JK's casualty

When I woke up this morning, I had a lovely surprise message. JK Rowling's book had a title! And a release date for September THIS YEAR!

Hazzar!

Happy Days!

Then I stumbled upon the synopsis...

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Right. So.

I'm going to say it, this sounds boring. However it is definitely worth remembering that JK didn't set out to write another HP book and I'm glad it's something so different. I'm not glad it's about local politics and a potential murder mystery but that's just me.

Personally, I'll read this book to the end because JK really is just that great a writer. She could make anything amazing and believable and I'm seriously hoping this is no exception.

Would I have liked another fantasy? Hell to the yeah. But I guess she's defining herself elsewhere and I'm just going to have to roll with it. 

Scribble 'The Casual Vacancy' into September 27th kids! Way sooner than anyone could have hoped for I think.

But tell me, what do you guys think of the title and synopsis? And when it was released that JK was writing an adult novel, were you all picturing this?

Reaping Week presents - THE GAMES REVIEW IS HERE!

Review for the Hunger Games Movie!

That’s right, it’s finally here. We can all stop wetting ourselves with excitement because THE MOVIE IS FINALLY OUT! Now, after the midnight screening, I have to admit I was a little disappointed by the movie. Just slightly. I knew it would never meet my high expectations but I just expected a little more. I saw it today for a second time though and it was just SO MUCH BETTER! I don’t know if it was because my eyeballs weren’t falling out from tiredness, or I knew what to expect this time, but I’m glad I gave it another chance.

FROM THIS POINT FORTH THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. POTENTIALLY BIG ONES. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK OR WISH TO GO INTO THE MOVIE COMPLETELY UNAWARE THEN LOOK AWAY NOW. AND ONCE YOU’VE SEEN IT, COME BACK AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE J

My Review:

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure how to tackle this because there was a LOT I wanted to comment on. I think I’ll break it down into a list of likes and dislikes then give it a rating out of five. LET’S DO THIS!

Ultimate Awesomeness:

1.    The acting. Every last cast member (bah one, actually) blew my expectations out of the arena. JLaw was perfect with everything she did. The emotion was there but she didn’t overact. That girl is pure Katniss. Josh and Liam were phenomenal (even though you see Liam for all of two seconds *sadface*) and you’ll never believe this BUT, JoshactuallygotmelovingthePeets! The careers were all spot on (especially that Alexander Ludwig), and of course Rue shone on the screen. I’d just like to take a moment to say how amazing Willow Shields was as Prim. Holy mothercussin’ Moly, that girl can act. She brought out the only tears I shed in the movie.

2.    The tracker jacker scene. All you need to know is it was there and it was AWESOME!

3.    The Capitol and all people there. It’s exactly like you’d imagine in the book, and Elizabeth Banks and Stanley Tucci really bring the people alive. I even love the little scenes they added between President Snow and Seneca Crane.  They really made the total disregard for human life believable.

4.    The three finger salute in District twelve and the reaction from District eleven. The riot is more intense than the games, I think.

The Parts to be Sword-Bladed:

1.    Rue’s death. I can’t believe I’m writing that here but the aftermath of her death is so much more moving than the actual death. The lack of music in this part, and when Prim’s name is first called, really detracted from the scene. There was a lack of emotion (NOT by the actors) that prevented the tears from coming. It was as though I was watching from the Capitol and realised I’d just lost a bet. Shallow emotions like that are NOT what you want when those scenes in the book tore my heart out!

2.    I also hate to say this but… Haymitch. Woody Harrelson just did not get this character at all. He’s less of a tortured drunk with a big soul, and more of a drunk who just pissed me right off. Also, (there is a HUGE chance I’m wrong here, since I didn’t reread the books) but wasn’t Haymitch’s advice to them “Stay alive”?  It doesn’t happen in the movie even though in those two words it completely sums up his character. His sarcasm. The fact that was missing seriously brought the movie down.

3.    The Hunger Games. Again, I KNOW! But the thing here is, there was so little fighting. I think it was this more than anything that disappointed me on first viewing. But on second viewing it was okay because there was a lot of focus on the characters and their development. Instead of being an insane action flick (that could have totally happened) they kept the emotion and fighting as raw as possible which worked, but in a completely different way. It was a very sad movie; though it should have been a lot sadder.

