The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Movie Sneak Peek!

Since I read this book about a year ago it has really become a part of me, and for that reason I advise every single person to read it. I can guarantee that you will not finish this book without taking something special away from it. To read my review on The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, click here.

So the film adaptation has been set for a US release date of 27th September 2012 - unfortunately I'm not sure about the UK release (poor UK, we're always left out). The official trailer will be shows at the MTV Movie Awards this Sunday which will be aired in the UK on Monday 4th June in the evening on MTV. In the meantime however, much to my surprise, a sneak peek has been released (CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY!)! It is only 10 seconds long but I'm crying tears of joy nevertheless, and I cannot put into words how excited I am, except maybe these: asdfghjkl ARGH!

To watch the sneak peek, click here.

The film, which is directed and written by the author of the book Stephen Chbosy, stars a few names you may recognize, such as:
Charlie - Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson, The Three Musketeers)
Sam - Emma Watson (A small film franchise - Harry Potter, My Week With Marilyn)
Patrick - Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin, Californication)
Bill - Paul Rudd (Dinner for Schmucks, Role Models)

Other cast members include Nina Dobrev, Kate Walsh, Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons. For a full list of cast members click here.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

What I'm Reading: The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Review

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Mitch Albom

I picked this book up in a charity shop a couple of months ago. I had been meaning to read it for a while as I had heard about it through the grapevine and it sounded like a really intriguing story. Anyway, I walked into the shop with a friend and I had run out of books at home to read, and there it was, the first book on the shelf for the bargain price of 50p, brand spanking new and everything. It might as well have had a sign over it with Christmas lights and 'BUY ME' written in glitter with a big arrow pointing at it. I couldn't resist.

The story revolves around Eddie, eighty-three years old, a war veteran who has worked in the same amusement park for so many decades that the children call him 'Eddie Maintenance.' He's pretty much a part of the furniture. On his birthday Eddie dies (how morbid) saving a little girl from a tragic accident and wakes up in, not Heaven or anything of that sort, but sort of an in-between place. There he meets five people who explain his life to him and changed his life forever. Among them are loved ones and absolute strangers. The Blue Man, a freak who made a life for himself at the amusement park where Eddie has lived his life. Second, Eddie's former war Captain, who tells Eddie the truth of why he was injured at war. Then comes Ruby, after whom the amusement park Ruby Pier is named who helps Eddie to let go of the anger he holds against his father. Marguerite, Eddie's late wife comes next and teaches us all a few lessons on the meaning of love and finally, a young girl who helps Eddie to realise the meaning to his life. 

The Five People You Meet In Heaven is written beautifully, it is easy to read and flows well and there is never a dull second. Over the course of the book, you go through the toil and turmoil that Eddie has been through in his life and you feel his pain, you sympathise with him over the death of his life and alongside him, you learn the painful truth about his experiences in the war. Albom does a brilliant job at teaching us all a lesson that we all have the power to change the lives of those around us by one simple little action which we may not even notice, such as running across the street. I found the idea behind the story wonderful too, Mitch Albom says in his author's note that the idea arose because he felt that people who felt unimportant on earth should realise how much they mattered and how much they were loved.

This is a book I would advise everybody to read, it will definitely give you something to think about.

Personal: Between GCSEs and Novels.

There is no excuse for my behaviour. I know. There is no need to remind me.

I am here to tell you that I have not fallen off the face of the Earth, and I have not forgotten about this blog. In fact, whenever I pick up a book, in those rare moments when I can, I think about this blog and how much I so want to be able to read all the time and update all the time. I wish I could tell you that I had been kidnapped by Russian assassins and had wriggled my way out of chains and hitch-hiked my way to an internet connection, or that I have been away travelling the world. But I can't.

In fact, the true and honest reason for my disappearance is very boring indeed and it goes by the name of

FORMAL EDUCATION.

Yes, that beast that looms over the first 20 years of your life and casts deep, dark shadows over you and seems to eliminate any flicker of hope that you once had. I graduated from secondary school last week, but I am in the middle of those horrible exams, GCSEs. This morning, I had my English Literature exam, the exam which I am most desperate to do well for and for which I spent all of yesterday taking notes for until my hand dropped off (not literally). But since I am so knackered from all that and I could really do with a break from staying up until 11.30pm revising and since I don't have any exams tomorrow and in fact I have four exams until half term (after which I have another load of exams but don't remind me) I decided to write something here.

I am trying my very best to make time for reading and I have read a few books but I just don't have the time to update regularly.

So here's an update.

• I never finished Wicked - (oops). I realised that I am not a reading-on-a-small-electronic-screen type of person and I gave up reading the novel on my phone. I saw Wicked at the theatre for my 16th birthday and now the story is ruined and I deleted all books from my phone.
• I am half way through Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin - a fabulous book with trillions of characters which I love very dearly. However I am taking a break until further notice for the sake of my education because whenever I pick up that book I can't put it down and I would really love to get my A's.
• I read a few books in between, some of which I will be trying to write reviews for.

So, in conclusion, there is no point to this post apart from again, begging you to stick with me. Please try to understand the mental strain under which I am trapped. In a few weeks, this will all be over (June 27th to be exact) and I will be free as a bird flying in the sky. And by that I mean 'free as a teenager who will have an abundance of time to lock herself up in her room reading books, watching films and crying over how long it will take for Doctor Who and Sherlock to return to her TV screen."

In the mean time - feel free to follow my twitter which is on the left of the screen I believe and if not, it's @camilaarh!!

Good day and happy reading to you all - CHEERIO!

What I'm Reading: Wicked - First Impressions.

