Movie/book review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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"Everything, Everything" Movie  

"Everything, Everything" Movie review

 

I am one of those bookish people who have to read a book before the movie. It doesn’t always happen, but I strive for it. The only movie franchise that I have ever watched without reading books (not for the lack of trying) was The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. And I loved them a lot!

 

I admit it, I am a book snob. I always think that books are better than movies. Sometimes it is even hard to compare the two as movie scripts inevitably bring changes to the plot, and not always to the best effect.

 

It was one of the reasons why watching “Everything, Everything” the movie was very low on my priorities list. I am not very fond of romance stories, and even though I loved the book, I didn’t feel compelled to watch it on screen.

Thank goodness for transatlantic flights: I am ready to watch “Madagascar” movies for the upteenth time just to distract myself!

 

So, after watching The Boss Baby (which was cute), Smurfs: The Lost Village (which was fairly stupid) and rewatching “Penguins of Madagascar” (because they rock), I settled to watch “Everything, Everything”.

 

The movies has only one, rather unimaginative, tagline on IMDB: “A teenager who's spent her whole life confined to her home falls for the boy next door.”; and an average rating of 6.4. I didn’t have much hopes for the movie, as I knew the plot, but I hoped to be entertained by the characters, and sure I was!

 

I think that Amandla Stenberg is a perfect Maddy. I loved her acting and her sweet nature. She was, honestly, the best thing about this movie. I was not as impressed by Nick Robinson (Olly) as I felt that he was not gritty enough, if you will. I liked how their text conversations were translated into face to face conversations on screen. The presence of an astronaut was a nice touch. But otherwise the movie was not very visually imaginative. The books has some cool illustrations, that were missing from the movie.

 

I think my biggest disappointment with the "Everything, Everything" movie was that it failed to deliver a punch at the end. Everything showed on screen was sort of mellowed out, in my opinion. Maddy was less sick, her mother less obsessive, Olly less intriguing. I loved Olly in the book, but in the movie he was a bit mediocre, unfortunately. The imperfections and inconsistencies in treating serious illness are more visible on screen than in a book format too. (E.g., Maddy's mother or her nurse enters the house and goes through decontamination, washes her hands but then grabs the bag and brings it in? That looked very improbable.)

 

When I read the "Everything, Everything" book, I gave it a rather high rating of 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed it, it was sweet and resonated with my personal experience of being subjected to an obsessive care by a relative. However, since then I did read some reviews by people who pointed out that even though Maddy’s disability was not correctly portrayed and this representation is actually harmful. I admit that I did not think about the representation of serious chronic illness or disability when I read the book as it always held a bit of an unrealistic touch for me. As in, this is a mysterious disease and nobody knows what it is (which is actually not true, but it was my interpretation of it). Obviously, I can not speak on behalf of people who struggle with serious chronic illness or disability, but as my mother is severely allergic to animals (we are talking about not being able to share a space with an animal for any period of time), I do understand how this representation seems unhealthy and deems the character's situation as not serious enough. Especially, since the message is that it is okay to risk everything (family, health, life) for the sake of love.

 

Nope, don’t do that, kids.

 

I am not going to change my rating on Goodreads for this book, although I do now think that 4.5 stars was a bit too generous. However, I did enjoy "Everything, Everything" and the writing style, and still think that it was a great debut novel. Nicola Yoon is also a total sweetheart - I met her at BookCon in 2016. Too sad that the movie flopped for me.

 

Overall movie rating: 2.75 stars

 

"Everything, Everything" Book review

 

"Everything, Everything" Book

 

Written: November 2015

 

personal rating: 4.5 stars

 

This book deserves all the love and hype surrounding it! It is a very cute story about a girl who is allergic to everything. One day, a new family moves into a nearby house and she befriends their son.

 

I liked everything about this book. The way it is written. The fact that it is interrupted by illustrations and notes written by Madeline. The fact that this book has some similarities to "The Fault In Our Stars" but only it is way better and lighter and happier. (And also, HAWAII!)

 

The characters are unique and have very distinctive voices. I loved both Madeline and Olly. I loved the setting of the book. I loved all the descriptions.

