Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion

Synopsis:

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...

It took me months to read this book. I had been really looking forward to reading it because I had read so many good things about it, so many blogs said it was one of the best books of the year and all that... So I bought it in April and started it. I abandoned in May, a couple of weeks later, with almost half the book read. That wasn't something I wanted to waste my time on reading. And moved by the feeling of not being able to have a book without finishing it, I read it in November, after months of having it on my bedside table and ignoring it with a second glance. It didn't get much better. 

Don't get me wrong, I do not hate the book. I just think there are many other things which are a lot more interesting than it. I thought it was going to be a real Romeo and Juliet story but with zombies. But that zombie thing made it bad. It was the first thing I've ever read about zombies, and I did not like it. Not much. I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm just not ready to live that again, not yet. The idea Isaac Marion had was great, really different. I love how he makes his characters unique, I really like R. But his relationship with Julie... That's quite weak. The characters are great by themselves, but the relations between them are weak, not good. I particularly enjoyed reading about R being in Perry's memories, even if that made the book quite confusing sometimes. 

Overall, it's not a bad book, it's just something I didn't particularly enjoy. But there are multiple opinions about one topic, maybe you'll love it. Never say no to reading. 

The Fault In Our Stars movie trailer!

So the TFIOS trailer came out this week!! Have you all seen it? I personally think it's great and that I cannot wait to see the movie! What do you think?
Hazel Grace Lancaster. Shailene Woodley. I must say Shailene's great, and that we're going to be seeing a lot of her in the next years. We will see her as Tris in Divergent in March, and then in TFIOS. Perfect. We're also seeing Ansel Elgort, our Augustus, in both Divergent (he's Caleb) and TFIOS. So they're both excelent choices. I can't really judge a movie by its trailer, but I definitely think this one is going to be great. I'm really looking forward to June 6th so it comes out. Other actors in the movie are Nat Wolff (Isaac), Willem Dafoe (Peter Van Houten), Lotte Verbeek (Lidewij) and Sam Trammell and Laura Dern as Mr. and Mrs. Lancaster, Hazel's parents. 

The trailer looks great, similar to the book (which is what I always want), and interesting enough so that I would be looking forward to seeing it even if I hadn't read the book. I would probably want to read it after seeing the trailer. Because it's a nice trailer, and an awesome book. 

So my advice is: everyone go read the book so we can all watch the movie this summer and see if it's as wonderful as I expect it to be. I'm quite sure it will. Okay? Okay. 

You can find the trailer in: The Fault In Our Stars trailer

VA movie is out!!

Just coming to say that the Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters movie came out on Friday in some countries (not in mine, btw), and that I've heard plenty of things about it. This is only raising my expectations even more... I need to see it soon, please... 

It's had good critics from most people, but what I really wanted to know is what fans of the books thought about it. The general opinion is that it was a great movie and that there were only a few differences with the book. I read this article a few months ago that the director wrote mentioning the main differences between the book and the movie so we fans were ready for it, so I know what to expect. Or at least I think I know. 

People who haven't read the books are a bit confused about it. Just like in TMI, the movie doesn't explain everything in detail like the books do, so some things may be confusing if you haven't read it. But most people are happy with it and waiting for a sequel already. One of the things I've heard is that Zoey Deutch's performance as Rose was perfect, and that it surprised many people. I guess I'll have to wait and decide for myself. 

So I haven't watched it yet, and probably won't for some time, because it will be out in my country on May 9th, which is incredibly far away from now... I hope I can see it somewhere sooner than that, mainly because I've read the books in English and there is no way I wanna go see Rose and Dimitri fall in love in Spanish... I want to hear their original voices and Danila Kolovsky's amazing Russian accent! 

If you haven't seen it yet, go read the book, and then go watch it. 

