Lola and the boy next door by Stephanie Perkins- Review by Carlyn

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Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins is sequel to Anna and the French Kiss. You can read my review here. I loved Anna the French Kiss as it’s a coming of age story and a romance set in Paris. This book is set in San Francisco and Anna is a secondary character. The main character is seventeen year old Delores “Lola” Nolan. Lola lives with her two dads and her dog Heavens to Betsey. She aspires to be a fashion designer and wears flamboyant costumes every day. When Lola learns that Cricket Bell, a boy she once loved is moving back into the neighborhood, it changes her life forever.

 I thought this book wasn’t as good as the first book. I was swept away with the first book as it was adventure to read about Anna living in a foreign country, going to a new school and learning to be independent. Lola’s journey is not as epic but there were some good parts. I liked how Lola was an eccentric who loved to dress up. Yet, she worried about whether her costumes truly expressed her personality or if she was hiding behind it.

There is a love triangle in this book between Lola, Cricket Bell and Lola’s boyfriend Max. Speaking of dream boys, I never liked the name Cricket. I wish that it had been his nickname instead. I suppose it does suit the character since he is described as tall and angular but I found it jarring. It was obvious who Lola would end up with but the love story well written. The romance in the book is passionate but nothing too scandalous for its intended audience.  There are lots of cute moments that young girls will dream about.

Another side plot is Lola’s relationship with her birth mother. Lola lives with two of her adoptive dads and her mother comes in and out of her life. Lola’s mother was a homeless junkie that her parents constantly had to rescue on occasion. Lola has an estranged relationship with her mother, resenting her life choices and burden that she puts on her family.  I thought that storyline could have been explored further.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting a light read that is a coming of age story, with romance and set in a vibrant backdrop. You don’t have to have read the first book to understand this one the first novel is briefly covered in this book.  Anna and Etienne from the first book are secondary characters in this one. It was not just a cameo either, they appear throughout the book. The next book in this trilogy is Isla and the Happily Ever After. I’m looking forward to reading that book and finishing off the rest of the series. The third book is from the point of view of Isla a minor character that was in book one.

Entertainment Mondays: Hello, My name is Doris (Monday 17 October 2016)

Sally Field stars as Doris Miller, 60 year old woman who has lived with her mother for almost her entire adult life. Doris’ mother dies suddenly leaving a huge gap in her life. At work, Doris falls in love with a new employee named John (Max Greenfield), a man in his twenties. Doris tries to win John over by befriending him and through making a fake Facebook profile. Meanwhile, John is oblivious to Doris’ feelings, seeing her only as a friend. While pursuing John, Doris experiences youth culture particularly Hipster trends and learns to become independent.

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Sally Fields did an excellent job in portraying Doris as a real and likeable person. Max Greenfield had great chemistry with her too and plays the perfect dreamboat. There were some steamy fantasy sequences that happen between Doris and John which is quite entertaining.

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I felt embarrassed for Doris when she was trying to court John and I thought he was way out of her league. I think he only viewed her as cute, eccentric old lady rather than a potential love interest. This movie also highlighted for me, the assumption that I had that older people view younger people like their grandchildren. I had forgotten that older people have desires too. In the movie, Doris went home to take care of her mother when she was in her twenties. One of my friends pointed out that Doris probably still thought of herself as a twenty year old girl which was why she went after John.

I thought this movie was sweet, funny and a little cringe worthy. I liked how Doris tried new things while chasing after John which lead to new friends and opportunities for her. I wanted to know what Doris would do in her new life after the movie ended. I enjoyed seeing her grow more confident and take control of her own life.  It reminded me that you can change your life at any age.

My 30th Birthday

On the 27^th of September, I turned the big 3 0. This year I decided to mark the occasion by going to an Escape Room with my friends. An Escape Room is themed room where players are locked in the room for about an hour and they have to solve a series of puzzles to get out. The rooms themes usually have a mystery or crime theme. The rooms are monitor via camera and players are usually given a telephone so they can call for clues.

