Ready Player One: Book vs Movie

Hey guys, it’s been a while since I last posted something but after reading this book and then seeing the movie at the weekend, it’s something I want to talk about and see how you all feel about it if you’ve read the book and seen the movie.

Before we do go ahead I do have to warn you, this post WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!

 

 

 

 

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Okay, so first of all, let me just start by saying that I absolutely adored this book! Literally from page one, I was hooked. Ernest Cline’s world was captivating from the get-go and I was so desperate to continue reading more and find out all about Wade Watts/Parzival and the hunt for James Halliday’s egg. There were so many pop culture references that I adored for example there were references to Harry Potter, old classic video games and movies and so much more! If you’re a fan of all things geeky then I highly recommend this book to you because I honestly don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The first thing I want to talk about with the movie is the casting. I was quite disappointed in the casting for the majority of the characters. Now to be completely honest, I never had a clear picture in my head of who I wanted to play each character but all I do know is that the chosen cast wouldn’t have been it and I don’t really know why it bothered me. The two characters I was happy with in the movie were Mark Rylance as James Halliday and Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow as the way they made the actors look for the film is exactly how I pictured both the book characters so it’s not all bad.

Next I’m going to talk about the main thing that I was let down with. Whilst reading the book, I completely fell in love with the challenges Cline created for each of the characters to face when searching for the keys and clearing each gate. In the movie however, this is changed completely (apart from the last challenge). In the book, once a key has been found, the characters have to figure out the clue that takes them to the gate which they then have to clear in order for them to receive a riddle/clue for the next key. Once the copper key has been found, the character must defeat Acererak the Demi-Lich (from Dungeons and Dragons) in a best of three round of the 1982 arcade classic Joust. After completing this and finding the copper gate, they are then required to take part in a “Flicksync.” Now to give you a bit of an explanation, a Flicksync is a simulation in which an OASIS avatar assumes the place of one or more characters of a given movie.* For the copper gate, Parzival and any other character (I’ll call them Gunters from now on) who works out the clue to open the gate, find themselves playing the part of David (Matthew Broderick’s character) and they must recite every piece of dialogue perfectly. After clearing this and receiving the clue for the Jade Key, the Gunter is then expected to complete a 3D rendering of the game Zork to win the key and then to clear the second gate they must complete a 3D rendering of the game Black Tiger. Last but not least, in order for the Crystal key to be found, the player has to return a mythical guitar to it’s altar in the world of Rush’s 2112 album. Which lastly takes us to the final gate where the player has to face a number of challenges which are; beat Halliday’s best score in Tempest, complete another flicksync (this time it being Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and finally finding the first video game easter egg in Adventure.

Now I know that is a lot to fit into a two hour movie but, I would’ve liked to have seen at least one of the gaming challenges being included. In the movie, the whole gate clearing concept has been taken out and that leaves just the keys to be found in order to win Halliday’s fortune. So, for the Copper key, gunters have to take part in a race whilst trying to avoid famous obstacles such as King Kong and the T-Rex from Jurassic Park to name just a few. Once completing this the winner is met by Anorak (Halliday’s OASIS avatar) and is presented with the first key. For the Jade key, then we see our High Five team having to take on The Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ and in the end dance with Kira (Halliday’s love interest) in order to get the Jade key. Lastly for the Crystal key, the challenge is very much the same as the book minus the final flicksync and Tempest contest. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the changes and thought it was done very well for the film but like I said earlier, it would’ve been nice to see one of the game challenges come to life.

The next thing I’m going to talk about is the meeting of the characters. In the book, the characters don’t meet face to face until the final pages of the book which for me made it much better because there was so much anticipation built up and you had some sort of feelings towards the characters. In the film however it all felt very rushed and therefore I didn’t feel any sort of emotion at all with it and I was so disappointed because for me that was a huge thing to happen considering the story’s main setting is in a virtual reality so for these characters to finally come together and meet the people they’ve grown so close to was just kind of meh. I also hate how soon Parzival and Art3mis became introduced in the movie. Now to be fair it stuck with them meeting during the first challenge just like the book but you still didn’t get the same feelings about it which made me sad.

