Read the book, then watch the movie. I'm serious.
Now Playing.
11.20.09
Thanksgiving Day.
12/11/09
Christmas Day
Now you know.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Books To Movies Coming Soon
Read the book, then watch the movie. I'm serious.
Now Playing.
11.20.09
Thanksgiving Day.
12/11/09
Christmas Day
Now you know.
Books for the holidays
Looking for some books to put you in a festive mood? Try one of these!*
The Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World by Nathaniel Philbrick: After a journey across the Atlantic, the Mayflower's passengers were saved from destruction with the help of the natives of the Plymouth region. For fifty years, peace was maintained as Pilgrims and Natives worked together. But that trust was broken with the next generation of leaders, and conflict erupted that nearly wiped out English and natives alike.
Teens Cook Dessert by Megan and Jill Carle: The only full-color dessert cookbook written by and for teenagers, with more than 75 recipes. Includes 120 photos showing step-by-step procedures and finished desserts so aspiring bakers can see exactly how things are done. YUM! If you check this one out, bring me a sample! 
Constance: a Story of Early Plymouth by Patricia Clapp: The journal of a young girl tells of her daily life, hardships, and romances during the first years of the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. I know this picture is terrible. Apparently our edition's cover is rare online.
Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle: In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future. Everyone should read this book at least once! 
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: A husband and wife in their individual quests to buy each other Christmas presents. 
A Very Dairy Christmas by Sylvia Hysen: Callie Michaels, the teenaged daughter of famous fashion photographer, Zoey Michaels appears to have it all—a private education, designer clothing, trips to exotic places, and opportunities to meet famous people. Still, she desperately longs for the one thing she doesn’t have—her mother’s attention! Mother-daughter tensions escalate when a work assignment foils Callie’s Christmas plans, forcing her to visit her estranged German grandparents on their small dairy farm in Deer Creek, Wisconsin. 
*All books are available for checkout at SPL, as long as someone else hasn't beaten you to them!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Book Review: Robot Dreams
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
I highly recommend it to anyone.
--Funky Alpaca Trey W.
Book Review: The Hobbit
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
This book filled me with images of dwarves, wizards, elves, and dragons. I highly recommend it to anyone.
--Funky Alpaca Trey W.
Book Review: The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story.
--Funky Alpaca Trey W.
Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird, at first, struck me as another stupid classic. I didn't think I would enjoy it. I enjoyed the storyline and random comedy thrown in. I love the character development of Atticus, Jem, and Scout. Though the ending was sad, I think it was realistic.
--Bookymonster Zach M.
--Bookymonster Zach M.
Book Review: Catching Fire
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
--Bookymonster Zach M
A Conglomeration of Reviews!
YA Book reviews turned at The Great Teen Book Swap by the fabulous Magdalen: 
Jennifer Murphy's Toad by Bruce Coville
-A delightful combination of humor and "soppy stuff," Jennifer Murphy's Toad is a must-read!
Welcome to the BSC, Abby by Ann Martin
-I loved these books when I was younger, and I recommend them for ages 8-10.
Turning Up the Heat by Diane Muldrow
--One thing I enjoyed about this book was that although I had not read its predecessor, I had no trouble following the events of this book.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
--I disliked this book mainly because of the violence and how it was presented. The storyline would have been good, but it struck me as unoriginal.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
--This book is very good. It combines romance seamlessly with the struggles of daily life, creating a book that would suit many.
Fantasy Stories
--A charming collection of past and present day fantasy, this would be found on many bookshelves.
Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy by Wendelin Van Draanen
--A good point of this book was that even though religion was involved, it did not overly intrude in the book.
What Katy Did Next by Susan Coolidge
--I did not particularly enjoy reading this book. A flaw taht I might point out is that it shifted from topic to topic too much, and if you had not read its predecessors, there would be things you did not understand.
Jennifer Murphy's Toad by Bruce Coville
-A delightful combination of humor and "soppy stuff," Jennifer Murphy's Toad is a must-read!
Welcome to the BSC, Abby by Ann Martin
-I loved these books when I was younger, and I recommend them for ages 8-10.
Turning Up the Heat by Diane Muldrow
--One thing I enjoyed about this book was that although I had not read its predecessor, I had no trouble following the events of this book.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
--I disliked this book mainly because of the violence and how it was presented. The storyline would have been good, but it struck me as unoriginal.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
--This book is very good. It combines romance seamlessly with the struggles of daily life, creating a book that would suit many.
Fantasy Stories
--A charming collection of past and present day fantasy, this would be found on many bookshelves.
Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy by Wendelin Van Draanen
--A good point of this book was that even though religion was involved, it did not overly intrude in the book.
What Katy Did Next by Susan Coolidge
--I did not particularly enjoy reading this book. A flaw taht I might point out is that it shifted from topic to topic too much, and if you had not read its predecessors, there would be things you did not understand.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Book Review: Strange Angels
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
As in Twilight, she has an overly protective werewolf at her side, Graves, who is pretty much useless. He’s not even funny, though the author tries very hard to achieve this. Albiet he tries his hardest, in my opinion, he’s nothing more than a piece of dead weight that the girl should have ditched sometime immediately after the first 100 pages, i.d. right after he was bitten by a werewolf. Now, I haven’t been hunting monsters for most of my life, and I haven’t got some freaky and uncontrollable sixth sense to depend on like Dru, but I think that once a guy has been turned into something that could potentially kill you, it’s a good idea to get as far away from that thing as possible. But, then, that just might be my sense of self preservation talking. What do I know?
