We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Thoughts

Recently I posted my TBR list and on that list was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and I finally read! It was a great read. I borrowed it from the library and finished it on the same day. It was such a nice sunny day so my sister, cousin and I went to the park to read in the sun. Heres a picture :)

Details

Publishing date: First published in the United States in Delacorte Press
Page Count: 225 pages (not including the front pages with the maps and the back pages)
Author: E. Lochart
Format: Paperback

Quick Summary:

Candace Sinclair is from the distinguished Sinclair family, who spend the summer on their own private island. During one of the summers their was an accident but Candace can't remember what happened during that summer. After her accident she suffers from migraines and selective amnesia which the doctors believe is from the trauma. The summer after the accident she went on a holiday to Europe and finally this summer she goes back and she wants to find out what happened but it seems like everyone is keeping secrets.

No spoilers section:

We Were Liars was a book that I heard such good things about. I had heard so many things about it and I was so excited to read it. It is quite a short read, but it's very well written and is thought provoking. If you want a light happy read, maybe this book isn't for you. This book is sort of really sad, like very sad. It deals with topics on family and secrets. This book is written in a way that makes you guess and wonder what is going on, but at a very slow and different pace. It's written in a way that makes it thought provoking and quick to read. Although it is a quick read, it will leave you thinking about it for a long time. Sorry that this no spoilers section is so short, I just don't know what to say about this book without spoiling it. Go and read it if you haven't then come back!

SPOILERS READ WITH CAUTION!!! (Please only read it if you have finished the book)

I sort of wish that I didn't have such high expectations for this book so that I could have been more surprised. I knew that there was something very big or different was going to happen, so I was guessing after every corner. I wasn't really sure what to guess. I thought something along the lines of a prank the liars did to each other went wrong or I thought that the liars were throwing each other into the water. My last guest before I found out the truth was that the liars had a fight then Candace went into the water for a swim and in her rage she swam into the rocks.

Can I also just mention the blurb at the back and how it says, "If anyone asks you how it ends. Just lie". That was so funny and cool sentence in the blurb, especially since the book is called We Were Liars. I don't know why I just thought that it was super smart and funny. haha :)

haha :P

Candace is such a intersecting protagonist, but admittedly an unreliable one. She often suffers from migraines and is often high on the medication that she uses to help her combat the pain. She can also be dramatic. When I first started reading the book and in one of the first chapters how Candace says how her heart rolled out of her chest when I dad left. After getting other my shock I realised that it was a metaphor, but when I read it I was so shocked, because she didn't say 'I felt ...', but instead she said something like, "My heart rolled out of my chest." I was visualising that a heart actually rolling out of a girls chest... I when I read I like to visualise everything from the characters to what type of flowers are in the back ground and that part of the book almost made my heart fall out.

Can I talk about the ghost or hallucinations? I'm pretty certain that Mirren, Johnny and Gat were hallucinations, because most of the time Candace was high on the medication that helps her with pain. Although the other Liars sometimes told her things she didn't know yet, I believe that it was her brain trying to let her know slowly what she had forgotten. Well technically it she didn't forget it but more like selective amnesia. What makes my confused is how the other Liars could trash the place or how she could make out with Gat. Was she kissing thin air? After finishing the book and thinking about it I think Candace trashed the place by herself and made it up in her brain. If anyone has read this book please tell me if you if believe that Mirren, Johnny and Gat were ghost or hallucinations.

Her family has a perfect facade, because they were the perfect Sinclair family. They own their own private island! I thought the family dynamic was cool in the way how they're all damaged but won't admit it to each other. It was so important for Candace's character development when after she found out about the fire to see why they were finally talking to each other and acting like a family. I love how the writer wrote that part and showed Candace realising that burning down the symbol didn't bring the family together. Instead the family came together, because they were all broken because of the tragic incident. Her family also perplexed me at the same time. They all received all the best possible education that money could buy, but in the end her mother and aunties were still relying on their fathers money.

Reading this book made me think a lot, because I'm not a very questioning person, but with this book you need to question things. An example of that is with that scene with Cadence's grandfather asking his grandchildren if he leaves his money to Harvard what should they name the building. I honestly did not question that or try to find a deeper meaning to it. I didn't even consider that it was possible for it to be threat to his daughters, until Candace explained how about how leaving his money to Harvard, meant that once he dies no money will be given to his daughters.


