This is a take on "The Snow Queen," set in the modern world and with a heroine, Hazel, who was adopted in India by a white, American couple. (This is, I think, the only fiction I've read to take a look at that particular cultural trend and go "geez, I wonder what that's like for the kids, 10 years down the road...")

Hazel's life has recently been ( Read more... )

So, I went to see Frozen with family today and liked it. Before I say anything about it, though, let me rant a bit:

Before the movie started, we had to sit through FORTY MINUTES of previews and commercials. Well, about 30 minutes of previews and commercials, and then 10 minutes of a short Mickey Mouse movie that was very "tee hee extreme cartoon ( Read more... )

Trailers for the only 2 movies currently on my radar to try to see in theaters:

Maleficent:

Click to view

I like how they managed to convey the creepy gothic imagery from the animated movie to live action, and the visual feel of the movie overall. I'm iffy, though, on the fact that Aurora's actress is 15 and and Philip's is 24. I know Hollywood (and ( Read more... )

 1.  Barbara Mertz, AKA Elizabeth Peters, AKA Barbara Michaels, has passed away at the age of 85.  She published 38 books under the name of Elizabeth Peters, 29 books under the name of Barbara Michaels, and 3 non-fiction books on Egyptology under her real name.  While I haven't read many of her Barbara Michaels books and none of her non-fiction (I ( Read more... )