Book Review: Bumped

What if only teenagers could get pregnant?

If you've read my post about Young Adult literature, you already know that I am a huge fan of the Jessica Darling series and of its charming and funny author, Megan McCafferty. I jumped- leapt even- when Bumped, her brand new novel, came into my local library. While I didn't quite feel the tingling sensation that I did after reading Sloppy Firsts, Bumped was a good story with an awesome concept and likable characters. 

Bumped is a sort of dystopian comedy that takes place about thirty years in the future when a virus has made it impossible to reproduce past teenage-hood. This means that teenage girls are getting pregnant all over the place and going into labor in the middle of their high school like it's the most normal thing in the world. The story centers on two identical twins who were separated at birth and were raised in extremely different households- emphasis on the extreme. Both twins are under a lot of pressure to get pregnant for very different reasons and their meeting changes both of their lives forever. 

I think what I always loved about the Jessica Darling series was how relatable Jess was to me. I still think of her as a close friend. Maybe it's because these characters take a little time to get to know or maybe it's because they just aren't Not-so Darling, but I didn't find myself caring much about them for at least the first half of the novel. I love a good high-concept story, so that kept me going. McCafferty brought in more creative lingo and more surprising repercussions to such this hypothetical society than I could've anticipated. It is her humor and voice that truly make all of her books great, and Bumped is no exception. I would certainly recommend it. 

Trending Trailer: A Dangerous Method

It's been a while since we've seen Keira Knightley in a "big deal" movie. Atonement was in 2007. Since then a few of her movies have hit  my watch list, thought none have quite made it to the top (Never Let Me Go, The Edge of Love, Last Night). A Dangerous Method, seems like it could have the power, or perhaps the credits, to break this dramatic-acting- less-dramatic-ticket-sales slump.

A Dangerous Method is the story of Carl Jung and his relationships with his wife, his mentor Sigmund Freud and a patient-turned-lover. It doesn't hurt the films chances that Jung is played by Michael Fassbender, whose star has been on the rise ever since Inglorious Basterds. Since then, he's starred in the recent adaptation of Jane Eyre and, most notably, X-Men: First Class as a young Magneto.

At first glance, A Dangerous Method appears like an over-dramatized sado-masochistic story with a few too many sex scenes (even in the trailer!). But then you learn it's from the director of such films as A History of Violence and Eastern Promises (and, not shockingly, that it also features Viggo Mortensen) and you can't help but think... "Well it's worked before..." So it remains to be seen if movie-goers will movie-go for it, but sadly I think it's going on the middle of my watch list,  certainly below Immortals, which is set to come out that same week (and stars Henry Cavill and Freida Pinto).

The Glee Project: Things Go My Way!

So sue me, I watched The Killing and Game of Thrones before The Glee Project. Season finales automatically take precedent. But more than that, I've always taken scripted more seriously than reality, even if said responsibility is a competition series, which is far more appealing. Exception: So You Think You Can Dance... but if you even glanced over this blog, you already knew that.

I enjoyed this week's episode, though I took issue with the format more than I did last week. I mean, the main music video was finished less than halfway through the episode and the rest was left to the callbacks and singing for Ryan Murphy. Not that i don't enjoy these segments, but it seems a little ridiculous that we barely get to see our favorites and most of the screen time is taken up by weaker characters. Granted, the show does a good job of allowing us to bond with each of the contestants, but still.

Here are my favorites from this week...
- Cameron- Yes, still. He's adorable. Sorry. I couldn't believe how gypped he got on the Lady Gaga number. He didn't even sing! He looked awesome in the video though.
- Emily- I know it's surprising. Emily should be the classic reality TV bitchy girl that I hate, but her brand of crazy truly works for the show in my opinion. I think she did better than they gave her credit for.
- Samuel- He's got this star quality to him and I see how he could bring something new to Glee.
- Lindsay- Maybe I'm just shallow and I like her because she's got those gorgeous eyes that remind me of Lyndsy Fonseca. But her voice is spectacular and her performance is great too. The fact that the show paints her as the bitchy girl from your high school? I can live with that.

I know Alex is great, but I don't see where he would fit on the show. It seems like every aspect of his character has been done before.

SPOILER ALERT: I was super happy with the results tonight. I like McKynleigh. Her voice rocks and I'm hoping she can figure out how to bring it. Matheus I could take or leave, though I do like the picture Ryan painted for his character. Ellis though... God I'm so glad she is gone. I didn't like Bryce either. Things are truly going my way on this show!

Capture property of The Glee Project

The Seven Kingdom Sum-up: Game of Thrones

So I was pretty worried about getting spoiled on The Killing and Game of Thrones this week. It turns out, neither of them was nearly as spoiler-able as last week. Which is not to say that either was bad- just that if you're like me, you needn't worry too much.

The Killing: You Must Be Joking...

You know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and put a spoiler alert on this whole post because I'm not sure how else to rant out my frustration/reluctant reverence. So there it is. SPOILER ALERT.

Throwback Classic: Clueless

The truth is, I spent the better part of my childhood pretending not to like Clueless. My sister was "the popular one" and this movie was her anthem prelude to the bible that would be Bobbi Brown's Teenage Beauty. Naturally, it was not my cup of tea. But with growing up, I've found it's impossible to deny my love for this classic.

Sure, growing up I missed some of Clueless' finer jokes, like Cher's comical mispronunciation of Spartacus, as sporaticus. I was far too young to notice that Christian was gay or find the humor in Cher's blindness to it. I couldn't really comprehend the irony of the large life lessons found in tiny, unlikely places: like realizing the briefness of life after unexpectedly driving on the highway.

What Clueless has that you just don't see enough anymore, is a heroine who stays true to herself even as she's learning about herself. If anything, we are the ones who learn to see Cher for than just a vapid valley girl as she learns that it's okay for her to date Josh and for Tai to date Travis. She has more brains than people give her credit for- and she drank Starbucks several years before the world realized its awesomeness.

Clueless not only spawned a mediocre sitcom but also made teen-household names of Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, a young, adorable Paul Rudd and Scrubs' Donald Faison. You may also recognize Breckin Meyer (now on Franklin and Bash) as Travis, Wendell Shawn as Mr. Hall, Law & Order's Jeremy Sisto as Elton and even Stacey Dash, beloved Dionne of both the movie and TV series, who has a new show called Single Ladies. Not to be ignored is a great soundtrack for nostalgia purposes- vintage No Doubt, Salt-N-Peppa, The Counting Crows, Jewel, The Cranberries... it's timeless.

SYTYCD: The Return of the Curse

Last night was the first competing performance episodes of the SYTYCD Top 20. Before we could even get to know all of the contestants' names, we were informed that last year's injury curse was not, as Nigel had suggested in interviews, broken. Nope, unlucky Mitchell was subject to the curse this time, sitting out under a doctor's advice because of an arm injury, forcing his partner, Caitlynn to perform with Season 7's Robert, much to my delight I might add. But a lot happened before then.