There were a few technical things that Lionsgate did that I didn’t agree with. I won’t get right into the camera angles and the reasoning behind them, or why they had a soundtrack BUT DIDN’T USE ANY OF THE MUSIC IN THE MOVIE, but yeah. If you notice that type of thing, be prepared to be annoyed.

Really, I think it’s best to sum it up with a rating. I wanted to give it a three but then I realised it only deserved that if I was comparing it to the book. So I’m giving it two scores. As an adaption, I’d say a three and a half (because it’s a whole lot better than any I’ve seen) but as a stand-alone movie it would get a four. I seriously enjoyed it once I managed to get past the things that had been changed. AND ONCE I DIDN’T HAVE TWO VERY ANNOYING FRIENDS MAKING SNIDE COMMENTS.

I’m pretty sure this is a movie anyone would love – even the fans of the book. And there are parts that I think just about everyone will hate/be irritated by.

Either way, I encourage you to see it and make up your own mind. It’s definitely worth it. And please, stop on by and let me know what you thought! If you blog about it, leave a link in the comments because I haven’t heard any other opinions as yet and am keen to see what the rest of you think!

As for right now, I’m going to go whine about how Catching Fire (and Finnick) are still over a year away!

I'm-a, I'm-a, Deviant

Book review for Divergent

 

One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs and determines your loyalties... forever.

When sixteen-year-old Tris makes her choice, she cannot foresee how drastically her life will change. Or that the perfect society in which she lives is about to unfold into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected romance. 

One Choice can transform you.

To be honest, I saw this book non-stop on shelves a few months back but it never piqued my interest. The blurb was kind of vague, the cover was overly dystopian, which I love now, but really wasn’t into back then.

Then I started to read on quite a few blogs about a book with five factions, a hero called Tris and a schmexy teacher dude called Four and you couldn’t keep me away from the shops for long enough.

Too bad when I finally went to buy it, the book was nowhere to be found.

Well, Amazon delivered last week after a fortnight of waiting and then… Veronica Roth happened. And ho-ly cow. I’m so glad I read those blogs.

My Review: 

At face value: The Dauntless symbol on the front is pretty cool however the city across the bottom and two people in the corner screamed MG for me.

Immediate Reaction: I can wait for the next one only because it comes out this year. Until then, bring on more dystopians.

High Five: Had to give it a four. No thumb. Everything just measures up to Cinder now.

Favourite Quote:

“Four! Three!”

What did Tobias tell me? Selflessness and bravery aren’t that different.

“Two!”

I release the trigger of my gun and drop it. Before I can lose my nerve, I turn and press my forehead to the barrel of the gun behind me.

Shoot me instead.

“One!”

I hear a click, and a bang.

Divergent is so obviously, OTT, dystopic. There is no way Roth had a problem trying to place it in a genre. The characters, whilst maintaining the strength of most dystopic characters, are what really drives this story. Tris, coming from Abnegation, keeps her morals and even though she is tough to the maximus, she still feels human emotions and knows the difference between right and wrong. I heart her for that.

Now, because the blurb gives practically nothing to go on, I’ll do my own little recap of the book. Tris, or Beatrice (blah!) as she’s originally known, has been born into Abnegation, one of the five factions of Chicago. The other four are Dauntless, Amity, Erudite and Candor. These all stand for different personality traits. Everyone at the age of sixteen takes a test, the test tells them where they fit best and then, they get to choose anyway. SPOILER. (Like you didn’t already know it was coming) Tris chooses Dauntless. These guys are the badass fighting league of the factions who have very little-to-no people skills in my opinion. There is a lot of power and greed in this faction and more than one person ends up getting a boo-boo. MOVING ON, in comes Four, or should I say, Phaw, to distract me with his ‘I’m so badass, I’m really good’ type of thing that he does. And then, like all dystopians, we jump ahead a little and there’s fighting and rebellion and what-not. Sound good? Mmk, moving on.

