The Next Book

As promised, here’s a post regarding the next book on our “to read” list!

But first, a little back story!

 I’ve always enjoyed the Star Wars franchise. My parents introduced me to the original trilogy at some point in my young life. I even remember seeing a re-release of A New Hope in theaters. Then of course there were the prequels and the two most recent films. I even played a few of the various Star Wars video games with my brothers. I was no stranger to that galaxy far, far away.

Then I got married to a fellow nerd, one who was even more involved in Lucas’ creation. He introduced me to the animated series The Clone Wars as well as Star Wars Rebels (I can’t wait for new episodes!). After some animated Star Wars marathons, I quickly decided that Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s padawan, was definitely one of my favorite characters. (I also quickly decided that animated Anakin is much more likeable than movie Anakin… He’s less of a creeper.)

The last season of The Clone Wars was cut short. Don’t you love it when a show you’re invested in doesn’t get to wrap things up in a nice, neat little package? Because of this situation, Ahsoka’s storyline has an abrupt ending, making you stare at the screen with a dropped jaw thinking, “That can’t be it!” Spoiler alert, you get to see Ahsoka again in Rebels, thank goodness. The only bad part about that is that you’re still left with a, “What the heck just happened?!” moment. I’m hoping we’ll get a little more clarity on that.

Getting back to the point, Ahsoka’s story may have been interrupted, but to fix that little problem, Star Wars book even though I knew there were plenty of them and had seen my older brother read some (I believe most of those are no longer considered canon). But after coming to love Ahsoka, I needed to fill that void. My ever perceptive husband gave me the book for Christmas.

they gave her a book! I didn’t really think I would ever read a

I’m already just past halfway through it.

So join me in reading Star Wars: Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Before I jump into my review of L. Frank Baum's book, I just wanted to say thanks for the response to last week's post! I got some feedback on the blog and on Facebook, and mostly I'm really pleased that multiple people agreed with me on Stardust. You guys had some good ones too! I'll admit, I didn't even know one of them was a book (but now that you've said the movie is way better perhaps I won't bother with the book...)! Here are some of the titles that you guys said had a better movie rendition:

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I can concur that those are all good movies. I've only read one of those books and few pages of a couple of the other ones. The Prestige is the one I didn't know was based off of a book. So, feel free to take a read and watch the movies and let us know what one you think is better. Also, if there are any other movies you think were better than their book counterparts, please share! I feel like there may need to be a "Times the Movie was Better than the Book Part 2" post! I've already thought of another movie I enjoyed much more than the book.

But, for now, let's put that on the shelf and talk about this great story about good ol' Santa Claus (which, as you may recall, was also turned into an animated holiday special).

Title: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Rating: 4/5
Author: L. Frank Baum
Pages: 166
Genre: Children's Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis:

Do you really need a synopsis? The title seems pretty self explanatory. Basically, this is a story of how Santa Claus became Santa Claus. There are other such stories, but I don't know if any others having Santa being adopted by a wood nymph when he was a baby. Perhaps I ought to just skip to my reaction.

My Reaction:

I actually found this to be quite an enjoyable story. I've never had the chance to read Baum's books about Oz, but after reading this story, I imagine they must be an enjoyable read also. I liked his style of writing for one thing.

As mentioned above, this story does include creatures like wood nymphs and fairies, and other immortal beings, but it also includes creatures of Baum's own design. So there are definitely elements to this version of the Santa Claus story that are quite different and a bit in the realm of fantasy. If you're thinking, "Blech! I can't stand fantasy books!" you should still give it a go if you're interested. It's not what I would call heavy fantasy but works well as children's fantasy.

The thing I liked most about this book is the love that Santa Claus has for the children of the world. He is filled with so much joy and happiness because he spends so much time thinking of the welfare of others. The way that Baum presents it, it warmed my heart and made me want to do something nice for someone else.

"In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child," says good old Santa Claus; and if he had his way the children would all be beautiful, for all would be happy.

Doesn't that just kind of make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

There are also elements of good triumphing over evil and this idea of the power of happily doing good for others. Santa Claus is described as conquering the hearts of all "through very goodness." There were just parts of this story that rang true to me, and then there were just the fun, imaginative portions of it that made it such a good story for readers of all ages (Amazon says this book is for ages 2-99).

This was a winner in my book, so if you need another book for the Christmas season, you may consider adding this one to your collection.

Reader Guidance:

Nothing to fear as far as I'm concerned.

Similar Books:

You know, I haven't read many holiday related books, so I can't really think of something. The only well know Christmastime book I've read is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Go read that one. It's small :)

Next Book:

I daresay this has been the last book review of 2017. At this point, I haven't picked the next book. Feel free to give me any suggestions! I'll be sure to write a quick post next week to let you know what the next book will be! If I can get my hands on another Liesl Shurtliff book, it may just be one of those!

Until next time, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Times the Movie was Better Than the Book

This morning, my conversation with my husband went something like this:

Me: Today is the day I need to write a blog post, and I had this idea for a topic—times where the movie was actually better than the book, but I’m having a bit of a hard time thinking of examples.

Corey: Pfft!!! That’s because it’s not possible!

While it’s very unlikely, I submit that it is possible! Most of the time, I find that movies either match the book in greatness (whether they are a copy/paste version of the book or very different than the story it’s based on) or it’s just kind of lame or simply fits into that “okay” category (Eragon anyone?).

