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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
2019 | Horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
The movie starts Halloween in the 1960s, and a group of teens are planning a trick or treat prank on the jocks in their school. It's just the classic poo in a bag but the jocks get mad and chase them in to a drive in movie, where the teens jump into a young lads car to hide. This lad tells the jocks to basically do one and saves the teens from being pulverised.
As a thank you, the teens invite the young lad to a haunted house with them. They have a look around and start to see strange things, such as an old lady and a dog. After a terrifying ordeal the teens escape and go home. One of them, Stella, had found a book of scary stories in the house which she takes home with her. Stella begins to read the book, and as she reads the scene moves to Tommy (one of jocks) and shows that what she is reading is coming true. When Stella realises this, she takes the book back to the haunted House, however it is not that easy as the book reappears in her bedroom and begins writing another story, only this time it's about her friend August.
The teens decide they must find a way to stop it before the book takes the rest of the group.
I found the start of the movie very slow paced, but once the book comes into it, it moves at a more decent pace and I started to enjoy it, I even looked forward to sei g who the book took next and how.
Word of warning, if you don't like spiders you won't like Ruth's story, I had to look away a lot during that scene. Chucks story started creepy until it showed what was after him, and it just looked ridiculous, I honestly couldn't help but laugh! And Ramones story was also pretty laughable, it made me wonder if it was meant to be a comedy. Sadly from that point I couldn't take it seriously any more.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Sycamore in Books

Feb 8, 2018  
Sycamore
Sycamore
Bryn Chancellor | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jess Winters and her mother, Maud, arrive in the small town of Sycamore, Arizona hoping to start afresh: Maud is recently divorced from Jess' father and both are reeling from the event in different ways. Maud copes by sleeping most of the day away, but a restless teenage Jess wanders the town, searching for peace. Eventually she finds a friendship with Dani Newell, the local "smart kid" at the high school, and her boyfriend, Paul, the son of Jess' employer, Iris. Maybe, just maybe, Jess thinks, she could be happy here.

Flash forward nearly twenty years, when a new resident to town, another restless spirit, stumbles upon some bones in the local dried up lake. Residents immediately fear they belong to Jess, who disappeared shortly before Christmas: a young seventeen-year-old who was never seen again.

<i>Oh, this is a magical book.</I> I felt an immediate attachment to Jess from the first opening chapter. I was connected to her as a child of divorce, as someone who once had that urge to wander, who shared that restlessness as an adolescent. You quickly find that Chancellor has the power to create such real characters, who draw you in from the start.

The book--and the story of Jess--unfolds in snatches and snippets of these characters. Each chapter is told by a different inhabitant of Sycamore, and we get reminiscences and memories of their past, telling more about what happened with Jess, as well as their current life. We also get chapters of Jess' time as a sixteen-and seventeen-year-old in the town. In a way, it is as if we are being caught up backwards sometimes. I was captivated by the oddly suspenseful way they each tell stories from different times and varying viewpoints. It's an interesting (and effective) technique. You are piecing together a mystery, yet also reading a beautiful novel of interwoven characters.

One of the most amazing things about this novel is that for each different point of view, for each character, they have their own voice. Chancellor captures each one in their own unique way: the different way they speak. Some chapters are told in a distinctive sort of format and more. Every one has their own personality. It allows the characters--and the entire town--to really come to life so easily as you read. You can picture this entire small town and its inhabitants so clearly because of her beautiful, clear writing. It's just such a powerful book and so well-written.

There's a sweet tenderness to this book that I cannot truly describe. It really touched me. It's not always an easy read, or a happy one, but it's a lovely book in many ways. It's wonderfully written, surprisingly suspenseful, and a heartbreaking but amazing journey. I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 05/09/2017.

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The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Melissa Keil | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
8
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
**I received a copy of this book from the publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

The Incredible adventures of Cinnamon girl takes place in a small town in Australia, nothing ever happens in Eden Valley until one day a YouTube video goes viral. Ned Zebidiah has predicted an apocalypse and the only safe haven is the one and only Eden Valley.

17-year-old Alba loves her little town in Australia where nothing much happens, however she is at a stage in her life when she needs to make decisions, life changing ones. Alba wishes everything could remain the way it is, her friends and family all in one place as she likes it. Her friends on the other hand have different ideas, the majority of them cannot wait to say goodbye to Eden Valley and see more of the world. With an impending apocalypse, the return of an old friend and decisions to be made, can Alba keep it together?

