Book and Movie Comparison – Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry, and Tobias Iaconis

Five Feet Apart was a film I watched because I remembered someone once mentioning it was a good film, and it had Cole Sprouce in it (I was in my Riverdale phase... it didn't last too long).

I actually found this book in my brother's room, and stole it because I've wanted to read it since I watched the film, but didn't want to buy yet another book that would sit on my shelf for ages before I finally read it. Unfortunately, after two days of me having it, he asked for it back, so I had to hurry up and read it before he broke into my house and stole it back.

The Movie

Stella Grant (Haley Lu Richardson) is every bit a seventeen-year-old… she’s attached to her laptop and loves her best friends. But unlike most teenagers, she spends much of her time living in a hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control – all of which is put to the test when she meets an impossibly charming fellow patient named Will Newman (Cole Sprouse).

There’s an instant flirtation, though restrictions dictate that they must maintain a safe distance between them. As their connection intensifies, so does the temptation to throw the rules out the window and embrace that attraction. Further complicating matters is Will’s potentially dangerous rebellion against his ongoing medical treatment. Stella gradually inspires Will to live life to the fullest, but can she ultimately save the person she loves when even a single touch is off limits?

There are few movies that I watch, and then subsequently force my whole family to watch. This was one of those. Stella and Will have CF, and are both in the hospital for different treatments. But while Stella is organised, and sticks to a strict regimen with regards to meds and looking after her body, Will has practically given up. He is simply waiting for his 18th birthday, when he will finally have control of his own life, and can walk away from all the hospitals and live the rest of his life seeing the world, and doing what he wants to do. But when he meets Stella, she forces him to start looking after himself, and it seems he has finally found something to stay alive for.

This is a heart wrenching film to watch. A love story, but the protagonists can't get within 6 feet of each other, lest one passes on germs that could kill the other. And yet, they find ways to spend time together, growing closer, while staying far apart.

I don't know how many times I've watched this film to date, but I know I've enjoyed it every single time (even though I'm now very definitely out of my Riverdale phase, and Cole Sprouce is not quite so exciting).

The Book

Can you love someone you can never touch?

Stella Grant likes to be in control - even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

Amazon UK • Amazon US

As I mentioned, I stole this book from my brother, and when he started asking for it back, I knew I had a limited time in which to read it before I lost my chance and the book was removed from my person. Reading this book quickly was no problem. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I read the whole thing in two days, and I did read some of it while at work because I didn't want to put it down.

I loved seeing both Stella's and Will's point of view as the story progressed. Every chapter switches perspective, so you know what they're both thinking, and watch as they both fall in love, and struggle with the distance. They are so close, and yet their disease keeps them painfully far apart from each other. 

Comparison

Honestly, it is quite hard to compare this movie and book. I don't think I have come across a movie that is so similar to the book. If I didn't know that the book came first, I might've said that the book came after the movie, it was so alike. It is almost astounding how similar they are, especially considering how information, scenes, and sometimes entire characters are cut while making the movie, and the dialogue is generally heavily edited.

The book had decidedly more information about CF, as it is told by the people living with it, rather than in the film, where you are just watching the characters. Stella, in particular, describes the ins and outs of it, what it is, how she struggles with it, and what the dangers are. In addition, Will's B Cepacia diagnosis is explored in depth more in the book than in the film – the disease means he is no longer a candidate for a lung transplant, and should he pass it on to Stella, she would also be taken off the list. But other than some more explanation about Stella and Will's physical, and mental, struggles, the book is not that much different from the film.

The actors have done a fabulous job at portraying Stella and Will. Stella's almost obsessive need to do everything right, and as safely as possible, comes across as clearly as Will's nonchalance, even though his general lack of care about his treatments acts as a mask to hide the range of emotions he feels about his CF, and his dwindling life expectancy. 

If you have enjoyed this book, but have been afraid to watch the film in case it doesn't live up to your expectations, I say just watch it. It is incredibly similar to the book – I would struggle to find a scene that greatly differs between the two.

And done!

I did try to get my brother to participate in this post, as he was the one whose book I had stolen, and I know he likes both the book and the film, but he was too busy napping to write a short piece to help me out. Typical teenager.

Anyway, that's all for now...

Bye!

Review and Comparison – She's All That & He's All That

She's All That & He's All That

Review and Comparison

Like most things on this blog, comparison posts is something I said I would do and then never got around to doing.

