Bye Bye Birdie: A Review by Isabel F.

I went to New York City over winter break, and got to do something awesome: see the revival of Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway. Birdie tells the tale of Conrad Birdie, a beloved pop star drafted to the US army, and his hardworking manager, Albert Peterson. Rose, Albert’s secretary and longtime girlfriend, has a brilliant idea for Conrad’s sendoff. She picks the name of one of the many Conrad fans out of a hat and draws Kim MacAfee from Sweet Apple, Ohio. Conrad will journey to Sweet Apple and give “One Last Kiss” to Kim before dramatically leaving for duty. This is supposed to raise enough money for Albert to quit the show biz, and of course Sweet Apple is ecstatic. Albert, Rose, Conrad, Kim and the entire town of Sweet Apple find themselves drastically changed by this experience. Birdie is a peppy, playful show with a lot of heart, soul and energy. There are many comic parts of the musical, like when Kim’s father (hilariously played by Bill Irwin) is raised by a crane while on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” The endless resources, costumes and sets a Broadway production has access to really made the show for me. In one opening scene during a number called “Telephone Hour” the teenage actors swung around in brightly colored telephone booths while singing and dancing. The singing was Broadway-caliber, but compared to others in that realm fairly average. I liked the contrast of lighthearted numbers with more tender, meaningful scenes. Natalie Hill played Rose Alvarez: she was the understudy for Gina Gershom but still did a fantastic job. She and Allie Trimm, who played Kim MacAfee, did a pretty duet in “What Did We Ever See in Them”. Conrad Birdie was portrayed by Nolan Gerard Funk, which was not very memorable for me, but he got the job done. John Stamos (from Full House) played a more relaxed Albert than I’ve seen before, but impressive nonetheless. There was one point where he started cracking up in the middle of a solo, which I didn’t mind as much as some would. Overall, Bye Bye Birdie could have been more clean and polished, but it was very entertaining and definitely made you “Put on a Happy Face.”

Just As Long As We're Together By Judy Bloom: A Book Review by Sophie J.

Since second grade, Rachel and Stephanie have been best friends. But when Alison Monceau movies into their quiet Connecticut neighborhood, everything gets shaken up. Stephanie really likes Alison, and really wants for the three of them to be best friends, especially because they are all neighbors. But Rachel isn't so sure. Rachel is afraid that Stephanie likes Allison more than than her, and gets quite flustered. And of course, it doesn't help that so much is going on in all of their lives at the moment. Stephanie finds out that her parents are getting divorced. Stephanie and Rachel find out Allison's mom is the famous "Gena Farrel," and that Allison has a talking dog! After a while, Rachel gets quite mad at Stephanie and Allison. This is mostly because she is so jealous and is still convinced that they like each other more than her. She ends up saying some mean and personal things to them, and really hurts their feelings. Can their friendship be saved?

Another Faust book review by Meg Y.

A dark eerie feeling will fill you heart as you turn the pages of Another Faust, By Daniel and Dina Nayeri. The chills of seeing Victoria, Valentin, Bicé, Belle, and Christian living in New York City will flood your mind. Stolen from their homes, they are given a choice of freedom and the home they have, or things they want so much they will do anything to get them. The authors make a wonderful brother- sister team whose writing style will leave you wanting more. The defined personalities of the characters give you a good sense of how the story may play out, but you will probably be entirely wrong. A retake on a classic story, it makes an interesting piece of literature, especially for those who have not read the original. There are Faustian bargains through out this book that will send your mind spinning. A fantastic composition, but a book-lover may have better luck with this book than a negligent reader, for some parts might be a bit confusing. An overall amazing find that I hope will be succeeded by many more sequels. I recommend this book for a dedicated reader, or a teen of high school age.

Scat by Carl Hiassen- a book review by Sam W.

We all know Carl Hiaasen for writing the popular books Hoot and Flush, both exciting wildlife adventures. In Scat, Hiaasen whipped up a good book that plunges the main characters, Nick and Marta, into overlapping mysteries.

It all starts with an epic classroom showdown of the most feared teacher in the school, Ms. Starch, against a juvenile delinquent, “Smoke” (otherwise known as Duane Scrod, Jr.). The next day, on a field trip, Ms. Starch mysteriously disappears. Everyone knows Smoke has something to do with the disappearance, but no one knows what really happened that day at Black Vine Swamp.

Nick and Marta smell something fishy, or should I say, smoky, and are ready to investigate anywhere. But the two friends are in over their heads in a mystery bigger than they expected, and they’ll have to find all of their strength to save Black Vine Swamp and everything in it.

Scat is a great book about wildlife, expecting the unexpected, and not judging books by their covers. Carl Hiaasen has created another awesome novel that will keep readers intrigued until the end.

"Mamma Mia" Review by Julie N.

Hey! I'm Julie N. I went on vacation to NYC over last April Break- yay! I saw the Broadway show “Mamma Mia” and reviewed it by 5 categories; Humor, Dancing, Singing, Acting, and Costumes & Scenery. Enjoy!

• HUMOR
• GRADE: B/B-
• EXPLANATION: Some Jokes were said with the wrong personality, left people slightly confused whether to laugh or not. Although, at least half were delivered wonderfully, and were laugh out loud funny.
• DANCING
• GRADE: A
• EXPLANATION: All dancers were perfectly synchronized with the music and each other, which made the audience want to get up on their feet and move. It was very upbeat and quick.
• SINGING
• GRADE: A-
• EXPLANATION: All actors and actresses were very carefully chosen. The harmonies were wonderful and each dancer and background singer had amazing voices. The lead, playing Sophie, was very talented and could sing without music or backup vocals just as well.
• COSTUMES AND SCENERY
• GRADE B/B+
• EXPLANATION: Most costumes really brought out the character. On the other hand, in one scene, all dancers were wearing flashy clothing while two or three were wearing more country-ish styles, which weren’t part of the story. This didn’t make much sense. The lighting was used very thoughtfully to create mood.
• ACTING
• GRADE A+
• EXPLANATION: Phenomenal acting. Sophie was astounding and put in all of her emotion, as all others did. With one of the leads who played Sky, being an understudy, acted his heart out on stage, as all cast members did. <><>

London Calling Book Review by Isabel F.

The critically acclaimed author of Tangerine, Edward Bloor, is back with another heartfelt mystery. This time Bloor delves into the spiritual world with the fascinating and twisty story of Martin, a miserable boy with a torn family, who attends a torturous prep school. He is content to spend eternity in the basement. But after inheriting an old cathedral radio from his newly passed and supposedly nutty Nana (whom he has always felt a “mystical” connection with), Martin starts to have realistic-incredibly realistic-dreams. These dreams (nightmares? reveries?) feature him traveling back to 1940 London, during Germany’s constant war bombing. He gets to know a boy named Jimmy, who is constantly pleading with Martin to “do his bit”. What does this mean? Why is Martin having these hallucinations? Are they hallucinations? Why now? To find the answer, read London Calling, an electrifying “history mystery” that is very tough to put down. <><>

Movie Reviews by Hannah T.

There are many great new movies out these days. There are several Disney films and others that are huge hits with an audience for kids in middle school and high school. A great Disney film that hit theatres April 10^th was the Hannah Montana Movie starring Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lucas Till, Emily Osment, Jason Earles, and many other familiar actors and actresses. This movie is a wonderful PG rated comedy based on the hit T.V. series, Hannah Montana, where Miley Stewart heads home to Tennessee against her will. She struggles with her double life and now she must choose one, Hannah or Miley. Along the way she finds herself caught in romance, and some very sticky situations. This is a great movie for kids of all ages.

If you like romance, comedy and Zac Efron, then you should see 17 Again. It hit theatres April 17^th and got great reviews. This movie is rated PG-13 and stars Zac Efron, Sterling Knight, Hunter Parrish, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Leslie Mann. Matthew Perry plays Mike O’Donnell who is an adult who doesn’t have a very good life, he is divorcing his wife, and his kids (Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight) don’t trust him. He was a star in high school and wishes he could go back to the glory days, and his wish comes true. Zac Efron then plays Mike O’Donnell as a teen and goes back to high school with the help of his best friend Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon). He helps his kids and himself while becoming closer to his family. 17 Again is a great flick and is very funny.

Animation has gone up and overboard with Monsters vs. Aliens 3D. This movie is about a girl named Susan (voice of Reese Witherspoon) who is hit by a meteorite on her wedding, turned into a giant woman, and then joined with a group of monsters that have been gathered by the government over the years. The group is then rounded up to fight off aliens and save the world from imminent destruction. This animated film features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, and many more.

A good thriller movie out right now is Knowing. In this action film, a teacher opens up a time capsule that had been dug up at his son’s elementary school. In it are some predictions of bad events-earthquakes, crashes, events where a large amount of people died-some that have already occurred, some that will in the future, which lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold. It’s a great film directed by Alex Proyas, rated PG-13 starring Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, D.J. Maloney, Lara Robinson, and others. Catch all these great films in theatres now! <><>