I'm sorry that this post is all other the place. This book both perplexed me and surprised me so much that I can't even articulate good things to say about it. This is a thoughts post not a review because it's so unorganised and was just what I liked and thought about the book. I hope you learnt something reading this (Although I can't imagine what :P ) or at least liked it. :)

Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase Review/Thoughts

OMG. OMG. OMg. Omg. omg. I just finished Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase last night and can I just say that I'm super impressed! This book has been out for along time now and subsequently has been on my TBR pile for awhile. Finally I've started reading it and it was so hard to put down that I read it in two days. I could have read it quicker but I was distracted by something that could been extremely annoying when it comes to reading called school and homework. Well so the point is that I have finally read the book and it's amazing. I liked it so much! I was sent this book a while back from someone from the State Library and I appreciated it so much. Not buying this book myself has not in any way shape or form changed my opinion. With that out of the way lets go into this!

Details 

Publishing date: August 29th 2013
Page Count: 440 pages (That's in my copy and doesn't include the ads and glossary at the back)
Author: Jonathan Stroud
Format: Paperback

Quick Summary:

This book is set in future England and people in future England live in fear of ghost because of 'the problem'. At night ghost come out and often terrify people. To combat these ghosts independent agencies have sprung up. One of this agonies is Lockwood and Co., which is run by the mysterious Anthony Lockwood and his donut loving friend George. When Lucy runs away from her home to go to London she joins Lockwood and Co. and together they use their talents to fight ghosts.

No spoilers section:

Okay I'm assuming if you're reading the no spoilers section you haven't read the book before and want to know some things about it before you read it. So after reading my quick summary, I hope you get the gist of what the book is about. This book is a great blend of mystery and creepiness. I was genuinely so creeped out reading this that I put off reading it at night and waited until the next morning to read it. I recommend reading it in a well lit area because shadows will creep you out while reading it.

The characters are pretty awesome. There is Lucy Carlyle who ran away from home to come to London. She's so feisty and cool. Then there is Anthony Lockwood and George. They have such an adorable and  believable friendship. While reading the first couple chapters I was so creeped out and I was the only one awake in my house. Since I was the only one awake it was eerily quiet and I was so scared that I almost gave up reading it. I'm so glad that I didn't though because I loved this story so much and I really recipe that people who are into mystery, creepiness and awesome characters read this book :)

SPOILERS READ WITH CAUTION!

Can I just start this off my saying that Lucy is the one of my favourite fictional characters. She's so kickass and cool! She made me like the book so much because I find myself liking books more if they have really cool protagonist. She's also so brave, but also sensible. That scene where she was nervous about going into one of the most haunted houses in England. I feel like any other firece female protagonist would just been like, "I know that this is creepy, but lets do this! If there are any ghost here they better be worried, because I will CRUSH them!" Okay... Maybe not like that, but Lucy was brave but not overly done. I really love her so much. I think she'll be my favourite fictional character for this year. On the cover of my copy Lockwood was on the cover and after finishing the book I was confused as to why he was on the cover. I understand that it is his agency and it is a very successful agency that is only run by teens and have adults, but come on! Lucy is the real star in this story and I adore her so much. I'm pretty sure that in some editions there is both of them, but I wish that the both of them were on all the editions, or better yet, just Lucy.

So far I've only really talked about Lucy and only a little bit about Anthony Lockwood so for the sake of fairness I'm going to talk about him now. The readers don't really find out much about Lockwood apart from what they can deduce from his actions around Lucy and his mysteriousness about his parents. The reader find out that the house used to belong to his parents, but they're not around anymore. We don't know if they died or left, but the thing is you can tell is that he misses them. In the part when Barnes insults the decorations inside the house Lucy notes how he says that it was his mother's. I can't wait to read the next book and find out if anything is revealed about his parents. The good thing about reading a book that has been out for a while is that you don't have to what for the squeal. I'll have to go out tomorrow and read the squeal. I'm so excited! Another thing about Lockwood is that he is so smart. I was so curious went he sent that letter and when I found out it was because he figured out what was going on, I was filled with a sense of satisfaction and happiness. Go Lockwood!

