Everything, Everything was okay. (Movie thoughts)

This is somewhat a movie review! I don’t plan on doing more movie reviews in the future, but I did see Everything, Everything and wanted to say my thoughts.

Everything, Everything was okay.

So, I saw the movie yesterday with a theater full of teenage girls, parents, and grandparents.

The movie didn’t have nearly as much detail as the books, but the visuals were beautiful. The location and room-building were excellent. I wanted Maddy’s room (or better yet her house). And if it was the movie’s purpose to make Hawaii seem like the best tourist attraction ever, it succeeded.

Consumerism was very low. But I wished it had been higher. All of Maddy’s outfits were so cute!  Where are they from? Forever 21? I would love to buy some of the dresses she had especially the yellow one with the zipper.

It had a nice soundtrack too. I definitely perked up at hearing Ari Lennox’s distinct voice in the movie.

There were some major pacing issues. Introducing Rose (who is only mentioned in the book) was cool, but not at the expense of cutting out major moments, which are in the spoiler section.

The kisses were good. The love scene was tasteful.

I loved the inner-thought bubbles when Olly and Maddy had like their third meeting. The direction the director took to show their text messages was creative too.

I liked the ending a lot more here! The book’s ending felt too open-ended.

Overall: Not totally exciting unless you have read the book, and then you might feel disappointed because some of the best parts were condensed or passed over. Still, I am glad I got to see it. I haven’t been to the movies in a while.

[SPOILERS INSIDE]

Mini Review #3: Off the Page

So, I stayed up until 1 am last night (or day? I don’t know, man) because I just had to know what happened in the last book. Did the book redeem itself? Would I actually care about Deliah and Oliver’s love? How would Oliver be in the real world?

“The really crappy thing about being a teenager is that even if you have a legitimate, monumental problem– the sky is falling or the zombie apocalypse has begun or you’ve contracted the plague– you still have to do your geometry homework” (pg 295).

Well, Off the Pages by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer (368 pages), got better and worst.

What did I like? I thought the death in the book was handled pretty good. I know it sounds morbid to like a fictional death, but I hadn’t expected it in such a cookie-cutter book. Thankfully, there were no do-overs either! Some of Oliver’s confusion of the real world was somewhat fun. The author (the real one) tried to add some last-minute depth to the mean girl, Allie but it was like trying to add pecans to an already cooked cookie. You know what I’m saying?

I thought some scenes in this book could have been condensed like Deliah helping Seraphima pick out a bra at Victoria Secrets because all her fat goes to her breast! Yeah, that was an actual line in the book.

The romance was dry. Oliver and Deliah are just too perfectly in love. I don’t feel anything for them.

The ending was going to be unsatisfying either way. I don’t want to say it, but the ending was a bit on the garbage end. It was so unrealistic… And I am someone that loves happy endings!

I still liked Edgar (and Jules) the most as they had the most personality out of everyone.  Chris was a cool one-note character!

OVERALL:

Off the Page gets 2 stars from me. Should you read this book? I don’t think anyone over the age of ten would be amazed by this story. It’s a cliche book (but the premise is not) but some might find it fun and innocent!

Wrap Up

I have mentioned in my “about me” section that this blog was created for a college English course. This course has been one of my most challenging classes, but I think I have learned a lot. Hopefully, I am a better writer than I was before, and I know my MLA format has gotten a million times better.

To be honest, I have always wanted to start a blog where I reviewed books, but there was never the so-called “right moment.” If I had not taken this class, I still would not have a blog dedicated to books. At least, I know how to use gifs now!

The theme of my English course was banned books, and many of the books I have reviewed were banned or challenged. I would not have read some of these books like Blood and Chocolate or Julie of the Wolves without the assignment. Am I better from having read these books? I don’t know, man. Julie of the Wolves bored me, and I practically roasted Blood and Chocolate. But I loved Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging and read four of the sequels. I need to get around to reading the fifth book, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel. A little off-topic but the newer realistic covers for the Georgia Nicholson series lose the vibrant, cartoony feel without the illustrations.

Sincere thanks to anyone that has liked, followed, or commented or even just read any of my posts. It’s pleasant to think that someone out there actually enjoys my content.

 

Just so you know (in case, some of you started tearing up) this is not my last post. Yeah, I will continue reading and reviewing. This is just a farewell post for my English class. More reviews to come! I hope you all will stick around.

