Need by Carrie Jones

A teenaged girl moves to an area of the U.S. with bad weather to live with a relative she loves but doesn't know well. Almost immediately she meets a really good looking guy who seems to want to hang out with her, but she can't figure out what's not right about him. There also seems to be someone stalking her, and did anyone notice that very large dog/wolf that came out of the woods? Thus is the set-up for...Need by Carrie Jones, a new entry into the young adult paranormal genre.

Obviously, there are similarities to Twilight, but Need stands well on its own in the paranormal ranks. Zara's stepfather has died unexpectedly and her mother, worried that Zara's not herself, sends her off to live with her step-grandmother in Maine for a bit. Though the school year has started, Zara seems to fit into her new environment fairly well, and quickly has two guys vying for her attentions. She has, however, made an enemy quickly in Megan, a girl who seems jealous at the attention she's receiving, but that's balanced out by her new friends Issie and Devyn and of course, the attention of the hunky Nick. Yet Zara still feels odd; she's convinced someone is tracking her, calling her name, and when two boys disappear locally, the whole town is on edge because "it" seems to be happening again.

It's no big surprise to say that this novel entails pixies and weres (though pixies, despite how portrayed here, seem a little tame in my own mind). Jones sets up a very creepy scenario, complete with a major snowstorm that keeps Zara separated from her grandmother; the scene where Zara and Nick are trapped in her bedroom is very compelling and downright thrilling. The writing is tight and the pages turned quickly for me, though there were a few concluding plot holes that I had to not obsess over or I'd have scored this novel lower. The major climax needed a bit of work (though I love the idea of a were-bear, lol) because it didn't seem plausible, but I liked how Zara stood up for herself and forged ahead with a plan. The relationship between Zara and her grandmother is warm and funny, and I liked the list of phobias Zara repeats to herself, even if I couldn't pronounce half of them. Overall, I can say that this is a fun paranormal romance/adventure that fills the bill for interest and atmosphere. Definitely enjoyable!

As an aside, my thirteen year old daughter is now reading this book on my recommendation and is loving it. She's heavily into Twilight and she thinks this one is living up to it.

28 Reasons the Movie Twilight Is Better Than the Book

While we all know this isn't strictly true, it is funny. And any time I can gaze at pictures of Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, that's fine by me. (Yes, I'm a dirty old woman--so sue me).

28 Reasons That ‘Twilight’ the Movie Is Better Than ‘Twilight’ the BookThese are very funny and total spoilers. So if you have seen the movie, check it out. If not, avoid.http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/11/slideshow_of_twilight.html#photo=1

~taminator40

Saw Twilight Last Night...

...and I loved it! I have to admit to being a little worried that it wouldn't live up to the book, and that fear was only heightened when two of Hannah's friends came out of the theatre as we were waiting to go in and said it was pretty cheesy. But once the film started to roll, I got caught up almost immediately.

The film is very well cast. Robert Pattinson is perfectly cast as Edward. He's got the intense stare that sends chills up your spine, and the scenes where he saves Bella keep you on the edge of your seat. In fact, all the characters are perfect---if only Bella didn't blink 5000 times a minute, I'd probably have no gripes whatsoever. The girls and I agreed that Emmett is our next favorite, with Jasper being almost hilarious with his new "vegetarianism". I found the scene where the Cullens are trying to cook in their kitchen for the first time just for Bella so touching as well as funny, and that can be laid at the feet of the terrific cast. Charlie, Bella's dad, is wonderful and believable. And James...hot, hot, hot. Evil, but hot. Not a bad combination, actually.

The scenery is gorgeous and the action is great. Our favorite scenes (the subject of much debate on the ride home) included the ones where Edward first saves Bella from the van, Edward saves Bella from the gang, and Edward and Bella arrive at school together for the first time. Oh, and the first kiss between Bella and Edward? Worth the price of admission alone.

There is some cheesy dialogue, though honestly it's mostly the dialogue that is lifted straight from the book. I personally dislike Carlisle's hair--it looks like a helmet--even if I loved Carlisle. The scene where Edward is sucking the venom from Bella's arm gives him a very weird facial expression--that certainly could've been done better. And the girls didn't like the initial reaction of Edward having to sit next to Bella in the lab--they felt that was done for too much comic effect. I liked it, though. And while Edward does indeed glitter, somehow it wasn't quite as I'd pictured it, though it's not bad.

The music adds quite a bit to the overall effect of the film, and the action and special effects are well done. We're set up for a sequel at the end, but of course we knew that going in.

My unbiased opinion, then? Go see it. In a theatre full of teenaged girls and their moms (and one truly heroic dad, who stood in line ahead of us for over an hour, holding places for his wife and daughter), you could've heard a pin drop 95% of the time. While of course Twilight had a built-in audience going in, I can easily say that it lives up to its potential and I was more than pleasantly surprised. I'm going to go again. That's a pretty big recommendation, in my book.

~taminator40

Twilight Geeks Unite!

Sad News...

This just makes me sad...I don't know what the "leaker" thought would be accomplished, but I doubt it was Meyer completely putting the book on hold.

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6592004.html?desc=topstory


I hope you're happy, Leaker Person. I know I'm not.

~taminator40

Breaking Dawn

Ah, Breaking Dawn. The long anticipated end to Stephenie Meyer's hugely successful series that began with Twilight finally landed in stores last Saturday at 12:01 a.m. but I wasn't there. I did, however, take my happy self to Borders early (okay, early for me--11:00 a.m.) to pick up my very own copy. Is it wrong to admit that I immediately sneaked a peak at the last page just to ensure that my two lovers would be together? Nope, won't answer that. I headed home, determined to finish the 752 page book over two days.

