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My Rating: 4 stars

In Cassia’s world, Society rules all. Society tells you where you live, what job you will have, what food you will eat, what you will wear, who you love, and even when you die. One has no opinion and no choices. Society does that for you.
For teenagers, the Matching ceremony is a big deal, because they get to discover whom they will be spending the rest of their lives with. Cassia always trusted Society’s choices. Why would they make mistakes? They were always right. Why would Society hurt her? She always obeyed the rules. When her best friend’s face appears on the Matching screen, she is certain he is the one…until she sees another face flash on the screen just before it goes black. Now, she must choose: Xander or Ky, between the path she’s familiar with or journey into the unknown.
Matched reminded me a lot of Delirium by Lauren Oliver, which was a fantastic book. Matched was fabulous too, in its own way. I love books about futuristic societies, especially dystopian ones, where “Society” rules all. I love how all of these societies created in books seem so similar but are so unique and really different from another. Like Delirium, Matched focused a lot on what it is like to live without freedom, without the ability to say what we want, wear what we want, and make out own choices. Could you even imagine? It is really difficult for me to imagine not being able to choose who I would marry or what job I would want to have for the rest of my life. I thought Cassia was an interesting character. She was bold, and stood out from everyone else when they all blended together, just like Society wanted them to. Although she always followed Society’s rules, she seemed to question why everything was how it was, unlike her peers who just went along with it. I hoped throughout the novel that she would rebel, which she did, to my satisfaction. And societies like the one in Matched always have a dark and ominous side. They’re always keeping secrets from their people, and I can’t wait to see what else Cassia uncovers in the next book.

My Rating: 4 stars

Arthur Kipps, played by Daniel Radcliffe is a lawyer who lives with his four-year-old son, Joseph. His wife, Stella, died after childbirth at a young age. Arthur is assigned to handle the estate of Alice Drawblow, who owned Eel Marsh: a big, looming house on an island far off shore. Alice had lived with her husband and son, Nathaniel. At the Marsh, Kipps starts working on the paperwork and repeatedly hears footsteps throughout the house and sees an eerie woman dressed in black. “The Woman in Black” is rumored to live there, seeking revenge on the children of the nearest town because her child was taken from her. Revenge, in this case, is the Woman in Black tricking the children into committing suicide. The townspeople want Kipps to leave, before anything else bad happens, but he refuses, wanting to protect his job. Kipps takes it upon himself to rid the town of this creepy and relentless spirit who is seeking her revenge.
First off, let me say that for his first movie role after Harry Potter, I think Daniel Radcliffe did a fantastic job. This horror/thriller movie was definitely outside of what he usually starred in. There really weren’t many other main characters, besides a few townspeople who helped Arthur out a few times, so it was mostly Daniel the whole movie. I have to admit that it still is quite weird seeing him without his magic wand, lightning bolt scar and round glasses.
The Woman in Black’s storyline was very interesting, in my opinion. I don’t like “scary” movies that much and I usually don’t watch them, but this movie had me on the edge of my seat. It built of tons of suspense and always had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I wanted to know why the house was haunted and when the creepy appearance of the Woman in Black was going to happen next. There were also some moments where I – along with everyone else in the theater – jumped in our seats.
I think the only thing I didn’t like too much was the ending. It was definitely a surprise ending, I didn’t see it coming at all. I’m not going to say too much, because I don’t want to ruin it. But I’m still not sure if I like it or not. I’ve heard some people say they hated it, and some say they loved it. In my opinion, it could go either way. Otherwise, I think The Woman in Black was a great movie and if you have the time, you should definitely go out to see it.

AND, The Woman in Black is a novel by Susan Hill. It’s on my list to read!

