Orphan Black Vol. 1 | John Fawcett, Szymon Kudranski, Graeme Manson, Jody Houser & Cat Staggs | Review

Monday, 1 August 2016

Orphan Black Vol. 1 | John Fawcett, Szymon Kudranski, Graeme Manson, Jody Houser & Cat Staggs | Review

If you caught my recent review of Gregory E. Pence's What We Talk About When We Talk About Clone Club, you'll know it's no secret that I'm an Orphan Black fan. Although I'd heard about the graphic novels a little while back, I only recently discovered that Vol.1 was available at my local library, and that felt like a nudge that it was time to delve into a new version of the Orphan Black universe!

The graphic novel is based on the TV series and features illustrations of all our favourite characters/actors from a selection of artists. Story-wise this volume delves into our introductions to five of the most familiar clones; Sarah, Helena, Alison, Cosima and Rachel, showing how complex and different the clones really are. With that in mind, for those who have watched the show there isn't a whole lot of new information to be found within these pages, although there are a few interesting snippets that weren't featured on screen. For those who haven't seen the show.... well, I can imagine it may be a bit of a confusing read.

Although the storylines closely follow those already explored on the show, I still enjoyed this quick read and would recommend picking it up if you're a fan, in particular to see the variety of artwork included. If you're more interested in exploring parts of the story never before seen on screen, there is also a second Orphan Black graphic novel series focusing on Helsinki. If the description is anything to go by, Vol.2 sounds like a much more interesting exploration of the universe fans have come to love and I'm definitely planning on picking it up soon!

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Saved By The Bell (Vol. 1) | Joelle Sellner, Chynna Clugston Flores & Tim Fish | Review

Monday, 28 September 2015

Saved By The Bell (Vol. 1) | Joelle Sellner, Chynna Clugston Flores & Tim Fish | Review

*Review copy c/o Netgalley, image via Goodreads

As soon as I heard that there was going to be a graphic novel adaptation of Saved By The Bell I knew I had to get my hands on it! Like many people around my age I grew up watching the TV show (which debuted the year I was born), and in more recent times have found myself laughing along at all of the craziness as podcaster April Richardson discusses the show with guests on the amazing Go Bayside!.

One of the big differences from the TV show is that the graphic novel brings the characters we know and love into the modern day. This version sees Lisa as a vlogger, Kelly auditioning for an X-Factor style talent show, a Bayside High dating website and Screech's robot Kevin as a super computer who can do pretty much anything! At the heart of the story though are those same characters, just as I remember them from the show.

There were also a few little nods to the original setting of the late 80's and early 90's, such as Zack saying 'I can't believe anyone ever used this' about an old-style mobile phone which looks exactly like the one his TV counterpart used. I loved this new take on the characters and thought the transition to the modern day setting was done really well, managing to bring the story up to date without losing the spirit of what made the original series a success.

The brightly coloured illustrations were very reminiscent of the sets and outfits found on the show, as well as in the iconic opening credits. Speaking of which, the pages separating the eight stories found within the graphic novel are each adorned with the Bayside Tigers logo upon a background that is taken from that famous opening sequence.

Whilst it's pretty difficult for me to step back from being a fan and look at the graphic novel from the point of view of someone who isn't familiar with the show, I can still see it being enjoyable for today's teens.

All in all this graphic novel is a quick and super fun read, and is certainly perfect for fans of the show. I hope we'll be seeing a volume 2 soon!

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Pretty Little Liars | Sara Shepard | Reviewed by Erin

Monday, 16 February 2015

Pretty Little Liars | Sara Shepard | Reviewed by Erin

I love a good mystery tale and having recently ‘Netflix marathoned’ every episode of the TV adaptation to date, I was keen to pick up the first in Sara Shepard’s famous Pretty Little Liars series which currently consists of no less than sixteen novels!

Last year I read four of the books from another of Shepard’s popular YA series; The Lying Game. Having found the writing style very easy to fall into and becoming swept up in the mystery I was looking forward to another quick read that would keep me guessing.

