This Beautiful Thing by Amanda Heath

About the book

This Beautiful Thing is a new adult novel by Amanda Heath. The book was independently published on 9^th February and is 182 pages long. This Beautiful Thing is available in both e-book and paperback formats.

Plot Synopsis

Due to having two controlling and overprotective brothers, Teagan Harper has no experience with guys. The twins, Jaden and Caden make sure that she doesn’t have boyfriends and that guys pretty much stay away from her. At a college party though, Teagan ends up in the arms of a guy after an altercation with his ex-girlfriend. However, she doesn’t even know his name or that he is in fact Jaden’s best friend.

Declan Sage thinks that he has control over absolutely everyone. When his girlfriend of years dumps him, and he meets a mystery girl at a party, his life begins to become more and more out of control. The girl whose name he didn’t even bother to find out before kissing her, is ready to change her own life as well as Declan’s.

What I thought

A while back, I bought quite a random selection of new adult (NA) books on Amazon for my Kindle as they were pretty cheap. I didn’t really know what I was getting but there just isn’t enough NA out there to be picky. Like most of what I bought, I didn’t know the author and didn’t look at whether they were self-published. I didn’t really care.

This Beautiful Thing tells the story of Teagan, a girl with a controlling family who don’t really let her have too much of a wild life. She even goes to college really close to the family so she couldn’t even move states. It is clear from the get go that Teagan is quite the quiet teenager and doesn’t have a whole lot of life experience. Her roommate Grace drags her out to parties for a bit of excitement. At one party in particular, right at the beginning of the book, Teagan gets a bit drunk, breaks a girls nose and ends up in the room of some guy she doesn’t even know the name of. This does not sound at all like the girl described previously does it? Teagan was a character with quite the split personality. One minute she would be all quiet and nice and the next she was doing/ saying things she thinks were shocking unlike herself.

I found it hard to like Teagan too much because of the problems with her personality. The constant changes meant that I never really felt like I knew her properly as a character. The whole thing with the initial party threw me completely. Just when I thought I was getting a nice, sweet female protagonist, she punches someone in the nose and ends up topless with the unknown guy. For someone with no experience, she sure jumped into his bed quickly. I know this sounds a bit judgemental. I wouldn’t have minded her actions at all if she had been described as a character that did such things to begin with.

The plot really begins with the events of the party. After hooking up with the random guy, both he and she are desperate to find out who the other is. It turns out his name is Declan and Teagan’s brother’s best friend. Here lies the ‘problem’ aspect of the book. Teagan and Declan, after realising their attraction goes much further than a quick fumble around at a party, sneak around and begin to date. Teagan is the girl with the temper who gets mad at the smallest thing while Declan wants to be the cool and composed guy who wants something deep and meaningful. Declan was a lovely character compared with Teagan. He had a life goal which was nice to see; he was a caring person and took on a hell of a lot for a guy his age.

While I didn’t really understand Teagan as a character, I did sort of like her relationship with Declan, even though she annoyed the hell out of me sometimes. This Beautiful Thing shows how much meeting one person can change so much in your life and that relationships are never straight forward or simple. I liked the obstacles that were thrown in their way and the reactions to certain events. I do think some readers could really grow to hate Teagan for some reasons but I could completely understand where she was coming from during one big part of the book.

Although the plot centres on Teagan and Declan’s relationship for the most part but secondary characters also make a big difference in this book. Teagan’s large family and her best friend Grace were wonderful to read about. Each had different personalities and all brought something different and fresh to the book. Also, Heath took the time to add in smaller plots regarding certain characters and weaved these in to the main plot. For me, the secondary characters by far outshined the protagonists, which isn’t really the way it is supposed to be.  

Unfortunately, the plot is extremely relationship focused and there isn’t too much else there. There are plenty of steamy sex scenes but too much repetition and the use of my most hated pet name, ‘baby’. At one point, Teagan states that she likes Declan because he makes her feel special because he calls her baby. Surely not the strongest reason to like someone? Heath’s writing isn’t the best, honestly and the editing of the book could have done with a hell of a lot more attention. There are spelling and grammar mistakes galore which were very off putting whilst reading this book. I can easily overlook a tiny mistake but there were a lot, all the way through.

