Mockingjay Part 1 I Film Review

Name: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Apadapted From: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopia
Director: Francis Lawrence
My Star Rating: ★★★★★

I went to see this film on November the 21st for my friend's birthday. I do apologise for the length of this review as it was a while ago now and I remember only some of the details if you would like to see a (spoilery) review of the film on my YouTube channel click here.

I did not like the Mockingjay book so I went into the cinema expecting the worst but I was pleasantly surprised. First of all hats off to the set designers as district 13 looked perfect, exactly as I had imagined it. Secondly, when me and my friends came out of the cinema the first thing we all commented on was Coin's hair. Somehow, we'd all imagined it looking exactly the same and we imagined it looking exactly as it did in the film. Some of the shots were amazing my personal favourite being a zooming, bird's eye view of a huge crowd of people running down a staircase.

In terms of acting there was an all round great performance, Natalie Dormer was brilliant as Cressida and of course Woody Harrelson never fails to do Haymich justice. I did get a feel right throughout that they were doing a "Oh this guy hasn't had much screen time for a while let's have him give Katniss a spontaneous pep talk".

There was a scene in which Katniss sung the -now famous- hanging tree song (which my friends were bothering me with for days, at one point they sang it as a round). In scenes such as this they normally have a professional singer pre-recording the song and the actress mouthing it. However in this film it was undoubtably Jennifer Lawrence singing and I'm not sure why that please me so much but it did.

Love Always,
Freya

October Wrap-Up

This is a Teen Wolf story set around series one time. It is an additional story that is not in the TV show. I read this as a "there's a few day until Blood Of Olympus and I need something to read" kind of book. I only gave it two stars as it wasn't great but frankly I was expecting it to be terrible so I wasn't disappointed. One thing I did like is that we got information about the characters that you might miss whilst watching the show which was pretty cool.

I read this book because I knew the film was coming out soon and I had found tickets to an advanced screening. You can read my review of the film here. Sadly I made the mistake of not reaching the end of the book before I saw the film which meant I never actually finished it, this was because I had no desire to find out what happened next, as I already knew. My friend also told me how my favourite character dies in the next book and now I just don't see the point.

This was the fifth and final book in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series. My only complaint was the lack of Percy but besides that I think it was a great conclusion to the series and I am very happy with it. Rick Riordan has written such great characters who are funny and have really distinct personalties and because of this I got so attached to the series and finishing this book was very sad.

Pride and Joy was the first graphic novel I've ever read, i had been a bit unsure about them in the past as I thought with the way they were written it would be difficult to read but it's not! Reading a graphic novel feels like you're watching a TV show. The story was great and I really want to find out what happens next. I gave it four stars.

Love Always,
Freya

Runaways Volume 1 | Review

Title: Pride and Joy
Series: Runaway
Genre: Graphic Novel, Superheroes
My Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Blurb:

All young people believe their parents are evil ... but what if they really are? Meet Alex, Karolina, Gert, Chase, Molly and Nico - whose lives are about to take an unexpected turn. When these six young friends discover their parents are all secretly super-powered villains, the shocked teens find strength in one another. Together, they run away from home and straight into the adventure of their lives - vowing to turn the tables on their evil legacy.

This was the first graphic novel/comic book I'd ever read and I'm pleasantly surprised.  A few months ago my dad bought me a small selection of marvel comic books as I'm a big fan of marvel films and he thought I might enjoy what they were based on. I did, however avoid them for a while as I wasn't quite sure how to approach it, yes I could read books but would I understand it fully? I didn't like the idea of there being no description. As it turns out you don't need description, that's what the pictures are for (seems kind of obvious now I think about it). It felt like I was watching TV.

The storyline was great, a group of children who only know each other as family friends discover their parents are super villans, they then go on to discover secrets their parents had kept from them and realise power they never new they had.

The illustrations were nothing special but at each chapter mark there were great pictures of the characters, drawn in a different style.

Each character had clear and individual personalities, my favourite character was probably Nico, a goth girl that wasn't stereotypically moody and I also like Karolina as I feel she had a lot of morals and the most realistic reaction to their situation as well as some great character development.

I am about to order volume two and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Love Always,
Freya

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin | Review

Title: A Game Of Thrones
Series: A Song Of Ice and Fire
Genre: Epic Fantasy
My Star Rating:★★★★★
Blurb:

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand his honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must ... and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty. The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

A Game Of Thrones is a big book. Big books ,to many, are daunting. People think these books will be dificult to read with big words and long chapters. A Game Of Thrones isn't. I agree that the writing style would be a bit much for a small child but then again a small child shouldn't be reading this book at all. The chapters are of a good size and in order to get through this book you just need to dedicate some time to it and take it a chapter at a time. You'd be suprised at how fast you can read it.

It is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. Every so often I would stop reading and take a moment to appriciate the sentence I had just read. However one of my pet peeves with this book was that half the chapters began with "(insert character name) was breaking his/her fast when...". 

