Books Similar to Gabe’s Guardian Angel That Were Also Movies
CARRIE: 1976 – CARRIE is considered one of the best bullying movies made. Carrie is a nerd who finally reaches her limit after the jocks pour animal blood on her at a school dance. She gets her revenge that is beyond anything anyone expected. (Now I have to see this one.) In my story, Gabe gets his revenge, but in a quite different way than it sounds like Carrie does.
A GIRL LIKE HER: Did you ever have a person in your school (or office) that tormented you, but you could never quite prove they were hurting you? Bullies can be slick that way. Mick, the bully in my story, is smart and does things on the sly to keep out of trouble from the teachers.
WONDER: This movie is the true story of a boy who was born with a rare facial deformity and he suffers bullying because of it. This story shows how he overcomes the cruelty of the bullies and helped make the world a better place. Gabe overcomes his bully, too, and makes his world better.
REVENGE OF THE NERDS: This is an 80’s movie that teaches about what it’s like to be bullied. The nerds manage to beat the bullies at their own game. (This one I want to see, too.) It’s a cult classic, funny and off beat. I would say in Gabe’s story that he got his revenge.
Books about bullies are nothing new. Unfortunately, bullies seem to be around in every generation. So, what do we do about them? The books and the movies may have the answer.
Thanks for hosting me today, Alex.
GABE’S GUARDIAN ANGEL
by Beverly Stowe McClure
* Paperback: 214 pages
* Publisher: Freedom Fox Press
* ISBN-13: 978-1939844668
Gabe Montana is clumsy. He's overweight, and he's dyslexic. Worse yet, the bullies make his fifteen-year-old life even more miserable-so miserable he wants to die.
Charley, his guardian angel, says no to that idea and comes up with a different plan. He'll give Gabe self-confidence so he can solve his problems, not run away from them. But Gabe wonders why the angel doesn't just help with the bullies. What's with this self-confidence stuff?v Can Charley help Gabe stand on his own two feet? Will Gabe give up hope life can improve for him? Or will he finally listen to the angel's advice?
GABE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL is available at the following sites: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Nook, and Kobo
For those who aren’t familiar with the author, here’s a bit of background on her:
Most of the time, you’ll find Award-Winning Author Beverly Stowe McClure at her computer, typing stories young voices whisper in her ears. When she’s not writing, she’s snapping pictures of wildlife, flowers, and clouds.
She’s affectionately known as the “Bug Lady.” She’s not telling why. To relax she plays the piano. Her fur babies don’t appreciate good music and hide when she tickles the ivories.
Beverly is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She also teaches a women’s Sunday school class at her church.
For more on Beverly and her writing visit her at her: blog, Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
Author Beverly Stowe McClure is giving away one print copy of GABE’S GUARDIAN ANGEL to a lucky US winner.
To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter here and follow the instructions.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Beverly on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. Do you think Guardian Angels come in all shapes and sizes?
Music Reviews
What else can be written about Joe? How many more superlatives does one man need? Well...I have some more for Mr. Satriani because his new album is outstanding.
Shapeshifting is a great follow up to his last record, What Happens Next. There is a wild combination of styles and genres on display. Of course, Joe always assembles an amazing group of top notch musicians and they need to be to keep up with a world-class talent that is Joe Satriani. But the playing would just be that without great song writing and Joe knows how to craft instrumental songs that don’t need a singer because Joe sings with his guitar.
The standout track Nineteen Eighty is a face-melter and proves that Joe is still at the very top of his game.
I love me some melodeath. That’s melodic death metal for the uninitiated. How a small country can produce so many great bands and talented musicians is mind-boggling. Whatever is in the waters of Finland needs to be bottled up and sold (actually it is - there are many companies that bottle the water of Finland but they filter out the magical musical properties).
But I digress.
Wolfheart clocks in at a lean 41 minutes, but that just means all meat and no filler. The first half of the album is solid and heavy, but it’s the second half that is truly inspired. The last two tracks, Arrows of Chaos and Ashes, are truly epic.
This one gets better and better with every listen.
Movie Reviews
Extraction is a new Netflix release starring Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, as a merc on a mission to rescue the son of an evil drug lord from another evil drug lord.
I was psyched for this balls-to-the-wall action flick directed by Sam Hargrave, a long-time stunt coordinator, directing his first big time feature.
This film reminds me of a mix between The Raid and John Wick. The action and violence is brutal and grueling. For fun, play a drinking game where you take a shot every time someone is killed onscreen. You’ll make it about forty minutes before you pass out.
While the action is plentiful, it’s lacking in one major area—fun. Hemsworth’s character is shot, stabbed, beaten, and run over to the point you just want him to get to a hospital.
However, if brutal action flicks are your bag, there is enough here to warrant a watch.
Lackluster reviews kept me away from this release last December, but I finally checked it out on HBO free weekend. Glad I didn’t see it in the theater!
According to the IMDB: A mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw, emerges as the only one who can stop a giant, predator city on wheels devouring everything in its path. Feral, and fiercely driven by the memory of her mother, Hester joins forces with Tom Natsworthy, an outcast from London, along with Anna Fang, a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head.
Based on the children’s book by Philip Reeve. Yes, really.
While the story did reek of less-than-average young adult, it was certainly not that or a children’s story.
It was…boring.
Once you got over the initial wow of the special effects, the story was boring. You didn’t care about the characters. You didn’t care what happened next. And at over two hours, that’s a lot of time wasted not caring. (And with less than thirty minutes to go, my wife told me she was fine with not knowing how it ended – so we stopped watching.)
I also did not buy into the concept of cities on wheels.
So, despite Hugo Weaving, I’d avoid this snooze-fest.
Special Treat
Kathe at It’s a Snap! sent me a thank you email for just being a friend, along with this photo of her cat, Lucy. Thanks, Kathe!! You are all kinds of awesome.
What movie about bullying do you like? Have you picked up any of those new albums? Seen Extraction? Had the misfortune to see Mortal Engines? Friends with Kathe and Lucy? And are you looking forward to the day when all of the news isn’t about one thing?
Remember, not only is next week Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day, but we are celebrating the release of Voyagers: The Third Ghost and opening the next IWSG Anthology Contest!
