Top Ten Tuesday | Back to School

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a freebie! I wasn't sure what I was going to talk about at first, and then I thought I'd talk about some of the books I really enjoyed that I had to read for school and university.

Books I Read for School

Skellig by David Almond: I don't know how well Skellig is known overseas, but it's become a bit of a children's classic here in Britain. Skellig was the very first book I had to read when I started secondary school and I loved it so much. It's enchanting and spooky and hopeful, and one that I recommend you read however old you are.

Holes by Louis Sachar: Pretty much everyone knows this book, right? It's another modern children's classic in my book, and another one I was given to read during my early years of secondary school. I don't actually own copies of Holes or Skellig, so I think I may have to treat myself soon...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: I was introduced to Jane Eyre when I was 14, and I've loved it ever since; in fact it's probably Jane Eyre I have to thank for my love of Victorian Literature today. It's a brilliant story, and personally I think Jane is one of the most fantastic heroines ever.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Sadly British schools now only look at British Literature when it comes to the GCSEs, which is a real shame and just plain wrong. There's a lot of fantastic British Literature out there, but there's also a great wealth of international work that I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't encountered them during my GCSEs. Anyway. Rant over. When I was in school we were always given a piece of American Lit to read, and we ended up with Of Mice and Men. I didn't have very high hopes for this when I was first given it, but despite its short length it's probably one of the few classics I find myself thinking about quite a lot, even now. It's not a particularly happy story, but it's a great place to start if you're a bit wary of classics!

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare: Okay, okay, so I know Shakespeare's plays are really meant to be seen and heard rather than read, but I had so much fun reading this one during my A Levels. It certainly helped that I had an amazing English teacher.

Books I Read for University

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie: And now we move onto the university books. I read this in my first year of university when we were studying postmodernism, and any fans of retellings really need to pick it up. It's such a fun story and there are so many references to old stories from 1001 Nights to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: I did a course on Romanticism during my second year of university where I ended up studying Frankenstein. I now consider it one of my favourite classics, and I think Mary Shelley was a genius.

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla is a pre-Dracula vampiric Victorian novella. Try saying that five times fast. I had to read it for my Victorian Gothic module and it's probably my favourite book from that module, and is now another of my favourite classics. It's so good, and great for anyone who's intimidated by classics!

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: I had to read The Moonstone for my Victorian Popular Fiction module and I fell in love with it. I'm fascinated by imperialism in Victorian Literature, the representation of India and its people, and I ended up writing an essay about imperialism for this module which I got a first for! This is thought to be the very first detective novel, and it's brilliant.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: This is the other classic I talked about in that essay. I loved the 1993 adaptation of this book growing up, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't actually read it until I studied it at university. I loved the book; it's become another favourite, and it's another book that's a great starting point for anyone intimidated by classics.

What did you talk about this week?

Jess Suggests | Middle Grade

Last month I read two middle grade books - Malkin Child and Witch Hill - and they got me thinking about some of the books I loved reading when I was younger; books which I still love to read now. So today I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite middle grade books, books I think readers of any age can enjoy!

Skellig

by David Almond

When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain. Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital. But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes for ever . . .

Skellig was the first ever book I was assigned to read in secondary school - when I was around eleven/twelve years old - and it's been one of my all time favourite books ever since. Something about this story seems to pull in everyone who reads it; I don't think I've met a single person who's read this book and forgotten about it. This book is gorgeous, and I highly recommend it!

Inkheart

by Cornelia Funke

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie has had her father to herself since her mother went away when she was young. Mo taught her to read when she was five, and the two share a mutual love of books. He can "read" characters out of books. When she was three, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart and released characters into the real world. At the same time, Meggie's mother disappeared into the story.

I feel like the Inkworld Trilogy isn't talked about enough in the book community, which is especially confusing when we take into account that this is a book about books! Inkheart, like a few of the other books on this list, is often classed as YA rather than middle grade, but personally this trilogy doesn't feel like a YA trilogy to me. It has a very middle grade feel to it, and I mean that in the best possible way. A lot of YA nowadays is romance heavy, but this book is nothing short of an adventure book; it's the kind of story that will remind you why you love reading - give it a try if you haven't already!

Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean

by Justin Somper

Conor and Grace are twins, recently orphaned after their widowed father's death. Rather than being adopted by the town's busy-bodies, they decide to set sail in their father's last possession, his sailing boat. But a vicious storm sees their boat capsize and the twins are separated. Two mysterious ships sail to their rescue - each picking up one twin before disappearing into the mist. Conor wakes to find himself on a pirate ship and is soon being trained up with a cutlass. Meanwhile Grace finds herself locked in a darkened room, as the vampirates wait for night to fall and their feasting to begin... Determined to find each other, yet intrigued by their new shipmates, the twins are about to embark on the biggest adventure of their lives...

This book is just so much fun! It might not be a literary masterpiece or a stunning piece of writing, but it's a fast-paced, action-packed story, and frankly I refuse to believe that everything we read has to leave us with some powerful message. Sometimes we just need to read something fun and enjoy it - this book is great if you're in the mood for an adventure!

The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle's great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly one hundred rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors.

The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary's only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. One day, with the help of two unexpected companions, she discovers a way in. Is everything in the garden dead, or can Mary bring it back to life?

This book is a classic, and I just had to include it on this list because I guarantee that you can enjoy this book whether you're six or sixty! This story is nothing short of lovely, and as well as being one of my favourite children's books, it's one of my favourite classics, too. In fact this book is a great place to start if you're intimidated by classics, or if you're a younger reader who's looking to start reading them!

Holes

by Louis Sachar

Camp Greenlake is a place for bad boys, where the belief is: "if you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." When Stanley Yelnats, accused and found guilty of a crime he did not commit, is sent to Camp Greenlake he really doesn't think it can be so bad. Stanley and his family try to pretend that he is just going away to camp like the rich kids do, and he promises to write to them every day. But the harsh realities of the camp, and the evil Warden with her lizard-venom impregnated fingernails with her own reasons for making the boys in her charge dig so many holes, sometimes make dying seem like a great idea. When Stanley leaves the camp to go in search of his friend Zero, their journey towards freedom becomes a battle with hunger, thirst and heat in the shadow of Big Thumb--a mountain so entwined in Stanley's own family history that he knows if they can reach it they will somehow find salvation.

We started with a book I read in secondary school, so I thought it was fitting that we end with another. Like Skellig, there's something about Holes that just seems to stick with everyone who reads it. This story has so many layers; it'll make you laugh as much as it'll make you cry, and stay with you for years to come. The film adaptation is also worth a watch! 

Have you read any of the books on my list? What are some of your favourite middle grade books?

J.

Top Ten | Book to Movie Adaptations (Part One)

Lately in the film world it seems as though there have been more film adaptations of books than films which have been written as just films. Film adaptations aren't just a recent phenomenon, however, they've been around for a long, long time; there are plenty of terribles ones (*cough*Eragon*cough*) but every so often a film is adapted so perfectly, or so uniquely, that it pleases readers of the book and even introduces film buffs to the original source material.
     So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are the first five of my personal top ten book to movie adaptations!

Holes, dir. Andrew Davis (2003)

Based on Holes by Louis Sachar

As it was a book I was assigned to read in school, Holes was a book I was certain I wasn't going to like. Oh how wrong I was. Holes follows the story of Stanley Yelnats IV who, after a severe case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, is accused and found guilty of a crime he didn't commit and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention and correction facility where the 'inmates' are made to dig holes in the desert to build their character. But all at Camp Green Lake is not as it seems. The story includes a family curse, a doomed love story, a teacher-turned-outlaw, a hunt for treasure, yellow-spotted lizards and some onions. This story is not to be missed.

