March Wrap-Up/April Wrap-Up

March

Books I Read

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

2/5

Another required play for my theatre class and . . . eh? It wasn't terrible, just very boring and oh my god every character drove me crazy. They were either annoying, misogynistic, or lacking a personality. None of those are good things, guys.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

4/5

Was anyone else super confused by lots of things that happened in this book? Because I was. I felt so, so lost several times. And the beginning was unbearably slow. It had issues. BUT. Everything else made up for it. There were new, sassy characters (Rowan) and new, sweet characters (Sorscha) and I loved them both and I shipped several people (except this is an issue, because my main ship was sinking and I also sort of started shipping the anti-ship to it, and if this sounds confusing, it's because it is help). And there was pain, oh so much pain, and backstory explanations. A+ to all of that. (But somebody please tell me why we had to read stuff about Mannon and wyverns. *yawns* I shamelessly skimmed all of that.)

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

5/5

I was so, so, so excited for this book and it did not disappoint one bit. The family dynamics were great and I loved all of the characters, even if it was me loving to hate some of them. It's painful and raw at times and fluffy and funny at others, but most of all a perfect blend of all of those things. It had a lot of good messages I think everyone needs to hear right now. Did I agree with everything Starr did or thought? No. But I appreciated hearing everything she had to say and listening to characters I've never seen portrayed in any other YA book. And it's super addictive, you guys. I stayed up into the early morning to finish it.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

3/5

This was funny and easy to read with characters that leapt off the page. I really liked it, but it was long in comparison to your typical plays. There were some scenes that could have been shortened and the story would've survived just fine. The ending was a little anticlimactic, too, but I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in reading a script.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

3/5

The book had really great writing and a unique voice, but holy crap, there had to be over thirty characters in this teeny tiny book. I had no clue how most of them were related to each other or who the heck they were, so most of me reading this involved me thinking, "Wow, this is some fantastic poetry, but what is happening?" It's a super short read, though. You could easily finish it in an afternoon.

Movies I Watched

"Beauty and the Beast"

5/5

YOU GUYS I'M OBSESSED. It was so. freaking. good. If I had it on DVD I'd watch it again right now. I loved every single casting choice, but Emma Watson and Josh Gad were particularly excellent. Every song was just as good as the original ones, if not better, and I adored the new song additions. "Days in the Sun" was in my head for weeks after watching it. Go see it ASAP.


Quotes I Wrote

I started a new novel (because I have a problem with not finishing projects in order to begin new ones) called Captain Zahira and her Wayward Crew. It's weird and snarky and has a lot of characters, but I'm only a few pages in and I love it. Especially the parts where I get to write about Lincoln being grumpy. You can check out the pinterest board HERE.

Lincoln was the first to emerge, stepping into the sunlight, though somehow he still seemed to be shrouded in perpetual shadow. He wore black clothing like another layer of skin. God forbid he added a little red or white to his ensemble. The scar near the corner of his mouth deepened whenever he scowled, which was always.

            “Aren’t you chipper this morning,” Zahira said with a dazzling grin, just to annoy him. “It’s good to see you finally woke up on the right side of the bed. Ready for some adventuring fun?”

            “It still boggles my mind that a captain such as you who uses the word ‘fun’ for something other than evisceration or dismemberment exists,” he grumbled. Even when he didn’t grumble, he muttered or grunted or ranted.

            “I need to take pleasure in activities besides drawing blood. If I didn’t, I’d be no better than anyone aboard The Vicious Serpent.” She patted his shoulder, which made him twitch and sneer. Lincoln wasn’t exactly what you’d call a teddy bear, especially when it came to human contact. “We’re pirates, not monsters. We need to keep our interests well-rounded.”

            “Are you telling me we’re no longer dismembering?” Lincoln asked.

            “Oh, God no, I wouldn’t ask you to give that up cold turkey. Let’s just look at all the options, yeah?”

“I beg to differ,” Lincoln said, because he was Lincoln, and he begged to differ on everything.

“Lincoln, darling, sunshine,” Zahira cooed, because she knew it drove him crazy. Lincoln clenched his jaw. “Do you see that flag up there?”

