The Reviews Are In

I missed a couple days of work this week due to a light touch of the plague.  On the plus side, I sped my way through Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in a day.  I suspect that this book may have been written just for me, as it is a teen romance with a chubby, redheaded protagonist.  (Will I ever grow out of the teen romance genre?  Magic 8-Ball says, "Very doubtful".)  I enjoyed this book and I think I would have loved it if I had read it half a lifetime ago.

Last week I read Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.  (Another redheaded protagonist.  Also, this book takes place, in part, in Maine and includes a shout out to Marden's.)  I really liked Orphan Train and found it especially fascinating because, like the character of Vivian, my great-grandfather was an Irish immigrant who was adopted around the age of 9.  Unlike Vivian, he did not ride an orphan train, but he and his siblings were split up and adopted by different families throughout Massachusetts.  I can't imagine how scary that was, particularly in an era when children were not sent to therapy to cope with such a massive change.  My family still doesn't know why he and his siblings, save the baby, were taken out of their home.  The murky details of my great-grandfather's adoption made it more credible that Vivian had kept so much of her past to herself throughout her life.  In the book, Vivian's story parallels that of Molly, a teenager of Native American heritage who is currently in the foster system.  Orphan Train was a very good book; I recommend it.

And while I'm tossing out super brief reviews, here are the last few movies I watched:

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continue
I really like the original Anchorman, but this sequel was godawful.  2 out of 5

Girl Most Likely
I caught this Kristen Wiig movie on TV at my parents' house and was pleasantly surprised by how quirky and funny it was.  4 out of 5

Gravity
Two things hurt this movie.  1) I did not see it on a big screen at the theater.  2) My expectations were raised.  I thought Gravity was overrated.  3 out of 5

Saving Mr. Banks
Mary Poppins is my favorite movie, so of course I enjoyed this movie about the making of Mary Poppins.  I love Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson.  However, Mary Poppins is a joyful film and Saving Mr. Banks is at best bittersweet.  It pretty much just made me want to watch Mary Poppins again.  3 out of 5