Mag Monday: Triple Threat

I've come across three beautiful women on three gorgeous magazine covers this week. First up, W has created another stunning cover, this time featuring the ever-elegant Carey Mulligan.

Nylon, meanwhile, chose Dianna Agron to represent their '60s issue, making her look a little bit like Twiggy and a lot like perfect.

Finally, Kat Dennings fronts Bust looking more beautiful than ever. Love!

Review: Perfect Chemistry By Simone Elkeles

I can't get this book off my mind.

Before reading it, I wasn't sure if it would be my cup of tea. The story of a gang member and a rich girl falling in love didn't really catch my fancy - mainly because it sounded super angsty, and I had my doubts about falling for a gang member. But then the Fuentes brothers kept popping up on My Book Boyfriend posts all over the blogosphere, and Abbey from Abbey's Bookshelf said the Perfect Chemistry series was one of her all-time faves - so I thought I should give it a go. I devoured it in a day and loved every second of it. Sure, it was a tad melodramatic and pretty damn cheesy, but I loved it all. And I really freaking loved Alex Fuentes.

One of my favourite things about Perfect Chemistry was the fact that it's told from the alternating perpectives of Alex and Brittany. It was awesome to be able to get inside both their heads and see what was really going on with them before switching to how they're seen by each other. I especially enjoyed reading about the developing feelings on both sides of the relationship. I was able to sympathise with each of the characters and their situations, which was surprising. On the surface, they're not characters you'd expect to like (just as they don't expect to like each other), but scratch a bit deeper and they're both not just likable, but lovable. Especially Alex - I really admired the fact that everything he did was to protect his family (no thanks to his mum, who basically encourages him to sacrifice himself, grrr). Plus, y'know, he's totally hot.

But, with a name like Perfect Chemistry, does Alex and Brittany's relationship live up to the book's title? The answer is yes. Hell. Yes. From the very beginning, you can feel the sparks flying, even as they (try to) hate each other. Thanks to the different viewpoints, it wasn't hard to see why they were drawn to one another. Their banter was a lot of fun to read, and with the exception of a few cringe-worthy lines, the dialogue felt quite natural. The sexual tension made the slow build to Alex and Brittany's inevitable hookup excruciating (in the best possible way). When they finally did get together, there were quite a few steamy scenes, but it was the emotions behind the passion that really made them stand out. I enjoyed Elkeles' writing so much I instantly regretted having only bought Perfect Chemistry, and went online to order the rest of the series straight away. Now I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival in the mail while avoiding other books, because I so want to stay in the world of Alex and Brittany. It's a pretty awesome place to be.

Rating: 4/5

Eye Candy
I imagined Dianna Agron as Brittany and Alexander F. Rodriguez as Alex (he plays him in Elkeles' book trailers).

Source

Source

Fine Print
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2008
Publisher: Walker Books
Get It: Book Depository

Related
Elkeles listed this song on her Perfect Chemistry playlist to go with a certain love scene, which is incredibly cheesy, but also totally appropriate. Plus it reminded me of how much I used to obsess over this film clip. Ah, nostalgia...

Review: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

This book was pretty magical.

I picked it up not really knowing what to expect, except that I liked the cover (yep, I judge books by their covers), and that it was "kinda like Harry Potter" according to my fiance, who'd read about one chapter of it before I stole it off him while we were on holidays. Well, it is "kinda like Harry Potter", in that it involves an old wizard, a trio of kids, magic and a few mythical creatures, but that description could also apply to most children's fantasy novels. With that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a fun and unique tale.

The Emerald Atlas follows the story of siblings Kate, Michael and Emma, who have been bounced from orphanage to orphanage ever since their parents disappeared 10 years ago. After all hope of adoption is given up, they're shipped off to one last orphanage in the unheard-of Cambridge Falls. They soon discover they're the only three children in the whole village, but things turn even weirder when they find a big green book which, when they place a photo in it, allows them to travel to the time and place it was taken. What follows is one helluva journey, on which the children find new friends, old friends, plenty of enemies and more than a bit of trouble.

Stephens (who, interestingly, has previously written for two of my fave shows, The O.C. and Gilmore Girls) does a wonderful job of constructing the world of Cambridge Falls and its mysterious inhabitants. The trio of siblings are admirable and interesting characters, and both they and the colourful array of secondary characters are well-drawn, forging a tale that is full of heroism, heart and humour. With a whimsical, action-packed plot, the Atlas' 400+ pages were never a struggle to get through. Occasionally I did get frustrated at the way the the narration jumps back and forth between characters, leaving little cliffhangers everywhere, but it definitely made for an effective page-turner.

The first in a trilogy called The Books of Beginning, The Emerald Atlas leaves a few questions hanging that I would've liked answers to sooner rather than later, but overall I was happy with the sense of closure you get for this first chapter, and am eager to read the epic adventures I'm sure the next novel will hold!

