Discrimination and Immigrants Rights

It scares me to death to think about the possibility of Trump with the power that being the US president would give him, and what he would do with it. After reading the news about two “white” men with extensive criminal records beating up a homeless guy and declaring that “it was OK because he was Latin” I started thinking about what this whole campaign circus is causing to our society. I don’t live in the US, in fact, I’m from Uruguay, a small country in Latin America. Even though, due to our strong Spanish and Italian heritage, we look more like European than Latin, we are part or Latin America and so I feel bother by this whole topic.

First I want to start by saying that we don’t need people encouraging crazy people. We have enough of those already. The last thing our international society needs is powerful people prompting more hate and discrimination. We need our leaders to set examples of tolerance and respect, we need to show people that we can’t develop as a society if any kind of discrimination is still happening everyday. And I know it’s a long process but c’mon people, this is the twenty-first century. We know we are all the same, we have the same rights and obligations and nobody should have the power to tell someone  they are inferior. Trust me I also live full of pre conceived concepts and clichés, but a few years back I realized how poisonous that is and started to change my way of viewing the world.

I hate the fact that people think that because we are from Latin America we are somehow inferior in any way. It’s true, our countries don’t have the same means, and we have a lot of problems with security and economy but we do the exact same things. We have internet access, we go to school and work, we have scientist, we have doctors, we develop lots of things everyone in the world use today, we have fast food chains, and malls and airports. We don’t live on the middle of the jungle, or the dessert, or between the dirt. I can’t count the amount of times someone from a developed country asked me if we watch tv here, or if we use Tumblr or go to college. THE FREAKING ANSWER IS YES! We do all the same stuff, we even have similar laws and religions and politics, we just don’t have everything developed yet, and probably won’t have for a couple hundred years more.

When I read what Trump had said about Mexican people, and what I believe is a generalized view on all Latin immigrants, I was sad and pissed. I was sad because it felt like a huge step backwards in the mutual understanding of our international society. I was sad because I know there is a lot of people, in the US particularly, that think like him. That they believe they are better than anyone else just because they happen to have been born there.I was sad because they are ignorant, they clearly don’t care to find out the facts and just go with what makes them more money. And I’m pissed because this is affecting us in more ways than we are able to see today. This crime I read about, opened my eyes to the notion that people are taking his words as a truth and are going to scary extremes.

As I read in another article, the illegal immigrants are about 4% of the working population in the US and they mostly concentrate in some areas or services. Imagine a pyramid and at the bottom of it are the "illegal" immigrants, you take them all out and the jobs nobody wants to do but are necessary to the functioning of a country are left without doing and you have a huge void impossible to fill. Besides the fact that it is virtually impossible to make disappear a whole 11 million people, but who’s counting.

My point is, every person who went to the US illegally risked their lives and are most certainly  trying really hard to survive, and make their dreams a reality. Something that sadly people take for granted, in other parts of the world is hard to envision. They are fighting for a better future, they don't want to take your jobs, or rob your house, or kill, they just want a better life. Don’t we all? The US would not be what it is today without the immigrants. One of the things that make the US big is the cultural diversity, the different languages being spoken, foods, jobs , and its people. As someone watching everything from outside, I honestly believe that if tolerance and respect were the norm and not the exception, the US and generally the whole international society would be a million times better.

I have so much more to say but it would require a lot of room and time. But this is basically  why I think we have to fight Trump and this whole train of thought. We have to make the world listen, and be loud. I know we can do it, after all we, the younger generation, are the future of this world, and we have to fight to make t better for everyone. 

L.D

"Life keeps getting in the waaaaay..." ♪

Hello internet! I'm just here for a quick update, I'm pretty busy with college and work but I decided that I want to make this blog kind of a priority. 

So, my idea is work out a schedule, maybe start with one or two days a week, and see how it goes from there. I was thinking maybe one day write about some life problem that is going through my mind or whatever and the other do a book or movie review, something that I enjoy. Let's see how everything turns out.

A little bit about what I've been doing, basically when I came back from visiting the US and Canada, I started college (International Relations) and went right back to work. As you can imagine working 6+ hours a day and taking 5 classes this semester was a bit hectic to say the least, but I made it through. Last friday I took my last exam of the semester so let's hope I ace them all. Anyway this is kind of why I'm not writing a lot lately, but I promisse to try harder..

So goodnight everyone and hope to find more people around here soon ♥

Travelling

Finally I was able to acomplish it. All my life I've wanted to travel and see the world for myself. never thought I could but right now I'm writing this on a train heading to Toronto, Canada. It's amazing the feeling of knowing that you are doing something you wanted to do all your life. 

Skating at Central Park, New York City

Travelling is so incredible. It opens your mind, it helps you understand, it gives you independence and freedom. I can truly say I love it. Of course, there is a downside of travelling, the long hours, the budget, airport security (ugh), missing friends and family and wishing they were there, but at the end it's all worth the experiences. 

View from the Empire State Building

I never want this to end, but sadly in a little less than two weeks I have to get back to work and college. Don't even wanna think about it though, just enjoying my time and the posibility that I was given. 

