Author Archives: Nicole G.

Book vs. Movie: The Fault in Our Stars

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fault_bookvsmovieI believe everything wonderful there is to say about John Green’s The Fault in Our Starts has already stated several times over, not only on this site, but everywhere. Although it doesn’t need repeating, this is an incredibly powerful story about the star-crossed love between Hazel Grace and Augustus. The movie had to live up to a bestselling book, not to mention the large dedicated fan base that has high expectations, and it did not disappoint.

How to describe the movie? It was grand. Like a roller coaster that only goes up, the movie will make you feel all the things. Being in a movie theater on opening weekend is a very different experience than reading a book alone at your leisure.The particular theater I was in consisted mainly of teenage girls in blue sweatshirts with the little okay bubbles. The theater was split between the people who screamed at everything from the title to Augustus raising an eyebrow and the people who told the screamers to be quiet so they could watch the movie. Both groups just had different ways of showing their excitement.

For anyone out there who believes that they shouldn’t read/watch The Fault in Our Stars because it’s a cancer story or a stupid romance novel is misinformed. This is a story about love between two teenagers who just happen to have cancer. They both have their own quirks, Augustus looking for metaphors and Hazel using words like harmartia (fatal flaw).

Now to the differences from the book to the movie. They were minor and never took away from the feeling. These details include Augustus telling Hazel she looks like a specific actress (in order for her to come over and see a movie), Augustus telling Hazel he wrote his number in the book he lent her (which I always thought was so cute), Hazel’s friend she met at the mall that one time, Hazel informing Isaac she got super-hot after his procedure, Augustus’s former girlfriend, the naming/selling of the swing set, (and probably several more details I failed to notice). I think I only noticed these things because I was looking for them. Otherwise, all the great quotes to love and the moments that are shared remain the same.

Is the movie or the book better? Usually is a simple answer: the book. But this is not the case. Not that I’m saying that the movie is obviously superior either. Both the movie and the book tell the same story, just through different medias. If at all possible, I’d suggest both reading the book and watching the movie because only doing one is just okay. Okay?

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Short Stories And What They Could Be

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Short stories are somewhat out of style. Who cares about a short book when there is a full length novel to read? Recently, however hard they are to find, I have discovered their appeal. They encompass a moment of a character’s life, a scene that can be taken out of context of the overall story that gives a glimpse at an author’s style, the situation the characters are in, and who those characters are.

life_before_legendWhat that short story is can vary. There are the prequel stories that give background to the full story. Life before Legend by Marie Lu shows June and Day back when they were twelve, giving insight on the great characters they would grow to be. This kind of short story could be read before to discover the series or read after when you just never want it to end. Or in the middle, like I did.

grim_short_storiesSometimes short stores are collected together into a book, linked together by an underlying common thread. Grim, written by way too many authors (this is by no means a bad thing), contains all sorts of twists on fairy-tales, some darker, using the bare minimum from the source, while others are an inventive retelling, staying true to the fairy-tale it came from. The best part of a collection of short stories is the variety. Even if you don’t like one author or story, a few pages later, there’s a new one. There is the flip side, of course, when it ends too soon, but I think that’s kind of the point. They aren’t supposed to have a satisfying ending; the taste of potential always makes you want more.

free_fourAnother possibility short stories present is insight into another character’s mind, especially from first person point-of-view novels. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story takes, obviously, the perspective of Four (or Tobais, but I’m going with Four) from Veronica Roth’s Divergent in the knife throwing scene. I don’t want to ruin anything by saying anything else about it. These types of short stories give other characters a chance for the reader to see their thoughts and mindset for a change. It’s nice to know how other character think and perceive the same situation differently.

Just like full length novels, some short stories are better than others. Find something that interests you and give short stories a chance. They won’t take long to read.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book List: Invisible Teens

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Have you wanted to be invisible? I know I have. Here are a couple different teenagers born with invisibility (the not-able-to-turn-visible-at-will kind of invisibility) who know it can be either a gift… or a curse.

transparent_coverTransparent by Natalie Whipple

“The doctors don’t really know how it works, except that the mutation affects my pigment. They have a few theories, but they can’t study invisible blood or do surgery.”