Rating: 4/5

Talking Points (Spoiler Alert!)

• I'm curious about how the Countess fares in the past, and if one of the other books "disappears" by her hand. I have a theory that we might not have seen the last of her! But I could be wrong.
• I'd obviously like to know more about the Dire Magnus, which Dr. Pym said he'd "explain later" but never did - in this story, at least. I'd also like to know exactly what the prophecy says. Hopefully these things are explained in the next book. I guess I'll just have to wait and see!
• I adored the relationship between Emma and Gabriel. You gotta love a gentle giant! I hope Gabriel sticks around for the rest of the books - given Emma's attachment to him, I assume he will. 
• Weirdly, even though the novel is set in America in the present day/15 years ago, I kept picturing it in England in the 1940s (I think because it was reminiscent of all those war-time, children-sent-to-strange-house-in-the-country stories), and had to keep correcting my imagination. 

Eye Candy/Who I "Cast"

Dianna Agron as the girlish, manipulative, magical, maniacal Countess



Karl Urban as the fierce, brave and kind warrior Gabriel



Hailee Steinfeld (who I have a major girl crush on after seeing True Grit - she's fantastic) as the caring and selfless Kate



Super 8's Joel Courtney as intelligent and sensitive Michael (plus glasses, of course!)

Mara Wilson, circa 1998, as the spunky, fearless Emma

Michael Gambon as crafty wizard Dr Pym, not (just) because he'd Dumbledore, but because he's awesome and I love him

Fine Print
Genre: Children/Fantasy
Publisher: Doubleday
Published: April 2011
Get It: Book Depository

The Movie Was Better: I Am Number Four

Oh dear.  My feelings for the movie were pretty much the same as for the book: meh.

 

I went in anticipating that I Am Number Four would be more exciting as a film than a book, and it was. I liked it a lot more. But I still didn't love it. And I still didn't hate it. I still didn't really feel anything for it. It wasn't bad enough to enjoy in a snarky way, and it wasn't good enough to enjoy at face value. It was just OK. And that was kinda disappointing.

Surprisingly, it was pretty different to the book. The main gist was the same, of course, but there were a gazillion little changes that I wasn't expecting (potential spoilers ahead)....

Changes that worked

• We see Six a lot earlier in the movie - and I wanted even more screen time from her. As much as I love Dianna Agron, her character was totally bland, while Six totally kicked butt. In fact, there was way more chemistry between Six and John than Sarah and John and I found myself wanting them to be together instead.
• Sam's father was investigating alien activity before he disappeared, and Henri brought John to Paradise because he wanted to find out what he'd been up to (John doesn't know this, of course). Henri is a lot more forceful with getting John to agree to leave, too. It just made a lot more sense.
• The Mogadorians (or Mogs, as they get called for most of the movie, heh) pursue John and co. immediately after running into them at the They Walk Among Us peeps' house. Again, it just made a lot more sense - I found the space between this incident and the final battle months later a bit ridiculous in the book. 
• Speaking of They Walk Among Us, it was a website, not a magazine. Way more realistic in this day and age. Sense!
• Mark was heaps nicer to John when he first meets him, and only bullies him after John himself is a bit of an arse to him. Granted, he has his reasons, but Mark being kinda nice to start with worked better with his niceness at the end - as opposed to the book where he does a complete 180.
• John and Six's powers were different. While it probably wasn't totally necessary, it did allow for the awesome shot of Six protecting John from the fire (when in the book, he could do this himself), and avoided the weirdness of thunderstorm demons.
• Bernie Kosar immediately transforms when the battle starts (it's actually a pretty funny moment). In the book, it felt like the fight had been going on forever before he finally showed up to save the day.
• It seemed like less Mogs showed up to fight in the final battle, so it was easier to understand why the kids were able to beat them. The battle itself didn't drag out nearly as much and was a lot more action-packed (as a battle should be).
• Sam had a jerk of a step-father he was desperate to escape from, so when he left with Six and John in the end he wasn't just ditching his poor mother like he does in the book.
• Henri's death earlier in the film allowed for a more triumphant mood at the end. 

Changes that didn't

• John appears pretty popular at his last school and is more standoffish when he gets to Paradise. It diminishes the reasoning behind his attachment to the town and to Sarah and Sam, and why he's so desperate to stay.
• Sarah isn't as overtly nice in the beginning. I didn't really warm to her at all. Like I said, as beautiful as Dianna Agron is, her character was pretty bland.
• They never really explain that there's a charm that means the aliens can't be killed except in sequential order. Which is kind of a big deal.
• Henri was nowhere near as important a character as he is in the book. While the way he died in the movie worked, it also wasn't quite as sad as in the book and didn't seem to effect John as much.
• Compressing the timeline improved the pace, but it also made the trip to school to develop photos (in between Sarah's rescue and the final battle) really, really dumb. Why, oh why, when you're on the run from evil aliens trying to assassinate you, would you make a pit stop to develop photos?! Seriously.