Flying over Miami

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Reading

Hello! Happy 2015.

Today I wanted to write some thought on the habit of reading. I was reminded of this because I had a talk today at work with one of my co-workers about how much I read, and why it was. 

I told her that, the way I saw it, my love for books come from a very young age. I remember that since I was six or seven my parents took me every year to this book fair that is held in my country and they let me choose one or two books that I wanted to read, with the only condition that I had to finish them eventually. It was like magic to me, I felt so grown up at the time being able to select what I wanted to get. I tried multiple kind of books: poetry, romance, adventure, etc, until I find what kind of books I enjoyed the most. Ever since then, I really believe that finding the kind of books that get your attention and keep you engaged is the key to enjoy reading. Had I stick with one kind of book, I don't think I'd be the avid reader I am today.

It also helped the fact that pretty much everyone in my family loves to read, so I basically grow up around books (not a deciding factor in my opinion because my brother was brought up in the same house and family and he doesn't read much) but I'm positive that it made my wish to read stronger.

Around the time I was eight or nine, my godmother gave me the first Harry Potter book as a gift. At this point I had read big girl books (as I refered to books without pictures or illustrations) but Harry Potter was like the top of it all. Here's the thing a lot of people don't get, Harry Potter (as have done so many other books after it) helped me through so much I can't even explain it. I remember my mom reading them right along with me, and after she passed when I was ten, I felt like I needed to finish the story for her too, and it really helped me cope. She was reading book four when she died, and ten years later that copy still helds a very meaningful place in my heart. 

Thing is, these are things you can't really explain, you have to experience to understand. The fact that a book can move me, make me laugh, cry, get angry and want to trash everything is amazing. To this day, when I find a book that touches me is like a whole new world opens up in front of me to experience. The fact that you can experience life through somebody else and you can escape, at least for a bit, your own life, problems and stress is something magical.


I truly believe there is a book for everyone, and it makes me so sad when someone says that they hate reading, or that it's boring to them, because I'm positive it is because they never found the right book. And all the same it makes me so happy tht new generations are reading so much more than my generation and are comenting and spreding the word about books,

If you know how and what to, reading can be one of your biggest companions through life.    

Friday holiday, Goodreads and other fun stuff

As the title says, in my country it's a holiday today which means no work, no class I have all day to read and be lazy. Cheers to that!

Anyway It's 5 pm and I've just finished reading "The coincidence of Callie and Kayden". Amazing book if you ask me and I'm starting the sequel right now. I'll leave a link with my Goodreads review for you to check it out if you want.

Another thing I wanted to write about is Goodreads. I'm kinda addicted to it. I love the fact that you can share preferences, review books, comment other reviews, share thougths, quotes, passages of different books. You can add book you read in your childhood and find other people that also read them and maybe it means a lot to them too. You can join groups. I don't know, it's basically heaven. So here it's my Goodreads profile, if you want to befriend me go ahead, I accept everyone :)

Now I'll probably go clean my room a bit because it is a fucking mess. I don't have space to put all my trash so I'll have to do some magic tricks (?)

Hope you have a fun Friday!   

Fast Book Reviews: We were Liars by E. Lockhart

This is going to be a little different for one reason. If I tell you anything about this book I’m going to spoil it to you and the best thing you can do is read it without knowing what you are getting yourself into. Instead I’m going to share something that was on one of the first pages of the version of the book I’ve read and I seriously think it captured this need to not be spoiled perfectly. 

ENJOY:

Dear Colleagues,

It’s not often that I write a letter asking a reader to do this, but please trust me. I won’t tell you the plot of this book. It is better for you to just read it. Between the covers you will find:

the beautiful Sinclair family on a windswept private island,

four friends who are unconditionally loyal to one another,

a lot of witty banter,

and desperate true love.

Also …

family secrets,

a terrifying accident,

and many golden retrievers.

We Were Liars is a dazzler. It’s suspenseful, literary, and romantic. It’s a modern, mazelike suspense story from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. You don’t need to know more. More would spoil it.

Read it.

I believe you’ll want to talk about this book with someone else who has read it. So read this ARC and give the duplicate to a friend, and let the conversation begin! Whatever you do, don’t spoil it for the people who haven’t read it yet.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

All my best,

Beverly Horowitz

Vice President and Publisher

Delacorte Press

Read this book. Please.

I'm leaving a link with my GoodReads full of spoilers review in case you want to read it. HERE it is!

Favorite Book Quote: “They know that tragedy is not glamorous. They know it doesn't play out in life as it does on a stage or between the pages of a book. It is neither a punishment meted out nor a lesson conferred. Its horrors are not attributable to one single person. Tragedy is ugly and tangled, stupid and confusing.” ― E. Lockhart, We Were Liars

Why I love PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

I was planning to do a Fast Book Review today but earlier I was thinking about this and I thought why not writing it down. So here are my reasons for being madly obsessed with this TV show.