I think I’ll make this part the last thing I talk about because this post has already been longer than I thought it would be so I do apologise! Okay, so I get that the main thing is supposed to be that this is all about a virtual reality setting type thing but as well as going into this, Cline makes a great effort to go into the personal life of Wade Watts so we can feel some kind of emotion towards the main character and also find out about him as an actual person and not just his OASIS avatar. However in the movie, we have next to no description and also everything feels kind of rushed as well. When talking to my boyfriend about it (he hasn’t read the book), he told me that he was quite confused as to how everything happened and why things are the way they are and that’s purely because in the movie we don’t really get much of a background story for everything which would’ve helped the movie make more sense and also would’ve helped viewers gain some sort of attachment towards the characters too.

Overall I do think the film is good in it’s own aspect and I enjoyed it for what it was but I did enjoy the book a whole lot more (as most people tend to do) because we were given that little bit extra background knowledge on the characters and also because there was so much more depth and fun put into the challenges. All the pop culture references throughout were great as well and I must say, the way the Iron Giant was brought to life in the film made me so happy and gave me all the childhood feels! Again, sorry for such a long post but it’s something I’ve been wanting to talk about since coming out the cinema.

Have any of you guys read the book/seen the film? Even if it’s just one or the other or both I want to hear what you thought about them! I really loved this book and need more people to talk about it with so please leave comments below and we can have a wee discussion!

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REVIEW: TWISTER – JULIETTE FORREST

Title: Twister

Author: Juliette Forrest

Genre: Children’s Fantasy, Middle Grade

Format: Paperback

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Goodreads

Buy Book: Amazon 

Review: “The clouds must have cried themselves happy ’cause they were white again.” I am honestly so in love with this quote, simply because it reflects the innocence and pureness of the main character.

Twister is the story of a young girl who goes on the hunt for her missing Pa. With the help of Maymay, her friend Beam, loyal dog Point and the mysterious necklace Wah, Twister ends up on a wild journey whilst facing many different challenges.

First of all I want to talk about the language and writing in this book. Juliette Forrest does an impeccable job of using her writing to portray the innocence and adolescence of our main character Twister. Every emotion Twister feels, the reader feels as well due to the effective way Forrest writes. I definitely felt like I was in Twister’s head going because of the flow of the sentences and the word use throughout the book. It was all very childlike and for me it made the book even better and much more enjoyable.

I absolutely adored Twister. She was so young and sweet and an extremely likeable character. She had been up against so much yet she was still so brave and willing to do anything to help make her mum better after her pa went missing. We see Twister start school for the first time and joining with her peers who are nasty to her and yet she still manages to keep her wee head up and fight for everything she believes in. The love she had for her trusty companion Point (the family dog), was so pure and everything a relationship between a child and pet should be and for me it was such a poignant part of the story.

Beam was another character I loved and the twist that came later in the book is one that I seen coming straight away but I still loved it none the less. Again, mentioning Twister here because when she first met Beam, it was this strange little girl just standing watching her yet she still befriended her without asking any obvious questions even if she was a little suspicious. Beam constantly appeared when Twister was in trouble and did everything in her power to help her and for me, that was an important part of the book because it reflects the power of true friendship.

Aunt Honey is a character that I think reflects pretty much the crazy aunt that every family has, however in a much calmer sense. She had a lot to deal with in the book with looking after Twister’s Ma and also looking after Twister herself as Ma shut herself away after Pa went missing. I liked that she never took anything too seriously but she always gave the best advice to Twister and it was great seeing her have someone like that looking out for her.

A lot of the minor characters were all very lovable all except the bullies in the book. Clem, the biggest bully towards Twister, was someone that made my blood boil every time his name was mentioned. I literally hated having to read parts with him involved because I knew it wasn’t pleasant. It was made worse any time his father Hack was mentioned before you bet it was going to be made ten times worse. I guess when you seen how Hack treated his son, you did maybe, very slightly, feel sorry for him. But there is no way you can justify his actions.

There were a few moments in the book where I just sat yelling “NO JULIETTE, YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO KIDS” because I, as a 22 year old woman was struggling to cope with the losses we experience in the story and I couldn’t imagine being a 9-12 year old reading that and being as hurt, if not a whole lot more hurt reading what happens. After finishing the book, I realised as much as it was hurting my heart with some of the events that happened, it was good to have them happen in a children’s book because I guess it kind of teaches them that nothing in life is easy and you are going to experience loss throughout life.

Starting the book it did take me a little while to get into it but the more I read, the more I started to fall in love with the story and the characters. The story is very much a children’s fairy tale with the strong characters and the scary villain and for me, that is the perfect children’s book. Although, like I said, it did take me a while to get into the story, Juliette Forrest has done a magical job of creating a brilliantly engaging story that all children will be able to get into and enjoy.

