Spring Break TBR

Now I know I said I wouldn't do TBRs anymore but now that I have a week off from school I have lots of time for reading. Here are the books I intend on reading. I might not get around to all of them but I will try.

This is another book I am reading for school though it sounds more interesting  than Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature is about Mena, a Christian girl who after speaking up for a bullied student is kicked out of her church and is shunned by her friends and family. It doesn't help that her brilliant biology teacher is teaching evolution to a class of devout Christians. This book sounds interesting to me based on the plot. It reminds me of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson which I enjoyed. Overall, I have hopes for this novel.

The 5th Wave has been getting a lot of hype recently and based on the plot the hype is for a good reason. This novel presents us with the idea of a sudden alien apocalypse in present day. The aliens start controlling the Earth, shutting down electricity, causing huge earthquakes and even spreading the avian flu. We see through the eyes of several characters on a journey to survive when almost no else is left.

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a graphic novel telling the true story of the authors parents, who were Jews, living through the Holocaust. The Jews are portrayed as mice and the Nazis are portrayed as cats as you can see from the cover. This, along with its sequel which I will also read, sounds like a fascinating story of a survivor's tale especially after learning about World War II and the Holocaust in school.

Insurgent is an absolute must-read for me. It is the sequel to Divergent, a book I very much enjoyed. This series is very hyped up from almost everyone. If you are curious about the story I will leave my review of Divergent here. 

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick, the author of The Silver Linings Playbook, sounds like another fascinating story about a man named Leonard Peacock who decides one day to shoot his best friend and then himself. I have never read a book from an almost antagonistic point of view so this one is something new. This novel lets you experience the mind of a mentally unwell person trying to find his meaning which I beieve is very important to read about.

I am reading The Mortal Instruments series (along with The Infernal Devices trilogy pictured below) by Cassandra Clare for the Clare-A-Thon, a reading marathon from April 16 to April 22. The goal is to read as many of these Cassandra Clare books as you can in this time span. This is all taking place to prepare for the release of the final book in The Mortal Insrtuments series, City of Heavenly Fire. In this marathon participants are eligible for prizes by completing challenges and sprints, the grand prize being a signed copy of City of Heavenly Fire. You can find more information at the event's Goodreads page here. 

Quarterly Update

Since the year is about a quarter of the way through I decided to give you guys an update on my reading challenges and goals. Also I decided I will not be posting TBRs anymore. Wrap-ups work well for giving short reviews to everything I read but TBRs make me feel repetitive and they are never realistic. Any way on with the update!

Pictured above is a compilation of the 20 books I have read so far this year. I have not completed any series yet but I most certainly have a few in mind I would love to finish. I haven't read any debut authors because obviously not many debut novels have been published and shipped to libraries but as the year goes on that will change. As for the Book Bingo Challenge you can see my homemade version of Reading in Winter's board below:

As you can see I have filled more than half of the board though the unchecked boxes have more than one book in their prerequisite. This challenge is going smoothly. I have filled one column and when I read a non-fiction book I will complete a column and row simultaneously.

That is all for my update! In a few months, around June or July, I will do another one of these for you guys to keep updated. For now see you later! 

March Wrap-Up

I have finally truly learned my lesson to not pile on too many books. I usually can only get four books read in one month not seven like I assigned myself. I have since then created a reading schedule to keep me on track throughout the month. This month I read six books though some were through my English class and some were very short. I will now give a brief synopsis of each book and give you my thoughts on each one.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Chrutcher was the first book I read this month. As I mentioned in my March TBR post I read this for school. My teacher recommended it to my class and I would get class credit for reading it so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, it was a mediocre novel. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes tells the story of Eric Calhoune, a fat high schooler, who becomes best friends with Sarah Byrnes, a girl with terrible burn scars all over her face. The two get into all kinds of shenanigans like creating a newspaper that slanders kids in their school and becoming friends with a huge doofus who repeated the 8th grade many times. The problem with this book was the many, many, MANY subplots. Some were interesting like Eric's English teacher teaching a class where they discuss controversial topics such as abortion and religion or a barely mentioned plot point where Eric joins the swim team and fears he will become skinny so he stays fat for Sarah Byrnes. Yes, the name of the title is a dismissed plot point that is rarely mentioned. Instead they focus on...well focus isn't the right term for a novel with such a lack of focus. Seriously, there are subplots about Eric's friend's car which he painted with religious symbols, a jerk in the English class who bickers with Eric and even Eric's mom's boyfriend has his own subplot. This book could have been great if it had one plot and focused on a few interesting subplots, possibly the one they built up to in the title. Maybe if you love contemporary and the lives of really unrealistic teens interests you give this a read.  

