"Newsies" (Thing 2)

We watched "Newsies" for school today. It is a musical about a group of kids called the newsies that go around and deliver the news to everyone. They have to go to a newsstand bright and early to buy newspapers to sell. All is going well, until the owner of the paper raises the price of the newspapers. The newsies then have to figure out what to do. After a good while, they decide to go on strike. But what dangers will come?

I would give this movie

because it was funny, had good music, and had good characters. I didn't really have a favorite character; I liked them all.

"Newsies" (Thing 1)

We watched "Newsies." A runaway juvenile delinquent, Jack Kelly, gets a job as a newsie in New York. But when the newsies suffer from salary cuts, Jack convinces them to go on strike. Between the chaos of the riots and Jack trying to hide from the Warden Snyder, trouble follows the newsies everywhere.

This was a really fun musical. Right off the bat, it was full of upbeat songs and constant movement, just like New York is. Jack Kelly was played by Christian Bale, who is the perfect kind of actor for his role, a sort of wannabe cowboy/revolutionary. Partnering up with the more levelheaded David, they worked together to keep the strike going without it getting too out of hand (most of the time). The overall feel and theme of the movie reminded me of a "Mary Poppins" meets "Les Misérables." Les, probably the youngest of all of them, was even like Gavroche. The music was great, too; catchy, but not in a borderline annoying way like songs from "Music Man" might get stuck in your head.

Overall, I would give it

(actual rating 3.5). This isn't something I liked enough to see on Broadway or anything, but I would definitely recommend watching the movie.

Little Women (Thing 2)

We read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. It is about four sisters, Amy, Beth, Jo, Meg, and their mom Marmee. Their dad is off at war, so they have to make their own money in different ways. It takes place back during simple times during the Civil War. Amy, who is the youngest, loves art. Beth, the second youngest, is the kindest and loves playing the piano. Jo loves to write stories, and Meg, the oldest, is the "proper" one. As the story progresses, they go through all kinds of obstacles.

I would give this book



 because it had really good characters and was a simple yet enjoyable story. My favorite characters were Jo and Beth. I thought Jo was kind of a cool character because she didn't take anyone's crap. And I enjoyed how sweet Beth was.

Little Women (Thing 1)

We read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The March family--primarily focused on the four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy--struggle to work together and stay responsible while their father is away in the military. Throughout the story, obstacles and other complications make this goal difficult, but ultimately bring them closer as a family.

I really enjoyed this book. I'd read it a long time ago, but didn't remember much, so it was like reading it for the first time all over again. Jo was my favorite character hands down, just because of how much I could relate to her. She liked to read, write, and get a little messy even if it meant straying from social norms. She said what she thought and stuck to her principles. Really all of the characters were great in different ways, especially because they were so ahead of their time for when the story was written.

The story was simple, but enjoyable. It didn't feel outdated like some books from that long ago did. I really like the Jo and Laurie friendship, Beth and Mr. Laurence's relationship, and all of the girls constantly trying to stay sane when dealing with their crotchety old Aunt March. Each chapter was almost like a short story that connected with all the others, so if we took a break and went back to it, it wasn't hard to remember everything that had happened in the past thanks to it being serialized. The only thing that bugged me was how obvious some of the chapter endings were with the, "What was the moral of the story here, girls?" kind of attitude. I was fine with the overall message, but it could've been woven into the plot better.

I would rate it

. It's a good book for all ages as it's not difficult to read, but doesn't sacrifice any of the beautiful writing to make it like that.