There are eight different character perspectives. First is Ned Stark: he is the Lord of Winterfell, an honourable man and close friends with King Robert Baratheon. Next is Ned's wife, Catelyn Stark. Then there children Arya, Sansa and Bran aswell as Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow. From King's Landing we have Tyrion Lannister: a dwarf, the son of one of the most powerful men in Westeros. Then finally Daenerys Targrayen, a thirteen year old girl who wants to go home, accompanied by a brother who wants the iron throne.

The plot of this book is very clever. It's almost like several seperate stories but they all intertwine in such interesting ways.

The first time I tried to read this book I found it very difficult to picture what was going on. It was like I was reading the words but they weren't registering with me at all. It had been recommend that I watch the HBO TV show before reading the book and I did. After watching the show, the book made perfect sense to me. There was, however, a downfall to this. Because I had watched the show and new exactly what was going to happen this book took me a long time to read. I didn't have any interest in finding out what happened next because I already new.

Overall this was a great book and is becoming one of my favourites so I hope you like it too.
Love Always,
Freya

The Maze Runner | Film Review

Title: The Maze Runner
Adapted From: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Genre: Dystopia
Director: Wes Ball
My Star Rating: ★★★★☆

On Friday night I went to an advanced screening of The Maze Runner. The general UK release is not until the 10th of September. 
As a film by its self it would have been amazing, compared to the book however, it could have been better. Lots of things happened in a different order, details about the world were changed and characters died in the wrong way. 
Let's talk about casting choices first. I loved Dylan O'Brien as Thomas, but then again I love Dylan O'Brien in general. From his time playing Stiles he has evidently perfected the "panicked" look. My favourite actor in this film was Thomas Sangster as Newt (otherwise known as fit guy from Game of Thrones). I loved that Newt kept his British accent as fake American ones are unbearable *cough* Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower *cough*. He was funny and even when crying he was inhumanly good looking.
I liked the film's pacing, sometimes when a story is condensed into a short amount of time it can seem rushed and in some ways an insult to the book when so much is left out or glossed over as if it is unimportant. I didn't feel like The Maze Runner had this problem.
I good test to see if a film is any good is "did I cry when someone died?" and I did. The key to an effective death scene is not the death its self but another characters reaction or way of dealing with that death and they did this perfectly. 
I loved the set, it was a lot prettier than I imagined. The fields, the gardens and the shelters they slept in all looked great and nothing looked out of place. You could believe that these people had built this for themselves in the time they had been here. I did have one problem with the maze, a lot of the time the walls weren't very high and it didn't seem like much of a maze.
I didn't like the grievers, they were supposed to be giants slugs with spikes but instead they were mechanical spiders with what (at first glance) looked like a human head.
Although most of my friends were disappointed with this film I thought it was really good. Maybe this is because analysing book to film adaptations is a hobby of mine and I realise why this changes have to be made during the adaptation process. I hope it did well in box office and that they make the sequel and if they do I can't wait to see more of this world on the big screen.
Love Always,
Freya

Nominated For Liebster Award!

I was nominated by the lovely Chloe from Epitome of Words for a Liebster Award! It was a lovely surprise to be nominated so thank you so much Chloe!

Now I can nominate another eleven blogs that I enjoy reading. I can also ask those eleven bloggers eleven questions of my choosing.

Here are the rules:

• You must answer all questions that are given to you
• Must link back to the person that nominated you
• Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers
• Provide nominees with 11 questions of your choice
• Cannot nominate the person who nominated you
• Must inform nominees of your nomination
• Provide nominees with a link to your post for more info
  Here are my answers to Chloe's questions:
  
  

  1. Do you like to write, and if so, would you ever consider writing a novel?

  I love writing! Experiencing an author's world is amazing but creating and experiencing your own is even better. I have written plenty of short stories and fan fiction and I'm currently planning my first novel. Although publishing a novel is the dream I'm also seriously considering getting into the film industry and maybe writing a screen play.

  
  

  2. Who is your favourite author and why?

  I always would say it was JK Rowling but besides Harry Potter I haven't actually read any of her other books (I had a go at The Casual Vacancy but it wasn't my sort of book) so recently I've been reconsidering. Although I have only read the one book, so far, I think it could be George RR Martin. Mr Martin's writing is amazing and every so often I just stop and think about how beautiful the words I just read were. His complex world is amazing and it's easy to forget that just one man and his pet turtles invited this incredible world.

  
  

  3. Any weird reading habits?

  I like to have my feet covered whilst I read, even if it's a really hot day I'll put a pillow or a cat over my feet (although the cat usually sits there voluntarily). I can't really explain why.

  
  

  4. Why did you start your blog? What inspired you?

  I actually had a blog before this one, it was originally supposed to be a beauty blog but I didn't wear make-up so it didn't work out to well. In the end it mostly consisted of school trips and days out I'd been on recently which got pretty boring after a while. I then discovered that book review blogs existed and that was probably more my forte.

