Suite Develish Academy

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett Martin grew up in a hotel. As interesting as that sounds, it quickly loses its appeal when you have to clean and deal with guests for your entire life. This summer was suppose to be spent getting a summer job for pocket money, instead she was told to work at the hotel some more. Now she has to attend to Mrs. Amberson – an eccentric, C-List celebrity who is determined to change everyones life around her. Between Mrs. Amberson, her angsty little sister, her struggling actor brother and a possibly love interest, this could prove to be her most interesting summer yet.

This book was about letting loose so you can enjoy what's going on around you. Mrs. Amberson acted as a sort of once in a life person who manages to influence everyone around her, changing things that were previously thought to be unchangeable. Of could her desire is to change everyone, but it's not until she loosens up a bit before she starts making the big changes. I think Maureen Johnson does an excellent job of showing the different type of siblings. There is Scarletts' brother, Spencer, who is an amazing physical actor who doesn't want to get tied down to the hotel forever. He loves to dote on Scarlett and they can usually be found talking and hanging out more then not. Then there is Scarlett's youngest sister, Marlene who is coddles and is allowed to do essentially anything she wants by their parents. For whatever reason, Marlene has a problem with Scarlett and is generally not a fan of her. Lastly there is Lola, Scarlett's older sister who works outside of the hotel and is not often around. Lola and Scarlett are always nice and sisterly to each other, but Scarlett won't go to the movies with each other or anything like that.

I really enjoyed this book. I found all the characters interesting and intriguing – Mrs. Amberson and Spencer are at the top of that list. Scarlett felt like a realistic 15 year old that I could relate to on some level (despite not being 15). I'll probably buy the sequel when I see it in the store so I can continue my journey with Scarlett Martin and her family.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Jane is ridiculously smart. The sort of smart that is isolating. She breezes through all of her classes, even the college level one that are offered special just because of her. Jane dyes her hair and rebels against their school strict catholic rules because there is no real reason to try. Her only friend is Allison Concord and to be honest Jane is fine with that. Ally is sweet, lovable, a little clueless but still Jane's best friend. After a traumatically embarrassing event in front of the school (let me just say barfing on someone was involved), Ally comes into to school acting and looking different. Jane, being the smart gal she is, investigates the weirdness with quickly gets her involved into a game for her soul with the devil.

I didn't dislike this book. It was fun and definitely a new idea. However I wouldn't be too distraught if I misplaced the book and couldn't find it. It just fell a little flat for me. I found myself not actually caring about any of the characters nor the overall outcome.

Knightly Academy by Violet Haberdasher 

Knightly Academy is a prestigious school where kids from well-to-do families study to become knights. At least it used to only be for well-to-do families, until a loophole let Henry Grim, a serving boy, take the test and pass. Now Henry Grim gets to fulfill his dream of becoming a knight, if only he can survive the bullying from his much more socially important classmates. However things get a lot more serious when the harmless bullying turns into threats, stolen items, and legitimate attempts to get them hurt or even expelled. Henry needs to figure out who is behind this before it ruins his chances to become a knight forever.

Before I read this book, I was told rather accurately that it was like 'Harry Potter with Knights'. Henry Grim was an incredibly likeable main character, he was smart and just wanted to learn despite no one wanting him to be there. His two friends he does have balances him out nicely – Rohan and Adam. Rohan is the reason, the one who pipes up whenever they are about to do something not exactly allowed. Adam is the wit, getting Rohan and Henry to relax and just enjoy themselves whenever they get too stressed out.

Obviously there are a lot of similarities with Harry Potter, not that that's entirely a bad thing. Just an observation. I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, fun read that drew me in. I have a thing for medieval stories, I'd never toss up the chance for to stories about knights and this book is no exception. 

Book Count: 4

The 100 Book Challange and Sisters Red

This year I'm going to read 100 books. I considered doing only 50, but go big or go home, right? This will consist mainly of new book I've never read, but I do have a few books I want to reread. They're a part of a series, so to make it even I'll probably just count the series as one book because they are short. It's been forever since I've read them, so that's really the only reason I'm allowing them. Also Graphic Novels are allowed (again, if they are a series I'll just count it as one book).

