From Paper to the Big Screen...

Hey guys!

So, this post today will basically just be about the amazing YA books-to-be-movies, some coming out this year, some maybe not until a little while.

1) I'm sure you've all heard about: HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2!!!!

2) And of course, the ever-popular BREAKING DAWN PART 1 in the Twilight Saga. Reasons for my questionable excitement for this particular movie are explained further in this post.

3) THE HUNGER GAMES!!!!!! 'nuff said.

4) Annddd… THE CITY OF BONES has finally casted JACE and can move on to casting other characters, thereby moving forward in their production. <3.

                Beginning with NUMBER ONE on my list: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, written by the brilliant and amazing British author JK Rowling – who began the Harry Potter series when her first book came out in 1995 – is concluding on the big screen as the final movie, Part 2, comes out THIS SUMMER on July 15^th. Fans are excited and sad, as seen from multiple Tumblr and Facebook sources:

This is the actual recap of what happened after Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) filmed their last Harry Potter scene together.

Over the years. Look at how much time has passed!

It's a very sad moment indeed. However, Harry Potter will always be known for its awesomeness around the world for generations to come. You can count on that!

                NUMBER TWO. Now, I know there are a lot of haters about this particular series, for both the movies AND the books. Even I admit that I have my complaints, too; I LOVED the books, but hated the movies. They didn’t cast the right people for my imaginary Edward and Bella, and after the movies came out, I began critiquing author Stephenie Meyer’s writing style and the book plots. HOWEVER, we all have to realize that people all have different views; whether they’re “good” actors or “good” books, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. People simply need to learn to be mature and keep their harsh comments to themselves. If they don’t like it, don’t spend money and time complaining about it!

                Anyways, I'm VERY excited for Breaking Dawn, Part 1 of The Twilight Saga to come out on the big screen because I'm not gonna lie, those picture teasers on The International Movie Database are AWESOME!!

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                NUMERO TROIS. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY EPIC STORY. If you have not read the trilogy already, I highly recommend you go read it. NOW. And this intense novel is also coming out on the BIG SCREEN with the following actors and actresses:

Actor/Actress	Role
Jennifer Lawrence	Katniss Everdeen
Liam Hemsworth	Gale Hawthorne
Josh Hutcherson	Peeta Mellark
Elizabeth Banks	Effie Trinket
Isabelle Fuhrman	Clove
Woody Harrelson	Haymitch Abernathy
Willow Shields	Primrose Everdeen
Stanley Tucci	Caesar Flickerman
Alexander Ludwig	Cato
Jacqueline Emerson	Foxface
Lenny Kravitz	Cinna
Leven Rambin	Glimmer
Paula Malcomson	Mrs. Everdeen
Donald Sutherland	President Snow
Dayo Okeniyi	Thresh
Toby Jones	Claudius Templesmith
Amandla Stenberg	Rue
Amber Chaney	Avox Girl

(Courtesy of The International Movie Database, I apologize if some of the information here is incorrect.)

                Since this movie is still in its production processes (I’m not even sure if they’ve started filming yet), the movie’s not going to come out for a little while. But I am certainly really hyped up for this movie because the book was freaking ADDICTING!! =D

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                And FINALLY, NUMBER FOUR: Cassandra Clare’s brilliant Mortal Instruments Series has its first installment hitting the big screen as the two main characters were casted!

INTRODUCING:

 LILY COLLINS as Clary Fray!

Anddd….

 JAMIE CAMPBELL-BOWER as Jace Wayland!!

                If you have read my City of Fallen Angels blog post here, you will know just how excited I am about this movie. I absolutely LOVE The Mortal Instruments and Jace is THE ABSOLUTE MALE HOTTIE AND INCARNATION OF SEXINESS. Seriously! And Jamie fits the role exceptionally; he just needs to clean up and gains some muscles ;D. Again, this City of Bones movie will not come out anytime soon as they [the producers] still have to cast the rest of the characters and start filming… But when that happens, I will be the first one in the theatre. Just saying.

