The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I picked up The Perks of Being a Wallflowerby Stephen Chbosky after seeing Dan Trachtenbergtalk about it on the Totally Rad Show. I'm so glad that I did. It's a funny, moving, wonderful book.

The book tells the story of Charlie, a high school freshman near Pittsburgh during the 1991-92 school year, through a series of letters that he writes to an unnamed friend. Charlie starts out as a shy, unpopular, kind of weird, wallflower who grows up through the course of the school year. He meets new friends, experiments with drugs and experiences an entirely new life. It has the emotional ups and downs, awkwardness, and discovery of growing up.

I could really identify with Charlie's character. I would say that I'm something of a wallflower too (shocker right? not), and alittle bit sad like Charlie is. That I over think things, instead of just experiencing things. That I lose myself in another world, like a book, or a move, instead of living in the real world. There were moments when I could have sworn that the book was written just for me.

Which is really the best kind of book. One that speaks to you on a personal level, that effects the way you look at your own life. The Perks of Being a Wallflower might not be for everyone (specifically some of the content might be difficult for people to read), but I loved it.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (XBox 360)

It's safe to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of the Wolverine movie, but after hearing a ton of good word of mouth about the video game based on it I decided to give it a shot. I'm very glad that I did, the game is just a good time.

Following the same basic storyline as the film, you play as Wolverine in two different time periods, during a mission in Africa as part of a US military team, and immediately following the Weapon X experiments in Canada. You meet, and fight other mutants like other mutants, including the Blob, and Gambit along with the usual soldiers, robots and creatures.

This game isn't really anything new, it's just a basic third person hack and slash game, but it does let you experience what being Wolverine really should be like. He takes a ton of damage, and just keeps going. The best part of which is actually seeing the damage inflicted on your character. You show the wounds you take, and they heal slowly over time. It's the first time I remember ever seeing Wolverine's healing factor portrayed like this in a game. It's greatly appreciated.

Wolverine is not a game for children. Above and beyond seeing Wolverine's wounds, it's a gory game in general. You don't just kill your enemies, you tear them apart, leaving little bits of them everywhere. It's far too violent, and gory for children, definitely earning its M rating. But that's part of the fun. It's just a bloody good time.

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

People have been telling me for years that I needed to read the Scott Pilgrim comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley. I've been somewhat resistant, not being a huge fan of the manga style art, but finally relented and ordered the first volume. I'm so glad I did!

First things first, even though I was resistant to the art style at firstit eventually started to grow on me. It might not be my favorite art in the world, but it has its moments.

But what really made the book great for me is the writing. The characters are well developed, interesting and deep. All of whichare conveyed in just short little snippets of dialogue. You can see Scott's insecurities, and how he relates to everyone around him in just a few pages. It's just amazing.

Add to all of that the amazing sense of humor, and just general weirdness of the book, and I'm completely in love. So much so that I've already got the second volume on the way.

Q & A (aka Slumdog Millionaire the novel)

Q& A by Vikas Swarup (since retitled to Slumdog Millionaire in the United States) is an interesting not just for its story (which is pretty fantastic), but also as a source material for adaptation.

The book tells the story of Ram Mohammad Thomas, an orphaned young man who raises himself in, and out, of the slums in some of India's biggest cities (Mumbai, Delhi and Agra) before he goes on a quiz show trying to win the largest prize in game show history, one billion rupees, only to be accused of cheating. It uses the structure of the show to illuminate important events from his life, as they taught him the answers to the questions he's asked on the show. Everything from his early years being raised by a Christian priest, to meetin his best friend Salim, and finding the love of his life, Nita comes into play. It's a beautiful, magical, not entirely realistic story. I quite enjoyed it.

I also found the differences between the book, and the film adaptation to be quite interesting. Writer Simon Beaufoy made some major changes to the characters, structure and narrative of the book when he wrote the screenplay (there's a fascinating q&a on the subject on the Creative Screenwriting podcast- one of my favorite podcasts).

In the film, the main character becomes Jamal, a Muslim, and Salim becomes his brother. Nita becomes Latika, and the two meet much earlier on, whereas in the novel Thomas doesn't meet Nita until they are in their late teens (and she's working as a prostitute at the time, which a whole other thing), amongst many other changes.

We still see the structure of the answers to the questions coming out of the contestant's life experiences, but with one major change. Instead of the chronological jumble of the book, the film tells everything in order. It's very convenient, and one of the major complaints that I've heard about the film version. So if that was a problem for you, read the book!

I found Q & A to be a fun, interesting read that would highly recommend to anyone. Even if you've already seen the film the book will be like a whole new story, they share only a few story points. Go out an dpick up this book, it's very commonly available now.

The Sea of Monsters

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books by Rick Riordan has really grabbed my attention two books in. It isn't doing anything groundbreaking in the genre of young adult fantasy, but I really enjoy the characters and the setting. The incorporation of the Greek pantheon and myths into the modern world just makes it even better. Probably because I've always been something of a sucker for mythology.

The second book in the series, The Sea of Monstersreally throws our heroes into the thick of the brewing showdown between the Olympian gods and Kronos, king of the titans. Percy is just ending his school year with his new friend Tyson when monsters attack the school and throw them, and Percy's friend Annabeth into a quest for the golden fleece. They have to face old enemies, and new, team up with a fierce rival and call upon all their skills as budding heroes to survive the quest.

The Sea of Monstersreally builds the world of the books. We get to see some of the classic monsters, hear about the birth of monsters like the cyclopes and finally see pieces moving into place towards a final confrontation. It's great to see the characters start to grow up a little, be a little more sure of their abilities, and have to make some big choices.

That's what everything is leading up to. The half-blood demi gods will all have to make a choice. Will they take the anger and frustration they feel towards their often absentee parents, join Luke and wage war on Olympus? Or will they follow Percy's example and try to turn that anger into something productive, try to repair the relationships they already have and save Olympus from annihilation? It's an interesting moral quandary, and one that's perfect for a young adult audience that's trying to cope with their feelings toward their own parents and trying to find their place in the world.

If you still aren't reading this series, I'd highly recommend it. The books are a quick read and a lot of fun.