Mountain Range Reads

I went on vacation with my family earlier this past summer to Asheville, North Carolina, which is a beautiful, breathtaking part of the state and really one of my favorite cities. But upon my travels I noticed that there aren't many lists out there about books based in the mountains and I was quite surprised.

There are so many "beachy reads" lists out there and the mountains are so gorgeous and often frequented during the summer months by tourists, so I thought I would make a short list of fictional and biographical books that are either based in the mountains (Rockies, Appalachia, or what have you) or they were influenced by mountain culture. This is just short list that's mostly based on my own knowledge of the Appalachian mountain literature and what I have enjoyed or come across in my readings. It is only a glimpse at what this subgenre has to offer, but if any of y'all want to add on to this list just leave a comment down below.

Unearthly - by Cynthia Hand
This is one of my favorite young adult novels as well as one of my favorite "fallen angel" types of novels, too (there is a lot of books in this category nowadays, surprisingly). Also, it's one of my favorite book covers (let's just take a moment to soak up it's purple and feathery glory for a second shall we?) But all that aside, Cynthia Hand uses the mountains around Wyoming as the setting to this angel based book. Clara Gardner has just found out that she has angel blood in her and we get to see who knows about this lineage, who is there to help, what her purpose might be, and who may potentially be there to hinder her progress.  Not only does Hand seamlessly help the reader navigate between the angel side that Clara has and her social life, but she also paints a beautiful, picturesque setting up in the Rocky Mountains where this novel takes place.  This is the only book I've read so far that is set in this area of America, and I thought it did a pretty good job of representing it's beauty.

Cold Mountain - by Charles Frazier
I read this book back when I was in high school and honestly thought it was a little too slow paced for me, but if you are looking for a period piece book that's set around the civil war in North Carolina's Appalachian mountains, then you will probably enjoy this one. You follow Inman, a delusional Confederate soldier who after being seriously injured in battle was expected to die yet has survived. He then deserts and makes his way home to Cold Mountain, NC, in order to be reunited with his one true love, Ada. Now I was a bigger fan of the movie version of this story with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, but I do realize that this book was well written and very historically accurate, which is what all you can hope for from a historical fiction novel. 

Into the Wild - by John Krakauer
I've had this book on my to-be-read list ever since the movie about it came out around 2007.  It's based on the true story about Christopher McCandless, well-to-do young man who in 1992 gave up the majority of his worldly possessions, including his car and all of his money, to trek across the country and invent a new life for himself only to be found decomposing in a van in the Alaskan wilderness months later. Don't let the morbid nature of the synopsis get you down, though. If the book is anything like the movie, then I expect it to be filled with inspirational stories about people, relationships, and finding yourself.  Chee
siness aside, this book also has a lot of natural settings that will transport you to the unpopulated Alaskan wilderness or to the near-desolate canyons of the Grand Canyon.

The Hunger Games - by Suzanne Collins
I won't go into to much detail about the summary of this one because it is so well known, but The Hunger Games takes place in dystopian Panem where the country is separated by districts.  Katniss is from district 12, which is set somewhere (it's not incredibly specific as to the exact location) along the Appalachian mountains.  Not only that, but the 74th Hunger Games take place in a region similar to that of the Appalachian mountains as well.  Reading this book gave me the same sort of feel of the atmosphere in and around the small towns of Appalachia, especially towards the North Carolina section of the mountain range.  You also get a look into what it is like out in the woods and the symbiotic nature between man and forest that you would find in that part of the country.

All links lead to the Goodreads summary page of each book respectively.

Winger

Title: Winger
Author: Andrew Smith
Pages: 439
Publication: May 2013

Summary: Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking

My Thoughts: I truly, truly enjoyed this book. I cannot remember the last time I read such a funny, heart-touching YA novel. I laughed, I cried, then I laughed again, and when I finished it I did not want it to end.

And that is what is so endearing about Winger.  It had countless "laugh-out-loud" moments and numerous crude humor jokes that had me nearly in stitches (when you read the book you'll understand the association with stitches and that I was making a feeble attempt at being clever here).

