What did you think about “Man of Steel”? Let me know in the comments!

  

Hi! I’m Ginny, and this is a book review!

Hey there! Welcome to another book review! Remember that you can check out my other reviews here anytime. Also, if you have any suggestions for books you think I should read, books you think I’d like, or books you’d like to see reviewed, make sure to let me know in the comments!

Prefer to watch your book reviews instead of read them? Check out my video review below!

I posted a recent vlog in which I mentioned that I hadn’t read a book in a long time that really knocked my socks off, and two separate people mentioned Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus” as a book that had knocked their socks off. The name sounded familiar, too (although I don’t know from where), so I decided to pick it up.

The premise is that a boy, Marco, and a girl, Celia, who can practice magic in a world that doesn’t believe in magic, are pitted against each other by their mentors in a competition. The grounds for this competition are a mysterious traveling circus that is only open at night.

It’s definitely a sensory experience. From detailed descriptions of smells, sounds, and tastes, to vivid imagery of color, shape, and light, you can tell that the author was picturing these things in her mind while she wrote. I would definitely describe it as “cinematic” — and, as luck would have it, Summit Entertainment has optioned the book’s film rights and apparently the film is in pre-production, so we’ll likely be able to hold up the book’s descriptions to some actual images in a few years’ time.

I had some trouble identifying with the characters, I think most likely because of the author’s frustrating tendency to be coy, refusing to tell us information that the character whose perspective we’re in would easily know. For example, there are a few scenes where a character pulls a tarot card out of the deck and notes what card it is, or even in some circumstances just the imagery on the card. The character knows what the card means, but the reader doesn’t (unless you’re very familiar with tarot—I have a passing familiarity, and although I recognized the french word for “The Magician,” I didn’t recognize the card “Judgement” from the mention of the image of an angel.) It’s a cheap way to build mystery, in my opinion, because if I’m curious, I can just google what that tarot card is (and I did, I assure you.)

This whole “coyness” isolates the reader from the characters by making us feel almost like they’re keeping secrets from us. The point of having perspective characters is so that we can see through that character’s eyes, feel what they feel, identify with them, know what they know. When we are treated almost as if we aren’t smart enough to figure out what the author is telling us, it alienates us rather than draws us in, I think.

The ending was extremely convenient, unfortunately. The final “solution” became fairly obvious once the author started building in hints to it. It could’ve used a subtler and more consistent build-up — the clues to the possibility of this particular solution didn’t start until about halfway through the book, and once they did start, it was extremely conspicuous.

Overall, I found the book entertaining and intriguing from the very start, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. There were technical issues with plot and character development that could easily drive some readers away, but the concepts and images were so passionately rendered that I was immediately endeared to the book. I definitely think it’s worth a read: it’s short, it’s interesting, and it’s something new and different (at least in the sea of YA dystopian “young rebel” fic I’ve been drowning in lately.)

My final verdict: I recommend it.

Have you read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern? What did you think? Tell me in the comments!

A lot of you have asked how we did the special effects, where we got our costumes, etc. All of your questions and more have been answered in our latest behind-the-scenes feature, embedded below.

What do you think? Is there anything you wish we’d covered? Anything that surprised you? Let us know in the comments!

Don’t worry, though, we’ve gotten back on the horse and are managing a sort of staggering walk! Hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll get back to a trot, although perhaps not back to VEDA’s exhausting gallop. (Did I use all those horse words right?)

Watch Ginny’s vlog update (below) to hear what’s going on with Game of Thrones, Through Time donator rewards, the vlog, Ginny’s book review segments, and more!

What do you want to see in future vlogs? Let us know in the comments!

Well, first of all, you should definitely fan our Facebook page to get more frequent updates! But don’t worry, we’ll give you a little overview here to catch you up.

We shot the footage in three days total (four if you count the scene we shot but ended up deciding not to use.) The first day was the set where Dana and I are watching Game of Thrones marathon-style, and having some…extremely emotional reactions. You can see some previews of that scene in this awesome gif set on Tumblr!

Our second and third days of filming were consecutive, and we shot all three of the costumed scenes on those days. Some of the roles are a surprise, but you can see Dana as Daenerys and Cersei and Ginny as Arya in some of these behind-the-scenes photos we’ve been releasing periodically on Facebook.

Stay tuned, because we’re going to release some awesome promotional photography this coming week! (Hopefully it’ll make up for the fact that there isn’t an episode this week…the Others take HBO! /shake fist)

    

Hi! I’m Ginny, and this is a book review!

Hey there! Welcome to another book review! Remember that you can check out my other reviews here anytime. Also, if you have any suggestions for books you think I should read, books you think I’d like, or books you’d like to see reviewed, make sure to let me know in the comments!

Prefer to watch your book reviews instead of read them? Check out my video review below!

I heard about John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars from…well, the internet. It’s a New York Times bestseller, it’s being made into a movie, and it’s John Green’s book. John Green, the internet’s favorite human.

