Book Review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland is a lovely-and pretty dang hilarious- Jane Austen fan-fiction novel. I would recommend it for thirteen and older (for a few kissing scenes and some references). I loved this book! Also, read the sequel, Midnight in Austenland.

Jane Hayes is entirely given up on men...except for Mr. Darcy, played by Colin Firth (see Movie Review: Pride and Prejudice), whom she secretly wishes could be a reality. She's sure her obsession is unhealthy, but then her late Aunt Carolyn (who had recently found her stash of Pride and Prejudice DVD's) leaves a special vacation in her will. A trip to Pembrook Park, a destination that totally immerses its visitors in an Austen-esque story for two weeks. She thinks it's all a fake story with fake actors and a remedy for her Darcy-mania, or is it?
Shannon Hale has truly done it again in this adorable tale fit for the Austen-lover!
I would at least read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice first (see review on this blog) or watch one of the movies (see other review, also on this blog).

Word of the Day: Homo-Sapien

 

Okay. So, I got this hilarious word from our friend Melyna, and I totally love it. If you're ever in a position where you want to insult someone but you don't want to really insult them, you're in luck. Calling them a Homo-Sapien is perfect- all you're calling them is a human! This word means, yes, a member of humankind. So call someone a homo-sapien and all you're doing is stating the obvious! :)

Movie Review: Pride & Prejudice

I recently received this movie, and watched ALL 5 1/2 HOURS of it...yep!
It may seem daunting, and you may be obsessed with the Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfayden version (also amazing), but you'll change your tune when you allow yourself to experience the charming glow of this classic. It's practically word-for-word, and Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle are amazing as Lizzie and Mr. Darcy. Five hundred stars, and I recommend it to anyone!

Mrs. Bennet, hyperactive, annoying and a fidgety flibbertigibbet at times, is bent on marrying off all five of her daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, Lydia, and Mary. All are excited when charming Mr. Bingley moves into a manor not far from their own, and he has a grumpy and unmannered yet extremely handsome friend, Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth hate each other, you could cut the tension with a knife. But will Lizzie's slight curious interest-and Darcy's undying admiration- spark a new and beautiful romance?

Kids-in-Mind and Common Sense Media do not have reviews, but there is nothing visually explicit, no violence, but there might be a religious exclamation or two in there. Gee, after five hours of movie you forget!

Movie Review: Iron Man

Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, is an epic superhero tale about a snarky billionaire weapons-developer, Tony Stark, who doesn't see anyone's needs but his own and doesn't care about anything but money, fame and ladies...until he's kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan. He was shot in the chest, but a brilliant doctor inserts a small arc reactor, connected to a car battery, that is keeping the shrapnel from entering Tony Stark's heart. He is then ordered to build a Stark Industries missile for the terrorist, but has a different idea. Under harsh conditions, he invents something new: the Iron Man suit.
This movie teaches about changing for the better. It teaches about realizing what truly matters and taking responsibility for one's actions. And, of course, how awesome it is to be a hero with a missile-shooting super suit. Anyway, this movie deserves five stars. It's a start to an incredibly freaking awesome series. Watch it. Love it. Obsess over it.

As far as parent reviews go, Iron Man contains lots of violence (it's a superhero movie, for crying out loud :), some language, and an...erm, adult scene. Here are the links to Common Sense Media and Kids in Mind:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/i/ironman.htm
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/iron-man

Book Review: Heidi by Johanna Spyri

        Heidi is a charming classic tale of, yes, Heidi, a young orphan girl with no stable place to belong to. This all changes when her Aunt Detie delivers her to her gruff grandfather (who everyone calls Uncle Alp) to live with him on a mountainside in the Swiss Alps. He had a frightening reputation, but Heidi knew better. She discovers a beautiful natural world on the mountainside, making friends and discoveries and wondering, dreaming, and adoring everything. This footloose and fancy-free life is altered when Aunt Detie comes to get her and take her to live with a family in Frankfurt, as a playmate for a twelve-year-old invalid named Clara. It is here that Heidi realizes how rare-and special- God's blessing of home is.

This book was enchanting and especially cute; I recommend this to anyone. Five stars!

Book Review: Cycles by Lois D. Brown

           Cycles is impressive. Its plot entangles you and keeps you there past the back cover; Lois D. Brown is a living legend.

Renee Beaumont is about to die....again.
That is the slogan for this teen urban-fantasy. This book is unexpected. It's intense. It's...incredible!

Renee has weird flashbacks, her next-door neighbor has samples of her blood for no apparent reason whatsoever, and, even worse, her parents have a dark, dark secret that could very well decide Renee's fate.
 Any more explanation of this thrilling novel will completely and totally spoil its dynamic plot for you. Anyway, this novel is probably grade-school appropriate for sci-fi action. Five stars! Five freaking stars!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Check out its equally amazing sequel, Spaces)

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

    Last night I went to see Iron Man 3, and frankly, it is the best movie I have ever seen before. It is also the best out of all three Iron Man movies and out of all the Avengers movies. I enjoyed every second of it! Marvel has truly outdone itself with this action-packed (seriously- it's better to keep track of what didn't explode), intensely intense, amazingly incredible, fantastic movie. In this third installment to the Iron Man story, America is having scary, mysterious surprise attacks from an insane terrorist that calls himself the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). His bombings and attacks have got everyone terrified, except, of course, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). All he's scared about is how on Earth he's going to protect his girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). He has anxiety attacks everywhere he goes, everyone is expecting him to do something (but how can he when no one knows where the lunatic Mandarin is), and he needs the help of a friend, Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), or, with his new star-spangled suit courtesy of Tony himself, The Iron Patriot. At the same time, a creepy science experiment gone evil is threatening the stability of the world itself. This was a fantastic and amazing movie, 10 out of 5 stars.
As far as parent reviews go, Iron Man 3 contains almost constant scenes of violence (it is, after all, a superhero movie). Here are  the Kids-In-Mind and Common Sense Media reviews:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/i/ironman3.htm
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/iron-man-3
Scroll to the bottom of the home page to see a poster.