For Fiona, she was gifted, as most everyone is, with a mutation. This mutation can range from her mom’s telekinesis or her brother’s ability to change how he smells. No one has ever seen her. Not even Fiona herself…

“All I know about myself is that I’m five foot eight, a hundred and forty pounds, and the owner of one rocking wardrobe. When all anyone sees is your clothing, it’s important.”

…which makes her the perfect thief for her father’s villainous schemes. When her father tries to force Fiona to kill someone, her mother knows he has gone too far. They run away to a small town in the middle of nowhere. For the first time, Fiona has a chance for a semi-normal life and realities such as friendship, that aren’t easy to make when on high alert for discovery. Because she knows her father will never stop looking, an invisible girl can’t hide forever.

invisibility_coverInvisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

“I can never be seen, no matter how hard I try. I can be touched, but only if I concentrate. And I can always be heard, if I choose to speak. These, I suppose, are the rules of the curse.”

For Stephen, he was cursed into invisibility. He doesn’t quite know why or how to break it. If his mother knew, she never shared the information with him. She was his entire world, until she died almost a year ago. No one has ever seen him. Not even Stephen himself when he looks in the mirror. Stephen figures he’s alone, with no one else knowing of his existence besides a father known only as a phone number. So Stephen is very surprised when his new neighbor, Elizabeth, can not only see him, but treats him like a person.

“In the minutes that followed, I realize it isn’t that the curse had been broken. It’s that she’s found a way around it.”

For Elizabeth, told in alternating point of view chapters, she just wants to blend in, protect her brother, and work on writing her comics. When she meets Stephen, a boy no one else can see, she thinks she’s going crazy. But the truth that they’ll discover in the secret world of curses and spells goes deeper than either ever imagined.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book Review: Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

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goodbye_rebel_blueRebecca Blue, more commonly referred to as Rebel, is a loner. She is always in search of sea glass, dyes her hair blue, prefers not to wear shoes, and has a necklace made of shark teeth. She’s the kind of girl who gets detention. Once there, Rebel writes a bucket list alongside Kennedy Green, a perky girl going out of her way to be kind to everyone.

Rebel doesn’t believe they have anything in common, despite what their colorful last names might suggest. She might have forgotten their conversation completely… if Kennedy hadn’t died shortly thereafter. After several failed attempts to get rid of a dead girl’s bucket list, Rebel takes it upon herself to complete the final goals and aspirations of a do-gooder. Things she would never consider doing before.

What Rebel doesn’t expect was that the bucket list would change her. She discovers that she isn’t as alone as she once thought. Her aunt and uncle, her track star cousin, her pie baking friend, and maybe even that boy from the volunteer group– her whole perspective on life is turned upside down when she has to ask for help from these people, seeing the world a little more fully. Eventually, she finds the courage to follow her own dreams as well as Kennedy’s.

Rebel is a cool character and very true to herself. Even though she will never be “normal,” Rebel is more than the screw-up everyone thinks she is. She isn’t afraid to tell anyone how she feels, which gets her into some pretty laugh-out-loud situations. The story gets deeper further into the story, but it’s mostly about how helping others helps Rebel find herself. If you want a light, comical read, go ahead and give this book a try.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book Review: The Treatment, by Suzanne Young

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treatment_cover

“The girl I used to be is dead-The Program killed her. And for better for better or for worse, I’m what’s left.”

Starting where The Program left off, Sloane and her boyfriend James are on the run. They barely survived The Program, an organization that “cures” teenagers from depression by stealing their memories, isn’t ready to let them go.

When forced to team up with some rebels, Sloane and James have the time to ask themselves who they are. Without their memories, so much of their past is unknown. How much of their life is a lie? The good news is, they have an orange pill, more commonly known as The Treatment, that can bring back their memories and ensure those memories will be safe from The Program forever. The bad news is, there are two of them and only one pill, a pill The Program won’t rest until they find.

