Happy New Year!

Happy new year! Heureuse bonne annee! Feliz año nuevo! Fröhes neues Jahr!

Welcoming a new year filled with fun and surprises. Have you made your new year's resolution list yet?

Season's Greetings!

I want to thank all my readers for your presence on my blog. If it wasn't for you and my loved ones, I wouldn't be where I am today. Thanks to everyone and enjoy the rest of you Christmas/winter break!

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On My Watchlist

Recently, I have been looking through my IMDB account and I started watching the trailers of upcoming movies and I really looking forward to what I've found so far from the site. But there are those that I saw from watching other movies too, I just decided I'd add them here too. These all range from drama to comedy and for you to better understand why I am looking forward to these films, I find that it will be much easier if you watch the trailers.

• The Hobbit

• Les Misérables

• Oz: The Great and Powerful

• Wreck It Ralph

• Beautiful Creatures

• Safe Haven

• Any Day Now

• Quartet

• Struck by Lightning

• Flight

*Note: The list does not have a specific order that show the rank of these films reflecting my interest in movies.

The fall of childrens' tv shows

Hey moms and dads! Haven't you ever wondered what your kids are getting exposed to on TV? Just think about how much crap they're being fed. I am not a mother yet but I do plan on having a collection of former kids shows aired in the 1990s and early 2000s to show my kids in their developing years. Let's have a look at what's in store for this generation, shall we?

• Yo Gabba Gabba!

For some reason, it happens to attract children but when you see for yourself what it contains, you might end up thinking whether or not the creator was high on drugs or something.

• Back at the Barnyard

I'm not sure if you want your kids watching some ring-leader cow persuade everyone to perform mischievous tasks and in the end find their way out of it without the truth coming out. With this embedded in their minds, they may or may not realise that the next time they decide to go one way or another, it might be something that would be regretful and probably too late.

• Lazy Town

I don't know about you but the guy is freaking creepy, just the way he looks says it all. There is nothing appealing in this show and your kids won't learn anything other than to be big-headed, but if that's what you want then by all means go right ahead.

• Shake it up!

Sure it's nice to have some fashion idols but to the point that the idols don't even know how to bring a point and ending up to rely on exaggerated facial expressions is not a practice that they should do. They may end up doing exactly what their idols in this show do that in the end they grow up without having to realise how it's unacceptable at certain engagements in the future.

• Sonny with a chance

When I was channel surfing 2 summers ago, I had to stop at Disney of course to see what's on because I usually watched cartoons from there or on Nickelodeon. However, this show came up and I saw Demi and thought oh Camp Rock, I was able to tolerate that, so I was willing to give it a shot. 3-5 minutes later I immediately switch the channel to Nick, not because my fave show there was on but because the show there was much more tolerable than watching Demi act even more shallow than on Camp Rock.

• Goodluck Charlie

Same with "Sonny with a chance". I saw this show and noticed that Bridgit Mendler was on it and I thought she was good on The Clique. But I couldn't stay on the channel whenever this show was on because the acting was stupid which made the story boring.

You know what would be nice? If we could just speak up and start spreading the word about how much the entertainment industry has gone down in producing worthless children's tv shows since the early 2000s. Help us to help you. Follow us on facebook or on twitter and share our posts to your friends and families. You'll never know, we just might get what we need to get the kids of this and the future's generation back on track.

1990s versus 2000s

We've reached a point wherein we start to argue whose childhood is or was better. We see images of what 90s kids used to have and what kids today have. The biggest argument is about the old shows and music. The thing is time is constantly changing and so is every individual in this world. It happens via the change in our environment and the most influential form of media has been the television and magazines. It is where we get our inspirations from in terms of style and even the way we speak. Who would have thought that you would label a casual look Outfit of the Day (OOTD) when they're merely clothes you put on for the sake of covering your body.

Music, films, tv shows, and fashion editorials are our ways of knowing what is in and what is considered old school. How much have we changed? That isn't even a question anymore because we very well know that you can't even wear a simple ponytail going out when we want to look good. In this post, I will be comparing the music, film, and tv shows of the 1990s and 2000s and from there we can weigh what year is the best.

TV

Being a 90s kid, I might end up becoming biased but I do have my reasons. I am now 19 and yet I still look for the old shows I used to watch. I suppose it's because of all the memories I've had when I saw them but I simply cannot get enough of them, which is why I'm inclined to say that the 1990s might be the year that has the best kids shows.

