Sonntag, 29. März 2015

Review: Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

*this review may include spoilers*


“Words, I think, are such unpredictable creatures. No gun, no sword, no army or king will ever be more powerful than a sentence. Swords may cut and kill, but words will stab and stay, burying themselves in our bones to become corpses we carry into the future, all the time digging and failing to rip their skeletons from our flesh.”


Content:

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn't know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won't keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that's not all he wants with her.

Cover:

This cover is as beautiful as the other ones in the series. However, there is one detail which I really love. In the corner of the eye you can see a bird, which is flying away. All the people, who read this series, know what I am talking about when I say that this bird is a really important detail in the books.

My opinion:

As you may know, I loved all the books in this series so far, but I waited a little bit before reading the last book, because I didn’t want it to be over. Now I am done, and I am happy and sad at the same time, actually.
Let’s start off with the plot. It was fantastic how the story developed. It went into the direction I think it would, but in a completely different way, which was a great surprise. I was very satisfied with the ending in general. Everything seemed to turn back to normal again. Couples found each other, the good ones succeeded. Everything was how it should be and thus, the ending was perfect.
Tahereh’s writing-style was, again, fantastic. However, whilst in the first book there were a lot of crossed out lines, which represented how insecure Juliette was, in the last book there wasn’t a single line, which was crossed out. This symbolizes for me, that Juliette finally found herself and her courage, and Tahereh did a great job in portraying that in her writing-style.
Now let’s move on to the characters. I have a lot to say and I will write a paragraph for each character individually:
Juliette: In the first two books she was really insecure and not satisfied with herself, but that completely changed in this book. She found her strengths and her weaknesses and thus, she was a much greater character to me, than I could have ever imagined. She isn’t this small wimpy girl anymore, who relies on others. She knows what she wants, and she has the strength to succeed. The character development of hers was incredible. There is one thing which I have to criticize though, but I will go into more detail about that when talking about Adam.
Aaron Warner: I always appreciated Warner’s love and care for Juliette, and to be honest, I always felt like his love was more honest and pure. In this books however, you get to know him a lot better than in the other books. You get to know his back story, but you can also see behind his normally so strong face. He suffers, and he doesn’t hide his pain anymore. But he learned to cope with the pain, and he finally decided which side he is on. He is a very strong character and I cherish every single of his actions. He is the right one for Juliette, and I am more than glad to see that they finally seem to be happy with each other. Seeing Adam and him growing closer is maybe even better, because they both just deserve it to be happy and have a family, or a brother, who loves and cares about the other. And I think they finally found that.
Adam: He goes through a lot of pain and suffering in this book, and I feel incredibly sorry for him, no matter what everyone else says. People are saying he is a “douche” in this book, but just think about that for a second. His heart was broken like five times in this book and I can understand it very well why he is angry, and I think it’s wrong to judge him. How would you react when the love of your life suddenly is interested in your worst enemy? I would be hella angry. Juliette hurt him over and over again, also when it wasn’t really necessary, so I think he deserves much more love than he gets. He is a great character and he also goes through a huge character development. He will always be one of my favorite characters, no matter what.
Kenji: Ohh Kenji. He was just … well … himself, which basically is the best you can expect. But in this book we also see a different Kenji. We see a man, who is actually also broken inside, who is hurt, and who isn’t always the party-clown. Nevertheless, he never misses a chance to make a joke or a stupid statement, and that’s what I love about Kenji. It never gets boring with him. He is definitely in the Top 2 of my favorite characters of all time and let’s be honest here, he is actually the highlight of all the books. You should read this series only because of him.

Conclusion:

This was a perfect ending to a perfect series. I can’t praise it enough. Please, go and read this series if you haven’t yet, guys!

Rating:

5|5 stars
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Sonntag, 15. März 2015

Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

“What are the chances you’d ever meet someone like that? he wondered. Someone you could love forever, someone who would forever love you back? And what did you do when that person was born half a world away? The math seemed impossible.” 


Content:

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Cover:

The cover is very simple, yet very beautiful. If you have read the book you know, what the headphones mean, as music plays an important role in the book. You can also see the protagonists on the cover, which is great in my opinion.

