A Bowl For the Soul

 AGE WARFARE: A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

I'm sure that most of you have at least one or two dystopian-themed books in your shelves. Aside from vampires and werewolves, dystopian seems to be the rage these days. How can you not love this literary genre? It has all the suspense of an impending future that people are always curious to find out  about. With these stories, you can imagine the future of the world along with the author. I started reading Age Warfare with excitement because I'm a major fan of dystopian novels. Add science fiction to it, and then this story becomes the perfect package. This is the debut novel of Juan Carlos Cantu and we are very pleased that he approached us to review it. 

Synopsis:

A social movement pushing for change brews in the United States. The crushing difference between the appalling conditions the younger generation (called limiters) have to endure and the opulent lifestyles of the older folks (called precollapsers) is increasingly unsustainable. The year is 2053, and the compulsive use of technology has molded human interaction, behavior, and learning capabilities, degrading them to a level which decades earlier would have been thought of as pathological. The world is mired in ecological crisis, as the governments around the world intrusively impose regulations aimed at moderating energy consumption growth in an increasingly strained planet. 

This is the world in which Ethan Maxwell is born: a world of harsh conditions; one that apparently no other youth around him seems to have a problem with. His story is one of transformation, one of survival –and one of hope. Accompany Ethan in the journey that takes him from an inconspicuous high school in Boston, Massachusetts, to the zenith of a worldwide social movement that threatens to rock the very structures that keep his generation oppressed and neglected. Age Warfare is the tale of a not-so-foreign future that paints the picture of what could happen if we continue in the current path, but also one that leaves us with the hope of knowing that there is always another opportunity to start anew.

From the beginning of the story, it has captured my interest immediately. I was hanging on to pages after pages, and found it hard to stop reading it. Age Warfare is a unique, wonderful story that taught me a lesson: We have to take good care of the ecosystem. Unlike most dystopian novels, Age Warfare shows a detailed version of what will happen if the society doesn't do something to stop the degradation of our environment. Age Warfare describes a possible future if humanity keeps squandering the natural resources and earth has finally taken its toll from global warming.

Film Delicacy

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

Hi Bookworms! I finally got the time to watch Catching Fire last night and I'm not disappointed! The second instalment of this epic trilogy is an improvement from the first movie. It continues from the end of The Hunger Games where our star-crossed lover, Katniss and Peeta (or Peeniss for those fans out there; no pun intended) become the victors of the 74th Hunger Games. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta has to participate in the 75th Hunger Games aka Quarter Quell. Quarter Quell happens every 25 years of the Hunger Games and the Capitol will add a twist in the Quarter Quell. This time the tributes from each districts will be taken from the pool of the existing victors. Since the only female victor from District 12 is Katniss, she has to become a tribute again while Peeta volunteer in the stead of Haymitch.

Girl Power!

Katniss and Peeta were the Victor Tribute of District 12

In our previous post about Catching Fire, the overall casting for the new characters introduced  are discussed such as Finnick and Johanna. After watching the movie, I'm very satisfied with Enobaria (she's really feral!), Mags (she's so sweet and have an amazing heart), and Plutarch Heavensbee (he has this sly vibe that suits the character). I'm not too keen on Finnick and Johanna's portrayals; very different from what I had in mind for two of my favourites in the book.While Sam Claflin had definitely hit the gym and packed some serious muscles, his Finnick came off a bit creepy for my taste. I was so looking forward to the Sugar Cube part where he met Katniss for the first time but it was lackluster and well, strange. Johanna was an entirely different matter. Jena Malone's portrayal of Johanna was just okay; not as good as I had imagined but fared better that Claflin's Finnick. I love a strong female character where she doesn't need the saving; instead she saves the boy. Johanna was that kind of girl minus saving the boy part. In the book, Johanna was sarcastic and snarky. Yes, she can be a full blown b*tch but I seriously love that girl. Whereas in the film, Johanna was a little tad too loud but I got to applaud Malone for getting away with two f-bombs during the movie. Even if she's not exactly the Johanna in the book, I still love the Johanna by Jena Malone. She is a real bad-ass chick. Brash and i-don't-give-a-damn attitude; especially when she strip naked in the elevator, it's so hilarious.

A Bowl For the Soul

 TO BE OR NOT TO BE: THE QUEEN OF BAD DECISIONS

“Because some life lessons you just have to learn on your own. You need to set your man bar higher.”- Mary to Daisy; The Queen of Bad Decisions.

Author of Must Love Sandwiches, Janel Gradowski, has released a novella with an ear-catching book title: The Queen of Bad Decisions. As the prequel of Must Love Sandwiches (Bartonville Series), we get to know Daisy better and understand her life dilemmas. This is a great story for those who likes to curl up on their couch to relax and enjoy some light reading.

About The Bartonville Series

Sometimes all you need is one or two bites to satisfy a craving.

That is the principle behind The Bartonville Series. We're all busy. Settling down and spending hours reading a nice, long novel is appealing, but how often do you get to do that? With that thought in mind I am creating a women's fiction series where each book will contain stories of different lengths with companion recipes. There will be flash fiction stories that can be read during a coffee break, novellas that can be devoured over an evening and everything in between, like short stories and novelettes.

Casting Calls

WHO TO CAST: THE INFERNAL DEVICES

Hello bookworms! We are back (again) to the wonderful world of Shadowhunters created by Cassandra Clare; only this time, I would like to ponder about the perfect cast for the trilogy's characters. The Infernal Devices is the prequel to Clare's successful series, The Mortal Instruments (TMI). Personally, I love The Infernal Devices even more than TMI and that's saying a lot (I'm an avid fan of TMI as you can see from my previous posts that highlights the series a few times). It's touching and heartbreaking; you will sigh contentedly once you finish The Infernal Devices I assure you.

The main characters of TID (short for The Infernal Devices) are Tessa Gray, Will Herondale, and Jem Carstairs. Being the feminist that I am, I'm gonna start with Tessa first. See, choosing Tessa might be a fickle because her height has been mentioned a lot of times during the course of TID. Although, I don't think that will be much problem since the actress can wear high heels or the director can play with some angle shoots that gives an illusion of height. I've heard a few people favouring Astrid Berges Frisbey, Emilia Clarke, Sarah Bolger, and Kaya Scodelario as front runners so I'll be dissecting (not literally!) each of this four amazing actress for the part.