LEFT BEHIND by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

"Where are they?"

"You want to know where I think they are? Do you really want to know?"

"Of course!"

"I believe they are in heaven."

~ Chloe and Rayford Steele

Rayford Steele is just doing his job as a pilot, when a hundred of his passengers disappear right out of their clothes. It is not long before he finds out that this has happened all over the world... millions of people are suddenly gone. A polition by the name of Nicolae Carpathia has risen up to try to bring peace and order to the world, and the people hang on his every word and theory. But after watching a tape made by a pastor three years earlier, Ray knows that they have witnessed the rapture of the church, and that his are the end times. But what can be done? Carpathia is looking more and more like the Bible's description of the Antichrist. Can the small group of believers convince the world before he rises to power? Can Ray convince his own daughter?

This was a book that required an ok from Mom and Dad before I read it. It starts out with Rayford Steele (married man) dreaming about leading his pretty flight attendant on. It is not picuresome or explicit, and he later apologizes to her after he accepts Christ. But I think this part in itself makes this a PG-13 book. A journalist by the name of Buck Williams begins to have affections for Chloe Steele, but it is nothing big at all. The Christian characters are very strong and helpful to everyone else, giving their testimonies several times.

Technicality-wise, LEFT BEHIND is a very easy read. No cussing, and I already talked about the slight adult content. If you are going to read this series, I suggest reading a Dickens book here and there, just to vary your brain a bit:)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but you may want to ask your parents permission before you read, or have them read it first. If you are under 13 years, I hear the LEFT BEHIND kids' books are worth a shot, but don't quote me on it:)

Author: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins ~ Country: United States ~ Language: English ~ Series: Left Behind (series) ~ Genre: Christian fiction ~ Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers ~ Publication date: 31 December 1995 ~ Media type: Print (Hardcover, Paperback; also made into Graphic novel and audiobook) ~ Pages: 320 pp (hardcover) and 468 pp (paperback) ~ ISBN: ISBN 0-8423-2911-0 (HC), ISBN 0-8423-4270-2 (PB) ~ Preceded by: The Rapture ~ Followed by: Tribulation Force

FACING THE GIANTS

"Whether we leave the field the victors or not, we will give God the glory. Now... who will go fight the giants with me?"
~ Grant Taylor

The Shiloh Eagles high school football coach seems to be at the end of his rope. With a six-year losing record, the school is getting impatient with Grant Taylor's team leadership. And that is not the only problem - his car is breaking down, his house is in disrepair, and he and his wife have found out that they can not have children. When he hits bottom, Grant Taylor looks up to God, and is led to write up a new high school football team philosophy. Can giving God all the glory bring victory to Grant's life? Can God speak to a sleepy town through a football team?

Who would've thought that a tiny town in Georgia would bring us the best Christian film yet! For a single camera, an $100,000 budget, and an all-volunteer cast, this is absolutely amazing! Grant Taylor's recommitment to Christ is very moving, though afterward, his football team isn't quite ready to buy into what he is selling. The team captain is very apathetic, and Grant cures that in a very interesting and intense way. One player is very disrespectful to his father and the coach addresses him about it, but Matt doesn't listen - until the school breaks out in revival. Grant and his wife's faith guide them through the tough times, and when they trust God with everything, He starts moving in their lives drastically. The soundtrack is also a winner, including artists like Third Day, Casting Crowns, Bebo Norman, and Josh Bates.

On the technical side, there are no naughty words or profanity, but there is of course the tackling and smacking around as is normal in football. The coach is very angry in one instance and yells at his team, whacking a player over the head with his cap. The Giants coach is quite intimidating and hot tempered. I say these things thinking about those with children that are extremely sensitive to "scary things". They are not bad or would make anybody else but a concerned parent throw a red flag. As Plugged in Online so aptly states, "It's hard to think of something in Facing the Giants that isn't positive."

As these actors AREN'T real actors, the performance by the adults can sometimes raise a cynical eyebrow (like mine), but either there is not enough bad acting or you don't notice it when it comes, because it does nothing to take away from the story. The kids all act very well and are convincing characters. There are a couple fuzzy camera shots, but nothing but an evil eye will spot it. Keep supporting the Kendrick brothers as they make more Christian movies and change more lives!!! Do yourself a favor - don't miss this movie! Don't even bother to rent it first - it's worth every penny you will pay to have it in your home! Visit the site for this film at http://www.facingthegiants.com/.

"FACING THE GIANTS is a great movie about how God can change lives on and off the football field. Every family in America should see it."- Dan Reeves, NFL Coaching Great

Directed by: Alex Kendrick ~ Written by: Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick ~ Starring: Alex Kendrick, Shannon Fields, Tracy Goode, Jason McLeod, Bailey Cave ~ Distributed by: Sherwood Pictures ~ Release dates: 2006-09-29 ~ Running time: 111 min ~ Language: English ~ Budget $100,000

VIRUS - Willet

In February of 2007, the 3 brothers that make up the band, WILLET, traveled to Ethiopia, Africa with a film crew. The images of hungry children, dirty streets, and poverty will never be forgotten.

