New Blog…

Hi guys,

I’m sorry it’s been a while (bit of an understatement…) since I’ve posted on here. I’ve been horribly neglecting my blog, and I honestly think the main reason is that this platform just wasn’t working for me anymore. I created this site as a place to talk about books, and although I still love reading, I sometimes want to write about other things. I’ve decided to have a little site which isn’t so limited in terms of content – if I want to talk about books, travel, life, food or anything else, I’m going to put it all in one space and avoid the confusion!

So, if you feel like giving me a second chance as a blogger, head on over to my new blog.

I hope you like it!

x

Gone Girl Movie Review

Ever since the first teaser trailer for Gone Girl was released, I have been dying – and I mean dying – to see it. After devouring the book, I let my mind wander to what a film adaptation could be like; how it would be done, who would play Amy and Nick, from what angle they would show their turbulent relationship… But with every promise of a film adaptation comes that sinking fear that it just won’t live up to the book.

And unfortunately, in almost all book-to-movie adaptations, this is the case. You’ll hear snippets in the press of the heroine who the author didn’t want to be cast, vital scenes that have been cut, character arcs that won’t happen, and your expectations are gradually lowered, until you almost dread sitting in the dark cinema and seeing that title screen come up.

But Gone Girl was completely and absolutely, 100% not like the others.

Although most authors are producers on the film adaptations of their books, Gillian Flynn actually wrote the entire screenplay. And boy, it shows.

The movie is dark, unsettling, and utterly brilliant. The relationship of Amy and Nick is so beautifully and intricately woven; each scene bearing so many subtle undertones of power and manipulation. The characters grow and develop together in the most monstrous way. Like a disease that feeds on healthy, living tissue, their marriage is tainted and marred by their own selfish, psychotic natures, and each try to break free without success, as they are forever bound together, to their very core.

Amy Dunne is the one character that I thought would be most difficult to fill the screen, as her needy, controlling, psychotic nature is so complex. But Rosamund Pike is an incredible Amy; she is chillingly beautiful, sinister yet inexperienced in so many ways, and she manages to conjure up sympathy and revulsion hand in hand. She is an utterly terrifying depiction of the ‘crazy bitch’ wife of urban bachelor legend.

Ben Affleck also perfectly portrays the selfish, indifferent nature of Nick. Unfeeling and somewhat uncaring, his distance from the police investigation into his missing wife is accurately depicted as he battles his inane desire to be liked versus his blatant disregard for the well-being of his wife. The iconic moment when Nick smiles for the camera in front of Amy’s ‘MISSING’ photo is priceless representation of this inner battle.

The exciting prospect of seeing Neil Patrick-Harris play Amy’s former lover Desi Collins and Emily Ratajkowski (I’m sure you remember her, erm, interesting performance in Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video…) play Andie Hardy was somewhat muted by their short-lived appearances. But despite these minor disappointments, this movie is every bit as good as the book – a phrase I don’t often find myself saying – and I would definitely recommend it for an exciting, thrilling ride.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

You may know from reading this blog that I have a wee obsession for Gillian Flynn; after devouring Sharp Objects and Gone Girl in quick succession, I really don’t know what took me so long to read Dark Places. But whatever the reason, I made up for lost time by reading this book in about two days (who needs sleep anyway?).

Flynn once again delves deep in the disturbed realm of a psychologically scarred individual, and presents us with the story of Libby Day. Libby is a nondescript 32 year old, made semi-famous after the brutal murder of her mother and two sisters when she was eight years old. Libby remembers hiding in a closet as her family was massacred, and she testified that it was her older brother Ben who committed the crime that destroyed her family.

Living for the last 24 years on the money charitably given to the ‘Libby Day foundation’, Libby is now running out of resources. As she is too inherently slovenly and lazy to actually get a job, she turns instead to a mysterious group known as the ‘Kill Club’, whose hobby it is to solve questionable murder cases and fulfil their voyeuristic urges to know every gory detail regarding high-profile murders.

The Club believes that Ben is innocent, and they’re willing to pay Libby to prove it. But Libby has spent her whole life blocking out that terrible period of her life, doing everything she can to avoid the dark places of her youth – can she really go back there after all this time? And what if the club is right, and Ben really is innocent? Who then killed her family?

