Film Review - "Aloha"

Aloha

Director: Cameron Crowe

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin

Release: May 29, 2015

Running Time: 105 min

Plot Summary: After a career-ending misfire, military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Cooper) is given a second chance to get his life jump-started by being assigned a fairly-secretive mission in Hawaii. While there, he attempts to rekindle with his ex-girlfriend (McAdams) and please the wishes of his "boss" (Murray), all the while beginning to develop feelings for a fighter pilot named Allison Ng (Stone).

Rating: C

Review: I am that person. I'm the kind of guy who's obsessed with movies that I know will be good. I set my sights on next year's Oscar hopefuls before this year's nominations have even been announced. I worship Wikipedia's "[year] in film" pages, eager to find out what's coming out, who's in it, and why I should care.

I've been following this movie since it was regarded as "Untitled Cameron Crowe Project," and that was good enough for me. But then, I see that Bradley Cooper -- one of my favorite actors working today -- is attached to the project, as well as the charming Emma Stone and alluring Rachel McAdams, not to mention Bill Murray, and I was sold. When the trailer for this film dropped, I flipped. It was sentimental and compelling and intriguing, and I couldn't go 2 weeks without watching it to remind myself that this movie was going to be awesome.

...I am very sad about this movie, actually. This isn't a sad movie, at least it's not intended to be. It's actually got a pretty happy ending, and for that I'm grateful. Everything leading up to that ending, though, is almost insufferable. I absolutely HATE that I am writing these words; I want nothing more than to tell you that this movie is amazing and worthwhile and satisfying, but I can't lie like that. I just finished watching this movie an hour and a half ago and my thoughts haven't quite settled, but I think I'm confident enough in my feelings to write a cohesive review, so here's my best shot.

Every time I watch a movie in theaters, I leave either fully in love with the movie, or unsure about how I feel, which usually results in me telling myself that it was good. It's not healthy, but it's just the way I am. Most recently, I left Insurgent convinced that it was as good as my friends thought. 2 months later, I know that I like Insurgent, but I also know that it isn't as good as its predecessor, nor is it necessarily a good movie. I probably won't watch it much again, like I would the first Divergent film. But you get the gist, right? I either know I love a movie, or I tell myself I do until I come to terms with the fact that I don't. This movie is the rarest exception. There came a point where I almost left the theater because I couldn't cope with the fact that the movie playing in front of me was so different than the movie I thought it could be. Part of that is my fault, but not all of it.

My biggest issue with this movie is that I don't even know what it is. A rom-com? A redemption story? A love story? A movie about family? A movie about culture and respecting values? A military movie? Granted, not every good movie needs categorization, but it sure does help. This movie doesn't even seem to know what it is. It sets itself up to be one thing, and then leaves that one thing alone to try to be another thing, before deciding that -- oh, no! -- it wants to be this thing instead, and then it doesn't follow through with that! The narrative of the film is so detached and hard to follow that it is painful. I left the movie knowing that I didn't like it, and that is so distressful for me.

Because the film feels so messy, the sentiment gets lost. Some of the jokes work, but not all the ones that should. The moments of tension don't feel real, and the relationships are hard to believe. Part of that is because much of the first third of the film feels so choppy and abrupt; it doesn't give the audience time to breathe. Another part of it is because a lot of the dialogue feels so forced, and everything gets wrapped up so oddly. This should be a film that evokes emotion...well, emotion other than anger. Unfortunately, frustration is all I really felt throughout the course of the movie.

There are moments of the film that are enjoyable, most of which come toward the end, but those cannot make up for the unfortunate events sandwiched in beforehand. I enjoyed the performances, even down to the children of McAdams' character, Tracy. With what they are given, most of the cast members (sorry Krasinski) bring some vibrance to an otherwise tepid story. Stone is convincing as a young woman who cares a whole lot about a whole lot of things, and Cooper bounces off her well in their initial conflict of interest. McAdams' character is the only real consistent one, emotionally. Her reactions to situations are predictable, but that doesn't reflect poorly on McAdams. Murray is good, McBride seems a bit underused, and Baldwin is mostly absent until the end, but even then he's fun to watch. Also, the cinematography and soundtrack are enjoyable, and help to add an element of intrigue to the film.

This isn't a horrible movie, not at all. In fact, it's pretty harmless; it means well, but just doesn't fulfill its potential. I don't hate it, but I would not speak in favor of this movie either. Maybe I was just misguided in expecting so much from a movie that just doesn't deliver. It's just aggravating to see a movie set itself up just to let itself -- and its audience -- down.

Review | 'The Forsaken'

The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Forsaken is a completely misleading book. Going into it, I thought I would be flying through action and adventure and coming-of-age, but none of those were really experienced. I did, however, like the fast-pacing and storytelling. I would have liked to actually explore the psychological concept of 'violent tendencies.' The characterization was a bit poor, save for a few characters. The ending was anticlimactic. The writing, however, is what saved the book (in some manner) for me; it was interesting and kept me flipping the pages, despite some poor world-building and character development. Hopefully the sequel is much more of a satisfaction than this one.

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Review | 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone'

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was beautiful. Simply beautiful.

My journey with Daughter of Smoke & Bone began in 2011, when I first heard of the book. I picked it up upon its release but soon after abandoned it, because I couldn't get into it. I bought it this summer in Portland at Powell's Books and found myself engrossed in it a few days ago as I started it once more. I made my way past the sort-of-boring introductory chapters and thrust into the fantastically-woven story of Karou, Akiva, and the war between the chimaerae and seraph. With the question looming "Who is The Daughter of Smoke and Bone?" throughout the story, I held onto two theories, and interestingly, one of them came true. Although I did predict the ending, that didn't make it any less impactful. I loved the exploration of subplots and the romance of the story and the way the writing tied everything together so well. The ending was a fantastic bow on top to a story already gifted enough.


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Film Review | 'Warm Bodies'

Warm Bodies
97 min.
Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton
Directed by Jonathan Levine
4 out of 5 stars | A-

--

I, along with my friend Stefanie, was lucky enough to catch an advance pre-screening of this film back in December, and, writing this, I regret not having immediately written my review upon getting home and having the film fresh in my mind. But let's see what I can do here.

