Books Made Into Movies
The Isle of the Lost by Melissa De La Cruz
Book Description:
Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that’s been left to rot and forgotten by the world.
But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon’s eye: the key to true darkness and the villains’ only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it…who will it be?
Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.
Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent’s daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon’s eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.
Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen’s daughter, Evie, doesn’t know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she’s a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal’s little tricks.
Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he’s not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon’s eye.
Carlos: Cruella de Vil’s son may not be bravest, but he’s certainly clever. Carlos’s inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon’s eye and ending the banishment for good.
Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon’s eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She’ll just need a little help from her “friends.” In their quest for the dragon’s eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain’t so bad.
My Rating: 5/5
Hands down. If you’re a Once Upon A Time TV Series/Disney nut/magical geek like myself, then definitely grab this book (as if you already needed convincing after you’ve SEEN THAT BEAUTIFUL BOOK JACKET – what the heck is that?!). I had originally intended on grabbing another book that day, but the cover of this book drew me in and once I read that jacket and found out it was about some of Disney’s best evil villain’s children – what?! SUPER DUPER SOLD! Definitely a younger read, but it’s fun.
I absolutely love the idea of this book! Not only are there the 4 main characters mentioned above, but there’s random “guest” appearances throughout the story and every time they introduced another, I would just “EEEEEE!!” with excitement! This was definitely a fun blast-to-the-past read for me.
**Fun Fact: I found SO many errors from spelling to grammar to extra words.. doesn’t take away from the book but it’ll make you giggle. See if you can spot them!
Happy Reading! xo
Divergent Series Wrap Up
Series Description:
Divergent: One choice can transform you. This debut is a gripping dystopian tale of electrifying choices, powerful consequences, unexpected romance, and a deeply flawed “perfect society.”
Insurgent: One choice can destroy you. This story continues the dystopian thrill ride. As war surges in the factions all around her, Tris attempts to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Allegiant: The explosive conclusion to the Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers.
Four: A Divergent Collection: A companion volume to the Divergent series, told from the perspective of Tobias. The four pieces included—”The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” “The Son,” and “The Traitor”—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers a fascinating glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy.
My Rating: 5/5
Some might argue that Four: A Divergent Collection should not be included in the series. Do you need to read it? Absolutely not. But if you’re a fan of Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant than I must urge you to grab this companion novel. To me, it IS apart of the series – it gives you insight on some scenes throughout the trilogy that will may you go, “ahhh – that’s why he did that!”
This series is a series that will stay on my bookshelf probably forever. If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner series, there’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t enjoy what Veronica Roth has to offer. And it’s set in Chicago gaiz, greatest city everrr 😛 (Yes, I’m biased). You will be taken on an emotional roller coaster, you will experience heart pounding action, you get romance, you get breathtaking scenery. Everything you could want in a YA/Dystopian novel, you get that and more. I personally hope we get to read more of Veronica Roth in the future :] Thank you for taking me on an incredible adventure, Mrs. Roth!
Here are my links to each separate review:
Thanks for reading! :]
2015 October Wrap Up
Total Books = 7
Average Rating = 4
Overall, a great month for reading! 😀
1.) City of Words by Steven J. Carroll – 3.5/5
2.) Allegiant by Veronica Roth – 5/5
3.) Four by Veronica Roth – 4/5
4.) The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin – 4/5
5.) Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – 5/5
6.) Breed by Chase Novak – 3/5
7.) Far Far Away by Tom McNeal – 3.5/5
How many books did you get through this colorful month?
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Book Description:
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature – and of herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.
My Rating: 5/5
I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me. -pg. 372
#troof
I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HYPE WAS ABOUT WITH THIS ENDING!! It was amazing! It was beautiful, sad, happy, depressing…. it was predictable yet unpredictable. It’s the reason why I went from giving this book a 4.5/5 to a 5/5.