First of all, a bit about how I learned about PLL. A friend of mine told me probably a hundred times I should watch it, so one day I was alone at home and with nothing to do (good old days) so I decided I would give it a try. At that time there was only a season complete and it was probably airing episode 3 or 4 of the second season. And that was it. I swear I watched the first episode and it was like I needed to learn everything about it. So, in probably three or four days I finished up season one and started watching episodes as they aired.

I’m diving right into the reasons why I love the show. The first one and I think this not only applies for this show but mostly for every show I watch and every book I read. I want to be entertained and forget about my life, about my problems. I don’t want to watch a show that resembles my life, because I have enough of it already, and sometimes life can be overwhelming and you need to chill for a bit and forget about everything. So I love a good show that can take my mind off of things, a show that can make me forget for at least an hour a day. And Pretty Little Liars does that. Its twists and turns keep my mind busy trying to work things out, and mystery makes me hungry for more. The romance on the show makes me wish I could experience some of that myself (on the dark side it also makes me have high expectation on boys ouch!).

The second thing I love is the opportunity to communicate directly with the writers and producers of the show. As a lot of you know, PLL is the most tweeted show on tv, among other things, and almost, if not every writer and producer of the show has a personal twitter account and answers fan questions (although sometimes they answer to the same people over and over again) . I love the possibility that we, as fans of the show, have to talk directly to the people in charge of creating this world, and the fact that we can discuss everything about it, every clue, every revelation, in real time makes it all the more exciting.

And of course, number three are the actors. Maybe you don’t love them all, but you have to agree with me that this is probably the hottest cast on TV. Like really, how is it even possible to hire so many good looking people? The girls are all stunning, and I swear I would be happy having like 2% of their beautifulness. The boys are like too much to handle. And the thing I love the most is that there is one for every girl. You like the kinda hipster guy, you have Tyler. You like the sweet, caring guy who loves animals, you have Ian. And so on. 

Like really?! They are all so perfect it hurts.

I’m not going to comment on acting capacity just because I believe that that is something totally subjective. But what I will admit, and I would love to have you admit too, is that even if they are not the greatest actor/actress of all times, they are there, meaning that someone chose them to portray that particular role, and that, like it or not, means something.

The style of the show, not only the clothing which is amazing btw, but the style of the buildings and the design of the sets. You can tell that everything is thought about carefully. One thing though, how are they even allowed to go to school dressed like that? I know that I live in a different country, and at my school we had to wear uniforms, but how is that even possible? I mean really stylish, but not so much school-ish…

Yeah, they go to school this well dressed...

On a more serious note, another thing I not only love, but admire about the show is the good use they give to the massive impact on teenagers and young adults everywhere. I love how they deal with topics such as homosexuality, loss and addiction. Knowing that they matter to a lot of us, and that probably everyone that is watching has suffer or know someone who has suffer at least one of them. The show feels real to us, and we can relate to it in a positive way. The fact that ABC Family is letting, not only this show, but others on the network too, address some of these topics that were for so long considered “taboo” makes me really happy. Good for them and for us as a society.

And finally I wanted to talk about the storyline. I’ve read a lot of people commenting that they are getting tired of not knowing who is A and honestly I love where they are taking the story. Yes, it’s true that it’s a bit tiring that every time we discover someone is -A, then we found out that they are not. But the whole point of the show is creating mystery and resolving it or half resolving it and leaving open doors to then potentially open them wider or close them as necessary. The whole Alison twist that happened on season 4 was amazing, and you can’t deny that. Ok, I guess you could, but you should not.

So that is all for today. There are probably a hundred more reasons why I love PLL but it’s going to take forever. So if you are interested in knowing more and in case you didn’t realize it already, I would highly recommend you to watch Pretty Little Liars if you want to be entertained, amused and shocked all in the same second. You have until June 10th to catch up, that's the date set for season five to premiere on ABC Family.

A lazy entry

I haven't written anything for a while. I've been pretty busy with college, work and basically deciding what to do with my life. I don't know if it's just me or if it's the age or what but I'm kinda failing at knowing what to do. 

Anyway something interesting I'm starting my acting classes tomorrow again. New schoool, I'm gonna meet new people so I'm excited. Ok so I wanted to give you an update on my reading. I've been pretty lazy with reading because I've been studying a lot buuuut I did finished The Book Thief and I plan on doing a Fast Book Review sometime this month, maybe when I finish Allegiant that it's what I'm reading now. I'm about to finish this one too and I already spoiled myself the big thing that happens at the end of the book and I know for a fact that I'm gonna hate Veronica Roth for a while probably more than I hated Lauren Oliver at the end of Requiem (and that was ugly)

Well I know this suck but I wanna watch Pretty Little Liars and then go to bed because tomorrow I have to work early. So night!

Reading Update

I'm doing a reading update of the beginning of the year because I'm reading a lot of books at the same time and I'm enjoying them all so I wanted to write about them a bit.