The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green

Synopsis:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

It was a masterpiece. There was a sudden fever worldwide that made everyone want to read The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green. Everyone talked about it, a movie was going to be made... So, of course, I had to read it and see what all this fuss was about. And then there was no going back. My life changed after that. When I read the plot, I was sure that it was going to be just like every other cancer story, where everything tries to be happy but fails completely, causing it to be a sad book with an even sadder ending. That's how cancer books end, with the death of the main character. So I was sure that Hazel was going to die before even opening the book. But the book (in general) wasn't a sad cancer book. I think that the feeling that John Green was trying to make us feel is happiness, the joy of being alive. 

I'll say that when I read it I didn't have the physical book, because I thought it wouldn't be necessary, but when I finished it I looked for it until I found it. Now I have the physical book that I haven't opened, but it's just perfect to look at it with wonder and mixed feelings. 

So about the book... I loved the characters. Hazel is a shy, kind of lonely person who discovers her true happy self when she meets Augustus. And Gus is such an awesome character! I love how he speaks, how he acts. He's got this special way of filling a room with his personality, he expresses himself in a really unique way, and I love him for that. 

I really liked all the plot revolving about Hazel and Augustus's relationship in a deeper and subtler level than most stories usually do. Love isn't easy, love isn't all rainbows and colours, and that's what they're trying to demonstrate. And the best thing about it is that it is done in a subtle way, focusing the plot in other things, like An Imperial Affliction, the book by Peter van Houten that causes Hazel's wish of going to Amsterdam and other main actions. The book is really deep, expressing the complexity of being a teenager, the complexity of love, the complexity of being one of those kids with cancer that people think are too sick to be normal. But Hazel and Augustus, despite their cancer, are very normal teenagers. And the way John Green has of dealing with that is awesome. 

The title was the first thing that caught my attention in the book. The Fault In Our Stars. That's a weird title. But then I read the book, and then the Julius Caesar quote appeared: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ but in ourselves that we are underlings." That quote means that it isn't fate that makes us underlings, but ourselves. I really like that quote. That being a Shakespeare quote makes it perfect :)

And a movie is being made of The Fault In Our Stars, with Shailene Woodsley as Hazel and Ansel Elgort as Augustus. The weird thing about them is that they're siblings in their movie Divergent, so it's going to be weird to see who I'll see as Tris and Caleb to be Hazel and Augustus. But I think they're fine as them, I like them. 

So to end this, I have only one thing left to say: you must read the book. Okay? Okay. 

The Physician movie

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately, but the holidays were my time of the year far from everything, not only school, so now I'm back and I've read some good books in the meantime. Btw, happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2014 is even better than 2013 was. 

It's been two years since I read the book by Noah Gordon and fell in love with it. So that's one of the reasons why I don't remember every single detail about it and can't really say everything I would like to if I remembered... I'm going to start by saying that I liked the movie. It was a great movie, and I could feel like it was me living in the 11th century. The characters were nicely portraited, and I love that. I loved the fact that it made me want to be a doctor all over again, even if it was less than what I felt with the book, obviously. If I end up choosing Medicine to study at university, The Physician will become more than just one of my two favourite books. I just worship it. 

There were huge things missing in the movie, though. Can someone tell me where's Mary??? And who's Rebecca? That was the weirdest thing ever... They replaced the main character's love interest! That's horrible! Mary Cullen was a huge part of Rob, a very important character. And instead of the Christian Scottish red-head, there's a Jewish married woman that's interested in Rob. I hated that. 

Almost just as bad was the Shah's relationship with Rob. In the book, they develop this unique friendship that I loved... In the book, they were the symbol of uniting religions, of friendship and diversity. Playing chess, having interesting conversations... the movie just ruined all that and portraited the Shah as a shallow, selfish person, not meaning to start a real friendship with Rob like he does in the book. That's something I would have loved to see. There are other things missing, just as Barber's death, because that's part of what triggers Rob's trip to Isfahan, and I loved Rob's trips with the Shah in the book. 
Overall, the story was more or less the same. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the movie. I understand some changes have to be made to make a movie, but I wanted the Shah and Mary as I remembered them. The strangest thing is that I read somewhere that it was Noah Gordon and his daughter who wrote the screenplay for the movie. Then why is Mary missing? She's such a huge character... And all that adultery story they made up for the movie, falling in love with a Jewish married women and all that... not right. At least he kept almost everything in the story, not like Cassie Clare did with City of Bones, even if she didn't write the script. There are other scenes I would have liked to see, and other characters I would've liked to see developed. Ibn Sina was a deeper character in the book, and his relationship with Rob was more... special. I kept feeling like there was something missing everywhere I looked. 