  
  

  5. What can you be found doing on days when you just hang around the house?

  This is most days. I am a big TV binge watcher so I'll usually be watching an entire series of Teen Wolf, Merlin or Game of Thrones (Doctor Who is a night time show). If I'm in a really good mood I might do some fandom crafts (currently working on a Percy Jackson clay bead necklace) and in the evening I sometimes find my self in a baking mood.

  
  

  6. Who is your inspiration, or someone you look up to?

  Since I was little I have always admired my older brother and when I was very young I'd try speak and act the way he did. I wouldn't say me and him were that close but we never argue like most brothers and sisters, probably because of the three year age gap.

  
  

  7. What are some things you hate? Why?

  Porridge! I'm almost sick at the slightest smell of porridge. I also hate romance books, I like action books with romance in it but I just don't enjoy a book purley focused on what is usually a very predictable relationship. If you like romance I won't give you hate from it. I just love that people read so it's pretty unimportant to me what you read.

  
  

  8. What are some personality traits of yours that you like? Why?

  To be honest I'm mostly very cynical and pretty sarcastic. I do, however, consider myself to be quite loyal. Not just with friends but I'd hate to go to a different Chinese take-away on a Friday. The people there know me, they're very nice because of it and they're daughter waves at me when I see her in Morrison’s.

  
  

  9. If you had one superpower what would it be and why?

  Copy and paste power! I should clarify the copy and paste power doesn't only work with text and pictures, for example I'm at a friends house and I think the design of her kitchen looks nice all I have to do is activate my copy and paste power and I could have the very same kitchen at home.

  
  

  10. What would you do with a million dollars?

  Firstly I'd convert it into pounds so I could spend it in this country. I think I'd start a business or maybe put it towards making my own TV show.

  
  

  11. If your life was a reality show, what would it be about?

  The internet life. It would be all about blogging, being a YouTuber and the “dark side” of tumblr where hipster posts are very much frowned upon.
  I nomiate:
  1. Shannon Adventures Of A Teenage Bookworm
  2. Ayla and Juliet Living In Our Own Story 
  3. Books Ahoy
  4. Danielle Consuming Worlds
  5. Bitsy Bling Books
  6. Vanya YA Story Teller
  7. Cathy The Crazy Bookworm
  8. Faye The Social Potato
  9. Traci The Reading Geek
  10. Endlessly Bookish
  11. Lea YA Book Queen
  
  So sorry if I got any names wrong!
  
  My Eleven Questions:
  1. In Harry Potter books by JK Rowling in order to cast a patronus charm you have to think of a happy memory. What is the happiest memory you can think of?
  2. What would be your weapon of choice?
  3. Going back to Harry Potter their is a magical creature called a boggart. When you see the boggart it takes the form of the thing you fear the most. What would the boggart look like to you? why?
  4. Are there any genres of book that you usually stray away from? what are they?
  5. If your favourite book could be adapted into anything (film, graphic novel, TV show, musical etc.) what would it be and why?
  6. Dream cast for a book you love?
  7. Are there certain places you like to read?
  8. What are your main hobbies?
  9. Hobbies you don't have but are dying to try?
  10. Which magical creature would you want as a pet? Why?
  11. Would you rather travel in space or in time?

Percy Jackson and The Lighting Theif | Review

Title: The Lighting Thief
Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians
Genre: Fantasy
My Star Rating: ★★★★★

Blurb:
Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves

I have been meaning to give this book a go for three years now and last week I finally got around to it. A lot of people are put off by the thought of a story being narrated by a twelve year old boy, but I having had my experience with a fair share of children's books and being only a year older than Percy myself didn't let myself be put off by it.
Although this book is aimed at children and it narrated by a child it still is enjoyable for all age groups, much like the beloved Harry Potter books. Percy is witty and charming, he's a lovely well meaning boy and a joy to read about.

Lets start with characters. First there is our main protagonist Percy who I have already described. Next is Annabeth- daughter of Athena. It was great to have the book's smart girl being blond. I also loved that Annabeth didn't let her dyslexia stop her from being so intelligent. Up next Percy's best friend, Grover who (don't get me wrong) was lovely but frankly rather pathetic. This did however, give an excuse for some great character development.  

I loved that Riordan took the very traditional idea of Gods and very much modernized it. I loved that instead of sitting on thrones made of awesome in robes and crowns he made them...normal. Even the mighty Zeus wore a pinstriped suit.  I also loved the idea of Olympus being on an undiscovered floor of the Empire State building.

I can't say whether the plot was predictable because I had already seen the film (which is awful in comparison) but it was very exiting and usually even in the best of books I like to put it down every so often, but with this I didn't. 

I have been continuing on with this series and so far I have loved it, the books get even funnier as they go along and the reasons to ship Percabeth multiply.

Love Always,
Freya