I admit, I haven’t read the book. I should do that. It was really weird watching the extras, where they talked about the book without mentioning Alan Moore at all. Also, I’m feeling pretty certain that everyone here has already seen this movie. But here goes, anyway.
V for Vendetta In a dark near-future world, Britain has been taken over by a fascist government, while the United States has dissolved into chaos. Evey (Natalie Portman) is a young news employee, out past curfew and rescued from thugs by a mysterious man in a black cloak and a Guy Fawkes mask (Hugo Weaving). He introduces himself as V and invites her to come with him to see a show. She watches in shock as he blows up a national monument to the accompaniment of the 1812 Overture on the emergency broadcast system. Evey has only been trying to blend in since her parents were killed in the brutal early years of the regime, but somehow she keeps tangling with V and risking capture by the government. The action is tense and the characters compelling. V is both extremely likable and very icky, a terrorist with an easy-to-support goal. The government is both a reflection of the Third Reich and a not-implausible result of a government which uses fear of outside attack to suppress dissent. The performances by Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving – whose face we never see – were impressive. If you want a side of thinking with your dose of action, this is a great movie.
Uglies by Scott Westerfield. Narrated by Carine Montbertrand. If you pay any attention to teen books, you’ll have heard of this one – it’s been on the bestseller lists and on prominent display in the bookstores for the past couple of years. A few hundred years in our future, cities are small and self-sufficient, powered by renewable energy. In one such city, fifteen-year-old Tally Youngblood is waiting impatiently to turn sixteen. Then she will undergo cosmetic surgery to become a Pretty and move to New Pretty Town, where the parties last all night long. With just a few days to go, her new-this-summer best friend, Shay, tells Tally that she wants to keep her own face. She wants Tally to run away with her to the Smoke, a tiny settlement of people who have rejected the city. Tally says no – until Special Circumstances tells her she’ll stay Ugly until she brings Shay back. Can a girl who’s relied on a computerized city to tell her where to go her whole life survive traveling through the wilderness alone? And, if she can find the settlement, will she believe what’s she’s been told her whole life about the Operation, or will she listen to the tales of the dark secrets of the city that the founders of the Smoke tell her? 
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley McKinley, award-winning author of Beauty and The Hero and the Crown, among others, is back. This is the first book of hers I’ve read with a male protagonist, but, if you’re a fan, don’t let that stop you. Jake Mendoza lives with his father and a small community on the only dragon reserve in North America. Since his mother died several years ago, he’s withdrawn into his room, spending most of his time playing computer games. The reserve has a small zoo of lizards that are considered dragons, but the real fire-breathing, marsupial dragons, draco australiens, live only in the wild of the park, rarely glimpsed. Then Jake finds a dead poacher, dead mother dragon and one living dragonlet. Breaking federal law, he keeps the baby dragon alive. Now the reserve is fighting an investigation trying to shut it down, while keeping Jake and his dragon a secret. Jake narrates the story in a rambling teen voice that both makes the story feel more intimate and keeps the pace from being frantic. It’s a seductive alternate reality focusing on one boy’s coming of age and our relationship with the wild.
Fairy Moon: Songs of the Ring by Maria Sangiolo A lot of my children’s music reviews seem to include, “If you are tired of voice and solo guitar…” This gentle, unplugged recording charmed me. Sangiolo’s songs of shoe-making gnomes under the pines and fairy dances range in style from straightforward folk to Irish traditional, and are accompanied by piano, flute and harp, as well as the ubiquitous guitar. They capture a young child’s easy belief in fairies and joy in life in a way that reminded me of 
Siblings without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish As far as I can tell, the major conflict in siblings books is what to do when siblings fight: do you let them work it out themselves, try to solve their problems for them, or just punish all involved parties without trying to arbitrate? This classic book from the authors of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk brings a nuanced yet simple-to-implement solution to this as well as many other classic sibling problems. The answer to the first question is first to see if anyone is getting hurt, physically or verbally. If they are, describe what you see, say that hurting is not allowed, and separate them to give them time to cool off. If there isn’t imminent danger, have both of them describe the problem, describe each side back to them. Then tell them that it’s a difficult problem, but you’re sure that they will be able to find a solution. Then leave the room, telling them where you’ll be. They recommend never taking sides yourself, voting only as a very last resort, and not punishing. The last is to protect the other child, as a punished child will be out for revenge and see the sibling, as responsible for the punishment. 