 

I also loved the twist and the way the story resolved itself, even though I did suspect something like this would happen. (It also quite unexpectedly resonated with my own experience, which was a bit surprising.)

 

Can't say more but this book gave me rather happy, warm and fuzzy feeling. Even though it mostly about illness. Nicola Yoon has achieved something that John Green failed to do for me.

 

Read it. You will love it.

 

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Random Photo Challenge: September 18 - October 1

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Just because I love to overbook myself (and because my darling Anya needs some inspiration for her blog), we are doing a photo challenge for the rest of September. I am posting this to make us both accountable. Plus, if anyone wants to join or get inspired by the topics - please be our guest! I came up with the random rules and topics to make it easy and fun. The goal is to inspire us both to take more creative photos.

Photo Challenge Rules:

  • Post 1 photo a day on Blog/Instagram
  • ANY interpretation - just has to be taken with an iPhone
  • No skipping, you have to do all 14 challenges
  • Can be completed in ANY order
  • If you skip - you lose and buy the other person an ice-cream
  • If we both win, we go out for the ice-cream together

 

Simple, eh? XD

 

Here is the list of the challenges:

  1. Photograph an image based on the title "Finding Life"
  2. Shoot a picture that says something about feeling happy
  3. Photograph a picture about music
  4. Using a red filter make an image of leaves/trees/nature
  5. A close-up image
  6. Make an image about colour with nothing straight
  7. Make a vintage photograph
  8. Photograph a distorted image
  9. Make a slideshow about old buildings
  10. Create a peaceful image in a cafe or restaurant
  11. Take a picture while using candlelight
  12. Photograph a small image about earth and mud
  13. Using maximum depth of field make an image of something in your house
  14. Photograph two contrasting images (e.g. black and white in one photo, but not filter)

 

I have a feeling, we will probably fail but it is still fun to try! XD

 

Follow us on Instagram!

Me: @foxcloudsblog

Anya: @arwy

 

More of my photos

I Suck At Read-A-Thons (#ISATRAT) Read-A-Thon TBR

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I suck at read-a-thons. Sad but true. I was only ever mildly successful with BookTube-A-Thon Read-A-Thon 2016. I did okay with LGBTQIA+ read-a-thon too, but I still did not finish all I wanted. So, when Sam from Sam's Nonsense came up with idea of a "I Suck At Read-A-Thons (#ISATRAT)" Read-A-Thon, I immediately jumped on it. Even though I will probably fail at it too... This read-a-thon will take place from Sept 18th-22nd.

Challenges:

1. Read the smallest book on your shelf

2. Read 10 pages/day

3. Read a graphic novel

4. Finish 1 book

5. Read for 20 mins/day

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISATRAT2

Twitter Sprints will be 9am PT/12pm ET & Again at 7pm PT/10pm ET And Twitter chats are daily at 5pm PT/8pm ET

Sam’s video announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uib76P1MZEM&t=5s

So, here is my TBR:

1. Read the smallest book on your shelf

The shortest book on my shelf is Sophie Carlon's Burn and zines. But I have read those already, so I needed to pick something else (unless her third zine arrives on my doorstep during the week).

Since I am seeing Yerma next Thursday, I picked Frederico Garcia Lorca's collection of plays a month ago. I will be reading Yerma as my choice for the smallest book as it is only 50 pages long.

2. Read 10 pages/day

Shouldn't be a problem.

3. Read a graphic novel

I have several graphic novels borrowed from OverDrive that I need to finish this upcoming week (or more like in 1-2 days), but I am putting only 1 volume of manga on this list. It will be "What did you eat yesterday?" volume 8.

4. Finish 1 book

At least 1 graphic novel + Yerma.

5. Read for 20 mins/day

If I have time to read, I usually do not read for less than half an hour.

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Keep your fingers crossed for me!

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My book reviews

THEATRE BLOG: The Day of Open Doors at Wiener Staatsoper (Der Tag der offenen Tür)

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Wiener Staatsoper  

For most people, who visit Vienna, Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) is the first attraction that they are introduced to. It is a prominent landmark, from which the most sightseeing tours around the city start and end. I have met with people numerous times around Opera. I have had an Apfelstrudel in Opera Cafe. I have used Opera as a starting point of my walks in the city, and this is where I always come back.

 

History

 

The structure of the Wiener Staatsoper was planned by the Viennese architect August Sicard von Sicardsburg, while the inside was designed by interior decorator Eduard van der Nüll. Neither of the architects survived to see the opening of the opera house: the sensitive van der Nüll committed suicide, and his friend Sicardsburg died of a stroke soon afterwards. The building was majorly damaged during the WWII. Only the main facade, the grand staircase, and the Schwind Foyer had been spared from the bombs. It was reconstructed after the war, and in 1955, the Vienna State Opera reopened with a new auditorium and modernized technology.

 

Wiener Staatsoper

Wiener Staatsoper is one of the leading opera houses in the world. Each season, the schedule features 350 performances of more than 60 different operas and ballets. It is said to have one of the largest repertoires in the world.

Wiener Staatsoper

 

Open Doors Day

 

Every year, before the official start of the season, Wiener Staatsoper holds the Open Door Day. This event is free of charge, but the tickets have to be picked up beforehand in the theatre’s ticket office (Bundestheaterkassen). I learned about this event only this year, even though it was far from my first (or my second) visit to Vienna. Years ago I was even lucky to score a ticket for the performance. But I didn’t know that the opera house hosted Open Doors Day. This year, it took place on September 3rd, Sunday. I knew that I would be in the city on that day but all the traveling, and scheduling, and meeting my parents and friends, the fact that I had to acquire the tickets beforehand had totally slipped my mind.

Wiener Staatsoper

So, when we were leisurely strolling past Staatsoper after 1pm and saw lines of people in the middle of the day, something clicked in my mind. It was the Open Doors Day. The event took place twice during the day: first session - 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm; and second session - 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. We lined up at first for 2pm, but when I rushed into the ticket office, I was informed that they only had four tickets left for 5:30pm session. I couldn’t believe my luck! Of course, I snatched three of those, even though it sort of upset our evening plans.

 

But it was so worth it.

 

Experience

 

The doors of Wiener Staatsoper opened at 5:30pm, and everybody rushed in. We were allowed to walk everywhere, or almost everywhere, including backstage, on stage, up to the rehearsal rooms. Small orchestra was playing on one of the balconies. In one of the halls, the costume department brought out various costumes and hats for the public to try on. On the stage itself, we were introduced to various technical departments and the effects they can produce: foam, smoke, lights - it was so much fun for both adults and kids. The staff were there to explain what parts of the stage equipment was used for what.

 

As a theatre geek, I was in heaven. I couldn’t take enough selfies next to a smoke machine too.

Behind the scenes

At 7:30pm everybody was called to their seats for the Technical Show. (And this is why it is important to keep your ticket till the very end, as those ticket ladies can be very strict.) The Technical show had bits of ballet and opera repertoire, but intercepted with talks and introductions by the technical director of the opera house. Every change of stage was done with curtains up, which allowed the audience to see how it all happens. The decorations went up and down (the stage goes down 11.5 meters!), there was smoke, lights, and fire!

 

Both my parents and I were stunned. It was one of the best technical shows ever. It was fully conducted in German, though, which made it a bit difficult to follow the jokes (as my German is far from good), but it was just a small part of the performance.

 

Trying on costumes

Even if you are not a theatre or opera fan, do not miss out on this opportunity next year. It is a free and fun event for all. Definitely, something that I would love to experience again.

Resources:
My other theatre related posts.

Book review: "Black Bird of the Gallows" by Meg Kassel

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"Black Bird of the Gallows" is a stand-alone, young adult urban fantasy novel with lots of supernatural and even slight horror notes. Let me start the review by saying that this is the most gorgeous cover I have seen this year! I was definitely attracted to the book based on the cover and the prospect of an urban fantasy (because crows and harbingers of death? Hell ya!) and was extremely lucky to receive a NetGalley copy from Entangled Teen. The book is officially coming out on September 5th, and I will provide the links at the bottom of my review.

 

Here is the official synopsis:

 

A simple but forgotten truth: Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.

