Behind The Pages #4 - How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Welcome to my new Behind The Pages post! You can find last month's post of this feature, with Rebecca Serle and her second novel The Edge of Falling, here.

What is Behind The Pages all about? I asked some of my favourite authors and a bunch of promising 2014 debut authors to annotate a scene, page or more of one of their books. I see the feature as a chance to show readers what's behind a page. Authors can share their favourite writing memories, the music that influenced a certain scene or anything else that comes to their mind. We might get hints to what the characters were thinking and feeling that exact moment or other fun details about their story. Hope you enjoy Behind The Pages as much as I do. I'm intending this feature to be a monthly post here on the blog.

Last year I read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES and I fell in love with it after only a few pages. Jennifer's debut is such a fabulous summer read and if you didn't read it last year, now's the time to read it. Summer's just around the corner!

Thanks to all the incredible authors who took the time to annotate a page or scene for us, your comments are always so insightful and fun to read. When readers can't get enough of a book and its characters it only shows how much the author's work means to them, to us. Thank you! 

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First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

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About Jennifer Salvato Doktorski: "In addition to writing for teens, I’m a freelance writer who has written articles and essays for national publications including, Cosmopolitan. I think I’ve always wanted to be a writer even though I often referred to my college major in English as “PreLaw” because it held the promise that I might actually find work someday.

As it turns out, I did find work. My first paid writing gig was as an editorial assistant for the North Jersey Herald & News, where, in addition to developing a life-long passion for coffee and news, I wrote obituaries for eight months. I’ve also worked as a speech writer, bank teller, ghostwriter, bookkeeper in a lampshade factory, pet shop clerk, and music zine editor."(Author bio found on www.jendoktorski.com.)

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 How My Summer Went Up In Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

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 Snap Shots

Here's a picture Jennifer took of the Grand Canyon when she was there for the first time. I can't wait to see it live in September for the first time, too!

Photo Credit Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Grand Canyon ♥

And pictures of the Flintstone's campground, mentioned on Jennifer's annoated pages. Doesn't it look fun?

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Soundtrack

I asked Jen if she listened to a special song while she wrote this scene. Here's what she said: "I didn’t listen to any particular song when writing this scene – I imagined it very quiet. But Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” was in constant rotation while I wrote this book – she helps me tap my inner teenager and angst."

I bet you can't wait to read HOW MY SUMMER WENT UP IN FLAMES now, or start a re-read! :)

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Cover Reveal: Love Me to Death by Marissa Clarke

Love Me to Death
by Marissa Clarke




Expected release:

October 28th
2014













Medical research scientist Elena Arcos has always lived her life under the radar. When she is shot in a convenience store robbery, Elena finds herself rocketed into supernatural insanity courtesy of a sexy immortal law enforcer. He’s convinced she’s some kind of freaky half-vampire thing and that her deceased dad was the real deal: a blood sucking monster. Yeah, right. Nikolai Itzov never anticipated battling the urge to kiss the offspring of his father’s murderer. As a Slayer, an elite law enforcer descended from Azrael himself, his orders from the Underveil General are clear: Kill her or die.

Nikolai and Elena find themselves in a life and death battle to stop a plot designed to lift the Underveil and enslave humans. With her analytical mind and his centuries of training, they might be able to foil the plot with their lives and maybe their hearts intact. But in order to succeed, he must help her become the very thing he hates the most: an Undead.

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Book Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Geography of You and Me
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Headline
Publishing Date: April 15th 2014
Length: 352 pages
Keywords: YA, contemporary, romance, friendship, travelling
Source: Netgalley

Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking...

The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can't shake the memory of the time they shared. Postcards cross the globe when they themselves can't, as Owen and Lucy experience the joy - and pain - of first love.

And as they make their separate journeys in search of home, they discover that sometimes it is a person rather than a place that anchors you most in the world.

Summary by Goodreads

Whatever you paid for THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME, Jennifer E. Smith made sure you are getting it back in double the amount of smiles, melancholic sighs and happy tears. This beloved YA contemporary author's words are conjuring up all the feels!

