My new children’s book, Cast Out, is coming out very soon.
Cover designed by Lauren Felt
About the book:
Found guilty of trespassing, damage to property and speaking ill of royalty, Snowstorm Forest Fae (Fay) is cast out from the fairy queendom. Stripped of her fairy powers and learning to live in the human world, she soon makes some friends—and some enemies. And when Fay discovers that the fairy queen and her homeland is in peril, she knows she must find a way to help—but she has to survive school first!
Available to buy or read on Kindle Unlimited very soon.
Ye Olde Caves of Nottingham… (The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis)
In my middle-grade/young adult time travel book, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, my feisty group of adolescent characters’ first mission lands then in England in 1214 where they must find a young Robin Hood and his merry band of teens. Legend has it that one of Robin Hood’s haunts (besides the famous Sherwood Forest) was the village of Nottingham. When I undertook the meticulous research needed to craft my novel, I came across an interesting fact about Nottingham I had never known: beneath the houses, shops, and offices of Nottingham are hundreds of caves. My eyes bugged and imagination went into overdrive, while I gathered fact after fact about the Nottingham caves. In truth, it was similar to panning for gold nuggets.
The end result of the information I gleaned is woven into my story, but I’d like to share some other interesting facts about these not-so-famous caves:
The earliest written record of Nottingham’s caves comes from a Welsh monk called Asser who when writing about Nottingham in 868 referred to the town as Tig Guocobauc, meaning house or place of caves in British.
Nottingham has more man-made caves than anywhere else in Britain.
The exposed cliff of the sandstone outcrop made this an obvious place for the early citizens of Nottingham to make their home. The occupants of these cave houses were generally poor and the caves were known as pauper holes.
Each cave is unique and created for a specific purpose; some even have elaborate carvings, pillars and staircases.
The softness of Nottingham’s sandstone makes it easy to excavate with hand tools, and the structural stability means that excavated caves are safe to use, even with buildings above them.
Throughout the medieval period Nottingham continued to grow and prosper becoming a center for trades such as wool manufacture, tanning, malting, alabaster carving and pottery production. A number of these activities were undertaken in Nottingham’s caves.
Sandstone caves maintain a constant temperature of around 14 degrees Celsius/ 57.2 Fahrenheit and therefore made excellent cellars for the storage of ale.
At the start of the Second World War new caves were excavated and old ones reused to act as Air Raid shelters.
Believe it or not, few people in Nottingham are aware of this labyrinth, and fewer still have visited them. Unfortunately, in these modern times, a significant number of caves has been filled in with cement or bricked up, with others disappearing through natural collapse. There’s a special project underway called the Nottingham Caves Survey which hopes to survey and document all the caves under Nottingham, and bring awareness to this unique historical resource. I invite you to find out more about the caves HERE.
In celebration of Sharon Ledwith’s birthday, all of her books are on tour, on sale, and ready for you to discover. Make sure to follow the tour and enter the giveaway for two signed books, open internationally!!
There is no moving forward without first going back.
Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.
Summoned through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy? If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.
The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis (Book 1):
Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.
When 13-year-old Amanda Sault and her annoying classmates are caught in a food fight at school, they’re given a choice: suspension or yard duty. The decision is a no-brainer. Their two-week crash course in landscaping leads to the discovery of a weathered stone arch in the overgrown back yard. The arch isn’t a forgotten lawn ornament but an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis.
Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers–legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from the evil Belial–Amanda and her classmates are sent on an adventure of a lifetime. Can they find the young Robin Hood and his merry band of teens? If they don’t, then history itself may be turned upside down.
The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret (Book 2):
Only a true hero can shine the light in humanity’s darkest time.
Fourteen year-old Jordan Jensen always considered himself a team player on and off the field, until the second Timekeeper mission lands him in Amsterdam during World War Two. Pulled into the world of espionage, torture, and intolerance, Jordan and the rest of the Timekeepers have no choice but to do whatever they can to stay one step ahead of the Nazis in order to find and protect a mysterious book.
With the help of the Dutch Resistance, an eccentric baron, Nordic runes, and an ancient volume originating from Atlantis, Jordan must learn that it takes true teamwork, trust, and sacrifice to keep time safe from the evils of fascism. Can Jordan find the hero within to conquer the darkness surrounding the Timekeepers? If he doesn’t, then the terrible truth of what the Nazis did will never see the light of day.
