Book vs Movie: If I Stay

By Sara E Thompto

The Book

If I Stay, written by Gayle Forman, follows the point of view of seventeen-year-old Mia Hall. Mia has always felt a bit out of sorts; she's a cellist in a rock 'n' roll family and isn't quite as outgoing as the people that surround her. She has a close friend, Kim, but even there she's always been in her own world.

She does have one person who fits her just right though, Adam. He may play guitar in a band gaining fame, Shooting Star, and he might be able to rock-talk with her parents, but he also loves Mia more than anything else and loves her deep passion for the cello.

But after her entire family is involved in a horrific car accident, leaving Mia in a coma, she has an out-of-body experience where she learns she has the choice: to stay and live, or to die, leaving her life and Adam behind.

Through flashbacks you learn all that Mia loves and holds dearly - her family, friends, Adam, and the cello. But, as the story continues we learn the decision is not as simple as it seems. What at first appears to be a cut and dry decision soon becomes more difficult than anyone could have ever guessed.

If I Stay is a true tear-jerker and I would highly recommend a box of tissues nearby while reading.

My only true complaint about the book is the wording used from time to time. It didn't really feel as though Mia and Adam were teenagers. I know they are both supposed to be more mature... but sometimes certain wording didn't flow well and it felt as though Forman hit the thesaurus verse working it out for herself.

With that said, I would still definitely recommend If I Stay. The plot was a nice change of pace for a young adult novel. It is well worth the emotional roller-coaster to learn more about the life of Mia Hall and the answer to the question, will she stay and live, or will she leave this world forever?

The Movie

Refreshingly, the movie follows the book quite closely; something that doesn't seem to happen regularly when it comes to turning a book into a movie. The movie kept the small details such as little conversations about coffee and "categories" Mia and her friend Kim are always putting people into, which helped the movie keep the same vibe as the book.

My only offenses with the movie are very small.

Chloë Grace Moretz and Jamie Blackley were well casted as Mia and Adam, making up the main roles of the movie. Leading up to the movie I noticed far more hype over Blackley than Moretz (especially on the movies official instagram) but after seeing the movie I think that hype needs to be switched. Moretz did a beautiful job playing Mia, especially the more emotional scenes when Mia deals with loss. Blackley on the other hand shined during his parts playing music, but seemed a little lackluster during the more emotional scenes. Sometimes he gave off an air of cockiness when he was supposed to be portraying his love for Mia.

Overall though Moretz and Blackley were a fantastic choice for Mia and Adam.

My one other minor complaint dealing with the actual portrayal of the characters was the major amount of kissing. Whether the script called for it, the director took liberties, or perhaps a bit of both... I do surely hope Moretz and Blackley had some attraction towards one another, because it felt as though at least 90% of their scenes together ended in a hefty make-out session.

Other than the fantastic acting and the wonderful story line, the other main reason to watch this movie is the music. The movie kept right on track with most of the music the book discusses, which presents a fabulous soundtrack. Adams music is on par with how it was described in the book as well, and Blackley did a great job, particularly with the last song in the movie.

My only problem with the music is also my only real big problem with the movie: the final song played.

Small spoiler alert ahead!

The last song is the song that helps Mia make her decision to stay or move on. In the movie Adam writes a song for Mia and plays it for her on his guitar, while she is in her coma. In the book Adam puts headphones on Mia while she is in a coma, and the song is done by cellist Yo-Yo Ma who plays Andante con poco e moto rubato. My issue with Adam being the one who plays the last song in the movie is that it makes it feel like Mia should stay for no other reason than to stay with him, where as in the book it makes it feel like Mia should stay because of her own passions for music and her own future. The symbolical differences between the two are huge.

Overall I would highly recommend this movie. The acting was good, the plot stuck close to the book, and the soundtrack is definitely worth a listen.

Just make sure you have some tissues handy. You'll need them.

Book vs. Movie: The Giver

By Sara E Thompto

*Some very minor spoilers may be present in the movie portion of this review if you have never read The Giver.

When I was in seventh grade my English class was assigned The Giver by Lois Lowry and I wasn't thrilled to read it. 

First off, I hated being assigned to read something I didn't want to read, and second, I wasn't a huge fan of dystopian story lines. But, I read it anyway because that is what you're supposed to do when assigned a book in school.

I'm glad I did too because it has stuck with me ever sense as one of my favorite childhood books.   

The Book

The Giver portrays a future world that has given up on individuality and has morphed into a world of sameness.

The world is literally black and white. People are all the same skin color, boys all have one hair style and girls all have the same hair style. Clothes do not vary from person to person. No one is an individual - every person and every thing is the same.

There are also no physical relationships, and there are no career decisions or educational decisions. Each person is assigned a career path, a spouse and two children - one boy and one girl.

On the other hand, there is also no violence and the world is at peace.

But the question becomes, at what expense is this peaceful existence?  What has been giving up? No one knows or understands, because it is not in their mind to know or understand. That is, not until Jonas, a boy of 12, is given the career as The Receiver of Memories.

There is always one receiver - one person who knows the worlds history who can help guide the society from making bad decisions that might lead them into a fitful world again.

But what about the beauty that was lost? What of the joy and love?

These are all questions Jonas not only asks himself but asks The Giver, the person who was previously The Receive.

Although this is a young adult book, I believe the message to be quite powerful. Especially to those who are young adults. The message of individuality, love and culture is a strong message for young people to learn. With the good, comes the bad. But is it worth giving up the good to get rid of the bad?

These types of questions arise in The Giver and I strongly recommend reading this book if you've never done so before.

The Movie

When the movie was announced I wasn't sure what to think. Successful adaptations are rare. This one was no different - it definitely did not follow the book to a T but it was decent representation.

