The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Book Review

I read this book after seeing the preview for the movie. Books that take place during WWII have always fascinated me and I was looking forward to reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

The characters are amazing. I loved Liesel and Max's friendship and seeing the softening of the mother's heart as time goes on. There's no doubt that the setting and characters are flawlessly developed.

I thought the idea of death as the narrator of the story was an interesting concept but poorly executed. The narration breaks the flow of the story. Every time "Death's" voice was heard, it was short little descriptions or definitions of specific words. When I was reading these parts, it came off as though it was a portion of the author's outline that he didn't know how else to write into the book.

Another problem I had with The Book Thief was that there was no conflict. There was some tension but every problem was so easily resolved, I couldn't get a real grasp on the story.

Overall, I rate The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 3 stars. With so many other books that take place during this time period, I don't think I'll be recommending this one.

Creation by Kat Mellon Book Review

   Creation by Kat Mellon was an interesting 92 page novella. People with different talents are taken to a place called "Creation" and their memories are wiped of anything from the outside world. They know nothing about trees, cities or even children and the elderly. Their creative talents are the only thing they can focus on.

Although I found Creation's concept very interesting, I can't ignore the fact that the story ended right where things were taking a particularly interesting turn. There were too many unanswered questions to have the story feel compete. The last few pages read like the author was forcing emotions that weren't warranted just to bring the novella to an end. I did ask the author if she planned another book on Creation considering all the plot lines that were left unfinished and she said she was not planning on continuing the story. This was a disappointment to hear as I think Creation is a beautiful introduction to a much larger story that we'll never hear.

Overall, I rate Creation by Kat Mellon 3 1/2 stars.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Review (No Spoilers)

So, Alli and I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2. I really liked it and now that I am home thinking about it, I like it even more and can't wait to see it again.  There is a part that they changed at the end. While I was watching it, I couldn't appreciate it.  I just kept thinking about how much they changed it and how were they going to turn it around to make it end like the book. I was really really mad about the change. Everyone in the theater was shocked and there were gasps and as soon as that part was over everyone went, "Oooohhhhhh" and I think there was a collective sigh of relief.

I thought the acting was a huge improvement from the last few movies. There was also a lot of humor in the movie that I wasn't expecting. One thing I wished was that there was more of Renesme and her "gift." There was only one part that showed what she is actually doing, the rest of the times she did it, it was just inferred that you should understand what's going on.

I also think there should have been a better description of what Bella can do. Alli didn't really understand it until I explained how it was in the book.

As far as the part at the end that was changed. As the books were from Bella's perspective (and some from Jake in BD) that part wouldn't be in the book anyway. That is how I am accepting the change, and I actually quite like it now.  At the time I couldn't accept what was happening because it was so far departed from the book.

Overall, I would rate the movie 5/5 stars. It's the best one they've done yet.