Book Tag #1: Olympics Book Tag

It’s time for the Summer Olympics! I have been watching the Olympics since the opening ceremony. My favorite events to watch are swimming and gymnastics. I saw this book tag floating around and then found out it was started on Shannon’s blog, It Starts at Midnight. All the graphics in this tag are Shannon’s.

I knew right away that I was going to love this book. And I really did. It is such an amazing retelling. 

This is one of the only road trip books that I have read so I just decided to use it for this question. I also really enjoyed this one. 

Shatter Me is one of the only books where I actually like both of the love interests. This is a very rare occurance. I usually lean more towards one than the other. 

This book, unfortunantly, really confused me. It is a Middle Grade which I ended up rating about three crowns because it was good but really confusing. 

I enjoyed this book. I rated it about 3.5 or 4 Crowns. And it was set in summer!

These two have a ton of fighting and bloodshed. Come on, don't the covers give that away?

I wouldn't say that this one has a lot of plot twists but it has one major one. 

These two both made me really sad. I cried after reading both of these. :( 

The first half of this book bored me to tears but it picked up after that. 

This book was the first one I thought of. There are tons of animals. 

I had to read this for school and I hated it so so much. So, obviously, it was a struggle to finish it. If I had chosen it on my own, I would have DNF'd it. 

I am going with the generic one. Harry, Ron and Hermione have the greatest friendship ever in my opinion. 

 

This is the only book that I can think of. It features fencing which I now know is an olympic sport. 

I'm not going to tag anyone. All of you are welcome to do it, and if you do, link it back. All images belong to their respective owners. 

Movie Review #6: Star Trek Beyond

Finally, I am getting another movie review up. I am such a bad person in terms of promising reviews and then never giving them. I saw Star Trek Beyond last week and I really enjoyed it so here is my review. This is also mostly spoiler free.

Title: Star Trek Beyond
Director: Justin Lin
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 5 Crowns
Release Date: July 22, 2016

This movie relates a lot to the previous two movies so if you haven't seen those, it may be a good idea to see them or read up on them before seeing this one.

Star Trek is one of my favorite movie franchises so it isn't really a surprise that I highly enjoyed this movie.

PLOT

Star Trek Beyond picks up three years into The Enterprise's 5-year-mission. The cast of The Enterprise are starting to become restless and ready for home. The mission has brought out the best in some of the crew, and the worst in some of the others. Then when Captain Kirk agrees to rescue the crew of a stranded ship, they are attacked and crash land onto a mysterious world where they have to figure out what is going on and how to escape.

This was a really exciting movie, that reminded me a lot of the originals. I liked how we got to know a lot more about the characters and their personalities. The previous two movies didn't show them as much. I also liked how we got to see more of the world.

The story kept me on the edge of my seat and I was smiling and laughing throughout most of it. This was also probably my favorite out of the three movies that have come out. I also liked how this movie explored more of the characters relationships with each other. Such as, Chekov and Jim got to spend more time together in this one. Bones and Spock also had hilarious moments together.

ACTORS/CHARACTERS

Chris Pine plays Jim Kirk who is the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Fun fact, I have an obsession with Chris Pine, but can you blame me? Chris Pine is wonderful as Jim Kirk, he's got the character down to perfection. 

Zachary Quinto plays Spock. Spock is hilarious even when he really doesn't mean to. He brings a lot to the crew and he is really smart. I really enjoyed seeing his interactions with the other characters develop. 

Karl Urban plays Leonard McCoy or better known as Bones. Bones is by far my favorite character because he is just so funny. He is the one who makes the sarcastic remarks. And sometimes the remarks are just plain rude but they come out so funny so it doesn't seem too mean. Bones is also unique and I really liked how he got more screen time in this one. 

Zoe Saldana plays Uhura who is such a strong female character. I really liked seeing her on the screen and liked that she had a more prominent role in this one. 

Simon Pegg plays Scotty. Scotty has always said some really funny things but had a much more prominent role in this one as well. 

John Cho plays Sulu who got a lot more screen time in this movie as well. We got to see that he had a family which I thought was rather sweet. We also got to see him participate more than the last movie. 

Anton Yelchin plays Chekov. It's so sad that this is the last time we will ever see him playing Chekov. I really liked his role in this movie and am so happy that he also got more screen time. I also really love Chekov and he is probably my second favorite character. 

Sofia Boutella plays Jaylah who is the new character. I really liked her character and was so happy that she wasn't a love interest for Kirk. Oh and some of her lines were so funny. One of my favorites was of her describing a piece of music she liked, "I like the beat and the shouting." 

FIGHTING

Would this be a Star Trek movie if there was no fighting?  Obviously, there was a lot of fighting. One of the best scenes in my opinion was when they played the loud music while flying. It was such a good scene and well done.

ROMANCE

There isn't that much romance in this. Except for the romance between Uhura and Spock which is pretty cute. 

I was actually really happy that the new character, 

CONTENT FOR OLDER VIEWERS ONLY?

This movie is rated PG-13 for a reason. There is mild swearing and a lot of violence/fighting so I would recommend you go with an older person if you are under thirteen.


This movie is one of my new favorites and I highly recommend the Star Trek movies!

Starflight by Melissa Landers Review

This is a spoiler free review!