The third main character, and perhaps the one who the majority of females will find the most intriguing, is the vampire Christophe. Amazingly enough, I’ve decided to skip over this character’s flaws and yes, sorry, but there are quite a few. Instead, I am going to point out his scary perfection…ice cold baby blues, a wicked smile…like he’s some kind of angel with a bad streak.1 However, he’s too blatantly perfect way too soon in the book. Though, in truth, I don’t really think that 160+ pages are as much ‘too soon into the book’ as they are ‘way too many pages for nothing to have happened by now’. Basically my point is that he’s utterly predictable, like a typical teenage girl’s dream wrapped up in an amazing package. Though I think his character introduction was badly concocted, he is a perfect motivation to continue reading the book. In the end, gorgeous guy or no, it turned out to be more of a mistake than anything else.
Basically, this book is extremely run-of-the-mill. I found it boring and repetitive. It has nothing that makes it stand out from all the other teen vampire/werewolf romance novels out there. Like all other books, it had the potential to be something that was somewhat enjoyable, but this one in my humble opinion, seems to have failed miserably. The author seems to be suffering from schizophrenia, as all of her characters, and even the plot appears as if she herself hasn’t figured where she wants any of this to go. Not only is it confusing, but even after I’ve read the book for the second time, I’m not exactly sure how any of the events during the first 200 or so pages mattered All in all, I give this book a two out of vie. One point because the guy is hot, and I think that should be appreciated, and another…because I kinda feel sorry for the author. I didn’t really mean to bash your book, it just kinda happened. It’s nothing personal, but…well…go ahead and call me a cynic, you won’t have been the first.
1 He’s the dangerously powerful bad boy, yet he lets a little girl and a newly turned wulfen beat the crap out of him. He gives orders but takes none; yet ask how high as soon as he thinks Dru wants him to jump…Well, I wasn’t going to point out his flaws; but I just couldn’t seem to help myself.
--The Marvelous Niah
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Drabbles
"A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction exactly one hundred words in length, although the term is often incorrectly used to indicate a short story of fewer than 1000 words. The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space." Drabbles
Below are a few of the drabbles written for our YA Creative Writing Club, which meets on Wednesdays @ 4 pm when we're taking a break from our novels. They had the theme of "Eye in the Sky" to work with, and could either use this as their title or just as their inspiration.
"Eye In the Sky"
-Zach
Spotlights shone through the fog. It was the shape of an eye, for the One, the Only--Eye Man. The police chatted in wait of Eye Man. There was a flash, a crack, a blink, and Eye Man was there. All eye except appendages coming out of his body, and a mouth at the pupil, Eye Man was all eye. In the blink of an eye, literally, he could beat up bad guys. The police officer said, "Sorry, Eye Man, wrong spotlight. Maybe next time."
There was a flash, a crack, a blink, and Eye Man was nowhere to be found.
"Daymares"
-Niah
Though she had an idea of where she was, she wasn't entirely sure. And she was even less sure that she truly wanted to know. But would you, when surrounded by twisted trees and flowers that towered over you like Jack's beanstalk? Though, in her opinion, everything was twisted, not just the plants but the people and even the animals as well. In front of her the air shimmered and an all-too familiar grin appeared. "How ironic," she thought, steeling herself for his appearance.
"Hello, welcome back." Her heart stopped, and Alice turned to run ,refusing to look back.
"Memoirs of a Gold Fish, Day...I'm not sure"
-Trey
Dear diary, today the human just stared at me...he-hello! Would you like some water? It's very clea--Dear diary, today the human just stared at me...he--my name is...I don't know. What's yours? I--Dear diary, I don't remember what my human did today, he--where am I? Dear diary--hello! My name is--Dear diary, I have had a good memory today. I--Hello! I'm about to make some cookies! Do you want to have--I love you. Sigh, you have beautiful eyes, you--Dear diary, the human is watching me. Just sitting there, watching--you loathesome, miserable creature--
until next time, love, Goldfish
Below are a few of the drabbles written for our YA Creative Writing Club, which meets on Wednesdays @ 4 pm when we're taking a break from our novels. They had the theme of "Eye in the Sky" to work with, and could either use this as their title or just as their inspiration.
"Eye In the Sky"
-Zach
Spotlights shone through the fog. It was the shape of an eye, for the One, the Only--Eye Man. The police chatted in wait of Eye Man. There was a flash, a crack, a blink, and Eye Man was there. All eye except appendages coming out of his body, and a mouth at the pupil, Eye Man was all eye. In the blink of an eye, literally, he could beat up bad guys. The police officer said, "Sorry, Eye Man, wrong spotlight. Maybe next time."
There was a flash, a crack, a blink, and Eye Man was nowhere to be found.
"Daymares"
-Niah
Though she had an idea of where she was, she wasn't entirely sure. And she was even less sure that she truly wanted to know. But would you, when surrounded by twisted trees and flowers that towered over you like Jack's beanstalk? Though, in her opinion, everything was twisted, not just the plants but the people and even the animals as well. In front of her the air shimmered and an all-too familiar grin appeared. "How ironic," she thought, steeling herself for his appearance.
"Hello, welcome back." Her heart stopped, and Alice turned to run ,refusing to look back.