I went to a Sanctus Real concert recently, not expecting to be wowed by the "nobody" band! Dad told me that the band Willet was opening, and that they were heavy metal. I'm a Christian metal fan, so I was prepared to like these guys. But when they were onstage, I was completely blown away by the music! During the concert, they played this video:

And now, we are sponsoring a child who then wrote us a sweet letter. After the video played, Jeremy Willet the lead singer (who is also a Senior Pastor) spoke a little more on the subject of Ethiopian children and played an acoustic version of one of their songs, called "Orphans and the King". After they played, Dad talked to them, got a CD signed, and told me they were really nice guys with great hearts. They later signed a CD for me and looked everybody in the eye while talking to them, and were genuinely happy they came out. When we went home, I did some more research on these guys. On their myspace page, it said:

WILLET is a Rock Band out of Westminster, MD made up of brothers, Jeremy, Justin, and Jordan Willet. Willet tours nationally full time, performing over 250 dates per year.
Jeremy, Justin and Jordan grew up in a Christian home taking piano lessons from their father, which resulted in expanding to other instruments such as bass, drums and guitar. Being that the Willet brothers have always shared a close relationship both musically, and relationally, they pursued a vision to help kids all over the world.
In February of 2007, WILLET traveled to Ethiopia, Africa with a film crew. The images of hungry children, dirty streets, and poverty will never be forgotten. While on this 10-day journey, many of the kids that the band came in contact with attempted to communicate through broken English. The phrase repeated throughout the trip was;

"I have the virus."

OR

"I don't have the virus, praise God!"

The "VIRUS" they are speaking of is the HIV/AIDS VIRUS that is sweeping through Africa, killing thousands of children each day.

I also subscribed to Jeremy Willet's podcast, where he does little 3 minute devotions.

So enough about the background of these guys. I'll just sum that part up by saying they have huge hearts for the Lord and for the children with AIDS in Ethiopia. It may just be because they're not as famous as Sanctus Real that makes them so approachable and sweet, but for now, you can definitely count on the strong faith of the WILLET brothers to shine through their actions.

On to the MUSIC!!!!!! Let me tell you, if you like RED, THOUSAND FOOT CRUTCH, or DISCIPLE, you will love the style of WILLET! Almost every song contains something relating to the poor state of affairs in Ethiopia, and our culture today.

All things considered, this album get 5 stars from me! Two totally rocked-off thumbs up!

The SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

"What happens when Mulgarath gets the book?"

"I die. You die. We all die. Bye-bye."

~ Mallory Grace and Thimbletack

When the Grace family, Mallory, Simon, Jared, and their mom move into the old Spiderwick estate after their parents divorce, Jared is less than thrilled about things. But soon he finds a secret room and a strange book with a note on it that reads:

"Do not dare to read this book

for if you take one fateful look

you barter at your life's expense

and face a deadly consequence"

When he opens it, Jared's life could change forever - or just not exist anymore. The book contains secrets about the fantastical creatures that live in our world. But the evil ogre Mulgarath would do anything to learn the secrets in the book, so he sends his goblins to find it. The Grace family has to defend their home - or else.

I had seen the preview a few times, and it looked pretty cool. We rented it last night and watched it, hoping for a NARNIA-type adventure. We didn't get that.

Let's start with the bad stuff. The story of the mom and dad's divorce creeps around the whole time, and it turns out that their dad is "with someone else". Jared is devastated. The kids fight and blame each other for everything. That lasts until they are all convinced of the goblins that are putting the house under siege. Jared has temper problems during the beginning and yells, "I hate you!" to his mom, but is later sorry and apologizes. The Lord's name is used in vain several times, along with one other case of slightly foul language. There is very little blood, but several birds are swallowed whole, and there is a great battle in which many goblins lose heads or disintegrate. The goblins look more like giant toads and the ogre can be pretty scary. But our little boys ages 7, 5, and 4 watched it with us and haven't mentioned it again or lost any sleep. But I think our boys are grittier than the norm, and if your child gets scared watching NARNIA or walking through a shark tunnel, this is definitely a stretch.

On the good side, I haven't read the books, but from a writer's standpoint, I would've loved to be the one who thought up that plotline. Except for the divorce and the squabbling, it's a great story! The acting was good, and there were some funny lines. The special affects were more than acceptable. The movie was, for the most part, enjoyable and you're not suffering and rolling your eyes through the whole thing, like the BRIDGE TO TEREBITHIA. But you may notice that this "good stuff" paragraph is shorter than the "bad stuff" paragraph. This is not a movie you need to rent, and you definitely don't want to see it more than once. This movie makes you shrug your shoulders at the end and say, "well, that's Hollywood. Barley enjoyable junk."

Directed by: Mark Waters ~ Produced by: Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Karey Kirkpatrick, Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi, Larry J. Franco ~ Written by: Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, John Sayles ~ Starring: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, David Strathairn, Joan Plowright, Seth Rogen, Andrew McCarthy ~ Music by: James Horner ~ Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel ~ Editing by: Michael Kahn ~Distributed by: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies ~ Release dates: February 14, 2008 (USA), March 21, 2008 (UK) ~ Running time: 97 min.

