Reading, Writing, and Me

Another YA movie is slated to come to the big screen, or, well, your laptop. Amazon Prime seems to be jumping into the YA movie game which has had a surprising to me massive surge in the last few years. The book they're adapting? Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. I was somewhat surprised when I first heard via lead actress, Lili Reinhart's, Instagram story because the book came out in 2016, and, from what I saw, remained relatively quiet. I do like the idea of books that aren't blockbusters in their own right getting adaptations, and I honestly think there's more room for success because every viewer won't necessarily be going in with their passionate views of how it should look. As for this specific book, though, I'm a little weary. I first read Our Chemical Hearts in the summer of. 2017, about a year after it was published. Back then, I was just starting to. get into the blogging, and honestly, super critical reading groove, and I wasn't quit

Call It What You Want  by Brigid Kemmerer (June 25) TW: suicide attempt discussed Overview: Rob's father robbed the town. He lost everyone's money at his financial planning company. He took their money to make himself rich. Then he got caught and attempted suicide but survived in a somewhat vegetated state. Now Rob is a social pariah at school, and he has to take care of his dad who can't even acknowledge his presence. Maegan is still fighting the dirty looks from last year when her cheating got everyone's SAT scores cancelled, but, at least she still has her best friend and a sister. But then her sister comes home from college pregnant, and her house dissolves into a mess of anger and confusion. When a calculus project brings them together, they find that their complicated lives might not be something they have to face alone. Overall: 4  Characters: 4 I really enjoyed the characters. Rob is sweet, understanding, respectful, and confused. I loved reading about hi

Patron Saints of Nothing  by Randy Ribay (June 18) TW: Minor mention of animal death, talk of drug use/addiction, state/police violence Overview: When Jason learns that his cousin in the Philippines was murdered, something doesn't feel quite right. Not only has he lost a relative who he was almost like brothers with at one time, he also suspects that his death happened in suspicious circumstances. After receiving shreds of proof from a DM on Instagram, Jason heads to visit his family in the Philippines over spring break to try to find justice for his murdered cousin. Once he's there, he realizes the harsh poverty, drug crisis, and governmental dictatorship that is so easily simplified in Western media. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 I liked a lot of the characters, especially Jay. Coming from America with an American mom, Jay is always insecure about being Filipino enough and is often made fun of by his relatives in the Philippines for it. He experiences a culture that is his

Spin  by Lamar Giles (387 pages) Overview: Fuse and Kya have lost their best friend. #ParSecNation lost their leader, and the Dark Nation has decided to do something about it, even if it means terrorizing those who were closest of her. DJ Paris Secord, or ParSec was murdered at a warehouse she planned to throw a party in. Fuse and Kya found her when they'd come to make amends for different issues they'd rather the public, or the cops, not know about. But they both want to see Paris's killer caught, so they might have to overcome their differences and work together.  Overall: 4.5 Characters: 5 Fuse, Paris, and Kya all get a turn to narrate the story which I enjoyed. They each have their own voices and personalities that really shine through and bring a different angle to the same storyline. Fuse is rich. Her dad runs a successful marketing company, and she shifted what she learned from him to making Paris's music and brand famous. She helped Paris climb the ranks,