The back and forth narration doesn't work
I enjoyed the change of narrator in Tangled Tides, it flowed and I got to know the characters. In this book the narration doesn't stay with one character enough for me to get into the story and I found myself rereading a part or a section just to see if I missed something.

3. It's treatment of boys and girls...relationships...men and women
If a mermaid is bonded to a boy once they kiss (an idea I do not mind...mated for life is highly romantic), isn't a forced kiss, well, rape? Ick. That's all I could

4. The strangely forced Christian slant
I am a Christian and I like being one...I don't like Christian just being thrown in for the sake of good Christianness. It just threw me off and...actually made me a little uncomfortable, like I was hanging out with my mother and I was 13 all over again.

Everything about this book has rubbed me the wrong way...I'm not sure I need to read the rest of the series (although I've just downloaded Evergreen, I don't know why...it was cheap). I always feel bad when I genuinely don't like a book, mostly because I'm not really sure if I could do better if I tried and here a person has given their heart and soul and all I can do is read it and bash it. I've also read tons of other reviews, hoping those 4s and 5s (and there are a lot of them) would help me see the story differently. Sometimes I'd read a review and think..."Did we read the same book?". That being said, I do hope you try out this book for yourself and if you rank it higher than me please tell me why, I'd really like to know. I think I would have liked this book better had it been the first mermaid book I'd ever read and not the latest.

I felt sad that for my Splash into Summer week, I chose to read two books that weren't what I thought they would be. On to my first truly selkie book, The Lure of Shapinsay!

2 Stars

A good character or two, nice setting...I don't really like anything else about it

Sex 2/5

I really do find that forced kissing thing deplorable. Fin and Ash kiss...as he is trying to save her life, so they're bonded too. 

Language 0/5

None.

Substance Abuses 0/5

None, this really is a nice clean book.

Violence 3/5

The king and his son get into it. The son is a lech, and he picks a fight or two with Fin. It would seem that the whole entire mer kingdom is being led by a lying, conniving father and son duo. Fin's family is also a bit greedy. He gets into a fight with his cousin, there's an explosion, Ash almost drowns and, then there's that whole entire kiss thing. then there was this big fight before the book begins where Fin's father frightens Ash so much that she thinks he's an alcoholic.


Touchy Subjects

Unwanted anything...
Even if somebody kisses you against your will that's still not cool. 

Secrets
Ash doesn't know that Fin and his sister, her best friend, are mermaids.
Religion
I am guessing that the overt Christianity probably gets this book some readers it wouldn't otherwise. It just seemed contrived and forceful to me.



How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option

Splash into Summer: Sea Change by Aimee Freidman

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman is a beautiful story of the sea and of budding teen romance and coming-of-age in a small town in the South...it is a story of mystery, suspense, history and family. I can't really tell if it's a story about mermaids. I think it wants to be. I think it thinks it is. I'm not so sure.

Miranda comes from a long Southern family who vacations every year on Selkie (no there aren't any selkies in this book) Island. Miranda and her mother have gone back to the island to pack up their family home. While doing this Miranda falls for a local boy whose mysteriousness seems to be tied into a book of mermaids found on her grandmothers' bookshelf and to the island itself.

The story of Miranda's growth into a girl who becomes a young adult who doesn't just do what she's told and doesn't live in her life by stereotypes. I really liked how Friedman gives us that stereotypical Southern Belle and Southern Gentleman in several of the teen characters, but then she gives us characters who defy those stereotypes. I like that Miranda learns that just because you fight or disagree with your parents that doesn't mean they don't love you or that you don't love them. I especially love that there is a side of Miranda that she didn't even know existed and I love that her grandmother, even in her death, is helping her find that side.

Leo, a boy she meets on the coast of the island, is everything any girl wants in a man. He passionate and compassionate and good-looking, he loves all the things that she loves (science, sea creatures) and is from the island.

The only thing is, Leo, may or may not be a merman.

This is where Aimee Friedman lost me.

She spends all of this time setting up this mystery. Mercreatures are attracted to red and gold; the whole entire town of fishermen is decked out in red and gold. Leo is always mysteriously near water and has a vast knowledge of the lore and science surrounding the island. However, all of this back story never really comes to any type of conclusion.

I didn't mind the strange reason Miranda and Leo have a fight and I didn't mind how Miranda's mother seems to lose her mind once on the island flirting with an old flame and acting like a debutante. I did mind that this is supposed to be a mermaid story, even better a story about a merboy, and there's only a slight instant of tail fin. I don't mind connecting the dots in a mystery, but is it really a mystery if the author only just gives us a wee-bit to be curious about. In the end no questions are answered and, frankly, there are more questions asked. Is the guy on the ferry mer too? Is Miranda part mer? Was her grandmother and, in turn, her mother? At first, I thought that I had a bad copy of the book, that's how much is missing, but after reading other reviews I think this may be the intention of the novel. This book wants a sequel, although I hear there isn't one in the works at all.

