Novelicious - The Female Fiction and Chick Lit Blog

The Hunger Games Giveaway!

Today marks the one month mark for fans of The Hunger Games books awaiting the film's release. That's right folks - we are now only one month away from seeing The Hunger Games on the big screen.

 

To celebrate, the lovely folks over at Scholastic have kindly donated not one but three books! We at Novelicious have the entire trilogy of books written by Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay - to give away to one lucky Novelicious reader. These classic editions look set to be the new talked-about young adult crossover books for 2012 so don't miss out.

 

To win all three books, simply tell us why you want to win in the comments below. Competition is UK only and a winner will be picked on Wednesday 29th February. Good Luck!

The Hunger Games on Amazon

Review - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

A car accident has left Luke in a vegetative state in hospital and his daughter Cara recovering from surgery on her shoulder. Cara's mum Georgie wants to be there for her daughter but has the twins and her new husband waiting for her at home and as she is no longer married to Luke, she has no say when the doctors start talking about life-support and using extraordinary measures. At 17 years old, Cara is underage so the only person who can legally make any decisions is Edward, the son who left the country six years ago and hasn't spoken to his father since.

An author known for dealing with taboo subjects, Jodi Picoult has chosen to explore who should have the right to switch off life-support when the family is as fractured as this one. But of course, as this is Picoult, the conflicts don't stop there. Luke is not your average father, having spent a lot of his adult life infiltrating wolf packs in order to study their behaviour from the inside. Famous in his field and respected the world over for his results, Luke has developed his animal senses to the point where he often struggles with basic human interaction. He loves his family, but he loves the wolves just as much and feels incomplete with either of them. Georgie still blames her ex-husband for all his prolonged absences and obsession with the wolves and for all the time spent away from his family to be with them. Edward still can't bring himself to talk about what really happened the night he left without saying goodbye. Cara blames her brother's departure for the breakdown of her family and clings on to her dad as the only place she still feels at home.

February's Literary Adaptations

BY AMANDA KEATS

BY AMANDA KEATS

Adaptations are everywhere nowadays. Filmmakers are starting to see the brilliance in novel plots and turning them into films. But it isn't just books that are being adapted. This February, there are plays too.

RELEASE DATE: 3 February

Carnage

Based on the play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, Carnage is set almost entirely in one New York apartment. After two 11-year-old boys have a fight at school resulting in one of the boys hitting the other across the face with a stick, the boys' parents decide it would be best to meet in person and discuss it. What starts as a civil meeting of four adults quickly descends into chaos as loyalties are divided and the pretence of having it all together is shattered.

RELEASE DATE: 10 February

The Woman in Black
Based on the book by Susan Hill, this is not the only adaptation in existence. A long-running London play of the same name has terrified me and many others across the world. A simple but powerful ghost story, The Woman in Black looks at what happens when Solicitor Arthur Kipps heads to a small northern village to settle an estate but ends up unearthing a long-feared secret of who the woman in black actually is and just what she can do.

Big Miracle
Based on a true story and the book written by Tom Rose, this is the tale of how people from across the world came together to try to free a family of whales stuck in the frozen Arctic waters in Alaska. The film stars Drew Barrymore as the activist set on doing all she can to get the government to act.

RELEASE DATE: 17 February

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer, this is the adventure story of young Oskar, whose father died in the 9/11 attacks, as he hunts for meaning in a key he's found in his father's closet. The film stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

RELEASE DATE: 24 February

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Previously published as These Foolish Things, Deborah Moggach's book looks at a group of retired Brits who embark on a life-changing relocation to India to live in a run-down hotel run by an ambitious young Indian man. The film has an incredible cast including Dami Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton and stars Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire as the hotel's owner.

One for the Money
Janet Evanovich has written numerous novels in her Stephanie Plum Series, all with a consecutive number in the title. One for the Money is - quite obviously - the first in the series. Stephanie Plum is a woman who needs work and gets a job as a bounty hunter. The film stars Katherine Heigl as Plum.

