Movie Review: The Girl On The Train

One of my favorite books from the year 2015 was Paula Hawkins' fast-paced thriller The Girl On The Train. So when it was announced that a movie adaptation of the book would be made, I was very excited to see how it would turn out. I finally got the chance to watch it a few days ago, and wanted to share my thoughts about it here on my blog.
The Girl On The Train follows the character of Rachel, who is recently divorced and self-medicates by drinking heavily. Every day she commutes into the city on the same train and fantasizes about a couple she sees along the route. Their life appears perfect, but one day Rachel sees something shocking from her seat on the train. She quickly gets ensnared in the resulting mystery and begins to discover what really happened.
My initial reaction to The Girl On The Train being made into a movie was mostly positive, and I was actually really pumped about seeing the story on-screen. What made the announcement even better was the casting of Emily Blunt as Rachel, as she is an actress whom I find rarely disappointing. There was a lot of initial skepticism about this film taking place in the United States as opposed to England where the book is set. I actually found that this location change did not hinder the movie at all, but sadly it did let me down in a lot of other aspects.
Essentially the movie is just a watered down, sped-up version of the book with a lot of shots of Emily Blunt looking extremely depressed. If you've read the book, there is nothing at all surprising in the plot and you will be mildly bored through the whole film. If you haven't read the book, then this movie will most likely be a mediocre thriller at best. The acting was very mixed; while Emily Blunt did a great job portraying Rachel, I found Edgar Ramirez and Laura Prepon to be especially cringe-worthy in The Girl On The Train. Another part of the movie that was executed poorly was the feeling surrounding the three main female characters. I loved how the book made them all out to be incredibly flawed and made the reader question their disposition. What the movie does is overlook this nuanced characterization altogether and instead pit the three women against a single "bad guy" that is the movie's only villain. What made the book so great was that everyone had the potential to be evil; there wasn't the generic plot of "good characters" versus "bad characters."
Overall, The Girl On The Train was not the thrilling, edge-of-your-seat blockbuster that I had hoped it would be. The few positives that this movie possesses, such as Emily Blunt playing the lead and its eerie aesthetic, are almost completely lost by just how unexciting everything else is. The Girl On The Train had potential but got derailed somewhere between conception and delivery.

Rating: R

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Run Time: 112 minutes

Release Date: October 7, 2015

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Book Review: Everything That Makes You

As author Moriah McStay's debut novel for teens, Everything That Makes You certainly gets her literary reputation off to a good start. Filled with well-rounded and relatable characters, as well as a unique storyline, this book is definitely one to add to your reading list.
Everything That Makes You begins by introducing two alternate versions of the same teenage girl. In one, Fiona struggles to find her inner strength after her face was deeply scarred as a child. Meanwhile, Fi is excelling at lacrosse and has a scar-free face, having never been subjected to the accident that Fiona had to endure. The teenage lives of these two girls plays out, revealing how even the smallest experiences can dramatically change the course of events in a person's life.
There are numerous elements that make this novel a great read. Firstly, the creative storyline that splits the book between two versions of the same character is very intriguing. It makes for a compelling read that will hold your interest. The characters in Everything That Makes You are also very well-written and dynamic. Both main characters, Fiona and Fi, are real in the sense that the author makes a point of making sure that they are complex, with relatable emotions and interests. This book also does a good job with creating a wonderfully written storyline. Little touches such as altering the font between the two main characters and adding poetry and song lyrics makes it that much more absorbing for the reader.
Clearly I found many more pros than I did cons with Everything That Makes You, but there were two slight issues that I did have with this book. The first is that, at times, I would confuse details of Fiona's storyline with Fi's. This being said, I do think that the way the author wrote the book did a great job of creating the two different plots, but sometimes they blurred together. The other issue that I had with Everything That Makes You was simply the predictability of it. There were no surprises, and several major moments in the plot I saw coming long before they were introduced to the reader.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Everything That Makes You to anybody looking for a unique teenage fiction book that exemplifies real-life issues and challenges. With its relatable characters, creative storyline and compelling synopsis, it is certainly worth picking up at your local bookstore.
Author: Moriah McStay
Genre: Drama/Romance/Teen Fiction

Pages: 344

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Molly's Recipes: Easy & Delicious Vegan Pancakes

Pancakes are often written off as something that you just cannot make without eggs and milk. When the occasional recipe for vegan pancakes does pop up, most people automatically assume that they will either taste bad or be way too convoluted to make. However, this recipe disproves all of these assumptions big time! Not only are these pancakes fluffy, yummy and ridiculously easy to make, they're also inexpensive too. So give em a try and let me know what you think in the comments.

