Kawaii Monday: Hunger Games Fan Art

This week's Kawaii Monday features Hunger Games fan art! Not exactly Kawaii persay, but definitely AWESOME. My favorite fan art artist is Burdge-Bug on deviantART. She draws the MOST AMAZING fan art for everything. Seriously go check her out. RIGHT NOW. Haha. On to the Hunger Games art. Here are my 3 favorites of hers:

Not exactly as I pictured Katniss, but pretty darn close. I think it might be because she looks a little to robin hood/superhero esque in this picture. Its the tunic and the high boots. XD

I'll admit it, even though I'm not a Peeta fan I do think he's pretty adorable in this picture. This is pretty close to the way I imagined Peeta too. Kind of puppy doggish. I like how she drew him holding the bag of flour. It makes him seem more manly since he's somewhat lacking in that department.... :P Oh and this was colored by some other deviantART artist not Burdge-Bug. They haven't colored the Katniss picture but I thought I would do the colored versions of the Peeta and Gale art since they're awesome.

And I saved the best for last. *swoon* This is THE BEST Gale rendition I've ever seen. Seriously like exactly the way I pictured him in my head. HE'S SO PERFECT!!!! :D Every time some gross image of Liam Hemsworth pops into my head (sorry to all you LH fans out there) I just think of this fan art and all is well again. Haha.

One final piece of art that I had to share too. This one isn't by Burdge-Bug but you can find it on deviantART here.

This one is SO COOL. Katniss and Peeta are perfect. I don't really get Gale's expression in this but its still good. And everyone else is great too. Especially Haymitch.

Julia :)

Book Review: The Water Wars

Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations.

---

In a Nutshell: The Water Wars is a unique dystopian that feels very similar to a part of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga.

Putdownability Factor: Ehhh I had to read it fast because I needed to return it before I left, but honestly I wasn't totally into it.

Cover Love: This cover is AWESOME. Its clean, simple, but super engaging. Love it.

Why did I pick this up? Because the cover is so darn cool! Haha. Plus I had this on my list for the debut author challenge!

My Thoughts

The Water Wars was kind of like a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was fun, action-filled, and the plot jumped around so fast that I could hardly keep up. You know that feeling of "What the heck just happened?!" Yeah that was me about a gajillion times while reading this book.

The main problem was the characters. They were very one dimensional and they all kind of melded together in my mind. The only one I never got confused with someone else was Vera, and that's probably because she was the only girl in the story until like the last 50 pages. I would have liked the characters to have a bit more personality and depth.

Where Cameron Stracher excel's is the world he created. I really love the idea of a dystopian future without water. Its a really fascinating concept and I think that overall Cameron Stracher did a great job creating this world.

However I think that the plot of The Water Wars was really weak. Everything was built around the fact that Vera cared so much for Kai that she would risk everything for him. But why? Why would Vera put Kai ahead of her own family? It just didn't make much sense. So you start with a weak plot point (finding someone you have a helpless crush on) and then adding in even crazier plots (fights over political power and the war) and everything just starts to get muddled and confusing.

Like I said, this book was like a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Lots of flash and bang, and razzle dazzle, but not a whole lot of well thought out substance. The Water Wars is a fun book. I enjoyed it to an extent. But poor characterization and a weak plot made it hard to love. Overall I give this 3.5 ice cream cones out of 5.

Who would I recommend this to? Dystopian fans would enjoy this, as would boys who love lots of swashbuckling action.

Note: This review kind of makes me sound like I'm hating on Pirates of the Caribbean but I'm not. I LOVE Pirates of the Caribbean! Just remember: Why do you love Pirates of the Caribbean? For the great plot and characters? Okay maybe for the characters (JACK SPARROW!!!) but you know what I mean. Its mostly the action and adventure and great special effects. At least for me. The Water Wars is the same. Its a good book. But its fun because its got action, and adventure, and kick ass pirate lady with a harpoon gun, not because its got the worlds best plot and characters.

Julia :)

Bookish Questions: Series or Stand-Alones?

Nowadays it seems like every single book I read is part of a series. Its kind of insane. And to be honest I don't know how I feel about it.

This seems to be most prevalent in the dystopian/fantasy/adventure genres. Lately it seems like there are hardly any stand-alone novels coming out of these genres.

Now don't get me wrong. I love a good series like any other person. The Hunger Games? LOVE. Harry Potter? LOVE. But does every single book that comes out that isn't a contemporary HAVE to be apart of a series?

I guess my biggest gripe with series is that sometimes they just go on and on. Like Manga. I mean there are 48 volumes of Naruto in Part 1. And that's only Part 1!!!! I honestly don't know how people can just keep reading them. Don't they get boring after awhile? :P

Another thing for me is that sometimes I'll read a book thinking its a stand-alone novel, and then I get to the end and I realize its the first in a series and it feels like I then have to  read the rest of the books. Especially if there is a cliff hanger. I don't have any problem with this if the book is great! But if the book is only so so? Then its like "gosh now I HAVE to read the sequel." (I know, I know, I don't really HAVE to read it but my bookish OCD starts to kick in.....)

I have now come to discover that if I realize I a new book is part of a series, then that factors into whether or not I decide to read it. I have to think: Do I really want to get sucked into another series? Does this really seem like a series I would enjoy reading, or will I possibly regret reading this?

So what are your guys' thoughts on this? Do you wish there were more stand-alone novels or do you like how popular series are these days? And does the fact that a book is the first in a series play a part in whether or not you decide to read it?

(oh and sorry if this post sounds a little like a rant. I mean no offense to any authors who are writing a series or anyone else for that matter. Really, I don't!!!)

Julia :)

Book Review: Nothing

"Nothing matters."

"From the moment you are born, you start to die."

"The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. You'll live to be a maximum of one hundred. Life isn't worth the bother!"

So says Pierre Anthon when he decides that there is no meaning to life, leaves the classroom, climbs a plum tree, and stays there. His friends and classmates cannot get him to come down not even by pelting him with rocks. So to prove to him that there is a meaning to life, they set out to build a heap of meaning in an abandoned sawmill.

But it soon becomes obvious that each person cannot give up what is most meaningful, so they begin to decide for one another what the others must give up. The pile is started with a lifetime's collection of Dungeons and Dragons books, a fishing rod, a pair of green sandals, a pet hamster - but then, as each demand becomes more extreme, things start taking a very morbid twist, and the kids become ever more desperate to get Pierre Anthon down. And what if, after all these sacrifices, the pile is not meaningful enough?

---

In a Nutshell: Nothing is a novel that will ask you to question everything you believe about the world and the meaning of the life that you live. Definitely a modern day Lord of the Flies.

Putdownability Factor: Very low. Its a short book (only 227 pages) and I read it in one sitting.

Cover Love: Meh. Its simple just like the book. May or may not attract a readers eye.

Why did I pick up this book? It was recommended to me by one of my teen librarians. She said it was "the best book she ever read that she never wanted to read again." With a description like that how could I NOT read it?

My Thoughts

It seems that I've been reading a lot of psychologically heavy books lately. And this book may just be the heaviest of all. Nothing is a book that is hard to explain because its such a simple story, but with such a powerful message. Plus its hard to say anything without completely spoiling the book. I'll try to keep it simple. Haha. :P

What matters? Anything? Nothing? Is the world truly meaningless or are there some things that ARE worth something? These are all questions that are raised in Nothing. And they are raised in quite possibly one of the darkest and most morbid fashions possible. What starts out as an innocent game, quickly escalates into so much more.

So does the question get answered? Does anything REALLY have meaning? In the end its up to the reader to decide. I know some people who read this book and just finished it feeling empty. Honestly I didn't feel that way. This book made me realize how blessed I am to be alive and really feel like I have a purpose in life. I'm a Christian so I really do believe my life has a purpose and a meaning. Not everyone is going to love this book, and not certainly not everyone is going to end up feeling the same way I feel about it. But I definitely think its a powerful story and it raises some important questions. 4 out of 5 ice cream cones!

Who would I recommend this to? Because of the dark content, teens 13 and up. But even then I would make sure that the person would be able to handle the story because it is VERY dark.

Julia :)

Kawaii Monday: Pom Pom Chicks

This week's Kawaii Monday features Pom Pom Chicks!

SO SNUGGLY!!!! I just want to take them out of the screen and stuff them into a little cute nest or something. Even though chickens don't really live in nests..... But that's okay! Maybe my mom could figure out how to make these. I think she has a pom pom maker.

You can buy these cuties here.

Julia :)