My Most Anticipated Book to Screen Adaptions of 2016

Hi guys! Today I'm going to share with you the list of all the upcoming movies and TV shows adapted from books that I'm most excited for. If there's a screen adaptation which I've not included here but which you've been anticipating, it could be that I haven't yet read the source material. So feel free to recommend me books I haven't read yet and movies you think I might enjoy ^^

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

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While I haven't actually read the book this movie is based on, I'm pretty hyped about watching this one. It follows the adventures of Newt Scamander, the man who will eventually write the fictional book Fantastic Beasts that features as a textbook in the Harry Potter books. The movie will be set in New York, 70 years before Harry's story starts and stars Eddie Redmayne as the main character.

A Monster Calls

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This movie is based on a book by Patrick Ness which follows the story of a young boy, Conor, after he meets a strange monster that seems to want something of him. The book is full of beautiful black and white illustrations and looks at how the young character learns to cope with tragedy and loss. I have high hopes for this movie and am really looking forward to it. It stars Lewis MacDougall as Conor and Liam Neeson as the Monster. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

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This is based on a book by Ransom Riggs that follows the story of a teenager, Jacob, after he stumbles across a place where children with strange abilities live under the protection of the equally mysterious Miss Peregrine. The book was great and I'm hoping the movie will do it justice. It's being directed by Tim Burton so I'm guessing the strange side of the story will be there in the movie as well. It stars Asa Butterfield as Jacob and Eva Green as Miss Peregrine. When I read the book, I had imagined Miss Peregrine as an old woman but I love Eva Green so I'm kind of okay with the casting despite her being much younger.

Looking for Alaska

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I'm not the biggest John Green fan out there but I did read his book Looking for Alaska and I did enjoy it, so when this movie comes out, I'll definitely be watching it. What I'm especially looking forward to is the scene of the school speech. If you've read the book, you know what I'm really talking about XD Now this movie might be released either in 2016 or in 2017 and nothing has been announced yet for the cast. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Shadowhunters

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This TV show is adapted from the Mortal Instrument books by Cassandra Clare and started airing this month itself. From the promos I've seen so far, it seems that they're keeping the show as accurate as possible with minor changes here and there to make it work better on screen. I'll have to wait to actually see the episodes to judge but I do really love the books and I'm pretty hyped by the show as well at this point. It stars Katherine McNamara as Clary and Dominic Sherwood as Jace. May I also point out that this show has a really attractive cast. Not that it has anything to do with the content but still... ^^

So those were some of the movies and TV shows that I'm looking forward to in 2016. What book to screen adaptation are you most excited for this year? Let me know in the comments!

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My Favorite Female Characters

Hi guys! Together I've compiled a list of my 5 favorite female characters. If you want to know more about the books they feature in, you can click on the titles and they'll take you to each book's Goodreads page.

Let's start!

Elphaba from Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Let it be heard once and for all: Elphaba is my favorite female character of all time. Yep. In Maguire's adult retelling of the Wizard of Oz, Elphaba is a very human characterization  of the Wicked Witch of the West whom you can't help but root for. Born with green skin, this very special girl grows to become a very intelligent young woman who sees the hidden horrors of her world's society and decides to do something about it. And as she sets out to do what she can to change things, her transformation into the legendary Wicked Witch of the West begins. She's a rebel. She's a feminist. She's simply awesome. 

Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

All the leading ladies from the Lunar Chronicles are pretty cool but Cinder remains my favorite. Each book in this series is based on a fairytale and Cinder is based, as you can guess, on Cinderella. She's a rather unique Cinderella in that she's a mechanic! She's always covered in oil stains, she's very down to earth and she's quite a strong female character  and that, too, without being your traditional kick-ass heroine. I mean, she doesn't even really knows how to fight but she's still a pretty cool female character. She's got her sensitive side and has the same apprehensions any young girl in her situation would have. And yet, she still succeeds to become a strong character with a lot of potential for great things. 

Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Most of us who've read this book have probably recognized themselves to some degree in Cath. I mean, she's an introvert, she's a fangirl, she writes fanfic and she's pretty much a book nerd. Cath and her twin sister are beginning university and while her sister is pretty hyped for it, Cath is equally anxious. She'd rather be typing away on her computer than talking to people around the campus. And yet, as she begins to let people in and actually try her hand at this university thing, things slowly begin to get swinging for her. This book was very realistic while remaining super endearing and Cath is a great character a lot of us are bound to relate to.

Alana from the Saga graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan

Now here's an actual kick-ass female character. In this epic sci-fi graphic novel series, there's an ongoing war between two alien species. When two people from these enemy races, Alana and Marko, fall in love and have a child together, authorities and bounty hunters alike begin to hunt them down. Alana fiercely loves her family and never shies away from grabbing a gun or wielding a sword to defend them. She's super flawed too, but in my opinion, that just makes her a very relatable character. 

