Sunday 30 July 2017

Book Review #7: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Hello bookworms, writers and all creative peeps! This week's blog is a book review on Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.

Overview

David and Rachel's book is about Nick and Norah who meet at a concert and Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend so that he can make his ex jealous. However, what they both don't know is, is that this 5 minute girlfriend fling will in fact lead them to a night of events that will bring them closer together...

Set in New York, this book is about getting over heartbreak, falling in love again and finding out you can meet the love of your life anywhere...


Review

As much as I love Levithan's writing, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and debate whether to chuck the book into a charity shop.

I wanted to go to David's talk about the book in London so I bought Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist; however I wasn't able to go and therefore was in no rush to read the book until now. I thought it would be an easy read where I could quickly and easily finish it. But unfortunately it took me a while to read because I wasn't enjoying it at all.

Aside from the swearing on every page, I just couldn't warm to Norah's cold, hard exterior nor Nick's personality. He was all over the place.

David's chapters were okay but Rachel's felt like she had tried too hard to see the world from the point of view of a teenager.

The book didn't really have any conflicts in it; David and Rachel tried too hard to make it into one of those life altering, life affirming books about teens finding themselves in New York.
The constant swearing really put me off because it also seemed like the authors thought teens just swear.

The overall theme of finding someone and falling in love is nice, although unrealistic as I don't believe responsible parents would allow their child, let alone someone else's, out all night.
The book was plain and felt rushed, like they had to meet a deadline. Don't get me wrong, I love David's books but this one has put me off reading anything else of Rachel Cohn's.

The thing I find the most absurd is that at the start of the night, Nick and Norah are still hung up on their exes but by the next morning they've fallen for each other. It just seems a bit far fetched. I did watch the movie before reading the book and both are very different and I definitely enjoyed the film more than the book.

However, if you are looking for a short read set in the heart of New York and you're a big punk rock music fan, then this is the book for you. 

I'm going to rate this book 1.5/5☆

Don't forget to tell me what you thought of the book down below ⇣

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Tuesday 18 July 2017

Book Review #6 The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Hey everybody! In this blog I will be reviewing David's book The Lover's Dictionary which I read a while ago.


Overview

The Lover's Dictionary is about two people who are in a relationship and we see their love through dictionary entries to one another. This book is about the deeper understanding of love and how it can be both intoxicating and euphoric.

The novel was published on Valentine's Day 2011 and as the annual deadline of his Valentine's story neared, David used a book called 'words you need to know' and started off taking a word from each page to start his book.


Review

I enjoyed The Lover's Dictionary at the same time as finding it mildly confusing. But isn't that what love is? Confusing? All consuming? David manages to capture the arguments, the love, the good and the bad within dictionary format and tells a story about a two year relationship from there.

David wrote the book about adults but doesn't agree that books should be aimed at adults or young adults as both read his books.

I wanted to read it because it seemed such a unique way of writing and it proves that inspiration can come from anywhere - even just a word.

I also liked the fact that Levithan didn't state whether the couple were straight, gay or lesbian and we don't know what their gender is. This adds mystery to his work and proves you don't have to write with names or genders in mind.

It was a raw book and full with what love can do to you. It can drive you mad or make you swoon. I think the lack of personalities and information about the people in the book made it more relatable to the readers; it's easier to place yourself in a book when there is no name, gender or personality.

I'm going to rate it 4/5 ☆

Don't forget to tell me in the comments what you thought of the it!

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Tuesday 11 July 2017

Advice Corner: How to deal with criticism as a writer

Hello there everyone! In this week's blog I will be sharing with you some advice and my own experience dealing with criticism - mostly from myself!

I recently joined a creative writing course and was given some very criticizing and unhelpful advice from a fellow writer. I was having a lovely day - I was out of the house having a picnic on my own, reading a book when I got an email that someone had reviewed my story. After reading the brutal, almost hateful review,  I felt awful, sad and a failure. But it isn't our fault. People will always criticize your work and you will criticize others - in an encouraging way hopefully! However, it is not just others who are judgmental of our work; we are our own critiques too! Sometimes the worst... But here is how I deal with it.