I really like Alba's character, she is artistic, witty and loveable. She is at the stage of her life when she has just finished school and she has to make decisions about what to do with her life, should she go to college? work? travel? Alba also has curves and a healthy figure which is portrayed in this story really well, there is no self-consciousness with the way she looks, she is confident and it's so refreshing to see this in a YA book especially as the younger audience are so impressionable. Alba also loves to draw and Cinnamon girl is her creation, drawing frame after frame trying to get her image right or the background just so. I have recently started being interested in comics and I loved the idea of someone creating them and the illustrators thought processes. Alba was a great strong protagonist and very relatable.

Grady is Alba's best friend in the whole wide world they have grown up and done everything together. Grady has his flaws like most of the characters in this book but he is such a nice boy, knowing what he wants to do with his life and being there for Alba giving her encouragement with her drawings of Cinnamon girl.

One character I didn't like was Daniel, he just appeared to be egotistical, very self-conscious and a bit of a sleaze. With masses of people flocking to the safe have of Eden Valley, Daniel returns years after moving away and has become a bit of star in TV and is stirring a lot of emotions within Alba and Grady.

This book is so cute, it has a slow burn romance with no love triangle, the writing style is amazing and loved that it was set in Australia. I really like that the book incorporated comics and a few famous comics/names were mentioned such as Fiona Staples and Persepolis. This was my first Melissa Keil novel and have been recommended life in outer space

I recommend this book to anyone who reads YA with a slow burn romance, art/comic content.

Overall I rated this 4 out f 5 stars.
  
Looking at the Stars
Looking at the Stars
Jo Cotterill | 2014 | History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Looking at the Stars</i> by Jo Cotterill is a beautiful story targeted at older children/young adults. It handles serious themes that most readers would not have, and hopefully never will, deal with.

Amina is thirteen years old living in a country where women have absolutely no power. Prohibited from going to school, she spends her days with her sister, Jenna, weaving baskets and rugs, which they sell to stool holders in the local market. The novel begins with the two girls witnessing the arrival of foreign soldiers. They are overjoyed believing that all their troubles are over now that the liberation has begun. This, however, turns out to be a false hope.

Separated from their family, Amina and Jenna head to a refugee camp where they hope to find their younger sister, Vivie, and even discover information about what has happened to their mother. In order to prevent them from succumbing to despair both on the journey and living in the camp, Amina makes up stories about the stars in the sky – hence the title of the novel.

Amina and Jenna’s personalities are vastly different meaning that the reader should be able to identify with at least one of the girls and place themselves within the story to get a closer feel of what their lives must have been like. It makes us wonder how we would cope ourselves in these situations. Amina is the kind of person who asks questions. She wants to know why things happen and is constantly asking “what if?” Despite being a year younger than Jenna she is the more confident of the two, and it is partly her determination that keeps them alive. Personally, I think I am more like Jenna: quiet, anxious, always wanting to do the right thing. Jenna “just wants everyone to be happy”. Jenna is a realist, whereas Amina is a dreamer.

The storytelling aspect to this novel makes it unique to others in this genre. There are many books that deal with war, refugees and death, but Amina’s stories provide something extra. They are beautiful and bring hope and faith into such as bleak and dangerous setting.

Whilst this story is set in fictional towns in an unnamed country, it is not unlike recent civil wars in Syria and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mostly we are able to distance ourselves from these new stories, because to us they are just that: stories, reports; not something we have to deal with. But this novel, told from the point of view of a thirteen year old girl reveals to us what it is like for the innocent – the thousand of innocents. And even better, it is tells it in a way that children/young adults will understand in order to learn more about what has happened and what is happening in these countries.

I think Looking at the Stars is a brilliant book that is, and I know I have used this word a lot, beautifully told. I definitely recommend it!
  
