teens

I am going to write about something near and dear to my heart, Buffy. I don't know about you but I tend to move from one obsession to another and for several years I turned my attention to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Joss Whedon in general. If, goodness forbid, you are unfamiliar with Buffy allow me to enlighten you: Regular California teenager Buffy Summers discovers she is the chosen one, destined to bring about the end of vampires and evil in general. Now obviously, there is a lot going on outside that short summary but you get the idea, lots of big bad guys, fighting, conflict, love, etc

Catfish is a new documentary taking the world (and internet) by storm and I highly recommend that everyone see it. The story begins when Nev Schulman (a photographer in NYC) has a picture of two dancers featured in the New York Sun. A few months later, Nev receives a package from a small town in Michagan containing an oil painting from 9-year-old Abby, an aspiring artist who used Nev's picture as inspiration.

Nev and Abby strike up an unlikely friendship on Facebook, Nev sharing his pictures, Abby sharing her artwork. Nev's brother Ariel is a documentary filmmaker along with his friend Henry

I approached Mockingjay with a bit of apprehension. You know when there is something you really love you worry that the author/creator might ruin it with one swift stroke of the pen? That is the anxiety I felt leading up to the release of Mockingjay. How could you possibly end a series as great as the Hunger Games? Would Katniss survive? What would happen to Panem!? Although I liked Mockingjay it was certainly not a satisfying book.

It starts out with Katniss waking up in District 13 where the resistance is building. She doesn't want to participate but with Peeta captured in the capitol she

So this weekend I went to see possibly one of the best movies ever!!! I might even go so far as to say that this is the best book-to-movie adaptation I have ever seen. But before I start fawning over it I will give you a quick background. Scott Pilgrim vs the World is based on the Scott Pilgrim books by Bryan O'Malley which I have blogged about before. Like all the classics this is the story of boy-meets-girl. 23-year-old Scott Pilgrim lives in Toronto, Canada. I am not sure that "lives" is the right word...he resides in Toronto but he is not really living. He has no job, no ambition and the

I read It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini years ago but the story has always stuck with me, I think it was something I could really relate to. It's about a guy who is at the top of his class at his public school. He is a pretty competitive person (at least academically) and he desperately wants to get into this very elite prep school, probably more for the challenge of getting accepted than actually going.

Well he makes it into the school, but unlike his public school this one is filled with geniuses. This is when he begins to think that perhaps he isn't all that smart, isn't all that

Kyle Kingsley is the most perfect guy in school, just ask anyone. He has everything he wants, money, the right friends, the hottest girl in school. But no matter now beautiful Kyle is on the outside he is ugly on the inside, where it counts. Kyle decides to make fun of a new girl in his English class by pretending to ask her to the spring dance and then standing her up. But little does Kyle know that the new girl is actually a witch and she gets back at Kyle but cursing him and turning him into a beast.

Now he has two years to find someone to love who will love him back, a seemingly

The Everafter by Amy Huntley This would be a good read alike for people that enjoyed Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Like that book, the subject explored is what happens to a person after they are dead. As the book begins the only thing that Madison Stanton knows for sure is that she is dead. She doesn't remember dying and she doesn't really remember her life. Gradually she realizes that the space is currently occupies is not a void, there are bright "x-ray" versions of objects from her life scattered and that with concentration she can navigate to them and then relive the moments of her life

I just finished one of the best series of graphic novels I have ever read, the Scott Pilgrim series. It began when I saw a preview for the upcoming movie and I thought, "gee, that seems interesting." So I checked out the books, I had no idea what I was in for. Although the series starts out a little slow, and it takes a little bit to recognize each character on site (helped by handy name tags every so often), it picks up quickly. It is a non-stop action and romance packed series about the poor, and unemployed Scott Pilgrim. Scott doesn't really have much going for him, he lives with his gay

Micah live in New York City and attends a fancy private school, she is on scholarship. She lives with her parents in a small apartment and she doesn't seem to have a lot of friends. The drama starts when a boy from school, Zach is found murdered in Central Park. Micah, who narrates the story, says she barely knew Zach, just had a few classes with him but as the story goes on it is uncovered that Micah and Zach were actually secretly dating, secretly because Zach was actually dating another girl.

Turns out that Micah is a compulsive liar. She loves to see what she can get you to believe, and

There is a trend online to find your favorite unsung books, books that you love but aren't widely read. The criteria that I am using is to look at my Goodreads account and any book that I have given 5 stars to that has been read by less than 500 people. Here is my list of unsung books!

Swim the Fly by Don Calame

Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Coop and Sean, always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time — quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl out on a date. But catching

Carter is ready to start high school. His plans include hooking up with all the hot girls (and loosing his virginity ASAP), being the kicker on the football team, and becoming the most popular guy in school. And things seem to be going along as planned, he is the kicker for the freshman team, he hasn't been shoved in a locker yet, and he has hooked up with "chubby" Abbey who isn't so chubby anymore.

