Paper Towns: film review

After reading all of his books and becoming a little obsessed, a friend of mine and I promised we'd see every one of John Green's films together. And, true to that promise, we had our last catch-up before she left for uni at the cinema watching 'Paper Towns'. 

I had been eager to see this for a while, all of the pre-release material and trailers had me gripped and I could only hope that the film would live up to my (exceedingly high) expectations. And it did; there is absolutely no doubt about it. 

I don't want to do major give-always or spoilers so what I am going to tell you is this... 

I was hugely impressed by the selection of actors, I have to admit I had doubts about Cara Delevingne but she probably was the most impressive of them all. Tbe way the characters were portrayed was just how I'd imagined from the novel and the storyline was obviously gripping if not a little fast paced. It ended perfectly, just like the novel with a sad but necessary ending that left the two characters too far apart, yet just close enough.

My only criticism is that some parts of the book were missed out. I know that this is important to shorten the film down, however, the film was not as long as others I've seen so extra little bits should have been manageable. I have vivid memories from certain parts of the book that just seem to have been forgotten about. And, considering I read the book over 12 months ago, they must have been very engaging parts for me to still remember them. 

Either way, it was a fantastic evening, a wonderful film and another fantastic film based on the works of John Green. I would definitely advise you to see it before it leaves the cinema. If any of you have seen it, what did you think? 

Keep smiling,

Kathryn x

Looking For Alaska: book review

Having now finished reading John Greene's novel 'Looking for Alaska's, I am back, as promised, with a quick review for you to (hopefully) enjoy. I have no intentions of spoiling it in any way but just in case you're currently reading it or about to read it, you may choose not to read any further for now and that's fine!

Looking For Alaska is quite clearly aimed at a young adult audience although it could easily be enjoyed by people of other ages and I wouldn't let the target audience put anyone off giving John Green's novels a try.

The novel tells the story of Miles, the protagonist, who leaves his school in Florida (where he is far from popular) to join a boarding school in Alabama. When he arrives he meets his roommate, The Colonel, who provides him with the nickname Pudge and introduces him to Alaska. Alaska is quite a complex character whose respect for the rules is lacking in many areas, and it is the relationships between the three characters that are expected throughout the novel. 

I found the way that the novel was written extremely interesting. The first chapter is called 'One hundred and thirty-six days before' which leaves you pretty convinced that it is a countdown to a huge event but even knowing this doesn't quite leave you emotionally prepared. Without giving too much away, the final day leaves the characters separated and the days after take you on Miles' journey to discover the full events of that night. In some ways I found the final few pages a little bit predictable but I don't think it would be enough for me to dissuade anyone from reading it. 

Another thing I really loved about this book was the way two different, possibly clashing, personalities were brought together. Miles and the Colonel are from completely contrasting backgrounds but form a remarkable friendship which is tested to an extreme level.

There's not too much more that I can say without giving everything away but I can certainly say that I would recommend giving Looking For Alaska a read! Feel free to leave your views on the novel down below and if you have any book recommendations for me, please leave them too! 

Keep smiling,
Kathryn x