That ending made the whole book worth the read. Not that it wasn’t worth reading, but if you thought Insurgent started out slow then you’re in for a treat – Allegiant’s EVEN SLOWER :D!!! But as with Insurgent, I do not mind a slow read within this series because it is so well written and I am so invested in these characters and their life that just got turned upside down that I want no details left out – and they weren’t!
The interesting thing about this book (ACTUALLY everything’s interesting about this book) is that it’s written in dual perspective. We’re not just getting Tris, but also Tobias. At first, I liked the idea. But then as I was reading, I kept forgetting I was reading under Tobias at times until I was reminded and then I felt like I had to replay everything in my head. I really thought this was going to mess up the book for me. But it didn’t. IF YOU HAD THIS PROBLEM, IT WILL GET BETTER AND YOU WILL READ UNDER BOTH OF THEM WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT, I PROMISE!! And when you get to the end, you’ll see why she wrote it this way. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way ❤
Even though I got use to this, I still battle with myself as to whether or not I like it. I do like seeing into Tobias’ mind but I also feel this makes him more vulnerable (as it would with anyone), but I feel like this kind of ruined my image of him in a way. He just didn’t seem as fearless anymore. Even though he had his 4 fears, he still hid behind them fairly well. And when you’re in his head, those fears are exposed. So it’s not that I disliked it I guess, it’s just having to paint another picture of the person I had come to know.
And if there were ever a quote that I could wholeheartedly relate to, it would be this:
Sometimes all I want is to be a few inches taller so the world does not look like a sense collection or torsos. -pg. 452
#supatroof – gaiz, I’m like. . 5’1. . .
There are 2 scenes in this book that really impacted my book rating:
1.) The explosion. That scene was written so incredibly well – I can’t wait to see this scene come to life on the big screen!
2.) Another one that they BETTER IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM TOUCH THIS IN THE MOVIE OR I WILL HUNT DEM DOWN – The VERY ending (for spoiler’s sake, I’m gonna hold back on this review because it’s not worth ruining for someone). HOLY CRAP, HOW BEAUTIFUL WAS THIS IF YOU READ IT?! What a perfect ending to such tragedy. What an honor, ugh, out of everything that led up to this point, THIS IS WHAT MADE ME CRY! But happy tears! The second I closed this book, I had tears in my eyes, the biggest smile on my face and the book resting against my forehead. After what felt like a lifetime, I finally let out a big sigh of “time to move on” and “wow…… what an awesome ending….” and then shouted to my unlistening husband: “ON TO FOUR!!” 😀
I can not wait for this movie! I loved Divergent and Insurgent so much – I just got done watching the Allegiant trailer and I GOTS GOOSEBUMPS GAIZ! I dunno if I’m ready, I mean I’m definitely ready like now, but I dunno if I can handle seeing this ><; !!!
This is the trailer I watched (if you haven’t seen the other movies, it gives a brief summary of them):
So yeah, if you didn’t get it by now – READ THIS BOOK! (I will do a series wrap up in the near future which I will link once published)
Insurgent (Movie Edition) **WARNING: Kind Of Spoiler-y**
Directed by Robert Schwentke
My Rating: 4/5
I’d like to start by saying apart from the book, I enjoyed this movie wholeheartedly and if I did not read books, it would easily get a 5/5! But because I DID read the book and because, well, this is a book blog with book-to-film comparison reviews, I can not give it a 5/5 sadly :[
I feel like with this movie, they changed way too much. The further you get into the movie, the more it strays from the book itself.
We see this in the very beginning of the movie when Tris, Tobias and Peter make it to Amity. One of the scenes added to the movie that was NOT in the book was Peter betraying Tris and Tobias and the Amity compound. When Eric and the rest of the Dauntless traitors show up for an unexpected raid, Peter, Tris and Tobias are caught upstairs with nowhere to go. Once they decide their only option is to climb out of a window to escape, Peter claims he’ll be the lookout for them until he shouts at Eric that they’re all upstairs and he needs to come get them quick (as if he wasn’t a runner himself…??). Can anyone say c-o-w-a-r-d. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy this scene. I really did, that cheeky bastard. I love to hate Peter. BUT it wasn’t in the book!
