Ender's Game Movie

They've finally done it: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/21/harrison-ford-abigail-breslin-enders-game/


I must say, I'm excited.  I've enjoyed the work of the cast and production team before, so this should be an enjoyable adaptation, at the very least.  

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Long time, no reviews!  Ah, well.  I've started multiple books but haven't finished very many.  That's what holidays are for: catching up on reading!


It seems as if everyone is reading Kathryn Stockett's The Help.  I've seen it advertised everywhere; it's in bookstores and superstores all over the country; NPR claims it's the best book of its kind since To Kill a Mockingbird.  Released in 2009, the book shot to the top of the New York Times best sellers list.  A movie adaptation with Emma Stone followed soon after.
Is this simple story about three southern women and their controversial book really all it's being touted as?  Will it be required freshman reading twenty years from now?
I think the answer is 'yes'.  As long as Stockett pulls through a recent law suit , this book will continue to be read for years to come.
Stockett is a talented writer.  Her villains have their good sides; her heroes have dark moments.  Just like To Kill A Mockingbird, the narrative is beautifully while unflinchingly honest and occasionally quite funny.  It presents all of life, not just the nice parts.
While the Civil Rights era isn't over written, readers are often shown stories from the same perspective, but Stockett takes us in a different direction.  In The Help, two out of three view point characters are black maids.  Instead of just reading a book about one of America's turbulent periods, we're shown what it might have been like to write such a book.  The Help defies boundaries and shows readers a different side of a little-explored story.
I'm not suggesting this book is perfect.  The one white POV character, Skeeter, came to 'enlightenment' too quickly.  Likewise, while the black maids' speech is peppered heavily with slang, the white characters almost never use southern vernacular.  All of the problems seem small, though, relative to the powerful characters and the story that they tell.  Recommended.

Pros:
*Well-written
*Good characters
*Engaging, unique story
*Actually deserving of it's NYT Bestseller title

Cons:
*Language
*Sexual material
*Other dramatic/thematic material that's not appropriate for young readers
*Skeeter's aforementioned character development issue
*Aforementioned dialogue issue

Book Review: Goliath

Following the adventures recorded in Leviathan and Behemoth, Goliath takes readers on a round-the-world adventure heavy with giant bears, dangerous inventors, and romantic tension.  For fans of the first two books, Goliath is a satisfying conclusion to a unique steam-punk trilogy.
Westerfeld takes loose ends and ties them up nicely in this 500+ page book.  Although I'll attempt to not give too much away, Goliath is heavy on the romance and relationships.  (When one of the love interests has been dressed as a boy for the last two books, there's a bit of catching up to do.)  Westerfeld mixes sweet moments in with plenty of political intrigue.  Fictional characters are mixed with alternate interpretations of historical facts; through these pages we meet William Randolph Hearst and watch The Perils of Pauline.  Keith Thompson's drawings add to the mood of the book and catch the characters perfectly.
Neither I nor Westerfeld have to convince past fans to read Goliath, but I would recommend that new persons interested in the series start with Leviathan, as most of Goliath's power comes from relational and political tension built up in the first two books.  The ending is bitter-sweet and satisfying, gently closing the door on the series.  Fans with withdraws can look forward to an upcoming guide to the universe, set to be published in August 2012.


Pros:
All the pros from the earlier books, plus...
*More historical characters/happenings!  Yay!
*A trip to America
*Incredibly sweet scenes
*Clean prose
*All the back knowledge you need without copious info-dumps
*Heroics
*Very perspicacious lorises

Cons:
*A little mild swearing
*Some violence
*Some creepy pictures (although if you're young enough to be scared of the pictures, you probably shouldn't be reading this book anyway)
*Dialogue occasionally sounds stilted/unrealistic

Guest Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

"Chapter 6, In Which Howl Expresses Himself with Green Slime": This was one of the most interesting chapter titles that I ran across while lying in bed deeply engrossed in the novel Howl's Moving Castle. Earlier that night, my sister had slapped a book in front of me and said, "Read this." Having nothing else to do, I decided to give it a try. This book is now one of my favorites ever, and Dianna Wynne Jones is one of my favorite authors. Moving Castle is written so that it draws you in and keeps you reading. Some books do this through action, but Howl's Moving Castle does it through insane characters, plot twists, and humor. In no other book have I encountered an old lady who is actually a young lady living in the same house as an evil wizard who actually isn’t evil and, well, I had probably stop there. Overall, "Howl's Moving Castle Was" was a delightfully fantastic read that has earned a place in my heart.~Ethan Reeves

Pros:

*Engaging writing style

*Madcap plot

*Humor

*Unforgettable characters

Cons:

*Occasional mild swearing

*Ending feels slightly rushed (but you don't really care, because...oh, just read it!)

