Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4890)

Content

Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Follow the Dog Home: How a Simple Walk Unleashed an Incredible Family Journey in Books

Jan 15, 2018

If you are a dog lover (like me) this is a book you will enjoy reading! So many of the stories & family experiences that are written about in this book were things that mirrored my own life & that with the few dogs I've been blessed enough to have share my experiences. I laughed & cried at the tales & truly found myself drawn into the adventures & mishaps throughout.
Of course with that being said this is also a book that will help people who aren't dog lovers better understand those of us who are...not an easy thing to do by any means. It allows you a glimpse into the passion, love, & heartache that a dog brings into your life. The emotions & stories are well told.
Being a 4th grade teacher, I loved the fact that Samantha Walsh (Kevin's 10 year old daughter) was involved in bringing this book to life. She has such a great storytelling voice. I plan to read a few pieces to my class to show them that writing (& reading for that matter) are real & important things to them.
Well done Walsh family!!!

Kudos

Cumberland (1142 KP) rated Struck By Lightning in Books

Sep 24, 2018

Struck By Lightning

Chris Colfer | 2012 | Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

A good quick read

Carson Phillips is a high school senior with big dreams. He is an outcast who is disliked by most of his peers. This becomes a problem when he decides to create a literary magazine in hopes of getting accepted into the college of his dreams. To get the submissions he needs from other students he blackmails those around him.
Carson is a main character that you will either love or hate. The book is wrote as his diary entries, so the reader gets an inside look at his life. This makes it hard to dislike him despite his questionable moral choices. He is a sarcastic and funny character who often times critical about high school life. He does experience some personal growth throughout the book, and the reader can't help but cheer for his success.
The other characters make for an entertaining cast. Many of them depict stereotypes, but they all prove to be more complicated than they first appear. This book isn't super long so it's a good weekend read. If you like stories about high school under dogs chasing there dreams then you should definitely pick this up.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Call Of The Wild (2020) in Movies

Feb 25, 2020

Rather too big-budget Jack London adaptation is long on CGI and short on grit, but remains engaging and dignified entertainment. Pampered house dog Buck is abducted from his California home and packed off to Alaska during the gold rush, slowly getting in touch with his wild side. Harrison Ford plays the main human part - there was something oddly familiar about seeing the star team up with a huge, hairy, almost totally non-verbal partner and then I remembered the Russian word for dog is sowbacca and it all made a bit more sense.

The harder edges of London's book have been sanded down considerably, and this does verge on the sentimental and cutesy in places - for one ghastly moment I thought the dogs were going to start talking to each other - and the fact it's made with a CGI dog (Terry Notary has been mo-capped) will probably put some people off. But it's solid, likeable stuff, lifted considerably by performances from Ford and Omar Sy. I still think it was madness to spend over $120 million on a film which will probably struggle to find an audience, but it has a definite charm to it.