With a drunk, money-grabbing leach of a father and another family who were destroyed by the alleged crimes of Ben Day, there are many who could have had it out for the penniless, lower class Day family on the day of their murder.

Flynn has a talent for creating characters so utterly devoid of compassion or kindness, they are resolutely unlikeable. But where in most books it helps to have a character the reader can empathise with, relate to, or simply like, this doesn’t seem to matter at all with Flynn’s storytelling – she could be writing about a slug’s slow journey down the front driveway, and we’d all still be riveted.

Flynn has also not lost her skill for completely and utterly pulling the rug out from under the reader – as with all her novels, no matter who you think did it, trust me; you’re wrong. The journey Flynn takes you on in through her writing is emotional, turbulent and unsavoury – she truly does take you to some dark places.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson was a name that immediately jumped out at me upon first glancing at the cover of this book, although at first I wasn’t quite sure why. It was only after reading her previous titles that the name Speak rung a little bell, and took me back to the time when I’d read that very book as a teenager. Speak is a novel about a troubled teenage girl who is emotionally destroyed after something unspeakable happens to her one summer. Completely traumatised, the young protagonist collapses in on herself as she continually tries to hide her pain and suffer in silence. The theme of emotional turmoil in adolescents seems to be one that resonates with Anderson, as it is also the subject matter of Wintergirls.

Lia is an anorexic 18 year old whose former demons are brought back to life after her best friend Cassie dies horribly, alone in a motel room. Lia was the last person Cassie rang before she died, only Lia never picked up the phone. Why would Cassie call her? They hadn’t spoken in months. Lia is plagued by the guilt and questions surrounding Cassie’s death, and turns to her old coping mechanism of starving herself in the hope it will block out the voices in her head, and finally allow her to reach happiness – only ten pounds away.

As an only child of divorced parents, Lia lives with her father, stepmother Jennifer and young stepsister Emma. Amid her everyday life of calorie-counting, avoidance and lying, both to her family and to herself, Lia’s strength is tested by the constant presence of Cassie, her own personal ghost.

This book is poignant, insightful and deeply sad; Anderson’s portrayal of the mind of an anorexic is both tragic and terrifying. I have always found literature surrounding the subject of anorexia completely fascinating, as only through reading about it have I realised how anorexic is so completely unlike any other disorder; it is like a virus, something that festers and multiplies deep within you, feeding on your inner self and growing stronger as it destroys. At one point in the novel Lia says:

“I wish I had cancer. I will burn in hell for that, but it’s true.”

I think this quote perfectly illustrates the complex and terrible nature of anorexia. It is so much deeper than a superficial refusal to eat; it is a constant psychological war with yourself, an internal battle that cannot be subdued by popping a few pills. The nature of the illness is so deeply ingrained into the individual’s psyche, it dominates their every thought and action. It is the voice in your head that tells you you’re disgusting, weak, stupid and ugly. It is not so much an obsession with physical appearance as a deep hatred of what is within you. It is despising yourself; it is punishing yourself for who you are while desperately trying to make yourself better, make yourself worthy. The ironic thing is that anorexia is not a sign of weakness; it takes an immeasurable amount of strength to go against every one of your body’s natural survival instincts and starve yourself. And it takes even more strength to recover from it.

The first book I ever read on the subject of anorexia was Monkey Taming, by Judith Fathallah. I read this novel when I was fairly young, and it completely opened my eyes to the nature of this illness, what it means and how it can happen. I think it is important for everyone to understand anorexia, and allow themselves to understand who can be susceptible to it and why.

Anderson has done all this and more in Wintergirls; she has provided an incredibly intimate insight (alliteration, anyone?) into Lia’s painful struggle, leaving readers with a story – and a lesson – they will be completely moved by.

Every Day by David Levithan

Nowadays, with the abundance of literature we have at our disposal it can often be difficult to find a story that hasn’t in some way been done before. Although no two plots are exactly the same, many books have plotlines that are extremely similar, especially when it comes to the typical boy-meet-girl love story. So it came as a welcome surprise for me when I came across David Levithan’s Every Day, a book unlike anything I have ever read before.