If I'm feeling like I will never get anywhere with my writing I often look at quotes from fellow writers to cheer me up and make me realise that 1. everyone has to start somewhere, and 2. your work is yours and because of its uniqueness, someone out there will always appreciate it - even if you don't. Here are some quotes I find particularly comforting.






Also, when I feel negative about my writing, do you know what I do? WRITE MORE. Prove yourself wrong! You are a brilliant writer and you just have to keep writing. After all, practice makes perfect, doesn't it?

I also try to distact myself when I get into that negative habit of criticizing my work. I listen to music or read. I draw or even go for a walk to clear my head. But sometimes, a last resort is chocolate - it always saves the day.

Also, it may not work for you, but try to look over old work you have written and see if you can improve it in some way or find pieces in it that you like and think are useful and good examples of writing.

Another good idea is to ask your friends or family if they will read your work; sometimes this can help boost your self confidence but let them know they need to be honest about your writing.

And if you get a negative comment about your work which isn't helpful, delete it - don't read it over 258 times because you're afraid you're a bad writer. You're not, they're just bad critiques.

Remember, you are good enough and your writing will inspire others, just like others have inspired you! You have to start somewhere and negative thoughts and saying you can't write doesn't help. You have to criticize work positively and see what you can improve - don't just chuck that story in the bin that you only wrote ten pages of - see if you can continue with it, or see if you can take parts from it for another story, or just archive it for now; it might come in handy at a later date.

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Tuesday 4 July 2017

Book Review #5: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Well hello there! I'm glad you stopped to take a look at my review of Geekerella by Ashley Poston. I will be giving a brief overview about what Geekerella is about and then my review and thoughts on the book.


Overview

Geekerella is Ashley Poston's newest novel and it's about a girl who is obsessed with Starfield, a sci-fi TV series which is getting a film made out of it. Danielle - or Elle as she's referred to - lost her mother and father at a young age and she has to live with her wicked stepmother and step sisters; just like Cinderella. Elle's dad started a convention called Excelsicon for people to come together and celebrate different fandoms. Elle decides to enter a cosplay contest at the con with her parents clothes to try to win tickets so she can move to LA, far away from her evil stepmother.

Elle starts texting a random stranger about Excelsicon and they start to bond - little does she know this person is Darien Freeman, the actor to play Carmindor in Starfield's new reboot. And she is not happy! She believes Darien is just a self obsessed guy with abs.

This book is all about fandoms coming together, love, friendship and finding out who you are.

Review

I had high expectations for Geekerella since I had seen that almost everyone on Instagram has a copy; I had to see what all the fuss was about - and get my hands on that beautiful cover! And trust me, this book delivered.

Even though I didn't understand some fandom references, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this magical book about a girl finding her feet in an impossible world. And it is set out like Cinderella, so of course I will love anything fairy tale like! Ashley makes us hope for a better life for Elle and the book keeps us on the edge of our seats till the very last chapter. We want to know how it ends even though fairy tales usually end happily ever after.

I really enjoyed how witty Ashley made the characters, how she made the dialogue come alive and my favourite character has got to be Sage, Elle's best friend since she is such a bad ass!

Ashley captures what I imagine it would be like to be a movie star in a world where none of your secrets are private, where your social life is an open book for all to read. Darien wants a normal life outside of his acting career and Elle just wants someone to care for her after everything she's been through.

Geekerella teaches us that no one is perfect and that there is hope in this impossible world.

Throughout the book there are quite a few spelling errors which makes me cringe but apart from that I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. This is definitely one of my favourite reads of this year!

We see the characters unfold and step out of their shell slowly, the way it would happen in real life. This book is half fairy tale, half reality, giving us a perfect balance for fantasy and contemporary lovers alike.

Overall, I would rate this book 4.5/5☆

If you would like to learn more about Geekerella and Ashley Poston, just click here.

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Let me know in the comments what you thought of Geekerella!