Review of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Narrator: Kate Rudd
Published by: Brilliance Audio
Length: 6 sound discs (7 hr., 19 min.)
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Seriously, how does John Green amaze me every single time? 

Like the rest of John Green's novels, The Fault in Our Stars was phenomenal.  This story is so much more than a girl battling Cancer; it's about the epic and sometimes ironic adventures of life.  It's about finding happiness in the darkest of times and leaving your mark on the universe.  Is it sad?  Sure, once I was actually crying so hard I had to pull over and stop the cd for a while.  (They should put some warning labels on these audio books!) But again, the whole novel is not sad and tragic; instead the sad parts highlight the rest of the story and makes it that much sweeter.

Hazel and Augustus are two characters that will easily enter your life and make a lasting impression.  In fact, all the characters in The Fault in Our Stars had so much depth and dimension that the story easily came to life.  Hazel, Augustus, their family and friends have an inner strength that could rival any Marvel superhero.  They haven't lived the easiest of lives, but that didn't stop them from having a life, falling in love, and dealing with not only the death of loved ones, but also the guilt of survival and health. 

I can't pinpoint exactly what makes John Green's novels shine the way they do, but I believe it has to do with his writing.  He is a master of language and verbal sparring.  He has an extensive vocabulary and puts words together in such a flawless way that I'm in awe of the writing before I even fall in love with the story. 

This is the first novel that I have listen to with Kate Rudd as the narrator and I look forward to listening to more in the future.  She portrayed so many different emotions in such a way that I almost feel I got more out of listening to the book than by reading it.  This is what makes a truly great audio book in my eyes.  Phenomenal story and great audio version...you can't go wrong with that combination.

Friday Night Date Night

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

To my surprise the other night I came home and noticed that someone had rented The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from the library.  I had tried watching the Denmark version of this movie and could never get past "that scene."  I had heard great things about the American version so I thought I'd give it a try + I love me some Daniel Craig! 

From what I remember of the book (it's been years since I read it) the movie held pretty true to the story line.  There was enough of the plot there to keep you interested and understand the gist of the story, but like any movie there was some information and scenes left out.  If you are planning on reading this book or watching the movie I do suggestion downloading a Vanger family tree such as one of these.  Trust me it will help immensely since there are a lot of characters to keep straight.   I printed one out when I listened to the audio book and then gave it to my mom when she listened to the book too.  I don't think either of us would have been able to keep everyone straight without it. 

I loved how fast the movie seem to play out.  It was action packed and definitely kept my attention.  Daniel Craig (as Mikael Blomkvist) and Rooney Mara (as Lisbeth Salander) were fabulous.  They brought the characters to life in a far better way than my imagination did.  I have to say there are a couple of scenes where Daniel Craig looked as good as the US Men's Olympic Swim team.  Those were a nice change from some of the other scenes that I knew were coming up and still couldn't watch.  (Thanks to my mom for telling me when I could uncover my eyes and unplug my ears again.  Are not moms great no matter how old you get?) 

I really enjoyed this movie and I look forward to seeing The Girl Who Played With Fire.

Want to see more?

Thursday's Name Game: Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars

When I first started blogging I did this feature called Thursday's Name Game and as I was going through my posts I realized that I had a lot of fun putting the posts together so I thought I'd try it out again.

Essentially I just take whatever book I'm reading, pick a character and research a little about their name. So here it goes...

Name: Hazel

Gender: Female

Character From: The Fault in Our Stars

Origin of Hazel:

It comes from the name of the tree or the color.

Places named Hazel:

Hazel Green, Wisconsin
Hazel Grove, England
 
Characters named Hazel?

• Hazel, (male) rabbit in Watership Down by Richard Adams
• Hazel, a 1960s TV show
• Hazel, a witch on Bugs Bunny cartoons

Have you heard of these gals?

• Hazel Patricia, Julia Robert's daughter
• Hazel Clark-Riley, a US Olympic Runner

Do you know of anyone named Hazel or any famous Hazel's I am missing?

*adapted from http://www.babynamewizard.com

Review of Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Title: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Narrator: Johanna Parker
Published by: Recorded Books Inc.
Length: 8 sound discs (9 hr., 30 min.)
Source: Libary
Format: Audio
Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Sookie, Sookie, Sookie...we are on the 12th book and people are still trying to kill you.  Don't get me wrong, I love this series.  I've read and listened to all the books, however, they are all starting to sound the same. 

After Sookie is summoned to Eric's house to entertain Felipe de Castro, all hell brakes loose when they find a dead girl on Eric's front lawn.  After the last book I expected the wrath of Felipe de Castro to be a little more terrifying.  He is supposed to be this big bad vamp and yet a lot of the book didn't focus on that.  In fact, it didn't focus much on vampires at all much to my disappointment.  I wanted some quality Eric time and this book didn't deliver that, instead it focused mostly on Sookie.

