"Fairest," by Gail Carson Levine

I was so excited when I found this book at our county library, since I really liked the author’s “Ella Enchanted” and her collection of “Princess Tales.” In most, if not all of her books, Gail Carson Levine’s style is to take a well known fairy tale and build a slightly twisted but still recognizable story around it. I know, that’s nothing new! But I think she does it well. Pretty obviously, “Fairest” is her take on Snow White.

But it wasn’t anything like it! Okay, there’s a magic mirror. And the bad Queen Ivi is obsessed with being fairest. Maid Aza, our heroine, is considered by others and even more so by herself, ugly. Her dream is to be beautiful. She’s nuts about it. In the end of the book, she realizes that outward beauty is not what’s important, and that’s the moral of the story. The plot had great potential! But I don’t think the author spent quite enough time on the work. The character development of everyone except Aza was rushed, as was the romance part. I didn’t feel like I knew the prince at all! What’s more, Aza herself was so petty about her personal appearance, (until the end), that I didn’t get to like as well as I was probably intended to.

But despite those short comings, I did enjoy the book! I was disappointed by said short comings, and the lack of Snow-White-ness, but it held my attention. I would recommend it as a fun read, nothing deep but something to devour on a rainy day, or on a trip as long as reading in the car doesn’t bother you. One really cool thing about the book is that it invents a little society with neat ways and customs, which adds a lot to the book. I don’t think you’ll be sorry you read it, as long as you don’t make my mistake and expect it to be like its mother fairy tale. THERE ISN’T A SINGLE DWARF! So tragic. :P

Marley and Me

I watched this a couple of weeks ago, on DVD.  My guess is that most everyone has already seen it, but I am going to write a review anyways, whether you like it or not.  It just took a while to get the time to do it, and then figure out exactly what I am going to say.  Actually, I'm still not sure exactly.  Oh, well.  Here goes nothing!

WARNING: MANY, MANY SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

The Plot:

Owen Wilson plays John Grogan, a married man who was not prepared for his new wife's ticking biological clock.  To hold off Jennifer Grogan's (Jennifer Aniston) longing for a child, John takes her to go pick out a new puppy at a local farm, as suggested by John's bachelor, womanizing friend Sebastian (Eric Dane).  The puppy they end up taking home was the "clearance puppy", the one who was significantly cheaper than all the rest.  They soon learn why.  The dog, Marley, has behavior problems from the start, and grows into a very large, completely untrained Labrador Retriever.  Meanwhile, John, a reporter, gets a job offer at his local Florida paper - his boss offers him a column, believing his writing style to better fit that of a columnist.  John slightly reluctantly accepts, but soon learns to love his new position and uses Marley as the inspiration for many of his pieces.  After a while, the Grogans resolve that they are ready to have children.  Unfortunately, their first success ends in a devastating miscarriage, but soon Jennifer becomes pregnant again, and gives birth to a baby boy named Patrick.  They go on to have two more children, Conor and Colleen.  There are many difficulties at first, a lot which Marley seems to be at the bottom of, and throughout the beginning there are fights and avoidances and everything you could expect to find any couple going through.  One day, John gets a job offer at a paper in Pennsylvania, and after discussing it with his wife, they uproot and make the move to a big, old house on a beautiful piece of land right outside of the city.  There John truly grows into a family man, even when he is put down by his old friend Sebastian when he runs into him one day on the way back from work.  But, as all dogs do, Marley is getting old.  After years of destroying everything in sight, making as much noise as possible, romping around uncontrollably, and all around being the "world's worst dog", Marley is slowing down significantly.  After a repeated case of Marley needing surgery, John finally makes the decision that his beloved family dog must be put down.  Marley is, and the family mourns, knowing that Marley has a special place in their hearts and has made a big impact on their family, for the better, even if he was, as John called him, "the world's worst dog."  

What I liked:

It was realisticly written.  I found out just now, doing a little research to remember the people's names, that the movie is actually based off of an autobiography of the same title, by the same John Grogan.  Jennifer Aniston actually did not annoy me too much with her acting.  I liked how it pushed the idea of family and purposefully made John's friend Sebastian's way of life look unfulfilling and purposeless, unlike most Hollywood films, which do just the opposite.  

What I didn't like:

I did not really like, in the beginning, how John Grogan had just gotten married, and here he was trying to manipulate his wife into waiting a year or two to have kids!  And it worked!  And everyone was fine!  I really, really detest that Sebastian guy...what a loser.  First of all I am quite adament about couples talking about "when to have children" before getting married so that there is no misunderstanding, and secondly, I really hate it when guys are portrayed like that.  It is the norm, possibly, but that kind of gives the impression that it is manly to want to still be independant and not tied down after marriage, and that is not the case.  There are guys who agree with me....right?  

And another thing.  This movie, though PG-rated, contained way more sexual implications than it should have, dialogue and otherwise.  Sure, it was all between a husband and wife, but that stuff should still be kept between married people and not broadcast for the entire non-married population to see, especially kids that parents thought they were bringing to a family movie.  Fortunately, I watched this with my grandma, screening it before everyone else in my family, who, from my oral reviews, have decided not to watch it.  Still, it was too much than even a simple scene or two that could be fast-forwarded; it was prominent in the plot and kept coming back.  

The last thing I did not like about it was that it contained a bit of crude humor here and there, some not appropriate for anyone under the age of 15 or so.  I know the screenwriters just threw it in there for a few easy laughs, so it bugged me.  

My Overall Impression:

It made me laugh at most of the "right" parts and definitely did a good job a drawing tears. Altoghether a very well done film, really.  I just did not find it as appropriate for a family audience as I had hoped, as I had gone into Blockbuster that afternoon looking for something that would specifically allow me to watch it through without having to keep my hand on the remote the entire time and fastforward half of it, and I thought that "Marley and Me" was the ticket.  It would have been fine, I think, had it not been so littered with sexual innuendos and whatnot.  A real tear-jerker, though.  If you don't want to be sad and/or cry uncontrolably, don't watch it.  :)

  

“Death From the Skies! These Are the Ways the World Will End”, Philip Plait, Ph.D.

Yes, this is still Jos– I have just lost the last two letters of my online name. Please call me if you find them. The explanation for the change is on my profile.

I discovered this book while reading the author's blog, and promptly borrowed a copy from the library. I have now finally gotten around to writing about it. Without further ado, I present the first review of a nonfiction book on the Homeschool Review… [according to my spellchecker, ‘homeschool’ is not a word, but ‘homeschooler’ and ‘homeschooled’ are. What gives? (More spellchecker gripes below.)]

Background Info:

Death From the Skies! was written by Dr. Philip Plait, aka the Bad Astronomer, and published in fall of 2008.

Subject Matter:

The book deals with the ever-cheery subject of the destruction of the world due to cosmic events. Asteroids, Gamma-Ray Bursts, Supernovae, and other such fun items. All presented with a somewhat jovial air, in an easily accessible style. (Jovial might not be the right word, as Jupiter doesn’t figure much. :) Each chapter begins with a little fictional piece that shows what happens in the event that is being dealt with.

My Notes:

I just love end-of-the-world scenarios. They’re very interesting to contemplate, and make for some interesting novels. (I like me my post-apocalyptic science fiction — there isn’t much in the way of post-apocalyptic nonfiction stories to be had, thankfully.) I enjoyed this book immensely. I will probably get it out of the library again some time soon, assuming you lot don’t beat me to it.

Some of you are thinking, “That is a science book! It will be full of sciencey [sp? my spellchecker doesn’t like it and doesn’t have any helpful suggestions] stuff which I don’t understand! I’m not reading it.” Fear not! For Dr. Plait is not just good at science — he is also good at writing. Unless you make a conscious effort to not understand, any homeschool student of the age most of my readers are should be able to understand quite well. And you can always use a good reliable encyclopedia to fill in any gaps. ;)

I Didn’t Like: (This goes for Dr. Plait’s excellent blog also)

Dr. Plait is an evolutionist. I am fine with the evolutionist part – I just take everything with a pinch of salt. Certain people may have a few issues with the science in here, because he uses Hubble time as the age of the universe, like the majority of astrophysics. I agree with that, and I am not going to discuss it here. This is a review. I just want you to know that what I am fine with science-wise may not sit well with you and this should be taken into account. This goes double for his blog, which I read and enjoy. (And often disagree with.)

Conclusion:

It’s a good book, I enjoyed it immensely. Some people may take issue with some of the science; the majority I found to be sound. Enjoy.

If you have already read this book, make sure to say what you thought of it in the comments below. If you read the book, feel free to come back and add your tuppence worth. [There we go again! That spellchecker doesn’t think ‘tuppence’ is a word.]

PS- I have tagged this as "Death From the Skies", without a '!'. This is because this particular piece of punctuation is forbidden in tags, which I discovered after 5 minutes of wondering why Windows Live Writer refused to upload this post. I hope this piece of useful information saves someone 5 minutes in some way or another.