Itty Bitty Movie Reviews: Paper Towns, The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials

I’ve been writing a lot of book reviews lately, and honestly, I’m bored. So, I thought I’d mix it up and write some itty bitty reviews of book-to-movie adaptations I’ve seen recently.

Itty Bitty Movie Reviews

Paper Towns

I read this book when it first came out, way back in 2008. It wasn’t one of my favorite John Green books, so I haven’t reread it in a long time, but from what I remember, the movie follows the book pretty closely. If you haven’t seen/read Paper Towns, it’s about a girl named Margo who disappears and leaves clues to where she went. Margo’s friends set out on a high-speed road trip to find her.

Mostly, the movie reminded me of how much I hate Margo. She’s so selfish! The movie is also kind of hilarious. I actually laughed out loud when the characters buy new shirts at a gas station, and one of the boys has to spend the rest of the trip wearing a pink World’s Best Grandma shirt. The movie completely nails the theme of the book: people are always more complex than they appear on the surface.

The Maze Runner

Confession time: I didn’t like this book. I read it when it came out, and I don’t remember it very well. I think I got frustrated with the lack of explanation of the maze, and I thought the characters were bland. The story is about a group of boys who wake up in a monster-filled maze with no memory of how they got there.

So, I ended up liking this movie way more than the book. I love the Lord of the Flies vibe. The pace moves quickly. There’s a ton of action. Everything in the movie looks way scarier than it did in my imagination. The maze and the monsters are more intense than I expected. This movie was a total surprise for me. I think I went in with really low expectations, and it totally exceeded them. Unlike with the book series, I wanted to move on to the second movie.

The Scorch Trials

This was uncharted territory for me. Almost all of the movies I watch are book-to-movie adaptations, and I always read the book first. It felt really strange to see a movie where I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen.

I can’t summarize this one without spoiling The Maze Runner, and I can’t tell you if it’s a faithful adaptation because I haven’t read the book, but I enjoyed it. Just like the first movie, the pace is quick, and the action is nonstop. The setting reminds me of Death Valley, California, which is one of my favorite places. Also, THERE ARE FREAKING ZOMBIES! No one told me there would be zombies. I’m glad I went into this movie blind because I didn’t know which characters to trust. Not knowing the plot made the movie a lot of fun for me.

I think the third movie has been delayed indefinitely, but I’ll watch it if it does come out.   

Have you seen any of these movies? What did you think?

Review: I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced – Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui

I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced – Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui

Nujood Ali's childhood came to an abrupt end in 2008 when her father arranged for her to be married to a man three times her age. With harrowing directness, Nujood tells of abuse at her husband's hands and of her daring escape. With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom—an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. Nujood's courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has inspired other young girls in the Middle East to challenge their marriages. Hers is an unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage.

Review: This review is of the English translation of a French book.

This book was a complete impulse buy. One day, I was browsing the nonfiction at a used bookstore and came across a book cover with a photo of a little girl. The title said the girl was 10 and divorced. I had to know what the heck was going on. This is the clickbait of book covers.

Nujood Ali is born into a poor family in Yemen. Her parents can’t afford to feed all of their children, so when Nujood is 10, she’s “married” (married=sold) to a man in his 30s. Nujood is beaten and raped by her husband until she finds a way to escape and get to a courthouse. The judges and lawyers at the courthouse have never encountered a 10-year-old who wants a divorce, and they do everything they can to help her. Nujood makes international news as “the youngest divorcee in the world.”

This book is meant to raise awareness about underage marriage, especially in the Middle East. In countries all over the world, young girls are given to older men because of cultural traditions or poverty. Forcing a child to become a wife is psychologically damaging to the child, and many child brides commit suicide. Underage marriage has to be stopped because children need to be children. It’s not healthy to force them into adult roles. Nujood’s story is unusual because she was able to escape from her husband and get help, but she’s not the only child bride in the world. Underage marriage is surprisingly common.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced shows the best and worst of humanity. The men in Nujood’s life (including her father and brothers) treat her like property. Women don’t have many rights in Yemen, and children have even fewer rights. Nujood’s family is so poor that the children have to beg for money and food on the street. It’s not an easy existence.

“In Khardji, the village where I was born, women are not taught how to make choices.” - I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced

When Nujood escapes from her husband and gets to the courthouse, things change. The people who work there are amazing. They take Nujood into their homes to keep her safe from her husband and father. Then they get her a divorce and make her story as public as possible so other child brides know that help is out there.

