Tag Archives: patrick ness

[Alternatives] – Movie Review – A Monster Calls (2016)

Alternatives is the tagline to discuss entertainment outside of literature. It may encompass television, movies, games, and music.


Alternatives
Movie Review –
A Monster Calls (2016)

Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy/Magical Realism, Bullying, Death
Duration: 108 Minutes
Directed By: J. A. Bayona

Written By: Patrick Ness
Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Liam Neeson, Signourey Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell 

A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom’s terminal illness.

Continue reading [Alternatives] – Movie Review – A Monster Calls (2016)

[Alternatives] – Movie Trailers – A Monster Calls (Teaser)

Alternatives is the tagline feature for other forms of entertainment outside of discussing literature. These posts may encompass television, movies, games, and music with a randomized flavour of the moment approach to each post.


Alternatives
Movies Trailers – A Monster Calls (2016)

Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary, Magical Realism 
Duration: N/A
Directed By: J.A Bayona

Screenplay By: Patrick Ness
Starring: Liam Neeson (The Monster), Lewis MacDougall (Conor), Felicity Jones (Conor’s Mom), Signourey Weaver (Conor’s Grandma)
Release Date: Oct 14, 2016

A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom’s terminal illness.


Continue reading [Alternatives] – Movie Trailers – A Monster Calls (Teaser)

[Review] The Rest of Us Just Live Here — Patrick Ness

Book Title                  The Rest of Us Just Live Here
Author:                        Patrick Ness
Number of pages:  352

Synopsis:

patrick ness - the rest of us just live here - book cover (US)What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

(re: Goodreads @ The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness)


Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Two overlapping narratives: 1) a story of your standard YA hero trying to save the world; 2) a story about the background noise simply living their lives (e.g. school/work)
– Nothing really special to note of the setting. There may be holes in the fantasy “world building” but it’s not of importance to the character-driven nature of the story
– Diversity in ensemble with character struggles that feel incredibly real (concerning LGBTQIA, mental illnesses, eating disorders, family issues, etc.)
– Highly quotable. If you enjoy Ness on Twitter, you’ll enjoy parts of the dialogue for sure

the-rest-of-us-just-live-here-patrick-ness-scorecard-600x300

Initial Thoughts

I will not let Nessochism take over this review…but oh my god it hurt to rate this book.

Disclaimer: The copy I read was an ARC given to me by Amanda @ Brains Books and Brawn that she received from an Indigo Teen giveaway.


Continue reading [Review] The Rest of Us Just Live Here — Patrick Ness