Book Review: Turtles All The Way Down

Hey guys! So as you may know, I'm a huge fan of John Green and have read all his books. I've been wanting to read Turtles All The Way Down for a long time and I finally finished it! I won't lie, it was hard to get into but you can definitely tell Green has put himself into his work once again, even if it isn't the masterpiece Looking For Alaska or Papertowns was. 

The book is about Aza and her struggle with OCD and I believe other mental illnesses. The book goes really in depth into this subject so it may be triggering for some.

I sympathized with Aza but I also didn't really like her personality. Her mental illness pulls her apart from her friends and family. However, there isn't much about Aza that we know.

Green didn't really give her character much build up...it was mostly about her illness and how this was her. The book is supposed to be this way but I did struggle with just reading about her thoughts and not having much background information. 
Although I know John Green's work is very trippy and quirky, it was a little bit dull for me.

I thought the descriptions and portrayal of mental illness was well thought out. But apart from that I felt like the characters weren't fully formed and the book only became exciting near the end. This book is pretty much all about reality like all his books - but with a twist. Even if it's far fetched, that's Green. He executes his work brilliantly but for me this isn't one of my favourites.

I liked the friendship between Aza and Daisy because it's real; they have arguments which is normal. Friends stick by you but they also tell you the truth. However, I think the relationships between the characters needed to be more in depth and I expected more mystery surrounding Pickett's disappearance.  It was mostly about Aza's condition, which in the general scheme of things is what Green is trying to portray. That mental illness is all consuming. This is such a powerful book so I won't spoil it for you! I was just left a little confused and disappointed with the story line.

However, books like these are so important to have for people to understand mental illness; it gets inside the mind and I must admit I have had intrusive thoughts - everyone does - so maybe that is why I struggled with the theme.

Please let me know your thoughts about the book once you've read it; I'd love to know what other's opinions are.
Well, until next time. Love, Vee x

Film Review: Every Day

Hey guys! So in this week's blog I'm going to be reviewing the film Every Day. The book was written by David Levithan and is one of my favourites.

However, the book is always better and in this case it certainly is. The book made sense and was reality mixed with the impossible. The ending is different from different perspectives - like in Another Day we see Rhiannon's point of view and in Every Day we see A's.

The film could have been better executed in so many ways; for instance, they could have had A and Rhiannon narrate the story so we could actually understand what was happening - unless you read the book first this would be a very disappointing film. The ending is different to the book and the overall acting was dramatized and cringy. The way they run off and have adventures is completely different from the book and the French restaurant they meet at was hardly mentioned.

For anyone thinking teen romance films are already too cringy, their opinion would be valid if they saw this movie.

The speed of which they got through the scenes made little to no sense and there was hardly any comedy or train of thought. It was as if the film was making tons of scenes and lobbing them together, regardless of whether or not they made any sense. There was no transition is what I'm trying to say.

The film had the potential to be really well done, and even though some of the scenes reminded me of the book, the ending is disheartening for anyone who hasn't read it first. I was really looking forward to seeing how they pulled this film off but the time and effort wasn't there and it certainly didn't show.

I hope Levithan will stick to the books because they are so much better than any movie could be. I hate to give a bad review but I have to be honest, even if it's a product from my favourite author.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments and let me know if you read the book first or after! Until next time, love Vee x

How To Get Over Reading Slumps

Hey guys! I hope you're having a lovely weekend. In this week's blog I'm going to be talking about reading slumps and how I deal with them, as well as how others overcome it.

Reading slumps can make you feel sad, depressed and even lonely. But the important thing to remember is that you shouldn't feel guilty about not reaching your reading goal this month. Take your time, breathe and come back to it when you can.

We know that most people, including me, are sometimes too busy to read because of working or studying full time. It must be especially hard to read when studying full time as you're already diving into textbooks all day! Although reading is important to me, I am guilty of just streaming Netflix because I'm so tired from work.

One way I try to combat reader's block is simply by not reading! I figure, that when my brain is ready to come back to Earth and read, it will. I need to give myself time to think and while reading, I can't concentrate on my problems; this can be a blessing to help me forget my surroundings or it can be a burden as I sometimes read the same paragraph over again and again.

Another way I try to overcome reader's block is by picking up a short story; recently I was reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green and because it's such a heavy subject and it takes me a while to take in his stories, I decided to pick up Because You Love to Hate Me which is compiled of 13 short stories. I have been slowly making my way through these stories while taking a break from Turtles All the Way Down.

I asked members of The Fiction Cafe - Book Club to give examples of how they overcome reader slumps.

Krista said she "Will turn to YA fiction. Something that's an easy read." Sometimes changing genre really does help a reader slump!

Ulrike said his way of overcoming slumps is to "Watch a lot of Netflix/Amazon Prime/iPlayer until my brain starts craving books again. It allows me to catch up with all the TV I like so I embrace the odd reader's block." I also do this and enjoy watching all the shows I'm binge watching.

Brenda said: "I usually change genres or read graphic novels and manga books to get over my reading slump."

Lynda said: "It always helps me to re-read a favourite book." I think we all have a go-to book that we love and it can help to re-read it every now and then!

Megan said that "Sometimes I re-read something I really loved to return the spark. Even something I liked from my childhood can bring back a bit of magic. I do occasionally have a read through a few very dog-eared Enid Blyton novels!" My childhood favourites were Jacqueline Wilson books and are the only ones that I have re-read!

What are some of your ways of coping with reader slumps? I'd love to know so comment down below! Until next time, love Vee x