Amazing or Extreme?

I couldn’t help but comment on a recent segment that aired on Oprah. The show was called “Amazing Kids,” and featured some kids who were, truly, astonishing. Oprah’s co-host for the show was a 9-year-old boy from Canada, who began hosting his own show at the age of 6, and currently boasts 3 TV shows as well as 5 DVDs and 6 books. Other guests included a 13-year-old prodigy from India who performed surgery at the age of 6 and is now searching for the cure for cancer, a 5-year-old math genius who became a Mensa member at the age of 3, and an 8-year old opera singer who can perform in 4 different languages and has been playing piano for five years.

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

If you’ve read James Patterson’s other books, chances are you’re not a kid. Unless, of course, you’ve been reading his Maximum Ride series, the newest of which recently hit shelves. For those who don’t know, the series follows a group of kids (the “flock”) who live in the not-too-distant future and possess bird-like qualities – such as the ability to fly. The main character is Max who, despite the name, is a girl, and the leader of the group as well as the narrator of the stories. The children, ranging in age from 6 to 14, were all experimented on (hence the bird DNA they now possess) and are now running for their lives. The first two books of the series were incredibly well received, resulting in FanFiction sites, blogs, a MySpace profile, and even a campaign to get the series put on the big screen. The newest in the series, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, finds the group on the run once again, with their adventures bringing them to locations as diverse as Dallas and Germany and consisting of everything from dungeons to romance to chocolate chip cookies. Young adults will find that the books are not only incredibly exciting adventure stories, made up of vivid imagery that brings the characters and their stories to life, but also that they contain aspects of life to which all kids can relate. These are the kinds of books kids will love and parents won’t understand – at least not from the animated synopses their kids provide. (Unless, of course, you were one of the parents able to crack the Pokemon code of speech.) The stories are both compelling and entertaining, and they all contain a healthy dose of both humor and fantasy. With a gap in the teen and tween literary sector thanks to the conclusion of the Harry Potter books, a new series will now have to step up in order to captivate young minds and instill an early love of reading – and these could be the stories to do just that.

Image: Amazon.com

Get Out-of-Jail Free Card?

First it was Nicole Richie's heroin addiction and excessive partying that got her noticed, then her childish spats with other “it” celebrities, and, finally, of course, her extreme eating disorder. (Hey, she can deny all she wants but that skeletal frame is just not healthy). And now – here comes baby.

    Though Nicole has only recently confirmed that she is expecting her first child with rocker boyfriend Joel Madden, rumors have been circulating for weeks, as it’s been nearly impossible to ignore the headlines and photos being spread basically everywhere. While usually congratulations are in order, I’ve got to bite my tongue here. The timing seems a little too coincidental.
With the Simple Life star facing trial on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence from her arrest back in December, not to mention watching her pal, Paris Hilton, getting sent to jail—twice, it’s no surprise Nicole is dragging her heels.  It seems a little suspicious that after postponing her court date a number of times, she then shocks the public with news of this pregnancy.

Mist, Fog, Romance…Jane Austen

I will admit, I am one of the first to jump at a new Jane Austen flick. Whether it is the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice or the big screen hit Sense and Sensibility, there is arguably no better love storywriter than Jane. She, to me, originated the classic love story themes of rich versus poor, integrity versus wealth and power.

So it was no surprise that I immediately scheduled a Mom's Night Out with my friends when I first heard about the new movie Becoming Jane, a fictional back-story of the author Jane Austen and her ill-fated romance with the arrogant Tom Lefroy. The relationship between the characters, played by Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy, is meant to be the inspiration behind the classical banter between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. McAvoy does remind the viewer of a real life Mr. Darcy, with his tousled hair and a flicker of danger behind his large, blue eyes. And Anne’s classical beauty is the perfect canvas for Jane’s clever wit and fiery emotions.