I'm sure there's plenty more that I missed, but that's what's stuck in my mind. It'll be interesting to see if they end up making the sequel that both the book and movie endings so clearly set up for, coz apparently (and understandably) it's been a major box office disappointment.

Rating: 3/5

Eye candy

As I mentioned in my review of the book, I already had Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron and Teresa Palmer in my head when I read it. Dianna matched the description of her character perfectly, and although Teresa didn't, I thought she was great anyway. John never really describes himself in the book and Alex, of course, is super pretty, but he just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because I remember watching him as a little kid in Tom Brown's Schooldays not so long ago, and it makes me feel super-old:

I was surprised at how young and pretty Henri was (played by Timothy Olyphant), but other than his scarily white teeth, I couldn't really complain:

 

Sam (Callan McAuliffe) looked a lot different than how I pictured him (obviously), but that didn't bother me (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!):

 

 And look at this pretty one:
 

Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (a.k.a. James Frey and Jobie Hughes)

My feelings for this book can be summed up in one word: meh. 

Actually, that's not even a word, is it? Just a sound. Yep, that's about as much as I care about I Am Number Four. I didn't hate it. But I didn't like it either. I just felt... meh.

I read this because I was kinda excited about the movie, and I have this weird obsession with reading the book versions of movie adaptations beforehand (as you can probably tell by my last two reviews). I'd been told the movie was, "like Twilight, with aliens", which sounded pretty much perfect for me. Plus, it stars Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron, who are both very pretty and made an incredibly cute couple (despite being an alleged PR pairing with a literally fiery breakup).

But back to the book. Our narrotor is John Smith, a.k.a Number Four, one of nine young aliens sent to Earth after their home planet, Lorien, was destroyed by the evil Mogadorians. He's spent his life on the run from these creatures along with his carer, Henri, but all he wants to do is settle down. Henri finally relents and agrees to stay for awhile in a small town called Paradise (really), despite the fact that John is next on the Mogadorians' sequential hit list. So John is at last able to make a friend and, of course, a girlfriend (yay!) - but how long can he escape the detection of the Mogadorians? (Spoilery answer: not very).

It was a struggle to get through this. For a story with a fair amount of action (both of the romantic and more violent kind), I found it incredibly boring. I think part of the problem was that it was written in the present tense - a device which, when used effectively, can really emphasise the urgency of a situation. But, when not, only works to highlight how extremely dull it is - which is exactly what most of the book felt like. Even the fight scenes had my eyes glazing over. There were certain details that seemed to come out of nowhere (for instance, Sarah returning from a trip I didn't remember her leaving for), but I can't say with certainty whether that was a flaw in the continuity or if I just zoned out in too many places. And the sad part is I didn't care enough to go back and reread to make sure. Like I said: meh.

Rating: 2.5/5

Talking Points

• How lame is the name Mogadorians for a race of evil aliens? Also, their description (or lack thereof) made it really hard for me to picture what they looked like. I was confused for awhile and thought they were some kind of beasts, then I realised that the beasts were their pets. Or something.
• I liked the relationship between Sarah and John, and the fact that it wasn't all angsty and complicated. It was a pretty realistic portrayal of a teen romance (aside from, y'know, the whole alien part), and I appreciated that Sarah had her own thing going on and wasn't swooning every time John breathed. She even told him to shut up when he was being super cheesy (flirtily, it's true, but still it's something). While this was nice and refreshing, their normalcy and lack of hurdles for most of the story (even his alienness doesn't really affect their relationship) means that there was none of the intensity that really makes you root for a couple.
• My favourite character was Bernie Kosar. A dog. That says a lot about the other characters. But it really irritated me that (spoiler alert) John didn't make the connection that Bernie was an alien, too, until he literally transforms in front of his eyes. I felt it was just so obvious. But then, John doesn't seem like the brightest spark - it also took him 340-odd pages to realise he'd been able to hear the thoughts of animals all along.
• Even though I didn't particularly enjoy this book, I'll probably still read the inevitable sequels. Because it hints that a lot of back story gets explained in the next one, which I'm curious about. Then again, maybe I'll just read the Wikipedia synopsis.

Eye candy

In a completely unintentional pattern, I yet again saw the movie trailer before reading the book. So the cast was cemented in my head. Luckily, as I mentioned, they're very pretty:

There was a problem when Six's dark-haired description didn't QUITE match up to a very blonde Teresa Palmer, but I just ignored it:

Then there was Sam. I wasn't sure who plays him, but there's only one person who comes to mind when a sandy-haired nerd is mentioned: