Where'd She Go?

IF I STAY Series                        3 Stars

IF I STAY                      By: Gayle Forman                   3 Stars

The description of this book kept me from reading it many times. Eventually a movie preview helped me realize the storyline actually sounded interesting. The movie helped me realize it was about a girl who has the perfect family, perfect boyfriend and a promising opportunity at Julliard, only to have it all snatched away in a horrible accident leaving her to choose life after so much loss or death with her sorrows.

At any given time I have a plethora of books, too many to ever actually read. For this reason, when I try to simply my stacks, I look at reviews for the questionable books. The reviews I found for this book, specifically on Goodreads, were mostly positive. Fabulous!  It has felt like forever since I have read a really good fictional book. It is a shame that I didn’t feel as attached to this book as others seem to be. Good thing it is a quick read.

Mia wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t think her “perfect family” was actually that perfect. It felt more like they were teenage parents who couldn’t comprehend that Mia didn’t need friends, she need responsible adults. There were some moments when it seemed like her mom and dad were starting to get it right, mainly her father based around when her younger brother, Teddy, was born. However, it never seemed to last long. Once I thought they had figured things out they did something else that reverted them back to the 60’s hippy/flowerchild, everything is groovy, underage drinking and teenage sex is totally fly, irresponsible parenting style. Even though they had Mia around 23, they seemed like they were teenagers that missed the opportunity to grow-up, so they never really did. Ok, I my rant is out, moving on.

To be honest, I didn’t get into most of the relationships presented in the book. Mia’s boyfriend, Adam, was likeable, but I never really felt the passion that made me want to root for them to be together even if she did get into Julliard. Plus the sex scene where they played each other like instruments was incredibly weird. Maybe you had to be there. Frankly, I am glad I wasn’t.

There were only two relationships that seemed to work. Mia as the first to see Teddy when he was born, being one of them. They just stared at each other, kind of like a parental bond with their child. (Mia did seem to be the responsible one, even if she made teen decisions, hey, she was an actual teenager.) There were certain situations were only Mia could comfort Teddy. A moment when he had yet to outgrow her showing affection when he put a stop to others doing similar things. That was pretty adorable. In fact, Mia never seemed to really care that her parents were gone. The only time she seemed to struggle with how much she had actually lost was when she worried about Teddy.

The only other relationship I understood within the book was Mia with her best friend Kim. They went from being forced to always be together, and hating it, to being inseparable. Some of the best moments include when Mia was going to give up music and Kim convinced her not too. Not only did she recognize what a horrible decision that would be for Mia, she understood enough to present summer music camps to Mia’s parents. Kim furthered showed her friendship to Mia by making sure Adam was at the hospital by physically bringing him there. On top of that she collaborated with him to make sure he got in to see her, despite the fact that Kim and Adam were never really friends in the first place. A true friend really looks out for the other’s interests and future.

The most redeeming part of the book was the author’s decision to portray Mia’s musical instrument as the cello. I am not quite sure if it was planned or a pleasant coincidence. The haunting melody of a cello is the perfect backdrop to describe Mia’s life, current predicament and decisions she has to make. It is the one thing that truly sucked me in. In fact, it is the cello that finally caught my attention in the movie preview. Even though this book was only average for me, the storyline still has so much potential. I hope the movie can portray the attachments I was unable to feel within the book pages.

 

WHERE SHE WENT                  By: Gayle Forman                   2.8 Stars

This book is all from Adam’s point of view. Three years have passed since Mia’s accident. Adam is a big time rock star who hasn’t handled what life sent him very well. He has a small drug problem and hates playing with his band. The storyline is him finding out what really happened with Mia and why she left.

These two books weren’t really for me. I didn’t find myself really liking anything about them until about 60ish pages from the end of the 2^nd book. I can see the appeal that others might have for them, but I didn’t really enjoy reading about trying to be hip or cool or in or whatever they call it now days. I liked when it got down to the relationships and didn’t so much care about the lifestyle scenes. If the movie has a lot of cello in it, I might still want to see it.

Picture Book Author: Oliver Jeffers

LOST AND FOUND       By: Oliver Jeffers        4 Stars                         DVD: 5 Stars (Favorites!)

Like many of the entertainment forms, I found LOST AND FOUND at my local library. The movie was the first thing I noticed. The cover was brightly colored with the simple picture of a penguin and boy floating in an umbrella. It was too much for me to ignore. Who said you can’t judge something by the cover? When the cover stated it was based on a picture book by Oliver Jeffers, I had obtained it as well as the sequel, UP AND DOWN.

I watched the movie with a few choice little ones; one of which always chose to follow the movie along with the picture book. I am sure it will sound familiar to some of you that even when an entertaining movie is on everyone still has other electronics out. As if the one activity is simply not enough to allow your full attention. That was not the case with this movie. Like the book, it is a story of few words causing everyone to pay closer attention. The kids were compelled by the movie and were completely lost in the story of friendship.

LOST AND FOUND is a story of a penguin that appears on a boy’s doorstep. The boy, thinking the penguin is lost, tries to find out where he comes from and return him to his rightful home. This leads to a trip to the South Pole. Over the course of the story the boy realizes the penguin was actually just lonely and a close friendship evolves.

The reason I gave the movie more stars (and added it as one of my favorites) was based on the fact that you get more of the story and relationship of the characters. You see how the boy wants to do the right thing, yet he doesn’t seem overly friendly to the penguin. The penguin is just one of those characters you can’t help but adore. In fact, this movie was so adorable I could barely stand it. Even the little ones seemed to feel emotions for the characters friendship that make the story endearing to all of us. Add in the brilliant colors and simplicity (yet detail within its simplicity), I just couldn’t help but be completely entranced within the story.

 

I had to read other books by Oliver Jeffers as I was enthralled with his story-telling ways. I haven’t read all of them, but below is a list of a few favorites.

 

THE INCREDIBLE BOOK EATING BOY             5 Stars

What literary person wouldn’t love the idea of books increasing our knowledge? Plus, the illustrations are amazing! Many of the pages illustrate pages of other books as the background. Other times there are random words, letters, maps and numbers strewn about. Then when you get to the end there is a bite mark on the corner of the book as if the boy had taken a chunk out of the exact one you are reading. Brilliant.

 

HOW TO CATCH A STAR                     4.5 Stars

The illustrations are still good, but not quite as creative as THE INCREDIBLE BOOK EATING BOY. The ending of the story is just to perfect to not love the entire book.