The Dragon Warrior
The Dragon Warrior
Katie Zhao | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.</i></b>
<h2><strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is such a fun and delightful read</strong></h2>
<strong>I'm 1000% sure the middle school me who got swallowed by </strong><em><strong>Percy Jackson & the Olympians</strong></em><strong> would devour this book</strong> as quickly as she inhales all the dumplings, stuffed buns and dim sum. (Look, they're comfort food.) <em>The Dragon Warrior</em> really brings back the nostalgia of those times. <strong>Katie Zhao wrote a beautiful novel that promises fun and adventure featuring Chinese mythology.</strong>

Zhao's debut novel follows twelve-year-old Faryn Liu as she is revealed to be the Heaven Breaker after she crosses paths with a demon during Lunar New Year Festivities. She and her companions set off on a quest across various Chinatowns to find the island of immortals so she can prove she is worthy to take on the role.

But both she and her brother are outcasts in the Jade Society and have been treated as such for years. To the members in her local Jade Society, she's not worthy of such an important role and it's not something she plans for either (does any twelve-year-old though?). But despite frequently thinking about ròu bāo zi (I don't blame her; meat dumplings are delicious), Faryn readily steps into the role even if she might know what she's doing or feel ready to potentially command an army.

<h2><strong>Full of adventure and humor</strong></h2>
<strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is a huge nod to my childhood, featuring various deities and other well-known figures from Chinese mythology.</strong> They're full of wit and sass that brought a constant smile to my face as they aided or deterred Faryn and her companions in the quest. The novel brings in aspects of family, tradition and honor, all of which are important parts of Chinese culture. It's clear throughout the novel Faryn has a strong bond with not just her brother, but also her Ye Ye.

<strong>Zhao's debut novel is a fast-paced, page-turning adventure that is chock full of humor</strong>; it's easy to forget this is a debut as this is extremely well-written, and I loved every second of it. Honestly, the only thing I'm disappointed is there probably won't be any sequels. (Someone please tell me there will be one???) <strong><em>The Dragon Warrior</em> is an engrossing story featuring Chinese mythology and tying in various aspects of the culture; </strong>I highly recommend this to Chinese American readers who want to see themselves in a world where Chinese mythology clashes into the modern world.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/the-dragon-warrior-by-katie-zhao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
Frankenweenie (2012)
Frankenweenie (2012)
2012 | Animation, Comedy, Horror
8
7.7 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Before he hit the big time, director Tim Burton made a live-action short film named “Frankenweenie” which was a loving tribute to the classic horror films of old, in particular “Frankenstein”. Due to various issues, the 30-minute film never got the attention it deserved and was relegated to a video release after Burton’s stock had risen thanks to hits such as “Beetlejuice”, “Batman”, and “Edward Scissorhands”.

Disney has given Burton a chance to complete his vision for “Frankenweenie”, and Burton has done so by combining the visual themes of classic black and white with modern 3D and stop-motion animation.

The film centers around the town of New Holland, where young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) lives in suburbia and spends his days, when not in school, on his love of science, and his beloved dog Sparky. His father, wants Victor to diversify his skills and agrees to allow Victor to take part in a local science fair if he agrees to play baseball as well. Victor agrees, but sadly tragedy strikes when Victor loses his beloved Sparky in an accident.

Devastated, Victor loses his will and his way until he is inspired by his science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) who explains how anything can be reanimated via electricity. Since their town is famous for its nightly lightening storms, Victor sets about to revive Sparky, and is able to do so much to his delight. While he is thrilled to have his beloved dog back, Victor must keep Sparky’s return a secret which proves to be a very difficult challenge.

In time, the secret gets out and chaos ensues, especially when Victor’s classmates decide to reanimate other dead objects so that they can compete at the science fair. Things quickly go amok, and Victor and Sparky must find a way to save New Holland and each other.

The film has the trademark Burton visuals which are indeed very lavish. The nature of stop-motion and 3D does at times have some jerkiness to the film, but all in all it is a rich visual experience. I am a fan of Burton, but I have always said he far to often puts substance over style as his visuals have often overshadowed plot and characters in his movies. This time out, Burton has kept the film basic and does not go overboard trying to over-complicate his plot and characters. The film is, at the core, a story about a boy and his dog and their enduring love for one another.

The film is loaded with quirky characters and visuals and several references to the classic horror films of old which inspired it. I was not sure that many of the younger viewers in the audience would be able to get several of the jokes in the film, but they, along with their parents, laughed and cheered throughout the film.

While it will not break any new ground in visuals and story, “Frankenweenie” is a pleasantly fun film that the family will enjoy and is well worth checking out.