This book felt less dark than the first. Since they have been “cured,” suicide is more a thing talked about other people doing rather than the main characters contemplating doing themselves. Instead, they learn to accept that they must live for the present, leaving the past behind them, if they ever want to live for the future.

It always seems more hopeful, at least for me, when characters are on the more instead of isolated in a single area when they are being hunted down. There are plenty more places to hide and ways to evade, but when The Program needs to keep their 100% success rate, it could only be a matter of time. If or when they are caught, it won’t be the same as before. Because this time, The Program won’t merely take their memories. This time, their personality will be sucked out of them as well.

I don’t think it is necessary to read the first book in the series. All crucial elements of The Program is revealed over the course of the novel, whether referred to directly or indirectly varied. Other than understanding the characters and their situation better, I think it would have been more interesting for me to learn along with the characters the past events and who people are versus who they claim to be.

Even so, I believe the mature content of the book she be reserved for older teens. Depression and suicide, even in a futuristic world, still seems so terrifyingly real.

This review is based on an advance reader’s copy. The Treatment, published by Simon & Schuster, will be available in bookstores everywhere on April 29.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book vs. Movie: The Book Thief

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book_thief_bookmovie***A few questions and their answer***

Who would steal books before she knew how to read? Whose story caught the interest of Death? Who is Liesel Meminger?

Answer: She is The Book Thief

“She was clutching the book. She was holding desperately on to the words who had saved her life.”

Liesel Meminger is in a new life. Her brother died on the train ride. Her mother disappeared. She never knew her father. Things start looking up when she is adopted by a couple who live on a street called Heaven, both to simply be called Mama and Papa. Her papa plays the accordion and teaches her to read her first stolen book; the one from her brother’s funeral. She befriends her next door neighbor Rudy, a boy with hair the color of lemons, who keeps asking Liesel for a kiss.  It could have been a perfectly happy story if they weren’t in Germany during World War II, hiding a Jew named Max in their basement.

The book itself was beautifully written, although it began a little slow for me. It isn’t a book you want to race through. The movie matched this the heart of the story, even when details such as how Liesel’s papa was drafted, the reason her mama was fired, and which books were stolen changed, but on the whole, I was surprised how close the movie followed the book.

There were a few changes I liked better in the movie, such as Max giving Liesel the diary and Rudy discovering she was hiding Max because it established a closer relationship to these characters that felt less due to some scenes like Max’s handwritten books or Rudy and Liesel stealing things other than books together being cut.

The thing that bothered me the most in the film was the lack of the narrator, Death. He had a prominent part in the book, making side comments and revealing what is yet to come. Although it was nice in the movie to not worry about jumping around in the story, Death barely speaking at all in the movie had an unsettling effect any time he spoke, which may have been what the movie intended.

The movie can stand on its own, but it loses some depth from the elegantly written book. There isn’t as much violence as one might expect from World War II, but that’s not to say it isn’t there. The ending was exactly the same as the book, but I won’t reveal any more. Maybe not being a lighthearted movie is the point, because that is how it becomes that much more powerful.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Frozen Movie Review and Readalikes

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frozen_movie_posterDisney’s newest animated feature, Frozen, is about princesses Elsa and Anna. Elsa has the beautiful and dangerous power to create snow, but after hurting Anna when they were little, she tries to hide her ability. When her power is revealed, she runs away, leaving Anna more alone than ever, yet Anna is determined to go after her, restore summer, and just get her sister back.

Frozen is an amazing movie with laugh-out-loud moments along with the ones that make your heart shatter. Although it doesn’t really follow the plot line of Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale, The Snow Queen, with Elsa being good and Anna’s sister for instance, it maintains a fairy tale quality while having a modern feel.

