Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Not about books…
Check out the linked section of this blog. I added a few. Two actually have to do with children’s lit! The third is for my latest business venture: Gold Canyon. Yup. I’m a peddlin’ candles (and other items).
Where the Wild Things...are disturbing.
As I’m sure everyone knows, the feature length, live action film of Where the Wild Things Are is now in theaters. I was cautiously excited about this film. The book is one of my all time favorite children’s picture books. I knew that there had to be stuff added to the story in order to make it long enough, but was more than a bit anxious about what the additions would be.
I was right to be anxious.
The husband and I went to a late night showing of the movie over opening weekend. Hubby was excited – not because he particularly wanted to see the movie, but because he knows how much I love the book. He was excited for me. I was excited, but worried. I had seen a status or two on Facebook from people who had seen the movie and were less than impressed.
The beginning was decent. You fall in love with Max, and feel sorrow for his troubled young soul. But, when he dons his wolf suit, the story begins to get too dark. Biting his mother, he runs away when she sends him to his room.
Let the disturbing part really begin!
The Wild Things have a myriad of psychological and behavioral issues. Extremely aggressive and angry. Manipulative. Paranoid. Depressed. They either need a mass quantity of happy pills or to be locked in padded rooms. Max – who craves much needed attention – finds it with the Wild Things, but quickly becomes confused and anxious as they pit him against one another.
The ending really wasn’t much of an ending. Like the book, Max returns home and there is his dinner waiting for him, nice and hot. While this is a great ending for a children’s picture book, it is a weak one for a movie that proves to be not for a young audience.
My final words on the movie:
Honestly, I was so upset with this rendition of a classic children’s book that I almost cried when I left the theater.
Don’t take your young kids to see it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking my 9 and 10 year old cousins, let alone a child at the appropriate age range for the picture book. If you want to see an age appropriate movie based on a children’s book, go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (and read the book with your kids as well!).
And, if you want to see the movie, borrow it from the library when it comes out on DVD. Don’t waste the money at the theater.
I was right to be anxious.
The husband and I went to a late night showing of the movie over opening weekend. Hubby was excited – not because he particularly wanted to see the movie, but because he knows how much I love the book. He was excited for me. I was excited, but worried. I had seen a status or two on Facebook from people who had seen the movie and were less than impressed.
The beginning was decent. You fall in love with Max, and feel sorrow for his troubled young soul. But, when he dons his wolf suit, the story begins to get too dark. Biting his mother, he runs away when she sends him to his room.
Let the disturbing part really begin!
The Wild Things have a myriad of psychological and behavioral issues. Extremely aggressive and angry. Manipulative. Paranoid. Depressed. They either need a mass quantity of happy pills or to be locked in padded rooms. Max – who craves much needed attention – finds it with the Wild Things, but quickly becomes confused and anxious as they pit him against one another.
The ending really wasn’t much of an ending. Like the book, Max returns home and there is his dinner waiting for him, nice and hot. While this is a great ending for a children’s picture book, it is a weak one for a movie that proves to be not for a young audience.
My final words on the movie:
Honestly, I was so upset with this rendition of a classic children’s book that I almost cried when I left the theater.
Don’t take your young kids to see it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking my 9 and 10 year old cousins, let alone a child at the appropriate age range for the picture book. If you want to see an age appropriate movie based on a children’s book, go see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (and read the book with your kids as well!).
And, if you want to see the movie, borrow it from the library when it comes out on DVD. Don’t waste the money at the theater.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Should I stay or should I go?
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
A talented cellist, seventeen-year-old Mia has a charmed life. The biggest decision looming over her is whether to go to New York – and Julliard – or to stay in Oregon with her family, friends and boyfriend.
Then the unthinkable happens. After school is cancelled due to a dusting of snow, Mia, her parents and her eight year old brother decide to spend the day visiting some friends and family.
They don’t make it there.
Mia wakes up from the accident seeing her parents’ dead bodies on the road. She goes to pull her brother from the ditch where he is laying…and realizes that it isn’t Teddy. It’s her.
