My Ramblings on Les Miserables

Les Miserables
By: Victor Hugo

Summary (again, for those of you who are not theatre nerds...)

In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre. (from goodreads)

My Ramblings:

Just yesterday I read this article from over at Jezebel about why Tweens/teens love Les Miserables so much despite it being such a dark and depressing show.  I think they nailed it. When I was in High School I loved this show. I thought it was beautiful and heartbreaking and by god did I love Eponine. She was smart and tough and could take care of herself and she loved Marius. She dies in his arms and is happy because not only did she die saving his life, but he is there for her at the very end, to hold her close until she is gone. As she says in the show he was never her's to lose, but despite him not loving her, they were friends and he was there when it counted. What teen wouldn't love that whole story line? I even sang On My Own for every audition I ever did in High School. As an adult I was much more into the adult story lines then I was in High School. I don't remember it being so tragic because I was so focused on the love triangle that I missed everything else. Which is why I'm so glad this movie came out. 

They did a great job. The entire cast. Yes there were some very noticeable weak links. (looking at you Crowe), but by and large they all did the show justice. I thought that Anne Hathaway as Fantine was spectacular (and yes, I did cry) and Hugh Jackman's Val Jean was great. His only weak spot was the new song, Suddenly. I appreciated that they wanted to bridge that gap that existed between Val Jean taking Cosette and her being a teen, but I thought this particular song missed the mark. If you have the opportunity to write a new song, specifically for the actor who will be singing it, then there's no excuse for it to be out of his range. I thought that Jackman sounded like he was reaching for that entire song, which was unfortunate. 

The rest of the cast was great- Across the board I didn't have many complaints, I bought all of them in each of their roles. I especially liked Aaron Tveit as Enjolras and Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche. Sometimes it's easy to forget that this little love story is occurring in the midst of a serious and bloody conflict and I thought that both characters brought you back to what was at stake really fast. Although I did really want to hear more of "Little People". 

I could probably go on and on about the cast and the sets and the costumes (which I loved), but I'll end my ramblings here instead. This is a great story and I'm so glad that everyone involved was committed to making a show that so many people love really come to life on the big screen.

My Ramblings on Wolf Storm by Dee Garretson

Wolf Storm 
By: Dee Garetson
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Author Website

Summary:

This is Stefan's big break. He's on location in the mountains far from home for his first movie role, filming a blockbuster sci-fi adventure. The props, the spaceships, and the trained wolves on set should add up to a dream job, but acting turns out to be much tougher than he ever imagined, and he feels like his inner loser is all that's showing through. From the way his famously stuck-up co-star, Raine, treats him, he's pretty sure she thinks so too. And worst of all, no one will believe his claim that there are wild wolves haunting the forest around the set.

When a blizzard strikes, isolating the young co-stars and bringing hungry feral wolves into the open, Stefan must take on his biggest role yet--working together with his co-stars to survive. With no second takes, they only have one chance to get it right.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Dee Garretson takes suspense and danger to new heights with her thrilling tale of friendship and survival against all odds. (from Goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:

This was a quick and easy read that packed a punch. Centered on Stephan, a young actor taking on his first role, the story hits on a number of elements including relationships, a survival story, and him being a fish out of water and it does it all well.

The author does a nice job of weaving the story together, spending just enough time on Stephan's experiences on set, dealing with rude co-stars and the pressure of getting things right for the camera or risk losing the job. The author hints that Stephan's movie career will be a game changer for his family, his mother is home working and he is there with his aunt. His mother couldn't miss work, so it gives you sense that the money that Stephan will make will change everything for his family, even though the author never explicitly says that. It adds to the pressure that Stephan feels. The relationships that Stephan builds (or tries to avoid) during the first part of the story carry the plot believable into the "surviving a disaster" portion of the book.

As for that section- it's again really well done. Not only do Stephan and his two young co-stars (and one older co-star) survive an avalanche brought on by a blizzard, but they then have to figure out how to deal with wild wolves who are desperate for food while trying to figure out a way to get to help and safety. By keeping the time frame fairly short (a matter of days) and by referencing back to things the characters have learned about survival (like "a wild animal that will approach you in the daylight and without fear is desperate. Get away.") made it believable that these three kids could survive this disaster.

This isn't to say that they don't face serious danger. Besides the wolves there are fires, explosions, more snow, extreme cold and hunger. AND they have to find a way out since they have no way of knowing if anyone is coming for them. The only thing that irked me a little about this book is that I felt like the resolution came too quickly. There was a lot of build up and then... it was over. I won't tell you haw it all resolved, but I can say that I felt like it wrapped up to quickly and neatly for the story that came before it. Maybe that's just me as an adult reading it wanting to see more action and tragedy come out of it, so I won't knock it too much. This is a book for Middle Schoolers and in that respect it was well done. The story managed to get a lot into a short number of pages and I really appreciate that.

My Ramblings on Geek Girl by Holly Smale

Geek Girl
By: Holly Smale
Release Date: February 28, 2013
Author Twitter
Book Received From: Net Galley

Summary:

Harriet Manners knows a lot of things. She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything? (from goodreads)

My Ramblings:

This was a really fun read. As a self-professed geek-girl myself, it was easy to relate to the main character Harriet. Although her vast knowledge of facts far outweighs mine, it was not hard to find common ground with her feelings of being the outsider, of being a little weird and wanting to be something, and someone different. 

****Spoilers Ahead***