Lee's Library

To me, this movie moved at a slower pace than the others that have came before it. The book most certainly was not that slow. It had more action and interesting things than they put in the movie. I know that they don't want movies that are extremely long, but I still believe that they left too much out.

I have been back and re-read the entire series and it was crazy how much the movie didn't have in it. I almost couldn't tell that they were the same. I am so excited for the 7 and 8th movie! It will be sad to see them go after the series has finished...but will they really have gone? No! Well, the people will be done, but the locations won't.

If you don't know, in Orlando, Florida, Universal Studios is making a new park. It is called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They will be re-creating Hogswarts, Hogsmeade, and I don't know what else. It sounds awesome! I would love to be there on opening day!

Last I have heard, they will be opening the park in September of 2010. If you would like to know more about this and even possibly sign up for their newsletter, you can go to the website at http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/. I'm just incredibly excited, you just don't even know!

From what I've read, you will be able to walk around Hogsmeade and visit some of the shops like Zonko's Joke Shop, Dervish and Banges, and The Three Broomsticks. You will also be able to walk in and about Hogwarts itself! How fun will that be?! I can't wait till next year!

Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are the last two novels of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I must say that these are much better than New Moon. However, with that said, New Moon was necessary for the series to continue. You find that out within Eclipse. I think that it's no big surprise to find out that Edward, Bella, and Jacob would have to work together for the greater good. That much was predictable. What wasn't predictable was how they all ended up in Breaking Dawn. There was one minor thing I wasn't sure about and that is the major scene in Breaking Dawn. I was looking forward to the fight because through the novel the feeling of the incoming doom was very tense and it only got worse as the book progressed. I, personally, liked that part because I became excited to see what would happen. If you have read the book (because the movie isn't out, yet), you know what happened. That was such a disappoint to me. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and then...........nothing. It was like I climbed up a high peak just to find out that there was only desolation waiting for me at the top. I have read worse endings before so I'm not going to complain that much. I sort of liked the ending because Bella found out her potential and everyone lived, or un-lived (well, most did). I knew Alice had her own plan and that see foresaw something that she wasn't telling anyone. If she had never returned, I don't think I would have liked the series as much as I do because I really enjoy Alice.

So, overall I quite enjoyed this series and will probably read it again in the future. But for now, onto more reviews!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is a really good novel. It has awesome characters and a face-paced story line. I got into this book later than a lot of people. The movie had just come out and everyone was talking about Twilight this and Twilight that. After a while, I started paying attention to it because Twilight was not leaving the conversations any time soon. I decided I'd get the book and see what all the fuss was about. I have to say after reading it, I became quite the fan. Now, the Twilight series is all I want to talk about. If you're paying attention to the last few posts I said I was reading New Moon. Well, I finished that a week or two ago and have since then have read Eclipse. I am probably going to begin reading Breaking Dawn today. Before I say anything else about Twilight, you should know that I have not, repeat not, seen the movie. I hope to within about two weeks. So, with that said, back to the novel. I really enjoyed reading this novel. I connected with Bella pretty easily. She just wanted to blend in with the crowd so that no one will make a big fuss over "the new kid" in school. I enjoyed seeing how Edward had to force back his instincts because of this feelings for Bella. That was quite interesting to read. We, as the audience, could see how much he had to try just so he wouldn't kill Bella. I can't say too much more about this without going back to re-read the story because my memory is failing me at this current time. I do remember though about James, Victoria, and Laurent. That was really interesting to see vampires that were not like the Cullens. They were like good, old-fashioned Draculas. Okay, maybe not, but still the same concept. You know, the whole kill humans for their blood deal. James was very tricky in getting Bella to do what he wanted. Not even I could tell what he was up to. I am glad though that James was taken care of. You know what I mean if you have read the book or seen the movie. Now you just have to worry about Victoria and what she has promised. I believe that she had made her promise in this book. If not, then it is in New Moon.