Each chapter covers a day in the life of a character referred to as many things, but whose true name is simply A, and who wakes up each day in a different body. Boy or girl, he must live as an intruder in a stranger’s life; interacting with their family, friends, boyfriends or girlfriends, all the while just trying to get through the day and disrupt their lives as little as possible. A has never had a real life of his own, as he has never known anything last for longer than a day. All until A wakes up in the body of Justin, and in the course of a day falls in love with Justin’s girlfriend, Rihanna. But the day inevitably draws to an end, and A continues to cling onto the memory of Rihanna, seeking her out in his different lives and dreaming of a future with her that can never happen.

In the meantime, trouble is brewing under the surface; someone A has inhabited remembers his presence. He believes A is a demon who possessed him, and he wants the whole world to know the truth. A now has to juggle keeping Rihanna in his life, while every day takes him further away from her, whilst keeping a low profile as the internet explodes with stories of a demonic possession he is guilty of.

Levithan writes a story of despair and loneliness in the life of a perpetual drifter, always lingering on the fringe of society. I found this novel insightful, heart-breaking and oddly beautiful, giving a voice to the feelings of exclusion and the impossibility of love many are plagued with. Levithan completely drew me in to his tale, and left A on an ending screaming for a sequel. There’s going to be a sequel, right?!

Potty for Pottermore

The world has been abuzz recently with J.K Rowling’s latest additions to the infamous Pottermore website, in the form of several articles for the Daily Prophet which report on 33 year-old Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville attending the final of the Quidditch World Cup in Argentina, craftily coinciding with our own World Cup (which we shan’t mention any further. I mean it.)

So, like any other rational Harry Potter fan, I responded by completely freaking out and madly scrambling to remember that damn Pottermore username/password combination I had created 3 years ago, and then promptly forgotten about. When I finally calmed down and got into the site, I was delighted by the witty pieces Rowling had written in the style of a gossip column describing the key members of Dumbledore’s Army, all from the viewpoint of the queen of tabloid journalism and literal fly-on-the-wall herself; Rita Skeeter. The first is an exclusive gossip column focusing on the ‘infamous wizards’’ arrival, and more recently we have been graced a second tidbit in the form of a hilarious transcript of the ‘live coverage’ from Ginny Weasley – who is utterly professional, if not a bit violent – and Rita Skeeter, who of course spends more time speculating on Luna Lovegood’s outfit than the actual Quidditch match.

But this makes for even funnier reading, and we lap up every drop of information Rowling gives us on our favorite witches and wizards. Harry is there with his sons Albus and James (has Lily not been born yet?), whom he takes to meet Bulgaria Seeker Victor Krum before the match. Harry is also sporting a curious new scar on his cheek, keeping that old lightning scar company with new mysteries and speculations; Rita claims this is proof of the cracks in Harry and Ginny’s marriage, but I don’t quite buy it – weren’t Bat-Bogey Hexes more her forte? The arrival of Ron and Hermione also brings the interesting news that Ron left the Auror department, where he worked with Harry, after only two years to co-manage Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes with George. Although brotherly love and support may be the simple explanation, Rita also hints that the Auror department may have been too much for Ron, as the destroying of the Horcruxes ‘took its toll’ on him. It isn’t often that I’d take Rita’s word as credible, but perhaps this could be the truth – I doubt all three of our heroes could have lived through such traumatic experiences without a little residual effect. Hermione is doing as great as can be expected; as Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she is apparently tipped to climb even higher up the career ladder in the Ministry, which is not that surprising, as no one thought Hermione would end up waiting tables as the Hog’s Head.

Some may accuse Rowling of ‘dragging it out’ a little by relying on the legacy of Harry Potter after her following novel, The Casual Vacancy was such a failure, but I am not one of those people. All Rowling has proved through these pieces is that she still has the power to captivate an audience, and draw us all back into a world we begrudgingly left seven years ago.

These Pottermore pieces were both completely hilarious, fantastic reads. Although laced with Skeeter’s standard layer of catty fibs and empty speculation, one also can’t but wonder whether Rowling is attempting to give readers a true glimpse into the cracks of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s lives, or merely providing a fun piece with no grounding in reality. We all remember Rita’s coverage of Harry during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a ‘mere boy of 12, his eyes glassy with the ghosts of his past’, so why should we believe anything she says now?

