The Fault in Our Stars Movie Review

WE MADE IT!!!! THE FAULT IN OUR STARS IS HERE!
I went to a pre-screening yesterday with another big fan of the book and let me just tell you, you want to see this movie.

1. The acting was on point. Perfecto. Flawless. Ansel Elgort was Gus. Shailene Woodley was Hazel. Everyone was amazing. The relationships, the easy banter was all there.

2. It was so faithful to the book. You know how defensive I get when Hollywood wants to make my favourite books Hollywood. It was obviously John Green's Hazel walking and talking and yelling at her lungs off and saying "douchepants". It was obviously John Green's Gus limping and staring at Hazel and loving her.

3. The soundtrack. It was amazing. Hazel was crying and Birdy was singing her to sleep. At the end, Ed Sheeran sung us out of the cinema, weepy but still alive and ready to face the world again.

4. The impressively seemless book dialogue to character dialogue. The book is written in quite pompous prose at the start to reflect the tragic romantic genre. Actually hearing written words aloud though can sound clunky and strange. The balance between the prose's beauty and the way a real life Hazel would speak was really well done.

5. It was funny. They made a real effort to make the first have as enjoyable, ridiculous and cute as possible. We knew the lines, but the screenwriters mixed it up a bit so even fans were pleasantly surprised. For instance when Hazel's mum pulls up after support group and says "You ready for Top Model?" and Augustus raises his eyebrows, awkward.

6. It was sad. I cried 4 times, all at the same places that I cried in the book. Tfios makes you feel feelings. Hearing the sniffles and sobs around the cinema, I was reminded how one story can mean different things to different people. I was crying for the characters. I was crying for not appreciating every second I get in this world. I was crying for my friend's mum who suffered from breast cancer. I was crying for Esther Earl.

7. It was beautiful. It's crazy how something so broken and awful can be beautiful.

I came away from the movie feeling like I'd cried everything out of me.

I felt light.

Raining outside and on my face

It's raining guys. And I wouldn't be sad about this if I didn't have to go outside today. Anywho. Today I'm doing a fun little post as a response to this booktag I found on Youtube. It's by one of my favourite booktubers, Christine Riccio. If you want to feel feelings then watch the video at the bottom. Going in reverse order, my top cry worthy books (which you may not have read before)

Looking for Alaska by John Green
I can't tell you much without spoiling but this is by John Green so you should read it. A guy leaves his home town in search of grander maybes and in the process, opens himself to love and loss. I know I'm an idiot for not seeing it coming. The beautiful, Gatsby-like reflections the characters have *after* were just a bit much for me. There was sniffling.

If I Stay by Gale Forman
For those unfamiliar with the story, If I Stay revolves around a girl who finds herself in a coma. She has been in a carcrash. Her parents and brother have died. Her boyfriend, friend and grandparents are left. She has the choice to wake up. The whole premise of the book was heartbreaking and as she weighs up how heartbreaking a life without her family would be, she also considers whether taking another person from her friends would break them. Misty eyes and croaky voice.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
A girl commits suicide and leaves a set of tapes recording her 13 reasons for killing herself. She sends these tapes to the people involved in these reasons, for them, and only them, to know. This book was so sad because you could see all the different possibilities, so many futures, and you know how it ends. Well, not always... it's a pretty awesome and inspiring ending. Tummy twisting in horror knowing that suicide is not fiction. Very watery.

The Book Thief by Macus Zusak
Liesel is a regular book nerd growing up in Nazi Germany. The story is told by a grim reaper character who sees the best and worst of humanity. Although I was outright sobbing by the end, there was a poignant beauty in the prose that has lingered ever since. This is a truly heartbreaking and inspirational story. Click
here to see my movie review.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Peter Chbosky
Charlie is the most innocent, sweet and sympathetic character I think I have ever read. This book is told in letter form throughout Charlie's high school journey as he tries to make friends, falls in love, grows into himself and then remembers an awful part of his past. One of the best book to movie adaptations I have ever seen as well. There was shaking and sobbing well after I finished.

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
As you can see from my extensive list, I am a sucker for a tragedy. This book's ending was perfection. Everything was full circle. Everything was tied together. I felt so complete that all I and the characters could do was cry a small river. This is one of my favourite books which many people haven't heard about.

All the book titles are linked to Goodreads if you want to check them out. Let me know if you have read any of them or which books have triggered a good sob. Ciao! 

PANIC PANIC PANIC I CAN'T BREATHE

Can I just say
Let me just
May I introduce
Okay Okay... *sobs*
I have watched this on EVERY electronic device in the house
I just can't.
Please watch and share this. Or run away and save yourselves.

How to cry your eyes out- Allegiant book discussion

I’ve tried writing this several times now. But to be honest, I really don’t know what to feel. I may as well start from the beginning...

About a year ago I first read Divergent and Insurgent. Fast-paced and intriguing, it tells the story a Tris who makes the choice to change factions, jumps off buildings, falls in love with a boy of four fears, shoots guns, reveals government conspiracies and searches for some sort of truth. The highly anticipated conclusion to this dystopia increased on the release of the Divergent movie trailer. There was a lot of squeeling when I first saw the book on the shelves. Literally, squealing and skipping towards it in Target.

Brief combined reviews of Divergent and Insurgent:

 In Chicago, the government is controlled by members of factions. Factions divide the citizens into groups who have certain mental and moral structures. For instance, members of Abnegation- Tris’ original faction- dress in grey and are in charge of helping the city’s homeless as they prize selflessness. There are also other factions such as of knowledge and bravery. A person’s faction is usually inherited from their parents however when a person turns 16, an aptitude test reveals to which one they belong and a choosing ceremony forges their future. Tris’ examination reveals an anomaly, that she could belong to more than one faction. Tris is Divergent. Special and dangerous to the government. She commences the Dauntless initiation- the faction of bravery and dare I say, psychosis- where she meets friends, enemies, knives, tattoo artists and a cast of terrifying and fascinating characters. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Tris’ journey continues in Insurgent as she deals with the aftermath of death, killing, deception and knowing the truth when you don’t really want to. The concept of how different characteristics war in us – the good and bad, selfish and selfless, brave and complacent- is consistent in all three books and makes for a fantastic message in the finale. If this sounds appealing then please stop here. You really don’t want to be spoiled on such a fantastic series. When you read the books, feel free to come back and discuss. Ciao...

Okay. They’re gone.

Allegiant Review and Discussion

The novel begins a little while after the Edith Prior revelation. The whole city is a controlled experiment. I’m glad that’s cleared up but this opens up a wave of new questions. What is beyond the fence? Is it time to send out the Divergent to complete their original ‘mission’? Will Evelyn let them? It becomes obvious that the city is in danger of another uprising, this time of the Allegiant – a new rebel group dedicated to preserving the factions, overtaking the factionless and going beyond the fence. Tris, Four, Christina, Uriah, Cara, Caleb, Peter, Tori and Johanna head out of the city. This is where it gets interesting (straggling spoiler seekers, please leave. It’s for your own good and the rest may not make much sense).