Agnes from Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

In 1839, Iceland, a woman called Agnes is accused of murder and until her sentence is finalized, she's banished to a remote farm in the care of the family who owns it. This family is initially horrified to be housing a criminal but as time passes and the date of the final sentence looms closer, they begin to discover the truth about Agnes. What I loved about Agnes is that she never, at any point in the novel, seeks the sympathy of this family. She quietly offers her help around the house and keeps to herself mostly and it only after some time that everyone, the reader included, that we begin to get to know her. In her own way, Agnes is pretty much a strong character of her own right.

So those were my favorite female characters. Leading ladies in books can be pretty bad-ass sometimes ^^ Do you have a favorite female character? Let me know in the comments!

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Cover art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo

Mini Reviews - My December Wrap-Up

Hi guys! Before I start with this post, I wanted to share with you something I've been thinking about. Maybe you've noticed I've neither posted a monthly wrap-up nor a review in a long time. See, I do enjoy writing both posts. Trouble is, with my monthly reading amounting to 10 or more books, it was become a little tedious for me to write wrap-ups. The posts were simply getting too long. I also wanted to tell you about all the great books I was reading but narrowing these to 1 or 2 per month, in view of reviewing them, was also becoming a little difficult. I simply couldn't pick which book I wanted to review!

So I've thought about it and I think I've come up with quite a good solution. Starting this month, I'll be doing a wrap-up of a 'selection' of the books I read the previous month. And for each book mentioned, I'll write a mini review so that you can know what I thought about them. The books to make the cut will either be books I enjoyed a lot or new releases you guys might be interested to know more about.

Alright, time to get started. I hope you enjoy this post. Let me know what you think of my revamped monthly wrap-up. Your feedback is, as always, most welcome ^^

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Genre: Young Adult

My Rating: 5 stars

The Plot: Eleanor is the unfortunate new girl in town. At school, she’s bullied for her weight, mismatched clothes and unruly red hair. At home, she does her best to stay out of the way of her violent stepfather and finds what little peace she can in the chaos of a family too big crammed in a house way too small. Park seems to come from an entirely different world than hers. Dressed all in black, his headphones on and his comics open in his lap, he plays it cool enough for everybody else to leave him alone. And then, one day, Eleanor and Park meet on a ride in the school bus. What ensues is the unlikeliest of friendships and the strongest of young loves.

My Review: This was a reread for me and I loved it even more than I did the first time. The prose is beautiful, the story is as unique as it's touching and the characters are not only relatable but they are also very likable. It's a YA novel that breaks away from tropes and clichés and asserts itself as a powerful piece of literature of its own right. It might not be for younger teens due to certain topics discussed but it's the perfect book for adults who don't normally read YA and young people who are seeking books about people of their age but with deeper and more meaningful stories. Oh, and by the way, Eleanor and Park totally made a mess out of my heart. 

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

Genre: Adult, LGBTQ+

My Rating: 5 stars

The Plot: Girl meets boy is a modern retelling of Ovid’s tale of Iphis, in which a woman disguises her daughter as a boy to save her from infanticide, only for the girl to fall in love with another girl when she grows up. By the grace of a Goddess, the girl is turned into a real man and is then able to marry the girl she/he loves. Although as in the original myth the book discusses gender and sexuality, it remains above all a love story as timeless as it is charming.

My Review: Though at first glance it might seem simple, the writing is both deep and poetic. The approach to the prose though, makes the depth of the story more easily approachable for a reader who may not necessarily read such adult fiction frequently. The story isn't quite as linear as in regular novels, although the narrative is simple enough to follow and is accompanied by just the right amount of descriptions to make the story vivid and easy to follow without being overwhelming. I would recommend this one to people who are either interested in discovering Ali Smith's books or who simply might want to make the transit to adult fiction. The book also does a brilliant job discussing sexuality and gender in a way that will make the story relatable to concerned parties without scaring away readers who are only now beginning to explore this genre. 

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Genre: Children Mystery

My Rating: 4 stars

The Plot: It’s winter and at Greenglass House, an old inn famous for its clientele of smugglers, the innkeepers and their adopted son, Milo, are getting reading to spend the holidays together during what is supposed to be the low season. Then, as snow begins to fall and it slowly starts to get colder, five guests unexpectedly show up. These strangers all seem to be rather secretive and no sooner has Milo begun to wonder about what secrets they might each have, things start to go missing in the house. And thus, as the snow deepens around the remote inn, inside its walls, secrets begin to unfold.

My Review: This is one of the best children books I've read lately and I'd recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good winter mystery read, especially during the holiday season. It was very well written in a fast-paced and compelling way that will suit adults and children alike. The book is full of secret maps, treasure-filled attics, smugglers and pirates and a good share of mystery. It was a fun read and I'll definitely be checking out the author's other works.

So those were my mini reviews for some of the books I enjoyed in December. Have you read any of these books? If yes, do share your thoughts about them with me in the comments.