![Kate Winslet and Shailene Woodley in a scene from the motion picture "The Divergent Series: Insurgent." CREDIT: Andrew Cooper, Lionsgate [Via MerlinFTP Drop]](https://thenerdybookmark.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/tris-box-scene.jpg?w=705&h=461)
They also tweaked the scenes where Tris is getting tested to open to box. In the book, the machine Tris is hooked up to is no where near as intricate or spider like as they painted it in the movie. Again, nothing I disliked, just NOT IN THE BOOK.
Oh and can we talk about Tris and Tobias? Their relationship in this book in particular was confusing. They had only recently met, fell “in love” and were now arguing with each other. Wuuuut?? Das a lil cray and completely unrealistic. But they did not decide to go this route for the movie. Instead, Tris and Tobias seem to be their same happy go lucky selves in a shitty “Imma keel yew” world. Now this is one thing I’m glad they didn’t portray into the movie BECAUSE IT WAS AWKWARD TO READ! They should not have been in that state throughout the book, IMO.
Now I know there was a lot of nonsense written throughout Insurgent that they wouldn’t/couldn’t have the time for, therefore, screenwriters have to condense and make the story make sense, which means, adding new scenes or tweaking for the sake of visual stimulation so I am not going to be too harsh with this one because I was not angry with this movie. At all. It was still a fantastic watch and I would recommend it to both readers and non readers a like! GO SEE THIS MOVIE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY!
Divergent (Movie Edition)
Directed by Neil Burger
My Rating: 6/5
Wonderfully exciting, thrilling ride to the very end! The casting is spot on – the story is almost identical to the book; I can’t imagine anyone who read the book being disappointed with this movie. I’ve watched it several times and it’s just as stimulating as the first time!
If anything, I think the movie tweaked some scenes, brace yourself, for the better *gasp* *ohmahgawdnoshediint*
For example, the breathtaking zip line scene. When I read this part in the book, I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was a neat idea anddd that was about it. When I saw this scene come to life though – whoa man – I got chills. It was not only gorgeous, but I really feel that they made it more “Dauntless.” As you may or may not know, in the book, they glide down without a care in the world but in the movie, they are forced to pull their own brake lever or risk getting SPLAT against the wall at the bottom. I’m not gonna lie, I panicked a bit for Tris when her Dauntless buddies were yelling up at her to remind her to pull the brake. WHAT A SCARY SCENE if you really put yourself in her position! The cinematography in that scene alone was perfectly executed. I especially enjoyed riding down with Tris – thank you for sharing that!
The other scene that I specifically enjoyed better in the movie was the scene where Christina gets punished. Another scene made more “Dauntless” by Eric’s definition than how the book played it out. In the book, Christina climbs over the rail and is told to hang there for 5 minutes. Yes, stressful, yes, nerve wracking as the waves hit her. But having her THROWN over the rail instead of climbing herself by the person who’s punishing her in the first place? BRAVO GUYS! That’s exactly the kind of spicing up this scene needed!
The casting was great, the movie was spectacular. All in all, I was more than pleased and would recommend this movie to anyone who read the book or anyone who didn’t read the books but wants an action packed, thrilling movie with a little bit of romance thrown into the mix!
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Book Description:
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . .
. . .or it might destroy her.
