The Brainstorm Plus: Brainstorm 277: Movie Makers

For this week’s Brainstorm I’m taking you behind the camera into the movie/documentary-making process with some budding young film makers, a real film set, and introduce you to a director you may never have heard of before. Click on the titles to read my full review of each book including any content notes/trigger warnings.

Any Day with You by Mae Respicio

Kaia is really looking forward to 2 things this summer: film camp where she can grow her special effects makeup skills and spending time with Tatang (her great-grandfather) doing all their favorite things. But the summer gets a shade of sadness to it when Tatang announces that he's moving back to the Philippines for good at the end of the summer. Kaia adores Tatang, his stories inspired by Filipino mythology, and their special activities they do together. She figures that if she and her two best friends win the film competition they work on at camp maybe that will convince Tatang to stay.

Kaia and Tatang have a beautiful relationship and I can’t think of another book that features a great-grandfather and great-granddaughter.

Target Readers:
Grandparent/Grandchild Story Fans, Intergenerational Friendship Story Fans, Filipino Culture Studiers/Celebrators, Filipino Character Fans, Makeup Artists Character Fans, Film Making Story Fans, Contemporary Fiction Fans, California Setting Fans, Summer Camp Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers

As You Wish : Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden, fwd Rob Reiner

A look behind the scenes of the making of The Princess Bride from the perspective of Cary Elwes, aka Westley.

This is a cozy, fun, and perfect light read for any fan of the movie.

Target Readers:
Princess Bride Movie Fans, Light & Cozy Nonfiction Fans, Behind the Scenes Fans, Adult Readers (though totally approachable to YA Readers)

The Beast (Darkdeep, #2) by Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs

As Halloween nears, the town of Timber is capitalizing on their Beast folklore to draw in tourists. The town is actually going a little too crazy with it in the opinion of most of the Torchbearers charged with protecting the town from the very real Beast and other things (well, all of them except Logan who is designing Beast t-shirts and making some good money off the Beast mania). Their job is getting harder because even though they've stopped jumping in the mysterious Darkdeep*, figments are still appearing and seem to be doing so in increasing numbers. There's also some weird algae blooms appearing off shore, and very odd lightning storms. An internet celebrity has come to town to try and hunt down the Beast, and Emma has joined his crew to try and keep him away from any real finds, but is she getting too into the filming? Opal could swear someone is telling her to go certain places, which has led the Torchbearers to discover some further old Torchbearer bases. But who is talking to her? Everything will come to a head on Halloween.

The documentary-making efforts of the internet celebrity are just a small part of the story, but it does add to the plot and impact Emma and her friends. It isn’t often I enjoy the 2nd book in a series more than the 1st, but that is definitely true of this one. Figuring out what was going on, how the Torchbearers could protect the town, and more of the Torchbearer past kept the pages flying.

*To better understand the Darkdeep see my review of the first book in the series.

Target Readers:
Scifi Fans, Monster Story Fans, Light Horror Fans, Suspense Fans, Secret Societies Protecting the World Story Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Small Town Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers (also probably would appeal to many YA Readers)

Kate Walden Directs: Night of the Zombie Chickens (Kate Walden Directs, #1) by Julie Mata

Kate Walden wants to become a famous movie director someday with fantastic actors and actresses under her artistic genius. Currently she's only in 6th grade and her artistic pool is limited to family, friends, and the evil chickens that have wrecked her social life and quite possibly stolen her mother's affection. See, Kate used to be cool. She used to be in the upper tiers of middle school, but then her mom decided to quit her job and start organic chicken farming. And when popular girl Lydia came over to be a zombie in one of the last scenes of Kate's most recent movie, she got a front row view of the disgustingness that is chickens. And she has no qualms about telling people how Kate lives among these pooping feather brains. Kate might have recovered from that except that that same week her mom came and shared in class about raising organic chickens AND in the middle of the crowded hallway chicken poop falls right off of Kate's shoe and is seen by all. Now Kate is being called Crapkate, her best friend Alyssa has drifted over to the dark side with Lydia, and Kate is left sitting with Margaret and Doris at the losers' table. Alyssa was the one who invited Lydia over, she didn't stand up for Kate during the Crapkate incident, and in all, she's been a rotten friend, so Kate hatches a plan to teach Alyssa a lesson that involves the theft of the Cute Red Wig for the upcoming production of Annie. The plan gets set in motion no problem, but then Kate starts to learn some things about herself, middle school social standings, and true friendship. With the help of Margaret and Doris (who turn out to be not so bad after all), Kate must try to make things right before she ruins multiple lives.

