The Hunger Games Movie vs. Book

So yes, I was part of the throng yesterday that went to see The Hunger Games.  Thankfully I got into a showing before school let out and I had to deal with the teenage group of fans. Not that I don't love you, I do, I just didn't want catcalls or snickers when Gale or Peeta were on screen.  So, I was actually surprised at the pace of the movie, it was slower than I thought and much more acurate to the book than I was expecting. My main curiousities for the movie were: how the heck do they make this PG-13 and stay true to the gruesomeness of the Games? Answer: they don't actually show the killing, only blood spatters and quick shots. Enough to get the gist, but not overly gory. Next question: How do they handle Rue? Answer: They don't show the actual death again, and it was handled very sweetly. The lullaby was one of my favorite parts of the movie. Another plus: actors who can believably cry on-screen! Yay! I heard more than a few people who were sniffling.

I only have two miffs. First, they ditched one of my favorite scenes! When Haymitch does a peter-pan off the stage at the reaping (which would have helped the tension holy smokes). And Haymitch is way too easily pulled into helping Katniss and Peeta. Second: Gale.  Liam might be a hunk, but he fell way short for me next to Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson's performances.  Way overdone or underdone, he made me sad because I really like Gale's character, even though I root for Peeta. :( Otherwise, this is a great movie done faithfully (as conceivably possible) to the book. Go see it if you love Hunger Games.

Also, Katniss is a lot more likeable in the movie for me than the book. Happy days. We'll hope that the next 2 movies are just as good...and maybe fix some of the doom and gloom of Mockingjay...

Keturah and Lord Death

By Martine Leavitt


Keturah is a peasant girl who is gifted with the ability to tell stories. When she gets lost in the forest one day and realizes that she is going to die, she meets a dark stranger on a black stallion: Lord Death. Keturah tells Death a story and earns herself one more day of life, with the hope of escaping Death. The catch? She must find her true love before the day is done…oh and she must also find a way to warn of the Plague that is coming that Lord Death told her about.


I'm excited to tell y'all about this find of mine. It's times like this when I'm glad to be on Goodreads. This book was a quick read that had me up until 3 a.m. finishing it. It's written like a classic fairy-tale, but with more personal aspects than say the Grimms. It has that eerie feel without being creepy that hooked me right away. I've haven't had so much fun reading a book in a long time that was equal parts endearing, a little spooky, humorous, and romantic.  Keturah is a likeable heroine and has two great friends that helped to lighten the book's undertone of the inevitablility of death quite nicely.  To a certain point, you can tell what will happen, but even so, it's still haunting and riviting. Great great find. Love love loved it.

Favorite quote: "The soul, it longs for its mate as much as the body. Sad it is that the body be greedier than the soul. But if you would be happy all your days...subdue the body and marry the soul. Look for a soul-and-heart love."

4 1/2 out of 5 for surprising me and touching my heart.

The Angel Factory

By Terence Blacker


Thomas Wisdom has a great life. He’s popular at school. He gets good grades. He lives in a nice home. His parents are caring, wise, and supportive. His life is perfect. Almost too perfect.
When Thomas opens a secret file on his father’s computer, he discovers that in his perfect world, nothing is what it seems—not even himself. The truth—if he is brave enough to face it—can be found only in the place they call “The Angel Factory”.

 
Got this at the local library and when I saw on the cover that it "Deserves to be ranked alongside Lois Lowry's The Giver" that was good enough for me.  One hint people: you shouldn't hype up a book like that unless it actually does rank alongside an award winner like Ms. Lowry's book. Sheesh. I probably would've read this book anyway, but raising my expectations like that did not do the author any favors. This book was a pretty good premise, but felt half-baked. It was sufficient to keep my interest, but in the days of the dystopian/science fiction, this book was barely average if that. It could've been more fleshed out and written loads better. With that said, it was interesting and did have a few good twists. It just fell short for me.
 
2 1/2 out of 5 (mostly for lack of connection with characters and depth to the story) Had promise.

The Red Pyramid

By Rick Riordan


Since his mother’s death six years ago, Carter Kane has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the globe with his father, the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane. But while Carter’s been homeschooled, his younger sister, Sadie has been living with their grandparents in London. Sadie has just what Carter wants—school friends and a chance at a “normal” life. But Carter has just what Sadie longs for—time with their father. After six years of living apart, the siblings have almost nothing in common. Until now.

On Christmas Eve, Sadie and Carter are reunited when their father brings them to the British Museaum, with a promise that he’s going to “make things right.” But all does not go according to plan: Carter and Sadie watch as Julius summons a mysterious figure, who quickly banishes their father and causes a fiery explosion.