While I did like some aspects of this book, there was quite a lot wrong with it. I struggled to finish the book due to mistakes and the terrible dialogue at times. 

Book to Film Review: The Princess Bride

About the film

The Princess Bride is a romantic comedy/ adventure film that was released in 1987. The film is based on the book of the same name by William Goldman, which was released in 1973. The Princess Bride has a run time of 98 minutes and is rated PG

Plot

A young schoolboy is off sick for the day and his Grandpa visits and begins to read him the story of Westley the farm boy and his one true love, Buttercup. Westley doesn’t think that he’s good enough for Buttercup and as they cannot get married, he sets off in order to find his fortune. However, while on a ship, he is declared dead after pirates attack. With Westley gone, Buttercup is forced to become engaged to the evil Prince Humperdinck even though she pines for Westley every day.

Westley is far from dead though and comes back, wanting Buttercup back and to know that she really does love him. On his way to rescue his one true love, and to get her back, he meets a strange band of travellers whom he must first defeat. There are many trials that stand in the way of Westley and Buttercup’s happiness but unlikely characters are there along the way to help out.

What I thought

The Princess Bride is one of those films that I must have watched a million times as a child – it was my sister’s absolute favourite film. However, until recently, I hadn’t watched it for ages and could barely remember what actually happened in the film.

Cary Elwes stars as Westley. I can remember watching this film for the first time and thinking that he was beautiful, probably my first crush from a film. To begin with, Westley is a wonderfully sweet character, showing nothing but love for Buttercup who is played by Robin Wright. He wants to do what is best for them both and wants to be able to provide for them and their future which is why he leaves in order to make something better of his life. There were so many sighs coming from me while watching this film again as I remembered what a sweetheart Westley is. Buttercup on the other hand, is a character who I never really liked. Wright is good enough in the role but the film was all about Westley for me at this point.

I loved Westley even more when he returned, dressed all in black and looking very much like Zorro. The change in appearance makes Westley incredibly sexy and the sighs quite possibly changed to drool. When the man in black appears, it is not known that this is actually Westley but the costume is not so good that you cannot tell who it is. From here, the The Princess Bride really becomes a fantastic film. Westley meets a trio of adventurers, Inigo Montoya, Fezzik and Vizzini the giant. All three of these characters are extremely unique and wonderful to watch. Fezzik is probably better known for his famous line; ‘inconceivable!’ which is said many, many times throughout the film. Inigo Montoya is my favourite of the three though, with his ideas of revenge and his mission to avenge his father’s murderer. While Fezzik has his own repeated line, so does Montoya. With his mission in hand, he prepares a speech for when he finally meets the man he wants to kill – “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” I love this line every single time it is said.

The Princess Bride is an absolutely magical adventure film and I don’t think my childhood would have been quite the same without it. The plot is exciting without being too over the top (well, not for the ‘80s anyway) and it manages to be funny at the same time. However, this is a film now quite dated due to the cheap looking sets and scenery. I know that some of this was film in places in the UK but cannot for the life of me remember where. When watching this recently, I commented quite a few times to my boyfriend about just how bad the sets looked. Can you imagine this being re-done now? I’m sure everything would be much fancier and more extravagant but that would take away some of the magic of the original film.

Somehow, I never actually knew that this film came from a book. Now that I do though, it is one I really want to read. As the Grandpa in the film reads it to his Grandson, I can imagine reading it to my children one day and them realising what a wonderful story it is. 

Love YA Month - Dear 16 year old Cathy Brett

The wonderful people over at Headline have decided to celebrate everything YA during the month of May. While Headline publish some fantastic YA novels themselves, they also want to promote the YA genre in general – showcasing how good it is!

On Facebook, you can check out the ‘Which Book Next?’ page, which gives some fantastic ideas of what YA book to pick up next, with recommendations from bloggers like myself.

https://www.facebook.com/WhichBookNext?ref=hl 

You can also find book suggestions on the ‘Which Book Next?’ Pinterest board.  

http://pinterest.com/whichbooknext/boards/

In order to celebrate Love YA month, I have a wonderful letter from author Cathy Brett to her 16 year old self. Cathy is the author of books such as Scarlett Dedd and Ember Fury and her newest book Everything is Fine is out now!