            “Don’t give me the ‘we toast death’ talk—”

            “That raised glass on the flag means we toast death!” Zahira cut him off. She thrust her fist in the air as if she were raising a glass of her own, like the one emblazoned in gold on the otherwise black flag. “We have nothing to fear, but death has everything to fear from us. Whether or not there’s trouble in that cave, we’ll be ready to meet it. Understood?”

            “Fine,” Lincoln muttered.

“We stick together,” Zahira said. “We won’t want to split up in case some of us get lost.”

            “And by some of us, you mean—” Lincoln started.

            “Cas, yes,” Zahira confirmed.

            “What?” Cas looked over at them, tearing his gaze away from the sky where he’d been watching puffy white clouds float past.

            “My point exactly,” Zahira said to Lincoln, as Cas got distracted by a butterfly.

Finch prodded the rubble with the tip of his knife, but nothing budged. “I don’t know if it’ll move.”

            “That’s because you actually need some muscle to move it.” Lincoln rolled up his sleeves and puffed out his chest as he strode over. God, here we go, Zahira thought as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Lincoln had the hint of a smirk on his face as he grasped the sides of a boulder and pulled, grunting.

            Slightly pink, Lincoln turned and cleared his throat. “I don’t think it’ll move.” 

Obsessions I Acquired

"Beauty and the Beast" - The soundtrack has been on repeat for several weeks now, especially since I'm part of the musical with a local theater group. It's been so much fun to pull a project like that together with a bunch of other people who are as excited to be there as I am.

Picture of the Month 

Goofy pictures for my mom's beach-themed birthday party.

We went to the award ceremony for all of the Scholastic silver and gold key winners!

How was your March?

April

Books I Read

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

DNF

I wanted to like it, you guys, I really did. Every single person in the blogosphere seems to be head over heels with this book, but I couldn't get into it. After 50 pages, I marked it DNF and returned it to the library. It felt too juvenile to be a YA book and there was no plot compelling enough for me to be invested in. Sometimes even if I'm hating a book, I'm curious about how something will turn out and push through and end up liking it. I didn't even have that to hold onto with this. It wasn't horrible, just boring and not my cup of tea.

Doubt by John Patrick Shanley

4/5

Probably my favorite script I had to read for theatre class. There were three characters that drove the plot, and only four that appeared onstage at all, making for a simple setup but a great story. Even after you finish it, there's some mystery that doesn't get resolved, leaving you to keep wondering what happened, which I like, but drives some people crazy. There are a lot of subtleties to the script I hadn't noticed before, but after getting to dissect a scene for my final project performance and paper, I realized so many other little hints between the lines.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

5/5

This is my favorite book by A.S. King, and I've read a lot of her books. Astrid's story is simple and heartfelt and raw. Something about her voice and the way she narrates made me feel really connected to her. And like all A.S. King books, there was a great blend of weird with complicated family dynamics and teens trying to find their way in the world. I loved it.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

5/5

Guys, Becky Albertalli is the newest and greatest up-and-comer in the YA genre. Both of her books have been 5-star reads for me. This was so adorable. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. Read my full review HERE.

Movies I Watched

"Rent"

5/5

I already knew I liked the music from "Rent" a lot, but seeing it physically played out helped to solidify my understanding of the story. It's hard to keep track of all the characters when you can only listen to their voices, which might get lost the more people sing all at the same time. I highly recommend seeing the movie. And you get to see Adam Pascal in action, which is always a plus.

"Grosse Pointe Blank"

3/5

Cheesy and goofy as heck, but fun. I didn't think I could like a cold-blooded assassin as much as I did, but John Cusack made it work. A lot of the characters are super awkward in different ways, which made every scene quirky and interesting.

Obsessions I Acquired

"Rent" - Like I mentioned before, I love the soundtrack so much more now that I've seen the story played out. Plus, we got to see it live!!! Which was amazing!!! This show is full of energy and every actor was fantastic.

Picture of the Month 

Got to see Charlie again, this time for a few days in New Jersey! It was tons of fun to hang out with her and her family.

RENT!

My friends from writer's camp came for a sleepover and "Fantastic Beasts" viewing for my birthday. There's plenty of fun and laughter whenever they're around, plus conversations about everything from fan-fiction to politics.

How was your April?