I remember my Mum giving me a copy of She's All That when I was maybe 13, and I loved it. So, when I'm scrolling through Netflix looking for something to watch, and adding copious amounts of movies to my list, to watch later, I stumbled across He's All That, a 2021 remake. And get this, it's also a gender flipped remake.

So, I decided, what a perfect excuse to do a comparison post – to rewatch She's All That, then watch He's All That, and make the post as I go!

Let us start with She's All That!

Soccer team captain Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr) is one of the most popular guys at his High School, and he's a little upset when his girlfriend Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) dumps him so she can go out with a TV star (Matthew Lillard). Nevertheless, he insists that she is replaceable and makes a bet with his best friend Dean that he could turn any girl at the school into a Prom Queen. Dean takes the bet and nominates miserablist wierdo Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) as the lucky girl. Undaunted, our hero sets to work...

Amazon UK 

(I don't think it's currently available on Netflix, or Amazon Prime, unfortunately.)

My Review

This movie is, in my opinion, timeless. It doesn't matter if you watched this in the late 1990s, when it first came out, or if you watch it in the modern day, the effect is still the same, and the message still comes across.

On the first day back at school after Spring break, Zach learns that his girlfriend, Taylor, has left him for a guy called Brock Hudson, who she met while she was away. Zach doesn't let her get him down for too long, and makes a bet with his best friend – he can make any girl as popular as Taylor, and he can prove it by turning an outcast into prom queen. When his friends choose Laney Boggs as the girl, Zach certainly has his work cut out in getting through to the closed off artist.

I remember first watching this film, and hating Zach, and loving Laney. I felt like Zach was pestering her, when she just wanted to be left alone, and that Laney deserved better than him. But, in the end, even Zach doesn't really know what he's doing, and even at 18, when people are considered adults, they still don't know what they're doing. What Zach knows, is popularity, and when Taylor humiliates him, there is a sense that he has lost something, something that he wants back – a hot girl on his arm, and people to look at him and not think about how he was so publicly dumped.

There is a certain quality to this film that makes you know it is a 90s film (apart from the clothing and the hairdos, that is). It is a romantic comedy aimed at teens, but it's something that everyone can watch, and everyone will be able to find at least some joy in watching it. There is a joke for all, and with the overall message of 'don't judge a book by it's cover', everyone can benefit from the lessons it shows. Laney may be a struggling artist, always wearing paint covered clothes, talking about doom and gloom, and with glasses perched on her nose, but that is only what the outside perspective sees. Once you get to know Laney, you quickly learn that she isn't just the dorky girl picked as a bet, she is a girl who looks after her brother and father, who works hard at everything she does, and puts everyone else above herself.

And yes, it is a romantic comedy from the 90s. It is not going to be perfect, and it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who watch it and fall in love, it will be a movie to put on repeat.

And now, let's move onto He's All That!

An influencer specialising in makeovers bets she can transform an unpopular classmate into prom king in this remake of the teen classic "She's All That."

I'm not going to lie, I didn't spend long looking for a description of this movie, which is why we've ended up with the very short one we have. I can't find this film on Amazon, I think it's only available on Netflix. That might not be true, but if you want to watch it, it is on Netflix!

My Review!

I have now, officially, watched this entire movie three times, on three consecutive evenings. The first two were because I wanted to, the third time was because I wanted to write this directly after watching it to have it fresh in my head (and also because I wanted to).

I'm not going to lie, I didn't really watch this movie because it was a remake of a film I had already watched, and loved, I mainly clicked on it because the first thing I saw was Tanner Buchanan. I have looked at some other reviews of this movie, and a lot of them are being overly critical because of Addison Rae, who plays Padgett. I actually have no idea who she is, outside of this film, so I can't judge anything about that (not that I would anyway – it's wholly unfair to judge a film by what the cast do outside of acting).

When influencer, Padgett Sawyer, learns that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she loses it live on camera, and goes viral. Unfortunately, that sort of behaviour isn't what her sponsors want to see, and she loses the sponsorship she was relying on to pay for her college tuition, not coming from wealth in a town where to fit in, you must be rich. In a desperate bid to try and get over the embarrassing moment everyone is talking about, Padgett makes a bet – that she can take any loser from her school, and make him into prom king. And her friends pick Cameron Kweller, the school outcast who no one knows anything about.