New York City is dark. Lucy and Owen's is surely not the only elevator in the city that is stuck without any electricity. But theirs is the one to start their story. The one to start a great love story. So after the elevator, Lucy and Owen spent one night together (it's ordinary, but same parts magical). And then things come together and after only a few short days their ways part again. Lucy leaves New York for Europe and Owen goes on a road trip with his father.
So there will be chapters told from Lucy's perspective and others told from Owen's. Despite the distance between them they are never really separated from each other, still wondering what the other one is doing. And I'm still surprised that Lucy and Owen's story touched me so much because they have so few time they actually spend together. Distance makes the (reader's) heart grow fonder really applies here.

Their love story evolves with distance and each moment they spend in a new city, they learn how to find to themselves first before they can find to each other. Wandering, travelling and seeing the world is a big part of their story. Edinburgh, London, New York, Lake Tahoe. This is such a rewarding and rich story for everyone who loves to travel. I've seen a few of the places Lucy visits, and Owen's stops will all hop right onto my travel wishlist.

Just thinking about Lucy and Owen's story gives me this deep feeling of contentment. Life is uncertain, people go different ways and sometimes not fate, or a coincidence, but your own striving to find happiness brings you back together. It's a story of many contradictions, similarities, too. Of learning how to fit in, and how you sometimes need to fit only with the ones that you love. How a place can be an adventure, a home, or both.

It's hard to explain how Jennifer E. Smith writes her characters right into your heart after only a few chapters. Her stories always have that special feeling about uncertainty of the many ways of life and the miracles that can actually happen. There are chapters in THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME that left me stunned and they sometimes consisted of only a handful of words.

There are postcards, and ice cream, travelling, wonders of nature, bustling cities full of possibilities. Jennifer E. Smith just wrote some of my most favourite things in the world into one story, so it's easy to say this story had everything I need. Now you too should get ready for the marvels and miracles of this new Jennifer E. Smith book!

5/5 ***** THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME - Lucy and Owen's globe-spanning love story is one of a kind. This is the one book that should be shared with all your best friends!

Are you looking for a YA contemporary read that gets your skin tingling, your mind wandering and your heart soaring? Then Jennifer E. Smith's THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME is the perfect pick to get your daily dose of reading happiness. If you could wish for any book right now, this should be it!

"He considered this a moment. "Yup," he said finally.

"That pretty much sums up my feelings about New York."

Lucy nodded. "You would prefer not to," she said. "But that's just because it's new. Once you get to know it more, I have a feeling you'll like it here."

"Is this the part where you insist on taking me on a tour of the city, and we laugh and point at all the famous sights, and then I buy an I♥NY T-shirt and live happily ever after?"

"The T-shirt is optional," she told him."" ― p. 10

THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME you might enjoy THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT also by Jennifer E. Smith. UNBREAK MY HEART by Melissa C. Walker and its sailboat love story is very cute and THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales is for the music lovers and everyone who has felt left out at some point in life. 

  

* Have you read Jennifer E. Smith's THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? It's the book that made me fall in love with her writing.

* Click here to read an excerpt of THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME.

*Want to meet Jennifer? Check out her event schedule.

* For more information about Jennifer E. Smith and her books visit www.jenniferesmith.com.

* Thanks to Frances and Headline for the chance to review THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME!

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Book Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Title: The Here and Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publishing Date: April 8th 2014
Length: 288 pages
Keywords: YA, fiction, time travel, romance, action
Source: Netgalley

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves. 

Summary by Goodreads

Ethan is your regular nice guy from the present and Prenna the girl from the future who is contained by her community of time travellers. Together they are reckless and ready to save the world. There's no possible future reading scenario in which you are not falling in love with these two!

You might have guessed by now that time travelling is involved in THE HERE AND NOW. I've been used to single individuals being able to travel through time under certain limitations. In this story it's a group of people from the future that comes to the present in order to save themselves, the old world and humankind's future. Like they are fugitives of time itself, awesome and complex concept!

