Bayou Bytes Blog

There's an urban legend in Briar Glen. When young Lucy Gallows found a road in the woods and followed it, she and the road disappeared. She was never seen again, and now she haunts the forest...   It's 2017, and Sara has been the weird loner at school ever since her sister disappeared one year ago. The official story is that Becca ran off with her boyfriend, but Sara knows the truth. Becca had gone into the woods searching for Lucy's ghost. Unable to give up on her sister, and irritated that the world moved on without her, Sara has become distant from her family and friends.    But on the anniversary of Becca's disappearance, a text message goes out to the entire school, inviting the kids to "play the game" - to go into the woods and find Lucy.    Sara knows this may be her only chance to follow Becca and learn what really happened to her.    Armed with a book of Becca's notes and her previously estranged friends, Sara...

Halo: Meridian Divide is the second book in the young adult novels by Cassandra Clarke which serve as a side story to the main Halo franchise.  The story follows 4 teenage students- Evie, Dorian, Saskia, and Victor- who find themselves strapping back into the action on their home world Meridian. Taking place only a few months after their escape from the first book, our heroes are informed that the covenant (a religious extraterrestrial alliance made up of multiple alien races) are attacking Meridian to find an ancient artifact that they believe will help them in their transcendence. Being natives of Meridian, ONI is calling upon our teenage protagonists to help navigate through the cities of Meridian where the Covenant has built perimeters. Partnered with Spartan Owen and a local militia group, they will find out what exactly the Covenant found on Meridian and attempt to push them off their home world. Cassandra Clarke does an outstanding job with differentiating the personal...

In  The Luminous Dead,  Caitlin Starling decided to take on a challenge by building an entire story with two characters and a cave. And it did not disappoint.   On Gyre's planet, the fastest way to make money is to work as a caver, mapping caves and finding mineral deposits deep below the surface. But the caves are perilous, full of steep drops, flooded passages, and the  Tunnelers . These worm-like monsters seem to swim through solid rock, causing earthquakes and cave-ins. The only way to send cavers down without attracting a  Tunneler  is to send someone in alone, encased in a high-tech closed environment suit.    If Gyre does one assignment and survives, she'll have enough money to get off world for good. So she  fakes  her credentials and successfully gets hired on as a caver.  But once she's in the cave she's completely alone. Her only company is  Em , a voice in her ear, the handler who is watchin...

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz The author has created of series of self-help books based on ancient Mexican Toltec wisdom and spiritual practices. In this book, he claims that reality is a collective dream state and Dream of the Planet is an accepted societal culture. With this in mind, he proposes four ideas that if followed will help you live a happy and peaceful life: Agreement One: Be impeccable with your word Agreement Two: Don’t take anything personally Agreement Three: Don’t make assumptions Agreement Four: Always do your best This book was highly recommended to me so I wanted to give it a fair chance. There are aspects that I found very important and useful and others I had to let go. One example of this first agreement, be impeccable with your word ,  is that the Toltec are a spiritual people and words are very powerful. They feel that they carry magical power, an aspect that I let go. He also says that w...

Wine for Normal People  is a wonderful resource for anyone struggling to understand wine.  Elizabeth Schneider is a certified sommelier and host of the successful podcast, Wine for Normal People , which sparked the creation of this book. In this guide she explores basic vocabulary, how wine is made, all the factors that impact flavor, and the reputation and geography of prominent wine countries. She also delves into how to match wine and food pairings, and generally how to feel more confident about your selections in the wine aisle.  Each explanation is easy to grasp and interspersed with helpful graphics or charts. She even includes some cheat sheets you can copy and take with you to the store or wine tasting. I admit that I am not particularly interested in pursuing wine tastings, but I did want a better grasp on the world of wine. I had a bit of trouble getting through the chapter that discussed Old World wine countries and their specialties, largely be...