Editor's Note: Howl's Moving Castle is one of three books that form a loose trilogy.  The other books are Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways.  Jones has written many, many other books though, and they come highly recommended.  Howl's Moving Castle was made into a (very different but also quite wonderful) movie by Hayao Miyazaki.

Review written by Ethan Reeves, with supplementary material and editing by Renee Reeves

Book News for Late August, 2011

1) Westerfeldian updates
Head over to http://scottwesterfeld.com/ to see Scott's tour schedule.  Also check out the fan art posted under the schedule (you might recognize someone).

2) The Hunger Games 
View pictures and cast list (and other goodies) here.

3) Other books-to-movies
Coming soon to theaters, Hollywood adaptations of:  Anna Karenina; The Monster of Florence; The Hobbit; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; City of Bones; The Maze Runner; On the Road; The Lorax; The Great Gatsby; The Alchemist; A Wrinkle in Time.

4) More reviews coming soon!

Top 100 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Pics (According to NPR)

If it's published on NPR, it's official.  The top 100 speculative fiction books ever, as determined by 60,000 NPR listeners, are listed at this link.  With trepidation, we shall look to the list and attempt to analyze and fill the holes in our education.
Predictably, the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy tops the list.  In second is a polar opposite to Tolkein's master piece: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Sprinkled through the list are true genre classics (1984, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Frankenstein) alongside a hefty dose of novels recently adapted to the big screen (Stardust, The Road, I Am Legend, The Time Traveler's Wife).  Given NPR's knowledgeable  and generally grounded audience, none of that is much of a surprise.
It was to my geeky glee, then, that I discovered personal favorites such as I, Robot and The Princess Bride listed in the top twenty.  The beautifully written but little known (and overtly Christian) Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis landed squarely at the bottom of the list.
On the recommendations of readers all over the US, I've added a few titles to my own literary bucket list, including The Eyre Affair, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Neverwhere.
Agree or disagree with the pics?  Comment away.

Press Release from Westerblog: Uglies Movie

[As mentioned above, this is a press release.  It can be found here.]

DAVIS ENTERTAINMENT AND LOLA VFX TEAM TO PRODUCE SCOTT WESTERFELD’S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING FUTURISTIC TRILOGY. “UGLIES” BEING PREPARED AS FIRST OF THE PLANNED LIVE ACTION FEATURES

Project Signals Premier Visual Effects Company Move Into Film Production

LOS ANGELES (JULY 24, 2011) – Producer John Davis and the founders of Lola Visual Effects (Lola VFX) will team to finance, develop and produce a theatrical, live action feature based on Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times best-selling “Uglies,” the first of his futuristic trilogy first published in 2005.

The filmmakers have also acquired Westerfeld’s PRETTIES and SPECIALS, the remaining trilogy installments published by Simon Pulse, a Simon & Schuster company, with total sales of over 3 million copies. Jacob Forman (“All The Boys Love Mandy Lane”) will write the screenplay.

UGLIES will be produced by John Davis (“Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “I, Robot”) and Jordan Davis (“Jump In”), along with Colin and Greg Strause via their Hydraulx Entertainment banner. Lola’s Edson Williams and Thomas Nittmann will executive produce along with Adam Schroeder

Lola is the groundbreaking visual effects company paving the way for an entirely new level of story-telling, most recently transforming Chris Evans into the 90-pound weakling Steve Rogers for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. The company was founded by Colin and Greg Strause, Edson Williams, and Thomas Nittmann.
?
Set in an Orwellian future in which teens undergo surgery on their sixteenth birthdays to become supermodel “pretty,” UGLIES is the story of Tally Youngblood, one such “ugly” teen who is forced by authorities to forgo her transformation until she infiltrates The Smoke, a community of rebels who choose to retain their appearance and live outside of normal society. Tally soon discovers appearance isn’t everything and her world is not all that it seems.

