Kayla's Book Nook

Genre: Fantasy/Fiction Publication Date: 2009 Synopsis: The first novel in series, Fallen, follows the main character, Luce. Luce has recently fallen into some trouble. At her last school she accidentally started a fire and a boy died in it. Luce was blamed and in order to keep her from juvie, her family sends her to a reformatory school. Luce arrives at the school and is immediately drawn to another student, Daniel. Although, Daniel does not seem to feel the same about Luce. She is pulled into a relationship with another student, Cal, even though her mind never strays for from Daniel. Luce digs deeper and deeper into the quirkiness of the student body and especially Daniel. What she discovers from her digging will change her life forever. She has literally fallen. Review: I enjoyed reading this entire series. I think that the books seem a little drawn out and longer than necessary. It took almost the entire first novel to reveal the truth behind the characters. Each book do...

Ever since my son and I went to Disney in November this year, he has been obsessed with seeing the new Coco movie. It was everywhere in Disney even though it hadn’t been released to theaters yet. Therefore, when the movie was released over Thanksgiving break, we decided to take my 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter to go see it. First I’d like to say that I know very little about the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. I’ve read things here and there, and I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the Spanish teacher down the hall, but there ends my knowledge of the day. So, I went into the movie with very little background knowledge. First, the movie itself was beautiful. The characters, colors, songs, etc. are so rich, colorful, and full of life. It was just so pleasing to watch. Miguel is a very cute and interesting main character. He’s pulled between following his dream of music, which his family hates, and following his family’s business footprints o...

Genre: Realistic Fiction Publication Date: 2015 Synopsis: Madeline is a bubble-girl. She is basically allergic to everything in the outside world. Her mother is a very well-known doctor and has created a very safe, and allergen free house. Madeline spends her days completing schoolwork, chatting with her nurse, and doing various mother-daughter activities. Madeline has never been outside and she has never questioned her condition. One day an interesting boy and his family move in next door. They begin to communicate via computer and become fast friends. Madeline isn't sure how to tell him about her condition which makes it virtually impossible for them to meet. She quickly becomes obsessed and the story progresses from there. Review: I had heard good things about this book so I decided to buy it. I was really not impressed. It was easy to see right through the mother and this whole bubble situation that she had set up for her daughter. The daughter's own reluctance to ...

Genre: Fiction Publication Date: 2001 Synopsis: Morgan Rowlands believes she is a normal and very ordinary 16-year-old girl. She joins a Wiccan group with her friends and immediately falls for the gorgeous coven leader, Cal. Cal pushes her to discover herself and in the process she actually finds out that she is a blood witch. This discovery makes Morgan reel and she discovers that her powers are strong, and her friends might not be all that they seem. Over the course of the five books, Morgan discovers herself, her Wiccan roots, her family, and her path in life. The books follow Morgan's and other characters' lives and journeys throughout many years. Review: I've had this set of books sitting on my bookshelves for a few years now. I wanted to get into an easy series to read, but something that was interesting and kept you reading. I believe that the first three books are wonderful and I really enjoyed them. By the fourth and fifth books it seemed less organic in...

Everyday I tell my students, “Books are better!!” This has become my mantra and my motto. Students are reading less and less every year and I become more and more obsessed with getting them into reading. But, I am a big movie lover and there are some amazing books that should be made into good movies that honor the books and their authors. There are so many books out there that are already made into movies, but there are a lot of books that I would love to see on the big screen sometime. Here is my list of the top ten books I think should be made into movies. 1. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver This is such a wonderful book about a girl coming of age, and dealing with the exact thing she tried to avoid throughout her whole life. This novel brings forth so many issues in such an elegant manner. Barbara Kingsolver is a lovely writer that pulls you deeply into the story and makes you fall in love with the characters. 2. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCaffterty There...

Genre: Fiction Publication Date: September 1, 2009 Synopsis: Valerie Leftman and her boyfriend, Nick keep a hate list of all the people that they hate in high school. Valerie starts the hate list after being bullied and bothered by the popular kids for years. She meets Nick and he's also bullied by kids even though he's a newer student. Valerie and Nick add a name to the hate list after someone has been mean to them, bothered them, bullied them, etc. Nick decides to act upon the list, and brings a gun into school one day and picks off people from the list one-by-one. Valerie puts her life in danger to save one of the almost victims. She spends the summer recovering and getting ready to face her school for her senior year. Valerie must overcome this terrible event in her life, and atone for her part in the shooting. Review: I picked this book out and another like it for my controversial book project for my graduate class. As a teacher I think about bullying, shooting...

Last night my husband, myself, and our two kids sat down to watch the new Spider-man movie, Spider-man: Homecoming. Now, just to recap there are already original Spider-man movies and then reboots of those Spider-man movies, and now we have a reboot of those movies. Spider-man movies: Spider-man (2002) Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst star as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. This movie starts as an origin story, where Peter gets bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes Spider-man. He fights his best friends's dad, Norman Obsorne, or the Green Goblin. Spider-man 2 (2004) Maguire and Dunst still star in this sequel and this time fights a fellow scientist, Otto Octavius, Doc Oct. Spider-man 3 (2007) Maguire and Dunst are the leading actors in this movie. Eddie Brock is turned into Venom (played by Topher Grace). Harry Osborne takes over the Goblin legacy. Harry is played by James Franco. The Amazing Spider-man (2012) Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker this time, a...