My Rating: 6/5… 10/5…
Oh my goodness this book is UH-MAZING!! I flew through this thing, I could not put it down! I nabbed the 2nd book right away, Insurgent. Divergent leaves you on edge throughout. Every chapter leaves you wanting to know what happens next. The main character Tris is so inspiring and just really makes me want to get out there and conquer some fears of mine. And Four…. oh Four ❤ Even though I’m married, it’s okay to have a fictional boyfriend, right? This book has great character development, I’m not sure there’s a character in here that I wasn’t excited to hear about and see where their story goes. I swear Veronica Roth could make side books on anyone in this story. I’d buy every single one. And as far as movie/book comparison goes: SEE THE MOVIE! What a great book-to-screen adaptation! They really didn’t leave out too much. They manipulated a few scenes for the film (one in particular being the zip line scene) which I surprisingly enjoyed the film rendition way better… they definitely made it more thrilling and more “dauntless.” (Will post a link when I write the movie-to-book review). I could talk about this book all day, definitely pick it up if you haven’t!
2015 September Bookhaul
First Ever Bookhaul of September 2015!
SO MANY BEWKS, SO LITTLE TIME! And to think I was holding back because I had to purchase plane tickets to visit home next month. I’d hate for you guys to see what I can do when I’m not holding back heh… heh…. YEAH SO… I’ll have a list below of each book pictured, where I got them, paperback or hardcover, special editions and how much my total purchase at each place was! If you have any more questions – or comments – about this month’s haul, please feel free to leave/ask them below 😀
Total Books: 29 (30 if you count both books in the 2-in-1)
Total Amount Spent: $128
BookOutlet = $42 (includes shipping)
1. ) A World Without Princes, Bk.2 (School for Good and Evil) by Soman Chainani; hardcover
2.) Beautiful Redemption, Bk.4 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; paperback
3.) Everneath, Bk.1 (Everneath Series) by Brodi Ashton; paperback
4.) Everbound, Bk. 2 (Everneath Series) by Brodi Ashton; paperback
5.) Far Far Away By Tom McNeal; paperback
6.) Frostfire, Bk. 1 (Kanin Chronicles) by Amanda Hocking; paperback
7.) Hemlock, Bk. 1 (Hemlock Series) by Kathleen Peacock; paperback
8.) The Bone Season, Bk. 1 (The Bone Season) by Samantha Shannon; hardcover
9.) The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow; hardcover
10.) The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin; hardcover
11.) The Nethergrim by Matthew Jobin; hardcover
Amazon = $20 (free shipping @ $35 – also bought a DBZ Pop Vinyl for my main squeeze)
1.) Allegiant, Bk. 3 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; hardcover
2.) Four (Companion Novel to the Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; signed hardcover
The Book Exchange (my local 1/2 price bookstore) = $28 (including tax)
1.) The Maze Runner, Bk. 1 (Maze Runner Series) by James Dashner; paperback
2.) The Scorch Trials, Bk. 2 (Maze Runner Series) by James Dashner; paperback
3.) City of Bones, Bk. 1 (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare; paperback
4.) Divergent, Bk. 1 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; paperback
5.) Insurgent, Bk. 2 (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth; hardcover
6.) Lord of the Clans, Bk. 2 (WarCraft) by Christie Golden; paperback
7.) Beautiful Darkness, Bk. 2 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margart Stohl
8.) The Lightning Thief, Bk. 1 (Percy Jackson & The Olympians) by Rick Riordan, paperback
Barnes & Noble = $38 (including tax)
1.) Beautiful Creatures, Bk. 1 (Caster Chronicles/Beautiful Creatures Series) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; paperback
2.) Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea? by Chelsea Handler; paperback
3.) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick; paperback
4.) Undead (2-in-1/Night of the Living Dead & Return of the Living Dead) by John Russo; paperback
5.) Breed by Chase Novak; paperback
6.) The Isle of the Lost (A Descendants Novel) by Melissa De La Cruz; hardcover
Giveaway Books = (free)
1.) Waking the Dead by L. Sydney Fisher; signed paperback
2.) City of Words by Steven J. Carroll;signed paperback
Beautiful Creatures (Movie Edition) **WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**
Directed By Richard LaGravenese
My Rating: 10/5
Hands down one of my favorite movies! I will admit, I saw this way before I read the book and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. I watched it like 10 times and it may or may not have been back to back… andddd I just watched it again. I STILL GETS THE GOOSEBUMPS GAIZ!! This movie is visually stunning, it’s exciting, sweet, intense, hilarious, all of the things you could want out of a fantasy type movie. I dare say, I think I enjoyed the movie better than the book. Don’t get me wrong, as you can see from my previous review, the book is great, go read it. I just thought the movie was laid out better and here’s why:
#1.) The movie is way more intense than the book. A great example of this is the character Ridley. Yes, she IS portrayed as a Dark Caster, but in the book, Ethan admits that he didn’t take her as seriously as he should have. She almost sounds like a little girl doing “naughty” things such as her blowing out speakers at the school dance. Not exactly frightening. But in the movie, there’s no taking Ridley for anything but Dark. For example, the first time we meet Ridley here, she takes control over a highway trooper and makes him run his car off the road. Now this is someone I would not want anything to do with.