 

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Book Review #12: Boy X

Boy X by Dan Smith (274 pages), started off terribly slow. I picked this book solely off of its cover because the main character looked like a person of color. I am always ecstatic for some diverse fiction. Unfortunately for me, the story had a doomsday/dystopian feel, which I do not like and explained why in my IMWAYR 3/27/17 post.

“It might help if there is someone to share it with you, someone to strengthen you, but sometimes you have to accept things for what they are- learn to live with them” (pg 51).

STORY:

I was not super enthused with the beginning. It felt like a lot of telling and not enough showing. Also, Isabel just magically appeared like, “Hey boo, I’m ’bout to be a main character.” I understand Ash, the actual main character, did not know anyone, and the first person he saw was her, but I wish their introduction would have been more imaginative.

This is a really dark book for kids due to all the deaths, viruses, and again that dystopian flavor. For me, it teeters between Young Adult and Children’s Fiction because the subject matter is mature, but the writing itself seems like it’s catered to a younger audience than teens.

CHARACTERS:

Ash starts out as a confused kid who does not know anything or himself, really.  To be honest, nothing jumped out to me about Ash’s personality. He was somewhat like a reader-insert because he behaved how the average person would with his circumstances. With that being said, I did not dislike him and I thought his “I am Ash McCarthy” mantra was cute.

Besides Isabel’s boring uneventful introduction, I liked her. She’s been dealt a crazy situation and tried to maneuver through it while being Ash’s emotional support. She was not a damsel-in-distress either.

OVERALL:

“Like a superhero?”

“No.” He felt embarrassed at the suggestion. “Not like that. More like…” He tried to think of a way to explain it. “More like when you play a video game for the second time and it lets you keep all the upgrades” (pg 124).

It took at least a hundred pages for this book to become exciting. I almost dropped it on page 83, but I am glad I stuck with it.

The reveal of what Ash’s mother was really working on in the laboratory, from the mouth of the least-expected person, kept my interest. I think Boy X’s strength was in its climatic moments, which is ironic because most books have better build-ups and bad climaxes

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Book Review #11: I Am Princess X

The presentation for this book is wonderful. The book cover, chapter design, and illustrations are what drew me in. The purple theme is fitting because y’know royalty=princess.

STORY:

“The princess became their alter ego, their avatar, their third best friend” (pg 8).

In I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (256 pages), May and Libby bond over Princess X a character they mutually created in fifth grade, May wrote and Libby drew. Their friendship comes to a drastic halt when Libby passes away in a car crash. May thought Princess X died with her best friend, but apparently, Princess X is very much alive.

“Nobody ever… (pg 172)” [I forgot to write down my favorite quote from the book in its entirety, and I’ve already given the book back to the library. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ ]

Here’s a quote I like from the book, that I actually wrote down:

“The cement turned a satisfying cherry red, like the pavement was bleeding” (pg 1).

I really liked that detail.

So, concerning the story, junk got real very fast. No lie, page nine hits the reader clean in the face. Pfft, it probably rearranged your nose.

I thought  I knew who the great antagonist, Mr. Needleman, was but I was wrong!

CHARACTERS:

I liked reading about these characters a lot.

May was likable but a bit bland. Of course, she knew that as well because Libby’s the one who brought liveliness to their lives.

Libby’s half-Asian (half-Japanese to be exact) so there’s 50¢ of diversity. But, she dies in the first ten pages so…

Anyway, I liked Libby a lot, to the point, I wished she would have narrated the story. For me, May could’ve been Princess X and let Libby shine by herself. Also, there was so little reaction for Libby’s dad.

Patrick was a lot of fun!

My favorite would have to have been Jackdaw! He seemed a bit like an anti-hero. I don’t know many people who would have done as much as he did.

OVERALL:

A pretty good thriller with a few surprises, 4 out of 5 stars! I wanted a cupcake more of suspense, but I acknowledge I had to read this book quickly (before its due date). Maybe I needed more time to ruminate on the ending. And for those who don’t enjoy it, there was NO ROMANCE.

I recommend this book for any teen, though some of the hacking/computer stuff could possibly make someone paranoid.

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Thanks for reading! Check out more of my reviews or my ebook, here!

