tricks

Trick
$24.98
This movie is amazing. I remember living in NYC, in the very same places where the lead character is living, and all of the things that happens to him were things I remember so well from being in the theater there.

Jim Fall has captured such a lovely, heart breaking, and hysterical story, and has put together a bunch of really lovely actors in all the roles.

Who can't fall in love with the lead hunk, Pitoc? Who doesn't love what Tori Spelling does in this role? And Campbell is so charming that you just want him to have a happy ending, in more ways than one!!!

This is a film that should be a part of everyone's DVD collection..period.

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog
$18.99
I'm so into this book! Beautifully designed, photographed and written, 101 Dog Tricks is perfect for me and my 5-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. Since he was six weeks old, Rocket has been getting by on his cuteness (and very well, I might add). In addition to being physically energetic, he has an active mind and gets bored easily. Kyra Sundance and Chalcy's wonderful book has given him some fun mental challenges and, as the subtitle says, created a greater bond between us. I highly recommend this book!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Street Magic
$18.95
Great selection of tricks and side bars
I really liked the layout of the book and all the side comments
Very interesting stuff - Tom Ogden always does a great job researching his info and making sure it is succint for the reader
Great read!

Flirtin' With the Monster: Your Favorite Authors on Ellen Hopkins' Crank and Glass
$12.95
Knowledge is power, and although Ellen Hopkins no doubt would have preferred to not have lived the nightmare of her daughter's dance with Meth and other drugs, she has chosen to share her experiences with others. We should be grateful she has.

FLIRTIN' WITH THE MONSTER is Ellen's non-fiction, no-nonsense account of why she chose to tell her story to the world, her choice of the fiction genre verses memoir, and her solid belief that teenagers deserve to read about real issues that affect their very real lives. We can't protect our teenagers forever, and if one adolescent can read about someone else's mistakes, and be frightened into not ever making the choices Ellen's daughter made, then she will have paved her way to heaven.

In this title, Ellen has joined forces with numerous people, and included letters written by her own family, "Kristina" included, to discuss the Monster, her writing, and the impact her two best-selling novels have had on their own and others lives. The book is testimony to the influence that a story such as this can have on a person, young or old, when the choice to try a drug that first time presents itself. And it will present itself.

As Niki Burnham so eloquently puts it in the opening chapter on role models our kids are reading about, or not allowed to read about, "...those caring parents do their teen a greater service by allowing them to read whatever they want and making it clear they're willing to discuss it with them afterward: Protecting them by preparing them."

The world is full of imperfect people with imperfect lives. Why should the books we open to our teenagers be any different?

Reviewed by: Angie Fisher