City of Bones (update!!!)

picture courtesy of  http://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/

So, while I am reading a few books and classes in between, I have just stumbled upon some crazy news: City of Bones has started filming and the cast is set. The official website is up, so you guys can check out the full cast on the website along with their character and a small blurb of information on the character.

And for those who want confirmation, here is a list of who is playing who:

Characters--------- Actors who will be playing them

1. Clary------- Lily Collins 
2. Jace---------Jamie Campbell-Bower
3. Simon-------Robert Sheehan
4. Alec---------Kevin Zegers
5. Isabelle------Jemima West
6. Magnus------Godfrey Gao
7. Jocelyn-------Lena Headey
8. Luke----------Aidan Turner
9. Hodge--------Jared Harris
10. Valentine----Jonathan Rhys Meyers

You can check out the whole cast on the highlighted link: (city of bones)

I am highly interested how this movie is going to turn out. According to a FAQ On Cassandra Clare's main website/blog, they might make another one if this first movie is successful.

I really do hope that this film won't mess up the book too much but still be creative on how they interpret the book. OF COURSE, nothing is perfect and assuming that this movie will be the best book-into-film that has ever been released is a little too much to expect. However, other's might think otherwise and that means all these people contributing & working towards the release of this movie should work their ass off to make it the best work they have done (my opinion) anyway. 

Molly Ringwald's an Author?!

picture courtesy of luckystarfashion.com

The 80's was one of the best (in my opinion) eras of film. It brought The Terminator, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink along with other memorable 80's movies. It sort of added to the boom of culture at the time (yes, I am quite a fan).

And if you don't know some of the movie stars of that time, you might recognize them in some of the TV shows going on now. Now I know you might think, how is this relevant to books?

Just recently I found out that Molly Ringwald, who is well known for her roles in The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles has been writing books.

picture courtesy of the Llama Butchers

And her most recent book came out the 14th of this month!

It's titled When it Happens To You and it is a collection of stories "about the particular challenges, joys, and disappointments of adult relationships (goodreads.com)." 

picture courtesy of goodreads.com

The book has themes like cheating, family issues, and not being able to have children. So far, it has gotten a lot of good reviews (and it hasn't even been a month since this book's out!). There are a few, as usual, who didn't like the book but I am actually tempted to read it. If any of you are reading it please don't hesitate to send me your review. I will edit it for purposes of fitting in the blog and whatnot but I will post it with your name and your picture. You can send me your review at elysha45@gmail.com. Otherwise...









Til Next Blog post,
Miss Bobo

We always Want a Perfect Picture (Book Review)

picture courtesy of readerstore.com)

Having romantic relationships is something that happens every now and then throughout the seasons. It is nothing rare. However being in one can be a roller coaster ride. The whole having expectations to later be broken by the reality of finally seeing all the dimensions of that person; well that is nerve racking.

Reading Picture Perfect by Leila Sales brought me to that whole concept. Written in first person narrative, Picture Perfect is about a girl named Chelsea Glaser who is dealing with a bad break up and ends up working again at the same place she worked every other summer with her best friend, Fiona, to try to deal with it. But as life tends to be a total biotch, Chelsea ends up seeing her ex-boyfriend there and finds out that he will be working there for the summer too. From then on it gets crazy.

I really liked this book for it's witty humor and realistic characters. You have the main character who is someone who believes in the happily ever afters and dealing with the reality of not having it, which is a lot of girls nowadays. Meanwhile, her best friend is the opposite. There is good humor and "uh-oh" moments that took me by surprise. The romantic parts aren't cheesy and the whole adventure part in between was good to keep my interest going.

I personally think this book is really good to read after dealing with a break up; otherwise, it's a great book: try it anyway.


Til Next Blog Post,
Miss Bobo

Hard Love (book review)

picture courtesy of thebookdepository.co.uk

Lately, I have been on a YA realistic fiction binge: catching up on the books I missed circa high school of 2004. There were books I picked up but was too busy to read fully. This book was one of them.

Written by Ellen Wittlinger in a male first person narrative, Hard Love deals with John, the main character, who reads zines while dealing with his broken family dynamic. He avoids his friend, Brian, since he is uber romantic and wants to talk about girls all the time. Everything is its usual negative routine until John decides to meet Marisol the hardcore honest Puerto Rican lesbian zinester (seriously she describes herself that way within the book).

This novel is one of those guy meets girl and thinks nothing is going to happen until he realizes it happened. It's an anti-romantic book that shows what its like to be the guy who gets rejected...kinda like Ted from How I Met Your Mother.

To me the fact that John doesn't get the girl is the hook of the novel. I really didn't like his attitude but at the same time understanding why he is the way he is through his eyes helped to make this book  more interesting. If you're a lover of happy endings I suggest to not expect much with this book because you are not going to get that happy ending. Either way, if you are into the coming of age stories, dig right in.