This book has a lovely romance and is a great story of the growth of a girl who learns that things can live outside of her comfort zone and knowledge. If you are reading this book in the hopes of having a little mermaid action you may be disappointed. Maybe.

Review from Coffee and Cliffhangers

3 Stars
 
But, I was promised mermaids...*whine, whine, whine*

Teacher Advisories 

Sex 2/5

The connection between Leo and Miranda is pretty intense. They get close to going all the way a couple of times. One time he gets so fresh that she decides she no longer wants to see him, partly because it scares her and partly because he's so fresh. At least that's how I saw it. Miranda's new summer friends may or may not be true friends, one uses her sensuality to lure a guy away from Miranda.

Language 0/5

No cussing.

Substance Abuses 2/5

There are parties. There's underage drinking.

Violence 1/5

Miranda falls off a boat and is saved. There's some strife between the locals and the summer people.


Touchy Subjects

Science and Myth
Miranda's heart says that what she's reading and seeing couldn't possibly be true.

Secrets
Leo's family has secrets. Miranda's family has secrets. The town maybe hiding a big secret. The summer people have their share of secrets.
Relationships
Miranda's mother hasn't really told her a lot about her family and its history. Miranda's mother also acts pretty irresponsibly through-out the book, but expects Miranda to follow all her rules.

How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option

Splash into Summer: Day #1 and Giveaway

So, I've been waiting for this week for a little while now, I'm looking forward to reading reviews, and have already entered several giveaways for mermaid books and swag.

I have always loved mermaids.

          Let's talk about mermaids for a minute...if I wanted to get really embarrassed I'd show you pictures I drew when I was in elementary and junior high. I'm not going to do that, ever! I would like you to know that my deep love of all things mermaid started with the Sea Wees. We'd get a set of these toys everytime we'd go to Wal-Mart. They were perfect for bathtime play as they were mermaids who came with floaty sponges and their tails make excellent razors for fake leg shaving. I wish I had some...I guess I know what I'll be doing for a diversion today!

          And, there are so many good mermaid movies! I was totally enchanted with Splash as a kid (it wasn't until later I even recognized that this movie may not have been appropriate for a 7 year old...it had a friggin' mermaid, come on!), my niece and I just had a delightful discussion about Aquamarine, such a good movie about a teen mermaid, and I just watched for the first time Fishtales with Billy Zane, then there's the under-rated Lady in the Water. And, don't even get me started about The Little Mermaid, even if it is a "Disney-fide no one dies" version. I even like it when mermaids aren't so nice like in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Peter Pan!

Feel free to read: The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

Feel free to watch these Disney's Silly Symphonies...two of my favorite mermaid cartoons.

Tera Lynn Childs has also given me a great idea for a school project! More information can be found at: Books, Boys, Buzz

Character collages

Collage. I do this for every book. Because I'm a visual learner, I find it invaluable to have a pictorial compilation of my characters. Lots of writers do collages, but here's my method. You'll need some printer paper, scissors, a glue stick, and some magazines.

• Step One: Flip through as many magazines as possible. I like TeenVogue, CosmoGirl, InStyle, and Lucky the best. I tear out anything that reminds me of any of the characters in this book. I do collages for all of the main characters and most of the secondary ones, so as I tear stuff out I divide into piles by character. The more I have to choose from the better. At a minimum I need something that will make a good background, a headshot or two of and actor or model who looks like the character, and some clothing and accessories they would own.
• Step Two: Build the collage. Start by gluing down a background image that fills up most of the page (this way you won't end up with whitespace left over at the end). Then select a few of the headshot and clothing images, trim them to just the desired element, and arrange them over the background. I always lay these out before I glue so I make sure they all fit. Then snip out the small pictures and accessories and stick them wherever they fit.
• Step Three: Finalize the collage with words. This usually requires flipping back through the magazines looking for two things. 1) Words that resonate with your characters. 2) Ransom-note-type letters that you can cut out and use to form your character's name. Sometimes I even outline the letters of the name in a silver Sharpie to make it stand out more.

[Here's the linky if you are participating or want to read other mermaid posts]

“I have seen them riding seaward on the waves 
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back 
When the wind blows the water white and black. 

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea 
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown 
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.” 

― T.S. Eliot

If you, too, love mermaids, might I suggest going to distance and following the MerBooks blog. It can be found:

BLOG
TWITTER
GOODREADS

and join the reading challenge on Goodreads...here.

What mermaid books are you looking forward to reading or have read this year? Who is your favorite mermaid?

Teen Text Talk
July 9th     Introduction, Giveaway
July 10th   Review: Sea Change
July 11th   Review: Everblue
July 12th   Review: The Lure of Shapinsay
July 13th   Recap of Splash of Summer: favorite post, links and Giveaway winner announced Monday

Finally, come check out our giveaway...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's a list of YA mermaid book to choose from:

1. Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
2. Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
3. Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper
4. Everblue by Brenda Pandos
5. Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau
6. Between the Land and the Sea by Derrolyn Anderson
7. The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova
8. The Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Nielson
9. Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs
10. The Mermaid's Mirror by LK Madigan