Twister is a story about friendship, love, family, bravery and loss. With a whole range of lovable characters, I highly recommend this book to parents for their children. Juliette Forrest’s debut novel is absolutely brilliant and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work!

REVIEW: THE HAZEL WOOD – MELISSA ALBERT

Title: The Hazel Wood

Author: Melissa Albert

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Format: Hardback/eBook

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Goodreads

Buy Book: Amazon

Review: Dark and twisted fairytales, gosh, I am in LOOOOOVE with this book so much! I just want to throw it in everyone’s faces and be like “READ THIS ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE RIGHT NOW I PROMISE IT WON’T DISAPPOINT!!!!”

‘The Hazel Wood’ is the debut novel from Melissa Albert, who has now reached NYT Bestselling status and rightly so, because this book was phenomenal. The novel follows seventeen-year-old Alice. After the death of her Grandmother (the famous author of Tales From The Hinterland), Alice and her mother finally settle, only for her mother to go missing not long after. With the help of the Finch, the search into the Hinterland for Alice’s mother begins with a lot of obstacles in the way as they go along.

Firstly, I must say I was really surprised by this book. I originally received an eBook copy from Netgalley to review and so I sat with my ipad and started reading. It took me about 3 days to finish the first chapter because I just couldn’t get into it. After that I just gave up and with the February Fairyloot box theme being announced then a lot of people began to speculate that this would be the book that would be included so I decided to hold off and see if it was. Amazingly when my box arrived last week I was happy to find that ‘The Hazel Wood’ was indeed the book that was included! So a few days later I sat with the hardback and if it wasn’t for having to sleep for work then I definitely would’ve finished this in one sitting! The story is so so gripping and you keep telling yourself “oh I’ll read one more chapter then get on with everything I need to do.” But nope, Albert doesn’t allow that, oh no, the ending of each chapter makes you want to carry on so it’s almost near impossible to actually put the book down.

The thing I loved the most about this was how dark and twisted it was, more so than I was originally expecting. The fairytale characters were creepy and for me that was one of my favourite things about the book. I felt sorry for the main character Alice because her whole life she’s been on the move so never really had the time to settle and figure things out but when she does there’s that little bit of hope things will start to look up for both her and her mum. Alice’s classmate Finch is probably my favourite character in the whole thing. He was just so sweet, caring and he had his own issues but he never let that show. I liked how similar both him and Alice were and I liked that it wasn’t something that was completely obvious to them straight away.

From the characters created by Alice’s Grandmother in ‘Tales From The Hinterland’ Twice-Killed-Katherine was probably the creepiest for me. I don’t want to spoil anything but her actions were creepy and just the overall character description was enough for me. There were times I didn’t want to sleep or turn the light out because I had such clear visions of her in my mind and it really wasn’t pleasant. Albert’s description of each of the characters throughout the story is so thorough and it’s one of the things I enjoyed about reading this book because you could imagine each one so well and have a clear image of them in your head as you went along.

Albert’s writing from page one is engaging and gripping and I can guarantee you will be hooked straight away. What I originally thought was going to be a normal YA book turned into a dark, twisted and psychological thriller which I absolutely loved! This book has a bit of everything, humour, love, mystery and horror so I guess in a way it has something for everyone. I definitely recommend this book to you all, especially if you are a fan of fairytales because I promise you won’t be disappointed. Thank you, Melissa Albert for creating such an amazing world and I really can’t wait to read more about The Hinterland!

 

The Ride That Was 2017 & What I Hope For 2018

Hey guys! So I mentioned at the end of one of my recently posted reviews that I would update you guys on what’s been happening the past year or so and explain why I haven’t been active on my blog until now.

At the start of 2017 I posted a similar post and that was explaining about my dad leaving in 2016 and me having a mental breakdown and it was just a really bad time. I made the promise of blogging more but then that failed because 2017 really wasn’t a better year. My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and ended up having a mastectomy to remove her left breast and it was all really tough, constantly going to hospital appointments, taking another 3 months off work because of more stress and depression and then going back to work but struggling to feel better because it was just constant worry about my mum. With all of that going on last year, it was another difficult year for myself and if it wasn’t for my family, boyfriend and friends, I honestly don’t think I would’ve made it because things were just getting too much.