Prenna and Ethan have their magic moments. Their moments that have been destined by fate. And they have their absolute ordinary teenager moments. You are going to love that their relationship is off to such a natural start because Ethan and Prenna have known each other for some time now. They go to school together and fall in love just like any other couple would.

Well, that doesn't say that there aren't tons of problems pre-programmed. A big conspiracy is brewing and Ethan and Prenna are determined to save the world. There are some dangerous leads Ethan and Prenna are following. The story could've used some additional explanations here and there, one or two chapters stealing time for Ethan and Prenna to actually be together, buying them time for some sweet romance.
Ann Brashares really did think up a horrible future scenario that is to be prevented at all costs. When you are not scared about it you are fascinated trying to puzzle over how it could all come to this future. THE HERE AND NOW is an intricately spun story about our world's future with all its possibilities and dangers. So you can expect big action scenarios, the bad guys being really corrupt and scary and more than a few conflicts between Prenna's desire to be with Ethan and her strict community standards. 

4/5 **** THE HERE AND NOW - Conspiracies, time travel and a timeless love story. What else do you need?

When I got a copy of THE HERE AND NOW I read it believing Ann Brashares a debut author. Well, she's only the author of the very famous THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS series. Ann's writing is practiced, love and suspense aren't battling for the reader's attention, they are complementing each other. I can easily count THE HERE AND NOW to my favourite time travel stories and new releases of 2014! So all we've got to do now is hope for a sequel!

"He closed his eyes for a time, and when he opened them again, the river was mostly in its banks, and the air went back to being invisible and the sunshine had reassemled itself. He sat up and gradually reoriented himself to basics like up and down. The storm produced a scoured, sparkling look through the trees, and it also produced a girl."― p.2-3

THE HERE AND NOW you might enjoy TEMPEST by Julie Cross, ALL OUR YESTERDAYS by Cristin Terrill and HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire. Be prepared for time travel grandiosity!

* Have you read SISTERHOOD EVERLASTING, the last book in Ann Brashares' SISTERHOOD series?

* Click here for an excerpt of THE HERE AND NOW.

* For more information about Ann and her books visit www.annbrashares.com.

* Thanks to Delacorte Press and Edelweiss for the chance to review THE HERE AND NOW!

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Blog Tour: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain Q&A + Giveaway

THE SHADOW PRINCE was released March 11th 2014 and here's your chance to win a signed copy if you haven't read it yet. Of course you can always make it a gift for a good friend if you have read it. Also you don't want to miss my Q&A with Bree Despain. Hope you enjoy it!

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Tour Schedule

Monday, March 31, 2014

Icey Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
A Dream within a Dream — Review + Giveaway

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Karin's Book Nook — Giveaway
Curling Up with a Good Book — Q&A + Giveaway

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

GreenBeanTeenQueen — Guest Post + Giveaway
Bookaholics Anonymous — Review + Giveaway

Thursday, April 03, 2014

Book Briefs — Review + Giveaway

Friday, April 04, 2014

Two Chicks on Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
Cornucopia of Reviews — Review + Giveaway

Saturday, April 05, 2014

Jenna Does Books — Guest Post + Giveaway
Jean Book Nerd — Q&A + Giveaway

Sunday, April 06, 2014

Fire and Ice Blog — Guest Post + Giveaway
Live to Read — Review + Giveaway

Monday, April 07, 2014

Buried in Books — Review + Giveaway
Book Chic Club — Q&A + Giveaway

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

The Book Swarm — Review + Giveaway
The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia — Guest Post + Giveaway

Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Miss Page-Turner's City of Books — Q&A + Giveaway
Jump Into Books —  Review + Giveaway

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Cozy Reader — Review + Giveaway
Mod Podge Books — Guest Post + Giveaway

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Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. The Dark Divine is Bree's debut novel.

Find Bree on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. 

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 Q&A with Bree Despain 

1) Daphne Raines grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere... uh, Utah. Her mother sternly kept her from leaving town and then suddenly her rock star father shows up and takes her with him to California. A move is a change of location but often signifies an impulse for personal transformation as well. So what's going on inside Daphne's head and heart in the first few chapters of THE SHADOW PRINCE?