Prodigy, by Marie Lu (Legend #2)

Synopsis:

Injured and on the run, it has been seven days since June and Day barely escaped Los Angeles and the Republic with their lives. Day is believed dead having lost his own brother to an execution squad who thought they were assassinating him. June is now the Republic's most wanted traitor. Desperate for help, they turn to the Patriots - a vigilante rebel group sworn to bring down the Republic. But can they trust them or have they unwittingly become pawns in the most terrifying of political games?

After reading Legend, I instantly knew I had to read Prodigy soon, that I needed to read it as soon as possible. So I did. I think I read it in a couple of days, back in the beginning of November, and I couldn’t stop for a second. It was the week after Champion had been released, so I started to freak out thinking on how long it would take it to be translated to Spanish and to get here. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to wait. I think I’ll just try to find it in English. 

Prodigy was as good as Legend in every aspect, or even better. I know that there’s a popular opinion that first books are always the best ones. But it is not true, at least not in this case (and I can imagine many more). The relationship between Day and June, which is what I loved the most in Legend has continued developing in Prodigy and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. The other one is Anden. I’m just so in love with him… My friend got mad at me because I suggested I could see June with Anden instead of Day, but I’ve been thinking about it lately and saw that both Anden and Day are different parts of June’s life. They represent different parts of her that she may or not like. So don't think I prefer Anden to Day. And then putting also Tess into this love triangle, now a square… I thought that was a bit rushed, and it made me dislike Tess more and more as pages went by. I don’t think I like her at all, but it’s not because it’s a possibility for Day’s love life, because Anden is also there competing with Day and I still love him, maybe even more now. And then there’s Thomas, who I started disliking on the very first page of Legend he appeared in, and now it’s just getting worse. There’s something I don’t like about this series, and it’s that most things are expected. Metias’s killer, who’s giving money to Razor and the Patriots, Tess’s crush… So, because of that, my favourite part in Prodigy, even if it’s also the one that made me sadder (I honestly cried), is the ending, since Day’s discovery about what’s happening to him, because that was just so shocking… I think it may have been too surprising. It looks like it had just occurred to Marie Lu about a page before, so she just wrote it down. But the last three pages were so heartbreaking… 

To sum up, I really liked the book, and I think the storyline is quite good, even though Day’s discovery about himself at the end was rushed, but that was another reason for Champion to exist, so I won’t criticize it. I’m really enjoying this trilogy, and it’s definitely one of my favourite books of 2013. Thank you, Marie Lu.

Old blog

I used to have another blog where I used to write what I write here... It's http://dreamsescritos.blogspot.com/, and I still don't know what I'll do with it. I can change it and publish here the posts I have published there, even if they're old, only so people can see them. The people with that blog was that it was in Spanish, so I didn't have as many readers as I do now. But I'm trying to find a way not to waste the effort I used to put in it.  I'll let you know soon. While waiting, please check it out if you know Spanish. And simply thank you for reading what I write and caring. Thanks. 

Orphan Black

One of the best TV series I have ever seen is Orphan Black. A Twitter friend recommended it to me, and I started watching it as soon as possible. I couldn’t stop until I finished the whole season, completely obsessed with it.  

There’s only a season, with ten episodes, so I’m waiting like crazy for April 19^th, when the second season starts. I really need to watch more!!

