Review: Charlie St. Cloud

Charlie St. Cloud by: Ben Sherwood
320 pgs.

Synopsis

In a snug New England fishing village, Charlie St. Cloud tends the lawns and monuments of an ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the car accident that claimed his brother's life, Charlie can see, talk to, and even play catch with Sam's spirit. Into this magical world comes Tess Carrol, a captivating woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that propels her into Charlie's life. There Beautiful and uncommon connection leads to a race against time and a choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go-and the discovery that miracles can happen if we simply open our hearts.

Opinion

I really enjoyed this book. Definitely made one of my top ten. It was very inspiring and it's amazing the connection that Charlie and Sam have. The ending wasn't really how I expected it to be be, but I liked the ending that it had. It was a very religious/spiritual book in Eliz and I's opinion. It had some very inspiring words and a few scriptures. There was also an Atheist in the book that started to rethink his relationship with God in the end. It was really touching and it really made you think... Charlie has to live with the thought that he killed his brother against a drunk driver that he could have dodged, his mom and all the rest of his family is several hours away. I know I would burst after a few months of that. It's also kind of a mystery, you never really knew what was going to happen next. It always surprised you. The book was kind of disturbing at the beginning, because of the whole crash, and had minor language throughout. There was also one part that Eliz and I skipped... it was a love scene. I'm not sure how explicit it got, but be aware. I think it was chapter 25. Ages 14+

Update

Eliz and I finished Charlie St. Cloud yesterday and we both loved it. It was very inspiring and kind of a sad movie. The outcome was different than what I expected but I loved the book and i can't wait for the movie to come out. Today we have also started The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of the Narnia books. The movie comes out in December but we wanted to read it soon. After that, we are going to start The Lightning Thief, which also is a movie, already out on DVD. We need some more suggestions for books into movies!! We were thinking maybe Eat, Pray, Love. But we aren't so sure yet. So please comment some more on this and give us some suggestions. We will be posting a review on Charlie St. Cloud soon!

-Ace

Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by: John Boyne
240 pgs.

Synopsis

Berlin 1942
When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.
But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

Opinion

I saw this movie before I read the book and I liked it. It was very depressing, but that's understandable. It's a movie about a boy meeting a Jew who lives in a concentration camp in 1942. When I found out that the movie was based on this novel, I was interested. I ended up getting the book for my birthday, so I picked it up and read it. I liked the book better than the movie. I thought that the book wasn't as depressing, because it was in Bruno's head, and you weren't seeing it for yourself in a movie. It was written very well. John Boyne is one of my new favorite authors. He created very a typical family who's dad was a commandent, and they had to move from place to place in order for him to keep his job. He created a tense relationship between Bruno and his sister Gretel, just like every other brother and sister. He just did a very good job with the book overall. There was some mild violence, as well as some extremely cruel and harsh punishments the soldiers gave to the slaves. There wasn't anything else that you wouldn't expect in a realistic fiction book about a concentration camp. Very good book! Ages 10+

Update

Eliz and I have decided that we are going to start Charlie St. Cloud tomorrow. We are going to finish it in 2 weeks and than are going to start on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of the Narnia books. Some other books that we will read together in the future are The Lightning Thief, The Red Pyramid, and Children of the Lamp. We would love to hear your thoughts on any other books that you think we should read together. We will hopefully get some new reviews on here soon.

-Ace

Our Apologies

Eliz and I would like to apologize to all of the people out there reading our blog. Life is soooo time consuming. We have been extremely busy going on vacations and reading a lot and spending time with family and friends. We haven't posted anything on our blog in forever!! A little bit of an update - I have just finished Breaking Dawn, the fourth in the Twilight Saga. I have also finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Eliz went to the bookstore and got a couple new books, and she recently finished the second and third in the Land of Elyon series. We have picked a book that we are going to read together in the middle of July. It is a novel by Ben Sherwood called Charlie St. Cloud. It will be out in the theatres July 30th. We will try and keep you guys updated as much as possible. Thank you for your patience!!!

-Ace