Before I go on, I feel that once again I must give a little disclaimer that I’m not one of those people that judge a movie by its book or vice versa. Obviously, if I’m a huge lover of that book then my opinion of the movie has more potential to be swayed towards the negative simply because I’ll have certain expectations for the movie. However, I usually do this compare and contrast thing (thanks college for making that a normal part of my life even after I am no longer studying or writing research papers) and think about what’s great about both things. Usually there are things I like about both mediums. Plus, you have to realize that some things don’t work as well on screen as they do on the page, and it takes a good deal of planning, writing, and rewriting to adapt an already written story (I had to adapt a scene from Pride and Prejudice for a class once. That sure was a fun video to make. The point is, I have a small glimpse of what that process is like, only it was just me and a few classmates instead of tons of actors, producers, set designers, etc.).

To sum up, both books and their movies can be great, but there’s nothing wrong with liking one over the other. Also, I’m going to say it’s normal to do a compare and contrast thing while you watch the movie/read the book to see what more you can get out of the story because I want to convince myself that I’m not the only one who does that (If you do something similar, please leave a comment!).

Now, I’m sure that not everyone will agree with me. This is a matter of opinion, but I did think of a few movies that I enjoyed more than the books:

Freaky Friday by Mary Rogers

When I mentioned this one to Corey this morning, his response was, “There’s a book?”

Yes. Yes, there is.

I discovered the book sometime after the Lindsay Lohan/Jamie Lee Curtis version of the movie came out. I was perusing the library shelves, and there it was on display, inviting me to read it. The concept of the book is similar to both movie versions (There was an older version made with Jodie Foster as the daughter)—Mom and daughter switch bodies and hardships ensue. In comparison, the older version of the movie is closer to the book, if I recall correctly. But there is one major difference in the book from both movie counterparts. (SPOILER WARNING! In case you ever plan on reading the book for yourself.) In the book, it’s the mother who magically switches their bodies! She then does her best impression of her daughter so the daughter in her mom’s body is freaking out even more because her body still seems to be acting like her! Phew! Confusing situation, right? In the end, the daughter learns her lesson and her mom comforts her, and everything goes back to normal.

I don’t think the book was bad. It’s been a while since I read it, but I recall thinking at the time that I enjoyed watching Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis more than I enjoyed reading the book. Like I said, I don’t think the book was bad, and it may still be worth a read if you’re interested.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Okay, I’m sure that someone out there is gasping and wondering how in the world I could like the movie better on this one, but I did! Corey kind of scoffed at me for this one too because he hates this movie. Maybe he would like the book better…

Again, the overall essence of the story is the same—falling star, evil witches, that Septimus guy—but there were some major differences between the two that made me like the movie better. For one thing, I think the movie has an awesome soundtrack. That’s neither here nor there, but go listen to it! It’s been awhile since I’ve read this one too, but I’ll do my best to recall my thoughts from the time.

Here are some things that made the movie better in my mind (beware of SPOILERS):

1.      Septimus’ death: Is it gruesome of me to like the way someone died better in one version than the other? Or does that just show how much of a reader, writer, movie watcher I am? Either way, his death in the book was kind of boring in comparison. I mean, in the movie, his dead body is used as a weapon through voodoo! How clever is that of an evil witch?! In the book, he’s essentially bitten by a poisonous snake. Yes, the witch arranged it and made it so he wouldn’t be able to heal himself in time, but still, BORING!

2.      The pirates: If I remember correctly, the pirates make a very minimal appearance in the book. That whole chunk of the movie was not in the book really. I enjoyed that bit. It allowed us to see a little bit of growth in both Tristan and Yvaine, which prepared them for the greater trails up ahead. Plus, I just thought it was fun.

3.      Nine months later: While the movie still has some innuendos, I appreciated that they were like, “Nine months later, there was a baby on the doorstep!” Nothing too graphic. You may think I’m silly, but I skipped a few pages in the book because I wasn’t sure how much detail it was going to go into, and that sort of reading is not my cup of tea. I recall reading something to the effect of, “He had never felt a woman’s breast before,” and then I skipped ahead, all the while thinking, “Oh brother!” I believe there was one other part in the book where I skipped a few paragraphs for similar content, but I don’t remember the situation exactly.

So, there you have it. There’s just a few reasons I liked the movie better.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

So, I feel like there may be some argument here as well, and I should explain that really the adaptation I’m talking about is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s version of the story. Don’t hate me all you people who thought the movie version of his play was completely awful. The play is fantastic, and if you ever have the chance to see it on stage, you should jump at the opportunity.

The musical is very different from the original book. I should point out that the original story is very good as well, and is worth the read especially if you like classics (classic horror to be more precise). The focuses of the two versions are different. The book deals more with the horror and mystery of the phantom, whereas the musical focuses a bit more on the whole love triangle thing (although, yes, there is still mystery and horror involved). The book gives us a much broader look at the phantom. There are even more puzzles and illusions in the book, and the final confrontation is not just, “Hey, Christine, choose me or your lover, but if you choose your lover, I’m going to kill him anyway.” In the book, the stakes are much higher, involving much more death than just Raoul. And it’s not just a simple choice! It’s more like, “Hey, choose one of these levers and hope it isn’t the wrong one. Good luck!” So, you see, the book deals more with the twisted, tricksy ways of the phantom. Plus there are some extra characters in there who help aid in showing us more of who the phantom is.

Basically, if you want to know more about the phantom and have a little less focus on the romance side, check out the book. I swore as I was reading it that I would not feel bad for the phantom in the end! I mean, he is a sociopath, and that’s emphasized more so in the book. I always feel bad for him at the end of the musical, but I was determined not to feel bad with the book. And you know what? I failed!!! I still felt so horribly bad for him in the end! Ugh! I guess that’s part of what makes him such a great character!

