Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 159

Movie Review: Rise of Skywalker

Title: Star Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerGenre: ScifiRelease Date: December 20th, 2019 My Rating: ★★★★☆IMDB Rating:  6.8/10Cast: Summary from IMDB: The surviving members of the resistance face the First Order once again, and the legendary conflict between the Jedi and the Sith reaches its peak bringing the Skywalker saga to its end.
IMDB Trailer
Review:I have waited patiently to see this movie. I love Star Wars and the whole universe around it. This movie was a nice wrap up to the newest trilogy, but I can see why some people didn't like it. It felt really contrived at times. Almost as if there were too many coincidences and the story didn't flow on its own. With all that said, the characters that we loved really brought the story to life. The fighting was epic and cinematic worth watching. I felt letdown in the end by a certain character, but I'm not going to give it all away for those of you who haven't seen the movie, but I bet those who have already watched it know what I'm talking about.

If you want something to do during your Coronavirus quarantine, give The Rise of Skywalker a try and let me know what you think. 

Weekly Menu #344 And The Book Of The Week

Monday! Did you survive another week of Coronavirus? We did. Things are really getting crazy out there. I work in the banking industry and we just shut the doors to a few of our branches and have closed our lobbies to appointment only, just because people are being unsafe and immature. You don't need to come into a branch just to drop of your check order form. That is not necessary right now. In fact, that can be done over the phone. Stay home people!

I've also noticed an influx in books being available digitally at the library. I guess people are reading more now that they are stuck at home. Those are my kind of people. Unfortunately for me, I am still working through all of this so people can still have access to their money. My reading will continue as usual.

I'm going to dive into Across the Universe by Beth Revis to take my mind away from this world. I think we all need a break and this one sounds like what I need.

Stay safe this week and enjoy the menu.... If you can find all the ingredient... 


MENU Monday- Pork Tacos
TuesdayCaesar Crunch Chicken
WednesdayFrench Dip Biscuits
ThursdaySkirt Steak with Avocado Chimichurri 
FridayInstant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
SaturdayOktoberfest Bratwurst
Sunday Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions #36

Well, we made it through the week without contracting the Coronavirus. I hope you are all healthy as well. Oregon shut down all the schools until the first of April, and Washington doesn't have school until May. This is getting crazy people. What am I supposed to do with the kids for three weeks? Every place we could go for entertainment is closed!
We must survive!

Sunday Confessions #35~Weekly Menu #343 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Missing Link~Book Review: Hunted by Meagan Spooner~Movie Review: Gemini Man~Book Review: The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin

Weekly Menu #344 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: What You Wish For by Katherine Center~Book Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang~Sunday Confessions #37


 
Fiesta Chicken Casserole @ The Art of Deco & Recipe~13 Historical fiction books about women in the civil war @ Bookbub

30/50 Books in my Read Around the Country challenge~13/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~2/20 in my Scotland challenge~31/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~34/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

Stay well and safe everyone, and most important, be kind.

Book Review: The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin

Title: The Blue TattooBy: Margot MifflinGenre: Historical Non-FictionPages: 280Release Date: April 1st, 2009Publisher: Nebraska PressRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:In 1851 Olive Oatman was a thirteen-year old pioneer traveling west toward Zion, with her Mormon family. Within a decade, she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures. The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. Orphaned when her family was brutally killed by Yavapai Indians, Oatman lived as a slave to her captors for a year before being traded to the Mohave, who tattooed her face and raised her as their own. She was fully assimilated and perfectly happy when, at nineteen, she was ransomed back to white society. She became an instant celebrity, but the price of fame was high and the pain of her ruptured childhood lasted a lifetime.
Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatman’s friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life from her childhood in Illinois—including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white society—to her later years as a wealthy banker’s wife in Texas.

Oatman’s story has since become legend, inspiring artworks, fiction, film, radio plays, and even an episode of Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan. Its themes, from the perils of religious utopianism to the permeable border between civilization and savagery, are deeply rooted in the American psyche. Oatman’s blue tattoo was a cultural symbol that evoked both the imprint of her Mohave past and the lingering scars of westward expansion. It also served as a reminder of her deepest secret, fully explored here for the first time: she never wanted to go home.
Add on Goodreads

Review:This was a sad story that portrays the life of a young woman who witnessed the murders of her family and was taken hostage only to be sold years later, and then set free. This was a real person and real events and I think that's what makes it so powerful. Olive Oatman survived. She is on the top of my strong women list.

Movie Review: Gemini Man

Title: Gemini ManGenre: ScifiRelease Date: October 11th, 2019My Rating: ★★★☆☆IMDB Rating: 5.7/10Cast: Summary from IMDB: An over-the-hill hitman faces off against a younger clone of himself.
IMDB Trailer

Review:I'm torn with this movie. I really wanted to like it, but there was something off about it that just made me uninterested. The story follows a retired military hitman, who is pulled from retirement to find out that he has a clone that is trying to kill him. Its weird. Just weird. I love Will Smith, and he acted the part well, but I couldn't look at the younger version of him. I'm wondering what the rest of you thought. Leave me a comment below. 

