This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

About the book

This Is What Happy Looks Like is a stand-alone young adult novel by Jennifer E. Smith. The book is published by Headline on 4^th April (HB) and 23^rd October (PB) and it is 224 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a proof for review.  

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

What I thought

I really enjoyed Jennifer E. Smith’s first book, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight but this one sounded so much better and I couldn’t wait to read it. Headline were lovely to send me a copy and there was also a great Twitter promotion of bloggers nominating other bloggers to receive a copy.

Graham and Ellie first meet through a mis-sent email. Although the email was a mistake, the pair hit it off, having a funny and witty banter between them and they carry on emailing each other, even though they don’t know each other. I normally don’t like books where you have to follow things like letters/ texts/ emails but luckily, this doesn’t happen the whole way through the book. The emails are used only at the beginning of the book and for a few small other parts throughout. However, the emails were very cute and funny and it was a great initial way of getting to know the main characters.

After the initial emails, we get transported to middle of nowhere, Maine, where Ellie lives. What I loved so much about Ellie was that she was so down to earth and normal. She knows there is this big movie in town filming for a month and she doesn’t even care about there being a hot teen actor in town – unlike her best friend Quinn. Ellie is also a lovely girl, which shows very quickly. I really liked her whole reaction to finding out who she had really been emailing. I know that most girls would throw themselves at someone like that but Ellie is not like most girls. She is reserved and a bit worried about who he is, what it all means and how he couldn’t have told her before.

I have read books before with an actor has been one of the main characters. However, Graham is completely different from what I expected. His journey to fame was quite unexpected and Graham is actually very grounded. He doesn’t take advantage of his fame, nor does it seem that he even enjoys it. This is what made me love him so much. All he wanted to do was meet the girl he had been emailing, to have a real conversation with someone who knows the real him. The way he went about things was a little strange though but I’ll forgive him for that.

The time spent between Ellie and Graham was wonderful, with each character really getting to know the other and what they’re all about. Their journey together was so nice to read about and heart-warming too. What else was great was seeing two very different people, and people from completely different worlds, coming together and learning to understand each other. Both live lives at the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other but neither was necessarily better than the other.  

The plot was far from exciting although it was wonderfully sweet. This is a book that doesn’t need massive, shocking things to happen in order for it to be extremely entertaining. The setting is also fabulous. The little town in Maine where Ellie lives provides a very calming setting and one which is described very well. Although the town is small, it becomes somewhere swarming with tourists during the summer and I really loved the descriptions of the little, quirky shops in town and how it is a place famous for lobster. All of these things were so helpful in order to picture where the book was set.

This Is What Happy Looks Like is the perfect story of first loves and unexpected miracles. 

Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys

About the book

Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys is a young adult novel. It was published by Puffin on 7^th March and the book is 352 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

Josie Moraine wants out of The Big Easy - she needs more than New Orleans can offer. Known locally as a brothel prostitute's daughter, she dreams of life at an elite college, far away from here.

But then a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie caught between her ambition and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans is luring Josie deeper in as she searches for the truth, and temptation beckons at every turn.

What I thought

The synopsis for this book had me the moment I read it. Set in New Orleans in the ‘50s, Ruta Sepetys has created a novel which is instantly intriguing and mysterious. The setting alone is a magical thing, with all sorts going on all over the place. The descriptions of New Orleans, although sometimes a little scary and creepy, were wonderful and the whole place was given life. What I loved the most about the setting was how many different varieties of people it brought into the story. At a time when there was a lot happening, the characters in this book all have something very different to offer and all are extremely unique.

Protagonist of the novel is Josie, the daughter of a (somewhat high-market) prostitute. She hates what reputation her mother has and how other people see her because of who she is. Josie is nothing like her mother and never will be. She wants to escape New Orleans and dreams of going to college. I really admired and respected Josie because she had such big dreams. Her life could have been a lot different, and maybe easier, had she followed in her mother’s footsteps which was a big possibility in some ways. Josie is also a really strong and determined character, who isn’t really afraid of anyone and just wants to go about her own life in peace and quiet.