Ingredients:
-1 and 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
-2 tablespoons water
-1/2 cup milk alternative (I use almond milk)
-1 cup Bisquick original pancake mix

1. Start by mixing the egg replacer and water together in a medium-size mixing bowl. Beat until thoroughly combined.

2. Add the Bisquick pancake mix and milk alternative to the egg and water mixture and stir well, until all ingredients are combined.

3. Place a frying pan over medium heat. After the pan has heated up, pour 1/2 cup portions of the batter onto the frying pan. Cook pancakes for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.

4. Serve while hot, and make sure to pour some pure maple syrup on top to make them even yummier!

Serves: 1-2

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Notes: using 1/2 cup scoops of batter will make 3 large pancakes. You can opt to instead use 1/4 cup scoops to make 6 small pancakes which will serve two people instead of one. You can also double this recipe to make pancakes for a larger group of people.
This recipe is also one that you can make tons of additions to. Just a few ideas include mixing cinnamon into the pancake batter before cooking, adding blueberries or chocolate chips, or making a fruit compote to serve on top of your finished pancakes.

Book Review: Every Last Word

One of my recent reads was the young adult novel Every Last Word, written by Tamara Ireland Stone. This book offers a unique perspective into the life of Sam, a teenager living with Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. She deftly navigates both the secretive inner world of her mental illness and the external world of her friends and high school, finding solace in her passion for swimming. Upon meeting Caroline, a new girl at her school, Sam is introduced to a group of teens who are not only supportive but push Sam to reveal more of herself. She gradually begins to grow away from her old friends, but when a reality comes to light Sam begins to question just how deep her OCD has affected her.
There is a lot that this book gets right, the first being that it features a complex and relatable protagonist. Sam is quite fragile in many ways, but her inner strength still manages to radiate from the pages of Every Last Word. Many of the other characters, namely Sue, AJ and Hailey, are also wonderfully developed and play unique rolls in Sam's life. This novel is also well-written, and the author does a great job of incorporating poetry into the fabric of the narrative. A final positive element about Every Last Word is just how well it manages to dive into the essence of someone's mind who is dealing with OCD. This book doesn't make Sam out to be a victim of an illness, but rather makes her seem like a normal and relateable human being just like anybody else.
Where this book falls just a bit short for me personally was creating an emotional attachment to the characters. Although I thought that Sam was very well-developed and complex, I still didn't have much stake in her journey throughout the plot. I didn't feel for her at all, nor did I feel any sort of emotional attachment to any of the other characters. Another element that didn't work was the plot twist towards the end, as I was expecting it from early on in the book. Lastly, I found the character of Caroline to be a bit bizarre. I liked that she represented Sam's strength and positive traits, but how Caroline was developed and introduced to the reader just didn't sit quite right.
Overall, Every Last Word is a well-written young adult novel that certainly delivers on creating a relatable and likeable protagonist, an intriguingly unique storyline, and it gives great insight into the inner world of suffering from OCD. However, it still falls somewhat flat in a few areas and perhaps doesn't quite reach its full potential. Overall, if you are looking for a new book to read that has equal parts real-life issues, romance, tenderness, and humor then this might just be a book that I would recommend you give a try.
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA

Pages: 355

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

How Photography Has Changed

Making pictures in both an authentic and creative way is truly an impressive art. As a photographer I often feel that this amazing form of communication and self-expression is slowly being lost to the modern world that is completely saturated with visual content on a 24 hour basis.
There is absolutely no denying the fact that many incredible steps have been taken in the world of photography since its inception. I am extremely grateful that I can pursue my passion for making pictures without the need of a darkroom, bottles of chemicals, and regular purchases of film to fulfill my impulses. I have the ultimate luxury of making essentially as many photos as I want and within a couple minutes viewing them all on a screen in front of me. I can manipulate and edit to my heart's desire, and I know that Ctrl-Z will always be there for me if I screw up, rendering my original image undamaged. I have had only a minimal level of experience working with film, but still experienced enough problems to know that I should be thankful for the photographical modernities that exist in today's world.
But I also sometimes ask my self, what has been lost? Making photography easier and accessible to a wider audience has rendered it less of an art, and the handful of people out there who are truly passionate and gifted simply need to work that much harder to become known in the photographic world. There is also the problem with image overload, as websites and apps like Instagram and Flickr have made photos become things that nearly everyone interacts with on a daily basis. As more people start seeing images constantly, there is less appreciation for just how much time, thought, and passion went into making that photo.
So maybe next time we're all scrolling through our Instagram feeds, we should take a few moments to really look at each photo we're viewing. Why was the image taken in the first place, and what is it trying to communicate? What do you feel when you're looking at it? Photographs are amazing works of art that communicate myriad emotions, beliefs, cultures, and people from all corners of the globe. Just because there are more than ever before doesn't mean they should be any less valued.