The Unwanteds- Lisa McMann

| cgkinnett

At my internship there is a whole wall made up of a bookshelf with a sign that says, “the perks of being an intern.” We are encouraged to take books home for our reading pleasure and of course I immediately went to the YAL section of said shelf whereupon my eye was instantly drawn to book one in the self titled series The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann.

It could be the future, it could be an alternate world where we’ve never existed, but the people of Quill would never know the difference because there is a wall around Quill and no one has been on the other side of it, unless they were condemned as Unwanted. And really, who would want to leave Quill? There is order and structure and everyone knows their place. Every year all thirteen year old children are Purged and sorted (sound familiar?) into Wanteds, Necessaries and Unwanteds. The Wanteds go to University to study and better the future of Quill, the Necessaries do manual labor that consists of anything and everything the Wanteds won’t do. The Unwanteds, the creative type who show possibilities of thinking outside of the proverbial box, are taken to the  Lake of Burning Oil and disposed of. It is shameful to have an Unwanted child and to have two means you can never have another child.

Alex and Aaron Stowe are twins and it is their year to be purged. Aaron is called forth and deemed Wanted. Alex on the other hand has been caught drawing more than once and there is no question that he is Unwanted. After the Purge the Unwanteds are bused to their death without a word to their loved ones because they have no loved ones. What they find on the other side of the wall is not a burning lake but an oasis that is full of amazing creatures like beavops and squirrelicorns and platyprots; there is a jungle and an ocean and people smiling. Artimè is a magical place that literally thrives on creativity. There is so much to learn in this new world and we journey with Alex as he and his friends discover that there is much more to life than being Unwanted and that their creativity is something that should be explored and expanded upon.

For fifty years Artimè has existed peacefully without the knowledge of those in Quill; but Utopias cannot exist and the inevitable begins.

McMann creates such a vivid world with characters whose outlooks on life are vastly contrasted and it is interesting to see these contrasts illustrated through identical twins. Despite being YAL and despite the growing trend of children being sorted, there are twists and turns in this story that are not template young adult lit. This is something that made me even more intrigued to pick up book two. There is much more to Quill and Artimè than one might expect as Alex and Aaron find out for themselves as they take their own seperate and individual paths. After all, you can’t make an individual; they are created.

This is a story to which I give four and a half books.

Home

| cgkinnett

I went to the movies again today and yes, I saw another kids movie. I’ve been excited about Home since learning about it via last years’ Comic Con. Created by DreamWorks, Home is a colorful and vivid tale about trust and love and forgiveness and open-mindedness. The Boov have come to Earth (and renamed it Smekland) and taken over. The humans are relegated to patches of land and it seems like everything is okayish; that we and the Boov are coexisting. And then we meet Tip (voiced by Rihanna) and her cat Pig and realize that all is not right.

Tip’s mother Lucy (Jennifer Lopez) has been abducted and Tip has no idea which human designated area she’s been taken to. Cut to Oh (Jim Parsons) and the fact that he is The Boov that never does anything right. Ever. All he wants is to throw a nice “warming of the house party”, all he wants is for everyone to come and have fun. Sure, maybe it was bad of him to send the Boov’s mortal enemies the address of the party, thereby alerting said bad guys to the Boovs location. But he didn’t mean to! It was an accident! Now on the run, Oh agrees to help Tip find her mom and along the way the two (plus Pig) learn a lot about each other and what it means to be Boov and what it means to be human.

This movie was so funny that I had tears in my eyes multiple times. I was afraid that it was going to be one of those movies that jams all the funny bits in to the trailers but my oh my, it did not disappoint. Everything is whimsical to the Boov because everything on Earth is new and unknown, they don’t know how to properly adapt the English language and dancing is a terrifying and confusing concept. These elements, coupled with the outrageousness of the story and the lessons in love and friendship make for a great coming of age/quest film. There was multilevel humor, something very important in animated movies.The writing is very sharp and I loved the Boov’s straightforward way of talking. By the end (or maybe the middle) you grow to like the Boov, I mean they’re so cute how could you not, and begin to forget that they invaded Earth.

To give a little background info, this movie is based off the book The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex and was optioned by DreamWorks for adaptation. Before last year’s awesome animated wonderment Mr. Peabody & Sherman there was a short showing the Boov in their hunt for a new planet and all the uninhabitable ones they encountered on their way to Earth.

DreamWorks has stepped up their game with this one. I give it 5 out of 5.

Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher

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“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of others,” Hannah Baker tells us as we listen along with Clay Jenkins to the cassette tapes he found on his front porch upon his arrival home from school. The reader, along with Clay, is intrigued at first. What do these mystery tapes contain? The answer to this question is immediately revealed once the first tape is popped in.

What follows is Hannah’s side to stories and rumors and how they all culminate in her decision to end her life. They are a snowball effect as she calls them.

I was hooked to this book from the start of Cassette One- Side A and after that first side I thought, word for word, the above quote. It was chilling when I read Hannah’s same thought. This book took me back to high school; to reputations and rumors and how those effect not just the person they are about but those who hear it, their perception of you.

Hearing Hannah’s reasons and Clay’s reactions makes for quite an emotional rollercoaster which caused me to tear up more than once. It was amazing to see things unravel into a perfectly tangled web and learn person by person the reasons why she had made this decision which won’t be able to be undone.

The way the book is written allows the reader to hear the tapes along with Clay, while simultaneously hearing his stream of consciousness. We piece together events as he does, silently realizing the degree of separation at their high school is a lot smaller than he ever imagined.

This is a book that shows how easy it is to shatter someone without meaning to or knowing that you’ve done it and how it is even easier to do so intentionally. 13 Reasons Why addresses this issue head on. Without ever straying from the subject. Jay Asher paints such a vivid picture of suffering for us that it is quite easy to feel for Hannah as she connects events that take place both at school and outside of it. The pain is evident.

This is a story that will make you think twice before you speak and act. This is a story that will make you aware of those around you. This is a story that will stay with you for quite some time.

This is a story to which I give five out of five books.

The New Cinderella

| cgkinnett

So yesterday I decided I was going to treat myself to a movie. It’s nice to go to the theater once in a while on your own; you get both armrests, as much of the popcorn as you want, and no one whispering during key moments. I decided upon Cinderella after much deliberation and was the only person in the theater not accompanied by children but hey, that’s okay. 

Before I get to my comments on the movie as a whole I want to address one scene in particular in which our fair maiden was writing in a diary. That, in itself is harmless, however Cinderella was writing not with a pen or quill or feather but with a No. 2 pencil! Really?! What was that Disney?! I know that is a very small detail in the grand scope of things but it really bothered me. 

Aside from the two seconds of said pencils’ screen time, the movie was good. The kingdom with all its foliage and architecture was gorgeous. Ella (as she was known before Cinder became the prefix) lives in a beautiful manor with all the happy animals from the cartoon. The town outside the palace looked very cheerful, kind of Beauty and The Beast -ish. Maybe a hint of what’s to come with Disney’s 2016 adaptation. 

Cate Blanchet truly scared me as the iconic Stepmother and Lily James was such a delight.  Helena Bonham Carter was a good fairy godmother. I liked the fact that she didn’t really seem like she knew what she was doing. And while bibbity bobbity boo was severely under used I still think she did a good job. Also, she was our narrator throughout. The story could’ve totally been told without the exposition cheat, especially because this is such a well known story, but whatevs. Finally, when Richard Madden dazzled us with his pearly whites while professing his love to our title character, one couldn’t help but melt and sigh (yes, I realize they had only met twice but still). 

The production was beautiful, as were the costumes. I felt completely immersed in the kingdom. There was the same level of magic and wonder felt in the cartoon and I think they did a great job with their storyline tweaks. There was nothing major or plot altering done to the story but there were some scene additions that flowed seamlessly. 

Points off for the cheating narration and the pencil. Final score: 4 out of 5 

Chaos of Stars- Kiersten White

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Isadora (not Izzy and not Dora) is a normal Egyptian teenager…who happens to be the daughter of gods Isis and Osiris. Tired of her deity filled life in which everyone worships her parents and overlooks her, Isadora convinces her mother to let her live with one of her brothers, Sirius, in San Francisco. It is an absolute pleasure experiencing American customs for the first time with Isadora. White captures Isadora’s teen spirit so perfectly that I found myself wanting to join her and her new friends on their trips to the beach (too much water, not enough sand) and star gazing evenings (too many clouds, not enough stars).

While in the land of the free, Isadora enjoys her distance from her parents, particularly from her mother. However, something is not right and Isadora can feel it even if she can’t put her finger on it. First there is the break in at Sirius’ house, then one at the museum at which Isadora is working, this coupled with the dreams that are getting harder and harder to ignore. Isadora wonders if her new found freedom is not all she imagined it would be.

White creates a spitfire in Isadora and as such Chaos of Stars  is filled with great one liners and spunky energy. Stay the summer in San Fran with Isadora and her new friends Tyler, Ry and Scott. The only thing that was disappointing about this book was when I realized there was no sequel.

I give Chaos of Stars five out of five books.

A Quest of Heroes – Morgan Rice

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When I started this book I did not realize that it was the first in a series of 17. Yes, that’s right….17! But, you know what? I can totally see myself spending all the time it will take to read the series in its entirety. A Quest of Heroes is told primarily through the narrative viewpoint of Thor, our main character. Over the course of the story we also become privy to select others minds, thus gaining a broader scope of what is going on in the Western Kingdom. Thor’s adventures take him from his small village, where literally no one likes or appreciates him, to the castle and its court. Ominous omens and dizzying dreams follow Thor as he navigates his way through Legion training, first romance and emerging magical powers.

Rice uses vivid imagery while laying the groundwork for her epic tale and gives us just enough in this first volume to leave us wanting more. A Quest of Heroes is a wild ride that is sure to capture lovers of young adult fiction and coming of age tales alike. Magic, murder and mayhem seem to be elements that will not soon disappear from these characters lives. Thor’s adventures are sure to have readers turning pages for years to come. I can’t wait to see where fate and destiny take Thor next.