The animation is astonishing, the snow so realistic, you almost get shivers just seeing it. The music that is equally fantastic, one of my favorite song being “For the First Time in Forever” (second only to “Let it Go”) because, besides being beautiful, it is the duet between two sisters and the theme of the entire story. The sisters were well developed with Anna somewhat awkward (in a good way) and adventurous and Elsa very cool and collected. What I liked best was how sisters were more important than a love interest, though that element is still there.

It is one of the best Disney movies I have seen and I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves those “Disney classics” that seem timeless, because that is Frozen. In honor of this movie, here is a list of books with sisters inspired by fairy tales.

sisters_grimm_coverThe Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

After the mysterious disappearance of  their parents, sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm (descendants of the Brothers Grimm) are sent to live with their grandmother in Ferryport Landing, where every fairy tale character (they prefer to be called Everafters) lives. When their Grandmother is kidnapped, it is up to the Sisters Grimm to take up the family business of fairy tale detectives if they ever wish to see their family again.

sisters_red_coverSisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Sisters Scarlet and Rosie were attacked by werewolves at their grandmother’s house when they were young. Now they are the ones who hunt the werewolves down. Scarlet won’t stop until every werewolf is dead, but Rosie doesn’t want to fight anymore. How do you explain that to the sister who saved your life? It follows a possibility of what could have happened after the little red riding hood tale.

wide-awake_princess_coverThe Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

Did you know Sleeping Beauty has a little sister? Her name is Annie and she is immune to magic. It’s the only reason she didn’t fall asleep with the rest of the castle. To save the kingdom, Annie adventures out to find her sister’s true love to break the spell, maybe finding her own along the way. A sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty as well as a few other fairy tales mixed in.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book Review: House of Hades, by Rick Riordan

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house_of_hades_coverThe last book in the Heroes of Olympus series ended with a real cliffhanger. Actually, Percy and Annabeth were falling off a cliff into the depths of Tartarus. Rick Riordan’s dedication sums it up perfectly:

To my wonderful readers: Sorry about that last cliff-hanger. Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But seriously, I love you guys.

I was so excited that I finished it the day it was released. I wouldn’t go so far to say the wait was completely worth it, because I still wished it was available as soon as I finished Mark of Athena, but such is life if you don’t wait for an author to finish a series before you start reading.

The chapters interchange between adventures on the Argo II and the terrors of Tartarus Percy and Annabeth must endure. The characters have a deeper relationship with each other and begin to act more like a team. The prophecy is almost complete, though I anticipate some twist at the end like in the first series. All of the seven half-bloods have their perspective in this book (Percy and Annabeth have the most chapters), and major changes are happening to them.

First of all, Hazel embraces The Mist, the magical force that make things appear to be what there’re not. Frank makes Mars proud, growing and discovering his own importance. Leo has his tool belt stolen, catches his clothes on fire, and might just find a love interest. Jason is questioning his Roman heritage, after seeing Camp Half-Blood and feeling more at home there than he ever did at Camp Jupiter. Piper confronts some old enemies and charmspeaks machinery. Nico, though not one of the seven or has any chapters from his perspective, is probably one of the characters we get to understand the most after he faces a god.

As for the couple in Tartarus, their time there is very bleak. If they thought they knew the hard life of a half-blood, it can always get worse. Drinking lava water to survive is the least of their worries. Can monsters even be killed in Tartarus? There are some funny moments there; Percy and Annabeth make such a cute couple.  And, after several books of suspense, Percy’s sword can actually work as a pen. Very helpful tool when you are stuck in a place where monsters reform and even the gods never visit!

What I loved was the incorporation of old characters from the first series, as well as a major role of someone in the demi-god files. Some old monsters are back swearing revenge on Percy (Somehow they are never happy being vaporized for some reason) as well as new immortal enemies. Meanwhile, campers from Camp Jupiter arrive at Camp Half-Blood. Will a battle arise? Who, if anyone, will sacrifice their lives?