While Josie was a great protagonist, I do feel as though maybe some secondary characters overshadowed her. Namely Willie, the brothel’s madam along with the women who worked there. Due to the line of work, there are so many strong personalities but again, all are fantastic in their own way. It was strangely exciting to see how a brothel could and would have been run during the ‘50s (or at any time really) because it is a subject so far away from the society we live in today. Yes, there are still prostitutes but back then, it was more of a done thing and not as frowned upon.

What is really different about this novel, apart from the prostitution aspects, is the murder mystery. Sepetys has created a world that really does have something for everyone. I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect though as it didn’t overpower the rest of the story but there were some great exciting moments. Along with this, there is a soft romance, there is the wonderful literary mentions – something that all book lovers will enjoy and then there is the amazingly written characters who melt your heart and make you want them to achieve everything they desire.

This is the first of Sepetys’ books that I have read and now I want more! 

Book to Film Review: Les Misérables

About the film

Les Misérables is a British musical drama film that was released at the cinema on 11^th January 2013. The film is based on the musical of the same name, and the book of the same name by Victor Hugo. Les Misérables has a run time of 158 minutes and is rated 12A.

Plot

In 1815, prisoner 24601, Jean Valjean is granted parole after serving nineteen years for stealing some bread. However, it doesn’t take him long to get back to his old ways of stealing when a Bishop offers him food and shelter. After being caught, the Bishop once again offers Jean Valjean a chance to start over, to live a better life and become a better man. In order to do this though, he must break his parole conditions, leading prison guard Javert on a chase to track him down.

Eight years later, Jean Valjean has completely turned his life around. He is now the owner of a factory and they mayor of a town. One of his workers, Fantine, is forced into a life of prostitution to support her daughter being looked after by inn keepers elsewhere. She comes into some trouble with the law herself and when Javert is about to arrest her, Jean Valjean vows to look after her. Unfortunately though, Fantine is sick and as she is dying, Jean Valjean promised to go and get her daughter Cosette and take care of her.

Another nine years later, Cosette is all grown up, living a life constantly on the run from Javert with Jean Valjean. During a time where the poor are fighting back and the lead up to the June Rebellion, young Marius Pontmercy sets his eyes on Cosette and realises his life will never be the same, no matter the outcome of the battle to come.

What I thought

Although I have never read the book nor seen the musical stage version of this story, Les Misérables was one of the films that I was most looking forward to seeing this year, even with it being released right at the beginning of the year.

Les Misérables is a slightly different kind of musical film. In other musicals, the songs are pre-recorded and the actors sing in a studio then mime while filming. However, where Les Misérables differs is in the fact that all of the singing was done live. I found this to be an extraordinary thing to be done as I have never heard of it before. Knowing this before seeing the film, I did wonder about how well sung the film would be and how it would affect actor’s performances. Also, there is very little spoken throughout the film, maybe only a couple of lines. Because of this, you are sitting through a 2 and a half hour film that is full of singing.

Taking the main roles in Les Misérables are Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert. A lot has been said about these two and their performances. While neither are specifically known for their singing voices, they both do a fantastic job. Crowe has been slightly slated in reviews for not having the best voice but I actually really liked him. As Javert, he’s a mean kind of man who only does his job. I think that Crowe’s singing voice really suited the character and even though he wasn’t perfect, his gruff and deep voice made him seem even meaner to me. I definitely don’t think that Crowe deserves the slating that he’s been getting about his voice.

While I liked Crowe, Jackman was fantastic. As Crowe’s character Javert was a very emotionless character, he didn’t have to show too much in his performance and there is where he differs from Jackman. Jean Valjean is an extremely emotional man in many ways and this was something you could see on Jackman’s face throughout the film. Jackman also has a wonderful voice and one which he is able to use well while acting at the same time. I really liked Jean Valjean’s character as you were able to see so many changes in him over the course of the film. You really get to see how much he changes from his days serving a sentence to when he is the carer of Cosette.

I’m not the biggest fan of Anne Hathaway but I can see why she has been nominated for some many awards for Best Supporting Actress. She isn’t in the film for very long but she is truly unforgettable. As Fantine, Hathaway injects a serious sadness into her character and you can clearly see just how much of a struggle life is for her. There is also the unforgettable scene of her singing one of the best known songs for this film, I Dreamed a Dream. I don’t think I have ever seen someone perform a song with such emotion as Hathaway did and this scene was very moving to watch.