Leaving home is both exciting and unsettling for Daphne. She has dreamed of getting out of her tiny town all of her life, but once the opportunity presents itself, it almost terrifies her. I think that’s a natural impulse. Sometimes we dream about something for so long that when we finally get it, we don’t know how to react or even if we want it anymore. Then there is the issue of reality never quite being the same as the dream. It’s quite a jarring realization and takes some adjustment. Daphne has always longed for freedom and adventure, but she also comes to appreciate the love and safety that home has to offer.

2) Where Daphne struggles with her new situation in Olympus Hills, Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has to adapt to life on the surface in general. To fulfill his mission and get Daphne to follow him back to the Underworld, Haden only needs the girl to fall in love with him. His attempts at flirtation are hilarious and clumsy to say the least. Haden could've easily used a lesson in 21st century flirting and dating. Which character from any of your favourite YA reads could you see as his teacher?

Hmmm . . . Perhaps Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles? He’s roguish and dashing, though Haden might misconstrue any advice he got from him. He’d probably mistake being roguish for being rude.

3) Music is very important for our heroine Daphne, she has incredible talent and dreams of being a singer one day. Which song is currently playing on her iPod and how does it make her feel?

I’m currently obsessed with the song “A King and a Queen” by Okkervil River. I’ve been listening to it on a loop this morning. My favorite part of the song goes: “But the best thing for you would be queen, so be queen. You're all that I need. Though I know that it never can be, I'd be pleased to post your decrees, to fall at your knees, to name all your streets and to sit down and weep when you're carried back through them and set down to sleep, and to lie by your side for sublime centuries, until we crumble to dust when we're crushed by a single sunbeam.” If Daphne were listening to this song, she would be wondering if it were possible to love someone this much…and trying to convince herself not to think about Haden when she contemplates love. Here’s a link so you can listen to the song. (But be warned, you might become obsessed as well.)

4) Haden has a hellishly cute sidekick. His pocket-sized cat Brimstone. How would you describe their bond?

Brimstone is based on one of my cats, Ava. She’s small (but not pocket-sized), shy, kind of ornery, and doesn’t like to be touched. She disdains everyone in the family—except for my 11-year-old son (who has sensory issues and is kind of stand-off-ish at first). Ava loves my son. She waits for him to get home from school, follows him everywhere, and cries outside his door when he goes to bed at night. She won’t let anyone else touch her, but she’d snuggle all day long with my son if she were able to. My son, who doesn’t always have the easiest time socially, feels special because Ava fawns over him and nobody else. They’re like two peas in a pod, and perfect companions for each other. This is how Haden and Brimstone are. They have a lot in common, both having been rejected by the only family they have, and share a special bond because of it. I think of Brim as the older sister Haden always needed. She’s fiercely loyal, she scolds him, encourages him, and even tries to help him out with the ladies. But whatever you do, don’t get her angry!

5) THE SHADOW PRINCE is your fourth book, after the THE DARK DIVINE trilogy. In how far has your writing or the writing process changed from your debut novel to THE SHADOW PRINCE now? Or has it changed at all?

My writing process has been completely different for every book I have written. I almost feel like I’m reinventing how I write every sing time I write a book. What worked for one, never seems to work for the next. I wrote my first book over the space of 4 years, meandering around without any outline—just working toward a vague idea I had for an ending. With deadlines, I’ve had to learn to adjust my process to be timelier. THE SHADOW PRINCE was by far my most organized book. I outlined the book scene by scene, writing a detailed description of what happens in each scene on a notecard. Because I was writing the book using alternating POVs, this allowed me to write several scenes from one character’s POV at a time, and then go back and fill in the missing scenes from the other POV.

6) What can we expect from the sequel to THE SHADOW PRINCE? Will Haden be shirtless...at least once?

I can’t say a whole lot about the sequel, but can hint that it has a couple of big twists that will hopefully surprise the readers. I will be sure to make Haden shirtless for at least one scene (just for you).

