Most Anticipated: Pages to Movie Screens

The adaptions from novels to movies have rapidly increased and with the latest release of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones, I've come up with a list of the most anticipated books gone movie releases.

In no particular order, because really who has the time:



1. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

Can we please take a long moment to really let this seep in. The Book Thief will actually be made into a movie! Eeek! I really cannot contain my excitement. The plot is based a Liesel moving in with a foster family during the Nazi period, and how the time affects her own childhood. What is absolutely fascinating is that the entire story is narrated by Death and if rumours are true, the movie will stay true to this. The film is set to be released in December this year, starring Geoffrey Rush and Sophie Nelisse.



2. The Hunger Games - Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)

Katniss Everden returns in the second movie to the trilogy The Hunger Games, with actress Jennifer Lawrence and actor Josh Hutcherson reprising their roles. Katniss and Peter's actions at the end of the game creates an unintended rebellion against the Capitol, which leaves their lives in danger. I sincerely hope that this time the movie fairs better than last time. I wasn't particularly fond of the first movie but will anticipate Catching Fire because of how good the series really is. The movie is set for November, this year.



3. Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)

This is my love for fantasy novels coming out now and nothing could make me happier then actually having a great series about vampires being made into a movie. Let me tell you now, it is quite different to Twilight (thank gosh) so remove any prior thoughts about vampires because you are about to be proved wrong. Rose and her best friend Lissa belong to a world made up by three different types of vampires: Moroi - the royal; Dhampirs - half human half vampire, bad ass fighters and Strigoi - the ones who kill for blood. Get ready for some seriously sexy characters and (hopefully) great action scenes - February, 2014.



4. The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

Perhaps the most anticipated young adult novel turned movie, the casts for The Fault in Our Stars have been finalised and should be released in 2014. Upcoming actress Shailene Woodley will play Hazel Grace, a girl suffering from a terminal illness. At a Cancer Kid Support Group she meets Augustus Waters and then her world is completely rainbows and butterflies. It might sound cheesy but it is actually beautiful and I cannot wait to see the magic between Hazel and Augustus on screen.



5. Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)

Although not a lot has been revealed around this movie, it apparently has been confirmed that Selena Gomez will be playing Hannah Baker. The story is about a boy, Clay Jensen, who receives a box of tapes that have been recorded by Hannah before she commits her suicide. It lists the 13 reasons why she kills herself. I, for one, will be so excited to see how they film this if it is to be produced. I'm not sure about Selena playing Hannah but as of now, I'm going to put this under the rumours category.



6. Uglies (Scott Westerfield)

Again, I am unsure of the production of this but there has been some sort of confirmation after postponing it in 2011. This has got to be one of the best dystopian series I have read and I'm glad that something from my childhood will be exposed for the younger generation to see. Essentially, once young children reach the adult age they are transformed into "pretties" and moved into a new world to live. There, the "pretties" party day and night and live the life. Tally, the protagonist, is about to reach that moment when she befriends Shay and realises that there is more to the world than looks. It's time to show all those other dystopian novels what a good plot is really about *clicks fingers*.

7. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

Whilst I didn't enjoy the novel I actually have to say, I'd think it'd work better as a movie. The novel dragged things out too much, which bored me a little but compacted into movie form could work well. It's a thriller about married couple Nick and Amy Dunne. Amy disappears on the day of their anniversary and Nick becomes number one suspect. Police get involved and basically everything escalates quickly. Then massive plot twist. And bam! It's a great concept, just hope that the movie executes it better than the actual novel itself. Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, it'll be a long wait with the release sometime in 2015.

Rumoured: The following movies are those that I am uncertain about but have been listed on IMDB and I definitely would love to see being produced.



8. Wicked Lovely (Melissa Marr)

The world of faeries and humans collide in this fantasy novel as Keelin, the Summer King is determined to find his Queen before summer perishes. Enter Aislinn who can and has always been able to see faeries even though she pretends not to by fulling her three rules: don't stare, don't speak and don't attract faeries. She finds herself drawn into the world she never wanted to know and her life begins to change. Aside from the gorgeous names, I would love to see how the faeries will be portrayed, especially their costumes.