Sookie is her typical self; a little flighty, quick tempered, and forced into awkward and dangerous situations.  However, she does seems to be doing a little soul searching in this novel.  She looks over her life and all the things and people in it.  I think this may be leading up into the big decision that the next (and last) book in the series will hold.  Who does Sookie really belong with? Eric, Bill, Sam, Alcide or someone completely new and human? 

The plot was pretty much the same as all the rest of the books in the series.  Though the ending does bring a bit of a surprise that I wasn't expecting.  Overall, I felt like this book was pretty much setting up everything for the final installment of the series.  It wrapped up a couple of loose ends and set up some decisions Sookie will have to make about her life. 

Even with its predictability and typicality's it was still a fun book to listen to.  I enjoyed listening to Johanna Parker read as Sookie.  I know she's narrated some Meg Cabot and Jennifer Weiner books, but to me she will always be Sookie. 

What happens when the movie/TV show is better than the book?

I don't know about you but I'm a big fan of reading the book before I see the movie or the TV show and 99% of the time the book is so much better, but what about that 1%?

Yes, as much as we hate to admit it, there are times when the visual effects or the slight changes in the plot make the movie or TV show better than the actual book.  **Gasp**

What do I do when this happens?  Silently shake my head and then...get over it and enjoy the movie or show.

I'm sure there are many shows or movies that are better than the books, but these are just a few of the ones I noticed:

1. The Green Mile by Stephen King.  Yes that jolly big man brought me to tears many times.
2. Misery by Stephen King.  Kathy Bates at her finest.
3. Rizzoli and Isles by Tess Gerritson.  Seriously this show is so addicting and I don't even watch much TV.
4. The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike.  This was another TV show that captured my attention.  I loved it.
5. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.  The effects in this book were pretty awesome. 

Those are the ones that first come to my mind.  What about you?  Which movies or shows do you think are better than the books?

When I first started blogging I did this feature called Thursday's Name Game and as I was going through my posts I realized that I had a lot of fun putting the posts together so I thought I'd try it out again.

 

Essentially I just take whatever book I'm reading, pick a character and research a little about their name. So here it goes...

 

 

Name:  Luke

Gender: Male

Character From: The Emerald Talisman

 

Origin of Luke:

 

Means 'light' in Greek and in Latin, Lucas, means 'man from Lucania'

 

Places named Luke:

• Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, United States.
• St. Luke's Hospital, various locations, United States. 

Characters named Luke?

• Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars movies
• Luke Danes from the TV show Gilmore Girls
• Luke Castellen from Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan

 

Have you heard of these guys?

 

Luke Perry, an actor best known for 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie)

Luke Wilson, an actor best known for Old School, Legally Blonde, and Anchorman

Luke Bryan, a country singer best known for "Rain is a Good Thing"

 

Do you know of anyone named Luke or any famous Lukes I am missing?

 

*adapted from http://www.babynamewizard.com

Review of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Narrator: Kate Simses
Published by:  Harper Audio
Length: 9 hr., 12 min.
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: "You can't touch me," I whisper.

I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.

He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.

But things happen when people touch me.

Strange things.

Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans of her own.

After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

I'm a little late to the game in reading Shatter Me.  Everyone ranted and raved about it so I knew I eventually had to read it, but I was scared with all the hype surrounding it I would be disappointed.  I have to admit it took me awhile, in fact almost the whole book, to get why everyone loved it so much and then the ending came and I understood. 

Juliette is a complex character.  She's so lonely and heart-broken.  Her touch is deadly and after an incident in a grocery story she was locked up in a "mental asylum" and essentially left to die.  I feel so bad for her.  I think it would be horrible to never touch another person, to feel the comfort of a hug or the passion of a kiss.  Juliette craves the company of others but never really had the chance to interact with them.  She kept herself separated for fear of hurting others and her parents isolated and ignored her.  Talk about an intriguing psychological profile...Juliette is more than a little scarred from her ability. 

Because of Juliette's "gift," The Reestablishment tries to use her as a weapon.  This plot seemed similar to many other novels.  Find someone with a gift and use them for the evil people's agenda, throw in a cute guy, and a creepy, conniving leader and the story is complete...up until the ending.  Oh, the ending.  It is perfect and I am so excited about it.  This for me is what made the book.  If Tahereh Mafi would have stopped the novel 100 pages earlier I wouldn't have been that fond of it, but she didn't and I thank her a million times for that.    

This was one of the more interesting novels I've listened to on audio.   Kate Simses had a bit of a younger and softer voice than I imaged by looking at the girl on the cover of the novel, but the voice fit Juliette.  I think there is a bit of a disconnect about how I viewed Juliette and the fierce looking chick on the cover.  Anyways back to the audio.  They did this really cool thing where every time Juliette "scratched out" a word in the story, the audio made the sound of a pencil scratching out the word on a piece of paper.  It was such a small addition but really aided to the enjoyment of the audio.  It was a great sound affect.

While the beginning started off a bit slow for me the ending definitely made up for it!