REVELATION by Karen Traviss

"Fett's not like the rest of your people. I can see that even after a few days."
"No. He's a Fett. He's his own species."
~ Jaina Solo and Goran Beviin

Darth Caedus's reputation as a Sith is spreading. He is gaining power, yet losing support from even his fellow Chief-of-State. Though most think that his mother's killer is dead, Ben Skywalker suspects otherwise and is looking for more evidence on who this culprit is. Jaina Solo knows that Jacen has gotten out of control, and heads out to find the man who has killed more jedi than anyone around - Boba Fett. But her timing could be better, as he and Mirta Gev had just found Fett's wife Sintas Vel in carbonite, and, due to her loss of memory, are dealing with breaking a lifetime of tragedy that she missed out on to her. But Fett agrees to train Jaina in his ways and when Jacen's Star Destroyer gets cornered, it's time for action for everyone.

Without a doubt, this is one of the better books in this series! We are reunited with several old friends, including Admiral Pellaeon, a few ships of special note, and Admiral Daala (I don't think she ever dies!). Tahiri Veila continues as Caedus's apprentice, but only becomes official when she does a hard and cruel job. There are some rough hints about the Fett family's jagged past, and we find that Boba was once exiled for murder in his rage about somebody messing with his wife in a "THE LAST SIN EATER" kind of way. Pellaeon is shot for his determination - rough for some readers, but I cannot think of a better end for such a man. As Fett said, "He didn't want to fade out quietly". Mirta begs Jaina not to fight her brother, as it would be heartbreaking to her if she killed him. Fett remains coldbloodedly ruthless for the most part, but we're seeing more and more of his heart with Sintas coming back into the picture and during his ongoing relationship with his granddaughter. Traviss always does a wonderful job writing him!

No reason to stop here veteran LEGACY readers!!! This one's a must-read!

Ah, and also, the last book of the series, INVINCIBLE, was released May 13 of this year. It has done very well, and there's quite a hold list in my library for it, so it will be awhile before I read it. You'll hear when I do though, Troy Denning has much to tie up!

Author: Karen Traviss ~ Cover artist: Jason Felix ~ Publisher: Del Rey ~ Release date: February 26, 2008 ~ Media type: Paperback ~ Pages: 436 ~ ISBN: 034547757X ~ Canon: C ~ Era: Legacy era ~ Timeline: 40 ABY ~ Series: Legacy of the Force ~ Preceded by: Fury ~ Followed by: Invincible

NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

"It's so still."
"They're trees. What do you expect?"
"They used to dance."
~ Lucy Pevensie and Trumpkin the Dwarf

One year after the four Pevensie children stumbled back through the wardrobe into their own world, they are whisked into Narnia again by a desperate blow of Susan's horn. They find the Cair Paravel, where they used to reign, all in ruins as if it has been sitting there for centuries. 1 year for them - 1300 years for Narnia. The children learn Narnia has been invaded by the Temarines and the handful of Narnians left are hiding from their persecutors. But the one that blew the horn is not Narnian at all - he is a Telmarine prince who is outlawed by his evil uncle Miraz. He wants the hiding dwarves, centaurs, and... mice? to help him take back the land and they can come out of hiding and rule again. The Narnians and the Pevensies learn to trust him, and engage in risky battles and duels to save Narnia from the Telmarine tyrants.

I went to see this with a bunch of friends during my recent visit to my hometown. I will readily admit this: it was a FANTASTIC movie. Very well-made, good acting (even if the casting was a bit... wanting in my opinion), good affects, great storyline, quippy lines, the whole sha-bang. BUT I will also be very brave and admit this: I was slightly disappointed. Understand, my expectations were to have this movie ONLY top-notch. I was prepared to be disappointed if it was anything less than LORD OF THE RINGS. Of course, everybody knows that's not possible, and that law still stands. The movie did not follow the book as well as I'd like. The little things like making Reepicheep one foot tall instead of two, light brown instead of almost black, normal-guy voice instead of squeaky yet insanely tough voice REALLY served to tick me off. Reepicheep IS my favorite in the book, and he didn't shine like I would've liked. Not like he wasn't funny and great anyway. Trumpkin is everything I could've imagined -the perfect smart-alec cynic. Ben Barnes's version of Caspian didn't rock my boat to Hawaii. It would've helped if he wasn't so selfish. It would've helped if he wasn't 26 in real life. It would've helped if he didn't talk like Inigo Montoya. I found he was playing that priceless character in the theatres before he got cast for Caspian, and it made me even more iffy to have a comedy king playing an sword-fighting savior. But all the Telmarines had spanish accents, and it was alright for them. There's a bit more darkness and fighting than there was in the first one, so watch it before your six-year-olds do. There was a stupid, MnM hurling, add-in at the end between Susan and Caspian strictly for the twelve-year-old girls. But there are many wonderful battles, scarcely a cheesy line, a few excellent add-ins, and marvelous spiritual significance with Aslan and Lucy. To sum it all up, I enjoyed this movie very much and would watch it a zillion more times. But second of all, I do not think C.S. Lewis would be proud like I imagined he'd be if he watched the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. But, it's worth your money to see in the theater!

Directed by: Andrew Adamson ~ Produced by: Andrew Adamson, Cary Granat, Mark Johnson, Perry Moore, Douglas Gresham, Philip Steuer ~ Written by: Novel: C.S. Lewis Screenplay: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely ~ Starring: William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Sergio Castellitto, Liam Neeson (voice) Eddie Izzard (voice) Peter Dinklage ~ Music by: Harry Gregson-Williams ~ Cinematography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub ~ Editing by: Sim Evan-Jones ~ Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures ~ Release date(s): May 16, 2008 (USA) ~ Running time: 145 minutes

Of iPods and their Casts

What else is cool and popular in the Entertainment Era? You said it! iPods!!!!