The rest of the cast are also mostly really good. I say mostly because this film did nothing to change my hatred of Amanda Seyfried. As the grown up Cosette, Seyfried does okay but her singing voice annoyed me so much. It was extremely high and shrill and I just didn’t enjoy listening to her. Other memorable cast members include Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier and Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier, her husband. However, as good as she was, I think that Baron Cohen is risking playing roles in which she will be stereotyped. Too often does she now play the crazy and eccentric characters. However, saying that, she does do them well.

The stand-out performance for me though was by Samantha Barks who plays Éponine. I read somewhere that Taylor Swift was also up for this role but I am so glad British Barks got it instead. As the girl pining for Marius Pontmercy, Barks is fantastic in her role. I think part of what made her so good was the fact that she has played the same role on the stage, although the characters are a little different. Éponine sings one of my favourite songs of all time, ‘On My Own’ and Barks certainly does it justice. Along with Hathaway’s performance of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’, this was one of my favourite parts of the whole film.

The setting is also something that needs to be mentioned. Although a film backed by a lot of money, this film does not have a lavish and extravagant set. The setting calls for some dark, dank and dingy settings showing just how bad some of the living conditions in France were during the time the film is set. Still, the sets and backdrops were fantastic throughout and it was a wonderful film to watch because of this. Even though many of the scenes are set in quite depressing places, there is life and colour injected into the film in small amounts in places which was a nice touch.

Les Misérables is by far one of the best films I have seen in such a long time. With an amazing cast, soundtrack and sets, this is probably the film to go and see at the cinema this year.

The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth LaBan

About the book

The Tragedy Paper is a stand-alone contemporary young adult novel by Elizabeth LaBan. The book was published by Doubleday Childrens on 10^th January and it is 320 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.

What I thought

I have to say that it was the cover that first attracted me to this book. It is absolutely stunning and although I got sent this for review, I would have immediately picked this up had I seen it in a bookshop.

The Tragedy Paper tells the story of Duncan, a senior at a boarding school in New York. As he is just moving up into senior year, he gets to move dorms and finally have a room of his own. However, these rooms are left to the students by the student staying there the previous year. In this case, Tim. Not only do the seniors get a room of their own but they’re also left with a ‘treasure’. While some students get extravagant gifts of tickets or alcohol, Tim leaves Duncan a pile of CDs. I really liked getting to know Duncan to begin with, although this book isn’t really about him. To begin with Duncan thinks he’s got a bad deal in comparison to other students but in reality, Tim has left him something very important.

I really loved the idea of tradition in The Tragedy Paper. The Irving School has many traditions, the whole room situation only being one of them. Unlike some books with a boarding school setting, this one has a real sense of family and being welcomed by everyone. There is very little bullying going on and it while not everyone is the best of friends, they do all seem to get along ok. Another tradition here is The Tragedy Paper itself, which is a senior project set each year. This is a major theme of the book of course, due to the title of it, but it also weaves in with Tim telling Duncan his own story, which was a great way of intertwining the two.

Speaking of Tim, he narrates the majority of the book through his CDs left to Duncan. I thought that this was a really clever way of his story being told and for him to get to tell it in his own way, without anything being left out. Tim is different than all of the other kids at the school due to the fact that he is albino. However, no one really treats him any differently which was a nice thing to see. Still, he has always felt like quite the outside but his meeting with Vanessa in an airport changes everything. She doesn’t treat him like he is different and they immediately hit it off. I really liked getting to know both Tim and Vanessa and to see what they meant to each other. Their relationship is not the same as most in the terms of a romance but it was still a lovely friendship to read about.

The Tragedy Paper is a beautifully written book and one which I enjoyed very much. However, I did feel a little disappointed with the ending as it didn’t really go how I thought it was going to and I was a felt a bit let down by it. Even with the ending, this book had me hooked from page one! 

Film Review: So Undercover

About the film

So Undercover is a 2012 action/ comedy film. It was released at the cinema on 7^th December 2012 in the UK while the film went straight to DVD in America. The film has a run time of 94 minutes and is rated 12A.

