Mary Poppins, She Wrote

I am a huge Disney fan.... HUGE! I love all things Disney. So when I saw two of my favorite actors starring in a new movie by Disney I was thrilled! I couldn't wait to see 'Saving Mr. Banks' and when I finally did I definitely was not disappointed! In fact I loved the movie so much that I started to read the book that the movie was based off of. The book is called, 'Mary Poppins, She Wrote' by Valerie Lawson. Unfortunately, unlike the movie the book did disappoint me... a whole lot. It was just soooo dry and factual. I honestly felt like I was reading a student's report that they handed into their teacher. And it wasn't even a good report. It was one of those reports that you find facts from google and then cut and paste words and sentences off the internet together to reach your assigned number of pages that had to be written. It was dull. It had no color. There was no magic whatsoever. I suffered through 25 pages before I gave it up. So my advice is to see the movie and skip the book, which NEVER happens!

Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends

Oh hey guess what?! My favorite author, Shannon Hale has done it again! Her latest and greatest book is called, 'Ever After High: the Storybook of Legends'. This book is written for younger authors, and yes, you can tell, but it is still so cute and I enjoyed it immensely! In this book all of the famous story character's children are attending high school together. There is Raven, daughter of the evil queen. Apple, daughter of Snow White. Maddie, daughter of the Mad Hatter. Daring and Dexter, sons of Prince Charming, and many many more. In their second year of high school the children have to follow in their parent's footsteps and sign the storybook of legends, vowing to fulfill their destinies and live the exact same stories that their parents lived. If they do not sign the book, not only will the story cease to exist, but they will no longer exist either.

Everyone is excited to fulfill their destines and live out the stories of their parents, I mean, who wouldn't want a guaranteed happily every after? Everyone is looking forward to Legacy Day when they can sign the book, everyone that is, except Raven. Raven isn't so sure about following in her mother's footsteps and becoming the evil queen, one of the most hated characters of all time. Raven has a desperate desire to be good, but if she chooses to not be evil, she could make herself and everyone in her story vanish forever. Can she really be that selfish?

Honestly, I know this book is meant for younger readers, but I loved it. It is a story of choice, friendship, adventure, and good vs. evil. It is captivating and exciting, witty and funny. I fell in love with the characters and I know you will too. If you need something light and fluffy, a feel good fantasy, than this is the book for you!

LOVE

"I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me. "

-Allegiant by Veronica Roth-

Two From Galilee

'Two From Galilee' by Marjorie Holmes is the story of Mary and Joseph. This book shows us what happened to them leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ. I loved reading about their love story and the struggles that they went through to finally be together as husband and wife. I love the story of Mary. I think she is one of the bravest, strongest, most faithful women who ever walked the Earth. She was entrusted by God with both a gift, and a huge responsibility, to be the mother of Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer. But this is also the story of Joseph. When Mary told him she was pregnant he could have publicly humiliated her and had her stoned to death. It took great faith to believe her story and love this precious child as his own. These are two amazing people who overcome many trials. Their love is inspiring and one of the reasons,  I believe, that they were chosen by our Father in Heaven to be the earthly parents of His only begotten son. Read this book. You'll love it.

Heaven Is For Real

I was sitting in the movie theater when a preview for a new movie came on the screen. As I was watching it I leaned over and whispered to my husband, “I bet this is based off of the book ‘Heaven is For Real”. Just as I finished this sentence the movie title popped up on the screen, and in giant letters were the words, “Heaven is for Real.” Yes. Nailed it. And then my husband turned to me and called me a book nerd haha. I personally hadn’t read the book but working as a librarian I have seen it come and go many times. I decided I better read it if I was going to watch the movie because that’s just kind of a rule in my book: Read first, watch second.

I loved this book. I would highly recommend it. It is a book of hope, love, family, and faith. But it is also a story of struggle and overcoming our trials. It is written simply and beautifully and makes you realize how much our Father in Heaven really does love little children. The book mentions a little girl prodigy who has visions of heaven and then paints them. I had to look her up on youtube and she really is amazing. I’ll post a video of her below too. It’s stories like these, among other things of course, that leave me with little doubt that heaven really is for real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vzRpYp7WME

Gasp!

This is so me

My Story

Last night I finished reading 'My Story' by Elizabeth Smart with Chris Stewart. In case you lived under a rock in 2002, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her bed in Salt Lake City by knife point by Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell was a religious fanatic who believed that he was god's servant. He called himself Immanuel and thought that god had told him to take seven wives- all of which had to be young Mormon virgins. Elizabeth was the first wife that he chose for himself. This is her story about the nine months that she spent in captivity with Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee. She tells about the many horrors that she endured during this time and is pretty open about her experience. This is not a book for a young reader by any means. Some of the things that she talks about filled me with horror and dread. The things that Mitchell made her suffer through are completely inhumane and things that no little girl should ever have to experience. But this is a story of survival and hope. It has a happy ending because Elizabeth made a choice to not let this horrific experience ruin her life. I am amazed at what a strong, successful person she has become. She turned tragedy into triumph. Although this book is graphic at times, I would highly recommend it.

Gulliver's Travels

I have a goal to at least try to read all of the classics. My latest attempt was to read 'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathan Swift.... I didn't get very far. It kind of makes me feel like a bad reader when I have to stop reading a book, but dang, it was SO boring! I thought that this story was going to be an adventure, but the author is all about facts and measurements. He explained how everything and everyone looked in enormous detail, so much so that I was bored to tears. I tried to get through this book, I really did, but it just didn't work out. There are so many great books out there that I honestly feel like reading shouldn't be such a chore. Kuddos to you if you liked this book and actually got through the entire thing, but this was not the book for me.

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