Fortunately on the 11th of this month, my mum had her final round of Chemotherapy and starts Radiotherapy for 3 weeks starting February 5th. Hopefully once she completes this we’ll get the news we’ve been waiting for and she’ll be cancer free. We really need some luck this year!

My hopes for 2018 are obviously for my mum to get the all clear, for us to finally get away from the stress of the house we are in just now and move in somewhere new, hopefully get a job I actually enjoy and of course read more and also get back into blogging regularly because I really have missed it and you guys!

I’m finally thinking positively for 2018 and hope that I’ll be able to achieve everything I want to this year. Just need to keep my mind focused and try and not go back into that slump and let my mind take over.

I hope everything with you guys is all good and well and I look forward to joining the blogging community again! I may even start doing more than bookish posts on this blog but we’ll see what happens! 🙂

 

REVIEW: SOLITAIRE – ALICE OSEMAN

Title: Solitaire

Author: Alice Oseman

Genre: Young Adult

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Goodreads

Buy Book: Amazon

Review: Alice Oseman is an author I’ve been hearing about for quite a while now and I’ve been putting off reading Solitaire, since its release in 2014. I honestly don’t quite know why but when I came across the Heartstopper comic a few days ago and was introduced to Nick and Charlie then I felt like it was a sign I should start this book and boy, I was not a single bit disappointed!

Solitaire tells the story of Tori Spring, a teenage blogger, pessimist and  in her last year of high school. When mysterious blog “SOLITAIRE” appears, random pranks start happening in Tori’s school. Reuniting old friends and meeting new ones, Tori’s life takes an unexpected turn and now she has to learn to cope with a whole bunch of new feelings.

Well, where do I start with this review? First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever came across a more relatable character than Tori. There was a lot of myself that I could see in her and this is one of the things I loved about Alice Oseman’s writing, in each one of her characters, I could see small parts of myself in them.

Tori is bit of an introvert, she doesn’t really get involved with anything, doesn’t really talk much and usually keeps herself to herself (never related to someone more) and then Michael Holden comes along and eventually changes things. The relationship between both Tori and Michael was one I really enjoyed following because watching them grow as friends was just nice and you could see how much they both related to each other and in a way needed each other.
I honestly loved Michael’s character as well. He was sweet, caring, funny and also another troubled character but he hid it from everyone else because all he wanted was for everyone else to be happy.

As I said at the start of this review, I started reading Solitaire because I came across the Heartstopper comic on tumblr and was introduced to Nick and Charlie. These are two characters I would’ve loved to see more of in the book and the fact they have their own comic series makes me happy!

In all, Solitaire was a strong, well written and fantastic debut novel from Alice Oseman and I honestly can’t put into words how much I enjoyed this story. I’m just sorry it took me so long to finally get round to reading it but I’m so glad I have now and I’ll be recommending it to everyone!

If you’re a fan of young adult, contemporary and a little bit of mystery then I fully recommend you give this a go, you will not be disappointed!

 

REVIEW: TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN – JOHN GREEN

                                                               

Title: Turtles All The Way Down

Author: John Green

Genre: Young Adult, Mental Health, Contemporary

Format: Hardback

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Goodreads

Buy Book: Amazon

Review: 2017 saw the return of critically acclaimed author, John Green with his long awaited novel, Turtles All The Way Down. I for one am a huge lover of John Green’s books and when he announced a new book was coming after a 5 year wait, I was really excited to finally have something new from him to devour.

Turtles All The Way Down follows sixteen-year-old Aza as she and her best-friend Daisy investigate the disappearance of billionaire Russell Pickett all in the hope of collecting the one-hundred-thousand dollar reward that is at stake. Whilst starting the investigation, Aza is reunited with an old friend and is introduced to new feelings she’s never felt before. As she tries her best to please everyone around her, Aza, is left struggling with the never-ending spiral of anxieties and worries going on in her own head.

I’ve loved pretty much every John Green book I’ve read and this one was no different at all. He somehow manages to write the perfect story with the perfect characters that you can’t help but fall in love with and I’m an absolute sucker for authors like this. To start with, the story was so well-written and it wasn’t your usual teen romance that is normally featured in a lot of Young Adult books and there was no “boy saves girl” plot to it either which I was really glad about because it’s so generic and predictable and does start to get annoying after a while. There was a strong plot line and I honestly struggled to put the book down. His writing certainly reflected the thoughts and struggles constantly spiralling through her mind and you were experiencing every single thought with her.

