Cath and Wren have been together their entire lives, mostly because they’re sisters! And twins! But also because when they were about eight years old, their mother packed her things and left them behind with their father. It’s been years since either of the three has talked to her, and no one truly knows the reason why she left.

Cath and Wren are all grown up and going to college. Cath isn’t too excited about the idea of going off to college far from home, and leaving their dad behind all alone. But Wren doesn’t make her feel any better about the whole situation when she tells her sister that she doesn’t want to dorm together; trying to convince her that they won’t get the FULL experience if they do! Instead Cath is left to share her room with a girl named Reagan, and partially with Reagan’s best friend/ex-boyfriend Levi; who is around all the time.

Cath loves writing and has spent the last two years of her life writing Simon Snow fanfiction online. She writes and posts a chapter a day to feed her devoted fans’ addiction.  With school work and writing a chapter every night, Cath doesn’t get out much. She doesn’t mind either. She would much rather get lost in the world of Simon Snow than have to deal with the awkward feeling of meeting new people, or going places she’s never been before. Even when Reagan and Levi ask her to go out with them to parties or just to hangout, Cath always declines their offers, staying in the dorm room instead.

But Cath does make one friend in her advanced writing class; Nick. He’s cute, nice and also LOVES writing! Sounds like the perfect guy for Cath. She even has a few “dates” with him in the library, where the two stay until midnight working on a story together! Aside from Reagan, Levi and Nick, Cath hasn’t talked much to anyone else, not even her sister.

Wren doesn’t think to come home, when Cath is told that their dad was put into the hospital for exhaustion from working too hard. Not even when Cath pleads her to come.

Wren spends most of her time hanging out with her roomate, Courtney, usually partying and/or drinking. So when Cath receives an emergency text message saying she’s at a bar, she asks Levi for a ride, and heads there to make sure her sister is safe. It just so turns out that Wren wasn’t trying to reach Cath, but Courtney instead, and that her sister is drunk.

Not too long after that night, Cath receives a message from her, telling her that Wren is in the hospital. Cath ignores all the anger she has towards her mother and towards Wren (for talking to their mother), and gets there as soon as possible for Wren.

Her dad in the hospital, a phone call from her mom saying Wren was in the hospital, and Nick doing something unbelievable; everything in Cath’s life seemed to be breaking apart. And strangely, the person who is there to help catch everything and make her feel better is Levi.

Fangirl totally rocked my world, and I’m not sure if that’s because I felt this strong connection between myself and Cath or what! Cath was awesome, real, and I felt like she could be my best friend!

Wren and Nick added a whole crazy level to the story with all its twists and turns. Cath was amazing, and dealt with everything going on around her, in a way I don’t think I could have. I would have probably freaked out, had a good cry and then tried to figure something out.

But there was one thing that wasn’t cleared up, and that was Cath and Wren’s mom. The reader is never truly informed as to why she left when they were so young, or what happened after Cath ran to hospital for Wren.

Overall, Fangirl was as AWESOME as everyone kept telling me, and I’m so glad that it went to the top of my TBR pile as soon as I purchased it!

You can join Marianne’s blog tour or help out spreading the word by adding the banner to your page.

Please feel free to snitch it and use! All blog tour participants get a free NetGalley version of the book for review.

Tools for Extravagance by Ruth Cohen (aka making those wicked awesome armour Cosplays).

Welcome back again for another Cosplay Blog! Now that Mel and I have covered the basics on what Cosplay is and why it is fun to do, I thought I’d get right into the ‘cool stuff’ and talk about how you can make that awesome looking armour at home! Now don’t be too worried if it doesn’t look flawless the first time… remember that every amazing armour Cosplay has 10 dead brothers or sisters lying in garbage dump somewhere.

Lightening Empress Armour

[Zhel as Erza Scarlet ‘Lightening Empress Armour’ with photographer Dennis “Shoti” Li]

So what do these creative Cosplayers use for their extravagant Cosplays? Well let’s just say I didn’t use the word ‘creative’ for no reason… I’ve put together a list for you of the more common armour materials: worbla, cardboard, yoga mats, craft foam, latex, and fibreglass. Now these are just core elements remember… when creating good armour you’ll also need bits and bobs like: duct tape, string, glue, and patience!

So worbla is a thermoplastic, which means it is activated by heat and moulds really easily once heated up. This makes it a good material to mould over things or create details on something. The best way to use worbla is to stencil your shape first with pencil or sharpie, cut it out, and then activate with a heat gun (woohoo! Bunnings shopping!). You can head here  for some quick tutorials or brilliant gallery shots.

