The Martian | Movie Review & Discusion

Yesterday I went to watch the movie adaptation of The Martian after just having finished the book and I really enjoyed it! I went into the movie with quite high expectations because the trailer and some of the extra promo videos looked really promising and it was very satisfying to see such a good book to movie adaptation!! There were even tons of lines straight out of the book can you believe it?!

To start off the movie is really intense in a lot of scenes, like you would expect in a movie about someone trying to survive on a different planet, but it managed to capture the comedy from the book and I think perhaps made some of the running jokes even funnier. The whole thing about Lewis' music taste was funny in the book but the disco music playing in the background and the point where Watney just starts dancing along to it in the rover was so hilarious.

Book Review | The Martian by Andy Weir

Released: 11th February 2014

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 369 pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

The Martian is one of the funniest books I have read which is quite surprising considering it's an insanely intense story about an astronaut stranded and struggling to stay alive on Mars. This book is written in diary entries from the main character, Mark Watney, as well as some parts which are written in third person about the people at NASA and the Hermes' crew members in space. I loved the whole premise of this book and it was really interesting to read all about all the ways that Watney managed to survive on a planet all by himself. His sarcastic remarks and random jokes were also a highlight of the book for me.

“They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially ‘colonised’ it. So technically, I colonised Mars.In your face, Neil Armstrong!” 

Top Ten Favourite Stand-Alone Books

A whole lot of YA books that are really popular and hyped up on the interweb are part of trilogies and series and while I love all those books sometimes what I really need is a quick stand-alone book to read in between all these huge series. Here are my top ten favourite stand-alone novels, most of them are contemporary/realistic fiction but I tried to include some fantasy/dystopian books as well :)

#10 Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis

Stitching Snow is a science fiction, fairy tale retelling of Snow White set in a completely different world where there are three planets governed by the corrupt and violent King Matthias. The main character Essie just happens to be the long lost daughter of the king and wants revenge. Other than the fact that this book has one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen, the book itself is really imaginative and so much fun!

#9 It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

It's Kind of a Funny Story deals with some heavy topics following a main character dealing with depression and many side characters with other mental illnesses but it does a really good job of exploring these themes but still have a whole lot of really funny scenes along with the emotional ones.

How To Read More

I am by no means a very fast reader and don't always get to read my book every single day, but somehow I still do manage to read quite a few books overall each year. Sometimes however I just find myself not reading that much or getting into a reading slump after finishing a particularly intense book (*cough* Sarah J Maas *cough*). And while it's fine to take a break from reading from time to time, I just wanted to share a couple of tips to help you get back into reading or just read more often.

#1 Always keep a book with you 

I mean it, carry your book with you everywhere. While you might not always have a lot of time to read you might get a couple pages in while you wait in line for something or while you travel to school or work. Most of the time this works for me but because sometimes I just won't be in the mood to read when I'm very stressed during the day I'll just leave it in my bag. But noticing the book there does make me want to pick it up and continue later on. It's always better to read a little than nothing and if you read a few pages during your day they might get you pulled into the story and interest you enough to start you reading the book the second you get some free time. 

Book Review | One by Sarah Crossan

Released: 27th August 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 448 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Grace and Tippi are twins – conjoined twins. 
And their lives are about to change.
No longer able to afford homeschooling, they must venture into the world – a world of stares, sneers and cruelty. Will they find more than that at school? Can they find real friends? And what about love?
But what neither Grace or Tippi realises is that a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. A decision that could tear them apart. One that will change their lives even more than they ever imagined…
From Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?

To be perfectly honest I randomly picked this book up because of the super pretty cover while I was in the bookstore. After reading the blurb and the first few pages I was completely engrossed in the story and finished the whole thing in one sitting. Sarah Crossan has written One in free verse so it is technically quite a short book even with 400+ pages but it was an absolutely wonderful read from start to finish. I am nowhere near an expert in poetry/free verse or anything of the sort but really enjoyed this style of writing. The free verse helped to draw attention to certain dramatic moments and made the main character Grace's emotions that much more real and helped me to sympathize with her.

“I read all these books,

so many words,

but I don't own any.

I don't know what's happening

inside me.

I can't get it out.” 

Autumn YA Releases

It's September 23rd and that means autumn is finally here! Wizards and witches are boarding the

Hogwarts Express back to school while muggles are trying their hardest to create their own Butterbeer. I love autumn, the pretty leaves, pumpkin spiced everything but also the whole bunch of new books that get released so I thought I would make a list of the most interesting and most anticipated YA novels that come out in the next three months.

Y       The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan

Release date: 6th October

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

 

Y       Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Release date: 6th October

Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

Allegiant 'Beyond The Wall' | Teaser Trailer Discussion

Watch the teaser trailer first!

The first teaser trailer for Allegiant was released this weekend! To be fair half of the 1 minute and 50 seconds of the trailer was just scenes from Divergent and Insurgent (I have read and watched these thanks) but we did get some cool scenes of Tris and the group escaping the city, running around on the weird Mars-like place and later talking to David in the headquarter area.

Now Allegiant is definitely my least favourite book from this series so naturally I don't think it was a great idea to split the movie into two parts since not a lot actually happens in this book. However it seems that the movies might make some changes to the plot since in the end of Insurgent Jeanine was cut out of the story and some characters who have important storylines in Allegiant (*cough* Uriah and Zeke *cough*) weren't introduced or barely given a backstory in the movie adaptations.