Pretty Little Liars follows teens Aria, Spencer, Emily and Hanna who’s friend Alison mysteriously went missing three years ago. When the now ex-best friends each start to receive threatening messages from the anonymous ‘A’ who seems to know all of their darkest secrets they are brought back together and start to suspect that Alison may be behind them.

Book one introduces the characters and how their lives are intertwined by Ali’s disappearance, although having seen the TV series I felt like I knew the ‘Liars’ already despite the changes from the novel. The main characters described all differ visually from the actors cast in the show and I struggled to picture them how Shepard originally had, particularly since I was reading the TV tie-in edition with the actors on the cover! Mystery-wise I really love the premise of this series and found this quick read pretty entertaining.

Overall I did enjoy both the drama and mystery of the story and although I tried to put the TV show aside whilst reading I found it very difficult to detach the novel from the adaptation. Perhaps if I had picked up the book first, with the story being completely new to me, I would have liked it more. Having said that I do plan to find time to read at least the next few in the series, as like many TV adaptations this short novel makes up just the pilot episode so there's so much more of the story to come. I'm hoping to see the characters develop as I felt they were much less likable than their TV counterparts and am also intrigued to see how the overall plot differs from the direction the TV series has taken.

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The 100 & Day 21 | Kass Morgan | Reviewed by Erin

Monday, 15 September 2014

The 100 & Day 21 | Kass Morgan | Reviewed by Erin

*Review copy c/o Netgalley, images via Goodreads


The idea behind the 100 series may seem rather familiar to some of you as it has recently been adapted into a TV series by US network The CW but today I'm going to be discussing the original books. The novels follow a group of teen criminals living in space years after a nuclear apocalypse left the Earth uninhabitable. Although the ship has been home to several generations the real story begins when 100 of the teens are chosen to be sent back to Earth to investigate as oxygen on the ship is running out quickly, putting everyone's lives at risk.

At first I found it difficult to get into the story of The 100 which is a shame as I thought the premise sounded intriguing. I had expected it to be more of a survival story but instead found it to be very focused on the various relationships between the main characters. The teens we meet are Clarke, Wells & Bellamy who are all sent down to Earth, and finally Glass the only one of the group who remains on the ship. The chapters alternate between these four characters who are all connected in some way and although I thought it was interesting to include perspectives from both on and off the ship, in this case I didn’t feel that the multiple points of view on the ground necessarily added much value to the story.

Something else I was disappointed in was the lack of solid world-building which definitely contributed to the fact that I didn’t feel like I could really invest in the characters and their stories. In addition it didn't feel like much actually happened in the book plot-wise and sadly overall it left me feeling underwhelmed and with a lot of unanswered questions.

In an attempt to enjoy The 100 more I also dipped in and out of the first few episodes of the new TV adaptation but sadly I couldn’t muster up much enthusiasm here either. Still, I persevered and picked up the second book in the hope that it would contain more answers, and more of the survival tale I was hoping for.

Newly released sequel Day 21 picks up where The 100 left off and whilst still fairly focused on the relationships between the characters also starts to give more of an insight into what’s been happening on Earth and how the Colony became to be. For me the fact that the world-building was stronger and new elements were added meant I enjoyed the second book more than the first.

Although overall this series isn’t one of my personal favourites I still believe the premise has a lot of potential and perhaps a third instalment could be very interesting. Fans of the TV adaptation may be surprised at some of the changes from the original novels but will most likely enjoy these reads!

This post was written by regular reviewer Erin, get to know her here

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Features | The Lowdown On Upcoming YA Adaptations

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Features | The Lowdown On Upcoming YA Adaptations

Images via Goodreads
Following the success of films such as The Hunger Games adaptation just over a year ago and the growing popularity of the genre many more of our favourite Young Adult series are also set to hit the big, and small, screens in the next couple of years. This year already sees the release of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, Orson Scott-Card’s Ender’s Game, Casandra Clare’s City Of Bones and most recently Beautiful Creatures on the big screen but here are some details on just a few of the other titles set to be adapted soon.

