Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

May 23, 2018April 15, 2018Leave a comment

Full disclosure – I can never get through this movie. Literally, I’ve never watched it the whole way through without falling asleep. The good thing about this is that I had no idea what to expect from the book!

I did feel like this book dragged a bit until the end. I didn’t know what happened to Mr. Weasley at all, that was horrible. I felt so bad! Also, Umbridge is the worst. I thought I hated Lockhart, but she’s worse.

I did know that *SPOILER ALERT*

Sirius died. I felt so bad for Harry every time he thought about living with him and finally to be with someone who cared about him, knowing that he was going to die. It was horrible when it actually happened and there was so much action leading up to it. It was actually kind of hard to follow.

I did really like this one, it’ll probably never be my favorite, but it was still a good one.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

May 16, 2018April 15, 2018Leave a comment

Okay, so I didn’t remember this movie at all. Why did I think that Neville’s parent’s were dead? I must have just overlooked that in the movie, I actually can’t remember if they ever say whether they’re alive or not.

Anyway, WOW what a crazy book. Not remembering the movie well actually made me keep questioning what I thought happened, and I felt like maybe they changed things in the movie.

I’m not gonna lie, I kind of had to drag myself through the first half of the book. It felt very slow and I really loved the last one so I thought this one would be exciting, but once it got to the the Triwizard Tournament it really picked up and was really good.

It really makes you think that no one can be trusted. It could’ve been anyone who put Harry’s name into the goblet. I felt bad for Harry, that he didn’t know who had put him in this situation and that he was forced into it and people acted like he was just doing it for the fame.

The Voldemort scene was intense and some amazing writing. I was so sad about poor Cedric, the scene was devastating, especially after Harry had told him to take the goblet with him.

I really liked that Harry gave all the money he won to Fred and George, that was a nice little thing to end the story with.

I know what’s coming next and I’m so worried about how I’ll feel reading it. There was so much more in this book than what I remember from the movie, but that’s why I really love reading books that have inspired movies. Even if you know the gist of the story, it takes you so much deeper which is really fun.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

May 9, 2018April 15, 20181 Comment

Okay, okay…I know I said I really liked the first two…but this one is my favorite out of the three BY FAR. It was so so so so good.

I LOVED that Harry finally gets to learn more about his parents. It seriously made me so happy for him to find out how similar he is to his dad. It really makes you think about the times that you have with your parents and the common interests that you have and how heartbreaking it would be to not experience those things. I seriously loved it.

There was so much more to this book than what they had in the movie. I’ve actually been watching each movie after I finish the book to compare, which has been really fun to see and to compare it to how I’m imagining things in my mind. You also catch little details in the movie that you may have missed before because you just didn’t know about it before reading the book. I really like that.

I’m so sad that it’s taken me this long to read this series. I’ve really missed out, they’re so good.

I’m also sad because I’ve seen the movies and I know how things are going to end for some of the characters. Reading about how happy Harry is when he thinks he can go live with Sirius makes me feel so bad, knowing his fate. I hate that, but I’d actually rather be prepared for it than shocked and upset when it happens in the book.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

November 26, 2016November 26, 2016Leave a comment

When I first started seeing trailers on TV for The Girl on the Train, I was super excited to see the movie. It reminded me a lot of Gone Girl, which I loved, so I was hoping for the same type of story. The Girl on the Train isn’t quite on the same level as Gone Girl, in my opinion, but I still really enjoyed it.

Usually when I read a book that a movie is based on, it’s because I saw the film version first and didn’t realize or have interest in reading the book before. In this case, I made the decision to wait to read the book until after I saw the movie. I feel like when I read the book after seeing the movie I fall in love with it more because it gives so many more details and insight into what is going on with the characters. In this case though, I found myself wishing I had read the book before.

I felt like the book didn’t have as big of an impact on me because I knew from the beginning how it was going to end. It was a strange feeling for me, because I often read books after seeing the movie and have not experienced this sort of thing before. I kind of think that I just wanted to experience the shock I would have felt while reading the book, and that because I already knew, it didn’t have such a big climax for me.

