Book Review: Sharp Objects

 

 

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Camille Preaker is a reporter, who, shortly after a stay in a mental facility, is assigned to cover the murders of two young girls in her hometown. But going back to her hometown means having to face her dysfunctional family whom she has not seen in years, as well as face some pretty big demons from her past.

Oh, boy. This book. It is so well written, and yet such a disturbing, creepy read that I had to read nothing but light, fluffy YA books after finishing it, and I still can't get it out of my head. It's got lots of plot twists and turns, as any good thriller should have, but the story has a way of creeping into your mind and settling there for a while.

I give this book an A, though part of me wants to give it a C- for the fact that I'm still creeped out by it.

If you like this one, try Gone Girl, also by Gillian Flynn

Book review: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

 

 

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

In 1893, Chicago was host to the World's Fair, where things like Shredded Wheat and the Ferris Wheel were introduced. Daniel Burnham was the visionary behind this huge, obstacle-ridden undertaking. And at the same time, a few blocks from the fair, another man, Dr. H.H. Holmes, has a vision of his own, one of torture and murder, and becomes the first documented serial killer in America.

This was a fascinating read! Although it in non-fiction, it reads like a novel. I did find that Googling images of the buildings and attractions as they were mentioned was very helpful, as there aren't many photos in the book. And as much as I enjoyed knowing how the fair itself came to be, the parts that focused on Holmes, as sick and creepy as he was, were what I looked forward to reading the most.

I give this book an A.

Book Review: The House at Riverton

 

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

In England in the 1910's, 14 year old Grace goes to work at Riverton, the large country estate belonging to the Hartford family. As she gets older, she becomes the ladies maid, and confidant, to Lord Hartford's daughter. Now, at age 98, Grace must recall secrets she's kept for the family all these years, including events surrounding the night in 1924, when a famous poet committed suicide at Riverton.

If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, this is the book for you. Although some aspects were slightly predictable, I really enjoyed the story, and the relationships between the English upper-class and the people who work for them.

I give this book a B.

If you liked this book, I definitely recommend The Forgotten Garden, also by Kate Morton.

Sweet Gallifrey!! The Doctor is (Almost) Back!!

It's almost here!!

The 8th season of Doctor Who will air August 23 with a feature-length episode called "Deep Breath"! And there's even a tiny teaser trailer!

We are a family of huge Doctor Who fans (except for the Empty Child episode from season 1. That creeped us ALL out! To the point of nightmares even...).

So, needless to say,  we are so very excited to see Peter Capaldi take on the role of the 12th Doctor. We love all the doctors for different reasons, and though we will miss Matt Smith's 11th Doctor (as we missed Christopher Eccleston's 9th and David Tennant's 10th before him), we can't wait to see what he brings to the show.

And of course, we can't wait to see Clara again. She's adorable, that impossible girl!

Who else is as excited as us?

Book Review: An Abundance of Katherines

 

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

After winning a game show for "Smart Kids", former child prodigy Colin Singleton (who has dated and been dumped by nineteen girls named Katherine throughout his 18 years of  life) and his best friend embark on a road trip with Colin's game show winnings.

Although this is an award-winning book, I'm really torn between liking it and disliking it. I really like John Green's writing style, and the story itself is, for the most part, entertaining and well rounded. But Colin is so whiny, and actually really annoying, especially with his anagramming everything, and trying to predict how long a relationship will last through a math theorem, that it's hard to get through at times.

I give this book a C+.

If you liked this book (or even if you didn't), I definitely recommend The Fault in Our Stars, also by John Green. It is a great book.

Movie Review: The Other Woman

The Housewife (Leslie Mann), the Lawyer (Cameron Diaz), and the Model-Type (Kate Upton) all have one thing in common: they're seeing the same man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, aka Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones). After finding out about each other, they team up to get back at him, and hilarity ensues.

There are certain movies that come along, that are by no means "amazing" or "though-provoking", and yet, you could watch them over and over.

The Other Woman is definitely that kind of movie. It will never win any awards. It is not life changing.

And yet I would gladly go see it again (in the theater even!) if someone asked me to go.

Why?

Because I laughed so hard in so many scenes, and it was like a great work of Chick-Lit ("Great work of Chick-Lit"? Is that an oxymoron?) for my eyes and I didn't even have to use my brain to comprehend what was happening.

This sounds like a terrible review so far, but believe me. It's not.

Sometimes as a mom, you need a little break where you don't have to think about anything. No one begging for cookies after they've already snuck three, or screaming because they don't want to take a bath to wash off the cookie evidence that is ALL OVER them, or even more screaming because they don't want to get out of the bath.

This is, in a sense, the perfect 2 hour vacation for us moms, who just need to do nothing for anyone else, and relax, though it could also be considered a great ab workout, considering how much I laughed! Especially at Leslie Mann, whose physical comedy style is very similar to Lucille Ball or Carol Burnett. She really makes this film. I don't think it would be nearly as funny without her.

My only regret is that I didn't see The Other Woman in the "fancy" movie theater, where they have 21+ showings where they actually serve YOU. Things like chocolate desserts and cocktails, are brought to you IN the theater by waiters, right to your over size, super plush, leather recliners.

Although, I wouldn't want to risk spitting my $13 drink out from laughing... Ain't nobody got money for that!

The Other Woman is rated PG-13 for adult situations, drinking, mild language, and sexual references. No sexual acts actually occur onscreen, but they are definitely alluded to, so I would only recommend it for somewhat-mature high schoolers, maybe ages 15 and up.

I say somewhat-mature, because apparently I'm part 12-year-old boy and found the poop jokes hilarious!

I give The Other Woman a B+.

Mommy and Me Movie Review: Maleficent

As the school year comes to an end this week for the schools in our area, summer movie time is just beginning!

My daughter, Sophia, and I decided to get a head start on our summer movie viewing yesterday afternoon, after a day of shopping and lunch together, when I surprised her with a trip to see Disney's Maleficent.

We both LOVED it!

Angelina Jolie is breathtaking and perfect as Maleficent, and the special effects, sets, and makeup are beyond amazing. The rest of the cast does a phenomenal job, too. And how cute is Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter Vivienne as toddler-Aurora?! Adorable!

There are a few "holes" in the script, I thought, where things didn't just flow, seemed like they were added as an afterthought, or felt a bit rushed, but I loved that it was a twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty that we all know so well, similar to what Wicked did for the Wizard of Oz story.

 Sophia, who is 8 years old, wrote her own review too, which included tidbits like "Maleficent is a fairy that is human size. She has wings that drag on the ground. Maleficent can not be next to iron. She has a crow that she can turn into animals that are bird like..." and then she goes on to give away the whole movie, so I won't print it here, so as not to spoil it for everyone.

But she gives it an A.

 

 

There are some pretty dark and violent moments (for a PG rated film), so I would recommend Maleficent to kids ages 7 or 8 and up, but there were kids in the theater much younger than that had no problem with the somewhat scary elements, so just use your own judgement, as you obviously know your kids better than I. Overall I give it a B+.

So if you combine our ratings, we give it an A-. Not bad Disney. Not bad at all.

And, just for the record, we'd totally see it again.