This film is incredibly cheesy at times, but it's a romantic comedy about a beauty influencer trying to give a makeover to a socially awkward photographer, without him knowing, so a little bit of cheesiness is unavoidable. Once again, I clicked on this movie for Tanner Buchanan, and I can definitely say, I was not disappointed. And his character loves horses? Sounds like we'd make a great match, if I'm being honest!

There was one extra character I must say, in particular, I loved, and that was Cameron's grandmother. She sits in the background while Cameron has conversations with Padgett and his little sister, Brin, and chimes in with less than appropriate comments every now and again. She was certainly a bonus to this movie, and I would love to know just how often she embarrasses her grandchildren with the things she says.

This movie has a message about being true to yourself, and not hiding behind lies and playing make-believe with your life. With the age of social media, anyone can create whatever persona they would like online, and no one would know any different. But living a lie can destroy your life, and coming clean about who you are, who you truly are, behind all the photos, and the posts, and the edits, is the most important thing to do if you want to start living your life how you want to live it.

Comparison

First off, I absolutely loved that they brought back Rachael Leigh Cook (Laney) and Matthew Lillard (Brock Hudson) for He's All That. Granted, they take on different roles, but to carry them forward, to include two incredibly recognisable actors from She's All That in the remake, tied He's All That into the original, and showed that, while things change, and actors play different roles, the movies are still one and the same in terms of the story idea.

Obviously, there are some stark differences with the two movies. First off, making a modern remake of a 90s film is difficult enough, without trying to wrap the story around the technology that consumes the everyday lives of school students, not to mention trying to find a way to include social media to, not hinder, but add to the story. As well as that, switching the genders of all the characters? A lot was taken on in trying to replicate, and update, She's All That.

And while the overall story was mostly replicated, He's All That seemed less like a remake and more like someone had taken the idea of a bet to turn someone into a prom queen/king, and taken the characters, and created their own modernised story around just that one aspect. The characters are all there, Cameron (Laney) has a younger sibling, and Padgett (Zach) is dealing with personal issues while trying to maintain the persona that everyone associates with them, but the story itself is very different.

However, while She's All That is timeless, He's All That is clearly not. With the inclusion of so many things relevant to today's society, and particularly the popular social media platforms that people use on a regular basis, this movie will, unfortunately, grow old very quickly. In five years, the way social media is used will be entirely different than it is now, and this movie will no longer be relevant to the world of the viewer.

That being said, though, He's All That is a film that, like I have said, I really enjoyed watching, and I have watched it multiple times. It is difficult to properly compare two movies that are so vastly different, even though they are both built on the bones of the same story. The thing about them both, is they both carry a clear message of acceptance, of accepting who you are, and of accepting people for who they are, without trying to change them, but rather getting to know them, past what they look like. People might look one way, but act another, and both movies tell you to pause before you judge someone purely on how they look, because inside, they might be someone that you absolutely have to know.

And done!

Sorry this is quite long, it turns out that when you are writing reviews for two different movies, and then a whole other review to compare the two, it turns into a bit of an essay!

Have I mentioned Tanner Buchanan in this post? Yes?! I might have to rewatch Cobra Kai.

That's it for now.

Bye!

My Favourite Genres – only read if you have some time, it's quite long!

 

My Favourite Genres

In case you're new here, every so often on a Wednesday, I write a weird post that I have no idea where it is going and it sometimes ends up as a massive digital ramble about something completely different than I meant it to be.

Today, I plucked an idea out of the air, and am going to talk about my favourite genres! (Buckle up, this is bound to be a long one!)

Now, because I am an awkward human being and cannot possibly have simple tastes, the genres I like depend on whether I'm watching a movie, reading a book, writing a story or writing a short story... I'll take it one at a time!

Books

I don't really care what I read, as long as it's good! I like thriller and mystery books, because the build up and tension can be really good if it's done well. I also, for the opposite reason, like romancey books, because of the lack of tension.

I like to say that I like reading horror, but I have actually never done so... I just say it for attention.

I've read quite a few dystopian, YA, science fiction type books, although I haven't read many in quite a while (the most recent were Ready Player One & Two). I remember, once, I read a book that was about a pandemic, and there was chaos, confusion, action – all the good stuff (this was about five years ago, I didn't even consider then that something like that might actually happen... it was a dystopian book...)

