if i stay and The Fault In Our Stars (Movies)

Two of my favorite books are being released as movies this year!!

 if i stay by Gayle Forman is one of my absolute favorite books, and it's been made into a movie! The story is moving, grounded and tragic, and soooo good! A book based on family, love, and a horrible tragedy that will change Mia's life forever...if she chooses to let her life continue.

I can't wait until it's released August 22nd.

 The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is another one of my favorites, and is also a movie that is to be released this year. This story is also moving and tragic. A love story that lasts a lifetime in only a short time.

I will be watching these two fall in love on the big screen June 6th.







The trailers for these wonderful movies:

 if i stay

The Fault In Our Stars

See you at the movies! ♥

Collide by Forever

Title: Collide (Special Edition)

Author: Forever

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Date Published: November 29, 2013

Genre: YA fiction, romance, fantasy, action

Pages: 430 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+ (abuse, language, suicide, and graphic violence)





Summary 


Fated to love. Fated to break. Fated to die.

As a loner his entire life, Shay Pearce feels abandoned and left for dead. Being stabbed in the back more times than he could possibly count has left his trust broken beyond repair. However, all of that threatens to change the moment he meets Avalon. She’s flawless, friendly, and incredibly talented at breaking through Shay’s defenses—which drives him absolutely insane. But there’s something alluring about her upbeat attitude and playful sense of humor, and before he can stop himself, he’s falling for her.

When things take a turn for the worst, Shay discovers more about his world than he could’ve imagined in his wildest dreams. There’s far more to his existence than meets the eye. He knows one thing for sure: he has to fight the evil that haunts him. It’s the only way to save Avalon and finally get the vengeance that was always his. But some things were meant to be set in stone. If the course of fate cannot be altered, can Shay be saved…

…from himself?


 Review


The writing is beginner level, though it is still good. I feel like things weren't illustrated professionally; Shay's thoughts seemed too random in some places, and some other things seemed random as well.

The characters are good. Nixon is spunky and fun and sarcastic. Avalon is sweet but there's something boiling beneath the surface. Shay is troubled, his scars go deep. The storyline is original and thought out.

Characters have sex but chapter ends before anything actually happens, lots of cussing, father abuses the main character, Shay, and there is a lot of violence toward the end of this book. Character also drinks and cuts himself.

I liked the epilogue--it was sweet. I thought the final chapter was rushed. It really didn't make sense to me how Nixon and Shay could be over such a thing so fast.

I think Forever has a wonderful talent for story-telling, and will be a great author someday. 


The 2 short stories that come in this special edition are good.

Echo: set in one of Shay's past lives and takes you through one of his love stories. This story ends in tragedy, as does all of Shay's past lives. There is a nice twist at the end of this short story though--when it jumps back to present-day Shay.

Shift: told from Avalon's perspective. Begins in tragedy and ends with the beginning of new love.

First Love by James Patterson

Title: First Love

Author: James Patterson and Emily Raymond

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Date Published: January 13, 2014

Genre: YA fiction, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction

Pages: 288 (hardback)

Age Range: 12+ (a character is given the finger, but no language otherwise or sexual content)




Summary


Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone that what she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with.

When Axi impulsively invites Robinson to come with her on an unplanned cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out-of-control...

Review

A wonderful tale of first love. Robinson and Axi's journey is a loving and caring adventure. Their relationship is sweet and full of teasing.

After running away from K-Falls and everything there, the two friends go on a long car-stealing adventure--falling for each other along the way. They're glued to the hip throughout the whole road trip; teasing, cracking jokes, camping and sleeping in the cars they steal, singing, and their friendship developing into something more.

And then everything comes crashing down around them, and their road trip ends early.

The writing is good and simple, getting you through the chapters quickly. The plot is good, there's a nice, unexpected twist about half-way through Robinson and Axi's trip. The chapters are short--which I also liked. The characters are good. Robinson is certainly a charmer, but also an extreme teaser. Axi is cautious and, well, a good girl (but who wouldn't be edgy about stealing a car?), but loosens up along the way.

