Catching Fire Casting Announcments

Catching Fire has been throwing a lot of casting news our way lately. Here are some of the new actors/actresses joining the cast.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman has recently been given the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, the head gamemaker. The 46 year old actor has most recently starred in Moneyball and The Ides of March.

Amanda Plummer has been cast as Wiress, or also known as "Nuts", the District 3 tribute. The 56 year old actress received an Academy Award Nomination for her performance in Pulp Fiction.

Jena Malone has reportedly been offered the role of Johanna Mason. This has yet to be confirmed by Lionsgate though. The 28 year old actress is more well known for her role in Sucker Punch.

The casting on the gorgeous District 4 tribute has been tedious as ever, with gossip sites spreading rumors of so and so being cast and so and so denying it. Recently, it has been all over the internet that Slam Claflin has been offered the role. We are still waiting to hear the final word from Lionsgate though but here is a quick look at Sam Claflin.

Sam Claflin, 26, is most well known for his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Snow White and the Huntsman.

I think that Sam Claflin could pull it off if he is really cast as Finnick so I am not complaining but as of now when we don't have a final word on it, my heart is still for Armie Hammer.

Armie Hammer, also 26, is most known for his performances in Mirror Mirror and The Social Network.

Hopefully we have more casting news coming as soon as possible!

Revived by Cat Patrick

Title: Revived
Author: Cat Patrick

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Genre: YA, Sci-Fi
Pages: 336
Rating: 4.5 Stars





 As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

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This book immediately drew me in from the start. It had such an interesting concept to it so I read it almost immediately after I discovered it. This book was so refreshing for me to read. I have read almost all dystopian novels lately so it was nice to read one set in our own time and I could relate to it a little better. Not that I don't LOVE dystopian novels but it was nice to have a little break.
I am just gonna start off by saying this book was definitely a tear-jerker. I won't spoil anything but there are some very sad parts in this book. These moments are done so well though that it really made me love the book even more. The characters all dealt with trauma in different ways that were so human and real that it made the whole thing so much more believable.

Aside from the sad parts though, this story had a really great plot and characters. I loved the whole concept of being brought back to life after dying. Cat Patrick really showed how being revived many times isn't all its cut out to be like you would assume. Daisy starts to realize this as certain events occur to make her question the drug that brought her back 5 times.

I loved everyone of these characters and don't get me wrong, Matt was as swoon-worthy as ever but there was one character that really stuck out to me. Mason, Daisy's stand in father really turned out to be just a genuinely great character. He understood Daisy's actions and supported her in her decisions. He was always there for her trying his best. I really ended up admiring Mason especially in the end of this book.

You may be wondering, if I seem to love this book so much why is it not rated 5 stars? Here is my answer: the ending went from super-intense what is going to happen next to just blah. After all Daisy has gone through the ending is just not worth it. It isn't until the epilogue that everything is cleared up and everyone's happy again. It just basically was depressing and upsetting. That is the one flaw in this book. But honestly, other than that, this book was absolutely amazing! It is a very quick read and despite the ending it really is a great book and I definitely recommend it!

New Covers For Across The Universe Trilogy

Recently, the Across the Universe Trilogy received a new set of covers to appeal to an audience of both males and females. To be honest, I really loved the first to covers for Across The Universe and A Million Suns but what can you do? I do agree that these covers will probably appeal to a different audience so I guess their initial goal was achieved.

Shades of Earth, the third book in the trilogy, is set to be released on January 15th, 2013

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Title: A Million Suns
Author: Beth Revis

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 386
Rating: 5 Stars

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship.

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Beth Revis you have yet to disappoint. This book succeeded all my expectations. I could not put it down. The whole plot, characters and the setting all worked together to make an outstanding book. 

I don't know how Revis does it but I felt like I was on that ship and when everything happened. I felt just like Amy did, trapped and helpless in many of the situations. I know this is far beyond what society is capable of at this time but A Million Suns just made it feel so real. To make a giant spaceship traveling to a new livable planet feel real, that takes a lot of talent.