Book Review #8: Dancer

Ballet has always had a special place in my heart. I took ballet classes for two years, from seven to nine years old, and I loved it. Grand jeté was my favorite move. My earliest memories of ballet were the Alvin Ailey Dancers and numerous Russian ballerinas. This story really brought me a sense of nostalgia.

Story:

“I didn’t finish the thought. Instead, I imagined us dancing together, his walking around me in a slow promenade, looking into my eyes” (pg 94)

In Dancer by Lori Hewitt (214 pages), Stephanie had been passed up for the role of a lifetime, to be Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) in a ballet play. She starts contemplating the many difficulties in ballet and begins to doubt herself. Not to mention her parents don’t think she will have any longevity as a ballerina, a black ballerina at that. Stephanie gets tired being the only one who believes she can accomplish her dream until she meets the lustrous Miss Winnie, a woman who embodies all the ballerina Stephanie wants to be.

I really want to give a handclap to Hewitt for including beautiful female friendships. She realistically shows the pettiness, insecurity, and loving nature girls can have toward one another.

Dancer had some authentically realistic moments. One scene, in particular, left me with a great quote:

“Maybe I could be her friend, but I couldn’t help her solve her problems” (pg 205)

I enjoyed the tinge of romance as well though I wanted just a glass more.

CHARACTERS:

I like Stephanie because she’s relatable. She is insecure about her talent, her future, and even a little bit about herself. Stephanie even acknowledges that she has an inner ugly voice that thinks rude things. The situation she had with the three private school girls, Lisa, Kelly, and Gillian, is all too real.

“On Saturday night, when Lisa was out with her boyfriend and I was supposedly having a slumber party, I sat at home sewing ribbons on a new pair of pointe shoes and was in bed by ten o’clock” (pg 38)

Most people know that feeling when you agree or get involve in something you had no plans in due to pressure, not even from wanting to fit in but just not to say the wrong thing.

Vance is cool. He reminds me Monty, from my favorite book Standing Against the Wind, but a lot rougher around the edges. He’s more than what meets the eye and he is very conceited but sweet. I wish he spoke his feelings more in the book because I wanted to know what he was thinking.

The mentor character is one that I have always liked, so Miss Winnie was great in my opinion. The descriptions of her outfits seemed so pretty too.

Also, I sympathize with Anna. She simply just did her job well. It was not like she was trying to be the teacher’s pet.

The character development with Gillian was a nice one. It’s nice that Lisa and Kelly were not shoehorned into to flat mean girls roles as well.

OVERALL:

I was deeply engrossed in this book and its characters, so five out of five stars from me. I am not sure if this is a book you read once and it stays with you, or a book you read over and over. Either way, it’s a book you have to read.

I might have to add this one to my bookshelf.

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Book Review#7: Julie of the Wolves

Y’all I did not like this story. I understand it’s a widely-loved book, but it was not for me. There are three parts to the story, so I am going to split the review into portions.

“Somewhere in this cosmos was Miyax; and the very life in her body, its spark and warmth, depended upon these wolves for survival. And she was not sure they would help” (pg 6).

STORY:

PART 1-

In Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead (170 pg), I did not care about Miyax naming all those wolves. “I will name you Jello,  and you Silver, and you this, and you that…” Girl, please stop talking. The entire beginning of the book Miyax/Julie learns from wolves. Now, I like wolves a lot (they are beautiful and dangerous) but it got boring to read about their antics. Anyway, Miyax’s father, Kapugen, is missing and presumed dead but his words stay with Miyax always. She finds an adoptive father figure in a wolf named Amaroq.

Personally, I just could not find any excitement in this book. Miyax being a child bride was vaguely interesting.

PART 2-

I knew Daniel, the child groom of Miyax, was creepy when he was first introduced. A certain scene when he tried to force himself onto Miyax solidified that. Thankfully nothing happened but, gosh I was just as disturbed as her. Also, I’m not sure if the book was hinting that Daniel had a mental disability or just extreme paranoia.

PART 3-

“He walked you out all the way to seal camp,” Martha told her. “And he never did anything after that” (pg 76).

A close friend of Miyax’s dies and she discovers her father’s aftermath. Needless to say, I was not impressed. To be honest, I mean Miyax did not have much of a reaction either just, “okay, I’m going to San Franciso.”

