Movie Review time: Books to the big screen

I saw two of my favorite books turned into movies this week.

 

First, City of Bones, I attended the midnight showing. This series has been a favorite book of mine for 3 years now. I reread the books to have a fresh memory of what happens in time for the movie release. I almost think it is best to forget all about the books before seeing its movie. You know very well they are going to have to change things to make it fit into 2 hours.  Here are the seven things that I’m glad made it into the movie:

***Spoilers***

1. Clary is a heroine and not a damsel in distress. She is fearless and precisely how she acted in the book. (She was a little less redheaded than I imagined but it worked.)
2. Jace’s instant attraction to Clary and need to be with her even though he is a wounded soul.
3. Alec’s obsession with Jace must have gotten edited out because you didn’t see it much but when Clary accused Alec of being in love with Jace and he throws her against the wall was right on.
4. The Silent Brothers with their lips sewn shut and gouged out eyes were creepily perfect.
5. Simon with his Made in Brooklyn t-shirt was by far my favorite character in the movie. He stole the show with his broken-heart and big brown eyes.
6. Valentine is the perfect bad guy you almost feel bad for but in the end he is truly evil with a lot of fight scenes.
7. I was worried about how they would tastefully approach the end of book one. Like a lot of readers I was afraid people would be turned off by the revelation that our love triangle became incest with Clary and Jace being siblings. The movie addresses the issue and didn't make it at all creepy.

Well done, it was a great show. I’m planning to take my husband to see it. It has plenty of action and even if you haven’t read the books you will enjoy and understand the story line. 

NEXT STAY TUNED FOR MY MOVIE REVIEW OF "AUSTENLAND"...

CITY OF BONES MOVIE RELEASE AUGUST 21ST

I first read City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass around October  2010. 

Here is my book review:
http://juliemartinwallace.blogspot.com/2010/10/here-is-new-series-that-i-excited-about.html

I've started rereading the series for the movie release which will be out Wednesday Aug 21st. I hope they decide to make the whole series into movies. Time will tell. So excited to see City of Bones!  http://www.themortalinstrumentsmovie.com

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.

Cast members: 
Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao with CCH Pounder, with Jared Harris 
and I'm really excited about Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing the bad guy. 

SHADOWHUNTER FANS: The only way we can guarantee Hollywood will make all THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series into movies is if we all go out and watch CITY OF BONES. 

Book Reviews for House of Night series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

For my birthday I received 5 books and have been on a reading rampage. I read the first 4 books in the House of Night series. I also read Divergent which I'll do a separate review for it on my next blog.

House of Nights starts out as a typical high school drama but when Zoey gets marked as a vampire things change. In this story the world knows about vampires and they mostly live in harmony. This book really makes you feel like your hanging with teenagers again.(*Because I review a lot of clean romances I'll put out a disclaimer that this book does have language and sexual content.)


Marked book #1

Zoey Redbird is 16 years old and having issues with her almost ex-boyfriend Heath. He is the high school quarterback and chooses to party more then focus on school. Zoey is marked and will start the process of becoming a vampire. She has to live and attend school at the House of Night, a school for Fledglings (A Vampire finishing school in Tulsa, OK). She is more than happy to leave her family behind since she doesn't fit in with them and especially hates her step-dad. Her mom only cares what her new husband wants and his obsession with church. Zoey's Grandma is the only one she can count on. Her Grandma is Cherokee and lives on a lavender farm. She understands Zoey's special talents with the godess Nyx. Zoey meets a groups of friends at her new school. Stevie Rae is her roommate and they become best friends. Erin and Shaunee are roommates and act like twins even though they look nothing alike. Damien is the gay "boy" friend of the group. Eric is the hottie of the school. And his ex-girlfriend Aphrodite, the perfect popular blonde warns Zoey that Eric is hers. Zoey and her friends plan to overthrow Aphrodite as the head of Dark Daughters because she is abusing her power.  


Betrayed book #2

Zoey's hot vampire boyfriend Eric is out of town at a Shakespeare competition and she's missing him. Loren Blake, Vampyre Poet Laureate is the perfect man. Loren starts flirting with Zoey and makes her feel like a women. He should be off limits because he's a teacher. A couple human football players turn up dead and detectives start asking Zoey questions. Some Fledglings died too because their bodies didn't accept the change and Zoey has seen them as ghosts. Heath is the next football player that goes missing and Zoey has to save him before he's killed. 