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 Giveaway

  

Thanks to Egmont USA I'm giving away a signed copy of THE SHADOW PRINCE. The giveaway is open to US and Can residents only and ends April 30th 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hope enjoyed my Q&A with Bree and good luck for the giveaway! Now make sure to visit Jump Into Books for a review and another chance to win THE SHADOW PRINCE.

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Divergent Movie Premiere in Berlin

Happy 4th of April! It's FourFour Day and so the perfect opportunity to talk about one of my favourite YA book boys.

 About a week ago, I found an email sitting in my inbox that made me laugh and scream. I had won two tickets for the German Divergent premiere in Berlin!! Theo James, Shailene Woodley and Neil Burger would be there, too and we were invited to walk the red (black) carpet. You can imagine how excited I was to attend.

I asked a friend who is just as enthusiastic about the Divergent trilogy as I am to come with me. We booked  a hotel and flight last minute and I went outfit hunting only one day before we left for Berlin. And then the hours passed in a blur, we arrived in Berlin, put the outfits and make-up on and left for the premiere.

Our hotel wasn't even that far from the event location. So we arrived in our faction themed outfits right on time. My friend went as Erudite and you can guess that I chose to be a Dauntless chick.

The event was held in beautiful Sony Center. There were so many fans and movie cameras, reporters and security teams, that it felt like such a big and exclusive event. But it only took us like ten seconds to walk over the actual carpet and enter the cinema.

The cinema was quite big and we could eat free mini snacks and drinks whenever we wanted. Wraps, donuts, quiche, frozen yoghurt. Yum!

When we entered the cinema we found that we got reserved front row seats, prepared with new snacks and energy drinks. Wow! Then we saw the Divergent trailer, followed by two music videos featuring Divergent soundtrack highlights. The first was Find You by Zedd, Featuring Matthew Koma, Featuring Miriam Bryan. Then followed Beating Heart. I was a fan of Ellie Goulding before. But seeing her newest music video with Divergent snippets on the big screen was such a goose-bump inducing experience that I'm now dying to hear her in concert. Ellie Goulding's Beating Heart is my current favourite song and I listen to it whenever I get the chance to. It's beautiful! 

If you want to get one Movie Sountrack, you want to get this one. I can't think of another movie soundtrack (not even the The Hunger Games songs) that fit so perfectly together with every single frame. It was like the movie was breathing the music and the music would fill the scenes with life and emotions and everything. Performers like Woodkid, Snow Patrol and Ellie Goulding should be reason enough to get your own copy of the sountrack. Even the artists I hadn't heard about before, were instant favourites, to name only one, M83 - I Need You. 

And then when the lights went back on again, it was time for Neil Burger to enter the stage. To be honest, I can't even remember what he talked about exactly, because I was so excited for Theo and Shailene to arrive. The press said they took so much time to take pictures with fans and write autographs (outside the theatre). I'm a bit jealous and would've died to take a selfie with Theo and Shailene, but we were already inside the theatre, waiting for them. Sigh... Here they pose on the black carpet.

Theo, Shailene and Neil 

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They were exactly like you imagine them to be. Theo is so charming and has a very strong presence just like Four has in the movie. He's funny and his voice is so deep and enticing I wouldn't have minded listening to him talk the whole evening. Shailene wore a stunning, long white dress and despite her looking so gorgeous she always appeared so humble and smart. It was their first time in Berlin and they were headed to a restaurant and a few bars as Theo said. And so their interview only lasted a few minutes and they were gone. The movie was about to start.

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So let's come to the Movie Review. I usually don't do movie reviews, but have to make an exception this time. Let me say this first: Divergent blew my mind!

I mean I was and still am a huge fan of Veronica Roth's book. It doesn't happen often that I'm happy with a movie, because directors and screen writers always tend to change or leave out parts of the book that I really loved. And then the story isn't quite the story anymore that I fell in love with before the movie came out. Divergent was different. From the opening scene on I was hooked. It was something as simple as camera movement that showed me that this movie was going to be epic.

