After (Movie Review)

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Nina Soden

Title: After (2019)

Novel By: Anna Todd

Screenplay Writer: Tom Betterton, Tamara Chestna, Jenny Gage, and Susan McMartin

Stars: Josephine Langford (Tessa Young), Hero Fiennes Tiffin (Hardin Scott), Khadijha Red Thunder (Steph), and Dylan Arnold (Noah)

Genre(s): Romance/Drama | Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes | Rating: PG-13

IMDB STORY LINE:

Based on Anna Todd’s novel, AFTER follows Tessa (played by Josephine Langford), a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart, Noah (played by Dylan Arnold, as she enters her first semester in college. Armed with grand ambitions for her future, her guarded world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott (played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life. ~ Written by Aviron Pictures

Background:

Ok, lets start by pointing out that this film is based on the book AFTER by Anna Todd, who posted the first chapters of the novel on Wattpad, a free online storytelling community. The original story is said to have been based on Harry Styles and Zayn Malik from One Direction, but they were portrayed as students at Washington State University.

When her readership quickly grew passed 500 million readers on Wattpad, Anna landed herself a publishing deal and the novel was published in 2014. Paramount Pictures then acquired the rights, later returning them to Anna Todd because she wanted more freedom when it came to adapting the film. Eventually the rights were sold to Aviron and the movie was released in April of 2019.

As an author myself, I would love to have one of my books take off like this. It’s a writer’s dream come true. We’ve seen it with other fan fiction novels like the Twilight Series, the 50 Shades of Grey Series (which was actually Twilight Fan Fiction), and now AFTER just to name a few.

There is a lot of negative talk about Wattpad, and I personally have never used it because I prefer my old-school Microsoft Word, so I can’t speak to my personal experience. However, aside from AFTER, there have been a number of novels and movies that got their start on Wattpad. Most recently; The Kissing Booth (a Netflix movie) and Light as a Feather (a Hulu Series based on the Wattpad story, Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board). So, mock it all you want, but authors are being read and making things happen.

Now let’s talk about the movie… That’s why we are here, right?

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW ★★★ (3 Stars)
Writing/Story: ★★★ | Cinematography: ★★★ | Character(s)/Acting: ★★★

Writing/Story: ★★★

I haven’t read the book but, if for no other reason than to see how true to the book the movie was, I feel like I need to read it. I didn’t think the writing was bad, it was a typical college coming of age movie. It was extremely predictable and, in that sense, written in a way that most people could find at least one character to relate to. Having gone to college right out of high school, I had at least one friend that fit into each of the character molds that Anna Todd created. There were no real plot twists or surprises. The one potential twist was set up with two in-your-face foreshadowing moments. (Spoiler Alert “It was all a lie.”)

Cinematography ★★★

There are some pretty shots in this film, but the cinematography is nothing to write home about.

Character(s)/Acting: ★★★

I’ll admit the acting isn’t that great. I’m not sure if it was the director’s choice or the actors’ choices, but the long “dramatic” pauses between almost every sentence made the movie drag. I did enjoy the relationship building between Tessa and Hardin as well as between Tessa and Landon. However, I hope that there was more buildup between Tessa and Landon in the book. Landon seems like such a minor character in the movie that as a viewer, we don’t really care about him. I would imagine that in the book there is a stronger friendship between Tessa and Landon, giving us a reason to root for him. It feels like the potential for Team Noah vs. Team Hardin vs. Team Landon was there, but the movie just never made us care enough about any of the male characters (aside from Hardin) to get there. I’m hoping the book does a better job.

FUN FACT:

The copy of Wuthering Heights that we see in Hardin’s bedroom is actually the copy that author Anna Todd has had since she was a teenager.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:

“My life before him was so simple and decided, now after him…It’s just…After.”

I think most people can relate to this quote in one way or another. We all have a moment in our life that seems to change everything. We plan… we dream… we decide our future. Then, one day, something changes. Someone comes along or something happens that completely turns our world upside down and our plans fall through, our dreams fade away, and our future which was once so clear becomes uncertain.

TO SUM IT UP:

Despite the fact that I’ve seen and read a number of reviews that completely trashed this film, I have definitely seen worse. I didn’t hate it. I enjoyed it for what it was, mindless entertainment… a chance to watch the good girl fall for the bad boy in hopes of changing him. I know, when I was young and stupid, I tried to change a few bad boys too. Trust me, in real life, it never works.