I'll start with my issues first though:

First off, in the book Jonas is a 12 year old boy. In the movie he is written as an 18 year old adult. I think this change made an interesting plot as far as the movie is concerned, but it also changed the entire feel of the story line.

The book is more innocent - to give a 12 year old child the pain of the entire world is a heart wrenching concept to grasp. No person wants to be the one to ruin a child's innocence, let alone spoil their innocence from zero pain to all of the pain the world holds.

Changing Joanas from 12 to 18 lessens that blow in my mind. In our society, an 18 year old is much more likely to know of many of the worlds pains. I understand Jonas doesn't, because he doesn't live in our world, but the age change did make a huge difference in my empathy for the character.

The other issue I had with the movie was how the mother (Katie Holmes) treated Jonas. In the book the mother and father were always nurturing, it seemed. Or, as nurturing as parents could be who lived in that world. It's what made the lies and lack of trust heartbreaking. However, in the movie, Jonas's mother was cold, and followed the rules to a T, which made her not as likable. It's one of the main points of the movie I was extremely disappointed about.

The only other plot change I found more startling was the role of the community leader, acted by Meryl Steep. She seemed blood thirsty and evil, something that was never portrayed in the book. And she definitely seemed to know more of the world than someone in the community should know, other than the Receiver. Her character was a villain which was not needed.

On the other end, there are quite a few things I loved about the movie. I enjoyed all of the acting. And, even though I had some hesitation about the casting of Jeff Bridges as The Giver, I thought the casting was completely well done.

I also loved how they kept the beginning in black and white (true to the book) and had color develop as Jonas began to learn of color. The visual was a nice change of pace and the development visually interesting to see.

Lastly and surprisingly, I love the additive of a love interest for Jonas. I mean, sure, in the book Jonas has an interest in Fiona. But the movie takes it further and a genuine love story develops. When I saw this love interest in the previews I was definitely worried. But, I think it played out well on screen and was written in a way that didn't detract from the main plot points I admire in the book (unlike the changes I mentioned above, which did detract).

Overall I would recommend seeing this movie, however I wouldn't watch it thinking you're going to see a film depicting a beloved childhood book.

If you watch it for what it is: a futuristic dystopian movie, than I think it's worth seeing.

Book vs. Movie: "Vampire Academy"

By Sara E Thompto

I started off buying "Vampire Academy" on a whim. I saw the trailer for the movie, and quite honestly was not impressed. But, I wanted a quick, easy read and tend to like books that become movies so I thought “why not” and gave it a go.

What happened next? Well, it certainly didn’t fit my expectations and, although it was a fairly easy read, it wasn’t as quick as I had wanted. I fell into the rabbit hole; into the world where magic and vampires live, which author, Richelle Mead, painted quite beautifully. I came out on the other side, seven days later, having consumed all six books in the "Vampire Academy" series stunned at the world I had just experienced.

The Book

The first "Vampire Academy" book follows Rose Hathaway, dhampire (half vampire, half human) who is a novice guardian for the Moroi (magical “good” vampires). Particularly she is the guardian-in-training for her friend, Lissa, otherwise known as Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, the last vampire of her bloodline, which happens to be one of 12 royal bloodlines in their vampire world.

The book starts as they come back to St. Vladimir's Academy, an academy for Vampires, after two years on the run. St. Vladimir's not only trains novice guardians in combat and moroi in honing their magic, but also offers protection from the third type of Vampire, the evil Vampire species known as the Strigoi. Everyone wants to know why the two girls would run off the in first place, since St. Vladimir's is meant to keep them safe from the outside world. But, that’s just one of the mysteries that center around the girls in the first book.

Not to mention, Rose and Lissa have to deal with trying to hide a secret magic no one else seems to possess but Lissa, or the fact Rose can't seem to hold back from any fight, whether vocal or physical. Plus, in the end, these two girls are teenagers, which can be a real struggle in and of itself.

For me personally this was the first storyline I read with a strong female lead where it presented her as completely competent and able to handle herself, both physically and mentally. Rose is another Katniss Everdeen, but in another world where she also gets to be a teenage girl. It’s not all about “trying to get the guy” though there is definitely a romantic storyline in the series that grows as the series continues. This first book, however, mainly focuses on friendship, self control, and Rose learning to become a bad-ass guardian-in-training.

After finishing the entire series I could hardly wait to watch the movie, no matter how unimpressive the movie trailer was.

Unfortunately, the unimpressive trailer was a fairly accurate depiction of what to expect from the movie.

Here is why…

The Movie

The first major flaw in this movie was the awful casting. The only character who was spot on was Rose (Zoey Duetch), while almost every other character in the movie didn’t fit the description in the book what-so-ever. At times the poor acting and bad casting choices were so distracting it took away from the plot, which is disappointing since the intricate plot was not so intricate in the movie.

Yes, the movie did follow the same storyline, for the most part, but not a single storyline was fully explored as it was in the book. This left each of the side stories and even the main mystery needing more substance. It’s almost as though one needs to read the books in order to get the full meaning of what is going on. I understand that sometimes scenes in movies need to be skated over, or that bits and pieces need to be cut out all together so the production can fit into a 2 hour time slot. However, some of the most important scenes in this movie were so rushed, they just became confusing or hard to watch. Or, worse, not memorable enough to help connect the pieces later in the movie.

The one thing the movie did do right was keep Rose as independent and strong, though not quite to the point as the book depicted.  

Although I do wish the best for the "Vampire Academy" franchise and hope the movies continue (and hopefully improve with better acting, better special effects, and perhaps better directing along the way) I can’t say I would recommend this movie to anyone right now. I would suggest waiting for it to appear in redbox, and use the rest of your money to run out and buy the book (or all six). Because the books are definitely worth your time and money. The movie - not so much.