But before that I wanted to talk about a book that I've just finished and it's called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and it's about an autistic 15-year-old boy who is really smart and logic but has trouble with emotions. One day he decides to investigate the death of a neighbor's dog. This book is so amazing I just can't explain. It was different from everything I've ever read and it was just so pure and beautiful to see the world from Christopher's eyes. I feel different now, I don't know how to explain that either but it changed me. I would recommend this book to everyone because it's so beautifully well written and it opens your eyes in so many levels and I just can't say enough good things about it. Oh and also there's London and math, and I LOVE maths, I've almost forgotten how much I loved math <3

Now that I told you that, we're onto the first book I'm reading, Allegiant by Veronica Roth. This is the third book on the Divergent trilogy and I really only have read the first couple of chapters because I've heard it's really sad, and not a lot of people are happy with the ending and I love Tris and Tobias too much to watch them suffer more if that makes any sense (? So I've let it aside for a bit, but I don't know how much I can distract myself before I give in and read it, and cry my eyes out more certainly.

I'm also reading Free Four which is an additional chapter or something like that, that tells a scene form Divergent but from Four's point of view, not Tris'. It's really short and I feel really excited about it because Tris & Four = OTP

And finally I'm reading The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. I found this book by accident in a store in my country and read the first page and I knew I had to buy it. I feel attracted to this kind of lecture, like mysterious but silly, I don't know, I'm enjoying it, but I haven't read a whole lot yet.

I'm also gonna be starting with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I purchased it last week, it was out of stock for a long while but no sooner I saw it I bought it. I did my first year translation project on that book and now I need to read it from start to finish.

So that's all for now. If you wanna know what I'm reading at all times, my Goodreads profile is open and you can add me as a friend if you want :) This is it

Fast Book Reviews: Losing It

Hello cuties! I'm here to bring you another Fast Book Review, the first of the New Year (PS: Happy New Year everyone!) and this is also special because it's the first "New Adult" book I review. This means the book has sexual content, not to the extreme, and it's mostly talked about not performed if that makes any sense (?) Anyway if you are against that kind of book I recommend you to stay away from this book, but if you have never read and you wanna give it a shot, I would recommend this book. It was one of the first books I read of this category, so it's new to me too.

  

Losing It is about a 22-year-old girl called Bliss that is in her senior year of college and is still a virgin. Now, if you hate the typical plot where the poor girl is virgin and she can't have sex because some kind of trauma or because no one wants to have sex with her, you're lucky, because this is not how the book goes. And that is one of my favorite things about it, you expect Bliss to be stereotypical, but she's not, and in my opinion she's just like a normal girl, like you, like me. She has fears, and she overcomes them. She doesn't know the first thing about dating or love but she's not dumb. She's independent, opinionated, and has a mind of her own. She's weird and awkward like most of us are, she's simply herself..

Then we met Garrick and I'm not gonna tell you much about him because I can't without giving too much of the book away but what I can tell you is: bar, hot guy reading Shakespeare, accent, British, and the rest is history.

This book gather some of my favorite things in the world, hot teachers (is this weird?), British guys, strong female character, acting, theatre and a lot (and I mean A LOT) of funny references to bands, movies and books. I mean, Harry Potter could be consider a big part of the novella that comes after this book (Keeping Her) so...

Plot wise, the book is amazing. It's really fast so you don't get bored, it has a lot of characters and character development, it takes you inside the world of Bliss life and I swear to you that you will wanna live there forever.

I would really recommend this book to anyone 16+ if you are OK with reading sex. People would probably rate it 18+ but I believe that at 16 you are mature enough to understand and appreciate it. 

It's really an amazing book about the choices that we have to take in life, career choices, work choices, love choices, and how one girl manages it all.

Favorite Book Quote: “Sometimes, saying the first thing that came to mind went well. Sometimes simple and honest worked the best.” - Cora Carmack 

Fast Book Reviews: Divergent

Welcome people, I'm here with another fast book review for you, Christmas edition! Well not really, but it is a book I read on Christmas day so it counts haha! This time I'll be reviewing Divergent by Veronica Roth. I've had this book on my shelf for quite some time, but I had to study so I couldn't read it, but now I'm free for the holidays and I'm all back on it. Thanks for reading!

In Divergent we are presented with a post-apocalyptic world that has been splitted into 5 factions that represents different core values. Those that believed the world failed because of selfishness formed Abnegation. Those that believed it was due to ignorance formed Erudite, always seeking for knowledge. Those who felt that lies were the cause of the problems formed Candor, pledging to always speak the truth. Those who felt aggression and power-hunger were the cause became Amity. And finally, those who felt that cowardice was the root of the problems formed Dauntless, the faction of the courageous and strong.

Every year, every 16-year-old has to choose to what faction they're gonna belong for the rest of their lives, and this could mean having to leave your family behind. So we meet Beatrice, a girl from Abnegation and learn a little bit about how life in her faction goes by. But during her preliminary test to see what faction is recommended to her, something goes wrong.

We are then taken into her journey through the initiation process in one of the factions and met Four, a handsome, really mean and a bit scary instructor. But nothing is what it seems and the book is full of twist and turns, it doesn't have a dull moment. Some of the "plot twists" are a bit obvious and that is one of the things I have to criticize, but it's one of the few.

