dystopia

New Books March/April 2014

These are some of the books added to my ever increasing To Be Read pile over the last couple of months. (Less of a pile now and more a collection of shelves! Whoops!) Most are second or third books in series but there are a couple of standalones/first books in there!

I’m particularly looking forward to starting Stormdancer, While We Run and Parasite. I really need to finish reading the Vampire Academy series first, though that hasn’t stopped me from knocking another couple of books off first.

Anything here you’ve read or would like to? What did you think?

YA Movie Adaptations

I feel like there’s been a definite increase of YA film adaptations appearing in the last few years since the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises made bank and The Hunger Games proved it wasn’t a fluke. Some have been good and some have been… less than good. With Divergent appearing in cinemas next week (for Australia anyway) I wanted to talk about my reactions to some of the more recent releases.

VAMPIRE ACADEMY

About a month ago I won free tickets to see the Vampire Academy movie, based on Richelle Mead’s novel of the same title. I had never read the books (with friends who have being completely divided about whether they were fantastic or terrible) but the preview looked pretty cool. I finally went to see it last week with my younger sister.

As far as movies go, it wasn’t a masterpiece but it was definitely enjoyable. I loved Rose’s sass and quick comebacks and the chemistry between her and Dimitri was great. I found the introduction to the world and the Moroi, Strogoi and Dhampir to be kind of hamhanded and confusing, and the first two acts of the movie were fragmented as far as plot progression and conflict went. Vampire Academy pulled it together for the last act of the movie though which I loved – plenty of action, reveals and swoon. I’m not holding my breath for a sequel but I did go home and buy a bundle of all six novels as ebooks, so I’d call that a win over all for the adaptation.

As an aside, having read the first book now I can see why this series divided my friends so much. I’m not sure I would have kept reading if I hadn’t first seen the movie. That said, I’m about two chapters into the second book Frost Bite right now and it’s off to a pretty good start!

 

CATCHING FIRE

I love these books and it’s probably the series that I judge all YA dystopia by so I had some pretty high expectations when the first movie came out. Despite the rediculous amount of shaky cam used, it’s probably one of my favourite movie adaptations.

Catching Fire kind of blew it out the water though! I mean, a lot of why I loved the most recent offering in the Hunger Games franchise is that it expands the world, builds on the characters and raises the stakes really well, which is something the book does anyway. You get a deeper view of all the major characters, as well as a bunch of awesome, complex new ones joining the ranks.

One thing I think the film does a better job of than the books is the depiction of the Capitol and the people who live there. You get a much better idea of the gargantuan gap between the haves and the have nots in Panem simply due to the imagery and costuming used. I also really loved the way President Snow uses the media and how they depicted the Games and the Victors but that’s probably thanks to my university major in communication and culture. So much material for essays! There are a lot of things that can be done better simply thanks to the medium of film and I think Catching Fire really showed off those strengths.

You could tell pretty easily who had read the books beforehand when I went to see this at the cinema. As the credits started to scroll a group of three girls sitting down the front shrieked when they realised the ending was a massive cliffhanger and the rest of the cinema cracked up laughing. Pretty sure they would have picked up a copy of Mockingjay not long after!

 

CITY OF BONES

The Mortal Instruments series had been on my ‘Maybe I’ll Read This Sometime in the Future’ list for ages. The only reason it was ever really on my radar, despite its popularity, was that Sarah Rees Brennan, one of my all time favourite authors, was friends with Cassie Clare. But when the announcement went out about the movie I figured I should probably put in the time and read the first book.

I really didn’t enjoy it that much. I found it to be really, really long and Clary’s almost irrational instant dislike of Isabelle was grating. With a quarter of the book to go I realised I knew how it ended. Somewhere on the Internet I had been spoiled without remembering. Needless to say, it put a dampener on the whole experience of reading the book for me and I was less enthusiastic about the movie.