I cannot forget the wonderful characters. Every single character had depth. I especially loved seeing Elder begin to take on his role as Eldest. He so wanted to do things differently and be a better leader than the Eldests before him but no matter what he did he was met with problem after problem.

As for the entire plot, I don't think it gets any better than that. I truly was along for the ride in this book. I had no idea who would end up being responsible for all the deaths on board Godspeed. Usually in books, I can tell who the bad guy/girl is before the characters. But, in A Million Suns, I was just as clueless as everyone else. I was not used to this at all. Even in Across The Universe, I knew that the other Elder wasn't really dead and that Orion was really him. I spent a lot of that book cursing Amy and Elder for not seeing the obvious. That is what was so different in A Million Suns. It is so unpredictable. This is one of the few books that I have ever read that I can say that about.

One of the things that I liked best about this book is its ability to make me feel so much of what the characters were feeling. This book made me cry, smile, and want to throw many characters out the hatch and into space to die. I cannot even begin to describe how much I absolutely loved this book. Beth Revis you have officially made it to my list of favorite authors.

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across The Universe
Author: Beth Revis

Publisher: Razorbill

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 416
Rating: 5 Stars

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

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Across The Universe is an absolutely amazing book. After I finished (at 1am because I couldn't bear to put it down) I couldn't even believe what I had just read. This book kept me guessing the entire way through. This book makes me love the planet we are on even more than before. The little world that they are living in on the ship is beyond belief. It is crazy the extent they go to keep the ship's passengers peaceful and ignorant. 

In this book, you think you know what's going on. You're wrong. You think you are one step ahead of the characters. You're wrong. In the end you realize the main characters themselves were even keeping their own secrets that really changed everything and that everything you thought was completely off. I really loved this aspect of the book because it kept you guessing.

This book really made me sympathize with the characters and what they were going through. I was crushed when some of the truth was revealed. Another thing I liked was being able to relate to the girl main character. No matter if you are a boy or a girl, you will relate to Amy. She is the only one from Earth, or what they call 'Sol-Earth', on this ship full of people that mostly haven't even seen the stars, let alone land. Her reactions and emotions are just like those of a normal human being would have waking up to find out you are trapped on a ship that won't land for God knows how long. The whole concept of the book is just mind blowing. I definitely recommend this book to any fans of mystery, dystopia, of sci-fi. I am debating on adding a little romance into that but to be honest, if you are looking for romance, you will be greatly disappointed. There is a little but even I was a kind of bummed by the lack of it. But honestly, this book didn't need that aspect to maintain a good plot and overall be a great story.

Tahereh Mafi Reveals New Covers For Shatter Me Trilogy!

 New Cover Of Shatter Me

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

  

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

read my review of Shatter Me here

 New covers of Shatter Me's sequel, Unravel Me and novella, Destroy Me

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

  Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 352
Rating: 5 Stars

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

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I saw many mixed reviews on this book and after about a month of debating on whether or not to read it I decided I would finally give it a try. This book was unlike anything I have ever read. It was absolutely amazing. 

I am going to start off with the writing style. I can confidently say I have never in my life read a book that that is written like Shatter Me. It is so interesting and really makes it stand out above other YA novels. The way that some of the main character Juliette's thoughts were crossed out was so different and creative. Words would be crossed out when a) Juliette was really thinking a certain thing but I guess she just didn't want to admit it to herself so she then immediately says something contradicting the words she just crossed out? and b) what Juliette wants to say but never actually does. Confusing I know but it is very hard to explain. Just read it for yourself and you will know what I mean.