For every funny moment there was a sweet one, or as I like to put it, for every "ha!" there was an "aww!" and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I even found myself showing my friends and family the bits that I thought were funny and half the time they agreed and the other half they chuckled but gave me a "you have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy" look, which I get quite often unsurprisingly.

I found the plot to be evenly paced and quite believable, too. It was at that perfect pace where I could binge read until 5 am and not bat an eye at how long I spent with this book in my hands (which happens all too often with my favorite books.

On top of that, the cartoons and animations did not detract from the book either, but instead made it a better overall reading experience. And to be quite honest, I wish I had known a Ryan Dean West when I was in high school. I'm positive that it would have made for a heck of a lot more interesting and colorful experience. So in conclusion, the answer to the question that you're all obviously thinking is yes, I am adding Ryan Dean to my fictional-characters-I-wish-I-knew-in-real-life list.

I really, really, really loved this book and I will probably be adding it to my list of favorites now. I can sense a reread coming on in the near future with this one. The reread force is strong.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

New Year, New Books

In December, 2013, I admittedly had a bad reading month (okay make that four months) but I'm past that now! I'm excited to move forward with my reading ventures and to commemorate this, I'm going to make a list (y'all know how much I love lists). But not just any list, this list is a list of the books I'm most excited to read in next couple of months.  Books that will mark a fresh beginning that we call 2014. So without further ado, I give you my list:

Winger - by Andrew Smith
After watching a plethora of Youtube book reviews over the past couple of weeks (especially one of my favorite booktuber's PadfootandProngs07 video here), I decided that this book would be my next shiny new read.  It sounds like a funny, witty read and includes doodles by the protagonist, Ryan Dean West, to go along with the story.  Not only that, but many people in their reviews of this book say it has a heart a gold to which I responded with "I'll take it!" I'm a sucker for well-written gilded organ novels.

Eleanor & Park - by Rainbow Rowell
I have seen this book everywhere. Book blogs, booktube videos, my amazon recommendations list, I mean everywhere.  I went to research what it was about,  and this is the summary I found on the novel's goodreads page: "TWO MISFITS. ONE EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. 
It's 1986 and two star-crossed teens are smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love--and just how hard it pulled you under.

 A cross between the iconic '80s movie Sixteen Candles and the classic coming-of-age novel Looking for Alaska, Eleanor & Park is a brilliantly written young adult novel." Sixteen Candles? Looking for Alaska?! I need this book in my brain. Now. Gimme.

Hollow City - by Ransom Riggs
The sequel to Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, this novel looks like a promising, equally creepy, followup to this series that's based  primarily on the real photos Riggs has collected over his lifetime.  The first book made my skin crawl but in a good way, and I'm so excited to see where this story takes Jacob and his new Welsh island friends. Also, how cool is the cover to this book? My answer: very.

Gone Girl - by Gillian Flynn
In anticipation for the David Fincher adaptation of this bestselling novel, I gave in and bought this book.  I love mysteries and I love good writing and this novel apparently has both so I'm sold! I've seen nothing but rave reviews for this book and I'm extremely excited to jump on this bandwagon.

All of the books I started but still haven't finished yet
Whenever I get stuck in a reading slump, I will start reading so many different novels but I won't actually finish them until months later. But when I do finally finish those slump-books, I feel like I have a clearer slate so I would love to clear out my currently reading shelf in the coming months. A few of those books include Clockwork Angel, House of Hades, and Frostbite. On top of that, I would love to finish some series that I'm in the middle of as well.

All of the books listed above are linked to their goodreads pages. This month is already proving to a better reading month than last month, so we shall see how completing this reading list actually pans out. If y'all have any questions or recommendations, just comment below and happy reading!

Catching Fire Movie Review

Movie Title: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Book the Movie is Based on: Catching Fire - by Suzanne Collins
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Jenna Malone, etc.