My Rating: 5 stars

Hazel’s life has been planned out. Her diagnosis controlled her life and a tumor-shrinking medical miracle kept added a few more years to her lifetime. Hazel had cancer. She was fighting a war against it, and she knew that in the end the cancer would eventually win. Her parents – whom have spent most of their lives at home taking care of her – force her to join a cancer support group, in which she meets seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player and amputee. Then, her life is completely rewritten. Together, they face some of life’s most important aspects: family, friendship, life, love, and most importantly, what happens after death.
The Fault in Our Stars is, without a doubt, John Green’s best book to date. Forget about Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska. They are no competition when compared to this book. It is unlike anything that John Green has ever written before. Green himself said that the title was inspired by a quote from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar (Act 1, scene, 2) : “’The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.’”
Although this book is about cancer, it’s not really a “cancer book.” As Hazel stated herself in the novel, “cancer books suck.” This book isn’t necessarily about death either. The threat of cancer and inevitability of death was used as a vehicle to move along the development of Hazel and Augustus. After all, without either of the two, neither of them would have met each other in the first place. Hazel and Augustus are both such complex, relatable and intelligent characters. Both of their journeys together are heartbreaking, yet beautiful.
The Fault in Our Stars is a book filled with a wide range of emotions. There were moments in which I was smiling, laughing and even some moments where I was choking back tears. This book is a heart-wrenching adventure from cover to cover.

My Rating: 5 stars

The word “perfect” itself is subjunctive. It can mean a variety of different things to different people. Something that is ugly to someone could be beautiful to another. Everyone has a different way of discovering what is “perfect” for themselves. Everyone has some place or someone that they’d rather be. For four high school seniors, Cara, Kendra, Sean and Andre, their goals of “perfection” are just as different as their ways of getting there. For Cara, her strict parents have already driven her twin brother, Conner, off the edge. Literally. Their totally unrealistic expectations have her questioning everything about herself. She takes on a new type of “love” and looks for affection that she has never received. Kendra covets a flawless face and perfect body. She’s in beauty pageants and dreams of one day becoming a model, and she doesn’t care what type of drugs or surgeries it takes to get there. Sean is the star baseball player. He dreams of going to college and getting a scholarship. To do so, he needs to bulk up and get stronger, but he ends up sacrificing more than he can ever get back. Andre has always lived under his ancestors’ achievements. His father expects him to follow in the family’s business, when Andre actually has a completely shocking and different career choice in mind – something his parents definitely would not approve of. As these characters’ stories unravel, they discover what “perfection” really means and everything they would give up to achieve it.
Ever since I read Impulse and discovered there was going to be a companion novel, I absolutely could not wait. Not only did I completely fall in love with the characters, but I once again fell in love with Ellen Hopkins’ writing. I love her writing style. It’s beautiful and captivating. While reading Perfect, I found there were times where it was literally impossible for me to put the book down. The format all of Hopkins’ books are written in is really what makes them so unique and enthralling. Also, I think the how real these characters are, how they genuinely seem like real people telling their story is what makes this book so good. All the emotions explained were so heartfelt and honest. There were parts where I was surprised and shocked, parts that were unbelievable, parts that made me sad and even parts that made me smile. The emotions I felt while reading are also what made Perfect a great reading experience. I love how this is a continuation of what happened in Impulse, we as readers get to see the other side of the story of what was happening while Conner was in Aspen Springs after attempting suicide. Seriously, if you loved Impulse, you need to read this book.

My Rating: 4 stars

Four friends, Sara, Alice, Polly and Jessica plan to throw a party to commence the start of a new school year, their senior year. The party ends up being bigger than expected, but by the end, who was hooking up and who was fighting was the farthest things from their minds. The unthinkable happens: someone is killed. Or did they kill themselves? The question haunts all who were still at the party and came across the body. Michael, a close friend of Alice, whom she planned to introduce to Jessica, takes it as his personal mission to figure out who killed this person if they did not kill themselves. After this tragic event, nowhere is safe. Danger follows these seniors to the homecoming dance and even their big graduation party. Although the truth is terrifying, their lives depend on it.
First off, this book is definitely not a book I would have picked out myself. My sister gave it to me for Christmas. It was a total of 846 pages, and I will admit that I was a little intimidated at first. I haven’t read a book this long in a while. It was hard to get into at first, I wasn’t a huge fan of Pike’s writing style, but after a while I got used to it. Taking into consideration this book was first published in the late 1980’s, I understand his writing isn’t completely up to date and is a little immature. I just feel that some of the things said by the main characters wouldn’t really have been said by seniors today. But that aside, the plot was really good. I have a new interest in murder mystery novels, although this one does go against the typical murder mystery. It led you to believe one thing, until the end, where everything changed. Speaking of the ending, I wasn’t a huge fan of it. The ending didn’t really give any closure to the characters. It lets the reader make up their own ending, and decide where the characters will go in the future. I have a love/hate relationship with endings like that, but after I think about it, it does fit this book well. I’m really glad I read this book.