House of Hades is building up for the big finale. The ending in this book doesn’t have a cliff hanger aspect, but still, why does it have to be so long for the next one? Begin countdown for Blood of Olympus.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Book Review: The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater

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dream_thieves_coverIf you could take anything from your dreams, what would you steal? But what if you couldn’t always choose what you took, and you brought back a nightmare?

Ronan has this talent. As far as he knows, he is the only one besides his deceased father, who was killed by this secret. But it isn’t the only secret out there. The ley lines, a kind of energy source for spiritual activity, have awakened, so they should be stronger than ever. Why then are they weaker than before?

Any fans of Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver trilogy should definitely read this book. There is an air of mystery and magic that pulls the plot along. I liked how this is the second book in a series, yet I felt everything important in the first book, The Raven Boys, was explained well without being repetitive. If at all possible, this book was even better than the first. Although, reading the first book made me appreciate the characters’ growth more than if I hadn’t.

Speaking of characters, they were all distinct and complemented one another in their differences. Blue, the only girl, destined to kill her true love with a kiss; Adam, who feels like nothing, but has a greater importance than he realizes; Ronan, forbidden to return to his childhood home; Gansey, obsessed with an ancient Welsh king, Glendower, and will probably die within the year; and the Gray Man, the most mysterious of all, always remaining inconspicuous in order to complete his job as a hit man. The only question is: who is his target?

From the very beginning, the story had me completely hooked. It is one of those books you can’t put down and end up reading late into the night. I only had a couple of issues with this book. The first problem was there were several chapters where Blue wasn’t mentioned once. With such a prominent role, it was strange for her to go missing for chapters on end. Instead, characters who were more secondary had bigger roles, like Ronan and Adam had major parts to play. I understand they were doing important things in that time, but I would have preferred just one chapter from Blue’s perspective intermixed with those chapters. (Everything is in the third person, so you never have to worry who is talking.) Another thing was, even though it wasn’t everywhere, there was too much cursing for my taste. Ronan is the main perpetrator, so with more chapters about him, it makes sense there was more cursing than the last book. Even with those complaints, it a truly amazing read.

-Nicole G., 10th grade

Must-Read Books of Fall 2013

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Between new school schedules and a ton of homework, is there time to seek out new books? Of course! Here is a list of books I am planning to read this fall. I have been waiting months for all of them, so they’d better be amazing. Hope you enjoy them, too.

dream_thieves_cover1. The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: September 17th

This is the second book of The Raven Cycle where the ley lines have woken and ensure the lives Blue and her raven boys- Ronan, Gansey, and Adam- will never be the same. For Ronan, dreams are merging with reality. Meanwhile, the Cabeswater puzzle Gansey is trying to solve has taken the interest of some sinister people.

house_of_hades_cover2. House of Hades, by Rick Riordan
Release Date: October 8th

With a cliffhanger in the previous book, the continuation of The Heroes of Olympus continues the adventure of seven half-bloods with no time for failure as they travel to seal the Doors of Death. If they succeed, how will Percy and Annabeth ever escape the depths of Tartarus?

allegiant_cover3. Allegiant, by Veronica Roth
Release Date: October 22nd

The ending to the Divergent series. When everything Tris knew is shattered, she goes beyond the fence and what awaits her may be worse than what she left behind. This book is told from dual perspectives (which I’m hoping includes Four’s point of view).
 

champion.indd4. Champion, by Marie Lu
Release Date: November 5th

The Legend trilogy comes to a close. The Republic is improving, but with a new plague and possible war, the cost to save thousands of lives might mean the one June loves to give up everything.

 
horizon_cover5. Horizon, by Alyson Noël
Release Date: November 19th

This is the fourth and final book of the Soul Seekers series. Daire must face her archenemy, the Richters. Is there a worse foe out on the horizon that could end the world? Will Daire survive? Can love conquer all?

All these books are far along in a series, so I suggest reading the previous books before getting to this list. Which book are you most looking forward to? I honestly can’t choose. Happy reading!

-Nicole G., 10th grade