Chosen book #3

Zoey is juggling three boyfriends and can't decide on who she really likes. Zoey is trying to help Stevie Rae with her humanity and has to keep secrets from all her friends. Aphrodite is the only one she can turn to for help. Vampire teachers are being killed. Zoey's friends and boyfriend learn the secrets she's been hiding and no one can trust her anymore.







Untamed book #4

Life sucks for Zoey.  She lost all her boyfriends and friends. Erik is now a full fledged vampire and is teaching drama at the school. Things couldn't be more awkward. Neferet blames the humans for vampire killings and wants to start a war. Shekinah the head priestess of all the schools arrives to try to find out what's happening. Zoey knows Neferet is evil and behind everything but she'll have to prove it first.





All in all, I like the series. I do hate when Zoey makes stupid mistakes, but what teenager hasn't made their fair share of them. It has captured my interest enough that I will read on. Check out the website which has lots of fun pictures and videos. http://www.houseofnightseries.com/

Thank you P.C. and Kristin for putting your creative juices together to make another fun vampire story I can obsess over.

P.C. and Kristin Cast

Photo: Joerg Steinmetz

The 11th book in the series Revealed is coming out October 15th. I have a lot more reading to go but It's an easy read so no problem.

Book Review Vanguard Legacy: Foretold by Joanne Kershaw

I finished this YA Paranormal series and can't stop thinking about the story. It's similar to Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and The Mortal Instrument series. It's like them but very original in its own world crisis and endearing characters. With a perfect balance of familiar and unfamiliar you are inducted into a world focused on training their children to fight against evil. Elora is in Vanguard training with fellow classmates Aaron, who is her best friend; Matthew a Magicae who is learning to be a spirit reader; and Teya a vampire who is training as a forensic. All of them are learning how to defeat the Dark Seekers. Elora's mother is one the best Vanguard's and has returned to the training compound. Elora thinks her mom only came to keep an eye on her. The relationship between them has always been bad but the secrets and lies start to come out and Elora doesn't know who she can trust. Thankful for her friends and new boyfriend Zak, who's a senior trainee, they try to figure out what Elora's visions mean.  With Elora's special talent her group is placed in an accelerated training class. When all "hell" breaks loose Elora has to face her family secret. Don't miss out on this exciting new book.


 Join the release party for Vanguard Legacy – Foretold on April 5^th https://www.facebook.com/events/591516437542734/

Joanne Kershaw lives in Wakefield, England, with her husband, four young children, and an uppity cat named Dipstick. As a teacher of five- to eleven-year-olds, she spends her days playing at being a grownup, then goes home to delve into Young Adult dark romance and being sixteen again.

Joanne lives and breathes books, whether reading, writing, or marking them. She wrote her first novel in six weeks. Encouraged to submit her work by a friend and fellow YA novel addict, Joanne now finds herself a signed author at Xchyler Publishing. http://www.xchylerpublishing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Joanne.Kershaw.Author

https://twitter.com/Kershaw_Joanne

This Blog rocked my writing world like an MJ video!

Like this video you rocked my world

This was an eye opener blog by agent Natalie M. Lakosil of Bradford Literary Agency www.adventuresinagentland.com. 

I'm rethinking my book as a YA. ANYTHING BUT NORMAL is first person POV of an eighteen year old girl but I'm not sure if my words and actions are in a true YA voice.  I have to reread my novel to see, "Am I a YA author or Adult author?"

Here is the blog that has rocked my world:  http://www.adventuresinagentland.com/2011/03/ya-vs-adult-whats-so-different-anyway.html

"YA vs. Adult: what's so different, anyway?

One of my biggest pet peeves about submissions is reading queries from authors who are clearly trend-chasers. Currently, the biggest offender: adult writers who call their novels YA.

 AGE is not the determining factor of a YA."

     I believe my novel fits in the YA category because Krystal is thinking and acting as a YA but I’m afraid my voice is a little more mature than an 18 year old Goth girl.

Tell me what you think. Here’s the first page of ANYTHING BUT NORMAL; 

     Never run your horse towards home. Mother’s warning came to mind but the last thing I wanted was Mom to ruin my one enjoyment, riding my horse. Besides, Black wouldn't overpower me. We were like one when I was in the saddle. I snapped the reins, pressed my heels in, and yelled “YAW!” The sudden burst of speed was exactly what I needed. I took in a deep breath of the crisp Wisconsin air and caught the scent of wildflowers as flashes of gold and lilac blurred past me. I've always loved springtime when the flowers come to life after a harsh winter. Like my life, it represented a new beginning. I was Eighteen years old and had just moved to a new town, ready to make changes for the better. I leaned down to experience the thrill of riding fast on a 1,300 pound horse as his mighty legs hammered the dirt.    

