The Book Addict Reviews: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Mysteries & Detectives, Family Life
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
When I first heard about this book, I was not sure what to expect.  Would it feel too much like a picture book to hold the attention of an adult?  But I kept hearing people talk about it so I took the plunge.  This book is not like any picture book I have ever read before.  Yes, some elements of the story only come out in the illustrations, but the story that Brian Selznick weaves is much more complicated and full of intrigue than any other picture book I have ever read.

Review:
Hugo has been left alone in the train station where his uncle (who was serving as his reluctant guardian) serviced all of the clocks.  Afraid of what could happen to him if the officials at the train station learn he is alone, Hugo has taken over servicing all of the clocks hoping that no one notices him.  As this story unfolded, I really felt terrible on Hugo's behalf.  He went from a very loving and caring household with his father, to feeling like a nuisance and an inconvenience.

This loss of the connection he felt with his father led Hugo to fixate on the one physical thing that he still has to connect to his father.  And through the illustrations, we are able to capture some of the nuances and impact of Hugo's feelings and reactions more realistically than I imagine we would in a written text.  We see his face and how his expressions change the same way we would an acquaintance or a friend.  And that is the progression that Hugo made for me over the course of the story--he went from being an acquaintance I wanted to understand to a friend I valued.

But Brian Selznick did not just create one endearing character, he created a whole cast of them.  From the Station Inspector Hugo is constantly hiding from to the Etienne the friend who starts the chain reaction that brings Rene Tabard to Georges Melies' door, there is so much complexity and intrigue that I did not want the story to end.  Even now I want to know what happened after--what adventures did Isabel and Hugo go on after the final scene? 

Recommendations:
I just saw that Brian Selznick has another book out--and now I have to read it!

Dare You To Read: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

I love having the opportunity to challenge people to read books that I personally found compelling or interesting or just all out fun.  But I want to know what you think?  Have you read the book?  Did it stick with you?  If so, why?  If not, why? _________________________________________________

 

Genre: Women Sleuths, Mystery, Contemporary Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
I read this book years ago and thought it was only so-so, but I went to the movie because my friend wanted to go.  After I stepped out of the movie I kept thinking that I liked the story--so why did I not really like the book.  So I tried the book again--this time as an audiobook and loved it!  Every time I had to pause the story, I could not wait to get back to a place where I could turn it on again!

Review:
Janet Evanovich put together an interesting and lively group of characters.  I loved the character of Stephanie Plum.  She has smarts--but she also has things that she does not know and needs to learn.  She has determination and a keen sense of what she needs to survive--but she also has a sense of humor and a sarcasm that left me laughing out loud many times as I read the book.

Joe Morelli is a mystery to me.  On one hand he seems like a stand up guy that got caught up in a bad situation, but then I see the way he needles Stephanie about their shared history and he seems kind-of like a player or maybe even a jerk.  So I am still deciding if I like Joe or not, but more than anything I hope he is in the next book because my desire to figure him out is part of what has got me hooked on this series.

And finally the Plum family.  They add something to this book and to this story that is priceless, but I felt like the real magic of the story comes from watching Stephanie interact with everyone around her--that's where all the laughs really came from for me.

There are many times over the course of the story that it is clear that this book is meant to be the introduction to the series.  There is a lot of explanation about the history of the characters and overt displays of their relationships to show how they interact with one another.  It did not necessarily detract from the book, but I am looking forward to future books with the hopes that there will not be as much time devoted to that.

Recommendations:
I do wish I had given this book another try before watching the movie--so if you have not read the book I recommend that before the movie.  But if you have read the book--I thought the movie was great!

The Book Addict Reviews: Talisman of El by Alecia Stone

 
Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery
Order Online: Centrinian
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars  
Book given in exchange for an honest review. 

In A Nutshell:  
I love fantasy.  I love adventure.  But more than loving any particular genre--I love a good story written well.  I found all of these things in Talisman of El.  

Review:  
From the moment I read the summary of Talisman of El, I could not wait to read the book.  In some ways my anticipation scared me; I feared there was no way that it could live up to my expectations.  But it did.  Alecia Stone did an excellent job of weaving a story that excellent dialogue that brings us into the heart of interesting and endearing characters.

Charlie is a character that immediately tugs at your heart strings.  You will be drawn into his story.  The strong use of dialogue will draw you into his character.  And the adventures that he and his friends go on will keep you on the edge of your seat.  I could not put it down--I wanted to be part of the group. 