"Memoirs of a Gold Fish, Day...I'm not sure"
-Trey
Dear diary, today the human just stared at me...he-hello! Would you like some water? It's very clea--Dear diary, today the human just stared at me...he--my name is...I don't know. What's yours? I--Dear diary, I don't remember what my human did today, he--where am I? Dear diary--hello! My name is--Dear diary, I have had a good memory today. I--Hello! I'm about to make some cookies! Do you want to have--I love you. Sigh, you have beautiful eyes, you--Dear diary, the human is watching me. Just sitting there, watching--you loathesome, miserable creature--
until next time, love, Goldfish
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Book Review: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
My chosen book is The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Wow this book has a long title! Well, besides that fact this book is very intriguing, funny, and very insightful. I enjoyed it immensely. Moving on, it is the story of Frances Landau-Banks, a 15-year-old girl. She is fairly average, not to much exceptional about her other than she is very smart, can be funny, and enjoys words. She is at first glance, well, to be blunt, a rather cool geek; she is part of the debate club and enjoys school. That being enough by today's standards to make her an object of scorn. I also forgot to mention that she from the age of 14 to the age of 15 had well developed as a girl should............. so that also is what made her a cool geek. She attends Alabaster Preparatory Academy, one of the most expensive and highly acclaimed institutions of learning. It has a deep history and holds a secret or two, but is also just a regular boarding school to most. She begins the school year by trying to avoid her old ex-boyfriend, Porter Welsch; being her first boyfriend she had of course little experience in the ways of love (I find this necessary to comment on here this previous sentence might make most of the male species avoid this book thinking it is a chick book about romance it is not, she is a tom-boy and has some romance but I assure you not too much gag worthy!). She had, over the course of her freshman year, ogled over the immensely geeky yet very popular boy Matthew Livingston; he was fit, tan, and smart to most, that is all that is necessary for a relationship. Well after a unfortunate bike accident he finally notices her and rushes to her aid much to her surprise. As things progress she get into his cool geek club of sorts and begins to hang out with his friend Alpha, real name Alessandro Tesorieri. She is soon invited to a midnight party at a golf course and, being the cool person she was trying to be, she attended and hung out with her would-be boyfriend Matthew. She realized, though, the invitations had strange basset hound stamp on them. She had heard of the society of the basset hounds by her father who had attended. It was a all-male private exclusive club she couldn't even know the details of. As the year goes on she realizes what the basset hounds are--a society based solely on the principle of you say I can't do something, therefore I must. They do petty things such as sneak into abandoned art halls, have parties on golf courses, and have a few annual pranks. Well, she realizes that because they won't let her be a part of it she must join it. Matthew refuses to tell anything about it and lies to her and other things of the like (and I forgot to mention, due to its insignificance, she is now his girlfriend, so lying to her is a big deal ). Well, she starts to follow him and finds out things about the society; things I will not mention to preserve some of this books mysteries. She then sets up a Gmail account that has alpha's nickname on it which is Alpha Dog so everyone thinks it comes from her. They do a series of pranks that are supposed to show there lack of respect for authority but all the bassets think about is how funny they are and the male-bonding it gives. Well eventually it turns out that some evidence points to Alpha as the source to all the pranks. She then must decide to either let him take the blame, or show the faculty what she has truly been up to this year.
I wanted to add this section to my review also it is a report card on the book:
Storyline-------- +A
authors ability to write---------- A
Character development----------- +B
Enjoyability(not sure if real word but sounds cool!) --------------------- +A
Re-readability------------------- +B
Objectionable content: For a teen book about a teen who has no parents around it is fairly tame a few profanities( to those who care), and some well inappropriate content ( I will leave it at that )
Final comments: I really liked this book I would recommend it to anyone who likes coming-of-age books or just books about regular teens.
--The Splendiferous Rebecca S.
I wanted to add this section to my review also it is a report card on the book:
Storyline-------- +A
authors ability to write---------- A
Character development----------- +B
Enjoyability(not sure if real word but sounds cool!) --------------------- +A
Re-readability------------------- +B
Objectionable content: For a teen book about a teen who has no parents around it is fairly tame a few profanities( to those who care), and some well inappropriate content ( I will leave it at that )
Final comments: I really liked this book I would recommend it to anyone who likes coming-of-age books or just books about regular teens.
--The Splendiferous Rebecca S.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Book Review: Dizzy
Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
Dizzy is the story of a twelve-year-old girl whose hippy mother shows up, after years of absence, and takes her for the summer and experience her gypsy life first hand.
When the book start off Dizzy is waiting in anticipation for the only contact she has with her mother all year. Her birthday present, sometimes a dream catcher other times just a post card. Either way she lives for the chance to hear from her mother “Storm” who left her and her father when she was just four years old. But this year instead of just a letter she receives the thing she’s wanted for years, her mother in person. Who not only missed her but wants her to come with her to a..well in truth it’s some hippies’ convention. Her father, knowing how erratic and unreliable Storm is, of course refuses. But early the next morning Storm informs Dizzy that her father has changed his mind during the night and they have to hurry and leave before he wakes up. So they stuff her things into a bag, say a quick goodbye to a thoroughly hung over Dad and hit the road in Storms beat up mystery mobile. The mystery being of course how such a piece of ugly junk like it can still be running. At this point in the story it’s pretty obvious to all that Storm has just kidnapped her daughter. Dizzy of course blinded by love, youth and just plain stupidity doesn’t realize it. If you think the story gets any better and any less predictable you’re wrong.
They arrive in Scotland and Dizzy feels a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of bums-I mean hippies that have come together. It’s not at all the “small gathering” that Storm had promised. But most people reading will have figured out by now that half the promises Storm makes are lies and the other half are her twisted half truths (Which are basicly the same thing). At the festival or whatever you wanna call it Dizzy meets Finn, the boy she knew as a baby back when her parents were both full time hobo’s-I mean hippies, (Can you say love interest) Mouse, the son of Storm's current soul mate Zak (can you say cute little brother figure) and Tess Finn’s mother (can you say mother figure and only semi responsible adult in the camp).