So which of these adaptations take your fancy this month? Let us know in the comments below...

Review - Smoked Meat by Rowena Macdonald

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS 

In a cold wintery Montreal, people are going about their lives. There is the life-model coming between two best friends, the gay man living in denial with a woman and the former waitress looking to make it big in New York.

Rowena Macdonald takes an honest look at the everyday lives of Montreal's inhabitants as they strive to find work, love, acceptance, fulfilment and happiness and beautifully weaves their tales together in one clever book. Though the stories could easily stand alone as a series of short stories, there are links to connect them to each other. A person who is in the background of the first story suddenly becomes centre stage in the next.

There is no real beginning - middle - end to this book, rather a glimpse into the people's lives over the course of a year. It is a snapshot, nothing more, but in looking at how each life connects to others around it, Macdonald manages to build a bigger picture of what makes people move from one city to another, what makes them accept their lives and what makes them finally say that they've had enough and want better. The connections are great if you remember them but it doesn't detract anything from each person's story if you don't remember exactly where you read about them earlier. It is an adult book, as it deals with adult stories - apart from one - and the sex and complications that go along with it. But it does not use sex as a selling point or make it the raunchy focus of the book. It simply glides along and is relevant when it is relevant.

Novelicious Goes To... The Book Launch Of Tom-All-Alone's

By Amanda Keats

Last week I got to join in with the launch for Lynn Shepherd's new book Tom-All-Alone's, a Dickensean style mystery, inspired by Bleak House and set in the mirky depths of 1850's London. The launch itself was far from mirky. At the Dickens museum in London, we got to walk the halls of his former residence and see his original works. 

Shepherd was evidently delighted to be holding the launch in the museum, saying that if it's true that your life flashes before your eyes when you die - this moment will certainly make the reel. Then we were treated to a reading of the prologue to Tom-All-Alone's - Shepherd's homage to Bleak House.

 

Thank you to PR lady Emily for the invite and congratulations Lynn and all at Constable and Robinson for a great launch.

You can read my review for Tom-All-Alone's here

 

The Hunger Games Movie Tie-In Book Edition Cover Revealed

By Amanda Keats

Movie tie-in editions normally have the film's stars on the front of the book - especially when it comes to young adult hits like the Twilight Saga - to draw film fans into reading the book.

It's fascinating then to see that the new movie tie-in edition of The Hunger Games, released by Scholastic books, has no faces on it at all. Instead, the focus is of the mockingjay pin - which fans of the book will know symbolises an awful lot in the story. Though Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are perhaps not yet as massive as the likes of the Twilight trio, I doubt their faces will be left off the movie tie-in edition for book 2 Catching Fire. This film is sure to make stars of them all.

Either way, I think the book looks gorgeous!

What do you think?

If you are keen to read the book before the film is released 23rd March, The Hunger Games is available to order at Amazon now.

Review - Tom-All-Alone's by Lynn Shepherd

Reviewed by Amanda Keats

Policeman turned Private Detective, Charles Maddox has been hired to find a man - just to find him and pass on his whereabouts to his new employer. But his new employer - lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn - underestimates just how enquisitive Maddox really is. As he begins to delve deeper in his search for the truth, Maddox will put his life more at risk with every new piece of information he finds.

 

Author Lynn Shepherd's first book took a Jane Austen classic and twisted it with an Agatha Christie style murder mystery. This time, she has delved even deeper into the seedy underworld of Dickensian London - a world full of dirt and grime, poverty, prostitutes as young as twelve, violent murders and misunderstood mental illnesses.