I booked the Forensics room at Strike Bowling in Brisbane. The bowling company has branched out to have themed Escape rooms too. The Forensics scenario is that players are hunting down a serial killer. My friends and I had a lot of fun playing detectives. Unfortunately, we didn’t solve the crime in time. What got us in the end was trying to put a code into a padlock. We actually had the right code but we couldn’t open the lock. It was some solace to my friend when the supervisor let her open the lock after the time ran out because my best friend was dying to know what was inside. If we had to do it again, we’d be more meticulous with the clues rather than turning the room upside looking for clues here and there. We’ve already made plans to go again and I have a feeling it might become a tradition.

Apart from that, I went out to dinner with various friends and family in celebration of my birthday. I got a few presents too, mainly money from family and beauty products from friends. I know it sounds silly but I do feel different by turning 30. I feel more of a grown up and closer to death! So, I feel that I ought to do more with my life such as go travelling and take more risks. 

Entertainment Monday: American Ultra ( 3 October 2016)

Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is a stoner who works the graveyard shift at a convenience store. He passes the time by drawing and wishing he was spending his time with his girlfriend Phoebe (Kirsten Stewart). One day, a woman enters the store and tells him a coded message that Mike dismisses. 

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The message was from Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) a CIA agent warning him that he is about to be terminated. Mike was a part of a government experiment to make super soldiers. His memory was wiped when the program was shut down. The coded message that Victoria stated to Mike activates his fighting skills just in time for when the first assassin appears. Mike must fight for his life, protect Phoebe and learn the truth about his identity.

I loved the premise of this movie and I thought Jesse Eisenberg and Kirsten Stewart were excellent as two kids with no clue. They have good chemistry with each other and seemed like a real couple. I liked how devoted the characters were to each other and how Mike adored Phoebe and how Phoebe was so supportive of Mike. It was entertaining to see the contrast between Mike’s sensitive nature and his killing skills.

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Topher Grace stars as Adrian Yates, a CIA director who is the villain in the movie. He plays Yates as just a young man trying to get ahead in his career by being ruthless. The dialogue between Adrian Yates and Victoria Lasseter adds to the humorous premise.

The movie is an action comedy but I didn’t find the movie that funny. It was a little amusing rather than laugh out loud for me. Most of the funny scenes occur due to Mike’s bewilderment of his abilities and how he kills people using ordinary objects. The fight scenes were excellent but a little too gory for me. I don’t like seeing a lot of blood. Other viewers probably won’t have a problem with it. 

Good things in term 3

I’m a first year teacher teaching in the outback. Term 3 was a series of ups and downs but I wasn’t so harried so I had time to enjoy myself and be present. Here are some good things that happened in Term 3.

Variety Bash

The Variety Bash is a charity event where drivers travel around Australia to raise money for disadvantaged children. Anyone can participate in the Variety Bash, as long as they raise $7600 and have a car that is 30 years old. The cars usually get outlandishly decorated for fun and the participants dress in costumes. This year, the group travelled from Melbourne to Darwin. They visit rural towns along the way and my town was one of them.

The children look forward to the event as the Bashers had visited the town before. They bring in a lot of business to the town and it’s good to meet new people. The group stayed in the caravan parks, motels and in people’s homes. I would have liked to have hosted someone but I didn’t have a spare bed. My school hosted the group for breakfast…. all 300 of them. I volunteered to help with breakfast. So on a cold Saturday, we served hot breakfast items such as eggs, bacon and savoury mince as well as toast, muffins, cereals and fruits.

The cars were beautifully decked out, each one having a theme and most seemed to be sponsored by companies. Most of the Bashers were in costume much to the delight of the children. It was like trick or treating in reverse as the adults were dressed up. They handed out treats to all the kids who had come and the children walked away with bags full of goods. Some kids had two or three bags. The kids received sweets and toys. I was given a usb in a shape of a racing car and stickers!