Plot

Instead of going to high school like she should have done, Molly Morris decided to drop out in order to work with her ex-cop dad. The duo spends most of their days chasing down petty thieves and people who cheat on their partners. However, when an FBI agent approaches her to work undercover and an extremely important mission, Molly doesn’t have much choice about accepting. The only problem is, Molly has to go undercover in a sorority in college. She isn’t a girly girl and knows nothing about sisterhood or even friendship. Molly is going to have a harder job than she thought if she’s going to crack this case.

What I thought

Having a Cineworld Unlimited card, I will pretty much go and see anything at the cinema if I have the time. This includes films I’m not overly interested in just on the off chance they are better than I thought they would be. However, some films are exactly as bad as I thought they would be.

Miley Cyrus stars as Molly Morris, a girl working with her dad chasing down criminals of a kind. Molly is a grungy kind of girl, not really caring about how she looks or make-up etc. She rides a motorbike, wears hard leather boots and never bothers with her hair. When she gets approached by the FBI to go undercover in a college sorority, Molly knows she is out of her depth. As Molly is a PI before going undercover, I was surprised to see her doing so many terrible things in regards to the way she acted. At the beginning of the film, she had a microphone in her collar and spent a lot of time clearly talking into it. Surely, if you had an ex-cop for a dad and was a PI yourself, you would know that doing that would easily give you away. The detective actions were just really bad and not believable at all.

Cyrus isn’t the best of actresses and unfortunately, this film shows it. Her performance as a sorority girl is awkward and not easy at all to watch. While I assume she was picked for the role for being young and cute, filling the necessary looks to play an undercover teenage, she was just really bad. I definitely wasn’t expecting an Oscar worthy performance from Cyrus but I wasn’t expecting her to be quite so bad either. Character development for Molly isn’t strong either. I don’t feel as though anything about her character changed or developed over the course of the film apart from maybe that she decided to keep wearing dresses at the end.

As for other characters, they are mostly shallow, superficial, blonde sorority girls who are extremely stereotyped. However, the cast members playing these roles somehow do a lot better than Cyrus does. Maybe this is because their characters aren’t supposed to be anything special and really, they just have to act like they really like pretty things, make-up and boys. Can’t be that hard can it? Then there is the FBI agent Armon who is played by Jeremy Piven. Honestly, he was one of the best performances in the film although that wasn’t exactly a hard thing to achieve. There is also love interest Nicholas played by Josh Bowman although he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time to make his character convincing enough or to justify him being there at all.

Although the cast and characters were pretty terrible, some of the plot wasn’t bad at all. There were quite a few twists and turns concerning the bad guys and this kept me guessing over the course of the film. I liked not really being sure about who everyone was and whether or not they were actually telling the truth. Not all of the plot was great though as there were some especially predictable moments as well as the ending that probably everyone knew was coming. Even though not everything about this film was close to being good, the plot did make up for quite a lot of things. Unfortunately, I think too much was put into a short amount of time so some things weren’t explained as well as they could have been.

So Undercover is an okay teen movie but not one of the best there is.

Vortex by Julie Cross

About the book

Vortex is the second book in the Tempest series by Julie Cross. It was published by Macmillan Children’s Books on 3^rd January and the book is 448 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, after an accidental run in with Holly—the girl he altered history to save—Jackson is once again reminded of what he's lost. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack, but Jackson begins to discover that the world around him has changed and someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again.

What I thought

I’ve had a bit of a thing about books about time travel over the past year so I couldn’t wait to read Vortex. However, the book is a bit of a beast so I put it off for a little while after it arrived.

Vortex starts where Tempest left off, with Jackson trying to put things right and get on with his life without Holly and Adam. In order to achieve this, he joins the Tempest program, a part of the CIA. I really enjoyed the setting of Jackson being a part of Tempest as it is what made this book exciting. Tempest takes Jackson all over the world in his training and it also introduces some great new characters. Kendrick and Stewart, two female members of Tempest get quite large roles in Vortex and although they’re both really different, I loved them both.

With everything that is going on, Jackson himself changes as a character. Unlike the loveable guy we got to know and love in Tempest, he changes quite dramatically at times. With being a part of Tempest and going through a gruelling training scheme, he becomes a bit harder, a bit more guarded and also more determined to make things right. Jackson constantly beats himself up for what happened to Holly before and what he probably could have done to prevent it. Although Jackson does change as a character, I liked this. I think these changes made him a stronger person and also someone who thought things through a bit better.