9. Forgotten (Cat Patrick)

London Lane can never remember past but can see her future self. Her memory is wiped every night and she will wake up in the morning and read what she must do that day and notes she has to remember from previous days. She then meets Luke Henry and her unique mind becomes a complication. It's definitely big on the romance but I found the story touching and interesting enough to keep coming back to.

Tell me what other book adaptions you can't wait for!

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August Haul

I didn't buy much in terms of individual novels but I absolutely burnt a hole through my wallet this month.



I bought two series:

• A Song of Fire and Ice - George R. R Martin; yes, definitely jumping on the bandwagon with this but so far I'm at the first book so far.


• Uglies - Scott Westerfield; the earliest dystopian type novel I remember reading. It's definitely worth a read, especially if you think the recent dystopian novels are good i.e. Hunger Games and Divergent.

And the long awaited addition to Philippa Gregory's The Cousin's War series:

• The White Princess - Philippa Gregory; review here.

I am definitely being kept busy with Uni so far so I haven't invested time in reading. The one novel I really want to read next is Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper but I shall wait until I am financially able to buy it.

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Rosebush - Michele Jaffe

Plot:
Sometimes the truth is a very thorny thing.

Jane is found unconscious in a rosebush after being hit by car. She can't remember anything about the incident and the police think it's just the usual hit and run. That is, until Jane's memory comes back about the night before.

It turns out there's a lot more than what everyone wants to believe.

Review:

I found Rosebush to be one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in awhile. It met with most of my expectations and I wouldn't mind reading it again.

The romance in the novel was much like any typical teen love story. The popular girl dating the popular boy, and they're perfect together. Well minus some hiccups. In comes a gorgeous male nurse and a hot friend who has the same interest as the protagonist. Add all these factors together and you get - chaos. It's not really believable but I didn't mind it too much considering there was a lot of character revelations from the interactions that occurred between the characters.

I think none of the major characters really stuck with me. Even Jane wasn't enough to have me connect with her. Only Bonnie made a mark not because of who she was but because of the message she brought across. Most of the characters were just easy to despise. That's about it.

However, that doesn't distract from the plot. I started out thinking it was a simple teenage novel with a mysterious twist to it. Instead, I got layers that held up a colossal structure. There's so much more to the supposed hit and run, so many things that add to one chilling truth. Many of the characters have great depths to them that it makes for an engaging read. It's also got quite a lot of messages for young readers, ranging from family and friend issues to trust and jealously. Basically the issues that a lot of adolescents have to face on an everyday basis.

Also, the thriller aspect was every bit what it should be. There was suspense, mystery and twists. I never suspected a thing, just assumptions that changed from time to time. When the culprit was revealed I was like wow, okay. I see. It was surprising and sort of scary at the same time.

I'm glad I followed my instincts and read this. Already, I have been drawn back into the story after skimming the ending again. It's not very memorable but that's good for me because that means I can read it again whilst developing new thoughts. Definitely give it a read.

Rating: 4/5

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The White Princess - Philippa Gregory

Plot:

Daughter to King Edward IV, Elizabeth of York is betrothed to Henry Tudor and finds herself being Queen once Henry takes the crown from Richard III. Elizabeth cannot find a place in court whilst Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort controls everything. She resents Henry for killing her lover, Richard. Then news comes that a boy is mustering an army in neighbouring countries and claims to be Richard, Duke of York, coming for his rightful throne.

Elizabeth must decide where her loyalties lie - with the husband she was forced to marry or the house of York and the boy who says he is her younger brother.

Review:

The fifth instalment of The Cousins' War series depicts the life of Elizabeth of York, as Queen of England and the beginning of the Tudor era. As a massive fan of Philippa Gregory and her historical novels, I just had to get myself a copy. The White Princess is probably the only novel that I won't be raving about, unfortunately. It's got her writing style and thorough research so that it seems realistic enough but the plot and characters were just a drag.

I was looking forward to reading through Elizabeth's perspective, after encountering her in prior novels and sensing how intelligent and charming she was. However, I got nothing of the sorts in this novel. I am disappointed as to how Elizabeth seems so passive throughout the entire novel, making it almost weary to read if not for Gregory's great writing. The women in her previous novels all had strong and independent positions, paving their own ways and using their wit to create plans to benefit for themselves and their family. I don't get that with Elizabeth. She is merely just a vehicle used to tell the story, a figure that everyone knows but hardly does anything. I suppose Gregory couldn't change history, even if it is fictional, but the novel portrays Elizabeth as a character in the shadows watching or hearing from others about what is going on. She is never in the thick of things, which leaves her seem weak and almost boring.