Career Week

The last week of school was career week for the high school students. The juniors had an in school incursion where people from various professions came to visit them. They also visited places in town and did work experience. I was lucky enough to accompany the seniors on a four day excursion out to a major city.  Some of the kids had not much exposure to the outside world and they had their first experience going to restaurants and hotel. We spent our time looking over the universities and colleges as well as taking tours of some companies. It was also a shopping trip as well as we stopped over at malls to have lunch. The children brought a lot of money with them to buy things they couldn’t get back home. On the trip,  I experienced laser tag for the first time! It was fun and I loved running around.

Wedding

I was invited to a country wedding for a staff member. She had a barn wedding and it was gorgeous.  The wedding was held in the backyard followed by a reception in a barn.  The barn was beautifully decorated with fairy lights and there were hessian table settings to suit the country theme.

I am looking forward to next term which will be final one for the year.  I’m looking forward to the end of year activities like Christmas carols, prom and graduation. 

Entertainment Monday (19 September 2016) Pants on Fire

Pants on Fire is a made of tv movie by Disney. It’s a story about Jack Parker (Bradley Steven Perry) , a 15 year old boy who lies to get out of trouble and to impress people. His biggest lie is that he helps an underprivileged boy named Mikey by being his friend and tutor. Jack made up Mikey so that he could have an excuse for being late and not doing things. Jack’s principal nominates Jack for the Student of the Year award for being an upstanding student. The Student of the Year gets their dream internship and Jack wants to be a bat boy for the Red Sox.

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After Jack’s nomination Mikey (played by Tyrel Jackson Williams) appears as well as some other people he lied about such as his hot long distance girlfriend and aliens that had tried to adbuct him. Jack and his friends try to solve whether Mikey has magically come to life or if he’s just another liar trying to con them.

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Bradley Steven Perry’s acting was satisfactory for a kids movie. Jack is a likeable character despite being a liar. His lies never hurt anyone but he was starting to become a compulsive liar. All the rest of the cast are okay too rather than outstanding but I expected as much. The roles were one dimensional and typical for kids movies. Jack had two friend, one goof ball and one intelligent one that exist just to support him,  two clueless parents, an resentful sister and a cute love interest.

I really liked the premise of this movie and working out the truth about Mikey. It’s not a clever mystery and it’s not supposed to be as it is a kid’s movie. I thought Tyrel Williams was excellent as Mikey. He played him eccentrically like he was alien in human form which added to the mystery. There were a few cute and funny moments as Jack tries to find out about Mikey. The best part being when Jack sneaks into the house of the girl he likes because she had invited Mikey over. There are some near misses where he almost gets discovered by her family members which I thought was amusing.

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Entertainment Mondays: Charlie Puth (5 September 2016)

I don’t keep up with new music anymore but I sometimes stumble across new songs through Youtube auto-play. One song that has been on my replay list is We Don’t Talk Anymore – Charlie Puth featuring Selena Gomez.

 I love duets and I love the laid back vibe of this song. It’s about a couple who have broken up but still miss each other. I’m a fan of Selena and I particularly like the live version of this song.

I listen to a few other Charlie Puth songs and I like One Call Away. My students sometimes sing it too. 

My life in the Outback 5 months on

I’m now 5 months into my stay as a teacher of the Outback.  Not everything has gone according to plan but I’m making the best of it. I’ve recently changed my position in the school which wasn’t something that I wanted to do. However, it has given me new opportunities which will be good for my career. Instead of being a classroom teacher, I am now a learning support teacher. It means that I help students from various classes who are struggling with literacy and numeracy. It is a rewarding job to teach students who are falling behind. They don’t always want to be helped but I keep trying anyways.

Besides school, I have grown very comfortable in this town. It rained heavily a few months ago so the desert is a nice green. Well… as green as a desert can get. It will never be lush in the desert and while the plants are green, they are still rough sparse and pointy looking things. It’s almost spring and I look forward to anything that will bloom here.

Another thing I am looking forward to in spring is Spring Break! I’ve learnt my lesson when it comes to school holidays and that is to have all my work finished before I leave for vacation. The last time around, I decided to go on vacation in the first week and then finish my work on the second week. It was a mistake as I had unexpected delays.  I ended up doing all my work during the weekend before school would start. I nearly had a breakdown.