OVERALL:

I was excited to read some diverse fiction, but Julie of the Wolves disappointed me. I want to say it’s because I am not in the intended age range, but I have read countless kids’ books that I enjoyed. Concerning the art, I liked the wolf illustrations but not the human ones. The artwork is made up of quick pen hatch lines, so when it comes to human eyes, they look like full black ovals. ¡No está bien!

Yeah, I don’t really recommend this, but it is a fast read.

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Book Review #6: The Blazing Star

Black people in fantasy settings?

STORY:

“I peered up to him now, knowing my eyes were moons, swallowed in the reflection of his. I’d only kissed a boy named Benjamin in the sandbox in kindergarten, but this wouldn’t be a sandbox kiss” (pg 208).

In The Blazing Star by Imani Josey (286 pg), initially, everything starts normally. Portia White, the main character, is tired of coordinating her entire life to match her academic twin sister, Alex. She has a crush on a half Afro-Cuban boy, Jaden, who unfortunately only sees her as a friend. During a series of events and one persistent high school freshman, Portia, Alex, and Selene, the freshman, get transported to Ancient Egypt.

These girls took being transported to ancient Egypt too well with minimum to no freaking out, which is not very realistic but I am thankful for that. I would’ve just skipped the filler pages anyway. Okay, I’m going to be nit-picky. I always feel like characters ate stupid-flakes when it takes them forever to realize they are in the past/future.

This story confused me because so much happened. Honestly, I was lost 75% of the time. The barrage of characters throughout the story is a lot. Although the names are beautiful, they are hard to remember and referenced very little. I kept forgetting who was talking.

I cannot vouch for how accurate any of the Egyptian setting and info are in the book. If it’s not Pharaoh and Moses, Queen Cleopatra, or Anubis I don’t know.

CHARACTERS:

Nothing about Portia sticks out to me. She’s sharp-tongued and wanted to be independent apart from her sister but not much else. Portia also irks me with her modern-day references. I guess it’s a running gag but I wish she would stop.

“The electric slide,” I said unable to contain the laughter anymore. “We like it for special occasions: weddings, birthdays, anytime Just Like Candy by Cameo plays” (pg 205).

Portia, what is this foolery!?! Why are you mentioning Cameo (I love their candy song by the way)? Girl, you not in 2017, so get your junk together. 

Concerning Alex, she doesn’t fare much better in making me actually care about her. She’s brainy and takes over too much. The end.

But, Selene I adore her! She’s cheeky, soft, and adorable albeit a little annoying like a sister. Maybe the book would’ve been better from her point of view with the White sisters as side characters.

I like Seti. He’s smug without being a jerk, which is not easily done. Even though Seti is handsome, funny, and laid back, he is a flat character. I want a little more character development centered on something besides his royalty. His feelings for Portia are insta-love. It would’ve been better for him to be intrigued by Portia and gradually begin to like her. It took THREE encounters for them to do intimate slow dancing. Don’t get me wrong. Again, I like Seti and his insta-love with Portia. I should not because neither he or his love is fleshed out enough but I do.

“I turned from him, disappearing as Cinderella would, but with both slippers in tow” (pg 209).

“All day I was light, feminine, as if whatever I touched would turn to sighing flowers” (pg 13).

I like those lines!

OVERALL:

The Blazing Star was just okay, but I’m interested in reading the sequel. Hopefully, a lot of confusion and characters will respectively be made clear and developed. This book gets like a 2.5 out of 5 or 3 out of 5 from me.

Still, I absolutely adored the ending conversation Portia had with that boy. It made me stop to giggle.

Give this book a try. You won’t be blown away but you might enjoy yourself. Completely unrelated but the author is so pretty.

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Book Review #5: Blood and Chocolate

 

I had to read a banned book for school, so I chose this one from the list.

STORY:

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Klause (264 Pages) is about a werewolf girl, Vivian, who falls in love with a human boy. In the beginning, Vivian has concerns about her werewolf pack. The boys are becoming murderous and her mother is becoming callous and using sexual escapades to hide her grief. To add to Vivian’s worry, most of her pack is dead. She desires non-werewolf friends because her wolf friends see her only as a mate. But, one day a boy at her school writes a poem about werewolves and she becomes drawn to him.

Vivian immediately becomes attracted (very sexually attracted as well) to Aiden, a meat-boy (read: human) because he’s not like other boys. He’s a gothic hipster so I will give Vivian that one. Aiden’s not the usual love interest but he is human, a prerequisite for any supernatural YA romance. Aiden and Vivian’s relationship is insta-love. I mean how is someone your soulmate and you have only known the person less than a month? Also, Vivian was in heat every single page for Aiden when he’s present.

