Food is an essential part of our lives and sometimes it's an essential part of a character's life, too. I don't know about you, but I love reading about food, especially when it's written really, really well and makes me wish I could eat the food being described right that instant. There are tarts in Heartless, fragrant foreign delicacies in The Forbidden Wish, and of course butterbeer in Harry Potter.
I literally CANNOT wait until Wonder Woman! While D.C. tends to disappoint wth their movies (sorry, I'm more a Marvel girl), I am so pumped for this movie! I really, really hope it does well in the box office so that we get more female-centric superhero movies and I hope that one of those is Kamala Kahn AKA Kamala Kahn. She's one of my favorites!
Wonder Woman opens in the U.S. on June 2nd, but I just had to share some outfits now because I was too excited to wait!
Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman
Amazon princess Diana (Gal Gadot) is a strong and intelligent immortal warrior who finds Steve Trevor washed ashore the island of Themyscira. She travels to World War I London in order to help stop the war and fight evil.
For a subtle, updated version of Wonder Woman's classic outfit wear a green jacket, a red tank, embroidered black jeans, a brown bag, and metallic sneakers. Or for a decidedly Amazonian outfit put on a red, yellow, and blue jacket, metallic tank, ombre blue skirt, and gladiator sandals.
Steve Trevor
Steve (Chris Pine) is a captain in the U.S. Army Air Service who is rogue-ish and cynical but who is also charming. He enlists the help of Diana to stop World War I and finds that there's a lot more to her than meets the eye.
For a feminine take on his uniform, put on a green patched jacket, gray asymmetrical shirt, jeans, a newsboy cap, and navy lace-up boots. Or throw it back to 1917 with a gray jacket, a chambray shirt, map watch, green trousers, and gray sneakers.
Etta Candy
Etta (Lucy Davis) is Steve's loyal, friendly, and comical secretary who immediately befriends Diana while she travels to London.
If black is your color throw on a black blazer, dress, wide brim hat, and lace-up boots with rose earrings, and a brown watch. Or wear a floral print dress, navy jacket, orange bag, and off white ankle-strap flats.
I am THRILLED about this month's books! The first one I'm currently reading and the other two I'm dying to get. I preorder Lois Lane: Triple Threat and might just have to preorder the others because I need them ASAP! So read what these young adult novels are about and get some cute outfit inspiration from them!
Lois Lane: Triple Threat
Written by Gwenda Bond; For the first time, Lois Lane has almost everything she wants. Non-temporary home? Check. Dream job? Double check. Incredible BFFs? The absolute best. And now, her online crush, SmallvilleGuy, is coming to Metropolis. If all goes well, they'll turn their long-distance friendship into a some-kind-of-fairy-tale romance. But when does all ever go well? Before she can check boyfriend off her list, Lois must take down a mad scientist plus a trio of mutant teens, protect the elusive flying man from the feds (including her dad), and navigate her very first date with SmallvilleGuy.
Written by Renee Ahdieh; The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place and her future has always been out of her hands. En route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back.
Written by Sandhya Menon; Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board.
Who else is so happy that it's warm because now they can read outside?! I love grabbing a book and reading outside a Starbucks with a delicious iced peach green tea! It's such a great way to relax on the weekends. Where's your favorite place to read in the spring and summer?
Heartless
♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)
Written by Marissa Meyer; Catherine may be one of
the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried
King, but her interests lie elsewhere. She wants to open her own bakery, but her mother wants her to be queen. But at a royal ball Cath meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the
pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and
infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.
Now
this is a dark, intense version of Wonderland! I really enjoyed
following Cath's story from naive baker to the cold-hearted queen we all
know from Alice in Wonderland. She starts off as a nice girl with big
dreams of opening a bakery, but of course things never go according to
plan, and slowly her kindness begins to shed, especially towards the
end.
Her secret romance with Jest was so sweet and despite
guessing how it would end I rooted for them nonetheless. Jest is an
interesting character; he was charming and fun and had a lot of tricks
up his sleeve...literally!
This version of Wonderland was intriguing:
certainly not as whimsical, but still full of wonder. I liked how Cath's
dreams manifest trees and flowers, how like from the original tale some
foods and drinks could change your size and you had to be wary, that
animals and plants could talk, and that Time was a real person.