Cartoon Network:

• Popeye
• The Flinstones
• The Jetsons
• Captain Planet
• Power Puff Girls
• Dexter's Laboratory
• Power Rangers
• Ed Edd 'n' Eddy
• Cow and Chicken
• Johnny Bravo
• Pokémon
• Power Rangers

Nickelodeon:

• Hey Arnold!
• Rugrats
• As Told By Ginger
• Spongebob Squarepants
• The Amanda Show
• All That
• Kenan and Kel
• Clarissa
• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
• Roco's Modern Life
• Kablam
• Blues Clues
• Max & Ruby
• Drake and Josh
• Naturally Sadie

Disney:

• Madeline
• Disney Buzz
• Studio Disney
• Sabrina
• Untalkative Bunny
• Bear in the Big Blue House
• Are You Afraid of the Dark
• Pepper Anne
• Recess
• Rolie Polie Olie
• Art Attack
• PB&J Otter
• Bananas in Pajamas
• Stanley
• That's So Raven
• Lizzie Mcguire
• Kim Possible
• Proud Family
• Even Stevens
• Tiny Planets

Although I would make an exception for Phineas and Ferb, which is an amazing Disney kids tv show about Phineas Flynn and his English step- brother Ferb Fletcher who spends their summer vacation doing remarkable projects that last for a day and annoy their older sister, Candace. Alongside their story is their pet, Perry the Platypus, who is an undercover agent fighting against Dr. Doofenshmirtz who himself is a doof, hence the name. But that is the only kids tv show today that I like whereas everything else is obsolete. They are either just a re-make of the same concept, which sometimes turn out great but if it can't be delivered good enough for the viewers then they just don't deserved to be aired.

Kids shows today:

• Sonny with a Chance
• Jonas Brothers
• Big Time Rush
• Lazy Town
• The Naked Brothers Band
• Ben 10
• Chowder
• Fanboy & Chum Chum
• Danny Phantom
• Mr. Meaty
• Avatar: The Legend of Korra
• Goodluck Charlie
• Back at the Barnyard
• True Jackson, VP

Music

What I love most about 90s music is that the lyrics have meaning and the voices of the singers didn't require the use of autotune. I still listen to them in my iPhone and I haven't gotten tired of listening to them.

• Shaggy - Boombastic, It Wasn't Me, Angel
• Zhané - Hey Mr. DJ
• Weezer - Island on the Sun
• Fugees - Killing Me Softly
• Madonna - Ray of Light
• Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
• Oasis - Wonderwall
• Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
• Cranberries - Zombie
• Michael Jackson - Black or White
• Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
• MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This
• Green Day - Basket Case
• Destiny's Child - Say My Name
• Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
• Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
• Blink 182 - All the Small Things
• Puff Daddy - I'll Be Missing You
• Britney Spears - Oops I Did It Again, Lucky, Baby One More Time
• Creed - Higher
• Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply
• Moffats - Miss You Like Crazy, If Life Is So Short, I'll Be There For You
• Westlife - Uptown Girl
• A1 - Like A Rose, Take On Me
• Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way, Don't Want You Back, Incomplete
• Run DMC - Walk This Way
• Bon Jovi - Living On A Prayer

Yes it's a lot but I do have songs that are modern-ish and I like all kinds of music. Although, there is a limit as to how far I can go to accepting songs because there are songs that I don't like but it doesn't mean that I don't like the genre, it's just that particular song that I dislike.

• Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
• Scooter - J'adore Hardcore
• Ellie Goulding - Guns and Horses, Starry Eyed, Lights
• Bahama Soul Club ft. Pat Appleton - Bossa Bop (Valique's Hop Bop Remix)
• All In - Dubba Jonny
• De-Phazz - The Mambo Craze
• Dub FX - Fly With Me, Sooth Your Pain, Wandering Love
• Daft Punk - One More Time, Digital Love, Stronger
• Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts
• Don Omar ft. Lucenzo - Danza Kuduro
• Sean Kingston - Fire Burning On the Dancefloor
• LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem, Champagne Showers
• Loona - Vamos A La Playa
• Hyper Crush - Kick Us Out
• Inna Modja - French Cancan
• Nicki Minaj - Super Bass
• One Republic - Secrets, Apologize, Good Life

As you can see, I have quite a spread of interest with music genres but what I dislike is the use of too much autotune and voices that sound unnatural like Rihanna. I just can't seem to like how her voice sounds but I like the lyrics of her songs so I still sing them.

