A teenager who's spent her whole life confined to her home falls for the boy next door. (IMDB) It was adapted from Nicola Yoon's book with the same title.

Amanda Stenberg plays the role of Maddy, a girl who has spent her entire life inside because of a rare disease. After Olly (played by Nick Robinson) and his family move in next door, Maddy begins to take more and more risks that endanger her life due to the growing bond between the two. While the twists are predictable, the film is still very good and perfect for those who enjoyed The Fault In Our Stars.

Rating: 7/10
Watch/Buy: iTunes, Amazon, Youtube, GooglePlay, Vudu

The kingdom needs an heir and Princess Charmaine is quite aware that the job rests solely upon her shoulders. When her elder sister dies, Charmaine has to take her place at the ball designed to find her a husband. With a hundred men to choose between and her wedding planned, all she has to do is pick one. But love can sometimes be found in the most unlikely of places and at the most inconvenient of times.

Cynder knows about the impending war between the people of magic and those of his masters, but working as an underpaid servant in the palace kitchens leaves him with little power to do anything about it. On one hand, he's a staunch supporter of equal rights for his own kind, but he can't deny the attraction he feels for the daughter of the king and queen he works for.
When the two meet, sparks fly and not just the magical kind...

The story of a wonderful little girl, who happens to be a genius, and her wonderful teacher vs. the worst parents ever and the worst school principal imaginable. (IMDB)

Alishia:

This movie is one of my absolute favorites from childhood. I remember thinking that if I just read as much as Matilda did I would be able to move things with my mind too! There’s no better movie out there to get kids motivated to read! The entire cast in this movie is phenomenal. Each actor brings their character to life in the most vivid and memorable ways. When trying to think of the best Book of the Month to go with our very first read-a-thon, I couldn’t imagine anything better!

Rating: 10/10

Sarah:

Although I have watched this movie countless times, there has always been something new that I have noticed each time. This is definitely a classic that I believe will be remembered for a very long time.

Rating: 8/10

Buy/Stream: Youtube, iTunes, Amazon Video, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play
Book: Matilda by Roald Dahl (Amazon, Abebooks)

In the conclusion of our three-part series, we finally list adaptations that we think are actually worth watching. This is in no way a complete list of titles that got it right.

She's the last member of a cursed and deadly clan.
He's the crown prince with a dangerous secret.
Together, they'll save the empire--or destroy it. (Goodreads)
I recently had the opportunity to read Skykeeper by S. M. Gaither and thoroughly enjoyed it. Therefore, when I was notified by Hidden Gems that she had another book available through them, I immediately requested it and was super excited when my request was accepted.
The story immediately drew me in, but as it continued, I slowly grew more and more disappointed. Overall, it just felt rushed, especially as it got closer to the end. I recall seeing the little counter at the bottom of my Kindle's screen that told me how much was left in the book and my thought was "Well this must be book one of a series and it is going to end one a cliffhanger". Nope. Everything is concluded within 10% of the book. The majority of the action takes place...in the last 15% of the book.
Many of the transitions between chapters felt so disjointed that it made it hard to stay fully immersed in the story. We are given hints of the stereotypical YA love triangle, only for it to go nowhere and many of the events that happen at the end of the book did not feel like they fit with the beginning of the story. The Queen of Cursed Things comes off as an idea that Gaither had that was put into a rough draft and then forgotten.

Rating: 3/5
Buy: Amazon

The second recipe we decided to try was one inspired by The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was also another first for me, as I have neither baked nor tasted a cake like this before.
I made the mistake of not letting Alishia know that we would need a mixer to cream the sugar, butter, and zest together, so we got to enjoy attempting that part of the recipe by hand. It was not perfect, but it still worked out. The batter was a gorgeous pastel yellow and it almost felt like a sin to bake it.
The directions we used said to leave the tea cake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, but even after almost 50, the center of our cake was still a little undercooked. So if you decide to give this recipe a try, keep an eye on that. The directions also stated that you should let the cake cool for a full twenty-four hours...we did not last that long.
It both tasted and looked amazing. The lemon is strong, but the cranberries and butter help even it out so that it is not too overwhelming. Of course, since I am obsessed with dried cranberries, I would have preferred to have more, but they were spread out pretty evenly throughout the entire thing.


Where we got the recipe: lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net
J. R. R. Tolkien's books: Amazon, Goodreads

What if you’re in love with heaven and hell?

Cassia Delamore is a foster kid. Shuffled from home to home all her life after losing her mother, she’s never known her father, nor what it feels like to be loved. She hopes to start a new life in the idyllic town of Heaven. She has a plan; graduate high school, pack her bags, and leave her tragic past behind her.

