Reading, Writing, and Me

America Panda  by Gloria Chao (306 pages) Overview: Mei is starting MIT a year early, skipping senior year, pushed forward by her parents who always demanded she push herself past extremes. They've also dictated that she's at MIT to become a doctor and that she will marry Eugene. Mei doesn't know how to cope with her parents rigid views and traditions that come from their Chinese culture. She doesn't feel like she can belong anywhere due to the conflicting expectations, and she knows she must sort out her feelings if she ever wants to be happy. Overall: 4.5 Characters: 5 I loved Mei. I related to her so much. We both need glasses (and don't wear them often), have a thing with avoiding germs, and are graduating early (something I never thought I'd see in a book). Watching Mei struggle between what she wants to do and what her parents want her to do. It's amazing to see how the college experience and the people around her help her sort out her feelings a...

Love, Simon  got me out of the house and into a movie seat with a bucket of popcorn on my lap, something not high up on my list of favorites. I'm a firm believer in waiting till a movie comes on iTunes to watch it, but I couldn't resist the opening night showing. I'm glad I went. Based on the book and the commercials, I was pretty confident I was going to love the movie. Though movie adaptions have a tendency to disappoint, Love, Simon  keeps it together with a stellar cast and a script that understands the importance of respecting the source material. The movie blends seamlessly with the book, giving readers a fulfilling visual experience. The casting, though is Simon's  secret sauce. Nick Robinson embodies Simon perfectly. He's charismatic and hilarious while also portraying the inner struggles that make up so much of Simon vs. The Homosapien's Agenda perfectly. But, while I had expected to love Robinson's performance, Abby, portrayed by Alexandra Shi...

  Simon vs. The Homosapien's Agenda  by Becky Albertalli  Overview:  Simon's story does not disappoint! This book discusses all aspects of his junior year from his friendships to his budding relationship with mysterious "Blue." Cryptic emails between the two lead Simon to want to learn Blue's identity, even if Blue isn't comfortable with that. He also must navigate tense friendship issues and even another student blackmailing him with the threat of publicizing the fact that Simon is gay before he is ready to tell the school. Through all these twists and turns, Simon responds with humor, optimism, and a healthy acknowledgement that life isn't always great, but there's a chance it can get better.  Overall: 5 Characters: 5  I loved Simon from the very first page. He has the most amazing voice to carry the narrative. The other characters are also well developed, from his friends Nick, Abby, and Leah to Blue and Martin, the antagonist. I loved the maj...