As her body is in a coma, Mia’s spirit travels the hospital where she has been life flighted and observes the actions of her friends and family, all the while contemplating the most important decision ever – stay or go.
Wow. My exact audible exclamation upon finishing this teen novel was actually, “Holy shit!”
This is one of the best written books I have read this year. It’s a story of love – love of friends; love of family; love of music; first true romantic love. It’s a story of life, as Mia thinks about her life and the lives of those around her.
I cried no less than 3 times while reading the 196 pages.
Wow. Simply wow.
A talented cellist, seventeen-year-old Mia has a charmed life. The biggest decision looming over her is whether to go to New York – and Julliard – or to stay in Oregon with her family, friends and boyfriend.
Then the unthinkable happens. After school is cancelled due to a dusting of snow, Mia, her parents and her eight year old brother decide to spend the day visiting some friends and family.
They don’t make it there.
Mia wakes up from the accident seeing her parents’ dead bodies on the road. She goes to pull her brother from the ditch where he is laying…and realizes that it isn’t Teddy. It’s her.
As her body is in a coma, Mia’s spirit travels the hospital where she has been life flighted and observes the actions of her friends and family, all the while contemplating the most important decision ever – stay or go.
Wow. My exact audible exclamation upon finishing this teen novel was actually, “Holy shit!”
This is one of the best written books I have read this year. It’s a story of love – love of friends; love of family; love of music; first true romantic love. It’s a story of life, as Mia thinks about her life and the lives of those around her.
I cried no less than 3 times while reading the 196 pages.
Wow. Simply wow.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I finished one book last night and another this morning, so, instead of just two more reviews I am posting four! Yay!
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
Kendra and Seth are still at their grandparents’ home. The Sphinx’s loyalties are in doubt. And, yet again, danger is lurking right around the corner. While Kendra goes on a mission with the Knights of the Dawn, Seth discovers a mysterious plague that is rapidly spreading throughout the creatures of Fablehaven.
Can the siblings help their grandparents save Fablehaven from complete destruction?
As with the previous installments of this series, Grip of the Shadow Plague is action packed and full of adventure. Even at 477 pages, it is a fairly quick read. I can’t wait for the next book to arrive at my library!
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Matt’s Vietnam is not the one he learns about every month at the adoption agency. His Vietnam is full of smoke and bombs and fear. Matt struggles to find his place in his American home…in his American life, and to understand why his birth mother sent him there.
Set after the Vietnam War, this poignant tale is written in first person verse. A quick read and an excellent story.
Are these my basoomas I see before me? by Louise Rennison
Georgia is back for the tenth and final edition of her confessions. The fifteen-year-old is still stuck on the rack of love with lots of confusing decisions to make. Massimo, the Luuurve God, is her one and only….right? But what about saving her ex, Robbie, from the octopussy arms of the foreheadless Wet Lindsay? And then there is Dave the Laugh, who she has accidentally snogged a time or few…
I’ll admit that when I first started this book, I wasn’t too keen on the writing. Perhaps because it felt that it was the same story as the previous nine books. By halfway through, though, I was literally laughing out loud at Georgia’s misadventures in love and her general day to day antics.
Sacred Scars: A Resurrection of Magic, Book Two by Kathleen Duey
Continuing where the previous book left off, Sadima still hopes of escaping with the imprisoned boys (and Franklin), and Hapt is still struggling to survive. As with the first book, the chapters alternate between Sadima and Hapt.
As Hapt continues to learn magic, he struggles with the changes in himself and what he feels needs to be done. Even more, he struggles with the uncertainty of who can be trusted.
At first, when Sadima and the boys manage to escape, she is always on edge – fearing that Somiss will manage to find them. After several years pass, the fear becomes less, and they all begin to truly enjoy life.
Then Somiss comes and Sadima’s life is forever changed.
This installment is much longer than Skin Hunger (book 1). There are a few sections that seem to go too quickly, with years of Sadima’s life passing in just a few paragraphs, but overall the stories told are captivating. I need to see when the next book will be published!