Unfortunately, when it came to the actual time travel stuff, I just ended up being really confused. Julie Cross uses so much technical terminology and goes into deep and intricate descriptions of how time travel works and I just didn’t get it. Even though Jackson attempts to explain this in a simple way early on, it just made my head hurt. There are full jumps, half jumps, jumps that end up in different worlds – basically too much information in a short space of time that doesn’t make much sense. I really liked the time travel aspect in the first book, Tempest, but I feel like in this one it was overcomplicated for no reason.

The setting of Vortex provides a hell of a lot of excitement. With a fast pace, Vortex doesn’t stop very much for you to catch your breath. There is always something quite big going on and there were plenty of times that I was shocked and just didn’t know where the story would go next. There are so many twists and turns in this book and I sometimes didn’t know if I was coming or going. However, as this is such a big book, it would have ended up being quite boring without all of these things going on.

Vortex was a really mixed book for me. While I liked the excitement of the story, the time travel aspects were far too confusing. 

A Night Like This by Julia Quinn

About the book

A Night Like This is the second book in the Smythe-Smith Quartet series by Julia Quinn. The book was published by Piatkus on 7^th June 2012 and it is 373 pages long.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

Anne Wynter’s job as governess to three highborn young ladies can be a challenge – in a single week she finds herself hiding in a closet full of tubas, playing an evil queen in a play and tending to the wounds of the oh-so-dashing Earl of Winstead. After years of dodging unwanted advances, he's the first man who has truly tempted her, and it's getting harder and harder to remind herself that a governess has no business flirting with a nobleman.

Daniel Smythe-Smith might be in mortal danger, but that's not going to stop the young earl from falling in love. And when he spies a mysterious woman at his family's annual musicale, he vows to pursue her. But Daniel has an enemy, one who has vowed to see him dead. And when Anne is thrown into peril, he will stop at nothing to ensure their happy ending...

What I thought

Although this is the second book in a series, it is about different characters than those in the first book… kind of. Anyway, you don’t need to have read the first book although it would help slightly with the characters.

Anne Wynter somehow finds herself playing the pianoforte at the infamous Smythe-Smith yearly musicale. How, she doesn’t really know as she is only a governess. However, while trying to get by as best she can, Anne sets eyes on Daniel Smyth-Smith, who was once banished from the country. She doesn’t know who he is at the time but she cannot keep her eyes off him. Anne was a wonderful protagonist who is full of secrets. She knows that Daniel is off limits, due to her position as a governess but at times, she really doesn’t care. Her first proper meeting with Daniel ends up in a quite passionate kiss and after that, she can’t stop thinking about him.

Daniel, the man who was exiled for accidentally shooting someone, was by far one of my favourite Julia Quinn characters. Even though he is an Earl, never does he act above himself and he isn’t an arse like some of these Aristocrat characters are to begin with at times. There is no false personality with Daniel and that is what I loved about him. Daniel wears his heart on his sleeve and although he should stay away from Anne, he can’t help himself. However, he is more than clear about how much he likes her and what his intentions are. He never treats her as a secret.

The romance between Anne and Daniel was extremely sweet. While Julia Quinn does this well in the rest of her books, I think this was by far the nicest of the romances that she has written. I do think that a lot of that is because of Daniel’s personality and he isn’t like many of her other male characters. Anne’s personality has a lot to do with it too though. She’s feisty and while she is reserved at times, she is outgoing, funny and full of life. Due to her being a governess, Daniel and Anne’s time alone together is quite funny due to the girls always getting in the way. I did love the girls as secondary characters though.

A Night Like This also has a wonderful plot. With Anne keeping her own secrets and Daniel having only recently coming home after three years abroad, there is plenty of excitement and entertainment. With Daniel having enemies from the past, he is put into quite a few difficult and dangerous situations, some while Anne is with him. Although he is sure of who is behind these events, Anne is keeping some very important things to herself. It isn’t until the last third of the book that it is revealed who is behind all of the drama. I loved not knowing who was doing what and what the exact reason behind everything was.

A Night Like This is one of my favourite Julia Quinn novels and I can’t wait to read the next in the series now and to see who that book concentrates on.