Warm Bodies is the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Isaac Marion, and I went into the film not having read the book and not knowing much about the story other than the fact that it revolved around zombies and the relationship between one particular zombie (Hoult) and a human girl (Palmer). Teresa Palmer plays Julie, the daughter of a revolution leader, who has devoted her life to serving her father in their quest to rid the world of 'corpses' (the term they use for zombies), as well as maintain a relationship with her boyfriend, Perry (Franco). Then we have R, the zombie, who is a part of a human v. zombie fight, and kills Perry, eating his brains and acquiring his memories. He then falls in love with Julie, weaving Perry's memories of her with his own, and the rest of the film follows their relationship building as they attempt to conceal themselves from harm, as well as their discovering that their relationship could change the zombies forever.

I definitely wasn't expecting the film to be as short as it was, and the time really flew by. The film opens with narration by R, and we spend a large chunk of time with R and Julie on an abandoned airplane, but this time is spent giving the audience great insight on the beginning of their relationship. Levine even sneaked in a little Twilight throwback: there's a shot in which R receives a memory from Perry's brain, in which he and Julie are lying in a meadow having a dramatic conversation. Oh, Summit Entertainment, must me return to those roots? But, yes, apart from the obligatory world-building, the film sped by, packed with a ton of action and great lines from both Hoult and Palmer.

The acting in this film was fantastic. I had seen Teresa Palmer in I Am Number Four, and I had seen Nicholas Hoult in X-Men: First Class, and I wasn't expecting much from the duo, but they really showed me what they had, and it was a lot. Palmer plays this character who audiences probably wouldn't like under any other circumstance, or if she was played by any other actress, but Palmer is able to portray Julie's vulnerability, but not without losing tough of her toughness. Hoult plays a sensitive zombie who's also quite humorous, and it really shows. Nothing is forced on Hoult's part, which makes for an easy job for the viewers.The supporting cast is also really fantastic in this film, namely Analeigh Tipton and Dave Franco. Although in it for a short period of time, Franco really shines through with his performance as good-guy-gone-hard-headed Perry, and he makes his character's transformation stunningly believable. Tipton, though, is probably the highlight of the supporting cast, just as she was with Crazy, Stupid, Love. Her character seemed quite trivial, but she returns for a massive part in the end of the story, and Tipton initiated so much laughter in that final 20-30 minutes that I believe it was equivalent to the amount of laughter Palmer and Hoult accumulated throughout the span of the entire film. Huge props to Analeigh Tipton for being able to execute lines so well.

The direction, writing, and flow of the story for the film was fantastic as well. The ending didn't seem cheesy or unnecessary or unexpected, and I liked how Julie and R's relationship was tied up very well, although it was quite strange to see Hoult's character go from zombie to human so quickly after watching him thirst for brains the entire film.

The message the film relays, though, is crystal clear: something along the lines of certain people, or perhaps love and friendship, bringing out the best in people, even the worst of people. Or, perhaps, even the monsters.

Review | 'What's Left of Me'

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Holy crap, this book was fantastic.

I went into What's Left of Me thinking it would be the stereotypical YA novel with poorly-constructed plot and characters, but Kat Zhang and her fully dysfunctional America proved me wrong.

What's Left of Me is set in a not-too-distant future version of America in which each person is born with two souls, and about halfway through childhood, the souls settle into dominant and recessive roles. The trouble with Eva Tamsyn, though, is that she--being the recessive soul of her body--never settled, haunting the life of Addie, the dominant soul, without being an enemy of sorts to her "soul-sister," yet being her own personal roadblock. But before you go off comparing it to The Host, by Stephenie Meyer, let me just tell you that this book is 10x better than that POS, and it is everything The Host should have been, and more.

First off, What's Left of Me spends 97% of its length never once touching on romance, and the romance that is touched upon is only lingered over a little bit in the end of the book. There are no theatrical firework shows when the heroine brushes the fingernail of her love interest, and that's where this book is set apart from its other YA counterparts. Eva, instead, provides the reader with a heartbreaking, yet quite fascinating, look at what life as the recessive soul is like, and Zhang is able to sneak in bits of world-building along the way. Eva and Addie were so distinctly-developed, and the other characters were fantastic as well. I ended up loving characters I never thought I would love, and I had moments where I talked to myself as a form of reaction to certain scenes, which is something I rarely do when it comes to YA fiction anymore, so I loved how attached I got to the characters and the situations they were in.

I tip my hat to Kat Zhang, for her writing style was so beautiful and new and intricate and, simply put, great. I was just hooked on every word, and I never found myself wanting to skim certain parts of the book, because I didn't want to miss the way Zhang described certain feelings, settings, or plot points. It's so great to see such delicate, yet forceful, writing in the world of YA fiction.

What's Left of Me is a fast-paced, heavy-loaded phenomenon of a story that will draw readers in and make them ask questions they can't ask with any other book. Truly an original masterpiece.

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Review | 'Origin'

Origin by Jessica Khoury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I went into this book not knowing what to expect. I suppose my expectations ranged somewhere in-between complete-and-total-let-down and phenomenal-book-holy-cow. Origin, however, defied my expectations, yet did not fall anywhere within that range.

Origin is the unique story of Pia, the lone immortal human in the world, hidden away in the Amazon forest, and her experiences with the outside world after sneaking out of her sanctuary and uncovering secrets about the science team that helped make her who she is. She meets, and falls for, Eio, a boy from the local native tribe, and together, they unlock the aforementioned secrets, as well as hitting their own personal barriers along the way.

From the get-go, I disliked Pia. This dislike made sense, though. Pia had spent her whole life being told she was perfect, and she flaunted it for the first 100-ish pages. She was vain, spoiled, proud, and didn't really give a damn about the well-being of others. What's tough about writing a story about a perfect, immortal girl, is that she can't have flaws, unless the author wants to take the route of scientific corruption, and so on and so forth. But it wasn't evident that Khoury wanted to take that route; so I felt like all the nasty personality defects Pia projected at the beginning of the story should not have been there, because the story revolves more around how the scientists use Pia rather than any mistakes they made in turning her into an immortal.

