Review Roundup- Books

Loose-end time again, as I've been sitting on a couple reviews, this time from the book world:


1.  Accelerated by Bronwen Hruska

Sean Benning is, for the most part, a single parent, as his wife has disappeared.  His son Toby goes to the Bradley School for the gifted, a school that has been known to produce some of the nation's leaders and other luminaries.  Sean begins feeling pressure to put his son on medications for ADHD despite feeling that his son really doesn't need it, and since he's raising Toby alone, he wrestles with trusting his gut or trusting a school that has Toby's best interests in mind- or does it?

I recommend Accelerated, although not highly.  It is a page turner, yet a somewhat predictable one, and Hruska makes a maddening debut.  The book is incredibly fast paced and engaging, but also annoying in parts.  Hruska has a bad habit of throwing in celebrities, even giving them dialogue.  Bill Clinton makes a mystifying appearance at a posh dinner party in the middle and hits on Sean's date.  Sean himself works for a tabloid, and the tabloid world is painted with a pretty broad brush (Surprise!  Tabloids want scandalous stuff!).

Overall rating:  0.25



2.  Playing For Keeps:  Michael Jordan And The World He Made by David Halberstam


Michael Jordan is the focus of Playing For Keeps, but Halberstam really writes mini-biographies of everyone involved in Jordan's life and career.  As a result, Playing For Keeps is an utterly fascinating read, especially for a basketball fan, and even more especially for a basketball fan growing up in that era.  His high school and college coaches and teammates are profiled as he rises to fame, and then his Bulls coaches, teammates, and even the opposing teams are put under the microscope.  This is one of the best things I've read in quite a long time.

Overall Rating:  2.0
 

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Director: Steven Chbosky

Stars:  Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd

The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a film based on the novel of the same name and directed by its author.  It's a story about Charlie, a high school freshman who has had problems with severe depression in the past.  It's crucial to Charlie to make friends quickly so that he doesn't spend a lot of time alone.  He befriends Patrick and Sam, who are stepsiblings, and they begin to have adventures together, which keeps Charlie's demon away.  They don't stay away together, however, as the relationships become more complicated as time passes.

I really wanted to like this movie, but I felt some distance from it.  Logan Lerman is very charismatic as Charlie, who is mostly a quiet kid but very charming once his friends get to know him.   Emma Watson is Sam, and Sam is changing her ways, as she used to be more promiscuous, but it's hard to buy that based on Watson's performance.  Perhaps that's carryover from her days as Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, but it was still an obstacle.  The film tries for these grand, profound moments, but they felt almost forced to me, and maybe I'm just getting tired of the whole "making a mixtape" concept in movies. 

Overall, Perks was somewhat of a disappointment, considering the high praise it earned in reviews.  I wouldn't dissuade anyone from seeing it, as there are some memorable moments (such as the aftermath of Charlie dating one of Sam's friends) and Lerman's performance is very soulful, but I wouldn't highly recommend it, either.

Rating: 0.0
 

The Mavericks- In Time

The Mavericks' latest release "In Time" is an absolute blast to listen to, and if you're sitting down while listening to it, you might find yourself chair-dancing a bit, as there are some extremely danceable songs in the set.  There's actually a little bit of everything.  The first few songs are very retro-sounding (effortlessly retro-sounding, in fact, which is not easy to pull off).  "Lies" is the first toe-tapper, and two tracks later, "Come Unto Me" is a barnstormer of a song that has a great jam at the end.  "Amsterdam Moon" sounds like it would be great to hear at Miller Park, as it features an almost ballpark-like organ.  "Dance In The Moonlight" is both romantic and catchy.  The last song, though, is an absolute masterpiece.  "Call Me" (When You Get To Heaven) starts out mellow enough, but builds a nice jam behind some great backup singing.  Highly recommended for many reasons- lead singer Raul Malo's often-haunting, powerful voice, catchy songs, and a band that sounds like it had a great ol' time.

Mr. Matt's Score:  1.5