Okay, I freakin loved this book and I have a major crush on Mr. Levithan (1/2 of the creator of this book). You can read my review of this book here. I also think Michael Cera (who plays Nick) is adorable and I want to bite his face so this should be good. The Norah girl is pretty so that's also nice. The trailer looks good and funny albeit like there's lots of stuff that doesn't happen in the book. The movie comes out on October 3 and here's the IMDB page.
Woot! While I wish there were still HP books to be excited about there aren't, so we have to make due with the movies. I love the films, but this one is going to be a bummer. This new teaser is good, and shows a less action-y magic-y side and more of the plot. So cool. Enjoy!
Movie comes out November 21 and the IMDB site is here.
Okay, so I picked this book up at the end of the school year one day, meaning to just peruse it briefly. That, by the way, is the way that many of my students pick it up. It's a great D.E.A.R. book for that reason, because you can read it for 10 to 40 minutes and then put it down and never look at it again. Anyway, I brought the stupid thing home with me and I've been reading it on and off for weeks. My boyfriend thinks it's morbid, and, of course it is. But it's interesting too. It's especially interesting if you watch as many horror movies as I do (I love 'em!). It's set up as a traditional encyclopedia with alphabetical entries and 'see alsos' embedded in the topics. What makes it so readable is the lurid and graphic writing style. It's written in dime store novel prose that makes it seem like you're getting gossip from that neighborhood lady who knows too much about (and rejoices in) other people's misfortunes and maybe likes a nip of sherry from time to time. It's also peppered with real life pictures, reproductions of notes, and photos of serial killer trading cards. Yes, that's right, there's serial killer trading cards, showing here:As with most encyclopedias, it's not meant to be read beginning to end, which is mostly what I was doing. It becomes a bit boring and repetitive that way, so I would say just jump around to what interests you. Another reason it becomes boring is because lots of the crimes are the same. Kill some folks, rape 'em, eat 'em. There's apparently lots more necrophilia and cannibalism than I realized. So, you know...yuck. The cool part is that it really goes beyond your Bundys and your Mansons and talks about lots of icky killers that aren't as well known. Bottom line: is it sick? Yep. But you still know you're a little interested, you dirty bird. Soundtrack: Psycho Killer by The Talking Heads. Please enjoy this student-film-tacular video for the song. Oh the things you find on youtube. It's a little cheesy-graphic if you're weak tummied (but if you're weak tummied, why are you reading my blog?). This video reminds me how much I can't wait for my boyfriend Dexter to come back on. Sigh...Michael C. Hall. Yum....Oh, um..yeah, the video:
Okay, so, I read Mr. Lyga's other book The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirlway back when. I also saw Lyga speak and very much enjoyed his presentation on the History of Geekery. So, when this finally showed up at my library (why do book orders take so long to come in? It's like having perma-blue balls. Ugh) I knew I had to read it. So, Josh was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of his female teacher when he was 12. Very Mary Kay Letourneau. Anyway, the abuse eventually comes out and the story follows the life of an older Josh, who is still dealing with (or not so much dealing with) his abuse. High school Josh is applying to colleges and trying to get a baseball scholarship. He is also trying to repair a fractured relationship with his former b/f and possible love interest. Oh, and his parents are douches. And he thinks he is a sex-pervert and that the abuse was his fault. Oh, one more thing: his abuser is getting out of prison. Frickin awesome. As if this kid doesn't have enough problems. This abuse in the story is told little by little in flashbacks, it's honest and frank, but it isn't kitty porn. The guilty party is a 24-year-old teacher. This really skeeved me out because she's obviously bonkers and I'm a 25-year-old high school teacher and I can't even fathom how this happens. The cool thing about the book is that it isn't just about this abuse, it's really more about Josh's life now and how his past is influencing his present. It was all really artfully handled, really. Josh's character is well written and the story wraps up pretty nicely. Oh, and the baseball stuff wasn't too much for a non-jock like me to handle. It was actually pretty well done. I followed it and I was interested. All in all I think I like this one better than Fanboy and I will continue to keep an eye out for Lyga. Sountrack: Hot for Teacher by Van Halen. Because it's totally inappropriate and there's nothing funny about this book book's abuse. And I love inappropriatness (and making up words).
Publisher: Kids Can Press, Ltd. (January 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1553375769
ISBN-13: 978-1553375760
List Price: $6.95
I finished this book on July 20
So, okay. I'm a librarian. I successfully find books for high school students to read on a regular basis. I work my ass off at it. Usually I do pretty good. But there's one person who always ignores my suggestions, doesn't read what I get for him or says things like "Do you even know me?" when I try to give him something. That's my pain in the bottom boyfriend. Anyway, when school ended I brought home books for me to read over the summer and he said "get some for me too" so I did (and I looked something like this). Well he read a couple and this is one that he read. It was short, so I read it too. Here's the rub: Ben is mad. His mom died and he's moved to England (from Canada) with his heretofore absentee father Lars (awesome name, I know). Anyway, our Ben acts pretty much like he's wearing saggy diapers that leak throughout the whole book. He is deliberately terse, rude and somehow gets away with cursing out his father on a regular basis. Now you know I love salty language, but even that isn't really saving this book for me. Oh, right, the plot: there's a Green Man called Wyliff who is (rather deviously) trying to get Ben's help to best this big bad fairy who's pissing off the world (and yeah, I know "big bad fairy" sounds like an oxymoron). Anyway, tree man, plus a little guy who reminds me of a surly David the Gnome (10 points for figuring out how to reference that shit!) try to save the day. Ben makes the brilliant decision not to tell his dad/ask for help even though Lars is a folklore expert and would definitely be able to help him. The thing is, it's not a horrible book. I didn't like the main character but it doesn't mean that it wasn't a perfectly acceptable story for the kind of reader who wants to read every fantasy ever. My boyfriend's review is: It's like OK cake. Meaning, you're never mad that you're eating cake, even if the cake wasn't that good. But in the back of your mind, you wish it was better. So, that's the story with this one. Read at your own risk. Soundtrack: Feed the Tree by Belly. Because I love 90's alterna-rock and trees are hungry too.
Here's the newest trailer for the upcoming Twilight movie which comes out on December 12 (aka: not soon e-friggin-nough).
At first I was skeptical of Cedric Diggory as Edward but now that I see it I am happy. Kristin Stewart should be good, I liked her in Speak. Here's the other trailer that's out.
So, okay, first off, this has nothing to do with that movie of the same name starring Jason Statham. Good cover, though, isn't it? If you look close you can see that the words are made up of meth, and that's the main character in this book. You might think that our narrator: Kristina/Bree is the main character, but the true force in the story is the crystal meth she becomes addicted to. Kristina goes to visit her long lost dead beat pop and on the way becomes enamored with a boy and addicted to crank. Sucks. When she comes home you almost hope she will kick it, but you know she won't. She finds boys at home who can supply her with more drugs, and, as a party favor, rape. Good times. The downward spiral depicted here is, imo, more jarring than Go Ask Alice because it's a bit more of a narrative story. Oh, did I mention it's written in verse? Cause it is. Hopkins stories are written in a free verse style that allows the scattered thoughts of our girl anti-hero. Also, many of the poems are readable in more than one way (up and down, left to right). I read one of Hopkins' other books and saw her speak in person (more on that in another post) and she was funny and smart. I really liked listening to her talk about her books, how they are banned and also how they are used in many rehab programs. They are really powerful stuff. But what's most interesting to me about it is this, Crank, along with its sequel, Glass are fictionalized versions of her own family. Her daughter is Kristina/Bree. I think that is really brave. What is even more exceptional, is the way she portrays herself (through her daughter's eyes) as a 40-something career and workout obsessed not perfect mother. It's very powerful stuff to know that someone who seems as reasonable and honest as Hopkins does in person can have a daughter who is a crystal meth addict. Moral of the story: Read this book. Also, don't google meth unless you want to see the incredibly fucked up things it does to people's faces. Yikes stripes, babies. Soundtrack: Sanctified by Nine Inch Nails. Most people think this song is about a lady, but it's about drugs.