The Canadian science fiction series is about Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany), a quite normal young woman who comes back home, escaping from her abusive boyfriend, and who runs into a woman at the train station who commits suicide right in front of her, jumping in front of a train. But the strangest thing isn’t the suicide, because the woman, Elizabeth Childs, looked exactly like Sarah, they could’ve been twins. Sarah, alarmed by such a weird thing, steals Beth’s purse with all her information and keys, phone… And she thinks what to do with it. Sarah’s purpose back in town is to get enough money so Felix (Jordan Gavaris), her best friend and foster brother, Kira (Skyler Wexler), Sarah’s seven-year-old daughter, and her can run away together. But things aren’t that easy. She ran away ten months ago, leaving Kira with Sarah’s foster mother, Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy), and now Mrs. S doesn’t want to give Kira back, concerned about the child. So Sarah has to convince Mrs. S that she won’t leave Kira again, she has to get enough money, which dead Elizabeth Childs seems to have had, besides having a really hot boyfriend, Paul Dierden (Dylan Bruce), and deal with the fact that Beth isn’t the only person worldwide who looks like Sarah, and starts doing so by supplanting Beth’s identity.

Everyone should watch this show. There is no way your life is complete without having seen this. Tatiana Maslany is so good acting… Not only she plays Sarah, but also Beth and the rest of clones, in a way that each of them has a different way of walking, speaking, acting… They are all so different, even though they look the same. It’s just awesome. There’s always something happening in every episode. It isn’t like all those series with filler chapters, all those series with never ending episodes where nothing happens. In Orphan Black, if you just get distracted for a couple of minutes, you can miss the key in the series.

An absolutely amazing TV series, one of the best I have ever seen, so everyone should at least give it a try (you won’t be able to resist it). Just watch it. 

Legend, by Marie Lu (Legend #1)

Synopsis:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

I had been recommended that book by a friend so many times, just like I recommended her some of my favourites, but I just didn’t have time and decided to wait for a while. But when I got it, I couldn’t stop. There have been many dystopias going on around here lately, since The Hunger Games and Divergent, and all authors are trying to write something original around this gender, because if it looks too much as a previously written novel, dystopian fans will not be pleased, that’s how we are. 

I read Legend on the last week of October, and then started Prodigy around the time where Champion, the last book in the trilogy, was released. I read Legend so fast and I liked it so much that the day I finished it, I started the next one, Prodigy. Day and June conquered me on the very first moment. June, The Republic’s most treasured person, is such an unconventional main character, an unconventional heroine, and that’s mainly the thing I love about her. And Day… he is just perfect. The most wanted criminal in The Republic, but still the most caring and lovely boy anyone could ask for. I like the way their relationship grows as the story goes on, how they start hating each other, then trusting each other, then hate again… There’s a mutual respect both characters share for each other that is a really important part in their relationship. 

I love this depth that the main characters have. I like how every detail is well taken care of, producing a well-written novel that is definitely one of my favourite discoveries this year. I absolutely loved how everything developed in the book, and couldn’t wait to continue with June and Day in Prodigy. 

My comments: just read it. Flawless.

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey

Synopsis:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

I hadn’t heard anything about The 5th Wave until I had it in my hands, nothing besides the fact that there were different narrators during the book. That single fact I knew about made me think that I wouldn’t like the book, because different people talking about what’s going on is quite nice to know what everyone thinks and feels about each other, but it makes me really nervous, it bothers me a bit when reading. The last books I read like that were all by Simone Elkeles, who gives the opportunity to the readers to know what the girl thinks in a chapter and the boy in the next one, always one for each. But with The 5th Wave… I could read more than 100 pages from Cassie’s head and then suddenly I knew what Ben was thinking, but only for less than 10 pages, and then Evan for 20, Cassie for 5 more… It was a complete mess. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and it’s an original way of writing, I have never seen that before.

But the story itself, it was good. Everything that happened was really unexpected. The main character, Cassie, may spend three full pages debating about what to do in a specific situations, and after them, she may act as the completely opposite of what I thought she would do. I liked that, because I dislike books which are too predictable. 

But The 5th Wave was different from all books, not only from Yancey’s writing style, which I really enjoyed reading (besides the narrator thing), but because of the plot, the dystopian topics the book is about, like the apocalypse. It’s not a book that changed my vision of life, but it earned a place in my heart.