It really is a wonderful story about first love and how it can affect your life.

Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

Title: Message in a Bottle

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Date Published: February 28, 1999

Genre: Romance, adult fiction, contemporary

Pages: 384 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+ (no swearing but mentions of making love).





Summary


Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to "Catherine," signed simply "Garrett." Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous-an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting....


 Review


A tragic but beautiful romance.

The book will get you interested immediately, getting you hooked the moment Theresa finds a bottle on a beach with a letter inside.

The chapters are long but you read through them pretty quickly. I don't usually like the narration style of writing, but it suites this novel. It gives you a chance to experience the sides of Theresa and Garrett without jumping perspectives for every chapter.

The two main characters are and aren't your everyday couple; Garrett struggles with the loss of his wife, Catherine, making it difficult to have a true relationship with Theresa. But there is a connection between them, a strong one, one that draws them together quick and makes them fall in love in a matter of days. The way they interact with each other is sweet and so natural.

After reading the last chapter, you will sit there for a few moments and feel the loss.

A Student's Guide to the Deaf Community by Michelle Jay

Title: A Student's Guide to the Deaf Community

Author: Michelle Jay

 Publisher: Judea Media, LLC

Date Published: July 1, 2011

Genre: Non-fiction

Pages: 204 (iBooks)

Age Range: 9+ (anyone can really read this book if they are interested in learning ASL)





Summary


As anyone who has learned a foreign language will tell you, all language is an experience. And that experience is found through a language's culture its people.

The journey toward complete comprehension and usage of American Sign Language includes the recognition, not only of the sovereignty of the language, but of the understanding that ASL lives within its own community and culture.

The full learning and understanding of a language involves much more than vocabulary or sentence structure. All language is unique in vocabulary, grammar, syntax, emotion, and more... including culture. ASL is a language unique to the community that uses it.

Don't Just "Sign"... Communicate! focuses on giving you a better understanding of the ASL community and culture, as well as a better and more comprehensive understanding of learning the language. This guide successfully takes you inside the Deaf community and gets you involved in its fascinating culture.

Take advantage of this informative and handy resource that will make your journey into ASL a fulfilling adventure. Start ASL has created this guide so that you can easily explore the ASL language and Deaf culture. This guide provides you with tools, advice, and helpful resources not available anywhere else!


Review 


This book gives you an excellent insight to the deaf community, and deaf culture. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would suggest it, and the rest of Michelle Jay's ASL learning books, to anyone who is interested in learning ASL (American Sign Language).

It gives you all the information you need to know about the deaf community and culture; giving you websites, books, dictionaries, and even more information. Michelle Jay suggests different ways to learn ASL if you're interested in learning the language, (Online classes, books, movies to watch, and more).

It was a rather quick read. The set up of the book was nice (read it on my iPad), though the lessons are rather long. There are 5 Lessons to read. There is a lot of information you take in, but because it is a fast read, you hardly notice.


Little tip to this book: There are signs that they give you as examples in this book and as I read it, I went through my ASL Dictionary and looked up the words to know how to sign each one before I continued reading.

I am also taking the author's online class: central.start-american-sign-language.com/moodle/

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Date Published: March 28, 2005

Genre: YA fiction, romance, realistic fiction

Pages: 272 (hardback--Barnes and Noble Special edition)

Age Range: 17+ (for mature content and language)





Summary

First drink
First prank
First friend
First girl
Last words

Miles "Pudge" Halter is abandoning his safe-okay, boring-life. Fascinated by the last words of famous people, Pudge leaves for boarding school to seek what a dying Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps."
Pudge becomes encircled by friends whose lives are everything but safe and boring. Their nucleus is razor-sharp, sexy, and self-destructive Alaska, who has perfected the arts of pranking and evading school rules. Pudge falls impossibly in love. When tragedy strikes the close-knit group, it is only in coming face-to-face with death that Pudge discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.