I have an 80 gig iPod Classic that is very awesome. I would recommend it over any other iPod. It has the most gigabytes, holds tons of pictures and other junk, and you can buy or download software that will let you put movies and video on it. What makes iPods better than MP3s? I think it's the sheer appleness of it that makes it better quality, you can get a warranty, there is a lot of merchandise made to accommodate them (speaker docks, cars, ect.), and the best part is... iTUNES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great deal where you can store music in your library, buy music, movies, and games, and subscribe to great podcasts! Here are some I am subscribed to complete with their links that you should check out:

THE CHRISTIAN COMEDY PODCAST: 5 stars!!!!!! Comedian Mike Williams hosts this great show and he plays Christian comedians for 15 funny minutes!!!!!

STRONG BAD E-MAIL: If you love Homestar Runner, this is the podcast for you!!!

SECRETS OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Catholic Priest Father Roderick talks about Middle Earth and it's inhabitants, discovering answers through the LOTR movies, books, and games, and tying in Christianity to the stories Great podcast!!! He also does the SECRETS OF STAR WARS, but there are only a couple of episodes and they don't get updated often.

LET MY PEOPLE THINK: WOW!!! If you haven't heard Ravi Zacharias, GET THIS PODCAST!!!! If you have heard him, you'll know he's great and you should subscribe. Only the best in Christian Apologetics I can promise you, people!

COFFEE BREAK SPANISH: You wanna learn Spanish? This is the way to go! Fun and productive! It teaches you a lot, and you can buy flash cards and pdf guides to better enhance your learning. Since I'm so cheap, I made my own flash cards and used the online translator to spell things. Subscribe!!!

Of course, I'm subscribed to a zillion other things, but these are the best of the best!!! So if you have nothing else to do, check these out and know they're clean and great!!!!

INFERNO - by Troy Denning

"Yeah? Well, there is no Jacen Solo now. Jacen Solo is dead. My son wouldn't do this." ~ Han Solo in INFERNO

Civil War is raging! While the Jedi have virtually lost Luke Skywalker to grief, Jacen Solo is moving fast, gathering his supporters, and growing in the Dark Side. Now being called by his Sith name, Darth Caedus, Jacen gets a new apprentice and continues to do dastardly things and make enemies. Ben Skywalker has his suspicions about who was responsible for his mother's death, and makes a risky plan. Han and Leia Solo make for Kashyyyk to try to draw the Wookies' support from their son, but Caedus has been sending squads to arrest his parents more and more frequently, and doesn't plan to let them get away now. Will he continue to get the support he needs to make the galaxy his? Will Ben succeed in his schemes?

As I always say, for the avid STAR WARS novel reader - Estupendo! If it's your first time to pick one up - don't go for this series and read the THRAWN TRILOGY instead. Troy Denning's great about keeping his books pretty clean, and he is a fantastic writer. This book in particular has more lightsaber fights than others, and you will get all the physical punching and kicking while reading it too. The LEGACY OF THE FORCE SERIES is getting scarier now, with Jacen a full-blown Sith and his relatives fighting against his cruelty. But now is when you pull away from Jacen as a person and see him as a bad guy - a bigger, badder, and smarter Vader without the need for the mask.

Author(s): Troy Denning ~ Cover artist: Jason Felix ~ Publisher: Del Rey ~ Release date: August 28, 2007 ~ Media type: Paperback ~ Pages: 312 ~ ISBN: 0345477552

INKSPELL by Cornelia Funke

"Stories never really end, even if the books like to pretend they do. Stories always go on. They don't end on the last page, any more than they begin on the first page."

As the sequel to INKHEART, I had high expectations for this book. Dustfinger finds yet another person who can read people into stories, and uses him to go back to his own land of Inkworld. But his little friend, Farid gets left behind. Meggie reads him - and herself into Inkworld to find Dustfinger. But back home, the evil Basta and Mortola want to go to the Inkworld too, and get Mo to read them in. But things are not well in Inkworld - for anybody. Mo is arrested because everyone is certain that he is the Bluejay, a renowned robber and huge annoyance to the tyrannical Adderhead. The writer Fenoglio, Meggie, Farid, Dustfinger, and a few new friends must find a way to stop the Adderhead and save Mo before it's too late.

I was hoping to find one of those books that are amazing and obscure when I read this, but I was disappointed. The trash talk is infinitely worse than in INKHEART, and they introduce an annoying, crazily silly, ridiculous romance between Meggie and Farid that made me mad and sick to the stomach. On the good side... well, it was well written and a clever story, but you can find that in many other books that are far more worth your precious time. It's just not worth digging through the dumpster to find a Hershey's Kiss. Skip it! Read something else.