Now I'll talk about George. I honestly can't remember his last name. Not to say that he was not important, but he wasn't super important enough that I remembered his last name. I liked George though even though his manners sort of sucked. George was the really responsible one in the group who was the one responsible for all the paperwork and the research. I feel like if I was a book character I would be George. He's responsible, sensible, likes donuts and has bad manners. Well my manners aren't that bad, but still. I feel that our love for donuts meant that we had a connection, haha. George's manners could be frustrating at times and I didn't really understand why Lucy and him didn't get along. They kept on not getting along with each other. The only person George seemed to get along with was Lockwood.

I really liked the story line, but found it predictable. I don't know if it's only, because I have read so many books and can now easily predicate how they end. I liked how Lucy and Annie Ward connected and how Lucy drove the story. This was a really great book that I can't recommend it enough. It was such a great blend of mystery, creepiness and great characters. The book is so well written and is a great read. The plot was well thought out and I was really content at how it ended. :)

The Giver Movie Thoughts

The Giver is the book that I've been studying in my English class and we've just finished. To wrap up the term and my school arranged an excursion to the city to watch the movie yesterday. This is going to be post about my reaction to that book adaption. I need to start off by saying that I'm not reacted to this movie as a movie, but a book adaption. I really loved the book so I'm sort of biased because I was very upset by everything that they changed. Okay let's start this!


No spolier section:

I thought that this book had it's heart in the right place. They tried to keep the overall feel of the book with all the importance if memories and colours, but it was so different from the book. As a fan of the book while watching the movie I felt so upset when so many things were changed. It was overall an alright movie, but a not so good book adaption. There was also a big deal about Taylor Swift being in the movie, but she was only in the movie for about 2 minutes. This is a very short non spoiler section, but that's all I can say without spoiling you!



SPOLIERS!!!!!!!

Okay lets start a long list of my bias complaints. First thing I noticed was that non of actors were the right age besides from the young actress who played Lily. I liked how in the book Jonas was very young and innocent and barely understood the world around him. Instead of the Ceremony of 12 it was the Ceremony of 16 or graduation? I sort of got over that fact after 5 minutes, but something I couldn't get over was the holograms. I know that it's set in the future but the holograms were a bit to far for me. Also what was up with the hologram of Rosemary? I think it was just an excuse to have Taylor Swift in the movie for longer.

Many things that were good in the book were taken out and many things were added in to try to make the movie more interesting. Like the barrier of memories, was the line on the map and I understand that things need to be changed to make the movie more interesting, but I thought that was so unnecessary to the plot. Another thing I thought was an unnecessary to change were Asher and Fiona's assignments. In the book Asher was the Assistant Director of Recreation and Fiona was a caretaker of the old. Instead in the movie Asher was a pilot of some kind and Fiona was the ding the totally opposite job, which was looking after babies. It was also really confusing how in the scene with Asher in the plane. In that scene there was obviously more people in there besides from Asher, yet they still didn't notice how the plane/drone stopped moving. I get that they were all looking in other directions, but won't they still be able to notice the plane/ drone stop moving and the magnet taking the one guy that they were looking for up on the magnet?

Something that frustrated me so much when I was watching is how their relationships worked. The relationship between Fiona and Jonas was so different to they relationship in the book. It was so much more romantic and the whole reason why Jonas left is because no one could feel emotions so and he didn't want to live a life starving from colour and real feelings. Also in the book their was a really touching scene where Jonas cries because he is scared that he can't save Gabriel and I brought tissues because I knew that if I saw it, that it would bring me to tears, but unfortunately, or fortunately I'm not sure yet, they didn't include such an emotional scene. It is important to understand that a book is very detailed and all those details can't always be put into a movie and sometime things need to be changed to quicken up the pace. I get that and I won't have minded a few changes, but I feel like so many things were changed. For example in the book Jonas just quietly snuck out, but in the movie it was an epic chance scene that kept the readers on the edge of their seats.

So far everything has been quite negative so now I'm going to talk about what I liked. I really liked the humour. Admittedly their isn't much, but Jonas dad cracked me up when he said that the elephant was hippo and that it had 5 legs. Also the memories were filmed in such a cool way that was so interesting to watch on screen and I though that they were done very well. The visuals were very stunning and the holograms, though unnecessary to the plot, looked amazing.


