2016 New Year Resolution

A tad early but I have already decided on my resolution for 2016. I'm not going to make any promises about writing a certain number of reviews a month or a goal for the entire year. Instead I have resolved in the next year to finish the series I have reviewed on here where applicable.

For instance the Castor Chronicles will not be revisited. I never finished Beautiful Creatures and I will not be picking that book up ever again. Other books may not have sequels yet when they do I will read and review them.

This is my working list of books I will be reviewing next year to fulfill this resolution. With determination I'm sure next December this post will have links to where I have reviewed these books.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce
The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
The Body Electric by Beth Revis
The Demon's Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Dutton Books

Publishing Year: 2012

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis: Hazel Grace is our protagonist and we follow her story as she battles cancer and the knowledge that she will eventually die. Early in the book she meets Augustus Waters who has lost his leg to cancer and is now in remission. The only thing he fears is oblivion and Hazel believes oblivion to be inevitable. The Fault In Our Stars follows their story from the first time they meet and tells their love story.

I always promise myself I won't read any book where a character has cancer. It never ends well and I usually cry my bloody eyes out. Lurlene McDaniel destroyed my heart early on and I've never gotten over her novel 'A Rose For Melinda'. And yet here I am writing a review for a book filled with cancer. That being said what originally drew my attention to this novel was the movie adaption I'm sad to say. For me it usually goes that I read the book then see the movie. But not this time, I heard nothing but amazing reviews and comments about it. So I watched it and cried and then made my boyfriend watch it. He cried also.

So having already seen the movie, and knowing the ending I was sure I wouldn't let the book hit me on any kind of emotional level. I was wrong. The book delivered the same amount of heart-string tugging that the film did. All in all it was a good read and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others. The only reason it loses two points from my rating is Hazel Grace. I found it difficult to relate to her. In the movie she seemed more sophisticated and wise, but not so much in the book. In the novel she came across more emotional and more prone to mood swings.  Now I have to say that this is my personal opinion, because knowing how many people love this book there are plenty of readers out there to disagree with me.

Rather than end on that sour note I would like to point out my favorite part from the novel. "It's a metaphor, see: you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing." In this quote Augustus held a cigarette in his mouth and Hazel Grace flipped her lid. Reasonable considering cigarettes are linked to cancer and he was in remission. I know it's a popular one but it is indeed my absolute favorite. It was quirky and made Augustus, or Gus if you prefer, stand out and defined him nicely as a character.

Movie Review: The Host

Ages ago I did a book review for Stephanie Meyers' book The Host and surprisingly it was a great book. It should have gotten the publicity that Twilight didn't deserve. Its a book I cannot shut up about.
Since it also had a film adaption I decided back when it first came out that I would watch it-despite my wariness. The movie Eragon has left deep scars on my soul.

First, I was not disappointed with the movie, it kept to the story line and I recognized various bits of dialogue from the book. But I also can see why it had already been knocked down to five dollars at Walmart. Besides Mel's quips it was very dry and slow moving. The in depth view we have to Wanda's emotions in the book couldn't be conveyed sufficiently in the film. Wanda/Mel had multiple scenes were they stared directly into the camera, it repeatedly seemed like they were breaching the fourth wall.

Several minor characters were cut such as Kyle's girlfriend and the soul who possesses her body. While I don't feel that the lack of these characters affected the overall plot I was disappointed not to see them. For a movie that ran a full two hours and some change I expected a little more detail.

Finally the last scene in the movie and in the book. It was so drastically different from what I imagined. I pictured the confrontation happening somewhere in the desert not in the middle of the city. I feel like that could be a fault on my part as a reader. I'll have to go back and read the book again to make sure I didn't overlook the setting. Somehow I know I did.

Still despite all that I'm still hoping for a sequel to the book and eventually the movie. I can't stand how open ended they both were. Twilight becomes a saga and The Host still remains a standalone? Nope. Not liking it.
 
Question: Does anyone else agree that an author's most successful book may not be their best work?