Yet fate is about to turn Cassia’s life upside down. On her first day of high school, she meets two very different men… bad boy Thames, who possesses a fiery temper, and cool Cairo, captain of the football team and all-around hero. But there’s more to these men than meets the eye. As Cassia grows closer to the boys, she discovers a world of angels and demons fighting for the souls of mankind. Cassia finds herself immersed in a holy war that isn’t hers, torn between Cairo and Thames in a love triangle straight out of a storybook.

Will Cassia taste forbidden fruit? Or will her epic romance end in a dark destiny?  (Goodreads)

After escaping horrible circumstances, Cassia finds herself in a new town with a new foster mom. Almost immediately after arriving at her new home, strange events begin to happen. When school starts, she quickly gains the attention of two mysterious young men, Cairo and Thames. As the strange events continue to happen and Cassia spends more time with her two new friends, it becomes obvious that they are much more than what they seem.

Torrent seems to be heavily influenced by both Twilight and Fallen. In most cases, I would find this annoying, but Megan Linski did such a great job that it comes off as a much better story than the possible inspiration. It is very dramatic and cheesy at times (in a good way), but I found it hard to put this one down and read it one sitting.

Overall, this took everything I loved about Twilight and created a new, yet familiar, world that I look forward to returning to very soon.

Rating: 4/5
Buy: Amazon

After losing his mother, a young boy is sent to a foster home with other orphans his age where he begins to learn the meaning of trust and true love. (IMDB)

This film led to quite a few tears, both happy and sad. In this adaptation of Autobiographie d'une Courgette by Gilles Paris, we are introduced to nine-year-old Icare, who prefers to be called Zucchini. After a heartbreaking accident at his home, Zucchini's alcoholic mother falls down a stairway and dies. At the police station, he quickly bonds with Raymond, a police officer. Raymond takes him to a foster home where he meets several other kids in similar positions. Simon is the self-elected leader who tends to bully the others but has good intentions in the end. Alice is a shy, quirky girl with a very dark background and Bea is at the home because her mother was deported. Georgie and Ahmed are very much Simon's minions. It is insinuated that Georgie may be suffering from Munchausen syndrome due to his mother's extreme case of OCD. The home is run by Miss Paterson with the help of Miss Rosy and Mr. Paul (whose romance is great entertainment to the kids). Finally, we have Camille, a strong and empathetic girl with a big heart that seems to be a direct result of the tragedy she witnessed. Zucchini falls for her at first sight and they quickly become very close. As more events unfold and they are almost torn apart, the gang learns the important lesson that family is not just about blood.
This film treated its child characters with respect and portrayed them as both intelligent and inquisitive which led to them being extremely realistic. While the story is focused mainly on Zucchini and Camille, each character stands on their own and could have easily taken the lead.  I watched the English dub and it was very good, although I do wish that I had time to watch the original French version with subtitles. The stop-motion animation was wonderful and I loved how bright it was. If you decide to give this film a chance (which you definitely should), then I would also recommend watching the making of bonus feature.

Rating: 9/10
Watch/Buy: iTunes, Amazon, Youtube, Vudu, Google Play

Fried green tomatoes is a dish that we have grown up eating and I believe that most families in the south have their own version of it. After Fannie Flagg’s book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, was adapted into a film in 1991, there was a surge in popularity of not only this recipe but several other southern classics. Therefore, when thinking of recipes to do for “From the Book to the Plate”, this was one of the first that I thought of.

*Quick note: There are three recipes for fried green tomatoes in Fannie Flagg's cookbook. For this installment, we tried fried green tomatoes I. We may try the other two in the future.

When it comes to preparing for this recipe, the hardest (and most important) thing to do is picking out the perfect green tomatoes. I wish I was experienced enough to now go into detailed instructions on how to do this, however, this was our first attempt at making any version of this recipe on our own...and we got lucky. The rest of the prep is actually very easy (as long as you are being careful when cutting the tomatoes).
Frying the tomatoes was a bit more challenging though. I am not completely sure if we did not have the pan hot enough or just did not use enough oil. I am positively certain, however, that the tomatoes were too wet to hold on to the batter properly. The end result was several tomatoes sliding out of their crust or sticking to the pan (these were referred to as “disaster tomatoes”).
Also, the original recipe says to use tongs to flip (only once) but I found that they caused the problems with the batter to increase. Using a spatula, however, just led to oil splashing everywhere. In the end, what worked best for me was to use a spatula to wiggle them free from the pan and then use the tongs to flip them over.
Regardless of the problems that caused things to not turn out entirely as planned, we still managed to fry several that turned out almost perfectly. The tomatoes were very tart and the crust added the perfect amount of crunch. We made a large plate of these that were a mixture of the perfect, messy, and complete disaster tomatoes and they all went super quick. So, even if you mess this recipe up a little, they should still be absolutely delicious.

You can find the recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes I below. Let us know in the comments if you decide to try it yourself!


Buy the book(s):
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe: Amazon, Abebooks
Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook: Amazon, Abebooks