Book Review: Mean Girls: A Novel

Release Date: September 12, 2017
Author: Micol Ostow
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Length: 304 pages
Source: Review Copy from Publisher

You know the story--or do you?

Cady Heron grew up homeschooled in Africa with scientist parents as her teachers, monkeys as her classmates and the African plains as her playground. But when her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, she finds herself a stranger in a strange land: high school.

With no prior research to guide her, Cady's forced to figure out North Shore High all on her own. Suddenly she finds herself sucked into Girl World as a new member of the social elite dubbed "The Plastics." Cady discovers that unlike the wild, Girl World doesn't have any rules--especially when you maybe, possibly, okay definitely, have a giant crush on their ruthless leader's ex-boyfriend. Turns out, life in high school might be even more brutal than a showdown on the Savannah.

Based on the screenplay by Tina Fey, this retelling of the cult classic film includes tons of extra, never-before-seen bonus content.

    

Review:

Reviewer's Note: So, it's obvious that this isn't an original work of fiction. The movie this novel is based on is a cult classic film and I have yet to meet a person who hasn't seen it. Because of that, I won't be reviewing the story in this book, but more of a look at how well the story was adapted for this novel.

"Behind the Scenes" Extras: This book is riddled with North Shore Announcements, School Newspaper Articles, text messages between characters and other random extra little bits. At first, it felt a bit awkward because it mostly felt like a way for the author to inject forced easter eggs into the story, however later I came to really enjoy them as they started to feel more like a peek behind the curtain and showing a wider look at the larger story and the bits of the story that we might not have seen watching the movie.

General Adaptation Notes: Okay, so this is mostly a faithful novelization of the movie, however, there are minor changes and additions to the movie. The minor changes didn't bother me that much, only really one time during the first 3-way calling attack where a now infamous line is changed to make more sense. However, it was the additions to the tale that really got me in the end. There aren't too many and really only one that stuck with me, the fact that we actually see what happens after Cady visits Regina after her bus accident, and it really felt like it could have been in the movie, there's even a line that made me seriously crack up.

Audiobook Notes: So, even though Scholastic generously provided me with a physical review copy, I decided to listen to the audiobook through my local library and honestly I wish I hadn't. The performance wasn't so bad that I would have stopped listening to it, obviously, but it seriously felt that either the narrator hadn't ever seen the movie, or that she was trying to put her own spin on the characters which seriously rubbed me the wrong way. The characters sounded nothing like their movie counterparts and at times they sounded too similar to each other and if I hadn't seen the movie about a hundred times I might have gotten confused on who was talking. The audiobook won't factor into my overall rating, but I thought I'd let you know my experience with it.

Rating:

Sorry for such a short review but without reviewing the actual story there wasn't all that much to talk about. I did like all the little extras and while there were a few moments that rubbed me the wrong way in the text, I don't really fault the author for trying to make a narrative choice. The additions felt seamless and the characters really felt like the ones from the movie. Overall, if you're a fan of the movie this book is definitely a fun and interesting ride.

Audio Book Review: Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side! (Star Wars Illustrated Novels #3)

Release Date: September 22, 2015
Author: Tom Angleberger
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press
Narrator: Marc Thompson
Source: Library Audio Book

It's the Star Wars story with everything.

Jabba, Boba, Wicket, Rebo, Salacious Crumb, Nien Nunb, "It's a trap," Luke doing a flip and catching his lightsaber, speeder bikes, Yoda, ghost Yoda, the rancor, the Falcon, Wedge, Lando, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C-3PO, R2 . . . but there's also a second Death Star, the Emperor's hideous evil smile, and Luke's final confrontation with Darth Vader!

It's a lot, but is it too much?

Of course not!

You and I, we LOVE Star Wars. So open this book and hang on.

We're about to make the jump to lightspeed!

    

Reviewer's Note: Since Star Wars is so iconic, and this is an adaptation of the sixth episode in the series, I've decided to forgo my usual spoiler-free review in an effort to better review this book, so if you haven't seen the original Star Wars Trilogy (Ep. IV-VI) I will most likely bring up spoilers from time to time. Also, since this is an adaptation and not a re-imagining I've gotten rid of some of the review sections I normally use to instead comment on how I enjoyed the adaptation and to comment on the aspects of the audio book I listened to.

Review:

Protagonists: So going into this book I didn't quite know what to expect. Both installments before this one had some sort of gimmick to them, the first with the three separate sections following one narrator at a time and the second with the whole Jedi Lesson, Luke/Second-Person POV thing. This book however has no particular focus and instead has sort of an omniscient third-person point of view that really gives proper time and attention to each of these characters. Specifically I'd like to talk about Luke's struggle to remain on the light side of the force during his final battle with Darth Vader and Darth Sidious. In the movie the struggle is plainly seen during the fight both cinematically and portrayed by the actor, but on paper it's harder to convey those emotions and I believe this author did a phenomenal job.

