Deathly Hallows

I started reading the Harry Potter books just before I turned 11. I just started middle school. The series kept winning the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Book. My new friends were reading them too. After reading the Sorcerer's Stone, I had hoped an owl would deliver a Hogwarts acceptance letter to me on my birthday. An owl never came. I am just a muggle who is a huge fan of the series. The books, of course, are 1000x better than the movies. The movies are great, they just don't include everything in the story.

On July 21, 2007, I lined up and bought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 8am, right when Target opened. I read all day and finished in less than 24 hours. Maybe I should have slowed down, to make it all last a little longer. The ending is brilliant. Sheer genius, that J.K. Rowling is.

Three years later, the movie finally comes out. It's split in two parts. We expected only 7 movies, but we got 8... how appropriate ;]

Ron and Hermione's opening scenes broke my heart. The trio was saying goodbye to their lives as they knew it. Ron and Hermione's were only briefly mentioned in the book. The movie didn't show Harry saying goodbye to the Dursleys. I was so looking forward to his handshake with Dudley. Oh well. Can't be too mad because they still kept a lot of material from the book.

Wasn't Hedwig's demise so tragic? That was the saddest death for me in the books.

The movie had a slower tone than the other 6, since it is outside of Hogwarts. They're so grown up now!

I love the dance scene between Harry and Hermione. Ron's horcrux nightmare more mature than I envisioned when reading the book, haha.

Dobby has been trending all weekend. You go, Dobby.

The ending was so great. Everyone in the theatre was bummed when it was over. We all wanted more! You can't be mad, like Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest because we knew it's in 2 parts.

Part 2 is going to have a faster pace and more action. I plan on watching it in IMAX 3D. It is the final movie, after all. It will be EPIC.

CR2 "Book"

I finally bought the Camp Rock 2 Junior Novel. I had trouble finding it in stores. The cover art isn't even on websites.

The first Camp Rock was about Mitchie getting over her insecurities and coming out of her shell as a person and a performer. This one shows her leadership ability as she fights to keep Camp Rock open.

I don't think it was necessary for Connect 3 to suddenly become brothers. Fans aren't used to them not being brothers? Well, in Camp Rock, they're not supposed to be Nick, Kevin, and Joe of Jonas Brothers or their fictional parody band JONAS. It's Nate, Jason and Shane of Connect 3.

Frankie Jonas plays the scene-stealing junior-rocker, Trevor.

Jason gets a birdhouse!

The first junior novel told the story way better than the movie. The movie underdeveloped the characters and storylines. For example, they didn't show Shane overhearing campers discussing his stupid, cookie-cutter popstar stuff. This is why he started writing a new, different sounding song, "Play My Music." Also, they didn't show Tess and Ella talking about lip gloss in their cabin, so the "BTW, you're lip gloss is SO NOT glossy!" line came out of nowhere.

I'm hoping this doesn't happen again for Camp Rock 2. Don't tell me it can't be done because the High School Musical 2 junior novel was on point! (I read because I'm too antsy to wait for the movie.)

GH

General Hospital was SO GOOD this week!!
-Elizabeth had her baby.
-Lisa's slowly becoming psycho.
-Lulu randomly ends up in L.A.
-Shirley dies.
-Warren Bower's true colors come out and he shoots up the hospital.
-Franco dies...but I'm sure he's not really dead.

A lot was going on in GH, which is cool. I feel like they're rarely in the hospital.

I started watching the show in late 2009. I had Twilight on my brain, and whenever I read/heard,

Bella: How old are you?
Edward: 17.
Bella: How long have you been 17?
Edward: A while.

it reminded me of Tuck Everlasting.

Winnie: How old are you?
Jesse: You really want to know?
Winnie: Yes.
Jesse: 104.
Winnie: I'm serious.
Jesse: So am I! Let's just call it 17.

I read the book in middle school, and I loved the movie. I thought Jonathan Jackson was so cute! So then I wondered what happened to him. IMDB said he was on General Hospital. I would turn to the soap opera once in a while to catch a glimpse of Jonathan. Then, I got sucked into the story lines, especially Liz and Lucky, L&L2.

