THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
A Novel in Words and Pictures.
By Brian Selznick.
Illustrated. 533 pages. Scholastic Press. £12.99. (Ages 9 and up).

ISBN
9781407103488

Rating: 5 Stars


      This book tells you of the adventures Hugo Cabret had while trying to fix the automaton without being caught.
      It is about a 12 year old boy called Hugo Cabret whose father died in a fire in the museum where he had worked and had found an automaton. After the fire went out, Hugo lived with his uncle in a train station where he was trying to live by stealing food. His uncle went missing, but he continued to work on his uncle's clocks so no one would know. Meanwhile, he was fixing the automaton which he recovered from the wreckage of the museum fire. Hugo only has one problem, the train station toy shop owner has stolen his notebook. What happens when the toy shop owner says that his notebook is burned? Should Hugo believe the toy shop owner and give up or should he keep on trying to find the notebook and maybe end up fixing the automaton?
      My favourite character is Isabelle because she is quite adventurous. My favourite part is when Isabelle and Hugo watch the automaton write and draw. I think this book was written a bit like a flip book because you feel a bit like you are watching a movie when you turn over all of the lovely pictures. It's not just an ordinary flip book because it has zoom and movement, not just movement. I think it will make a really good 3D movie and I hope I will get a chance to see it. I think people aged eight through forty should read this brilliant book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars.
also on Guardian Children's Books Site



Hurricane. Film inspired by The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Constructed from one scanned pencil sketch on paper and sound effects recorded from violin and background noise using iMovie software. Original design by Bellusaurus sui.

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MY STORY 4 book comparison

MY STORY: VIKING BLOOD
By Andrew Donkin
176 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407104812

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY STORY: ROMAN INVASION
By Jim Eldridge
144 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407107370

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY ROYAL STORY: ANASTASIA
By Carolyn Meyer
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116198

Rating: 4.5 Stars



MY ROYAL STORY: ANNE BOLEYN AND ME
By Alison Prince
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 9 and up).

ISBN
9781407114774

Rating: 4.5 Stars


      This report is about four books, one's called "Viking Blood", another's called "Roman Invasion", another's called "Anastasia" and the last is called "Anne Boleyn and Me". The similarity between these four novels is that they are all historical.
      First I will tell you about the book called "Anne Boleyn and Me". It is about a Tudor girl named Elinor who is one of the ladies in waiting for Queen Catherine of Aragon. Anne Boleyn was as well until she caught the eye of King Henry. Since then the people of the town hated her for they wanted to stay true to their first queen, Catherine of Aragon. King Henry tried really hard (too hard) for Anne Boleyn just to divorce Catherine and marry her instead. King Henry marries her but he regrets it after about two years, a bit silly in my mind. What happens when Anne Boleyn is suspected of witchery? Shall she be condemned to death or not?
      Secondly I shall tell you about the book called "Anastasia". It is about a Russian Grand Duchess called Anastasia who is the youngest daughter of the tsar. Things go well for her family with lovely Easter feasts and sledging in the winter until the first World War and the Bolshevik Revolution comes along. Anastasia and her family are now captured and sent far away to Siberia. The life that Anastasia now knows is far from the same as her old life, she goes from eating fancy roast meals and fancy cakes off of silver tables to eating cheese and bread off of the floor.
      Thirdly I shall tell you about the book called "Roman Invasion". It is about a British warrior prince of the Carvetii tribe called Bran who is captured by the Romans to be held as a hostage. The Roman soldiers are building a road for protection and are using him to make sure no British soldiers attack in the middle for they shall kill Bran if anyone does attack. On the way Bran makes friends with two Greek men who had the choice to die or to work for the Roman soldiers and chose to work for them. One day when a British tribe did try to kill the Roman soldiers the two men pretended it was a completely different tribe and said they knew by their tattoos. What happens when Bran kills one of the soldiers from his very own tribe to save one of the two men? Shall the gods kill him for killing someone in his own tribe or shall they spare his life for saving a man?
      Lastly I shall tell you about the book called "Viking Blood". It is about a boy called Tor Scaldbane (Tor for short) who is going on the next raiding party. Tor and his half brother Ragner train with Tyral and their father to get ready for raiding. When they actually start raiding they find that they won't just be raiding but that they shall have war on the battlefield. Tor and Ragner imagined themselves fighting without the slightest fear and winning for everyone but when the time actually came they just stood there for a couple of minutes before actually starting to fight. Although they weren't the best fighters they still ended up killing one man each. What happens when Tor's hand is cut off and a great fever comes upon him? Shall the gods be kind and let him live through it or shall they make him be gone forever and ever.
      My favourite book would probably be "Anne Boleyn and Me" because her head gets chopped off, then "Viking Blood", then "Anastasia", and finally "Roman Invasion". My favourite character from all the books is Anne Boleyn because she is very brave, turns into queen, and tried to let normal people read. I think people aged eight through forty should read these books. I would rate all of these books four and a half out of five stars.