My opinion:

I went into this book with no expectations whatsoever. I knew that a lot of people on BookTube loved this book, but I am not a huge fan of contemporary, so I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did in the end. Let’s start off with the writing. Rainbow Rowell has a fantastic writing-style, and I love the way she describes characters. I also really enjoyed both perspectives, as it gave the reader a different point of view, not just from one single person. The plot itself was straight-forward as well, and kind of predictable at some points. If YA books taught me something, then that star-crossed lovers never have a Happy End. When I reached the last page though, it hit me like a rock. I kind of saw it coming, but then again it caught me completely off guard. The last sentence made me happy and sad at the same time and I didn’t know that it was possible that you could laugh and cry in between the pages. But this book made it possible for me. There was something about Eleanor’s and Park’s relationship that I just found extremely adorable. Every time they kissed I found myself grinning at the book. Maybe it was, because I just loved how everything developed. And also, because they are both misfits and they both deserve someone who cares for them, and who loves them. The best thing about this novel were the characters, though. The two protagonists, Eleanor and Park, were just so authentic. Park wasn’t the extraordinarily hot guy, who was surrounded by girls, who adored him (let’s be real here, almost EVERY YA hero is described like that), but he was honest and kind and a gentleman. And Eleanor wasn’t the typical size-zero girl with the perfect hair. They both felt real to me, and authentic, as I just said. And their relationship felt nothing but completely right. Another small thing, which I really enjoy was the setting. If you were born in the 90’s like I was, you probably remember all the things which were mentioned in the book, such as a walkman and the telephones and stuff like that. It had a bit of nostalgia to it.

Conclusion:

This is probably my new favorite contemporary novel, next to Forbidden. I loved every single page of this book and I would really recommend it to everyone.

Rating:

5|5 stars
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Samstag, 14. März 2015

Movie Review: Seventh Son (based on the novel “The Spook’s Apprentice” by Joseph Delaney)

“You think humanity’s good. 
There's evil inside of every one of them. 
They use you and they will throw you to the fire. 
Why choose them? Darkness is in you.

Content:

Centuries ago, a supernatural champion named Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) defeated Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), a malevolent witch. Now, she has escaped imprisonment and thirsts for vengeance. She summons her followers and prepares to unleash her wrath on humanity. Only one thing stands in her way: Master Gregory. Gregory takes Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) as his new apprentice, but he has only until the next full moon to teach Tom what usually takes years: how to prevail against dark magic.

My opinion:

Lean back my friends; I have a lot to rant about.

As a book to movie adaptation, this movie was a clear example of how you should NOT do it. They did everything wrong, what you can possibly can mess up.
I am a dedicated fan of the books, as it’s my favorite book-series of all time, and I was really looking forward to the movie, and all my favorite characters coming to live. However, I was highly disappointed. They changed A LOT from the book, and it felt like they just wanted to bring in more action and more romance, and thus, they changed the whole plot. But this is just not right.
But let’s start off with the casting. Tom is supposed to be 13 in the first book and they cast an actor who is older than 30? How logical is that? (same with Alice, btw) The acting itself though, was quite alright. But the good actors couldn’t make up for the horrible script. (Also: how do you mess up a book-to-movie adaptation? You literally have the script in your hands when reading the book!)
Then let’s move on to the plot. As I said before, the whole plot was changed. Yeah, Tom was the seventh son of a seventh son, and he was about to become a Spook, but that’s it from what they kept from the book. The Spook is drunk all the time (which wouldn’t happen in the book) and Tusk, who is actually the Spooks ENEMY, is suddenly his best friend and helper. Furthermore, the plot-line with Mother Malkin was changed, and now she has a castle. Yeah, because that’s how witches who were locked in a cave for hundreds of years roll, you know? Oh, and she has four helpers now, from all over the world, which wasn’t in the book either. But the thing, which disturbed me the most, was that they brought in plot-lines from all the first 5 books of the series! The Spooks secret (Book 3) is already revealed, same as the secret of Tom’s mother. If you have only read the first book of the series, in order to prepare for the movie, you really shouldn’t watch it, because it will spoil everything. Another thing, which was horrible, was that they tried to force in a romantic relationship between Alice and Tom. There is not SUCH a relationship between these two in the first books. Only because people want to see some romantic scenes, you don’t have to force it, especially if it’s not the in the book!
The ending of the book was the worst, though. After one week the whole apprentice of a Spook should be done, although it normally takes years? Yeah, sure, seems legit.
The good thing, however, were the visual effects. I think they did a pretty good job with the 3D and the scenery all in all. I also really liked the costumes. It put you into that “middle age” mood.