Lost and Found: Mysterious Tales from Fairy FallsThe Fairy Falls:
Fairy Falls was bores-ville from the get-go. Then the animals started talking…
Animal Shelter is in trouble. Money trouble. It’s up to an old calico cat named Whiskey—a shelter cat who has mastered the skill of observation—to find a new human pack leader so that their home will be saved. With the help of Nobel, the leader of the shelter dogs, the animals set out to use the ancient skill of telepathy to contact any human who bothers to listen to them. Unfortunately for fifteen-year-old Meagan Walsh, she hears them, loud and clear.
Forced to live with her Aunt Izzy in the safe and quiet town of Fairy Falls, Meagan is caught stealing and is sentenced to do community hours at the animal shelter where her aunt works. Realizing Meagan can hear her, Whiskey realizes that Meagan just might have the pack leader qualities necessary to save the animals. Avoiding Whiskey and the rest of shelter animals becomes impossible for Meagan, so she finally gives in and promises to help them. Meagan, along with her newfound friends, Reid Robertson and Natalie Knight, discover that someone in Fairy Falls is not only out to destroy the shelter, but the animals as well. Can Meagan convince her aunt and co-workers that the animals are in danger? If she fails, then all the animals’ voices will be silenced forever.
Additional purchasing options listed below (but the books are not on sale on those platforms).
Meet the Author:
Escape to the past
and have a blast.
Sharon
Ledwith
is the author of the middle-grade/young adult time travel adventure series, THE
LAST TIMEKEEPERS, and the teen psychic mystery series, MYSTERIOUS TALES FROM
FAIRY FALLS. When not writing, researching, or revising, she enjoys reading,
exercising, anything arcane, and an occasional dram of scotch. Sharon lives a
serene, yet busy life in a southern tourist region of Ontario, Canada, with her
hubby, one spoiled yellow Labrador and a moody calico cat.
One winner will received 1 signed paperback copy of The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, and 1 signed paperback copy of Lost and Found. This giveaway is international!!
This is a traditional Midwestern recipe usually served as a side-dish. You can’t make a meal of meats and carbs alone. Well, you can, actually, but it’s nice to have a tasty vegetable dish to balance out your plate.
Creamy Cauliflower Pea Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
Half head cauliflower cut in bite size pieces (about 10 oz.)
Combine water, cauliflower, and peas in saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until cauliflower is crisp tender; drain well.
Combine cauliflower mixture and remaining ingredients in a bowl; toss well. Serve warm or chilled. Before serving top with small bite size pieces of cheddar cheese.
While your home fills up with the tasty aromas of an earlier time, you can indulgently curl up with a good book. May I suggest Traveler’s Zone?
Chris Pavesic continues the amazing story of Cami Malifux with Book 2 of the Revelation Chronicles.
Escape from a world of darkness into a magical realm of limitless adventure.
About the Book:
In Starter Zone, Cami kept herself and her younger sister Alby alive in a post-apocalyptic world, facing starvation, violence, and death on a daily basis. Caught by the military and forcefully inscribed, Cami manages to scam the system and they enter the Realms, a Virtual Reality world, as privileged Players rather than slaves. They experience a world of safety, plenty, and magical adventure. Indeed, magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as Cami continues her epic quest to navigate the Realms and build a better life for her family. But an intrusion from her old life threatens everything she has gained and imperils the entire virtual world.
I was born into a world where silicone still ruled. Where the products of the earth outshone those of the sea. Integrated circuits ran all electronic equipment and scientists strove to make the conducting lines smaller and smaller. Silicon Valley tried, and failed, to make chips fast enough to upload human consciousness.
The Revelation came a few years later from the hydrologists. They designed a system that did not use silicone, but instead worked with water molecules. The hydrologists managed to imprint the consciousness of a human mind on a single drop of water.
The water was to be kept in self-contained, sealed aquariums—pure, undiluted, eternal—where virtual realities were constructed to meet every need and desire. All of human knowledge encoded and stored in literal pools of data and integrated with the drops of human consciousness. It was, the hydrologists claimed, utopia achieved.