So really, this is one where I think both mediums are worth checking out. They bring out different parts of the story which makes it come together as one great whole. Overall though, if I had to choose between the two, I’d pick the musical every time. It probably doesn’t help that I grew up listening to The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack on road trips. By the time I got to the book when I was in college, I already was deeply in love with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music. Perhaps I was a little biased.

That being said, don’t watch the sequel musical Love Never Dies. Terrible, terrible story that doesn’t even make sense with the first musical. It kind of turns it into a soap opera. If that’s your thing, maybe you’ll like it. I thought it was dumb.

Okay guys, now it’s your turn. Are there any movies that you enjoy better than the books? Should I write another post called, “Times when the movie kind of sucked and the books were infinitely better?” (Where the Wild Things Are for example.)

Until next time, keep reading The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus! So far, it seems very similar to what I remember of the Rankin/Bass special (minus the singing…).

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

First and foremost, I have to give a shout out to one of the biggest supporters of my reading habits. That’s you, Mom. She is the sweetest, and she sent me Rump on my kindle just for the heck of it, because she thought I would like it! What made that so fateful was the fact that someone had told me about this book months ago, and I had added it to my “To Read” shelf on Good Reads which my Mom knew nothing about. Thanks to my mom, I had the opportunity to read a truly wonderful story. Thanks, Mom. You always have supported my love of reading!

Now let’s talk about Rumpelstiltskin!

Title: Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

Rating: 5/5

Author: LieslShurtliff

Pages: 274

Genre: Children’s fiction/Fantasy/Fairy Tale

 Synopsis:

Most of us are familiar with the story of Rumpelstiltskin—little guy, spins straw into gold, likes babies—but we only ever hear about the story from the miller’s daughter’s perspective. Have any of you stopped to wonder just where Rumpelstiltskin came from, why he wanted to help the miller’s daughter, or why he wanted her unborn child in the first place?

Well, look no further! All of the answers to those questions and more are contained in Liesl Shurtliff’s book. It turns out that Rump (as most people know him) is just an average guy. Almost…

All he wants is to have enough food for him and his gran and for those pesky bullies at the mine to give him a break. But more than all of that, he longs to discover the secret of his name and fulfill his destiny, whatever that is. Names have power, so why would his mother have given him one like Rump?

The answer to all his problems comes one night as he discovers his magical ability to spin straw into gold! But as we know from another version of Rumpelstiltskin (Once Upon a Time), all magic comes with a price. Instead of solving all of his problems, the number of problems increases until he’s buried so deep that no amount of gold will ever fix it.

My Reaction:

May I point out that another book has earned a 5/5 in my eyes? It’s not an easy thing to do, and I always hesitate a little because I don’t want to be throwing out 5’s willy nilly, but this was a truly great story that I’ll definitely read again at some future point.

One of the things that made me want to read this book is the pure fact that it’s a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. I’ve never heard of someone doing a retelling of that story, and I was intrigued. What could Liesl Shurtliff have come up with?

It started out good and only got better from there. The story has characters or references to other stories we may know, but it is so completely its own thing. I am amazed that Shurtliff was able to take a short, to the point fairy tale and fill it out to create a whole book from Rump’s perspective. It was quite clever, and had some powerful messages at the end (not just the message to not be a dummy and promise your unborn child…)

This book has heart, humor, and adventure. As mentioned above, it has good lessons about overcoming trials, that being mean is a choice that we don’t have to choose, and what it really means to find your destiny. This is one of those books that is great for both young and old, especially lovers of fairy tales. If you’re one of those parents that likes to read books with your kids, this one is a sure bet!

Reader Guidance:

I’d say this book is safe for all audiences. It does have some bullying—they call Rump “Butt” or once threw poop in his face, etc. It also deals briefly with the death of loved ones. Food is hard to come by in Rump’s village, so there is also talk of being extremely hungry. Overall, the way it’s presented is suitable for readers of all ages.

Similar Books:

Liesl Shurtliff has two other books that seem to be similar in nature:

Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood

Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk

Next Book:

Being December and getting very close to Christmas, I thought the next book should be something Christmas themed. You may have never heard of my next choice, but here’s what gave me the idea.

Probably sparked by our watching of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, my husband asked me about the company that made all those well known, stop motion Christmas specials, and then proceeded to look up youtube videos on Rankin/Bass. One video that came up was someone’s list of what they considered to be some of the weirdest or worst Rankin/Bass Christmas specials. (I don’t know how Cricket on the Hearth wasn’t on his list except for maybe the fact that it’s traditional animation and not stop motion. Just saying.) One of the ones he mentioned was a story based off of an L. Frank Baum book (for those of you who don’t know, that is the author of The Wonderful Wizard of O). The book is called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, and you better believe I’m going to read it! According to the cover, it's a Christmas classic! We'll shall see!

I actually have seen the stop motion version of this story, and I’m curious to see how it compares to the book. My favorite part of it is the scene a song the children sing after Santa has made his first toy. I’m sure my mom didn’t love it quite so much because for days after watching the show I inevitably go around singing, “I want to wake up to a big surprise! A wooden cat with yellow-green eyes!” Now that I’ve just watched this video, it’s my poor husband who gets to suffer with my random singing this year! Ha ha!

Check out the scene below! And get your own copy of the book to read along with me!