Gregory does play on the fact that Elizabeth was rumoured to be Richard III's lover and adds elements of that into the novel. It is merely memories for Elizabeth but if Gregory had included maybe a chapter of their times together before transitioning into Henry VII's reign it would've raised the excitement of Elizabeth just a little. She would've had more character if I had witnessed the passion she felt for Richard as opposed to constantly just thinking about it and telling readers how much she aches for him. It would allow for her romantic affair with him to be a little more realistic, instead of sounding like a one-sided love.

I do love, though, how Gregory sticks to the portrayal of Margaret Beaufort from The Red Queen in this novel. Margaret Beaufort will forever be an ambitious and annoying lady, who believes God has chosen her son to be King. She has the same characteristics that made her  the antihero, both here and in her own novel. Also, how Henry VII was portrayed was fascinating. It seemed so realistic how his fears and suspicions ate at him and that England would not recognise him considering he had been exile for so long, and never received any comfort from people he knew. It was easy to feel sympathy but also a hatred towards him for his harsh manners. Out of all the characters, I think King Henry VII and Margaret, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, was most realistic. Maggie for her gentle and caring image and Henry VII for his ruthless manner, which I expect a king to have in order to get where he is.

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The Killer In My Eyes - Giorgio Faletti

Plot:

Mayor Marsalis' son has been found dead in his apartment. The killer's left him naked and in a position identical to Linus, a character from the comic-strip Peanuts. Ex-cop Jordan is called in to investigate the death and soon there are a string of other deaths replicated in the same way. Along with Italian investigator Maureen Martini, Jordan must find the murderer before other characters are killed.

Review:
There are two concepts that I am absolutely astounded by in the novel, enough to think Faletti is an actual genius:
One, the idea of  moulding a well-known cartoon strip into something so sinister. I would like to award Faletti with an award for creativity because I would never have thought that Snoopy and his friends could play a part in a murder mystery And two, the reason for the title, which I really can't explain cause then it just ruins the novel. To put it simply, sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.
Like his other novels, Faletti's able to introduce a number of characters that somehow interlink with each other (sometimes by a bit too much coincidence) without making the plot confusing. The characters are there for a reason, whether to help solve the mystery or help the development of a character. They're not fleeting and suddenly forgotten, they're introduced and stay till the end. Faletti is able to develop his characters quite well despite the limited timespan the novel is set in. There are certain attachments that can be made with the characters and surprisingly, I felt it with the minor characters more than the protagonist. I love the fact that everyone is flawed in this novel. Everyone including our hero. Even the victims who  you are suppose to feel sympathy for actually leave much more of a bitter feeling.
While reading a Faletti novel there is a lot of deducing that will happen and sometimes I'm so certain it'll be this person, but with The Killer In My Eyes no matter how much I thought about it nothing seemed plausible. So when the major revealing happened I was surprised but also a bit confused. You know the whole, where did this come from, which (thankfully) the plot explains later on. It was unexpected in the fact that you just never pinpoint that character in the first place. I guess that is a successful aspect in writing a crime novel, the unexpected moments are always the best.
This is the third novel I've read from Faletti and I have to say I held high expectations. I've always admired his talent in springing the surprise at the last minute, making the mysteries so much more thrilling. The same happens in The Killer In My Eyes but for some reason it just didn't create the same reaction I had with his previous works (see reviews for his other novels here). That's not to say it was bad, it just wasn't his best. I still thoroughly enjoyed it though, majority of it was great. For a tiny portion it was a bit slow paced but I guess it needed to start building the intense again instead of just being on a high the entire time.
Most of the time if an author sticks with a particular genre their novels just seem like a carbon copy of each other, just with different character names and setting. With Faletti everything is different and that's what I love about his style of writing. It's always something new that has you completely engaged. Grab a copy and settle down because you'll be sucked into the story before you know it.
Rating: 4/5

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