They move from festival to festival, Dizzy learning more and more about her mother's vagrant life style from Finn and Mouse who are her constant companions. Storm is telling Dizzy that her father is going to join them any day now. Which of course we all know is a lie because her father has no idea where they are. Dizzy finds out that she enjoys the fun and freedom of being a derelict-I mean hippy, but misses her father, hot showers and the stability of normal life. After having cops bring Dizzy, Finn, and Mouse back to their camp when Mouse is caught for stealing, they pack up and move to Tess’s cottage. Storm and Zak leave soon after deserting their children for India. Many pointless events lead up to Dizzy’s father being contacted. She goes home, Mouse gets adopted and Finn..well Finn just stays Finn
This book gets a five out of ten. It was somewhat annoyingly predictable, like no one knew that the postcards Dizzy gave to Storm weren’t really being sent out to her father. And the character is so naive you wish you could shake her. At one point Finn has to convince her that what her mother and others had been smoking around the fire was weed. Hippies smoking weed..oh my gosh are you serious. That is so unheard of..not. But the writing is Ok and though the story is nothing new it's still touching and amusing. And surprisingly enough I didn’t feel as if I wasted 45 minuets of my day reading this book, which I think is always a plus. I would recommend Dizzy to casual readers and girls who aren't old enough to read the Sisterhood of the traveling pants series.
--The Marvelous Niah
When the book start off Dizzy is waiting in anticipation for the only contact she has with her mother all year. Her birthday present, sometimes a dream catcher other times just a post card. Either way she lives for the chance to hear from her mother “Storm” who left her and her father when she was just four years old. But this year instead of just a letter she receives the thing she’s wanted for years, her mother in person. Who not only missed her but wants her to come with her to a..well in truth it’s some hippies’ convention. Her father, knowing how erratic and unreliable Storm is, of course refuses. But early the next morning Storm informs Dizzy that her father has changed his mind during the night and they have to hurry and leave before he wakes up. So they stuff her things into a bag, say a quick goodbye to a thoroughly hung over Dad and hit the road in Storms beat up mystery mobile. The mystery being of course how such a piece of ugly junk like it can still be running. At this point in the story it’s pretty obvious to all that Storm has just kidnapped her daughter. Dizzy of course blinded by love, youth and just plain stupidity doesn’t realize it. If you think the story gets any better and any less predictable you’re wrong.
They arrive in Scotland and Dizzy feels a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of bums-I mean hippies that have come together. It’s not at all the “small gathering” that Storm had promised. But most people reading will have figured out by now that half the promises Storm makes are lies and the other half are her twisted half truths (Which are basicly the same thing). At the festival or whatever you wanna call it Dizzy meets Finn, the boy she knew as a baby back when her parents were both full time hobo’s-I mean hippies, (Can you say love interest) Mouse, the son of Storm's current soul mate Zak (can you say cute little brother figure) and Tess Finn’s mother (can you say mother figure and only semi responsible adult in the camp).
They move from festival to festival, Dizzy learning more and more about her mother's vagrant life style from Finn and Mouse who are her constant companions. Storm is telling Dizzy that her father is going to join them any day now. Which of course we all know is a lie because her father has no idea where they are. Dizzy finds out that she enjoys the fun and freedom of being a derelict-I mean hippy, but misses her father, hot showers and the stability of normal life. After having cops bring Dizzy, Finn, and Mouse back to their camp when Mouse is caught for stealing, they pack up and move to Tess’s cottage. Storm and Zak leave soon after deserting their children for India. Many pointless events lead up to Dizzy’s father being contacted. She goes home, Mouse gets adopted and Finn..well Finn just stays Finn
This book gets a five out of ten. It was somewhat annoyingly predictable, like no one knew that the postcards Dizzy gave to Storm weren’t really being sent out to her father. And the character is so naive you wish you could shake her. At one point Finn has to convince her that what her mother and others had been smoking around the fire was weed. Hippies smoking weed..oh my gosh are you serious. That is so unheard of..not. But the writing is Ok and though the story is nothing new it's still touching and amusing. And surprisingly enough I didn’t feel as if I wasted 45 minuets of my day reading this book, which I think is always a plus. I would recommend Dizzy to casual readers and girls who aren't old enough to read the Sisterhood of the traveling pants series.
--The Marvelous Niah
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Alphabet Poems
We had a "Writing Day" today at book club. Below are some of the anonymous creative works. We wrote "alphabet poems," which means that each poem has 26 words, one starting with each letter of the alphabet. No repeats. You have to write in order. "x" is the only letter you're allowed to fudge.
Abby
buddy
came down
eatin' freaky
great hair
irritated janky kangaroo imitation
make no one put quail robot stuff up their veil
with x-hausted yet zooish
Any bald cat diving, energetically, furiously, going headlong into jello knows luck makes no old pals. Quickly, risking some towels, unilaterally vaults, whispering x-haustedly, "You're zapped."
A
big crab defended every fairy.
Good.
Happily, I joked.
Kinda.
Lovingly, my nose opposed pears.
Questioningly, Rachael sat the unhappy,
vicious, weird x-huberant youthful zoo (down).
A
beautiful, cold Diane eloped Friday.
Green Herbert is just kidding.
Love means nothing.
Other people question really strongly their union vows.
William.
Xylophone.
Young.
Zoop
Anna blasted Cullom dauntingly, euphorically, famously.
Go, Hillary, incinerate Jake.
Kayleigh, lobotomize orks.
Phill quickly, riotously, ultimately shouts 'Tim.'
Ultra-Vincent walks x-tremely 'yiddishly.'
Zebras.
A boy came doing eggdances.
Fish gulped hardily inside jellyfishes.
Killing loons makes nobody over-reactive.
People quake reassuringly, sweetly.
Together underground, Venezuelan whales x-plain your zealousness
Ants begin cautiously deciding everything for going home in January
Kindly loathing men, not oppressing persons quietly
Rather so than upholding valentine's wednesday
x-haling youthful zebras
Alfi bounces circles down everything
fun, going high, icey jumpy kicky loopy,
meandering now...
off polar quilts, really!
Stop!