Author: Cornelia Funke ~ Original title: Tintenblut ~ Translator: Anthea Bell ~ Country: Germany ~ Language: German ~ Series: Inkheart trilogy ~ Genre(s): Fantasy ~ Publisher: Meredith ~ Publication date: 2005 ~ Media type: Print (Hardback & Paperback) ~ Pages: 635 pp (first Eng. edition, hardback) ~ ISBN: ISBN 0-439-55400-4 (first Eng. edition, hardback) ~Preceded by: Inkheart ~ Followed by: Inkdeath

Check out this trailer for the upcoming INKHEART film! I'm not recommending it - of course I haven't seen it. Be sure to read up on it before you watch it. I'll try to get some info up here as soon as I can when I find out that it's worth seeing.

THE LAST SIN EATER by Francine Rivers

"The what?" you say. It's what I said when a dear friend recommended this book to me. "Never heard of it. Sounds like a Ted Dekker suspense novel or something."

"Oh it's NOT!" she says. And though we hardly EVER agree on what is a good book, I was in the agonizing state of out-of-books. So I checked it out at my wonderful library - and got completely blown away.

When Granny Forbes passes away, her granddaughter, Cadi, is devastated. But she goes to the funeral with the healer's words ringing in her ears, "Cadi, you must listen. Do not look at the sin eater. He has taken all manner of terrible things unto himself. If you look at him, he'll give you the evil eye, and some of the sin he carries might spill over onto you." The sin eater? She finds that, in order to have your sins taken away, the sin eater must come and perform the ritual to take your sins upon himself. But as Cadi keeps her eyes shut tight, his voice startles her into looking right at his eyes - and so begins her curiosity to know who he is. With the shame of a terrible sin that has stolen her mother's love away from her, she wants to find the sin eater and have her sins taken away. Maybe her mother will forgive her then. With the help of her friends Fagan Kai, Miz Elda, a strange man by the river, and an even more mysterious girl named Lilybet, she sets out to find out the truth - maybe she can be set free.

This book has a VERY strong Christian message! I was very happy to give over my utter despair of contemporary Christian novels. This book is filled with mild (but not unhealthy) suspense and Christ's teachings. There is violence from the fiery leader of the town who is completely run by his temper, who beats two people up and even kills a man. The writer did an excellent job depicting the Sin Eater: a shady, mysterious character that keeps you wondering and shivering. There are always those characters that seem as if they are behind a black sheet - you hear their voice and see their outline, but not their features; and no matter how hard you look, you can't see anymore until the end and the sheet falls. Rivers does a wonderful job with many characters such as this. The language is clean, but a woman in the story says that her drunk father, "took it in his head that it was his right to use me like a man used a woman" and her lover quickly dispatched the man in anger. But Cadi does not understand, and since we hear the story through her eyes, nothing is taken further. Cadi's brother, Iwan and a girl were described as "tangled up together in the woods". The girl's father calls her a harlot and it is implied he turns her from the house, but they are not central characters and it is not further spoken of, nor is anything described in any detail. I would recommend this book to anyone old enough to understand the consequences of sin and death, probably about ten years and up. But if you think your little ten-year-old would be afraid, maybe you should read it out loud and make explain some things, but there's no reason they should miss out. YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

ELLA ENCHANTED by Gail Carson Levine

"If someone told me to hop on one foot for a day and a half, I'd have to do it... If you commanded me to cut off my own head, I'd have to do it. I was in danger every moment." ~ Ella from Ella Enchanted

Ella of Frell was given the gift of obedience at birth from a foolish fairy. But the gift is closer to a curse! Whatever anyone commands she must obey, whether it be cooking herself for hungry trolls or putting on a black dress. When her mother dies, Ella's life seems to go topsy-turvy. She is left under the guidance of her merchant father, who doesn't seem to care anything about her. But in Prince Char and the cook, Mandy she still has friends. Her father presently announces she must go to finishing school, and in doing she becomes acquainted with the worst company imaginable: two nasty girls named Hattie and Olive. There she stays for a time, obeying every order from the school mistresses and Hattie, until she runs away to try to break the obedience spell.

In the proceedings of this NEWBERY HONOR award winner, Hattie and Olive become Ella's stepsisters, and in obeying their every wish she becomes a maid. But she secretly keeps a correspondence with Prince Char, and the two gain more and more affection for each other. But will the curse keep Ella from marrying? Can she break the spell?

I read this book aloud to my two sisters and we all had a great time laughing and sighing over it! Sometimes my brother even stopped by to hear a sentence or two and got a giggle. Surprisingly, Louie (10) loved it much more than us older ones! It's a fun and well-written read that's interesting enough for teens; yet still short, easy, and funny enough for younger kids. The author is very talented, and the girls liked the humorous writing strain of the book that could still retain some seriousness. I picked up another book of Levine's that is in the same setting as ELLA ENCHANTED, and got universal groans when I told Lane and Louie that Lucinda is up to her old tricks again! Don't know anything about the movie, but you can count on the book being a healthy read for any age!