The
reason I took a point away and didn't give it a full 5 stars was
because I didn't feel as connected to Cath as I would've liked. I found
her interesting and I was rooting for her, but I found many of the other
characters more three-dimensional than her. And I think I'm also a
little sad at how Hatter was portrayed in this. He's not the fun and
silly person we all love; he's a much crueler version.
Written by Kasie West; When Gia Montgomery's
boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school
prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends
about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved
he existed. So when she sees a cute guy,
she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend—two
hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back
the real Bradley.
You
wouldn't think a YA romance could be deep, but this one is at times.
Most of the time it's fun and charming and undeniably cute, but it also
delves into self-doubt, lying to yourself and others, and pretending
everything is okay when it isn't. Gia is the every girl. She's a good
student, a good daughter, a good friend, and a good girlfriend. What I
liked about this book in particular is that it shows that just being
good to the people you're closest to isn't enough sometimes. Gia never
really lets her friends and family get close to her and it harms her
relationships. And it's the guy that fills in for her boyfriend and his
sister that make Gia open up.
More so than Gia, I loved fill-in
boy's sister Bec. She wears all black all the time, she's true to
herself, she's tough on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside, and
she's snarky. She was my favorite character hands down. At times the drama and the dialogue in this book were dumb, and yet I still really enjoyed this book.
Written by Julie Murphy; Self-proclaimed fat girl
Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom)
has always been at home in her own skin. With her all-American
beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked until
Will takes a job at Harpy’s and meets
Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to
take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can
imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant.
OMG!
I don't think I can love a book any more than I love this one! Talk
about a perfect contemporary read; it's full of sass, friendships, first
love, hurt, harsh words, family, and lots of love!
Willowdean
is my new favorite character! She's everything I wish I'd been in high
school: she's sassy and confident, she stands up for people, she
encourages her friends, and yet she's also a realistic and flawed person
because she's bad at communicating, she's stubborn, and at times she's
judgy. She really comes alive when reading this story.
This book is the perfect amount of awesome and
entertaining story with a little bit of a morale-booster thrown in!
Willowdean's words of encouragement to herself (and the person reading)
are a delight and made me smile. Like how to wear a bathing suit: Have a
body. Put a bathing suit on it.
And the part with the cross-dressing Dolly Parton's was amazing! I need more Willowdean, all of these characters, more pageant fun, and more of this little Texas town!
Written by L.M. Montgomery; The spunky Anne Shirley,
begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince
Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly
Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them
and, consequently, the reader, over.
Why
didn't I read this book sooner?! Anne of Greem Gables and Anne herself
are a delight! She's firstly, stubborn, talkative, imaginative,
compassionate, intelligent, and just downright amazing. I love how
creative she is and renames beautiful things in nature to suit her, like
the Lake of Shining Waters. Despite the misfortunes of her past, she
rises above them and is a strong-willed and kind person who's always
willing to help others, even though sometimes it doesn't turn out how
she was expecting. All of the characters are so real and go through real
problems that anyone could relate to.
You can now call me an Anne of a Green Gables fan! And I'm definitely going to continue reading the books!
Add to Goodreads What If?: Serious Scientific Answers To Absurd Hypothetical Questions ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)
Written by Randall Munroe; Randall Munroe left NASA
in 2005 to start up his popular site XKCD. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to
arbitrate a science debate. He liked these questions so much that he
started up What If in order to answer them.
I'm
not that big of a science nerd, but I do like knowing lots of useless,
random information, so I found this book fantastic! Plus, the
hypothetical situations were intriguing and made me really want to know
how or if it could be done and what the consequences would be. All
of answers are scientific and yet easy to understand for the layperson
and also pretty funny. I found myself cracking up a lot while listening
to this. I think it helps that Wil Wheaton read this; his voice just
lends itself to weird science humor. I would totally recommend this!
And by death, I mean Death. As in the Grim Reaper or maybe a Grim Reaper because some of these books have more than one. I find books about the personification of death fascinating because it shows a different side to something we all fear. In these novels, sometimes Death is scary, sometimes Death is funny, and sometimes Death could be the person sitting next to you on the bus.
Now that spring is finally here that means I obviously want to go shopping for new warm-weather goodies! I've been dying to get a floral silky bomber jacket for a full year now and finally found a cute one for $25 at Kohls. YASSSSSS!
I also need a new pair of sandals, preferably a cool lace-up pair like the one shown, because my favorite ones are falling apart after wearing them for three years. Definitely time to say goodbye to those and hello to new ones.
Also, still totally into pins and these three (the unicorn, the heart, and the rose) are awesome!
Every year I do a comprehensive Fall TV Guide because that's when most new shows begin, but that's becoming less and less true as shows premiere year round on places like Netflix, Hulu, and subscription-based channels, like HBO. So I thought it would be fun to showcase some new shows coming in the spring and summer months.
I'm particularly looking forward to Bill Nye Saves The World, American Gods, Dark Angel, and The Defenders. What about you?
APRIL
Bill Nye Saves The World (April 21 on Netflix)
Bill Nye hosts a talk show exploring scientific issues, such as space exploration, vaccinations, genetically modified foods, and climate
change. The series will work to debunk myths and refute anti-scientific
claims that may be spread by politicians, religious leaders, or titans
of industry. Guest appearances will feature Karlie Kloss, Zach Braff, Joel McHale, Tim Gunn, and more.
Girlboss (April 23 on Netflix)
Girlboss is inspired by the book #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso, founder of the fashion brand Nasty Gal. The series
centers on Amoruso (Britt Robertson), who began selling vintage clothes
on eBay and, by the age of 28, had built the multi-million dollar
fashion empire, Nasty Gal.
Mary Kills People (April 23 on Lifetime)
Set in the morally grey world of assisted suicide, the series
follows Dr. Mary Harris (Caroline Dhavernas), a single mother and emergency doctor by day,
who also moonlights as an underground angel of death — helping
terminally ill patients who want to die and slip away on their own
terms. So far Mary has managed to stay under the radar; but business is
booming, and her double life is getting complicated. When her world
starts to unravel, Mary realizes she's going to have to fight dirty if
she's going to stay in the killing game.
The Handmaid's Tale (April 26 on Hulu)
Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood; In a dystopian near-future, the totalitarian
and Christian-fundamentalist government of Gilead rules the former
United States amidst an ongoing civil war and subjugates women. Widespread infertility
due to environmental contamination has resulted in the forced
conscription of young fertile women—called Handmaids—who are assigned to the homes of the elite, where
they are expected to have ritualized sex with the men in order to bear children. Offred (Elisabeth Moss) has been posted to the home of an elite
Commander (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife (Yvonne Strahovski) and must follow the rules of
Gilead in hope that she can someday live freely.
Dear White People (April 28 on Netflix)
Set against the backdrop of a predominantly white Ivy League university where racial tensions bubble just below the surface, it's a hilarious send-up of "post-racial" America that weaves together
the universal story of finding one’s own identity and forging a wholly
unique path. Starring Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Antoinette Robertson, and Giancarlo Esposito.
American Gods (April 30 on Starz)
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman; A war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical
and mythological roots are steadily losing believers
to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of
money, technology, media, celebrity, and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow
Moon (Ricky Whittle), is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr.
Wednesday (Ian McShane), a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a
cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the
new deities. Also starring Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Pablo Schreiber, and Orlando Jones.
MAY
Anne (May 2 on Netflix)
Based on the novel by L.M. Montgomery; A coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all
odds and many challenges, fights for love and acceptance and her place
in the world. Set in Prince Edward Island in the late 1890s, the series
centers on Anne Shirley (Amybeth McNulty), a young orphaned girl who is mistakenly sent to live with an aging sister and brother.
Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform the lives of Marilla
(Geraldine James) and Matthew Cuthbert (R.H. Thomson) and eventually the
entire small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce
intellect and brilliant imagination.
I Love Dick (May 12 on Amazon)
Adapted from the lauded feminist novel by Chris Kraus, I Love Dick is set in a colorful
academic community in Marfa, Texas. It tells the story of a struggling
married couple, Chris and Sylvere, and their obsession with a
charismatic professor named Dick (Kevin Bacon). I
Love Dick charts the unraveling of a marriage, the awakening of an
artist and the deification of a reluctant messiah.
Downward Dog (May 17 on CBS)
Based on the web series, “Downward Dog” is about a struggling
millennial, Nan (Allison Tolman), from the point
of view of her lonely and philosophical dog, Martin (voiced by Samm Hodges). One session at
obedience school already makes them realize that even at their worst
they may be the best thing for each other.
Twin Peaks (May 21 on Showtime)
Considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential broadcast
series of all time, Twin Peaks followed the residents of a quaint
northwestern town who were stunned when homecoming queen Laura Palmer
was murdered. Twenty-five years later, the story continues.
Dark Angel (May 21 on PBS)
The two-part drama, Dark Angel, is based on the extraordinary true story of the Victorian
poisoner Mary Ann Cotton (Joanne Froggatt).
Traveling around the North-east, she insinuates herself into
unsuspecting families, marrying and creating new families of her own -
before killing them, taking their money and moving on. Starring Jonas Armstrong, Sam Hoare, and Alun Armstrong.
JUNE
I'm Dying Up Here (June 4 on Showtime)
Set in LA’s celebrated, infamous stand-up comedy scene of the 1970s, this show (which has been executive produced by Jim Carrey) delves into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit
the hilarious, but complex business of making an audience laugh. Starring Melissa Leo, Sebastian Stan, Ronald Cyler II, Ari Graynor, Clarke Duke, and Michael Angarano.
Claws (June 11 on TNT)
A look at the life and crimes of five women who work at a Southern Florida nail salon. Starring Niecy Nash and is being executive-produced by Rashida Jones and Will
McCormack.
The Mist (June 22 on Spike)
The Mist, based on a Stephen King novel, tells the story about a seemingly
innocuous mist that seeps into a small town but contains limitless
havoc. From psychological terrors to otherworldly creatures, the mist
causes the town residents' darkest demons to appear forcing them to
battle the supernatural event and, more importantly, each other.
JULY
Salvation (July 12 on CBS)
Salvation centers on an MIT grad student and a tech superstar who bring a
low-level Pentagon official a staggering discovery--that an asteroid is
just six months away from colliding with Earth. Starring Ian Anthony Dale, Sean Connolly Affleck, and Dennis Boutsikaris.
Midnight, Texas (July 24 on NBC)
Based on the best-selling book series by Charlaine Harris; The town of Midnight sits on a veil between the living and hell. This
supernatural thriller takes a journey into a remote Texas town called
Midnight where nothing is what it seems. Where being normal is strange
and only outsiders fit in, Midnight is a mysterious safe haven for those
who are different - a perfect place for anyone looking to hide from the
outside world. Starring Francois Arnaud, Dylan Bruce, Pariza Fitz-Henley, Arielle Kebbel, and Jason Lewis.
AUGUST Marvel's The Defenders (August 18 on Netflix)
The Defenders will feature the famous Marvel heroes Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica
Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) as a legendary superhero-team in New
York City, who come together to face a common enemy, The Hand. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Rosario Dawson, Elden Henson, Rachel Taylor, Jessica Henwick, and Scott Glenn.
I want all of these books stat! They're all entirely different genres, but as a genre-hopper myself, I'm interested in reading all four of these books at some point. Not into genre-switching? Well, I hope one of these piques your interest. My favorite genre is YA fantasy, but I dabble in YA contemporary, adult fiction, sci-fi, and graphic novels. What about you?
Alex, Approximately
Written by Jenn Bennett; A teen spin on You’ve Got Mail, the one guy Bailey can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet. Classic
movie buff Bailey has spent months crushing on a witty
film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens
until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California
surfing town as her online crush. Faced with doubts, Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown.(April 4)
A young adult version of You've Got Mail! I'm SO in! I can't wait to read this! This book takes place in Cali, so go for a yellow off-the-shoulder top, jean shorts, and wooden wedges. Or instead throw on a striped tee, light overalls, and metallic sandals. If you're a movie buff like Bailey then grab this ticket stub bag and popcorn pillow.
Written by Cindy Anstey; Lydia Whitfield has her future entirely planned out. She will run the
family estate until she marries the man of her late father's choosing. Lydia has tasked her young law clerk,
Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is
going according to plan. Until the day Lydia is kidnapped—and
Robert along with her. Someone is after her fortune and won't hesitate
to destroy her reputation to get it. (April 11)
This book sounds like a Jane Austen character meets an action movie! Who wouldn't want to read that? Go for a 19th century meets modern attire by wearing a teal dress, sparkly headband, striped scarf, and brown booties. Or if you're a young law clerk, then don a gray blazer, a white blouse, printed pants, a mint bag, and navy Oxford flats.
Written by Lexa Hillyer; Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the
king’s headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by
faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch
and voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have
always been extremely close. And then everything changes, with a
single drop of Aurora’s blood, a Faerie Queen who is preparing for war, a
strange and enchanting dream realm—and a sleep so deep it cannot be
broken.(April 11)
Spindle Fire is a cool twist on Sleeping Beauty and it's definitely one I want to read! Want to wear an outfit based on Isabelle? Put on an off-the-shoulder, embroidered black dress, mirrored sunglasses, dangly earrings, and burgundy heels. Or if you want to dress like Aurora, then wear a gray velvet dress, a pink necklace, lace gloves, and pink heels.
Written by Doree Shafrir; From veteran online journalist and BuzzFeed writer Doree Shafrir
comes a hilarious debut novel that proves there are some dilemmas that
no app can solve. Mack McAllister has a $600 million dollar idea. His mindfulness app,
TakeOff, is already the hottest thing in tech. Before the ink on Mack's latest round of funding is dry, an errant text
message hints that he may be working a bit too closely for comfort with a
young social media manager in his office.(April 25)
Working in a office that isn't too stuffy? I put together two cute outfits based on the bright cover of Startup. Mix a chambray top with an olive pleated skirt, drop earrings, a mint watch, and navy ankle-strap flats. Or wear a pale pink blouse, coral pants, a colorful bracelet, and fun faux snakeprint heels.
Every time I make a dent in my reading jar list of unread books, I end up getting more books! At least the few books I got were ebooks and don't take up any physical space, but I still had to add them to my jar. One day that jar will be near empty and I'll read books as fast I get them. Never mind, that's never ever going to happen!
I'm currently at 23 books read out of my 85 book goal. How's your reading goal going so far?
Written by Sylvain Neuvel; humankind faces a
nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch
down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps
refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last
secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity
wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and
maybe even the stars.
Can
I give this book 10 stars please?! It starts off ten years after the
first book and begins a bit slow, but once a new giant robot alien lands
in the middle of London things start to pick up really fast. Sleeping
Giants introduced us to our robot Themis and this group of clever and
crazy cast of characters, like Rose and Kara and Vincent and "our
friend." In Waking Gods, we really get to care about these people and
fear for them and want them to survive what could be the end of the
world. Thirteen bigger, stronger, more advanced alien robots
land all around the world and the ensuing chaos had me turning the pages
as fast as I could read the words. I had to know what was going to
happen next! I don't want to give away too much, but let's just say that
shit gets real. One of the things I really enjoyed about this
book, and the first one, is that it's a thought-provoking sci-fi. It's
sci-fi with a brain and a heart. Eugene is a mysterious man, but his
conversations with "our friend" and Rose made me think about life as a
human being, our shortcomings and strengths, possible life outside our
little planet, that other species would have different cultures and
ideas and methods and beliefs. It's like anthropology on a whole other
level. It's fascinating and terrifying and amazing. Reading this book
made me think about things I never considered before, which is cool in
and of itself, but it helps that this book is entertaining as hell too! *I received a copy from NetGalley.
Written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; With humor and levity,
here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the
twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a
light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious,
institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in
order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often
masked realities of sexual politics.
"Anger
has a long history of bringing out positive change. But I am also
hopeful, because I believe deeply in the ability of human beings to
remake themselves for the better."
This book is wonderful! It's
so tiny that it took me less then 45 minutes to read it, so there's no
excuse for anyone NOT to read it! It's enlightening and moving and
hopeful. This book states so plainly that women should be inherently
treated equally to men and yet it's our culture that makes this not so.