Romance: So, this section won't be too long. If you've read my other reviews of this series you probably know my morbid fascination with the fact that in the Star Wars movies Luke and Leia share more than one kiss before finding out that they're related and yet we never see them react in any way to that fact. They accept their role in each other's lives and it never seems to affect them that at one point Luke had feelings for Leia and that on more than one occasion they kissed. Now going into this book I was interested to see how the author would handle it, hoping he would make some sort of off-handed reference to it, possibly finding a logical reason to dismiss it all together, instead though the author takes the movie's route and never once acknowledges this anomaly.

Adaptation Notes: Since this book has no central gimmick, save possibly that the author breaks the fourth wall and talks to the reader now and then, we were able to get probably the most complete Star Wars adaptation in this series. While the author did seem to ramble on about things that felt more unnecessary than needed and referenced the prequel movies more than I would have liked, there were also some great moments and extra content to the story that helped make certain things make more sense. However there were some things that were cut out of the original story that while they weren't particularly needed, did make for a more incomplete adaptation.

Audio Book Notes: As always the audio books of this series are fantastic.The ambient sounds, musical scores, and voice acting of Marc Thompson bring this entire story to life. While I wouldn't say I was super invested in this audio book, it wasn't for the lack of story or the way the audio book was produced. After listening to this trilogy I've begun to wonder about other Star Wars works read by Thompson and wonder if they have the same theatricality as this one. 

Rating:

So as I said, I wasn't as emotionally invested in this book as I thought I would be, in fact I found myself spacing out a lot and not really caring to go back. It's not that this isn't a great adaptation, but since this story is something I can experience in less than half the time it takes to listen to the audio book, and even though the audio book is brilliantly produced everything just sort of felt a bit pointless.

Audio Book Review: The Empire Strikes Back So You Want to Be a Jedi? (Star Wars Illustrated Novels #2)

Release Date: September 22, 2015
Author: Adam Gidwitz
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press
Narrator: Marc Thompson
Source: Library Audio Book

Acclaimed, New York Times best-selling author Adam Gidwitz delivers a captivating retelling of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back like you've never experienced before, infusing the iconic, classic tale of good versus evil with a unique perspective and narrative style that will speak directly to today's young readers while enhancing the Star Wars experience for core fans of the saga.

This illustrated novel is the second in the highly-anticipated series and features richly detailed art by celebrated Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig-the creative mind behind the prequels characters Darth Maul and Padme Amidala. Fans old and new will be delighted by this beautifully crafted book and the unexpected twists in this retelling of a beloved story.

    

Reviewer's Note: Since Star Wars is so iconic, and this is an adaptation of the fifth episode in the series, I've decided to forgo my usual spoiler-free review in an effort to better review this book, so if you haven't seen the original Star Wars Trilogy (Ep. IV-VI) I will most likely bring up spoilers from time to time. Also, since this is an adaptation and not a re-imagining I've gotten rid of some of the review sections I normally use to instead comment on how I enjoyed the adaptation and to comment on the aspects of the audio book I listened to.

Review:

Protagonist: Unlike the adaptation for A New Hope this story is told, for the most part, in the second person POV, where "you" are Luke Skywalker as he trains with Master Yoda to become a better Jedi. The use of the second person really only added to the gimmick of this book, which I'll get to later and didn't really enhance my experience of this story any. I was happy to see though that the author didn't leave out the parts of the story that Luke wasn't in, instead he used the third person to tell those parts of the story. Honestly I couldn't really feel the character development, at least not in the way I could when I watched the movie. I felt like the author stuck too much with the gimmick and wasn't able to really flesh out this world all that much.

Romance: So, I am by no means saying that the romance of this story is a large or even vital plot point of this epic saga, however since there is a bit of a love triangle here between Han, Leia, and Luke, and since we know Luke and Leia are siblings, how it was handled knowing that information I felt needed to be touched on. So first we have the whole Luke and Leia kiss thing that many people I know look back on and cringe, I felt that was handled rather well, there was nothing too romantic about it and Luke's inner monologue wasn't really in the romantic pining mood. However, even though the romance isn't vital to the story, the author does touch upon the Han and Leia romance and if he had found a way to skip it altogether I would have been fine with that, but his insistence on skipping over the "mushy parts" made it so he failed to evoke the romantic chemistry needed for the bit of romance he kept in to feel earned.

Adaptation Notes: The gimmick of this book is that it's essentially a guide to becoming a Jedi and it uses Luke's journey in The Empire Strikes Back as sort of a backdrop in explaining how to become a Jedi. Each chapter or so there would be a little lesson or test on becoming a Jedi, this usually has to do with keeping calm and not giving into fear, hate, or anger. I think for a younger audience this would be really cool, but for me, at 22, it didn't really add that much to the story. Unlike the previous installment this one felt very specifically aimed at a much younger audience. It felt as though this was aimed more at a lower-MG audience whereas A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy felt as though it was all ages-MG or lower-YA. The point is that this very much felt like I was being talked down to with the author explaining what everything is in a very plain matter of fact way.

Audio Book Notes: Once again this audio book is outstanding. It uses ambient sounds, sound effects, and music to really immerse the listener into this story. I think without the brilliant quality of this audio book I may have given up on this book. Marc Thompson once again delivers an amazing performance and really does each character justice. Since this is my second time listening to him I was able to more easily pick up on the fact that he was imitating the voices and that the audio book production company didn't actually sneak in James Earl Jones to read the Darth Vader lines.

Rating:

So if it wasn't for the gimmick and the fact that I felt talked down to when listening to this audio book I think it could have made for a really great adaptation, but it was just kind of awkwardly fit together and the extra bits of information added wasn't very helpful.

Audio Book Review: A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy (Star Wars Illustrated Novels #1)

Release Date: September 22, 2015
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press
Narrators: Marc Thompson and Rebecca Soler
Length: 336 pages
Source: Audio book from Library

Acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Bracken delivers a captivating retelling of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope like you've never experienced before, infusing the iconic, classic tale of good versus evil with a unique perspective and narrative style that will speak directly to today's young readers while enhancing the Star Wars experience for core fans of the saga.

This illustrated novel is the first in the highly-anticipated series and features richly detailed art by celebrated Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig. Fans old and new will be delighted by this beautifully crafted book and the unexpected twists in this retelling of a beloved story.

    

Reviewer's Note: Since Star Wars is so iconic, and this is an adaptation of the fourth episode in the series, I've decided to forgo my usual spoiler-free review in an effort to better review this book, so if you haven't seen the original Star Wars Trilogy (Ep. IV-VI) I will most likely bring up spoilers from time to time. Also, since this is an adaptation and not a re-imagining I've gotten rid of the world-building and predictability sections I normally use to instead comment on how I enjoyed the adaptation and to comment on the aspects of the audio book I listened to.

Review:

Protagonists: This book is told from the third person perspectives of Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, in that order. With each new section comes insights into the minds of these three characters during the events of A New Hope, I felt that Alexandra Bracken kept these characters very true to themselves, making new pieces of information that weren't a part of the movie fit right in with ease without seeming like something was off. Since we get more insight into the minds of the characters they definitely come off more developed than just watching the movie would.

Romance: So this section isn't really to talk about the romance in this book, but more to point out the glorious lack of it. After reading William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope nearly teo years ago, I was nervous to read any more Star Wars novelizations or adaptations because, while Luke's attraction to Leia, who is, unknown to both of them, his sister, is seen in the movie it's very light and Ian Doescher's work made it too heavy handed. This adaptation though captures it perfectly. the feelings that Luke has seem innocent and harmless, more of a hope of love than the intense feelings Doescher portrayed.

Adaptation Notes: So, much like when I read Verily, A New Hope, I decided to watch the movie afterwords to better compare how this book stacks up. After just finishing the book I was a bit hesitant on how it was formatted. Since it's told in three chunks, each one focusing on a different main character, there were quite a few things that were taken out of it, such as everything with Luke in it from when we first meet him in the film to when he enters the Mos Eisley Cantina, in addition there were quite a few things added in as well. A lot of the stuff that was taken out is seen via flashback later in the book, or added in someway that doesn't really affect the current part of the story. After I finished the book I felt like the author had taken out too much story for this gimmick to really pay off, however after watching the movie again I have to say that nothing taken out was vitally important and in the end it kept very true to the movie.

Audio Book Notes: Since I listened to the audio book and it wasn't a typical audio book I thought it only wise to comment on how it may impact your experience should you chose to listen to the book instead of reading a copy. This audio book is fantastic, first off, there are two narrators Marc, whom I've heard of before but have never listened to before, and Rebecca, who reads the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. Both narrators were fantastic but Marc's got his impressions down pat, when he reads Darth Vader or Han Solo's lines he sounds nearly identical to James Earl Jones and Harrison Ford, so much so that I had to try and find if they were somehow a part of this book but unaccredited for some reason. That's not all, all throughout this book are sound effects, music, and other things to really bring it to life. It all felt so immersive that it's got ot be one of the best audio books I've ever read, the only thing that would make it better would have been if it had a full cast to read it.

Rating:

After just finishing the book I would have given this book 4 stars, thinking that the author took too much out of the story and I would have been wrong, luckily I rewatched the movie and found that the author found the perfect way to keep the Princess/Scoundrel/Farm Boy gimmick and still keep the necessary parts of the story. The audio book was also beautifully produced and the story and writing itself were fantastic, given how great this series has started off I'm a bit hesitant to continue as the rest of this series is written by other authors.