theresidentbookworm's reviews
3256 reviews

A Review in Three Pictures

Plot



Characters



Recommendation

A Review In Twelve Words

Pick one: the movie or the book. You don't need both.

I have always admired the Bronte sisters. They were talented, unbelievably strong, and reliant on each other. It's crazy to think no one wanted to publish their novels. Kohler did an excellent job of chronicling not only Charlotte Bronte's inner workings but her family's as well. The Brontes were a wonderfully complicated: an alcoholic son, a nearly blind father, a dead mother and two oldest daughters, and three sisters left with nothing but their writing. Kohler filled in the blank spaces of the Brontes skillfully, carefully treading the line between fact and fiction. I particularly enjoyed Charlotte's chapters as she is the only Bronte sister I've read. I thought she was a bit harsh on her sisters' novels and just a little too gloaty when her novel was praised while theirs weren't, but I guess that's just sibling and author rivalry at its worse. My only real compliant was the overly religious undertones. I hated reading the father's chapters for that reason.

I'd definitely recommend this to Bronte fans, particularly if you've already read a couple biographies about them.

Okay, I think this is the best Berenstain Bears book ever written. It has always been my favorite, and I loved it so much that I stole it from the library. As you might be able to tell from some of my other reviews, the library and I have a very adversarial relationship.

I just love this story. Sister Bear is better at everything than the boys, but they get annoyed when she gloats. Of course, they'd probably gloat if they beat her, but that's never mentioned because there is no place for complex gender dynamics in the Berenstain Bears. The boys build their own clubhouse and ban girls from entering. Distraught, Sister Bear goes to Mama Bear, who encourages her to start her own club. All the girls band together and build an tree fort much cooler than the boys' clubhouse. Mama Bear even makes them snacks, the smell of which draws the boys out. Eventually, they beg to be allowed into the girls' clubhouse, leading to a truce.

My favorite part of the story is when the boys smell the food and have to beg the girls to let them up. I just get so much satisfaction out of that, even now. I take back what I said before. There is a place for complex gender dynamics in Berenstain Bears because you get them right here. Definitely a tale for all ages. If any pretentious college students even wanted to, they could definitely argue a feminist message. I would, but I think I'll wait until I am a pretentious college student. It will carry more weight than.

Basically the only think I enjoyed about this book was the title. Boys are dogs. Perfect lesson for preteen girls. Rock on!

As many of my friends will tell you, I am an Audrey Hepburn nut. I just love her: her movies, her clothes, her quotes, everything. This Christmas, my mom wanted to get me a new winter coat, and the only help I would give to what I wanted was "the coat Audrey Hepburn wore in Charade". My obsession often confuses my friends because my generation is so ignorant of classic cinema (most of them, anyway). Like many, my first meeting with Ms. Hepburn was the ever delightful Breakfast at Tiffany's. I was unaware that it was a novel, however, until further research (and the fabulous and extremely captivating Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson). I've been wanting to read this for two or three years, but I just never got the chance until I was browsing through my friend Grace's books and found it.

Most of what I've read says that Truman Capote despised the movie because of Audrey Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly. I guess physically what he was aiming for was more Marilyn Monroe (short blonde hair), but the essence of Holly is exactly the same in the movie as in the novel. I was surprised by how true to the novel the film actually was. A lot of the dialogue in the film was directly taken from the original text. To be true, there were subtle differences. The narrator never gets a name (though Holly does still call him Fred), and there are references that he is gay. Breakfast at Tiffany's was toned down for the screen. There is no lesbian references by Holly, and the pregnancy bit is completely thrown out. The most tragic part of the novel to film adaptation was the loss of Joe Bell, the bartender.

If Holly Golightly is that slightly whimsical damaged mystery you admire from afar, Joe Bell is who you are. If I was to do a character study of someone other than Holly in this novel, I'd chose Joe Bell. We get so little about Joe Bell, and yet it is he, not the narrator, who is the one who truly cares about Holly. If only Joe Bell was the narrator... What a different story this would be. Sadly, Joe Bell has no place in a love story between Fred and Holly in the film adaption.

This was a very fast read for me. Holly was just as charming on page, and between her and Joe Bell, I was scarcely bored. I was not in love with the narration (again, Joe Bell people!), but it did give a different perspective to the story. My favorite part was the beginning and the ending, oddly enough. I'd definitely recommend! (And go watch the movie!)

I honestly don't remember this book. I'm half convinced I've confused it with a book I've been trying to remember the title of. It's about a frontier girl who has a lot of older brothers and her mom's expecting and she has a baby girl but the baby dies and then the girl goes to stay with an aunt in San Francisco to deal with her grief and she makes a friend with a Chinese boy but then she has to go home because her family has scarlet fever or something. Someone please confirm the exist of this book because I'm starting to believe I made it up.

My Sentiments Expressed in Two Sentences

I really do not care about this damn dog. Can we move on to something better now, please?

Nancy E. Krulik might have written the best series about middle school friendships ever. I know that's high praise for very short books that also include various quizzes as a bonus plot point, but I think it is true. I remember being in middle school. It was terrible and awkward, and all of your friendships somehow got incredibly more complicated. Everyone is trying to figure out who they are and trying on anything that gets, and sometimes that involves people being very mean to each other.

Krulik understands this. Jenny is every girl who has started middle school only to discover that her best friend wasn't interested in her anymore. I just felt for Jenny as she tried to figure out what to do and how to salvage her friendships. I had an Addy in middle school (and in high school), and I related to how Jenny felt so much. It's hard to let go of history, but I'm glad Jenny eventually found her place.

These books are perfect for middle schoolers. Krulik knows her audience well, and these books are both fun and thoughtful in an unexpected way. Plus, who doesn't like taking quizzes? I really enjoyed them. Recommended!

This book was my very awkward introduction to what was going on in my body as a preteen from my mother. I really could have done without it. I don't feel comfortable saying anything else on this topic. Please don't traumatize your daughters this way. Just sit them down and talk about it. That's how my mom and I had the sex talk (while watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager), and that went much better. When it comes to that stuff, talking is always better. Trust me.