Sunday 22 February 2015

Book Review: The Token

Author: Natasha Rogue
Rating: ★★★★☆
The Token is a fantasy novel intertwined with romance, a classic mix for YA fiction. The main character, Callie, labels herself as a typical sixteen year old apart from her one true talent for singing.  She gets caught up in a love triangle involving a childhood friend and her best friend's brother (let the screaming drama begin). But nothing is all as it seems as Callie starts to notice suspicious behaviour from almost all her peer students at school including her best friend, Tammy. 

I loved reading this. I would have given it five stars but I'm not sure I would read it again as one of the great things about the narrative is the mystery of who all the characters are. At first, I thought it would be another okay-ish read but honestly? I could not stop reading! There are so many plot twists but not enough to overwhelm you. As you read through the story, the person who we think is the villain is suddenly the good guy and another person takes his/her place.

Sunday 15 February 2015

My Most Anticipated Book-to-Film Adaptations 2015


This year I've already been to the cinema a bunch of times to see the latest films including The Theory of Everything and Into the Woods to name but a few. But what I want to talk about is the upcoming book-to-film adaptations due to come to screen this year.

Insurgent (20th March)

I'm extremely excited to see Insurgent come to the screen as I believe the change in director has resulted in a better adaptation than Divergent was. Veronica Roth announced that the box in the trailer is part of a scene which sees most of the simulations in one, and I think it will be interesting to see how the film recreates those. 

Naomi Watts as Evelyn is a casting I'm still undecided on. In the trailer she appeared, in my opinion, to be slightly too young to be Tobias' mother. Another casting I'm on edge about is Edgar. He's part of the factionless in the trailer so I have a feeling he has been used instead of Edward since the iconic butter-knife scene didn't make the final cut in the first film.

Sunday 8 February 2015

Entering the World of The Girl with All the Gifts


I recently finished reading The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey and wondered what it would be like to enter the world of the characters. The book is about a ten year-old girl, Melanie, who is a subject of scientific research due to her strength against a disease outbreak. The author takes the idea of a zombie-apocalypse world and turns it into something much more complicated with meaning and emotion.

Warning: this post contains spoilers for those who have yet to read The Girl with All the Gifts.

Let's take Melanie. She's a ten year-old girl whose only memories involve the base and the people who work/live there. Most of us would probably be terrified if an army group pointed guns at us each morning in order to tie us to a chair. Obviously she understands that she is a potential danger to these people due to her hungry need to devour human flesh but she is still an extremely audacious girl. I can guarantee that if I were in her position I would not feel able to tease Sergeant Parks in a way alike to her.

Sunday 1 February 2015

Book Review: Peilis

Author: Kit Masters
Publication date: 31st July 2013
Rating: ★★★☆☆

   Last year I won Kit Master's novel entitled Peilis through a goodreads give-away via the website's First Reads scheme. I put off reading until this year as it is so different to what I usually read.

   The title comes from the Lithuanian term for knife which is a huge theme throughout the novel. Told from a twenty-nine year old teacher's point of view, the story explores the dangers of adolescent school chaos. This narrator is very much an observer who exposes the reader to the social infection which is rapidly tearing through the education system.