Aza was such a perfectly written character and Green did a fantastic job of writing about Aza’s mental health in a realistic way and it’s clear he did the research he needed to do in order for this to be successful. She was a really quiet character and mixed with the loudness and boldness of Daisy, it went really well. Aza spends a lot of the book stuck inside her own head, fighting with her thoughts and trying to overpower them but a lot of the time they take over and it was horrible seeing her struggle with herself so much, all you want is for her to get better.
Daisy is a character I had a love/hate relationship with. Sometimes she brilliant and funny but then other times with the way she treated Aza made me really angry and annoyed because she doesn’t understand what it’s like to be in a constant argument with your own mind and she spent some time making Aza feel guilty and useless which really upset me as it’s a feeling I’ve been made to feel before and it’s really not nice.
All the characters in this book were fantastically written and I honestly loved them all (even though there is the hate there for a part of Daisy).

I really struggled to put the book down and all in all, the book was another successful one from Green and I already can’t wait for whatever he has instore for us all next. It’s such an easy read and is guaranteed to keep you hooked.

REVIEW: EVERLESS – SARA HOLLAND

Title: Everless

Author: Sara Holland

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Format: eBook/Hardback

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Goodreads

Buy Book: Amazon 

Review: Wow. Wow. Wow. I’m honestly so surprised by this book in a really good way. When I seen the cover and read a bit about it I had a feeling it was just going to be something similar to Red Queen or Throne of Glass and I was slightly dreading it (don’t shoot me, I actually love both these series’) but boy was I wrong! Sara Holland created such a unique story and world and I was drawn in straight away.

In a world where time is used as currency, allowing the rich to live longer as they bleed the poor of their time leaving them to struggle, Jule Embers and her father are left in a desperate situation after having to flee from their comfortable home at Everless, home of the Gerling family. When Jules finds out her father is running out of time and is behind on the rent and bills, she realises she doesn’t have a choice but to return to Everless as a servant to earn more time for her father so she doesn’t lose him forever. During her time here she discovers secrets and is reunited with two people she never thought she’d see again all in the while meeting new friends. As things start to twist, Jules realises her actions are more powerful than she ever thought and only she has the ability to change the world as she knows it.

I was honestly blown away with this novel. The whole plot was just captivating and interesting and that alone makes you want to pick up the book and see for yourself what kind of world Holland has created. Sempera is the main kingdom (if that’s the right word) that the novel is set in with Jules coming from a small village called Crofton. Pretty much straight away we’re told about bleeders, the people who steal/take time from others. The way it works is that people bleed people of their time and then turn that blood into a coin which is consumable. It’s all about the rich taxing the poor leaving them struggling to survive whilst they add centuries on to their own lives and have all the time they could want.

The characters in this book were all so well written and I fell in love with just about all of them. One of my favourite characters has to be Hinton and it honestly makes me so sad that he was only a minor character as he was just the sweetest wee thing and I instantly adored him when he was introduced.
Ina was another character I really, really liked. As the daughter of the queen she was the complete polar opposite and was kind, caring and a really sweet friend to Caro and Jules, even if it was their job to look after her.
I found Jules to be a really lovable main character. You could tell how much her father meant to her and it was clear she would go to whatever lengths she could to save him. I just really can’t wait for the next book to find out more about her and her background!

Like I said at the beginning, I was expecting it to be similar to Red Queen and when I seen there were two brothers, one good, one evil I was a bit sceptical about how it was going to turn out but I was actually pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t similar at all and I actually enjoyed both the brother characters in this novel.

‘Everless’ truly is a masterpiece and if this is only Holland’s debut novel then I honestly can’t wait to read more of her writing. She’s definitely someone that is going to be huge within the YA community! With so many twists and turns and misleading characters, you’ll really struggle to put Everless down, everything about the story captivates you whether it be the characters, the world or the story building. I also forgot to mention there’s some slight mythology throughout the novel as well so if you’re into this type of thing as well as Fantasy and strong, brave, female characters then this is definitely the book for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ebook copy in exchange of an honest review and also thank you to Fairyloot for including a hardback copy in their December box!

If you guys have read the book then please let me know in the comments below!

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In the coming days/weeks I’ll be posting some more reviews, tbr lists as well as a kind of welcome back type of post as it’s been so long since I last blogged properly on here and I miss you guys!