TOP TEN TUESDAY: Ten Teen Must Reads

Afternoon everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful week. I'm into my last couple of days of exams so I should be able to return to normal blogging schedule by the end of this week. January has been a ridiculously long month and I absolutely can't wait, especially since pay day isn't until Friday and that is most definitely too far away for my liking. Anyway, this weeks TTT is my 'must reads', basically books I would recommend to all Young Adult readers. 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

One of my favourite all time YA books, a really unique narrative and it's really interesting to see how the way relatively minor characters in a girls life had enough of an effect to lead to her eventual death. I definitely felt like it could be transferred in a way which made you look at how your gossiping, bitching or how you treat people in general, could have an effect on others. Made me cry multiple times too. 

Harry Potter by J K Rowling

Duh.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I actually really love this series, the movie for Catching Fire reaffirmed my enjoyment of the franchise and the books are genuinely very intelligent. It seems to be the new milestone for YA books, y'know- the one that people say 'Oh, I think ____ could be the new Hunger Games' So yeah, don't be a book snob and ignore these books because you think they're for 12 year olds.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I know, I know, classics are boring. Except their not, I had a tough time choosing between this and Emma but all of Austen's books are wonderful, even- god forbid- you boys may enjoy them. I know they're not for everybody but give it a try, you never know, you might find a whole new genre you love.

Dickens Books

This is kind of in the same vein as the stuff I just said about Austen, Dickens is a genius- honestly I implore you, pick up Great Expectations the next time you're in a library. You won't regret it. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I feel like in 50 years time TFIOS will be remembered as one of the classics of this era, it is a truly beautiful story and the movie adapation will undoubtably bring even more deserved attention to this wonderful book, and its charismatic author. 

The Hobbit and the Lords of the Rings by J R R Tolkien

 These two are connected obviously so I'll put them together, J R R Tolkien is one of the best writers of all time and the universe he so perfectly creates in these books is one of my favourites. As a beautiful added bonus, the movies are good too.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

I know, I know everybody hates Twilight, but if you're looking to cover all the bases in YA lit then it has to be done. I liked the books I've got to admit but they're not the best, just imagine Robert Pattison glittering near you. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book is a national treasure, It's narrated by Death and that itself was enough to get me interested, but the story of the young girl Liesel in worn torn Germany is beautiful, and frankly- a little breathtakingly emotional at times. This book will remain on my bookshelf for many many years to come.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my favourite recommendations, there should be a good review up tomorrow unless my Spanish exam goes truly horrendously, but until then- have a wonderful week!

Motivation

Hi folks! I hope you're all having an excellent week, I am so incredibly sleepy it's not even true and I've been finding it really hard to get motivated. So, instead of actually studying, I did what any good student would, and googled 'motivational tips.' And I thought I'd show you some of my favourite to spur you on with whatever you need to achieve this week!

All of these are were a little sappy and I wasn't feeling particuarly inspired, but then I found my personal favourite. 

3 successful hours of revision later, I can vouch for this being the best possible motivation. 

Do you guys have any favourite quotes that help keep your motivation levels up? If so comment below. I'll post a review of both Saving Mr Banks and American Hustle tomorrow, until then, have a wonderful Friday!

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Sequels and Prequels

Hey guys! This is going to be a quick one today as I am in the middle of an incredibly full on exam revision stint but I couldn't let today go without posting so here is a (very undetailed) list of my favourite pre/se-quels. Quite a lot of these books, if not all, have been mentioned at some point or another and I have linked their respective Goodreads post below. 

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

The Hobbit by J R Tolkien

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

The Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy by Helen Fielding

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I'm so sorry that this weeks TTT is so feeble but I also can't promise much better next week as my exams start on Monday. None the less I will endeavour to keep things running smoothly, so until next time- have a wonderful week! 

REVIEW: Monsters of Men

Hey guys! Over my October holidays I finally picked up the 3rd book in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, 'Monsters of Men.' I've already reviewed the books prequels, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and The Answer so I'll link them here and here.

Monsters of Men picks up immediately after The Ask and the Answer ends, with impending war between the Spackle army, the Answer's band of female terrorists and Mayor Prentiss's army. Todd is with Prentiss's army and Viola has been with the Answer, and is running off to greet the new arrivals from her home planet (yes I know that if you hadn't read this series before then it sounds mad but I promise it's brilliant!)

The book then follows Viola and Todd as they attempt to restore peace in New Prentisstown between the Spackles and the humans, prepare for the arrival of 5000 other new people from the other planet that Viola came from, as well as dealing with their rather messed up 'relationship' and various illnesses.

