The Book

“She turns to face the future in a world that’s falling apart.” Veronica Roth has set the bar high for film makers, creating extreme scenes that will lend themselves really well to the big screen. The storytelling is gritty and dark and the settings are typical of the dystopian genre, including the almost communist flavour.

The characters are delightfully flawed and I love the journey Beatrice, ‘Tris’, takes when discovering the truth about herself. There is a small amount of romance and I think it adds a much needed silver lining to the thundercloud doom and gloom of the struggle to survive.

The insane risk-taking that is the norm for the The Dauntless faction includes jumping from trains, jumping from buildings, and facing your fears head on. I look forward to seeing how the director, Neil Burger, approaches the task of making the viewer empathise with the characters in a way that is equally as gut-twisting as how Roth has written the scenes.

There are a few fight scenes that are extremely graphic in the book, and I’m already cringing at the fact that they’re integral to the plot, so they really must be shown in the film.

Whether or not the actors will match what I had in my head… I’ll let you know.

Paperback, 487 pages

Published February 28th 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books (first published April 25th 2011)

original title

Divergent

ISBN

0062024035 (ISBN13: 9780062024039)

The Film

I don’t know where to start with the gushing and positivity I want to express here. This film was based on the book and the fact that they had Veronica Roth in on the script helped enormously, especially with consistency and authenticity.

From the plain yet stunning Shailene Woodley, who was a spectacular Beatrice (Tris), to the deliciously chiselled features of Theo James as Four, Venus Kanani and Mary Vernieu got the casting spot on.

Neil Burger took the book and brought it into reality so well. The zip line sequence was enough to have my heart pounding and my fear of heights going crazy. Hats off to the visual effects team (officially the longest credit list I think I’ve seen so far) for blowing my mind for two and a half hours.

The fight scenes perhaps weren’t as brutal as what was happening in my head during the book—thank goodness—though the stunt crew were top notch and also deserve massive kudos for making me cringe and wince so many times.

If we don’t see Divergent in award nomination lists next year, I think I’ll give up on listening to ‘critical acclaim’ in future.

The Wrap Up – Even if you were to read the book after the film, I think you’d gain something from it. This is not one of those glaringly obvious moments of ‘the book is better’. The book has more wiggle room and your imagination is the only boundary. There are differences, but they are not enough to make one better or worse than the other.

If you have the chance to see the film in the cinemas, go do it. On the big screen it is just wow. You’ll be blown away.

A book with a mint green cover, a couple of cutesy cartoons, and pink script was what I found when I opened the Pan Macmillan post bag that came in the mail. It had me intrigued.

More cartoons are on the inside of the cover and I jumped straight in with the images of the characters right there, just waiting for me to turn back and take a peek at them. 

Blurb from Goodreads:

“Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren’s decided she doesn’t want to be one half of a pair any more – she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose.. It’s not so easy for Cath. She’s horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she’s experienced in real life. Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She’s got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words …And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. Now Cath has to decide whether she’s ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she’s realizing that there’s more to learn about love than she ever thought possible …”

I finished this book and thank GOODNESS it wasn’t the stereotypical girl-running-with-the-wrong-crowd-and-has-a-fall-from-grace-before-she-realises-who-her-true-friends-are story.

This felt far more real to me, as Cath, through her inner dialogue, struggles with her place in the world. She deals with issues about her Dad—who is struggling with mental health issues—her sister—who is, thank heavens, not the narrator of this book—and her ability as an author, weighing up the validity of fanfiction versus original content.

The love story that is woven through the story is a sweet touch and smooths over some of the more twitch-inducing elements.

Each character is fleshed out and has you wanting them to succeed.  When they make their decisions, be they right or wrong, you’re right there to feel it from Cath’s point of view. If you’re already emotionally raw, this may be a little too much.

If you need a break from the fantasy, science fiction, and teen angst (for no good reason) themes of so many of the books on the shelves at the moment, allow yourself to step into Cath’s world. She’ll convince you that there is something to be achieved by stepping outside your comfort zone.

http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/

http://www.panmacmillan.com/book/rainbowrowell/fangirl

Paperback, 459 pages

Published January 30th 2014 by Pan Macmillan (first published September 10th 2013)

original title Fangirl

ISBN 1447263227 (ISBN13: 9781447263227)

Aura Borealis introduces us to the Hype casual wear line.

Having been recognized in recent seasons as a brand with truly international influence, Hype sounds the bell today for its rapid, unruly rise by announcing an artistic collaboration with global online fashion and beauty retailer, ASOS.

The renegade fashion label – started in the summer of 2011 in a bedroom in Leicester and propelled to the doorsteps of the masses by positive word of mouth only. The collection’s fully monochrome and print-free, yet somehow retains all the insubordinate inclinations of the brand’s previous work.

To celebrate the launch, the brand has put together a short film. A darker-than-usual aesthetic is prescient throughout the collection: tense, edgy lines snap with bold, brassy branding; shadowy blacks wrestle blinding, moonlight whites; minimal throughout, sumptuous within – ubiquitous but totally unique, that’s the brand’s way.

Read an interview with Marianne over at UPCOMING4.ME where she talks about the story behind her new novel PEACEMAKER. PEACEMAKER is suitable for older teens.