I will say this though, the demographic this film is geared toward – young teenage girls – seem highly inappropriate. There isn’t a lot of overly sexual content in this film, but I have seen previews for the sequel and it definitely steps up the sexual content a few notches. So, all the 13 and 14-year-old girls who feel in love with Hardin Scott in the first film are going to really be exposed to more-than-necessary sexual content when they hide away in their bedrooms watching movie number two. On top of that, this movie also makes light of underage drinking, smoking, and use of e-cigarettes, etc.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT!!!

Have you seen AFTER? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. If not, I recommend seeing it for yourself and forming your own opinion. Have you read the book? If so, let me know if I should read it!

Click on the individual book covers below to read more about these titles by Anna Todd!

THE AFTER SERIES

THE LANDON SERIES

ANNA TODD (Author/Writer/Producer) is the New York Times bestselling author of the After series of books, The Spring Girls, and the recent The Brightest Stars.

Always an avid reader, Todd began writing stories on her phone on Wattpad, the reading and writing multiplatform for original stories, with After becoming its most-read series with over 1.5 billion reads.

The print edition of After was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster and has since been released in over 30 languages with more than 11 million copies sold worldwide. After has been a #1 bestseller across the globe including Italy, Germany, France and Spain. She has since written eight additional novels and serves as a producer and screenwriter on the upcoming film adaptation of After We Collided, the sequel to After.

Todd has been hailed by Cosmopolitan as “the biggest literary phenomenon of her generation.” A native of Ohio Anna, her husband and son currently live in Los Angeles.

Find her at AnnaTodd.com, on Twitter at @AnnaTodd, on Instagram at @AnnaTodd, and on Wattpad as Imaginator1D.

Author Interview – Esraa Yousry

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Nina Soden

I’d like to welcome Esraa Yousry, author of In Your Absence: Emerald Lover, to my site today.

Let’s start by finding out a little bit about you

What is your name and do you write under a pen name? My name is Esraa Yousry same name as my Pen Name

Where do you call home? Besides my own house? In a library but of course, my house with my beloved family and my loved ones.

Obviously, we know you are an author, but some writers have other jobs as well. Do you have another occupation? Do you believe you’re any good at it? Do you like what you do? I’m a designer, video editor, and screenwriter. I’m good at directing also.

What is your family like? When I say My family is the best I mean it. Incredibly, wonderfully, talented and loving. We’d die for each other.

Do you have any hobbies, other than writing? What do you enjoy doing? Of course, astrology is my favorite hobby. I’m a Taurus so I love knowing more about Astrology.

Not to pry too much, but do you remember your first love? And how can I forget? even though we are not together anymore but I still respect him to this day. That’s all.

What is the most terrible thing that ever happened to you? That’s a hard question, many terrible things happened to me that I can’t even name one, honestly.

What or who inspired you to start writing? And how long have you been writing? My family, that’s where it all began, they inspired me to start all of this. Professionally? for three or two years. As a hobby? maybe five years ago.

Who is your role model? My role model is Maya Angelou for sure.

What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is losing my loved ones. Maybe that’s why I’m overprotecting them, that sometimes they think that I’m controlling them.

Do you prefer e-books, paperbacks, hard-covers or audio-books? I’m more into paperbacks, hard-covers.

Have you ever read a book just based on its cover? Maybe once? you know they always say never judge a book by its cover, but I did once and it was the worst.

What is your favorite film based on a book? Let me be clear, I hate when books are turned into movies. It loses its identity.

What is your favorite book genre at the moment? Literature.

What books have made it onto your wish list recently? And why? I don’t have any on my wish list recently, I don’t know why or maybe It’s just me. But nothing really attracts me right now. Recently, books are cheap and that’s my own opinion maybe it’s wrong.

What book are you reading at the moment? And in what format? At the moment, I’m not reading any. I’m currently supervising the writing of some new books by new writers.

Let’s shift somewhat and talk about your latest story.

What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 20 or fewer words, what would you say? The name of my most recent book is In Your Absence: Emerald Lover. It’s all about relationships, culture, beauty, love, family and pain.

Is the above book part of a series? Yes, the book is part of the In Your Absence series.

How did you come up with the covers? Who designed the covers of your book(s)? The cover is Inspired by my African culture and roots. The cover is designed by me.

Did you listen to any particular songs while writing your book(s)? The answer is yes. Actually, the songs I was listening to inspired me to write more of what I even expected to write in this book.

How did you come up with the title for your book(s)? The title is a secret, that only a few will understand but maybe if you read it you will understand why I gave it this title.

