Cell the movie is here!

Remember Stephen King's book Cell?  There's a movie coming out!  This YEAR!  I'm so EXCITED for it!  I was a little worried about the casting, but the trailer proved me that it could become a great adaptation!  Plus, Stephen King himself helped with the screenplay, so you know it's going to be GOOD!  John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle Fuhrman play the main characters in this bloody, action-packed story of a cellphone-caused apocalypse that makes people behave like aggressive monsters, whose only purpose is too kill.  Watch them try to survive here, in the trailer!  AHH!  I can't wait!

If you want to read the book, then check out my review!

Also, you can buy the paperback of Stephen King's Cell here!

Paper Towns by John Green

Author:  John Green

Genre:  Adventure, Mystery

Target Audience:  Young Adult

Reading Experience:  8/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

In contrast to my review of Colleen Hoover's November 9, I thought I might add one of my favorite Young Adult novels.  

Paper Towns, by John Green, is the story of Quentin "Q" Jacobsen.  Q has loved his neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman  all of his life, since the moment she moved next door.  But from afar.  He never dared to tell her.  They had one moment together as children that marked their relationship forever.  Now as teenagers, Q and Margo rarely speak; they are strangers.  She's an enigma to Q, but he still loves her.  Everything is fine and normal until one night Margo climbs through his bedroom window on the second floor, like a ninja with a special mission.  She embarks Q on one of the most memorable nights of his life.  But when that adventure ends, and a new day dawns, Margo disappears.  And Q starts to believe that she left clues for him, so that he could find her.  Q embarks on his own mission to find her, following the clues she left behind.

I won't say more, 'cause I'll spoil it.  But if you thought the Fault in Our Starts was good, this one takes the cake, in my opinion.

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Author:  Colleen Hoover

Genre:  Romance, Contemporary

Target Audience:  New Adults, Adults

Reading Experience:  4.5/10

Story:  5.5/10

Writing:  6/10

My Verdict:  6/10

As I stated in past posts, I'm not a fan of romance.  I'm more into action, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller and horror.  If it's sprinkled with romance and comedy, I wouldn't mind - as long as it's done right.  Books that are made entirely of comedy and romance?  No, thank you.  Books with YA or NA in their labels?  I'll pass.

I read this for two reasons: 

• I was somewhat curious about the story and book, given that it was really popular among Colleen Hoover fans.  So I had a "hunch" that I might actually like this book, even though it was a romance novel.
• My sister insisted that I read this book.  Like, every single DAY.  I was still reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard when she was already pushing the book towards me.  It was only fair, since she read one I recommended her (which she loved it!).

My hunch was wrong, and so was my sister.  Sorry, Sis.  But this was not... enjoyable.  At all.  This is coming from someone that read ALL the Twilight books, most of John Green's (which were actually good) and even Fifty Shades of Grey.  I mean, I've read good romances and really bad ones.  This wasn't horrible, but it was cringe-worthy. 

I know I will be lynched by my sister and all die-hard Colleen Hoover fans, but I have to write about my experience when reading the book, and it was not pleasant.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Author:  Victoria Aveyard

Genre:  Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance

Target Audience:  Young Adults, Adults

Reading Experience:  7/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

I have to say it: I am not a big fan of Young Adults novels, and being a dystopian novel is even more of a deal breaker.  I feel like I've outgrown that genre (I'm 23), and that the genre has nothing new or fresh to offer anymore.  I feel like YA/dystopian novels will never have something new to offer.  To me, it's like an inflexible genre, that doesn't allow much originality other than the story, which become "slightly" different from other novels.  The writing is sometimes the same, the themes and even the love triangles.  Only the story changes, but its development is almost the same.  But I think I may have to reconsider my views on YA now that I read Red Queen.  I think there might be good YA novels out there.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

This should only be categorized as horror.  Pure, raw horror.  I felt like Carrie from Stephen King's novel of the same name, when they poured all that blood on her.  Instead of getting mad, losing my mind and going murderous on everybody present, I was shocked beyond all reason.  Like, literally shocked.  And scared!  I finished the book without any breath left.  I stared at it, in awe of its genius story but horrified of all the things I will never be able to forget after reading it.  Nothing can be unread.  NOTHING.  Once again, Gillian Flynn shows her brilliance in narrative and story-making, and, of course, the unexpected, brilliant, jaw-dropping ending.