Book Review: Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Title: HuntedBy:  Meagan SpoonerGenre: Historical FantasyPages: 376Release Date: March 14th, 2017Publisher: HarperTeenRating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads:Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
Add on Goodreads
Review:It's been a long time since I've given a book 5 stars, but I absolutely loved this story. A retelling of beauty and the beast, but in a very unique and fantastical way. I didn't imagine a cold and lonely castle like the usually story, but this time the my mind pictured a magical forest so dark and mysterious. A wonderful cast of creatures that made me shiver. I loved every part of this story down to the last page.

Movie Review: Missing Link

Title: Missing LinkGenre: Historical FantasyRelease Date: April 12th, 2019My Rating: ★★★★☆IMDB Rating: 6.7/10Cast: Summary from IMDB: Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend.
IMDB Trailer

Review:This was a fantastic movie. My kids loved it and so did my husband and I. I've always been fascinated with the Bigfoot legend and this story brought a fun twist to all the wonder. The cast of actors were amazing, some big names that I absolutely love. The art was different than most animated movies. It was lopsided, disproportionate ... and wonderful! Whether you have kids or not, you will need to see this movie.  

Weekly Menu #343 And The Book Of The Week

Has the world gone mad! I can't believe what I am seeing, even in my own home town. Toilet paper is flying off the shelf, and guess what. I actually need toilet paper and there is none to be found. My poor friend Grace had to buy paper towels to freshen her behind. This is insanity.

I'm actually scared to go shopping today because I don't know what I will find. Will the stores be packed, even though its a Monday and its first thing in the morning? Will the things that I usually buy that my autistic children rely on to have a calm week be out of stock? How is this going to go down?

I don't think a lot of people realize how reliant some people are on certain items and then they go and buy a boatload because they panic. I really hope those who take the last item really need it. I have a feeling my week is going to be rough with the boys. Pray for me.

This weeks book is Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. A lot of the things that the author talks about in her book, are the same things that I do on a regular basis. Things that I have learned to do for myself over the years. It's a great read so far and I can't wait to finish it.

Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!


MENU
MondaySesame Chicken Stir Fry
TuesdayPork Sausage and Tomato Risotto
WednesdayBeef Tacos
ThursdayBBQ Ranch Chicken Flatbread
FridayCheddar Patty Melt
SaturdayFiesta Chicken Casserole
SundayLeftovers Night

Sunday Confessions #35

Hello Sunday!  Welcome back to my weekly recap of books and movies and things. Its been a wonderful week full of amazing reads, so lets get down to it.

Sunday Confessions #34~Weekly Menu #342 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: The Spy Who Dumped Me~Book Review: Don't Check Out This Book! By Kate Klise~Book Review: Looking Glass by Christina Henry~Book Review: Uncovering a Terrorist by Bryan Denson


Weekly Menu #343 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Hunted by Meagan Spooner~Book Review: The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin~Sunday Confessions #36




The best blogging tools @ Blog Pixie~11 Best fiction books that change your life @ A Quiet Plate


29/50 Books in my Read Around the Country challenge~13/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~1/20 in my Scotland challenge~31/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~33/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

Its been a fantastic week. My reading has slowed down a bit, but that's ok with me. 

Book Review: Uncovering a Terrorist by Bryan Denson

Title: FBI Files: Uncovering a TerroristBy: Bryan DensonGenre: Non-FictionPages: 176Release Date: June 23rd, 2020Publisher: Roaring Brook PressRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads: In Uncovering a Terrorist, Bryan Denson presents the story of the FBI's investigation of Mohamed Mohamud led by Agent Ryan Dwyer, the agent who helped bring him to justice, creating room for the conversation surrounding religious terrorism and its effects around the world.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud was an American citizen, a college student at Oregon State University, and a wannabe terrorist. His dream was to go to Yemen, train with al-Qaeda, and travel to Afghanistan to kill U.S. soldiers. But first, he plotted to detonate a massive bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland.

Agent Ryan Dwyer ran the sting operation to see how serious Mohamed was. He and an Arabic-speaking partner, joined by FBI personnel—including two undercover operatives posing as al-Qaeda terrorists—worked month after month to get to know him and keep the people of Portland safe.

The FBI Files is a true crime series for young readers following FBI agents behind the scenes as they work to keep Americans safe. Each book includes photographs, a glossary of spy terms, and a note from the author on the subject of the investigation.


Add on Goodreads

Review:I know this story well. I live in the Portland area, and to know that something sinister was going on behind closed doors is terrifying. This book really walks you through the events that lead up to the Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon and how the bombing was thwarted. It sends a shiver up my spine to think that I could have lost someone I loved that night if the bombing had gone forward as planned. I enjoyed this read. It helped me to understand the stakes and the mind set behind the bomber himself. 
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.