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Fall Into YA Giveaway #4

Welcome to week four of Fall Into YA. Sandy of Scribing Shadows is helping me celebrate, and this week we are definitely challenging you all. To a YA quiz!

Congrats to Em who won our last contest. Check your email! Here is her entry!

And our runner-ups!

The prize for week 4 is, you guessed it, a fall YA release. Here are the rules:
1. You must follow both blogs.
2. You must be 13 or over.
3. It's open internationally but please be sure The Book Depository ships to you.
4. Take this quiz!

You may leave comments on the blog asking clarifying questions. I spent a bit of time in the YA section to put this quiz together. None of the questions are spoilers. Most answers can be found by scouring Goodreads. Not every book on the quiz released this year. Most did. But there's nothing more than three years old. And all books are YA. Not adult; not MG; just YA.

This giveaway is open until Wednesday, November 30. The winner will be the person with the highest number of correct answers. If several people have that same number, a winner will be chosen at random from those individuals. Check back the next day to see if you've won. Good luck!

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Movie Review: Breaking Dawn part 1

I'm almost finished reading Breaking Dawn and since I saw the previous 3 Twilight movies on opening weekend, I had to stick with tradition. And I was far enough past the middle of the book to know I had read enough to see part one.

The good...

The acting was far superior in this film. I've been a long-time fan of Kristen Stewart. I think she was wonderful in Speak and Panic Room, so I was disappointed with her acting in Twilight. I'm not sure if it was script or directing or something else entirely, but scenes I was looking forward to laughing at weren't cheesy enough to laugh at. *shock* Not only was her acting better, but R-Patt and Taylor Lautner stepped up their game as well.

Charlie. This guy always gets the best lines. "I know Edward will be a good husband. I know this... because I'm a cop." Actually, out of all the wedding reception speeches, he was the only one that didn't make me cringe. That scene was so uncomfortable and awkward. It only reinforces me not wanting a big wedding.

The music. Of course! These movies have incredible soundtracks.

The bad...

This movie was quite boring. I felt myself getting restless halfway through. It did a good job of following the book, but there just wasn't enough action for my tastes.

CGI wolves. I swear... For a movie franchise that makes so much money I think they would have enough to step up the CGI. They made Bella look sick, completely emaciated, and then transform into a vamp wonderfully. Great scene, visually. And then... there are the fake looking wolves. My client, however, liked them. I work with adults with disabilities, and my one client, upon seeing the wolves, said, "Doggie! Doggie! Woof! Woof!" I was amused.

I think that Breaking Dawn part 1 was the best done movie, but I think it's probably my least favorite. That being said, I'm looking forward to part 2. There is a slight teaser halfway through the credits with the Volturi. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the next movie. Aro is so creepy.

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MY ROYAL STORY: MARIE ANTOINETTE

MY ROYAL STORY: MARIE ANTOINETTE
By Kathryn Lasky
224 pages. Scholastic. £6.99. (Ages 8 and up).

