My Interview with Robyn Schneider!

Today's post is probably one of my favorites ever, because it takes me back to the GREAT experience of meeting and interviewing Robyn Schneider.  Robyn's publicist was kind enough to give me time to talk with Robyn before a stop on her Epic Reads book tour.  Thanks so much to Robyn for this experience!

Robyn's new book, Extraordinary Means, will be reviewed here on the blog tomorrow (spoiler: it's so amazing!), and Robyn went on a small tour a few weeks ago to promote the book.  The book follows a group of students who have tuberculosis and are forced to live at a camp/boarding school while they await treatment, a cure, or possibly death. 

I just asked Robyn a few questions about the book and, of course, beauty products!  Check out Robyn's YouTube channel if you haven't yet! 

Enjoy!

Julia: So we're both kind of nerdy/quirky, but we're both also into fashion.  How do you combine those two worlds?  Usually nerdy people aren't fashionable, and fashionable people aren't nerdy, so how do you combine those two worlds?

Robyn: I think that nerdy people can be very fashionable.  If you're nerdy about the Victorian era, then you start dressing a little bit more Victorian.  You're into cameos, and granny boots, and you're into corsets.  So I think it just depends on what your nerd passion is.  If it's Star Trek, then you're probably not going to be the most fashionable girl, but it really depends on if your fandom relates to fashion.

Julia:  What are your top 3 beauty products?  What could you not go without?

Robyn:  I really like the Kevyn Aucoin curling mascara.  It rubs off with soap and water.  You can rub gently and it just peels off like glue, like the good kind of glue.  And then I guess I really like the Tarte cheek stains.  I think those are really pretty.  They're really subtle.  They look really scary in the tube, but it's like putting a push pop on your face.  And then my standby lip color is Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stains.  Cause they're really hydrating and they stay on.  And I like the orange color because it's bright and citrus.  They're better than most high-end balm stains.

Julia:  So in The Beginning of Everything, I feel like part of the underlying message is finding yourself when party of your identity has fallen apart or disappeared.  What is the message you're trying to get across in Extraordinary Means?

Robyn:  The message is that if you keep preparing for an ideal version of your life, you never really get to live your life.  If you keep saying "Well next year I'll be happy because I'll have ____ or I'll achieve ____, it's never going to happen.  I thought Lane's character represented a part of myself that I realized that I indulged in grad school in the wrong way, believing that I had to be a doctor and help people in that concrete way to be happy.  I was just putting off living my life because I kept thinking "Oh, well it'll be so long until I'm a doctor, until I'm helping people" and I just got very upset that I felt like I was wasting time.  And I think you can't really waste time, but you can spend it unwisely.

Julia: And I feel like bucket lists have become such a trendy thing, but it's all about doing something later, not now.

Robyn: It's like saying "I'll be happy once I've accomplished these things," and that's so dangerous.  We shouldn't make bucket lists, but we should list all the things that we've accomplished and maybe add 5 things to the bottom that they want to complete the list.  So we don't have lists that say "here are all the things I haven't done."

Julia:  So is Extraordinary Means partly autobiographical in some way?

Robyn: I think everything I write is hugely autobiographical.  I just take emotions that I'm having about something from my life and just translate it into emotions someone else would be having from something different in their life, but it's usually related.


Thanks again, Robyn!  I would definitely add this interview to a list of things I've accomplished!

Come back tomorrow for a review of Extraordinary Means!

The Beginning of Everything-Inspired Outfit

Ok, if you read my post yesterday about The Beginning of Everything and didn't go out and buy it/check it out at the library, go do that right now.  Don't worry, I'll wait.  Go ahead.

Ok, now that that is done, let's move on with Robyn Schneider Week!  Today's outfit is inspired by Ezra, the protagonist of the book.  Poor Ezra goes from being the most envied guy in school to the guy trying to figure out his identity.  And in the midst of his search, he joins a debate team.

We never had a debate team at my high school, so the concept has always intrigued and terrified me.  So you go into a debate as prepared as you can be but may not have anything to say back to your opponent?!  Scary!  Probably why I'm not a lawyer...

