May Wrap-Up

"May Wrap-Up, you say? But Kate, it's August . . ."

Yes, I'm very aware of the fact that it's August and I'm only now posting my May Wrap-Up. Bear with me, it's been a looooooong few months.

So now that you have a sense of where my mental state has been at these past weeks, how are you all doing? How are you holding up during the end of the world pandemic? What new skills have you learned? How much sleep are you getting? Any great binges on Netflix I should be aware of?

Now let's take a look at the books I read three months ago that I've definitely forgotten most of already. 😅

Books I Read

5/5

I knew I was going to like this, but I loved it even more than I thought I would. I couldn't put it down! Everything was just so raw and emotional and real. I could picture every single one of these characters existing off the page. The writing was gorgeous and the whole feeling of the book matches the cover: a little out of body, melancholy, confusing, gut-wrenching, beautiful. The plot deals with so many tough, sensitive subjects, so I wasn't sure how it was going to be handled, but it was dealt with masterfully. I have zero complaints. (Also, bonus points for great bisexual rep!)

4/5

I really thought this was going to be a 5-star read for me, but I couldn't give it the full rating only because I felt like it dragged in the middle. The plot went in a direction I didn't expect, and okay, fine, but the story could've been a bit shorter. But, on the plus side, the beginning grabbed me right away. This was one of those "so horrifying you can't look away" stories. I can't remember the last time I read a YA book this gritty and gross, but in the best ways possible. Nita was a great character because she's in that morally gray area and isn't afraid to admit that she's probably a bad person sometimes. Her complexity made her more compelling as a narrator. This is a rare case of a YA book being advertised as "dark" where the story actually follows through on that promise, unlike many other "creepy" books (I'm looking at you Miss Peregrine . . .).

In addition to these books, I also reread The Upside of Unrequited, which was exactly the contemporary escape I needed toward the end of the school semester. Becky Albertalli is my favorite author whenever I need to completely disappear from the world and curl up with a book full of good friends.

Movies I Watched

5/5

I have to admit, I debated giving this movie four stars, but my excitement over these characters is too overwhelming to dock the rating. This is the queer girl movie we've all been waiting for and I'm HERE for it. It's been marketed as "'Love, Simon' for lesbians," which isn't totally wrong, but it does give you the misleading impression that it's going to be cute and fluffy and full of happy endings and sappy e-mails. "The Half of It" has a slightly drearier feel to it, not only with the plot, but with the actual ambience of the town and the weather too. It's a more stripped down version of "Love, Simon" with angstier characters (who have reasons to be angsty). BUT, as much as I love the queer girl rep, I have to say that the friendship storyline in this movie totally steals the show. I love the character development of Ellie and Paul's relationship so. much. If nothing else, watch the movie for that.

5/5

So good!! Even if you don't like wrestling, you'll enjoy this movie, I promise. This has all of the best features of an "unlikely friendship"/"road trip" story. It's funny, it's heartwarming, it's simple, it's well-written, it's well-made. Go watch it.

Pictures of the Month

Cards Against Humanity with friends!

Zoom shenanigans

I watched "The Half of It" with a friend from school and we were both VERY into it 😂 We have the best Netflix Party commentary

Made a scrapbook for Josh for our 1-year anniversary 💖

I drew my mom a "Gilmore Girls"-themed Mother's Day card

Virtual breakfast dates!

It's nice to see Josh in person, even at a distance, just to remind myself that he doesn't just exist from the shoulders up on a phone screen, LOL

Got my copy of The Lantern (the literary magazine at Ursinus) in the mail! Three of my poems were featured in it. You can read the electronic copy here! I love the cover!

Moving out of my dorm room in under three hours with just my dad and hardly anyone else on campus was such a weird experience. (And the room smelled so bad from all the food we'd left behind in the fridge when campus shut down abruptly . . .)

Unpacking was more of a pain than packing!

My mom and I made three different kinds of deviled eggs and they were delicious.

Got some new stickers for my notebook!

Hanging out with the Breakaway team

Video chatting Olivia!

My friend TJ graduated high school this year, so naturally we gave him like 30 homemade diplomas in different areas of his "expertise," like "meme creation."

More Zoom shenanigans

Nearly three months later, we finally had a "9 to 5" cast party!

I've loved reading outside on these sunshine-y days (not so much now that it's humid and overcast all the time . . .)

And in news that isn't news, my dog is a model

LOOK AT HER FACE

How was your May?