Roth has developed this futuristic view of Chicago so deeply it’s hard to believe it doesn’t exist already. The five factions are so completely devoid of any human deviance from the norm that you pretty much start to doubt these people are humans at all. The belief systems are established early on, but the way each faction holds its citizens to these beliefs so completely, feels forced. I’m glad Roth brought in the factionless because otherwise, I may not have been able to get past the idea that with only five factions, there really should be more Divergents. 

 

THAT SAID, the end comes along and I’m proved right. So there.

The characters I’d like to give a little mention to are Christina, who I really liked in the beginning and then not-so-much at the end, Al, poor, poor Al. Will, who was all kinds of cute. And Eric. This guy was like a five year old playing grown up. Dang he was annoying, and played his part perfectly. As for what happened between Tris and Will, holy moly I wanted to TEAR THAT DAMN PAGE OUT AND PRETEND IT NEVER HAPPENED. Ahem.

 I loved (and at the same time hated) the parts with Peter. To me, he was the one I really felt sorry for. What he did to Edward was just… And then what he did to Al and Tris… That is one screwed up character. And man, did he make things interesting! I loved that Four was a deep character and not just someone dancing about on the sidelines. I loved the part where he threw knives and Tris’s head. I loved when they climbed the Ferris wheel together. But mostly, I loved the two parts in the simulation room. They were AWESOME!

 Now, the nitty gritty stuff that stopped this book from getting a high five really weren’t that big of a deal. Firstly, the OMIGOD moment that was supposed to happen with her brother (I don’t even remember that kid’s name) really wasn’t very shocking. I think I saw it coming in the second chapter and was positive by the third.

 A few times there were scared people mentioned and I still have no idea what that was about. And the part with TRIS and WILL that I cannot mention and am still pretending DIDN’T HAPPEN, also made me not like this book, although I appreciate that Roth went there.

 Mostly though, it was the ‘climax’ so to speak. Whilst reading it, I enjoyed it. But it didn’t get my heart rate going. It didn’t make me never want to put the book down again. I guess, in a sense, I didn’t feel the danger. And that’s a big problem for me. Looking back on it, it seemed too easy. What happens with Four could have been taken into the realms of so damn disturbing but it was like Roth just wanted to get to that last chapter. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed reading it, but it really had the potential to be that much more.

 Still, this book got a Four off me. I loved it, I loved the concept and I especially loved Tris. There are plenty of people out there that have given it a five but for me, a five is a massively high honour, and I refuse to give it out until I find a book I deem perfect. Divergent was close. Bring on Insurgent!

A-tissue, a-tissue, we all fall down!

 Book review for Cinder by Marissa Meyer

 A forbidden Romance. 

A deadly Plague. 

Earth's fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation.
Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect the Earth's future.
This is not the fairytale you remember. 

But it's one you won't forget.

When I first heard about Cinder, I immediately thought it was going to be another gimmick. There are so many books out there that claim to rewrite fairytales in a ‘new and different way’. Yeah. Nine times out of ten, I can’t get past the first chapter.

 This is that other time.

 Now, as a general rule, I go into reading a book with a lot of skepticism. This may not be the best way to enter someone else’s fantasy world but when a book manages to get past that tough outlook, I know it’s going to be a keeper.

 And man, is Cinder a keeper.

I am well aware this book came out a few months ago but as a lover of Grimm’s fairytales (and dare I say this, even Disney’s Cinderella doesn’t quite reach the mark), I have very high standards on any and all adaptations. I hadn’t even planned to buy it in the near future so I think this is the first time I’ve been thankful Charlestown Square didn’t have the book I wanted – and trust me when I say only time. If they’d had The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I still wouldn’t have read this book. 

My review:

At face value: I love the cover. Stars above, I love it. The red shoe is actually like a pair I have.

Immediate Reaction: OMFG Give ME the Next One Now! It’s finished? OMIGOD Noooooo! Evil, twisted universe, ARGH! (Can you tell I kind of liked it?)

High Five: Very, very close. Oh, so close. Four and a half and that’s purely because I’m a picky bitch.

Favourite Quote: Had to include this one. Out of context, probably doesn’t have the same effect but trust me; my heart broke.

“She was just a mechanic, and he was the prince with all the charms she pretended to be immune to. And he was there, before her, while she tottered on a single foot and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. How she could barely meet his gaze. How he leaned forward, forced her to see him, smiled.

There.

That moment. That smile.

Again and again and again.”

Cinder is based on the brother’s Grimm fairytale (duh!) and was a seriously awesome read. I wasn’t looking forward to all the parallels but thank God Meyer (Marissa, not Stephanie) didn’t overdo it. I think that’s what I was most worried about. Each time something cropped up to remind me of the fairytale it was like a little hug as opposed to a punch in the face. It was subtle, artistic, and the little quotes from the original story were a nice touch. 

The first few pages really made me step back a little from the book – our main character is a cyborg? – I didn’t know if I could get past that one. But as soon as that thought entered my mind, Meyer distracted me with a very pretty, very shiny object. And no I don’t mean Cinder’s new foot. I mean Kai, of course. Prince Kai. His Imperial Highness. His Imperial Swoonworthy, ‘I’m so hot I’m about to burn through these pages’ Kai. 

The first chapter impressed me, the next, say, four were ‘okay’, but once I picked the book up again from that little break I couldn’t put it down. I finally finished the book last night and couldn’t believe it was 2am. The last time I stayed up for a book was my overnight read of Frostbite/Shadow Kiss. That was about three years ago.

Let’s talk about Cinder, our awesome main character. This is a girl with no idea where she came from, no idea how to fit in with the humans around her, and no idea how to please her ‘evil stepmother’. Cinder goes through a massive period of self-discovery and I actually cared about the results. Plus, the girl is a mechanic. Umm, hello? I love, love, love that she is so bloody smart at this and so dang clueless about everything else. She isn’t one of those obnoxious characters that seem to know everything.

Now, I suppose I should mention here a little thing called the Letumosis plague that is tearing through New Beijing. It’s a pretty big part of the plot and kind of pushes it along. I should also probably mention a character who is so deliciously evil and twisted and SO NOT 2-DIMENSIONAL that I fell in love with her and hated her all at the same time. Queen Levana gets under my skin as much as the characters' and as far as antagonists go, I only hope one day I can write one just as convincingly. 

As Cinder and Kai gradually (key word here) fall in love, as the odds are stacked up against them, as things become almost impossibly impossible I tore through this book. I could feel the pages shrinking beneath my fingers and as desperately as I didn’t want it to end, I didn’t want to stop reading. Cinder reeled me in hook, line, and stinky, slimy sinker. The emotions seeped into me in a very real way and as the ending approached I went through the same desperation that Cinder did, and I’m pretty sure my heart broke with hers.

So why didn’t Cinder get a high five, you ask? 

My main problems with this book (and they are incredibly insignificant) are firstly, the dialogue between Cinder, her stepmother, Adri, and one of her stepsisters, Pearl. There’s little-to-no emotion in these conversations and I really hope Adri and Pearl don’t make it into the next book. Can I get a sword blade for these two please?

Secondly, there are two key parts in this book and for the sake of spoilers; I’m going to call them ‘Peony’s resolution’ and ‘THE BIG SCENE’. Now, Peony’s resolution and THE BIG SCENE really should have been emotional on so many different levels (and planets) however, at these key moments, the writing became unclear. I had to reread Peony’s part to work out what had actually happened and THE BIG SCENE, I couldn’t quite follow for a couple of lines so I made it up in my head. Also, I was so friggen into what was happening, I didn’t want to jump back and reread.

Lastly, and this is not so much a complaint but a side note, the massive cliffhanger OMIGOD moment, really wasn’t so unexpected. I think just before the halfway point I picked up on what was coming and just past the halfway point I was 99.9% positive it was coming. But with that said, the ending was amazingly awesome.

And the last lines… perfect way to end a book.

I am officially a Marissa Meyer fan girl, and now I’m off to buy Cinder in Spanish. Because that cover is WAY TOO cool. Just like Kai ;)

Legen-wait for it-dary!

Book review for Legend by Marie Lu

Once known as the western coast of the United States, the Republic is now a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors, the Colonies.

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a military prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic's highest circles.
Born into the slums of the Republic's Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motivations may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered, and Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June tries desperately to avenge Metias's death.
But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths to which their country will go to keep its secrets.

So by now if you haven't heard of this book, you're pretty much living with your head shoved in the sand. Or in the cloud of a dust bomb. Way before the paperback even hit the shelves, there was so much hype I have no idea how Marie Lu is still sane (obviously based on the assumption she is). The movies rights have already been sold to CBS (one of the top ranking television networks), and Penguin had practically sold the SHIZ out of this book already.

And to be honest, when a book has this much hype, I'm determined to hate it. I don't know why but when someone recommends a book to me saying 'this book is the ultimate awesomeness' and 'I've never laughed/cried/loved/*insert adjective here* a book as much as this one', and worse still 'you have to buy this' (cue shoving in hands and nudging towards the registers), I do everything in my power to avoid the damn thing. I get this certain stubborn streak that IS GOOD FOR NOTHING, but I just can't help it. So, with all this in mind, I dragged my feet through BIG W, feeling as though everyone was waiting for me to pick up the book so they could point, judge, laugh at me, and bought it. 

On release day.

And... I didn't hate it.

My Review...

At Face Value: I probably would've picked it up based on the cover alone, but it would have ended up unread, on my shelf with countless others. 

Immediate Reaction: Like most 'first' books, the ending wrapped up nicely. But it didn't leave me wanting more. I can wait for the next book.

High Five: First half, a four. Second, a three.


 Let me start off by saying this book's premise is no where near original; it was inspired by Les Miserables and contains a very Romeo and Juliet love story. That said, no story is original these days and Lu develops her characters and world to a height that makes Legend stand alone.

 Legend is told from the perspectives of both main characters, June and Day in alternating chapters but instead of letting her character's voice come through, either Lu or Razorbill decided to give them different fonts. This helps simplify who's who but was bloody annoying to begin with (mainly because I'm just a little picky and seriously didn't like Day's font. It made me want to punch him for looking like a Goosebumps novel). 
June is tough, stoic, and at times, annoyed me with her 'I'm so much smarter than everyone else' mentality that the Republic has basically stamped her with. But she becomes more emotionally driven towards the end. And she kicks arse. Day is a 'rebel' but to be honest, the crimes everyone is in a tizzy about are pretty underwhelming. At first, I didn't understand why they were so crazed to catch a fifteen-year-old that had gone a little wild with the spray paint but Lu makes it work. And suddenly there is a REASON I can go with.
 
 As I was reading this book, I put it down a couple of times for ridiculous things like work, food, coffee but where ever I went the characters followed me so I have to give Lu kudos for that. It's not often another author's characters push my own out of the way but the struggles June and Day are put through (I love when authors don't baby their characters), were enough to keep me wondering. There was emotional connection with the characters which I haven't found in a few books I've read lately and I fell in love with Metias (June's wicked cool big brother) who literally existed for all of about one chapter. DEVASTATED. MUCH.


I loved Day's break in to the hospital, I loved little Tess (can I have a baby sister like her, please?) and I loved Kaede whose vine tattoo sounds seriously awesome. I think Thomas could have been developed more and I well and truly loathed Commander Jameson (which was pretty much the point); really though, someone needs to sword-blade that woman's eye. The idea of the Elector Primo was also awesome and his son, mentioned way briefly was actually someone I remembered and hope will play a bigger part in the sequel.


 My main complaint though, and the reason the book didn't get a high five (especially in the second half), was things seemed a little too coincidental. Now, I get that there are coincidences in all books - mostly they're the catalyst or a way for the plot to move forward - but some of the things were a little too easy. Like, I can buy into how Day was at the same Skiz fight June was, but I don't buy into the 'numbers' he finds in places he's been at a gazillion times before. My first thought was "some high-risk criminal, his observation skills clearly need work" and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the reaction Lu intended. I can also buy into June being some super-smart freak of a girl, but I don't care how many times I read it, her figuring out the anagram that leads her to a super secret website will never make sense to me. NEVER.


 Overall, if you can get past these little nuances that my picky brain just won't move on from, and you like Dystopian novels, you'll love the shiz out of Legend. It's crazy-fast paced, has some hotter than hot characters and gives the sense of danger in just about every choice. Throw in some OMG shocks, a little bit of loving, and someone getting their head blasted off and I'm pretty sure it covers all bases. 


 It also makes me really want to write a Dystopian novel.