Dear 16 year-old Cathy,

(Before we get to the juicy stuff, I’d just like to say, SIT UP STRAIGHT or you’ll regret it! If you continue to slouch like that then one day, in 2013, after decades of hunching over drawing boards, computer screens and writing desks, you will get a trapped nerve in your neck which will make you feel like a very old lady and it’ll muck up your illustration and publishing deadlines for MONTHS. Get hooked on Yoga or Pilates or something, right NOW!)

Rant over. Time for the good stuff. Are you listening? OK.

Don’t worry about why ***** dumped you for someone else. He just did. It’s OK to cry a bit but then move on, because I promise you it wasn’t because you wouldn’t ‘put out’ or because she would. And even if it was, then he’s obviously more concerned about what his mates think than about upsetting you, so basically he’s a pig, you could do loads better and he doesn’t deserve you. There are much better boyfriends just around the corner.

Learn to embrace your shyness. It’s not a fatal disease and you don’t need to cure it. You are not a pathetic failure. The world needs quiet, thoughtful, creative, sensitive people and, really, who wants to be the centre of attention anyway? Girls who crave attention end up getting drunk and being photographed with their knickers showing! Or worse! (Just remember those embarrassing little incidents and store them away to write about later.)

Finally, it might seem like passing your exams is the most important thing in the known universe, but don’t stress it (easy to say, I know, but it’s true). Nobody will really care about what ‘O’ Levels you get. Honest. And don’t worry too much about what Mum and Dad think either. It’s your life. The REALLY important thing is to listen to advice (remembering that you don’t have to follow it) then trust your instinct and grab every opportunity that comes along. Work hard, be kind and respectful of others and you will find the right path eventually, even if it means making a few wrong turns on the way.

Oh, and next summer, don’t accept that lift home in *****’s mini. The drug squad will be prowling the area and you’ll spend the evening at the police station (even though you’re innocent) and Mum will have a total coronary. You have been warned.

Yours sincerely,

Middle-aged Cathy  

xxx

P.S. Don’t assume that bottle of factor 6 sunscreen is enough protection. Duh, look at your pale blue skin, Cathy! You need factor 20+, you nitwit! 

If you could write a letter to your 16 year old self, what would it say?? I know mine would tell me to live life to the fullest and experience everything possible as well as to take risks!! 

Film Review: Faster

About the film

Faster is an action film that was released in 2010. The film has a run time of 98 minutes and a rating of 15 due to language and violence.

Plot

A man firstly only known as Driver, is just getting out of prison after ten long years. On his release, he heads out to get himself a car and some cash, ready for what is about to come. Years ago, Driver and his brother were double crossed after robbing a bank, resulting in his brother’s death. Now a free man, Driver is hell bent on revenge and be begins to track down every single person who was involved in his brother’s murder. However, with a cop and a hit man on his back, there is the chance he may not get the revenge he seeks.

What I thought

Even though Dwayne Johnson was laughed at years ago for attempting to make to move from wrestling to films, he has had a pretty good career so far. Yes, there have been some terrible films like The Game Plan etc., and he does do better in action films. However, I do like near enough everything that Johnson is in. When browsing on Amazon recently I came across Faster and at only £3, I had to have it.

Faster has a fantastic beginning. With Driver, played by Johnson, just getting out of prison, you wonder what the hell he did. There were questions in my mind as to whether or not he would be the good or bad guy. It doesn’t take long for the action to get going though and I soon realised that this guy was definitely out to get revenge for something or other. Johnson is great in action films as I said before. He has that determination behind him, the body to pull off being a tough guy and he also looks really mean a lot of the time. While I don’t think this is the best role Johnson has ever been in, he was extremely convincing as Driver and pretty scary at the same time.

Starring opposite Johnson is Billy Bob Thornton who plays Detective Slade Humphries. Not too much is known about Humphries to begin with, apart from that he comes across as a loser cop, someone not doing too well in his career. For the whole film, I was sat thinking there has to be more to this guy than meets the eye and slowly, the film reveals information about his home life and why he is on this particular case. Billy Bob Thornton was ok but only that for me. He was a good character, especially as the complete opposite of Driver but I wanted more from him.