But everything goes down the drain when Carter, in an attempt to impress his friends, takes some artistic liberties with his description of a date with Abbey. Word gets out and Abbey gets mad

As promised here is my review for the New Moon movie (I know this is a little late, but I couldn't take the hoards to go opening weekend and then I just got caught up in other stuff). Those of you who know me know that I am not a big Twilight fan... Ok if we are being honest I can't stand the Twilight books. But I was honestly looking forward to the Twilight movie last year.

My major complaint with the books (at least originally) was how s..l..o..w they were. Seriously, make out or get in a fight, I need some action! So I thought that the Twilight movie would be great since it would be the

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins is a novel told in verse follows 5 teens. Each one is trying to find love and each one ends up selling their body by the end of the book. Eden's father is an evangelical minister who cares deeply about setting a good example for his flock. So when Eden falls for Andrew, a non-believer, she knows she must keep it a secret or face her parents wrath. Seth lives with his father working on the family farm in rural Indiana. Seth's mother died from cancer without ever knowing her only son is gay and he is afraid to tell his homophobic father. Seth goes looking for

If you know me you know that I am eternally the fan of the girl power book/movie. Being a tomboy growing up I am always a fan of girls who unabashedly kick butt. I had some pretty high hopes for Whip It! and I was so excited to see one of my favorite sports being featured in a movie with an all star cast! I excitedly went out and read the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross (recently retitled Whip It, the inspiration for the movie) .

Both the book and the move follow Bliss Cavendar (indie punk girl) growing up in the small conservative town of Bodeen, Texas. Bliss' mother is obsessed with beauty

Over the mountains from the land of Graceling is the Dells, an equally enchanting land. Fire's life has been very sheltered, and for good reason, she is a monster. With a wild beauty and hair the color of flame, her namesake, Fire has the unique ability to control the minds of humans and animals. But Fire guards her power, afraid to misuse it like her father, Castrel, the monster adviser to the previous King who used his powers to almost destroy the kingdom.

The kingdom is falling apart, lords are gathering armies to attack the king and spies are everywhere. Fire has to come to terms with her

Jessica is looking forward to her senior year of high school in small town Pa. This is supposed to be the best year of her life, hang out with friends, get into a good college, and possibly get her first kiss. But everything goes horribly wrong on the first day of school when she is surprised by a creepy guy hanging out at the bus stop, crazy hippie parents won't give her a car. She swears she can hear him whisper her name before she gets on the bus, but it isn't the name Jessica, it is Antastasia, the name she was given as a baby by her birth parents.

Jessica's day gets worse when the same

I have been watching quite a bit of anime lately to get ready for the anime festival coming up on November 7th (mark your calendars). There was one anime which I loved but just didn't seem to fit the festival, so you won't get to see it on the big screen but I would recommend checking it out from the library and watching it at home. Makoto is having a bad day. She woke up late, and just barely made it to school on time. Before the end of the day she has flunked a math test, almost set the school on fire in foods class and while trying to clean a classroom Makoto slipped and fell in the science

Tally is painfully aware that she is hideously ugly. But she is about to turn the much anticipated 16, and where Tally lives your 16th birthday marks the day you get full body plastic surgery. This is surgery unheard of in modern science, it isn't just some botox and a face-lift. This alters you forever. The doctors can change you hair, eye and skin colors, your bone structure, your curves, your muscles, your teeth, and more. It is a full body overhaul. Tally is looking forward to her 16th birthday and imagining how pretty she will be once the surgery is over.

However, Tally's friend Shay

When Junior announces that he wants to attend the white school off the reservation he is not only ostracized, but tormented by his own people. As he dips one foot into the strange world of white people and keeps the other firmly planted on the reservation he feels torn between the better life he glimpses at his new school and the life he has always known.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is simultaneously hopeful and hopeless. Junior is one boy out of an entire reservation who is able to break the pattern that has so firmly gripped his family and friends. At the same time, the

The romantic classic with ultra violent zombie mayhem! Think, jaded boyfriend forced to read sappy, period love story by (now ex) girlfriend and wants to get back all all women for upholding unrealistic ideas romance, inspired by the original Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Prejudice = Awesome. Zombies = Awesome. Pride and Prejudice + Zombies = Really Awesome.

Trained in the art of Kung Fu, Elizabeth Bennett is one of the most skilled women in England when it comes to sending the unfortunate stricken back to Hell. But she meets her match in the proud and reserved, Mr. Darcy, also know for his

For those of you who love ol' Billy Shakespeare but never could really get into the language check out the new anime Romeo X Juliet. A futuristic cross gender tale of undying love! Scene: Neo-Verona, sometime in the future Characters:

• Romeo: son of Capulet leader who has succeeded in wiping out his Montague rivals.
• Juliet: little did Capulet know that Juliet, daughter of Montague family survived and is raised by surrogate parents, unaware of her heritage. Also, for some reason they make her pretend to be a boy.

Plot: Juliet discovers her family legacy and decides to dress up as a caped

Ok. I admit it. I am addicted. I was pretty skeptical when ABC Family announced that they were going to make a TV show out of one of my favorite 90's movies. I was ready to hate it. I almost didn't watch the premier. But somehow I ended sitting in front of my TV at 7pm on July 7th tuning into ABC Family. And even more unbelievable is that I liked it!I was ready to hate all the characters. Who could play Kat better than Julia Stiles, who could be Patrick Verona except the talented Heath Ledger? Lindsey Shaw does a great job playing a Kat who is both strong and lovingly stupid at times, Ethan

I was one of those kids who grew up with Transformers so I must admit that there is a soft spot in my heart for any of the Tranformers movies. I was a little anxious to see the latest installment because I heard some pretty bad reviews from fans but I did go pay my $10 (dang movies are expensive) to check it out this weekend. And I am glad I didn't listen! I thought it was an awesome action movie and not too shabby of a plot! I am a big action freak so I love even the worst action flicks but this one just had so much more. The CGI was great (although there was a scene in the beginning of the

The Hunger Games is the story of North America after an apocalyptic war has broken out. Now the continent is made up of 12 districts, ruled over by a wealthy capitol city. Each year, to remind the districts of their loss in the war and how powerless they are, the Capitol chooses two teenagers from each district to participate in a reality TV show. The participants, called tributes are chosen at random from a lottery, one boy and one girl.

The 24 tributes, two from each district, are sent to the Capitol where they are placed in an arena together to participate in the Hunger Games. The only way

One of my favorite books is being made into a movie, it is just one of those books that as you are reading you are selecting cast members in your head. I Love You, Beth Cooper is the story of one teen's experiences at the end of high school. Denis Cooverman has always been a geek. For as long as he can remember he has been the butt of every joke, getting swirlies in between classes and practical jokes played on him ever day. Denis knows that he wants to be remembered differently, he wants to make his mark on Buffalo Grove High School class of 2007. So in his valedictorian speech at graduation

Taylor was abandoned on the Jellicoe Road when she was 11 years old. She was taken in my Hannah, a caretaker at the Jellicoe School, a place for wards of the state to go to school until they are 18. Behind the seeming quiet of Jelliceo School is a feud that goes back before Taylors time there, a secret war going on between the students of Jellicoe School, the townies and the cadets. Taylor has just been named the leader of the students and it is hear job to regain precious territory from the cadets and townies. Taylor is surprised to find out that her enemy, the leader of the cadets, is the

What would the world be like if instead of superheroes being 2-dimensional characters in comic books they were real people? How would that change history? What if we had superheroes in WWII? What about Vietnam and Korea? Would we have won the wars? Watchmen is the answer to these questions. The streets of America's cities are protected by masked adventurers who fight (mostly) for truth and justice (or a modeling contract). Unlike the perfect superheroes of current lore these people are plagued by the depression brought on by experiencing the dark underbelly of society everyday. In 1977

Coraline is already bored with her new apartment. She has explored every inch of the tiny space, until she discovers a door that wasn't there the first time she looked. The door leads Coraline to the Other World where she meets her Other Mother and Other Father, far more interesting versions of her parents with black buttons for eyes. Coraline spends the day exploring the Other World and when she is ready to leave her Other Mother offers to let Coraline stay in the Other World forever...if she sews buttons over her eyes. Coraline refuses but when she gets back to her home on the other side of

Are you looking for a good read this holiday season? The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart is my new favorite. Frankie follows in her father's footsteps by attending the elite Alabaster boarding school. Her freshman year was relatively uneventful. With the help of her older sister she has managed to make a good group of friends that are slightly nerdy but still somewhat popular. At the begining of her Sophomore year Frankie is pining once more for the handsome Mathew Livingston. When he finally asks her out Frankie is swept up with the feeling of being popular. She

Fan's of Nick and Nora won't know what hit them when they watch the movie adaptation of this famous bookby David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. Now, although this movie does not follow the book (practically at all) it is still an excellent movie! I was a big fan of the book before I saw it and although a little piece of me was sad about how much they changed I can also respect that the movie is totally awesome on it's own! Even if you haven't read the book go check this out!

The movie opens with Nick, our hero, in the depths of despair because of the loss of the love of his life, Tris. Nick also