THE HUNGER GAMES & READING YA FICTION

Getting ready for school and reading YA fiction

I feel the pressure of a new school year approaching and, maybe you have noticed  I've already started having some troubles with the daily or regular updating of my blogs. I haven't met my new  (4!) or old  (2) classes yet, but I'm working on my lesson-plans for the first weeks.

The two class groups I already had last year were assigned  their first book, entire book, in English to read during the summer. Tough job, I know, for foreign students. So, to gild the pill and make them undertake the task more willingly, I suggested a list of very popular YA novels (HERE): each of the students picked up one book. I had to read them all, of course. How could I test them on something I knew nothing about? Now, it was such a pleasant, exciting, entertaining journey that I will not dare complain or regret. I only hope my students didn't hate it, at least.

WORKING HARD, READING, WATCHING, LIVING - MISCELLANEOUS POST

Hello and happy beginning of May, everyone. What have you been up to? Great things, I hope. I've been working hard, reading, watching, living.  If you have some spare time to read, I'm here to share with you. 

Working hard

Just have a look at the picture on the right, focus on the image in the middle, consider it is May and draw your own conclusions. How would I answer the question "How are you?" these days?
I usually describe myself in these moments as "drowning in a sea of paper".
What kind of paper, you ask? Hundreds of sheets, all scribbled on with blue or black ink. They are supposed to be in English but I have some difficulty to decipher them at times. My students are quite creative, you know, and their speciality is Anglian (English with the addition of some Italian) or Italish (Italian with the addition of some English).
They will improve, they will improve, they will improve ... I must believe all my efforts and theirs (?) will end up with some good results. For now, I simply have to hold on and contribute a great deal of red ink to their uncertain attempts. It is almost over, let's hold on!  Summer is coming, the last day of school is near.

MOVIE REVIEW - THE HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE

(by guest blogger Paul Smith) 

Catching Fire is the second part of the Hunger Games trilogy, produced by Lionsgate and directed by Francis Lawrence. Based on Suzanne Collins' novel, this film was released in November 2013.  Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson played such main characters as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. It is a dystopian, science fiction movie with disturbing and uplifting plot at the same moment. The story is immensely emotional, dramatic and exciting. Many important political events and strategies are performed here. The various expensive special effects were used during film’s production in order to make it more engaging and attractive. The topic is of a real current interest, because everyday a lot of people become pawns in their lives as well as our heroes do. Catching Fire is much better than the first film. The director added more bright actors, unsurpassed action scenes and improved the quality of shooting.

SUMMER TIME! CATCHING UP WITH WHAT I MISSED: MOVIES

The English Teacher (2013) - I know it may sound crazy, but I really like watching movies (and reading books)  about school and teachers. As if I haven't got enough in real life!  But I was punished this time,  and  as eager as I was before seeing this film starring Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear and  Lily Collins,  I was pretty disappointed after I managed to do it. 

I wanted to like it and forget its weak, ill-conceived script. Only it really was rather inconsistent and unconvincing with its feeble plot and unrelatable  (at least to me) characters. However, strangely enough, I have to recognize the cast delivered quite sharp performances. For instance,  Julianne Moore tried her best, with both charms and talents, but the story-line and the hardly funny situations didn't help her in the effort. The same is for the rest of the cast, they were not bad at all,  it was what they were given to perform which was rather poor.


Directed by Craig Zisk,  the film tells the story of Linda Sinclair, a high school English teacher in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about literature and teaching, (like me!) she's popular with her students, (no comment)  but lives alone (unlike me!),  leading a very simple life (yeah, me too) . When her former pupil Jason Sherwood  returns after failing as a playwright, Linda convinces him to produce his play in their college. Jason's overbearing father, Dr. Tom Sherwood , wishes him to attend law school instead. Trying to help her former student, Linda  finds herself involved in big troubles.
My favourite feature in the film: the voiceover commenting the action with an ironically Austenesque tone. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Help (2011) Impossible not to love this movie, no matter if you have or haven't read the book. It's a great moving story of ordinary women,  who become extraordinary thanks to their bravery and to their talent at writing and  telling stories. Words that change the world, revolutionary weapons. Skeeter (Emma Stone),  a young white journalist aspiring to become a writer and  two African-American maids (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) decide to write a book exposing the hypocrisy, racism and cruelty of the wealthy white community living in Jackson, Mississipi. In the Civil Rights Era, these three women  face hardship and  ostracism  in their fight for justice and equality.  Sisterhood and friendship beyond racial prejudices.
In 2012 Viola Davis won a well deserved Academy Award for her performance as Aibileen Clark in this film.