I will have my 30^th birthday in the holidays. I am planning to go back to Brisbane and have a big night out with my girlfriends. I was thinking about doing a spa day.

Entertainment Monday: Grimsby (22 August 2016)

Grimsby is the latest Sacha Baron Cohen movie. He stars as Nobby Butcher who lives in Grimsby, an English seaport town. Nobby is a family man of eleven children with his wife Dawn (Rebel Wilson). The only thing missing in his life is his brother Sebastian ( Mark Strong ) who he was separated from as a child. Nobby learns that his brother will be attending at a humanitarian benefit and goes to meet him. 

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Sebastian is a M16 agent to stop the assassination of a philanthropist Rhonda George (Penelope Cruz).  The reunion between Nobby and Sebastian results in Sebastian being mistaken for the assassin. The two brothers both go on the run while trying to clear Sebastian’s name.

This is my favourite Sacha Baron Cohen film. I think this film has a more solid plot than some of his other movies.  I love action comedies and my guilty pleasure is watching chav reality shows so this was a good mix for me. I’m astounded by Cohen’s dirty mind as his humour is both crude, shocking and hilarious. It’s not a film for everyone as it may offend some.

I thought all the actors in the film were great. They all have a talent for comedy and their timing is just right.  Rebel Wilson, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong were especially good with each other.

Harry Potter fans may delight in seeing an actor playing Daniel Radcliffe in this film. Perhaps the real Daniel Radcliffe was busy or he didn’t want to be in the film.  I don’t think the “Daniel Radcliffe” looks anything like the real Dan but he is used as a running gag in this film.

I hope there’s another Grimsby movie. It would be a good franchise. 

Winter holidays in Townsville

Australian schools generally have two weeks of vacation per term. This is my first year of full time teaching and I was glad of the winter break! I’m currently teaching in the outback and I decided to go to Townsville for vacation. Townsville is one of the major rural cities in northern Queensland. My brother Paul came up from Brisbane to spend some time with me too. I also had an impromptu trip home to Brisbane after some travel plans fell through.

REEF HQ GREAT BARRIER REEF AQUARIUM

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I had been to the aquarium before when I had a brief stopover for work but it was so much fun being there with a company. The Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium has the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium. It has a diverse range of tropical, fresh and salt water sea life including sharks, jelly fish and turtles.

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As it was the school holidays, there were many shows on. We practically spent the whole day there..

TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

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We saw the main attraction in the museum which was the exhibit of the HMS Pandora. The Pandora was a British ship that sunk in the Great Barrier Reef in 1791. The boat was in Australia to arrest the mutinous crew of The Bounty. The Bounty had been on an expedition to get some breadfruit from the Pacific Islands to grow on British slave colonies.

Some of the Bounty crew had forced their superior, Captain William Bligh and his supporters into a dinghy so they could use the ship to sail back to Tahiti. They enjoyed the lifestyle and some had started families.

For years, there were accounts that Captain Bligh was a cruel tyrant but modern historians believe he was fairly tame for that period. He wanted a tight run ship but he wasn’t a people person which put him at odds with people.

We also saw a Lego exhibit called Towers of Tomorrow. There were huge sculptures out of Lego of  Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, Taiwan’s Taipei 101, Japan’s Tokyo Skytree, Kuala Lumpur’s twin Petronas Towers  and Sydney Tower.

ARMY MUSEUM OF NORTH QUEENSLAND

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This museum has an extensive collection of Australian army artifacts. It was my favourite place that we visited during our stay in Townsville. The artifacts were arranged by the war that they came from. I found it humbling to be reminded of the sacrifices that people have made for this country.

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On the last day of my holiday, I learnt the train I was supposed to be travelling on had derailed. So I decided to go home to Brisbane for a few days. It was great catching up with my family and friends. I didn’t end up going on the train again as they still had no fixed it so I took the bus back to my rural community.

I’ve come back to my job as teacher all refreshed. What I did learn was that I need to make more time for myself. Last term, most of my life was about work which I believe made teaching a harder experience. 

