THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - September 18th, 2012
Synopsis: Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

This is going to be an ultra-short review. 

I can figure out if I don't like a book within the first 30 pages most of the time, and this, sadly, didn't float my boat.

I was excited about giving the story a go because of the positive reviews covering her previous books like GOING BOVINE or BEAUTY QUEENS. This, tacked onto the fact that I absolutely adore the 1920's. Also, throw some magic, and you've got me hooked. 

I did like the classic story of a main character having to go and stay with their eccentric uncle, and believed that, having heard of the fun and strange ways Ms. Bray writes, she would be able to spin the story into literary gold. And maybe she did, but I didn't stay in long enough to find out. The reason I set the book down was the dialogue and characters. I was so annoyed by how purely cliche they all acted and spoke. I could hear their annoying and oh-so-typical Roaring Twenties accents in my head. I couldn't stand it, in fact. So that's why I sat it down. 

I'm an insanely harsh reviewer, I know, and so for that I can still recommend this, because I know a lot of people really liked it, and, even from what little I read, I could tell the story would be a lot of fun. It's just that this is another one of those books where, if turned into a movie, I'd see it in a heartbeat, but the way it's presented on the page now isn't for me.

Another instance where this "I'd-see-it-if-it-was-a-movie" thing happened is with BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (you can read my review here), two trailers of which have just come out, and both look fantastic, yet still filled with enough cheesiness to win the swoony romance fans over!

And the other one, which shows more footage:

GAHHHHHH! They look fantastic and so much fun! And may I just gush for a moment about their using Florence + the Machine's "Seven Devils"! :DDDD

See ya!

-Aaron

Figment + Pinterest + Movie News

LINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wonderful writing website, Figment.com, where you can post your writing for feedback (I adore this site and have been using it since it was a beta. *sigh* Baby Figment...) is taking over HarperCollins' InkPop writing community! InkPop is another site where you could post your writing for feedback, but with it came the possibility that your work could be grabbed by HarperCollins editors! Eeeeeeeps!

GalleyCat has some good tips for writers using Pinterest.

Also from GalleyCat - Lauren DeStefano (author of the Chemical Garden Trilogy, FEVER being the recently published sequel to the inception novel, WITHER) and Moira Young (author of BLOOD RED ROAD) offer some advice on writing dystopian fiction. Goody :)

David Heyman, the guy who optioned the HARRY POTTER books and produced them all (and I Am Legend, which I love. Tehe.), has optioned another popular magical novel, but an adult one this time: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstein. Not only that, but the screenwriter who penned Jane Eyre's screenplay is writing the script.

Jane Goldman, the screenwriter who wrote the scripts for Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class, which I all loved, is also putting together a script for Tim Burton's adaption of the creepy YA novel MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs.

Laini Taylor's insanely successful novel, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, is being made into a movie! Universal Studios has purchased the rights.

The cover for the fourth book in the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES series has been revealed:

And although I didn't like BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, I love the covers for this series, and the titles as well. :)

Another cover reveal. The final book in Ally Condie's MATCHED trilogy has a title and cover now! It's called "REACHED", and here's the cover:

SO PRETTY.

Yet ANOTHER cover reveal, this time for the second book in Kim Derting's THE PLEDGE series. She's also the author of the popular THE BODY FINDER series. Here it be:

Out of the three covers, this is my favorite. Also, love the title: THE ESSENCE. I would have put it in caps even if I didn't already do that. :D

See ya Wednesday!

-Aaron

THE HUNGER GAMES Trailer Number Dos

Oh, wow. This new trailer really just affirms my thoughts that this is probably going to be the most accurate book-to-movie adaption everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. LOOK AT EVERYTHING! WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT IT!? Everything is exactly like the book! Number dos:

I love how you see more of the Reaping, more of Caesar, and more of the Capitol!

Happy Hunger Games,

See ya on Wednesday,

-Aaron

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER + More Movie Adaption News

First off, THE HUNGER GAMES movie news! Lionsgate (the film company that's bringing Suzanne Collins's books to the big screen) has hired Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the script for Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, to script CATCHING FIRE. Now, in case the photos haven't already been shoved down your throats enough, already, here they are:

So I'm really excited about this one, because it shows Cinna about to light Peeta and Katniss's costumes for the opening ceremony:

Next is THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE movie adaption news. So basically Selena Gomez has optioned the rights. Now that Wizards of Waverly Place has come to its recent conclusion, she's been looking for more projects. Not only has her production studio, July Moon Productions optioned it, but it's likely that she'll star in the lead role. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.... If you haven't read it, here's the synop:

Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always happily been second fiddle to her charismatic older sister, Bailey. Then Bailey dies suddenly, and Lennie is left at sea without her anchor. Overcome by emotion, Lennie soon finds herself torn between two boys: Bailey's boyfriend, Toby, and Joe, the charming and musically gifted new boy in town. While Toby can't see her without seeing Bailey and Joe sees her only for herself, each offers Lennie something she desperately needs. But ultimately, it's up to Lennie to find her own way toward what she really needs-without Bailey. A remarkable debut novel perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block.

Selena Gomez also has another YA book-to-movie adaption underneath her belt: THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher has received so much acclaim, and yet I still haven't read it. I should be getting it from the library soon, because I don't like reading books after seeing the pictures/trailer/actual movie adaption-ish stuff, because it typically ruins the picture I could have had of them. And I should do it soon, too, because THIRTEEN REASONS WHY is supposed to be coming out sometime this year, which means that they'll probably release pics soon. Anyway, Selena Gomez is supposed to star as the lead role of Hannah Baker (and in case you haven't read it, again) is a girl who records videos telling thirteen reasons why she commits suicide, then sends them to classmates.

Also, Logan Lerman's supposed to star in it as Clay Jensen, one of the students who had some unrequited love towards Hannah. This also leads to another Logan Lerman story. He's playing as the star of PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky, alongside co-star Emma Watson. The story focuses on the life and times of a freshman who's taken under the wings of experienced seniors as he experiences high school and the dramas that come with it. I really question if this is a good or bad thing. I know that Logan Lerman's a good actor, it's just that he has bad connotations in my mind after seeing the movie adaption of Rick Riordan's THE LIGHTNING THIEF (which, you should totally read, if you haven't). Ugh!!!!!!!! Me and my friends walked out of that theater so pissed 'cause they changed the entire story. Anyway, here are some pics from the upcoming film, which is set to release in a TBA time, but definitely this year:

Well, that's all. Actually, by the way, the images and some of the info were taken from SlashFilm.com, with is a super fantastic site to go to if you follow like being drowned with Hollywood mish-mash.

See ya next Wednesday,

-Aaron