Recommendations:
After reading this book, I want to read more fantasy books!  My friend has been raving about this author--so I want to start:

The Book Addict Reviews: Crime Fiction for Beginners by Gervase Shorter

Genre: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website
Rating: 3 stars
Copy provided by author for honest review. 

In A Nutshell:
The title of this book intrigued me as soon as I saw it--and as I read the book I was drawn into the multiple story lines that Gervase Shorter intertwined to tell the story of the publisher's murder.  And up until the very end, I was in the dark wondering who-dun-it--there is nothing better than that for me when I am reading a mystery.

Review:
When a publisher is murdered, the detectives have to sift through the pages to find out who-dun-it.  Pages of manuscripts from aspiring authors--authors that the victim had already refused to publish.  Upset authors who had sent threatening letters to the publisher.

As the detective sifts through the pages of the publishers life, she finds more and more possible suspects: an unhappy wife, colleagues who are happy to see him gone, a former employee who claimed sexual harassment, and the list goes on.

The story is told from the perspectives of the detective and some of the authors that the publisher refused.  As we follow the authors, we get snippets of the stories they are currently writing.  I did wish as I was reading that the authors' stories were separated from the action of the murder investigation in some way (maybe a border around it or a different font?). 

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  I felt the beginning was a little slow and a little hard to get into.  At some points I struggled to follow all of the authors' stories--and figure out how they related to the publisher's murder.  But after the halfway point, I could not put the book down.  I had to know who-dun-it and how the detective figured it out.  I was surprised when the murderer was revealed--and then with the other twist at the end...but I cannot say more.  I do not want to ruin the mystery for you! 

Recommendations:
After reading this story, I asked about Gervase Shorter's path to get published.  Come back tomorrow for the Author's Guest Post "Murdering a Publisher."

I will also be reading another of Gervase Shorter's books for a review soon:

To The Movies: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
_____________________________________________________


Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
Actors: Logan Lerman, Kevin McKidd, Steve Coogan and Alexandra Daddario (she was my favorite part of the movie!)
Director: Chris Columbus
Scriptwriter: Craig Titley
Date DVD Released: June 29, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
Movie Info: IMDB
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating: 1 star
Borrowed movie from library.

In A Nutshell:
This movie stripped a lot of the charm of the book--and in its place bastardized the Greek Mythology that made the book so enchanting for me.  The only moment that was worthwhile in the entire movie was the last scene when smelly Gabe opened up the fridge and...well I cannot tell you because if you do decide to sit through this whole movie I do not want to ruin the best part in my review.

Review:
I loved how the book re-sparked my interest in Greek mythology--made me want to go back and re-read the stories I had read in school about the Gods, the Goddess, and the Heroes.  In some ways, this movie did the same thing but only because the movie bastardized a lot of the stories I loved.  I have to go back and re-read them to clear out the mis-information of this movie.  For instance, Persephone was in the Underworld just before the Summer Solstice--except that mythology has Persephone with her mother during spring and summer.  That is why they are bright, sunny, and beautiful because her mother is overjoyed to have her beloved daughter by her side.  The movie also sexualized her character (and had her hitting on Grover--but that is another story), when she is presented in mythology as a innocent and naive woman.

I could have accepted many of the differences in the book and the movie, if I had been convinced that the story they created benefited from the changes.  But instead of a plot constructed by a suffering Titan hoping to regain his throne (with thousands and thousands of years to plot) and a god who has a history of causing conflict--we have a plot constructed by a lone teen boy.  Not believable that he would have had the ingenuity and magical talent to put this whole plan into action.  Instead of the young heroes and the protector going on a quest (in line with the mythology), they are runaways.

This fugitive status (and a rule instituted by Zeus that forbid the gods and goddesses from contacting their children) mean that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had to find the pearls rather than getting them as sign of support from Poseidon.  In fact the entire relationship between Percy and Poseidon seemed different--much more hatred and hostility on Percy's part than I got from the book, and this change did not seem to benefit the story.  It just made it harder to endure.  And I do not remember this rule being prominent in the book since the campers had been at Mount Olympus for the Winter Solstice. 

Overall, I was disappointed with the movie.  I missed the opportunity to see the trap at the tunnel of love that was broadcast to Mount Olympus, the moment where Poseidon claimed Percy in front of the whole camp, and the Oracle and the prophecy that Percy had to decipher throughout the entire quest.  

Recommendations:
The character I really loved in the movie was Annabeth--and I realized she was played by Alexandra Daddario.  I knew her from one of my favorite TV shows, so I am going to go watch that instead: