Mundie Moms

Monday, July 30, 2012

TMI Movie Casting News: We have our LUKE & Madame Dorothea


Cassie took a break from her teaching with Holly out in CA. this week to share some exciting movie news with fans today! We now have our LUKE and Madame Dorothea!!


On the casting news of Luke, Cassie had this to say, 




"Luke — Clary’s surrogate father figure, he has a hell of a dark past despite his current mild-mannered, bookstore-owning ways. The scars he bears belie his gentle heart — but he could tear you apart with his teeth if you threatened something he cared about.
Holly has long insisted Luke is her Fictional Boyfriend, so today, Holly, you have won: Aidan Turner."

You can read Cassie's entire post about Adrian's casting here




On the casting news of Madame Dorothea, Cassie said: 

"Madame Dorothea was a lot of fun to write. She’s Clary’s downstairs neighbor and a “witch” — the kind with crystal balls and Tarot cards. Her secret is that none of that magic is at all real: it’s a cover for the powerful position she actually does hold in the secret society of Downworlders.
Our Madame Dorothea is: CCH Pounder.
You may know her from The Shield. Or The X-Files. Or Warehouse 13. Or ER. Or The West Wing. Or pretty much every cool show in the known universe. Our director’s wanted to work with her for ages and I think she will be amazing. Welcome, CCH!"

I'm so excited about the casting of Madame Dorothea. I have long been a fan of CCH Pounder! I can not wait to see what she does with Madame Dorothea's character. You can read Cassie's entire post here


What do you guys think? This cast is getting better and better! You can check out the rest of the TMI casting news here.

Book Review: Survive by Alex Morel


Published by: RazorBill 
To Be Released on: August 2nd, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Sneak Peak: Read an excerpt


Hatchet meets Lost in this modern-day adventure tale of one girl's reawakening

Jane is on a plane on her way home to Montclair, New Jersey, from a mental hospital. She is about to kill herself. Just before she can swallow a lethal dose of pills, the plane hits turbulence and everything goes black. Jane wakes up amidst piles of wreckage and charred bodies on a snowy mountaintop. There is only one other survivor: a boy named Paul, who inspires Jane to want to fight for her life for the first time.
Jane and Paul scale icy slopes and huddle together for warmth at night, forging an intense emotional bond. But the wilderness is a vast and lethal force, and only one of them will survive -quoted from Goodreads



Survive is an intense, incredibly fast paced read that's full of triumph, tragedy, heartbreak, and will power. It's that will to survive that will aid Jane through the darkest moment of her life.... I'm not just talking about her desire to follow in her father's footstep to commit suicide. With all odds stacked against her, and the other survivor of a deadly plane crash in the middle of the mountains, Jane finds the hope, love and the strength to live. The book's title, SURVIVE has more than one meaning in this book, and I loved two different meanings it has in Jane's story.


Alex Morel did an awesome job with keeping his story's darker, and sometimes hard to write about subject deep, without going over board. Despite the fact I had a hard time connecting with Jane during the first part of the book, I loved her during the second half. Alex did a wonderful job at allowing me to see the changes in Jane. The first part of the book was spent on providing what Jane's agenda was (why she was flying home etc), how she got into the mental facility she's in, and her struggle to come to terms with all she's gone through, and why she's set on taking her life. Though Alex allowed me to understand why Jane was set on taking her life, I didn't connect with her during this time. I had a lot of issues with her reasoning behind wanting to do this. Despite that, it wasn't until the second half of the book, when the plane crashes did I start to connect with her. 


Talk about gut wrenching, this story is brimming with emotion on a whole different level. I thought I was prepared with what to except with Jane's story, but this story entails way more than I was anticipating. During the second half of the story, which takes places during and after the plane crash, I felt that Jane completely transforms into a much stronger character, and was much more engaging for me. She all the sudden had this spark of life in her, and had this incredible desire to live, and over come all the odds stacked against her. I loved the role Paul, the snarky, broken boy who's also had his fair share of heartbreak, plays in Jane's life  on the flight and especially after the crash. Though they had only met on their flight, he changed the way Jane felt, and how she viewed life. He pushed her like no one else had before. 


