Divergent: Movie Review (Part I)

On Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to watch a pre-screening of Divergent. Before the movie started, I told myself that I did not want to be as critical as I was while watching The Hunger Games — I just wanted to enjoy and appreciate it for what it was.



For the most part, the movie generally stayed true to the book. There were a few times when certain things were changed, but it didn't alter the plot or any of the ongoing themes. Most of the things that were added/changed were done to keep the audience entertained and interested.

Although Divergent is a great book, it doesn't translate very well into a movie. The book is mostly about Tris' internal thoughts and feelings toward the different obstacles she has to face, which can't be visible or adapted in a movie (unless Tris does a voiceover for the entire movie ... that would be very strange). I also felt that there were a lot of events that happened in the book and, in turn, made the movie feel extremely rushed. I won't get into the specifics of exactly what, but I felt like the important things that happened near the ending were brushed over so the movie could make time for all the action points.

However, many of the scenes were similar to what I pictured while reading the book (although the zip lining scene was even BETTER) and well-produced. I really loved watching all the fear landscapes and seeing the Dauntless run around and scale buildings. I also enjoyed the movie soundtrack — Ellie Goulding was an awesome choice and I feel like she embodied the theme of the movie well.

I gave this movie 3.5 stars (out of 5) and will probably watch it again when it hits theaters. Will you be watching Divergent later this month?

Stay tuned for the "thoughts + discussion" post on March 21st!

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February 2014 Love List

Instead of taking a photo of all my favorite things, I decided to make a fun infographic :)


What were some of your favorite things in February?

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Top 5 Most Embarrassing Unread Books

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As someone who enjoys reading books, it's a little embarrassing when I haven't read a "must-read" book. It's not that I don't care to read it, but it's hard when there are so many books in the world to choose from! Not only that, but new books are being released almost every week and the struggle to stop myself from buying every single one is REAL.

These are the top five I am most embarrassed to admit that I haven't read:

5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
I bought this book last July and tried reading it once, but I couldn't get past the first chapter. I have heard countless good things about this book and I really want to watch the movie, but I don't want to watch the movie without reading the book first. I'm not sure when I'll pick it up again, but I hope to soon.

4. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I watched the movie a couple of years ago and almost got a chance to interview four of the cast members back in high school (key word: almost), but I never thought to read the book until I started watching a bunch of BookTubers (YouTubers who vlog about books) express their love for the series. Greek mythology interests me, so I'm excited to read this one day!

3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
I have no idea why I never picked this book up. I knew of its existence, but I always thought it was for older women (don't ask me why.) After reading Fangirl a couple of weeks ago, I NEED to read all of her books!

2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Not having read this book is just sad and there's nothing I can say to explain why because it's probably just a bad excuse.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I know, I know. I need to buy this book and read it. I am ashamed.

My real TBR list is actually around 250 books, but I kept it to less than 40 on my Goodreads account so people won't think I'm crazy. Does saying that make me crazy?

Anyway, let me know your top five most embarrassing unread books! I promise not to make fun of you.

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February 2014 Reading Wrap-Up

Hi everyone! February was a really good reading month for me. Because I just started school again, I had a good amount of free time at the beginning of this month to read and not worry about having projects due.

Without further ado, here are the books I read this February!



Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Published: 2013
Pages: 435
Rating: ★★★★★

Fangirl was my first Rainbow Rowell book, and it was SUCH a fun read. The main character, Cath Avery, is a fan fiction writer headed off to college with her twin sister, Wren. While Wren is more interested in exploring all that college has to offer, Cath would rather stay in her dorm room and update her fan-fiction.

Each of the characters had interesting and unique personalities, much like the people you can meet in college. I grew to love a lot of them and because this book was so relatable, it was easy to get through and enjoy. I hope this book gets made into a movie!



For February's #AYearAThon readathon, I only completed two of the seven Harry Potter novels. I intended to read up to Goblet of Fire (the fourth book in the series), but I wasn't as motivated as I hoped to be. Still, two books during a school week is nothing to be disappointed about. I don't think I'll be continuing this series until the summer time because I want to read newer books and catch up with what people are reading now.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Published: 1997
Pages: 309
Rating: ★★★★★

Although this was the third time I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I always learn something new that I didn't quite pick up or remember from the last time I read it. This time, it was this: "... the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban." (p. 194) Did any of you catch that while reading it?! The Weasley twins basically threw snowballs at Voldemort's face. How awesome is J.K. Rowling for adding that?

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Published: 1999
Pages: 341
Rating: ★★★★★

Another fantastic read! No Harry Potter book disappoints, really. In Chamber of Secrets, we are introduced to new characters — some that stay for the entire series, and some that only last for one book (like Gilderoy Lockhart ... am I glad he's gone :p) After re-reading this, I can understand why people say that this is least-liked book of the series. It's a bit slow in the beginning, but the action in the end makes it well worth the read.



The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
Published: 2011
Pages: 211
Rating: ★★★ (3.5 stars)

Although The Lover's Dictionary is a short book, it took me a lot longer to get through than I anticipated. If you're planning to read this, keep a dictionary nearby! This was definitely not an "unplug and read" book — I was on Google the whole time searching up almost every word. Not only that, but I made a goal in June 2013 to jot down every word and definition I am not familiar with ... so I guess you can picture me writing ferociously after each page I read. I loved how the author's memory/thoughts tied in with each word, but I didn't really have time to build a care for the relationship between the author (I'm assuming he's a male) and his lover because the book was so short.

I was also able to read and finish both Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier (of which I gave 4.5 stars and 5 stars, respectively) but I'll have two separate reviews coming in March :)

Books read in February: 6
Books read this year: 10/50
Reading goals completed: 0/7

Did you read anything in the month of February?

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