Month: July 2019

Book vs. Movie

📚 Book vs. Movie 🎥

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on 📚 Book vs. Movie 🎥

This month I thought I would do a little throw back to The Help.

I watched the movie first back in 2011 when it was released and then when I found out it was actually based off a book I decided to pick it up and see how it compares. It’s now been a good 3-4 years since I’ve read/watched The Help and when I saw the challenge in the Reading Rush to read a book and watch the movie adaptation I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give The Help another look!

These were my thoughts on The Help:

Pros: The book was highly engaging from the start. I loved the contrast between Skeeter and Aibileen. Skeeter so eager for change and willing to risk anything to get this book done and spark a difference in the world. Risks that Aibileen and the other maids weren’t prepared to take at the start and making Skeeter aware of everything that they have to lose. This was one movie where I thought they got the casting perfectly! Mostly when I read a book and then watch the movie/TV adaptation the actors and actresses aren’t what I imagined at all and it throws me off the whole movie. This isn’t the case with The Help. I loved everyone and I thought they all portrayed their respective character so well!

Cons: The only real con I have about this adaptation is that they tweaked the storyline with what happened with Constantine. Making her daughter black instead of white and how everything went down at the DAR meeting. I definitely preferred the way it played out in the books compared to the movie, it just made more sense and had a lot more of an impact!

Overall thoughts: I thought this was a fantastic adaptation! The characters were portrayed perfectly and there wasn’t a lot of content from the book that was cut out in the movie.

My Recommendation: Honestly either, I loved them both!

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Reviews

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet Review

51BhQZOH9zLGood not great!

This book follows a ragtag mixed species crew aboard a tunneling ship called the Wayfarer. They are given a contract to travel to a faraway planet that’s been recently added to the international treaty list and punch a wormhole back to more well-traveled airspace.

The characters were definitely interesting and intriguing. I loved all of the different species that are explored throughout the book, especially when it goes into details about their history and culture, seeing how different they are to humans.

Rosemary’s character was a little boring at the start. She kind of blended in behind all of the other dynamic characters aboard the Wayfarer. I wasn’t all that invested in her and I wasn’t really compelled to figure out what she was running from back on Mars. And when it was eventually brought to light, it wasn’t all that shocking to be honest.

I loved the relationship between Kizzy and Jenks! The banter between them and all of the kind of manic energy they brought to the storyline. Jenks’s subplot was highly interesting to me; him being in love with Lovey and then contemplating getting her a body and then when everything happens seeing him grieve and lean on his fellow crew mates and how they supported him throughout. It was very touching and really displayed the levels of companionship, love and respect they all have towards each other!

Unfortunately a good majority of the book bored me. All of the spacial/sciency talk didn’t do anything for me personally and kind stilted the pace of the book. It was only 400 pages but it felt like closer to 600 to me. I picked this book up and put it down several times during the month and really the only reason I managed to finish it was because it fit a challenge in the Reading Rush. There wasn’t really anything in the book that was driving me to pick it up and finish.

This was definitely more of a character driven story whereas I prefer a more blend of action and adventure with character development throughout.

⭐️3/5 stars I spaced out for most of the book…

Book Lists

Settings I’d like to see more of

by amyleighreads9 Comments on Settings I’d like to see more of

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday is settings I would like to see more of in books and honestly that had me thinking for a minute. There isn’t really that many common themes when I thought about all the books I loved and where they were set, I did however, manage to think about 5 settings that I love to read about in books and would definitely love to see more of in the future!

Australia – I have just always wanted to read an urban fantasy book set in Australia! Sadly I don’t have any examples…

School – there is just something about a school setting that I absolutely love. Of course it stems from reading Harry Potter growing up but there have been various other books I’ve read in a school setting that I ended up loving! Examples include:

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Offices – Office romances is one of my favourite tropes in the romance genre, so every time I come across one I usually always end up loving it! Examples include:

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Space Stations – Space explorations isn’t one of my favourite genre though I’ve found I can appreciate a fantasy/sci-fi story based solely on a space station of some kind! Examples include:

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On the high seas – Books with anything to do with the sea I more often than not love! Examples include:

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Updates

🔱 Percy Jackson Reread 🔱

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on 🔱 Percy Jackson Reread 🔱

I read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief today for the Reading Rush completing the challenge to pick a book that has five or more words in the title and I was having the same nostalgic feels that I was having during my reread of the Harry Potter Series. It’s really helped to pull me out of the little reading funk I’ve been having of late, so I decided I am going to do a reread of the whole series like I did with Harry Potter.  I am going to try and get through at least one of the books a month and then if I am still enjoying myself at the end of it I may also continue on with the Heroes of Olympus series as well! It’s been at least 3-4 years since I picked up the books so I am very excited to dive back into this world!

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Reviews

Birthday Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on Birthday Review

39863399Perfection!

Birthday is a story about two kids Morgan and Eric who are born on the same day and have made a pact with each other to spend every birthday together.

Eric and Morgan are both such complex characters. They are both very different from each other and have their own unique voice and it seems at times they might drift apart yet they work so hard to maintain their friendship in spite of the many obstacles that they have had to overcome.

Morgan’s journey throughout the storyline was everything! All of the anguish and denial and self-hatred and depression she had to deal with over the years culminating in an explosive scene that broke me only to claw her way out and finally express who she truly is to the two people who matter most in her life was beautiful. I loved everything about Morgan. There were times when I wanted to give her a hug and then there were times I was like what are you doing. Though I can’t fault any of those moments because it was her journey that she had to undertake and I definitely would not be able to relate so how would I know how I would react in the same situation you know…

I thought Eric was the perfect contrast to Morgan. His arc over the course of the book was a joy to read as well. We see him really struggle with the pressures that are put on him constantly, be it by his father or just the expectations of his peers, being the football star yet still being friends with Morgan. We see him kind of bow to these expectations a lot in the beginning of the story, wanting to just fit in and seem normal, giving up his guitar playing and blowing Morgan off to hang with the jocks and staying with his girlfriend even though he thinks she only likes him because of his pursuits on the field. Then in the latter years he really starts to see the error of this ways, especially when he sees how much Morgan is struggling.

I loved the unique format of the book; it really drew me in straight away. Just showcasing this one day a year allowed the story to really go into the minute details of Morgan and Eric’s life that I feel would be written out if it was a traditional novel. Going through their days and then when it ends knowing that there will be a whole year in the interim where so much can happen was keeping me highly invested and engaged in the story.

There are sooooooo many touching scenes in this book. So many profound moments that brought a tear to my eye, I absolutely loved this book! It was relatively short and was a pretty quick read, but I know it’s going to last with me for a very long time!

⭐️5/5 READ THIS BOOK!