Pia's relationship with Eio was very real, though, although I totally would have thought Pia, being a perfect human being and all, would have been more--how do I put this?--forward with Eio. I bet that seventeen years of suppressing sexuality would have had to pay off at some point or another, so I found it quite unrealistic that Pia wasn't like every other freaking YA heroine and kept her physical distance from this heartthrob of a boy, although she did comment on the structure of his muscles and the droop of his shorts multiple times. Apart from the minute annoyance of Pia's lack of romance, I really liked the blossoming (no pun intended) of their relationship. While Pia's narration of the story was a bit weird to me (I don't know why; I mean I can't really put my finger on it), the evolution of their relationship was quite interesting and was obviously the drive for the rest of the story, at least the whole Pia/Eio subplot.

As far as the arc of the plot goes, I thought the subplots and main plot structure were very well tied together. I use the term "woven" quite often in my reviews, and I will apply it again; Jessica Khoury weaves the story together very nicely, and makes for a very climactic, albeit long, ending. Spoilers initiate here, I warn thee. I really loved the ending and how Immortal Pia was killed, but Mortal Pia remained. That way, the one thing that kept Pia from jumping at Eio, her immortality, was now out of the way, and they could go make beautiful babies. The whole defiance of the scientists was honestly something I didn't except; I thought the climax of the story would revolve around the consequences of Pia's choices with Eio, which it did, in a sense, but not nearly as much as I thought it did. I thought it was interesting to see how Pia's Wickham tests accounted for what she would be doing to prolong immortality and eternity for other beings. For a period of time, I didn't think her tests made that much sense, but they completely did. Last but certainly not least, the epilogue was a fantastic conclusion to the novel, and I really loved reading from Harriet's perspective, and how she viewed the story's events.

Despite a few flaws in its design, Origin is a magnificently-crafted tale of choice, eternity, mortality, and morality.

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Review | 'The Evolution of Mara Dyer'

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

God, what is it about the Mara Dyer series that is so, so fantastic?

I suppose there will be spoilers afoot.

The book understandably picks up where Unbecoming left off; Mara has just witnessed her "dead" ex-boyfriend, Jude, at a police station after extremely traumatic events. Mara is placed in a hospital as a result of a "mental breakdown," and soon is put into Horizons, a social group organized to help people with psychological issues, as Mara is believed to have. The story follows Mara as she attempts to uncover more information on the powers that she and her boyfriend Noah possess. And information she discovers. The events of the book unravel into multiple climaxes, and Michelle Hodkin expresses her ability to weave all of these climaxes together without becoming redundant.

The writing of the Mara Dyer series is so intricate without feeling heavy and brooding, and, as previously stated, Hodkin is able to uphold this fantastic writing style and never loosen her grip on the reader's attention. But, of course, this grip is not to go unnoticed without acknowledgment to the fantastic plot. Mara gets into even more frightening antics in Evolution, and I can't quite tell which book in the series (so far) is my favorite. While Unbecoming follows the slow mental downfall of a not-so-normal teenage girl, Evolution revolves around her slow rise to understanding of what's going on. I suppose the titles suggest what the books are about, as titles are wont to do.

The characters drive the reader to feel horrified by the ending of the story. Spoilers come into play now. At the end of the story, we find out that certain people Mara has urged to listen to her about her cries that Jude has returned actually knew the whole time that he was back, and were in communications with him. We also get a little look at Mara's ability and where it comes from, noting that it is, in fact, a genetic mutation, and that her best friend Jamie and a girl named Stella have it as well. We also are stunned at the end to find out that Jude has "killed" Noah, and this was where I--as well as every lover of the series--had my heart punctured. The book is so shocking that you don't expect one of the lead protagonists to die. So that poses the question: Did Noah really die? Mara seems to think not, so I am beyond excited to read the series finale, The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

Playlist:

The entirety of Lana Del Rey's debut album, "Born to Die," but some highlights would be:

Dark Paradise -- "No one compares to you, I'm scared that you won't be waiting on the other side."

Born To Die -- "Choose your last words, this is the last time, 'cause you and I, we were born to die."

Video Games -- "Heaven is a place on Earth with you, tell me all the things you want to do...it's better than I ever even knew, they say that the world was built for two. Only worth living if somebody is loving you, baby, now you do."

NOTE: I just found out the title of the third book (as stated above/I think it was just released), and I'm trying to maintain a shred of professionalism and not freak out.

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2013 Reading/Writing/Blogging Resolutions!

Ah, 2013. 

The Year of YA, how fantastic this will be. I look forward to all this year has to offer, so without further ado, my 2013 resolutions!

Reading:

• Read 65 books -- This past year, I pledged to read 80 books before the ball dropped, and I ultimately failed. I read 65 books this year, and the reason I keep that number for my 2013 goal is because I know I'm going to be really busy this year. I turn 16 in a couple weeks, which means my life is basically opening up. I have more career opportunities, I have Mock Trial and Debate tournaments, I want to have regulated time spent with friends, and I still want to devote time to reading. I want to elaborate on this goal in the near future by making a certain outline to the books I read so that I can do a little clearing of my dusty TBR shelf on Goodreads.
• Read more Adult Fiction -- In 2012, I read only a small handful of Adult books, albeit great ones (The Casual Vacancy, Never Let Me Go, and The Great Gatsby), and I want to read a lot more this year. I really want to pick up Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, as well as finish The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, which is a phenomenal book, I just had to put it away for a little bit.
• Analyze -- One of my biggest flaws is that I'll just zip through books without giving myself time to actually think about them and look at their themes. That's definitely something I want to work on this year, especially since Graduation inches closer and closer, and I do want to major in English and delve into comparative literature, so I definitely need to work on examining thematic elements of literature out of leisure.

Writing:

• Finish Book II of my series, as well as starting Book III -- I've currently written about 54,000 words of the second book in my series, and my goal is to reach at least 85,000 by the summertime. If I accomplish this, I think I'll give myself a bit of a vacation from writing for a small period of time before dishing out a big chunk of the third book. I know the 85k is achievable, but I'm interested to see where I get with the third book.

