Book Review - Charley and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Charley and the Chocolate Factory

by Roald Dahl

Rating *****(5 Stars)

Right before the holiday I was talking with a coworker about Charley and the Chocolate Factory. Although she loved the original movie she had never seen the newer version. I highly recommended that she view it. One point of my recommendation was that it was suppose to be closer to the book.

Only I had never read the book. It has been on my list of books to read forever. However, it never worked out to read it. Until now.

I was delighted to see three works by Roald Dahl on the 100 BBC Books list. Matilda was one of my favorite books as a child! To make it even better Amazon offered a Kindle deal after Christmas discounting both Charley and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. I was excited to finally read this book.

Charley and the Chocolate Factory is written for a younger audience. The children are all around the age of nine. I could easily see having L (who is in third grade) read this book (if I can get her to read at all). I also think J will enjoy reading it also, when he wants a break from middle school reading.

I hate to write a book review based upon the movie. However, it is rare that I have actually seen the movie before reading the book. I think this will tend to be the case for most everyone.

The book is different from both movies. It is simpler. This is not surprising when you consider the reading level of a nine year old. This is not to say that the book does not give you more then the movie. For one it gives you a way to picture the children and parents in which ever way you see fit. I also enjoy Willey Wonka in the book. He is not as over the top as Johnny Depp, but his is a bit more eccentric then in the original movie.

If you have not read Charley and the Chocolate Factory you should. Better yet, you should pick up the book and read it with (or to) a child.

Book Review - Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Sisterhood Everlasting

by Ann Brashares

Rating - *****(5 stars)

It has been many years since I have read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and I am not even certain that I finished that trilogy. However, when I received Sisterhood Everlasting  for Christmas I picked the novel up and finished it the same day.

Sisterhood Everlasting reunites us with the Septembers ten years after the end of the trilogy. They are all approaching their 30th birthday and are in a state of hold since Tibby headed to Australia two years earlier and still has not returned.

The novel presumes that you are familiar with the main characters, the four Septembers who have been friends since birth as well as the main love interests that were mentioned in the original trilogy. However, I was able to pick up on the relationships and piece together what I think I missed or had forgotten.

This novel is a coming of age novel welcoming women into the role of adulthood, motherhood, and wife hood (is that even a word?). Despite all the challenges these young women have experienced they continue to find joy in life and each other. This novel is about joy, even in the face of tragedy. I will admit it had me crying in several places (this is not an easy feat) and I stayed up until two in the morning to finish off the story.

If you in any way love chick literature, well written fiction, or remember the traveling pants then I would highly recommend that you check out this novel! I am not big on giving a book five stars, but the writing is wonderful, the characters are beautifully human, and the plot flows well even if it is a bit predictable.