“My mind was made up: I’d do whatever I had to. I was ready to climb mountains to keep from finding myself lying on that mat again, night after night, all alone against that monster.” - I Am Nujood, Age 10 And Divorced

This book achieves its goal of raising awareness, but I have some issues with the writing. The story is aimed at Western middlegrade/young YA readers, and it feels kind of shallow. I don’t need graphic details about Nujood’s abusive marriage, but I would have liked more info about the legal system in Yemen. The author(s) were probably worried about boring their target audience, but I think the story is compelling enough that it could have included more details without losing its readers.

Also, I was slightly confused about whose story I was reading. The book is written in first-person from Nujood’s point-of-view. But, Nujood is a pre-literate 10-year-old. She only knows how to write her name. Obviously, she didn’t write this book. She worked with a French journalist cowriter, and sometimes the narrative seems like an adult trying to sound like a 10-year-old. Since I read a translation of the original book, it feels like there are a lot of layers of authors/translators between me and Nujood. I kept wondering if the adults were putting their words in Nujood’s mouth. This book would have been more comfortable to read if it was a piece of journalism instead of a first-person narrative. The target audience might not have liked that, though. Kids don’t usually read newspapers.

Obviously, I have some mixed feelings about this one. It’s a quick read that raises awareness about underage marriage, but I’m not a fan of the way it’s written. 

  

The Sunday Post #65

The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, and share news. It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. I get to tell you what I’ve read recently.

On The Blog Last Week

• On Monday I reviewed Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined by Linda Crew.
• On Tuesday I listed some awesome YA books I’ve read recently.
• On Wednesday I reviewed Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.
• On Friday I let you choose what I read next.
• On Saturday I had a book haul.

On The Blog This Week

• On Monday I review I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui.
• On Wednesday I have some itty bitty movie reviews.
• On Thursday I do the nonfiction tag created by Wendy @ Falconer’s Library.
• On Saturday there’s another book haul. (So many books, guys.)

In My Reading Life

I finished The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Then I read Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka (editor) and Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. Right now, I’m reading Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. I’m thrilled with the response to my “Tell me what to read” post. I thought everybody would be like, “Nobody cares what you read,” but bookworms are very opinionated about books. I should have known that.
2. Couch to 5k is back on track. I had to skip running for a week because I scraped the skin off the side/bottom of my foot.
3. It’s the start of caramel apple season.
4. The leaves are changing color on the aspen trees.
5. Book Mail!

I hope you had a great week! See you around the blogosphere!

The “I Blame School” Book Haul

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently.

I needed to get Guys Read: Funny Business and Fake ID for school. Somehow, I ended up with those 2 books plus 4 others. How does this always happen to me? Let me know if you’ve read any of these.

The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty

Four decades after it first shook the nation, then the world, William Peter Blatty's thrilling masterwork of faith and demonic possession returns in an even more powerful form. Raw and profane, shocking and blood-chilling, it remains a modern parable of good and evil and perhaps the most terrifying novel ever written.

Guys Read: Funny Business – Jon Scieszka (editor)

Funny Business is based around the theme of—what else?—humor, and if you’re familiar with Jon and Guys Read, you already know what you’re in store for: ten hilarious stories from some of the funniest writers around. Before you’re through, you’ll meet a teenage mummy; a kid desperate to take a dip in the world’s largest pool of chocolate milk; a homicidal turkey; parents who hand over their son’s room to a biker; the only kid in his middle school who hasn’t turned into a vampire, wizard, or superhero; and more.

Fake ID – Lamar Giles

Nick Pearson is hiding in plain sight . . . . 

My name isn’t really Nick Pearson. 

I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia. 

I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin color. 

And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever. 

But I’m going to.

A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab

It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift–back into Black London. 

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games–an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries–a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port. 

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

The Gigantic Beard that was Evil – Stephen Collins

On the buttoned-down island of Here, all is well. By which we mean: orderly, neat, contained and, moreover, beardless. 

Or at least it is until one famous day, when Dave, bald but for a single hair, finds himself assailed by a terrifying, unstoppable . . . monster*! 

Where did it come from? How should the islanders deal with it? And what, most importantly, are they going to do with Dave? 

(*We mean a gigantic beard, basically.)

Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.