#2.) Not only was the movie more brutal, it was also HILARIOUS! Book Ethan was already a charmer but movie Ethan had me cracking up almost the entire time, they couldn’t have chosen a better cast:
Lena: …..My family’s…… different….
Ethan: Different how?
Lena: We do things… we do *different* things…
Ethan: So, what – you’re from Europe?
LAWLZ! My husband was face deep in his phone and he even chuckled at this part.
#3.) Okay this one doesn’t necessarily make me like the movie better, I just thought this was a good decision on the movie maker’s part. As you may know (you probably do if you’re reading a SPOILER review), Ethan and Lena communicate with their thoughts throughout the book. I loved this, I thought it was a sweet connection that they shared, but I’m glad they left this out of the movie. I think it would’ve made it really awkward. Anytime I’ve seen a movie where they can hear someone’s thoughts, it just looks so unnatural. Not saying spinning tables and causing lighting bolts to hit the ground near you is natural, but I think you get what I mean. So yeah, high five to whoever made that call!
#4.) Lena erases Ethan’s memory of her once she discovers what it’ll cost in order for her to lift the curse. GENIUS IDEA!! I really wish this were in the book! It was SO EMOTIONAL, GAH! I don’t know how Lena does it, I understand the circumstance but that would be SO RIDONKULOUSLY HARD to erase any memory of you from the person you love, THE PERSON YOU’RE MEANT TO BE WITH! Which leads me to….
#5.) The ending. Holy crap, the ending is AMAZEBALLS!!! My heart breaks for Lena, especially when Ethan drops by the library before he leaves for his college tour with Link. But as Link and Ethan are driving out of town, Ethan takes one last look at the “leaving Gatlin” sign and suddenly HE REMEMBERS HER!! I get goosebumps every time I see this scene, it is my favorite in the entire movie. It makes me so happy, I feel like a kid in a candy store! What a killer way to end this movie! But it also makes me so upset!! They have no plans to make a second movie and I yearn to see a 2nd movie. With the same actors and director. I wish I were a Siren like Ridley. I would use my power and persuade every single one of those people who worked on this film to finish the entire series just for me. I mean, come on, you can’t leave me hanging like that and not do anything *sobs* I wish I hated this movie because it hurts more knowing I won’t get another :'[
Now on to a few things I don’t necessarily care for that they changed in the movie:
#1.) Revealing Seraphine’s hidden identity early on. One of the twists towards the end of the book was the big reveal of Seraphine hiding in Mrs. Lincoln so it kind of was a bummer that they didn’t leave that for surprise, BUT I didn’t hate how they did it. It was still shocking nonetheless and they made her so sinister and sassy that it was nice to experience that throughout a majority of the film.
#2.) Ethan getting shot. Okay this one was a bummer. I did not like this. At all. I think Seraphine stabbing Ethan was WAY more dramatic than Link accidentally shooting him with the bullet Ridley gave him. How did this movie that made the book become more exciting manage to dull this part down? Meh bleh blech. No bueno guys.