A General Update of Sorts

Oh, hello there. Forgive me for my brief hiatus. In all fairness, I did warn you. Aside from
NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving, and getting ready to move in a week (I feel like I've packed so much, but it looks like I've barely touched anything!!!), I also had to deal with some horrible computer related awfulness. To sum it up without going on the tangent that I have repeated enough times, my new computer of less than a year old is now back in the hands of the manufacturer to see if they can fix the darn thing. I just got an email from them apologizing for the delay and that I won't have the computer for another week. Well, things could be worse. As you can see, I still have the ability to type, and their extra time with my computer should ensure that they will have it good as new, right? RIGHT?! Okay, that's enough of that. You get the idea.

I will admit that with everything hitting me at once at the end of the month (plus a minor cold), I didn't quite reach the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words, but I'm still so proud of myself! I've proved to myself that I'm still capable of writing more than a couple of pages worth! I made it to 36,098 words, and I'm wrapping up the final chapter. I now have a first draft which will give me a good foundation to expand upon and improve. I'm glad for quotes out there that I've seen that basically can be summed up like so, "All first drafts suck." As I was writing this, I had a couple of thoughts, one being that it wasn't exactly what I had imagined it being. That just means I get to go back, chisel away, and make it what I want. Writing the first draft is just the first step I'm afraid.

Even with all the busyness, I have been reading snippets of Rump when I get the chance, and I definitely approve! I'm about halfway through it. The author has two other books, one about Little Red Riding Hood and the other about Jack and the Beanstalk, and I'm already looking forward to getting to read those.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe we've made it to December! The year is almost over! Until next time!

Enders

Rating: 3/5

Author: Lissa Price

Pages: 272

Sequel to: Starters

Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction/Dystopian

Synopsis:

This is the second and last book of the Starters series. Not much time has passed since the ending of the previous book, and Callie is still hearing the voice of the Old Man in her head, but things are getting worse than Callie could have ever imagined—even with the destruction of Prime Destinations, the Old Man seeks to take control of everyone with chips in their head and sell them to the highest bidder as a weapon.

With a new found friend, Hyden, that Callie can’t be sure is trustworthy, Callie endeavors to stop the Old Man once and for all before he takes over her body and never gives it back!

My Reaction:

I must say, I liked this book a little bit better than the first one. Parts toward the end seemed to draw me in a little bit more. However, I was also tempted not to finish reading it because for the first bits of the book I was still in the, “Meh, this isn’t bad but not super awesome,” frame of mind. So if you liked the first one, definitely read this one, and just like I said with the first story, there’s definitely a market for this book and readers who will absolutely love it.

It still has some good action and mystery and a killer twist at the end that made me rethink everything about the first book. I did not see that coming! This book doesn’t really feel like the end though. It almost seems like there should be one more book. Maybe we’ll have another one in the future, or maybe it’s one of those cases where the author leaves the audience to fill in the blank. Things are wrapped up well enough so you won’t be like, “What the heck?! That’s the end!” It just seems setup for another book.

I think there was only really one, maybe two things that bugged me, and it’s just a personal preference. I’m sure other readers eat this stuff up! Number one: “He was good-looking in such an intense way, it almost scared me” (page 39). Yeah, apparently that’s just not my style of writing. I think I may have bought it in high school, but now I read it and think, “That’s not even real! Who thinks like that?!” Maybe I just don’t understand passion and romance in the world of books. Or perhaps I’m a sucker for a different sort of romance. Later on, there was a moment with the same fellow where he takes her hand and puts it on his abs for her to feel (page 86), and again I was just kind of like, “Okay?”

Like I said, I’m pretty sure that’s just reader preference. If you read the post about Starters, you’ll now know that I don’t really care for make out scenes in books or what I deem to be crazy, unrealistic romantic thoughts. I just can’t relate to that! I’ve never looked at a guy and thought he was so intensely handsome that it scared me. Nope.

Reader Guidance:

I’ll try to do this spoiler free, but here’s your spoiler warning just in case.

• There are two instances where chips in people’s brains blow up. In one case, a man’s arm is severely injured (the pain on his face is described and the fact that his arm is completely black).
• There are a few people who get shot. Some die, some don’t.
• A guy is crushed and killed by a garage door.
• There are some cases of slapping or punching people.
• A character stabs herself in the arm with a letter opener.
• In one test to control a character with a chip, the testers have the character shoot targets of harmless people, including a friend. Then the actual people are brought in and the test is repeated on them with blanks, not real bullets.
• A character has a condition where every time he touches someone he has extreme pain.
• One character remembers how his renter wanted to use his artistic abilities to draw girls naked.
• When one character is hacked, she is forced to do a strip tease. She removes her shirt and camisole so she is in her bra, but they don’t go any farther than that.
• This one is kind of a spoiler: Blake asks what he and Callie did while someone else was taking control of his body in the last book. He asks if they did anything more. Callie tells him that they just kissed giving the impression that what he was trying to ask was if they’d had sex.

Similar Books:

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Next Book:

First off, let me say that it may be a little bit before you get another book review on here. I have the next book in mind, so I’ll go ahead and put that here. However, as you saw from my last post, I’m trying to stick in NaNoWriMo mode. Not only that, my husband and I are in the processes of getting things packed up and moved to a new place which should all be said and done in a few weeks. So I might not get a lot of reading done! But the next book with be Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtlipp.

National Novel Writing Month

Hello, ladies and gents! I'm approximately halfway through Enders. It's too soon to form a full opinion, but as of right now, I'm thinking it's still not going to win me over and land on "Danielle's most favorite and therefore the best books ever list." I still plan on finishing it though. Sometimes the ending of a book can either make it or break it for me. More details on that to come.