                So, ‘tis an epic season of books-to-movies. And I am excited. Are you? =D

 - sm:)e .

Haven - Kristi Cook

**SLIGHT SPOILERS. YOU ARE FOREWARNED**

                  HAI! Here I am, back with another review about a pretty intense book that I think many of you will enjoy! ;D

      Violet McKenna isn’t a normal girl with normal teenage issues; she has more to contend with than most people could handle. Violet thought she was just crazy when she had a vivid vision of her dad’s murder. Her life started falling apart when her premonition came true. She’s had flashes of other events too–the problem was nobody believed her until she found a new school: Winterhaven.

      At Winterhaven, Violet finally feels like she belongs. She quickly finds a close group friends and discovers that they too have psychic ‘gifts’—as do all the students at Winterhaven. But as soon as she feels settled she discovers the most intriguing and alluring boy she has ever met, and things quickly go awry. As the attraction between them grows, intense visions of the boy’s death start to haunt her. In her premonitions, the secret he is unwilling to share begins to reveal itself. And to Violet’s horror, she learns that their destinies are intertwined in a critical–and deadly–way. More info over here.

                Well, then. This incredibly cool novel by Kristi Cook fell into my [computer’s] possession when 1)My friend told me about it and 2)It was available on Simon and Schuster's Pulse It website. Initially, I was skeptical because of the description above; a troubled teen with a secret psychic ability moves to a new school and finds true love – as well as true secrets. Kind of predictable, right? However, I’ll admit that I am a total sucker for these kinds of YA romance novels, no matter how grossly cheesy they get. *shrug* I never said my taste in books made sense. Don’t worry though, this novel is definitely not that extreme in its cheesiness – and I mean that in a good way. =)

          *SPOILER IS HERE* First, I’m going to address the most critical issue first – many people think this book is extremely similar – if not IDENTICAL – to the global YA vampire phenomenon, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. And it is true, BUT ONLY TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. Okay, yes, the new girl has a connection to the hottest guy in the school (who has never shown any interest in the opposite sex until she came along), and this guy has some totally bad-butt secrets; like the fact that he’s a vampire and can read minds.

HOWEVER:

Does Twilight’s setting occur in a place where EVERYONE has cool psychic abilities; where the heroine doesn’t have to hide behind the act of normalcy?

Does Twilight’s main female character have impossibly talented friends (NOT family) who can do freaking stuff like telekinesis (moving objects without touching them), detaching spiritually from their body, diagnosing bodily ailments, etc., who are actually there for her when needed and can kick BUTT??

And does the male hottie (with awesome blonde hair and stormy blue-on-blue eyes) have REAL flaws and imperfections in his personality, making him a more tangible and relatable character, as opposed to being impossibly perfect?

                I can tell you right now that NO, Twilight does NOT have ANY of these elements, which makes Haven by Kristi Cook distinctly different from the popular vampire saga. Even the paranormal folklore about vampire is different; Cook’s vampires are complete with fangs, human blood diets and magical elixirs – very different from the sparkly vegetarian ones (but don’t worry, Cullens. I still love you guys!)

                All in all, Haven is a very enjoyable read, with just the right amount of teenage angst, romance, mystery and action. And I must say, although it was quite predictable, the storyline was incredibly entertaining and suspenseful, and I’m definitely going to keep my eyes and ears open about a sequel!! =D

OUT OF 5 STARS!!!

 - sm:)e .

City of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare

I haven’t done a review in a while, (SORRY!) but it’s because I’ve been trying to think of how to review THIS book.

Well, then. *Cracks knuckles*. Let’s get started.