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Midnight Premiere: I had been waiting for this movie for four years, and it was so fantastic to finally be able to see it. I love going to midnight premieres, especially the ones for Harry Potter and seeing everyone wearing Potter shirts and dressing up as their favorite characters. July 15th was an awesome day and I still can’t believe there will never be another one.
2) How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying on Broadway: This musical was amazing. When I saw How to Succeed on May 21st, it was my first time seeing a musical and my first time in New York City. I had such a fun time with my family and seeing Daniel Radcliffe up on stage. It was so weird seeing him singing and dancing without his lightning bolt scar, wand and round glasses.
3) The Pink Sweater: This year, I published my first short story. The Pink Sweater is my inspiration to keep on writing and hopefully publish another short story soon!
4) Honda Civic Tour: On September 17th, I got to see two of my favorite bands, My Chemical Romance and blink-182, in one night. It was my first real concert and such a fun and memorable night with my friends.
5) Panic! at the Disco Fall Tour: On November 3rd, I saw another one of my favorite bands with my friends. Also, Patrick Stump, the former lead singer of Fall Out Boy, opened up for Panic!. It was my first concert in a general admission audience, and it was such a great experience. I don’t think there’s anything better than being in the crowd at a concert.
6) American Horror Story: I finally found an addicting TV show to replace LOST! I love this show so much, and I cannot wait for the second season, which is hopefully as good as the first.
7) Chuck Palahniuk: Although Palahniuk has been around for quite a while; I just discovered his books this year. After reading Invisible Monsters, Fight Club and Diary, he became one of my favorite authors. I love his unique writing style and his way of confusion and connecting everything together at the end of his novels.
8) Jennifer Brown: After reading Brown’s two books, Hate List and Bitter End, she became one of my favorite authors. She is definitely who I would name as my author of the year. I love the voice of her writing. Her characters are so realistic and relatable, I feel like I’m in the book along with them. She writes books that make you think: what would you do if you were in this character’s situation?

2011 was a great year! I can’t wait for all the new books, movies and music to come out in 2012.
I hope you all have a fantastic year!

My Rating: 2 stars

Nick and Norah met at a punk rock club, when Nick asks Norah to be his fake girlfriend for five minutes so he can make his ex girlfriend think he has moved on. Little do they know, they both actually have a lot in common, including family issues, ex boyfriends/girlfriends, their future paths, and music. After avoiding an ex or two, Nick and Norah head out for a night of adventure.
I thought this book was going to be a totally easy read. It was short, only around a hundred or so pages and the writing seemed fairly easy to zoom right through. In all honestly, I did not like this book that much. Every chapter alternates between Nick and Norah, and although both Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have very good and unique writing styles, they’re way too similar. As I was reading, I couldn’t tell which character was which after a while. It got really confusing and ruined the reading experience for me. The characters were actually very similar too. It was hard to tell them apart. It’s okay to have similar interests or quirks in characters, but in my opinion Nick and Norah were so similar they could have been the same person. Although I have never read any of Rachel Cohn’s other books, I might look into them. David Levithan wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, and I actually enjoyed his chapters in that book very much, and I was very surprised when I realized I didn’t enjoy his sections of this book.

Please don’t read this if you haven’t seen the finale yet, I don’t want to spoil anything for you!