Of course I'll also be reviewing all the books on this site. It's probably the only way I'd be able to properly keep track of all the books.

So lets cover what I have read already.

Sisters Red  by Jackson Pearce

This is basically the story of Little Red Riding Hood, just revamped. Jackson Pearce has started a series where she revamps classic fairy tales - Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Little Mermaid. These aren't just like modernized stories. Instead she takes the classics we all know and love, and twists the story into her own creation.

When they were young, Scarlett and Rosie March were attacked by a Fenrir, or a werewolf, leaving Scarlett horribly disfigured and their grandmother dead. Now they've taken it upon themselves to hunt down and kill as many Fenrir's as possible to try and make the world a little bit safer. Well, more accurately Scarlett has taken it upon herself, Rosie follows along but shows much more interest in their childhood friend Silas. When they notice an influx of Fenrir in the area, they find out they are all looking for a new Potential Fenrir (a rare event) and decide to try and find the Potential before the Fenrirs do. It's a deadly race they're not entirely sure they can win.

I really enjoyed this book, but some parts felt obviously like a teen book. Scarlett gets a little angsty and Silas feels rather empty as the main love interest. But on the other hand, it also gets so much right. The Fenrir's are an interesting concept that Jackson Pearce doesn't feel obligated to explain every little thing about - which I love. It keeps some of the mystery alive. I loved Rosie's commitment to her sister, even if it was sometimes misplaced. Scarlett is very determined, not wanting to allow other girls to die when she has the ability to prevent it which I find very admirable. Despite the weird looks she gets because of her appearance, she still wants to help the world. I'm  excited to read the next book, Sweetly. Unfortunately I left that as school, so it'll just have to wait.

Angel

I can't remember if I've mentioned it, but I'm a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I can't remember when I started watching it, but I've seen every episode multiple time. Show me any scene and I can probably tell you what episode its from and what happens next. It's my comfort blanket. If I had a rough day at classes, it's not unusual for me to pop in a Buffy episode to watch to make me feel better.

With all my love for Buffy, I had not gotten around to watching it's spin-off show Angel until recently. To be honest I hadn't been particularly interested in it – Angel was probably one of my least favorite characters. So why would I want to watch an entire show about him? After some bothering from my boyfriend to watch it, as well as being promised that Spike shows up in later, I decided to just buckle down and watch Angel.

So for those of you who don't know, Angel is a sort of freelance investigation show. After leaving Buffy at the end of Season 3, the vampire with a soul Angel made his way to Los Angeles to start fresh. There he starts up a business where he “Helps the Helpless”. Pretty simple premise, Angel goes out at night to save the people of the city from the monsters who go bump in the night.

Even after watching all of the series, I gotta say I'm still not a fan of Angel. I know so much about the vampire, but I still feel like he has not depth to him. To me, he's just a character whose purpose in life is to act as a plot device. I felt that the real stars of the show were Angel's friends he acquired along the way. Doyle, Charles Gunn, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Lorne, Winifred 'Fred' Burkle, Spike. All of these characters were so heart warming or fascinating in their own way. To be honest any of these characters could be given their own show and I'd jump to watching it immediately.

I actually found the series pretty enjoyable. The monsters were like the ones I loved to watch in Buffy. There were relationships and character development that I loved to watch and I never really felt like the series dragged anywhere. I'm pretty glad I watched it.

However I still think Angel is dumb.

Hesher

I watched this movie primarily because of Josph Gordon-Levitt. The trailer looked interesting enough, but mostly just in that weird indie movie sorta way. When I noticed Josph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman and Rainn Wilson were in it, I became intrigued enough to want to actually watch it.