Do you have a book trailer? If so, where can we watch it? No, I don’t have a book trailer.

How did you come up with the idea for your latest book? My culture, my family and my own experiences.

Let’s talk now about your writing process.

What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter? I change my mind a lot so, I’m a Pantser. I start at the beginning and let the characters and situation determine what happens next.

Are you a self-published/Indie author or did you publish through a traditional publishing company? I’m a self-published author.

If you’re a self-published/Indie author what made you go that route instead of the traditional publishing route? I choose to be a self-published author so I can do whatever I want, I can control my whole writing process from writing to publishing.

What’s the best advice that you have been given when it comes to writing? “To pen down something isn’t a big deal. But to pen, something that has never been said or something spoke like never before takes courage and skill.”

What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing? My advice is to ask themselves why do you want to become a writer? If you want to do it for the love of the writing itself then do it, if not for the whole process then just let it go. It’s not for you. But if you do it for the whole Idea and process of writing then just try to be professional in every way and in everything that you do, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make mistakes. Of course not, you’ll fail many times but it makes you more educated. Write on a regular basis and know who you are writing for.

Where can your readers follow you?

FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM WEBSITE GOODREADS

Also by Esraa Yousry:

MADRE: Three kids realize they’re stuck in the basement of a psychopath old woman who claims to be their mom, and forces them to call her “Mommy”, can they escape this nightmare?

If you have questions for Esraa, please comment below and she will answer them as they come in.

The Atlantis Bloodline ~ Giveaway

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Nina Soden

I’m so excited to be one of many tour hosts sharing information about The Atlantis Bloodline by C.A. Gray

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

C.A. Gray is the author of three YA Amazon bestselling trilogies: PIERCING THE VEIL (magic and quantum physics meet Arthurian legends), THE LIBERTY BOX (dystopian metaphysics and mind control technology), and UNCANNY VALLEY (dystopian coming-of-age with neuroscience and super intelligent A.I). She starts with some scientific concept that she’s interested in learning more about herself, and then creates lots of epic chaos and high-stakes action to go along with it. Her stories are free of gratuitous violence, language, and sexual content, and she abhors depressing endings… but they’re not all kittens and rainbows either!

She also listens to and reviews audiobooks on her website (www.authorcagray.com), Goodreads, Instagram, and on her podcast, Clean Audiobook Reviews, where she also occasionally interviews other authors.

By day, C.A. Gray practices naturopathic medicine, podcasts, and writes medical non-fiction under her maiden name (Lauren Deville). She lives in Tucson, AZ with her husband Frank, and together they maintain an occasionally contentious film review blog (under her real name: Lauren Baden. Three names. Yes.) She’s kind of the queen of multitasking–so in her spare time, she creates whatever meals or crafts she found most recently on Pinterest, drinks lots of coffee (Aeropress btw) and occasional wine (reds–and she saves the corks for craft projects), works out (while listening to audiobooks), and studies the Bible (about half of the podcasts on Christian Natural Health are scripture meditations). …She does sleep, too.

Join her newsletter for best-of-the-month reads, freebies and giveaway information, as well as new releases! http://eepurl.com/F3rof

I love when I get to interview a guest author and really get to know them. C.A. Gray is a pleasure and I’m proud to be hosting her book.

What can we expect from you in the future?

I’m working on something a little different this time. It’s an early chapter reader/middle grade series in which three 9-10 year old kids (Gabe, Elizabeth, and Marty) apprentice under a time-traveling magician called Thrylos, traveling to various critical moments in history. They must battle against the evil magician Kakovoulos, ensuring that history turns out as we know it, rather than taking a much darker turn. I love the historical research I get to do for this one! For instance: did you know that Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates? Or that Plato was once sold as a slave? Or that in 1908 an asteroid nearly hit London that would have wiped out the entire city? True stories, all. Not sure how my kids are going to save the day, but they totally are… Now I just have to figure out the whole illustration thing! 🙂

How did you come up with the title of your first novel?

The first novel was Intangible, and the original name for it was Ripple Effect. It referred to a quantum mechanical principle, but it was just so vague. Intangible isn’t much better, I’ll admit, but I wanted an alliteration theme with all one word: Intangible, Invincible, and Impossible is what I came up with. I know better now — I need to have some keywords in there!

Who designed your book covers?

Now I do them all on Design Crowd so each is done by a different person, though I’ve used a few designers more than once.

How did you come up with name of this book?