I know I said I was going to make a post about the American Horror Story season finale last week, but I honestly needed some time to think everything over. So much more happened than usual in one episode. For one, we were fifteen minutes into the episode and Ben already had a shotgun to his head. That was one thing that I predicted would happen. I thought the episode would end with Ben putting a gun to his head, and it all ending before we knew if he was dead or alive. Then, out of no where he was hung from the chandelier, dead before the second commercial. That was something that I totally didn’t expect and had me yelling at my television. I had thought Ben would make it out of the house and save his baby before anything bad happened.
After all the Harmons were ‘dead’ and the second family came in and bought the house, I knew they wouldn’t actually stay. (First off, they weren’t good enough actors to stay on the show in the first place…) But I’m glad they weren’t killed and the Harmons scared them off, which I am assuming they are going to do with any other family that tries to purchase the Murder House. Scaring off the families is definitely an act of kindness: they do not want any other families to go through what other families have gone through by living in that house.
Does anyone else think the realtor is keeping some secrets? She totally knows something that we don’t.
At first, I thought Tate had a doppelganger or some sort of evil twin that was responsible for all of the bad things he did. But I guess since he basically admitted to everything he did in the past, including shooting all of those kids he went to school with and raping Mrs. Harmon, the doppelganger theory went down the toilet. I just wish he could have said why he did all of those things, rather than have us assuming and making up reasons for all of it.
I heard that the producer of AHS said that Tate, Violet, the Harmons and all the other characters will not be in season two. There will be a new ‘murder house’ and a new cast. I have no idea how season two is going to work out. first of all, the end of season one left us all with so many questions that probably will go unanswered if there is a new cast in season two. Since everyone is dead, what’s going to happen next? Will there be some war of good (the Harmons) verses evil (Tate, Hayden, etc)? What will happen to the two babies? Since we already saw the one that is Tate’s son, Michael, murder someone, will he end up just like he father? What will happen to Ben’s son?
I have so many questions that I am dying to get answered and I don’t think I can wait until next season. I really, really hope there isn’t whole new cast. I want the current characters to have a longer plot, but I wouldn’t mind a few new faces. I wasn’t too overly pleased with the finale. I kind of loved it and hated it at the same time.

I guess we will all have to wait to see what happens next…

My Rating: 5 stars

On March 6th, 2007, the lives of the students of Sterling High school in New Hampshire were changed forever. One second, it was only a school day like any other. Nothing bad ever happens in Sterling. Blink and everything has changed. It only took Peter Houghton nineteen minutes to enter his high school and open fire, killing ten and injuring nineteen. As the trial progresses, the closest of friendships and families are destroyed. In the end, is comes down to Josie Cormier, Peter’s former best friend. She could be the state’s best witness…if she could remember what actually happened right before her own eyes. Nineteen Minutes discusses what it’s like to be different in today’s society, who has the right to judge someone else and whether or not anyone is ever really who they seem to be.
I’ve heard so many good things about Jodi Picoult and I finally decided it was time to read one of her books. My friend suggested it to me around the same time I was reading Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Both of those books are very similar, yet very different at the same time. Nineteen Minutes is about a school shooting, but it focuses on how it affects everyone involved: the families, the students, the injured, the police, etc. The point of view switches around a lot to different people: Josie, Peter, both of their mothers, some of the victims and some of the injured. It offered a wide perspective on how a school shooting can affect a multitude of people. The ending was completely unexpected and a total twist in the plot. It took me extremely long to read this book, and I think that was because it was filled with so much information. It was 455 pages long, but so much happened in between the front and back covers. I loved this book so much; it’s one of those books I will never forget.

Back when LOST was still on TV, I was a huge fan. It was the first TV show I really got into and watched every week. But ever since it ended, I never really found a show that was good enough to replace it. And now, after finally watching episode ten of American Horror Story, I think I’ve finally found it.
The show is about a family of three who move into a old house, known as the “Murder House” because of its horrific history of housing many gruesome murders throughout the years. I don’t want to give too much about the plot away, but American Horror Story is definitely unlike any other TV show. Every episode has new surprises and plot twists and it really kept me interested. At first, the show seemed a little weird and the first couple episodes moved a little slowly, but it still made me want to find out what the show was all about. I admit it, there are some parts that actually scared me and are a little bit gruesome. I’m not a huge fan of scary/horror-type films, but I still love it.
Like LOST, the plot is a little confusing and there are a lot of questions that are left unanswered, but that made me want to keep watching. But I was left only to discover new things to be thrown in that left me questioning some more. The show has flashbacks to the past and memories of the characters that help the plot play out and answer the watchers’ questions along the way.
The plot is brilliant, and all the actors are very good and definitely play their roles well. There are only two episodes left in this season, and I don’t think I’m quite ready for it to be over yet.