Middle Earth Barbie with heat gun

[Middle Earth Barbie with heat gun and Janna armour]

Yoga mats and craft foam are good things to use as a guide to put worbla or cardboard over. They can give you a guide for shape and make your Cosplay more padded and comfortable to wear. You can stencil out your shape with sharpies and use scissors or a stanley knife to score out the shape.

Fibreglass will give your cardboard armour a smooth and professional finish, not to mention make it easier to paint. But I’m not going to pretend it’s easy for an amateur props maker to pick up how to fibreglass in a week. Push your Cosplay boundaries, but know your limits… you WANT to succeed.

Latex is a great way to add small detail to your armour without getting into the hassle of worbla sheets. It is also a good solution to wanting more moveable armour for those Conventions you’ll want to actually sit down at. I’m not going to profess to be an expert, but there are tutorials online by those who are!

 Finally, cardboard, I bet you thought I’d forgotten it! Well worry no more; I have a special segment for cardboard armour from some of the most resourceful kids out there. 

 The Beer Legion

This gang have to be my all time favourite armour-toting Cosplayers. They’ve come up with these characters themselves and have graciously agreed to do a mini-interview for this armour segment!

They won Best Supanova Skit at both Brisbane and Gold Coast advanced category from 2012 to 2013, Special Creativity Mention at AICON comp and Cosplay Guest at flippish.com segment ‘mt.fuji’ in the Philippines 2013.

You can find the Beer Legion here.

Read Ruth’s interview with the BEER LEGION next week.

Aura Borealis shares these gorgeous magazine cover bags with us.

Inspired by a piece worn by lead character Carrie in the Sex in the City series, CovR Magazine bags craftily turn what appears to be a fashion publication, into a trendy clutch.

Originating in Italy, the wrap-around magazine was initially used as a decoy against pickpockets, but now acts as a great accessory to compliment your outfit of choice.

The bags stylish versatility allows you to wear it anytime of the day, whether it’s for a casual lunch, or elegant  dinner and is sure to catch some eyes and be a talking point.

The fantastic bags come in a range of styles to choose from, each just as unique as the next.

Purchase here: http://www.covrbags.com/

The Book –

I think buying the movie tie-in cover for this book was perhaps a mistake, as I kept flipping back to the cover to reference the appearances of the characters. I’m now wondering if I found a blockage in my imagination because I had them ‘figured out’ already.

Basic storyline is the old … sixteen year old girl coming into her full powers and having to choose between good and evil. There are massive consequences for either choice and the man in her life is her reason for fighting on.

I loved the way a male and female character spent the majority of the book working towards a common goal without having loads of sex, and the tonsil hockey was kept to a minimum.

I found it intriguing the history of the town played as much a part of the story as the storyline itself, tipping a hat to those who do not know their past but are having to relive it. Nicely done by Garcia and Stohl.

Lena’s family are a kooky lot, and considering the ‘mortals’ are supposed to be the epitome of ‘normal’, they’re just as odd in their own ways.

Of all the characters, I think I like Link and Amma the best, mainly because of their loyalty and their drive to do whatever it takes to be there when Ethan and Lena need them the most.

We’ll see how much CGI is needed to create as much life to the film as was given to us in the book. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what Richard LaGravenese can do to up the ante, and make us believe.

Mass Market Paperback, 563 pages

Published November 20th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published November 23rd 2009)

original title: Beautiful Creatures by K Garcia and M Stohl

ISBN 0316231657 (ISBN13: 9780316231657)

The Film

In the process of cutting down a 500 plus page book into a 2 hour film, director, Richard LaGravense had to do some serious reshuffling. This is a film BASED on the book, which effectively means the creative license is used liberally. Though I now understand why the cover of the book had me confused.

The casting was done well, and between the three leading adult roles, Jeremy Irons (Die Hard: With a Vegence) Viola Davis (The Help) and Emma Thompson (Nanny McPhee) you’d be hard pressed to hear much history about the actors playing the teenagers.

LaGravense used the K.I.S.S. method and simplified both the character list and removed the unimportant plot points. He hits the most important bits, though they may not be in the same chronological order as the book.

The CGI is impressive and considering the Visual Effects department credits on the IMDB website (more than any other department in the whole production by far), you’d be a little perplexed if the effects were mediocre.

There were few weak points with the film. The one that bugged me the most was the contrasts in the dark scenes were so undefined. I watched the DVD in the darkest room in the house and had trouble making things out. The other was the southern accents. Now this may be a side effect of having a friend in the south who has taught me to pick the awful mimics, but whoa Mumma, I think they need to spend some time in the south. Yikes!

The wrap up…

I read the book first, and though the film and the book are of the same essence, they are far stronger as separate entities. The book was more detailed and the time restraints in the film perhaps weakened the emotional elements Stohl and Garcia were highlighting.

I enjoyed both though, and I’m heading off to  watch the extras on the DVD.