Turn!
underneath violins, weather, xylophones
yellow zombies
A big, cartwheeling dog eating fries
gold, huge; I joke, kick, laugh...monkeys not observant
People quest reluctantly
So telepathic
Umbrellas valiant
Why x-treme?
Yellow zebras
At Bob's car Dad eats french goats happily
I just kept/lost my note on pigs,
quick roll sideways, turn up, vibrate with x-ray
you zora
Abby
buddy
came down
eatin' freaky
great hair
irritated janky kangaroo imitation
make no one put quail robot stuff up their veil
with x-hausted yet zooish
Any bald cat diving, energetically, furiously, going headlong into jello knows luck makes no old pals. Quickly, risking some towels, unilaterally vaults, whispering x-haustedly, "You're zapped."
A
big crab defended every fairy.
Good.
Happily, I joked.
Kinda.
Lovingly, my nose opposed pears.
Questioningly, Rachael sat the unhappy,
vicious, weird x-huberant youthful zoo (down).
A
beautiful, cold Diane eloped Friday.
Green Herbert is just kidding.
Love means nothing.
Other people question really strongly their union vows.
William.
Xylophone.
Young.
Zoop
Anna blasted Cullom dauntingly, euphorically, famously.
Go, Hillary, incinerate Jake.
Kayleigh, lobotomize orks.
Phill quickly, riotously, ultimately shouts 'Tim.'
Ultra-Vincent walks x-tremely 'yiddishly.'
Zebras.
A boy came doing eggdances.
Fish gulped hardily inside jellyfishes.
Killing loons makes nobody over-reactive.
People quake reassuringly, sweetly.
Together underground, Venezuelan whales x-plain your zealousness
Ants begin cautiously deciding everything for going home in January
Kindly loathing men, not oppressing persons quietly
Rather so than upholding valentine's wednesday
x-haling youthful zebras
Alfi bounces circles down everything
fun, going high, icey jumpy kicky loopy,
meandering now...
off polar quilts, really!
Stop!
Turn!
underneath violins, weather, xylophones
yellow zombies
A big, cartwheeling dog eating fries
gold, huge; I joke, kick, laugh...monkeys not observant
People quest reluctantly
So telepathic
Umbrellas valiant
Why x-treme?
Yellow zebras
At Bob's car Dad eats french goats happily
I just kept/lost my note on pigs,
quick roll sideways, turn up, vibrate with x-ray
you zora
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Celebrate Black History Month!
Celebrate Black History Month with an awesome book!
Looking for something good? Try on of these:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
47 by Walter Mosley
The Harlem Hellfighters by Walter Dean Myers
Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Hey, teens, like what you're reading? Hate what you're reading? Write a book review and send it to yabookreviewsSPL@yahoo.com. You'll see your review posted on this blog!
See here for details.
Looking for something good? Try on of these:
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
47 by Walter Mosley
The Harlem Hellfighters by Walter Dean Myers
Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline WoodsonHey, teens, like what you're reading? Hate what you're reading? Write a book review and send it to yabookreviewsSPL@yahoo.com. You'll see your review posted on this blog!
See here for details.
Book Review: Skulduggery Pleasant--Spoiler Alert!
Skulduggery Pleasant-- A written analysis
--The Swanky Cullom McC.
OK, since my first review was so popular (historic note: the Y chromosome does not equal failure to understand or "get" Twilight) I thought that I would join in the merry making and write a review of a book that I actually liked quite a lot: Skulduggery Pleasant. (this one's Y chromosome friendly, for those of you who don't know. Contradiction count:+1) One of the main reasons I liked this book was because of its sense of humor and playfulness and seriousness when necessary. There's no avoiding it-- I want to write as well as Derek Landy. The humor in the book is smart, cynical, and has some snark to it, but it stays broad audience friendly because the reader can usually get whatever the book throws at you, and the book doesn't pander to the slowest common denominator. Well, I guess some of the humor could be considered smart.... but I digress. The book has wonderful pacing and never has a boring moment or a moment just used to fill up pages, and when it really kicks up, boy, does it kick up. The action scenes are vivid and exiting, while the dialogue can get rather snappy, with great and colorful characters to boot. Make no bones about it: I love this book to death. I love it so much, that I decided to give the characters a few little nick-names. The voices in your head are telling you to stop reading because this guy doesn't know the line between fantasy and reality because he gives the characters in books his own nick-names, aren't they? Well, the voices in MY head are telling me that I don't. Then again, people care more when characters in books die rather than someone who is real but they don't know dies. Now aren't I the morbidly insightful little scamp, hm? <---------That's egotism, if you couldn't tell.
Now that we have my little fan boy rant out of the way, I guess it's review time. Sigh. I wish I could review as I read page by page. Then again, that would make the above paragraph completely useless, wouldn't it? Skulduggery Pleasant starts out with Gordon Edgely, a walking, talking plot device. I'm going to call him..... dang, what CAN I call him? If he had three nephews named Hughey, Dewey, and Louis, then I'd know to call him Unca Donald. But sadly, this is not the case. It doesn't matter, as he gets killed off after writing the seventh word of the twenty-fifth sentence of the last chapter of his latest book (I kid you not, it actually says that).
The first chapter starts off with Stephanie Edgely, a twelve-year-old girl who goes to her unca's funeral while watching her relatives steal things from the dearly departed's house. Later on, we get to hear the will, which dumps the plot on us in the shape of a big, steaming heap of plot devices. I'll make a list of who gets what in the family below:
Steph: Gordon's house, royalties to his books, and all of his valuables
Steph's mom and dad: A villa in France
Uncle Fergus and Aunt Beryl AKA annoying character #'s 1 and 2: A boat and a broach, but are totally unappreciative on the grounds that Fergus is afraid of water and the broach is UGLY. Ungrateful little jerks<------(librarian editing in advance)
And some dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat: Advice. Unnecessarily cryptic advice.
