100% To Be Non-Fiction (Reflection 7)

I guess I am just confused. I don’t understand why an author can’t just classify their novel in the right genre! The author knows whether the entire story they told is fiction or non-fiction so why is it so hard for them to put it in the right category? The only way I can kind of understand why they would put it into a certain genre is if certain genres sell better and the only motivation the author has to write is to make a profit. But still! If you want to write a story on something that has happened in your life, authors should keep their facts straight! I think there is a difference between making up little fibs here and there and dramatically changing what happened to you! For a book to be considered non-fiction, there better not be big “facts” blown out of proportion just to help the novel sell better! There are people who are going to think your memoir is interesting enough without all of the fiction added in! If you are going to write a non-fiction novel, I think it needs to be one hundred percent accurate. And if the novel is partially made up, put it in the fiction genre and let your imagination roll!

Which Genre? (Review 3)

If we are talking broad terms, I would put The Pretties in the speculative fiction genre. Speculative fiction, as we learned, is all about the question of “what if?” In this novel, the overall theme is what if you were required to have a surgery to make you pretty when you turned sixteen. More specifically, I would say this novel would fit into the dystopian fiction category. Dystopian fiction is “often set in a future or alternate version of our current history—as though it could be our logical outcome based on what is happening in the world today” according to the Speculative Fiction worksheet passed out last class. Today we see a growing number of people receiving plastic surgery which in theory, is altering their image to be what they see as prettier. Humans tend to care a lot about their self-image and how others view them. A lot of people would go to extreme measures for their body image to be perfect. So based on our world today, having a surgery when you are sixteen to remove all of your flaws is a pretty realistic thinking of what our future could come down to. I think The Pretties could also fall a little bit under the science fiction category. There are a lot of advances in technology seen throughout the novel. For example, they have futuristic technology such as hover boards or wrist bands that locate you in a snap. Westerfield also comes up with this idea of a tracking chip placed on your tooth! That may or may not be invented now, but it’s definitely not common or something we hear a lot about.

Genres (Reflection 6)

Over the years, I have wanted to shy away from the science fiction genre and focus more on the romantic or fantasy world. I just think that as I grew up, science fiction has too much of a futuristic feel and there is no point in reading about the future when you live in the present. Time travels and robots just don’t catch my eye anymore. I would much rather curl up on the couch and read a book about to individuals who fall in love! They are a lot more realistic and easier to relate to. I prefer to read books that I can relate to and science fiction is not something you can have that connection with. I wouldn’t say labeling each book into a genre is necessary, but it is definitely helpful!  If you read one story about magic realism and really enjoyed it, you could easily type in that magic realism genre and find a million other books you would most likely delight in. In contrast, a genre labels the book and if you didn’t enjoy a novel, you could exclude all other books in that genre just because you didn’t like one.

The Pretties Cover (Review 2, 1-153)

I think the cover the publishers chose for this book fits it well. The novel is centered on a girl as the main character and the majority of her face is the front cover. Her face is flawless and there is a sparkle in her right eye which really brings out the whole “I have chosen to become a pretty and no one can take that away from me” attitude built up from the first book in the series. Tally, the main female character, continues to grow in her new pretty world which fits the cover perfectly. The publishers gave her a serious face because most of the time Tally has a serious, daring tone she takes on throughout the novel. But I think they should have changed her stern mouth into more of a smirk because she has cheated the system in so many ways. I wouldn’t say Tally is all that honest and the face she currently has on the cover gives off the vibe of I have nothing to hide. For example, Tally has begun taking these illegal pills for a friend to kill the lesions off of her brain the surgery has caused. By killing the lesions, she will still have the appearance of a ‘pretty’ but she will think like her normal self. That is one of the many examples of how she has cheated the system in the Pretties.  The way the publishers took a large poster image and wrapped it around to the back cover is very different which makes this cover very unique. I haven’t seen many books with that type of image on the front. The image is very realistic and that is something I like about books covers.

Realistic Book Covers (Reflection 5)

I tend to be the one who judges a book by its cover. If the cover is not appealing to the eye or does not have anything catchy on it, I am more likely to not even give the novel a chance. I don’t really love nonrepresentational book covers either, meaning that the picture is not realistic or something you could physically take on your own. But a lot of times, like the video we watched said, the cover goes hand in hand with what the book is about. So to me, if the cover is solid black, the story line is going to be plain and not a very interesting book to read. For example, the cover to Love Does by Bob Goff is one of my favorite book covers. This book is kind of like a memoir of Bob Goff’s life. He tells his story and relates it back to him being a Christian. Love Does has a book cover that is sky blue with some balloons scattered around. To me, it is a very catchy cover. I like simple, straight to the point pictures relating to the book’s main idea. The cover of the novel is simple, just like his thought process in life by simply depending on God.

That's A Wrap! (Review 4)

The first specific scene that is essential to keep in the film would be recapping Tally’s past. With this being the second book in the series, it is important that they would wrap up what has previously happened to Tally. The scene they would utilize for this is where Tally’s “stalker” hides clues about her past life in the Smokes that she doesn’t exactly remember because of the surgery she underwent to become a pretty. The second scene that is essential to keep is when she begins taking the pills to cure the brain lesions. Tally begins consuming the pills with Zane, the leader of the Crims clique, which she has wanted to be a part of. The pills have a huge effect on Zane, causing him to seek medical attention. It is an important scene because in the end, the pills are what cause them to be busted and transformed into specials. The last scene that is essential is when they steal the hot air balloon to escape to the new Smokes. This is how they get away from the pretty world and initially get them out of being transformed into specials. In the end, the arrival of Tally and Zane causes the new Smoke to flee because they both had tracking devices on them. I would definitely cut out the character Fausto. He plays such a minor role that they could name him boy #1 and nobody would know the difference. He is only in the book here and there which kind of makes me always question, “Oh! Wait! Who is Fausto?” which kind of tears away from the enjoyment of the book. He is just kind of irrelevant and the story would not change if he was not a part of it. I would also cut out the scene of Tally and Shay trying to find a costume to wear to the party. I understand they are trying to stress the fact of how important the party is to them, but it just gets dragged out way too much! It goes on and on, explaining all of the outfits that they tried, but didn’t like and just statements that could be cut out without taking away from who their characters are. Personally, if I had to choose a third part to be cut out, I would definitely alter the film to not have so much self harm in it. At one point, they have a clique of “Cutters” who in a glimpse cut themselves. I just don’t think that is truly necessary to have that a part of the movie young adults and teenagers would most likely watch.

Books Are Usually Better (Reflection 4)

Top Three Best Adaptations

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (YA fantasy): I have only read one book out of the five in the series but they are all pretty much about vampire romance. I would say the book was a lot easier to follow and has a lot more detail when compared to the movie. The movie was really good though and I thought it was one of the best adaptations. Book Review

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (YA Science Fiction): Again, I have only read one of the novels in the series but they are all about the tributes chosen for to represent their district that kill one another because their can only be one survivor. I think the movie did a really good job as having the same plot line and a lot of the details the book had. The only big thing missing that stood out to me would be how Katniss and Peeta only kiss once in the movie, probably to build suspense, where in the book they kiss a lot! Book Review

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (Romance): It is all about John who is deployed overseas and the girl, Savannah, who he fell in love with before he left. Throughout the entire book, they plan their future together. The storyline was very similar between the book and movie which makes it a good adaptation. The only big difference was the endings, which I can understand because people who only saw the movie were more pleased with the ending they gave vs. what happened in the book. Book Review

Worst Two Adaptations

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (Drama/Romance): The book was so much better! It is a love story of a U.S. Marine who finds this picture of this woman and he sets out on a journey to find her. The movie was nothing like what happened in the book. The only thing that was really the same was the ending and the character’s names! That’s it! Maybe if I didn’t read the book, I would have enjoyed the movie more. Movie Review

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (Sports/Biography/Drama): The book was nothing like how they portrayed it in the movie. They are both all about the life of Michael Oher. The book was more about Michael in the NFL, stating a lot of facts. In the movie, Michael was the center of everything and it followed more of his life/family. Personally, I liked the movie a lot better! It was a lot more interesting. Movie Review