Hesher follows TJ, a young boy who's mother recently died. TJ and his dad move in with his grandmother as he slowly grows distant from his father. His life is generally down at the moment, rounding off with getting super bullied at school. That's when Hesher enters his life. Hesher is the dude version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. For those of you who don't know, Manic Pixie Dream Girl is what film critics named the character that loves to show up in films with the sole purpose of influencing the main characters life. They usually have a eccentric personality, quirky and are unabashedly girly. Some examples are Kate Winslet's character in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Zooey Deschanel's character in (500) Days Of Summer. So the dude version would probably be eccentric, rough, and about as dudeish as you can get. Hesher is a loner. He has long greasy hair and homemade tattoos He's malnourished, smoked a boatload of cigarettes and loves fire and blowing up things. He even lives in his van and constantly rocks out to heavy metal music. And then he meets TJ.

I surprisingly loved this movie. It was odd, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that. Heshers character was crude, rude, and generally unpleasant – but I loved him. He had depth. Underneath that unpleasant outer level was someone who cared, even when he didn't want to. TJ was a boy in pain, struggling with being misunderstood and feeling cut off from life. He didn't want Hesher around and didn't particularly enjoy having him around, but Hesher still managed to change him for the better. TJ's father was struggling with trying to still be a father while he no longer wanted to put effort in life. He found Hesher very off putting, but still only got his life together because of Hesher.

Hesher's character was a little rough around the edges, but sometimes that's exactly what you need in life – rough around the edges. I'd suggest giving it a watch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent in it and I found myself surprisingly touched by the movie.

Ponyo on the Cliff

Oops. Been a while. You know how it is: school work, knitting, we just got cable. The usual distractions. Anyways, let's just get started.

Ponyo, or the literal title translation Ponyo on the Cliff, is a Hayao Miyazaki movie. You remember when I talked about him, right? Of course you do. Easily my favorite director. Well I have the great pleasure of watching almost all of his movies which didn't include Ponyo until just recently. I just got lazy I guess, or maybe the prospect of reading subtitles sounded too intimidating at the moment. Regardless, I finally watched it.

Ponyo is simply a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Sosuke, a 5-year old boy, finds a goldfish on the shore outside of his house and names it Ponyo. Turns out the goldfish is more then it appears. She is in actuality a Princess, the daughter of a powerful wizard and a sea goddess. Ponyo decides she likes Sosuke and wants to stay with him and become human - to the great displeasure of her father.

The movie was.. cute. I guess. As much as it pains me to admit, I didn't like it too much. The art was so un-Miyazaki like that it threw me for a loop and the story itself was nothing more then cute. I didn't get the heartfelt connection to the characters like I usually get. Past Miyazaki movies all had strong female characters and the movie portrayed a powerful message throughout the movie. Of course the movie had a message - you can't help who you fall in love with and once you find that someone, don't just give it up; however the message felt a little half assed. Sure the message was there, but it felt like it was there more because of convenience then actually wanting the message to be there.

I wished I liked it more, I really do. If it was on TV I'd watch it, but it's not something I'd go looking for.

Note: I feel the need to mention that I didn't prefer the sub over the dub, or vise versa. I had heard that the dub was terrible and only to watch it subbed. Well I watched both and found that I didn't care one way over the other - a heads up for anyone who wants to watch it and isn't sure which one to watch.

Moonlight

I feel vampires shouldn't sparkle. It's a personal preference really, but Twilight just isn't my jam. I don't need my vampires to be old school exactly, just don't make them goofy like sparkling. Which bring me to Moonlight.

Moonlight follows a certain vampire, Mick St. John, who is a private investigator. Usually the cases he takes on are the suspicious sort, ones that usually end up having vampires at the root of its problem. Throughout the entire show he battles with his vampire ex-wife, his general past, trying to not get outed as a vampire to everyone and possibly starting a relationship with a human girl named Beth.

Moonlights vampires aren't affected by garlic and crosses are just a shape to them. Their image can get captured on camera, which they explain by the way cameras take pictures now is very different by hoe camera took pictures in the older days – which makes sense to me. For them, the old myths hold the most stock in silver, stakes, fire and the sun.