     I shivered when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my blissful mood disappeared under the all-too familiar awareness of someone watching me. A biting wind whipped around and plastered my hair across my face, temporarily blinding me. With the reins in one hand, I pulled the hairs off my face with the other hand. We were approaching the woods at a dangerous speed.

    I caught a glimpse of someone behind a tree as birds scattered in a mass exit. Black spooked and I didn't have a good grip as he drove his front legs into the ground. His sliding halt and abrupt stop sent me flying over the top of his head. I grasped frantically to stay upright but instead found myself plummeting to the earth. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain…

What do you think? Does that sound YA or Adult?

And while we’re at it, I'm questioning my whole genre. I have coined my novel as YA Paranormal Romance. My heroine is dealing with Demons and Angels in her life. 

"Paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation." 

Does my story have to have more prevalent paranormal themes involving vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, or time travel to be considered paranormal? 

My story is not overly religious but the idea of Demons and Guardian Angels interfering and helping in our lives are a religious theory. Would my story fall into a religious category like inspirational fiction?

"There are some books that easily and obviously fit, such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, clearly written for the purpose of providing anecdotes that provide inspiration to the readers. Finding a good definition for the sub-genre of inspirational fiction is a little more difficult."

Like I said, this blog rocked my writing world but maybe I needed to rethink this. I need to know where my book fits so I can find the right agent or publishing company to love my book as much as I do.

Book Review of City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

     We start right into the story after City of Fallen Angels left off and Jace went missing from the rooftop and Sebastian/ Jonathan the-demon-blood-dead-guy was now missing with Jace. Everybody is looking for Jace. Alec senses he is still alive but something is not right. After two weeks of missing the Clave changes their focus and stops looking for Jace. Clary and her friends go see the faire Queen to see if she can help them find Jace. She agrees to help them if they bring her two Shadowhunter rings that allow those who obtain the rings to speak telepathically. At the institute, Clary was about to steal the rings when Jace and Sebastian show up to retrieve some books on dark magic. Clary hides and is shocked to see Jace going along with Sebastian like they are best friends. 

     Jace shows up in Clary’s bedroom and tells her that Sebastian has a good plan and she needs to go with him. He also tells her that he is linked to Sebastian and they can’t kill one without killing the other. Clary decided to join Jace, this way she can find out what they are planning. If she wears the ring and Simon wears the other ring they can speak to each other. She has to play along with Sebastian and pretend she is starting to trust him as a brother. After getting drugged at a night club her ring goes missing and she has no way to warn the others about Sebastian’s plan to let free the worst demons on the world.  

     I thought this was the final book of The Mortal Instruments but since it left a lot undone I’m hoping it’s not. I liked the different story-lines that were going on throughout the book. Jordan and Mia who are werewolves are helping the shadowhunters find Jace. Jordan hopes he can rekindle his relationship with Mia and that she will be able to forgive him for turning her into a werewolf. Magnus and Alec are having relationship problems as Magnus is immortal and Alec is not. Alec runs into an old lover of Magnus’s and is trying to find a way to become immortal or make Magnus mortal. Isabelle can’t stop thinking about Simon, Clary’s vampire BFF, and Isabelle is struggling with finding a way to let him know she’s interested. Clary has to find a way to save Jace before the shadowhunters kill him because he’s connected to Sebastian and his evil plan. There is a lot happening all at once and “Team Good” as Clary calls her group of friends has to stop “Team Bad” before it’s too late.

     It was an exciting and nail-biting read. If you like vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, fairies, warlocks, (did i forget anybody?) and whole secret society saving the world from the unknown, then you'll like this series. Cassandra Clare has a great imagination and makes her characters go through all kinds of hard times. Good news! They are turning the first book City of Bones into a movie. 

For more information about The Mortal Instruments series go to : http://www.shadowhunters.com/mortalinstruments/

To purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/City-Lost-Souls-Mortal-Instruments/dp/1442416866

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/city-of-lost-souls-cassandra-clare/1104511184