Review


The book is good in the beginning, though it is rather slow moving because of John Green's descriptive writing style. I loved John Green's, The Fault In Our Stars so I thought this book would be just as fantastic. The characters are interesting, but immature while trying to act mature. The writing is good, slow, as I said before, because of the style of writing.

This is a mature novel. I haven't read such an inappropriate book before. It actually shocked me. I want to know how this is even categorized as a young adult novel. I understand how on a lot of points, but usually books with this kind of content is categorized as "new adult."

Smoking, drinking, and getting back at other students (pranking) seems to be the main focus for these teens. Though each teen has something they're going through, some sort of emotional suffering. I found all the characters interesting enough to keep turning the pages and find out the book's ending. John Green added his own personal experiences to this novel--if you get the Barnes and Noble edition of this book you can read his interview--which I liked. I always enjoy it when an author puts some of their own experiences and thoughts into their books.

There are sex references, drug references, the possibility of suicide (you are unsure if one of the characters committed suicide or if the death was an accident), and mature content that I wish not to go into.

Gone by Michael Grant

Title: Gone

Series: Gone series #1

Author: Michael Grant

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Date Published: June 24, 2008

Pages: 576 (hardback)

Genre: YA fiction, sci-fi, paranormal

Age Range: 16+ (for language, mature content, and over-all issues)


Summary  


In the blink of an eye everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. Middle schoolers. Teens. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. And just as suddenly, there are no phones, no Internet, no television. No way to get figure out what's happened. And no way to get help. Cut off from the rest of the world.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents - unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers- that grow stronger by the day.

It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townes against rich kids, bullies against the weak. Powerful against the powerless. And the time is running out: on your birthday, you will disappear- just like everyone else.


 Review


The plot itself was so interesting that I had to read this book. Sure, I've read other "no adults around"  books, but this one was calling to me. I am torn. I really am. I read this book three times. Not because I love it, but because I'm so confused.

First, I cannot stand the jumpy narration. It switches randomly from between around eight different kids. One minute I'm reading from Lana's point of view. Suddenly - and randomly- I'm reading from Drake's point of view. I got lost more than once because of this.

Next, I have a few major problems with the book. They range from calling an autistic kid "unloving"  and "retarded", to a twelve-year-old being "owned by someone" because of blackmail, to a pill-popping, mentally unstable girl running a day care (I know the situations called for her to step up. But no! Just no.)

The plot itself was interesting. Two thumbs way up for creativity. But there is such a thing as too much creativity... The characters range from babies, to sadistic killers. Everyone under fifteen. The characters were okay until we meet a sadistic killer who will kill babies. Again, no. Just no.

The book has Olson good points to highlight. Power corrupts. Teen parenting is a big no-no. History repeats itself. But the lessons get lost in the over-all lesson (which I can't find. I'm still lost.).
This is book one in the Gone series and I will not be reading the others. They really bother me and I like being normal after I read books thank you very much.

Touching The Surface by Kimberly Sabatini

Title: Touching The Surface

Author: Kimberly Sabatini

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Date Published: October 1, 2013

Pages: 352 (paperback)

Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, paranormal

Age Range: 12+





Summary


When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.


Review


The book is rather slow in the beginning because you don't completely understand what's happening, you only understand the words on the page. But the story does pick up once Trevor comes into the picture. And when you find out Elliot's dark secret.

The book jumps back and forth between the past and the present, keeping you relatively interested in every chapter. The writing is good, simple, and fast. Though sadly the only exciting parts are when Elliot Delves into her past.

The characters are interesting, especially Trevor--who you can't seem to get enough of as you read through this book. The interactions between Elliot and Oliver are strange. You don't understand their connection, their strange bond, not even when you find out how their past lives are intertwined. And a few other characters are weird and are not really relatable.

The ending was good, keeping you content and willing for the book to end without so many questions. Though you do wish that the Delves don't end, you want to read more about Trevor and Elliot's connection/relationship.