My first term in the Outback

In April, I moved to Outback Australia to teach in a small country school. I am a graduate teacher and this is my first real appointment. I am teaching a multi-age class as there are not many students at this school. I also teach almost all the subjects in the curriculum as the staff size is small too.

 It has been a big learning experience in being here in the Outback. Some of my romantic views on teaching and living in the outback have faded away. For instance, I wish there was more variety when it came to groceries and more things to do in general. I’m also not the teacher that I dreamt I would be. Some of it is due to my lack of experience and the other to time constraints and bureaucracy.

When I was a student teacher, I use to make creative lessons that were fun and engaging. Now, I just don’t have the time for that sort of thing. I use to be in survival mode where I could only plan on a day to day basis, then as I got more experienced I could plan a weekly schedule and thankfully now I can do term planning. During survival mode, I just concentrated on getting the students through the curriculum and doing the recommended lesson plans. Unfortunately, sometimes that wasn’t the most engaging thing for the students. Students don’t have to have fun to learn but they do have to be interested in their learning. We got through it but next term I hope to plan more engaging things for the students.

To be honest, there were more tough times than there were happy times. I cried more during this term than I do in a year. I’m not normally a crier but I have been overworked and stressed. My experience as a new teacher is not unique. New teachers often go through a hard time as they adjust to the realities of teaching.  I’m optimistic about next term though because I have time to plan for it during the winter break. I’m actually going on holiday for a week during the winter break but I’m still bringing my work with me. I have to mark assessments, write report cards and plan for the next term.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan- Review by Carlyn

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a coming of age novel written by John Green and David Levithan. Both authors are very successful writers in their own right and they have both written many young adult books. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is their first collaboration. This book is unique in that John Green and David Levithan decided to write a novel about two characters that have the same name and the authors chose to each have one Will Grayson. The authors decided to write three chapters each about their Will Grayson and they wrote the rest of the novel together. John Green wrote the first three even numbered chapters and David Levithan wrote three odd numbered chapters after that.

At first, I found it hard to see to distinguish between the two Will Graysons because I didn’t know that the story would be told from both their point of views and that it would be in first person. However, I soon learnt the differences between the characters. I also learnt from doing research in this review, John Green’s Will Grayson’s text is all in lowercase and proper English while David Levithan’s Will Grayson has coarser language.

John Green’s Will Grayson is affluent with two parents who are doctors. He is best friends with Tiny Cooper, a flamboyantly gay teenager who is writing an autobiographical play. Will becomes apathetic after losing some friends for defending Tiny against the homophobic slurs that they said against him.  Will and Tiny’s relationship is strained when Tiny bases a character on Will Grayson in his play and Will starts to suspect that Tiny is self absorbed. Will is also interested in their mutual friend Jane but she has a boyfriend.

David Levithan’s Will Grayson is poorer than the other Will Grayson. He’s gay but hiding it from his friends and family. Will Grayson thinks he’s found love online with a boy named Isaac but Isaac isn’t what he seems. Levithan’s Will Grayson is also going through depression.

This was my first young adult novel that had a gay main character. I would say that it’s rare to have a gay protagonist. I wasn’t expecting it but it was an interesting to read about a romance between two guys. What I really liked from the book was Tiny’s musical at the end. Levithan even published the whole script, it’s called Hold Me Closer: the Tiny Cooper Story. It sounds like it would be a fun musical to watch and I would love to hear all the songs.

I didn’t really like the Will Graysons or Tiny Cooper to be honest. It was the relationships between the Will Graysons and Tiny Cooper that I found jarring. Firstly, John Green’s Will Grayson and Tiny Cooper have been friends since primary school. However, it seemed that Tiny took his friend for granted and he has a tendency to be self-centred. This is sort of addressed in the book. Will Grayson also learns that he’s a bore to be around when he’s apathetic about life. I don’t think it gets resolved though but they do remain close friends at the end. The other Will Grayson and Tiny get involved in a clingy relationship which I found nauseating.  Although, I do know that it is normal for young people to fall hard each other especially when it’s your first romance as it was with Will Grayson.