I would have gotten more reading done yesterday, but, well, it's that time of year again... Keep reading if you have no idea what I'm talking about. If you do know what I'm talking about, keep reading while nodding your head going, "Ah, yes. It is indeed that time again where all writer hopefuls turn their backs on the world, locking themselves up in a safe place, typing so fast their brains hurt and their fingers bleed, and we only stop for bathroom and food breaks. Thus, all of us closet writers instantly become connected in the mad dash to write 50,000 words."

This is my NaNoWriMo face...
Also you can see the remnants of my online
English classes from this morning!

I'm sure that if you're taking the time to visit and read a blog that's all about books that you'll know
that November is National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo). Basically, the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel by the end of the month, which is about 1,667 words a day. I can just see some people out there shuddering, thinking about how much they struggled just to finish a 500 word assignment for a class!

Trust me, this is no easy feat. I've never actually completed it in the time limit (kudos to those who have). The closest I got was 34,000 words I believe. I usually finish in January...or March...or maybe I still haven't finished some of those yet... Sometimes I just say all that I want to say in less than 50,000 words! Usually, I fall behind and can't catch back up, and I get distracted eating turkey.

I haven't participated in the last few years mostly because I was busy doing other things. My best excuse was in 2013 when I was out of the country doing humanitarian work. I jumped back on the bandwagon in 2014 and then took a hiatus in 2015-2016. I believe my focuses were elsewhere.

I wasn't sure that I was going to participate again this year, thinking that I have a lot of things I'm trying to do right now, which is true. At the same time, I realized that life is always going to be busy, and if I don't want to lose my joy of writing (not to mention the ability) forever then I have to make the time. Will I make it to 50,000 words? Maybe not, but if it helps me to get writing off of the back burner then I say it's worth it.

Now you know that I'm an aspiring author, who has written a couple of novels but hasn't managed to get them from my computer to the rest of the world to read. Someday it will happen!

The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that you can do it independently or you can connect with friends. Sometimes there are even local events you can take part in if you need that extra support. There are forums and tips and all sorts of things. Check out the website!

The other great thing about it is that it helps you to set goals. Even if you can't manage to write that many words a day, just write something! And then, in the end, you have the editing process to look forward too! Yay!!!! (More like nay....)

So, for all my fellow closet writers out there endeavoring to write the next great novel, take heart. I wish you luck. Happy NaNoWriMo!!!!

Starters

Rating: 3/5

Author: Lissa Price

Pages: 336

Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction/Dystopian

Synopsis:

Callie has never felt more desperate. The Spore Wars left her world in devastation as it resulted in the deaths of everyone from their twenties to their sixties. With her parents dead and no other family to speak off, she is forced to roam the streets with her sick brother and their friend, Michael. With danger at every turn, their very lives are at stake.

When Callie gets word on the street about a company called Prime Destinations, a place willing to pay teens more money than Callie could ever dream of having. This could be her one way ticket out of the slums. All she has to do is allow an Ender (the society’s senior citizens) to occupy her body for a time, giving them a chance to feel young again. It’s all as easy as falling asleep.

But when Callie wakes up in the middle of her rental session in a place she’s never been before, she soon finds out that her renter had more on her mind than a few nights on the town, and that Prime Destinations has a much bigger, sinister plan up their sleeves.

My Reaction:

I liked the unique concept of this book. I’ve read a good handful of these sorts of books, and although I was reminded of some of them, I feel like as a whole this is an idea I haven’t seen before. This is definitely an action packed, thrilling ride. There’s a lot of mystery that slowly unfolds, but things aren’t all completely satisfied which leads us into the sequel, Enders.

Something that made the book relatable is that we have somewhat familiar settings and objects that make this world seem like it really could happen at some point in our future. Hopefully not though…

Overall, this book kind of fell in the middle of the scale for me. It wasn’t bad, in fact I think I’d say it was a good story, but it wasn’t necessarily a book that will land on my all time favorites list. I’m curious enough to check out the second book just to see how a couple details play out, but at the same time I feel like I could walk away from it. Like I said, it isn’t bad read, and I do think there are some readers who will absolutely love it.

I didn’t necessarily care for one of Callie’s relationships with one of the characters. The one good thing that came out of it was an interesting twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I won’t say anymore. Once you get to the end of the book, you’ll know who I’m talking about.

The style and feel of this book reminded me of a number of other popular dystopian books out there. For that reason alone, I feel that there is definitely an audience for this book, and if you enjoyed any of the similar books listed below, you should pick this one up and give it a go.

Reader Guidance:

• There were a couple of things worth mentioning. If this were made into a movie, I could see it being rated PG-13.
•  There are a few cases of mild profanity, as well as someone giving the finger.
•  When Callie first goes to Prime Destinations to find out how it all works, she asks if there’s any chance her renter would have sex while in her body, and she’s told that’s strictly prohibited. Later on, she’s reminded by another character that no sex is allowed.
• There’s a couple of instances where some guys check out girls and it’s referred to as “undressing us with their eyes.”
• There are two small make out scenes (Nothing too major. Nothing past kissing and talking about the thrill and touching “my face, my neck, my hair.” Honestly, I didn’t care for those scenes because it’s just slightly enough to make me shy and start to get a little uncomfortable, but I’m extra sensitive to those sorts of scenes. I realize this. If a small make out doesn’t bother you, you’ve nothing to fear!)
• There is some violence. Note that this may contain some SPOILERS:

o   Chips inserted in the brain are setup in such a way that if you try to remove them they will explode (this doesn’t actually happen to anyone).

o   There are a couple instances of physical fighting. The more intense one involves a girl with what sounds like brass knuckles. She gives quite a beating the requires a stitched up face afterwards.

o   A 12 year old girl is killed while acting as a diversion.

o   A small car crash leaves a character with a lovely gash in her head.

o   Okay, here’s a SPOILER: Callie tries to kill someone. They are pushed out of the way by another character, so he isn’t killed, but the shot still hits him in the arm.

o   The marshals (cops) use a sort of enhanced, sometimes lethal taser to help hunt down unclaimed minors.

o   Another SPOILER: Callie’s renter is killed. We aren’t witness to it, so we don’t really know details except for that she’s murdered.