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse was a book I read with my English class. This book is about the Great Depression following the life of 13 year-old Billie Jo. She lives on a farm in the Panhandle of Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl as her family's crops suffer. This book is written in verse, short poems on every page. This was a boring, depressing book but it was inoffensive. I wouldn't recommend it but it was decent.

This was another assigned read. This is not the book that Anne Frank wrote but the play adaption written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It wasn't very exciting but it was enjoyable to read in class with my peers, everyone reading a different part aloud. It is not something you would want to read for leisure but it was an enjoyable classroom activity

Peanut is a graphic novel written by Ayun Halliday and illustrated by Paul Hoppe. It follows the story of Sadie, the new girl in town who desperately wants to be popular at her new school so she pretends to have a deathly peanut allergy to get attention. Everyone falls for it and soon enough she makes a lot of friends and has to constantly be vigilant in order to keep her secret. This book was decent. It told a cute story with cute illustrations but at the same time the story was very predictable. The main character was bland and forgettable. All I remember about her was her pink shirt that she always wore to contrast with the black and white drawings. I even had to look up her name for this post. If you want a fast read or a cute contemporary pick this one up but it's nothing special. 

I, and probably most of the world, have hyped Divergent to the extreme so I won't go into detail. I even made a separate review of this book comparing it to the newly released movie where I explain my thoughts about this novel. In short, I loved it and I highly recommend it for fans of The Hunger Games.

Free Four is a short story (by short I mean a 10 page long ebook) taking a chapter of Divergent and putting it the other main character, Four's, point of view. I enjoyed it but I recommend it only if you are a huge Divergent fan you may enjoy it for a bit more information but there's not much to work off of for review.

The Impossible Knife of Memory on the other hand is a very special, important story. Hayley Kincain is a 17 year-old girl who is attending her senior year of high school in a new town, Sounds like your run-of-the-mill young adult contemporary novel until you thrown in one more element: her father is a war veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This leads to a whole slew of problems for Hayley to deal with including her father's drug addiction and alcoholism, debt, quick temper and depression. Along the way Hayley finds friends along the way including Gracie, a childhood friend suffering from her own set of problems and Finn, a cute boy Hayley begins to fall for as he falls for her. I  can't say I "loved" this book but I definitely have a deep appreciation for it. It is an important story that needs to be told. If you are interested in mental illness, PTSD, are suffering from those problems yourself or want to know about the life of a troubled teen I encourage you to pick this up.


That is the end of my March Wrap-Up. Stay tuned for my April TBR coming up soon!  

The King's Speech and The Man Behind The King's Speech movie reviews

Recently I watched the critically acclaimed film "The King's Speech" and the documentary "The Man Behind The King's Speech" based on the film which tells the true story of the stammering King George VI. Albert Frederick Arthur George(Colin Firth) , Duke of York  known by his family as "Bertie" has a terrible stammer. He can't speak in public so when he is called upon to become the king after the death of his father George V(Michael Gambon) and the abdication of his brother Edward VIII(Guy Pearce) he is not prepared. His wife Elizabeth(Helena Bonham Carter) searches for a speech therapist to treat her husband and finally comes across Australian Lionel Logue(Geoffrey Rush) who is a self-taught unlicensed therapist with innovative methods of therapy. At first Bertie is closed off from Lionel but their friendship grows as time goes on. The film shows that even one conflicted with a terrible impediment in a stressful time can overcome fear and achieve greatness.