 

For fans of the lighter work of Charles Dickens, be warned that this is no A Christmas Carol. Inspired by Bleak House, Tom-All-Alone's is not for the faint-hearted. The book opens in a foggy graveyard with the discovery of an unofficial grave full of babies and later contains some detailed accounts of mutilations and nasty murders. Behind all this violence though is a fascinating central character in Charles Maddox. Charles is a stubborn man and his determination as the story develops is both enfuriating and endearing. His relationship with his great-uncle Maddox - who is going senile in his old age - adds a certain depth to his character as he has idolized Maddox his entire life and struggles as the mind of his idol quickly deteriorates. Though there are brief moments of lucidity where the two great minds can discuss their findings, the moments where Maddox reverts back to his senility are heart-breaking.

 

Novelicious Natters - The Grammar Debate

By Amanda Keats

Moving with the times or losing the sanctity of the written word?

 Last week I was called a "grammar Nazi" because I'm annoyed that Waterstone's has become Waterstones. To some, it might seem like something very trivial and I should move on and get a life. But to others, for a book shop (of all places) to lose correct grammar in their name is a sad day for anyone who believes in the sanctity of the written word.

So is it snobbish to believe in "correct" English and strive to uphold it? In dialogue, the way people speak is forever changing and I for one love that each region has its own accents, slang words and mannerisms. But when it comes to the written word, there is written English with rules of grammar and spelling that should be stuck to.

Times have changed. People write in text English and use shortened words or abbreviations to cram a message into a 140 character tweet. And I am just as guilty of this as anyone. If there is something I want to say and can't fit it in with correct grammar, I will shorten it. As long as it makes sense, what does it matter? I don't care about using semi-colons and occasionally it just sounds better to me to end with a preposition.

But I can't imagine picking up a book written entirely in text English.

So should we let go of the rules and move with the times? Or uphold the grammar of our language, apostrophes and all.

Let us no wot u fink in the comments below ;-)

Review - The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

Ex-Marine Logan Thibault has walked for days to get to where he's going with nobody for company but his faithful dog Zeus. He carries very few possessions but is never far away from the photo that he believes kept him safe through war. He is on a mission to find the woman in the photo and thinks he knows where she is...

 

When Logan meets Beth, the woman in the photo, he decides not to tell her the truth behind his arrival but stays to work at the kennels she runs. Beth lives with her young son Ben and Nana, who has raised her since her parents' death at a young age. Ben is adorable and just the right amount of geeky. He plays chess rather than sports - which annoys dad Clayton immensely. But Beth does not realise the full extent of her ex-husband's power over her little family and just how much influence he has had over her life since their divorce. And as her relationship with Logan begins to blossom, Clayton does not take too kindly to the new man in Ben's life. As the book develops, there is a horrid feeling of imminent doom on every page. Even when Beth and Logan are happy, you are just waiting for it to all go horribly wrong. This tension makes the book compelling reading as it's difficult to see where it will all end.

 

Everybody seems to be dealing with their inner demons in The Lucky One. Logan is traumatised by thoughts and visions of his friends who have died at war, Beth is struggling being a lonely single parent, even Nana is recovering from a stroke. Clayton, though, is by far the most fascinating character of all. He is an incredibly dark character but manages to somehow avoid being a stereotypical villain. He loves his son but he wishes he were more "masculine", he knows that being married to Beth wasn't right for either of them, but he can't stop lusting after her. His family are all officials in the town - his father is the sheriff, his grandfather a judge. He has come to believe that he can get away with anything he likes, because he is a Clayton, but always gives the impression of a respected law official. This outwardly good and caring persona makes him all the more menacing.

Literary Adaptations to Look Forward To in 2012

BY AMANDA KEATS

In 2011 the cinema audiences saw the release of many book to film adaptations including Jane Eyre, One Day, I Don't Know How She Does It and We Need to Talk About Kevin. And the adaptation phenomenon doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon. 2012 has a great mixture of adaptations to look forward to, from fairytales to horror, from classics to modern hits.