P.S. Here's another simiarity:

PLL

I read all eight books in the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard because of the new ABC Family show. It's about five girls with different personalities, who used to be best friends. I can DEFINITELY relate, minus the murders.

The TV show has a lot of elements from the book, but it is still taking on a life of its own. I think the casting is perfect. Mr. Fitz is really cute! The girl who plays Ali is only 14, while all of the other girls are in their 20s? What the heck?

Short Second Life

I am a bit peeved that Stephenie Meyer wrote and published this novella before finishing Midnight Sun. I really want her to finish that! After reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, I know the wait for Midnight Sun will definitely be worth it!

I, of course, have read Eclipse. I knew Bree's ultimate fate.

I liked Bree. After reading her story, I was really hoping the ending I knew would change, for Bree's sake. I wanted it to be different, or perhaps, I wanted there to be more than what I saw in Eclipse.

But no. I finished the novella with sadness.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Introduction

~I watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on the Disney Channel over winter break.

~I enjoyed it very much (to my surprise).

~I watch Prince Caspian on Encore.

~I love it.

~Ben Barnes is so cute. [[ He was in a boyband for 4 and 1/2 minutes? I think I'm in LOVE! ]]

~I can't wait for Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

~I decide to read the series.

~I also watch a few episodes of the BBC series adaptation.

Critique

The Chronicles of Narnia series was written for children. This is exhibited as the author dictates the most obvious events. C.S. Lewis's descriptions of places and people really allow you to paint a picture with all of the senses.

Each adventure journeys through different parts of Narnia. Some journeys are longer than others (way longer), and there are epic battles and wars fought by children. I wanted one instance where they traveled to Narnia and just chilled and had fun. I suppose the story wouldn't be as interesting though.

I read it in publication order. It works that way.

Comparisons

~The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a really good and true adaptation.

~Prince Caspian: movie > book [more Ben!]

~Voyage of the Dawn Treader < Silver Chair

Conclusion

Overall, I think it's a really good series. I shall add it to my future library. The last two paragraphs of The Last Battle turned my world upside down. I suppose I got what I wanted, but not exactly the way I expected. Although, it does make sense.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader hits theatres in December. I think they should stop with the films after this. I'm hoping for a M&G opportunity with Ben! Skandar's cute too, but he's younger than me xD

The Time Traveler's Wife

I saw the trailer on TV last week, and it looked like the Lake House meets the Notebook.
I love Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana (he was so hot in Troy!).

I decided to read the book.
Nicholas Sparks, eat your heart out.

I've always been intrigued with the concept of time travel.
Here are my takes on it:
-It is a continuum.
-Some things are meant to happen. God has a plan. Therefore, if you somehow had the ability to go back and change things, it wouldn't change much. Whatever was supposed to happen will happen, if only in a different way. (See If Only starring Jennifer Love Hewitt)
-The number 8 goes with it. [Clare and Henry are 8 years apart. The DeLorean in Back to the Future had to be at 88 to travel back.]

I could get more into it, but I should get back to the novel. To have genes that allow you to randomly travel through time is a scary concept. Henry can't control when he leaves or where he goes. He meets Claire when he is 28. Claire meets Henry when she is 6. They were meant to be together. It's a very passionate love ;] It's in first-person narrative from both Claire and Henry. You need to pay attention to the dates and ages given, or it gets confusing. If they're 8 years apart, then it's present time. Also, there's a bit of French in the book. I got to put my 3 years of high school French to use!

As I watched the trailer after reading the book, there were subtle differences. The proposal isn't like the story. While reading the book, I was more interested when Henry traveled. The film probably expresses Clare's struggle in longing and waiting more thoroughly than in the book, which makes sense. It is called the Time Traveler's WIFE. Still, I'm thinking it's pretty close.


So I'm excited for that movie. I'd choose to watch it over Band Slam. Then again, Band Slam has a sneak peak at New Moon. But what if it's the same clips shown at ComicCon that I have already watched on YouTube?