Author
Gail Carson Levine
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Fantasy
Publisher
Harper Trophy
Publication date
1997
Media type
Hardcover, Paperback & Audiobook
Pages
240 pp
ISBN
ISBN 0-06-440705-5

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS

A sequel to the Disney movie NATIONAL TREASURE hits theatres making a big SMASH! Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) is now famous for the finding of the Templar treasure, Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) is the author of a book on the subject that is not exactly a bestseller, and Ben and Abigail (Diane Kruger) have broken up. When the pernicious Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) finds evidence of the Gates family being behind President Lincoln's assassination, Ben sets on the trail to clear his family's name. But there is just one way to do that - by finding Cíbola, an ancient, not to mention probably mythological city that's very streets were made of solid gold. Ben and his father, being much closer now than they were in the first movie, find some clues with computer geek Riley, and even Abigail volunteers some help on the hunt. The one dragged into it this time is Ben's mother Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren), even though she and Patrick haven't spoken in 32 years. In a crazy chase that involves old arguments, other countries, and reckless villains, more and more clues are gathered until there is one piece missing. But what will Ben do to get it?

This movie is very exciting and it is a great balance of story and action. I found the bad guys not NEARLY as smart as everybody's favorite Ian from the first film, just a bunch of old guys wanting to be famous. Mitch doesn't want to have to figure out clues for himself, so he drags Ben into it, his sole smart move being cloning his dad's phone. If you're going to have a bad guy it should at least be a GOOD bad guy, but this fellow causes enough opposition to keep you on the edge of your seat and not rolling your eyes. There is one case of subtle profanity and Abigail kisses the guy she's been dating to distract him from Ben's clue-finding in the Oval Office. Patrick and Emily are very affectionate to their son. There is a crazy car chase that sends pedestrians running for their lives and barely escaping with them. But unlike Mitch, Ben is careful not to hurt people and nobody gets hit. This is a great movie and if you've watched the first one, you DEFINITELY need to see this one!

Directed by: Jon Turteltaub Produced by: Jon Turteltaub Jerry Bruckheimer Written by: Jim Kouf Terry Rossio Ted Elliott Starring Nicholas Cage Justin Bartha Diane Kruger Jon Voight Helen Mirren Ed Harris Music by Trevor Rabin Cinematography John Schwartzman Editing by William Goldenberg David Rennie Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures Release date(s) December 21, 2007 Running time 124 min.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END

"The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed,
and bound her in her bones.
The seas be ours and by the powers
Where we will, we'll roam.
Yo ho! All hands
hoist the colors high
Heave ho! Thieves and beggars
Never shall we die!
Yo ho! Haul together
hoist the colors high
Heave ho! Thieves and beggars
Never shall we die!"

The Song has been sung. The brethren court has been called. The nine pirate lords must meet and decide what to do about the hated Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company. Beckett plans to extinguish piracy forever. He uses the beating heart of Davy Jones to force the Flying Dutchman into obedience.

While the EIC ships and the Dutchman wipe out pirate ships right and left, the infamous Jack Sparrow and Black Pearl are in Davy Jones's locker to pay off the debt described in the DEAD MAN'S CHEST. But Will, Elizabeth, Tia Dalma, Barbossa, and their dastardly crew have a plan to rescue him - each for his own reason. Barbossa is in because Jack was one of the nine pirate lords and failed to choose a successor before he died. He must be present at the meeting of the brethren to make the stand against Beckett's threat. Will needs the Black Pearl to free his father, Bootstrap Bill, from Davy Jones as he promised. Elizabeth has a guilty conscience for leaving Jack to the Cracken, so she thinks rescuing him will make everything all right. But upon Jack's rescue, everyone demands their own ends. Will's secret deal with Sao Feng, one of the pirate lords, kicks in and the rest of the party is put at gunpoint to put the Black Pearl into Will's possession. But Sao Feng's deal with Lord Beckett comes to light and Mr. Mercer and his men come to the scene. "But you promised the Pearl was to be mine!" shouts Will to Sao Feng.

"So it WAS."

But when Beckett's men take control of the ship, it is Sao Feng's turn to be betrayed. "But you said the Black Pearl was to be mine!".

Mr. Mercer responds, "Lord Beckett will not give up the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman."

Now Sao Feng is angry and thinks all is lost for piracy. "They have the Dutchman! Now the Pearl! What do the brethren have?"

Barbossa is confident. "We have Calypso."

This movie is pretty hard to judge. Davy Jones's lover is revealed, Bootstrap Bill's fate is decided, and it annoys me that everybody (even Mr. anti-pirate Will) is willing to cross anybody to accomplish their own ends. The information shoots at you at the speed of light, making it less story-form and difficult to watch. There is one for-adults-only part that we always skip. Beckett mutters a naughty word. There is, of course violence and stabbing each other more brutally than ever. Everyone I've ever talked to about it says the first and even the second movie is better. So... let your parents watch it first. If they say you can't, just know it's not that worth it anyway.

Directed by Gore Verbinski Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio Music by Hans Zimmer Cinematography Dariusz Wolski Editing by Stephen E. Rivkin, Craig Wood Distributed by Buena Vista Release date(s) May 24, 2007 Running time 168 min.