The book is really fast paced, you can't put it down, and you never get bored of a chapter or a situation and that is an extremely good thing. The characters are really well developed, specially the main ones, and most of them have surprises that you found out as the book progresses.

Beatrice "Tris", the protagonist, is amazing. I really like her independence, her will to do whatever she needs to do, and that she accepts the reality that is thrown upon her and acts according to it, she doesn't even think about giving up, it's not an option. She represents the values that the faction where she was born inculcated in her, but she adapts to new rules or at least try.

The love story in this book is amazing. Is not that kind of sickish love that makes you want to throw up. It's cute, and funny, and extremely hot. Let me just say, Tris is a lucky girl ;) IT makes you want more, NEED MORE, and ugh OTP right here.

The last thing I wanna say, and it's something that made me really love this book, is one of the differences between it and a lot of other dystopian novels. It has to do with the fact that the government doesn't force the citizens to do something, the can choose by themselves what they want to live by, they chose to live like this, and this makes you realize that there isn't a need for a dictatorship government for problems to arise. And the fact that I believe all of this problems didn’t' came after a war necessarily, they came to be after the constant seek for peace, I believe they got too carried away looking for ways to make peace that they cross a line and  then it was impossible for them to return.

Overall it's a really well paced and written book, that I would recommend to everyone who likes dystopian themed novels and action books with a bit of love. Oh and YAY for the female heroin!

Favorite book quote: “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” ― Veronica Roth, Divergent

Bits of inspiration

Do you know that feeling when you find a song that you totally relate to and makes you feel all warm inside? That song that it's like listening to your strugles, your story? That song that teaches you something, that makes you realize what path you should follow? That feeling is one of the best feelings ever!

It happened to me recently. It doesn't matter what type of music you are into, the lyrics are what matter, and the way you relate to them. So today I just wanted to share with you the last song that made me feel like that. 

I don't know if everyone is familiar with The X Factor, and the artists that come out of it. I know the whole prejudice that people have with them, and a lot of opinions against but I want all of you that are reading this to take a minute and listen to this song, and read the lyrics because I can understand if you don't like the sound or the type of music, but the lyrics and their voices are freaking amazing, so yeah... 

I'm talking about the winners of the 2011 UK X Factor, Little Mix. Their second album came out last month in the UK and on youtube (?) and their sound is much more mature and fresh and their harmonies and the fact that they write their own songs is admirable. But I want to focus on one of the songs, which is actually their second single, called Little Me.



I'm just asking for 5 minutes of your time to watch the video, and listen to the lyrics. This song has so much meaning to me, and as the girls said themselves, it's about what you would want to tell your younger self about how to face the world, and the problems we all encounter. I hope you feel as touched as I felt because it's an incredible feeling :) 

"I’d tell her to speak up, tell her to shout out, talk a bit louder, be a bit prouder. Tell her she’s beautiful, wonderful, everything she doesn’t see"

Age crisis - Part 2.

So in case you were wondering I'm having another age crisis. Or the same age crisis. At this point I don't even know.

I started working at a bank, the most important in my country, and everyone tells you that it's a job for life, that I'm going to be really happy there and my life would basically consist of it BUT I'm not sure I want that. Sure I was the one that applied for the job, and it's an amazing job, don't get me wrong. Everyone is so nice and I'm learning a lot, and saving money for the trips I wanna make, but I know for a fact I'm not made for it.

I want to be an actress ok? It's so hard to say it. I don't know if it's because of the way people look at you when you tell them, or because I know it's most likely not going to happen. Ever. But I can't help to dream about it, and it's killing me. In my country you can't live only working as an actor, because the market is not big enough and it's really difficult to be taken seriously. So basically my dream consist on going to the States or London and study acting, but for that I need a support, a job, a career and I'm not sure about any of that.

What I don't want is to wake up one day and realise I'm 40 and I'm still in my country, still working at the bank, and really unhappy. I know, I'm only 20, but this is the age to give acting a go, not 30, not 40. 20's are the best age for that and there is where the key of my crisis is, the feeling that I'm never going to be able to accomplish my dreams. I don't believe in giving up, but sometimes it's so difficult...

GOD I HATE BEING AN ADULT.

Age crisis, life decisions and Jonas Brothers

This is going to be a rant full of crying and feelings because I'm emotionally unstable right now. 

So I'm a huge Jonas fan. I've been there since 2007, support them through everything, fighting for them to come to my country, being in the management of the fans club, etc, etc. I literary grew up with them, and I'm going to be forever grateful for everything they help me through, even though they probably don't have idea. They came to my country this year, 2013, the same year in which they announced their break up. I'm not going to say I was surprised because I could kinda feel we were going there, but I expected it to be after the new CD, the one that fans have been waiting for freaking 4 years.

Don't get me wrong, I love them, I always will, but I don't agree with the way they managed things. What I mean is that the least they could do was releasing the album, at least on iTunes, so the fans could buy it and appreciate it. Maybe do a goodbye concert somewhere meaningful, I don't know, all I know is that this wasn't the correct way.

