Movie Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Romance

Premiere date: 6/6/2014
Date watched: 6/8/2014

The movie was alright, but I needed more Nat Wolff. HAHAHA!

I mean, can you blame me?

Uh-huh. Yep, Adorbs...

Oh yeah, the movie. I did cry while watching. Although, I cried a lot more when I watched the trailer than the actual movie. When I heard that TFiOS was gonna be made into a movie, I honestly thought that I was gonna cry until I faint. Not even kidding.

I haven't watched a book adapted movie that followed every single scene from the book. As much as I want the unabridged movie version of a book, there probably won't be. At least not in a 2-hour movie.
So, why would TFiOS be any different? Right?
Well I got my hopes up because maybe, just maybe, TFiOS will be the one movie that is exactly like the book. With John Green part of the production and all.
Of course, it wasn't.
At first I was disappointed because a friend who watched with me, but hasn't read the book told me that he didn't get why the book was so popular. I tried to persuade him into reading it and promised him that the book was so much more than what he just watched.
That alone clouded my judgment of the movie.

Overtime, I realized that the movie was actually close to perfect, despite the lack of important scenes like how they sold the swing set and the last words from the book "I do, Augustus. I do."

Oh, and I immensely enjoyed the soundtracks from the movie. My favorites are Not About Angels by Birdy, Boom Clap by Charli XCX and All I Want by Kodaline.

Cheers to the movie makers for not destroying the book!

Note to the future me:
To avoid any more disappointments, resist the urge to watch The Maze Runner in the cinema. Even it means resisting Dylan O'Bryan.

Movie soundtrack: All of the Stars by Ed Sheeran

Rating: 5/5 hearts.

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Contemporary Romance

Get the book here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Check it out on Goodreads!

Blurb:

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough. Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

My thoughts (spoiler-free):

I totally loved this book! The first few chapters were kinda slow, but halfway through I was already engrossed in the story. 

Since this was my first Morgan Matson book, I didn't know what to expect. This book went beyond my expectations.

The story was about a 'wallflower' named Emily, she had an outgoing life-of-the-party best friend named Sloane. One day Sloane just disappeared, but she left her a to-do list for the summer. And everything just beautifully falls into place.

I thought that the transition between 'tasks' will end up being jumpy and that the tasks have no relation to each other, but it was flawless. 

Emily and I literally have the same anxiety level. This book made me want to be more daring and brave. 

It was overall a nice summer read! :)

Rating: 5/5 hearts

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Romance

Get the book here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Blurb:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

My thoughts (spoiler-free):

The Song girls reminded me of these girls: 

Yep, Margo, Edith and Agnes from the movie Despicable Me. HAHA :)

They do have quite a lot similarities, if you think about it.

Especially Margo and Margot, since they're both the eldest, they act like the mother for their siblings, they may be overprotective at times, but you can clearly see the love between them.

If Lara Jean is a real person, she would most likely be my twin. 

If I were to write a letter to every boy I loved (well not loved, more like a hardcore crush), it would take a looooooong time to finish.

Actually, me and my best friend Andrea is considering to write these kind of letters. We'll see how this turns out. :)

My Theme Song: Why don't you love me? by Hot Chelle Rae feat. Demi Lovato

Rating: 5/5 hearts

Movie review: Divergent

Dystopian, Romance & Action

Premiere date: 3/21/2014
Date watched: 3/23/2014

Oh my gosh. The movie was so good. Of course, there were scenes from the book that weren't included, but almost every scene was exactly as I imagined. I even got goosebumps while watching. So, it was all good.

I cried at the part where Tris tried the zip line for the first time. "Why?" You ask? 
Remember Four/Tobias zip lining in the last few pages of Allegiant? Yep, that's why. 

It was suddenly like:

The people sitting to my right (who haven't read the books) looked at me funny.

Here's the thing about watching 'book-turned-movie' movies. Let me 'paint the picture' for you.
Say, you've read the whole Harry Potter series, but never watched the movies. You're watching The Sorcerer's Stone for the first time and it's in the scene where Severus Snape first appears. Then you suddenly remember the "Always" scene in the 7th book. Instead of getting mad at Snape for being downright mean to Harry, like all the people who haven't read the series, you feel all the feels from the last book.
It's inevitable, I tell you.

Anyway, it was weird seeing Ansel as Caleb and Shailene as Tris being siblings. With the TFIOS movie and all.

Oh, and I just knew that Tobias is pronounced "Touh-by-as" and not "Touh-bee-as". I've been reading and pronouncing it wrong. *facepalm*

Movie soundtrack: Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding

Rating: 5/5 hearts.

Review: Reclaiming the Sand by A. Meredith Walters

Contemporary Romance

Get the book here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Blurb:

Bully and victim. Tormenter and tormented. Villain and hero.

Ellie McCallum was a bully. No connection to anyone or anything. A sad and lonely existence for a young woman who had come to expect nothing more for herself. Her only happiness coming from making others miserable.

Particularly Freaky Flynn.

Flynn Hendrick lived a life completely disconnected even as he struggled to become something more than that boy with Asperger's. He was taunted and teased, bearing the brunt of systematic and calculated cruelty, ultimately culminating in a catastrophic turn of events that brought Ellie and Flynn’s worlds crashing down.

But then Flynn and Ellie grew up.

And moved on.

Until years later when their paths unexpectedly cross again and the bully and the freak are face to face once more.

When labels come to define you, finding yourself feels impossible. Particularly for two people disconnected from the world who inexplicably find a connection in each other.

And out of the wreckage of their tragic beginnings, an unlikely love story unfolds.

But a painful past doesn’t always want to let go. And old wounds are never truly healed…and sometimes the further you try to run from yourself the closer you come to who you really are.

My Thoughts (spoiler-free):

The story was alternatively narrated by Ellie and Flynn.

Flynn has Asperger's syndrome*, which makes him the 'freak' in school.
Enter Ellie, the bully. She made Flynn's life a lot harder than it already was.
Although Ellie was Flynn's personal hell, he still liked her.

It was heartbreaking to read Flynn's POV. It's like: *stab* *twist* *twist* every freaking time!
Story time.
When I was in High school (Middle school for Americans), everyone in our section (incuding me) will tease a certain guy until he cries and gets angry. It even got to the point where all of us were called to the guidance counselor and his mother transferred him to another school. I don't know if he had Asperger's or maybe something else, but he was definitely mentally challenged. And reading this story reminded me of the times we treated him like crap and it also made me think how horrible he must have felt. We were on a Christian school, mind you.

My Theme Song: Bad Guy by Meghan Tonjes

Rating: 5/5 hearts 

*Asperger syndrome is a form of autism, which is a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. They usually have difficulties in social communication, social interaction and social imagination. 
Source: http://www.autism.org.uk/