As someone who loved these books as a child and has watched the 1974 film at least 10 times I adored the nostalgia and memories it brought back to me. Granted I was slightly distracted by my parents who don't seem to have grasped the concept of whispering but nevertheless this new adaptation made me desperate to go back to the Lake District and even to go sailing again which I haven't done in years. The brief shot of Catbells in the background reminded me of the extremely satisfying experience of walking up my first mountain. The overall look of this "reboot" was, despite obviously being much updated, almost identical to the original film. The locations, such as the chidrens' camping spot on the island and their "secret harbour", looked extraordinarily similar to these places I remember so well which only added to the nostalgia.

'Swallows and Amazons' is based on Arthur Ransome's 1930 novel. The story takes place during the Walker family's summer holiday in the Lake District. The four oldest children sail - in their borrowed boat 'Swallow' -  to a deserted island in the centre of Coniston Water. However the island turns out to already have been claimed by Nancy and Peggy Blackett co-owners of 'Amazon'. The two families battle it out on their boats to win the island, naturally putting aside their differences to discover the truth about the mysterious James Turner who lives a secluded life on his houseboat.

The Walker children - excluding the baby of course, although she was very cute - all looked like they could easily be siblings. The family blonde hair certainly helped but the four of them also acted just like brothers and sisters. The chemistry between them was lovely to watch and I actually enjoyed their little sibling tiffs since it made the entire family dynamic much more realistic than the perfect Walker family we see in the books. I feel like I can't review this film without at least mentioning the decision to change Titty's name to "Tatty". I'll agree the change was necessary since I found myself sniggering at her name even when I was 10. I can't help but think that her name should have been changed entirely or at least to something such as "Tilly" as "Tatty" isn't really much better than "Titty" in my opinion. That aside, the children, including the Blackett sisters, were absolutely believable and their childhood innocence was wonderful to witness.


Of course there was the odd change from Ransome's book. The most drastic being the addition of two Russian spies chasing after James Turner (or the pirate, Captain Flint as the children call him). I'm in two minds about this addition to the plot. Firstly, I can understand why it was felt the film needed a little more thrill and drama particularly for a modern audience who, let's be honest, have become almost accustomed to and expectant of explosions and car chases. I didn't feel like it affected the overall plot too much but acted as an exciting extra to a tale which, at its core, is about six children waging a "war" over the right to name an island. On the other hand that's all it is: six children waging a war over the right to name an island, and that's what gives the story is innocent, nonthreatening charm. Having said that the childish appeal was definitely still there along with the genuine comedic moments.

I've read various reviews that have called the film"not timeless but outdated". Who knows, maybe they're right but I certainly felt myself tearing up for pure nostalgic reasons. Some not so good reviews also seem, in my opinion, to have forgotten the target audience is children when they've complained about there not being enough action and blockbuster-esque scenes but I certainly remember being scared out of my wits during their night sail when I was a child. I'm not sure how people who have never read the books or watched the original might react to this new film but I personally loved the humour, excitement and memories it brought back for me.

4/5 stars

If you've been absent from planet Earth since June 2015 you may not be aware of the latest addition to the world of Harry Potter: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. So, for the benefit of those of you who have been living under a large rock for several months, I'll explain what this newest instalment entails.

The play - written by Jack Thorne and based on the concept by JK Rowling - is in two parts and follows Albus Severus Potter, whom you may remember from the many debates and arguments throughout the Potter fandom relating to his name. New Hogwarts student Albus, struggling with the burden of bearing the Potter name, sets out on an adventure with his best friend Scorpius Malfoy (more on him later).

I adored being given the opportunity to to revisit one of my favourite fictional worlds and see the characters I loved so much as a child have children of their own and deal with the trials of adulthood and parenthood. It was no surprise to me that Hermione had become Minister for Magic, and that Ron now ran a joke shop just like his older brothers - although I couldn't help but feel that Ron had reverted back to his role as comic sidekick after we'd seen him grow so much throughout the seven books. The use of the time turner and paintings was a wonderful way of allowing us to see characters I wasn't expecting, like Snape, Dumbledore and even Umbridge! However I would have liked to have seen more of my favourite characters from the original books. Neville was mentioned, but what is Luna up to? What about the rest of the Weasleys?

I also felt that we missed out on an opportunity to learn more about the next generation. Teddy Lupin wasn't featured at all, and James and Lily Potter and Rose Weasley - a perfect combination of her parents - we didn't see nearly enough of. Having said that I loved getting to know Albus and Scorpius. Scorpius quickly became my favourite character and he wasn't what I was expecting at all. He was wonderfully nerdy and dorky and nothing like his father. As a proud Slytherin myself, it was truly refreshing to see Slytherins in a new geeky, heroic light.

I also couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by the extremely dark events involving the return of Voldemort considering the final line in 'The Deathly Hallows' is "All was well". And, as much as I would like to discover  more about this next generation, I really do hope all is well this time.

On the 28th May 2016 I met two of my favourite people on this planet: Patrick Ness, author of my favourite book, and Bethan Downs, one of my best and closest friends. Running across the muddy entrance of the Hay Festival to receive one of Bethan's well known bear hugs was an entire year (and one week) in the making. For so long Bethan was just this hilarious, wonderful, nerdy friend I met through Instagram. But now she is this hilarious, wonderful, nerdy friend who I have seen and hugged and had my nose booped by.  

I (finally) went to see 'Room' on Saturday and, despite the fact that this is pretty late since a lot of people saw the film long ago, I decided to write about my feelings on it as I thought it was really well done. This review will contain spoilers for both the book and film so if you haven't read/watched I recommend you go and do just that and then come back.


Firstly I want to say that I really really enjoyed this film. That sounds kind of sickening when you know what the story is about but the relationship and chemistry between Jack and his Ma was so beautiful and heartwarming I couldn't get enough of it. Jack, played by 9 year old Jacob Tremblay, was absolutely incredible. When he was sad, I was sad. When he was happy, I was happy too. They couldn't have chosen a better actor to play Jack. Sorry Leo, but I really think Tremblay should have been nominated for that Oscar. Brie Larson played Joy (Ma) and I can confirm that she one hundred percent deserved her Oscar. I could feel both her frustration and love towards Jack as she desperately tried to help him understand their circumstances. None of us can possibly understand what it feels like to be in a situation like Jack and Joy's but Larson's performance somehow gave me a glimpse of what they might be going through.

I finished reading the book just days before watching the film yet I was on the edge of my seat during moments such as the escape scene. I knew exactly what was going to happen next but that didn't stop my heart beating any faster. I'll admit I didn't actually cry but I did well up on several occasions, particularly those between Jack and Joy. I was a little skeptical at first as to how they would manage to keep what was, in my opinion, the most important aspect of the story: Jack's perspective. Since the entire book is told from Jack's point of view the reader is given a  really unique and innocent understanding of the events that unfold in the novel. But the fact that Jack was part of almost, if not all, scenes in the film meant you could clearly tell that this was Jack's outlook we were getting.

However, I would say that there were a few aspects of the book that I think would have fitted well into the film adaptation, such as the explanation of why Joy has continued to breastfeed Jack, and also the fact that Joy had given birth to another baby before Jack as these may have helped someone who hadn't read the book get a deeper insight into what Jack and Joy's lives were really like whilst in Room. I would also say that the brief story line involving Joy's father not wishing to look at Jack because he reminded him of Old Nick could have been developed a little further. I didn't really feel that this was outrightly explained in the film so, again, I think you were at an advantage if you'd read the book first.

Having said that, the film was incredibly moving and they did an extremely good job of keeping me on my toes despite knowing what would happen next. The acting was absolutely mind blowing, and I also appreciated subtle references to their kidnapping such as the glimpse we get of Joy's mother reading 'The Book Thief' in which Max hides away in a basement to escape the Nazis.

4/5 stars