In this book we also learn about the Volturi. If you don't know, the Volturi pretty much are the ones who make sure all the "vampire rules" are being followed. And apparently you do not want to make them angry, that is unless you want to endure the consequences that will surely follow. We also learn in this book that Bella wants to "change." I can't say I could disagree with her if I were in her shoes. If you had Edward, who is incredibly romantic, nice, kind, and forcing back his instincts for you, why would you not want to be with him? If everyone acted like the Cullens, we might have world peace. We are introduced to Jacob Black in this novel and believe me, he will come up again and again and again. Carlisle is an interesting character because of his overall calmness and "immunity" to blood. You would not think that a vampire could be a doctor, but none-the-less he is. Esme is quite nice herself and seems to be in control of her natural instincts. Alice...well, I'll talk about Alice in my next post or so. I will say now the I really like Alice. Emmett is just a fun guy. A little scary maybe but still fun. Jasper is the newest to the Cullen clan and has to really force himself to not go with what his instincts tell him to do. Rosalie isn't really mentioned in this book, but it is for a good reason. I will talk more about her later on as well.

As many of you know this storyline mainly only focuses on Bella and Edward. We see more characters and their impact on Bella throughout the next few novels. I have to say though that I am excited to see the movie although I highly doubt that it will be as good as the novel. The cover to my book shows the Cullens and Bella with the exception of Esme and Carlisle so I feel I must talk about the casting. I think Alice was cast quite well as was Emmett. Alice's hair seems to be brown instead of black, but other than that I think it's good. Rosalie and Jasper just don't really seem right. I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something there that's missing. Bella was cast pretty well although her face seems a bit too childish. I know some people reading this just got confused because of my comment, but I don't know. It may be just the picture. Now onto Edward. I believe that Edward was cast quite well also. Although, again there seems to be something missing. Now I know you can't be perfect because the characters in these books are fictional. I can not stick by these comments until after I have viewed the film. After I have done that I may then say that my first impressions were wrong. Or right, for that matter. While I'm talking about Twilight, I figured I'd mention one more thing. Twilight is from the point of view of Bella. Stephenie Meyer is currently working a side project called Midnight Sun. Midnight Sun is Twilight but through Edward's point of view. She has posted a bit from that book on her website. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ Next post will be about New Moon, so keep an eye here for updates!

I thought I'd say a little something about one of my favorite series. Now I do have quite a handful of favorite series but this is in the top three. I am talking about the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. I can not say enough good things about Patterson, but he is such a good writer and I just can't seem to help myself. I seriously can not get enough of his writing. So, right now to "Max." Okay, first and foremost, this series is completely awesome! All the novels are faced-paced and filled with action and, a lot of the time secret, romance. Now I know any guys that have just read that last sentence just lost interest, but guys I promise you it's not mushy, lovey romance. It's pretty cool, plus it happens over all 5 (so far) books. There is a lot of "kick-butt" action that most guys, and gals, will like. The main characters of the series are: Max, the leader, Fang, he's like the second in command, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and the most recent "member," Total. And yes, Total is a dog. The Flock, as they call themselves, are always trying to be killed, captured, or tortured by anything at any certain time. In the most recent book, MAX, we are introduced to new bad guys. Well, if you can call them guys. They are more like machines, but I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it. You may be thinking that it will take you a lot of time to catch up if you begin at the first novel. I promise that you will not want to put these books down once you pick them up. I go through them like I'm reading a brochure. Now if you are thinking that you'll skip the first two or three novels and just pick up from there, I'm glad to say that you really can't. This is because another feature that I really enjoy that James Patterson does. If there is something mentioned in..say the fifth book that talks about something in the second book, Patterson actually tells you to go back and read the previous novels to know what the character is talking about. I absolutely love that he does this. The Twilight series does the total opposite and it drives me insane. I read and entire chapter or two that is pretty much nothing but recap from the previous novels. Don't get me wrong, I really, really enjoy the Twilight series, but more on that on another day. Back to Max and the Flock. There is something very important that you must know about the Flock, and that is that they all are human/avian hybrids. Yes, even the dog is a canine/avian hybrid. Being that they are all part bird, they all have wings. This means that they can all fly. Wouldn't that be awesome?! Right now, I'll give you the links for James Patterson's site here - http://www.jamespatterson.com/books_max.html. Here is the link to the Maximum Ride (and other James Patterson series) - http://www.max-dan-wiz.com/. I really hope you enjoy checking out these novels. Once again, they are totally awesome!