This book is incredibly fast paced, so it's 600 pages make for extremely quick reading. You really see the truly devastating effects of war on these two young people as well as the city as a whole. There's also an underlying theme about how the humans not only treat each other, but how they treat the Spackles. Plus a whole load of human nature arguements. I know that a class in my year at school are studying the first book in this series for their course in English this year, so hopefully that demonstrates the amount of study material that Ness has incorporated into the series.

Now, I really didn't think I was going to like the ending, my only previous complaints about these books was that Ness has a tendency to leave books on cliff hangers and I was terrified this would be the same. However, whilst the ending wasn't completely conclusive, and you could argue it wasn't resolved so there was a cliffhanger, it was vastly better than I'd expected so top marks for that too! The Chaos Walking trilogy is definitely up there with the best books I've ever read!

Plot: 10/10

Characters: 8/10

Overall: 9/10

FILM FRIDAY(Saturday, shh.): FILMS I'VE SEEN MORE THAN TEN TIMES

Hey guys, I hope you've all had a wonderful week, I realize this is in fact Saturday and not Friday, but I was at friends last night so yeah, gimme a break. I realize also that I promised a review of Saving Mr Banks this week in last weeks post, however I am going to see American Hustle tonight so I plan on doing a joint post on both of them next week. Excuses and apologies aside, here is this weeks list! 

Grease

The music, the clothes, the characters, what is not to love? This wasn't even a phase of my watching a lot this is just a film that I rarely go a whole year without re watching. I supposed I'm just Hopelessly Devoted to it.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 

For this one and Mary Poppins I can kind of blame my sister, she went through a phase where she was obsessed with this film, and I mean watching it at least twice every single day. To be fair to her, she had good taste for a 5 year old, although the Child Catcher still creeps me out! 

Mamma Mia 

This one is my fault, I was 11 when this film first came out and I saw it 5 times in the cinema alone, god knows how I afforded it but I still adore this film, Meryl Streep is absolutely brilliant and the music is so so so so SO good, I'd watch this right now if you stuck it on the TV in front of me! 

Mary Poppins 

The other of my sister's infamous phases, she was a little younger when this was her film of choice so I can't have been much older than 8 but I still remember the constant tune of Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious going around and around in the house. Great movie though and Saving Mr Banks has made me look at it in a totally different way! 

Tangled 

This one is totally my fault, this is my favourite film outside of the Potter movies I am unashamed to say, and everything about it makes me ridiculously warm and fuzzy inside, plus apparently it's totally acceptable to be attracted to Eugene/Flynn? Right guys??? 

Home Alone
A classic, I think a lot of people will probably have seen this 10 times plus, it's on about 10 times every Christmas on Channel 5 alone, MacAuley Culkin is hilarious in it and you really can't beat the slapstick humour! 

Pitch Perfect 

The newest of all these films so I suppose the most impressive to have made this list. I watched this a lot online (not very legally) before realising that it was out in cinema, so I then went to see it another couple of times in the cinema before buying the DVD. It's brilliant, the music is amazing and I love the Simple Minds references, plus Anna Kenrick is such a cool person.

The Nightmare Before Christmas 

It does help that this film feels like it's a seasonal thing so you MUST watch it at least a couple of time before it 'goes out out season' and yet this particular film is totally acceptable from October 1st through to December 25th. Tim Burton is an absolute genius and I do think this is one of this best works, the animation is amazing and the music is brilliant. *runs to halloweentown singing this is halloween.* 

These are all great films and I seriously urge you all to check them out! I'll be back tomorrow with a book review post but until then, have a lovely day!

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Male Characters!

Happy Tuesday guys, two days into my new school term and I am already more tired than I could have possibly predicted, but hey- only thirteen weeks till the holidays (oh my god.) This weeks post is all about some of my most favourite fictional men and boys. Enjoy!

> Harry Potter 

(because he may have been the chosen one but he couldn't dance or do potions to save himself and fell for a girl he properly loved even though he could have had anybody) (I could go on for days)

> Percy Jackson 

(overall great guy, plus he's a Demi god, which is kinda cool. Imagine having Poseidon as your father)

> Alex Rider

 (he. is. a. spy. Plus the whole English private school boy thing is pretty attractive and he has the pick of the best gadgets. Also; Alex Pettyfer??)

> Tobias Eaton 

(kids got the priorities straight and he's sufficiently messed up for me to like him, and he's lovely to Tris even when she gets a little moony)

> Todd Hewitt 

(because he's so damn cute bumbling about trying to save the world)

> Jace Wayland 

(vulnerable but could totally kick anybody's ass? Yes. )

> Simon Lewis 

(totally relatable and I would like to know where to buy a best male friend like him)

> Klaus Baudelaire 

(intelligence is attactive. And the guy who played him in the film totally cemented my love.)