I didn’t like this book but I’m still interested in reading it again someday. I want to know whether my feelings will change after a re-read. Two of John Green’s books Paper Towns and The Fault in their Stars have been turned into movies .I would be interested to watch Will Grayson, Will Grayson if it ever gets adapted into film.

Entertainment Mondays: Taeyeon (Monday 4 July 2016)

Taeyeon is an Kpop singer from the group Girls Generation. I recently stumbled upon her song Starlight featuring DEAN after watching a video about Korea. The song is about being in love and how they are each other’s “starlight”.  Starlight has been on my repeat list ever since. I love the cruisey, dreamlike vibe of the video clip which I believe is filmed somewhere in California and the music is a fun chill out song.

After listening to Starlight, I went to listen to other the songs by Taeyeon. I also like I featuring Verbal Jint which set in a gorgeous location but this time in New Zealand. The song is about escaping drudgery and going after your dreams.

Thirdly, I love her song Rain where Taeyeon sings about how every time it rains she misses her loved one. I love the symbolism in the video clip when the room starts to slowly flood.  

I’ve definitely become a fan of Taeyeon. I look forward to listening to her other songs. 

Entertainment Mondays: Franz Schubert (6 May 2016)

Marche Militaire composed by Franz Schubert has been in my mind for the last week. I've recently started to listen to classical music while I do my work on the computer. I love to listen to music while I work and find classical music to be relaxing and less distracting than contemporary music with singing.

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I don't know much about classical music, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Beethoven or Mozart but I know what I like. What I like about the march is it's sprightly, I've been humming the tune all day long.

I first heard Marche Militaire from Youtube by a group called Heart Strings Cello

I later learnt that Marche Militaire was written as a piano duet also called four hands piano. I think it would be fun to play the piano with another person. I'll have to add it to my bucket list.

Entertainment Monday: Dawin featuring Silento ( May 23 2016)

Dawin is a Youtube star whose debut song Dessert reached over a hundred million views. He has since signed with GMA network. Silento is a singer famous for his song Watch Me (Whip/ Nae Nae) which features a dance that has become viral.

The love interest in the song is Rosanna Pansino, a fellow Youtuber with a popular baking channel. 

I’m a teacher and I dedicate this next song to my grade 4/5/6 class.  (I teach in Outback, Australia in a small class which  I have a multi-level class. )My little girls love the song Dessert by Dawin featuring Silento.  I’ve only heard snippets of this song until one of the girls won a class reward which was to play music in class. They have been singing this song all the time. After viewing the song I can see why they like it. It has a cute video clip and it’s easy to sing. It would be just the kind of song I would have liked at their age. 

New life in the Outback

It’s been a week since I moved to outback Australia to teach at rural school. My appointment happened so suddenly where I was interviewed twice in a period of two days and given a week to move to my new school. It’s a dream come true for me as I have always wanted to teach in rural Australia. I fell in love with the idea after attending some seminars and taking an elective at university on rural education. The government also offers great incentives for teaching in rural locations such as subsidized housing and free flights and higher pay rate than teaching in the city.

I now live in a small farming community with a population of 1000 residents. I prefer not to say exactly where I am to avoid breaching any professional standards. The locals are very friendly people and this is the kind of town where you can leave your house unlocked. Everyone knows everyone so you do have to be careful about saying things.

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My new class is a boisterous bunch. I had this naïve thought that country kids would be more innocent and wholesome but I have quickly learnt that it is not the case. They are high spirited and need to be reigned in all the time. In some ways, my students are more mature in that they have had to work on farms and their chores have a real contribution to their family. Many of the children know how to ride a motorbike or ride a horse to help herd cattle.

As I have become acquainted with my new home, I’ve started to learn issues facing the community. The drought had a major impact on the inhabitants as this is a farming community. Many families have left and businesses have closed down as they are unable to support themselves. There are many houses that are for sale and empty shop fronts which the locals say have been empty for years. Many places are run down too as it’s hard to get services here. Only people who own their home seem to have made an effort to maintain them.

