Reviews by Tag: family

Will Smith plays Chris Gardner in Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit of Happyness, made in 2006. In this film, Chris Gardner, accompanied by his son Christopher Gardner (Jaden Smith), struggle to get by day-to-day life. After putting all of his eggs in one basket, Chris joins a prestigious stock broking firm as an unpaid intern, only having a 0.05% chance of getting picked for the full-time career at the end of a 6 month trial period.

In need of a job, 14-year-old Lavaughn takes a babysitting job for Jolly, a 17-year-old with two children. Lavaughn enjoys the work, but when Jolly gets fired from her job at the factory, Lavaughn decides to work for free. What happens next? Read more to find out!

15-year-old Frannie is dealing with the death of her father when she discovers that he had made her a 1000-piece puzzle. Frannie is then suddenly transported back in the past to learn more about her father.

I personally did not like this book. It felt way longer than it should have been. This book did not flow very well and felt fragmented.  The plot seemed odd also, considering how she randomly traveled back to the past. I didn’t really like the characters either, they did not seem very redeeming. I would rate this book a 2/5.

When Fabiola and her mother are trying to move from Haiti to Detroit to go live with their family there, her mother tragically gets detained. Fabiola is presented with an opportunity to get her mother back, but it results in a messy entanglement in crime and dirty family matters.

I enjoyed this book a lot because the character development and plot kept the story surprising. The main development shown is that Fabiola learns to cope with loss and I think the overall moral is to keep good company because she gets involved in things like drug dealing and gang violence.

The Line Tender is a sad and heartwarming fiction novel by Kate Allen. This book is about a girl named Lucy, her best friend Fred who dies in a quarry at midnight. Ever since Fred died Lucy’s been a mess, she finishes an assignment in honor of Fred and she suddenly gets interested in her mother's work. She gets her dad, her neighbor, her family friend and her mom's former colleague to help her figure out things about her mom's beloved sharks.

Meet Adam, the son of an arcade owner, and Whitney, the daughter of an e-sport café owner. Tensions rise between them as their rivalries increase, but when a snowstorm suddenly traps them in the arcade, they are forced to mend their broken relationship.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan is a coming-of-age story that follows teenager Leigh Chen Sanders as she deals with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. Shortly after her mother’s death, Leigh believes that she has been visited by her mother- in the form of a bird. She is convinced that she will be able to see her once again if she journeys to Taiwan to meet her grandparents.

It’s been a while since Lydia’s mother died, but Lydia still finds herself reeling from the impact of the life-changing event. Following the plan that she made with her mother, Lydia uproots to her Aunt Brat’s Connecticut farm, where she finds two more adults — Eileen (Aunt Brat’s good-humored wife) and Elloroy (their quirky live-in landlord) — waiting for her with open arms. Lydia struggles to become accustomed to her new family, and the big yellow dog that her aunt adopted just days after her arrival isn’t helping either.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an exotic and lovable fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling. This book is about a prisoner named Sirius Black who escaped Azkaban (wizarding prison). Everyone believes that Sirius is after Harry because they think Sirius was under Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione find out what Sirius black was after. I love the way Sirius and Harry get along after they find out the truth after Harry’s parents’ deaths.

Finding Nemo is one of my favorite childhood movies because it tells an amazing adventure across the ocean. The movie starts with Marlin trying to protect his son Nemo, a clown fish, who has one fin of less than average size; Nemo ends up being captured and lands in a fishbowl with other apprehended and imprisoned fish accompanying him. Nemo’s dad, Marlin, travels across the immeasurable ocean along with a new friend he made named Dory who suffers from short-term memory loss.