Two days past my deadline for finishing, I closed the book and put it gently on the shelf near the others. It's taken me all day to think of the review I want to do for Breaking Dawn; it's very obvious that it's a polarizing novel, judging by the often incoherent reviews posted on Amazon. I've decided to forego posting a review there, at least for now; I have a feeling that a traditional review would be trashed at the moment. Anyway, back to the book and my thoughts on it.

I liked it.

What did I like specifically? I like that Meyer took us where we didn't think we'd go. I like that she took chances with her characters, making them step outside their own comfort zones and find things within themselves worth fighting for. I loved that she devoted an entire section to Jacob, a character I'll admit I never felt overly sympathetic for; seeing events from his point of view was the absolute perfect way to move the story along at a crucial point and give us reasons why Jacob was acting as he did. I love the titles for those chapters from Jacob's point of view!

I like that Meyer was able to have Bella incorporate her old family into her new one, and I like how Bella's insecurity was challenged once she moved onto her destiny. (How's that for being vague so as not to give away spoilers--unlike the bajillion teens on Amazon?). I looooved the transition piece; it could not have been done any better, in my opinion. I was there in the room with Edward, Bella, and Jacob and I was breathing with Bella every step of the way. I loved the developing relationship between the vampires and the wolves, and I loved how Jacob felt about Renesmee. I think it was realistically done since Meyer *had* set us up for the possibility earlier. I do believe she'd planned the whole thing out early on.

I suppose it's a spoiler to say I love the happy ending, but I do believe in happy endings. I loved that through it all I could feel the commitment between Edward and Bella. That's what drove me into the story in the first place, and that never changed.

Now for what I didn't like. Even though I feel that Meyer made a courageous and interesting choice in taking her characters into a phase of life they hadn't expected, I felt it was all a bit too sci-fi (I posted earlier that I kept being reminded of Star Trek TNG and Troi's rushed pregnancy). I still don't understand the need for Renesemee to grow so rapidly other than the prove a point in the end to the Volturi (okay, I know that one's a spoiler). I got tired of all the hand-wringing waiting, and the surprise appearance at the end was a little too convenient. I didn't care for all the vampire support turning up at the end, though I understand the *why* of it. I also felt that Bella discovering her gift and then fully realizing it just when it was most needed was a bit much.

There were parts I loved and parts I didn't care for, but I think Meyer is to be commended for not just writing the pat final installment that would have pleased the masses. There was a definite maturing in the characters that I found surprisingly appealing, and a strong undercurrent of emotion that has always been the basis for the stories. I am sure that I will be thinking of this final novel in the series for a very long time, and finding that I am looking very favorably on it. The good outweighs the bad; I closed the last page and smiled. That's what any good book should do: crawl inside you and make you feel. Goal accomplished.

Breaking Dawn...No Spoilers

One of my favorite online people, Andi of Tripping Toward Lucidity, just posted a message about Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, which we are both reading (along with legions of fans of the Twilight series). Her post has prompted my own, which will probably echo hers in many respects. We both made the mistake of visiting Amazon's review page for BD; big mistake. Of course there were spoilers galore, which as a serial last page reader, really didn't bug me so much. It's the incessant whininess of the reviews, obviously written by teens who didn't get the story they'd wanted.

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, of course. I don't deny anyone that pleasure. But having read several "reviews" (and how can they be considered such when 1) they are full of spoilers and 2) they just berate the author?) that seem to borrow from each other and influence further despair among said teens, I am waiting for the moment when cooler heads and rational minds decide to actually REVIEW the book. I get the feeling that most of these teens had the plot carefully planned in their own heads, and when Meyer decided to deviate from those pipe dreams, their worlds were shattered, making her THE WORST AUTHOR EVER. OMG, how are we all going to live? It won't do a bit of good to remind them that ultimately, they got what they wanted, because Meyer threw in some curves that took them on a ride they didn't meet the height requirement for.

I'm on page 185, and I have to say that the poor reviews at first made me very worried about how much I was going to like BD. I was expecting the worst. I know Bella is a drama queen and that Edward is controlling, but beyond all that, I like the stories Meyer has created and I'm happy (in general) with things as they've been written so far. I am beginning to realize my fear for this novel was wasted; I'm liking it. Despite a trip into sci-fi territory (I'm thinking specifically of a Star Trek TNG episode where Troi gave birth within 3 days), I think there's potential here for a good journey to a satisfying ending. I just started a section from Jacob's point of view, and while skeptical at first, I have to say I'm really enjoying it. I suspect many of the teenyboppers didn't care for this little tactic.

I'm really hoping that once the teens get all their own personal angst out of their systems that reviews will begin to appear that actually let people know what the NOVEL is like. While it won't be another Twilight, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to be one of those who will be giving it a fairly positive review. We'll see.

~taminator40

The Ugliest Cover

I came across this cover for the wonderful book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer while on goodbooks a little while ago. It's truly horrific! I swear when I first glanced at it (it was even smaller originally), I sorta thought the lockers were actually an extension of Bella's stomach. Try it. Just glance at the cover out of the corner of your eye. I bet you'll see it, too.

Not sure where/when this cover was issued, but let's hope it never sees the light of day in a bookstore again. It truly disservices the book. Not only does Bella look like one of those little claymation figures from the 60s, it makes the whole saga seem unreal because she looks unreal. I much, much prefer the cover of the copy I have.

This version seems to lend an air of mystery to the book, and the bright red just jumps off the black and white background, much as blood would do. When I look at these two polar opposite covers, I cannot imagine that they are even about the same book. I wonder if others see this the same way I do.

~taminator40