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Costumes and Design

We only get to see all factions united in the very beginning of the movie and then we spent most time of the first book/movie in Dauntless quarters. A short visit to Erudite territory is included when Tris decides the visit her brother Caleb. The costumes were just the way they needed to be for the Dauntless to appear rough, punk and dangerous. Good job!

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Cast 

When I first heard about Theo James and Shailene Woodley being cast as Four and Tris, I was fine with the choices. Not too ecstatic about them, not disappointed either. The trailer showed me that they had potential and maybe they even could be a link to the versions of Tris and Four that I had in my head for a few years now. 139 minutes of Divergent on the big screen and I knew it, they were my new Tris and Four! Ashley Judd was a wise and loving mother to Tris. Ansel Elgort made a pretty cute Caleb. Not sure about Kate Winslet so far. And Jai Courtney as Eric, was my favourite character beside Tris and Four. Was Eric as cruel and coldhearted in the book, too? I wouldn't want to risk a fight against him.

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Fighting Scenes and Stunts

Divergent is an action-packed story and the movie is anything but boring. Tris' training to become a fearless Dauntless member and the fights against her fellow initiates and the enemies were fast and gripping. Complex stunts, combat training and shootings as the constant focus on heights make for a dangerous Dauntless experience. Divergent by Neil Burger in general is a brilliantly shot and editted movie!

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The Romance

Tris & Four Forever! I have five thousand favourite moments. Theo and Shailene are radiating such passion and chemistry in every single frame, sincerity about each other and what they want. They make a powerful couple that always brings 100 % emotion into a scene. Their first kiss is amazing!

The ferris wheel, one of my fave book scenes, wasn't among my favourite movie scenes though. This was one of the few that could've used a few more minutes in the movie, so it would've been as meaningful to the story and Tris' and Four's relationship as in the book. 

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Fear Landscapes

Tris and Four's fear landscapes are a big part of the first book. They have to face their fears and try to overcome them in these simulations. It was certain that the fear landscapes needed fantasy and skill to be convincing in the movie. Neil Burger found the perfect timing to move from one fear to the next. They were quick, expressive and realized and connected skilfully. 

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Four

Love! Um, just wanted to give you an excuse to look at that pretty face. He's gazing right into your soul! 

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Surprises & Verdict

There weren't any major surprises or unexpected changes to the story. And they weren't necessary. Neil Burger got me so involved in the movie and the way he interpreted Veronica Roth's story, slowly built the relationship between Tris and Four and then Tris' personal development, that I felt like I was hearing the story for the very first time. Towards the end of the movie, I was so excited and was desperately wishing for a happy end. Even though I knew what would happen, I was at the edge of my seat and still hoping for everything to work out in the end.

Now everyone go and watch the Divergent movie if you haven't already. I pre-ordered the Blu Ray as soon as I was back home. It's hard to decide but Divergent is probably my favourite book to movie adaptation now. My love for (Four, hehe) and Divergent is endless.

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When the movie ended everyone clapped, my friend and I just looked at each other and smiled and giggled. We then went out and treated ourselves to a late cocktail and Indian food and fell into bed exhausted and happy. The next day we had a few hours left to wander Berlin. We spotted a gigantic Lego giraffe, got frozen yoghurt for free again and spent some time in my favourite English book store in Berlin. They had beautiful classics editions and a big Divergent book selection, too. 

The whole Divergent evening, seeing Theo and Shailene on stage still feels so surreal and will sure be one of my all-time favourite experiences. Here's a last pic of Sony Center the next morning. The spot lights, reporters and carpet vanished, but the big Divergent banner remains, hopefully compelling many cinema goers to watch this brillaint brilliant movie!

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Twelve Steps Blog Tour: Guest Post by Veronica Bartles

Twelve Steps
by Veronica Bartles



Publication:2014
by
Swoon Romance











Sixteen-year-old Andi is tired of being a second-class sibling to perfect sister Laina. The only thing Andi’s sure she has going for her is her awesome hair. And even that is eclipsed by Laina's perfect everything else.

When Andi’s crush asks her to fix him up with Laina, Andi decides enough is enough, and devises a twelve-step program to wrangle the spotlight away from Laina and get the guy.