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The children also seem to have huge gaps in their learning. They have had a succession of teachers who have only stayed in this community for a short time. The school has trouble retaining staff due to the isolation and some office politics unfortunately. I have the feeling that the children don’t want to invest in me emotionally in case I leave. I have told them that I am definitely staying until the end of the year but even then I was hesitant about saying that. I don’t know what the future holds. For now, I know that I won’t be going anywhere but I would leave if my dad became very ill. My dad had a heart attack in 2014 and still has issues with his heart.

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My contract is for six months with the possibility for extension next year. If offered, I would agree to teach for another year. I think I would be happy to teach here for about four years. I don’t want to live here forever. I miss city life and my friends and family back at home.  In the meantime,  I will try to make the most of my time in this rural community and take the offers that come.

Entertainment Mondays: The Spice Girls Part 2 ( 25 April 2016)

I realized while I was writing my Spice Girls post from two week ago that I wasn’t done with the Spice Girls yet. So here’s Entertainment Monday: Spice Girl part 2!

So after the Spice Girls disbanded I still kept an interest in the girls’ solo projects. Here are my favourite solo spice girl songs.

Mel B (Scary Spice) I want you back featuring Missy Elliot

I remember when this song came out in 1998. I thought the song was so dope and I still think that could hold up in 2016. The video clip has a Matrix type theme where Mel B and Missy are in a computerized world and it’s all green inside. The leading man in the video clip became Mel B’s first husband too and she was pregnant at the time of filming although you can’t see it.

Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) What took you so long

I thought this song was so cute and I like how it has a country music vibe.

Mel C (Sporty Spice)  Never be the same again featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes

Mel C was my favourite Spice Girl. I like many of her solo songs. Never be the same again is a song about moving out of the friend zone and into a relationship.  I love the futuristic house that the video clip is set in. Sadly Lisa died in a car accident a few years later.

Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) Out of your Mind by the True Steppers featuring Victoria Beckham and Dane Bowers

Another song with a futuristic video clip but this time with dance music. I really loved this song and I use to play it on repeat all the time.

Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) Look at Me

This was her first single after she left the Spice Girls. I love it because it’s loud and brashy which announces her way as a solo artist.

Blatantly Bogus by Paul Stafford- Review by Carlyn

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Blantantly Bogus by Paul Stafford is part of a collection of short stories for children. There are six books in total. This is book number one.

There are seven stories to each book. The stories in this book include:

The Electric Undies- Will makes undies that will make him smarter so that he can cheat on a test.

The Funnel Web Run- Barney loves torturing spiders until they get their revenge on him.

The Big Dinner- A big dinner party goes wrong when the suckling pig is misplaced.

The Miraculous Muscle Machine- A scrawny boy gets a muscle machine.

Brainiac- An arrogant prodigy bets he can make the best science project.

Flee Fly- A kid who is mean to flies.

The Discount Christmas Company- A bum is hired to play Santa.

The stories usually have some kind of twist and some of the protagonists are horrible people who get their comeuppance at the end.

My sixth grade teacher read the whole series to the class. I really enjoyed it especially for the twists which I didn’t see coming as a kid. The books are no longer in print. I forgot all about the series until I found a copy at the newsagent some years ago. It was buried underneath some old magazines and other paperbacks. There wasn’t even a price on it so they decided that it would cost a dollar.

I bought the book to see if I would still enjoy the series as an adult and so that I could read it to a class one day. After reading the stories, I discovered that I still think it is an entertaining read.  It wasn’t as exciting as hearing the stories the first time around though. I knew everything that would happen in the stories.

The series is aimed at middle school kids and I think they would enjoy it. The stories are funny and all the stories are about kids. Some of the language is bawdy and I realized that my teacher must have censored some of it when reading aloud. I would be comfortable giving it to a young family friend but I wouldn’t give it to a student.  

I hope to collect all the books again but I won’t be gung ho about it. I’ll just rummage around for it whenever I’m at a thrift shop rather than buy it from Amazon. I won’t be sad if I never manage to get the complete collection.