WOW, Alex created an incredibly engaging, and realistic crash site. Every emotion and the danger that encompasses this part of the book felt real. I grew up loving Hatchet, and I know this story has been compared to a modern day, older version of that book. Normally I'm not a fan books being compared, but I definitely agree with that comparison. It's well written, fast paced book, with the right amount of length to hook you. I will warn you, there is an incredibly heartbreaking scene in this book that will leave you a little broken, but it's oh so worth picking up the book. You'll miss out on all that happens leading up to that point. One a side note, there is some minor language, and this book does talk about suicide, a lot, and in a very tasteful manner. If you're a fan of survival stories, you must pick this one up! 


Be sure to visit the blog on Saturday when Alex Morel stops by to talk about his debut, and enter to win one of 3 copies I'll be giving away.

Must Have Middle Grade Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Must Have Middle Grade Reads, a weekly feature here on Mundie Moms where I spotlight last week's middle grade books I reviewed on Mundie Kids



By: Sarah Mlynowski
Published by: Scholastic
Released on: May 2012
Ages: 8 & up
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Series: Book 1, Whatever After Series

A fresh, modern spin on a classic fairy tale--from bestselling author Sarah Mlynowski! Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . . Once upon a time my brother and I were normal kids. The next minute? The mirror in our basement slurped us up and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. But hey -- we're heroes! We stopped Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray! Or not. If Snow White doesn't die, she won't get to meet her prince. And then she won't get her happy ending. Oops. Now it's up to us to: Avoid getting poisoned- Sneak into a castle- Fix Snow White's story. And then, fingers crossed, find our way home. -quoted from Goodreads

A fun spin on a beloved classic, Sarah Mlynowski takes what I loved about Snow White and gives this adventure a hilarious, modern day spin. You can read my entire 4 star review here.




By: Brian Brown
Illustrated by: Nathan Love
Published by: NBC Publishing / Rodale Publishing
Released on: 7/17/12
Ages: 8 & up
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Series: RingForce

When you believe in your dream … all is possible.

That was the message on the poster hanging on Booker’s bedroom wall—the poster of the greatest boxer of all time, Olympic gold medalist Muhammad Ali.

Booker dreamed of being an Olympian too. He was fast. Really fast. Sometimes he could even outrun the elevated train as it roared by on the platform outside his apartment building.

But little did he know when that freakish snowstorm hit Brooklyn one sunny spring day, his incredible speed would lead him to a destiny greater than he ever could have imagined: a chance to join an elite force fighting for the hopes and dreams of the whole entire world. -quoted from NBC Publishing's site

An engaging, fun read to get your kids ready for the Olympics, RINGFORCE is an exciting new book that kids of all ages will enjoy. This book isn't just about the adventure of 5 young kids who are thrown into a mission to keep the Olympic torch going, and to save the world, it also sends kids an extremely powerful, and positive message about the importance of "Following Your Dreams". I loved the author Brian Brown's experience with working a vast number of Olympic events played a big role in his ability to capture his readers attention, and teach them about Olympics, and as well as giving his readers a positive story line that will uplift and motive them. You can read my entire 4 star review here.


Middle Grade Monday:
Don't miss my Marvelous Middle Grade Monday meme on Mundie Kids, a weekly meme hosted by author Shannon Messenger's. You can check out this week's Mundie Kids feature here






Mundane Monday #147: Clockwork Princess Snippet, Magnus

Happy Monday! Today's Mundane Monday post is a teaser Cassie posted yesterday in honor of Magnus's advancement on Friday in the YA Crush Tournament. Enjoy this snippet from Clockwork Princess!



“I am not at your beck and call,” Magnus said. “I helped with de Quincey because Camille requested it of me, and Will once, because he offered me a favor in return. I am a warlock. And I do not serve Shadowhunters for free.”

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