Actually I originally intended to call it just Bloodline. It was the name of a sermon series at my church, and I thought, that would be an awesome book title!! But then I decided, not enough keywords for Amazon searching. And since it was about descendants of Atlantis, and that’s a BIG keyword, bingo. (Then I ended making Bloodline the name of Kai’s band.)

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

I LOVED writing the initial tension between Ada and Kai as they got to know each other, and Ada wasn’t sure what his deal was. I knew what was happening and I still felt the suspense!

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

Oh I’d totally hang out Esme (I’d say Kai, but I’m married) 😉 and she’d take me to the Mermaid Cove where we would swim with the mermaids! And then she’d take me to the Faerie Glen. I never even give the faeries any page time in this book, but I’d like to meet them.

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

I think all of my main characters have aspects of me in them, because I imagine how I would react in a given situation or how I might say something, and I put that in their heads or their mouths. But I suspect I’m pulling all of my characters from experience, whether it be myself, others, or fictional archetypes. You write what you know.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

A little bit of both. I have outlines, but the outlines are pretty fluid. Sometimes as I’m writing a scene, I realize that something needs to be said or done that I didn’t plan for, and I just go with it.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

This book is a bunch of my favorite things, all meshed together: romantic suspense, a Cinderella-ish story, a secret society, mermaids, magic, and mythology… how could you not be intrigued? 🙂

Is there an writer which brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?

Marissa Meyer or Orson Scott Card. Both of them have such distinctive narrative voices (though completely different from one another.) I could read anything by either of them, no matter what it’s about, and be engrossed. I want to know how they pull that off!

The Atlantis Bloodline by C.A. Gray
Genre: YA Fantasy

When sweet Ada Edwards meets the mysterious Kaison Hughes, lead singer of the biggest band in the world, she can’t understand what he sees in her. Despite everyone’s warnings about him, she’s rapidly falling in love. But it’s obvious he has a secret, and he’s not all he appears to be.

Kai’s life isn’t his own, and his fame isn’t the half of it. As a member of a secret organization known as the Elioud, descended from the Atlantean daughters of the Pleiades, he’s been commissioned with a task: to reintegrate the lost line of Maia into their ranks. It just so happens that Ada is the one they’ve been looking for. He doesn’t know what they intend to do to her, and he doesn’t care. All he wants is the prize for a successful mission: one unqualified wish, which he intends to spend on his beloved sister’s freedom.

There’s just one problem: Kai’s falling in love with Ada, too.

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Would you like to win a $25 Amazon gift card? Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

#Theredheadedauthor Presents the March 2020 New York Times TOP 10 Best Sellers – YOUNG ADULT

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Nina Soden

As an avid reader of fiction (and an author who one day hopes to make the list) I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE checking out the New York Times Best Seller list. So, here it is… The independently ranked top 10 Young Adult selections for March 2020!

If you’ve read any of the TOP 10 selections and recommend them, please comment below and let me know. If you see something you like and plan to pick up a copy, you can do so by clicking on the cover image, the title or the [BUY IT HERE] button.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

#1 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

by Holly Jackson

While trying to solve a murder-suicide case for her senior project, Pip now finds her life in jeopardy.

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As an avid reader of fiction (and an author who one day hopes to make the list) I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE checking out the New York Times Best Seller list. So, here it is… The independently ranked top 10 Young Adult selections for March 2020!

If you’ve read any of the TOP 10 selections and recommend them, please comment below and let me know. If you see something you like and plan to pick up a copy, you can do so by clicking on the cover image, the title or the [BUY IT HERE] button.

#1 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

#2 One of Us is Next

#3 Children of Virtue and Vengeance

#4 One of Us Is Lying

#5 The Hate U Give

#6 The Queen’s Assassin

#7 Infinity Son

#8 Children of Blood and Bone

#9 Yes No Maybe So

#10 Five Feet Apart

As an avid reader of fiction (and an author who one day hopes to make the list) I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE checking out the New York Times Best Seller list. So, here it is… The independently ranked top 10 Fiction selections for March 2020!

If you’ve read any of the TOP 10 selections and recommend them, please comment below and let me know. If you see something you like and plan to pick up a copy, you can do so by clicking on the cover image, the title or the [BUY IT HERE] button.

#1 One Minute Out

#2 American Dirt

#3 Where the Crawdads Sing

#4 Little Fires Everywhere

#5 Chasing Cassandra

#6 The Silent Patient

#7 Golden In Death

#8 The Dutch House

#9 The Giver of Stars

#10 The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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Comment below and tell me which of these selections you plan to see or plan to skip!

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The 2020 Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo is right around the corner!!!

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