But Ezra joins the debate team with some of his new-found friends and competes in a full-day, multiple-debate competition.  And that competition is the inspiration for this outfit.  I wanted something trendy (after all, Ezra was at one time a popular student) and dressy but something with a relaxed feel as well (since Ezra isn't debate team-obsessed).  And here's what I designed:

Hey, I'd be happy if my hubby wore this outfit!

Let's detail it:

• I think baby blue is the most handsome color on a man, so I k new that I wanted that to be the driving force in the outfit.  I paired the baby blue dress shirt with a deep gray cardigan.  Cardigans are still dressy but a bit more casual than a blazer.
• Light gray pants are sleek next to the baby blue/dark gray cardigan on top.
• Aren't these light gray shoes great?  Again, dressy in a casual way.
• The deep blue bow tie is a fun trend, and I think guys in bow ties get noticed quickly.  Wearing a bow tie would have been on Ezra's side as he went into his first competition.
• Love this black/silver watch!  It's a simple statement accessory and complements the outfit well.

Obviously this isn't the outfit Ezra wears in the novel, but I think it'd be one he could definitely carry off!  And I would expect to see Toby in a bow tie, too--he would rock that accessory!

Interested in this outfit?  Find all the details here.

Tomorrow I'll post my interview with Robyn Schneider about beauty products and her new book, Extraordinary Means!  You'll definitely want to check that out!

REVIEW: The Beginning of Everything and The Start of Robyn Schneider Week!

YOU GUYS.  This week is going to be SO FUN on the blog!  If you watched my June TBR video, you saw that I LOVE Robyn Schneider.  Her books are witty and clever AND she's a YouTube beauty guru...so we were obviously meant to be best friends.

I got to meet and interview Robyn a little over a week ago while she was touring for her newest book, Extraordinary Means.  And I love her even more after meeting her!  So I decided to make this "Robyn Schneider Week" on the blog!  I will review both of her books, show off some outfits I designed for both of them, and post my interview with Robyn.

So let's jump right in!

Today's post is a review of The Beginning of Everything, Robyn's first book.  I picked it up on a whim and was SOLD by page 3.  Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2015.  Even one of my school's English teachers, who coaches football and prides himself on being manly, told me he "freakin' loved it."  Yes, it's just that good.  So let's get reviewing!

• Standalone novel
• Realistic fiction

The Gist:
Ezra Faulkner seems to have it all--at the end of his junior year he is a star tennis player and a front-runner for Homecoming King and has a popular girlfriend.  But when he catches his girlfriend in the act of cheating and leaves a party hurriedly, he is hit by another car and has his life changed forever.  Now a bit crippled and unable to play tennis, he loses his so-called friends and popularity status.  And on the first day of his senior year, Ezra finds himself completely starting over.  But when he meets Cassidy Thorpe, a girl unlike any others, he realizes that this may just be his chance in re-identifying himself.

What I Loved:

• First of all, Schneider's dedication to her parents at the beginning of the book is witty and adorable.  Completely sets the pace for the book (and when do dedications ever do that?).
• The first three pages just got me...Poor Toby at Disneyland on his birthday!!!
• And speaking of the first three pages, the cover is genius!  Love love love it!
• I want to be friends with Toby, Phoebe, Austin, and the rest.  The characterization was fantastic.
• I thought I had figured out the twist involving Cassidy, and I was disappointed that I had it solved.  And then I learned that I DIDN'T have it figured out.  

What I Didn't Love:

• There's a bit of a plot hole towards the end.  Did no one ever look for the person who hit Ezra in the accident?  No police reports/investigations?  I feel like that would have been a curiosity.

My Favorite Quotes:

"That everyone's life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary--a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen."

"The funny thing about gold is how quickly it can tarnish."

"We're taking the road beyond the road less traveled, and being on time will make all the difference."

Gosh, I just loved this book.  Witty, heart-wrenching, mysterious.  Five stars from me!

Tomorrow you'll see an outfit for EZRA--yep, a guy's outfit!  Inspired by his joining the debate team.  So come back and check it out!