Kindred Spirits

The Wrath & The Dawn Author:  Renee Ahdieh Publisher:  New York Random House : 2015 Annotation: Described as "Game of Thrones meets Arabian Nights" in U.S. Weekly, the reader should prepare for a fast paced and lush story of romance, adventure and mysteries. The first in a duology, The Wrath & The Dawn is a modern reimagining of the famous story One Thousand and One Nights, otherwise known as Arabian Nights. This novel is a classic, with its many tales well-known in Western literature such as Aladin and Sinbad. The Wrath & The Dawn  follows the main character Shahrzad and her relationship with the King Khalid. King Khalid is a monster, murdering a different bride every night, one night he murders Shahrzad's cousin and as a result, Shahrzard volunteers to marry the king Khalid to exact her revenge and end his killing spree once and for all. This adaptation is filled with rich characters and folk lore that will keep you coming back night after night ...

Clueless  Director:  Amy Heckerling Distributor:  Paramount Pictures (1995) Annotation: Clueless (1995) is a feel good cult classic that many people forget is the revival of the Jane Austen classic novel Emma  (1815).  Cher, like Emma, grows up with the perfect life, gorgeous and popular and wealthy. When a new girl comes to town she wants to give her a makeover and play matchmaker with her best friend Dionne. This adaptation is perfect for an audience that wants to experience Jane Austen's romantic comedy brought to life in Beverly Hills by Silverstone, Dash and Murphy.  Awards: ACA Funniest Actress in Motion Picture (Leading Role) (1996) Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1996) NSFC Best Breakthrough Performer (1996) For more information:  Trailer Willoughby Library IMDb Rotten Tomatoes Rolling Stone Review 

Little Women  Director: Greta Gerwig Distributor: Universal Sony Pictures Entertainment (2019) Annotation: A wonderfully cast and recent adaptation brings to life of the original 1868 novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott .  This film tells the story of the four March sisters, Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo. Told from the perspective of Jo, the film swaps between current and past reflection of each of her sisters with their own dreams and desires for their lives. Described in the New York Times "... as if the book has been carefully cut apart and reassemled, its signatures sewn back together in an order than produces sparks of surprise and occasional bouts of pleasurable dizziness",  this is a family film that will bring the audience into this classic coming of age piece and experience life in the 19th century. For more information:  Willoughby Library IMDb Trailer NY Times Review 

The Great Gatsby Director: Baz Luhrmann Distributor:  Roadshow Entertainment (2013) Annotation: Adapted for film from Fitzgerald's classic novel of the same title, this film draws the audience into the glamor and drama of Nick Carraway's world, set in New York in the 1920s. The film is narrated by Toby Maguire who plays World War I veteran in a psychiatric hospital, who tells the tale of a dramatic love affair between Jay Gatsby, a famous millionaire (Leonardo DiCaprio), Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) and her husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton).  Swing into the roaring 20s with this star studded cast and experience the classic novel in film form. Awards: Academy Award for Best Production Design (2014) Academy Award for Best Costume Design (2014) For more information:  Willoughby Library Trailer IMDb

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorised Adaptation Author:  Tim Hamilton Publisher:   New York, NT : Hill and Wang, 2009 Annotation: Adapted by artist Tim Hamilton, this authorised adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel  Fahrenheit 451  is translated into the format of a graphic novel and contains an introduction from Bradbury himself. Hamilton's graphic novel takes the reader into the moody and compelling world of Guy Montag, a career "fireman" who is charged with burning books which everyone is told by the government are dangerous and forbidden. As the original novel contained much prose, Hamilton transforms the imagery into literal images, using muted blues, greens and grey which are then juxtaposed by the blazing red fires of the burning books. Relevant today as it was in the 1950's step into this unique work and uncover with Montag the value of literature. For more information:  Willoughby Library GoodReads NoveList ...

Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Author:  Octavia E. Bulter, adapted by Damian Duffy Illustrator: John Jennings Publisher:  New York: Abrams Comic Arts 2017 Annotation: As the title suggests, this is a graphic novel adaptation of the classic novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. The protagonist Dana is a young African American woman married to a white man named Kevin living in the 1970s. She is pulled back in time multiple times with her husband Kevin and both of them experience culture shock in different ways. This is an intense and horrific tale importantly explores themes of oppression, systemic racism, sexism and encourages the reader to spark a conversation of human rights and history. These themes are shown particularly through the art style where Jennings uses blocky, impressionistic and jagged and think lines to capture the complex social history and heavy emotion that this adaptation brings. Awards: Bram Stoker Awards: Best Graphic Novel (2017...

Ordinary Girls Author: Blair Thornburgh Publisher: HarpenTeen : 2019  Annotation: A warm and funny character driven novel, Ordinary Girls takes readers through a contemporary adaptation of the classic novel Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. Discover the tale of two sisters, Ginny and Plum.  Ginny is the dramatic, anxious, loving older sister and could not be more different to her younger sister Plum, the calm, practical and old-fashioned one. Together they create realistic and funny family dynamics as they navigate the challenges of sisterhood, family issues, college applications, love and grief.  Awards: Publisher's Weekly Best Book of 2019  Booklist Editors' Choice for Books for Youth 2019 For more information:  Book of the Month  GoodReads NoveList

House of Salt and Sorrows Author:  Erin A. Craig  Narrator: Emily Lawrence Publisher:  Listening Library : 2019 Annotation: This haunting tale is a gothic, fantasy retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses. The novel centres around the Royal family's children, the 12 Thalamus sisters, as Craig creates a creepy, cold atmosphere around Highmoor Manor on a remote island. Annaleigh's sisters keep dying one by one, and each death is more tragic than the last, all appearing like accidents, but Annaleigh is convinced that there is more to their deaths than meets the eye. Take a step with Annaleigh into this dark and spellbinding novel and uncover the curse of Highmoor.  For more information:  Willoughby Library Book of the Month  GoodReads NoveList

Frankenstein in Baghdad  Author: Ahmad Sa’dawi, translated by Jonathan Wright Publisher: London : Oneworld Publications, 2018 Annotation: Translated into English from the original Arabic, this heavy hitting political piece sheds a new and terrifying war time spin on Mary Shelley's montster in her 1818 gothic novel  Frankenstein .  Set during the Iraq War in 2005, this novel is written from multiple perspectives, it mainly follows the story of Hadi a junk dealer and his assistant who are involved in a car bombing and when Hadi goes to collect his assistant's body he is confronted with assorted parts of other's bodies. He repairs the body with the parts and thus Whatsisname is born and inhabited by the spirit of a young man who died in a previous Iraq war and vows to take revenge upon all criminals.  The Iraqi perspective and life in Baghdad during this time period is not one often heard in Western literature and this translated work is one that combin...