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
Kendra and Seth are still at their grandparents’ home. The Sphinx’s loyalties are in doubt. And, yet again, danger is lurking right around the corner. While Kendra goes on a mission with the Knights of the Dawn, Seth discovers a mysterious plague that is rapidly spreading throughout the creatures of Fablehaven.
Can the siblings help their grandparents save Fablehaven from complete destruction?
As with the previous installments of this series, Grip of the Shadow Plague is action packed and full of adventure. Even at 477 pages, it is a fairly quick read. I can’t wait for the next book to arrive at my library!
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
Matt’s Vietnam is not the one he learns about every month at the adoption agency. His Vietnam is full of smoke and bombs and fear. Matt struggles to find his place in his American home…in his American life, and to understand why his birth mother sent him there.
Set after the Vietnam War, this poignant tale is written in first person verse. A quick read and an excellent story.
Are these my basoomas I see before me? by Louise Rennison
Georgia is back for the tenth and final edition of her confessions. The fifteen-year-old is still stuck on the rack of love with lots of confusing decisions to make. Massimo, the Luuurve God, is her one and only….right? But what about saving her ex, Robbie, from the octopussy arms of the foreheadless Wet Lindsay? And then there is Dave the Laugh, who she has accidentally snogged a time or few…
I’ll admit that when I first started this book, I wasn’t too keen on the writing. Perhaps because it felt that it was the same story as the previous nine books. By halfway through, though, I was literally laughing out loud at Georgia’s misadventures in love and her general day to day antics.
Sacred Scars: A Resurrection of Magic, Book Two by Kathleen Duey
Continuing where the previous book left off, Sadima still hopes of escaping with the imprisoned boys (and Franklin), and Hapt is still struggling to survive. As with the first book, the chapters alternate between Sadima and Hapt.
As Hapt continues to learn magic, he struggles with the changes in himself and what he feels needs to be done. Even more, he struggles with the uncertainty of who can be trusted.
At first, when Sadima and the boys manage to escape, she is always on edge – fearing that Somiss will manage to find them. After several years pass, the fear becomes less, and they all begin to truly enjoy life.
Then Somiss comes and Sadima’s life is forever changed.
This installment is much longer than Skin Hunger (book 1). There are a few sections that seem to go too quickly, with years of Sadima’s life passing in just a few paragraphs, but overall the stories told are captivating. I need to see when the next book will be published!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
urm...yeah. I've been reading. Just haven't been posting. Here are two of my recent reads:
Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
When the Wizards develop yet another attack on the Enchanted Forest and manage to steal King Mendanbar’s sword, it is up to Cimorene and friends to find the sword in time. Can they manage to keep the Wizards from destroying the magic of the Forest?
The third installment of Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles introduces us to a few new characters, like a giant flying blue donkey – who is actually a rabbit, and a fire witch. While a fun read, the story isn’t quite as enticing as the previous two volumes of the series.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
When twelve-year-old Homer’s older brother is tricked into becoming a soldier in the Union army, Homer decides he must do what he can to save his brother from certain death. His adventures take him from rural Maine to a stop on the Underground Railroad, on his first train and ship rides, and all the way to the battle at Gettysburg.
This excellent children’s novel is packed full of adventure. Homer’s words ring true – even when he is telling a lie. The colorful characters add to this wonderful story of brotherly bonds. I highly recommend this book!
Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
When the Wizards develop yet another attack on the Enchanted Forest and manage to steal King Mendanbar’s sword, it is up to Cimorene and friends to find the sword in time. Can they manage to keep the Wizards from destroying the magic of the Forest?
The third installment of Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles introduces us to a few new characters, like a giant flying blue donkey – who is actually a rabbit, and a fire witch. While a fun read, the story isn’t quite as enticing as the previous two volumes of the series.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
When twelve-year-old Homer’s older brother is tricked into becoming a soldier in the Union army, Homer decides he must do what he can to save his brother from certain death. His adventures take him from rural Maine to a stop on the Underground Railroad, on his first train and ship rides, and all the way to the battle at Gettysburg.
This excellent children’s novel is packed full of adventure. Homer’s words ring true – even when he is telling a lie. The colorful characters add to this wonderful story of brotherly bonds. I highly recommend this book!
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