The fault in our stars- The novel that changed many lives

"Okay? Okay." This is not just a phrase. This is the very existence of our generation, the very soul of every teenager in the twenty first century. Ok, that may be a bit too far fetched, but it definitely means something to a lot of people out there in the world, I being one of them. This is the phrase that created this epic love story between two people who were meant to be together, even if it was only for a short span of time.

Hazel Grace Lancaster is a terminal cancer patient. She lives a monotonous life...reading the same novel over and over again, doing the same things everyday. One day her mother enrolls her to a Cancer Support group. Hazel isn't excited about meeting people and sharing her story. So she reluctantly goes for her first session and meets the most charismatic and endearing person, Augustus Waters. They become friends and decide to swap their favourite novels. So, Augustus got Hazel's copy of 'An imperial affliction' and Hazel got 'The price of dawn'. Hazel expects Augutus to call her but nothing comes from his end for a while. Then one night, he messages her asking questions about the novel she gave. Hazel then explains the silent torture of reading 'An imperial affliction'. The story is narrated by Anna a girl who suffers from cancer. She talks about her life and everyone in it. Suddenly towards the end of the novel she stops mid sentence, not revealing the end of her story. Hazel wrote many letters to the author, Peter Van Houten, but there was no reply. A week after this, Augustus writes an email to Lidewij, Peter Van Houten's assistant who invites the two of them to Amsterdam to clear all their queries about the novel. Augustus breaks the news to Hazel and they both get ready for their trip. Unfortunately, one night, Hazel's lungs get filled with fluid and she's admitted to the hospital. Her doctors advise her not to go to Amsterdam in such a condition. But her mother secretly plans the whole thing because she wanted to fulfil Hazel's wish.

Finally the day arrives when they leave for Amsterdam. The three of them, Hazel, her mother and Augustus plan a three-day trip. They first go and visit Mr. Van Houten. Hazel's image of this person was someone sophisticated and level-headed. But he turns out to be a drunken, mean-spirited man who doesn't answer any of her questions. Utterly distraught, the two leave and go to see Anne Frank's house and share their first kiss.
The next day they head back to Indianapolis and Augustus confesses that he doesn't have much time left. Hazel then understands that she is undoubtedly in love with this person and nothing could stop them from being together. Except, death. As Augustus's condition weakens, he asks Hazel to write a eulogy for him as he wanted to attend his own funeral. Hazel says how much she loves him and how grateful she is to Augustus for giving her a 'forever' within numbered days.

John Green has unquestionably written one of the best peices of fiction. It reflects how love transcends all boundaries and ultimately triumphs in the end. The pinnacle of this novel would be the flawless character of Augustus Waters who seems completely perfect! This novel gives hope to all those people out there who don't have a reason to live. It gives them hope, that there is someone out there waiting for you...you just have to get up, go out and find that person. This is an evergreen novel and will be a classic in the years to come.

Upside down- A movie like no other

How far would you go to find love? Across oceans, over mountains yes, but to a different planet? Well, it seems as though Adam has defied the laws of Physics and found his soul mate after all. This story is about a two-planet world which has dual gravity. Dual gravity is a phenomenon where two planets can orbit each other in what would otherwise be impossible. The societies of the two worlds are always separated. The upper world (up above) is home to the rich, while the lower world (down below) is home to the poor. A person from Up Above going Down Below or vice versa is strictly forbidden and is a punishable offense.

Adam was an orphan in Down Below. His only living relative was his great aunt. He used to climb a mountain that led him to the fields where he found the Pink Bees. This mountain is the closest point between the two planets. During these trips, one day he sees a girl, Eden, from Up Above and befriends her. As time moves on, the two fall in love with each other and one fateful day they are separated.
Ten year later, Adam goes to Up Above to work for the biggest company, TransWorld. This is when he gets to know that Eden is still alive and tries to find her. He impersonates himself as an employee from Up Above to meet Eden hoping she'd remember him but sadly she doesn't. During one of his product demonstrations, Eden sees him and is utterly shocked that he lied to her. Heartbroken, Eden goes home and tries to remember Adam and finally gets a few hints here and there. They get back together and things go pretty well. Until the police forces from Up Above get to know a person from Down Below is residing in their world, Adam becomes a fugitive and is sent back to his planet believing that he'd never see Eden again. But will the force of love over come the force of gravity and defy the laws of Physics?

Upside down is a beautiful mashup of romance and science fiction. It creates a very mysterious atmosphere and the story is truly unique. It's one of those movies that stay with you forever.

Brave- A new look towards girls

Disney has always depicted  princesses to be "damsels in distress" where they depend on the Prince to save the day and have a happily ever after. Brave was the first movie where the story revolved around a girl, the main character of the film, Merida. But, Merida is not the ordinary princess. She's a rebellious girl who wants to spend all day having fun and shooting arrows in the woods. But for a princess, this behaviour is just not accepted. Her mother, the queen, starts preparing her to be more princess-like and tries to ge her in shape for her betrothal ceremony. But Merida is not ready for a marriage just yet! Distraught, she runs to the woods and finds a witch there. The witch decides to help her and gives a spell that can change her mother's mind about the marriage. But when the spell changes her mother into a bear, things go completely out of control. She now needs to keep her mother safe from her father, the bear king who would kill any bear in sight. During this, a surprising turn of events takes place when the mother and daughter start to understand each other and find the deep love they have for each other.

This is a magical movie experience for all ages. The Scottish accent by the voice-overs definitely gives the movie a depth. The main idea of the movie is to show that girls are not to be taken lightly and if they set their minds on something nothing can stop them. This one is an all-time favourite!

The fascinating world of Percy Jackson

There is always a point in life when one feels he doesn't belong anywhere. Well, if you were a twelve-year old, dyslexic and ADHD boy, you'd have such depressing thoughts quite often. Percy Jackson is not an ordinary boy. He has been expelled from every school he has ever attended. He can't read like normal children and he has a weird knack of attracting all sorts of trouble and danger.
Percy is a Demigod- half human-half god. The reason he can't read is because his brain is wired for ancient Greek and the reason trouble follows wherever he goes is because monsters are searching for him in every inch of the globe. Why? Well, rumour has it that Percy Jackson has stolen the lightning bolt of Zeus!

During school, Percy goes through a traumatic experience when his English teacher transforms into a Fury and demands to see the lightning bolt. Soon after, Percy's mother is abducted by the Minotaur and Grover, his protector takes him to Camp Half-blood the only place where demigods are safe. In this camp all demigods are claimed by their Godly parent and start their training in the arena. A few Demigods are given quests which are formed by prophecies said by the Three Fates.
Percy is accompanied by Annabeth, and Grover go on their first quest. Their prophecy states- 

"You shall go west and face the god who has turned
you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned
you shall be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend
and fail to save what matters most in the end."

Their main objective is to prove Percy's innocence to Zeus and get his mother back from the underworld. But, it won't be an easy task. They have to go through dangerous monsters like Medusa, Echidna and the Chimera. To make things worse, they have a traitor in their midst about which they have no clue. Will Percy be able to meet the deadline and save the world from destruction?

The novel is lightning paced and definitely keeps you on the edge. The movie on the other hand isn't the best effort because of basic mistakes such as the casting of the main three who were supposed to be twelve-year olds but were actually sixteen year olds. But according to me, the novel had an edge over the movie. The next books in the series are The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian. All of them are in my top list of good reads!

 

Frozen- Disney's first attempt at realism

The first time I saw Frozen, it was obvious that there were a few missing things like 'the princess finding true love' or 'falling in love with some guy she just met'. Frozen was all about sisterhood, how strong the bond of sisters can be and that you don't always need a Prince Charming to save you at the end of the day. The movie starts with Elsa and Anna playing in the snow. Elsa, the older one, had the power of ice. She would create wonders to amuse Anna. One day one of her creations went badly wrong and the ice hit Anna, leaving her unconscious and cold. Her parents took her to the Trolls and they cured her in a heartbeat. But the only warning they gave was that if she be hit again, she wouldn't survive the blow.  Elsa felt extremely terrible for causing such a disaster and decided to stay away from Anna, only to protect her.

Years passed and Elsa's Coronation day arrived. Although Anna was ecstatic about meeting new people, the same could not be said for Elsa. She just had to pluck up the courage and go through her coronation without revealing her secret powers. But as the evening proceeds, Elsa couldn't contain her powers and made Arrendelle a cold and frozen place. Utterly shocked and scared, Elsa makes a run for the snowy mountains and builds her own ice palace.
Meanwhile, Anna decides to go to Elsa to convince her to come back home and reverse the spell. But, will Elsa risk it all again and put her sister in danger or will she turn her back and never return?
So, Anna sets out on a journey and meets some unexpected people who help her fulfill her quest. In the end, is Anna ready to return Arrendelle to its former glory even if it means putting herself in danger?

Frozen is a spectacular movie for all ages. It has a perfect balance of humour and suspense. The songs definitely give the much required edge to the movie. Characters and their voice-overs have done and impeccable job! This movie concentrates more on the relationship between the two sisters and tests their love to see how far one would go to save the other. A must watch!

 

The dawn of a new beginning

Today was definitely a day of change for me. I've been learning music for about ten years now. All things come to a logical conclusion but my music was just not reaching anywhere close to it. Besides music, my life revolves around reading and writing. So, today I finally decided to end music and start a blog...something I've always wanted to do. This blog would mainly be focused on reviews of movies and novels. Keep a look out for the reviews. Happy reading!