The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Geekerella - Ashley Poston

Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Genre: YA Fairy Tale Spinoff

Image result for geekerellaBlurb (on back of book): Anything can happen once upon a con…
When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her stepmother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.
Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

MY OPINION: *****

In the book, Geekerella by Ashley Poston, the main character, Elle, was portrayed as a brave, determined, smart character who was hopeful and dreamy and wanted something more than she had. This story was a modern spinoff of "Cinderella", the short story that all of us little girls grew up listening to or watching on Disney. This story is old and very recognizable and yet I had trouble placing names to faces in this book because it was woven in so subtly.

Elle is our protagonist though we also see Darien's perspective. This is an alternate perspective novel and it switches off basically every chapter, though there were a couple exceptions. Elle lives with her two "evil" stepsisters and her stepmother and she's an orphan. Her stepsisters, Chloe and Cal, were just like I would think of as someone to play Cinderella's stepsisters: rude and mean and cruel and evil. Of course, Cal was a LOT nicer by the end though Chloe never changed. Her mother, Catherine, was also an evil woman who I thoroughly despised; I found myself almost wishing for her ultimate demise and horrible ending by the middle of this book.

Chloe and Cal were so horrible. Of course, this is how it was supposed to be, but I just found myself gawking at how cruel people can be. The sad part is, people are this horrible in real life. It makes me feel so disappointed in human nature and our world when I hear horrible things. I mean, is it that hard to be nice? Just keep your evil thoughts to yourself and fake it if you have to. It's better than being outwardly and downright mean to someone.

Darien Freeman was to die for. I could imagine his "airbrushed abs" and his "dreamy smile" and "gorgeous looks" every time he was described. Darien Freeman was kind of an underdog, in a way, because he grew up a "geek" and became an actor for one of his favorite fandoms. I really liked his personality: he was nice to his fans, which is more than I can say for some celebrities. I really love how I got to see a small, if fictitious, snapshot of a celebrity's life and learning about how movies are made (or how the action scenes are done). This book was informative, in a way. Don't worry, it was NOT boring.

The texting was beautiful and funny and honest and real. It killed me when they were SO oblivious, in a way. If I was texting someone, would I recognize them if I met them in real life? Let's be honest: NO. But this is a YA fiction novel and that's what I thought. Anyways, their texting was adorable and I love how it seemed so real.

I love how this book was about fandoms (or A fandom, at least). I love reading an amazing series or binge-watching a hooking TV show and wanting to fangirl all day. I generally let that energy out by writing fanfiction (which I do a LOT of on Wattpad.com and FanFiction.net) but I know that cosplay is another way to do this and I liked reading about something that kind of relates to me but not wholly and completely.

Overall, this book was a very enjoyable read. I found interest in it and despite being only about 260 pages, I believe, it took me a few days to read the whole thing. I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in fairy tale retellings and a romance/drama novel!

Main Character: Elle, Darien
Sidekick(s): Sage, Cal, etc
Villain(s): Chloe, Catherine, etc
Fairy Tale Spinoff Elements: This book was based on the fairy tale, "Cinderella" (is that a fairy tale??) and loosely followed the general plotline and characters.

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