What I wasn’t expecting from this film was some serious eye candy. Oliver Jackson-Cohen plays the hit man known as Killer. As soon as he came on the screen, the words ‘yummy’ left my mouth. My fiancé thought it was quite funny. No one knows why Killer is after Driver, only that he has his name because he never misses and is fast as hell. Oliver Jackson-Cohen isn’t only nice to look at though. He has this whole Jake Gyllenhaal/ Ryan Gosling thing going on and is the suave and sophisticated kind of hit man… if there is such a thing. He was also mysterious which I liked about him.

The plot was pretty basic, if I’m honest, even though it tried to have more mystery than was really there. The basic plot is that Driver wants revenge for his brother’s death which leads him to driving all over the place killing everyone on his list. The ways in which he kills them aren’t even that exciting or different either. Somehow though, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Everything happens pretty quickly, with Driver going from one target to the next. For a long time though, there is the mystery of what actually happened and why he wants the revenge so badly which I think is what keeps this film going. I really enjoyed how everything turned out, especially as all of the questions were answered well. There is plenty of character development but only for Driver but I didn’t mind that. I didn’t really care about the other characters anyway.

Faster is a good action film but you do need to pay attention while watching it. 

Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by Nicola Morgan

About the Book

Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed is a non-fiction book by Nicola Morgan. It was first published in 2005 but has been repackaged and updated by Walker Books. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Synopsis

Contrary to popular (parental) opinion, teenagers are not the lazy, unpleasant louts they occasionally appear to be. During the teenage years the brain is undergoing its most radical and fundamental change since the age of two. Nicola Morgan's carefully researched, accessible and humorous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain has chapters dealing with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders and the reasons behind addiction or depression. The revised edition of this classic book contains important new research, including information on mirror neurons and their effect on the teenage brain.

What I thought

I’m not usually one for reading non-fiction but this book sounded far too interesting to pass up. Having already been a teenager myself, and probably having my own misconceptions, I wanted to know the deal behind how teenagers think and act.

Nicola Morgan introduces different aspects of the brain with both a scientific and humorous approach. Although she definitely does not claim to be a scientist of any kind, Morgan explains how brains work in general and the different parts/ what bits do what. I can’t say that I have ever really known any of this information before and I really did find it very interesting to learn.

What I love about this book, is that it appeals to both adults and teenagers. Parents can get a bit of insight into how their children think while teenagers themselves can pick up some great advice as well as learning more about why they do certain things. Morgan introduces chapters in a fun and informative way, by giving a different situation or scenario which reveals a different trait of the teenage brain. Then, Morgan goes on to explain the reasons for certain actions and then at the end of each chapter, there are fun little quizzes which make the book a whole lot more fun.

Not only is the content fun but it is also extremely interesting. There are chapters which concentrate on subjects such as sleeping in really late to depression and risk taking. All chapters tackle something which can be seen as ‘typical’ teenage behaviour and things which can sometimes be blamed on hormones or just because someone is a teenager. I really enjoyed finding out more about why some teens sleep in late and why some are more likely to take big risks than others. This book really is a fantastic insight into the mind of a teenager and it made me think differently about teenage actions.

Even if you’re not usually into non-fiction, I think everyone can benefit from reading this book. I’m no longer a teenager nor do I have any myself but I found this book both entertaining and extremely informative. 

Guest Post: Nicola Morgan's Blame My Brain

I am absolutely delighted to have Nicola Morgan on the blog today. Nicola’s book on the teenage brain, Blame My Brain – The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed, has been popular and praised ever since first publication in 2005. It’s been translated into several languages and reprinted many times. Now there’s a revised edition, updated with new research and with a new cover. Nicola is an award-winning teenage novelist as well as a non-fiction writer for all ages, and she’s also been commissioned to write CHILL – The Teenage Guide to Stress.

I thought I’d tell you how I came to write Blame My Brain, and how it changed my life.

Many years ago, I became interested in the brain when I was training to teach people with dyslexia. One aspect of that was looking at any differences there might be in the brains of those who find reading or writing difficult. That triggered a fascination in brains in general. Personally, I don’t know how anyone can not be interested in the brain!

So, from then on, I spent a lot of time reading about the brain and keeping up with new research, not through newspaper articles (because those are often inaccurate) but through the publications of the scientists doing the research. I subscribed to Scientific American Mind and just continued to learn and understand.

