First posted on Readgig, click here to read it there. 

Obernewtyn follows the story of Elspeth Gordie who lives in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by the 'Great White'. Elspeth, or Elf, was born with strange mental abilities that cannot be explained and will most likely get her killed if she is exposed. Hiding amongst other Misfits, Elspeth knows it isn't long before she's found, especially as there have been subtle warnings that she is safe from her friends and her own visions. Following a visit to her village by a Madame Vega, she is taken away to Obernewtyn, a distant compound that nobody knows much about, but what they do know is that once you're taken there, you never return. Elspeth must constantly be on her guard at Obernewtyn because there's something strange going on and she's certain that whatever it is, it involves her and her coveted abilities. 

The plot had many highs and lows but I don't feel that it really had much of a driving force behind it. If you asked me to describe the plot of Obernewtyn to you, I'm not really sure where I'd begin or end as I don't think there's a conclusive story line and it was more like a bunch of events that happened. Some parts of the plot moved really fast and others moved really damn slowly with most of the more 'exciting' moments extremely rushed. I found this book very hard to get into at the beginning but once the plot got going it was easier to read. However, the ending was incredibly rushed and there were several important details that I feel were skated over leaving a few holes in my understanding of the story which was disappointing. This story is actually rather complex and in order to fully understand the new world that the author has created and what the purpose of each and every character is, you'd probably have to read this incredibly slowly and carefully or read it more than once which is a hindrance. 

The world that the author has created is really intricate with different words for familiar concepts and some altogether new words. It takes a little while to get used to her style of writing and the new universe that she has created, but once you've got a grasp of it, you become really absorbed into the new world post Great White. The setting and the descriptions are excellent and Isobelle Carmody presents an altogether new and unique world that I haven't read about before. Although it isn't explicit, the 'Great White' appears to have been caused by a nuclear accident so this book subtly ties into world issues that are prevalent today, but hidden in the form of fiction. 

Despite the brilliant setting, I have to admit that I really didn't take to any of the characters and this made it difficult to get into the actual story. I didn't feel any sort of connection to the protagonist, Elspeth, nor did I have any particular feeling about any of the other characters. A lot of the characters develop drastically throughout the story and some have completely different personalities by the end which I found confusing rather than interesting. My first impressions of characters were all wrong but I felt like this was more of a genuine fault in the writing rather than a stylistic device employed by the author. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect of Obernewtyn before I picked it up and in all honesty I'm still not quite sure what to make of it now. Whilst it is an interesting story, it has a few too many highs and lows and wasn't consistent in holding my attention at all. Sometimes I was thoroughly bored by this book, but at others I was really interested. The problem with the 'interesting' parts was that they either weren't fully developed or they didn't last long enough to peak my interest for a long period of time.  All in all, I feel that the author had a brilliant idea that didn't quite come to fruition. There are sequels to Obernewtyn but in all honesty I'm not sure whether this book interested me enough for me to read the subsequent novels. 

Many thanks to Sam at Readgig for providing me with a  review copy.

Title: The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E Smith

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 15th April 2014

Goodreads Summary: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

{ Review }

Despite owning all of Jennifer E Smith's books, The Geography of You and Me is the first book of hers that I've read. There is quite a lot of hype surrounding her books so I've always had high expectations of them and unfortunately I think this is what tarnished my reading of TGoYaM. Don't get me wrong, I thought that it was a great read, it just didn't blow me away which is what I expected.

The Geography of You and Me follows the story of Lucy and Owen, two teenagers who get stuck in an elevator one fateful night in New York after the entire city loses power. Owen is the builder manager's son who lives in the basement and Lucy lives in a swanky apartment on floor 24 but despite living in the same building and seeing each other around, they have never spoken to each other. After just 30 minutes in an elevator together, they both realise that their first impressions of one another aren't completely accurate and they spend the rest of the night together walking around New York before eventually ending up on the roof of the building they live on. After talking for hours they fall asleep lying side by side on the roof, but when Lucy wakes up the following morning Owen is gone. Shortly after this night, Owen's dad loses his job as building manager and they are forced to vacate the basement apartment. Not long after that, Lucy dad gets a new job in Edinburgh. Despite being on opposite sides of the world, the two of them continue to send postcards to each other, keeping their relationship alive but both of them wonder whether the distance between them, both metaphorically and physically, is just too great. 