This film was very well done. If you remember, in 2011 the movie won Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards; when you see the film it is obvious. The film was directed by Tom Hooper who also directed Les Misérables and John Adams. All of the major events that occurred in this movie were historically accurate and necessary to the story line. I felt at points the film could be a bit boring but nothing could have been removed from the story. The cinematography was also interesting in this film. There were some odd wide angles of faces during speeches; some felt unnatural but most of these shots helped the story. I could see Bertie's slight quivers in his jaw and eyes as he speaks displaying his nevousness. There were many nice shots in this film such as cameras in and outside cars, in elevators, close up conversations and wide landscape shots. The writing was great in this film as well. The dialogue was natural and wasn't loaded with exposition. Bertie had great development through the film starting off as a nervous, self conscious Duke and turning into a more confident individual as his nervousness and royal attitude shed. He had great chemistry with both Elizabeth and Lionel, who served as a nice contrast to the royalty. However, the pacing was slow in this film especially in the beginning. The plot sometimes got bogged down in talk of politics and royalty. There were many side characters who I could not remember the names or personalities of. The lead characters were well written though. Along with Bertie, Elizabeth and Lionel had interesting personalities. She was clever and looked out for her husband and he was charming and tries his best to help Bertie. Overall, the writing was smooth and consistent. The editing flowed smoothly from scene to scene and the lighting made good contrasts. In the beginning the smoggy London was dark and somber but by the end the setting had brightened and cleared. The costumes were beautiful and historically accurate. The queen had fur coats and many jewels. Bertie had a traditional embellished uniform while Lionel had a simple suit that fit his character. The set design added to the royal tone with historically accurate sets that included grand halls, empty echoing rooms and large palaces with lavish furniture. The film was actually made in various locations around England in the same places the story took place. The score worked well with the scenes, flowing from scene to scene well. The opening music sets the tone nicely and quiet violin grows tension as it progresses. The music flows with dialogue and grows at speeches and big moments. All of these elements come together well in the end making a great film.     

King George VI: The Man Behind The King's Speech is a simple hour-long documentary accompanying the film. It shows interviews with Firth, Hooper, Mark Logue (Lionel's grandson who wrote a book about Bertie's story with the same name) and historians who told the story of the king's life. A majority of the film was actual footage from the time including the actual king making his speeches. This isn't anything spectacular but if you are a fan of the movie and want more behind-the-scenes knowledge this is on Netflix for your enjoyment.

Divergent book and movie reviews

A few days ago I read the extremely popular novel Divergent by Veronica Roth and today I saw the film adaption in theaters. Both were great mediums of a fascinating story about a future Chicago where the population is divided into factions based on their virtues, selflessness (Abnegation), peace (Amity), honesty (Candor), bravery (Dauntless) and intelligence (Erudite) to avoid conflict. This is the story of Tris (Shailene Woodley),a girl who doesn't fit into only one faction; she is divergent. As the government tries to control her, she breaks the mold of her dystopian society. The message reflects human nature that the government tries to dissolve. Tris is not one specific virtue; she is several. No one human is explicitly kind, explicitly honest or explicitly brave. All of us are divergent.This film connected to me on a personal level because of this. It showed me what bravery truly is. Tris is born in Abnegation but when she turns 16 she, with the rest of her peers, undergoes a test that tells her which faction she belongs in. Unfortunately, the test results are inconclusive and she is forced to figure out which path is best for her by herself, something the government doesn't want. She chooses Dauntless because she has always admired their skill and virtues. While being initiated into the faction she learns that the faction used to believe that bravery was helping your fellow man and standing up for what you believe in. It slowly morphed into a faction that pits people against each other and tries to remove any humanizing fear from your personality. It opened my eyes to what being brave truly is. It is not about being fearless; it is overcoming your fears to achieve success for the greater good.

