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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre in Books
Jun 10, 2021
A sweet and diverse YA theater romance
Melody McIntyre loves theater with all her heart. She puts everything she has into her role as stage manager for her high school's productions. But when Mel's love life affects her latest show, she realizes that maybe her romances and the success of the shows go hand in hand. After all, it's pretty well known that their theater is cursed. So Mel swears off love for their current spring production of Les Miserables. Then she meets Odile Rose, a rising actor, who has a role in their spring show. Odile seems as invested in the show in Mel, and she's also kind and funny. Mel can't fall in love, but what if she has no choice?
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
"Our theater's cursed. That's the rumor, anyway. Strange things have been happening here for years. Unexplainable things."
This book wins the award for one of the most stressful openings ever, as Mel's love life falls apart during an actual show. I was sweating bullets on her behalf. It's a very theater-oriented book and if you like drama or Les Mis, you will adore reading it. Robin Talley writes in her very sweet author's note that she took inspiration for the plot from her wife, who is involved in the theater--totally adorable.
"All right. So be it. If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."
As with nearly any Talley YA read, LOVE CURSE is filled with wonderful diverse representation, cute high school kids, and a sweet love story. There's some high school drama, of course. Here there's much ado about a curse--sometimes too much for this adult--but I could completely see my theater friends in high school being completely into something like this in high school.
As for Melody and Odile, I adored them. Mel put theater first above all and Odile felt pressured as her acting career took off. I would have liked a little more buildup to their love story, but their romance was really touching. I love how Talley always makes it okay to be queer, especially for teens, in her books and works through coming of age and/or coming out in approachable and realistic ways.
Overall this is a cute theater-themed read filled with diverse characters and a touching love story. 3.75 stars, rounded up.
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Space Between in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Harper Isabelle has a pretty good life: she's beautiful, smart, and popular. Her first year in high school is going quite well, thanks in part to the protective shadow cast by her sister, Bronte, the most popular girl in school. For Sarah Jamieson, however, things aren't exactly as smooth. While Sarah's twin brother Tyler has always been in the in crowd at school, Sarah has not. Between her stutter and style of dress, she's not only on the fringes, she's mocked by other students at school. So imagine Sarah's surprise when Harper shows an interest in her-- and when Sarah herself feels drawn to Harper. Is Harper only interested in Sarah because she wants to date Tyler? Why do the two girls feel so close, as if being drawn together by a magnet?
Overall, this is a dynamo of a book, which I sped through rapidly. It actually builds its storyline rather slowly, as Harper and Sarah deal with their feelings for each other, but I found it that a nice antidote to the usual YA where the characters seem to fall in love overnight. This was similar to some of my own experiences coming out. Harper and Sarah are well-drawn characters who pop on the page -- they are complicated, sweet, and beautiful as they work through the multitude of emotions that comes with falling in love in high school. There is definitely a cheesy element to some of the writing but it really doesn't take away from the experience of watching these girls struggle to find each other. Perhaps the only thing that takes away from the story is a little of the weirdness factor in that Harper also dates Sarah's brother; it manages to work with the story, but it does occasionally give you pause.
Honestly, I was very touched by this book and found it to be a sweet coming of age/coming out story. I wish there had been more of these around when I was going through a similar experience. It does an excellent job of showing some of the difficulty teens still face in dealing with their sexuality in high school (and with their families) today. You'll find yourself quite invested in Harper and Sarah's story. Definitely a worthwhile read.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley (thanks!); it's available everywhere.
Overall, this is a dynamo of a book, which I sped through rapidly. It actually builds its storyline rather slowly, as Harper and Sarah deal with their feelings for each other, but I found it that a nice antidote to the usual YA where the characters seem to fall in love overnight. This was similar to some of my own experiences coming out. Harper and Sarah are well-drawn characters who pop on the page -- they are complicated, sweet, and beautiful as they work through the multitude of emotions that comes with falling in love in high school. There is definitely a cheesy element to some of the writing but it really doesn't take away from the experience of watching these girls struggle to find each other. Perhaps the only thing that takes away from the story is a little of the weirdness factor in that Harper also dates Sarah's brother; it manages to work with the story, but it does occasionally give you pause.
Honestly, I was very touched by this book and found it to be a sweet coming of age/coming out story. I wish there had been more of these around when I was going through a similar experience. It does an excellent job of showing some of the difficulty teens still face in dealing with their sexuality in high school (and with their families) today. You'll find yourself quite invested in Harper and Sarah's story. Definitely a worthwhile read.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley (thanks!); it's available everywhere.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Foxtrot, Assembled with Care in Books
Mar 9, 2018
The 8th anthology contains plenty more laughs with the Fox clan. Covering Fall of 1999 to Summer of 2001, we get such great moments as Jason looking forward to the Lord of the Rings, Paige making high school flashcards, and Peter trying to get through Hamlet. This family always makes me laugh, and this book is no exception.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-foxtrot-assembled-with-care.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-review-foxtrot-assembled-with-care.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I enjoy reading Sylvia Plath. She has a great writing style that really digs deep. It is so full of pain and sorrow, it's very masterful. I had read a lot of these poems before for other classes and back in high school, so it was cool to come back to them after so long and see them a different way.
I would recommend these to people who want to look at the world in a different perspective.
I would recommend these to people who want to look at the world in a different perspective.
Cumberland (1142 KP) rated Mean Girls (2004) in Movies
Oct 22, 2018
Love it
I have always enjoyed this movie, and its fun to introduce it to other people. The high school cliques and drama are so over the top its hilarious. This film is a great part of pop culture that is often quoted or made into memes. A large reason for its popularity is because while it is funny and fun to watch, it also has some solid life lessons about being yourself and being kind to others.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Feather in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.</i></b>
Have I ever mentioned I hate <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> with a burning passion and thought it was boring as fuck in high school? (Or maybe it was the paper and assignments that came with it...
Have I ever mentioned I hate <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> with a burning passion and thought it was boring as fuck in high school? (Or maybe it was the paper and assignments that came with it...
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