The Geography of You and Me is a great young adult romance that isn't overly sappy or melodramatic. It's simply about two people who have a connection fighting to keep that connection alive, even when oceans separate them. That is what makes this novel more unique and, dare I say it, better than other YA romances on bookshelves today, because it focuses on two people finding common ground in the unlikeliest of situations and it isn't some whirlwind romance. What's interesting is that there isn't actually that much interaction between Lucy and Owen throughout this story. A lot of the narrative focuses on their individual lives in their respective cities and yet there are still threads which keep the two together in your mind so you don't forget about one whilst you're reading about the other. This was nice as it meant that this story isn't solely focussed on romance but about personal growth and development. The only problem with this was that it made it a little difficult for me to find their connection credible as I didn't think that the amount of time that they'd spent communicating was enough for a relationship as deep as theirs to develop. 

Although I liked the romance aspect of this story, it's nothing earth shattering and I never got butterflies in my stomach or anything like that. I think the real winning factor of this story is the two characters themselves and it's seeing them develop as individuals, rather than as a couple, that really had me engrossed in this story. There's something very real about both the protagonists, Lucy and Owen. Although this story isn't written from the first person perspective, Jennifer E Smith still manages to give the reader a real insight into their minds and their way of thinking. Both characters are surprisingly mature for people their age and I can imagine both of them being real people that I'd like to get to know. There is a certain chemistry between the two and their, for lack of a better word, 'banter' made me chuckle to myself frequently throughout this story. 

I did feel that certain aspects of the story were rushed or under-developed but the overall plot and story were still excellent. This story is heartwarming and it restores your faith that sometimes those small moments can turn into big moments as long as you're willing to chase after what you want. There's something about this book that made me want to read it all at once. I read this entire story in one sitting and it's the sort of you flick through on a lazy afternoon when you're in the mood for something light-hearted. 

All in all, I greatly enjoyed reading The Geography of You and Me and the only reason I say I was disappointed is because I expected this to be a book full of romance and I believe that it what Jennifer E Smith's books are marketed as, but I didn't really get that vibe from this novel. Instead I thought this to be a great story of personal development and going after what you want even if the chances of your dream coming true are minute. This book leaves you feeling really content, not overly happy or sad, but content and I'd highly recommend it to fans of YA, particularly YA romances. 

p.s. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! I just thought I'd share that with you guys haha :) 

 

In the end the cookies came out quite tasty but a little too brown. I put them in the oven for the correct amount of time so either I'm retarded or this recipe is a little off, but if you are going to follow the same recipe I did, I suggest reducing the time in the oven to around 10 minutes. This recipe is quick and easy so all in all, I'd recommend it.

*Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own. 

mobilemadhouse.co.uk

I'm starting to think that I'm a bit of a phone case whore, always on the lookout for a new one and perpetually dissatisfied with the one I've got. I recently cracked my phone screen pretty badly (the glass actually fell out and there are now holes in it!), so with that in mind, I set out to look for a case that would give my phone more protection. When I came across this black leather wallet iPhone case from Mobile Madhouse I was extremely happy. A lot of my friends at university have this style of phone case which is much more useful than the standard plastic shell case. 

About the case

This iPhone 5/5S case is made from real leather in the colour black. It is a 'wallet' style case, meaning that there is a sort of 'flap' that wraps around the phone screen as seen in pictures. The case shuts with a magnetic clasp that is easy to open and close. Inside, the material is a soft, brown leather material and there are two card slots and one bigger one along the side for cash. On the right hand side is a hard phone case into which you slot your iPhone. There is a hole on the back of the case for your camera lens. 