So, I think that we have all established by now that there are no plot devices that will come back to haunt us there. Nope. Just some random objects with story relevance. Once that's over and done with, Steph goes and spends the night in her unca's house. The unca's publisher calls and asks if his latest book is finished, but instead of actually checking in the back of the manuscript, she starts reading the whole thing from the front. Steph then comes back to her senses hours later to find that it was twelve o'clock. She then receives another phone call asking for some key that [SPOILER TAG] actually has. After being turned away, he decides to let himself in through the window, the polite fellow that he is. He then starts to attack Steph, but then some dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat comes in and throws a fire ball, but apparently the other guy is, like, from a Final Fantasy video game and got armor with level seven flame resistance. He then laughs and says "More, more," so the dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat takes out a revolver and shoots him, like no other character in a fantasy book does, because, you know, when you've got a quest with tons and tons of perils that are likely to kill you, you have to get dangerously close to said perils in order to kill them with a SWORD instead of using a gun, because guns would be so much more effective for.... well, killing things, and would make things too easy for the main characters, thus resulting in many unnecessary deaths and injuries avoided. I mean, just think of how Lord of The Rings would be if people had guns and cannons instead of swords and bows? Maybe even cross bows would have made a big difference. Well, I guess magic could count as a compensator, but then again, not every one can use it, unlike a gun, and some people just aren't any good at magic, where as with a gun, you can just shoot until you get lucky enough to hit something, and magic takes time and energy to use. However, this guy has both! How versatile!
During this struggle, the dude loses his hat and wig and is revealed to be a skeleton named Skulduggery Pleasant, other wise known as He-who-shall-be-called-Skully. However, after being shot only ONE TIME, the guy with level seven flame resistance runs away.... what a wimp! Afterwards Skully takes Steph for a car ride and explains about a secret war of sorcerers and magic and also explains about how you have three names: a taken name (basically a screen name for the magical community that you choose yourself) a given name (your parents give you this one) and a true name (you are born with it; it is buried in one's semiconscious) and how if someone finds out your true name, they can control you like a barbie doll, meaning that they can control who you love, what you do, how you feel, etc. Skully also explains about magic, and how there are Adepts, who can control illusions and a wide variety of other things, and Elementals, who are people who can control the four elements with magic. After driving for a while, they then stop outside of an old tenement building where Skully gives examples of elemental magic. They then go inside of said old tenement building and meet China Sorrows (an enchantress that makes people fall in love with her, despite any mental/physical boundaries) who I can't decide what to call other than an inappropriate Austin Powers reference, so I'll just avoid the whole nick-name thing with her. Skully then discusses with China about who the big baddie behind the whole attack on Steph was, and China disagrees with Skully about who the master mind behind the assault on Steph was and Skully storms off.
While riding home in Skully's car, Skully explains that the villain he was talking about earlier was Nefarian Serpine, AKA this dimension's equivalent of Voldemort, only this Voldemort still needs a wand but has delusionsof grandeur and wants a scepter that can revive gods and kill anything, and also has low finances and therefore can't afford a competent group of henchmen or horcruxes, and therefore doesn't take seven books to kill. After the plot is given this new found depth, the oh-so-polite hench man from earlier wrecks the car, chases Steph, and then falls into a canal and dies. On an added side note, against all odds, Steph's phone doesn't short out. Just thought I'd mention that. It's so important to know that you can text your BFF's on a regular basis until your thumbs fall of, or you get carpenter's disease.
Afterwards, Steph gets picked up at unca Gordon's house, and afterwards talks about how boring and mundane normal life is, just like every other fantasy genre character ever. Skully later pulls up in the drive way and takes her to see Ghastly Bespoke, AKA magical sewing Muhammad Ali (Muhammad Ali is a famous boxer, and Ghastly Bespoke boxes). Once they arrive at magical sewing Muhammad Ali's house, Skully so meanly dashes Steph's and the reader's hopes of there being an under water colony of octopus people. How cruel! After arguing with magical boxing Muhammad Ali, Skully convinces him to tailor a magical suit for Steph. During said argument magical sewing Muhammad Ali, magical sewing Muhammad Ali refuses to disclose any information about the scepter that the equivilant of this dimension's Voldemort is after.
Because of magical sewing Muhammad Ali not telling them what they wanted to know, Skully and Steph decide to break into an art museum guarded by vampires in order to gain entrance to magical sewing Muhammad Ali's family chamber. Do you follow? Good. That's what I thought. As it turns out, if you touch the floor in said art museum, the alarms will go off and the vampires will chase after you. Now, let me get this straight: these vampires are nothing like the vampires that are supposedly "HAWT" (you know the ones I mean). Seriously, they will RIP YOUR EFFING HEART OUT. So, after much unnecessary excitement, Steph and Skully get into the family chamber of magical sewing Muhammad Ali, where they meet a blue astro projection of an old man, talk about ancient art, and leave. While leaving, Steph and Skully get chased by the two vampires guarding the gallery, and go home, where Skully is captured by he-who-must-not-be-named (just kidding, it's only Serpine. The wizards and witches in the audience can stop soiling themselves now), thus setting the plot into motion.
In order to help Skully, Steph goes to China, who confines her via a spell, which Steph breaks by choosing a name. What's Steph's new name? Well, why are you asking me? Can't you just ask her? I swear. You readers are so lazy sometimes. In fact, by now, only half of you are probably still reading. But I digress. Steph forms the magical A team in order to save Skully. This magical A team consists of Tanith Low (Blonde, gang bangerish chick with a sword; is on what appears to be magical steroids), magical sewing Muhammad Ali, and two guys with big scythes, just to look cool. The characters who have names rescue Skully, while the guys with big scythes die, with one corpse missing. Surely THAT won't come back to bite us in the butts later.