Why am I writing this now? Well today they released the album called LiVe for the Team Jonas members, which I am, and I downloaded it. It includes 10 live songs, and 5 studio version of new songs that would have been on their V album, and you know what? THE SONGS ARE FUCKING AMAZING. I swear I can't believe they didn't promote this, GOD it's so freaking good, I want to punch them right in the face and make them release the whole album. I don't understand, I guess it was timing, but I can't believe they did this, at this particular time. There is no need to say that I was like really upset about the whole break up and it made me think about a lot of things and ask myself a lot of questions about my life.

For example I realize I am 20 years old. I don't know where my teen years went, they passed by so quickly and I am now trying to act like this adult but on the inside I still think and feel like a 16-year-old and I'm trapped there, between I-don't-know-what-the-fuck-to-do-with-my-life and I-only-want-to-be-on-the-internet-all-day-long and now I've got this new job, a very important one may I add, and I'm freaking scared, UGH AND I'M THINKING ALL OF THIS BECAUSE THE JONAS BROTHERS FUCKING BROKE UP.

Anyway, in case you didn't notice, I'm in like this age crisis, and yeah. Hope I'm not the only one, and if you are going through the same, talk to me pleaseeeeeeee, I need someone who understand me

Movie review: Catching Fire

OH MY GOD. I guess those are the words that sum up the movie for me.

I've been meaning to type this review for a couple of days now but it took me seeing the movie twice and thinking about it for two more days to finally get to it. I still can't put my thoughts in order so the review is probably gonna be all over the place, sorry about that.

I should probably tell you first that I have read all three Hunger Games books a couple of years ago and of course I love them (how could you not?) so my expectations for this movie were pretty high and I'm pleased to say that it is totally better than I expected. Oh and there’s going to be a picture at the end of the review from a scene in the movie. If you haven’t watched the movie yet and don’t want spoilers don’t scroll pass the SPOILER ALERT message.

As a fan of books, I'm not so critical when it comes to movie adaptations because I understand that it is not easy to create something that pleases if not every, the majority of the book fans, simply because directors and screenwriters are not in our heads. I also believe that a big part of the adaptation has to do with how much of the world was described on the actual book and how much was open to imagination. But this movie OH MY GOD.

I have to start with Jennifer Lawrence's performance because it was just pure gold. She's an amazing actress and anyone that tells me that she's overrated I don't know what the heck you are watching. She's sincere, fresh, she is Katniss. I just can't imagine anyone else playing Katniss the way she does. She made me cry and laugh and her expressions made the whole movie x100 times better. And the last 10 seconds of the movie, watching her face go from pain and desperation to the I'm-going-to-fucking-kill-everyone face deserves a freaking Oscar I swear. The other performances were amazing too, everyone was really believable and on point with their characters. The stand outs in my opinion, besides Jennifer, are Elizabeth Banks and Jenna Malone. Jenna is an AMAZING Johanna, I was happily surprised by her.

The movie as such is awesome. The scenarios, Hawaii, the arena was just like I've pictured it in my mind, the way it tells the story of the rebellion, the districts, the capitol, the woods, every single thing. The message of the book, something that could have easily been lost in the movie, shines throughout it and watching that was awesome. 

I love how they fixed a lot of the things people did wrong in the first movie. For example, as a result of not having Madge (in my opinion the biggest fault of the first movie) Katniss had to see the streaming of the rebellion in the districts somewhere, and they came up with the train idea which I think was really clever. The only thing that I really missed in the movie was Haymitch’s story because it is, after all, what gives Katniss the idea of how to end with the arena but I guess they couldn't put everything there. 

The quotes from the book, OMG so many. I love them, I love when that happens. And all the little things, the pearl, the 'favorite color' conversation,  so similar to the book. A real gift for the book fans.

Oh I almost forgot, Liam, Josh and Sam are freaking hot!

I really don't know what else to say besides how grateful I am to Francis Lawrence and the people who wrote the script, to the actors and to Suzanne Collins. Also thank you to Lionsgate for giving the movie more budget so it could be THIS cool.

I would recommend this movie to everyone, I think that the message behind it is so important and the fact that a heroine like Katniss is a role model for young girls shows you that not everything is lost. I really think you should watch this movie if you haven't yet, like really. 

Best scene: Hands down the elevator scene. Jennifer’s face is just priceless.

SPOILER ALERT: 

God I love her!

Fast Book Reviews: Billy and Me

Hello world! Second fast review of the blog and I'm really excited about this one! First of all sorry about my lack of updates, I've been studying a lot for university (I'm studying translation) and I've also been reading quite a lot. I first heard about this book in one of Carrie Fletcher's videos on YouTube but when it appeared on my GoodReads recommendation list I knew I had to read it. I started it the day after finishing a trilogy and the least thing I wanted to do was read about other characters BUT it caught me immediately. So without further ado here is my fast book review for Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher:

At the beginning of the book we met Sophie and the first thing I noticed about her is that she's so easy to like that it's impossible to not feel for her. As she tells her story in a very endearing way, the feelings only grow fonder and although there are some times you want to scream at her, mostly you agree with her.