That’s not to say that the book wasn’t as good as the movie. I actually think that the book was better than the film version, and liked that there were some little differences between the two. The main difference was that the book took place in London, while the movie took place in New York. I thought that was an interesting change they made, and that Megan definitely seemed more like what I think of as an “American” girl. It’s possible that I just imagined her that way based on the actress that played her in the film.

I also liked that the book went into more detail about how far Rachel’s relationship with Scott went. The movie sort of hinted that this was what happened, but I really liked knowing for sure what was going on between the two of them.

Which brings me to Rachel. I really liked her, even though she is an unreliable narrator. You really want to root for her and trust that she didn’t do this to Megan, even though her pieces of memory suggest otherwise. Even when watching the movie, I never felt like she was the one who killed Megan. I actually really liked Megan too, and mostly just felt sorry for her. However, I really hated Anna throughout the whole book. Her reminiscing about being the other woman and missing that feeling of having someone want her in that way were kind of annoying. Even at the end she thought about letting Tom kill Rachel just so that she would have him to herself again, even though she knew that he had cheated on her too.

I also think that the book did a really good job of disguising Tom as the killer. Even though I knew from the movie, there were multiple times when I questioned it while reading the book and even thought that maybe they had changed the story for the film version. I had actually guessed it about half way through the movie and the book kept me questioning it right up until the end.

Even though The Girl on the Train wasn’t as crazy of a story as Gone Girl, I really enjoyed it. I liked that there were twists and that the characters all had their own interesting stories and points of view. I liked that I got to see what was going on from all sides of the story and really liked how it ended. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in these types of thriller/suspense/mystery stories.

Room by Emma Donoghue

October 27, 2016October 26, 2016Leave a comment

Okay, so let’s just assume from now on that if I watch a really good movie I will eventually read the book it’s based on. Room was such a good movie. It made me happy, it made me sad, it made me laugh, and it made me cry. I honestly didn’t know that it was based off of a book until I saw on Goodreads that one of my “friends” had read it and decided right then and there that it was next on my list.

I love when there are little differences between the book and movie versions of the same story. It kind of helps me to separate the two in my head and enjoy and appreciate both without comparing them to each other too much. In the book version of Room, the biggest differences to me were that Ma had a brother and that it was revealed she had given birth to another baby before Jack.

I think both of these aspects added interesting twists to the plot. The parts with Jack’s other family, like his grandparents and his uncle, really showed how difficult it was for the adults to understand what he had been through and how they had to adapt to understand what it was like for Jack to be outside of room. This actually kind of made me angry at times because it was so difficult for them to understand what the world was like for Jack, and I felt like they could have been nicer about it instead of getting angry at him for doing something wrong.

This story was so, so heartbreaking and hard to read at times. I absolutely loved Jack and loved to see the story from his point of view. He’s such a smart kid and it’s really interesting to see him experiencing the world for the first time. You really want to root for him and Ma. Which brings me to Ma trying to kill herself. That whole situation was horrible and I couldn’t help but feel like she was being selfish. I understand that everything would have been incredibly difficult for her and that she would probably be extremely depressed even after the escape. However, she knew how much Jack relied on her and he would have been so lost without her. I’m glad that she did make a recovery for Jack’s sake.

What’s really scary and eye-opening about this story is the realization that situations like this have happened in the past. Oftentimes when girls have been found after spending years in captivity it is revealed that they had children or had been pregnant. This book really makes you wonder what kind of life people in these situations have as they continue to grow in the outside world. There’s something seriously wrong with the world and it seriously breaks my heart that people go through situations like this. It makes me feel so blessed to have what I do in life, even if my life isn’t perfect.

The ending of the story really made me happy and I felt like it was a perfect way to have this chapter of Jack’s story end. It really felt like Jack would be able to let go of Room and live his life in the outside with his Ma.

Product Review: Nestle Splash (Mandarin Orange)

October 5, 2016October 5, 2016Leave a comment

I’ve had flavored waters in the past, but they’re not really my favorite thing to drink and I tend to not buy them if given the option. What I like about this water was that it tasted less like water with flavoring and more like an orange flavored drink. I feel like I would consider buying this if I wanted something like orange juice or orange tang. I liked that it didn’t have any calories, however I was surprised by how sweet it actually was. I feel like if there was one thing about it that I didn’t like, it would be that there are artificial sweeteners so that it can be advertised as not having any calories. Personally, I’d rather just have sugar than artificial sweeteners. Overall, I really liked it and would probably buy it again/recommend it to others.

* Disclaimer: I received the Mandarin Orange flavored Nestle Splash beverage complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster, however all opinions are my own.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016Leave a comment

For awhile I’ve had a “list” in my mind of classic books that I’ve wanted to read. These are books that have stood the test of time and that people continue to talk about today. A big one on my list was Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I feel like this book and story have remained relevant over the years and that people even still make reference to it in pop culture. I will admit, I didn’t really know what to expect from the novel. I had seen bits and pieces of the movie when I was younger, but I don’t think I really understood what was happening. I was also aware that people had described it as being pornographic or an “erotic novel” so I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into when I started reading it.

First of all, I want to say that I loved how poetic and descriptive it was. At times, it was hard to get through all of the descriptions and tangents that the narrator would go off on, but it was so beautifully written that it didn’t really feel like I was putting that much effort into reading it. However, there was a lot about the story that made me uncomfortable, and sort of took away from me actually really liking this book (which I’m about to get into), but as a whole I can appreciate the story and the writing.

I feel like a lot of my feelings toward this book could come from being a woman who grew up/is growing up in a time when we talk a lot about consent. The whole time I was reading this, I couldn’t help but to try to see the events occurring from Lolita’s point of view and trying to find something that would make me feel like he wasn’t raping her every time they would have a sexual encounter.

That being said, I didn’t really like the whole destruction of innocence theme. I know that’s pretty much what the whole book is about and that the narrator is aware that he is doing this to her, but I don’t feel like he’s even taking into account how she really feels or how this is affecting her. He treated her like she was something he owned, like his own personal sexual object and that kind of makes me cringe.

In my opinion, he was an abuser. I know that at times it seemed like she had seduced him and that maybe she was using him to get things that she wanted, but I also felt like she may not have known what would happen to her if she stopped giving him sexual favors and appealing to his wants and needs. He constantly told her about how good her life was with him and how lucky she was to travel and have all these nice things, and that if she were to go live with someone else she would lose all of her personal belongings. He wouldn’t let her go out with friends if boys were going to be there or enjoy herself as a child/teenager and do normal things that kids do because of his jealousy. In order to do those things and have her way, she would have to give him something in return. He completely manipulated her in every way to get what he wanted out of her, and it kind of made me sick. It was pretty hard to read his thoughts and how obsessed and jealous he would get.

I also felt like the married “adult” version of Lolita would not have greeted him so warmly and go as far as to call him a good father. Perhaps this is part of the narrator being unreliable and trying to make it seem like what he did to her didn’t have that much of an effect on her after all. In my opinion, this interaction between them could have just been Lolita trying to make him happy again so that she would get what she wanted (money) out of him.

I would say that this is definitely not as pornographic as people make it out to be (Thankully, because I don’t know if I would have finished it if that was the case). A lot of the story was about traveling with her and trying to keep her to himself, there were hardly any descriptions of the more explicit content in comparison. It definitely does have these elements and reeks of pedophilia, which made it hard for me to read and fully enjoy and appreciate. I also still don’t really feel like I found anything about the narrator that redeemed his actions. He just seemed like someone who took what he wanted and didn’t really care about how others would be affected by his actions. I do not believe that he really loved her, but rather that he loved the idea of having his own little nymphet.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

July 12, 2016Leave a comment

One boring, rainy day I was looking for something to watch on Netflix (is this how most stories start these days?) and I came across Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had never seen an Audrey Hepburn movie and, to be honest, I thought that the movie was literally about having breakfast at a woman named Tiffany’s house. Dumb, I know right?

I was pleasantly surprised by the film and now I would definitely say it’s one of my favorites. I loved everything about the movie, so of course I had to read the book. I had never read anything by Truman Capote before (although In Cold Blood is definitely on my reading wish list) and was really excited to just read his words and see for myself the development of these characters that I loved so much in film.

When I started reading, I could already tell that many changes had been made when the film was produced. Even though the characters were built a little differently in the story and some scenes had been changed I still felt like the story of Holly Golightly and the narrator was there, and I still really enjoyed reading the story.

I do have to say I was a little disappointed by the ending. Of course, I wanted Holly to come back and end up with the narrator but that’s the ending that Hollywood added. Although it was a different ending from the one I wanted I still liked it because it was actually more realistic.

Overall, it was definitely worth the read. I would probably read it again now that I know not to expect the same exact movie version of the story, which is why I usually like to read books before seeing their movies. In this case though, the fact that it was a little different definitely made it more enjoyable to read because I didn’t know what to expect from the story and it gave me another experience with the characters.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

May 14, 2016Leave a comment

So, a little while ago I finished a novel called Never Let Me Go. There’s so much that can be said about this story that I’m not even sure where to begin.

First of all, I have to say that I absolutely loved this book. I actually saw the film version first and loved it, so I (of course) had to read the book and I was not disappointed.

The story is about a girl name Kathy who is reflecting on her time as a student at a boarding school-type place called Hailsham, and on the direction that her life went after she left school. Hailsham is different from other schools because its students are clones who will grow up and donate their organs when they come of age.

As children, it seems that the clones weren’t fully aware of their fate but did know that they would be making these “donations” as adults. The idea of having these clones that are raised and harvested for their organs is definitely something that was interesting throughout this story. I think that this “idea” is something that has probably been considered in real life, especially with stem cell research and its important to have stories like this to really think about what life would be like for these people if that actually happened.

What really makes this story interesting are the relationships that Kathy has with other clones, especially Tommy and Ruth. Kathy has romantic feelings for Tommy but can’t act on them because her friend Ruth has already made Tommy her boyfriend. Throughout the story, Tommy and Kathy are very obviously attracted to each other and want to be together. However, Ruth interferes with their relationship every chance she can get. When they are older and Ruth has begun making her donations, Kathy begins taking care of her and Ruth reveals to her that she wants Kathy to pursue a relationship with Tommy and that she regrets keeping them apart for so long.

By this time, Tommy has also already begun his donations. Seeing Kathy and Tommy try to stop or delay the process of donations for themselves so that they can be happy for just a few more years is really heartbreaking. You want to root for them so badly, but it seems that nothing can go right for the couple.

This story is really so, so good. I could definitely go on for awhile talking about every thing that I loved about this book, but really I don’t want to spoil it all because I think people should read it for themselves.

I would love to hear from others who have read this book and to find someone to discuss it with further because there really is SO much to talk about. Leave me a comment! And thanks for reading!

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

January 3, 2015April 30, 2016Leave a comment

So, as it turned out this was the last book I finished of the year. I’m really proud that I even (sort of) kept up with reading and posting about it on this blog.

Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl was funny, smart, and incredibly well written. I felt like she was one of my friends telling me all of her embarrassing stories and what she’s learned from those experiences. She made me feel like my life and my embarrassing moments and moments when I felt crazy weren’t too bad after all.

Even in some of her darkest moments, she showed us her humor and her ability to share basically everything from her life. I would hate/love to be one of her friends.

Her ability to write is very good and you can tell that her show Girls is directly coming from her mind. No one else would be able to write those experiences in that way. She’s a total inspiration for young women writers and she’s definitely one of my heroes.

Kayla Cropper

Category: Thoughts