With summer winding down and school starting back, I decided to take a look at popular novels that have been made into current movies. I chose The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais and The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Hundred Foot Journey title refers to the hundred foot distance that separates two restaurants …
Jul 29 2014
Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell centers around the lives of two teenagers in Omaha, Nebraska, during the mid-80’s. Eleanor has just moved back in with her mother and abusive stepfather. Forced to share a room with four younger siblings, Eleanor spends the majority of her time desperately trying to be invisible so that her …
Jul 08 2014
Review: Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
As adults, many of us know the detailed history of the American Revolution. We’ve heard the tale of Paul Revere’s ride, of the Founding Fathers, and of Nathan Hale’s last words. Not much, however, is told about the role of women in the fight for independence. With this in mind, I decided to review Cokie …
Jun 17 2014
Review: The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope by Rhonda Riley opens in 1944 when Evelyn Roe is seventeen. The U.S. involvement in World War II is at its peak, and Evelyn has recently graduated from high school when Evelyn’s great aunt Eva dies suddenly. As all of Eva’s sons are off fighting, and Evelyn’s only brother …
Mar 25 2014
Review: Books for Beginning Readers
Children’s books are an often overlooked genre. There are so many on the market that it can be a struggle to know where to begin with your beginning reader. With that in mind, here are six new children’s books geared towards pre-schoolers or other young children. Love Monster is a clever little tale written by …
Jan 21 2014
Review: Books for your book club
Book clubs have increased considerably in popularity over the last few years. Oprah’s picks acted as a catalyst, and now nearly every book store has a section devoted to them. With that in mind, I picked three books with a strong female lead that your book club may have overlooked. In the Land of Invisible …
Oct 29 2013
Review: Classic Halloween Stories
In the last decade, there have been countless vampire, zombie and similarly themed books. A television series of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow began airing recently on FOX, NBC has commissioned a modern retelling of Dracula, and the BBC did it’s own interpretation of The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2007). Submitted …
Oct 08 2013
Review: Star Wars books for kids by Jeffrey Brown
The announcement last year that Disney had acquired the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas and the subsequent announcement that they would be releasing at least three more Star Wars movies, has sent the sci-fi and fantasy world into a frenzy. This has created a surge in books that are outside the normal reference …