Starring
Johnny Depp

Orlando Bloom

Keira Knightley

Geoffrey Rush

Bill Nighy

Naomie Harris

Tom Hollander

Stellan Skarsgard

Chow Yun-Fat

Jack Davenport

MEET THE ROBINSONS

"With a little science and imagination, we could make the world a better place!" A twelve-year-old orphan inventor tells potential parents again and again. But nobody seems to want a spiky-haired science geek that keeps his baseball-loving roommate, Mike Yagoobian "Goob", up all night. But who COULD want him? Maybe... his mother who reluctantly gave him up to the orphanage doors! Lewis invents a memory scanner to bring up the memory of her to his mind. But who should show up, but a cop from the future, Wilbur Robinson! He warns Lewis to watch out for a tall man with a bowler hat (who stole his dad's time machine, but too late. The bowler hat guy sabotages and steals the invention to ruin Lewis's future. Wilbur takes Lewis on a wild ride on his Dad's time other time machine to the future, where he and the bowler hat guy are from. But due to a crash landing, Lewis has to fix the time machine, and so meets the Robinson family! Together they battle the bowler hat guy and his evil sidekick, Doris - or is it Doris and her evil sidekick, the bowler hat guy? With some secrets of the future and some perseverance, these inventions of a boy could change the world. You've just gotta keep moving forward!

We watched this movie on our family's annual Egg Nog night this year. Everybody absolutely loved it! I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a good family movie that adults and kids alike will enjoy.

As for those negative elements, the most blatant thing is name-calling. "Stupid" "Idiot" "Booger Breath" and "Pansy" are as descriptive as it gets. No cuss words, but when "helping hats" briefly take over the world, it may cause fright in some toddlers. Also when a dinosaur chases Lewis, but that ends in another funny moment. Even the bad guy is funny and nice in the end and his worst scemes in the movie are taking the broken memory scanner, calling a T-rex, getting a talking frog under his control, and toilet-papering buildings. All things considered, it is one of those movies that is rightly rated "G"!

Directed by
Steve Anderson
Produced by
Dorothy McKim
Written by
Michelle Spritz

Jon Bernstein
Starring
Jordan Fry

Harland Williams

Tom Kenny

Steve Anderson

Angela Bassett

Tom Selleck

Nicole Sullivan
Music by
Danny Elfman
Distributed by
Walt Disney Pictures

THE CHILDREN OF HURIN by J.R.R. Tolkien

"What? Can it be? A Tolkien book I've never heard of?" Such were my thoughts as I looked up at a gray book with gold letters in the "T" section of my library. I stood on tiptoes and checked it out. Neat cover! I like neat covers and I like Tolkien! I took it home and read it through.

This book takes place in the First Age of Middle Earth. As the name implies, the story centers around Túrin son of Húrin and his kin. Húrin, the mortal man who dared defy Morgoth the Evil One. Morgoth cast a spell upon him that bound him to a chair to watch the fate of his two cursed children, and he could neither move, nor die until the Evil One so wished. And so the story tells what is seen by Húrin.

His wife, Morwen, seeing that her husband did not come, sent her son Túrin over the mountains to become a man, and not a thrall. King Thingol of Doriath received him and treated him as a son. There he was well-treated by all, except for one of the king's lieges, who taunted him and scorned his family. Outside the castle Túrin finds him and pays him for his mockery by chasing him through the forest naked. When the frantic pursued one comes to a rocky stream, he tries to jump across it, but falls to his death. "Unhappy fool! From here I would have let him walk back to Menegroth. Now he has laid a guilt upon me undeserved". The king's nobles catch up to them there, and guess that Túrin has slain the man in his anger. So Túrin leaves Doriath to live as an outlaw, accidently kills his best friend, and runs into other misfortunes.

Meanwhile, his mother has given birth to his sister, Nienor. The two set out to find Túrin and meet the Dragon Glaurung. His words put Nienor into a craze when she awakes, she remembers nothing of her past. Túrin finds her, and, not knowing she is his sister, names her Niniel and eventually marries her. But he still has Glaurung the Dragon to deal with.

I enjoyed this book very much! It is typical Tolkien - what higher praise is there than that? The violence is as usual with his work, not described. It is a hard read, and probably only engaging for teens. If you are teen or adult, check out this book at your library!



Author
J. R. R. Tolkien;
Christopher Tolkien (ed.)

Cover artist
Alan Lee

Country
England

Genre
Fantasy novel

Publisher
HarperCollins in UK,
Houghton Mifflin in USA

BLOODLINES by Karen Traviss

"To see a Jedi take up his lightsaber against civilians is shocking. But to see the son and nephew of the leader of the jedi council doing it is heartbreaking." ~ Master Cilghal, Jedi high council

Sounds horrifying indeed. But such are the acts of Jacen Solo in the next book of The Legacy of the Force series, BLOODLINES. What is even worse, his apprentice, Ben Skywalker does not know any better than to follow in his master's footsteps. Lumiya, the dark sith continues to subtly train Jacen in the ways of the sith, and by now he knows that the dark side is his destiny. The war in all but name continues between Corellia and the Galactic Alliance, but Han and Leia Solo have new things to worry about. They hear the of the assured return of the most sinister bounty hunter in the galaxy, and the only man ever to get away from the sarlaac's stomach - Boba Fett. But he is afflicted with a terminal illness that gives only a year or two to live. But does Fett sit back and relax? No. He is trying to find and mend a rift with the daughter he never met. Fett gets a little help from a girl by the name of Mirta Gev and begins the search. Meanwhile, the Solos receive the news that Han's cousin, Thracken Sal-Solo, has put a contract on him. The bounty attracts Fett's daughter, and Jacen Solo killed her by interrogation without revealing it to his parents. Boba Fett finds Han and they work out a deal. Fett can use Han as bait for his daughter as long as Han gets some assistance from Fett in the removing of his evil cousin. Can they all work together? Is Jacen now a full-fledged sith?