Seeing the movie as a movie and not book-to-movie adaptation, the film has its flaws too. My friend, who hasn’t read the books before, actually said that she was really confused at some points as to what’s going on, which isn’t the best thing, when you watch a movie. It kind of just felt like that changed everything for comedy, romance and actions sake.

Conclusion:

This book would have such great potential to become a great movie-series, but they messed it up. Also the great acting and the awesome visual effects couldn’t make up for the bad script. As a dedicated fan, I am really disappointed.

Rating:

2|5 stars
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Sonntag, 8. März 2015

Review: The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney

“Well, you’re safe until you make another silly mistake,’ the Spook added. ‘And don’t say you won’t. He who never makes a mistake never makes anything. It’s part of learning the job.” 

Content:

Capturing witches Binding boggarts Driving away ghosts For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried-some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope; the last apprentice. Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?

Cover:

I absolutely love the cover of this version. It’s scary, and it shows Thomas, the main protagonist of the books. I think it represents the book perfectly.

My opinion:

I read this book two times already, so this was a re-read for me. In a few days I will go to the cinema to watch the movie, so I had to prepare for it. And is there a better way to prepare for a book to movie adaptation than reading the book again? – I don’t think so.
This book is the first book in the Wardstone Chronicles, my most favorite series of all times. And this re-read showed me, why I love this series so much.
I absolutely love Joseph Delaney’s writing. He describes things so well, and he never misses a chance to give you Goosebumps. Another thing that I really enjoyed about this book were the characters. I honestly love almost every single one of them, the good ones and the evil ones. Even the villains were described perfectly. The character-development that Thomas goes through in this one book is incredible. At first, he is just a young boy, unsure what he wants in life. He doesn’t dare to do anything by himself, or make own decisions. But during this book he develops so much. At the end, he is a strong apprentice of the Spook, who knows what his determination is. But the most amazing thing about this book was the plot. It was exciting and action-packed from the first to the last page.

Conclusion:

Once more it was an incredible journey with Thomas and the Spook. I will definitely re-read the series soon! Definitely worth a read for everyone who likes high fantasy and horror.

Rating:

5|5 stars
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Montag, 2. März 2015

Review: The short second life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

It would be stupid to risk my life to save some total stranger. But I hadn’t had anything close to a friend in forever. Already it would be hard to go back to having no one to talk to, after only one night.

Content:

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes, and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood...life before she became a vampire.

Cover:

I like the cover a lot, especially because it really fits the rest of the series. The hourglass could symbolize the limited life of the vampires in the book, so I think it really fits the story as well.

My opinion:

I tried to read this book about 4 years ago, right when it came out, but I couldn't finish it. I couldn’t cope with the characters, nor did I enjoy the story. The second time round I enjoyed it a bit more actually, but again I couldn't get on with Bree at all again, and also most of the other characters (apart from Diego and Fred, I liked them a lot) seemed kind of annoying to me. The only part that I really enjoyed about this book were the last 25 pages, because the Cullens were there. It also kind of bothered me, that as a reader you already knew the ending, if you read the Twilight-series before. Everything in general seemed so obvious. I could guess what would happen before it even did, even though I didn’t get spoiled about that one character before. If you have read Eclipse, there are just 200 pages for the obvious to happen. What I enjoyed about this book though, was that you got to see a bit of the back-story of Riley’s pack. I think Stephenie did y great job on portraying that.
Above all of that, I kind of want to re-read the whole series again now. I love Stephenie’s writing a lot and I saw, how much I actually love her characters.

Conclusion:

All in all, the book was alright, but not mind-blowingly good.

Rating:

3.5 | 5 stars

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Sonntag, 1. März 2015

Wrap-Up: February 2015

My read books in February:




The Reader - Bernhard Schlink {207 pages}
Fracture Me - Tahereh Mafi {62 pages}
Eleanor and Park - Rainbow Rowell{140 pages read in February}
Rette mich vor dir (Unravel Me)
- Tahereh Mafi {413 pages}
The second and short life of Bree Tanner (Biss zum ersten Sonnenstrahl) - Stephenie Meyer {203 pages}

All in all: 3 & 1/2 completed books and 1 short-story
Total pages: 1025