As for the characters, I could go on forever about how much I love these characters. Juliette is such a great main character. She is so vulnerable at times but yet so strong. Sometimes her actions may seem a bit...extreme...but, what you really must realize as a reader is that she is 17 years old and has never touched a human in almost a year and even before that she shied away from any physical contact because she knew what she could do. That is why a simple touch is like a fire exploding on Juliette's skin just because she craves the touch of a human but forces herself to act like she hates contact just so she doesn't hurt anyone else. That is one of the things I loved about Juliette. She really truly despised hurting people. She would almost rather die herself than ever watch the life leave someone's eyes because of her touch. She is the exact opposite of what most people want from her and no amount of convincing ever changes her mind. I have read so many books lately where the heroine just goes around killing bad guys without so much as a second glance. It was refreshing to finally read a book that the main character wasn't bent on violence.

Don't even get me started on Adam. I just wrote this whole paragraph on Adam but realized I indirectly would have spoiled a huge part of the book. So I am just gonna say this, Adam is your dream character. He has his mind set on one goal and he will go through anything for that one thing. Adam's devotion is unwavering and he has a great gift of being able to see the goodness in even the most damaged and tortured people.

Now onto Warner, I hate him with a passion but I think he makes a great villain in the book. I almost feel bad for him because he seems so lonely that he has to obsess over a girl that truly hates him for what he is doing to her. I don't know what made him so sadistic but it must have been very bad for him to turn out so terribly. But anyways, all of these characters are incredible and only contributed to making this story so amazing.

The plot of this story is at times both heartbreaking and action-packed. This story is full of so many twists and turns I could barely keep up. Throughout all of it I would know when something bad was going to happen but I just couldn't admit it to myself. All my heart wanted was for everything to just stop and everyone to be okay but being such a book-lover, I know I would have hated it if it didn't keep going and the characters didn't have to face the obstacles in their paths. 

There is one quote that stood out before I read this book that really made me finally get up and get this book.

  "In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger              Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men"

I read this and it immediately made me want to dive into Shatter Me. I am a huge fan of The Hunger Games but the thing that surprised me most was the comparison with X-Men. I love the X-Men movies and I had never seen a recent YA book that could even begin to be in the same category of X-Men so I thought I would give it a try. I spent this entire book searching for some sort of thing like X-Men and it didn't become clear to me until the huge plot-twist at the very end. I won't spoil anything but if you are a fan of X-Men, you will seriously love this book.

 

Insurgent - Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 525
Rating: 5 Stars



  
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
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So I have read Divergent many times and I was absolutely in love. I didn't think it could get much better than that. But then, I finished Insurgent. After almost a year of anticipation, it was finally here. And yes it was worth the wait.

Insurgent is absolutely amazing. I could not put it down for one minute. And when I had to it was all I could think about. There was not a dull moment in this book. It kept me guessing what would happen next. The plot was just fantastic.

I had very mixed emotions about Tris throughout the entire book. But, at the end, I finally realized how everything she did was necessary, no matter how much I hated it at the time. I have to admit, I despised Tris at times because of some of the decisions she made. But, I really like how she held her own throughout the story. I was afraid that after Divergent, Tris would just cower behind Tobias and always do what he says and never leave his side. Even though at times I wished she would just stay with him, overall she really could survive on her own and she didn't need him there to protect her at all times. Tris is a really complex character and that is probably one of the things that makes this story so utterly amazing. It is very hard for an author to have me hating a character at one moment and loving her at the next but Veronica Roth definitely succeeded at doing that in this book.

I cannot describe my love for Four/Tobias. It only strengthened throughout Insurgent. Tobias shows his maturity in this book. He really loves Tris, which is obvious, but when he starts acting like a whole different person than the girl he fell in love with, he won't put up with it. Sometimes he can be a little hard-headed and set in what he believes but everyone has flaws and that only makes him more real to me. He doesn't always believe Tris on many of her beliefs. Because of this, there are many lies between them that severely damage their relationship. Neither of them are very honest with each other and that is one of the things that both bothered me and made me love the book even more.  At the time it had made me very angry. But, in the end, I am glad for their fighting because in a normal situation, maintaining a relationship within the conditions Tris and Tobias are in would be nearly impossible. Their fighting made the whole thing more realistic and believable.

