Hugo

Yesterday, I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and today, I went and watched Hugo in the cinema. Both experiences were wonderfully captivating and magical, and I wanted to share this magic with you.

The story is of an orphan boy who tends the clocks in a railway station in Paris in the 1930s. He loves mechanical things, and by the end of either the book or the film, you probably will too.

Clocks!

The book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is a story told in both pictures and text. It really captures the imagination, and doesn't take a long time to read, despite being over 500 pages long. The pictures, or illustrations, or drawings - whatever you call them - are wonderfully made, sometimes with exquisite detail, and sometimes with lots of tension. But no matter what emotion or feeling they convey, they do so beautifully, full of life. The combination of pictures and text is magical. The two ways the story is told complement each other, and work together to create a wonderful atmosphere of childlike wonder. The emotions are so well conveyed in the pictures, I felt as if I was Hugo Cabret, experiencing all this for the first time.

The film, Hugo, captures the mood and feeling of the book very well. Of course, things are added and things are taken away, but aren't they always in the process of making a good film from a book? In my opinion, the core of the book was captured very well. The atmosphere is just right, the magic comes to life, and I am left with the same childlike wonder. The score is beautiful, and it all just comes together.

I would highly recommend both the book and the film, for children of any age, be it nine or ninety (maybe not under nine, though). It is a wonderful journey into a magical land of clocks, robots, and early film. I think you should embark on this journey, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Fault in Our Stars (arrived today)

Happy Julie is happy (and tired).

So The Fault in Our Stars arrived today - it was signed with a BLUE J scribble! Happy Julie is happy. I unboxed it - realised there was indeed a J scribble in my book (and in my favourite colour!) - quickly made dinner (for the next four to five days), ate it fast (only one portion, of course), and settled down to read. I read (almost) continuously for nearly five hours, sitting on my bed. I laughed, I cried, I read lines out loud to myself, I cried some more, I laughed, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In my case, I believe John Green has achieved his goal, to make the reader feel ALL OF THE THINGS!

It's perfect - and BLUE!

Reading this book was a wonderful, exhilarating experience, probably helped along by my anticipation and long period of waiting for it. I loved this book, and for me, right now (less than an hour after finishing reading the book), it stands as the best book John has written. This book grabbed me, took me on a wild roller coaster ride, and let me get off panting for my breath with a huge grin on my face. It did this better than any of John's other books have done. The characters captured me, I cared (a lot), I loved them, cried with them, and I laughed with them.

I want to thank John Green, not only for writing this wonderful piece of literature, but for taking us, the Nerdfighers, with you on the ride. Thank you for descending into signing psychosis to sign the whole first printing, thank you for making hilariously bad videos with barbaric yawps and horrible fashion sense. Thank you for building and maintaining a wonderful community together with your brother, Hank. Thank you for ALL OF THE THINGS! (Like you said when you had that eye problem back in 2007 - you say thank you a lot when you're in hospital. Well now it's my turn to say thank you back.)

In conclusion, this was a great book, and I loved it. I am really thankful to John Green for writing it, and to John and Hank Green for building Nerdfighteria. The Fault in Our Stars is just a wonderful book. But don't listen to me, I'm biased. Read it yourself!