In The Good Old Summertime

I'm going to start trying to review a few old movies as I watch them! So here goes what will hopefully be the first of many!

Family Appropriate: Most definitely!

Basic Outline: This is a story that everyone knows well, as it has appeared in numerous plays and movies over the years. In movies it appeared first in "The Shop Around The Corner" and most recently in "You've Got Mail".

This particular version stars Judy Garland and Van Johnson. They both work in a music shop and are, of course, rivals from day one. They also happen to be exchanging anonymous letters. They are both fantastic actors and this is a very fun version of a classic story!

Recommendation: If you like romances and old movies, this is a must see.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

One Word Description: Fun

Family Appropriate: Yeah.This movie is PG, it has some violence and a few swear words.

Basic Outline: This movie is based on a book of the same title by Rick Riordan, which was fantastic. As with so many movies, the book is better simply because they can't fit all the good parts into a movie. I had heard that this movie was nothing like the book, which I found to be untrue. They change some things, mostly for the sake of time and moving the plot forward. I found that most of the changes had been made in order to eliminate lengthy explanations and things unnecessary to the core plot. The book contains a lot of things that are there because they will become important in later books. There are not plans to make another movie, so it doesn't matter all that much that things were left out of the first one. Just remember to not spend too much time comparing and enjoy the movie!

For those who haven't read the books, Percy Jackson finds out at the beginning of the movie and he is the son of Poseidon and thus a demi-god. He also learns that he has been accused of stealing Zeus's Lightning Bolt. He has been given until the summer solstice (2 weeks) to return it in order to save his mother a prevent a war between the gods.

Like I said, the movie is lacking the depth that the book has, but it is a cute movie none the less and I really enjoyed watching it!

By the way, does anyone else think that Zac Efron has a twin he doesn't know about? I swear Percy looked just like him.

Recommendation: As long as you can keep yourself from comparing it to the book, watch it! It makes a great family movie night.

Princess of Glass

Genre: Fantasy

Age Group: Teenager (works for pretty much any age though)

I should warn you before I start, this is a sequel to "Princess of the Midnight Ball". I should really write about the first book, but it's been a while since I read that one and I just barely finished Princess of Glass, so I'm writing about that one instead.

In this book, Princess Poppy, one of the main characters from the first book, is faced with another curse. (Sorry, you will just have to read the first one to find out about her curse.)This time, she begins to suspect that a maid in her cousins house is under some kind of spell. She must find out what is going on and save the girl before something terrible happens to her, and before she steals all the eligible young men.

This book is yet another Cinderella story, but it is very unique and can hardly be compared to the others. The first book in the series focuses on Poppy's older sister Rose, but Poppy is such a fun character that I was thrilled when I found out that Jessica Day George was writing a book about her.

Really, Jessica Day George is a great author on the whole and I would recommend reading anything and everything she has written. I have read all her books and enjoyed every one of them. Most of her books are based on fairy tales, but they are some of the more obscure fairy tales, which makes them fun! She is a great author and creates very engaging characters. I always become very invested in the outcomes of the books because I want her characters to live happily ever after so badly.

Recommendation: Read everything this author has written!