As for all the deaths in this book, I cried many times. Right when I start to really like someone would turn up dead within a matter of pages. But, the deaths really show that during this war, nobody, not even my favorite characters were safe. I understand how this was necessary though. I hate those books when only really minor characters die. Some important people need to die in order for it to seem real.

There is one word that pretty much sums up this entire book and that is betrayal. Nobody is ever truthful with anyone. You never know really who to trust in this book. One moment you hate a character and the next you love them, and vice versa. Some of the characters I assumed were the most loyal, turned out to be the complete opposite. I was shocked by the betrayals in this story.

So anyways, this book is definitely on the top of my favorites list. I cannot even begin to describe my love for this book. I would recommend it obviously to those who have read Divergent and if you have not, read Divergent by Veronica Roth. You will not be disappointed!

Inside Out - Maria V. Snyder

Title: Inside Out
Author: Maria V. Snyder

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 

Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 315
Rating: 4.5 Stars

 Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

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 This book really surprised me. I did not expect it to be as good as it turned out to be. I really enjoyed the story line and the mystery behind what the outside really is and where the Gateway is supposed to lead.

The characters in this book all really contributed a lot to make this a great story. The main character, Trella, is your classic teenage rebel. One of those girls who just doesn't enjoy following the rules. Her job as a scrub makes it easy for her to abandon her duties because nobody else really wants to venture into the pipes. But, as all people do, she gets curious of what is above her and begins to sneak into the Upper levels. Being a Lower, this is forbidden. The little spark of curiosity creates a whole blaze as she and Riley, another Upper she meets, try to uncover the secret of the mysterious Gateway.

I will not spoil anything but this book sure surprised me. I was not expecting a lot of the things that ended up happening. I was completely shocked at some of the things that were brought to light near the end. But, I honestly love when a book does that. It makes you assume something but never really states that your assumption is correct or not, and then at the end it just shocks you as you realize all you thought was wrong. That was one of the things I loved about this book.

I apologize for such a short review but it is hard to review without spoiling anything! Anyways though, this was a really great read and I definitely recommend it to any YA

 or dystopia fans!

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: YA, Dystopia, Sci-Fi
Pages: 487
Rating: 5 Stars

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

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It took me awhile to finally start reading this book. At first the whole concept of it just bore me. It wasn't until after I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins that I decided to give this dystopian tale a try. After finishing it in almost one sitting I can't believe I didn't start it sooner! This book was far from boring. It was absolutely amazing! It has definitely earned a spot on my favorites.

This book had me pulled in from the start. The main character, Tris, is so easy to relate to. Most people in her situation would probably feel the same way, confused about whether or not to leave their family, or choose where they really belong. The pressure put on each 16-year-old is way too much for some to handle. That immediately was one of the things that made me even more interested in this book.

As the story goes on, the plot really develops a lot. I loved how just within the small amount of time you really begin to see how corrupt each faction is, Dauntless especially. They view bravery as killing and fighting to see who comes out on top. This was a result of violence hungry leaders looking for a way to express power over the weak. Dauntless though was not the only faction like this. Every other faction had their own set of flaws and that is what made this book so interesting.

The characters in this book blew me away. Each of these characters has to deal with the consequences of many of their decisions. Some couldn't even handle the weight of what they had done. Overall though each and every character, even the ones that were working against the main character, fascinated me with the  depth of their personalities. 

Lastly, I loved the setting of this book. It is in the future focused just in the city of Chicago, with fences trapping them inside. It wasn't brought up a lot in this book but when you really think about it, there is an entire world outside that nobody even knows about. It was crazy how naive everyone was. It surprised me so much that nobody even questioned it, everyone was just fine with not knowing. That really showed how when people are trapped in one area for so long, they eventually forget there really is anything on the other side.

Overall, this book was absolutely incredible. For a debut novel, Veronica Roth really delivered. I loved every last thing about this book. I would recommend it to any fans of The Hunger Games, dystopia or sci-fi books, and YA fiction. Give this wonderful book a try! You will not be disappointed.