Maniac Magee

Here is a guilty confession: I've been banned from the library. I took too many books out. When I returned them late (only a few days!), I racked up so many fines that my good status as a library patron was called into question and my borrowing privileges revoked. Why do I tell you about this? And why in this post? Two reasons. One, I've been dying to read this book, but couldn't take it out of the library because my account has been suspended. And two, Maniac is obsessed with books and libraries. But he couldn't take books out either and he did just fine.

Maniac Magee is impossible to put down. I was constantly entertained (by both the prose and the action), touched, challenged, you name it. This book moves just as fast as Maniac runs. What I loved most is that Spinelli doesn't treat his young characters as needing to be protected. Yes, Maniac wants a family and searches for one, but he can get along just fine without one. This book's main character is a homeless child, but you don't feel bad for Maniac because he doesn't feel bad for himself. You hurt that he doesn't have a place to call home, not that he doesn't have a house. You hurt when he finds a family and the community doesn't accept him, not that he no longer has a place to sleep. You hurt when he loses Grayson and when you see where the McNabs live and when Amanda's encyclopedia is turned to confetti. But you don't feel bad when Maniac sleeps on the floor or with the buffalo. He's not this pathetic thing screwed by circumstance. He is always making decisions. Where most children will run away for a short time if they don't like the situation they are in, Maniac sees a situation he can't live with and he does something to change it; when he runs away, he hits the road for good. This scraggly little kid with beat up shoes shows an entire town how to live and in the process acquires several families.

The last time I read this book, I was in 6th grade English. I loved it then, and I often think of the scenes from the book, my favorite always having been when Maniac takes a bite of Mars Bar's Mars Bar. Rereading the book as an adult was inspiring. Maniac constantly shows us how silly we are when we let fear hold us back. From the different sides of the town masking their fear of the unknown as racism, to something as simple as being afraid of a reclusive neighbor. He faces whatever problem that comes his way. And he does it with enough grace and dignity to put me to shame.

I don't think there is enough cinematic drama in the book for a major studio, but with the popularity of the indie scene at the moment, there might just be a market for this story as a feature. But with a TV movie, back in 2003, I doubt Maniac Magee will come back any time soon, which is a shame.

Percy Jackson- Lightning Thief: The movie

Dear Chris Columbus,

Thank you for not only ruining one of my favorite books, but also for just making a bad movie. When I saw your name attached to The Lightning Thief, I didn't worry. After all, you are the man who brought us Harry Potter. I didn't think it was possible to satisfy fans of the boy who lived; Rowling had created such vivid characters and intricate plots. But you surprised me and gave me some of my favorite movies, only better because they are of my favorite books. When I walked into the theater to see Percy Jackson, I was excited, knowing that you would deliver something spectacular: something visually stunning and enjoyable, while still being faithful to us fans who put our trust in you. My faith was misplaced.

Now, I realize a movie is going to be different from the book it is based on. That is a given. Screenplays are more structured and shorter, often requiring compression of story lines or characters. Internal problems need to be externalized and sometimes things need to happen in a more exciting way so that you can give us viewers our fourteen dollars worth. I understand that. Adaptation is way more complicated that I have room (or desire) to discuss in this blog. That being said, I have a few grievances.

Annabeth is a main character throughout the books and in your film. In the books she is smart (after all she is the daughter of the goddess of wisdom), she loves to read, and she has her own personal issues. In the movie the only thing about her that isn't flat is her chest. She is a bimbo of the highest order, who can fight, but really just stands around and looks pretty. She's also in love with Luke, which provides conflict. She loves him even when she's learned he's betrayed her. This brings us to:

Luke is just as one dimensional. Without Annabeth's love and the back story (he saved her as a child and is the only family she has ever known), he has no redeeming qualities. His daddy-issues aren't developed enough in the film for me to really buy that he would hatch a plan to destroy the gods. Speaking of which...

Where's Kronos? It's been a while since I read the books, so correct me if I'm wrong. In the books, the plan to evoke war between the god's is hatched by Kronos as part of a large plot to escape Tartarus. He uses Luke's sense of abandonment to turn his mind against the gods. This gives us a well-rounded villain in Luke, a more understandable reason for his actions, and our series-arching villain. Kronos is Voldemort to Percy's Harry. Sure Harry had to face some death eaters, but at the end of the day it was all about whether or not he could defeat Voldemort when the time came. His story would not be the same without he-who-must-not-be-named.

Without Kronos, some things just seem silly. For example, in the book Luke gives Percy his winged shoes so that they will drag him to tartarus with the lightning bolt and strengthen Kronos. In the movie, he apparently only gives them to Percy so that he can lose a very theatrical fight above New York City. Even if you are playing friendly with your enemies, you don't give them flying shoes. The shield with the lightning bolt would have sufficed, but the shoes are overkill. There was no reason for Luke to give them to Percy.

Speaking of things done just so that the movie could look cool (which by the way it didn't, the effects were reminiscent of Anaconda) why would Percy put Medusa's head, uncovered in the fridge? And why did the eyes open on their own. I don't think I really need to explain how silly this is.

In the movie, Percy sneaks away from camp. This would have been an exciting change from the book, where he is sent on a legitimate quest, if he doesn't sneak away from camp in the second book. Seriously? How many times are you going to pull that one before we say, enough we get it: Percy Jackson is a badass who doesn't need to follow any rules.