Has Ginny and Harry’s marriage really hit rocky ground? Is this due to Rowling’s revelation earlier this year that in hindsight she ‘may have made a mistake’ in matching Ron and Hermione together? Would Harry and Hermione be better suited? And what about Harry’s scar?! How did he get it? Are the ‘fresh mysteries that will one day explode upon us all, plunging us into a new age of terror and mayhem’ hints at a future sequel?!? Most likely not, but Rita has an undeniable knack for inspiring gossip, much like Rowling has the knack for reminding us of a time when we were all completely obsessed with Harry Potter, all in under 2000 words.

Frozen: why we shouldn’t Let it Go

It has been eight months since Disney’s Frozen was released in cinemas, causing mass hysteria with symptoms including shamelessly singing in public and attempting impossible feats of hair braiding. This madness continues to linger in the air, as children and adults alike are still utterly obsessed with Frozen, and just can’t seem to let it go.

It goes without saying that everyone loves a feel-good Disney movie, but why has this particular film had such a strong and lasting impact on its audiences? It could be the amazing ice palace we all secretly want to live in, the catchy musical numbers, or Olaf the snowman and his adorable ignorance of summer. Or, it could be that Frozen makes such a break from the tradition of Walt Disney movies.

When we think of Disney, we think of heart-warming family fun; princesses and princes, falling in love and happily ever after’s. Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine… those girls don’t waste any time. Such outdated and unrealistic relationship dynamics were fine for the 1950s, but nowadays love is a little different. As most princesses’ entire life goals are limited to marrying a prince so she may expand her kingdom, one can only imagine the dark effects such anti-feminist messaging can have on Disney’s young, impressionable audiences. And the charming notion of Disney heroes ‘falling in love’ with their princesses based entirely on their looks – such as Sleeping Beauty, or The Little Mermaid, where Eric falls for Ariel when she literally doesn’t have a voice – is providing children with extremely negative views on self-image and gender equality. When you take away the tiaras and the ball-gowns, Disney princesses are ultimately inferior pawns, forced into situations where their fate rests entirely upon the direction of the men around them. Think of Jasmine; she is told who she must marry by both her father and Jafar, and finally manipulated into marriage by ‘Prince’ Ali/Aladdin. Through the inaction of most Disney women, little girls leave the cinema with the belief that if you are pretty, of a reasonable class and completely passive, then you will meet your Prince Charming. But luckily, over the last few years the rise of feminism has seen the demise of such inequality – nowadays, we want our leading ladies to have a little more to offer.

And Disney sure has delivered. Gone are the days when all the beautiful princess yearns for is a man; Tangled and Brave have heroines who fight for freedom, independence and the power to choose their own fate. Stuck in a life you don’t want (or maybe a tower?). Be free – travel, have new experiences and take control of your life. Feeling pressured to have a man in your life? Screw that, you can have power and influence all by yourself, just be brave girl.

Frozen follows in this theme of female empowerment by poking fun at Disney’s antique notions on love, most notably with its cynical, terrifying twist on Prince Charming. This plot twist, considered the biggest surprise since the death of Bambi’s mother, has earned Disney a fair bit of backlash, as many claim that the character of Prince Hans is too mature for Frozen’s young audiences. But by taking away her hero, Anna learns to fend for herself – she doesn’t need Prince Hans to save her, nor does she turn to Kristoff to deliver the ‘true love’s first kiss’ she thinks she needs. Being in love and needing love are two very different things, and by the end of the film Anna has learnt the difference, and, more importantly, she has learnt that she doesn’t need the love of a man to feel validated. It is the love for her sister that breaks the spell and melts her heart, which to me is an infinitely better message to send out to kids than to trust in a random stranger you’ve just met. Not to mention that Anna’s sister Elsa is also the only princess in the history of Disney without any love interest at all; in contrast to Jasmine, Elsa doesn’t need a husband to become Queen, and ascending to the throne is the just first step on her long journey to self-fulfillment – this girl’s got way bigger problems than a missing prince.

Frozen gives us two heroines who learn how to be strong all by themselves, and how to make better choices – Elsa learns to control her powers, and Anna and Kristoff end up happy without the need for wedding bells. Disney has finally shown audiences that their heroines no longer need men to control, manipulate and save their lives, nor do they need to be dormant, submissive or docile to achieve the ultimate goal of marrying the rich, white prince. It seems the horizons have finally widened for Disney princesses, and happily ever after can be defined by so much more than a Prince Charming.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I spoke briefly about this book in my previous post listing the books I would be reading next; I had never even heard of this book until one of my favourite YouTubers and celebrated author, John Green, sang its praises.