Ok. So this book is actually called "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" but it's pretty long adn I thought that shortening it down to its more popular name, simply "Wicked" would be a good move in regards to aesthetics. I got this phone on my brand spanking new iphone to take advantage of the iBooks feature (heaven sent, I tell you) and because my parents just bought me tickets to see Wicked, the musical which I have been dreaming of for the past five years, for my sixteenth birthday. I am a firm believer in reading books before watching films, so I figured that the same also applies to musicals, therefore, I am delving into the wonderful world of Oz.

I haven't read a lot of Gregory Maguire's novel yet, inspired by L. Frank Baum's 1939 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but I am so excited to get into it! So far, I loved the opening scene, I won't give too much away, but the story begins with Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, watching Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the TIn Man making their way through Oz. I thought it was quite a heartfelt scene, as Elphaba hears of all the rumours that have circulated between people on the subject of her wickedness and evil, I think that it's probably a feeling a few of you out there can relate to, hearing gossip and lies about yourself.

I can't wait to keep reading this novel, I am super excited and definitely hope to be moving on rapidly throughout it. I will keep you updated! Comment below if you've read this book, or seen the musical, or any other thoughts on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West!

Personal: Where Have My Books Gone?!

First of all, I would like to apologise for not posting as many reviews as often as I wished! I am, I admit, disappointed in myself. But as I am sure I have said, I need to feel truly inspired by a book to be able to get really into the essence of it, and read it to the end. Anyway, I've found a book that I am pretty sure I will be reading rapidly, given I have time amongst the floods of work I have to do, and I am hoping to post a review of it soon (ish). I've also devised a list of books I really want to read right now, and I am so excited to get my hands on them! Some of them include Dracula by Bram Stoker and Little Gods by Caitlin McColl. So please keep up with this blog, don't leave me!

"We read to know that we are not alone." CS Lewis.

What I'm Reading: The 10PM Question - Review

The 10pm Question

Kate de Goldi

Frankie Parsons is ‘twelve going on eighty’. Whilst growing up in New Zealand, his mind is overflowing with fears and worries about almost everything; are the smoke alarm batteries flat? Is the kidney shaped rash on his chest cancer? Does the cat have worms? Every night, at 10pm, he wanders into his mother’s room and hopes that she can calm his fears – but Frankie’s mother isn’t doing too well herself. Frankie doesn’t know why his mother hasn’t left the house in almost a decade, or why he lived away from home with ‘the aunties’ for the first part of his life, or why the only thing that reminds him of his mother is a caged bird. It isn’t until Sydney, the colourful, confident and creative new girl with dreads and handmade clothes comes along, that he begins to realise that his family isn’t as normal as he thought.

Along the four months that The 10pm Question is set, Frankie, with the help of his best friends Sydney and Gigs, also a free spirit, who doesn’t worry about  the threat of terrorism or McDonalds taking over the world, Frankie slowly becomes conscious of the rodent voice in his head which is driving him gradually insane. He is imprisoned in the set-in-stone routine of his life, and he can’t seem to let go of it.

The 10pm Question is written brilliantly, with subtle humour from a young boy who isn’t completely sure whether his best friend is actually his girlfriend. Kate de Goldi’s writing touches on the topics of OCD and mental illness through the mind of a child who doesn’t understand it himself. His innocence leaves the reader unable to put down the book, and wondering whether or not Frankie Parsons will be able to fight the ‘freak-out gene’.

What I'm Reading: Forgotten

FORGOTTEN

CAT PATRICK

“He’s not in my memory, which means he’s not in my future.”

London Lane remembers her future in the way that we remember our past – she could tell you what you will wear next week, but not what she was wearing last night. Every morning her mind wipes out the memories of the day she has just lived, forcing her to write notes to remind her future self of her own past. But when London meets the Luke Henry from Boston, she is confused as to why he isn’t appearing in her notes, and even as time goes on and their relationship grows, she still cannot remember him in her future. In the meantime, she is being plagued with 'memories' of a funeral – is it her father, who she hasn’t seen or heard from in years?

Or could it be Luke’s? Is that why he isn’t in her memory?

I think that Forgotten has a compelling and clever storyline, and it’s very well written, but I think that the plot would have been more believable if it leaned a little more towards the fantasy-science fiction genre than simple teen fiction. I simply couldn’t take the backwards memory ‘thing’ seriously when it was treated as a medical condition, maybe I was just too – I don’t know –closed minded while reading this book. I definitely think I would have taken the whole thing a little more seriously if London’s brain was strange because of a supernatural cause.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of teen romance books, it all becomes too much about the couple having a perfect, rosy relationship and there isn’t enough emphasis on the actual storyline, or writers will put all their efforts into describing how in love their characters are instead of letting their actions speak for themselves. I felt that I had this problem while reading this book. However, I did put that behind me, and just ignored my general dislike of novels dripping with romance and not enough story-telling.

London is a very likable character, and any teenager who has had to stand up to a friend will relate to London’s relationship with her best friend Jamie, the only person except London’s mother who knows of her condition. Another intriguing plot of the storyline is London’s relationship with Luke, as every day for London is as though she has just met him. Every morning, she wakes up to read about her boyfriend, and every day, she falls in love with him – but is Luke keeping something from her

What sold the book to me was the way that London doesn’t let her backwards memory get in her way. When she sees how her best friend’s relationship will end in sorrow, she doesn’t allow her future to be decided for her, but instead sets out on a mission to put it to a stop. And when she learns about a hidden mystery from her past that tore her family apart, she takes it upon herself to use her ability to see to future to put right her wrongs.