                I’m going to start by saying that I began the torturous descent into The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare when my friend bought me the paperback version of City of Bones. Finished it in about 5 hours, and FREAKED OUT. I mean, c’mon, the topic of incest doesn’t pop up in very many books nowadays, does it? ;D A couple of months later, the hardcover version of City of Ashes was newly released in Chapters/Indigo. Read that in about 3 hours. Screamed at the cliffhanger ending. Then, had to wait another YEAR before City of Glass came out. And I read that in 5 hours, I broke down with pure JOY. No lie. I thought, “What a perfect ending! ^-^”

I really should’ve known better. *shakes head*

                August 2010: the announcement happened. Apparently, the world of Shadowhunters wasn’t finished quite with Clary, Jace and Simon. There was going to be not just one, but THREE more books coming out. I almost had a heart attack at this news. What more could this author write about? And then I had to wait in suspense for the fateful day of April 5^th, 2011 for City of Fallen Angels. Here’s how that day went:

Itinerary of Tuesday, April 5^th, 2011:

     -     Woke up at 6 AM, texted my friend, freaking out about the book

     -     Checked Twitter, enviously cursed those darned Australians for their time zone

     -     Went to school *tear*

     -     Came home from school at 3-ish, completely ecstatic

     -     Waited for my dad to come home (in agony, at this point)

     -     Went to the bookstore at 7 PM

     -     BOUGHT THE BOOK

     -     Began reading at 9 PM

     -     Finished the book by 12 PM

     -     Screamed soundlessly so my parents wouldn’t wake up

     -     Cried pitifully for the rest of the night

                And it took me an entire MONTH to think of an adequate way to describe City of Fallen Angels in words. But I couldn’t. I still can’t. SO, considering I wrote so much already, I’ve decided to review this book in pictures. 'Cuz, you know, a picture says a thousand words. Heh, hopefully it’s not too spoiler-y. =)

                The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

                But nothing comes without a price.

                Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.

                When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

                Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. More info here.

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Picture 1: Yep. Still TONNES of vampires in this. =) SIMON! <3.

Picture 2: Heh. Heh. =D

Picture 3: Notice the band name?

Picture 4: Salt is awesome on popcorn ;D

Picture 5: Word.

Picture 6: The theme of the book. Seriously!

Picture 7: HA! Endangered indeed ;D

Picture 8: Three things. Jace + Mangoes + Tomato Soup = LOOL

Picture 9: Praetor Lupus; the Good Samaratins. =D

Picture 10: A kid version of Jace vs. Kyle. Hee. =)

Picture 11: Dirty Sexy Alley Scene!! ;D

Picture 12: I'm sure an explaination is needed, but I'm not giving one. =)

Picture 13: The Dagger of Doom.

Picture 14: Teehee. A reference to this UBER AMAZING book is made =DD

Picture 15: Blood bags usually only mean one thing...

Picture 16: Wonder who's getting married in such an intense book?

Picture 17: Ring-a-ling-ling.

Picture 18: There's a reason why I chose a BLACK baby carriage.

VS.

Picture 19: There's a lot of this stuff going on at the end of the book.... EPIC is all I have to say!

Picture 20: A blood promise. o_O

 Picture 21: Cliffhanger. 'Nuff said.

                Okay, so I realize that maybe those pictures don’t convey the book very well. I mean, I only picked the ones that target the main components of a thoroughly AMAZING book. There are still so many missing parts, like all the fighting scenes, the dead Shadowhunters, Clary’s new runes… etc. =) But still, I like the pictures better. They keep the suspense ;D

                All in all, City of Fallen Angels is a TOTAL THRILLER from beginning to end. This book is proof that Cassandra Clare loves to torture both her readers and characters, but for some reason, we all love her for it! If you ever think about diving into this world of demon-hunters and complex love relationships, you’d better prepare yourself for all the heartache!!! I canNOT wait until the next book, City of Lost Souls comes out next year… But I suppose what’s another year compared to the 3 I waited for City of Fallen Angels? Besides, the sequel to Clockwork Angel DOES come out in December this year… =D

 OUT OF 5 STARS!!! ;D


 - sm:)e .