This book begins with high school student Clay Jenson, who one day receives a mysterious shoebox in the mail containing seven cassette tapes. Upon listening to the first tape, Clay discovers with horror that they are filled with the voice of Hannah Baker, a fellow student and friend who had recently committed suicide. Through these tapes Hannah explains the 13 reasons why she ended her life, and the people who were responsible. We are told that these tapes have been sent to each person on the List, who must then send the box on to the next person when they have listened to all the tapes, so Hannah may personally recount to everyone responsible how they contributed to her suicide.

I found the dual narrative of Hannah’s voice and Clay’s thoughts interesting; it gave us two separate viewpoints to a small town and its inhabitants, and a tragedy which affected them all.

As Clay tries to process the fact that Hannah is speaking to him from beyond the grave, as well as the rather troubling fact that he apparently had a hand in her death, we move through Hannah’s list of the 13 people responsible, one by one. These people are not all monsters who tormented her relentlessly and drove her to her death, but they are normal people whose behavior had repercussions they never expected. Not everyone on the list meant Hannah any harm at all, and in many individuals I can see reflections of my own behavior at times in my life.

What I love about this novel is that the story begins before we’ve had a chance to get to know the main character, Clay. We don’t know whether he is a decent guy or not; all we know is that he is partly responsible for a girl killing herself. Albeit not a great place to start in terms of his character, Asher manages to develop Clay through his reactions and clear good nature. He changes our minds from instantly judging him on principle, to feeling empathy for him, to genuinely liking him and dreading to hear what it is he’s done.

I like that this novel reminds us that everyone has troubles, and that the smallest things we do can impact others in ways we never imagined. You are accountable for your words and your actions, no matter how inconsequential you believe them to be. Hopefully this novel will encourage its reader’s to pay more heed to how we treat others, and remember that people can still be hurting even if we can’t see it on the surface.

This novel was definitely unlike anything else I’ve ever read, and it is pretty rare to actually find a book like this nowadays, as so many novels have storylines that are vaguely reminiscent of something else. But 13 Reasons Why was truly original to me in both its plot and its form, and it is not a book I will likely be forgetting any time soon.

Confessions of a Book Snob

So, I have to admit it; I am a total book snob. And by this I mean that whenever a book that I like is turned into a film, it is never good enough. I constantly compare every scene to that of the book, get mad when they dare to change anything mildly important, and get irritated when they miss things out. And I know that this is a horrible habit, and I really need to try to open my mind and enjoy the film for what it is, instead of holding it up to a higher standard. It is often impossible to fit every single thing into a film (without making it 4 hours long, that is), and even if you could, why would you want to? Turning a book into a film isn’t about making an exact copy, but about creating a piece of cinema based on a book.

Here is a list of some books that I felt especially enjoyed, and how I felt in turn about the films:

Harry Potter – This is the Holy Grail of books-turned-into-films, as Harry Potter was my absolute favourite childhood book (as I’ve already stated, here and here), and so you can imagine my excitement when they were turned into films. My reaction to these films varies from being overjoyed to being borderline furious; don’t even get me started on Harry snapping the Elder Wand in half or Voldemort punching Harry in the head. But I do love how the films (much like the books) age with their audience, and gradually get darker and more sinister.

Twilight – To be honest, I’ve begun to forget how much I first loved these books, and the raw, undeniable romance I found within the pages. Most of the good parts of the Twilight films are horribly overshadowed for my complete distaste for Kristen Stewart, and her peculiar, emotionless style of acting.

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go is one of my all-time favourite books; it is a dystopian novel (a genre which I quite clearly love), and the ideas it inspires within the reader are very hard to let go of – it makes you question the very fabric of our society, and what it truly means to be human. Although I felt this film didn’t quite hit the spot of the book, it was nonetheless inspiring

The Hunger Games – This is one of the very few books film adaptations that I felt really did the book justice. The settings, costumes, plot and characters were all on point, and Jennifer Lawrence is one of the few actresses whom I felt truly captured the essence of a character from a novel; she just was Katniss Everdeen. I absolutely love The Hunger Games, and it just got better with the second film – I can’t wait for the third!