The obscenely rich were the hydrologist’s first clients, many taken near the end of their lives. The procedure did not always work, but there were enough successes to spur people’s interest. People suffering from terminal illnesses volunteered to be inscribed, and the hydrologists worked and refined their process. Private companies formed and competition forced price wars. Hundreds of customers grew to thousands, and then to millions. There were landmark court cases arguing whether or not health insurance should cover the cost of the inscription–whether or not this was a medical procedure designed to save lives or a form of physician assisted suicide. The law struggled to decide if life ended when the body was drained to a dry, leathery husk, or if life continued inside those glowing, sealed aquariums.
I was thirteen when the governments seized control of the laboratories, first in the Eastern European countries. Then the labs of Europe and the Middle East were swallowed up. Terrorist attacks soon followed and destroyed most of the civilized world over the next three years. The United States, Canada, and Greece, those bastions of democracy, did not fall until the very end. Of course, by then no one cared whether or not the government or the private companies ran the uploading programs. Many of the aquariums ruptured in the strife and the droplets, imbued with human consciousness, re-entered the water cycle of the planet.
The destruction of the aquariums led to a moment of serendipity. Once the hydrologists learned that the human minds survived outside of the aquariums, they designed a world-wide system of interlocking realms to host the inscribed human minds. Right now the realms exist in Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere, but the hydrologists have plans to expand their reach into the rest of the world. Soon, the only life left on the planet will exist in the virtual world.
“She entered the game and I was hooked. I don’t even
play that kind of computer game, but the story was as addicting as I imagine a
real MMORPG to be. Each level up, each new character, each new threat drew me
in. I wish I could read the next book already!” –Kata, NetGalley Reviewer
“I love the dystopian genre, and a lot of the problem I
run into is a lot of them are boring and follow the same storyline. This one is
so different it’s amazing. I cannot recommend this enough. It’s sci-fi, it’s
dystopian, and it fresh. A definite must read that I plan on reading
again!” –Liliyana S., NetGalley Reviewer
“Both sisters are strong female characters who are good role
models for young girls. This story is
filled with suspense and adventure with a taste of the gaming world. It is the first LITRPG book that I have read
and I really enjoyed it.” –Teresa O, Educator
“This book was amazing! The story line, along with the
development of the characters was phenomenal. This book is very well paced, and
easy to follow. Seeing the story play out for the characters, along with the
lessons you gain from reading this book, makes it one of my new favorites. For,
this book is more than just another dystopia novel. It’s basis is on family
love, and what you’d do to keep them safe. It’s a young adult novel, yet is
appropriate for anyone above the age of 10. I would highly suggest reading this
book ASAP. You won’t regret it!”–Almaz D, Reviewer
Want to learn more about The Revelation Chronicles? Check out chrispavesic.com for updates on this and her other series.Meet the Author:
Chris Pavesic lives in the Midwestern United States and
loves Kona coffee, fairy tales, and all types of speculative fiction. Between
writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening,
working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with
friends.
Fifteen year old Luca has the charm, a gift he inherited from his mum. Charmers can control minds, but they abide by a code—to only use the power for good, and only with the person’s permission. Luca knows breaking the code is wrong, and his mum would kill him if he tried!
But when a rogue charmer uses the power for criminal means, the Restorative government jumps in. Luca’s mum is imprisoned and the Register for Charmers is announced. The media creates a frenzy of fear and suspicion against charmers.
Believing the family is in peril, and wishing to keep Luca’s gift a secret, Luca’s dad takes them to stay with a friend in the country. Here, Luca meets Fee, a computer genius who can hack into anything. Fee introduces Luca to an underground rebellion group of internet hackers who have their own issues with the Restoratives and their own way of protesting.
Fearful of how the Restoratives are treating his mum in prison and concerned about their motives for creating the Register of Charmers, Luca must make an impossible choice—break the rules and use his gift or stand by and watch as the power is abused.
Readers said:
“Brilliant story. Captivating!”
“Fantastic dystopian story with a future…”
“Fast paced and full of conflict.”
“An enjoyable and engrossing read. Highly recommended.”
Luca can control minds, a talent known as the charm. Like most charmers, he uses his talent for good and only ever with the person’s permission. However, there’s one charmer – Brain Lord – who chooses to use his gift for something altogether different: for his own personal gain.
