Don't bother!!

Dad and I were disappointed in a major way with this film.

The best thing about it was the trailer - which whetted our appetite for nothing.

I'd never even heard of it, but it's from 2008, so it's not very old.

Just a little too cheesy, and as one reviewer said, full of "Hallmark Hall of Fame-isms!"

I won't bore you with the plot!

Checking off the Newbery books!

Just finished Kira-Kira - I'm trying to finish the newest 20 - and quite enjoyed it.

I enjoy reading about other cultures in other times - in this case, a Japanese family in Georgia in the 1950's - and the character development is the story's strong suit.

The author does "wrap things up" a bit quickly at the end - a little too tidy to seem real - but the story is mostly well-done and is a good read.

Another Newbery winner to check off -

I have noted before that I thought I'd start at the front end of the Newbery list - since the ones at the end seem to drag a bit.

The is the 2002 winner - and it was a great read. It's about 12th century Korea and pottery making - and I've always loved learning my history from novels!! This story did not disappoint - I recommend it.

And I'm off to the library for reinforcements!!

Don't "criss cross" this off your list!

I was noticing as I went through the Newbery list that I have read most of the new ones - after the 70's, my numbers go down. But I hadn't read the newest ones - except for The Higher Power of Lucky - which was wonderful - so I thought I'd be sure to have read the last 10 anyway.
For this reason I picked up Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. This is a first novel - and all the more impressive for that. What a delightful read -you may want to do it in one setting - it has a "stream of consciousness" feel to it - but the characters are well-drawn, the emotions are real, the story line comes together remarkably well, and you kind of hate to see it end - all good qualities in a book, to my way of thinking.

It's a kind of coming of age story that takes place in the 70's - I'm not sure where, but it's not California - they make a point of emphasizing that fact. The name of the town is Seldem - don't you love an author who plays with words like that?? There are some quirky drawings that add to the story, almost effortlessly.

On the back cover, there is this quote from the story, "She was thinking that the grass really could be greener on the other side of the fence. It depended on who was standing in the grass. Maybe you had to go take a look."

My favorite lines were in the chapter where Hector starts taking guitar lessons from the local minister: "Maybe there had been a time, a moment, when he had made the choice between being a rock star and a Presbyterian miniser. He had that funny voice, but he seemed to enjoy performing. He threw his head back and scrunched his eyes shut and emoted. He did as much as could be done with that voice. The abandoned rock star option had not quite given up. It had not completely faded away."

If you read no other Newbery book this summer, read this one!! You'll be glad you did!

Finally!

I finally finished You're Wearing That? after going through a chapter at a time. I usually read it when we were traveling so it was in small segments.

Overall, I liked it. Maybe I should get into more detail when I have the time, but I thought that it was interesting that Mom recommended it to all of us because I don't think that I have as strained a relationship with either of my parents as the subjects in the book seem to! (Unless maybe there's something you're not telling us, Mom?? ;) It did give me a lot of insight on my sisterly relations, too, which was interesting, maybe because I feel like I have been mothered by all of my sisters at one time or another. And then there is the angle of adding my female in-laws into the mix and seeing how we all interact with each other. I thought it was interesting.

Anyway, Eliza gets it next! In a month!

New on the shelf at the New and Improved Monrovia Library!!

I finished And Now Miguel - which was good but dragged a bit - the pace could have been snappier - and went to get another Newbery winner and was distracted by this book on the "new books" display.

It's about a boy who's learning disabled - can't read - but no one knows about it -I may read it to my students at the beginning of the year. There' s another book, My Name is Brain (crossed out) Brian, with a similar theme and I read it to my students at the beginning of the year one year, and they enjoyed feeling like their own story was not so unheard of.

Last year I started with a novel about bullying - I like to address a theme each year at the beginning - allows for some good discussion.

This book wasn't totally believable - but enough believable to be enjoyable.

So now I'm back to the Newbery books - Criss-Cross to be exact.

Summer Reading

(I always think a post needs a photo - if Grandma and I had really been on a voyage on the Queen Mary in 1971, we would have been on the deck reading - I'm sure!)

It seems to be a slow summer - reading-wise anyway. I gave up on Adam Bede - after I saw the BBC production and realized how true to the book it was - couldn't bring myself to keep plowing through the extensive prose that is the hallmark of much Victorian writing! (The BBC production was excellent, btw!)

But I did delve into Middlemarch - and it is not such slow reading - but it's easy to put down too - or fall asleep over! But I plan to finish it - it's not a library copy, so I can take all summer.

On the Newbery front, I'm readng And Now Miguel - and it is pretty good. I like the way it sounds - a Hispanic boy in turn of the century New Mexico - he has really caught the flavor.

So that's where I stand now - maybe I read so much this last spring, that I am "read out" or something.

But I do have several Hornblower converts under my belt!

Moving down the list -

That would be the Newbery list - I was struggling with The Dark Frigate - and thought I'd get a jump start with some lighter fare - this is perfect for such an occasion!!

If you have not read it, do. I never saw the movie - so don't know how they compare. But the story is delightful - and beautifully written.

So now I've read 48 of the 87 - of course, if I had to write book reports on 47 of the ones I've read, I'd be hard put to give more than a skeleton overview.

I will give The Dark Frigate another chance!!