What's good about it

Being made of real leather, this is definitely a high quality case. I feel confident that this case isn't going to disintegrate after a week's use and that the leather will remain undamaged (subject to good use). In terms of protecting the phone, I'd say that this case has got it covered. As the wallet wraps around the entire phone, except for a thin strip top and the bottom of the phone, it would be pretty damn difficult for you to damage your phone in any way. The screen will almost certainly not crack within this case and the leather is both a shield and padding against this. The fact that there's a hole on the back cover of the case means that you can take photographs without having to remove your phone from the case which is excellent as a lot of wallet-style phone cases don't accommodate this. 

It's easy to insert and remove your phone from this case so if you ever need to remove it for, perhaps, easier use, then you can do this within a few seconds and there's no fiddly business. The inside case fits snugly around your phone so there's no risk of your phone falling out either. The magnetic clasp is extremely easy to undo and redo so even though the screen of your phone is covered, it's very easy to check your messages quickly. I thought that having to clasp and unclasp the wallet to access my phone would be extremely bothering, but the truth is, the additional effort is minimal in comparison to the benefits. The option to carry some cards and cash around with your phone is undoubtedly an asset. For example, if you are young, a frequent clubber and tired of carrying a bag around, just bring this with you. Your phone, your cards and your cash are all safely stored in this tiny little case and there's no risk of anything falling out of the case. 

What's not so good about it

This case does look a 'little' mature and given that I'm a teenage girl it's not exactly the snazziest thing to have wrapped around my phone. That said, all the benefits mentioned above make this point redundant in my opinion. When you have to pay £119 to get your screen fixed at the Apple store, it's definitely better to be safe than sorry! It takes a bit of getting used to as typing is a little bit restricted what with the flap being attached to the left hand side of your phone; however, you quickly get used to this. The only real problem I have with this case is that there are only two card holder slots inside when there is definitely room for three. Again, this isn't a deal breaker or anything, I just feel like the case would be slightly more useful with the addition of another card hole. It could possibly be slightly dangerous to carry around all your valuables in one case but I guess if you're careful there's no risk of you losing your things. 

Final thoughts...

All in all, this is a nifty little case that will make your life so much easier. Being able to carry around a few essentials, e.g. credit cards and cash, along with your phone means that you know where everything is and you can quickly grab your phone as you leave the house. This case is very secure so you don't have to worry about any of those things accidentally falling out and it's a massive bonus that it's practically impossible to damage your phone whilst it's inside the case. I would highly recommend this case to everyone, no matter what your age or what you use your iPhone for. 

Impressed by this nifty case? Get your own here. 

*Product was received for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own. 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Title: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 22nd April 2014

Goodreads Summary: Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them — all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved— five in all. 

When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

{ Thoughts }

I feel like I may have spoken about this book before but since it's being published next week I picked it as my WoW anyway. It would literally be my worst nightmare to wake up and realise that all the boys there have ever been in my life knew exactly how I felt about them. If my diary was ever read by any of them I would be completely mortified so I feel like I need to read this book to prepare myself in case that day ever comes! 

What did everyone else get this week? Leave your link in the comments below! :) 

Don't forget to enter my Rainy Day Reads Blog Hop Giveaway! 

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Some of you may remember a little while ago that I reviewed an app called GottaFlo, well the developers of that have now come up with an even better app: 2sides2me. 

What is it? 

2sides2me is essentially a photo sharing app - with a twist. It works a little like Instagram in that the premise is to upload photos; however, it's a whole lot cooler than that. What's special about 2sides2me is that you upload two photos at a time. Then what happens is your followers press and hold the first image, which is the one that appears in the newsfeed, and the second one slides in. Pretty neat, huh? 

You create your own user account, follow other users, like photos, comment on them as well as sharing other people's posts to Facebook and Twitter. What's more, you can actually add people as friends and start a chat with them! 