Meanwhile, I fulfilled my long-term ambition of becoming a novelist. In 2003, my main publisher, Walker Books, asked if I’d be interested in doing some non-fiction. “Sure,” I said. “What would you like me to write about?”

“What are you passionate about?” asked my editor. “We like our non-fiction to be written by writers passionate about the subject.”

Well, by chance I’d just read new research about the teenage brain – the seminal research by Jay Giedd at the National Institute of Mental Health (in the US). A link to one of his first interviews is here. This was really new; no one was talking about it in the public domain. I was fascinated.

I told my editor that I’d love to write about it. She was interested and asked for a synopsis of how I’d do it, and a few pages so she could see the voice I’d use. I found the voice easy – it’s just me, talking! And it was immediately commissioned.

Writing Blame My Brain has changed my life, giving me an unusual topic to write and speak about, a topic which people really want to know about. From the start, it had lovely reviews, including from the medical profession – one of the first reviews was in the BMJ! I am lucky that it remained unusual (possibly unique) in its approach of talking directly to teenagers, reassuring, explaining, inspiring, never patronizing, just sharing understanding. Because there aren’t many people who do this, (and no children’s writers, I think) I get invited all around the UK and even further (Prague, Brunei and Malaysia this year!) to talk about it. I think people recognize that I’m fascinated by adolescence, that I have a positive and sympathetic outlook about it, and that I utterly refuse to patronize the audience.

My message is simple. Adolescence is temporary, natural, necessary and has a very positive outcome: a fully independent adult, able to make decisions. It’s just that the journey towards that can be very tough – for teenagers and for their significant adults. Blame My Brain aims to help.

I’m thrilled that Blame My Brain now has a great new cover and an ebook version. And I’d like to thank all the parents, teachers, social workers and adolescent mental health professionals who have been so hugely supportive and used this book so widely. And teenagers for letting me into their minds!

There’s a fun Blame My Brain competition running on Nicola’s blog at the moment. Opportunities for schools and individuals of any age to win books, have their questions answered and learn about the fascinating thing that is the teenage brain!

Stop by the blog later on today for a review of Blame My Brain! 

Guest post: Richard Kurti on “How the practicalities of screenwriting influenced Monkey Wars…”

Earlier on today, I posted the review for the fabulous Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti (published by Walker). Richard has a background in screen writing for companies such as Warner Bros and Universal. As I also write film reviews and took a Media course a few years back, I am personally interested in the processes of film and television. Today, Richard talks about how he used his experiences in screen writing to write his novel. 

Screenplays are written within very tight parameters: one page equals one minute of screen time, and the contract sets out the exact length of the commissioned show.

So a one hour TV drama on a commercial network will be 48 pages long, allowing for commercial breaks and some cutting in the edit. 

You can’t even cheat by fiddling with the formatting of the document, as everything has to be written in a standard template:

(When I wrote for Warner Bros, there was a 20 page section of the contract that dealt exclusively with how the pages should be laid out!)

The problem is, the cost of putting TV drama on screen is about a million pounds an hour, and if it’s a movie add a few noughts… which means lots of control from management!

That’s why so much planning goes into screenplays…

There are ‘concept documents’ where the show is described in two paragraphs; then ‘outline stages’ where the whole story is told in a few pages, then ‘scene by scene beat sheets’ where every scene is described.  Each of these stages can go to many drafts.

Finally, once all these have been approved by the various layers of producers and execs, you’ll be allowed to go and write the script!

You often hear screenwriters complain about all these stages, but I found the discipline invaluable when it came to writing Monkey Wars.  As a first novel, I knew I’d have to write at least three drafts entirely on spec before it would be in good enough shape to send out, which meant getting up an hour earlier every day for three years.

The only way to pull this off without getting lost or forgetting which character had done what, was to plan every story beat in advance, then use this document as the bible. 

It took quite a few months to finish that document, but once done, it meant that I could really focus on the specific ‘story beat of the day’.  At any point, I could throw myself into the current page without having to worry about how it would all fit together, because I trusted the bible.

Planning isn’t the most exciting bit of writing, but I honestly think if I’d tried to write a long novel without having thrashed out the structure in advance, I would have become hopelessly and utterly lost. 

And once you’re lost, giving up becomes a very enticing prospect!

Thank you so much for a fascinating post Richard. Monkey Wars is available to buy now!