Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I just finished an amazing book called "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. The book is about a girl who is "graced" with the ability to kill a man with her bare hands. She is the neice to the King and his royal thug.

Children born with a "grace" have two different colored eyes and have a specail talent that they can do better than anyone else. Katsa doesn't particularly like her grace being used to beat up innocent people simply because the King doesn't like them.

Katsa meets Po a graced fighter like herself from another kingdom. He incourages her to stand-up to the king and be her own person. They soon become fast friends and set out to uncover a hidden threat in a nearby kingdom.

This story was brilliantly written! The characters are rich and well rounded. I loved the story line and the constant mystery that kept me wondering what would happen next. And of course like all my favorite things it had to have a romance! This romance was truly wonderful. Passionate and beautiful. Rich characters, hidden mysteries, action, and romance what more could you ask for? Delightful book! A real page-turner!

The Last Song Movie vs. Book

So this weekend I headed to the movie theater to see Nicholas Spark's newest movie based on his book. The Last Song is about a teenage girl who is a bit of a rebel. She hates her dad even though they share a passion for playing the piano and writing music. Ronnie's parents divorced several years back. She and her younger brother Jonah live in New York with there mom, but this summer they are going to spend time with their dad in his home on the beach down south. Ronnie spends her first few days with the wrong crowd and winds up getting in trouble. But she soon meets Will a volleyball player/aquarium volunteer/car mechanic. He is sweet, kind, and pretty much the dream boy. They fall in love over the summer. But when hard times come for Ronnie in her family she isn't so sure she wants him in her life anymore.

So lets talk book first, since I read it before they made the movie. I liked this book. Sweet and romantic and of coarse tear-jerking like all his books. Probably not my favorite book of Nicholas Sparks, but it was good. More for a teenage crowd.

So now movie. The story was very close to the book all things considered. The location was pretty and similar to what I pictured while reading the book. The cast was good, not amazing, but good. Except Miley Cyrus. I didn't like her as the lead. She constantly had a pouty face and a lot of her lines came across very flat. I didn't feel the emotion I felt that Ronnie should embody.

All in all I would give this movie a C+. It just wasn't all I was hoping for.