Starflight

Written by Melissa Landers

Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: February 2, 2016

Pages: 369

Source:

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 12 and up!

Summary:

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

Review:

This is definitely a new favorite of mine. I have tried to write this review twice and it didn't work both times because of my fangirling. This book has so many aspects that just make me want to jump for joy. For instance, the science fiction aspect is done so well. This book is like a cross between Star Wars, The Lunar Chronicles and Stitching Snow.

COVER

I find this cover to actually be kind of nice. I like how the starship is flying into the distance.

WORLD-BUILDING

The world-building was done fantastically. I really enjoyed learning the backstories to the characters and the backstory to the whole entire world.

Then there are the characters.

SOLARA

"She'd learned that home was a fluid thing and whether on a planet, a satellite, or a rusted bucket of a ship, this crew was her home."

Solara is such an independent and strong female character. I really enjoyed reading about her. She is also really funny and is not a damsel in distress at all. Her spirit never diminishes despite the trials she has to go through. She has also had a hard life and it was interesting to find out about all that.

DORAN

"What's wrong? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed again?"

Doran is such a charming, sarcastic and cocky male lead. He is hilarious as well and I hated him at the beginning. He was incredibly rude and didn't seem to have sympathy for anyone. But I quickly got over that and obviously fell under his spell.

FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY

The crew was definitely a type of family for Solara. They really got along and laughed and joked like they were family. I think this is a book that has a strong 'family' relationship

PLOT

The plot of Starflight was pretty unique, with twists and turns that shocked me. I really enjoyed following Solara and her friend's adventures and it really felt like I could connect with the story.

ROMANCE

Solara and Doran's relationship slowly develops throughout the story. It is a pretty slow burn romance. But I thought it was very very well done. I thought that Solara and Doran really worked together and were quite cute together.

WRITING

When you are flying through a book, you don't really think about how the writing was. Since, I flew through it, I think it was really well done.

Final Thoughts:

Go read this book! It is so amazing. It has space ships, other planets, pirates and a beautiful romance. This is one of my favorite books of all time.

Quotes from the Book:

“I might have dirt under my fingernails and tattoos across my knuckles,” she told him, “but I can fix that with a hot bath and a visit to the flesh forger. You’re dirty in a place that can’t be washed. You’ll never change, and you’ll never make a difference. When you die, no one will miss you, because your life won’t matter.” She followed him down the stairs until they stood nose-to-nose at the base. “You don’t matter.”

A minute ago she wanted to break his jaw, and now she had to fight the urge to pat him on the head and give him a cookie. That had to be some kind of superpower. She finally understood how he got everything he wanted in life." 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns


THIS BOOK IN THREE GIFS

Discussion #1: Family Relationships and Why They Are Important in YA Literature

Families aren't often depicted in YA Literature. Is it because they are for teens who want to be independent? Or is it because the parents are always working? Whatever the reason, families aren't a big part of YA Literature. When you find a family, they are usually disconnected, and uncommunicative. The parents don't usually care about the kid's well-being. Or the parents are manipulative. A good, healthy family relationship is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Family relationships are very important to be shown in YA Literature. They help readers, know what is a healthy relationship and it also helps the story be better. YA Literature needs to start to learn that family relationships are important to showcase. 

Let's take Harry Potter for example. The Harry Potter series has tons of family relationships and they are what makes the story a lot better. We are all well aware of the Weasley's. They have been called one of the best families in YA Literature and it's true. The Weasley's maintain a strong relationship which gets them through thick and thin. This is what makes them one of the strongest family relationships and the book is a lot better because of it. 

Now, let's take The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games doesn't have the best family relationships. But Katniss' family is a strong one. Her mom and her sister are always there for her, even though her mom does seem a little out of it in the first book. But they all really care for each other and are determined to see the best in each other and have each other see the best in them. 

Then we have a book on the opposite end of the spectrum: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. The relationship between Magnus and his parents isn't necessarily an abusive relationship but it is not healthy and they don't seem to care for each other at all. Magnus just seems like another way for Gaius to get what he wants. Gaius doesn't think of him as his son. And then you have the mother who is pretty much out of it much of the time. She doesn't seem to care about her children either which shows that it is an unhealthy relationship. 

Then we have abusive family relationships; The Young Elites and Lock and Mori. In The Young Elites, Adelina's father treats her like dirt. She isn't treated like a person at all, just because she has scars from an illness that she got. It isn't right to treat someone like that, just because they aren't as pretty as someone else. Her father wanted to marry her off, just so he could get money and then when she got sick and emerged with scars, he knew he would never get to marry her off. This family relationship is just plain wrong.  Then there is Lock and Mori. Their father treats them really poorly because he thinks it is their fault that their mother died. This is also a messed up family relationship that isn't right at all. 

So, why are family relationships not treated as something that is necessary to YA Literature? 

It's a serious issue that needs to be fixed. Family relationships are things that should be depicted in a good light, every time they are showcased.  Families are very important. They are something that every kid wants. Every child wants to belong. So, when author's start writing books that don't have healthy relationships, kids will think that abusive families are okay. And they aren't. 

Having a strong family relationship is very important and I believe that they should always be showcased as so. Starting in YA Literature!