Giovanna Fletcher presented us with a really cute easy-to-read story about every girl's dream basically. A girl who, without knowing, falls in love with a movie star who's filming a book adaptation in her small town. What makes this book so much better, and set it apart from the other current romantic novels is the darkness that it has. Sophie has a secret, something that affected her life so much that shaped her into who she is. I felt really connected with Sophie, and I don't know if it was because I have a similar life story (not the part about the handsome boyfriend anyway) or because of the way Giovanna wrote her, either way it was just really sentimental to read. 

It has so much character development that it's insane, but in a really good way. The relationships between the characters change by the minute, they grow or deteriorate, but the change is there. It's not a plain story, it's really full of twists and turns that you don't expect.

Finally, another thing that I really enjoyed was the truth on everything. How people behave around her when she became the movie star's girlfriend, and how that behavior changed from when she was just Sophie, although she never really changed, not in that way at least. How there are mean people, and maybe people around them don't realize they are mean or don't want to see it. How someone deals with different life changing situations, a lot of them, in a really short period of time. It was all really well described and the message powerfully transmitted.

So, I would recommend this book to anyone who fancy a good love story, or just like to read about people and relationships and about a girl's life being turned upside down in one single action. This book is beautiful and deserves all the support in the world.

Favorite book quote: “Love makes life worth living, not money” ― Giovanna Fletcher, Billy and Me

Fast Book Reviews: Delirium

So this is a new section called Fast Book Reviews, where I'm going to write really small reviews for some of the books I read and if you like we can discuss some things about them. So yeah, here is my reaview for Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I've just finished Pandemonium (the second book of the trilogy) yesterday but I want to start with Delirium, so without further ado, here is my small review for Delirium:

In Delirium, Lauren Oliver introduce us to this world in where love is a disease and every bit of humans lives is controlled by the government and it just feels so real that it scares you.

The writing style is really good and easy to follow, though I have to say that the book is a bit heavy towards the middle, it pick up a lot in the last 80-100 pages and it just blows your mind.

What I like the most about it is that it leaves you thinking. Thinking about love, and about how it affects everything in the world, human relationships, books, movies, the nature, everything. Thinking about how governments could be in the future, and a little bit about how they are now, because the lies, hiding the reality and the loss of freedom is something that's happening in our world, today.

I really like the characters in general. I had some problems with some of them at the beginning but as the story goes on you start appreciating them (don't wanna say "love", they'll think I'm infected).

The ending is something else. All I'm going to say is, feel happy that you are going to read this book when the next book in the trilogy is already out, because having to wait for the second one, must have been insane. 

Overall Delirium is a really good book, it leaves you think about all the messages that it has and wanting for more, and it only can get better on the next one... 

Favorite book quote: “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge. That's what it is: an edge; a razor. It draws up through the center of your life, cutting everything in two. Before and after. The rest of the world falls away on either side.” ― Lauren Oliver, Delirium

Movie review: City of Bones

Yesterday I went with a couple of friends to the movies to watch The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. This is my review of the movie, I'm writing it mostly because I feel the need to rant so there's gonna be SPOILERS, if you didn't watch don't read...

First of all, I've read the books (1 to 3) and I love them so I had my expectations regarding this, but I was realistic because movie adaptations of books are not always good, so I was mentally prepared in case something went wrong. So here are my thought and feelings about this movie:

The movie starts with New York City and we arrive at Clary's house, nicely done, not exactly what I imagine but I supposed nobody is inside my head so I don't really care. The first problem that I have here, what is it with all the runes that Clary's drawing? It's just me or this is not in the books? I get that they had to later give the idea that Clary was remembering what she was not supposed to but that scene in the room with all the drawings was just out of place idk. I really enjoy the interaction between Clary and Simon, I think that their relationship was reproduced nicely (contrary to Clary and Jace’s) and all the scenes at the bar and at Pademonium were nice. Pandemonium, ok so the way they get to the place "for the first time" was just no, and I get that they had to make that scene shorter because it is an long enough movie but at least go to the other room to kill the demon, like please.

I have a big problem with the cast, and I know everyone was angry about Jamie and blah blah blah, but it's more than just Jamie. Alec. He seems to be like 30 years old, he doesn't look fucking 18 and don't you dare to tell me that he does, because it's not true. Valentine, I really just, where is the polished man with the good manners and the proper vocabulary? Because all I saw was a fucking destroyed 30-some-year-old with a really bad attitude who is incapable to do everything Valentine does on the books. Jamie, my problem with him wasn't even that I don't like him, which I don't but that's not the point, it was that is he's not muscular or cute. Instead he is creepy, anorexic and just not Jace. And I know Cassandra says that she had Jamie in mind when he thought about Jace but DON'T FUCKING LIE, BECAUSE HE'S NOT DESCRIBED LIKE THAT ON YOUR BOOKS. Looking it at the bright side, I really loved Isabelle OMG she was amazing. Clary and Jocelyn were just like I pictured them and they even looked alike which was a great plus. And Magnus was GREAT. I didn't mind Simon or Luke, not like I picture them but it didn't bother me either.