“’UGLIES’ is a smart, youthful, and edgy trilogy peopled by sophisticated characters who have to navigate through a dangerous but fascinating world,” stated John Davis. “We are at this time in the development of cinema magic where we have the proper technology to fully realize Scott’s vision for the screen.”

In addition to CAPTAIN AMERICA, Lola is the company behind Brad Pitt’s youthification in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON and flawless twining of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in THE SOCIAL NETWORK.  With this technology and expertise, Lola will handle the dramatic transformation of characters into the “pretty” versions of themselves while Hydraulx will create the futuristic world of UGLIES, an exquisite yet eerie dystopian future.

Stated Greg Strause: “With UGLIES, Scott created a visually stunning world that capitalizes on the strengths of both Lola and Hydraulx.  Our partnership demonstrates the expanding possibilities of enhancing creative storytelling with innovative visual effects.”

Hydraulx is an award-winning visual effects facility with work including 300, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, 2012, BATTLE LOS ANGELES, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES, and AVATAR, the latter two films in 3D.  Founded by Colin and Greg Strause, the company leverages the Brothers’ extensive filmmaking experience to provide a comprehensive and unparalleled photographic and photorealistic approach to visual effects.

DAVIS ENTERTAINMENT
Chairman of Los Angeles-based Davis Entertainment, John Davis has been a producer on more than 80 feature films and movies for television that have earned more than $4 billion worldwide.
Davis’s three divisions–-feature film, independent film, and television-–develop and produce film and television projects for the major studios, independent distributors, networks and cable broadcasters. The Company, established in 1986, has enjoyed a long-standing first-look production deal at 20th Century Fox, though also  produces projects for all studios and mini-majors.

Some of Davis’s films include the Jim Carrey starring “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,”  “Gulliver’s Travels” starring Jack Black; the hit sci-fi thriller “I, Robot” starring Will Smith; “Norbit,” starring Eddie Murphy (in their fourth film together) for DreamWorks/Paramount; “Garfield,” which earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, for Fox; the $100 million-plus hit Eddie Murphy comedy “Daddy Day Care;” the blockbuster “The Firm,” starring Tom Cruise; “Courage Under Fire,” starring Denzel Washington; “Waterworld,” starring Kevin Costner; “Predator,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; the two hugely successful “Dr. Dolittle” films, starring Eddie Murphy; the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau trilogy “Out to Sea,” “Grumpy Old Men,” and “Grumpier Old Men;” “Alien vs. Predator,” an action thriller combining the two classic creatures, and its sequel “AVP2,” for Fox, among many others.

Book Review: Leviathan (and Behemoth)

The year is 1914. Europe is on the cusp of war. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie have just been assassinated.

And Prince Aleksander of the Austria-Hungary Empire is right in the middle of it.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Deryn Sharp stands in line with the other recruits for the Royal Air Service, trying hard to get into the military.

Only problem is, Deryn is a girl. And girls are not allowed in the military.

The meeting of the two will forever change history.

---

This trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, set at the very beginning of World War I, is every steampunk-loving history-fanatic's dream. Westerfeld's world, an alternate history of our own, is set between two clashing ideals: "clankers", the nations using mechs, giant metal warriors and the "land dreadnaughts" to fight their wars  (Germany and Austria-Hungary), and "Darwinists", who use Darwin's studies of evolution and DNA to literally create war machines out of animals.

Westerfeld weaves true historical facts in with his own science and mechanical world. Wonderfully written, often switching between Deryn and Alek's point of view, this novel will give you a little more insight as to what happened at the dawn of World War I.

The author teases the avid 'shippers throughout the entire first two books with Deryn's developing feelings towards Alek.

Featuring a variety of characters, ranging from teenage rebel to archduke to scientist, Leviathan is certain not your average historical fiction. It feels somewhat reminiscent of works by Dianna Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, House of Many Ways) or some of acclaimed director Hayao Miyazai's films (Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, Kiki's Delivery Service).

The last book of the trilogy, "Goliath," is set for US release in October of 2011.
EDITOR'S UPDATE:  New release date is September 20, 2011

Pros:
-science
-flying whales
-Westerfeld's characteristically wonderful world building
-...and great invented dialect
-fencing
-gorgeous illustrations

Cons:
-minor language
-some sexual situations that are fairly minor but, ah, not mainstream
-some violence (not really graphic or disturbing)
-evolutionary theory may not sit well with some

Reading List: What Rin is Reading

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I tried to make it better with the Teenage Liberation Handbook review, and Kat posted a wonderful music review soon after.  But I thought I'd update you about my reading habits, in case you were interested (or just bored).  If and when I post reviews, I'll edit this and link to the articles for you.

Non-Fiction:

Do Hard Things by Alex and Bret Harris (*****/5)
How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Jordan Christie (****/5)
The Bible by God (it makes me happy every time I get to type, "by God" like that.  Any way, veryone should read it, although you might not want to take it on Genesis straight to Revelation your first time. *****/5)
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel (*****/5)
Mere Christianity by C S Lewis (*****/5)


Fiction:

The Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradly
*The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (****/5 stars)
*The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag (****/5)

The Sword in the Stone by T H White (not yet finished)
The War of the Worlds by H G Wells (****/5)
The Secret Sharer & Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (not yet finished)

Album Review: Sigh No More

Mumford & Sons, a folk-rock group from West London, has recently taken the alternative music scene by storm. The quartet was formed in 2007 and has finally released an album--"Sigh No More"--in 2010 here in the US.

"Sigh No More" has twelve tracks, each one unique but still somehow very fitting to the other songs on the album. The take the power and energy behind your average rock song by, say, Kings of Leon or Green Day, and fuse it with instruments like banjo, piano, guitar, fiddle, and even trumpet on a few tracks. They have a distinct folk/country sound that sets them apart from many other bands.

Their sound is not the only thing that's unique about Mumford and Sons; their lyrics, too, are mind blowing and more than a little unusual. The band makes references to Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" in the titular track and uses phrases such as "the flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague" in "Winter Winds". In "The Cave" there are references to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and Homer's "The Odyssey". Christian and biblical hints are prevalent throughout the entire album, as well.

Tracks:
1) Sigh No More
2) The Cave
3) Winter Winds
4) Roll Away Your Stone
5) White Blank Page
6) I Gave You All
7) Little Lion Man
8) Timshel
9) Thistle and Weeds
10) Awake My Soul
11) Dust Bowl Dance
12) After the Storm

Overall, the album is inspiring and full of hope, heartbreak, and everything in between.

PROS:
-Fantastic musicality
-Folk/rock
-Trumpets. Oh, yes.
-Lyrics with meaning
-Songs not just about love

CONS:
-Occasional adult themes
-Language (especially in track 7)
-The tracks, after a while, start to blur into one
-Not much different musically

RATED T+ FOR LISTENERS AGE 14 AND UP!

Book Review: The Teenage Liberation Handbook

Hate school?

Can't stand your teacher?

Don't see the point in all of those late nights spent on Chem 101?

Quit school.

     That's exactly was Grace Llewellyn advocates in her Teenage Liberation Handbook.  Llewellyn, an ex-school teacher who went through school herself, presents a rarely considered option to typical school: unschooling.  Following in the footsteps of John Holt and John Gatto, Llewellyn explains the horrible way American compulsory schooling attempts to teach young adults.  TLH presents autodidactism, or self-teaching, as a legitimate and deceptively simple way to prepare for life.

     The book is not perfect; in teens who cannot leave school it could make a bad situation unbearable.  Some of the language feels like it's coming from a hippie who has not yet out grown peace and natural living, however I thought it refreshing to hear someone saying something that desperately needs to be said to someone who desperately needs to hear it.

     I am already a largely self-taught homeschooler, but this book made me excited about my education all over again.  I had been content with my four-years-of-high-school-then-go-to-college-get-married-etc. plan. Suddenly, I wanted to travel the world, start a business, and go to college early.  That sounded so much more interesting than school!  Come to think of it, it might even be considered more "educational".

Pros:

*Explains the evils of the formalized school and provides a clear alternative.

*Presents practical advice and answers many questions.  (About parents, legality, college, among others.)

*One of the few homeschooling or unschooling books that speaks directly to teenagers.

*Demonstrates how life counts as education.  (I have a small gardening business, lets see, that's economics, writing, marketing, biology, agriculture. . . .)

Cons:

*Has the potential to make you feel horrible if you're still in school, went to school, are sending your kids to school, heck, even if you're a relaxed homeschooler.  (Good if you can fix your situation, BAD if you can't.)

*Occasionally comes off as condescending or hippie-ish.
*Mild language.

*It costs an awful lot on Amazon.  (Get it at your library.)