2 books 2 movies

Two books: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Two movies: Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and The Bourne Legacy.

Books first. Hale, of Goose Girl and Princess Academy fame, weaves fairy tales like a master, and she and her husband have penned a fun version of Rapunzel set in the old west with Rapunzel's Revenge. It's a graphic novel geared at the middle grade reader. My daughter is 9 and loved it dearly, as did my reluctant reader son, age 12. I found it diverting.

I am coming very late to the party in barely reading The Help. I hadn't seen the movie, wanting to read the book first. My mom shoved it into my hands when I was visiting her, and I was captivated for two weeks, reading it slowly and savoring every bit of dialogue and the various voices. I found myself shoving it other people's hands (glad to know I wasn't the last to read it), and one friend's response was, "It makes you think a lot about mothers and daughters." That, to me, was the theme much more than race. It's a MUST READ. Completely beautiful.

I've long been a fan of the Wimpy Kid series. Maybe I've got the sense of humor of a junior high boy, but I find Jeff Kinney hilarious. The first movie was a bit mean-spirited (though I love the Cheese Touch), and the second was much funnier. Dog Days is in the same vein as the second. Greg (the Wimpy Kid)'s older brother Rodrick is such a lunatic that I loved him with his whole Loded Diper band. Man, I love a good PG film. It's probably not for everyone, but I was entertained.

For date night we hit the opening of The Bourne Legacy. It was a good action flick with a twisty story and great chase scenes. (Well, a LOT of chase scenes.) I like the actor and actresses who starred, and it was a fun plot that related back to the Bourne movies, but wasn't tied to them much at all. My only gripe is that at the end where the protagonists should have kissed, instead a horrible fire alarm type music set in and then the shot panned out and it ended. No kiss? Then no second viewing. Rip off. That's why we wives sit through these things, directors. Get it through your action-flick brains. Kiss at the end. Or else.