While talking later on, Skully tells Steph about how the fate of the world lies upon her willingness to visit her relatives, Fergus and Beryl, who were given the broach during the will reading. Why is the broach so important? It's the key to a network of caves in which the scepter that this dimension's Voldemort is after. Steph and Skully go into said caves after obtaining said broach from Fergus and Beryl. Steph and Skully then go and meet Mr. Bliss, the most powerful man on the planet, who betrays them, stealing the key/broach, thus setting the plot twists and plot into motion. Dang. That guy really is powerful. Steph and Skully just get into the network of caves by following the bad guys who now have the key (Serpine, Mr. Bliss, henchmen) into the cave. After some running away from a lot of dangerous stuff, including Serpine himself, who, mind you, found the scepter he was after by breaking open an old chest, and was shooting black lightning everywhere.
Am I going to fast for you guys? Really? Good. It's my goal to summarize the rest of the book within the following paragraph. Are you ready? really? good. Here it comes....
Steph discovers that she is an ancient. The council of elders gets killed off. This dimension's Voldemort is actually after a book of everyone in the world's true names. Tanith gets into a fight with one of the men with big scythes from earlier, who Serpine bought back to life. That same guy with a big scythe casued magical boxing Muhammad Ali to turn himself into stone in order to protect himself from having his head cut off. The book of names that Serpine is after gets destroyed along with him. Tanith escapes her fight with her life, and they all live happily ever after.
--The Swanky Cullom McC.
Now that we have my little fan boy rant out of the way, I guess it's review time. Sigh. I wish I could review as I read page by page. Then again, that would make the above paragraph completely useless, wouldn't it? Skulduggery Pleasant starts out with Gordon Edgely, a walking, talking plot device. I'm going to call him..... dang, what CAN I call him? If he had three nephews named Hughey, Dewey, and Louis, then I'd know to call him Unca Donald. But sadly, this is not the case. It doesn't matter, as he gets killed off after writing the seventh word of the twenty-fifth sentence of the last chapter of his latest book (I kid you not, it actually says that).
The first chapter starts off with Stephanie Edgely, a twelve-year-old girl who goes to her unca's funeral while watching her relatives steal things from the dearly departed's house. Later on, we get to hear the will, which dumps the plot on us in the shape of a big, steaming heap of plot devices. I'll make a list of who gets what in the family below:
Steph: Gordon's house, royalties to his books, and all of his valuables
Steph's mom and dad: A villa in France
Uncle Fergus and Aunt Beryl AKA annoying character #'s 1 and 2: A boat and a broach, but are totally unappreciative on the grounds that Fergus is afraid of water and the broach is UGLY. Ungrateful little jerks<------(librarian editing in advance)
And some dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat: Advice. Unnecessarily cryptic advice.
So, I think that we have all established by now that there are no plot devices that will come back to haunt us there. Nope. Just some random objects with story relevance. Once that's over and done with, Steph goes and spends the night in her unca's house. The unca's publisher calls and asks if his latest book is finished, but instead of actually checking in the back of the manuscript, she starts reading the whole thing from the front. Steph then comes back to her senses hours later to find that it was twelve o'clock. She then receives another phone call asking for some key that [SPOILER TAG] actually has. After being turned away, he decides to let himself in through the window, the polite fellow that he is. He then starts to attack Steph, but then some dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat comes in and throws a fire ball, but apparently the other guy is, like, from a Final Fantasy video game and got armor with level seven flame resistance. He then laughs and says "More, more," so the dude in an overcoat, wig, gloves, sun glasses and a hat takes out a revolver and shoots him, like no other character in a fantasy book does, because, you know, when you've got a quest with tons and tons of perils that are likely to kill you, you have to get dangerously close to said perils in order to kill them with a SWORD instead of using a gun, because guns would be so much more effective for.... well, killing things, and would make things too easy for the main characters, thus resulting in many unnecessary deaths and injuries avoided. I mean, just think of how Lord of The Rings would be if people had guns and cannons instead of swords and bows? Maybe even cross bows would have made a big difference. Well, I guess magic could count as a compensator, but then again, not every one can use it, unlike a gun, and some people just aren't any good at magic, where as with a gun, you can just shoot until you get lucky enough to hit something, and magic takes time and energy to use. However, this guy has both! How versatile!
During this struggle, the dude loses his hat and wig and is revealed to be a skeleton named Skulduggery Pleasant, other wise known as He-who-shall-be-called-Skully. However, after being shot only ONE TIME, the guy with level seven flame resistance runs away.... what a wimp! Afterwards Skully takes Steph for a car ride and explains about a secret war of sorcerers and magic and also explains about how you have three names: a taken name (basically a screen name for the magical community that you choose yourself) a given name (your parents give you this one) and a true name (you are born with it; it is buried in one's semiconscious) and how if someone finds out your true name, they can control you like a barbie doll, meaning that they can control who you love, what you do, how you feel, etc. Skully also explains about magic, and how there are Adepts, who can control illusions and a wide variety of other things, and Elementals, who are people who can control the four elements with magic. After driving for a while, they then stop outside of an old tenement building where Skully gives examples of elemental magic. They then go inside of said old tenement building and meet China Sorrows (an enchantress that makes people fall in love with her, despite any mental/physical boundaries) who I can't decide what to call other than an inappropriate Austin Powers reference, so I'll just avoid the whole nick-name thing with her. Skully then discusses with China about who the big baddie behind the whole attack on Steph was, and China disagrees with Skully about who the master mind behind the assault on Steph was and Skully storms off.
