June Wrap-Up

JUNE

Yep, it's me again, still catching up on old wrap-ups! I have nothing to blame but my own procrastination (and finishing the third draft of my YA fantasy witch book, which is a slightly more impressive excuse, so maybe I should've gone with that).

*sips coffee*

Let's do this!

Books I Read

4/5

This was a breathtaking read! Emily Fortney has the same knack for cliffhanger chapter endings as Suzanne Collins does. This story is definitely addictive in all the best ways. Camilla is the feisty, persistent, troublemaking protagonist everyone craves in a YA adventure story. She was easy to root for. My only complaint (and it's a minor one) is that I wish there had been a few slower moments to get to know all of the characters a bit more, namely the side characters who don't get as much attention as Camilla. But it was a small price to pay for a book that delivered on non-stop action. This book is perfect reading if you're looking for something to escape into (which we could all probably use a little of these days): there's action, adventure, rebellion, family secrets, murder, runaways, political intrigue, corrupt governments, jail breaks, courtroom tensions, brother-sister bonds, found families, plot twists, mystery, fight scenes, and much, much more. Clearly this story has everything! Don't hesitate to get your own copy to find out for yourself! I'm definitely looking forward to the sequels.

3.5/5

This book is very polarizing, it seems, and I'm still not totally sure how I felt about it? I LIKED it, but I didn't LOVE it. I'm a huge fan of Suzanne Collins' chapter cliffhangers and her natural ability for world building, but it wasn't a solid read all the way through. The second half of the book was way slower than I thought it would be. It was hard to get into, picked up for quite a bit (I read late into the night on more than one occasion), but then slowed right back down again. The ending didn't pack as big of a punch as it could've too. I wasn't a fan of the third person narration (which was such a stark difference from the close first person POV in The Hunger Games) because Coriolanus could've been a fascinating narrator had we been closer to him. Unfortunately, I found myself bored a lot by Coriolanus. He was a weaker character than I expected him to be, given how he turns out in the main THG trilogy. I did love getting to see the early stages of the Games and the Capitol and how much they evolved by Katniss' time. If you're a big THG fan and want to read this to see the evolution of the world Collins created, go for it. But don't read this expecting a dark and sinister page-turner like it's been advertised to be.

4/5

McManus does it again! This was twisty, turny, addictive, and full of shocking moments! I was totally glued to my Kindle screen and devoured the whole thing within a few days. It was one of those rare mysteries where I was able to guess some of what was coming, but I was still stunned by the bigger twists. It could be confusing trying to keep track of all the characters and who was dating whom and who was related to whom, but I got used to it after a while. This is a great, quick read!

4/5

This is a timely read and a hugely important one. I felt myself becoming physically enraged in all of the classroom scenes where the students had heated debates about different social issues. This book is super short, but it still packs a punch. The only things that were lacking for me were the characters and the romance. I didn't have a huge issue with any of the characters, but because of how short it was, it was hard to have anyone that was rounded out into a complex person. And the romance was cute and sweet, but not all that necessary. I didn't love it or hate it, it was just sort of there. Still an important story though, and while I didn't feel the emotions as deeply as I did with The Hate U Give, this book is up there in terms of handling tough topics in a great way.

Movies I Watched

5/5

Watch. This. Movie! It's so well cast and it's gut-wrenching. The injustices against people of color in regards to trials, prison sentences, the death penalty, etc. has always royally pissed me off, so this movie just heightened that and made me incredibly grateful for the people who have tried to change things and beat the system. This is such an important story; go watch it now! I haven't read the book before, but I've heard it's just as good, so go read that too!

3/5

This is definitely a stupid movie, but it also made me laugh a lot. My family watched it outside on our deck for a fun family night and we had a great time. Steve Carell is perfect in this role. It's such a ridiculous premise with ridiculous characters, but his dialogue and interactions with people made the whole thing entertaining. If you're looking for something lighthearted and goofy to make fun of with friends, try this one out.

4/5

This is a great sequel! Not as good as the first movie, but it did a nice job of coming up with a totally different plotline that built off of the characters that were established in "Frozen." They took on some nuanced themes in a way kids could understand and there were some good twists. The Kristoff song was a little out of place for me? It was funny how they made it a total 80s' boy band ballad, but I didn't feel like it fit the movie at all. All in all, it was a really good Disney movie!

Quotes I Wrote

No quotes to share, but I signed up for the 100-for-100 challenge through Go Teen Writers and it's done wonders for my productivity! I've also been getting up at 8 or 8:30 every morning to write for an hour or so before anyone else wakes up and it's one of my favorite times of the day; I get so much done and feel so creative.

Obsessions I Acquired

"Love, Victor" - MY HEART. This show is everything I needed for my regular Becky Albertalli fix! I know she didn't write the show or anything, but the heart of "Love, Simon" is definitely there. I have a couple of itty-bitty complaints about the show, but I can't talk about them here due to spoilers. BUT, those complaints are small and I absolutely love the characters and the diversity and the family dynamics and the Simon Easter eggs and the intersectional aspects of queer culture. It's just. So good. Go watch it so we can talk about it! DM me on Twitter if you want to discuss . . . 👀

Pictures of the Month

Josh and I celebrated our 1-year anniversary on June 1st! It was really weird having to stay apart from him the whole day, but luckily we'd had months of practice. 😅 We celebrated by having a distanced picnic in the front yard; I made fancy tea sandwiches and lemonade. And I only got sunburned a little!

I made Josh a scrapbook for his present and he made me a memory book! He wrote down tons of his favorite memories with me and illustrated multiple pages. It was like reading a graphic novel of our relationship; ridiculously sweet!

Virtual "Rocketman" movie night!

3 days later, Josh turned 20! I visited him in his yard to see him in person and drop off his presents.

I was so excited to give him the "Almost, Maine" novel since he'd performed in it several months before. We're reading it together now and I love it!

Yard hangouts are keeping me sane; it's refreshing to see people (outside of my family) in person, even if we can't touch.

Love reading in the hammock!

Zooming with friends in Arkansas!

Picture proof of our outdoor "Dinner For Schmucks" movie night.

We made "s'mores cones" in the campfire; I wasn't a huge fan, but it was fun to try something new.

Zoom shenanigans with friends

Our descent into madness . . .

I hung a canvas on my wall all by myself--no adult supervision--so naturally I had to take a selfie to prove it to my friends.

I miss my college friends! 💖

Brushed up on my artistic skills to draw my "Kids On Bikes" character, Maisy Mills.

Time for Scout pictures!

She blinked😂

I discovered this decade-old picture of me with my puppy and I absolutely love it.

How was your June?