Tangled

Title: Tangled

Director: Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

Writer: Dan Fogelman (Screenplay), Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (Fairy Tale)

Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and Donna Murphy

Grade: B+

The long-haired Princess Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but when she falls in love with a bandit who was passing by she must venture into the outside world for the first time to find him.

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This movie was fantastic. It's one of those movies that is called a "children's movie," but you find yourself enjoying it much more than your younger family members. I feel like this movie is bringing some of the old disney back that we know and love. Not completely of course. There was a lot of comedy that we never saw back in the day, but kids are more demanding now with entertainment so they need more than just a heartfelt story.

It didn't match the book page for page but what book to movie does nowadays? It was fun and completely adorable. I am in no way territorial with the original Rapunzel. This was fine with me.

The animation was fantastic. When my friends and I left the theater we all wanted wigs made out of her hair. There were so many awwwwwwh moments, I can't even keep track. One of the best was when they show Rapunzel as a baby with her hair. She's just so darn cute!

The story was very smooth and the pace was great. There wasn't too much down time where it might get a little boring and there wasn't too much action where it might make it too hard to follow.

The characters were also wonderful. I think they made great choices when they decided for Mandy Moore to voice Rapunzel. The evil characters were perfectly evil and the nice characters weren't annoying. What more can you ask for?

I am in love with this movie. If I had the cash I would definitely see it again. It's one movie you don't want to miss out on. The songs were even great. Usually I find a problem with cartoon musicals but not this one. I almost contemplated putting them on my ipod.

Overall I would say that Tangled is a great movie for all ages. It's fun, and cute, and hilarious. It's the perfect movie to start a new generation of Disney lovers with!

-Amanda

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a post where I tell you the books that I received this week either by buying them from the bookstore, going to the library or from my mailbox. In My Mailbox was created by Alea and turned into a meme by Kristi.

Paper Books::

Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine's Soul by H.A. Goodman

What would you do if the love of your life was murdered by a deranged killer? Would you become a vigilante and seek retribution? And would this revenge affect those you care for in the afterlife? LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul takes you on a journey inside the psyches of men and women forced to deal with the spiritual consequences of their decisions. Through the lives of a demon, two Angels, and a mysterious teenage girl, a plethora of politically and socially relevant issues ranging from the roots of genocide and sex trafficking to child conscription and religious fundamentalism are addressed in this fantasy thriller. Life as well as the afterlife converge in this novel to explain certain peculiarities of the human condition. Whether you are God fearing individual or an atheist, LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul addresses moral and theological issues of interest for people of all backgrounds.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Dash and Lily, 16, find themselves on their own in Manhattan at Christmas. Dash is alone by choice–he's told each of his divorced parents that he's spending the holiday with the other, leaving them both to take vacations out of town. Lily's parents are taking the honeymoon they couldn't afford when they got married. They think that Lily is in the capable hands of her older brother, but he's less interested in her than in his new boyfriend, and then he gets sick and spends most of the holiday in bed. He does, however, start in motion the activity that is central to the story. It involves a red Moleskine notebook with a list of literary clues that Lily leaves in the stacks at the Strand bookstore. Bookish and erudite Dash finds it and is intrigued enough to follow Lily's lead and leave some clues of his own. The dares in the book's title refer to innocent things such as going to various crowded places like Macy's and FAO Schwartz to pick up messages. As the dares go on, the teens reveal more and more about themselves in the pages of the notebook, until they finally meet under the worst possible circumstances.

Audio Books::

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1984 by George Orwell
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

E-Books::

This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

-Amanda

Contest Saturday

Here are some contests that are currently going on right now. Click the links to enter them. I will hold my own contest on the last Contest Saturday of each month. That means my first contest will be on January 29th. Details will be on that post.

Win a pre-order of Delirium by Lauren Oliver HERE Ends 1/29

Win a Holiday Prize Pack HERE Ends 1/10

Win a copy of Lose/Queen by Jodi Lynn Anderson HERE Ends 1/12

Win a copy of Clockwork Angel AND I Will Save You HERE Ends 1/15

Win some Born at Midnight book swag HERE Ends 1/13

Win some Unearthly book swag HERE Ends 1/12

Win a copy of The Locket by Stacey Jay HERE Ends 1/26

Win THREE books of your choice from a list of many HERE Ends 1/9

Win one of two prize packs HERE Ends 1/31

Win an Alice in Wonderland necklace with book charms HERE Ends 1/25

Win a copy of A Touch of Mortal by Leah Clifford HERE Ends 1/23

Win a copy of Loser/Queen by Jodi Lynn Anderson HERE Ends 1/27

Win a $55 gift code to use at any CSN store HERE Ends 1/17

Win $25 for a shopping spree at The Book Depository HERE Ends 1/9

Win a $100 gift card to a variety of book stores HERE Ends 1/9

Win a prize pack of books HERE Ends 1/9

Teen Issue: Organization

Note: These are my personal, unprofessional opinions from my own experience.

Organization: Being in high school is pretty demanding and stressful as it is. One of the hardest things for me is staying on task and getting everything done before the last minute. Unfortunately, several times I have left projects, papers, and homework in general until the last minute. This doesn't only apply to school. I'll wait too long to do my laundry and am then left with nothing to wear. Or I'm planning to have friends over and end up waiting too long to clean up, and in turn being embarrassed. Here are some methods that I use to keep my life a little more organized and on track.

• Make a "to do" list. This can get as obsessive as you want. It can be a simple list of things such as "clean room, take shower, finish algebra," or you can get more technical with "Vacuum floor, pick up clothes, put away books." That way you can remember exactly what you want to do.
• Make a schedule. This is very similar to a to do list but has a little more structure. An example would be: 12:00- Do math homework, 1:30- Put laundry in washer..etc.
• Put reminders on your phone for big projects or even short term goals. That way you can get a little update on what you need to do. For example, "Science project due next Wednesday."
• Instead of getting really stressed out about a project or a paper that you have to write, turn it into a lot of little homework assignments instead. Decide to write a 100 words a day, or buy of all the supplies you need by the weekend. That way you can think of it one piece at a time instead of trying to take everything on at once.
• Get friends to bug you. It helps when your friends know what you need to do. Then they can randomly as you how a project is going or how far you are. Also, you want to please and impress your friends. You want them to be proud of you, not disappointed, this will push you to get things done faster and better.

Simple things like these will make your life a little less hectic. I am the stressful friend in my group because I often take a lot on at once, but these things help me out and keep me more relaxed. Here are some supplies that can help organize your life:

• A cork board. After you make a list of things that you want to do, just tack it up.
• A dry erase board. Write your to do list or schedule here.
• A planner/agenda. Helps you keep track of things you want to do.
• A calendar. Makes it easy to plan out long term plans and goals.

I hope these ideas help you out. If you have a teen issue that you would like me to discuss don't hesitate to e-mail me. txmandaxt@yahoo.com

-Amanda