I went through a phase once where I decided I was uncultured and should read some 'classics'. Despite warnings, I decided I should read Jane Austin's Emma (I should've listened, it was so boring I didn't finish it). I also bought copies of Wuthering Heights and Frankinstein because they had pretty covers. I read Wuthering Heights, although it did take me a solid two weeks of reading to get through it, because I was very confused to begin with, and the writing style that seems to be popular in the classics is very descriptive, the kind of writing that is filled with a little too much world building and not quite enough exciting events. I didn't get through Frankinstein, although I still didn't understand it by the middle of the book, so maybe that's why.

I am also quite a big fan of action books, as well (basically, if you give me a book, I'm probably going to read it).

Movies

I am a little more picky when it comes to movies. This is where I start getting awkward.

My favourite movie genres are thrillers and horror. If you read my post 'My Relationship With Movies – prepare for a rant!' you might know about The Movie List. (I'm not explaining it, go and read the other post, click on the title above, I linked it.) You can tell what kind of movie phase I'm in by the most recent colour coding. For example, horror is orange, thriller is yellow. The colours mean nothing specific, those were just the highlighters I had to hand. Romance, however, is pink, and that was intentional.

I know a lot of people say this, but I am not scared by horror movies. I am not even making this up to look cool. If my friend wants to watch a horror movie, she has to do so when I'm there so she won't get as scared, since I won't get scared. Sure, sometimes I'll jump if I'm not expecting a jump scare, but generally I'll watch them in the middle of the night and appreciate the cinematography, the work that went into it, the acting, and the story. I know, I'm odd.

I love thrillers for the same reason – some of them have such incredibly intricate storylines that I find myself astonished that such a thing is possibly to think up.

I am not opposed to the occasional comedy, but it has to be a good comedy – for example, The Mexican. I went into that movie having no idea that it was a comedy, and only realised after about half an hour of being quite confused. I might rewatch this and do a review on it at some point. Another one would be Hot Fuzz – I find that although I am a comedy master, and you can't say anything around me without me cracking a joke in response, I can only watch comedy in moderation. Otherwise it seems over the top and silly (which is what it's meant to be, so I'm just annoyingly specific).

I do not like action movies. Correction, I like them, I just don't understand them. I have watched so many action movies, and had no idea what the actual story is about. I've started only watching them with my Dad, because he understands them perfectly, so he can explain what is happening as it happens.

I am also not the biggest fan of romance, even though I like reading it. It's so incredibly predictable (which is the reason I like romance books...) and I just find them boring.

Writing Novels

This makes it sound like I have written multiple full length novels, and have them just lying around in my computer. This is untrue. I have STARTED writing multiple full length novels, I have three on the go (although one has been abandoned because it's terrible) and have complete ideas for three more. These do not follow any particular theme, and every single one is in a different genre. I have young adult, historical fiction, science fiction, romance... my imagination is not contained within a genre box when it comes to writing novels.

HOWEVER! There are some things that I am better at writing than others. I can write romance for pages and pages, and it can be brilliant, but I can manage maybe 500 words of horror before I realise it's incredibly cliché and not at all scary. Sometimes I will be struck in the brain with a metaphor, which I will write down with glee, and other time I will stare at a blank page for hours before I give up and close the document.

Writing Short Stories

Now, this is something that I have done a lot! I don't have any published, but I have a total of three complete short stories, two half written, and a plethora of very short ones (these are on this blog). I plan, at some point, to maybe publish the three I have finished, and the other two if I ever finish them, but that's something that would happen when I get around to it, not following any particular time frame.

When I write potentially publishable short stories (these are about 10,000 words) they are generally quite harrowing, or warped. It's that, or they're sweet romances.

When I write short short stories (about 250-1000 words, these are all on this blog) they can be a range of genres. Somehow, they seem to always be creepy and weird, but I have some cute ones as well. With these, it really depends on what kind of mood I'm in when I write them as to what genre they end up being.

Conclusion

I think the format is really important to whether or not I like something. For example, I love thriller movies, but the first time I read a thriller book, I was kind of creeped out by the way it made me feel, getting inside the heads of the characters, instead of just watching them on a screen. It also depends on my mood. If I'm feeling sappy, I'll write/read romance and watch something sad (my movie habits are basically the opposite of my mood) but if I'm feeling bored, I'll want something fast paced and action-packed (although not actually action, unless my Dad is there!)