Now, Brain Lord has charmed his way out of prison and goes on the attack against the Restorative government, who are decidedly anti-charming. When Luca’s best friend, Kane, gets in the middle of Brain Lord’s latest escapade, Luca finds himself face-to-face in a battle of minds with the rogue charmer. After witnessing Luca’s abilities, Brain Lord sets another plan in motion: recruit the charmer to join his crusade against the government.
The Restorative government, however, has its own idea of how to take control. They’re forcing innocent charmers to influence the nation and take up their cause. Caught in between a corrupt government, a rogue charmer, and the drive for power, Luca must take the most important actions of his life without inadvertently furthering a cause he doesn’t believe in.
I’m not usually into crime fiction but I thought I’d give these a try. In case you didn’t know, after the release of the first Cormoron Strike novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, Galbraith’s real identity of J.K. Rowling was leaked.
J.K. Rowling was awarded substantial damages for the breach from the solicitors that revealed her true identity. Rowling donated the damages, along with the royalties from The Cuckoo’s Calling to The Soldiers’ Charity, a cause that would be close to the main character, Cormoran Strike’s heart.
The Cormoran Strike novels are made up of three crime fiction stories following a private detective and his assistant Robin Ellacott.
The Main Characters
Cormoran Strike
Strike is a private detective and a war veteran. He was an SIB investigator but was discharged after he lost the bottom half of a leg in an explosion in Afghanistan. His mother, who died of a heroin overdose, was a ‘super groupie’ of Jonny Rokeby, Strike’s father. Strike has little to do with his dad though. As a former boxer in the army, he has a large physical presence and what is described as ‘pube like’ hair. He likes his tea the colour of creosote and is partial to a pint of Doom Bar.
Robin Ellacott
Robin is originally from Yorkshire but now lives in London with her accountant Fiancé, Matthew Cunliffe. Robin dropped out of university, for reasons that become clear in the third book, and at the start of the series is working for a temp agency. She was delighted to be placed at Strike’s private detective office and proved herself to be clever, resourceful and pleasant to be around. She is attractive with strawberry blond hair. Her Yorkshire accent becomes more pronounced in times of tension.
Book #1 – The Cuckoo’s Calling
Strike is living in his office after breaking up with his attractive fiancé. He owes money and doesn’t have enough clients to pay the bills or find somewhere to live.
Robin is euphoric after accepting Matthew’s proposal to get married and even more so when the temp agency send her to work at a detective agency, something she’s always longed to do.
The adopted brother of renowned model Luna Landry hires Strike to investigate her supposed suicide. Strike is reluctant to take it on and is sceptical about the brother’s claims but he needs the money—to pay the agency for Robin’s time if nothing else.
Robin proves herself to be invaluable around the office and Strike continues her employment after the week is up, paying her what he can afford. Her fiancé Matthew wants her to stop working for Strike and get a better paid job.
The more Strike looks into Lula Landry’s death the more suspicious the circumstances seem. With Robin’s help he gets his life back into some order while tracking down the killer.
Book #2 – The Silkworm
After solving the Landry case, business has picked up and Strike is hired to find a missing writer Owen Quine. The manuscript Quine was apparently most recently working on ends with him being killed in the same gruesome way in which the writer is eventually found to have been murdered. The novel also attacks Quine’s editor, agent, wife and many others giving us lots of people with motives to kill.
Strike and his assistant Robin’s relationship becomes strained as she feels undervalued in her role. Robin’s fiancé Matthew dislikes Strike (a feeling that is mutual) and this doesn’t help. Strike wants to give Robin more responsibility but is concerned that Matthew won’t like it and he doesn’t want to ruin her relationship.
Together they identify the killer and Strike enrols Robin on an investigative training course as a gift.
Book #3 – Career of Evil
Robin is now working with Strike as an investigator. As Strike had foreseen, this puts strain on her relationship with Matthew, who she is due to marry soon.
Robin receives a woman’s severed leg through the post. The clues lead Strike to believe it was from someone holding a grudge against him.
As Strike and Robin investigate the four main suspects, we find out more about both of their pasts. Robin also finds out Matthew cheated on her whilst at university.
While the pair are tracking down the suspects, the killer strikes twice more and has his eyes on Robin.
The police warn the private investigators to keep away from the suspects and out of the case but Robin takes matters into her own hands to expose a child molester. Strike has no option but to fire Robin. He knows who the killer is now but has to prove it alone.