Film

Majority of the films I know growing up are mostly children's movies. Some I have seen with my parents for the sake of my sanity because of the violence it contains. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching all of them and I still watch most of them.

• Schindler's List
• Saving Private Ryan
• Forrest Gump
• Titanic
• Toy Story 1 & 2
• Jurassic Park
• The Lion King
• Edward Scissorhands
• Home Alone
• Selena
• Little Women
• Pretty Woman
• Clueless
• American Pie
• Bring It On
• Ghost
• Sister Act 2

What I like most about today's movies are the graphics and music. I am more of the person who prioritizes the story of the film than the graphics or how the scene was shot. Unfortunately, there aren't that many movies that prioritizes the story so I'm lucky enough for the current existence of a few.

• Lord of the Rings 1-3
• Harry Potter 1-7
• Narnia
• Monte Carlo
• Freaky Friday
• Aquamarine
• Mean Girls 1&2
• Wild Child
• It's A Boy Girl Thing
• Sydney White
• Just My Luck
• She's the Man
• Juno
• Step Up
• LOL (French version)
• American Wedding
• Not Another Teen Movie
• Disaster Movie
• Meet the Spartans
• Scary Movie
• Pans Labyrinth

There are lots more that I can mention but then the list will be long. And so I can say that the best kids tv shows are from the 1990s because of their plots even if they didn't have such a high quality production as today. I would say both music from the 90s and 00s are good in their own way but it's the ones from the 90s that we remember in the long run. Just like the tv shows, movies in the past had more flavor in their stories whereas today they concentration on how the movie is made such as their graphics.

We see too many remakes like Batman, Spiderman, Xmen, etc... Can you say that they're really amazing? If the quality was the same as before then it would just be average so we only watch to be entertained by their image and sound quality more than their plot. I would say that both generations have certain characteristics that make them great but I do choose the story over the quality and I think even today there are some films that provide that so it's pretty equal for me.

Photo sources:
http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/2099265/Why/

Re-imagined Beauty and the Beast film

Photo from Tumblr

This is not going to be a movie review. Rather, it's more of a "What's new?" or "What's in my head?" sort of post. This is going to be all about Guillermo del Toro's upcoming work Beauty and the Beast. I have been researching and what I've learn't so far is that he is working with Emma Watson to play the role of Belle. On the storyboard, he'll be working alongside Denise di Novi, Ed Wood and Andrew Davies who is the script I am a great fan of del Toro and Emma Watson and that's why I think this new interpretation of a Disney princess movie is worth writing about.

Thinking about the works of the team, del Torro's Pans Labyrinth is an amazing film and my favorite on top of that. Unfortunately, making a movie review of it will make my post long because of how much detail I would put into it and it might be tiresome to read for those who merely want to know what its about, generally.

Denise di Novi worked on a few Tim Burton films such as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmass. I am a Tim Burton film lover apart from Edward Scissorhands, which I still love watching during the Christmass season, the Corpse Bride too is a film I cannot stop watching. You can ask my sister how much I watch it and how she wonders why I never get tired of watching it. Not to mention that I also learned the piano pieces and watched the film so much that I practically memorized it word for word and could practically watch it in my head. Edward Scissorhands is a great film that is a mix of disturbing yet sweet moments that you'll have mixed feelings and probably feel sad in the end. I don't think the ending is happy but something that I can be content with.

We all know who Emma Watson is and what films she starred in. I'll give you a clue, it starts with Harry and ends with Potter. Yes, you've guessed it, Harry Potter's Hermoine Granger will be playing the sweet, gentle, and loving Belle. This actress also starred in Ballet Shoes whose character aspires to be an actress in the theatre and in the end lands a job as a Hollywood actress. Did I say I am a big fan? I think I did but I'll say it again. I'm a big fan of Emma Watson. I would say that there are movies coming up that I would always think of her as the one to play the part because she has the appearance as well as the ability to perform the character perfectly.