Gillian Flynn, you are simply brilliant.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Author:  Gillian Flynn

Genre:  Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Psychological thriller

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Story:  8/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

Well, I think that after you finish this book, your view of marriage will be forever changed.  Gillian Flynn manages to take you into the mind of a seemingly perfect couple, deep into their psyche, as their marriage goes from the "perfect" union to a harmful one.  It deteriorates, withers and eventually turns into something wicked and downright horrifying.  I won't say anymore because I'll spoil it.  But rest assured, it's jaw-dropping, breathtaking and thrilling (in my opinion).   Makes you think about the fact that people like this actually exist.  Makes you think that things like this can actually happen.  It's a scary thing, my fellow Bookworms.  Very, very scary.

A Work in Progress by Connor Franta

Author:  Connor Franta

Genre:  Memoir, Non-Fiction, Autobography

Reading Experience:  8.5/10

Writing: 8/10

My Verdict:  9/10

You probably have heard of him.  Probably haven't.  If you're a fan of YouTube, like myself, you've probably heard of him and his generation of YouTubers.  There are hundreds and hundreds of YouTubers out there, some in the spotlight, some in the dark, some "getting there".  Connor Franta is one of them.  Still don't know him?  This is him:

Yes, Please by Amy Poehler

Author:  Amy Poehler

Genre:  Memoir, Comedy, Autobiography, Non-fiction

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  8/10

I thought I might change the rating system for this particular, to make it more appropriate for a memoir.  There's no actual story to rate; it's their life, the way it happened.  no villain (unless you count Life as a villain), there's no conflict between the hero and th villain (again, Life vs. You is a hell of a fight, don't you think?), there are no characters to "develop and there is no plot.  The book of life is already written, and you have no freaking idea what comes next.  So I'll skip the "Story" part of the rating.

Okay!  Let us begin!

The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

Author:  Philip K. Dick

Genre:  Science Fiction, Short Story, Mystery, Thriller

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  9/10

Story:  8.5/10

Writing:  8/10

My Verdict:  8.5/10

I'll be brief with this review since this book is actually only around 100 pages long and I don't want to spoil it for you.  This book is directed mostly towards Sci-Fi lovers, and mystery/thriller lovers.  And it's actually not complete novel, it's a short story.  This story is written by Philip K. Dick, who is often considered a revolutionary mind of futuristic stories and novels (he wrote the Man in the High Castle... 'nuff said).

World War Z by Max Brooks

Author:  Max Brooks

Genre:  Zombie, Apocalyptic, Horror

Target Audience:  Adults

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Story:  7.5/10

Writing:  7/10

My Verdict:  7.5/10

I thought I may review this book, since it was a very interesting read.  I read this book a year or two before the movie came out (in 2013), so even though I don't remember everything in the book, I remember plenty enough to say that the book was really good.  It's not a favorite, but it was a very, very good read.  I liked it, a LOT.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Paranormal

Target Audience: Adults

Reading Experience: 9/10

Story: 8.5/10

Writing: 8/10

My Verdict: 9/10

Okay, I'm going to review my all-time favorite book of Stephen King: Pet Sematary.  Yes, it's spelled like that, and it makes sense when you read the book.  It's actually my highest-rated book so far, and it deserves such a rating.  Anyway, I haven't read many Stephen King books (yet), but to date, it's my favorite.  It was the only book to actually give me chills (that forest scene... man, I still have nightmares with that scene!).

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Author: Jane Austen

Genre:  Romance, Historical Fiction

Target Audience:  From Adults to young readers

Reading Experience:  7.5/10

Story: 7.5/10

Writing: 6/10

My Verdict: 7/10

Okay, so you'll read a LOT of contradictions here, in this review.  So bear with me 'till the end.  I'm not really sure where I stand with this book, but I'll let you decide.

So, Pride and Prejudice.  We've all heard it.  Many of you had to read it in school or for a course in college.  It was, simply put, an obligation to do so.  Since English literature is not in Puerto Rico's curriculum (we had other excruciatingly boring books to read), I wasn't "obligated" to read this book.  English literature was pretty much non-existent in Puerto Rico.  We were too busy reading the same novel over and over; one was about an epileptic girl in a very poor village, another was a collection of poems from a woman that was depressed practically her whole life.  An occasional "decent" book made it to our hands, but the rest was excruciating, a real challenge.