Summary (from the goodreads summary page): "Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying."

My Thoughts: I cannot think of a better book to movie adaptation that has ever graced my eye holes.  Since seeing the movie when it first aired near the end of November, I have failed miserably at thinking of a single one. This movie was practically flawless. I was enthralled by the story from beginning to end with no lag time in the middle. It completely held my attention and truly took me on a cinematic journey from start to finish, which is a true accomplishment, I think.

First off the cinematography was just beautiful, the acting was captivating, and nothing was cut from the story that didn't need to be cut. So much of the dialogue was nearly word-for-word from the book as if the scenes were ripped from the pages. And Jenna Malone as Johanna Mason was pure genius.  I mean when I first read Catching Fire, I thought of Johanna as important, but she wasn't my favorite. Now after seeing this movie she has reached my top five favorite characters of the Hunger Games trilogy, which is a hard title to come by what with Suzanne Collins writing so many incredible characters in her novels.

In addition to Johanna Mason's character, I cannot get over how wonderful Sam Claflin is as Finnick Odair. He embodied the character that the Capitol knows and the character development that the audience gets to see later on.  Not only that, but he embodied this subtly that I can't quite put a finger on all while winning over the viewers and the citizens of the Capitol with his beaming charm.

And let's not forget how powerful Jennifer Lawrence's performance as our protagonist, Katniss, was.  I still get chills whenever I think about the end scene of the movie. Heck, I still get chills thinking about all of Jennifer Lawrence's scenes from this movie.

I loved the first installment of the Hunger Games movie franchise, but I have to say that this one stepped the game up.  Everything was done up just a notch more and this whole world and the situations were expanded so much more. I'm in awe of how well done this movie was and I along with so many other fans will be waiting with bated breath until Francis Lawrence next installment in the movie franchise is released this coming November, the movie adaptation of Mockingjay. So yes, now I have the date of the DVD release for this movie marked on my calender and I plan on watching it on a loop once that day comes. Who's with me!?
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Silver Linings Playbook

Title: The Silver Linings Playbook
Author: Matthew Quick
Pages: 289
Published: January 2008
Summary: Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him -- the return of his estranged wife Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!

In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."

My Thoughts:  After being in a four month long reading slump, I have come back with flying colors.  I started reading this novel after having fallen in love with the David O. Russell adaptation and when I was struggling to get out of my aforementioned reading slump.  I watched, I saw, I loved.  Then I decided this past year that it was high time I read the book one of my favorite movies was based upon, so I ponied up and bought the novel.

The beginning left a little to be desired, but once I reached the climax of the book I couldn't put it down.  Our protagonist, Pat, has such an honest, stream-of-consciousness voice that you can't help but relate to.  He is on a mission to win back his estranged wife, Nikki, and ends up befriending a kindred spirit, Tiffany, along the way.  Tiffany sometimes serves an antihero, as does Pat at times, however I always found myself cheering on these two birds of a feather the entire time.

 The book touches on depression, anxiety, and manic depressive disorder in realistic, believable ways.  Almost everyone has seen the effect of these mental illnesses or experienced them themselves, which makes this book all the more relative to what is happening today in society.  And seeing the novel through Pat's eyes and his "silver linings" mentality was truly inspiring to me as a reader to search for my own silver linings.

In terms of the movie being a close adaptation of the novel, it dropped some aspects in order to save for time, which is what happens a lot with book to movie adaptations.  But honestly, I think I enjoyed the movie more than the book. I found myself getting bored whenever I got to the football parts of the story and that made the story seem to drag in those section. That is not to say that the writing is lacking or anything, it's just slightly easier to follow Pat's journey when the fat was cut in the movie version of Matthew Quick's novel, and they did so without sacrificing the plot and character development that make this story so loveable.

With that being said, I still loved this book.  The narration was incredibly well done, the plot was great, and I completely fell in love with Quick's characters.  And now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to re-watch "Silver Linings Playbook" for the umpteenth time and swoon over Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper's acting talents every ten minutes.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars