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Friday, January 03, 2014
Lost in London: Charming Premise, So-So Execution
1:45 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Jordan Jacoby, a 13-year-old girl from Wilmington, Delaware, has led an utterly un-extraordinary life. Her parents don't let her do anything (no R-rated movies, no boy/girl activities, no riding her bike without a helmet, etc.); thus, she has done nothing, nothing at all. So, when she hears about a school-sponsored student exchange program, offering a week of exploration and learning in London, she knows it's just the thing she needs to add a little (okay, a lot) of excitement to her life. Jordan's parents aren't nearly as enthusiastic about the idea of letting their only child loose in a foreign city, but when a family friend offers to house and chaperone Jordan in England, they relent.
Jordan could not be more thrilled with her hop across the pond. She can't wait to soak up England's history and culture. There's only one problem: her hosts. Mrs. Littleton's got better things to do than showing Jordan the sites and her stepdaughter, Caroline, is even less interested. All she wants to do is shop and hang out with her friends. Jordan doesn't mind kicking it with cool British kids—until things get a little crazy. Suddenly, she's getting more excitement than she ever wanted. Can Jordan get herself out of her English (mis)adventure without getting herself killed, landing herself in jail or failing her big school assignment? That's starting to look very unlikely. Very unlikely indeed.
As you can tell from its cover, Lost in London by Cindy Callaghan, is a fast, fun, adventure-filled read. Although there's not a lot of depth to her character, it's easy to like Jordan. I empathized with her feelings of discomfort among Caroline's wealthy, sophisticated friends, while smiling at all her zany escapades. This easy, breezy tale lost serious charm points with me, though, because of several things: passive prose, underdeveloped characters and totally far-fetched plot twists. A sharper, more realistic framework would have made Lost in London a whole lot more satisfying. As is, it just felt forgettable and, overall, kind of meh.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Lost in London from the generous folks at BookSparks PR. Thank you!
Thursday, January 02, 2014
Because What's a New Year Without a New Challenge?
9:59 AM
My favorite (bloggy) part of a new year used to be picking out reading challenges to work on for the next 12 months. Then, I realized how overwhelmed they made me feel and how little progress I actually made on them! These days, I only choose one or two that really tickle my fancy; if I don't complete them, I don't beat myself up about it. It's just for fun, after all.
I've had the most fun doing challenges where you track in which states your books take place, so Book Journey's Where Are You Reading Challenge sounded right up my alley. The setting up of a Google map is a little beyond my abilities, so I'll just keep track of my progress on my right sidebar, as I've been doing for the past couple years. If you'd like to join in this fun challenge (bonus: if you read books set in all 50 states by December 31, 2014, you'll be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble), click on over to Book Journey and sign up.
Happy 2014!
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Oh, 2013, Where in the World Have You Gone?
7:22 PM
So, it's New Year's Day, 2014. Wait a minute. What? How in the heck did that happen? Honestly, these last few weeks have flown by in a haze of travelling and recovering from travelling. I've been reading (I never really stop), but I just haven't had time to tackle the long list of reviews I need to write nor the pile of books I need to read. I need to catch up. A lot. For now, though, I'm going to pretend I'm still sitting in front of that gorgeous view above, with my feet up and a book on my knee. Serene, isn't it? Believe it or not, this is a scene I got to enjoy just about every day for the first 18 years of my life. I don't get to see it much these days, but when I do return to the Motherland (the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon/Washington), it still takes my breath away. Just because I love it so much, here's another shot (taken on a clearer day):
Since I'm here, how about a little year-end recap? The stats are a bit pathetic (I blame games that end in With Friends), but here you go:
Total Books Read: 136 (*cringe*—my goal was 200)
Number of Fiction Books Read: 125 (92%)
Number of Non-Fiction Books Read: 11 (8%)
Number of Adult Books Read: 58 (43%)
Number of YA Books Read: 55 (40%)
Number of Middle Grade Books Read: 23 (17%)
Number of Books Read by Female Authors: 113 (83%)
Number of Books Read by Male Authors: 23 (17%)
Number of Books Read by LDS Authors: 20 (15%)
Number of Books Read from personal collection: 25 (18%)
Number of Books Read, review copies: 80 (59%)
Number of Books Read from library: 31 (23%)
Reading Challenges Joined in 2013: 2
Reading Challenges Completed in 2013: O (ahem)
What does it all mean? Well, I read 21 fewer books than last year (21!), but I did read some really good ones. Also, I need to enjoy more non-fiction. My goal in 2014 will be (once again) to read 200 books. We'll see if I can do it this year. Other than that, I'm just planning to catch up on reviews, read more good books and keep on doing what I do. Simple, right? I hope so!
Thank you to all my readers for your generous support in 2013. I love talking books with you—those conversations are what make book blogging so much fun for me. I'm looking forward to a lot more of them in 2014. Happy New Year!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Clean, Quality Family Entertainment? You Gosh Darn Better Believe It!
1:00 AM
(Image from Deseret Book)
Finding clean, quality family entertainment is not easy these days. In fact, it's pretty much impossible. Which is why Studio C, a sketch comedy series produced by BYUtv, feels so refreshing. When I popped in the DVD of the show's first two seasons, which I received for review the other day, my kids (ages 15, 11, 9 and 5) came running. Literally. Even though they had already seen most of the episodes on the DVD, they gathered around and watched them again, laughing uproariously. For hours. When bedtime rolled around, they kept begging for just one more episode. That's how entertaining Studio C can be.
What is Studio C, exactly? Think Saturday Night Live with a smaller, younger cast presenting material you wouldn't be embarrassed to view with your toddler or your grandmother. The sketches parody everyday life in all its hilarious awkwardness. Although it's produced at BYU, the show does not talk about Mormonism at all—religion is only brought up in a very, very broad sense. Studio C was created to appeal to the general public.
The hour-long program airs on Monday nights at 10 p.m. EST/8:00 p.m. MST. You can also watch it online at www.byutv.com/studioc . The first two seasons are also available now on DVD. You'll find all your favorite sketches and series, including "Just Jeremy," "Shoulder Angel," "The Awkwardness Avoidance Viking," as well as my personal favorite, "Captain Literally." Also included are outtakes from Season 2 and exclusive features. At around $20 (Deseret Book has the lowest price, $19.99), the DVD makes a fun, affordable entertainment that can be enjoyed by anyone. Just ask my kids!
In the interest of providing you a fair and honest review of the DVD, I will say that because Studio C's cast is small, the sketches/characters do get a little redundant. And, of course, some of the sketches are funnier and more clever than others. For a low-budget show using non-professional actors, though, it does a pretty darn good job.
To give you a little taste of Studio C, here are two of my favorite sketches. Book lovers will especially appreciate the second one :)
(Note: I reviewed this DVD as part of a Studio C blog tour run by Kathy over at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. I received it for free in exchange for my honest review.)
(Note: I reviewed this DVD as part of a Studio C blog tour run by Kathy over at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. I received it for free in exchange for my honest review.)
Labels:Comedy,DVD Reviews,Studio C | 2
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