Ender's Game (2013)

★★★

I can never view a movie based on a book except through the lens of the book itself. Probably that's not fair, but here goes...

The movie is sufficiently different from the book that I think the modifications changed the nature of Ender's struggle and development, which basically defined the book. Key themes were undermined by the liberties taken in the movie. For example, Ender's confrontations all fit a pattern of fighting to win "all future fights" against a given adversary, not just the one fight at hand. But his face-off with Bonzo didn't fit this profile, and the way it did unfold took away from Ender's character development as intended in the book. Also, it was critical that Ender be isolated so he would not grow to rely on anyone else nor form any emotional attachments. That internal struggle of his, always feeling alone, was lost in the movie, particularly when his friends were put in the same simulation room with him at Commander School. In the movie, he lost the sense of separation and loneliness that was supposed to define him in the book.

I went into the movie assuming that maybe one thing a big screen version of Ender's Game could offer over the book might be a really action-packed and suspenseful final battle scene. Somehow, though, I didn't find that scene - and the revelation that followed - nearly as dramatic as it was in the book.

The Mother-Daughter Book Club Roundup

A good series for upper elementary and middle school girls. These books include a lot of great book recommendations and fun, educational facts about authors and New England. Actually, not just New England, but all the places where the girls visited, including Wyoming, California, Minnesota, and Paris. Most young readers will probably find something to identify with among the main characters and their middle school problems.

As my ratings show, my enjoyment of the books decreased as the series progressed. The girls age in the series, and they enter high school in Book 4. Even though friendships and literature are still front and center, boys become a central theme, and I was put off by the way the girls behaved meekly when it came to relationships. Also, after the first few books, the over-the-top plot devices just got old.

• The Mother-Daughter Book Club (#1) ★★★½
• Much Ado About Anne (#2) ★★★★½
• Dear Pen Pal (#3) ★★★★½
• Pies & Prejudice (#4) ★★★½
• Home for the Holidays (#5) ★★★
• Wish You Were Eyre (#6) ★★

Wish You Were Eyre (The Mother-Daughter Book Club #6) by Heather Vogel Frederick

★★

I like these books overall, and I really have enjoyed reading this series. But, there was one thing in this book that really turned me off.

In every book of the series, the author consistently praises every single book mentioned and puts on a pedestal every author. In this book, even Cassidy, the reluctant reader, loves Jane Eyre. But, for some unknown reason, the author totally pans The Scarlet Letter. She could have simply not even mentioned the book, but seems to have gone out of her way to discredit it. Not a single character likes it - not the daughters, not the mothers, and not even any of their counterparts in Wyoming. What's the deal?! What does the author have against The Scarlet Letter? Both Jane Eyre and The Scarlet Letter were required reading in my high school, and as I recall, neither was especially well-received, but The Scarlet Letter was probably the less unpopular of the two simply because it had an edginess to it. Does the author object to the fact that rather than the more innocent variety of romance as seen in other book club books, The Scarlet Letter deals with the more mature topic of adultery? Was the author trying to make some kind of morality statement?! Hester Prynne may not be as proper as the other female heroines the club has met, but she is certainly a strong character - something I would think the book club members would appreciate! The Scarlett Letter is even oftentimes considered an early feminist piece, certainly worthy reading for modern young women and appropriate content for students studying classic American literature, despite the author's grievance. I seriously wondered why the author would so uncharacteristically reject such an important piece of writing - and then I realized that all other book club books were written by women! Does the author have something against male writers in general, or against Nathaniel Hawthorne in particular? Whatever. I think her blanket disdain for The Scarlet Letter was unfair - the characters never even tried to justify their dislike of the book - and out of place for a book series that not only celebrates literature in general but specifically focuses on strong women in literature. For a series that is supposed to encourage young readers to discover strong female characters in literature, the author really does a disservice by turning young audience off from The Scarlet Letter.

Okay, rant over. Now about the book itself...

