The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This book is beautiful. It explores everything from savage death to beautiful life... so many things are ended and then started, started and then ended in this book, it rings so truly of real life that it will help anyone get through rough situations, no matter what they may be.

I want to believe in Alice Sebold's... in Susie Salmon's heaven.

This book's writing style drew me in immediatly, and I could not put it down from the moment I picked it up. Being the week before Christmas, there have been a lot of social obligations I have been forced to attend to, but had it not been for them, this book would never have left my hand.

I fell alseep with it open, I woke up to the words that I'd left behind to dream, and began devouring them once more.

It takes something sad and horrific and turns it into this beautiful understanding... discovering... rebirth.

I never would have suspected that, by reading the story of a violently murdered 14 year old girl, I would walk away feeling so uplifted.

Read. This. Book.

The Princess and the Frog ~ Movie

Disney has taken a little step back in time, pushed aside the flashy new digital animation that has done so well for them (I LOVE Up) and reverted back to their roots.

The Princess and the Frog is a hand animated piece... done the old fashion way, cell by cell... and it is BEAUTIFUL. The story is lovely. For a children's movie, it is great. There are points where I wish they would have spent a little more time, really delving into the character... but since this is, essentially, a movie for small children, I understand and am fine with the simplification.

One thing I truly enjoyed was that they didn't tip-toe too much around racism, or pretend that it didn't exist. The main character definetly had to face issues that were brought about by the color of her skin.

The 'Princess', Tiana, is lovable, relatable, someone you root for entirely and just very endearing.

The Shadow Man (the main villian) is creepy, dealing with 'the other side' which is quite spooky (and one of those things I really wish they could have gone deeper into) and a lovely design.

The Prince is both likable and arrogant.

The best friend is FANTASTIC.

Seriously, if you're a fan of traditional Disney work, GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

For those of us who grew up on it, it's heartwarming and nostalgic. For the little ones just getting to know Disney, this is a GREAT introduction.