Similar Books:

While there were a number of books I thought of, there were two in particular that came to mind.

The Host by Stephanie Myer—The main reason I was reminded of this book was because of the similarity of essentially two beings in one brain that can communicate with each other. Also as I recall, there was a bigger make out scene in this book that also made me uncomfortable. I tell you, I have a hard time reading that sort of thing. What can I say? (If you’re looking at the screen incredulously, would it help you to know that I’m chuckling a little at myself right now?)

Uglies by Scott Westerfield—This one is the first book of a series. I was reminded of it because of the fact that there’s a lot of work done on Callie in the beginning to make her look physically perfect and therefore more appealing to renters. But there’s not so much emphasis on this as there is in where a huge point of the plot is that once you turn a certain age you are made pretty and get to go live the good life with all the pretty people. As with Starters, everything is not what it seems. There was probably making out in this book too. HA! It’s been too long for me too remember specifically, but I do remember a love interest, so, you know, make out potential there.

Next Book:

We’ll go ahead with the next book in the series, Enders. After all, we have to figure out the rest of the answers to the mystery. Besides, sometimes you like stories better as a whole than just as one book. Let’s give it a go!

Books Read to Me in Elementary School

My friend Amanda and me about a month ago.
We met in our 2nd grade class.

Ah, elementary school. So many good memories. That one time I twisted my ankle falling off the

monkey bars and got stuck in an air cast for who knows how long. The yo-yo man who rocketed yo-yos into popularity. Meeting a friend that is still your friend 20 years later. That time Red Rover was banned from the playground. That other time when everything Pokemon was banned. And yet another time when I nearly passed out in the middle of class, so someone from the nurse's office came and pushed me back to their office in a wheelchair. The list goes on and on.

I think one of the highlights of my young school career was that special time in the middle of the day when we would all gather around our teacher’s feet criss-cross-applesauce style and she would read to us from the pages of some glorious piece of fiction. I believe this is one of the things that fostered my love of reading (that and independent reading time, trips to the library, those forced reading tests, books on tape, and my friend Kathryn who always had a good book to recommend, and I’m pretty sure she’s the first person to inspire me to read books under my desk instead of listening to the teacher…).

Here are some of the books I remember being read to me during that very special portion of class time:

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco

As I recall, this is a bit of a sad book. It’s a story about two boy soldiers who meet each other in the heat of the Civil War. One of the boys is white while the other is a former slave. This book was read to me in either 2^nd or 3^rd grade, and obviously it left a lasting impression on me. I haven’t actually read the book since (now I’m going to have to pick up a copy!), but I remember the end being very tragically touching. I don’t want to give anything away! This is a 48-page children’s book.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

This is another children’s book with just 32 pages! This was such a fun retelling of a well known story, and I loved it as a child! The story is told from the perspective of the wolf. I love stories like these that make us see multiple possibilities or perspectives of a single story. In this version of the story, you’ll see that the wolf, perhaps, wasn’t as bad as he seemed. This is a really fun children’s story!

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

If you’re familiar with this book, you’ll know that it also has a sad ending, and yet, I love it. Basically it’s about a young boy and his two dogs. I bet you can guess what makes the ending sad… I tried to read another book by Wilson Rawls, and I just couldn’t get into it. (That was Summer of the Monkeys by the way.) But this one, even now, is a great piece of fiction. Also, I recently saw a statue depicting this boy and his two dogs outside of a public library, so apparently I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a great story.

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

This is a series of four children's books that I absolutely loved! We even watched a video version of these stories at school. As you can imagine, they tell about the adventures of two best friends, Frog and Toad.

Some honorable mentions are:

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'dell

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stile Gannett

(I actually don't remember if this one was read to us or if we read it together. I just remember doing big projects on it. I'm pretty sure I made a board game centered around the book.)

Most of these books were read to me by my 2nd/3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Sadler. She even gave me a couple of books which are still in my collection all of these years later. So even though she'll most likely never ever see this post, this one's dedicated to her. I always thought she was a great teacher. Thanks, Mrs. Sadler! I hope I was a decent student back then!

Tune in next week for my final review of the book Starters! Until then, are there any books you remember that were read to you in school?

Summerlost

Rating: 4/5

I absolutely love this cover!

Author: Ally Condie

Pages: 249

Genre: Children’s Fiction

May I point out that this book earned higher than a 3.5? See, I can be more generous when I want to be!

Synopsis:

It’s been a year since the tragic accident that killed Cedar’s father and brother. Now with just her mother and other brother, Miles, they are doing their best to pick up the pieces and cope with their loss. They are spending the summer in their mother’s hometown, fixing up a small home they intend use as a summer getaway while renting it out to college kids during the rest of the year. It is here that Cedar first sees Leo, riding his bike past their home wearing what appears to be some medieval costume.

Intrigued, and more than willing to take her mind off things, Cedar decides to follow him not knowing how it will dramatically affect the rest of her summer.