Blogging:

• Write one non-review post per week -- I mean, this goal's pretty self-explanatory. I want to log my life, but avoid it becoming too tedious. 
• Publish a review for each book I read this year -- I've been really lazy with the whole review-writing thing lately, so I really want to work on that this year. Whether or not I post my reviews on Goodreads or on my actual blog, I want reviews to be out there in some form.
• Vlog -- The last time I vlogged was the summer of last year, and I know that needs to change. It really, really does, and there isn't an excuse for my lack of vlogs, other than my crazy-busy schedule and my lack of fantastic recording equipment. I love booktubing, so I want to continue with that, but I also like exploring themes and ideas and just talking about things in vlogs, so I do want to exploit myself more in that sense. 

What are your resolutions for 2013? 

Review | 'Beautiful Redemption'

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my Gosh. I cannot believe this. I just finished the final novel in the Beautiful Creatures series.

Let me just set that up for you guys.

I first heard of Beautiful Creatures in Spring 2010. I checked the book out from my public library a few times before actually buckling down and reading it in October 2010, mainly because I thought, "Hey, this fits in with the whole Halloween feel of the month!" and not knowing that this series was soon to become one of my favorites--if not my FAVORITE--of all time.

Quickly after finishing Beautiful Creatures in a weekend, I waited a few days until Beautiful Darkness was released, borrowed it from my school's librarian, and finished it, emotionally stricken by all the heartbreak emitting from the sequel. Not to mention that I had to wait a full year for the third book.

By the time October 2011 rolled around, I was more than ready to settle into the third book in The Caster Chronicles. I performed my usual ritual for reading this series--that is, sitting locked (no joke) in my bedroom, a blanket around my shoulders, and not resurfacing until I was done. The ending of Chaos was...different, though, than the others. Ethan had *gulp* jumped off of a--oh, did I mention this review will contain spoilers?--water tower, and I just didn't know how to cope.

And so another year's wait happened.

Finally, almost a month after its release, I got my hands on a copy of Beautiful Redemption. I started it on Tuesday, November 20, and finished it on Wednesday, November 21, and that was only because I wasn't ready to say good-bye.

And I still don't think I am.

Usually, I'll provide a list of both pros and cons to any book that I read, but it's very rare that I'll award a book five stars out of five, and seeing as this is my tentative favorite series, there are no cons to be analyzed. This book is perfect.

So I guess now is the time to dive right in to what made this book, what made Beautiful Redemption, so beautiful.

BEAUTIES:
>Oh, hello Lila, didn't expect to have you show up and crush my heart 100 pages later. I mean, what the hell. Yeah, sure, Ethan jumped off a water tower, but I wasn't for sure that he was dead. I thought there would be a catch. BUT NO, Garcia and Stohl just haphazardly reach down my throat and rip my heart out. We see Ethan's chemistry with his mother, and it feels like he's been with her all along; there's no awkwardness. Aunt Prudence also makes a triumphant, hilarious return, and I just wanted to hug the wrinkles right off of her.

>The characters. The characters. THE CHARACTERS. I don't just mean the presence of the characters, but their choices, their doings, their steps, their breaths. Every single thing a character did in this book had some effect. It was, and is, insane. For those who don't know, Ridley Duchannes is my favorite character of the series (although she's tied with Lena), and I was so relieved to see her make a return. I didn't expect our Sexy Siren not to make a come-back, but I didn't know how she would be worked into the story. She sure as hell wouldn't have come back if it weren't for Lena's perspective--but I'll get to that.
>>So let's narrow in some characters now. We'll start off with Ethan Wate, our protagonist. Ethan is so messed-up; he's secretive, he's ignorant, he's indecisive, he's angst-ridden. That's Ethan Wate from book one, and that's Ethan Wate from book four. He doesn't become this godly hero, and I love that. He does make a lot of significant changes, as any GOOD character does, but he's still Ethan Wate. He handles situations the way Ethan Wate would, and I'm so happy for that.
>>Lena Duchannes. For once, and for the last time, we get to see into Lena's mind, for she becomes a narrator for a large portion of the book. Lena is persistent and bold, yet defiant, short-fused, and a bit oblivious to some things. I wouldn't have her any other way, and Lena took a step up in this book, never shedding her true self, but only adding a new layer. Props to you, Lena Duchannes.
>>Ridley Duchannes. My girl. I made the weirdest noise to myself when Lena finds Ridley trapped in Abraham's freaking basement or what-the-hell-ever. But, out of any and all characters, Ridley has definitely had the biggest arc. Book one, she's this evidently dark/Dark, arrogant, proud, malicious vixen mixed up with the wrong people, and in book two, we see the weaker, more vulnerable side to Ridley. By the time the third book came around, she was building herself back up again, and ultimately chose to return to her dark/Dark ways. But in this book, despite her constant arguments stating otherwise, Ridley's heart shone through, and she proved herself to be a fantastic character, and never let her love for Lena, Ethan, or Link waver.
>>Amma. Yeah, we'll get to her...