I grew up with Disney princess films and knowing the thematic styles of Guillermo del Torro, there's no doubt that the latest interpretation of Beauty and the Beast will be darker annd it actually suits the current generation, what with the zombies, vampires and wolves taking centerstage. We are definitely seeing more and more dark elements in films except for the romance genre. I would say that having dark elements in a children's fantasy film will give the traditional story a twist and it might be a surprise. Just think about the new interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood in the film Red Riding Hood featuring Amanda Seyfreid. Weknow the classic Red goes to granny's house to bring her a basketfull of goodies only to find the wolf on her bed, oh my what a fright you've given me there granny.

We are now facing the age of special effects that give aid to making fantasies appear before our eyes, when details to events in our bedtime stories were not so obvious becausewe started nodding off, the age of wanting to make entertainment makes sense of our past even if it wasn't like that at all. You never knew that your bedtime stories could lure you into visiting their pages once more with the development of technologies that entertain us. If there is one thing I'm going to do about this new movie, it would be not to hope for something over the top and keep myself updated on the progress. I look forward to it. Enjoy

your day.

Mildred Pierce miniseries review

I know that this isn't a movie but I do believe that it deserves to be talked about. It is a 5-part miniseries that lasted an hour and a half per part. It does sound long but it was worth it. It is based on the Novel by James Cain, which depicts a mother during the Great Depression stuggling as her husbands leaves he, taking care of their children and finding her place in the working class. A few themes present that I find important are of Capitalism, Power,  Loss, Tragedy, and Female roles. They are the most evident all throughout apart from many more in the film.

It is set in Glendale wherein Mildred's husband, Bert, leaves her for another woman and begins a new life. She cares for her daughters, Ray and Veda. At the beginning, she has too much pride that she does not want to accept that she can only do what she knows how to do, be a domestic helper. For Mildred, it is embarrasing for her eldest daughter, Veda, to know that it is the only way for her to put food on their table. She works as a waitress taking tips while earning 0.25 cents an hour. She is also overprotective of her daughters, perhaps due to her husband leaving them and as for their feelings not to get hurt, she fends of anything that appear to be harmful for their upbringing. She becomes a success when she starts her own business by having her very own restaurant but is later blinded by how she does not see how Veda truly is as a person.

Veda however is a stumbling block in Mildred's life because of her want of a lifestyle where she can have anything she wants at a given time. She wants to be prominent and acts as if  she was a royal with an attitude. She talks like she's one of the so-called accomplished women who can speak several modern languages, skilled with textile crafts, and has the exact air and manner of walking, yes I am referring to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She is very ambitious and does not show respect to anyone who is not in the same social standing as her or higher. She is a diva and grows up becoming a primadona as her voice is discovered by the one conductor who rejected her as a pianist. She betrays her mother when she sleeps with her second husband, Monty. She is let go by her mother in the end when she decides to move to New York, presumably moving in with Monty. Exactly as her voice instructor said to her mother about her being a Coloratura inside and out. She is brilliant in singing but as a person she has nothing to be proud of.

There is a constant war between Mildred and Veda after Ray dies from a high fever. When Monty enters their world, Veda is even more determined to achieve excellence in almost everything. She becomes a social climber as Mildred's business becomes successful and the tension becomes great on Christmas day when Veda is disappointed to see that her mother got her a wrist-watch. They get into an argument and a slapping battle and Veda wins and starts smoking. Their relationship disappears as time passes by and when Veda moves out, Mildred becomes keen in knowing how her daughter is doing without her, wanting know if she is in god health.

Money is the source of almost every problem; the food, the business, music lessons, etc... Mildred refers to this when she disciplines Veda about snooping in her closet and making the help wear Mildred's uniform. Veda criticizes her mother's choice of work and how she was making thei situation even more worse by working like a lower-class citizen. Unfortunately, it is the only option for Mildred because it is the only thing she is qualified to do. She does not have a background on a particular profession other than domestic work. That is the only way for her to cope with everything that is happening.

I don't know how it goes in the novel but I am planning on getting a copy myself. Overall, the stoy was great. The actors portrayed their characters well. Every seen made me feel what was supposed to be felt, sad when it's dramatic and happy when it's funny. The way the themes are presented through dialogue and actions is suited to make their points.

ParaNorman movie review

I'm not a fan of zombie movies or series, which means The Walking Dead is not something I would jump for joy. Bad memories when I first watched it and it was a marathon with my boyfriend. Don't ask what happened to me because you might think that I'm a sissy and I wanted to try seeing it to know the story myself. I do like Zombieland however and I was excited to see this film after seeing the trailer a few weeks ago.