After six books with variations on the same themes, I think I just got tired of the Mother-Daughter Book Club formula. Once again, the first adjective that comes to mind in describing this book is "over-the-top". I could accept a circle of friends that included a former supermodel, a former soap opera star, and a millionaire software entrepreneur. But now we have a group of high school sophomores that include a professional fashion designer, a published author and mayoral campaign manager, a nationally competitive singer, and a player on the nation's top girls hockey team!? Who would have thought that in the end, the most relatable and down-to-earth character would be Becca Chadwick?!

Once again, one of the primary conflicts stems from a new girl in town with whom the girls do not get along. Once again, the girls deal with their social frustrations by engaging in a mean-spirited prank. It's lame that the girls in this series pine for their first kiss and wonder what their boyfriends are up to instead of just initiating a kiss themselves or simply talking to their boyfriends. It's lame that the girls think second cousins have no right to be friends, even though it's already been established that Annabelle and Tristan have a close relationship.

I have to admit, though, I liked the way the book ended with Megan's sentimental round-up of Mother-Daughter Book Club moments. Despite all that I've complained about above, I think the book - and presumably the series - ended on a high note. There is a sense of finality at the end of this book, though I had originally expected the series to take the girls all the way through senior year in high school. But like I said, I think all the familiar themes have been exhausted, so if this is the last book in the series, that's just fine with me.

I should note, also, that Isabelle didn't read this book. She lost interest and didn't finish Home for the Holidays despite the fact that they featured the Betsy-Tacy books, some of which she has read. I think the book club girls just finally got too old, and she couldn't relate to the characters anymore.

Home for the Holidays (The Mother-Daughter Book Club #5) by Heather Vogel Frederick

★★★

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***

While all the books of this series have involved boys to some extent, this book seemed to veer away from the "coming of age" gestalt that characterized earlier books and more towards "chick lit". There was just an awful lot about boys in this book, what with Jess and Emma having boyfriends, Cassidy finally being interested in boys, and Becca and Megan fighting over a boy.

Of course, this being the fifth book in the series, I'm already invested in the characters, so it wasn't hard to keep reading, even when I felt disappointed. I really liked that Becca finally got her own chapters in this book. She's a complex character, and I surprise myself when I say that she's probably my second-favorite character after Cassidy, who matured a lot in this book.

Mrs. Chadwick continued to float around the edge of the friendship circle. I really disliked that she was still being portrayed as being petty and jealous. Frankly, in my opinion, she was the only one keeping it real! If all my friends were constantly gushing over another friend who was just the perfect cross between Heidi Klum and Martha Stewart, I'd probably spend a lot of my time rolling my eyes, too! And, in a group of well-educated middle-to-upper-class suburbanites, Mrs. Chadwick was the only person to question the prudence of a college sophomore getting engaged!?

In all the books so far, the girls' crushes didn't always work out, but any romance angles had happily ever after endings. In this installment, I liked that one of the girls was finally unlucky in love. Yes, it was a shame, but it was also a more realistic portrayal of teenage romance, and anyway, I didn't think she deserved him anyway! Unfortunately, the true-to-life pull-yourself-together-after-a-break-up lesson didn't really fly because apparently, the whole time, she was just waiting by the phone to be at the beck and call of the boy, in case he changed his mind! The book had a chance to show young female readers how one could handle a break-up in a healthy, self-respecting, and empowered way - but then it blew it. Though Becca didn't go through an actual break-up, her pragmatic move-on attitude was much more admirable.

This book definitely had more conflicts than previous books in the series, and I liked that even though everyone traveled over the holidays, no one had the kind of amazing, over-the-top, perfect-in-every-way experience that was so common in earlier books. This time around, the girls really fought, and we finally saw the rocky side of friendships. As I said before, I think Cassidy is now my favorite character (initially I preferred Emma), and I liked how in this book, she kind of stayed above the fray of the fighting. I liked, too, that Cassidy was fully aware that she didn't have a BFF the way Jess and Emma were best friends, or Megan and Becca, but she was okay with that. I'm sure there are plenty of young readers who would identify with that part of Cassidy.

So, overall, while I liked the character development of Becca and Cassidy, I wasn't too fond of Megan's character, and all the conflicts were just too boy-centered for my tastes. Admittedly, though, I'm sure most 15-year-old girls do spend most of their time obsessing over boys, and I'm glad that this book did drive home the "best friends before boyfriends" message.

Daddy-Long-Legs (Daddy-Long-Legs #1) by Jean Webster

★★★★★

I simply adored this book!

Jerusha Abbott is an orphan who is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor. In return, she is asked to write him letters updating him on her progress. Though she is told to address her benefactor as "Mr. John Smith", she actually decides to call him "Daddy-Long-Legs" because the one time she saw him, he was silhouetted against a bright light, and his distorted shadow made him look like he had comically long legs.

I was inspired to read this book because it was mentioned in another book I read, Dear Pen Pal, which included an intriguing quote that really spoke to me: "It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh - I really think that requires spirit." (Page 49)

And Jerusha Abbott sure does have spirit! She is optimistic and light-hearted, witty and funny. She is social and outgoing, but also introspective and morally grounded. This book is perfect for young girls, and the epistolary format makes it an especially fun read, I think. After a brief third-person introduction to Jerusha, the rest of the book consists entirely of the letters Jerusha writes to Daddy-Long-Legs.

I can't wait to read more books by Jean Webster!

Pies & Prejudice (The Mother-Daughter Book Club #4) by Heather Vogel Frederick

★★★½

By now I know that every book in The Mother-Daughter Book Club series involves crazy over-the-top experiences. Still, it's possible to be TOO over-the-top, and this book, even more than the others, had me saying, "Really?!"

Occasionally, I felt downright disappointed. It was irksome enough when the author glossed over the actual public school vacation schedule in Concord in Dear Pen Pal - a minor annoyance as a MA native - but was she really too lazy to Google the age at which kids can get learner's permits in MA? It's 16. Which means Jess and Cassidy, both of whom got their permits in this book, were 16-year-old high school freshmen?! Unlikely. Just a few seconds on Google could have prevented that awkward inconsistency, which really wasn't even worth including in the book, since the girls' driving seemed to serve no significant purpose.

I liked the way Becca continued to become more and more accepted into the group (even though her mother unfortunately remained the comic relief), and again I thought it would've been nice to read some chapters from Becca's perspective. I understand the author needs to incorporate some kind of conflict into each book, and teenage girls are always struggling with queen bee social dynamics, but having Annabelle acting like a Becca 3.0 just felt tired. Certainly there could have been other conflicts that wouldn't have involved recycling old ideas. Emma, as the new girl in town, could have had trouble fitting in. Yes, Jess was the new girl at Colonial Academy last year, but she didn't have any trouble making friends with Adele and Frankie. Emma feeling lonely and homesick would have been interesting, especially since her expectations were so high going in. Or, Cassidy, being so over-extended this year, could have drifted away from the group, and the girls could have learned what it means to really work at maintaining friendships.

Most frustrating, however, was Megan's lack of character in this book. I know the girls are not meant to be goody-two-shoes, but I really just expected more from Megan. In this book, it really became clear how she used to be part of Becca's "Fab Four". This time around, it felt like the only reason she was friends with Jess, Emma, and Cassidy at all was because of the book club - that if the book club dissolved, so would her friendship with the other girls.

Anyway, my favorite story line in this book was Cassidy and Tristan (Cassidy apparently had a never-ending reservoir of time in which to pursue her interests and commitments), and I did appreciate the focus on Jane Austen, as she is one of my favorite authors. (The author pays homage to the works of Jane Austen with a number of references to characters in Jane Austen's books.) I'm still eager to read the next book in the series. I just thought this one fell a bit short.