Divergent by Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult - dystopian

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review: After hearing so many rave reviews on this book, I finally decided to go ahead and give it a try. I want to go ahead and say that first off, I really enjoyed this book. But before I say the things I loved about it, I'm going to mention one tiny little flaw I found I just didn't like. I didn't like that we didn't really get to see or catch a glimpse of the city of Chicago. While the idea of the five factions was fascinating, I found there's many things left to be desired. I wanted to find out more about the world outside the factions. How is the actual city of Chicago? How's the factionless? I wanted to see the entire world, to see what it has become. To me, that's the true point of a dystopian. Then again, that's also just my opinion.

That being said, I was still thoroughly entertained. The author, Veronica Roth, is excellent at story telling. She's able to draw her readers in with just enough details and descriptions, making the pace of the story perfect. I found that the world that was available - the factions - were awesome. I also really liked the characters, especially the main male lead. He was just very realistic - none of those typical male characters you read about nowadays. And also, I simply found the overall plot to be incredibly compelling. I couldn't stop reading - even at 2am, when I should be sleeping, I didn't want to stop as I wanted to find out what happens next.

So yes, I would definitely recommend this to YA fans and readers, adults, and dystopian fans. Must read for sure. It's a unique book and a unique story, told wonderfully. I am impressed and can't wait to read the sequel! Hopefully we get to see more of the actual city of Chicago, outside the factions, to get a real feel of what happened to it and what made it into what it is now. Overall, 4.5 stars!

last one to read this.

I may be the only one that hasn't read this book yet, since everybody's been talking and raving about it. I finally bought it though - only because I missed book buying so, so much - and I honestly can't wait to dig into it.

I hope it's good. If you've already read this, what did you think of it? Is it really as good as everyone is saying? No spoilers please, but I'd like to hear what you think! :)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

When I first saw the trailer for this movie adaptation, I was so excited, mainly because Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is a book I love so very much. To me, it was genuinely heartfelt and beautifully written - definitely one of my favorite reads.

The movie, however, was disappointing. To me, it felt nothing but an attempt to emotionally manipulate its viewers. It was so obvious to me, in my opinion, that everything about the movie - the writing, directing, music, among many others - just seemed contrived, silly, and just plain cheesy.

The biggest disappointment for me though, was how the main character of Oskar Schell was portrayed. Oskar Schell (in the book) is such a loveable and dear character; one can't help but sympathize, empathize, and root for him.

In the movie, Oskar was portrayed as, in my opinion, a disrespectful and out-of-line child. His sadness and anger towards the people around him and the situation itself are not believable. In fact, it was just simply annoying. How can I like a movie with such an unlikable protagonist?

For me, I was just disappointed. I would not recommend it to fans and readers of the books.

I love Lord of the Rings.

I also love Google.

Happy Thursday!!!