Geeking Out on YA Fiction News

Well, here is some YA News for you that will probably have you freaking out too :) 

1. Did you read Ransom Riggs' "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children"? You didn't. Oh, heavens no! Go get it right now. Seriously, don't wait because the line at the library will soon be SOOO long. Why? Right, my point, they are making it into a movie. This book has the awesomeness of the X-Men and avoids all the right cliches by adding family mystery, adventure, and danger the likes that you don't expect. Who is good, who is evil. Seriously, read it now.

Even better than them making it a movie? They have Tim Burton (yes TIM BURTON) as the director of this creepy tale. I couldn't have chosen someone better if given the responsibility. Now, as long as they cast it well (please don't cast someone known to be Miss Peregrine, please!), this movie is sure to rock our socks of ... July 15 2015.

2. If that wasn't great news enough for this book - they are making a sequel (Hollow City) and there is a sneak peak at one of the creepy pictures!!

Here is the book description from GoodReads

This second novel begins in 1940, right after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends flee to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they encounter a dangerous madman named Caul, who also happens to be Miss Peregrine’s brother. Caul has discovered a way to rob Peculiars of their abilities and steal them for himself—and it will take all of Jacob’s efforts to save his friends from certain extinction.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly creepy) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

3) If you've been paying attention you know that I really, really like the Lunar Chronicles. I've read (and Reviewed) Cinder and Scarlet. Cinder was actually the very first book I reviewed here on the blog. Well, Marissa Meyer is writing away and a sneak peek of Cress, the Rapunzel story we are all awaiting, will be available shortly! Check out the Facebook page to stay updated. In the mean time, read the short prequels to Cinder (The Queen's Army) and Scarlet (Glitches).

By the way, Marissa Meyer, I wouldn't mind a post-story to what happens with Scarlet. Crossing my fingers that we will see more of her in Cress!

Marissa Meyer is awesome (as if we didn't already know) and responded to my statement via Twitter

4. This isn't really new news, but if you liked Shadow and Bone, you can read the first five chapters of the upcoming Storm and Seige from Leigh Bardugo. You do have to have some kind of reader to read this one, but I hadn't seen that was out yet and am excited to dig in!

Snow White

Grimm's classic tale of Snow White starts like this, 

Once upon a time as a queen sits sewing at her window, she pricks her finger on her needle and three drops of blood fall on the snow that had fallen on her ebony window frame. As she looks at the blood on the snow, she says to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony". Soon after that, the queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her Princess Snow White. As soon as the child is born, the queen dies.

Sadly, the story is not very well attended to in silver screen versions. IMDB tells us that there are 20 movies with the title Snow White, but that doesn't include movies that don't include name in the title, like Willa (An American Snow White). 

Okay, before I go off on an tangent, let's look at four of the movies and do a little comparison. 

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I seriously love this movie. It was one of the first movies I saw in the theater. It was Disney's first movie (in 1938) and one of the first full-length animated films. As for staying close to the story, it doesn't. The witch is pretty real and it is darker than Disney would make a movie now, but it glosses over quite a bit of the story line. And the Dwarfs, don't get me started. And true love's kiss? Okay, moving on.

2. Snow White and the Huntsmen 

Obviously I haven't seen it yet, but this is what IMDB says about it::

Snow White is the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen. Unable to tolerate the insult to her vanity, the evil queen decides that Snow White must die. The queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White. However the huntsman finds himself unable to murder the innocent young woman, and instead ends up training her to become a warrior capable of threatening the queen's reign.

Okay, so it sounds pretty good. Nothing like the original Grimm version, but pretty good. I was actually excited about this one, until they cast it. Kristen Stewart - the girl with one expression playing Snow White? Snow White, the one with they fairest face in the land? Have a little respect for your audience here Hollywood, you can't cast her and expect us to think it is okay - we don't go to the movies to see her (in fact, I try and avoid her). I won't see this in the theater and might not even rent it. She isn't my favorite.

3. Mirror, Mirror

Julia Robberts is playing the evil Step-mother? I know the woman can act, but being evil isn't as easy as it looks (insert maniacal laugh here). I love something dark, which is why I love the Grimm stories. This looks delightful and fun, which isn't what Snow White is about. The tag line says "The Snow White Legend Comes Alive" ... what story did they read? The evil step-mother wanted to eat Snow White's heart. 

Does this look like the sort of woman who would eat a heart?

4. Snow White - Tale of Terror

I really thought I'd watch this and it would be more like the original story. It was, sorta. It also made my insides crawl a little. It wasn't really scary, just disturbing. Maybe that is what Snow White should be like. But this was all about the Wicked Step Mother and not really about Snow White at all. 

The casting was great, but the addition of some adult themes was a marketing ploy I think.

Now I need an open letter to Tim Burton asking him to please fix the mess that we are in. We need a real Snow White (not anything silly like he did with Alice, but something wonderful like Sweeney Todd).