Divergent

Quite possibly the most talked about is the film adaptation of Veronica Roth’s debut Divergent, the first in a trilogy that follows the journey of Tris Prior as she chooses which faction she will belong to for the rest of her life. As the film is set to begin shooting in Chicago very soon there have been a lot of interesting casting announcements popping up in recent weeks. Firstly Shailene Woodley was cast as main character Tris Prior followed by the announcements that Zoe Kravitz will play Christina, Tris’ best friend in the Dauntless faction, Nikita star Maggie Q will portray Dauntless member Tori and Ansel Elgort is set to play Tris’ Erudite brother Caleb. There are also speculation that Oscar winner Kate Winslet has been offered a role and although rumours suggest she will portray Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews this has not yet been confirmed. The most anticipated casting news however is that Brit actor Theo James will portray Dauntless member and Tris’ love interest Four.

The Maze Runner

Also on the cards is a 2014 film version of The Maze Runner by James Dashner which was released back in 2009. The story centres around a group of boys , the ‘Gladers’ who are trapped in a maze as part of some form of experiment. The boys don’t know how they got there or why they were chosen but they know that they are meant to find a way to escape. There hasn’t yet been a lot of confirmed news for this project although IMDB has British actors Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Aml Ameen listed as cast members. The website originally had Poulter listed as main character Thomas but that has since been altered and now states that he will play Gally. The film will be directed by Wes Ball best known for his work in art departments and visual effects.

Vampire Academy

The popular Vampire Academy series of novels by Richelle Mead are also coming to the big screen. Personally I don’t know a lot about this series but from what I understand it centres around a boarding school where vampires are trained to protect magic and half-human teens. Reports state that Zoey Deutch, star of another YA adaptation Beautiful Creatures, will play main character Rose. Interestingly Mark Waters who is famous for his work on Mean Girls amongst other things has signed on to direct.

The Fault in Our Stars

A big screen adaptation of John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars arguably the most talked about YA release of 2012 is also in the works. The film is set to be directed by Josh Boone who’s only previous directing credit is 2012’s Stuck In Love which he also wrote the screenplay for. There have been rumours about Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld auditioning for the role of Hazel Grace but nothing has been confirmed as yet. *Edit - the same day this post was published it was announced that Shailene Woodley will portray Hazel Grace

Delirium

In addition there are also projects set to hit the small screen this year most notably Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series. The books are set in a world where love is considered a disease and at the hands of the government teens are ‘cured’ with an operation. Emma Roberts has officially been cast to play protagonist Lena alongside Jeanine Mason as best friend Hana, Daren Kagasoff as Alex and Gregg Sulkin as Julian. The pilot episode is set to condense the entirety of the trilogy’s first novel coupled with some character changes which will make for interesting viewing for fans of the series.

The Selection

Kiera Cass’ The Selection, a story about a girl chosen by a ‘lottery’ to compete for the affections of Prince Maxon, is set to air on The CW, the network who successfully adapted the Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl books and now The Carrie Diaries, later this year. So far there are several names on board to star including Anthony Head as the King.

Mila 2.0

Debra Driza’s debut novel Mila 2.0 which isn’t actually released until the end of March is already set for an ABC adaptation with Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and her producing partner Betsy Beers on board both as executive producers. Mila 2.0 follows the story of a teen who discovers that she is in fact an android created by the military as an experiment in artificial intelligence. As yet there has been no casting news but with Rhimes and Beers on board the project has a lot of potential for success. I was actually lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the book - if you are interested and would like to find out more about Mila 2.0 click here to read my review.

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So that’s it for my wrap up on upcoming YA adaptations. I am hoping to review the pilot episodes of both Delirium and The Selection when they air as well as Mila 2.0 if the project goes ahead so keep an eye out for those later in the year. I’m sure I will be reviewing some of both the 2013 and 2014 film releases on my personal blog (www.e-eliseetc.com) too.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below letting me know which adaptation you are most excited for!

This post was written by regular reviewer Erin, get to know her here.