How do you use it?
This app is incredibly easy to use. All you have to do is select your two photos from either your photo library or take them on the spot from your camera and you're all set! Of course, there are lots of other snazzy features that you can make use of along the way. Once you've selected your first photo, the option to edit it using effects (i.e. filters), text, stickers or a paintbrush appears along the bottom tab. There's even the option to turn your photo into a meme! Once you've finished editing your two photos, all that's left to do is add a caption (up to 100 characters) and choose how long you want your post to be available for. You can choose to have your post last: forever unless deleted, 1 hour or 1 minute. Finally, if you want to share the link to your new photo on either Facebook or Twitter there's that option too. Voila, that's all it takes! 

The navigation bar is located on the bottom of the app, out of the way, and from there you can explore other people's photos, check your and your followers' activity and start a chat with your friends. The nav bar folds away into the bottom until your press the upwards arrow and draw it up which is pretty cool and means more of the screen is in use. 

To view other people's photos you literally just hold the image and after about a second it swaps to the second image. Once you lift your finger, it swaps back to the first image. 

Who's it for? 

2sides2me is actually the perfect app for bloggers, particularly fashion and beauty bloggers. The ability to show two pictures simultaneously makes before and after pictures incredibly easy which will no doubt come in handy. The ability to change how long your post lasts for is perfect for those who like running flash giveaways or making quick announcements, something that bloggers of all kinds are often seen doing. There are already lots of fashion and beauty bloggers on 2sides2me who seem to be making great use of the two picture feature so I firmly believe this is something that all bloggers need. 

For those of you that aren't bloggers, this app is just something pretty fun. If you want to get your friends opinion on an outfit, why not take a snap of yourself in both of them and upload them to 2sides2me. Then your friends can see the photos in quick succession and help you make a quick decision! It's also great if you like surprising people, who know what your second picture could be? 

Final thoughts...

2sides2me is a revolutionary new photo app. This isn't the sort of app you use to upload your daily snaps, it's actually a tool to be used. It's the sort of app that you can use to show before/after pics, ask about what outfit to wear, compare two products, announce a surprise - the possibilities are endless! The number of different effects, stickers etc. available to customise your pictures with is amazing so there are loads of options for making your photos even better. This app could be used by serious bloggers or just by an average iPhone user, either way it's fun and easy to use. The ability to use hashtags and mentions means that it's really easy to find people who have similar interests and let your friends see the things that you like. All in all, 2sides2me is definitely worth downloading as it's a lot more useful than half the other photo sharing apps out there. 

Download 2sides2me for free here. 

2sides2me is currently running a giveaway! 

Win MAC'S Angel Lipstick & Gloss 

The contest runs between April 10th and April 20th 

The best before and after picture wins! 

All you have to do is upload your two photos and add #beforeafterpics

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase your newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. If you'd like to join, click here.

{ Thoughts }

I haven't done a haul in a while so this is at least two weeks' worth of stuff. I went to a charity shop in Pinner, close to where I live, where I found lots of uncorrected proof copies and even some unpublished titles so there must be a book blogger in my area who is donating these books. If it is you or you know who it is, please let me know as it would be cool to know who you are! I'm so excited that I received an ARC of Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Rowell is such a great author and I absolutely loved Eleanor & Park so I'm sure Landline will be fantastic. I've already read and reviewed If I could Turn Back Time (see it here) and it was so much better than it looks! Not your standard chick-lit at all. 

If I Could Turn Back Time follows the story of Zoe Kennedy as she desperately tries to repair her relationship with the love of her life, David. It's nearing Christmas and Zoe is still miserable about her break up with perfect David which happened back in September. Then, after one wild night out, she wakes up in David's bed. Six months in the past. After the initial shock, Zoe realises that this is perfect. She's been given the opportunity to redo her relationship with David without becoming the neurotic and jealous girlfriend that he broke up with. She knows exactly what's going to happen in the future so she can fix the past and correct all her past mistakes when it comes to boyfriends, friends and work. However, Zoe realises that time travel might not be all it's cracked up to be. 

If I Could Turn Back Time tells the story that pretty much everybody has dreamed about. I can't think of anyone who has never wished that they could just turn back the clock and make everything right. This story is unique because it explores an idea everyone thinks about: turning back time, but then it turns it on its head and portrays it in a negative way. I thought that this book was going to be your standard chick-it, good and entertaining, but nothing original; however, this book seems to advocate the saying 'what will be will be' and I actually think I've learnt a thing or two about how to go about life. How many books within the chick-lit genre can you say that about? 

Zoe is a really easy character to relate to. This story is downright hilarious at times and that's all down to Zoe's narrative. She cocks up loads and seems to bullshit her way through a lot of life but there's something very real about her. The story is written from Zoe's point of view which is perfect for seeing how Zoe's state of mind changes throughout the book. Her character really develops and the reader grows to like Zoe more and more as you read on and Zoe figures out what and who she really wants in life. The novel gets off to a slow start and I think that's because you just want to hit Zoe over the head with a book - this book. She starts off as a rather whiny young woman who's willing to change herself for a guy, but she turns into someone who isn't afraid to go after what she wants and can be honest with herself so you end up wanting to be her. 

Although Doherty plants several different possible scenarios for an ending in your mind at the very beginning of the novel, it's not particularly clear which one of them she's going to follow which keeps you on your toes throughout. This story isn't just about finding love, it's also about friendship, work and, most importantly, life. This story is probably so successful because it's not 100% focussed on a woman chasing a man, there's more depth to it than that. 

The time travel aspect is an interesting thing to examine in this novel. It plays quite a big role in the novel at the beginning, but as the story unfolds it becomes a smaller and smaller part of it and I liked this. Although the initial premise of the story is completely unrealistic, the main body of it isn't. I tore through this book in one sitting because once the story really gets going, you just can't wait to find out more about Zoe and her antics in the 'past'. The middle section of the novel really is fantastic, making this one of the best pieces of chick-lit I've ever read; however, towards the end it all started to go a bit downhill. 

I think I'm actually beginning to hate the ending of novels. All novels. If I Could Turn Back Time was so good and then in the last fifty pages or so, it got a bit too clichéd and weird. A lot of things about the ending don't particularly add up in my opinion and I'm a little confused. The time travel aspect was always going to be a little difficult to explain in a story that is so obviously rooted in the real world and unfortunately I don't think the author really succeeded in weaving a credible explanation.  

All in all, I was seriously impressed by If I Could Turn Back Time, which completely blew my expectations out of the water. This is a brilliant piece of fiction that looks like it might be your standard sappy romance, but it turns out to be an important life lesson. I would highly recommend this to fans of the chick-lit and romance genre, particularly those that are beginning to lose faith in it because Nicola Doherty will restore it. It's a shame that the ending let this book down, but everything leading up to those last few pages is fantastic so give this book a shot.

Many thanks to Fran at Headline for providing me with a review copy. 

Showcase Sunday #45.

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea. Its aim is to showcase your newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. If you'd like to join, click here.

Last Thursday evening I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the last instalment in the Parallon trilogy by Dee Shulman, Afterlife, at Waterstones in Trafalgar Square. If I'm being perfectly honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of the first two books in the series. That is, I loved the premise of the series and the basic ideas behind the story but I feel like these ideas weren't executed as well as they could've been. However, not deterred by this, I was still incredibly excited about the release of the final book in the trilogy and I cannot wait to find out what happens to Eva and Seth! 

After a lot of milling around and some nibbles (there was some seriously amazing food), it was finally time for the speeches. Shulman spoke about the research that had gone into these books and it was simply astounding to hear how much she had put into them. She consulted specialists about what seem like the simplest things us as readers, such as (minor spoiler) Eva shooting a gun. Whilst the terminology might seem very simple to us, it actually isn't, and Shulman wanted to make sure that everything was as authentic as possible. All the physics-y things have been checked by an expert to make sure that everything does actually make sense. Even though the average reader wouldn't be able to tell the difference, Shulman has gone to every effort to make sure her story is as realistic as possible for a time-travel novel. 

Shulman's inspiration for the Parallon trilogy came from seeing some graffiti on a school wall. What fascinated her was that there were scribbles from two weeks ago, but also some scribbles from centuries ago - all on one wall! When asked how she had come up with the idea to mix two very different worlds together, the Londinium of the roman times and London today, she said that her inspiration came from walking around London where you could find yourself in the midst of some Victorian buildings and then suddenly amongst 21st century tower blocks. 

Shulman's tips for young writers: Always carry a notebook around. Write something everyday. If you see something or someone that looks interesting, note a description of it/them down, it might be useful material later! 

The event...

Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend the launch of Robinsons' new product, SQUASH'D at the Soho Hotel in London. I arrived in probably the most modern and creative hotel that I've ever been to and was lead down to a reception full of journalists, writers and bloggers. On tables dotted around the room there were capsules of Robinsons' SQUASH'D ready for you to try. After trying the drink and milling around  meeting the various other people in the room, the real event began. 

We were led into a room full of the most amazing armchairs and sofas I've ever seen in my entire life.  (Probably seems like an irrelevant, but they were seriously cool.) The screening room was dotted with red leather and cow skin seats in a seemingly random order that somehow just ... worked. Once everyone was comfy, the lights began to dim.


First, a representative of Britvic gave a brief introduction as to why we were there and what the new product is and then she welcomed Mike McGee, co-founder and creative director of Framestore, to the podium. Now why would these two people be working together, you ask? Well, the Robinsons teamed wanted to think of the most outrageous place to make their new squash drink and having just seen the film Gravity, they thought, why not space?

So, the award-winning British visual effects team behind his year's biggest blockbuster, Gravity, accepted the challenge to make Robinsons SQUASH'D in space. Of course, actually going up into space in impossible, but they were able to create zero-gravity conditions in which to carry out this task. It's actually possible to go on plane journeys that allow you to experience zero gravity. Essentially, a plane shoots up into the sky really fast and then plummets back down again, but during the brig 15 seconds when the plane is making a parabola in the sky, you can experience zero gravity. This is where Robinsons and Framestore decided to create their new advert.  Sounds simple enough, but try bringing a camera crew into zero gravity to film an advert for a drink and things get a little tricky (and probably sticky with all that squash flying everywhere).

The plane  was only allowed to make 12 loops and the advert was filmed in the twelfth loop so thank God for that!  The bloopers video for this mission was shown and it was pretty damn hilarious; there was water flying everywhere, squash being squirted everywhere, camera's being pointed left right but never centre. Eight crew members were sent up in the plane and they had only three minutes of weightlessness in total to film the squash being made. Over four litres of water were used and sixty capsules of SQUASH'D were taken onto the flight. Sounds like it was a disaster, but in the end, the team at Framestore did a pretty damn good job and here's the result: 

Things I learnt about Gravity... 

As well as discussing the making of this new advert, Mike McGee also gave us an insight into the making of Gravity, which took almost four years. What most people don't know, is that this film is actually about 90% CGI and only 10% real. A lot of the filming process was simply Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in a big white box with only their faces being filmed. The body movements of them in the spacesuits was often all computer generated. Amazing stuff right?

I haven't seen the film myself but I've heard that Sandra Bullock does a lot of spinning off into space, so much so that the audience started to feel ill just watching her after a while. Instead of Sandra Bullock being spun round and round on a wire, they created a device so that the camera could spin round and round instead. An incredibly amount of time and effort went into making this film look as realistic as possible. The couldn't simply have the actors being filmed upside down to simulate zero gravity because there was an immediate change in face colour and it was quite obvious from the way their features were positioned that they were upside down, thus, under the influence of gravity, which defeats the point of the film. 

How does it work?