My verdict
These books are hard to put down with gripping plots and characters you just want to find out more about. Five stars from me.
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers is to be showcased in the forthcoming Winter 2015/16 Collection for The People’s Book Prize. It can be voted for between 1st December 2015 and 28th February 2016. Please visit their website: http://www.peoplesbookprize.com/
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers
Back cover blurb:
Charlie – A Snuffle-Buzzer whose sneezes are glittered with adventure!
A French pine forest is home to Charlie, an allergy-prone Snuffle-Buzzer. Longing for adventure-filled travel and desperate to outwit those pesky sneezes, Charlie is in need of glittering powers.
Fascinated by an old violet book, a nature-loving Cornish girl called Sevi is determined to unravel its secrets. A connection to Charlie’s pine forest sets in motion a mystical journey of adventure from pinecones to pasties!
Will the Mistral wind blow glittering powers your way?
Overview:
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers is split between the forests and vineyards of Provence and a bustling Cornish fishing village. The tale follows Charlie, a rare breed allergy-prone cigale (aka a Snuffle-Buzzer). Charlie is talkative, inquisitive, and daydreams of adventure-filled travel.
Sevi, a nature-loving Cornish girl yearns to unravel the mystery that is hidden within the pages of an old winegrower’s violet book. While on holiday with her parents in Provence, she soon finds that the forest and its inhabitants aren’t as quiet as she initially thought…
Before long, one single golden sparkle sets in motion a mystical turn of events, which lead Charlie and Sevi to embark upon a thrilling adventure.
Readership:
The perfect book for children aged 8 and over, Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers evokes the innocence and wonder of childhood. The story explores nature through a magical storyline.
Book Info:
PUBLISHED 28th November 2015 – Matador Books (Troubador Publishing)
£7.99 (paperback) ISBN 9781784624736
£1.99 (ebook) EISBN 9781784626327
BIC subject category: Fantasy & magical realism (Children’s/YA)
Book length: 144 pages
#childrensbooks #CharliesWorldofGlitteringPowers
Cover:
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers
The cover illustration is by Leo Hartas, illustrator of the Tweeniesbooks for BBC Worldwide, Haunted Castle and The Apartment Book, to name a few.
Author Bio:
Tracy Rawles – Author
After thirty years in challenging and rewarding careers in administration, education and pathology, Tracy now expresses her passion for wildlife and the countryside through her writing and photography.
Now living in Provence and having adored Cornwall since her first visit to relatives as a young child, Tracy decided to incorporate both locations in Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers, thereby forming the perfect backdrop for this mystical children’s tale.
Media: Tracy has a pre-record interview with Talk Radio Europe in December
Reviews:
Books Monthly:
A beautiful front cover illustration heralds a story of some standing, and you won’t be disappointed. I would hazard a guess that lovers of H Potter Esq., might be particularly interested in this one…
NetGalley review by Angie Blackstone
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
An adorable tale that I didn’t want to end. Full of magic and whimsy, this would fit right in in any child’s bookshelf. I would love to read more of Charlie and his world!
Troubador customer review by Christine
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers is a magical book that is beautifully written and literally transports you to both Cornwall and France. Full of magical adventure. Strongly recommend!
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers by Tracy Rawles is a fantastic must have stocking filler of a book that is going to go down a real treat with young children of eight and over, their parents and their grandparents, too!
There are powers to be discovered, mysteries to be solved and joys to be had for both Sevi and Charlie in this charming and exciting book.
Purchase Links:
Charlie’s World of Glittering Powers is available for purchase worldwide. Trade orders are available through Orca Book Services, Bertrams Books and Gardners. In addition to the chain retailers listed below please don’t forget your local independent bookshops.
We all know Dumbledore was an intellectual and powerful wizard. He became known to us for being Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during Harry Potter’s education and had an Order of Merlin (first class) and the title of Grand Sorcerer.
Dumbledore also served as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. However, he was also mad as a balloon!
Even the pompous prefect Percy Weasley admits it: “He’s a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes.”
