Happy Saturday y’all! Today’s Novel Flicks feature is backwards from the way it normally is. Normally, we feature a movie adaptation of the book, but this time it’s a movie novelization of Netflix’s new film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. My family and I loved the movie, quickly putting it near the top of our favorites list, so I was excited to dive into the book. If you’ve got a sci-fi/tech loving family, we highly recommend this one.
I received this book via YA Book Central. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Connected: Movie Novelization by Michael Anthony Steele Published by Simon Spotlight on 2021-04-27
Length: 144 pages
Reviewing Paperback from YA Book Central
Rating:
See what happens in this novelization of the hilarious and completely original motion picture from Sony Pictures Animation, The Mitchells vs. the Machines—featuring 8 full-color pages with images from the movie!
The Mitchells are a dysfunctional yet loving family whose road trip is interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love—from phones to refrigerators to an appealing new line of personal robots—decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots and the family’s delightfully chubby pug, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world!
Connected by Michael Anthony Steele is a novelization of the movie The Mitchells vs. the Machines. We watched the movie on Netflix when it first became available, and it quickly rose to the top of our favorites list. The book has as well. It follows the adventures of one family who work together to stop a robot-like apocalypse.
What I Liked:
- Age-appropriate language makes it engaging for independent readers
- Type-font indicates the narrator of the story
- Short chapters are less intimidating to young readers and offer easy stopping points
- Fast-paced, sci-fi adventure reminiscent of iRobot and Terminator but age-appropriate for kids
What Left Me Wanting More:
Because this is a movie novelization that was released at the same time as the movie itself, there is little to no new information. I expected this, however my ten year old was quickly bored because he knew the story from seeing the movie. There are stills from the movie in the center of the book, seemingly placed at random. This would have served the author and story well if the pictures were placed at the appropriate spots of the book instead of all together in the center.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I liked Connected. It was an easy read, age-appropriate, and fast-paced like the movie it is based on. I would’ve liked to see more backstory and events that didn’t happen in the movie or maybe were alluded to but not shown on screen. Sci-fi fans will enjoy this one.
I received this book via YA Book Central. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Programmed for Laughs: A Robot Joke Book by Matt Chapman Illustrator: Lily Nishita
Published by Simon Spotlight on 2021-04-27
Length: 95 pages
Reviewing Paperback from YA Book Central
Rating:
In this joke book companion to the hilarious and offbeat motion picture The Mitchells vs. the Machines from Sony Pictures Animation, robots Eric and Deborahbot 5000 team up to write robot jokes with side-splitting results!
When the delightfully dysfunctional Mitchell family’s road trip is interrupted by a worldwide tech uprising, they join forces with two hilarious malfunctioning robots to save humanity before it’s too late. In this book, robots Eric and Deborahbot 5000 form a team of their own as they crack jokes about the Mitchell family’s accidental heroism and what the robot apocalypse is really like.
This laugh-out-loud joke book will leave readers of all ages snorting, spitting out their drinks, and otherwise malfunctioning!
Programmed for Laughs by Michael Anthony Steele gives you exactly what you would expect in a joke book, but also more. Based on the new Netflix film The Mitchells vs. the Machines, this book features seven categories of jokes ranging from technology to family jokes. My ten year old loves how the book is organized into different categories, looking up new jokes to share each night. With whimsical illustrations of our two friendly robots and new and old jokes alike, Programmed for Laughs is sure to please kids of all ages.
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