Til Next Blogpost,
Miss Bobo

Stolen (book review)

picture courtesy of goodreads.com

There are some books that can make you laugh, explode, and maybe even cry. There are books for all sorts of occasions and of course there are ones that catch you by surprise.

This one most certainly took me by surprise.

Written by Lucy Christopher in the first person narrative of Gemma, Stolen is her letter, or rather her story, of being kidnapped and loving her kidnapper. Throughout the book you see all that happened through Gemma's eyes.

This book is not your conventional YA novel. It's realistic in the aspect of depicting something that happens not too rarely. People go missing and sometimes they come back. But it is always unsure what really happened if sometimes the victim doesn't speak.

 I love the fact that Lucy Christopher doesn't make the kidnapper, Ty, as this guy who is only looking to rape Gemma and do all sorts of other atrocities that you see in the media. Christopher makes Ty as this character who has a troubled past just like any other human being, through Gemma's lenses. I had to pause in between chapters because it was just so disturbing and yet I felt like I was there with Gemma. The idea of being kidnapped and always wondering what is going to happen to you and who in reality is this kidnapper; is scary. And interesting enough the whole book is a letter to the kidnapper which make it more interesting in the way the story is drawn. It's written in a past tense voice but yet it is descriptive in almost a present tense voice. I really don't know whether to recommend or not; this book just left me speechless....Now, that I think about it, if any of you read Speak by Anderson and liked this book: you might get deeper with this one. If you're not afraid to shed some tears or get mildly distracted by a deep story like this, I suggest you try it.


Til Next Blogpost,
Miss Bobo

P.S. sorry to confuse you on the whole to recommend or not, this book is just...wow. Still think you should try it. 

Crossing (book review)

picture courtesy of examiner.com

I always like reading books exposing or showing different cultures such as in the case of Akata Witch or The Housekeeper & The Professor. I learn something new through the characters or even the environment they are put upon.

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda does that. Written in the first person narrative, the novel is told in the voice of Xing Xu who alongside his family and friend, Naomi Lee, is a Chinese immigrant. Naomi and him are the only Chinese immigrants in a usual all-white school. And as another year begins, students start to die unexpectedly, reporting before their death a man with a red jacket. As the story progresses, Xing finds out many things of people and of himself that will amount to an interesting ending of the book.

When I read the first page, I got interested. However, as I read more I got more into the book. This book has impeccable vocabulary that it took me back to Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (and that book had so much vocabulary).

The mystery part of Crossing isn't focused on the murderer but rather the after effects that affect the main character. There is a struggle to fit in with a community that has never really seen people from a different ethnicity besides Xing and Naomi. This book got me to see more of the clash between "U.S. land of the free" and the reality of immigrants here. Fukuda did a wonderful job giving a realistic tint to a YA novel. Most YA novels deal with angst and fitting in but this novel deals in a deeper angst: one of living with a constant struggle of fitting in  that is harder to fix than a makeover. After all you can't change where you come from.

I definitely recommend this book if 1. you want to learn new words like "vociferous," "visceral" or "ephemeras"; 2. you like mysteries and ...3. you don't like perfect endings because this book did not end in a happy "perfect" ending. I can write so many more reasons as to why you should read this book but in the end: I rather you just try for the sake of another adventure on the go.


Til Next Blogpost,
Miss Bobo

To the Manor Dead (book review)

picture courtesy sebastianstuart.net

Hope everyone is having a great day. It's raining here in NYC, and I am already thinking of getting myself in a good book along with some film horror (sorry I am a bit of a cliche).

Past few weeks I have been taking a bit of a break in between books just to be able to separate stories. Not one of those folks who read books consecutively without moments of reflection. Your brain gotta digest!

Any-who, I did get to finish 2 books and one of them is an adult mystery titled To the Manor Dead by Sebastian Stuart. Written in first person narrative, this story takes place in upstate New York where an ex-therapist tries to find herself some peace and quiet from listening to her patients. She ends up selling antiques at her own little store and finds herself meeting all sorts of characters. At some point one of them ends up dead and the ex-therapist can't help but to go on a murder quest to find out the culprit.

I found myself most of the time laughing because some of these characters were a bit too cliche for my part. I read the small bio on the author and found myself thinking he might have been in a hurry because the story seemed rushed. The ending was alright but the way the plot unfolds is just a bit off-kilter. I did learn a few new words but as a first in all the book reviews I have done on this blog, I do not recommend this book. I don't think its meant to be a mystery but more of a book that belongs in the comedy section. However, if you want to try it, go ahead. You never know unless you do read it.


Til Next Blogpost,
Miss Bobo