>The plot was such a fantastic way to conclude the story. From the whole Obidias Trueblood deal, all the way to the book(s), the key(s), the Cast(s), and the battle(s), everything was written and structured so beautifully, and everything came together. And holy crap, what about Sarafine Duchannes sitting on a throne fashioned from bones? I just about had a heart attack. Each character got their own shining moment, and I love how Link got to kill Abraham, and I love how John's pride got in his own way, but Liv was there to hold him down, and I love--no, I freaking love--Reece Duchannes. She's so perfect. She and Ryan and Del and Emmaline and Barclay. I mean, they're all back, and they're all wonderful.
>>The absolute, definite theme of the book is choice--well, it's the theme of the whole series, truthfully. In the final novel, it all boils down to Ethan changing his fate, rather than Lena choosing her own in book one. It has all come full-circle. And instead of bringing up entirely new plot devices like many others do, and fail to emphasize, Garcia and Stohl form this fantastic climax from characterization, rather than plot. I don't care if we just find out that Obidias Trueblood rewrote Ethan's page in The Caster Chronicles; it makes sense. Everything in this book, introduced or recycled, makes absolute sense. Angelus's prominence and motivations and emphasis as a villain make sense. I'm so glad that Garcia and Stohl were successfully able to change focus from Abraham to Angelus so smoothly and incorporate him into the story so heavily. Twilight, for example, failed to do so. For three books, Victoria is the primary antagonist, and then all of a sudden, for about a third of the final book, it's the Volturi. Stephenie Meyer could really take a hint from this dynamic duo. It's so hard for me to articulate how perfect it all worked, but it was, truly, perfection.
>>Now for the ending-ending. I suppose I'll start from Ethan's battle with Angelus. I mean, how clever was it of Ethan to use the eye of the river? Freaking clever. And then he's able to get rid of his page, and it's fantastic, and then he's back on the water tower, and you're just like, "Okay, he's back. Oh hey, Amma's there. Everything will be fine." EVERYTHING WILL NOT BE FINE, GURL, WHATCHU TALKIN' 'BOUT?! Amarie Treadeau proceeds to jump off of the water tower, into a crack in the universe, and become one of the Greats. When you actually read the scene, it provides so much closure, and it makes sense, but it was sudden. So beautifully sudden. Oh yeah, and Ethan and Lena can actually kiss without threatening to bring on the apocalypse. Then we have one final, magnificently-written scene with our main group: Ethan, Lena, Link, and Ridley. John and Liv are there, too, and I got a little emotional reading their little lovey-dovey scene, but it really sunk in that this was the last time we'd read of Ethan sitting next to Lena, and Link next to Ridley, at the Dar-ee Keen. So as I read about Link's little childhood mishap as Ridley refuses to move to New York City with him in the Beater, I begin to tell these guys good-bye. Then the epilogue hits. And oh, did it hit. I'm so glad we went from having a scene with the main six, to the main four, and then topping it all off with the main two. Ethan and Lena are the main components of this series, and I'm so glad to see them still strong, although I would have enjoyed some confirmation of their marriage. I mean, come on, they can't have gone through all this and not get married.

So congratulations Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and thank you. Thank you for making such a beautiful, beautiful series.

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Review | 'For Darkness Shows the Stars'

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS is the post-apocalyptic (of sorts) dystopian story of Elliot North, a Luddite, and her relationship with Kai Wentworth, a Post. Luddites and Posts compose the population in this society; a split that occurred after The Reduction, an occurrence resulting from technological revolution reaching an unpreventable state. The book is a tale of choice and temptation, developed at a disappointingly lukewarm pace.

Just a reminder, this review WILL contain spoilers pertaining to this novel, and although they are mild, I would not recommend reading this review to anyone who has not read FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS.

Let's analyze the pros and cons of Diana Peterfreund's novel, shall we?

CONS:
>There were points in the story where I thought "Oh, we're getting somewhere here!" and were just ultimately left alone. This story could have gone so many places, but it...didn't.

>There were so many unnecessary scenes of pointless dialogue and plot exposition placed haphazardly, to the point where it got a bit annoying.

>There's a lot of confusion and ambiguity surrounding The Reduction. I'm not sure whether or not that confusion was intended, but it definitely didn't work well with the plot.

>The motivations of some characters were so misguided and messed up. I think Elliot's constant attraction to Kai grew to be annoying, and I honestly began to ship Elliot/Horatio, and hoped they would end up together. Kai was never, and never would be, a good fit for Elliot, but she just fell back in love with him all over again multiple times. I could see where her reactions to Kai/Olivia's relationship came from, but there was not a lot of realism to the concept further than her initial, petty reactions.

PROS:
>The essence of Elliot's choice was very realistic, and it was supported with the letters that provided intermission to the story. In most YA novels, romance is centered solely around mystery or physical attraction, but this book has a much more understandable internal conflict; deriving from Elliot's early friendship with Kai, their separation as friends, and his return to her life. Elliot is then faced with the conflict of choosing whether or not to rebuild her relationship with Kai.

>Character development was mediocre in the book, but I wouldn't file that under my con list, so I suppose it belongs here. There were many characters to keep track of in this book--Elliot, Kai, Ro, Dee, Horatio, Olivia, Tatiana, among others--and they all seemed to get there own little spotlight, which was nice. There weren't any characters who played no significance whatsoever, so I'm glad Peterfreund paid attention to all of them.

>I touched on this a bit earlier, but I really loved the use of Elliot and Kai's letters. It help build the story, which was good.

>Peterfreund has a very fresh, open writing style. I feel like she has a lot of untapped potential.

View all my reviews

Review | 'Tiger Lily'

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was fantastic. But it was so, so depressing.

Just a disclaimer, this review WILL contain spoilers pertaining to the book, but I really don't want to hide the WHOLE review because of spoilers, because I just--I just--blech. No. Enjoy, and beware of spoilers!

I used to absolutely love the relationship between Wendy Darling and Peter Pan, but this book totally changed my outlook on the whole ordeal, and made me become so interested in the character of Tiger Lily, a character who--prior to reading this book--I'd never put much stock into. From the moment the relationship between Tiger Lily and Peter Pan was built, I knew there would be all these FEELS.

Okay, so let's analyze/examine some pros and cons from the story.

CONS:
>The beginning is a VERY slow start. I "started" the book in October, read the first chapter, and didn't pick it up again until November. I definitely think the author could have done a better job at catching the reader's attention. But once you get to Tiger Lily's first confrontation with Peter, things start to pick up a bit.

PROS:
>At first, I was going to put this as a con, but then I reconsidered. The amount of time we spend with Wendy is satisfactorily short. I was initially surprised at how late she entered the story, and how short her stay was, but looking back, I think it's a good thing. It provides this sense of realistic heartbreak for Tiger Lily; this English girl slipping in, attracting the likes of Peter and the lost boys, and then essentially ripping him right out of her life.

