SPOOKTACULAR Giveawy Hop Starts Now!

IT'S HERE!!

SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOP!

I LOVE Halloween!

The costumes, pumpkin carving, trick or treating and all the scary movies on cable TV! I can't think of a better way to celebrate the good times than be a part of the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop  in a big way.  Mug of Moxie will be offering not one book BUT five books in the giveaway!

FIVE BOOKS!

To enter is simple-
1. Follow Mug of Moxie(I crave approval and love)
2.Please leave your follower name and email address in the comment section.
3.In the spirit of Halloween the sick and twisted side of me wants to know what scares you. (Clowns and Saran Wrap scare the hell out of me-your turn)
So that's it-the three things I need from you in order to enter the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop for FIVE awesome books!
You must be 13 or older to enter and this contest is open to the international peeps too.
There are 400 Fabulous Blogs each signed up to host a giveaway as part of this Spooktacular Blog Hop. This hop runs from Monday, October 24th until Halloween Night at midnight. That gives you 8 days to Hop to all the blogs and enter their giveaways. Have Fun!!
I will draw the winner on Tuesday November 1st. Good Luck!



SPEAK-Book Review

SPEAK

By Laura Halse Anderson
240 pages
Ages 12 and up
From Inside Cover:
The ninth graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into clans: Jock, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Big Hair Chix, the Marthas, Suffering Artists, Goths, Shredders. I am clanless. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone.I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with.
From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she an outcast. She busted an end of the summer party by calling the cops-a major infraction in high school society-so her old friends won't talk to her, and the people she doesn't know glare at her. She retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence,making her all the more mute. But it's not so comfortable in her head, either-there's something banging around in there that she doesn't want to think about. Try as she might to avoid it, it won't go away, until there is a painful confrontation. Once that happens, she can't be silent-she must speak the truth.
My thoughts:
I really wanted to read a challenged book for Banned Book Week but was having a hard time deciding which one. I was subbing at our middle school library and much to my surprise saw this book on the shelf. So I guess you could say the book choose me.
Melinda is a 9th grader going into high school. A scary event without drama. But during the summer while Melinda was at a party she was involved in a situation and called the cops. We the reader are left in the dark for most of the story as to exactly what transpired but we know the Melinda has been emotionally damaged and lost all of her friends. Her depression and isolation is heart breaking. What I found most frustrating was her parents and their lack of reaction to her drastic mood and personality change.  Thank goodness Melinda finds a way to deal with her hurt and grief through an art class and a perceptive teacher.
This book belongs in school libraries and public libraries. Parents should be reading this book with their daughters. It's true to life and could prove to be helpful in social situations.
I am overjoyed that it's in our middle school library and I hope many girls check it out and take something away from Melinda's story.

Getting Ready For SPOOKTACULAR Hop!

I LOVE Halloween!

The costumes,  pumpkin carving, trick or treating and all the scary movies on cable TV! I can't think of a better way to celebrate the good times than be a part of a hop in a big way. For the upcoming Spooktacular Hop Mug of Moxie will be offering not one book BUT four books in the giveaway!

FOUR BOOKS!

The hop will go on for a week so please drop back by on October 24-31 Monday and enter. 

R.I.P. VI Challenge-Movie Review

R.I.P. VI Challenge-Movie

The Last Exorcism was watched as part of the R.I.P. VI Challenge-hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings. This is my review. Southern minister Reverend Cotton Marcus recruits a documentary film crew to help him set the record straight. For years he's been conning people and he's ready to come clean.
He recently received a letter from a desperate man who is convinced the devil as taken possession of his daughter, Nell. Reverend Marcus prepares to shoot the final exorcism of his career revealing the tricks of the trade that he has used on faithful and desperate people during his career.
The reverend performs the fake exorcism, all while sharing his secrets with the camera and the crew. The whole act includes wires that shock, recorded sounds and smoking crosses.
But as Marcus and the film crew prepare to leave not all seems right-Is it possible that this possession is real and that Satan is not ready to let go of Nell or Marcus?
I really enjoyed the mockumentary style of this film. The shaky, slow to focus camera shots remind me of The Blair Witch Project and in my opinion amp of the suspense of the film. The Reverend is a snake oil salesman in a white linen suit. You don't want to like Cotton Marcus but yet he sells you on his charm-he's regretful, yet arrogant. You are buying what he is selling even though you know he's a phony!
The film is creepy with enough twists and turns to keep the viewer on their toes. PG-13 means that it could be fun for the whole family.
Of course there are going to be comparisons to The Exorcist-UNFAIR! There will never be or can be another Exorcist....let it go!
That completes my review of The Last Exorcism.

WINNER Of Banned Books Giveaway

And the winner of a copy of the book Fallout by Ellen Hopkins is:

BJ
beejee77@comcast.net

She has 48 hours to respond to the email I sent her to claim her prize.

Thank you to all who participated in the hop. Who took the time to leave comments and opinions.

70 people entered this giveaway!

I loved participating in this hop because it gave me the opportunity to read other bloggers thoughts and experiences. I didn't get to visit as many blogs as I wanted because I would get caught up in the stories  

 posted at every site.

I think that we are all in agreement that the choice to read a book should be a freedom not tampered with. I believe that parents should be aware of what their children are reading, watching and playing. It's the responsibility of a parent to be involved-books can open the door to communication and education. If my daughter brings home a book that is too mature to read as a parent I have the right to take that book away from her-BUT I do not have the right to take that book out of the hands of YOUR child. That is your job. 

I LOVE Banned Book Week and I love that we have a place to celebrate our freedom to read.

A big thank you to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books who hosted this event. I look forward to the next one.