Book and Movie Reviews

The Maze Runner By James Dashner is the first part in a three part series about a group of teenagers who find themselves in the middle of a maze. Every month a new boy wakes up in the strange new world, the Glade, to find his memory wiped. Each day the boys struggle to survive in this existence where they are given the mere essentials. Leaderships form and boys are assigned to work jobs where they excel the most. One job is to be a runner and go out each day in the maze to see if a way out can be found. The story revolves around Thomas who desires to become a runner as it appears that he may know more about the maze than most.

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The Outlander novels, written by Diana Gabaldon, have transcended multiple generations and are generally recognized as one of the bestselling series of all time. With the first installment arriving in 1991, and subsequent novels appearing every few years after, it helps that the Outlander fan group has had decades to grow. Throughout the years, the novels have attracted many readers that enjoy romance, but have also found a place in the hearts of those who enjoy fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction and even mystery novels. Gabaldon has made it abundantly clear that her works are genre-bending, and she’ll have words with anyone who tries to push her series into the romance section.

It’s no surprise then, that a book with such a vast audience would soon find itself invited to be transformed on television. Following the success of shows which provide romance, fantasy, and action all-in-one, Starz pinpointed Outlander as a potential hit. It appears they were correct, since the series premiere pulled in over 5 million views in the first week, and the success of the following episodes have since led Starz to already commit to a second season. The show, which is available only with a Starz subscription (local channel info here), has been the best performing series the network has produced yet.

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The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993) is a children’s book that is about a seemingly utopian society where “œsameness” is what provides the people with stability. As the story progresses, we learn that the sameness has created a lack of emotion to the point where even the people do not experience color. Jonas, the main character and young teenager, learns the truth about his community as he is chosen to be the receiver of memories, which have been eradicated in order for sameness to be achieved. The giver is an old man who gives him these memories and with them comes the truth and many other revelations.

The Giver is a book that is read by many middle school and high school students as a way, it seems, to get young students interested in reading while at the same time encouraging them to think deeply about the text and its meaning. The book is set apart from many of the other required reading because of how recently it has been published compared to most other books such as Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and Mark Twain, etc. And, many critics disagree that The Giver should be lauded to the extent that it is. Many adults reflect fondly on the book while other groan about the chore of having to read it so many years ago.

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Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose is a play that recounts the deliberation of a jury in the murder trial. The jury is tasked to determine the future of an 18-year-old boy who is accused of killing his own father. At first, the case seems pretty obvious, but as the details of the case are discussed we discover that everything is not as open-and-shut as it seemed. The jury learns that biases and prior experiences play a role, unwittingly at times, in how facts are perceived and how events are interpreted. Tempers flare as the innocence and guilt of the defendant is discussed and a unanimous verdict must be found.

Reginald Rose originally wrote the story as a teleplay for a CBS show called Studio One in 1954. In 1957, it was turned into a film in which Henry Fonda produced and starred as the main protagonist. Other notable cast members are Lee J. Cobb as the main antagonist. Jack Klugman, who went on to star in The Odd Couple, was the sober jurist who grew up in a slum just like the defendant. Martin Balsalm, the foreman, played the unfortunate detective in Hitchcock’s Psycho. In doing research, I learned that while I didn’t recognize John Fielder, juror #2, in too many movies, his voice may seem familiar because he has voiced the character of Piglet for many years. Jack Warden, sports loving juror #7, played the sweet grandpa in the Sandra Bullock romantic comedy, While You Were Sleeping (I definitely loved that movie in middle school). Needless to say, the excellent cast helped to add depth to the rich script.

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Reposting this review from earlier this spring because the audiobook is on sale today only (Aug 13) for $1.95.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of Truman Capote’s best well known works.  It is considered a novella as it is quite short with a listening length of just under three hours.  The short novel is about an enigma of a young girl, Holly Golightly, who is residing in New York making a living by hanging out with rich men.  This “œAmerican geisha” (Capote’s words) lives downstairs from this unnamed narrator whom she calls Fred because he reminds her of his brother.  Through the narrator’s interactions and conversation with Holly we slowly learn more and more about the contradictions in her life and what makes her a “œreal phony”.

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