Toward that super climatic point, I felt strong second-hand embarrassment. Embarrassment for Aiden. Embarrassment for Vivian. Embarrassment for everyone!

This story is interesting and creates anticipation well. What’s going to happen next? Who’s going to be pack leader? When will Aiden find out his girlfriend is a mythical creature who howls at the moon? Despite me not liking most of the characters, these questions kept me turning the page. Blood and Chocolate was not a book I liked but a book I wanted to finish.

So, I liked the actual plot and tried to figure the ending out. The surprise murder mystery was fun.

What did I dislike? For some reason, I got a bit confused whether Vivian was in wolf or human form. I did not really care for most of the characters, which leads into the next section.

CHARACTERS:

In the first twenty pages, Vivian seems a bit Mary-sueish. She has a perfect French accent, all her teachers love her, and she’s beautiful, so ungodly beautiful that it intimidates everyone. Vivian comes off basic at times and she immediately sees girls and dislikes them. I mean… How do you dislike someone from a simple glance? I did not like Vivian but I tolerated her because the plot revolved around her.

Also, why is Vivian’s narrative mad corny?  Like what were those lines?

Quotes:

“Because I’m a pirate of the night and I want to see who’s trespassing in my territory” (pg 22).

“I’ll put a few more runs in those tights, honey if you look at me like that again” (pg 23).

“What red lips you have, he said in her ear.

“All the better to kiss you with, my dear,” she replied (pg 51).

“I thought you would grab what I am with both of your hands and eat me up” (pg 192).

Girl bye.

The Five, Vivian’s childhood werewolf friends, are rambunctious and forgettable. They all act like jerks. I did like Willem, the only decent one.

Esmé, Vivian’s mom, was okay. She was a  waitress and a proud cougar and loved her boy toys. Still, she had not gotten over the grief of her husband. Eh, I kind of liked her.

Aiden, I just did not care about. I was indifferent to his friends too.

I guess Gabriel’s my favorite. He had those creepy anti-personal-space issues but he’s the only one that qualified as likable. I have a soft spot for bad boys, who are more than what meets the eye (Disclaimer: This applies to fiction only). I liked his backstory, but I am not sure how I felt about the aftermath. I mean this guy is still a creep, who preys on underage girls and jams his tongue down their throats when he feels like it. You guys see why I am conflicted?

OVERALL:

This book had so much drama!

For all of Aiden and Vivian’s insta-love qualities, I liked that Klause handled the relationship realistically.

Would I reread this? No. Would I read a sequel? No. Despite the characters, did I enjoy the rollercoaster of emotions and absolute cringeworthiness? Yes. Most definitely. Do I recommend this book? Heck no!

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Monday: What I’m Reading Now 2/20/17

Happy Monday! Unless, of course, you’re like Garfield and hate Mondays.

Last week, I had been super busy with my college workload. I had to learn a skit for my Spanish class, pull an all-nighter to finish a history paper, and do some edits on an English paper. Hopefully, I will see the fruits of my labor this week?

Spring break seems so far away. In the fall semester, I had so many holidays and days of school off. I want to work on my stories, my art, and my study for driving. If I don’t laze around too much this break, I want to try and get my license. I wanted to get my license last winter break, but I was too lazy. For me, it seems like it would be difficult to study for all my classes and then try to remember information for the written car test.

Anyway, enough of that irrelevant junk!

What I’m reading now:

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Klause

Unique title. I’m going to be disappointed if chocolate has no relevance to the story. Maybe the author wanted to use “sweet blood” but thought it would sound too vampire-ish?

So far, I have read 120 pages and Vivian’s still not too likable to me. I will explain why in my upcoming Blood and Chocolate review.

Here’s a decent quote from the book (there are a lot of corny and cringeworthy ones to skim through):

“It was then she realized that she didn’t know how to make friends.”

I hope the story’s ending leaves me with a good impression. Cause right now…

What I Read Last Week:

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor

This was a fun and imaginative read. If you like seeing shy characters become more confident and fantasy elements, then consider this book.

Bye!

Kidlit version hosted by Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers and Jen of Teach Mentor Texts; original version hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

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