ParaNorman is about a boy, Norman Babcock, who can communicate with the ghosts who are still roaming about with the living. His life is not an easy one because where he lives, in Blithe Hollow, those who are different aren't socially accepted. What makes it more difficult is that even his family doesn't believe his in his ability and thinks of him as mediocre (not referring to the image on the below specifically but it is funny too). It is only until Neil Downe befriends him that he finds someone who believes in his ability and doesn't have a problem with it. Everyone needs someone to back him up even if solitude is what's appealing for the person. 

During the rehearsal of his school's play, a commemoration of an event that took place 300 years ago of the execution of the town's with, he suddenly has visions of being in the woods but not as himself but as the witch. One of the schoolgirls was right. Witches don't always wear a pointy hat and completely ugly looking.

On the way home, he and Neil are spoken to by Norman's uncle, Mr. Prenderghast, and is told of his duty to protect the town as his uncle has been doing for years. Its both weird and funny how Neil manages to scare Prenderghast away when he says, "Don't make me throw this hummus... it's spicy!". But Norman is left to do exactly as instructed but upon failing on his first attempt and the zombies come to life it appears to be more of a reverse of role.

Instead of the zombies attacking the townspeople it was the reverse. Even I felt sad about it. It is quite an adventure that even his own enemy helped him along with his older sister Courtney, his eccentric friend Neil, and Neil's older and buff brother Mitch.

Norman comes to realize that he shouldn't be following the ritual but to right the wrongs of the old citizens who executed the Agatha by sentencing her to death because she was thought to be a witch because like Norman, she can communicate with ghosts. It was an unfair judgement. They were afraid of her and didn't know what to do but eliminate her thinking that it was the best for their town. Instead of reading the book to Agatha he confronts her and narrates her story to her tells her that it's up to her how the story ends. He manages to convince her to remember the good times because life is not all downs but it has its ups too. This is definitely important for all of us because if we do think about it, we get carried away when we have our sad moments. We should be able to look passed the wrongs done to us or we did ourselves but recall the good times and look into making ourselves happy once more.

Photos taken from:

• http://www.into-the-dark.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/size300_original_paranorman_poster.jpg 
• http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/7247/00000110.jpg
• http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ParaNorman_Still4.jpg

Step Up: Miami Heat movie review

I watched it today and I must say, I had my doubts at first because the last 2 was not as good as I hoped it would. This, however, is AMAZING! Both my sister and I love dancing, it's a big part of our lives, performing, and this really made my day. The best parts of this film are first and foremost the dance numbers, followed by the music and the costumes, the shots, and the storyline.

What I love most about the dance numbers is that at the beginning I already thought that it was great. It wasn't a let down as the movie developed further because every performance got better making me more and more breathless. I think that it was their performance at the museum that I love the most because of the incorporation of all the effects, the music, the costumes, the choreography that matched the location. Every single dance number did just this but to me, the one in the museum is by far the best.

Dance numbers(the ones I could find):

• Ocean Drive
• Initiation to the Mob
• The Office Mob
• We Are the Mob

The music score, all original, is just absolutely incredible. It makes me want to get up and start moving myself but nevertheless, I'm in the cinema so I must refrain from disturbing the rest of the people watching. As for costumes and scenes I really love the dance scene in the restaurant. Emily's dress was wonderful as it followed her every movement and complimented her body. For those who haven't seen it, I strongly suggest that you do. NO! Scratch that. I'm commanding you to watch it and I guarantee that you will not regret it. Or maybe you might and I also might be just being biased because I'm so taken away by it. Either way it's a great movie.

Fifty Shades of Grey book review

I admit, I didn't finish the book myself but I do know the ending and so I may or may not spoil this book to you readers who have not finished the book yet so go go go away from this page if you don't want to know what happens in the end yet or stay if you must because you're tired of waiting like I was. This is going to be quick, I think.

I thought at first that it was amusing at first because Ana is sexually inexperienced and her thoughts were just funny. But then it got exhausting and sometimes I just think that there's a lack of sense in my reading of this book. It becomes predictable later on and now I just find it plain boring. I don't know what the hullabaloos' about, why people are going crazy about this book but I am definitely not intending to just read about a confused girl who suddenly has a fetish for wild sex and whose inner thoughts just makes me confused and gives me a headache.