Angie Dovage can tell there’s more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can’t imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. When something supernatural tries to attack her, Angie is thrown into a battle between good and evil she never saw coming. Right in the center of it is Reece—and he’s not human.

What's more, she knows something most don't. That the secrets her town holds could kill them all. But that’s only half as dangerous as falling in love with a harbinger of death.

 

I was rather excited to read this book, but, unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype. It is not a bad debut novel, but it lacked depth and solidness of the plot and characterization. The idea of the crows being the supernatural creatures and harbingers of death is not a new one but Meg Kassel takes an interesting spin on it, adding more supernatural forces into the mix. However, a lot of the explanations of the magic and the rules of it were vague, undeveloped, and the ending had a very rushed and ‘Deus Ex Machina’ feel. (Considering how many of YA books tend to have an ending that can be summarized as “well, this happened because it happened”, I am starting to think that a lot of people have never read any classic literature. Go and read the Greeks. It has all been done before.) It was not the worst ending ever but I could tell that this was going to happen a mile ahead.

 

I did not like the fact that the author decided to title every chapter - it is my personal preference not to know what is going to happen in the chapter that I am about to read as all of those titles were basically spoilers. It sometimes took out the fun out of reading the story.

 

I liked all of the characters in the book, which is rare. Well, almost everyone - I am not counting the bullies at school. Angie is lovely, and her father is one of the best supporting characters in YA, as he has both a distinctive voice and is not just a plot device, as it often happens with parents or relatives in the genre. Angie goes through some serious character development, that was well-written and thought through. Her friends are great too - they were both funny, and reliable, and supportive, and everything about them was great for the story. The relationship that they had with Angie was great and I loved how close they remained throughout it all.

 

Let’s talk about Reece now. Okay, first things first: I love angsty and dark characters. I can live off angst. However, in case with Reece it was a  bit overdone. I liked the way he was introduced in the story, as well as his background, his family, etc. But as the book progressed, we were not given any new information or anything else, the author just recycled the same facts over and over again. The plot concerning Reece, his family and the curse can be summarized in a couple of sentences. It is a very alluring plot, but it lacks depth and, ultimately, originality.

 

Have you ever watched the movie "Meet Joe Black" with Brad Pitt? Reece sometimes reminded me of Joe. The Fernandez family had a very strong vibe of Edward Cullen’s family, just on a less violent side. Overall, I did get occasional Twilight vibes from the book (a lonely, angsty girl, who comes to live with her father; a supernaturally attractive and dangerous boy; “the death follows me around” sort of thing, etc), but I guess it can be said about a lot of supernatural or urban fantasy YA books that came out after Twilight Saga (by the way, I am not fan of those books at all).

 

I am not a huge fan of “insta-love” either but it somehow worked in this book. The amount of romance was a bit too much but it was not overly too sweet. I did, however, roll my eyes whenever those kids wanted to make out when the world was basically going to an end around them.

 

I found a couple of copy-editorial mistakes, where things disappeared or appeared out of blue, but since I was reading the ARC, I can not tell if those made it into the final version.

 

I have always loved crows but this books just reinforced my love for these birds. I will never look at the bees in the same way, though.

 

I would have been able to deal with all of those if the style was more solid. The author’s writing suffers from a very common mistake of ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’. The details of the curse are repeated over and over, as well as descriptions of things that happen at school, during the day, etc. Even with the first POV, it is still possible to avoid that. There was a whole passage almost at the very end of the book which was the repeated information, almost word to word, to what the characters had said just a page ago. It was glaringly obvious and redundant. A lot of things that happened during “the tragedy event” were told instead of described, and some of the details were so vague that I felt as if the author rushed through this part, when it should have been one of the major parts of the book.

 

Like I said, "Black Bird of the Gallows" is a debut novel, not the worst but not the best either. I found it cute, but not too original. It was refreshing to read a stand alone novel though. I do feel that the author has a potential to produce great stories, but lacks the skill at this point. Will definitely keep an eye on her future projects.

 

In spite of my opinion of the book, I do appreciate the opportunity provided to me by Entangled Teen to read and review the ARC.

 

Personal rating: ~ 3 stars

 

More of my reviews on my blog.

 

Buy the book:

Black Bird of the Gallows