Target Readers:
Contemporary Fiction Fans, Movie Maker Character Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Real Life Lessons Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers

Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker by Mara Rockliff, ill. by Simona Ciraolo

A picture book biography of Alice Guy-Blaché, the first woman film maker and a pioneer in many aspects of the motion picture industry, though she has been largely forgotten.

Did you know that a woman is statistically more likely to be go into space as an astronaut than to become an award-winning Hollywood director? It is shameful the way the movie industry treats women creators. I had never heard of Alice before reading this book, and she created the first motion pictures with sound! Make sure you read the further information at the back of the book about how Alice was erased from history and then the truth was uncovered again.

Target Readers:
Picture Book Biography Fans, Movie History Buffs, Nonfiction Fans, Lower Grade Readers (though interesting enough for Middle Grade)

Love & Olives (Love & Gelato, #3) by Jenna Evans Welch

Liv adored her dad as a child. But he broke her heart when he left her and her mom to hunt for Atlantis when she was 8. Now it's the summer before her senior year of high school and suddenly he wants her to join him on Santorini to help film a documentary with supposed evidence that Atlantis was really the ancient civilization on Santorini that was destroyed by the volcano. Liv is supposed to be going with her boyfriend Dax on his senior trip, but her mom strongly encourages her to go to Santorini instead. And Liv surprises herself by agreeing. Perhaps she's somewhat running away from Dax's pushiness for her to join him at Stanford next year when she is really dreaming of going to the Rhode Island College of Art & Design. Or maybe a part of her is still wrapped up in her father's stories of Atlantis and wonders if he could really be right. Liv could never dream what the summer has in store.

Beyond having a great setting, this story surprised me with its depth. It’s an exploration of a girl’s rocky relationship with her father, an exploration of myths and how they come about, an awakening to what healthy relationships look like, Dax is a third culture kid and dealing with things that come with being a TCK, and eventually you find out this is also an important story about mental health. This is technically the 3rd in a series, but you do not need to read the others to understand what is going on in this book.

Target Readers:
Contemporary Fiction Fans, Santorini (Greece) Setting Fans, Atlantis Myth Fans, Documentary Making Story Fans, Father/Daughter Story Fans, Mental Health Story Fans, Summer Story Fans, Light Romance Fans, Young Adult Readers (though approachable to high reading Middle Grade Readers, and with enough depth for Adult Readers)

Shark Summer by Ira Marcks

Gayle had thought she was taking her new softball team to victory when she breaks her wrist and they lose. Softball was her in in her new community here on Martha's Vineyard but since she broke her wrist going for a ball that local hotshot Lex totally had until she got in the way, she's kind of being ostracized. Gayle's mom is having trouble making ends meet, which worries Gayle. And the island is going a little crazy as a film crew has moved in to shoot a major motion picture. The perfect distraction arrives in the form of Elijah Jones, future movie maker and entrant in the local movie competition who would love Gayle's help getting to know the island and figuring out what his documentary should be about. With the help of another local outcast, Maddie, they decide to make a documentary about a local legend about a ghost shark with roots in real history of the island. But some locals would rather let that history stay in the past.

The kids are learning a lot about interpersonal relationships along the way, and how their own past hurts are impacting them. It's more somber and cautionary than fun, but I did like the island setting and how unique this feels. This will hit our shelves in the next couple of weeks and I’m curious to see what kids think of it.

Target Readers:
Contemporary Fiction Fans, Summer Story Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Martha’s Vineyard Setting Fans, Local Folklore Fans, Cautionary Tale Fans, Documentary Making Story Fans, Graphic Novel Fans, Middle Grade Readers

Short & Skinny by Mark Tatulli

A graphic novel autobiography of the author's middle school years when he felt insecure about his body shape and stature, but found confidence through making a movie spoof of the newly released Star Wars.

Though this book takes place mostly during the summer of 1977, the themes of insecurity, Star Wars, and discovering your unique gifts transcend time.

Target Readers:
Autobiography Fans, Nonfiction Graphic Novel Fans, Middle School Memoir Fans, Self-Discovery Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers

This Is a Moose by Richard T. Morris, ill. by Tom Lichtenheld

A movie director is trying to make a documentary of typical moose life, but the animals in this story are anything but ordinary and eventually the script just has to be changed.

Silly story fans will love this ridiculous movie making tale. (And directors who want to work with animals may find this a cautionary tale of what working with animals actors can be like…kind of.)