Showing posts with label Francine Pascal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francine Pascal. Show all posts

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Top 5 Books to Movies/TV Tag - Converted from Youtube

If It's Not Like the Movies,

Halfway through the week now Readers,

As you may know if you read my update post (check that out please) Wednesday is the officially appointed Tag day !

Todays tag is currently at the height of Booktube popularity therefore I thought I'd reveal my own personal choices of the adaptations I wish were hitting the screens this Summer blockbuster season. The idea was created by xObssesedReaderx.

I've always been prior to film watching and movie-related song listening according to the introductory post line that's the title of a Katy Perry song. It's one of my favourite songs of all time actually. So it was particularly difficult to select my choices.

Some of the novels I wish could be converted are part of a rather lengthy series therefore they couldn't be summed up in couple of films but would have to be a television series instead - that's why the titles slightly different to that of the original tag.

Here the tag is ! :

 
Sweet Valley High Series by Francine Pascal
 
I don't own book #1 Double Love (I've read it though) therefore I just photographed my favourite from the series #7 Dear Sister.
 

I know there was a TV series in the 90's based on the series but the shows actors/actresses were horrendous and it didn't do the books justice.

I'm also aware that an idea for the movie is in the works - I can't understand how they're going to sum up the series in one movie and as a MUSICAL! Please don't let me down and turn this into the atrocious High School Musical.

But I still added this to the list as I want this to be either re-made as a television series or never-ending series of movies more than I want to breathe.

I'd camp outside the cinema for weeks before the release date so somebody please just make this (to an amazing standard) NOW!!!!!



Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
 
My favourite book of the year so far.
 
I don't know how they'd do the dual narrative of Scarlett and Rosie in a movie adaptation though.
 
I think this would attract a massive fan base if brought to screen as it combines many different genres : fairy-tales, re-telling's, werewolves, romance, paranormal, feisty female lead, special effect opportunities , horror and action.
 
How could someone not like it?

 
Romeo & Juliet & Vampires
 
(Image via Goodreads)
 
Romeo & Juliet & Vampires By Claudia Gabel
 
It's so strange that half of the books from this tag I read in 2013.
 
I think fans of the original tale would really enjoy this re-telling and it would encourage reluctant readers to read the original tale it's based off.
 
It could be the perfect paranormal romance and vampires are often popular amongst cinema audiences.
 
Personally I'd go see it because the book was perfection and there hasn't been a Romeo & Juliet film for a while.
 
 
 
Private Series by Kate Brian
 
Yet again I don't own the first book in the series but this time because I don't have many of the books from the series (4/14-16 if prequels are counted) I thought I'd photograph al the ones I own.
 
When I first began reading the series I didn't actually realise it was a series (I read Vanished which is book 8).Then I read random ones that My District library and I (at the time) had which where (in the order I read them) : #4 Confessions,#14 Vengeance  and #1 Private.
 
The Nearby District library that I joined recently has all the others so I'm going to read the entire series in November (when I've got the first book for my Birthday).
 
They did make a pilot episode for a web series of this but due to poor funding it was cancelled.
 
Potentially the series could become a television series as shows like Pretty Little Liars that involve murder and mystery (like Private does) receive a major fan base.
 
Please make a show.
 
 
The Ashleys series by Melissa De La Cruz
 
This is basically what could be the new Mean Girls if the series was made into films.
 
They are often compared to The Clique series (which I haven't read but want to and have seen the amazing movie) but I don't care I just love them and think the bitchy antics would make for an amazing movie.
 
Thanks for reading this post !,
 
If you enjoyed please Follow me,Comment, Friend me on Goodreads (the link is in the sidebar to my account) and Read my other posts (if you haven't already).
 
Have you done your own version of the tag?
Please Comment below a link to it or just type your own choices
 
Have you read any of these books too (twinsies!) ?
Please leave a Comment below because I'd appreciate hearing your opinions ( good or bad) about the book/s.
 
Book Haul next :D,
Mimi
xheartx

Sunday, 26 May 2013

Review - Sweet Valley High #23 - Say Goodbye by Francine Pascal

I'm Walking on Sunshine,

Hey Book Lovers,

As the title states the heat has continued to influence my life.I've spent practically the whole day devouring a book whilst the sun has tanned me in one of new beautiful blouses.

Also on the subject of home life I should probably mention that my Wi-fi has been back on since Thursday I just forgot to tell you.

Today I present to you a post that should have appeared almost a week ago.Post catch up will continue until at least Wednesday as there's two other reviews I need to catch up on.

I'm officially free from school for a week now though so you should expect better content and possibly more than one book haul.

Now that I've hopefully got you excited, I'll begin my fan girl fest :

 
Book name - Say Goodbye
 
Series - #23 in Sweet Valley High
 
Author - Francine Pascal
 
Page count - 153 pages
 
Time Spent Reading - 19th May - 20th May
 
Review :
 
I purchased this book from one of the charity shops in my town for 10p despite it's battered exterior - can I really resist SVH ?
 
Ideally I wanted to finish it during the final day of the Bout of Books Read-a-thon however Gatsby disrupted that plan.Throughout the school day that followed I could see the twins flawless million dollar smiles begging me to devour it during school work time. It was almost too much to endure so I rushed home to finish this.
 
Although plot wise this isn't my favourite from the series it's definitely the most heart-wrenching and tear-jerking.It takes you on an extraordinary roller-coaster ride that you wish never had to end.
 
The plot details what happens when Sweet Valley's superlatively adorable couple - Todd Wilkins and Elizabeth Wakefield - are galvanised into separation due to Todd's reallocation.
 
You should listen to Taylor Swift's (I don't like her newest album ,except for the song All too well which is my favourite by her, but her old actually Country music is phenomenal) song Last Kiss because the words express exactly what happens during the novel
 
The sub plot was extremely enjoyable as well. Jessica is employed by a dating agency and her match-making creates humorous results.
 
I adored this book and would especially recommend it to those SVH fans who love Todd and Elizabeth's relationship.
 
It has me enthused for my Sweet Valley reading week in June where I'm going to read as many  books from the different Sweet Valley series as I can. More on that in my June TBR post though that will probably appear on Friday.
 
Therefore in consideration of these points I'm rating this :
 
5 out of 5 stars
 
 
Thanks for reading this post !


If you enjoyed please Follow me,Comment, Friend me on Goodreads (the link is in the sidebar to my account) and Read my other posts (if you haven't already).

 
 
Have you read this book too (twinsies!) ?
Please leave a Comment below because I'd appreciate hearing your opinions ( good or bad) on it.
 
 
What was the last book you read? Did you post a review too?
I'd love to hear about it so leave a Comment so I can find the review.
 
 
Expect another review tomorrow,
Mimi
xheartx
 

Monday, 20 May 2013

Bout of Books Read-a-thon Wrap-up

 
It must have been love , but it's over now,

Hey faithful readers!

Today I'll be discussing my overall progress for the Bout of Books read-a-thon. This will include my total amount of books read, pages read,whether or not I triumphed my targets and more.


Let's begin :

Total Book Count - 5 and 1/2 Books

Unfortunately I didn't read all 7 books I set for myself however I'm still pretty pleased with the amount I managed to read as I usually only read 3 books in a week.

Also I had an extremely busy week so it's good that I managed to read so much.

The main thing I'm pleased that read-a-thon accomplished is that my reading slump is officially over ! One cannot dwell on ones failures when something like that is achieved.

In case you haven't kept up to my daily updates (please check them out), the books I read where :
Boys for Beginners by Lil Chase
The Prom Queen (Fear Street) by R.L Stine
Sweet Valley High #88 - Love letters for sale by Francine Pascal
P.S Longer letter later (Elizabeth and Tara*Starr #1) by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin
Megastar Mysteries #6 - SongBird by Annabelle Starr
Sweet Valley High #23 - Say Goodbye by Francine Pascal (I read this but only halfway - hence the 5 books and 1/2)

Did I stick to the TBR I organised for myself ? - Partially

In my defence 4 of the books I read where from the TBR but the other two weren't.

Basically my reasons for not reading the three I missed was because of my prioritisation , distaste (Point Horror - The Prom Date by Diane Hoh),time and emotions regarding reading them at the time they could have been read.

I decided to read P.S Longer letter later rather than Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech because it appealed to me more.

The Crush by Alex Shearer ended up being axed because it had that Friday feel (unintentional Fanta Quote) about it. On Friday you may remember I only read 10 pages of my book (oh the shame) so I couldn't read it.

Usually I have tendency to veer from my monthly TBR's as well because I'll buy something or see a book on my shelf that looks more interesting than the book/s from the TBR.

In addition the main reason for steering away from certain books on the TBR is simply because I don't have the time to read them.

Total Page Count -  1,067 !

Very impressed and enthused by this total in order to the fact that mainly I read around 3,000 pages a month so to read almost half that amount of pages in a week means that I've colossally contributed to a successful page count month !

 In addition this prediction is secured as I've got a week off from Friday 24th May and I always read a book a day whilst I'm off. YAY !

Will I be doing another Read-a-thon in the future ? - YES !!

I certainly will be as I can clarify two definites and one possible read-a-thon I'll be participating in, in the near future.

Firstly Bout of  Books is hosting another wonderful read-a-thon from August 19 - August 25th. I'll probably do better than I did this time because that read-a-thon occurs during the School summer holidays.

Plus on October 12th Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon is happening again. Unfortunately I was busy on the day when the previous one occurred therefore I was unable to participate. Hopefully though I will be able to this time.

The one I'm unsure about is my schools.I don't really know much about it but my Book Club leader mentioned there might be one last week.

Thank you for reading this post ! ,

If you enjoyed please Follow me,Comment and read my other posts (if you haven't already).
 
Was your read-a-thon challenge successful?
Please leave a Comment below or do a Wrap-up yourself and Link it as a response
 
A review should arrive tomorrow,
Mimi
xheartx

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Review - Sweet Valley High #88 - Love Letters for sale and Read-a-thon Update #6

The promise I made,Is starting to fade,

I didn't intend to make not posting on a Friday a habit but somehow it's become one. I sincerely apologise for the lack of a post but as I mentioned in Thursday's post (check it out if you haven't already) I was really busy.

So busy in fact that I only read 10 pages yesterday... Oh the shame ! I've never done that before and when I finally did commit the crime it's during read-a-thon week. Talk about bad timing.

On a more positive note though I did win a Goodreads Giveaway today for a book called The Academy : Game on by Monica Seles. I'm pretty excited because a) it takes place at a boarding school b) the plot sounds amazing and c) it's been compared to another series that extremely excited for - The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter.

Read-a-thon Update #6 :
I've decided that I want to reference songs in all my introductory lines hence the Girls Aloud lyric that refers to the broken promise of posting a Read-a-thon Update daily.

Moving on to the actual update , I finished P.S Longer letter later by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin today so a review will be up tomorrow instead of double Gatsby review. This is because I couldn't get into the book because the writing was too complicated.

Currently I'm reading Megastar Mysteries #6 - Songbird by Annabelle Star. I read some of the series when I was 11 and couldn't resist revisiting the series Today when I spotted one in the library. I haven't read this one before and I'm 24 pages in at the moment. The font is larger than my usual reads and this makes the story fast-paced. It's so awesome that it's encouraged me to read the others that I haven't read from the series.

Plan on finishing it tomorrow then reading Sweet Valley High #23 - Say Goodbye by Francine Pascal afterwards to signify the end of this challenge.

Review time now :

 
Book name - Love Letters for sale

Series - #88 in Sweet Valley High

Author - Francine Pascal

Page count - 156 pages

Time spent reading - 14th May - 15th May

Review :

I only purchased this last week for 10p in my favourite charity shop in the world but due to unstoppable manic anticipation I read it this week as a special treat for reaching the middle of the read-a-thon.

This is one of my favourite series and the plot for this one sounded particularly interesting.

It definitely didn't disappoint because it's now my second favourite SVH novel (after #7 Dear Sister) !

The concept is amazing :

Elizabeth and Jessica decide to become entrepreneurs by starting their own letter-writing business (this has now become one of my ambitions but unfortunately nobody writes letters as much as they did in the 80's).

Todd , Elizabeth's boyfriend, is suspicious and feels neglected by his girlfriend during the scheme as Elizabeth won't reveal anything about the business.

Therefore when one of the twins 'friends' begins developing a crush on him and uses the letter writing service to win his heart Todd and Elizabeth's relationship is in jeopardy! Will Todd betray his true love ?


*Sweet Spoilers *

Jessica in a relationship that's lasted longer than a fortnight? Sounds hard to believe but that's her status in this book.This was weird because one of my favourite characteristics of her is the flirt trait but I'm happy she's settling down.

The parts that seemed to foreshadow an E.W + T.W break-up almost had me having a break down therefore I was rather relieved by the unbelievably adorable penultimate chapter's scenes at the end.

*Spoilers Over *
 
Especially can't wait for my other Sweet Valley High read tomorrow after my successful devouring of this.
 
Because I had absolutely no problems with this book, I'm rating it :
 

5 out of 5 stars



Thank you for reading this post ! ,
If you enjoyed please Follow me,Comment and read my other posts (if you haven't already).

Have you read this book too (twinsies!) ?
Please leave a Comment below because I'd appreciate hearing your opinions ( good or bad) on it.
What was the last book you read? Did you post a review too?
I'd love to hear about it so leave a Comment so I can find the review.

How's your read-a-thon challenge going?
Please leave a Comment below or do an update yourself and link it as a response
 
I apologise again for not posting yesterday
 
Off to watch Eurovision now,
Mimi
xheartx

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Read-a-thon Announcement and TBR pile

 
 
 
Exciting news to share with you,

I'll be participating along with over 300 other people in my first ever online read-a-thon (of many I hope) created by Bout of Books.With this post I wish to recruit some more readers to display the read-a-thon button in the sidebar with pride - like me.

More information on the read-a-thon from the website :


The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organised by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm challenging myself to read 7 books during the entirety of the read-a-thon as I usually spend 2 days reading a book so it'll be over double my prevail book count.

This week I've been in a reading slump therefore I hope this will promote me to escape it.

Everyday there will be a review of my latest triumph so I've allocated schedule for each day per book and the book I'll be focusing on that day.

The books I'll be reading are:
 
 

Monday- Boys for Beginners by Lil Chase

Got to page 10 at the start of the month but PLL happened...You know what the phrase says though - Two times the charm.I


've already begun reading this Today and I'm loving the humour.

Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11866755-boys-for-beginners-by-lil-chase?ac=1



Tuesday- Fear street - Prom Queen by R.L Stine

I was supposed to be having a prom-themed week at the start of the month but the idea was ruined when I borrowed Pretty Little Liars.

I've loved every Fear Street book I've read so far and R.L Stine is one of my favourite authors.

I own two editions of this because one is for reading (skull) and the other for preserving (girl in dress).

Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :
 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/656717.The_Prom_Queen?ac=1

 
Wednesday - Sweet Valley High 88- Love Letters for sale by Francine Pascal
 
To reward myself for getting halfway through the challenge I'm reading something easy to conquer.
 
I've been wanting to read this book for ages so I figure there's no time like the present (or a read-a-thon).
 
Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :

 
 
Thursday - Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
 
I read Absolutely Normal Chaos by her last summer and enjoyed it so I thought I'd try more of her writing.
 
The plot of this one actually sounds better than that of my previous read by the author but does that mean the book will be better? Only time (and a review) will tell...
 
Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :
 
 
 
Friday - The Crush by Alex Shearer
 
Another book from my Saturday Showcase of purchases , this book just sounds like the definition of Fun and My taste so I hope it achieves my expectations.
 
Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :

 

 
Saturday- Point Horror- Prom Date by Diane Hoh

I'm intrigued by the length of this novel considering that it's longer than the usual Point horrors.

So far my favourite book by Diane is The Invitation but this is a strong contender for replacing it.

Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/601575.Prom_Date?ac=1


 
Sunday - Sweet Valley High #23 - Say Goodbye by Francine Pascal

This will be my reward at the end of the read-a-thon.

Does this sound/look like something you would enjoy reading as well? Click here for more information :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/412222.Say_Goodbye?ac=1


Thank you for reading this post !
If you enjoyed please Follow me and Comment.
Have you read or do you know more about these books ? Please leave a Comment below because I'd appreciate hearing your opinions ( good or bad) on these books.
Are you participating in the read-a-thon as well? Please leave a Comment below telling me what your challenges are.
 
Until you read again,
Mimi
xheartx

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Book Haul #2


The Bookaholic strikes again it appears readers,

Yes the title is correct - I did have another splurge today. This time it was in my favourite local town (that I hadn't been to in 2 months) and there was a copious amount of irresistible deals awaiting my presence.

On that note, let's begin the book haul :

 
Sweet Valley High #88 - Love letters for sale by Francine Pascal 10p! in Saint Gemma's Hospice
 
A book from my favourite series (that is actually in my top 5 want to reads from the series) in my favourite town and in my favourite charity shop in the world for only 10p ! Sounds to good to be true but that's what happened to me Today.
 
This particular Saint Gemma's Hospice sells all it's teen fiction for 10p and it always seems to be selling some SVH so that's why it's my favourite charity shop. Contemplating reading this after I've completed my library books next week I'm that excited!
 

Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires : http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/412298.Love_Letters_For_Sale


 
Premonitions (#1) by Jude Watson 10p in Saint Gemma's Hospice
 

Read this last June and remember loving it although it was partially disturbing. I only found out Today when I added this to my Goodreads shelves that it actually has a sequel so I hope to come across that during my thrifts.

Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires : http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/732363.Premonitions?ac=1


 
Shine by Kate Maryon 10p in Saint Gemmas' Hospice

I've been wanting to read this since I finished Glitter (also by the author) ages ago but when I bought this the cover was different to the cover I had previously seen (for this same book) so I thought they were different books - I actually prefer the re-vamped cover designs to old ones.

Mizz magazine used it as their free gift in a Winter issue but I didn't want to fork out £2.50 for a magazine I didn't want when I knew I could get at the hospice (they've had 2 books that where previous gifts from the magazine before there).

It's only small so it should be more like a quick read and I'll probably read it this month or the next.

Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8467035-shine?ac=1



Gallagher Girls #1 - I'd tell you I love you , but then I'd have to kill you by Ally Carter 10p in Saint Gemma's Hospice
 
I've been waiting to find this book at a suitable price and you can't really get better than 10p. Coincidentally I saw books 2,3 and 4 afterwards (in a different shop) but was sceptical because I don't like to buy the rest of the books in a series without reading the first.
 
My friend read this series and thinks it's awesome so I decided to check it out although I've never read a book about spies before.It's pretty popular so hopefully it'll achieve my high expectations.
 
All the UK cover versions of the series are so much more beautiful and interesting than the US.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver £2 in British Heart Foundation
 
Whilst I was walking out of the shop I spotted this on the bottom shelf and couldn't believe I'd missed it during my thorough browsing.
 
Delirium,the authors popular series, has been produced into a TV series starring Emma Roberts so I really want to read her work so I can decide whether or not to tune in.
 
Before I Fall is her stand-a-lone novel and the concept is amazing so I'm scheduled to read this in June.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
Cheerleaders 5 - All the way by Caroline B. Cooney 30p in Cancer Research UK
 
My intention when I entered this shop was to purchase the Sweet Valley Twins book I hadn't but last time (WHY DIDN'T I BUY IT ?) unfortunately though it was gone. The sight of this prevented me from having a break down.
 
It's got to be the cheesiest cover ever but it's by Caroline who's one of my favourite authors so her name guarantees greatness.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
The Crush by Alex Shearer 50p on a Market Stall
 
Despite detesting this cover and never encountering this book before, I decided to pick it up because of the plot and the publisher (Bite) who've printed some really enjoyable novels.
 
Might read it this week.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
Need (#1) by Carrie Jones £1.50 in Scope
 
Don't really know anything about this novel other than that the plot sounds interesting and the cover is beautiful. The other two books in the trilogy were in the shop as well but ,as I've previously mentioned, I only buy if I know I'll like.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
Bumped (#1) by Megan McCafferty £1.50 in Scope
 
Someone had obviously donated some of their amazing YA collection today due to the amount of similar great finds. The plot sounds extremely unique and I've never read a dystopian before so hopefully this will set a high standard for the genre.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :


 
 
 
Everneath (#1) by Brodi Ashton £2 in Scope
 
I couldn't believe it when I saw this.
 
The cover is one of my favourites, The texture is so heavenly when it's petted it's better than stroking the fluffiest kitten and I really wish the competition to win the dress was still open because I would wear it everyday (I'd refuse to wear my school uniform even).
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :

 
 
 
Watersong #1 - Wake by Amanda Hocking £1.99 in Oxfam
 
Never read anything about mermaids before but I adore the film Aquamarine (I've seen it like at least 500 times because my sister and I used to watch it every Friday for like a year) so if that's anything to go by this will be excellent.
 
Do you want to know more about this book ? Click here and you'll receive what your heart desires :
 
 
 
Thank you for reading this post !
If you enjoyed please Follow me and Comment.
 
Have you read or do you know more about these books ? Please leave a Comment below because I'd appreciate hearing your opinions ( good or bad) on these books (especially The Crush, Need and Bumped).
 
Did you go Book shopping Today? Please Comment what you bought below and I'll certainly check them out.
 
Be back tommorrow with some BIG NEWS,
Mimi
xheartx