BLOODLINES is a great continuation of the Legacy of the Force series! The storyline is well thought-out and this book is cleaner than it's prequel, BETRAYAL. There is, of course, the usual violence of bombing, shooting, and lightsaber fights as is the norm with Star Wars, but if you are allowed to watch the Star Wars movies, you would be allowed to read this book! I rate it a G for older kids and adults, but a parent should read this first if you are an eight-year-old wanting to read this book.

Author
Karen Traviss
Language
English
Series
Legacy of the Force
Galactic Year
40 ABY
Subject
Star Wars
Genre
Science Fiction
Publisher
Del Rey
Released
29 August 2006
Pages
416
ISBN
ISBN 0-345-47751-0
Preceded by
Betrayal
Followed by
Tempest

BETRAYAL by Aaron Alliston

"The thrilling launch of an epic new STAR WARS series, featuring the heroes of the New Jedi Order!"

That's right friends! A brand new Star Wars series, The Legacy of the Force, is kicked off in this New York Times bestseller BETRAYAL. Set about 40 years after RETURN OF THE JEDI, Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara Jade, have a thirteen-year-old son and have trained a brand new generation of Jedi Knights in the galaxy. Han andLeia Solo are still doing their service to the New Rebublic, along with their jedi children, Jacen and Jaina. When Corellia, Han's home planet, decides it wants nothing more to do with the Galactic Alliance, It's up to our heroes to restore peace. But to make matters worse, the rebellion of Corellia is led by Thracken Sal-Solo, Han's sinister cousin. the Skywalker and Solo families find themselves on opposite sides, divided by loyalty and blood ties, with a very fine line as to who's right and who's wrong.

While his family struggles with aggressive negotiations, Jacen Solo meets a woman with strange powers and ideas on a sith world. Is the the Jedi Order of his uncle right? Or will Luke's mysterious visions of a new dark Sith come true...

BETRAYAL met my high expectations! While I only covered a very little bit of ground here, more heroes of the original STAR WARS trilogy, like Wedge are involved, along with many characters from previous books, which makes it especially fun to read. I would recommend it to any Sci-Fi lover! There are two cases of very mild language and of course, a little lightsaber violence. But all in all, this book is a must for people who have a few other STAR WARS books under their belt, while I'd stick with a PG for first timers (who won't get it, you guys will need to read some prequels first!) and younger children.

Author
Aaron Allston
Cover Artist
Jason Felix
Country
USA
Language
English
Era
Legacy of the Force
Series
Legacy of the Force
Galactic Year
40 ABY
Subject(s)
Star Wars
Genre(s)
Science Fiction
Publisher
Del Rey
Released
30 May 2006
Media Type
Hardcover, Paperback
Followed by
Bloodlines

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

In this 20th Century Fox film, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is a divorced father who just wants a dependable job to avoid eviction and moving away from his ten-year-old son. Night watchman at the almost forgotten Museum of Natural History? Sure, why not? The three old night guards, Cecil (Dick Van-Dyke), Gus, and Reginald give him a tour of the place. It's just your average museum: some wax figures, miniature settlers, a T-rex skeleton, some stuffed african animals, and a mummy with his Egyptian Tablet. The men leave him with an instruction manual and the words, "Just don't let anything in... or out." Do men ever read the instructions? No. What's to know about being a night watchman, right? To his amazement, the T-rex skeleton comes to life before his eyes! He thinks that maybe he should've read that manual before the capuchin monkey tore it up. And before Attila the Hun and the dinosaur set him running for his life. Luckily, a kindly wax Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) helps him bring order to the museum on the first night. The freaked-out watchman is informed that the mummy's Tablet is what makes everyone come alive at night. As long as nobody gets out of the museum to turn to meet a terrible fate of turning to dust at dawn, things should be just fine. This is NOT what Larry bargained for, but he wants to make his son, Nick, proud again, so he brushes up on some history and tries to make Huns, squabbling settlers and Romans, and monkeys get along. But when the tablet is stolen and the occupants of the museum turn loose into the streets, what can Larry do?

This is a funny movie directed at kids, but one that adults can laugh at too. But it does fall a tad short of being perfectly family friendly. There is a cuss word, and some mild violence (some fist-fighting with burglars, being shot with a tiny "poison" dart, getting bit on the nose by a monkey, etc). A tiny bit of disrespect is shown by Nick to his father, basically because Larry has lost it by the divorce and his job shifting all the time. One of the old nightguards has a bad temper and likes to call people names like "weirdee" and "snack shack". But good heart is shown in that everybody stops fighting and starts partying and being friends in the end. But this "roll-on-the-ground funny" is justly rated PG.

Directed by
Shawn Levy

Produced by
Chris Columbus
Stephen Sommers
Bob Ducsay

Written by
Ben Garant
Thomas Lennon

Starring
Ben Stiller
Robin Williams
Dick Van Dyke
Owen Wilson
Mickey Rooney

Music by
Alan Silvestri

Cinematography
Guillermo Navarro

Distributed by
20th Century Fox

Release date(s)
December 22, 2006

Running time
Theatrical:108 minutes