Soon Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them—Set—has a frightening scheme. To save their father, they must embark on a dangerous journey—a quest that brings them ever lcoser to the truth about their family and its links to the House of Life, a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs



This book took me forever to finish because I was reading it out loud. I didn't really like it as much as Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus, mostly because I don't know Egyptian mythology nearly as well. It was still doused with Riordan's trademark humor, which I greatly love and appreciate, and it was adventurous. I really liked the character of Anubis and also Horus. Sadie's crush on Anubis is pretty funny too. Riordan knows how to weave a tale that everyone will like: adventure, rescuing parents, a little romance for both Carter and Sadie, and magical powers. What's not to like? I guess the one thing that would help me out is to brush up on my Ancient Egyptian gods.

3 1/2 out of 5

Prized

By Caragh M. O’Brien


Striking out into the wasteland with nothing but her baby sister, a handful of supplies, and a rumor to guide her, sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone survives, only to be captured by the people of Sylum, a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. In order to see her sister again, Gaia must submit to their strict social code and the oppressive rules of Matrarc Olivia. Meanwhile, two brothers claim her attention as they attempt to understand the environmental trap that keeps the people of Sylum captive, and suddenly Gaia must contend with the exciting, uncomfortable, and altogether new feeling of being desired.

But when someone from her past shows up, Gaia discovers that survival alone is not enough and that justice requires sacrifice

 
So, the second book to Birthmarked. This was harder for me personally to get into that Birthmarked. And I was personally ticked at the whole 'now Gaia is desired' thing. I kept forgetting she had a scar, where that was a huge deal in the first book. Now suddenly she is 'it' girl and doesn't know how to deal with it. Not to mention the psycho people of Sylum and the men who let the women dominate over them...which I personally can't see really happening.  This is a small spoiler, though I'm pretty sure you figured it out from the summary. Leon comes back and is suddenly a jerk. What? I loved Leon, then he's all of a sudden acting like he hates Gaia. This was a little too extreme for me. I think he was having mood swings through the whole book. basically I was hating what was happening, but also not able to put the book down once I got into it. It's a page-turner and I was pretty invested in the outcome. I mostly was wanting to know what Leon does and lost interest in Gaia and her fickleness. The last book will be interesting...yes I will read it because I like causing myself to bang my head against the wall. Overall, mixed feelings, but still good enough for me to definately read the ending. Warnings: talks about rape (not any scenes) and also anatomy and birth and women's and men's parts. Needs a mature audience I'd say. 16+ in my opinion.
 
3 out of 5 (average)
 
There is also a bridge book called "Tortured" that is about 20 pages that fills in the gap of what happens to Leon at the end of "Birthmarked". Personally, it wasn't necessary, but I could resist reading Leon's point of view. I got it on my kindle for free if anybody wants to check it out.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

When I was a kid I wanted to be Irish. Mostly because they talked so freaking awesome. I did all this research and everything and asked my parents where our family came from. My Mom told me that it was mostly England but there was some Scottish. I was bitterly disappointed, but set my eyes on Scottland. I still wish I could speak in an Irish Brogue. Speaking of which, did you know they have a translator on Google for an Irish Brogue?  Dia Dhuit this Saint Patricks!

Did you Know?

Saint Patrick wasn't Irish at all? He was born in Scottland.

During St. Patrick's time, Ireland's color wasn't green but blue? (Maybe we should wear blue on Saturday)

Ireland was the first country in Europe to grow potatoes on a large scale (I now love Ireland even more!)

The color green in Ireland stands for Nature and Hope.

You can thank the Irish for your oatmeal breakfasts- they brought it to America.

Cinder

By Marissa Meyer


Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.


Shout out to Ms. Meyer: You are my hero for writing this book. I fell in love with the story almost immediately. I mean, it's got everything! It's dystopian, with some cyborg sci-fi going on, along with fantasy glamours, romance, fairy tale goodness, and adventure with awesome characters! The only bad part is, I keep trying to get people to read this and as soon as I say, "Oh it's so cool, it's like a future cinderella, but not, and she's a cyborg that lives in China..." they kinda look at me like, 'are you serious?' And then I respond, "Do you have a Kindle?" And I proceed to tell them what I'm telling you, go get the sampler, the first 5 chapters free, and you'll be hooked just like I was. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed in Cinder or her story. I thought I might be able to tell where Meyers would go since it was based loosely on Cinderella, but she kept me guessing as to how she would tweak things. I have just been geeking out about this book ever since I read it, and can't wait for Scarlett (The next book in the quartet!)

4 1/4 out of 5! Yes I loved it that much.