My overall thoughts about the movie is that it is touching and has good intentions. The script seems very rushed and people who loved the book may be disappointed, although the movie those have a few shining moments. The actors were great considering the script and the movie was very appetising to the eyes. It wasn't what I excepted but it wasn't that bad ever. I've mentioned this before and I'd mention it one more time, because I'm sort of biased because I loved he book and wanted it to say true to the book. I'm pretty sure that if i hadn't read the book I would have liked the movie more. When I left the theatre I did come out with a sense of happiness though, because it had a beautiful ending with a quote that came from the book. I recommend that people go see it and those who liked the book go see it as well, because yes their were many, many changes it still has a good heart to it. :)

TBR for the next two months!

Hello everyone! I've been swamped with school lately, but since everything been's winding down and I only have 2 days until my 2 week break I've suddenly had a lot of time in my hands again. I am hoping that with that time I can read more books. I've decided to post my TBR pile on this blog so that if I don't read any of them I have proof that my past self really wanted me to read it. I've made this a TBR for the two months instead of month or two weeks because I've been doing a lot of writing lately and I really enjoy it so I want to give myself more time to blog, write and read. I've don't think I have mention what TBR stands for yet. Well for those who don't know TBR= To Be Read, so this basically a lit of books that I really want to read. :)

My TBR pile for two breaks:
-Animal farm by George Orwell     (I heard it's a classic so I really want to read it)
-We were liars by E. Lockhart        (Everyone has read this book so I'm late, but I still want to read it)
-Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell          (I know... I still haven't read it. :( Its the book I really want to read)
-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Just started it today, actually :)  )
-Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (One of the few Jane Austen books I haven't read yet)
-The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes  (I'm going to start reading it tonight!)
-The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud   (Yay fantasy!)
-Insert name of books that my booking loving friends have recommended me. I believe on of them was called 'Cinder'? I think it's a series and she says it's really good. My friends honestly recommend me so many books that I can't even keep track of. :P

Those were the books that I really want, no NEED to read in next to moths. Okay I need to stop now so that i can go read!


Happy Reading people and may the books you read be good ones!


-The Girl With Her Heads in The Clouds




aka Kellie :)

The Giver Book Review!

Hello wonderful people of the blogosphere! Today I'm coming at with a new book review! This book review is a little late. Like 21 years late... Haha, but if you read my previous blog post you would know that I'm reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, well have read. Everyone in my class haven't finished yet,  but I couldn't resist reading an extra chapter then that lead to reading the whole book. Whoops... Since I finished it I thought that I should do another book review, because I love doing them and this is a good chance to write another book review. So here we go!

Details:

Publishing date: First published in 1993
Page count: 224 (Not including the advertising in the back and the introduction)
Author: Lois Lowry
Format: Paperback

Quick Summary:

Jonas is a twelve living in the Community. At the Ceremony of Twelve he receives the assignment of 'Receiver' which will be his job until he goes into the House of the Old. While receiving his training with 'The Giver' he discovers that behind the community's perfect facade it hides dark secrets and once he finds them out he can't go back to the life he had lived before. (That's the best way I can explain it without spoiling anything :) )

General thoughts: (No Spoilers)

The Giver was such an eye opening book for me. I thought that it was so well written, and since it's targeted towards children it's quite easy to understand. Jonas was a well rounded character and one easy to believe. Some authors write in the perspective of young characters, but right in a weird way, that it sounds like a 20 year old is talking instead. Lois Lowry got the perfect balance innocence and at the end she blended it with the right amount maturity. I loved the ending and thought that he fitted in with the whole story.

I heard so many positive things about this book, so while I read it I felt that I already had high expectations for it. Although I do wish that I could have read the book without having expectations of it before, although I was not disappointed. I absolutely adored the message about the importance of memories. I believe that a person is a blended smoothie of their dreams, hopes, goals in life and memories so I really enjoyed the way this book talked about the magic of memories.

Overall I found this book very enjoyable and very well written. It found myself wanting to keep on reading even though I didn't have to. The story capturing my heart and delighted my brain with questions I've never thought to think of. I give this book 4 daisies out of 5!

By the way my class is going to watch The Giver, but I'm dreading it so much, because I really liked the book and don't want to watch the story be butchered by Hollywood. Although I'm sort of excited because we're going to watch the movie and have a fun day in the city. Lets just hope the movie is good and it's not raining when we go into the city. :)