Edward Scissorhands is back!

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

The Comic!

In case you have never seen the film (where have you been?!) Here is the trailer.

                           

Synopsis of the Comic:
Edward Scissorhands comes from Kate Leth, writer of the Adventure Time comics and Fraggle Rock Miniseries, and artist for Zombie Tales and Cathulu Tales. Taking place two generations after the original movie and focusing on Kim's granddaughter (the same granddaughter that, in the original movie, Kim is telling the story to) Edward is now a myth among the town but he still lives in the same old abandoned mansion, all by himself. We get to meet a whole new cast of characters and hear more of Edwards tale in this new chapter of Edward's tale.

Review:
I originally picked this comic up because Edward Scissorhands is one of my favorite movies and ballets, and it looked perfect for my husband who is also an avid fan. I watch it every December for Christmas. The cover was gorgeous, however when I saw how the characters were drawn within the comic I put it back on the shelf. I was disappointed that it didn't match the artwork on the cover. But in the end I couldn't resist and bought it as a gift for David.

We sat down and read it together and we were hooked from the start. The story was beautiful and even though it wasn't what I expected the artwork wasn't bad.

I really liked that the story picked up with Kim's granddaughter and is telling us a completely original tale. Things seem to be taking a dark turn and the story sucks you in. When it came to the end my husband was saying "No! I want more story!" And I had to agree. I can't wait for the next issue.

It should be noted that my husband is not a reader. Not even magazines or comic books. After reading Edward Scissorhands he told me "I love comics now." He went on to read two more that night and two the next day. I have to give props to anything that makes a reader out of my hubby.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

(Barely) Catching Fire!

SYNOPSIS: 

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

REVIEW:

The first time I tried to read Catching fire  I just couldn't get into it. I was kind of bored and it didn't keep my attention. This time I did actually finish it, though sometimes I had the same feeling. Overall I liked Catching Fire, but it isn't often that I enjoy a movie over it's book and this was one of those times. I found the novel to be a little slow and, sadly, kind of boring. It wasn't "on fire" with excitement, it was more like the embers of a fire, providing a little heat here and there but not much in the way of substance.

There were some things brought up in the novel which wasn't in the movie that I enjoyed.I really enjoyed seeing Katniss and the tributes basically giving the capital the finger and also seeing Katniss grow genuine feelings for Peeta (who I think might always win my affection between the two boys.) Reading about Rue again made me cry and I did choke up here and there throughout the novel.

I will admit that the beginning of the novel seemed much stronger and more interesting than the second half did. The film did a better job with them being in the Arena than the book did but the Victory tour is much more interesting in the novel.

And of course I liked Catching Fire for the issues it raised, just as I liked Hunger Games for the same reasons, but this is simply a novel I didn't fall in love with.

Merry Christmas Lil' Vampi

 

Synopsis:

Christmas has come to Stoker, Maine, and nobody is more excited than resident monster-fighter Li'l Vampi!

But when an evil curse steals Christmas from the minds of mankind, Vampi must team with a beast of holiday lore to save Santa Claus, defeat a pagan god bent on revenge, and save Christmas for boys and girls around the world!

Review:

Lil' Vampi is an absolutely adorable comic that's great for young children and those that are yound children at heart. The Holiday Edition is wonderful! I could see the whole family gathering around and reading it together year after year as they prepare for the holiday season. This is one of those comic books that could inspire young kids to love reading!

One of my favorite parts of the comic is how it slips in educational information without the reader knowing!

This issue of Lil' Vampi may be focused on Lil' Vampi saving Santa Claus and Christmas it also talks about the other solstice holidays that were celebrated before Christmas came to be. There is a little bit mentioned about Yule, the German Pagan festival that celebrates that Winter Solstice that was absorbed by the Christians into Christmas, but the main focus is put on Koliada! A holiday that is almost entirely unknown nowadays.

Koliada is the holiday that surrounds the winter season where Veles, god of the underworld, would send spirits into the world of the living. Festivals were held in his honor in winter as it was believed that chaos was stronger and the borders between the land of the living and the land of the dead were weaker.

This is Veles. Not the Lil' Vampi version though!

Lil Vampi is wonderful in the way that is sheds light on a holiday that is no longer in vogue or talked of much!

I definitely recommend this to any family out there looking for a new and interesting read this holiday season!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Fans of the following would enjoy this comic:

Sabrina the Animated Series either the comics or the t.v. show

Reach Out to the Hurting

This photo is from an incident that occurred in my city today. This young man was going to jump from an overpass in a suicide attempt. Concerned citizens came together and talked him out of his decision and hopefully he is now getting the help he needs.

Why am I talking about this tonight?