 One of the most hotly anticipated adaptations is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The book is set in a dystopian future where teenager Katniss Everdeen from District 12 has volunteered in place of her 12-year old sister Prim to compete in the annual Hunger Games – a game which can have only one winner, after all the other 23 participants are dead. The book is one of the select few young adult books that has crossed over into the adult world with massive success and if the trailer is anything to go by looks to be a massive hit, with action and emotion to pull in the viewers.

The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss alongside Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci.

The Hunger Games Trailer 

 

Nicholas Sparks fans will be delighted to hear that after the success of The Notebook and Dear John, another of his gorgeous and often slightly dark romantic books is going to be hitting the big screen this year. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks sees Marine Logan Thibault go in search of the woman in a photo he believes has kept him alive while at war. It's a passionate love story about two people on a journey to find peace but with the brilliant Sparks twists and turns along the way.

The film stars Zac Efron as Logan Thibault alongside Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner.

The Lucky One Trailer 

 

For those looking for something a little scarier, the popular Woman in Black by Susan Hill - which has already been adapted into a hit West End show – has now been made into a film, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps. The story is about a young lawyer who goes to a house in the middle of nowhere to settle the estate but finds the place is haunted by its former inhabitant and she isn't ready for him to leave. The mere sight of THAT rocking chair in the trailer sends chills up my spine.

Woman in Black Trailer 

 

If you're looking for something a bit more light-hearted then fairytales are incredibly popular this year with not one but two fairytales being turned into not two but three films. Jack and the Beanstalk has become “Jack the Giant Killer” with Nicholas Hoult starring as Jack. The film also stars Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane and Bill Nighy.

If Jack isn't your cup of tea though, there are two adaptations of Snow White to choose from. Firstly, there is the more comedic look at the classic tale in Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White which sees Julia Roberts as the evil Queen and Lily Collins as Snow White.

If you like your fairytales a little darker though then check out Snow White and the Huntsman which stars Charlize Theron as the Queen, Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman who doesn't just spare the life of Snow White but teaches her how to fight.

Jack the Giant Killer Trailer 

Mirror Mirror Trailer

Snow White and the Huntsman 

 The Hunger Games may be a newly popular franchise with great cinematic potential but there was one Young Adult book series in recent years that claimed the hearts of millions of lovestruck teens the world over. 2012 will bring The Twilight Saga, written by Stephenie Meyer, to a close with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two at the end of the year. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and co return to finally face down the Volturi and start the most modern of modern family lives.

 
Other adaptations in 2012 include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which stars Keira Knightley and Jude Law and the prequel to The Lord of the Rings - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, written originally by JRR Tolkien and starring Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.

Review - The Goddess Village by Nuala Woulfe

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

In the heart of Ireland, a new eco-village, Cloonsheeda, is being built. In the lead-up to the village festival, the women of Cloonsheeda will take a look at their lives and conquer what has been holding them back for years.

 

Full of quirky characters, Cloonsheeda has struggling mothers, controlling fathers, non-romantic husbands, religious zealots and corrupt politicians. There is the stay-at-home mum who wants to break free of the monotony of married life, the young German teenager starting her job as a nanny and naive about the ways of the world, the passionate young woman whose Australian sex-god has fizzled into a roomate in the Irish climate and the ex-wife of a well-known politician, alone and unsure how to move on. But this is not just about the females in Cloonsheeda, as it focuses on the men in their lives too.

 

This is a well-written character-based plot. Some characters leapt off the page for me far more than others. Sinéad was my personal favourite as she was clearly a feisty person in her heyday and this impulse had been surpressed by her husband "Daddy Winterbottom". Called "Mummy Winterbottom" by her husband and having to endure noisy dinner times while her husband sits and eats next to her with noise-cancelling headphones on to protect his hearing, you can see exactly how close she is to snapping under the pressure. So when the chance to join a protest against the new motorway being built presents itself, you just knew Sinéad was going to have something to offer.