Okay, I think I'm done now! I warned you at the start that this was going to be a really long post (did I...? I can't remember. I probably did). If you got this far, wow. You have commitment.

If you didn't get this far, I can't say I blame you, but also, how are you reading this...

I'm not funny.

Bye!

Digital vs Physical Books – I'm joining in the debate

Digital vs Physical Books

We all know that this subject has been done to death, but I didn't know what else to write about and I want to write something (also, I have three ideas for full length novels that I'm putting off starting).

I have no clear opinion, but I will write my viewpoints on the pros and cons of each, and who knows – I may change my mind and come to a final conclusion!

DIGITAL PROS

• You can have so many more books without taking up any more space in your house.

• Books are cheaper – you can get so many more.

• So convenient – going on a trip? Pull our your eReader and get reading. No more finishing one book and not having another to read.

DIGITAL CONS

• No nice book smell.

• Harder to hide behind, as it's generally only half the size of an open book.

• You can't show off a bookcase full of books.

• No excitement when a parcel with books in it arrives.

• Can't read properly if sat in the sun – glare on the screen.

• Charge runs out (and I always forget to put things on charge).

PHYSICAL PROS

• Display of pretty covers.

• Smell (it's a very important contributing factor, okay?!)

• You get to hold a book in your hands.

• Generally easier to know how much is left to read.

• Bookshelves – no need to say more.

• Don't worry about charging – a book can't run out of charge.

PHYSICAL CONS

• Space – can't have tons of books without taking up loads of room.

• Expensive – you can get some cheap second hand, but new books are generally quite pricy. (Don't get me started on hardback prices).

• Easy to damage. If there's a fire, you're losing them all. If there's a flood, good luck drying them out on the radiator.

• They break – pages rip, or fall out. There are people who will fold down the corners (which I don't mind, but I have a friend who would murder me if I did it to one of her books). My Mum's bookshelf has some books that are so old the covers have fallen off.

• Losing your place – an eReader generally saves your place automatically. If you close a book, without checking the page number or marking the page, you have to flick through until you see something you recognise, then try and figure out where exactly you were.

So, as it turns out, there are quite a few cons to both. Personally, if I want to buy a book, I will buy a paperback. Usually, they're about £7.99. I probably could get the digital version for about £2.99, at most.

However, I think the physical version of books is more of a lifestyle thing, and I am definitely lead that type of lifestyle. I have an eReader (which I bought at least six years ago, when it was on offer... I got 50% off!) and it is old, slow and takes forever to load. That might be because I used to download as many free books as possible. I have at least 80 on there that I have never read. However, if I need to go on a really long train journey or something, it would be wonderful, as I would never run out of new books to read before the journey is over.

There is a certain glamour to physical books. Reading by fairy lights is so much more aesthetic than reading from a bright screen (although both are probably bad for your eyes... read in appropriate lighting, kids. Don't strain your eyes.) Pulling a book out of your bag is so much more appealing than pulling out an eReader. Likewise, a book is only a good present if it's a physical copy.

And I'm never going to let someone borrow a digital copy of a book. (Not that I'd happily let them borrow a physical copy... I did once and I didn't get it back for about four months. I practically stole it back, because I was at the house of the friend that had borrowed it and I saw it. It went into my bag and home with me. I knew she had finished reading it because she had told me over text a couple of weeks earlier.)

Okay, I think I came to a conclusion – while I am happy to read from an eReader, and they are so much more convenient, my preference is a physical copy (although, I much prefer paperbacks to hardbacks. I'm not sure why, I think it's because paperbacks are so much easier to hold and read from different angels, such as when laying down.)

So that rounds it off. Are you more of a physical fellow or a digital delight? (I can't come up with alliterative sentences very well).

Also, the formatting for this was a nightmare, I'm not sure if the font is smaller than it usually is, but I can't be bothered to do anything more to try and make it look better.

For now, then...

Bye!

Review and Comparison - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Book and Movie

Review and Comparison

I will admit, I know bookworms will hate me, I watched the movie before I read the book.

I first heard about Ready Player One about three years ago at a weekend festival. I made a friend there who raved about this movie called Ready Player One and a contest, that whoever won it would 'inherit' a massive virtual world, which they could then do with what they wanted. I thought it sounded pretty cool but, after that weekend, I never spoke to that person again and practically forgot about Ready Player One.

Until...

My younger brother saw it on Netflix. We were looking for a movie to watch and he said that he had been meaning to watch it for ages. And just like that, I seemed to remember the fact that I already knew about this story.

So we sat down and watched the movie and both loved it. I asked my brother to get me the book for Christmas and he followed through, so I have now both watched the movie and read the book.

And they could not be more different.

Not in a bad way, of course, as I loved both of them, but it does mean I can compare!

The Movie

From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a reakneck, reality bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

Amazon UK • Amazon US

So, like I said, I watched the movie first, with my brother. We were sat with popcorn and sleeping dogs scattered around the room. There was not nearly enough popcorn.

This movie is fabulous! There's action, adventure, there are times when you don't know how Wade is going to get himself and his friends out of a new mess. The OASIS is a virtual world and, with the whole world addicted, people can escape the crumbling real world around them. Halliday, the creator of the OASIS, left his fortune to no one and everyone at the same time. An intricate hunt, some might say a wild goose chase, leads those who call themselves 'gunters' (egg hunters) searching for the Easter egg that Halliday hid inside his world. Whoever can complete the hunt, whoever finishes first – they win the fortune, they win the OASIS.

The main characters in the movie are likeable, you root for them as you watch them come to conclusions that you know in the back of your mind you never could have solved. Wade might've been the main character, but it was Art3mis that I liked the best. She is brave, smart, loving. She shows that you can be anyone you want, that if you work for something, if you work hard, you can achieve anything.

I asked my brother to write a review for it too. 

He did so (very unwillingly).

My brother's review:

I liked that everyone could pick different traits and build different avatars in the OASIS. I haven't read the book, so I can't compare it. (Is that it? Can I go now?)

He was very much more interested in the OASIS than the characters!

The Book

A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

Amazon UK • Amazon US

This book, as I said, I received for Christmas. My plan for the New Year was to get a proper sleep schedule, going to bed at a set time each day so I could then start waking up at a proper time each day.

As you might be able to tell, due to my use of the word 'plan', this has not happened.

Anyway, I was going to use this book as a way to help me do this, I was going to start reading at 11 every evening, read one chapter, and then go to bed.

I finished the book within a week.

This is the kind of book that you just don't want to put down. The characters are believable and likeable and you root for Wade a little bit more with each chapter. As Halliday grew up in the 80s, all the gunters are obsessed with 80s culture, as it's obviously going to be important in the contest. The best gunters know everything about Halliday's life, about the 80s, they know every word to every movie Halliday ever watched. They are, in a word, obsessed.

Wade is a completely believable OASIS obsessed teenager. He's overweight, he spends every waking moment in the OASIS and doesn't get out. There is no time for exercise and he lives off food vouchers he gets in return for fixing computers.

The obsession with 80s culture appealed to me, particularly, as I have a strange obsession with 80s rock music. It gave me a little thrill of joy every time I knew a song that was referenced.

Since my brother hasn't read the book, as he so clearly pointed out, I asked him to give a review based off the cover. So this is an art review, more than a story review.

My brother's review:

(That is a mad stack of caravans. Is he climbing a ladder?)

It looks like the caravans would fall down at any second, they don't look too steady. All in all, a good cover.

Book and Movie Comparison

The book gave a lot more detail than the movie did. The book was definitely more focused on describing the world, telling the reader about what was happening in the world and letting them live in the world as if they were in the OASIS as well. The competition in the film was simplified so that the story made sense on screen and reading the book gave so much more insight into what was happening in the OASIS and the origins of the world.

The film was very much focused on the characters. Whereas the book was very focused on Wade, the movie spent more time with other characters, such as Art3mis and Aech, which I also enjoyed, because Art3mis is (I think) my favourite character in the film. My favourite character in the book, however, is Wade. This is just one point that shows how different the movie and book are, the fact that I prefer different characters in each.

If you have read the book and didn't like it, don't not watch the movie because of this.

Likewise, if you watched the movie and didn't like it, read the book.

Although I loved both, I'm certain if you didn't like one, there's every chance you might love the other.

Did you enjoy reading about my opinions? Do you disagree/agree? Do you think my little brother's reviews are better than mine, because I might agree with you!

Bye!