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I review nearly all fiction and nonfiction genres, including: • Literary Fiction • Science Fiction • Fantasy • Mystery & Thriller • Historical Fiction • Memoir & Biography • General Nonfiction Please note: I do not review poetry, romance, elementary school children’s books, or extremely graphic horror. If you are an independent author, small press publisher, or self-published writer looking for an honest book review, feel free to contact me at: plappen@yahoo.com. In addition to appearing on Dead Trees Review Blog, my reviews are also posted on major book platforms to maximize author exposure: • AmazonGoodreadsLibraryThingMidwest Book Review
Showing posts with label foster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foster. Show all posts

Friday, December 30, 2016

The Girls' Book: How To Be The Best at Everything

The Girls' Book: How To Be The Best at Everything, Juliana Foster, Scholastic Inc., 2007

Intended for tweens, this book gives short descriptions (one to two pages each) on how to do a lot of different things.

Some are light-hearted, like how to survive in a horror movie, how to make sense while talking nonsense, how to annoy people in an elevator and how to cope if zombies attack. Other selections are a bit more serious, like how to deal with bullies, how to save the planet, how to persuade your parents to get a pet, how to avoid jet lag and how to survive in the desert.

This is a really interesting and easy to read book, with very simple instructions. It is recommended for all tweens (there is a separate book for boys, and maybe some adults will also try some of these items.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Disruptive Feminisms: Raced, Gendered and Classed Bodies in Film

Disruptive Feminisms: Raced, Gendered and Classed Bodies in Film, Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, Palgrave Pivot, 2015

This book looks at several films that explore issues like class, gender, patriarchy and income inequality without being overwhelming about it.

Post Tenebras Lux is a recent Mexican film about two families, one rich and one poor, attempting to survive in present-day Mexico. It is one of those films that has a rather flexible border between fantasy and reality, and leaves a lot of interpretation up to the viewer. A person could watch the film several times, and have several different interpretations. That may be why, at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, it received mixed reviews, and the Best Director Award.

Made in the early 1950's, The Hitch-Hiker is about a pair of war buddies who tell their wives that they are going camping for several days. They are actually planning several days of drinking and carousing. That is because they despise their new post-war lives of consumer and office worker. The buddies run into a homicidal maniac who may, or may not, be a repressed, self-loathing homosexual. Being the 1950's, the violence is more implied than actual, but this is still a very dark film. Bottled Up is a more recent independent film set in upstate New York. A grown woman is addicted to prescription painkillers, and her mother has no problem in enabling her, even faking injuries to get her own prescriptions. The daughter has no interest in trying to kick the habit.

In the early days of television, there was an actress with a couple of very popular, but short-lived, shows that spoke to women as real people, and not just as consumers. Her name was Betty White. She was willing to portray women having real thoughts and feelings, including of a sexual nature. The show's sponsor was not in agreement, so the shows were turned into your average sitcoms, and ultimately cancelled.

This is a very interesting book, not just for passionate movie fans. It is recommended for those dealing with issues like sexism and ageism. It is very much worth reading for everyone.