Movie: Ask Me Anything

Having read the book Undiscovered Gyrl over the summer I was really looking forward to seeing the movie and to see how the film tackles many of the issues that the book handles.

I have to say that while I liked the book this is a case where I liked the movie better.  Which was really surprise me. 

The first 30 minutes of the movie were a little iffy. I found myself facing a bit of a learning curve with Katie. Brit Robinson ( who won Best Actress at the Nashville Film Festival for her performance in this film) is an actress I have been a fan of since  the Disney Channel movie Avalon High, seemed to have a bit of a hard time finding her footing in the start of the movie. Almost like she couldn't find the core of the character. She always standing very funny and also her behavior seemed to lack realism at times.This might have been part of her plan however it did little to pull me into the film. After those first 30 minutes she steadily seemed to shed this part of the character, and therefor became more relatable and believable.  I think that one of her finest moments was when she was seeking wisdom from Martin Sheen. Another when she was talking on the phone with her friend Joel's mother. Even after the movie was over I found myself thinking about those scenes. They really stayed with me as I'm sure it will stay with many audience members.

The supporting cast also did a wonderful job. Most notable of them being Martin Sheen and  Justin Long. Both gave very real performances that added a nice layer to the movie. 

However I think that the real star of the film was the music. Normally it is so hard to find a film with music that was so well tailored to not only the character but the style and pace of the movie as well.  by the end of the film I found myself wanting the Ask Me Anything soundtrack. Interestingly enough  entire soundtrack is made up of songs submitted to a contest via Craig's List.  The songs had to be written and performed by a female, 21 years old and younger. Undiscovered girls you could say.

The soundtrack very rightfully won best music at the Nashville Film Festival.

On the behind the scenes side  of things, I was very impressed by the over all quality of the film, given it's tight budget. 

Whoever made the call not to have the film play into all of those blogger cliches was brilliant.
I had been fearful that the movie would done like a series of blog post.
But thankfully it was not. While that style worked for the book it would have created a far to great disconnect in the movie. The only thing that fell short on that side was the flash backs. To me it was too over the top.  rather than pulling me into Katie's past it had me losing interested in her back story. 

A highlight of the film was the ending for me.  And while I can't talk about it as both a fan of the book and movie it was wonderful. Above and beyond what I had hoped for.

(UN-  However the film does contain brief nudity,and langue) 

Stars: * * * 3.6
LINK TO TRAILER 

The film can be rented from, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, On demand, direcTV, AT&T  Xbox, Sony, Verizon, and many more.

Book: Kingdom Of Little Wounds

 I'm sure that you can see why I could not wait to read this book. This cover is by far one of my favorites of 2013.
This book started off a little rough for me. I was not sure of what was going on or the writing style. Though beautiful my reviewers copy had many errors with front and format. Something that I hope they have since fixed.   The writing of the book is at times beautiful. I was very happy with that. The story matched the writing. And the characters add a very colorful layer to the book. Making it a very strong read.  The historical side to the book was cream of the crop. I was very happy with it and even felt like I learned many things from the book, such as basic facts about the time and also a great understanding of what living in that time might have been like. It was not one of those historical books were I sat around thinking " oh that's not right. Or oh that is no way true". So rather or not the book was truly right on the mark historically it felt that way to me.
 The one area I was rather let down in was the fact that I felt the book was really YA. I felt that it might have been better off under new Adult or just adult. Sure YA readers might like it better than some adult readers do but truly the topic and many of the events of the book are very mature.  And for me that was something that really had me let down. While this does not take away from the story,writing or over all plot of the book it did take a lot out of the enjoyment for me.  When I see YA on a book as both reader and blogger I plan on getting a YA book. Getting something that is very clearly not YA bothers me greatly. I found that while 16 years could read this it was really a book that 17 and up might enjoy better.  I feel that on the book it should say 18 and up because really that's what it felt like to me the read the book was written for.
Now as a blogger this bothered me greatly because I felt that is was just another case of saying the book was YA so as to sell more copies of the book. Because publishers see that there is a lot of money to be made in YA. There is only money to be made in YA if the book is truly YA.
Over all I did like the book many of its points.

( New Adult/ Adult - 18 and up)
Stars:   * * *  3.6           LEVEL: NOT YA!

Book: Sideshow of Merit

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  The Story sounded really interesting.
But sadly this was not something that I can say I really liked or enjoyed reading.
 For me the book had it's good points when you looked hard enough. It was not terrible and I'm sure that  author did put a lot of time into it. The best way to start off the review was is by saying that had i not been reviewing this I would have stopped reading it all together.  However that being said I could not read a book that I did not like the main characters, and that had so much choppy writing. First off though the book is said to be YA I disagree with this. In many ways. I think this is more new adult myself. But I will hold it up to other YA while writing the review.
 I do had a very hard time with the gay love story in this book because it felt so... out of place. Like the writer was not sure about the love story. Which lead to me being unsure about it.
Now let me stated I gay love straight love to me it's love. I enjoy reading "gay" YA books and when i find a good one I love it.  But in this book it felt like it was done as a trick.  A cop out.
That bothered me. THis is not some trend in YA books. And just because you have a gay love story in it does mean that it will sell. And I think that the lack of going over many of the problems that they would have faced at that time in history being gay and such topics as abuse and etc.
I feel that if you are trying to have that as a key part in your story you have to write about. I would much rather have a write stated their thoughts on these matters than not say anything at all.  Because why are we reading about if not to learn something. Even if we don't agree with it.
So than add to this the fact that the book was slow moving and had choppy writing.
After reading up on Nicole I really do hope that her next book is better. And I would be more than willing to give her a second chance.  I also hope that next time her book is put in the right age group.

( YA NEW adult - 17 and up)

Stars: * 1.8                                 LEVEL: Better Luck Next Time



I was given a copy of the book by the publisher. This did not in anyway effect my review or thoughts on the book