My Reaction:

This was a very sweet book and one that I feel is great for addressing some of the harder issues that some children have to face, like death. It addresses bullying to some degree, children with special needs, and there’s even a moment where an assumption is made based on someone’s racial background that hurts a character’s feelings. I really appreciated the way that Ally Condie brought these issues into her story, but at the same time, none of the instances were preachy, in-your-face, you’re-a-terrible-human-being sort of way. And the whole story isn’t based on those issues necessarily. It’s more about dealing with loss.

Cedar’s brother who died had special needs, so part of Cedar’s healing process is thinking about how hard it was sometimes and how in the moment she didn’t always want to deal with her brother, but ultimately she loved him very much. And I would say that she had a special bond with her brother because she had learned how to understand him where others couldn’t because of his situation.

Overall, I think this book is fantastic, and I have tender feelings towards it. It illustrates how mourning isn’t a onetime event. Sometimes, even years and years later, we can look back at certain moments in our lives and still feel a portion of that grief. However, we learn through the help of multiple characters that with the pain there also come love and joy in the remembrance of good memories. Sometimes life is just hard, and it can take time to get through those tough stages of our lives.

I think this book could be a good tool to help children become aware or introduced to difficult topics as well as show support to them if they’ve had to deal with similar things. Plus there are great themes of friendship and going for your dreams and the importance of family. I would recommend this book and not just to children.

In my notes to myself as I read this book, I wrote, "A sweet book with heart." It's worth a read. Plus, I forgot to mention, a lot of the plot is surrounded by this town's annual Shakespeare festival which just appeals to my English nerd.

Reader Guidance:

Just be aware that a huge topic of this book is death and coping with the death of a family member at a young age. As mentioned above, there’s a few instances of bullying—more specifically, there’s a scene in a lunchroom where kids are throwing little things or food at a special needs student; there’s a group of kids who like to pick on Leo by shouting at him as they ride by on bike or knock his hat off; and one of the bullies that picks on Leo later tattles on him and Cedar, getting them into trouble.

Similar Books:

A few different books crossed my mind as I read Summerlost, each of them for different reasons.

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall -- This came to mind because it's another summer tale about family, friendship, and a little bit of loss (although it's not as heavily focused on the loss bit in comparison with Summerlost, if I remember correctly). There are actually a few books in The Penderwicks series.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie C. Tolan -- It's been a while since I've read this one. This one is a little more on the comedic side in that the Applewhites are quite an eccentric group of characters. They are a very creative, artistic family that run a sort of home school. I thought of it mostly because the whole family ends up trying to put on their own production of The Sound of Music. This is almost more a self-discovery book as on of the Applewhite children struggles to see how she fits into her family while at the same time dealing with a new home school student named Jake, who up until this point has been on the fast track to becoming a juevenile delinquent.

Up from Jericho Tel by E. L. Konigsburg -- I thought of this book because of the similarities in dealing with the history and death of a famous actress. This book has a bit of a supernatural element to it in that the two kids who are our main characters come face to face with the spirit of a dead actress. It's not in a creepy, haunted sort of way. More like it's just like they came to a person house for a spot of tea and some biscuits!  

Next Book:

The next book up was recommended to me by one of my neighbors who I went on a walk with one 

day some weeks back. This is the first of two books, and it looks like it fits into the realm of dystopian novels. Let's jump right in with Starters by Lissa Price!

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book

Rating: 3.5/5

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Pages: 341

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Synopsis:

Taking place somewhere between the wolf rescue scene and the "Something There" musical number, this story is almost like a book within a book, making the title, Lost in a Book, very fitting for this book (Heh heh, okay, I've said book enough times). Simply put, this story is a tale that takes place smack dab in the middle of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (more specifically, their live action version).

Belle's still having a hard time transitioning to her new life. Things are becoming more confusing than ever as she finds herself uncertain about the beast's character. At the same time her heart is torn between the love for her father and her new found love of the enchanted objects of the castle, what Belle could really use is an escape, one which she finds in the same place she always has--in the pages of a book.

When she stumbles across a magical book within the beast's library that literally sucks her in, it seems better than anything she could have ever hoped for. But is the book more than it seems and is it possible that she will get lost in its pages, unable to ever return home?

My Reaction:

It has just occurred to me that I'm very stingy with my 4 and 5 star ratings. I guess I need a little more wow factor to get me to commit to something higher. A five is like "I love this so much that I believe everyone in the world should read it else they will miss out on one of the greatest things of life ever!"

That doesn't necessarily mean this isn't a book worth reading.

I think the hardest trial of this book is that it takes place in an already well known and well loved story. That's risky. As a reader and huge fan of Disney's storytelling, it can be hard to accept something new into a beloved story or to keep yourself from comparing it to the movie. Not to mention that sometimes books based off movies aren't always the best in my experience. So I was a little leery when I started this book, but curious too. Also, the cover is one of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen. I should give the book an extra point just for that!

I feel that Jennifer Donnelly put a lot of work into making sure all the beloved characters we already know were true to what Disney as already portrayed them as. She also did very well crafting her own characters and blending the two together. 

There were somethings I wasn't sure about at first as far as writing style. I found myself thinking, "Yeah, I already know this. This feels slightly repetitious." However, that was only towards the beginning of the book and didn't last very long. Also I'm pretty sure I thought at one point, "Don't be an idiot, Belle." It's probably a good thing characters can't hear my thoughts...

What really pulled me in was the building up to the climax and the climax itself. It was pretty exciting, and although obviously I knew things were going to turn out, I wasn't sure exactly how it would. 

Overall, not a bad story. It was intriguing and also catered a bit to my nerdy side what with references to Shakespeare and Greek mythology. I also really enjoyed that the story is littered with "golden nuggets" as my tenth grade English teach called them. 