> Dimitri Belikov 

(He's Russian and described as 'godly' and he has to protect for a living? But mainly the Russian accent.)

> Alex Sheathes 

(Again with the whole rebelling against society for love thing. Plus he's actually relatively normal considering he lives a double life. Also, his heroics at the end of Delirium deserve a place on this list by themselves)

REVIEW: Vampire Academy

Hey guys, this weeks book review is of the first book in the Vampire Academy series. After months and months of pestering by my friend Alex, I finally download Vampire Academy to listen to on Audible over my holidays, and I totally loved it. First off; this series is NOT TWILIGHT! I repeat: not twilight.

The book is set in America, but in a society where vampires or Moroi are protected by Dampires (half human half vampire) from the Stigoi (Moroi who have passed into the realm of the dead.) The novel opens as Rose, a Dhampir and Lissa, a Moroi are living as runaways in Portland. However they are soon captured and brought back to the Academy that they are supposed to be attending. The book is then split between explaining the events leading up to their escape from the school and their time away, and the events which take place over the first 2 months of their return to the school.

I'm actually not going to 'spoil' this book, because the general plot is not particularly well known even in the YA world and also because it's not particularly easy to explain and I can't be bothered to go into a lot of detail!

However I will say that Richelle Mead captures the teenage narrative better than anybody else. Rose Hathaway, whom the story is told from, is suitably kick ass as a Guardian but she also has a vast array of comebacks and a lippy attitude that's actually not too far away from how I aim to be in day to day life. The whole Academy system is pretty accurate compared to a regular high school, aka loads of bitching and a ridiculous amount of backstabbing.

While I wouldn't quite place the Vampire Academy books in the high position of the likes of The Mortal Instruments and the Divergent series, Alex assures me that they only get better as each book progresses so I absolutely will continue on with this series and I can't wait to see how it continues! Plus I am super, super excited for the movie that's released in February! I will be back this week with Top Ten Tuesday, Lifestyle and Film Friday posts but until then, have a wonderful week and rest of weekend!

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Overall: 8.5/10

FILM FRIDAY: Book to Movie Adaptations 2014

Morning guys! If today is the day you go back to work, then I'm sorry, if not- then I sincerely hope you've had a lie in and are now cosied up with your computer and a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate. If not, then go and get yourself into that position this instant for maximum happiness. 

I've done this post before twice, and pretty much all of these books have been mentioned at some point or another throughout the course of the past year but this post is as much of a reference for myself as it is a guide for all of you wonderful people. I am incredibly excited for all of these movies and I plan on making this detailed as I am procrastinating maths homework! Enjoy. 

Divergent 

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, 

Release Date: 21st March 

Reason to be (very) Excited: I really am not a fan of saying things like 'this is the next Harry Potter/Twilight/LOTR's etc, but this book has the best chance out of all of these new films of achieving Hunger Games esque success in 2014. The cast looks excellent and they adaptation in general seems brilliant, I loved this book so so so much and the casting of Theo James as Four is pretty much perfect, I can't wait to see the direction they take this series in but I am certain that this film will be worth your cinema fee. 

Mockingjay Part One

Starring: J-Law, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone.  

Release Date: 21st November 

Reason to be (very) Excited: Unless you have a personal reason to dislike this franchise, I find it very hard to believe that any Young Adult enthusiast won't be both very aware and very excited to see the 3rd part of this epic series turned into yet another box office hit. I absolutely adored Catching Fire, I genuinely thought it was one of the best films of the year, and I had very much fallen off the HG bandwagon after the rise of 12 year old fangirls after the first (and slightly SLIGHTLY disappointing) instalment. J-Law is an absolute superstar and no doubt her acting skills will once again be stretched in the upcoming film, however I am particularly interested, if a little terrified, to see how Josh Hutcherson chooses to act a hijacked Peeta Mellark. Promises to be an absolute must see. 

Vampire Academy

Starring: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Dominic Sherwood, Danila Kozlovsky, Sarah Hyland

Release Date: 14th February

Reason to be (very) Excited: Firstly, THIS BOOK IS NOT TWILIGHT- it's also not Vampire Diaries or True Blood or any of the other blood lust fuelled stories that have risen to prominence over the past few years. This is mainly the case because the plot doesn't consist of 'vampire meets ordinary girl and they fall in love before some raunchy sex scenes and disapproving friends and parents make their life oh so difficult.' Vampire Academy focuses on Rose Hathaway, a half vamp half human kick ass who is charged with protecting her Moroi friend Lissa. Now Zoey Deutch plays Rose, which I am so incredibly happy about and I am 100% sure she will do a good job, and the selection of males (Cameron Monaghan, Danila Kozlovsky and particularly in my opinion Dominic Sherwood) is not too shabby either. Sarah Hyland of Modern Family fame also stars. I. CANNOT. WAIT.

The Fault in Our Stars

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort

Release Date: 6th June 

Reason to be (very) Excited: I completely approve of the casting of this film (yes I know they play siblings in Divergent, who bloody cares.) The storyline of the book completely blew me away and in my humble opinion TFIOS deserved every ounce of hype and recognition it received. John Green seems like a stand up guy and the movie is a guaranteed hit as long as they stick to the book. I'm bound to cry absolute buckets and even thinking about it is making me tear up!

The Maze Runner

Starring: Dylan O Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie Sangster

Release Date: 14th February 

Reason to be (very) Excited: As you can see, Dylan O'Brien plays the main character Thomas, now Dylan is the 'one everyone loves' from Teen Wolf *which I totally recommend for any of you who haven't watched it, just ignore the crappy name!* and as well as being a fabulous actor, Dylan isn't too shabby on the eye. The movie also has Thomas Brodie Sangster of Love Actually fame (little Sam), Will Poulter (We are the Millers) and Kaya Scodelario of Skins fame. Even aside from the excellent cast, the book is wonderful and is one of my absolute favourites and there is a possibility of a continuing series as I know there are at least 2 more books in James Dashner's series!

Gone Girl

Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Ratajkowski

Release Date: 3rd October (USA) 

Reason to be (very) Excited: This book was perhaps one of the most hyped of 2013, and with good reason. However perhaps Ben Affleck (mmm) and Rosamund Pike's casting will excite the cinema audiences more than the plot of the film. I think I am most excited about Neil Patrick Harris starring, but male readers (and female, lets be honest) may want to book a seat at your local cinema to see Emily Ratajkowski. Who? you ask, well Emily will be known either as Gibby's girlfriend in iCarly (don't pretend you didn't watch it) or perhaps to a more discerning reader as the REALLY hot one in Robin Thicke's video for his repulsive hit- Blurred Lines. Thrilling. 

The Book Thief

Starring: Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush, Sophie Nelisse, Ben Schnetzer
Release Date: 31st January

Reason to be (very) Excited: First off, I have a complaint- this film was released over two months earlier in the USA just to compete for awards, this concerns me greatly as this is a much loved book of mine and if the producers and directors have decided that it should be used as a coup for awards by dulling down the possible drama and emotion this story could evoke then I shall be most displeased. However, despite the concerning Metro article I read which has concerned me, Sophie Nelisse has already had praise for her protrayal of Liesel and this is truly one of the best books of the 21st century. It would be a shame to see this wasted but I shall see it none the less as the trailer looks unbelievable. 

Phew. That was quite the effort, worth it though- and I am once again incredibly excited to head out to the cinema to see all of my favourite books brought to life. I am actually seeing Saving Mr Banks this evening at the cinema with my friends so no doubt that will be excellent, as it tells the story of how Mary Poppins was bought by Walt Disney from the author, but no more spoilers as I will surely write a review for you all for next weeks film friday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Two Thousand and Fourteen

Happy New Year guys, this post is both long overdue and long considered. I have had an incredibly busy month and a half, I got a job, really hit a peak in terms of work level at school as well as the usual Christmas rush and a whole bunch of other wonderful things. 

Now, however, I am preparing to go back to school on Monday and by then I will be back into a bit of a routine so I fully intend on getting this blog back up and running, I have several posts saved from back in October when I got a lot of material written as well as a bunch of new ideas and even more new books.

This year has the potential to be wonderful or terrible for me, I am approaching possibly the biggest exams of my school career at break neck speeds which really make or break the future career path opportunities I have, however I already have some really exciting plans for this year, particularly T in the Park in July, a music festival near my home. I turn 17 later in the year as well which is something to look forward to, and will bring new opportunities a plenty (who wants a lift to the nearest McDonald's??) 

This blog is something I really want to take forward this year too, I promise and endeavor to return to the holy grail of 4 posts a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) and that should allow me to offer you lot a varied amount of content as well as hopefully finding some new blogs that I love too! 

Fingers crossed there will be a Film Friday post as of tomorrow, but I wish each and every one of you the best for 2014 and hope you all have a prosperous year, as well as discovering lots and lots of new books to love and share!