     I enjoyed Holes immensely and, luckily for my class, we were able to watch the movie adaptation in school too; we'd read a section, and then see how it had been adapted, and while there are some differences, as there always are in movie adaptations, I personally think it's very true to the book. The core feeling of the story is there, so whether you've read the book or not this is a film you simply have to see. But if you haven't read the book, what are you waiting for?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, dir. Alfonso Cuarón (2004)

Based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

As probably the most famous book series and film franchise out there, a Harry Potter book-turned-film just had to be on this list. In this third installment of the series the threat against Harry's life is not coming from Voldemort but from notorious criminal Sirius Black, who is not quite what everyone thinks and who is much closer to Harry than anyone could possibly imagine.

     Amongst Harry Potter fans, such as myself, this film is often considered one of the best adaptations in the franchise; it's very true to the book, stylistically beautiful and - this is very important! - Harry's hair is perfect. The Prisoner of Azkaban focuses much more on giving Harry a sense of home and family, and giving him a connection to his deceased parents, which is just what he needs given the amount of crap he's going to go through in his fourth year. I love this adaptation.

A Little Princess, dir. Alfonso Cuarón (1995)

Based on A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This film has a special place in my heart, alongside other childhood classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Swan Princess, and Tom's Midnight Garden. I watched this film a lot as a little girl. A lot. And as I grew older its simple message that: 'All girls are princesses; it is our right' would easily cheer me up if I was feeling glum, because let's face it every little girl wants to believe she's a princess.
     A Little Princess follows the young Sara Crewe, the only daughter of a wealthy widower, who is sent away to Miss Minchin's boarding school in America from her beloved home in India when her father goes to war. When her father is killed in action Sara is left penniless, and she is forced to work as a serving girl for the cruel Miss Minchin. 

     In the original text, Sara is sent to a boarding school in England because she's at the age where wealthy little girls are sent to boarding school. Rather than being called to war, her father instead dies of jungle fever, and leaves Sara penniless after investing all of his money into diamond mines. Like in the film, Sara must earn her keep at the boarding school as a servant girl. Despite the differences, this adaptation is beautiful and very true to the message in the original story.

     Whether you approach the story through the book or the film - or both! - it's a hopeful tale for the princess in all of us.

Treasure Planet, dir. Ron Clements and John Musker (2002)

Based on Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

If you thought the changes made to A Little Princess were severe then you obviously weren't anticipating Disney's take on Robert Louis Stevenson's swashbuckling adventure story. While the title has had a bit of a tweak, the only major difference between Treasure Island and Treasure Planet is the setting; while the former takes place on the seven seas, the latter takes place in space. Pretty cool, right?
     When young delinquent Jim Hawkins finds himself in possession of the map to the infamous Captain Flint's treasure, he sets out on a quest to find the fortune that will solve all his problems, and along the way he befriends a cyborg cook who's missing a leg...

     If nothing else this adaptation is a lot of fun; seeing such a classic story re-told with a steampunk/sci-fi twist brings it to life in a whole new way for a whole new generation. Don't knock it 'til you try it!

The Silence of the Lambs, dir. Jonathan Demme (1991)

Based on The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

"Buffalo Bill" has been murdering and skinning young women, and the FBI need to stop him before he strikes again. Clarice Starling is pulled from training at the FBI Academy to interview the dangerous and charismatic Hannibal Lecter, an incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer, in the hope that his knowledge may prove useful in the FBI's pursuit of "Buffalo Bill". Clarice and Dr Lecter begin to develop a peculiar relationship in which Clarice trades personal information, mostly involving the premature death of her beloved father, for Lecter's insight. Time is of the essence, particularly when the daughter of a US Senate goes missing.

     Only two words are needed to explain why this adaptation is on my list: Anthony Hopkins. In 1991 both he and Jodie Foster won Oscars for their leading roles in this film, which is amazing when, altogether, Hopkins is in the film for just over 16 minutes in total. A 16 minute Oscar winning performance, do you need any other reason to watch the film?

So there we have it, the first half of my top ten favourite book to movie adaptations. Check back next Monday to see the final half of my list!

Thanks for reading! J.