They can go in the sun, they don't burst into flames and they certainly don't sparkle. If they stick to the shadows and wear sunglasses, vampires can go outside with some mild irritation. They can even go into direct sunlight for short amounts of time; however any longer and they start to get weaker and weaker until they die.

Stakes don't kill them. Instead it sort of paralyzes them, making them unable to move until someone takes it out. I find that to be an extremely interesting take on it, since most vampire fighting shows put so much faith in a stake to the heart. Although this sort of holds the same idea, if you stake a vampire in the heart you could do anything to them and they can do nothing about it. For them, a stake in the heart could very well result in death.

For silver, its best for everyone if they just don't touch it. It's poison to them. If they touch it, it burns. If it gets in their bloodstream, it basically kills them from the inside. Not pretty.

The only sure fire way to kill these vampires is fire (get it? Sure fire? Fire? Gosh I'm so clever).

Overall I really enjoyed Moonlight. It was disappointingly shot, having gotten canceled after just one season and definitely left me asking for more. I found the characters interesting and the plot even more interesting. The vampires were interestingly portrayed while still getting the idea of vampires out there. If there were more seasons, I'd definitely go out of my way to watch them.

Game of Thrones: From Book to TV

I don't even remember when I first read George R.R. Martins' 'A Song Of Ice And Fire' series - maybe 6 or 7 years ago. It's an intimidating book series. There are currently 5 books - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, As Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons - and each book is over 1,000 pages give or take a few hundred, usually on the give side.

It wasn't the first medieval set world book I read and it wasn't the last, but its my favorite. There is so much thought put into all the characters and the world in general that it sometimes leaves me in awe. These aren't just characters you're reading about, its entire familys. At the back of every book there is an appendix where it goes through each major family and gives multiple generations of people as well as who there friends are, who there enimies are, who works for them, a short history of the house, and what their house motto is along with their house sigil. There are around 16 main houses and smaller houses. I can't even wrap my mind around how much thought was put into all of this.

The title of the first book basically explains the entire series - a game of thrones. We start off in a time of peace after a recent change in power. Of course there is the usual royalty shenanigans going on in the background, but then everything changes when the current king dies. The whole Kingdom is thrown into turmoil. The ex-kings spoiled son takes the throne and starts making kingly orders, his thought process ending as 'I want to do that so I will and no one can stop me'. The ex-kings brother claims it is his throne and that the ex-kings son isn't really his son. The ex-kings youngest brother claims it is his throne for no better reason that his older brother wouldn't make a good king. The north wants to split off with their own King of the North and the daughter of the King who was Overthrown is coming back with an army to claim her birthright.

The entire book is from multiple points of views. The chapters range from the Northern folk, to the daughter of the Overthrown King, and to the ex-kings multiple family members. There is no set good or bad side - which I love. Some sides may seem on the evil side, but then you see not everyone on that side is bad and you almost want to route for them to live just for the few good ones. Then the side that seems overly good has some bad blood of its own. It all feels so real and you almost want them all to win. 

I should also mention there are dragons. I couldn't find a good place to mention that, but it definitely needs mentioning. Everything in the series feels so realistic, just with the addition of dragons. I may or may not love dragons.

I wasn't sure how to feel when HBO announced they were going to turn George RR martins books into a TV series. On one hand I was so excited, who doesn't love to see their series in action? But on the other hand I was hesitant, there is so much stuff in the world George RR Martin created with so many characters I wasn't sure if it was even possible to turn it into a TV series.

I think they pulled it off rather nicely. Sure they couldn't include everything, but they did the best they could. I didn't feel like they left out anything major and they obviously put a lot of thought into how they went about doing it. I wasn't disappointed. What I was most impressed with were the casting choices. All the characters were almost exactly how I imagined them in my head and all of the actors performed so well.

Even if you don't feel like putting in the effort to read the book series, you should at least give the TV series a watch. It was a good introduction into the world George RR Martin created and might inspire you to give the books a chance. They are intimidating to say the least, but so satisfying. One of my favorite book series.