While riding home in Skully's car, Skully explains that the villain he was talking about earlier was Nefarian Serpine, AKA this dimension's equivalent of Voldemort, only this Voldemort still needs a wand but has delusionsof grandeur and wants a scepter that can revive gods and kill anything, and also has low finances and therefore can't afford a competent group of henchmen or horcruxes, and therefore doesn't take seven books to kill. After the plot is given this new found depth, the oh-so-polite hench man from earlier wrecks the car, chases Steph, and then falls into a canal and dies. On an added side note, against all odds, Steph's phone doesn't short out. Just thought I'd mention that. It's so important to know that you can text your BFF's on a regular basis until your thumbs fall of, or you get carpenter's disease.
Afterwards, Steph gets picked up at unca Gordon's house, and afterwards talks about how boring and mundane normal life is, just like every other fantasy genre character ever. Skully later pulls up in the drive way and takes her to see Ghastly Bespoke, AKA magical sewing Muhammad Ali (Muhammad Ali is a famous boxer, and Ghastly Bespoke boxes). Once they arrive at magical sewing Muhammad Ali's house, Skully so meanly dashes Steph's and the reader's hopes of there being an under water colony of octopus people. How cruel! After arguing with magical boxing Muhammad Ali, Skully convinces him to tailor a magical suit for Steph. During said argument magical sewing Muhammad Ali, magical sewing Muhammad Ali refuses to disclose any information about the scepter that the equivilant of this dimension's Voldemort is after.
Because of magical sewing Muhammad Ali not telling them what they wanted to know, Skully and Steph decide to break into an art museum guarded by vampires in order to gain entrance to magical sewing Muhammad Ali's family chamber. Do you follow? Good. That's what I thought. As it turns out, if you touch the floor in said art museum, the alarms will go off and the vampires will chase after you. Now, let me get this straight: these vampires are nothing like the vampires that are supposedly "HAWT" (you know the ones I mean). Seriously, they will RIP YOUR EFFING HEART OUT. So, after much unnecessary excitement, Steph and Skully get into the family chamber of magical sewing Muhammad Ali, where they meet a blue astro projection of an old man, talk about ancient art, and leave. While leaving, Steph and Skully get chased by the two vampires guarding the gallery, and go home, where Skully is captured by he-who-must-not-be-named (just kidding, it's only Serpine. The wizards and witches in the audience can stop soiling themselves now), thus setting the plot into motion.
In order to help Skully, Steph goes to China, who confines her via a spell, which Steph breaks by choosing a name. What's Steph's new name? Well, why are you asking me? Can't you just ask her? I swear. You readers are so lazy sometimes. In fact, by now, only half of you are probably still reading. But I digress. Steph forms the magical A team in order to save Skully. This magical A team consists of Tanith Low (Blonde, gang bangerish chick with a sword; is on what appears to be magical steroids), magical sewing Muhammad Ali, and two guys with big scythes, just to look cool. The characters who have names rescue Skully, while the guys with big scythes die, with one corpse missing. Surely THAT won't come back to bite us in the butts later.
While talking later on, Skully tells Steph about how the fate of the world lies upon her willingness to visit her relatives, Fergus and Beryl, who were given the broach during the will reading. Why is the broach so important? It's the key to a network of caves in which the scepter that this dimension's Voldemort is after. Steph and Skully go into said caves after obtaining said broach from Fergus and Beryl. Steph and Skully then go and meet Mr. Bliss, the most powerful man on the planet, who betrays them, stealing the key/broach, thus setting the plot twists and plot into motion. Dang. That guy really is powerful. Steph and Skully just get into the network of caves by following the bad guys who now have the key (Serpine, Mr. Bliss, henchmen) into the cave. After some running away from a lot of dangerous stuff, including Serpine himself, who, mind you, found the scepter he was after by breaking open an old chest, and was shooting black lightning everywhere.
Am I going to fast for you guys? Really? Good. It's my goal to summarize the rest of the book within the following paragraph. Are you ready? really? good. Here it comes....
Steph discovers that she is an ancient. The council of elders gets killed off. This dimension's Voldemort is actually after a book of everyone in the world's true names. Tanith gets into a fight with one of the men with big scythes from earlier, who Serpine bought back to life. That same guy with a big scythe casued magical boxing Muhammad Ali to turn himself into stone in order to protect himself from having his head cut off. The book of names that Serpine is after gets destroyed along with him. Tanith escapes her fight with her life, and they all live happily ever after.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Neil Gaiman Coraline Movie Trailer
check it out!
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/01/heres-button-trailer.html
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/01/heres-button-trailer.html
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Books to Movies!
There are a couple of books coming to theaters in the next couple weeks:
Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, is premiering January 23rd.
http://www.inkheartmovie.com/
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, is coming out February 6th.
http://coraline.com/
Read the book before you watch the movie!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Fantastes Spring 2009 Reading Schedule (Whoo!)
Jan. 15—intro, Recap.
Jan. 22—Prophet of Yonwood The Vision, Ch. 1-5
*Jan. 23rd: Inkheart Comes Out In Theaters*
Jan. 29—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 6-10
Feb. 5—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 11-15
Feb. 12—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 16-20
Feb. 19—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 21-25
Feb. 26—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 26-30
Mar. 5—Prophet of Yonwood Ch. 31-33
Mar. 12—Diamond of Darkhold The Vault, Ch. 1-3
*Mar. 19— Spring Break Week: special day*
Mar. 26— Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 4-6
Apr. 2—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 7-9
Apr. 9—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 10-12
Apr. 16 —Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 13-15
*April 12-18 = National Library Week*
Apr. 23—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 16-18
Apr. 30—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 19-21
May 7—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 22-24
May 14—Diamond of Darkhold Ch. 25-27
?May 21—End of the World/ End of the series Party
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