To be honest, I didn’t read this book originally to do a review on it, because I don’t feel like I have anything new to contribute to discussion of this book. So many more interesting and intelligent people have done commentary on it already! But it’s been recommended to me in the comments on my reviews a lot, so I just went for it.

Right up front let me say: people have said a lot of times about this book that it’s not a cancer book, it’s just a book about people who happen to have cancer. That…is a nice sentiment. And I wouldn’t necessarily call The Fault in Our Stars a “cancer book.” But if you avoid “cancer books” because of the things that are in them, namely…well, cancer…then this book isn’t going to be any different for you. It’s still extremely depressing, it’s still characters being forced to realize their own mortality, and it still has the kind of plotline that gets progressively more hopeless, because…that’s what cancer’s like. So if you avoid cancer books for those reasons, then yes, this is a cancer book.

One thing John Green consistently succeeds at in this book is the depth of the thoughts of the two main characters, Augustus and Hazel. The way they approach and consider their lives and their circumstances are fresh and unlike anything I’ve read before, and they’re so heartfelt that you are sort of forced to step back from the text and realize that John Green is the one thinking all these thoughts. All the things Hazel and Augustus think and say about the nature of identity and how it relates to circumstance, the purpose of existence, the effect you can and should have on those around you, etc. are the realistic and intensely personal thoughts of these dying teenagers brought to life through the mind of a healthy adult male.

I think it takes an extreme amount of skill to portray the kind of thoughts a completely different person would be having in a completely different circumstance than you in a way that rings true, and ultimately, that is the true challenge of any writer.

I’d really like to read some more John Green books and get a broader feel for his style; what should I try next?

I don’t know what to say about why you as a viewer should or shouldn’t read this book. I don’t think you should pressure yourself into reading it because it’s a bestseller and because of John Green if you don’t think it’s your kind of book. Because I’d heard so much about it “not being a cancer book,” I think I ended up being a little thrown by how cancer-book-y it was when I was actually reading it. And that’s really not my kind of book. I appreciate the effect that tragedy and mortality have on a character and on a reader, but I am not ashamed to admit that I read for entertainment and for pleasure, and I would rather read a fantasy adventure or a sci-fi epic than tragic realistic fiction any day.

That’s not to say that The Fault in Our Stars wasn’t extremely well constructed, and I’m not surprised to hear that it’s anyone’s favorite book. It just isn’t mine.

My final verdict: It’s a quality piece of literature. Read it if you think you’d be into it.

Have you read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green? What did you think? Tell me in the comments!

 Hi! I’m Ginny, and this is a book review!

Hey there! Welcome to another book review! Remember that you can check out my other reviews here anytime. Also, if you have any suggestions for books you think I should read, books you think I’d like, or books you’d like to see reviewed, make sure to let me know in the comments!

Prefer to watch your book reviews instead of read them? Check out my video review below!

I read Gone by Michael Grant because Nell recommended it to me in the comments for my Warm Bodies review. She gave it a glowing review, and I understand why. I read it extremely quickly; I got it in the evening and I read the first chapters before bed. The next day I read it both on my ten-minute break and my lunch at work, and then when I got home from work, I sat straight down on the couch and read it for six hours and finished it.

It’s hard not to be skeptical of the premise. The idea behind the book is that suddenly, in the same instant, everyone over the age of thirteen disappears from the town, and a sort of force field appears around the town to prevent anyone from getting in or out. It’s extremely convenient, and I wasn’t satisfied with the explanation that they eventually gave for it.

SPOILER ALERT—it’s hard to discuss a book without throwing in some minor spoilers, so be aware!

This book is extremely dark for a young adult book. For instance, some of the kids who are in charge decide that there are certain kids they don’t want using their magical powers (or whatever) that they get, and all of their powers are channeled through their hands, so some of the kids — remember, these kids are all under thirteen — encase other kids’ hands in blocks of cement so they can’t use their hands, and thus their power. There are scenes where these kids are dragging these blocks around, crawling on all fours, and there are even some scenes where these cement-blocked kids are leashed by their necks to a fence and are eating off of cafeteria trays with their faces, like dogs.

The characters were very complex for a young adult book, and I definitely appreciated it. I liked that Sam perpetually avoided leadership roles, even though I think even he knew he’d be a better leader than the kids who were in charge. I liked that Quinn remained a good but weak person throughout the text, illustrating that over and over. I especially liked how Astrid felt tied down by her brother, but also felt guilty for feeling tied down; it gave a depth to her character that’s rare in fiction geared towards young readers.

Side note: the names of the characters are stupid. Lara “Arwen”? Her middle name is Arwen? Even though there’s no discernible reason to reference Lord of the Rings in this text at all? There isn’t even a reference to her parents being Lord of the Rings fans. And Cain, who ends up being exactly what that name means? C’mon, were you trying to hand us the plot on a silver platter? Because you did.

Basically, if you like The Hunger Games of maybe Lord of the Flies, you’ll probably like this book. It’s a fast read, and very engaging.

My final verdict: I’d recommend it.

Have you read Gone by Michael Grant? What did you think? Tell me in the comments!