>Tiger Lily's character. Oh my gosh, Tiger Lily was fantastic. I love how quiet yet strong she is. She's got this brutality and innocence to her that is often hard to portray in YA fiction, but Jodi Lynn Anderson does a fantastic job of illustrating it in this book. I really loved Tiger Lily, and rooted for her the entire book through. My heart broke when hers did, which is a sign of a fantastic character.

>Tinker Bell's narration. I went into this book thinking that it would be narrated from Tiger Lily's perspective, but I was proven wrong right off the bat. At first, I didn't know how I would react to Tinker Bell creepily following Tiger Lily and Peter around, but I grew to like--and appreciate--it. She definitely provides this objective, unbiased, yet sensitive, look into their relationship. I love how she confesses to falling in love with Peter, and admitting to nothing ever happening between the two of them. I love her commentary on every person; her contempt for Wendy, and her eventual disappointment towards Tiger Lily's character change, especially.

>Peter's letter to Tiger Lily. This was just so--ugh. This letter seriously made me say, "THEN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU STAY WITH TIGER LILY, YOU DOUCHE?" The letter made sense, though, and it provided some more sadness to Tinker Bell's visit to England and running into an aged version of Peter Pan (which was so depressing).

>The realism. Especially for a book of such crazy scenarios, Tiger Lily hits home in a way most YA fantasies don't do. So many authors could take a hint from Anderson.

Overall, Tiger Lily has a fantastic plot with groundbreaking characters, and I definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone.

View all my reviews

Working title.

It's been weeks, I'm pretty sure even months, since my fingers have passionately tapped across the internationally beloved Qwerty keypad to do something that I love more than most other petty, expendable things in life, and that's blogging. In my defense, though, I've been quite busy. Since summer, my sophomore year in high school's started and I've filled my life with Debate and homework and college level courses and yada-yada. If you noticed the horrifying gap between when I posted YouTube videos, you'd see that there was this void between the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012, and it is that way for a reason. My Debate season never ends. In fact, in my eyes, it started Autumn 2011, and will continue until Spring of 2015, when I graduate. But I had Debate tournaments from October to February last year, which is why I was virtually inactive, also because I had to balance extra-curriculars with friends, family, homework, etc. Vlogging and blogging got sort of shoved aside. Which is why I don't really even have a legitimate domain for this blog yet. I started this site in winter 2010, and had intended on purchasing a .com domain name, but after my life getting so full and such, I found myself not wanting to pay for something I didn't really use as frequently as I hoped I would. It simply seemed wrong and useless to me. In March, I picked back up with making YouTube, and made some throughout the summer, but then--and this shouldn't be a surprise--school started again, and my YouTube videos ceased to flourish. It really sucks, I know. I really love getting in front of the camera and talking and such. But August meant getting hard to work again, and not only have I been unable to post on the blog or make YouTube videos, but I haven't really been able to read a lot, which saddens me beyond belief. Since school started in mid-August of 2012, I have read 7 books, and abandoned 3. Among those seven, though, is perhaps the most-anticipated book of 2012 for me: The Casual Vacancy. I never wrote a proper review of Jo Rowling's newest novel, and I doubt I ever will, but I did give it 5 stars on Goodreads, and it's probably my new favorite standalone novel. I'm currently juggling Fahrenheit 451 for school, as well as The Devouring, Tiger Lily, and The Mark of Athena for pleasure. I'm also waiting for my copy of Beautiful Redemption to come in at the school library so I can wrap up my adventures with Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes. Since I've last written to you, I've seen the Perks film, discovered Imagine Dragons, Marina and the Diamonds, The Lumineers, among others; had a successful post-novice Debate career, and much more. And as I write now, I truly feel the gap that my lack of blogging has left. I wish I had been around to write a review for The Casual Vacancy, or to vlog about different social aspects currently irking me in this bothersome election. I suppose what I'd like you to take away from this, in part, is that I want to change this site a bit. Not only do I want to find the money and will power to invest in buying a proper domain for this site, but I'd also like to change the whole feel around The Potter People. I'm going to try to post one video (whether it be a review or vlog) per week, put out an episode of the podcast once a month, and make at least three blog posts (reviews or not) per week. I already plan to hop in front of the camera Monday afternoon (mainly to give the same sermon I give now) and make my first proper vlog in months. It's gon' be cray, I can tell you that. I do, though, wish that YouTube let their users change their usernames; that way I could change mine from PotterPeoplePodcast to ThePotterPeople, or perhaps I'll succumb to the pestering demands of YouTube to use my actual name, and sync my Google+ account with my YouTube. Ha, never gonna happen YouTube. It's too mainstream.

So while I've got you here, and while I stick with the thought that making a new paragraph was the right choice to make, I may as well wrap things up. I promise to be around more, if anyone actually really cares about that (cue sad teenage indie music). Until my activity becomes more prominent on the internet, you can watch me on the tube, follow me on Twitter, follow The Potter People on Twitter, follow me on Tumblr, and subscribe to the show on iTunes.

Good-bye.

Review | 'Never Let Me Go'

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Never Let Me Go has had the biggest impact that one single novel has had on me in quite a while.

After reading more than my fair share of love-triangle-filled, development-lacking YA stories, it was such a refresher to finally sit down and read this book, something I admit, albeit ashamedly, I've been wanting to do since I heard of the film, which stars my favorite actress, Carey Mulligan, as well as Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield. I wanted to read the book before I saw the film, as most people do, although I knew that, especially being a standalone, this book has been contrasted quite often to the film, at least as far as the ultimate impact goes. I haven't yet seen the film, although I have it on hold at my local library, so I'll have to pick it up soon.

Back to the book, though. Never Let Me Go follows the story of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, three children who have been raised in the sheltered haven of Hailsham, a 'school' designed to raise its 'students' to believe they are happy and safe and living their lives the way they ought to be lived. But the Hailsham students know they are a bit different from those not at Hailsham, and the outsiders definitely know the Hailsham students are different. After completing their lives at Hailsham, Kathy and her friends are sent into the real world, where they encounter many human obstacles and experiences, and then begin their lives as carers and, eventually, donors.

