'The Duff' by Kody Keplinger

Nothing like seeing a movie trailer to encourage me to read the book!

When ‘hottest boy in school’ Wesley, calls Bianca “the Duff” (that is the Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her friendship group, she throws her drink in his face and heads home. The insult sticks in her mind and Bianca is soon stuck in a spiral of negative thoughts - which isn’t helped when her home life suffers a blow with her mother increasingly absent and her father teetering on the edge of an alcoholic breakdown after divorce papers arrive. The final straw comes when her English teacher assigns partners for an essay, and she gets, Wesley. In a moment of weakness, she kisses him - and sets off quite the chain of events.

Author Kody Keplinger, was 17 when she wrote this - the same age as the characters in this book.

Sharni @ Balwyn Library 

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Post movie blues... Part 1

Woah, Divergent has finally reached our screens and I cannot wait to finally see it! I'm hoping it's as good as the books and that the cast does justice the the world and plot I've immersed myself in for the three books in the series. BUT, whilst I loved reading the trilogy over many weeks, a movie only lasts for a couple of hours. How will we overcome the post movie blues?

Keep an eye out for a few posts giving you some ideas to get you through this challenging time....

Idea no.1! Get excited about the other YA movies due out in 2014!! Here's a list to get you going...

• The Fault in our Stars. Can't wait!! Watch the trailer here.
  
• The giver ( a book by Louis Lowry). Here's the trailer...
• Maze Runner. This looks great! Trailer here.
• Mockingjay. Guaranteed to be as good as the first two movies! No trailer yet....
• The Hobbit.  Part three! (Yes, I don't know how such a short story was made into a trilogy either, but at least we get to enjoy Peter Jackson's movie making brilliance one more time!) There's no trailer yet, but the official website is pretty cool.
• If I Stay. Based on a YA novel of the same name by Gayle Forman.
• Trash based on the novel by Andy Mulligan. 

Happy viewing!

Caitlin @ Balwyn.

What now?

• Add your thoughts about in the comments below.
• Go to the catalogue and reserve it.
• Borrow it as an ebook.
• Review a book yourself.

The fault in our stars - movie update!

Contain your excitement people! The full cast for the film adaptation of John Green's 'The fault in our stars' has finally been announced. Playing Hazel and Augustus are Shailene Woodley, a fairly seasoned actress and Ansel Elgort, who is a relative newcomer. In exciting news for us oldies, legendary actor Willem Dafoe has been cast as alcoholic author Peter Van Houten.

You can see more information about the movie and cast at the IMDB website and watch footage on set with the cast and John Green on his blog, here and here. Hooray!

The film is currently being shot in Pittsburgh and is due for release sometime in 2014. Bring it on!

Beautiful creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina where nothing happens, nothing changes, the people are small minded and their view of the world doesn't extend outside the lines of their county. The arrival of Lena Duchannes, niece of reclusive Macon Ravenwood, sets the town abuzz, giving its residents plenty to gossip about and plenty to disapprove of.

However, there is something about Lena that Ethan is drawn to; her beauty of course, but also a connection between the two, including shared dreams and the ability to talk psychically. Lena has arrived in the countdown to her 16^th birthday, when her birthright will be awakened, her powers will grow stronger, and she will turn either light or dark. Can Ethan and Lena discover the secret history of her family which dictates her destiny? Can they stop the dark forces within the town and within her family, which are determined to destroy her? Can the two star crossed-lovers - one mortal, one magical - find a way to be together?

An entertaining read with a few twists and turns along the way and plenty more reading for fans with a further three titles in the series. Oh, and it's been made into a movie, scheduled for release in February 2013. You can learn more about the movie here.

Caitlin @ Balwyn
What now?

• Add your thoughts about in the comments below.
• Go to the catalogue and reserve it.
• Borrow it as an ebook.
• Review a book yourself.