Here's the spoiler, which isn't even surprising in the end: Greyand Ana break up and guess what happens in the next 2 books, they get back together again and then break up. This is just a series of break ups and make ups and repetitive inner thoughts from Ana banana about how handsome and to-die-for Grey is. I regret not reading reviews of this book.

*For those who like this book, I apologise for giving the book a negative review but it's just not my cup of tea. For sure you don't completely agree with the rest of my reviews too so I hope you don't stop reading my blog just because of this.

Brave Movie Review

Yes, as soon as I got home from the cinema I opened my laptop to starting on writing this movie review. I've been watching Pixar movies since I'm not exactly sure when and love the short movies that come before them.

Before the start of this movie is a short movie called La Luna. It's about a boy who is coming of age and is brought to work for the first time by his father and grandfather. It's set at sea, where they row a wooden boat far out with no land in plain sight and then stops and waits. But something else awaits him, which makes the boy unsure of whose footsteps he should follow or pave a path of his own.

Disney's Pixar Animations movie, Brave, is about a princess named Merida living in Scotland. She is a free-spirited girl who prefers to do archery in her spare time from princess lessons taught by her own mother, Queen Elinor. Her father, King Fergus is a comic in the story where all the fun and laughs come from. What's great about this film is that young adults can relate to Merida. They understand how it feels not to be treated the way they feel they deserve or should be treated simply because they are seen as kids who should only follow and not be heard.

When Merida meets the witch in the forest she asks for a spell to change her mother's opinion on her fate of getting married, unfortunately for her it did not satisfy her for instead of gaining a solution she made her problem into an even bigger issue. But she mends two bonds towards the end, one with the tapestry, which she tore with her sword, and the other with her relationship with her mother.

Merida isn't ready to get married yet and couldn't talk to her mother about it. Her mother is traditional and keeps to her conservative ways and hopes that her daughter would follow her footsteps. But Merida is too adventurous her princess ways and wants to lead her own life as do any kid. What she doesn't know is that not all good things come just when we take the lead although she did teach her mum a few tricks for surviving in the woods when the unfortunate change happened to the queen. Here, we can see that both sides can learn something from each other once we take the time to listen and understand what we're trying to say. Make them see what we see, make them feel how we feel.

It is only this theme of the film that I like to emphasis since it is what is also emphasised in the movie with all the dramatic effects such as Merida crying, everyone in the background falling silent, emotional music, and close-ups to the main characters and their long faces. However, it's not all tears but laughter too as I've said earlier. I love the triplets the most both in human form and as bear cubs. They're your typical rowdy kids who love to run around and play and just have fun. Even you have fun with them messing around with one of the helpers by taking the food tray and such. So that's it for now. I'm leaving you with a trailer of the film. Enjoy!

Entwined book review

Alas! I have finished reading the book. I do not say this in such a manner that you would think I have been exhausted by it, rather it is  because of how little time I've actually had to read this. What with all the continuous walking around town and whatnot, which at the end of the day makes me tired leaving me to fall asleep. Nevertheless, I have finally finished it and it is remarkable. Heather Dixon's book, Entwined, is somewhat like a re-telling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Here, it starts with the death of a loved one who passes an heirloom or the like to the main character and her journey begins from their. It is filled with magic and excitement. Love of course is a major theme as well as Family, and Trust.

The princesses are left in the castle during mourning while the King is away in the war. He left them in bad terms that they ended up disobeying the rules about dancing while mourning. It was not allowed in their kingdom but since they haven't been dancing in public and no one from the kingdom sees them, technically it wasn't a problem at all. However, this secret place lures them every single time they come to dance that it ends up becoming a place they regret coming.

Being a dancer myself I love how the author the author describes the dances mentioned in the story and how it is delivered by the characters. The images of skirts twisting when they turn or spin seems so real I want to do it myself and feel what their feeling. The emotions she describes when they dance is exactly how I feel whenever I succeed doing a dance step. I love ballroom dancing the most among all the dances I do. Some might think that the choreography is too simple or boring but reading from this book tells you otherwise. You suddenly feel the dances themselves the same way the lovers of princesses Azalea, Bramble, and Clover make you feel when they say or do something romantic. Although Lord Teddie didn't sound romantic but his funny ways of showing how much he fancied Bramble was more than enough for me to understand that they're a good match. Not to mention the villain of the story, Keeper or the High King, who was described to have a "chocolate voice", handsome, and was great at dancing. Initially, I had my doubts at the beginning. maybe it's because he was to perfect to begin with and there was something about his dialogue that made him suspicious. Later on his descriptions became more and more close to that of the High King. I put the pieces of the puzzle together, chapters before Azalea did. But she was exhausted already from all the tortures and pressures he gives her, and she has to assist 11 girls in their household so I'll give her that.