Because first of all it didn't have to come to this for this young man. If you feel this hopeless, please reach out to someone. If you feel like you can't reach out to someone close to you please call a help line or call 911. There is no shame is asking for help.

Secondly, this is an amazing example of the power you hold. These people had no obligation to stop for this hurting man. They did so out of the goodness of their hearts. Out of compassion and caring. And in doing so they saved a life.

If you think someone is standing on the edge please reach out to them. You never know if you may be saving a life.

This is our whole focus this Movember. Please spread the word. Help us break the stigma that having a Mental Illness holds as well as the stigma that asking for help carries.

And if you can, please support my husbands Movember Fundraising, or simply pass along his efforts and message. There is a giveaway for all donors.

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

UPCOMING READATHON!

  

Library of the Seen is proud to announce that this December we will be holding a month long readathon. Starting Midnight December 1st and ending Midnight January 1st we are asking participants to read as much as they can AND to find sponsors for their reading. Whether it is a nickle a page or a couple dollars for each book you read in the month of December, it's up to you and your sponsors. 

We aren't concerned with what you are reading. It can be textbooks, novels, novellas, graphic novels, manga, comic books, cook books, picture books or magazines!All we care about is that you are reading throughout the month. 

But why are we asking you to get sponsors? We are asking you to get sponsors for your reading to raise money for a great program that promotes literacy. Last year it was Sesame Street Workshop. We are still deciding who will be getting the money we raise this year and we would love to hear your suggestions!

What's in it for you? We will be holding giveaways throughout the month as an incentive to our readathon readers. We want you to be rewarded for your efforts!

How do you participate? There is no age requirement to participate. This is a great way to talk to your kids about the importance and joys of both reading and giving back to the community. Read together every night and that counts towards your reading for the month! Join as an individual or as a family. You can sign up for the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/390080247816056/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming and invite all of your friends and family! Post your reading progress every week and cheer all our readers on!

I Hope That I See A Lot of You Signing Up! 

Lets make this a Kick-Ass Readathon!

Because we are all about those books! Start Reading!

Mustache Seal of Approval!

Three Books with the Mustache

Seal of Approval!

 

 

In honor of Movember I am highlighting books that deal with Young Adult Males and Mental Health.
Here are three picks that I recommend that you check out.
 

 

Synopsis: It’s time for eighteen-year-old James Sveck to begin his freshman year at Brown. Instead, he’s surfing the real estate listings, searching for a sanctuary—a nice farmhouse in Kansas, perhaps. Although James lives in twenty-first-century Manhattan, he’s more at home in the faraway worlds of Eric Rohmer or Anthony Trollope—or his favorite writer, the obscure and tragic Denton Welch. James’s sense of dislocation is exacerbated by his willfully self-absorbed parents, a disdainful sister, his Teutonically cryptic shrink, and an increasingly vague, D-list celebrity grandmother. Compounding matters is James’s growing infatuation with a handsome male colleague at the art gallery his mother owns, where James supposedly works at his summer job but where he actually plots his escape to the prairie.

In the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Booklist has hailed Cameron as “one of the best writers about middle-class youth since Salinger”), Peter Cameron paints an indelible portrait of a teenage hero holding out for a better grownup world.


Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Purchase It: http://www.amazon.com/Someday-This-Pain-Will-Useful-ebook/dp/B004UND8GG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415355091&sr=1-1&keywords=someday+this+pain+will+be+useful+to+you

  

Synopsis: Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.

Purchase It: http://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415355148&sr=1-1&keywords=the+catcher+in+the+rye

 

Synopsis: Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Purchase It: http://www.amazon.com/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/1451696191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415355208&sr=1-1&keywords=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower 

GIVEAWAY

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kicking off Movember!

It's MOVEMBER!

What is Movember?

Movember is when men donate their face to raising awareness for men's health. It began with focusing on testicular and prostate cancer and has grown to also raise awareness of men's mental health. 

Men who participate shave their face at the beginning of November and spend the month growing an awesome 'stache and raise money for mens health programs.

  

   How will Library of the Seen Be Involved?                

Here at  Library of the Seen we will be focusing on books that deal with the issue of Mental Health and YA males. There are so many books out there that talk about females with mental health issues but I feel like there aren't as many books out there about males dealing with these issues.

I will also be having guest posts from men and some women about living with mental illness and hopefully some about living with testicular or prostate cancer as well.

It is time that we shed the light on mental health and help erase the stigma that having a mental illness or seeking help somehow makes you less macho or manly.

From now on whenever you see this image

It will signify that the book I am reviewing deals with mental health issues.

                                        

 

 GIVEAWAY

I want you to participate in Movember as well! So to reward you I will be hosting an awesome Movember themed giveaway! 

