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Synopsis: The government requires that all teenagers be cured of love, aka amor deliria nervosa, to keep society safe. But 95 days before her treatment, Lena Haloway falls for a boy--and must face the truth about her own feelings and the world in which she lives.

Pages: 394

Rating: 8/10

Overall: An exciting dystopian novel that presents a very interesting idea of a world where love is forbidden. The foreboding detachment of the cured citizens provide a bleak but thought-provoking backdrop for a heady romance.


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This week for the Broke and the Bookish blog's great weekly meme, Top Ten Tuesday, it is *drumroll*:

Top Ten Books I Would Love To See As A Movie/TV Show (set in a perfect world in which movies don't butcher the books we love).

I always think people have a love/hate relationship with seeing films be made of their favourite books. You want to see it realised on the big screen, but realised your way, so it always ends in inevitable disappointment. But here is my list of books that I would love to see on film, as long as I could do it my way with my dream casts and where money is no object!

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This actually is being made into a film with Geoffrey Rush in. I think The Book Thief could be a really good film is done right as it is already such a visual book in the way it is written. Already, looking at the trailer for this film, Geoffrey Rush is nowhere near what I imagined Hans Hubermann to look like but I withhold judgment until I see it.
• The Fault in our Stars by John Green. Again, actually being made into a film, like right now (go see John's tumblr for BTS stuff!). I expect to feel like I've been wrung out after seeing this, it has so much potential as a film.
• Across the Universe and A Million Suns by Beth Revis. I think this could be really interesting to see realised on the big screen, to really understand the scale of the ship, just how different Amy looks from the 'locals' and the scope of their predicament.
• The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Well, a continuation of the film series. I thought the first film was a pretty good adaption, and it could have had really good sequels. Probably missed the boat now, now that Alex Pettyfer is, well, too old (sorry Alex). Oh well, at least Stormbreaker gave us his pretty face...
• Looking For Alaska by John Green. I can see this one in my head. Logan Lerman, I think, would be a great Miles. Emma Stone... maybe? Maybe not... I don't know who would play Alaska. But my vision of the smoking scene looks awesome. You should see it!
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I am reading this at the moment and loving it. That overbearing Big Brother state gives a feeling of constant uneasiness, which would make for an interesting and exciting film.
• The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer. So much imagination that could be a brilliant animated film or tv series.
• Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. This could be such a great film. It would be thought-provoking, emotional and, most likely, provocative.

It's been a while but it's a Tuesday and that means...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's theme is required reading, or books that should be read in class.

1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. I think this would be a very interesting book to teach with, and not just from an LGBT perspective, even though that is obviously a consideration. The contrasting writing styles are particularly interesting.
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. For GCSE or A-Level history class, this book could really open up discussion. 
3. The Hunger Games by Susan Collins. Great for looking at parallels with today's society. To be honest, any dystopian future can do this. But also looking at the role of media in the depiction of violence would be interesting dicussion topics.
4. Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. This could be like a quick lesson on how stories can be told through pictures and art, that picture books are not just for children.
5. Harry Potter by JK Rowling. But in a foreign language (modern or ancient). Reading something like Harry Potter in another language can ignite an interest in a language that dry textbooks just can't.
6. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This has a lot of themes that would make it a perfect book to dissect in literature class.
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Good for discussing things that affect teenagers, such as anorexia and sexual assault. Also see Sarah Dessen books.

I keep looking at my old reviews or ratings on GoodReads and thinking "I should change that rating, I don't think it is a 5* book anymore when I compare it to this book." or "Why did I only give that book 4*s? It is obviously a 5*er."

Since starting this blog in particular, I feel like I am starting to get marginally better at deciding whether I thought a book was just really good or blow-your-socks-off amazing.

I think I would probably change a few of my reviews/ratings in retrospect. I'm not going to because I think what I gave a book at the time was what I thought of the book at that particular moment.

My opinion of a book definitely morphs and adapts over time, that sometimes a review written the day or a few days after finishing can't capture.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. This is a bit of a stream of consciousness, I suppose. But I'd really like to hear what other book bloggers think about looking back at old reviews. Do they match up to what you think of the book now? Do you wait a little while before writing your review? Would you change any review looking back on them?