Here are ten of my favourite slightly bizarre Dumbledore quotes which of course were all penned by the brilliant J.K. Rowling:
“Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing and should therefore be treated with great caution.” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“My brain surprises even me sometimes.” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“Alas! Earwax!” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were; you have a whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next years starts.” (Philosopher’s Stone)
“I do love knitting patterns”. (Half Blood Prince)
“Don’t count your owls before they are delivered.” (Half Blood Prince)
“I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was right for a cheese cauldron.” (Half Blood Prince)
“It is a long time since my last visit. I must say, your agapanthus are flourishing.” (Half Blood Prince)
Writers are often asked where they get their inspiration for stories from. So here’s my attempt at explaining the inspiration behind The Charm.
I get inspiration and ideas for stories from many places—TV, books, snippets of conversation overheard on a train. I’m often drawn to the unusual or unexplained concepts, or at least things that are unexplained to me! The inspiration behind writing my YA novella The Charm came from watching celebrity mind magicians on TV.
TV shows have highlighted how amazing the power of the mind can be. In Derren Brown’s Fear and Faith special he set up a fake pharmaceutical company. The company claimed to have developed a drug called Rumyodin that could eradicate fear. And guess what? People taking the drug overcame their fears. But of course the drug was a placebo and at the end Derren revealed ‘rumyodin’ was an anagram for ‘your mind’. The participants had believed so strongly in the drug that it actually worked. Without realising it they had used the power of their own minds to overcome their fears.
Then there is Dynamo who amongst many other amazing things, can do things like making it impossible for people to pull their own hands apart, or making himself unliftable, even to heavy weight boxer, David Haye. Had Dynamo made himself unliftable, or had he made David think he was unliftable? Whichever way it showed how remarkable the mind can be if you know how to harness it.
So the mind is a very clever thing and some people seem to have mastered the art of seemingly controlling other peoples. Hypnotherapy has helped many people reduce their anxiety, overcome their fears, and break their bad habits. This is great but what if someone decided to use mind control for evil? What if someone used it for their own advantage? What if someone had a beef against the world and wanted revenge? What if those in power used it to control the people?
If you had an extraordinary power what would you do?
Insurgent is out in the cinemas and I can’t wait to see it. But will it live up to the fantastic book by Veronica Roth? I’m sure it will be good. I thought the first movie from the series, Divergent, was great.
As I’m getting excited to see it, I decided to re-post my blog on favourite books and their move adaptations. This post was first seen on the wonderful Sapphyria’s Book Reviews blog.
Favourite Books and Their Movie Adaptations
It’s amazing when you hear your favourite books are being made into films but can they always live up to your expectations? Here’s my verdict on some of my favourite books and their movie versions:
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Plot summary: Naughty Max is sent to bed with no supper. He travels, in his wolf onesie, to a place where the wild things are and becomes king. But he misses his mum so travels back to find his supper is still warm.
Movie verdict: This was my favourite childhood book so when the movie came out in 2009 I couldn’t wait to see it. I really wanted to love this film. It was okay but a little bit dark and sad. The book is far better!
The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling
Plot summary: Harry Potter discovers he is a famous wizard and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A dark wizard, Voldemort, tried to kill Harry when he was a baby but the curse backfired. Voldemort returns and tries to kill Harry resulting in many adventures and an epic battle of good versus evil.
Movie verdict: The movies really captured the magic and were so fantastically cast, not just with the youngsters who were shot to fame but with a whole array of great British icons, that the films had to be great.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Plot summary: Panem is separated into 12 districts. Each year, as retribution for a past rebellion, two young people from each district are randomly picked to participate in the deadly Hunger Games.
Movie verdict: I loved the books and couldn’t wait for the movies. The first three films have been great and I’m looking forward to the conclusion. However, for me, the books have the edge for the extra details.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Plot summary: Divergent is set in a world where society is divided into factions. As people enter adulthood they must choose and commit to one faction for life based on their own virtues. However, Tris’s aptitude tests reveal she is Divergent, meaning she will never fit into one faction, and she is and is warned to conceal her abilities.
Movie verdict: Another great movie but again I preferred the book for all the added details.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss
Plot summary: The Grinch hates the Whos, who love Christmas. He tries to stop Christmas by stealing all their presents.
Movie verdict: One of those rare occasions when I prefer the movie over the book. I know most of the movie’s lines off by heart but Jim Carey’s delivery never fails to crack me up!
Sunflowers and Stories 