Evermore: Final Review

I couldn't decide whether or not to spoil the book for you and tell you what happens in the end (which is totally unexpected) so if you wanna know ask me at school when we get back. Here is the review without spoilers. 

So I finished Evermore while I was away and I have to say it wasn't what I expected. In the beginning I thought it was just going to be exactly the same as Twilight, but it turns out that it was almost the complete opposite. Sure there is the irresistible guy who catches the eye of the character who we are seeing the story through. The girl thinks there is something mysterious about him and towards the end she thinks he's a vampire. Also the author starts you out in a very familiar world, but by the end you are introduced to a whole new life (just like in Twilight). Once you got past that part of the plot it pretty much is different. I feel the author could've done a better job with the writing because at times I felt like she was just telling what was going on and not describing it. On the other hand there are some really bloody parts in the book and that is the time when she decides to do the best job at showing how the blood looks. She couldn't find a balance between the two and didn't "capture a small moment" (as Ms. Creange would say) at the right times. The things that made it different than Twilight came down to the ending and since I don't want to spoil it either read it or ask me at school. On a scale from 1-10 I would give this book a 7. I think I became more compelled with the book towards the end because there was so much anticipation to find out the secret the mysterious guy had been hiding, and then the girl had to make a HUGE decision. The ending is what saved the book. The author is Alyson Noel (just in case anyone wants to know).  

A Cool Video!

This is the link to this cool video that was sent to me that is very informative and its about growing technology today! Check it out:

http://www.flixxy.com/technology-and-education-2008.htm 

Evermore- The book (there is also a band called Evermore)

Okay so on the way home from Barnes & Noble today I opened this book called Evermore (which just seemed a little interesting) and began reading it. I only got to page 13 but already I am in love with it. If you like Twilight I suggest you check out this book, it's by Alyson Noel. Here is the back description: 

The first book in Alyson Noel's extraordinary new Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world, where true love never dies... 

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, 16 year old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school-but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . Damen is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head--wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she'd left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is-or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him. 

Okay, so I have to admit it sounds almost identical to Twilight, but there are some differences. For one it's not as much as a forbidden love. Also from only reading 13 pages I predict that Damen is some kind of immortal too. But it does have somethings that are obviously the same like both main leading ladies weren't searching for love they were just content with themselves. Also they fall in love fast and hard! 13 pages into this book Ever has already in her mind declared that she is in love with Damen. In Twilight though Stephanie Meyer gives a lot more sensory detail and it definitely helps with the emotion of the book. I think that Alyson Noel kinda stole the idea, but put her own twist on the story (okay some of you are going to say "But Stephanie Meyer stole the idea too!", well i don't think so, so get over it!) because I checked and the book was published just this year. The second book to this series is supposed to come out in August of 2009 and it's called Blue Moon. MMMM doesn't that sound a lot like the second book to another series? Stay posted to hear more of my critics on this book. 

Opened Questions: A Midsummer Night's Dream

If you were to act this play out on stage, which character would you choose to be and why?

I would be the character Helena because its not obvious what her thought process is, but once you try hard to understand it she becomes a very interesting character. For example, when she makes the decision, the first crazy one we see, to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander's plans to elope, in hopes that Demetrius will be so grateful that Helena told him about the plans that he would want to marry her. When we read that in class, the entire class was so confused by her thought process into thinking that that would work. Well after I thought about it for a while, it's not that Helena is stupid she is just blinded by love and can't think straight. You can tell that she would do anything for Demetrius to go back to being in love with her, like when she told him that she doesn't care  if he treats her like a dog as long as she is with him she is happy. She is hopelessly in love and I find that really interesting because when you are in love you do unpredicatable things. Let's face it, Helena does some pretty unpredictable stuff all because of love (and a little jealousy and low self esteem), it would be fun to take on that role.  

Who was your least favorite character? Why?

My least favorite character is Hermia. I know its pretty shocking but I really don't like her. I feel that she lacks depth in the sense that she is so not complicated. That may sound weird that I like complicated characters, but it's true, throughout the whole story you know exactly what she wants the whole time. Hermia only has a couple of struggles with getting what she wants but she really doesn't have an issue going against those struggles. She gets around her father, Theseus, and Demetrius by running away in the woods. The only real struggle she has to face and deal with, but then is fixed, is when Lysander "falls in love" with Helena. I mean yes it was devastating to her but its like Hermia couldn't take what she had brought upon Helena before the story. And yes it was not Hermia's fault that Demetrius fell in love with her, but I feel like Hermia never quite understood why Helena was so devastated. I think overall Hermia is a spoiled brat. 

Did you like the play? Why or why not?

I loved the play because of the parallels and all the different kinds of characters. One of the parallels that I picked up throughout the whole story is how every couple is in a different stage of a relationship. Helena and Demetrius are in the stage of like where one person is stalking the other after dealing with the other breaking up with them. Hermia and Lysander are in the stage of the couple who are engage but go through the ups and downs. Theseus and Hippolyta are the opposite of them because they are the perfect couple that balances out all the drama with the other couples. Titania and Oberon are the troubled married couple who are fighting over one thing, but once that one thing is gone everything is fixed. The play was overall my favorite Shakespeare play. 

 

Susan And Helena

I know our whole A Midsummer Night's Dream unit is almost to an end but I just had to make this connection. Today I saw the new movie Monsters VS Aliens and Reese Witherspoon's character Susan totally struck me as Helena in the beginning of the movie. Susan is a normal woman from Modesto, California and she is engaged to the local weatherman, Derek. On the day of her wedding she is hit by a meteor and ends up growing like really abnormally tall. She is then captured by the government and put in this secret facility where only "monsters" go so the world doesn't find out about them. Throughout Susan's whole imprisonment the thing that keeps her sane is thinking about Derek. Once Susan is allowed to visit her friends and family she is really excited to see Derek, but when she gets home she finds out that he is working. When she goes to see him, he gives her a rain check (don't you like my weatherman humor?) and tells her that he can't marry her because it would ruin his image as a perfect weatherman. Susan learns the only reason that Derek loved her was because she wasn't out shining him. In some ways Susan and Helena are alike because they are both oblivious to reality and that the one they love doesn't truly love them. If you've seen the movie what are your thoughts? Even if you haven't seen the movie but you still see comparisons or differences between the two characters from my description, comment! 

So Far?

So far how do you feel about the movie A Midsummer Night's Dream? Do you think Calista Flockhart does a good job grasping the psychotic, desperate character of Helena? How about Dominic West playing Lysander? Do you think he acts like a hopeless romantic or do you think he doesn't portray Lysander the way you pictured him? Everyone knows Christian Bale from The Dark Knight, do you think it's weird to see him play Demetrius or do you think he jumps into the character without your mind popping to Batman? Do you think Stanley Tucci catches Puck's mischievous character? All these burning questions probably were answered in 1999, but what's your opinion? Do you think Rupert Everett's character Oberon acts like he's too much in love with Michelle Pfeiffer's character Titania in the beginning when they are discussing the little boy? (the only question that might not have even been brought up was Christian Bale playing Batman)  

Rosalie: ONLY IF YOU READ ECLIPSE!!!

Okay so I know a lot of people dislike Rosalie because she is a totally mean to Bella, but in Eclipse you learn more about Rosalie's past and why she is the way she is towards Bella. I was wondering how you felt about Rosalie after reading about her story. Did you feel bad for Rosalie or did you still feel the same way? I felt bad for her and I didn't hate her as much anymore because it wasn't like she hated Bella for no reason but because she was jealous. Tell me what you think...