The Angelina Jolie Paradox applies.
"The what now?"
Sagan cleared his throat. "You know when you're watching a movie starring Angelina Jolie? And the character she's playing looks just like Angelina Jolie, right?"
"Um, yes. Because that's who she is."
"No, she's a regular person in that world, not a movie star. But the other characters never mention that she looks exactly like Angelina Jolie. No one ever comes up to her on the street and says, 'Can I have your autograph?'"
"Because that would mess up the movie," Carla said.
"Exactly. So when you cast Angelina Jolie in a film, you're creating an alternate universe in which actress Angelina Jolie does not exist. Because otherwise people would be noticing the resemblance all the time. This is what I call the Angelina Jolie Paradox."
"You know, Sagan," Carla said. "You could have named that paradox after any movie star."
"True. But as the paradox's discoverer, I have chosen Angelina Jolie, as is my right."
Copyright 2014 by Scott Westerfeld
Teaser Tuesday is a weekly post that contains a teaser, or excerpt, from a book that I am currently reading, have recently read, or just really enjoyed! This week's Teaser Tuesday post features AFTERWORLDS by Scott Westerfeld which was released in September of 2014.
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The Ghost of You
by Amanda Burckhard Release Date: 12/30/14 Swoon Romance Summary from Goodreads: Emmy has everything she’s ever wanted: a hot boyfriend she adores, great friends, a promising future, and even a well-connected family. But one night rips it all away. A car accident shatters her world, claiming the lives of her twin brother and her best friend. In the wake of the accident, her friends drift away, her family falls apart, and her boyfriend cheats. The grief is more than she can handle, so she finds escape at the bottom of a bottle of painkillers. Taking the pills makes her brother alive again, if only in her head. Seeing and talking to her brother as if he were still alive is the only thing that keeps her going. Until Logan King moves to town. Logan sees past the mask of pristine popularity she wears in public and he’s the only one who can tell she hasn’t moved on. His uncanny ability to read her forces her to open up and she starts to fall for him, no matter how unwilling she is to admit it. But Emmy isn’t the only one keeping secrets and when a close brush with death sparks events that bring everything to light, Emmy will have to decide what’s more important: learning how to forgive and move on, or holding onto the pills and the ghost of her past. Add to Goodreads About the Author Amanda Burckhard grew up exploring bat caves and hunting for dinosaur bones in the Black Hills of South Dakota. When she wasn’t crossing paths with mountain lions, she was making up stories and devouring books at the library. Although, she still does that. Amanda loves to travel and cross out things on her adrenaline packed bucket list. Some of the things she's been able to cross out include see an active volcano erupt, ride a gondola in Venice, and pet a tiger. She currently lives in North Sioux City, South Dakota and works as a microbiologist by day. Some of her obsessions include comic book movies, hot chocolate, sushi, sunshine, and Doctor Who. Author Links: Website * Goodreads * Twitter * Facebook I thought I would start sharing what books make their way into my life! Book Haul will be a new weekly post on Sarurdays showing what books I acquired that week and how they came into my possession! All of the books I got this week I actually won!
Which of these have you read and enjoyed (or not enjoyed)? Teaser Tuesday is a weekly post that contains a teaser, or excerpt, from the book I am currently reading. This week's Teaser Tuesday post features ILLUSIVE by Emily Lloyd-Jones which was released in July of 2014. "Why did I wake up naked?" Have you read ILLUSIVE or do you plan on reading it? So far I am really enjoying it's humor and originality!
WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU Julie Cross 320 pages Publisher: Entangled Teen Release Date: October 7, 2014 Rating: 5 STARS Annie Lucas is just a normal high school teenager whose main priorities in life are her dad, Grams, and running track. That is, until a family friend, Frank, comes and recruits her dad to be a new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Now, Annie is moving to Kansas City (that's in Missouri, not Kansas), and has to learn how to navigate the strange and confusing world of professional baseball. Normally, adapting to a new situation wouldn't be a problem for Annie, but throw the steamy rookie, Jason Brody, into the equation, and Annie is at a loss. But this nineteen-year-old pitcher is completely off limits. Or is he? Annie's dad would kill them both if something were to happen between her and Jason Brody, but it just might be worth it. It did not take long for me to absolutely fall in love with Julie Cross' writing. WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU is such a fun book. I mean, between Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Taylor Swift references, how could I not like it? Annie is a character that is easy to relate to and sympathize with. Cross pulls you into the story until you are unable to put the book down. I am fairly new to reading young adult romance, or really any romance in general, so I am wary when it comes to picking one up. I was thankful that even though WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU does include romance, it was not overwhelming, unbelievable, or mushy. It was easy for me to become emotionally invested in what Annie was feeling and experiencing. The love story was told maturely in the aspect that "I love you" was not said after the relationship just started, but also in a way to where it is believable that Annie is still in high school. This book follows the time line of a major league baseball season, which made it fun to read. Annie attends some of the Royals' games, and Cross does an excellent job of describing the game. I, of course, was rooting for the Royals, and every time there was a game, I was on the edge of my seat reading as fast as I could. It was just like I was watching the game on TV, or even as if I was there in person. If the Royals lost, then I would be absolutely heartbroken, and if they won then I found myself feeling elated. This was a wonderful bonus and a welcome side story, being able to follow the team throughout their season. There were also Facebook updates from Annie and her friends along with text message conversations which mixed things up and added an interesting aspect to the story. WHATEVER LIFE THROWS AT YOU is a fun must read for any age that enjoys young adult novels, whether you are into the whole romance thing or not. Just make sure that you have enough free time to be able to sit down and read this book cover to cover, because you will not want to put it down once you start. I was seriously unable to pick just ONE favorite line from this book, but I was able to narrow it down to two. These are my favorite lines: I cart SPF 70 around like a diabetic with their insulin. I might be a little biased on this next quote, considering I live in Oklahoma, but still, it's pretty great. Oklahoma (hot cowboys at rest stops that hold the door open and call me ma'am, MORE PLEASE!) SHUTTER Courtney Alameda 384 pages Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Release Date: February 3, 2015 Rating: 4 STARS Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat; in simple terms, this means that she can see the undead - ghosts, poltergeists, zombies - everything. As one of the last remaining direct descendants of Van Helsing, Micheline has been training her entire life to hunt and destroy monsters. Armed with her analog SLR camera, she is able to take down even the most heinous of spirits by capturing their energy on film. Along with her boys - Oliver, Jude, and Ryder - they are efficient at tracking down the undead and keeping the general population safe; but, their good luck won't last forever. When a routine hunt goes horribly wrong, the four hunters become the hunted as they are infected with a deadly curse called a soulchain. Micheline, Oliver, Jude, and Ryder have seven days to find the ghost that infected them and exorcise it; otherwise, they will all die. I have never been able to get into a book intended to scare the reader - until now. Courtney Alameda's writing was captivating, and the story she told was unlike any other. She went to great lengths to put intricate details into her story, but not so much that things were hard to keep track of. Up to this point, I have always found stories involving Van Helsing, Dracula, etc. like characters to be hokey; however, if more writers would weave their story and make it believable as Alameda did, I would be more likely to read them. Within the first few pages I had goose bumps crawling up my arms and I had to ensure that all the lights in my apartment were turned on before I could continue reading. When I first saw that there were three main male characters involved, I was instantly worried about a love triangle (or would that be a love square?). Thankfully, this was not a problem. Micheline and Ryder are adorable together, and they only have eyes for each other. The way that these two characters interact makes the reader hope and pray that there will be a happily ever after. Overall, I was very pleased with this book. The pacing was good, the characters themselves were enjoyable and their interactions with each other were natural and believable, and the conflicts were resolved in a manner that made sense and left me satisfied. My only problem with the book was that I had a hard time staying focused on it. The story was interesting, but for some reason it was difficult for me to stick with it for long periods of time. Despite my inability to focus on the book, I would still recommend this to anybody who is a fan of horror novels, loves YA, or is just looking for a fresh new story. Favorite Line: Humor was a superfluous talent in a family bred for killer instincts and courage. THE 5TH WAVE Rick Yancey 480 pages Publisher: Putnam Juvenile Release Date: May 7, 2013 Rating: 2 STARS 1st Wave: Lights Out 2nd Wave: Surf's Up 3rd Wave: Pestilence 4th Wave: Silencer What would happen if aliens ever invaded earth? According to Rick Yancey, they would kill off the Earth's population in waves. THE 5TH WAVE is told from 4 character's points of view. Life as they know it is over. The things that used to matter such as school and friends is now arbitrary. In this new world that they live in it is either kill or be killed and trust no one. Most of the human race was killed in the first four waves; only the unlucky survived. Cassie believes she is the last person on Earth, Evan may or may not be who he says he is, Sammy just wants to find his sister, and Zombie is determined to graduate military training so he can begin to fight back. But the 5th wave is coming, and this time, it may just kill them all. I was very excited to finally read THE 5TH WAVE. I had heard so many positive things about it, and with it being made into a movie starring Chloe Grace Moretz, I figured it was high time I read it. This was a hard book for me to get into. Cassie is a whiney and immature character that I found very frustrating. She says one thing and then contradicts herself just a few sentences later. At on point in the book, she says, "I don't want to be a shark." This line perfectly sums up Cassie. Aliens are attacking, the world is ending, and she doesn't want to be a shark. At no point in this novel do any of the characters develop whatsoever. I found myself not caring what happened to them and actually hoping they would all die just so the book would be over. There were a few times when I would begin to get excited about the story, but every single time it fell flat and I found myself disappointed. Yancey's writing is sloppy and repetitive. The points of view would change randomly from he/she did this to I did this and back ag He brought characters into the story and carelessly disposed of them, only to randomly bring them back in the end. I most likely will not read the sequel when it is published, but will probably see the movie when it comes out in hopes that Hollywood can take what could have been a great story and make it into something amazing. Favorite Line: There's an old saying about the truth setting you free. Don't buy it. Sometimes the truth slams the cell door shut and throws a thousand bolts. Rumble
Ellen Hopkins 546 pages Publisher: McElderry Books Release Date: August 26, 2014 Rating: 5 STARS RUMBLE, by Ellen Hopkins, tells the story of Matthew Turner, who no longer has faith in anything. Bullying led his younger brother to suicide, his parents hardly pay attention to him or each other, and he is starting to second guess the relationship he has with his beautiful Hayden. Most of all, Matt does not have faith or believe in some god, creator, or supernatural all-knowing being. If there were such a thing, then why would he let Matt suffer so much? Due to all of the recent events, Matt decides to just go with the flow. Whatever happens will happen, and there is nothing he can do about it. But how do you go through life without believing in anything, without your brother whom you loved, and without parents to help and guide you? Matt has all but given up when a horrific tragedy shakes his world even more and causes a rumble that will force him to rethink all the choices and beliefs that he has cast aside. Once again, Ellen Hopkins has blown me away. Her writing is beautiful, and I found myself deeply invested in the characters she created. RUMBLE made me think about my personal beliefs and some of the decisions that I have made. Hopkins, whose books are written in verse, mixed up her writing style to include excerpts from an essay the main character, Matt, had written. RUMBLE was a little different from the other books that Hopkins has released. Though she still pushed Matt to his limits, this novel was not as dramatic or graphic as some of her others have been. I have read and enjoyed every book this author has published, and without a doubt, RUMBLE has taken the place of being my favorite. Favorite line: "Anyway, be very careful of the blame game. It can get you into all kinds of trouble. And it's always possible that you're wrong." Want to win a copy of RUMBLE? Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter! Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, this contest will only be available to US residents. This giveaway will run until September 6th, 2014, at 12:00 AM central time. A random winner will be chosen and e-mailed and will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received, another winner will be chosen. Good luck and happy reading! |