But then the casting and the trailer hit and it was obvious they had spent a lot of money making this movie. I figured that the narrative was less likely to drag on in the movie, given the short span of time to tell the story and decided to give it a go. I’m so glad I did. Not only is it a super pretty movie to watch but it’s also fun. City of Bones is now pretty high on my ‘Movies to watch after a long day with a bottle of wine to relax’ list. Unfortunately it didn’t do as well at the Box Office as they were expecting. Word is the second book in the series, City of Ashes, will still get a movie but when it might happen is up in the air.

 

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

The Beautiful Creatures adaptation was basically the complete opposite of City of Bones for me. The trailer looked pretty cool so I made sure I read the first book beforehand. I loved the book. I really liked the magic system Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl created and the idea of the curse on Lena’s family. My friends Jade and Mel also read the books beforehand and so we were all pretty stoked for the movie release.

But when we watched it… oh my. The movie is another one that looks quite pretty but the relationship that develops on screen between Ethan and Lena felt forced and awkward. The mise on scene and visual metaphors used in the film are less than subtle, culminating in a hilariously over the top scene involving Ridley and Link before the final climax. We get the point from the dialogue guys, we don’t need to have it driven home by a semitrailer of rediculous visual metaphors, speeding towards our faces with no brakes.

Add to this the fact the screenwriters basically rewrote the entire second half of the book for the film adaptation. I understand the needs of film to tell the narrative in a highly condensed form but this was just excessive. All in all, when it comes to Beautiful Creatures, I think I’ll stick to the books.

 

What are your favourite (and least favourite) movie adaptations?

Defy the Dark – Saundra Mitchell

Defy the Dark is an anthology of stories set under the cover of darkness. Written by seventeen Young Adult authors, the stories cover a wide variety of genres, including dystopia, horror, paranormal, romance and crime. I picked this one up for two reasons:

1. It features stories by my perrenial favourites Sarah Rees Brennan and Carrie Ryan.

2. It has a super pretty cover and I am a total sucker for those.

In addition to some great standalone pieces, Defy the Dark also features expanded world stories from Beth Revis’ Across the Universe and Carrie Ryan’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth series so if you’re a fan of those series I advise you pick up a copy.

It was really hard for me to narrow down the stand out stories for this post so I’ve left it at my Top 6. In no particular order:

Eyes in the Dark by Rachel Hawkins

Very much following the trope of the ‘teens making out in the car’ horror set up but I was still pretty creeped out by the end of it. Not to mention very angry at Kelley for being a total wanker (spoilers).

Stillwater by Valerie Kemp

Every day Pruitt Reese drives the mind-numbing delivery route from his family’s farm around the small town of Stillwater. The only highlight of his day is his neighbour Delilah. Delilah is also on the wrong side of a longstanding family feud and Pruitt knows his romantic notions will never come to pass. But there is something strange about Stillwater and, together, Pruitt and Delilah are going to discover what it is.

Almost Normal by Carrie Ryan

Set in Vista, the town featured in Ryan’s The Dead Tossed Waves, at the start of the zombie apocalypse. Four friends decide to have one last hurrah at the amusement park before the dead descend on their town. Of course, nothing involving zombies ever goes to plan.

Shadowed by Christine Johnson

Esme has lived her whole life in darkness, confined to a tower in her father’s castle thanks to a curse placed on her as a baby. If she ever casts a shadow it turns on her and tries to kill her. She is resigned to a life in the tower until a new (and very handsome) knight arrives to fight in her father’s tournament. Could he be the one to break Esme’s curse?

Where the Light Is by Jackson Pearce

Deep underground a young miner hears a strange knocking sound. Following it he discovers a mysterious girl named Ennor, living in the earth. Although he never sees her they soon become close friends. But trouble is brewing between the miners and Ennor’s family and the pair find themselves caught in the middle.

This Was Ophelia by Tessa Gratton

A beautiful story about being true to youself, not what society expects of you. I was all in for Ophelia/O and Hal’s stuggle to be who they wanted to be. Their love story is wonderful, one of my absolute favourites in this anthology.

4 stars.

Similar reads: After by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Shards and Ashes by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

Defy the Dark was published in 2013 by HarperTeen. ISBN: 978-0-06-212353-4.