Here is one such gem:

"Home is all the people, all the places, and all the things that you love. You carry it wherever you go."

I really liked those moments and how, even though this isn't in itself a love story in and of itself necessarily, it still has some good commentary on love. It talks about how love takes courage and how love gives us power to do things we wouldn't normally do.  

Reader Guidance:

None that I can think of.

Similar Books:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

This was the first book that came to mind, which I imagine some people might find strange since I'm not recommending another book based off a fairy tale. However, these stories actually have quite a lot in common--wishing to escape the current situation, finding another world that seems amazing, realizing that world actually kind of sucks, realizing how much you want your old situation back, and having to fight to fix everything. See, they're pretty much the same story!

Next Book:

Summerlost by Ally Condie. I learned about this book's existence through Good Reads. This is another one where I'm sucked in by the cover alone! So we'll give it a shot. But be warned! It sounds like it's meant to be a tear jerker about loss and friendship.

The Sandman and the War of Dreams

Okay guys, I have made a huge and somewhat devastating discovery. I was horribly misled. All this time I’ve been thinking I just needed to read four books to discover how the evil Pitch is defeated and how The Guardians books compare to the movie.

Alas! ‘Tis not so!

As I was getting closer and closer to the final pages of the book, I was starting to get worried. There were so few pages left and there was no clear, full resolution in sight. What was happening! And then, to top it all off, I get some cryptic message at the end of the book placed there specifically to tease me, telling me all about the magnificent climax that is clearly out of my reach—AND THEY DON’T EVEN TELL ME THE NAME OF THE CLIMATIC BOOK! I mean really. The audacity!!!!

Most likely, the final book was not completed and therefore didn’t have a name. After some expert Google searching, I’ve discovered that the final book is called Jack Frost: The End Becomes the Beginning. The saddest part of this whole ordeal is that the final book doesn’t come out until October 2018!

*exaggerated sigh*

So, I guess that means a whole year of waiting before I can finish my final remarks on this book series.

*even bigger exaggerated sigh*

Well, this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened or the first time I’ve been forced to wait for a long time to find out the next portion of a story (Here’s looking at you BBC and the creators of Kingdom Hearts III. Why do you make me wait so long? I’ll get over it. And yes I realize those aren’t books, but they’re just different storytelling techniques. It counts!).

No more use in whining. Let’s get on with talking about the fourth (but certainly not last) book of The Guardians

The Sandman and the War of Dreams

Sequel to: Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core, and Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies

Rating: 3.5/5

Author: William Joyce

Pages: 222

Genre: Children’s Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis:

 

When we last saw the guardians, things weren’t quite so hunky dory. Another faceoff against Pitch proved less than satisfactory as Pitch along with their beloved Katherine were mysteriously swept away by none other than Mother Nature!

Now the guardians are in a race to find Katherine before Pitch or Mother Nature does something dreadful and they lose her forever! At the same time, they have no idea where to look or what to expect. It will take another guardian to help them understand more of Pitch’s past and to help them rescue Katherine. Enter Sanderson Mansnoozie, or as you and I know him, the sandman!

But will his added power be enough to defeat Pitch once and for all, or will they once again be thwarted?

My Reaction:

Besides my reaction of utter betrayal as so obviously stated above, William Joyce continues to craft a brilliant, original, adventurous tale. In his defense, I'm pretty sure he never said anywhere that book four was the last book. Just from what I’d seen and heard, I was under the impression that it was the last book. So really the only person I have to blame is myself. Moving on.

I really enjoy that we keep getting more and more little insights to Pitch’s character. I am really curious to see how his part of the story will eventually wrap up. At the end of the last book, Katherine showed a bit of mercy towards this dark character as she saw him not just how he was at the moment, but also as the good man he had once been. This maybe was a bad move as she ended up in a not very nice predicament. However, I’m wondering if this will be one of those cases where a little bit of mercy or helping someone see the better version of themselves will be enough to make the bad guy see the error of his ways. There could still be a shred of good in him…possibly…even though he was consumed by darkness and nightmares and such…

Or, you know, he could always have a Darth Vader moment of clarity where he tosses The Emperor into a giant pit and redeems himself with his few remaining breaths (all metaphorically of course since this isn’t in fact Star Wars).

Or maybe he just stays evil and is simply defeated after one epic, final battle.

I’ll let you know in October 2018.

The other character who is possibly my favorite and who I really want to see how his character continues to develop is Nightlight. Because of things that happen in the story that I will not reveal, we’re pretty much told that Nightlight cannot remain the same.

Overall, this book remains true to the themes of the series. It keeps up the same pace and action, and North is finally starting to seem more like Santa Claus. I’m satisfied.

P.S. I’m super stoked that come the next book we finally get to meet Jack Frost. He was my favorite in the movie, and I’ve been hoping this whole time that he would show up!

Reader Guidance:

The biggest thing of concern in this book is a moment when we learn more about Pitch back in the days before he became the Nightmare King, and in his anger and sorrow he beheads a group of dream pirates one by one with his sword. This is described in simple terms that aren’t super graphic—“...he drew his sword and cut the captain’s head from its body.”

Similar Books:

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Orbert Skye

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Next Book:

After my last post about fairy tales (specifically Beauty and the Beast), I received a surprise package on my doorstep. I was confused at first because I hadn't ordered anything. Suddenly I knew it could only have come from one source--my mom. Being the sweet and supportive mother that she is, she send me a copy of Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly, which is basically a story within the Beauty and the Beast story. It's a fairly new book, having been published in January of this year. So, this next book reading is dedicated to my lovely mother. Join me on this exciting adventure!