I didn’t mind that they left out Boo, Macon’s dog, or Marian, the actual librarian. I think Boo was a fun extra in the book to read about, but nothing significant enough to bring to film. And as far as Marian, I think they did a great job blending this character into Amma. It worked very well.
All in all, I will never understand how this movie didn’t do as well as it had hoped for and I will forever be heartbroken that it’s all I get. Call me crazy, call me blind, I don’t care, this movie will always have a place in my heart and my secret fangirl world.
Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Book Description:
Is falling in love the beginning . . . or the end?
In Ethan Wate’s hometown there lies the darkest of secrets . . .
There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head . . . Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes.
There is a curse. On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it’s been promised. And no one can stop it.
In the end, there is a grave.
Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.
My Rating: 4/5
“Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures.”
THIS QUOTE THOUGH!! AGH! I gots the chills reading that for the first time! I find when books incorporate the title into the story, it’s either really exciting like this one was for me or reallllllly lame. Not to mention the timing; I like how it was held off till the near ending of the book. Great job with this one ladies!
I recommend this for:
Fantasy/Magic lovers!
I adore this book SO much. I might have been influenced though because I saw the movie (like 10 times) before I read the book. I LOVE the movie!! The book itself was fantastic. It was in-depth and it made me feel like I was right there in Gatlin alongside Lena and Ethan. Like I was Boo following them around, I literally felt like the eyes of this dog that they talk about so much. I also really enjoyed that they took a typical southern small town setting and threw in this new world that would shake it up. I’ve been to small towns, I have family that live in small towns, they hit the nail on the head with this. Oh and the term “Casters” sounds so sophisticated/intellectual/mature/respectable, I would rather be a “caster” than a “witch” being I’m light or dark; good or evil. I already feel so much more respected being labeled a “caster.” The only thing I can come up with as to why this story is so controversial (and by that I mean why there’s so many mixed reviews as to how many people enjoy this book and how much more dislike it) is because it is a slow read. I feel you really have to use your imagination to get lost in this book, which is why I said I might have been influenced because I had a lot of the images filled in for me already. But at the same time, it’s why I enjoyed it! I got so much more out of the book than from the film. Details, details, details!
Another thing that I noticed quite a few negative reviews mentioned was Lena and Ethan’s relationship. I personally feel people judged this way too harshly. It sounds like a pretty normal high school relationship to me. You have one kid, Ethan, who lives in a small town where he knows everyone and everyone knows him. Then Lena moves in to town. Any and every one is going to be interested in her because SHE’S NEW. Ethan just so happens to be the one that gets her attention (him being drawn to her helps) and of course she’s stand offish at first! Who wouldn’t be if you were put in her shoes? Eventually when Lena let’s her guard down, they’re able to build a connection. And like ANY high schooler, Lena feels the need to push Ethan away, not because she wants to but because she has some insecurities, these being her not knowing her future of going light or dark. And like anyone who’s been in love, especially for the first time, will chase after that. SO COME ON, lighten up people. One last thing I have to rant on is people saying that this book is just bad writing. It’s one thing to dislike a book, but it’s a low ball to claim something as “bad writing” when it’s just not. There are plenty of books out there that I can’t stand, literally, would rather use as toilet paper or a fire starter than to read it ever again, but I would never put down the writing. Not saying it’s always the case though because I have read a few that I swear must’ve been a joke. Oh and can we talk about that ending?! Whaaaat?! I won’t give away any details but be prepared for multiple curve balls! With all that being said, I stand by this book. The writing is great, the story telling is captivating, it has good morale, it’s relatable AND IT HAS MAGIC, what more could you want?! 😀 I can’t wait to see what happens with Lena and Ethan in book 2 (Beautiful Darkness)!
TheNerdyBookmark 