But people form culture, so it's up to us, our anger, our intelligence,
to make these changes. It's up to us to stand up to cultural norms and
reform them into a culture of equality.
Written by Taylor Jenkins Reid; At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Hannah moves back to her
hometown of Los Angeles and lives in her best friend
Gabby’s guestroom. Hannah goes out
to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school
boyfriend, Ethan. Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s
ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if
she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with
Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?
I
seem to be in the minority of thinking this book was good but nothing
amazing. I liked Hannah and following both tracks of her story. She's a
girl who at first has no idea what she wants to do or where she belongs
and only once she meets up with her best friend Gabby in LA does she
feel at home again, which I liked. I loved their friendship so much! It
was real! They had weird inside jokes and teased each other and were
always there for each other during hard times.
My main issue
with this book is that both timelines in Hannah's life ended up being
almost identical. At first they were so different, but I wanted them to
keep getting more different, but *SPOILER ALERT* the only difference is
the men she ended up with and the baby. Even Gabby ended up with the
same man. And she ended up being a nurse in both timelines. I wanted the
end results to be glaringly different and they weren't at all.
Written by Pamela L. Laskin; This novel in verse delivers a fresh and captivating retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. Ronit,
an Israeli girl, lives on one side of the barrier fence. Jamil, a
Palestinian boy, lives on the other side. Only miles apart but separated
by generations of conflict—much more than just the concrete blockade
between them.
It
makes me so sad to give this book a bad review because I had such high
hopes for it. A modern Romeo and Juliet set around the Israeli-Palestine
border and told in verse sounds amazing and yet it fell short. Very
short.
While at times the verse was pretty (I especially liked
the two chapters from the fathers' perspectives), most of the time it
was just confusing and repetitive. I think this book would've been so
much better if it was told in narration. Then we would've gotten a
better feel for the setting and the characters and the food. Because in
verse, it was all told not shown. I couldn't see or taste or smell
anything, which is a shame because the story mentions delicious food and
walking in markets.
The other major problem are the characters:
Ronit and Jamil sound exactly the same. Maybe that's intentional to
show that Jews and Arabs aren't so different, but they had no
personality differences. They talk about the same things in almost the
exact same way. Narration instead of verse could've helped with this
too.
Written by Sophie Kinsella; Poppy Wyatt has never
felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in
one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only
has she lost her engagement ring but her phone is stolen. She spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Except that the phone’s owner,
Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and
doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his
personal life.
I'd
say the first 75% of this book is 4 stars and the last 25% is 3 stars,
so overall it's really a 3.5 stars. I really, really enjoyed the first
half immensely. Poppy is an absolute delight of a character. She's so
likable and kind and I want to be friends with her. The story idea is so
cute and makes for great comedy and I had a fun time following Poppy's
misadventures while she tries to locate her ring and keeps getting
involved in Sam's business. I like Sam too, though I wanted to like him
more, I wanted the character to open up more by the end, but he was
still a bit of a closed shell.
However, it's the last 25%-ish of
the book that got on my nerves. [Read my spoilery review here.] Despite the annoyance at the end, I still enjoyed this and will continue to read her books because they're so charming!
Written by Yona Zeldis McDonough; Marcel loves riding his
bicycle, whether he's racing through the streets of his small town in
France or making bread deliveries for his parents' bakery. He dreams of
someday competing in the Tour de France, but
ever since Germany's occupation of France began
the race has been canceled. Now there are soldiers everywhere. Then
Marcel learns two big secrets, and he realizes there are worse things
about the war than a canceled race.
A
simple but not less any emotional tale of a boy who lives in
German-occupied France during World War II. Marcel discovers that his
parents are part of the resistance and are using loaves of bread to send
messages, and he gets involved when he finds out a friend of his needs
their help. It's a simplistic story since it's for kids, but the fear of
what people experienced back then remains in the story and adds depth
and emotion. A wonderful story!
My reading lists are usually comprised of books I own that are sitting on my shelf unread, but this time I decided to also look ahead to what's coming out in the next three months, and oh man there are plenty of books I want to get my hands on, so half of my list features book I have and half are books I want. #gimmegimmegimme
