Tag: Book Had to Be Better

Dead Jed: Return of The Jed Book Review + Giveaway

DeadJed3Tour

Dead Jed: Return of The Jed Blog tour organized through Chapter by Chapter 🙂

DeadJed3Cover for chapter by chapter book tour

Dead Jed: Return of The Jed
by: Scott Craven
Publisher: Month9Books
Release Date: December 15th, 2015
Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Zombie Humor, Supernatural
Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads | Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

Synopsis:

With seventh grade behind him, Jed jumps at the opportunity to spend the summer in Mexico with his dad. But there’s just one catch: Luke and Tread get to tag along.

​In Mexico, fitting in​might be easier than Jed imagined, ​with Holidays such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)​.​ Here, a ​rising 8th grade zombie ​boy ​and his zombie dog ​won’t draw that much attention.

​But then Tread unwittingly sets off Mexico’s Chupacabra Defense Network and Jed accidentally collides with a bus​. So much for blending in. T​​he unusual pair catch the eye of a professional wrestler, who challenges ​Jed to a fight!​ ​

Their antics manage to ​capture the attention of a doctor​ who​se knowledge of the undead ​caus​es Jed to question his very existence. ​Is this the answer Jed’s been hoping for since his parents sat him down for the “you’re a zombie” talk? Jed may have finally found a way to be normal, but at what cost?

Dead Jed: Return of the Jed is book 3 in Scott Craven’s humorous and heartwarming series about surviving middle school, fitting in, and embracing one’s differences – even if you are a zombie.

 

Book & Series Review:

Honestly, before this book tour, I wasn’t aware of this series and I wanted to give the best review I could, so I read the first two books in this series, Adventures of a Middle School Zombie and Dawn of The Jed, and I am beyond thrilled that I did!

Scott Craven does a great job of pulling the reader into a state of suspension of disbelief with the creation of such a relatable, adolescent recall of those awkward pre-teen years, while incorporating such vivid body horror and humor.

This may just be the fan in me—and the fact that I haven’t seen that many Zombie centered films, per say—but I found myself thinking of David Cronenberg’s earlier cult-classics while reading of Jed and his “cardiovascularly challenged,” condition. Which I feel has something to do with Craven’s meticulously serious and professional approach of the undead.

There were a lot of things about this series that made me laugh, that made me teary eyed and that made me fall in love with all of these characters: Jed and Luke’s friendship, Jed’s supportive and quirky parents, and even Robbie-the-bully. Moreover, I really loved reading about Jed’s dog, Tread in book two and the rise of tension Jed had to face in school, but more to the point.

Continue reading →

Why I Watched I Am Number Four

Because I watched Beastly and it was way better than I thought so I figured I’d give Alex Pettyfer another shot at impressing me…..sadly I have to say he failed. There were so many moments while watching this movie I kind of just went “What?……What is happening right now?” You know when I wasn’t laughing so hard at how ridiculous everything was and how serious everyone was trying to act about the entirety of the situation. 

It wasn’t until 25-30 minutes until the end of the film that things started to get good. Now I have not read the book I Am Number Four, or the Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore, however, I have put it on my to read list because I strongly believe that the story had the potential of being way better than the way it was presented in the film. Because let’s face it who doesn’t love a good Sci-fi story about aliens living among us? I know I do! Makes me think of the good old days when Roswell was still on the air. Now THAT was a GREAT show.


Getting back on topic here, I felt like the film was trying to hard to cover everything the book series covers which is what lead to it’s failure. 

Summing up the Film I Am Number Four:

Plot holes, cliches–gaa-lore– a lot of inconsistencies in regards to the direction in which the story was suppose to go. Something that was really annoying and not really clear to me was why there was such a pushing need to have a love story between the main character, John Smith aka Number Four aka Alex Pettyfer, and–the lamest blonde wanna be photographer ever–Sarah Hart aka Dianna Argon. I wanted to like her, honestly I did but her character made it so hard not to. When ever she was in a scene she never sounded or acted as smart or as rebellious as she is painted to be.
No to mention how the two of them are literally just kind of thrown together, I mean he–John/Number Four– is not even there five minutes and he has dinner at her house??!? With her family?? And then because they know so much about one another  they go up to her bed room together, alone. And he just picks up her personal journal and she just lets him?!?!? BS!

But what really got my blood boiling was when she gave him one of her Nokia SLR cameras. I mean,why the hell did she give him that? Not only was it an expensive vintage camera, but one of her favorites to a complete stranger?!?!? False. Everything about this is just—-no, wrong.

Moving on to the the bad guys/alien villains:
They were not at all scary, why? Oh, so many reasons but off the top of my head: they’re wearing these 1970’s platform shoes with bell bottom pants, shopping in the super market and driving around in this brand new black Camero. Wow! I didn’t know killing royal aliens paid so well on here on Earth.

When Daniel/John Smith/ Number Four& The Discovery of His Powers or Legacies:
One second, John/Number Four has no idea about his powers/legacies, as his hands start glowing and heating up in class, and then the next he is suddenly aware of all of his powers?  And greater still we see him testing them for all of five seconds resulting in him not only having complete control over them but he has also somehow mastered them…… BULL.

Number Six & The Shape Shifting Alien Dog (Possibly The Only Good Parts of The Movie):
She was bad ass and consistent! I’d watch the film again for her scenes only because she saves everyone, covers John/Number Four’s tracks in the beginning of the film and could clearly hold her own against the weird 1970’s bad guys who some how managed to kill several of the other royal legacies holders. And the little alien shape shifting dog like creature was a nice touch but how Number Six, aka Teresa Palmer, knew who or what it was having not met the dog was a little strange and random. 

“The dog just shape shifted!”-Sam

“Oh that’s because he is your dog from our home planet, he came here with us to protect you(only you didn’t know it)”–Number Six


Thus ends this movie review rant. Till the next time goonies!(oooh Goonies……)