The Fault in Our Stars MOVIE REVIEW

It may come as a surprise to some people, but I actually saw the movie The Fault in Our Stars. It was kind of against my will to be honest. The only reason I saw it was because of a birthday. But anyway, I figured since I was going to see it, why not review it?

Let me start off by saying that even though I wasn't really wanting to see it, I kept an open mind throughout the whole movie.

I think the movie followed the book really well from what I remember. I was impressed by that fact, and I also assumed it would be like that because I knew John Green was very much involved in the movie making. However, one of my friends that read the book and loved it said that the movie switched back and forth with the book.

I honestly liked the movie. I was impressed by it and watching the movie made me want to read the book again and give it another try. I loved the chemistry and banter between Gus and Hazel, and I completely loved Isaac. My heart was really happy when the opening came on and the font was the same font as the book. The credits were like that too. I felt that the movie was more emotional than the book. I also assumed I would feel this way because typically I get more emotional watching something instead of reading it.

*Spoiler* When Gus died, I wasn't sad. I wasn't sad in the book either. I mean, yeah, it's a sad thing to lose someone to cancer, but I expected Gus to die in the book and of course the movie. What was sad for me was Hazel crying when she found out. At that point, I wanted to cry too. What surprised me during the movie, was everyone else crying in the theatre. I heard everyone joking about bringing tissues and things, but I didn't actually think anyone would cry. It shocked me because of all the sad movies I've seen, I've never heard anyone crying in the theatre. People were blubbering.

Overall, I liked the movie. I liked the characters and the acting. I liked the raw emotions and truthfulness the movie had. I would recommend seeing the movie if you're hesitant to see it. It was actually pretty great.

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Let is Snow is one book with three short stories inside it. Each story is written by one author and they all connect together. Because there are three stories I'm going to review each one separately and then do an over all review.

The first short story is called The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson. The main reason I wanted to buy this book was because of Maureen Johnson. I am a huge fan of hers and I've read almost everything she's written and I've been dying to read this. The short story is about a girl named Jubilee. She's being sent to her grandparents for the holidays, but while on the train down to Florida the train gets stuck in a storm and Jubilee gets off and walks to a Waffle House to wait. While she's waiting there she meets a guy and ends up over at his house spending the holidays with his family. It's a cute story, but it lacked Maureen's humor a lot in the beginning. Towards the end there was the humor that she puts in every book, but I feel like it wasn't her best writing. It could just be because it's a short story that she couldn't really put a whole lot into it, but that would be my only complaint about it.

The second short story is called A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green. I've never read anything by John Green before, but I've been wanting to. This short story was a good sample to get to know his writing. The story starts off right away with a bunch of humor, but sadly it isn't my type of humor. It was a bit crude and it really felt like John sat down and went, "Okay. These are the jokes I want to tell, now I have to work them in the dialogue." It felt like all the jokes were coming so fast and together that they just didn't seem to fit, and it felt very rushed. By the middle and the end though, the humor seemed to slow and came naturally, and once it got to that point I really enjoyed the book. I would say that this is my second favorite of the stories because it's a good story line with it taking place at the Waffle House with a bunch of cheerleaders. (It picks up where Maureen leaves off.)

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle is the third and last short story. This story was actually my favorite. The first two stories were about people getting together, but in this story it's about them already being together. It's really cute the way things work out and I love the humor Lauren gives it. It was nicely placed and felt natural, but the main character got annoying at one point. Her friends keep telling her she's self-absorbed, so the character just keeps talking and talking and freaking out about being self-absorbed which proves that she's self-absorbed. It isn't highly annoying, but at that one point I was just like "Really?". This story was actually more predictable than the others (All Christmasy things are), but it was still an enjoyable read even though you knew what was coming. I really liked the ending a lot because all of the characters from the first and second stories came in and it was one final chance to hang out with them all before the book ending. It was really nice.

Overall, I recommend this book. It's cute and quick to read and it's a nice Christmas story. I have rarely come across Christmas books for the YA genera and I cherish them while I can. It puts you in the mood for Christmas and it just makes you want to wrap up in a blanket and drink hot chocolate while reading it. I really hope the authors make another installment and do a part two, but with a different set of characters. I think that that would be a pretty cool thing for them to do.