During this Halloween season, I thought this book would be a good addition especially since there is a movie to compare and critique as well.
The Book:
The most unique aspect to the book are the photos. Riggs explains "All the pictures in this book are authentic, vintage found photographs, and with the exception of a few that have undergone minimal post-processing, they are unaltered."( p. 354)
They are scattered throughout the book giving life to the characters and
giving your imagination a direction to how your mind will unfold the
story in the mind's eye.
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| Emma Bloom |
Riggs continues "They were lent from... people who have spent years and countless hours hunting through giant bins of unsorted snapshots at flea markets and antique malls and yard sales to find a transcendent few, rescuing images of historical significance and arresting beauty from obscurity..."(p. 354)
The pictures have an aspect of mystery to them which at least to me adds to the spookiness to each one and thus reminding me of Halloween.
I love the idea of telling a story from a few photos and creating a mystical world in which we are would like to take part. It is about a boy trying to solve a mystery in his family and finding the answers in the most unlikely way imaginable and discovering it is his inheritance.
I enjoyed the concept of the time loops and can imagine the many ways they are be explored and all the adventures that can be had.
I love how the pictures are black and white, the story unfolded in my head black and white as well as. It feels ironic in a way because the characters and the story-line is as vibrant and outstanding as can be yet it exists without the associated colors that are usually accompanied. It is proof that you do not need color for a story to be amazing.
The Movie: Spoiler Alert!
First of all, the whole cast is phenomenal!
Next, for the average movie watcher, the movie was enjoyable, frightening and thrilling all at the same time. But for those of us who read the book first there are several things that are disconcerting. The biggest one was that they switched the peculiarities of Emma and Olive. Why??!!? There is no obvious reason, and the only reason that I could envision was maybe they wanted to shoot a scene or two to appear exciting. (e.g. the scene with Emma blowing the water out of the sunken ship in order to impress Jake that made it to the trailer). It is a blow in the face to the creative rights of the author to say change something so integral to the story. I am very disappointed with this change of no significant purpose. It is distracting to the whole movie.
The beginning is done very well and stays true but the ending does stray away from the book. (I am stilling asking myself why!)
I did appreciated how the beginning had a dull color scheme and then everything brightens up drastically with the knowledge of the loop and the lives the peculiars they lead, it has a nice imagery.
It is spooky in all the right parts and there are some fun battles scenes that are fun and unique.
They also was a struggle to explain the way the time loops worked and is a bit confusing to those who have not yet read the books. Because this is a new concept unique to the book, they should have made sure to clarify, I mean seriously, how hard could it have been???
So there are my pros and cons, what did you think?
Edenbrooke - Julianne Donaldson
Beautiful!
I couldn't put this book down. I had a friend recommend it to me and I read it in one day. I had friends of mine want to hang out the night I was reading it and so I brought the book with me and read whenever I could. It is short, sweet, light and fluffy.
It is a favorite that I go back and reread every so often that I practically have it memorized. It is a good choice if you are looking for something to give you the butterflies when looking for a innocent romance.
I am totally in love with this series. It has quickly become a new all time favorite! Sometimes when I read different books, I think to myself the story was good, could've been amazing but the author didn't write it well or sometimes I read books that the author was good but the story wasn't there. To put simply, add a unique fantasy world, classy characters, a thriving plot with an amazing author who knows exactly how to mix them all together to give you a trill of a ride.It feels like having the best of both worlds.
The first book, Throne of Glass, was a great novel both by itself and also as start of the whole series. It introduces the world with magic and the characters are given life beautifully. The characters are portrayed with both history and potential giving you an excitement for the story to unravel. I couldn't put it down and that was before the plot thickened! The main protagonist, Celaena Sardothien, is both the villain and hero to her own story making it possible for us the readers to relate to her and idealize her equally.
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| worldofsarahjmass.com |
The Assassin's blade is a compilation of short stories of Celaena's past,which can be read at any time during the series. Sometimes i struggle with reading short story books that don't relate to the overarching plot but this one is a jewel. It is a great book that allows you to see into the character of Celaena and it solidifies her characters throughout the other books. I suggest that it should be read before reading Empire of Storms because there are a lot of references that would otherwise be missed.
Empire of Storms is the last one to have come out but it is not the conclusion. I was trying to predict the ending to no avail. Let me just tell you, I was blow away at the ending, it left me heartbroken and awed at the same time. I don't think there has been any other series that has left me with so many mixed emotions.
A little warning, in the last book there is a scene of sexual intimacy that leaves me unconformable to recommend this book to youngsters or pure of heart. If needed, it can be skipped, I find it easier to skip over these kind of scenes in book than in movies. I do it often. The event itself does play an important part in the telling of the rest of the story so keep that in mind.
I hope all can come to love these characters and this world as I do!
Leave a comment below if you love this series as much as I do.
This is our book-club book for the month of October.We try to switch up the genres to give us a better variety. We went with fantasy, which is the genre I prefer and always seem to fall back on. In fantasy, there are so many fun ways to explore the imagination giving us new scenarios that have never before been discovered.
Truthwitch is the first book in the Witchlands Series.
When starting this book, it is a little confusing because there is no introduction or explanation about this new world of fantasy world. The reader is forced to put the picture together from the clues given, making you confused for the first couple chapters before the pieces start to fall into place, after that the story starts to flow and the world solidifies. The characters are strong and robust with strengths and weaknesses open to development.
The story is fun and unpredictable. Dennard does a great job at surprising you with the little happenings between the characters thereby distracting you to the shifts in plot leaving you pleasantly satisfied.
There is a lively romance that doesn't overpower the plot which gives us a refreshing insight to the characters as well.
After completing the book, we are left with unanswered questions about the details of the world which ruffles the feathers a bit. Knowing this is the first book of many more to come, I am filled with anticipation knowing that Dennard will reveal mysteries later weaving the books together beautifully. All good series must have a strong anchor as the first book in order for the sequels to add depth and complexity to the series as a whole. I have a feeling that the sequels will surpass this debut and as the readers we will want to reread Truthwitch again to see where it all started.
Next month's Book for the book-club is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Feel free to read as with us and give your own comments!