Step 1: Admit she’s powerless to change her perfect sister, and accept that her life really, really sucks.

Step 4: Make a list of her good qualities. She MUST have more than just great hair, right?

Step 7: Demand attention for more than just the way she screws things up.

When a stolen kiss from her crush ends in disaster, Andi realizes that her twelve-step program isn’t working. Her prince isn’t as charming as she'd hoped, and the spotlight she’s been trying to steal isn’t the one she wants.

As Laina’s flawless façade begins to crumble, the sisters work together to find a spotlight big enough for both to shine.

Guest Post by Veronica Bartles

My favorite part about writing TWELVE STEPS was the relationship between the two sisters, Andi and Laina. Even though they drive each other crazy, they mostly love each other. I have three sisters. I was sandwiched in between the “gorgeous and insanely popular” sister and the “too adorable for words” sister. As “the smart one,” I felt like I could never keep up. But even though we often fought in the privacy of our own shared bedroom, my sisters and I loved each other like crazy, and we knew we could always count on each other when it really mattered. That’s the kind of relationship Andi and Laina have.
My sister and I were in the band together in high school, and for the band banquet at the end of my senior year, each of the seniors was assigned to an underclassman for the senior roast. Of course, they paired me with my little sister (who was a sophomore), since she would obviously be the most likely to have great dirt.
She spent weeks tormenting me.
“Remember the time we were getting on the bus after the band trip, and you tripped and fell flat on your face because [name of guy I had a crush on omitted] asked you for a piece of gum? Maybe I’ll tell that story. I could even just stand up there and present you with a package of gum and tell you not to trip.”
“Remember that time I stole your diary and read all about your secret crush on [name of different guy omitted]? Maybe I could tell the story about how you pretended to fall asleep on the bus so you could lean your head on his shoulder.” “Remember that [even more embarrassing story – mortifying enough that I don’t even want to give a clue here]? Maybe I’ll tell that story. People would think it’s hilarious!”
Every day, she thought up a new, even more embarrassing tale that she could share when her turn came. And even though I begged her to have mercy, she insisted that the whole point of the senior roast was to come up with the most embarrassing stories possible. Everyone would be disappointed if she didn’t have something spectacularly embarrassing to share about me. That’s why they picked her to do it, after all.
By the time the band banquet rolled around, I was so nervous that I thought about skipping it altogether. But I knew that would be even worse than bravely facing the embarrassment I’d soon endure. If I wasn’t there when she told whatever embarrassing tale she was about to share, there was no way I could even hope to do any kind of damage control. So I dressed up and plastered a smile on my face and walked into the banquet with my head held high. And when it was our turn, I stood in front of the room with her, trying not to hyperventilate as my little sister prepared to destroy me.
She pulled out a pack of gum and flashed an evil grin at me, as she rolled her eyes toward the boy I had a crush on, who was sitting right in the front of the room.
I think my heart stopped beating.
Then, without saying a word, she set the gum down on the table beside her and pulled out a pair of angel wings and a halo. “I know I was supposed to find some embarrassing story to tell,” she said, “but you’ve all met Veronica. She’s kind of perfect. She doesn’t really make mistakes. And I couldn’t find anything worth sharing. I guess Veronica’s just an angel.”
Because that’s what sisters do. We may torment and tease, and make life miserable from time to time, but at the end of the day, we’re here for each other.
No matter what.

As the second of eight children and the mother of four, Veronica Bartles is no stranger to the ups and downs of sibling relationships. (She was sandwiched between the gorgeous-and-insanely-popular older sister and the too-adorable-for-words younger sister.)
She uses this insight to write stories about siblings who mostly love each other, even while they’re driving one another crazy.

When she isn’t writing or getting lost in the pages of her newest favorite book, Veronica enjoys knitting fabulous bags and jewelry out of recycled plastic bags and old VHS tapes, sky diving (though she hasn’t actually tried that yet), and inventing the world’s most delectable cookie recipes. TWELVE STEPS is Veronica Bartles's first novel.



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