One of my favorite authors of all time is Mary Higgins Clark. Her novels are are easy to read, yet thought provoking as to "who-dun-it". She is relatively clean (PG mostly) in her stories. "I don't use explicit sex or violence so I wind up on the reading list for the seventh grade." I've always just preferred the idea of implied violence. The Hitchcock way. How many ways can you shoot people up? I think footsteps... that can be scarier. And I think the sexiest line written this century is, "You'll not shut me out of your bedroom tonight." I swear that's sexier than all this rolling in the hay." (http://www.powells.com/authors/higginsclark.html)

She has written well over thirty books, twenty-four of which have been on the best seller list. A widow with five children Mary had to make a living some how. With a colorful history to draw from for her novels Mary has never had a regret about any of them. In her words she says "I'd been a flying hostess with Pan Am...It was very glamorous, but I did it for a year and got married. When I got married, I said, "Now I have to learn how to be a professional writer." In the meantime I'd seen Europe, Africa, and Asia, at a time when I would have been a senior in college. I saw a revolution in Syria. In India they had independence, but it still felt like the colonial empire. I was in Africa when it was still the Belgian Congo and the British Gold Coast and French West Africa. Marvelous experiences. But then when I got married, well, in those days you had to quit. But I was ready. I'd seen the world, and I wanted to become a professional writer. I had to learn how. And I started taking writing courses at NYU." (http://www.powells.com/authors/higginsclark.html)

I write about her and her background as an introduction to her movies. Based on her novels, Mary Higgins Clark has several movies to her credit. Not that she produced them or scripted them in any way, but she saw her "babies" grow into adulthood as they were shown on the big screen. I have seven of them in my collection. Most of them had been filmed in Canada. One movie is rated "R" because it shows a pencil in the head of a psychiatric hospital guards head. The others are all rated PG-13. These ratings are extremely high when compared to the rating system of the United States. I applaud Canada for their stricter rating. The United States would probably rate them all at PG.

Listed below are just a few of the movies based on her novels:

"Haven't We Met Before?"
"We'll Meet Again"
"All Around the Town"
"Your Belong to Me"
"Pretend You Don't See Her"
"Lucky Day"
"Loves Music, Loves to Dance"

Her novels and movies are suspense in nature. They are frequently shown on Lifetime Movie Network. I would say they are akin to Kellie Martin's "Mystery Woman" series.



Mary also writes with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark. Carol is a prolific writer herself. Both Mother and Daughter are world renowned.




If you don't have time to read the book then go to your local video store and pick up one of the movies. You can't go wrong either way.


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Camp Rock was released in stores last week. I picked it up today and the kids eagerly grabbed it from my hands and immediately inserted the disc into the player. They sat riveted to their seats during the 98 minute showing.

I had never really listened to the Jonas Brothers before today. I think their tone and music are definitely catchy for this generation. My ear however likens them unto the many Disney artists that are being cranked out yearly like the Cheetah Girls, Hannah Montana and others. Joe Jonas, the lead singer, has a squeezing, pushing quality about his singing. It's almost as if he doesn't have natural volume and has to make up for it in a forced attempt. The group sound is good and I am sure that the pre-teen and early teen females don't know the difference. When googling the Jonas Brothers I found page upon page of links for them, so their music works...just not with me.

The movie itself is about a girl who wants to fit in at an elite music camp. Her mother is the camp cook and so she is allowed to attend the camp which would normally be out of her parents financial realm. Of course Mitchie doesn't want the rest of the camp participants to know her background. The plot of deception is set from the beginning and of course the lie comes back to haunt her.

Joe Jonas plays the role of a famous rock singer named Shane Grey who has traveled far from the roots of his original music and is disgruntled with his life. He is the dance instructor at the camp. He hears a beautiful singing voice and is determined to find out who it belongs to. Obviously it is Mitchie.

The moral of the story is to not form pretenses for people, but to be true to one's self. This is a typical, clean, fun musical from Disney. It is safe for all family members to view. As an adult, the movie may appear lacking in substance. It should not be compared to High School Musical.

The best production in the movie is the Camp Rock song. The duet between Shane and Mitchie "This is Me" comes in second.







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