(Please do not cheat. I check all the entries. If you cheat you will either be disqualified or have that entry removed at my discretion.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Short and Sweet (and Spooky!) Reads for Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday!
And please make sure you keep your pets inside. Especially the black ones!
Today I have lots of reviews of quick reads as a special treat.

 

SYNOPSIS: 

On a dare from her best friends, Heather goes inside the town's haunted house, where Frank Blackwell killed his wife and then hung himself in the basement. But while in the house, Heather is confronted by a ghost from her past, her mother who died accidentally one year ago. Now, Heather must not only escape from the evil lurking inside the house, but from the demons of her own past.

 

Review:

 

Disappointing. Predictable. Boring. All these words came to mind reading The Basement. Honestly I didn't enjoy this read. The only redeeming factor was the fact that it was free. 

 

Rating: 2/5 Stars

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

Madeline is a short horror story of approximately 3000 words.

A shed full of macabre secrets... A wife gone crazy... A nine-year-old girl that must die.

Jonah fights for his life while trying to stop his deranged wife from killing their daughter in the name of the Lord.

Sometimes, the Devil truly is in the details.

**Warning** Madeline is a short horror story not intended for anyone who may be offended by graphic language or scenes of violence. Don't read this story if you are squeamish or easily offended because you won't like it.

 

REVIEW:

 

Madeline was really interesting. I would tell you you would like it if you liked xyz but that would be giving things away! It isn't the most original story but it was well written. I thought it would be more gritty given the warning but it wasn't that awful. (Nowhere near the level of Saw!) Well done for a short story and didn't leave me wondering what would happen next.

RATING: 3/5 Stars

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS: 

'THEY' is a short story by Vincent Hobbes. It was first published in 'The Endlands' (Jan. 2010)

A relaxing drive in the Rocky mountains becomes madness as two couples find themselves trapped in a blizzard.

 

REVIEW:

 

They reads like the beginning of a Stephen King novel. It seems utterly ordinary at the start but things start going from bad to worse fast. I could definitely see this short story being expanded into a full length thriller. A great short story that I would recommend to anyone looking for a creepy read today!

RATING: 4/5 Stars

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS:

 

Rayea isn't daddy's little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she's not interested in his schemes for world domination. Instead she wants to spend her time shopping on the Internet, rescuing humans from a horrific eternity, and practicing martial arts with her seven foot hellhound. Then one day everything changes. Here's the first part of her story about how it all began. (6,155 words)

 

RATING: 4.5 Stars

 

SYNOPSIS:

Living a life with an overbearing father can be a challenge. For Rayea whose father is the fallen angel, Lucifer, it's been torture. In the second installment of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea finds peace when she visits the House of G. There she hopes for a new beginning among Blick's angelic friends, only to discover a vampire from Hell may not be welcome. (28,776 words)

 

RATING: 4/5 Stars

 

REVIEW:

 

What a wonderful, wonderful, new take on vampires. I loved the first two books in the Vampire from Hell series. I devoured both during my breaks at work. Rayea is a really interesting teenage girl. Raised in hell, daughter of Satan and yet kind, loving and a protector of humankind. I adored her hellhound and how much he cares for her. And the variety of other characters that appear in the novels are all interesting and intriguing. 

There is sex in the second installment of the series so be prepared if you pick it up! 

I can't wait to read more

 

All Hallows Eve Review and Giveaway

 

SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

Halloween is fast approaching and, with it, Alexandria’s eighteenth birthday. Will Alex, Peter and James find Liam’s lost receptacle before the impending sacrifice on All Hallows Eve? Will the anger and darkness that’s plaguing Alex overcome her? Can Alex find a way to defeat Liam or will she suffer the consequences of so many pure blooded witches before her?  

REVIEW: 

I have to say this was my least favorite of the books. So much happened in each of the other books that I kind of found this one anti-climatic. I knew what was going to happen for the most part and I was waiting to be surprised. I wasn't disappointed with the ending, in fact Chelsea Bellingeri wrapped up everything quite nicely. I was just hoping for a little more pizzazz from the last book in the series. 

Overall I really enjoyed this entire series. Chelsea makes Alex's entire world seem very real and relatable despite talking about witches and magic. It also reminds us of the lessons we learned when we first heard about the Salem Witch Trials. Those who seem right and to be protecting all that is good and pure are sometimes the ones who are in the wrong, and may not be as good as they try to pass themselves off as being. And that we shouldn't be quick to judge and persecute others. 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wicked Betrayal Review, What's on Chelsea's Desk and Giveaway!

 

SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

The clock is ticking. Alex’s time is running out.

Spring has hit Hazel Cove and with it, the pressure of Alex’s impending fate as Liam’s sacrifice is weighing upon her every thought. There’s so much to do and so little time. How do you stop an ancient pure blooded witch?

