Hello
and welcome to Cover Wars where covers don’t mind getting down and dirty as
long as you pick favorites. Sorry for the delay guys, last time we had
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff a steampunk japanesse representative with a fierce
woman front and center.
The
winner of the Stormdancer show down is….
The
U.S. Cover!!!
Now
that we’ve all basked on the glory of the winning cover we can move on to this
week’s cover wars, has you all know the Book Thief will be out on theater’s in
the U.S. I thought it would be a nice occasion to take a look at the faces this
book has had. In case you haven’t heard about The Book Thief before here is the
book blurb:
It is
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been
busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel
Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager
existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t
resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns
to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well
as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
In
superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus
Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring
stories of our time.
Ok, now
that we all know a bit about the book, I would like to say that we are going to
center in 3 covers.
First
up ladies and gentlemen we have one of the creepiest covers I’ve seen in a long
while, a terrifying dance that evokes all sort of feelings on you (or atleast
on me).
Up next
we have the most popular cover before this book was turned into a movie, a simple
and clean cover that makes itself memorable.
Now we
have the newest cover, the one that marketing forces books that are turned into
movies to transform into.
All the
covers are now out in the open and ready for you to pick a favorite, so please
share if there is a cover that caught your attention the most or if there is
one that is just begging you to give it a place in your bookshelf, please
remember to vote on the poll or leave a comment.
No baby cried like Hetty Feather, a restless little sprout that
when it came down to size it wasn’t looked over twice, but when it came to her
crying no one could controller. Life decided to be as kind as it was cruel to
the child.
First they let her out of the hospital and give her a family, a
mother, a father, brothers, sisters and her dearest Jem. Only to be taken back
to that horrid place, but the fire that has been in her will not let her
settle.
Her new life of uniforms and strict rules doesn’t diminish Hetty’s
ability to make believe or to remember that she was loved in her foster home,
which mixed with her passionate character, sets her apart like a sour thumb.
The fact that she was
abandoned at birth doesn’t diminish Hetty’s hopes to find her real mother, but
even with vague memories of her babyhood she doesn’t have much to go by. An she
really find the woman that left her and find the truth about her origins?
Review
This was my first experience with an unreliable narrator that was
full of imagination yet at the same time didn’t get to hide her own little
childish selfishness or how strong she can really be.
Hetty’s story takes you through the ups and downs of life, how she
was loved even when her personality got the best of her and out of her mother,
how even when life was hard Hetty could be strong for others and how can a girl
that went by her own code fit in a place such as the hospital.
This is a book that talks about lost, about adoption and being an
orphan. It is not a Disney version book but it is not a book full of darkness
and tragedy, it is stuck somewhere in the middle.
The way Jacqueline Wilson gave voice and took us throughout the
story was one of my favorite things about this book, the narration just made
this book an entertaining read, never giving you more then you should know but
in a way showing enough that you could make theories as to what could happen
next in the story.
In 1897
England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing"
inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights
back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that
makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch....
Only
Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says
she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit
streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own
special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and
Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's
investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several
recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part
of something, finally fit in.
In 1897
England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing"
inside her.When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights
back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that
makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch....
Only
Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says
she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit
streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own
special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and
Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.
Griffin's
investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several
recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part
of something, finally fit in.
Evil is
most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade
. . . and a librarian.
These
are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then
reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood
and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine
organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its
agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however,
with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to
let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner,
Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.
For a
malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent
upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his
encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted
roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!
In a
time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of
darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the
Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York
Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
The
year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in
search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the
demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is
attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a
secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a
magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the
British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...
In 1954 Ruby Jolene Hurley turned thirteen, while blowing the
candles to her cake she made the a far out wish, to find the treasure of Way
Down Deep that was hidden by the towns founder in hopes of escaping the pirates
he had stolen it from.
Finding the treasure could change a lot of things for Way Down
Deep, its neighbors after mining sites start to close and an evil wind
starts to blow on the town’s direction.
Review
The treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White is not your typical
children’s book, it touches some a subject that a lot of children’s books try
to stay away from death, in this case the death of a pet, so you as a parent
should be aware of all the questions this might lead to and in my opinion it
isn’t a subject you would want to leave up in the air.
I like that even if the story revolves around Ruby not everything
in the story is about her, in this short book we get to know a lot of the
inhabitants of Way Down Deep, be it educators, towns people, people that live
in the same boarding house as Ruby and some of Ruby’s classmates.
For being such a small book I feel it not only lets us know other
characters but it also handles more than one subject, such as death, the
attitude of some adults, greed and how one can better oneself if one really
wishes to do so.