The whole destroying Clary's house was amazing and I gotta say that the monsters were pretty good and I really liked the overall. But when Jace comes to rescue her is so different from the book, man I really like that chapter on the book and it was just not the same. Then the Institute and I imagine it a little different but the architecture is impressive.

Other things that I really didn't like: Why in hell is the portal in the Institute and why all the fucking weird things around it. Like when Jace grabs a piece of it and like touches Clary, THAT was creepy. Or how about when it breaks and instead of mirror-like glass like it was supposed to be (remember Jace keeps a piece) it's fucking SNOW? What the hell? I don't understand why they did all of that in the Institute and not in the old hospital or whatever the big old building in the books was. Another thing was Jace and Clary's relationship was like really rushed and it didn't developed properly which made it seem forced instead of loving and caring. One minute they didn't know each other, the next they were kissing (favorite scene have to say) and the next they were siblings, just like that, REALLY? -.-

What else? The Vampire Hotel thing, first Vampires didn't care about the fucking cup, second they took Simon as a rat, a freaking rat, I never saw a rat on the movie, and then when they find Simon like hanging in the middle of this thing with all the chains, like WHAT? Oh and the music during the epic fight with the vampires was extremely annoying, it wasn't a fucking disco, they were fighting to their death and you put that electronic shit, I just can't. Valentine hitting Clary and making her drink his blood out of the cup, WHAT? the cup wasn't even for that, jeez, and that fight between Jace and Valentine I think it ruin their whole relationship. It wasn't like that at all, Valentine love Jace in his own twisted sick way and Jace thought about following him because he's his father, so please tell me how they are going to fix this problem if they do a second movie because I don't know and it is kinda relevant. Hodge's story wasn't even explained in the movie. Luke's house I pictured it in like a valley with a lot of grass and far away from the city and it was like in the center of the city -.- Oh and Clary's ability to invent new runes wasn't supposed to be explored until the next book so why is it in this movie? WHY?

There were some more things that I didn't like but they were small and I really don't care about them. Now some of the things I did like. The green house scene was beautiful and Demi Lovato on the background was just perfect. I was highly impressed with some of the lines that they kept from the book, really sassy and fun lines, mostly Jace's but some from others too. I also like the movie as a whole, I did enjoy it and the most important thing: IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.

Having said all of this, if I had to rate the film as a film, I would give it 3 out of 5, as a book adaptation maybe a little less. Good, fun but nothing memorable. I do hope though, they film the second and third movies, and maybe finish the series there? idk just a thought.

Thanks for reading and if you have something to say, please leave a comment!

Books

So today I went with a friend to the city center to hang out a bit and talk because we haven't seen each other in forever (relax, she isn't Sam). And we were really near my favorite bookshop so I asked her to come in with me. First of all, I gotta tell you that I have a big obsession with books, like big big, like I-wish-I-had-more-money-to-buy-books big. I read whatever I come across and I like almost everything. Well my friend really likes to read too (thankfully) so she came with me.

This bookshop is HUGE, at least for my country's standards and it's amazing. It has all kind of books, new ones, old ones, used ones, it's just heaven. What I love most about it it's this little place away from the noise where you can order a coffee and just sit and enjoy a good book. I know that maybe in the US or other countries it's really common but here it isn't. I just really really enjoy it.

Well thing is my shopaholic instinct kicked in and I HAD TO buy some book because I was dying. I didn't have money so I used my emergency credit card that my grandma gave me, which is obviously for emergencies. The thing is my grandma didn't consider it an emergency but whatever haha. I bought two Rick Riordan books because I'm kinda obsessed with his writing at the moment, “The mark of Athena” and “The red pyramid”. I have already read Mark of Athena on my iPod but I had to buy it for my bookshelf, it's such a good book.

On a side note, if you haven't, please go and read Rick Riordan stuff. First the five Percy Jackson's books and then Heroes of the Olympus and The Kane Chronicles, you are not going to regret it.

All of this was to tell you why I love books so much. People always ask me why I prefer to read fantasy, dystopian or alternate reality books and the reason is really simple. I just believe in books as a way to escape reality and I just don’t need to read about things that happen in my life because I already have my life and I just want to forget about it for a bit. So I read about vampires, or demigods, or magicians or the future, really anything that don’t reassemble my life.

On another note, take a piece of advice: find a book that really fits you. I believe everyone in this earth has the taste for reading; they just don’t spend enough time searching for the perfect book. Explore literature, try new things, even other languages or things that you don’t think are going to like, it’s just a matter of finding the right book for you. When I was little, my mom read a lot and she always used to take me with my father to the bookstore and let me choose whatever book I wanted. I try a lot of different things until I found what I like. Give it a try; it’s really worth it in the end.

Well that’s all for today, if you want you can comment your favorite books and we can discuss literature, I LOVE talking about books haha!

Oh and btw I forgot to mention that I only told my grandma I bought one book, opss ie (?)