But Liam isn’t Alex’s only problem. She must focus on what she can fix in the little time she has left. She must confront the past and the horrible betrayal Ethan suffered at the hands of a once trusted ally. Alex will do anything necessary to save Ethan. Even brave a trip to the supernatural capital of the world - New Orleans.

Voodoo, Hoodoo, witches and spirits are nothing compared to the evil Alex will face in the backwoods of the Louisiana bayou. Will Alex’s desperation to save her family and friends pull her closer to the darkness?

Who can Alex trust? Will James’ connections as a witch hunter help or hurt her? Can she fix her relationship with Peter? Or will the deep seeds of betrayal shatter Alex’s life?

REVIEW:

With this installment of New England Witch Chronicles I have to admit that Alex's story is getting more sinister! She has even more mysteries to solve and some hard, and dark, decisions to make. As she is coming more into her powers we see that, although about a witch, the New England Witch Chronicles is a coming of age story at heart. Facing relationship issues, questions of morality,and the age old question "Am I good or evil?"

 

You may believe that that isn't a normal question a person coming of age may ask themselves but I assure you it is. Did you ever gossip as a teenager? Stab someone in the bacl? Make fun of another? Or steal someones boyfriend or girlfriend? Lie or cheat on a test? And in doing so wasn't your happiness a bit sullied with the though, "Am I a bad person?" How is that any different than Alex wondering if she may be evil?

Overall I loved this installment in the series. I thought Liam was a great character and loved how he was developed. An amazing villain for the series. Alex's growth and struggles are wonderful and the love triangle is still going strong! It has everything I could want for a Halloween novel!

WHAT'S ON YOUR DESK?

With Chelsea Bellingeri

I'm a minimalist - so right now on my desk I have my Mac, a rough draft of Revenge & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3, Zombie Apocalypse Trilogy), a lamp, a glass of water, my enormously-giant day planner and lead paperweight with the famous Benjamin Franklin quote: "Either rewrite something worth reading or do something worth writing."

 

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID! 

 

Today I am wishing my husband a very very happy 27th birthday! I am so blessed to have this man in my life and I am so happy to have been able to spend another birthday with him.

I met this goofball when we were only 13 years old at summer camp. He finally came to his senses and asked me to be his wife when we were 23. 

I can't wait to spend many many more birthdays celebrating with him. He is the one who got me to start writing my own book, to do something with all the books I read (which led me to start this blog) and to contact the writers I found to be so amazing!

So here's to David and his 27 years. Let's hope the next 27 are even better!

Conjured Review, This or That & Giveaway!

 

 

SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)

After the disastrous fallout on Halloween and the tragic events that followed in the Hazel Cove Cemetery, Alexandria is left picking up the pieces of her broken life. Peter is adjusting. James hates her. Grandma Claudia is gone. Emma is incoherent. Victor went rogue. And Gamma still wants her dead.

If that wasn't enough to deal with, two burning questions are driving Alex insane. Who committed that horrible murder in Salem? And what really happened to Ethan?

Alex has come to terms with her new life, but she's yet to truly understand the ramifications of being a pureblooded witch in the supernatural world. And now there is a new danger on the horizon. Alex must find a way to fight. To survive. To protect her remaining family members and her closest friends from an unthinkable new enemy. One much more powerful and much more horrifying than the Gamma witch hunting fraternity.

Review: 

Things are strained in Alex's life when we first meet up with her again and we are soon on a magnificent journey to solve mysteries, figure out these powers and fight injustice in book two of the New England Witch Chronicles. It's in this book that New England Witch Chronicles really hits it's stride and I was delighted to ride the roller-coaster that is Alex's life. She's like a supernatural Nancy Drew who faces a lot more danger!

Chelsea Bellingeri did a magnificent job of further developing her characters. It's hard to pick a favorite since everyone brings something great to the table but it certainly isn't difficult to figure out who you don't like or trust!

I had to buy Conjured as soon as I finished New England Witch Chronicles. Bellingeri's world of witches and secret societies is absolutely captivating and always leaves you wanting the rest of the story! Once again I read the book in a day, I just couldn't put it down!

A perfect read for the Halloween season! 

RATING:  4/5 Stars

THIS OR THAT WITH CHELSEA BELLINGERI

Daytime or Nightime?   Daytime—early morning!
Coke or Pepsi?    Coke
Coffee or Tea?   Definitely, coffee
TV Shows or Movies?   Movies
Standalone Books or Series?   Series!
East Coast or West Coast?  East Coast
Beach or Mountains?   Mountains
Witches or Warlocks?  Witches (of course!)
Sabrina (The Teenage Witch) or Sam (From Bewitched)?  Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Trick or Treat?  Treat!

GIVEAWAY

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway