128 pages; Amazon

Have you ever gotten addicted to a video game? I'm sure that many of us have done just that. Well, the 12th installment of the Rotten School series, Battle of the Dum Diddys, has a similar theme.

The book starts out with the 4th-grader Bernie Bridges being called into Headmaster Upchuck's office. While he doesn't have a clue to why he was asked to be there, he overhears Headmaster Upchuck saying that the school might shut down if the Board of Inspectors doesn't find that the school is up to their standards.

Bernie knows that Rotten School isn't the best boarding school, so that means the school will be closed in less than a week. Will Bernie help to get the school into shape in time for the inspection day?

Nope!

Bernie is all about himself, and with only a few days until the school will shut down, Bernie is on a quest to make as much money as he can by scheming his fellow classmates. However, his plan comes to a halt when all the students go missing.

Where have the Rotten School students disappeared to?

Not Rated; 559 minutes; $59.99; Amazon

Fans of the hit HBO series Games of Thrones will have to wait a bit longer for the new season to begin, which will premiere on April 24th. Until then, you can rewatch The Complete Fifth Season that is available to own on DVD & Blu-ray, featuring all 10 episodes.

The fantasy series is based on the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series by George R. R. Martin. The fifth season uses materials from the fourth and fifth novels (A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons), as well as borrowing a few scenes from the third book (A Storm of Swords) and the yet-to-be-released sixth novel, The Winds of Winter.

Picking up shortly after the fourth season finale, Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) is on the run after murdering his father, Tywin. He is later captured by Jorah Mormont (played by Iain Glen), who plans on delivering Tyrion to Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke), in the hope she will forgive him for his betrayal. Daenerys has more things to worry about than her former guard returning as a civil war is brewing in her kingdom.

Arya Stark (played by Maisie Williams) makes her way to House of Black and White, so she can learn the powers of the Many-faced God; however, her passion for revenge might ruin everything.

Jamie Lannister (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), along with Bronn (Jerome Flynn), travels to Dorne retrieve his teenage niece/daughter, Myrcella (played by Nell Tiger Free), but things aren't quite as easy they planned it to be.

While Cersel Lannister (played by Lena Headey) awaits Jamie's return with their daughter, she must deal with a religious group, the Sparrows, who are determined to out anyone who sins.

Jon Snow (Kit Harington) has more problems than any other character as he steps into the role as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. After making the decision to make an alliance with the wildlings, his men loses their trust in him. To make matters worse, the White Walkers and their army of dead are getting closer.


The bonus features on the five-disc DVD set are:

PG-13; 137 mins; $39.99; Amazon

Being somewhat of a movie buff, I had nearly forgotten the fact that the final installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay - Part 2, was released to theaters last November. I recall seeing a few advertisements for the film, but between the Spectre (the 24th James Bond flick) and the Star Wars madness last year, it totally slipped my mind.

Despite being judged for the studio's decision to split the final installment into two films, Mockingjay - Part 2 was a commercial success; taking in $653 million at the box-office, thought it was the least profitable of the franchise.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 will be arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack tomorrow, March 22nd, from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Also being released tomorrow is The Hunger Games Complete 4-Film Collection on Blu-ray and DVD. The Digital HD was released on March 8th.

Based on the best-selling book series by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 picks up where the previous film had ended. The rebels had rescued Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson), but he's been brainwashed by the Capitol, resulting in his hatred for Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence).


Against orders from President Alma Coin (played by Julianne Moore), Katniss sneaks aboard a supply ship that will take her to the Capitol. Upon arrival, Commander Paylor (played by Patina Miller) assigns Katniss to the Star Squad, a team lead by Boggs (played by Mahershala Ali). Basically, they will film Katniss as a hero at the same time the rebels take control of the Capitol; though their mission is put into jeopardy when Peeta joins their team.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews!

Has your contact with authors usually been in person, via e-mail, social media, or something else?Do you believe audio books are the future and why do believe?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

  I usually communicate by email with either the author's agent or publisher; though occasionally the author actually contacts me (email).

ZonderKidz; $16.99; 32 pages; Amazon

I don't normally pay too attention to new books that are written for girls, but I have a much younger cousin, so I thought I would keep my eye out on any new titles which she might enjoy. When I saw that The Princess Twins and the Birthday Party was available to review through BookLook Bloggers, I eagerly signed up to review it.

Written by Mona Hodgson and published by ZonderKidz as an "I can Read!" series (1 - Beginning Reading), The Princess Twins and the Birthday Party centers on Emma and Abby, twin sisters who are princesses, and today is their birthday!

Emma and Abby hop out of bed, both excited about their big day. They pick out the prettiest dresses, put on their crowns, and head downstairs to eat breakfast with their parents. Then the twins help set things up for their birthday party, like name cards, etc..

Before long, their friends arrive carring presents for the twins. Everyone seems to be having a great time, well, all except for Emma's friend Beth, who has vanished from the party. Where did Emma go?

Zondervan; 224 pages; Amazon

It seems that retelling classic fairy tales and other mythological stories is the in-thing in the YA fiction market. Some of you might recall me reading The Golden Braid last year by author Jody Hedlund, which was a new version of Rapunzel. Now the author has put her spin on the old Robin Hood story with a blend of Disney/Pixar's Brave.

A Daring Sacrifice centers on Julianna Wessex, a young woman whom has kicked away her royal roots and grabbed a bow & arrows to seek revenge against her uncle, Lord Wessex, who had murdered her father. She now spends her days as the "cloaked  bandit," robbing the rich and giving back to poor. (Sounds a bit familiar!).

Julianna thought the whole kingdom believed that she was dead; well, that is until she robbed Collin Goodrich, who instantly recognized her.

Later after becoming injured, Julianna must rely on Collin's help. She agrees to stay at his estate for one week to heal her wounds and in exchange Collin must live with her in the woods for a week. Sounds simple enough to Julianna, but the one thing she never thought would happen does - she falls in love him.

188 pages; Amazon

In my continuing quest to reread the entire 16 book Rotten School series by R.L. Stine, I sat down this afternoon, took a few sips of coffee and read book 11, Rotten School: Punk'd and Skunked.

The series takes place at the boarding school called Rotten School and centers on a fourth-grader, Bernie Bridges, a student who annoys his teachers and tries to con his fellow classmates out of money.

For this installment, Bernie is excited about the upcoming Make-a-Great-Invention Contest, in which each dorm (there are three) will compete for a chance to win a trip to the super-rich prep school, Preppy Prep Prep. Then the winners will compete against other schools at the prep school with a chance to when $5,000.

Bernie is desperate to win the $5,000. He tries to get his buddies at the Rotten House to help him come up with a great idea for the contest. Sadly, they end up with the stupidest invention - a battery-powered Nose Vac.

Despite having the worst invention, Bernie and pals win the contest as Headmaster Upchuck will do anything to get rid of Bernie for a few days.