And these are just the icing on the cake. The books were full of cinematic potential that was completely abandoned. Whenever Percy needed to know something, someone would tell him, nobody ever really tried to manipulate him, and it seemed like everybody liked him. It would have been nice for Ares or Clarisse or someone who legitimately hated him to come along and provide some conflict. It also might have made the spoon-ladled plot more palatable. There never felt to be any real personal conflict. Yeah, Percy felt abandoned by his dad, but in the book, the big three were forbidden from even having children. Having all those kids in Hermes who never knew who their fathers were could have made a huge difference in us really understanding where Luke was coming from. But no, everyone just knows who their father or mother is.

Thanks,

SAO

PS--At least you included Thalia's tree. Thanks for that.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

You may recognize the names Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. They are the writing team that brought you the novel Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. I'll admit, I've never read any of the novels written independently by either author (although several are on my long and growing list of things I want to read), so it is hard for me to comment on the author's individually. But, both of their joint novels deal heavily with relationships, New York City, music, and homosexuality. Personally, I only read half of Nick & Norah. Not that it was bad, it just didn't captivate me. Nor did the film preview entice me to watch the adaptation. Naomi and Ely, however, I couldn't put down.

The story is about the breakup of a best-friendship between Naomi, a straight girl, and Ely, her gay best friend who lives right across the hall. Naomi and Ely, who have been insperable from childhood, are so close that they have become one entity. Because of this their breakup becomes much worse than most romantic breakups. Unable to form healthy relationships, they must each go on a seperate journey to become an individual. Exploring all facets of love and relationships, there are many characters, all with intertwining connections. Naomi's mother is depressed and has rarely gotten out of bed after her husband cheated on her with Ely's lesbian mother (Naomi's parents afterward divorced, while Eyl's moms stayed together). Ely, who has always considered himself a man-whore, actually falls in love, but with Naomi's boyfriend. Naomi turns to a high school boy in the building who worships the ground she walks on, while trying to kindle a relationship with the new and young doorman. The story explores all facets of the word love and what it means, eventually coming to a conclusion that both satisfies the reader and attempts to define love and the complex relationships we find ourselves constantly in.

Like Nick & Norah, Naomi and Ely is set for film adaptation, with Hayden Panettiere attached to star as Naomi. Regency is developing the project.

Heist Society

I've mentioned Ally Carter on this blog before, although I don't think I've ever actually posted about one of her books. Let me say this to start: I used to want to grow up and be J.K. Rowling (she gave us the boy who lived, afterall), but now I wish I was Ally Carter. All of her YA books have strong female leads, real relationships, yet action driven plots. Her website is entertaining and always gives advice to aspiring writers (thank you!). And let's be honest. Look at that cover. Amazing. Carter's books have the most intriguing covers in the industry that fit perfectly with her clever titles. I only bought I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You because I fell in love with the cover and the title. Then I fell in love with the story and the characters.

Heist Society, is the first book in Carter's second YA series. Like the Gallagher Girls (All girl's private spy school, yes spy school), she has a strong female lead with an unusual upbringing that sets up the story perfectly. There are tons of stories about normal teens being thrown into unusual situations and then figuring out who to defuse a bomb based on something in biology or being clever enough to trick a mobster. I don't buy it. Heist Society's Kat is real enough that I relate to her, but was raised in a family of high end art theives. She's already got the skill set she needs to pull off the impossible heist required to save her father's life. It may sound unrealistic for a 15-year-old girl to be one of the best art theives ever to have left the business and then get dragged back in, but it is more realistic than a normal high school freshman surviving whatever unusual circumstance another author would throw at their protagonist.

And the possibility of a movie? I'd say likely. Warner Brothers won a bidding war for the rights the week before the book was released. And while a big studio controlling the rights is by no means a guarantee that Kat Bishop will ever see the light of the big screen (Love You, Kill You has been sitting at Disney for a while now), I think that there is a better than average chance that Heist Society will make it to a theater near you. First of all, while I love Love You, Kill You, Heist Society seems to be suited better for adaptation. The main plot focuses on the art heist action with the personal drama secondary. In Love You, Kill You, the main action comes from a girl at a secret spy school trying to maintain a romance with a normal boy who knows nothing of her secret life. Sure there's action, but those major spy scenes... not as fulfilling when the result is a school dance. Second...bidding war! I don't know how much the rights sold for, but a bidding war tells me that Warner probably paid enough that they aren't going to want the material sitting in development until their rights expire. At least, I hope not. One final word on an adaptation: It has already been reported that Warner will age the characters to their mid-twenties for the adaptation. This doesn't make me a happy fan, but they know what they're doing.

The time for reading is... now

I realize I have been over a years worth of lax on updating this blog. That stops now. I've been trying to keep busy writing and had mild accomplishment finishing what I've started. However, if procrastination was a paying job, I would be CEO of the industry leader. Therefore, I have set some New Years Resolutions (only about a month and a half late) and not only will I be writing more intentionally, but I will be reading more intentionally. I have a calander with self-imposed deadlines, and a daily list of things I need to do in order to reach my goals.

I was very lazy yesterday and overambitious today, which means today's list looks something like: read 40 pages of Suck It Up (my current fiction pick), read 3 chapters of The Elements of Style (my current craft pick), post two blog entries (this one doesn't count), write 1500 words of the first draft of my YA fantasy novel (my current prose writing project), write 7 pages of my comedy script (my current screenwriting project), and brainstorm a series of short stories (just for fun, also to improve my craft because it is sorely lacking).

And I have to get it done today, because tomorrow's to-do list is horrifyingly similar. I've also realized that I need to completely rewrite the first act of my comedy script that I've been working on. So squeeze that in at some point in the next month or so.

Au revoir for now!