The painful sense of realism in this book is what makes it most touching and poignant, and what makes it so strikingly easy to connect to. Kazuo Ishiguro, the author, said in an interview that in writing the book, he intended to elaborate on the idea that humans tend to put the knowledge of death, or their own expiration date, to the back of their minds, and that he wanted to bring that to a forefront for these unique children, who really have a lifespan of approximately thirty years. The characters in the book begin as children who have been so isolated from society that they are rather naive, but also quite perceptive, considering their circumstance. But that's the thing about being a child, you have this sixth sense where you can almost detect the catch in a situation, yet it eventually dies out over time, because it has just become so settled into your lifestyle. Ishiguro does a beautiful job of showing how these characters grow so attached to each other and how dependent they are on one another, for if they split up, they would feel so lost and alone in a world that they really fill up only the most minuscule percent of the population. It's the way they transition into the most human ways of handling situations that makes the book position at a level of comprehension that isn't always done as successfully in other novels with this sort of premise.

In part one of the novel, I knew from the very beginning I would like Kathy. That never changed throughout the book; I loved Kathy from page one all the way to page 288, and my loyalty to her story never wavered. Strangely, though, I was originally sort of annoyed by Tommy in the beginning. I'm not sure what part of Tommy really bugged me, but perhaps it centered around his fits and how trivial they seemed to me at the time of reading the story's beginning. I was able to infer that Ruth would continue to be bossy throughout the story, although I didn't dislike her at the start. But as the story transitioned into the second part, I grew to absolutely loathe Ruth. She was a complete insensitive bitch who wanted so hard to conform into the mold of society, what with the idea of her relationship with Tommy, following Rodney and Chrissie like a little puppy, and searching so eagerly for her possible, hoping to have a successful career in her life. I felt for her, though, when she delivered her line about being modeled from trash, but I also felt Kathy's pain, after reading through the magazines and observing the faces of the models. That was something I liked about Kathy: her hidden curiosity, and how ambiguous it seemed until everything was pieced together. I loved that about this book (something not many books do anymore): things were actually spelled out for the reader; especially at the end. Books like these need explanations from the characters themselves, not little bits of hints dropped to make the reader just guess forever. Anyway, back to Ruth. The point of no return for her, in my opinion, was when she told Kathy that while she knew she and Tommy wouldn't last, Tommy never saw Kathy as anything more than a friend. It just showed how overbearing and tyrannical Ruth was; how controlling she was. At that point, I thought Ruth would never redeem herself. But then we get into part three, and after having a falling-out with Ruth and fleeing the cottages to be a carer, Kathy has settled on caring for Ruth as she nears her "completion" (the term for the death of a Hailsham student). Ruth and Kathy begin to rekindle their friendship, and decide to go and see Tommy, who is settled at another centre to be cared for. They go and find a beached ship, just for the sake of seeing it, just the three of them. Besides the other nice moments of reprieve of Ruth deriving from her conversations with Kathy, she really made me love her when she acknowledged that she knew the entire time that Kathy and Tommy were meant to be together (after finding out about the rumor of deferrals for Hailsham students in love) and that she hoped for Kathy and Tommy to get their deferral, and spend their lives together before Tommy completed. At that point, Ruth's entire characterization came full-circle, and I appreciated her 10x more than I did before. I loved Kathy and Tommy, but Ruth's character was so, so intriguing and strange.

The ending of the story was quite heart-breaking, but everything made sense. I assumed that Kathy and Tommy would get their deferral, but I totally understood why they didn't, and I understood Miss Emily's reasoning for the way everything went down at Hailsham. The final ten pages of the book revolved around Kathy and Tommy's last days together, and how Kathy wishes she had more time with Ruth, but also how she was content with how her life with Ruth had ended. Ruth and Tommy reach an agreement that it isn't healthy for Kathy to continue caring for Tommy, so a new carer is appointed for Tommy, and just like that, Tommy is gone, and Kathy is left with the recurring memory of him waving as she drives away, constantly returning to Norfolk (where she found presumably her childhood copy of the song "Never Let Me Go" on tape) and watching the sky as Tommy filtered in and out of her thoughts.

I couldn't go throughout this review without mentioning the title, though, and what it refers to. "Never Let Me Go" is a reference foremost to the song Kathy dances to whilst at Hailsham, before being stumbled upon by Madame. The chorus ("Baby, never let me go") strikes Kathy as referencing a mother who thought she couldn't have children (similar to the condition of Hailsham girls--infertile), but finally having one, and holding it close to her while she begs it to never let her go. Madame explains, at the end of the novel, that she had assumed that--when she saw Kathy--Kathy was pleading with the world to never let her go, as she would move on and face life outside of Hailsham. The title has beautiful meaning in the story, and it's obviously referencing the song, but I think it also ties into Kathy's relationship with Ruth and Tommy. It links to Tommy in the end, when Kathy holds him down as he enters a fit after finding out the rumor about deferrals was false, and that moment reflects their entire relationship; the balance and mediation she brings to him, as opposed to the unbalanced nature of Ruth. Speaking of, the title connects to Ruth and Kathy's friendship by the way that, in a sense, Kathy eventually did let Ruth go...twice, actually. The first time was when Kathy left Ruth to become a carer, and there was a 10-year gap between that point and when she saw her again, and once more when Ruth completes, and although there is some regret that she left Ruth on the wrong foot, she accepts the positive nature of the finality of their friendship and does let Ruth go.[

The book was beautiful, and I feel I could write an essay on Kathy's outlook on her life, and her pain and her guilt and her desire and her struggle and her benevolence overall, but I truly have no time for that. I knew instantly upon finish the book that it had become one of my favorites, and I can only hope it has the same effect on every other reader it meets. View all my reviews

Review | 'Shadow and Bone'

Shadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo
358 pg., U.S. hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
4 stars | A-



From Goodreads:

Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, the one thing she could rely on was her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’re sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.

When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the one person with the power to destroy the Fold.

Swept up in a world of luxury and illusion, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But as the threat to the kingdom mounts, Alina uncovers a secret that sets her on a collision course with the most powerful forces in the kingdom. Now only her past can save her . . . and only she can save the future.

I went into this book not knowing anything about it, besides that it had been very critically-acclaimed. I was especially drawn in by the blurb on the front of the cover from Veronica Roth, who's one of my favorite authors, so I ultimately bought it at Powell's City of Books in Portland, OR when I was there over the summer, after planning to buy it for a while. It's safe to say that I'm pleased I'm did so, and it was such a unique read, although there was something very reminiscent that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I couldn't help but feel a sense of recall throughout the story. But that's beside the point.
While reading it, I was always picturing a beautiful, Russian winter setting, and even a little bit of the setting from the Beauty and the Beast Christmas film that Disney released to DVD. If you know what I'm talking about, you're one of the 163,000 cool people alive. I don't really know; that was just an estimation of cool people still living. The setting was really just beautiful; beautifully described, beautifully executed, beautifully used. Everything about the setting just breathed beauty.
I really liked Alina. Lately, it's been difficult to love a heroine, seeing as most of them have conformed to the stereotypical YA heroine (poor, hopeless girl who is swept into a life where she is forced into a love triangle between to insanely handsome men with some supernatural abilities, and bada-bing-bada-boom you got yourself a Young Adult trilogy admired by many, and hated by those who are mentally sane), but Alina, however, did not. She was already this wonderfully-written, admirable character, who did have her flaws, but she wasn't needy and whiny. She became this defiant, independent, strong female lead who could make her own decisions, and acknowledged her own opinions and ideas rather than being passive-aggressive, like 85% of other YA heroines. To balance out her whole situation was, indeed, a love triangle, although one guy (the Darkling) was this hot-and-heavy, mysterious love, but the other person (Mal) was Alina's best friend, who meant so much to her to the point that their relationship escalated to love; not necessarily infatuation, but pure enjoyment of each other's presence. It was for this reason that I was in full support of the love triangle. Bardugo did a fantastic job of leaving you on your seat when it came to information about the Darkling, and how vile he turned out to be, which was nice. The plot was so well thought out, original, and fascinating, and such a refresher for the genre. I liked the supporting characters a lot, something not often said, but everything (the fantastic plot, setting, and characters) were trumped by Leigh Bardugo's mesmerizing writing. The plot, filled with originality and lit with passion and intensity, would not have been as nearly as strong as it was without the astounding writing of Bardugo. 

Sorry this review was kind of short; I actually finished the book a few weeks before writing the review, but I've just been so busy with school that I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write a review, let alone read a book. 

The sequel (second in the trilogy), Siege and Storm, is expected to be released in 2013.

Reaction/Recap | 'Asylum of the Daleks'

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* Okay, let the title speak for itself; this is a reaction, not a review. Many statements made in this little expression of thought may or may not be cohesive.

New image of Lena and Ethan in 'Beautiful Creatures' arrives!

So I log onto Facebook, right? Was I expecting anything out of the ordinary and wonderful? Nope. Did I get something out of the ordinary and wonderful? Hell yes!

For those who aren't aware, Beautiful Creatures is the story (originally a phenomenal novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl) of Ethan Wate, a semi-sorta-kinda-popular hometown hero, and Lena Duchannes, the outlandish new girl in town, and their magical love story, as they deal with a massive choice Lena must make that will change her relationship with Ethan forever.

The Beautiful Creatures film Facebook (and Instagram) posted a new photo of Ethan and Lena, the story's protagonists, presumably walking through Gatlin at night, stopping for a laugh.

First image of Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood surfaces

The official Beautiful Creatures film Facebook and Instagram posted the very first look at Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood in the film adaptation of the novel of the same name!

For those who do not know, Macon Ravenwood is one of the series' leading players, being the uncle of one of the protagonists, Lena Duchannes. Macon serves as a patriarch father to both Lena and Ethan Wate throughout the series.

To view the image, click here, and then let us know what you think!

The fourth and final novel in the Caster Chronicles, Beautiful Redemption, is set to be released October 23, 2012.

Sam Claflin officially cast as Finnick Odair in 'Catching Fire'

After over a month of being in need of confirmation, Lionsgate officially took to their Hunger Games Facebook page earlier today to announce that, yes, Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) has been officially cast as Finnick Odair in Catching Fire.

Maria Howell cast as Seeder in 'Catching Fire'

Lionsgate has formally announced that actress Maria Howell (The Color Purple) has been cast as Seeder, the District 11 Tribute in the 75th Annual Hunger Games, in Catching Fire.

Seeder is from the same District from Rue, and shares some characteristics with Rue, leading her to become good friends with Katniss.

So, yeah...

Hey, everyone. Sorry for the lack of news-being-posted, but I swear I have an alibi! I was on vacation, and while I did have wi-fi access, the only outlet I had to the internet was my Kindle Fire, and I absolutely hate posting things from there, because I've got to do it from the HTML section, and it takes me forever to type on thing and yeah. So, yeah...

I suppose to make up for all the lack of news, I should sort of round things up a bit, shouldn't I?

Here goes nothing/this super-post:

• LeakyCon 2012 took place this week in Chicago, and seemed to be a success from everyone who went. The Leaky team announced that not one--but two--LeakyCons would be taking place next year; one in Portland, OR, over the last week of June, and one in London over the course of August 8-11. Will you be attending either?
• Catching Fire casting has been...out of control lately. Meta Golding has been cast as Enobaria, the brutal Victor from District 2, and Bruno Gunn as her fellow Victor-Tribute, Brutus. Alan Ritchson has been cast as Gloss, the glamorous District One VT (to the pleasure of many female fans...just--just Google him--or look at his face). 
• Primary casting for City of Bones also came to a close with the casting of Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine Morgenstern, *spoilerspoiler* Clary's father/the story's main antagonist.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower was pushed back to a release date of September 27, which now, unfortunately, clashes with Jennifer Lawrence's thriller, House at the End of the Street, both of which I was planning on seeing at midnight, buuuuut, now I've got to choose between the two.

Alright, then. I hope this makes up for all the news-lackage, so PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I should be getting back in the routine of posting news and book reviews within the next few days, although don't hate me if things don't get posted right away. School is starting up in two days, and I'll be quite busy, but I'll still make time for the site!