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Noughts and Crosses | Malorie Blackman | Review

Sunday, 17 March 2013

Noughts and Crosses | Malorie Blackman | Review

In Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman swaps the prejudices from this world regarding race and puts them into this amazing series. In this world, which is modern day London, Persephone (Sephy) is a Cross. A girl from a very wealthy family and has dark skin. Callum is a Nought, a boy who is living in a rougher part of the area and his skin tone is white. These two young people have known each other since they were small, when they were too young to know of prejudice and bullying and war and hate. As they grow up they realise that they both want to become more than friends but in living in this harsh and cruel society, it is exceedingly difficult. Will Callum and Sephy ever find true happiness? You will have to find out.

Honestly my friends, this is a fabulous start to a fabulous series. My mum bought me it when I was about fourteen and I fell in love with it. The short but very well written chapters dragged me into this parallel world and I found it really hard to come back to reality. This book will have you smiling, crying, biting your fingernails and leave you with wide mouthed expressions and flicking the pages as to what happens next. I think this book is more suitable for teenagers aged fourteen and up because there is a lot of violence which takes place. I love this book because there are lots and lots of twists and turns and half the time you have no idea what the outcome is going to be. I thought this book was brilliantly written as I could picture the scenes and the characters vividly and it was one of those books where I felt like I was in it and watching everything that was happening.

Obviously this book deserves a five star rating. I really urge you all to read this. It's one of my top ten favourite books of all time, and it would mean a lot if you read it and fell in love with it as much as I have.  This story is about violence, religion, race, war and love. And if you like this book, there's three more in the series!

This book was reviewed by regular reviewer Lucy, get to know her here!
Picture from Lucy

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Thirteen Reasons Why | Jay Asher | Review

Sunday, 2 December 2012

Thirteen Reasons Why | Jay Asher | Review

 “To miss her each time I pull in a breath of air. To miss her with a heart that feels so cold by itself, but warm when thoughts of her flow through me.” source.

You may have heard about Jay Asher's debut novel Thirteen Reasons Why for a few reasons. 1) the book drags controversial issues into the spotlight, 2) a movie adaption is planned for the near future to star Selena Gomez and 3) the book has gone on to win multiple awards since its 2007 release.

The book follows Clay Jensen on what turns out to be a scary ride. It's made clear that a fellow student of Clay's, Hannah Baker, commit suicide. When Clay returns home one day from school to find a box of cassettes addressed to him from Hannah he's intrigued and compelled to listen. The 13 tapes take him on an adventure across his town to places that affected and changed Hannah's life. Each tape contains a story about a certain person and how they contributed to her death. Hannah refers to the stories as a "snowball", as time went on and each person hurt her, her depression grew bigger. The tapes were sent to each person from the stories in chronological order, forcing each person to face the negative effect they had on Hannah. The cliffhanger of the book is Clay's tape, what will it say? Will it be bad? What could he have done to hurt Hannah, girl he hardly knew.

The format of the book is complex but easy to follow once grasped. Clays' dialogue and internal thoughts are portrayed in the text as they usually would. Hannah's voice and stories are combined throughout the text in italics or as separate paragraphs making it easy to distinguish between the two story tellers. It's really interesting to see each story unfold from two different points of view. Hannah's story telling of events combined with Clay's perceived opinions contribute to a captivating read.

The book intrigued me when I first picked it up because of personal circumstances, as is the same for a lot of people. In a world where depression and other mental health problems are prominent, it's highly possible we all know someone who has attempted or succeeded suicide. The book is small and highly captivating, leaving it a short read for individuals. I liked the book, I thought the message was loud and clear for the readers to grasp. It was also nice to see an issue like suicide, which is highly debated, raised in public light.

13 Reasons Why deserves 5 stars. Jay Asher's book may be challenging to read, but it's not everyday you come across a book like this.

Recommended For

Those of you who enjoyed Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns by John Green, Go Ask Alice by Anonymous and Somebody's Crying by Maureen McCarthy. If you're a fan of light mystery, dark humour or even teen issues I'd recommend 13 Reasons Why to you. The book isn't coming of age, but rather a story of teenage relationships and issues.

This review was written by regular reviewer Taylah, get to know her here.
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