Rumors, My Most Excellent Year, and Les Misérables

I'll be talking about two books and one movie in this post. It's odd, because the one book that I read entirely by choice, Rumors, I wasn't as impressed with. However, the two things I was kind of forced to endure (My Most Excellent Year for bookclub and Les Misérables for history class) I absolutely loved. *Shrug* I guess the world works in mysterious ways. . . . . Well, I'll start with Rumors. This book was the sequel to The Luxe, which I already raved about in a past post. Er, this is hard-ish to describe. . . . I liked this book, but that's about all I can say for it. It just wasn't as consuming and fascinating as The Luxe was. I'm not really sure what it was that made it worse, either. I suppose it was a bit slower, and DEFINITELY sadder. It wasn't bad, though, just a bit of a letdown for me. Honestly, I don't have much to say about this book, so I'll just leave it at this: Read The Luxe. It's fantastic, but if you do read The Luxe, you'll have to read Rumors, which isn't as fantastic, but you have to read it to find out what happens. There's one book in the series left, and it's called Envy. I'll let you guys know what I think of Envy once I get it, which shouldn't be too long (I have it reserved at the library). This book was AMAZING!! Loved it, LOVED IT, couldn't get enough of it, WONDERFUL book!! *Deep Breath* Sorry, I get excited : D This book isn't written like a traditional story is written, it's a bunch of e-mails, IM's, text messages, and journal entries of three main characters (they're all 14 years old): T.C. Keller: Lives with his dad, he lost his mom at a young age : ( He follows his dreams closely, and has a very big heart. T.C. is one of those characters that you can't help but love, he's just a great kid! His dad is very encouraging, one of those, "you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it," cool dads. It is with this can-do-it attitude that T.C. walks into his 9th grade year with. . . . . and then he meets Alejandra, and suddenly he learns that some things just don't work out as planned. Also, a mysterious 6-year-old boy teaches T.C. several things about himself that he might never have figured out on his own. Alejandra Perez: She is the daughter of some ambassador (can't remember which) and has been dragged through extremely boring, political gatherings her entire life. It's been assumed for a long time that she would get a degree in government at Harvard, and she hasn't exactly fought it, even though her interests lie elsewhere. Going into 9th grade, she considers herself FAR too smart to fall for the gray T-shirt wearing T.C. Keller. He's not even worth giving a chance, and neither is their school talent show. Such things are below Alejandra. Augie Hwong: Is fabulous, and he's not afraid of showing it! ^_^ He hates football, but pursues other sports, even though musicals are his passion!! With a great brother like T.C. with him, 9th grade is looking great for Augie. But when Andy Wexler catches Augie's eye, things suddenly get a heck of a lot more complicated... where SHOULD he look exactly when he's in the locker room? Was life ALWAYS this confusing?! My Most Excellent Year also happens to be hilarious along with heartwarming, so I highly recommend it to anybody who wants a light, simple book to enjoy. I was sure that this movie would be another boring history movie that I would just have to suffer through while trying to ignore the comments of Allie G. (he wants me to call him that, but his name is Aleks), but it actually held my interest the entire time. Not only that, but I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair, dying to know what would happen next. Don't get me wrong, this movie is NOT for everybody. It's sad, there's a lot of violence, and the ending isn't exactly a feel-good ending. . . . . In fact, it's odd that I liked the movie so much. It's such a downer, but I was glued to the screen from start to finish. In this case, I'm not really sure if it's a good movie, I could just be weird. Anyway, it's set in France around the start of the French Revolution. The story follows Jean Val Jean, a convict who was only guilty of stealing a loaf of bread when he was starving during a harsh time of his life. He even did his time in prison for it! However, that one event haunts him for his entire life because one man, Javert is determined to prove that Lafitte (the name that Jean Val Jean claims for the majority of the movie) is really the convict Jean Val Jean. Love does find Jean Val Jean, but of course (this movie really is horribly depressing, I have no clue why I liked it so much) tragedy strikes and he's left with almost nothing to live for. However, one little girl named Cosette gives Jean Val Jean hope, and then the story pretty much follows her. Does she find love? If so, will tragedy strike them again?? You'll have to watch the movie if you want to find out. Be warned, I'm not necessarily recommending the movie. Here's the trailer if you're interested: ~I'm on Spring Break, and loving it : )