Adults and kids can enjoy this book and even compare some of the
points given here, so if you are looking for a book that will help you interact
with your child you may want to consider this one.
London,
1876 and Hetty Feather is just a tiny baby when her mother leaves her at the
Foundling Hospital. The Hospital cares for abandoned children - but Hetty must
first live with a foster family until she is big enough to go to school.
Life in
the countryside is hard but with her 'brothers' Jem and Gideon, she helps in
the fields and plays imaginary games. Together they sneak off to visit the
travelling circus and Hetty is mesmerised by the show, especially Madame
Adeline and her performing horses.
But
Hetty's happiness is threatened once more when she is returned to the Foundling
Hospital. The new life of awful uniforms and terrible food is a struggle for
her. But now she has the chance to find her real mother. Could she really be
the wonderful Madame Adeline? Or will Hetty find the truth is even more surprising?
Set
during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking novel is the
story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel
scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters
something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster
father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors
during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement
before he is marched to Dachau.
The
country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become
busier still.
I have
two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That’s
what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all
the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly
the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and
I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden
interrogating me again.
He has
said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up
everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But
the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the
pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.
Lora
Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be
an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of
secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and
flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far
more than what she seems.
England,
1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns
to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise,
she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school
on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing
Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and
forever change her destiny.
Jesse
is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and
what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who
harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her
past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As
danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just
begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.
Review
At
first when I read the description I thought it was going to be just another
love story, a story about a girl discovering who she really is through a boys
eyes, this was not necessarily the case.
Lora
Jones give a unique voice from what I imagine the voice of a young girl in the
1915’s would sound, she is independent, has a sense of humor (maybe not a
typical sense of humor, but I like it) and she is a smart young women.
Which
is exactly what scared me about this book, the uniqueness of her thoughts and
the way she views this world sucked me into the story, but it was the boys
involvement that made me afraid that she would become a fool for love, she
would lose her independence and her voice all of that just for a boy. Yet after
a day or two to brave myself back into the book Lora didn’t disappoint me she
found a way to be in love and keep her wits.
This
story is an interesting mix of historical fiction, dragons, magic and
destiny. I really recommend the world
building is good, it helps that it’s in the eve of WWI so if you paid a bit of
attention in class it might be easier to picture it, but even if you didn’t
care for the history this book is just set on the WWI but you don’t need to
know specific dates or events to enjoy it.
Now I am parked on the waiting for the second
book. I can’t wait to see what happens next especially with all the events that
transpired at the end of the book.
*Sorry guys for not doing an original
synopsis but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t either spoil the story for
you guys or said something that I’ve already mentioned on the review.
Evie
O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the
bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York
is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is
running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch
is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American
Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the
Creepy Crawlies."
When a
rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in
the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a
mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her
first
It all waits to be discovered in Miss
Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes
fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
As
our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob
journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the
crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob
explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the
children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more
than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been
quarantined on a desolate island for good reason.
And somehow
- impossible though it seems - they may still be alive
So May’s
books into movies may not need any introduction but just in case someone missed
it here it is:
The Great Gatsby
Author:F. Scott Fitzgerald
In theaters:May 10th
Book Blurb:
In
1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something
new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately
patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and
above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest
work and certainly the book for which he is best known.
A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its
decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and
earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented
millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most
abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings.
"Gatsby
believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes
before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run
faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's
rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about
the American Dream.
It's
also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for
Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is
a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall
in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying,
but extremely rich Tom Buchanan.
After
the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever
means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her
voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's
more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long
Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and
waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic
inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway
acting as chorus throughout.
Movie Trailer:
And I would also like to take
this time to apologize because I noticed I missed two book into movies
releases, one in the month of February and the other in the month of March. And
in case you missed them too here they are:
Safe haven
Author:Nicholas Sparks
In theaters:February 14th
Book Blurb:
Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as
heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.
When a
mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of
Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet
self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a
series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a
widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with
her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly
begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community
and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.
But
even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that
still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful,
shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport.
With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she
must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . .
and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.
Movie Trailer:
ADMISSION
Author:Jean Hanff Korelitz
In theaters:March 22
Book Blurb:
"Admissions.
Admission. Aren't there two sides to the word? And two opposing sides...It's
what we let in, but it's also what we let out."
For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has
avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a
PrincetonUniversity admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her
reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of
a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just
as thousands of the nation's brightest students await her decision regarding
their academic admission, so too must Portia decide whether to make her own
ultimate admission.