Divergent – I’ve talked about this book before, and how it was the first book in a very long time that gave me those teenage-obsession type of feelings, where it was literally all I could think or talk about whilst I was reading it. The whole Divergent trilogy is so powerful and moving, and although the film didn’t quite tick all the boxes for my needy book-to-film demands, it was a mighty good film adaptation nonetheless.

Of Mice and Men – Amazing. John Malkovich is a god.

The Help – Ditto for Emma Stone.

The Great Gatsby – There were a lot of mixed reviews about the release of The Great Gatsby last year, but despite the disturbing amount of times Leonardi Di Caprio says ‘old sport’, I thought Baz Luhrmann did an incredible job with the set, the costumes and the general aura of wealth and exuberance within the film.

The Book Thief – I loved the concept for this book; a story narrated by Death? Definitely original. But as anyone who has read the book will know, Markus Zusak has a curious approach to storytelling, as he reveals about halfway through that one of the main characters will die, and then later reveals that practically everyone is going to die. I wasn’t sure how this could be adapted into a film without completely spoiling the ending, but the finished product was absolutely beautiful.

Gone Girl – this film is hitting the big screens in 2014, and I personally cannot wait. So far I think the cast list looks fantastic; Rosamund Pike has an ethereal, stunningly beautiful façade matched with the acting ability to play such a complex character as Amy. But the trailer for the film… well, it was not what I expected. At all. This film is going to be incredible, I can tell that much from what we did get to see from the trailer, but I just think that if you hadn’t read the book, you would probably have no idea what the film is about. Which is a shame, as the actual plot is so thrilling, with that undeniable pull that would bring in big audiences.

Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

            

It may seem a little odd for me to review the second book in this trilogy without reviewing the first, but the truth is that I really didn’t get along with Oliver’s first novel in this series; Delirium. I had looked forward to reading it after hearing so many good reviews, and I thought the basis of the novel was fascinating, as it is set in a world where love is seen as a disease. Although love is undeniably the best thing in our world, it can also be argued that without love there wouldn’t be heartbreak, depression, suicide, alcoholics, abuse… But I found the novel itself to be so disappointing. The character of Lena was an empty shell; she had almost no personality, and her relationship with Alex was predictable and without intrigue. It seemed as though Oliver was going through the motions of the story she had created; there exists a world without love, so ofcourse the main character must fall in love. But I didn’t believe Lena’s love story; there seemed to be no reason why her and Alex fell in love other than the author said so. The only relationship that I did enjoy in Delirium was the friendship between Lena and Hana. After I finished Delirium I was completely discouraged from continuing with the series, and I started reading Ally Condie’s Matched instead. But then I read a review of another reader who has disliked Delirium, but promised that the series vastly improved in Pandemonium. So I gave it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised.

A lowdown on the story so far: Lena lives in Portland, one of the many cities across the country that believes love is a disease, known as amor deliria nervosa. If one is ‘infected’ with the disease, they could be thrown in the terrifying prison known as the Crypt, or even killed. Once they reach their eighteenth birthday, each citizen is administered with the cure; a surgical procedure which removes any trace of love from their brains. They are then matched with a suitable partner so they may procreate. But they are cold, distant and do not care about anyone. Lena once yearned for her own cure, but after meeting Alex, she begins to question the authority of her community. They soon fall in love and plan their escape to the Wilds, the place on the outskirts of the city where Alex is from. But when the night comes for them to go over the fence, they are separated, and Lena must run away from all that she has known, completely alone. Lena begins a new life in New York as a part of the resistance, which includes following Julian Fineman, the son of Thomas Fineman, leader of the DFA – Deliria Free America.

Lena has grown in the space between Pandemonium and Delirium; she is strong, defiant and passionate. I found the boring, predictable Lena from Delirium gone, and I loved the fire that can now be seen in her. She is finally a real character, someone that reader can empathize with and respect. I also adored the love story between Lena and Julian. Although some readers may be outraged that she has fallen in love so quickly after losing Alex, I found that this relationship had a real foundation, and was so much more believable; I found myself falling in love with him right alongside her.

Reading Pandemonium has finally got me hooked on Oliver’s series, and after the shocking ending of the novel, I couldn’t wait another minute to read Requiem.