The book:

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. There are few things I can fault it on. I listened to this novel on audiobook read by Emma Galvin who had a similar voice to Shailene Woodley, the actress who portayed Tris in the movie. This book was enjoyable for a few reasons. Every character was fleshed out and interesting. Some of them you loved, some of them you hated and some were mysterious and full of secrets. Tris, originally Beatrice Prior, started off as a bland girl who was taught from birth to all ways think of others and forget yourself. She is content withe life she leads in Abnegaton but secretly she yearjns to have adventure and fun instead of spending her days wearing drab clothes, volunteering constantly and and hiding her talents. When she moves to Dauntless she becomes a new person, one who is braver than all the rest. She is loyal to her friends and fights against her enemies. By the end she is a strong woman who has dealt with too much hardship and hurt for a girl. The other prominent character in this book is Four, a mysterious Dauntless instructor who teaches Tris the true meaning of bravery that has been shrouded in secret. He is first a cold, closed off ypung adult but develops into a companion for Tris and a man who can fight for what he believes in. Veronica Roth's world is also creative. Set in the near distant future, this city's inhabitants are completely ignorant as to the freedom this country had. They do exactly as the government tells them and no one raises an eyebrow. They endure extreme separation and extraction of virtues so similar people will group together and won't cause conflict with ones who are different. What is best about this booka re the themes and messages it conveys as I explained above. At first glance it looks like an average teen novel but below the surface it is so much more. This worldwide bestselling novel has definitely become one of my favorites and I am excited to continue on in the trilogy.

  

The film adaption was also excellent, capturing the themes and heart of the book while making it its own entity. The director of the film, Neil Burger, did a good job faithfully following a novel with such a huge fan-base. It did take some liberties of its own which is important to distinguish itself from the book. It was a very fast paced movie which is quite a statement for a film that was 2 hours and 19 minutes long. All the major plot points of the book were addressed. I felt nothing important was cut out. Some scenes were cut short for time's sake but it didn't detract from the overall story. The writing also followed the book well. Each character was developed well. Our protagonists and even some supporting characters were sympathetic since they were given some back story and distinguishing characteristics. For example, in Abnegation Tris is only allowed to see herself in the mirror every three months when her mother cuts her hair. When she undergoes her test she is gicen a serum that puts her into different situations based on her personality. She ends up in a room with mirrors on every wall, dozens of Trises staring at her. This shows her wanting to leave Abnegation and discover herself. The dialogue between the characters wasn't completely natural. There were some awkward pauses and the things these people were saying didn't seem very realistic. There were some lines quoted from the book which was a nice homage but wasn't natural. The plot on the other was very inventive and even though I had knowledge of the story beforehand it still felt unpredictable. What I enjoyed most about the writing was that it felt like a true dystopian. At first they set up a seemingly perfect world where everyone gets along harmoniously but as the story progresses that notion is slowly dismantled and the society crumbles in imperfection. 

The transitions between scenes weren't always very smooth sometimes jumping from one set to another with no previous explanation but overall it wasn't too choppy. The lighting did a good deal to give contrast between settings. The Erudite headquarters were bright while the Dauntless headquarters were substantially darker even though dark things were secretly occurring in Erudite. The graphics looked futuristic including holograms and advanced machinery. Some shots, however, looked obviously green screened. the fear landscapes, areas that Dauntless members were forced to enter in their minds that exploited their biggest fears, didn't look very realistic which emphasized their surreal nature well. Overall the effects fit the film well.

The costume design in this film was great. It was what clearly distinguished each Faction and their virtues. The Abnegation wear baggy grey dresses, pants and shirts which added to their belief of forgetting themselves. The Amity, in a beatnik style, wore loose, flowing clothing in reds and yellows that symbolized being comfortable with yourself and each other. The bright colors also helped the characters pop in the farms where they worked. The Candor wore black and white showing their belief that the truth was black or white. The white helped distinguish themselves from the Dauntless who wore primarily black along with their tattoos and piercings which the short, skin tight clothes helped show off. The clothes also worked for their faction because they were probably easiest to move in as they jumped off trains and fought fellow members. The Erudite wore blue tones which made them look calm and collected as they plotted against other factions. Typical pieces such as sweater vests and pencil skirts showed off their intelligence without being over-the-top.