Always A Workie, Never Employed

We know a few of our readers aspire to work in the publishing industry, and for that reason thought you might like to read this fabulous article by our contibutor, Amanda Keats.

In it, she talks about the ups and downs of being a publishing intern at a time when the economic environment is so unstable.

Do have a read, it's really good. And if any of you have publishing intern experiences to share, tell us about them in the comments. Because we are nosy like that...

Review - Too Close For Comfort by Clare Dowling

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

Two sisters with two secrets - who will tell first?

 

Ali is up and taking her three kids to the airport for a surprise holiday back in her native Ireland. Or so they think. Ali has told her husband that she wants a divorce and after he threatened to take the kids from her, she has decided to flee. After all, her sister Emma would be fine with putting them up for a bit, surely. Emma, having recently ended her engagement to Ryan, is back home wallowing in her own misery and does not expect the surprise visit from her sister, nor does she welcome it.

 

The book starts with Ali leaving Texas with her children and sees her return to Ireland and descend on her sister, resulting in friction and chaos from all sides. The children want to know when they're going back home. Emma wants to know when she's going to get her home back to herself and Ali wonders how long she can keep up the charade before everything crumbles. Emma and Ali's mother has turned into a nasty woman, taking out all her frustrations at being a full-time carer at her husband, who is on heart attack number five. But Ali has not seen this much of her sister in years and when she stops thinking of herself for a second, finally notices that something is up with Emma. Why did her engagement really end? And why is she always checking her tongue in the mirror?

 

All the characters are well thought out. There is the quiet sister and the brash, louder one. The co-dependent and antagonistic relationship of their parents is heartbreaking and entirely understandable. Ali's rash decision to flee the country may have been a stupid and petulant one but it is entirely plausible after the threat her husband gave her. So of course, as is often the case, when all these personalities are forced back into each others company, sparks will fly.

 

Sadly though, there wasn't enough spark for me in the book. It was entirely readable and plodded along well. But even when Emma's big secret is revealed - though it is a big one - it didn't heighten any kind of tension. All it did was raise more questions. And then when it ended, it just sort of ended. It was all just a bit of a fizzle really. And sadly, it clearly had the potential to be great.

 

Dowling is a great writer of people. She understands relationships well and delves into people's imperfections with great care and honesty. The pace of the book just didn't grab like it should have.

 

6/10

MORE ABOUT TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

Review - My Sweet Saga by Brett Sills

REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

My Sweet Saga opens with Brandon arrested and on a plane with a police escort, in a lot of pain and bleeding. He takes us back to how he got to be in this situation...

Brandon is trapped in an engagement he doesn't want, to the controlling and neurotic Clarissa, with in-laws who can't stand him, an MIA mother and a wealthy joke of a father who hasn't called in months. But Brandon is quite content being miserable. That is until his father calls out of the blue and casually requests his presence at a dinner in Sweden. He's lost a bet with a man from Sweden and must now treat him to dinner in his home country. For reasons unknown to Brandon, the man has requested his presence. All Brandon has to do is show up. Unfortunately for his dad, Brandon doesn't have a great relationship with his father and has absolutely no desire to accompany him half-way across the world for dinner... until he mentions the idea to fiancée Clarissa. Clarissa is horrified that Brandon would even contemplate flying off to Sweden so soon before the wedding and forbids him - yes forbids him. You can imagine what he does next...

 

Our unlikely hero flies all the way to Sweden, without telling the old ball and chain, and meets the mystery Swede and his daughter Saga. It is this chance meeting that will turn Brandon's happily miserable life on its head and through proposals, encounters with Swedish officials, chases and sexual awakenings, Brandon will learn that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

 

My Sweet Saga is sexy, clever and funny with plot twists at every turn that will leave you guessing to the very last page. The dry oh-so-american wit of the male lead will have you gasping with shock at his total lack of political correctness and snorting with embarrassing laughter in equal measure.

 

9/10 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY SWEET SAGA