ISBN
9781407116181

Rating: 5 Stars

      This book tells you of the adventures Marie Antoinette had on her way to becoming a French queen. It is about a young princess called Marie Antoinette who is learning how to be a French queen. Although she hates being away from her family she knows it can't be to bad. On her way to becoming Queen many sad and funny things happen. It is sad when her dance teacher dies, however it is funny when she has to run naked in front of five thousand people! Marie Antoinette is not very happy when she meets her husband because she finds he has pimples, is really fat, and droops a lot. Later on she finds she might be able to make a friend of him. Marie Antoinette hates her main lady in waiting who wears thick red lip gloss, likes to be very proper, and makes the king do what ever she wants him to. However when Queen Marie Antoinette finds that she cannot take a bath, go to the toilet or eat privately she is very surprised and angry for she learned how to go to the toilet and take a bath herself when she was six. When Marie Antoinette shows her husband how to simply make a snowball he starts singing a rhyme about his wonderful wife and how lucky he is to have her. What happens when Marie Antoinette's main lady in waiting expels Marie Antoinette's favourite lady in waiting? Will Marie Antoinette ever get her back?
      This book is set in 1769 AD. This book is set in the palace, in the village, in the garden and in the hospitals.
      My favourite part is the funniest part, when Marie Antoinette has to run naked in front of 5000 people! My favourite character is Marie Antoinette because she turns into a queen. I think people aged eight through forty should read this book. I think this book deserves five out of five stars.

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Meeting Authors: Jeff Kinney

I'm sure you all know how much I love going to book signings. I've been lucky enough to meet dozens of authors. And I've met my top five favorite authors on more than one occasion: Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, and Maggie Stiefvater. So when I found out that Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, was going to be in DC to promote his new book, Cabin Fever, I knew I had to take my boy.

Like me when I was his age, he doesn't much care for reading. It's not that either of us were bad with reading or reading comprehension; the problem lies in poor self confidence. I've gotten past that. But not John. However, John loves the Wimpy Kid books, and he was thrilled when I invited him to go with me to DC.

Book six is entitled Cabin Fever. It involves poor Greg being stuck inside while a blizzard rages outside. So to celebrate that, they created a fake snow storm.

Look... fake snow!

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the snow on the ground and the snowball fight. John and I didn't participate. He was too caught up in reading his new book. In fact, by the end of the evening he was on page 181 out of 224. But I did get a few pics toward the end. They had life-size cut-outs of the characters and cartoon scenes from the book. Here is Rodrick. They had him se up as a ring toss game.

Jeff Kinney rolled in on this bus. Lots of kids screamed when he got off and walked in.

We were in group 7 of 9 with 75 people in each group. Yeah... The place was packed. They were expecting 1200 people, and with over 600 books sold, I'd bet there were close to that many. But people were in and out, so it wasn't too bad. (And nothing compared to how packed RT was when I went in 2010.) John was so excited to meet Jeff. The entire way back to the metro, he kept saying "I can't believe I actually got to meet Jeff Kinney." He was so excited I almost teared up.

He was also excited to find out that two kids from the movie were there. I hadn't told him beforehand, so it was a nice surprise for him. Zachary Gordon who plays the main character, Greg, and Robert Capron who plays his best friend, Rowly were both very sweet. John got a poster of the two of them, signed by both.

It was a great event, and I was so glad I got to take John. We both had an amazing time.

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Book Review: Beautiful Chaos

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is book 3 in the Caster Chronicles. I liked Beautiful Creatures, and I liked Beautiful Darkness even more, so I had high hopes for Beautiful Chaos. It didn't disappoint. I feel like I've been saying that in a lot of my reviews lately: it didn't disappoint. But it's true. I guess I've been on a roll with excellent books lately.

Ethan is back as our wonderful narrator. He is one of my favorite YA boys. He's smart, charming, charismatic, and protective without being overbearing. And his caster girl, Lena, is going through even tougher stuff after coming face-to-face with her evil mother in the last installment. And don't forget sidekick Wesley Lincoln, aka Link, aka Linkubus. I must admit I was never a fan of his til now. I mean, I liked him okay, but his character was so much more fun here, that I really like him.

One thing I love about these books are the characters: Amma, Macon, Ridley, the aunts, Marian... The list keeps going. It's impossible not to love than all. Except the baddies, of course. And the setting is amazing. I'm not from the south, but I'm close enough that I've been to the area where the fictional Gatlin would be if it existed. It's a beautiful area. But the gothic twist with secrets and interesting history weaves everything together so beautifully.

I'm seriously in love with Ethan Wate and these books. I can't wait to see what happens after the way Beautiful Chaos ends.

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