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Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake in Books

Aug 3, 2020  
Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake
Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake
Jeff Norton | 2018
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
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Alienated: Grounded at Groom Lake by Jeff Norton was the perfect middle grade quarantine book I was waiting for! Also - during the quarantine, Jeff is reading a chapter a day on his YouTube Channel, so please do check it out. His reading is wonderful!

From the first moment I read the synopsis, I knew I was going to like this book. 

Fourteen-year-old Sherman is used to moving schools. But he's never been to a school like Groom Lake High, the high school for aliens. 

It's a very alien environment for him, and he has to fit in. He quickly makes friends with a gang of galactic misfits. When the school bully NED endangers planet Earth, Sherman and his friends have to do anything they can to stop him!

<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>

The thing I loved most about Alienated: Grounded at Groom Lake was the amazing word play and inside jokes. It is very well thought and written and I really enjoyed it! There were so many puns and witty jokes that a children might initially miss, but will definitely make an adult chuckle. 

<b><i>"It suddenly struck me that Facebook might be one of the alien inventions we were all using. I had seen its inventor on TV once and he definitely looked more alien than human."</i></b>

We read the book from Sherman's point of view.

And through him, we find out everything. His thoughts, his choices, his fears and his dreams. Not only do we get to know him, but we also get to watch his character grow as we move throughout the book. 

<b><i>"Sherman, when you get older, you'll come to appreciate that life is basically a series of disappointments."</i></b>

Even though alien, this high school puts Sherman through all the troubles a normal school does: making friends, being bullied and having a crush. But Sherman also gets to fly rockets and has a chance to save the world!

Sherman's sister and his group of friends are awesome! They are funny and smart. I loved Octo, especially for his bravery and selflessness. I also loved the fact that the female characters were presented as strong and powerful individuals. It was a tiny touch, but quite meaningful, and it shouldn't go unnoticed. 

<b><i>"Now don't be fooled. Jess might look like a malnourished goth queen, but she punches like a heavyweight."</i></b>

I also liked NED as a character. 

<b><i>"I'd call him a bully, but that's giving bullies a bad name."</i></b>

He was quite a big bully - that is true. However, being evil is the only think he learned from his parents while growing up. The lesson we can learn is that sometimes we do bad things because we don't know any different. But what we do once we are given a second chance is what really matters! 

I absolutely loved this book and I recommend it not only to middle-graders, but to people of all ages. It's a gem and it deserves to be n every child's library. 

I received a copy of this book through a giveaway on Toppsta. All opinions are my own and completely unbiased. 

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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fantasy Island (2020) in Movies

May 5, 2020  
Fantasy Island (2020)
Fantasy Island (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
3
5.7 (19 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Michael Peña and Maggie Q in a film... I'm in. This was high up my watchlist even though Blumhouse and I don't always see eye to eye.

A group of strangers arrive on an island, this experience will give them their deepest desires. Wish for it and you can live it, all you have to do is see it through to the end on Fantasy Island.

Evidently, Nic Cage turned down the role of Mr Roarke... I didn't know that he turned down any roles so that (if true) should have been a massive warning sign.

I do have to wonder how some of these stories come about. This is based on the 70's TV show of the same name which was entirely not scary as far as I know. Is there a giant bingo cage full of ping pong balls inscribed with names of old shows and films? Do they just let studios try their luck to spin whatever they get to their niche?

Twisting this tale is a pretty good idea, though I'm not really sure why an island would want to do that to people, but what do I know about malevolent black goop spirits? I was generally on board with the storyline and I thought it wove them together quite well but that ending... are you kidding me? There was some speculation thrown out about what was going on and that thread was believable. The one they gave us was laughable, the absolute worst choice. Had they done a small reshuffle they could have given a much less ridiculous conclusion.

There are a lot of different threads and each one has its moments, as daft as they might be they come together quite well even when the filler is poor.

Maggie Q's performance as Gwen felt like the most believable out of the whole ensemble, but that's not really a surprise from her. Gwen is basically the only decent person in the group and throughout her stay she is the one that's grounded and tries to deal with her situation. That should give us something good to work off... but she's kind of bland on screen compared to everything else.

Michael Peña is always a pull to a movie for me, but Roarke's story wasn't all the effective. Had he been a construct of the island then there might have been something in it, but as it was you didn't get any real struggle with his actions, I couldn't see how a character that wasn't portrayed as actively evil could go along with any of it even given his background.

While the rest of the cast is filled with faces you'd know there isn't really a great performance to be seen. From unlikeable characters to a script that's not amusing when it tries to be, what's left of the film is plain in a glossy kind of way, and by that I mean it's got the makings of something good but misses anything that could have made an impact. The effects are fine for the most part and the sets are fine when you take into consideration they're supposed to be a fantasy and don't need to fit together perfectly. The exception is Roarke's door that Maggie Q interacts with, I liked that move and I don't know whether the rest of the film might have benefitted from something similar.

Bits of the film are quite good and could have made for an exciting watch, but that ending was so frustrating that any enjoyment went straight out the window and any thrill from what I'd already seen was gone. Also, considering it is classified as horror there wasn't really enough, or anything of quality, too make that a reality. Untapped potential in abundance here.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/05/fantasy-island-movie-review.html