It is a very lovely book and I love the cover too. The time, place, characters, I adore. Best fairy tale story and since I haven't read the original version of the 12 Dancing Princesses I can't really make a comparison to say whether or not this was a better version. It's a great read and I recommend it to anyone who loves stories of Magic, Love, and Fairy Tales coming to life because you'll not want to put this book down once you've started.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver Book Review

The most important thing I noticed when I finished the book was the transition of Lena's development from an ordinary citizen of a loveless city to one who is willing to sacrifice so much than to live without it.

It is quite noticeable because of how my mood was at the beginning. I was rather slow but I knew I had to speed up a bit, especially since I haven't been reading continuously.

I felt just as dull as she did. It was as if life had no color everytime I read it. Upon meeting Alex is where her adventure starts and where I begin to be more excited. I am definitely a romantic but I know when a story has reached its peack. This, however, doesn't.

The end of the story is where I was full of emotions just like Lena who is escaping from her home with Alex into the Wilds and are being chased by the police and regulators after being caught and monitored a few days before. By now, you can tell where my panic and the sudden rush of my blood comes from.

I believe that is the highlight of the story so far and some questions still rise from my head. Will Lena find her mother in the Wilds? Did the police kill Alex or will he be reunited with Lena like a fairy tale element in the story? Will what happened to Lena happen to Grace since they have a somewhat similar situation in the sense that they were left by the people they love and trust? There are more that come up but these sre the ones that bug me every now and then. But I need to move on the next book on my list.

My Summer Reading List

It's a long list but I've started and finished with some already but just to give a heads up on my agenda. So far I've read Divergent and Insurgent and made book reviews. Currently I'm reading Delirium which is somewhere in this list. What you'll find mostly here are dystopian novels. The order in which I listed the books do not reflect on which I attempt to finish first. I will make it a point to write a book review for every one that I finish. Some reviews might not be as insightful as others due to reasons I do not know yet why but it can happen.

• Divergent Trilogy - Veronica Roth

• Divergent

• Insurgent

• The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
• The Maze Runner

• The Scorch Trials

• Death Cure

• Delirium Series - Lauren Oliver

• Delirium

• Pandemonium

• The Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins

• The Hunger Games

• Catching Fire

• Mocking Jay

• Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy - EL James

• Fifty Shades of Grey

• Fifty Shades Darker

• Fifty Shades Freed

• The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott

• The Alchemyst

• The Magician

• The Sorceress

• The Necromancer

• The Warlock

• The Enchantress

• The Uglies Trilogy- Scott Westerfeld

• Uglies

• Pretties

• Specials

• Extras

Insurgent book review

Following Divergent, the story continues when Tris, Tobias, Caleb, Susanne, Marcus, and Peter are on their way to the Amity compound. The rest of the story leads to numerous obstacles and puzzling mysteries about the unknown that is beyond the fence. Tris and Tobias's relationship and Marcus's credibility are tested. Veronica Roth has ceased to fail bringing in suspense to the story, I know because I was craving for more every time I turned a page. I bet you can't imagine how I felt when I finished the book. There is not much repetition of locations, which is good because it is nice to see new places and what wonders they may have to offer our imagination. Insurgent has definitely kept up with the thrills from Divergent or possibly more.

My list of potential actors to play Tris and Four in the upcoming Divergent movie.

Beatrice 'Tris' Prior

• Saoirse Ronan
• AnnaSophia Robb
• Bella Heathcote

Tobias 'Four' Eaton

• Max Irons
• Alexander Ludwig
• Drew Roy

Hunger Games movie review

So after I read the book I watched it with my sister. As always when it comes to books being made in to films I tend to worry because it often happens that the story is not followed which ends up ruining it, well for me. It is understandable that it is difficult to make Panem realistic but they have. A lot of the props used are just right for the movie and the setting of the story.

However, just as my fears were, some parts in the book were not followed and to me they were very significant in the story such as the Mocking jay pin that was supposed to be given by Madge to Katniss during the visitation. Also the visit of Peeta's dad to Katniss. For me, they both had a significance such that they play a part in the upcoming events. In the book it made me wonder why his dad visited her and what part does the pin play in the story. It seems like such a huge deal for it to come from the mayor's daughter.

The scenes wherein Haymitch was supposed to give advice to them were also important because it showed a side of him that actually cares and knows what he is doing despite the initial appearance of his character being a drunk. Instead, the movie made him continuously look like a drunk and insufferable except for the scene when he went to get sponsors in order to send her an ointment for her burn.

Also the scenes that involve the planning of making Peeta and Katniss the star-crossed lovers from District 12. The theme of romance was not much played in the movie or at least I could not see it as much as I did in the book. They made Katniss look like she hardly cared about him the entire movie while in the book there was some feeling that was shown including the part when Peeta tells her when he started liking her. When his dad told him that he was supposed to marry her mum but she went off and married a miner. How Peeta knew from then that he had no chances with Katniss and then finds out that he does not have any competition. And also when Peeta finds out on their trip home that she's only been playing a part for him and he ends up feeling betrayed. These scenes help build up the tension not only in Peeta and Katniss's relationship but also Katniss's relationship with herself and to Gale. The confusion she had when he said they could leave the district and survive and be well off with what they have. The film failed to show this one aspect that affects Katniss.

One thing I did like the most in the film is the scene that they added when Rue died. I think it would have been great if it was mentioned in the book. It almost made me cry, or maybe I would have if I was not watching with my sister. It shows so much emotion and drama. It shows exactly what the people of Panem feel about the Hunger Games. However, this confuses me when I think further because I recall from the book with the upheaval of District 13 which is now obsolete might end up being the same fate for District 11's riot. It is a powerful scene and very moving. I hope it does not become a source of difficulty for Catching Fire.

It is only the riot of District 11 that was inspiring. But without the key scenes from the book being followed, the absence of the dialogue which are key to answering questions that arise in the beginning, presence and absence of characters also having roles in the story and help build it up, I can not like it more than how I do now. I might be choosy but it frustrates me when this happens and so this is all I think it deserves.

Hunger Games book review

At first I told myself when the film was soon to be out that if ever I desired to see it, I would read the book first. After much contemplation and convinced that I can actually like dystopia novels after reading Divergent I decided to start reading this book. I've been too excited and grown impatient to wait until I get the next book of the Divergent trilogy, Insurgent, that I thought in order not to lose my motivation in reading this genre I should continue reading books of the kind and so I thought this would suffice.

Turns out it did. It took me a maximum of 3 days to finish it, determined to find out what happens next. Very descriptive, including the emotions that I almost feel as if I am with the protagonist. However, I am also able to separate my thoughts from hers in some way I do not fully understand so in the end I'm reminded that it is a story that I am reading and that there is no real-life tv show that would make the young fight 'til one remains and is victorious with the killing of the other 23 tributes.

The story is amazing and very very much exciting. The vagueness of the rules make it much more difficult to resist anticipating the outcomes of the events. Romance is also a theme used but not so heavily. It is not the main theme but is also made significant by the author. It shows the wholehearted giving of one and the unsure return of feelings by the other. One, mostly I, can't help but fall for the romantic moments too.

I love the balance this book has on its themes of love (romantic + familial), bravery and courage, and credibility. There are more themes but these are what stood out for me.

Divergent book review

I absolutely could not separate from this book. It's like every second I'd have to continue reading. A definite must-read for those who are fans of dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games. In this series, the protagonist, Tris, lives in a society divided into 5 different factions; Amity, Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite. It is at the age of 16, in the choosing ceremony, that they will then select their choice of faction. Although it may seem that the choosing is difficult, it is the initiation process that makes it much more unbearable and yet as you continue to read, you get through it alongside the protagonist.

The narrative makes it easy to comprehend such that a second reading is not necessary. It also makes it much more exciting even if it is only told from one perspective. The mysteries and obstacles that Tris faces adds to the excitement of the reader. The links and connections from past to present makes the reader think outside Tris's train-of-thought. Even the pain that she feels almost seem real for the reader as the images are powerful and stirring. 

I haven't been a fan of Dystopian novels but now that I have read this, I can't stop looking for more. I'm looking forward to reading the next, Insurgent, as it is out already. After that, I don't know how long I can stand until the 3rd book comes out, Detergent.