The movie was filmed at Navy Park in Chicago, Illinois where the story takes place. With special effects the city worked well to show a dilapidated version of its former self which added to the dystopian tone. The score was probably the best improvement to the film. Some of the songs sounded a bit too contemporary for the futuristic setting but overall the music flowed with the actors' movements and expressions and built tension, added extra emotion to dramatic scenes and distinguished different events from each other. For example, when the Dauntless are introduced a rhythmic clapping song plays giving excitement to their appearance. The song at the end of the film concluded the story well as it faded to credits.

Overall this was a great film based on a great novel which conveyed a deep and fascinating story. I recommend reading the book before the movie or else the plot points and characters might get confusing without prior knowledge. If you love science fiction, thrilling action and some teen angst thrown in, this story is a good fit for you.

March TBR

This month might be a bit ambitious. I checked out a large amount of books from my public library so I intend to read most of them.

This is the book I am currently reading. For English class, every month we have to select a book off of a list of about 150 books our teacher gives us. After we read that book in the month we must discuss it with him. This was one that he raved about in class so I decided to pick it up. Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher is about a boy named Eric Calhoune who is overweight. In middle school he became best friends with a girl named Sarah Byrnes who, as her name suggests, has terrible burn scars on her face. The two misfits join together to rebel against bullies and other misadventures until Sarah Byrnes stops talking and is sent to a mental hospital. That is essentially the "plot" but there is so much more going on in this story. Eric joins the swim team but is afraid he will lose weight and his frienship(hence the titles), his swim coach teaches a class where students discuss hot button issues and many other subplots ensue.
 

This is a fascinating book based on the description. It is about A. Every day A wakes up in a different body, no matter gender, race, personality or any other factors. A has lived with this condition for sixteen years and doesn't think much of it until one day he meets a girl named Rhiannon and falls in love. From there he must find her through his disability and declare his love.
 

This is a new book that came out this year. It is about a teenage girl named Hayley Kincaid who has to deal with her father, Andy. Andy recently came home from combat and suffers from PTSD. This story is about Hayley's struggle with her living conditions as she tries to forge a normal life.
 

The Chaos Walking trilogy is a dystopian series about a boy named Todd who lives in a society where everyone can hear each other's thoughts. This is until one day when Todd finds a place where it is totally quiet, no noise or thoughts or anything. This trilogy chronicles his adventures as he learns the truth of this society.

I am only planning on reading the first book in this series. If you do not know what this novel is about I summed it up in my February TBR post. As you can see by the cover this novel is being adapted into a film that is coming out this month. I plan to read this to prepare for that event and I will make sure to get around to it this month.

Those are the books I would like to read in March. I assume I won't finish all of these this month but I like to have some goals set in the mean time. Subscribe to this blog to see my reviews of these books and what I finish this month! 

February Wrap-Up

Now, I'm just going to say it now and get it over with: I will rarely read all the books on my TBR list. This month I read three books and only one was on the TBR list. I haven't had as much time for reading recently because of my packed schedule but after March I will be back track. Anyway I will give you what you came for now. Here are the books I read this month:

Last month I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I absolutely loved it so I decided to try her most popular young adult novel, Eleanor and Park. This is probably going to be one of my favorite books of 2014. I adored this story. If you don't know, this book is about two high school misfits in 1986 who fall in love. Actually, it's a whole lot more than that. Eleanor is an overweight girl who just moved to this town in Nebraska. Park is an Asian American who loves music. When they meet for the first time on the school bus it isn't love at first sight. It takes weeks and months for their relationship to form but when it does it is absolutely magnificent.

This was the book that was on my TBR list. If you don't already know what this book is about check out my February TBR post. I definitely enjoyed this novel. The first 150 pages or so was mostly world building and set up so that part was quite slow. Once I got past it, however, the plot suddenly became action-packed and exciting. I am excited to pick up the next books in this dystopian trilogy soon because this one was very enjoyable.

About a week ago I made a separate review of this book along with the recent movie adaption of this story. There I give a synopsis and my opinions on this book so please check that out if you are interested.

That's it for my February Wrap-Up. If you want to know more about what I'm reading check out my Goodreads page or if you want to see my complete book wishlist, to-read list and other things check out my Pinterest page. Of course, if you are interested in seeing more reviews from me subscribe to this blog in the sidebar.