Liar and Spy

Liar and Spy

by Rebecca Stead

 

Seventh grader Georges moves into a Brooklyn apartment building and meets Safer, a twelve-year-old self-appointed spy. Georges becomes Safer's first spy recruit. His assignment? Tracking the mysterious Mr. X, who lives in the apartment upstairs. But as Safer becomes more demanding, Georges starts to wonder: what is a lie, and what is a game? How far is too far to go for your only friend? (description from Amazon.com)

 

I love Rebecca Stead's books.  Though this one is very different from When You Reach Me, it still has the same ability to slowly unfold a much deeper story than expected. Stead draws readers into a world where a boy is trying to adjust to a new home...but as you read, you realize a LOT more is going on than first showed on the surface. 

 

The layers that slowly peeled away to reveal the underlying issues were masterfully done.  It wasn't until just before Georges would address or discover an issue that I would suspect the very thing about to happen.  Scenes, word choices, character motivations were all carefully written so that none of these things were evident straight on.  Amazing.

 

I also have to mention how wonderful each of the characters in this book are... not just the kids, but also the parents.  They each have little quirks that bring them to life and the way that they interact with one another was wonderful. This is also a great book for modeling families that truly work and support one another.  So nice to see in today's world. 

 

A short, sweet, and satisfying read.

 

Full disclosure: eARC received to review through NetGalley 

Justin Case: School, Drool and Other Daily Disasters

Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters
by Rachel Vail

It’s the start of the school year, and nothing feels right to Justin. He didn’t get the teacher he wanted, he’s not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school. Elizabeth doesn’t seem nervous at all. Justin is very nervous about third grade. And to top it off, he’s lost his favorite stuffed animal, but he can’t tell anyone, because technically he’s too old to still have stuffed animals. Right? (description from Amazon.com)

Such a good book. I was a little surprised when I picked it up...for some reason I thought Justin was older than third grade when I checked it out from the Library, but it was still excellent even though it was really for a much younger audience.

Justin is a really lovable little boy. He is a full on worrywort. I had forgotten all of the things that had made me terrified as a kid! I loved that he had personalities for all of his stuffed animals and that he spent the year learning how to survive without his favorite, even though he missed it terribly.

In fact, Justin spends the whole year trying to become braver and watching him take this journey was very heartwarming. I rooted wholeheartedly for Justin as he made new friends, climbed the superhigh rope in gym class, and gets through the first few months of having a new and super drooly, excitable dog!

With cute illustrations and a great story, this book was really good. I hope that Rachel Vail plans to write another book about Justin's fourth grade adventures!

Red Riding Hood - Movie Review

Red Riding Hood
starring Amanda Seyfried

I saw Red Riding Hood last night with two friends from work. I enjoyed it. (Ironically, I think I liked the previews for "Suckerpunch" more, but the steampunky, live-action anime style of that movie has me BEYOND excited!!)
Anyway... I thought Amanda Seyfried was really good in this role. She can play sultry (much better than Kristen Stewart - to whom comparisons in this role can definitely be made), she can play strong, she can play vulnerable...she really showed range. The two male romantic leads were also very good...I especially enjoyed watching the scenes with Peter, the woodcutter. *wipes sweat off brow*

I thought that the family relationships were complex and interesting. The introduction of the church as almost vengeful, Templar like warrior figures was really well done, too. I thought the werewolf lore was awesome, and NO. I am not going to ruin it for you and tell you who the werewolf was...I'll just say that I was actually surprised. I had thought I knew what the big surprise was, but nope, they threw me for a loop. Well done!

Overall, I really enjoyed it and will probably watch this one again several times.