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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Cool for the Summer in Books
May 13, 2021
A simply wonderful book about finding yourself and love
Larissa "Lara" Bogdan has had a crush on one person for her entirety of high school: Chase Harding, the handsome, beloved football quarterback. But it's not until she comes back from a summer at the Outer Banks that he seems to take real notice of Lara. Like, flirting, asking her out notice. Now, she suddenly has everything she's ever wanted. But Lara can't seem to shake her memories of that Outer Banks summer and the girl she spent it with: Jasmine. Those memories come back in full force when Jasmine unexpectedly shows up at Lara's school on the first day and sees Chase flirting with Lara. Lara finally has Chase now. So why can't she stop thinking about Jasmine?
"How do you tell people who've listened to you babble about your crush on a guy for a thousand years that whoops, you spent the summer fooling around with a girl?"
Oh goodness, this was a great book. I'm so jealous there are so many wonderful YA LGTBQIA books out there now, which I would have devoured as a teen, yet incredibly happy too. I absolutely loved Lara as a character. She's sweet and bookish (addicted to romances) and in that stage where she's finding herself and coming out. It's hard not to relate to that. Adler's characters pop onto the pages--Lara, her mother, Jasmine, and Lara's cast of funny, overbearing, and loving friends. And even Chase, who is truly a good guy. (I appreciated that it wasn't "bad guy" versus "good girl" but two good kids, with their own personalities and flaws, whom Lara had to choose from.)
The book is told in a then and now format, starting out with Lara in high school and then flashing back to her summer in the Outer Banks with Jasmine. As someone who has spent some time in the Outer Banks, I loved the beachy setting, and the book just felt fun, summery, and exciting. You could feel the thrill of Lara and Jasmine falling for each other. It's so rare that we get this in our literature, and it brought back memories of my own first love and that fun, scared, happy feeling, along with all that uncertainly of realizing you were feeling these things for another girl. Adler captures it all so perfectly.
"If I somehow got Jasmine back--if I even wanted her back--what would it mean losing when everyone else found out the truth?"
The premise for this book is fascinating and lovely. Lara suddenly has everything she wants: she has pined after Chase for THREE YEARS. She comes back from vacation with a tan, a new haircut, and a newfound confidence (which no one knows the source of) and he suddenly takes notice of her. She should be in heaven--her friends certainly think so. Faced with having to make all these monumental life decisions, to realize whom she loves, and what she is--it's a lot. The book does such an excellent job of portraying bisexuality and the journey of figuring out who who you are. It's very well done, but also funny and witty. All the characters seem real and, for the most part, true to their age.
Overall, I loved this one. It portrays the queer community very well and does an excellent job capturing teens. The story is fun, sweet, and captivating. I feel like it would speak well to teens and adults who remember that spark of falling in love. I have to go read everything else by Adler now... 4.5 stars.
"How do you tell people who've listened to you babble about your crush on a guy for a thousand years that whoops, you spent the summer fooling around with a girl?"
Oh goodness, this was a great book. I'm so jealous there are so many wonderful YA LGTBQIA books out there now, which I would have devoured as a teen, yet incredibly happy too. I absolutely loved Lara as a character. She's sweet and bookish (addicted to romances) and in that stage where she's finding herself and coming out. It's hard not to relate to that. Adler's characters pop onto the pages--Lara, her mother, Jasmine, and Lara's cast of funny, overbearing, and loving friends. And even Chase, who is truly a good guy. (I appreciated that it wasn't "bad guy" versus "good girl" but two good kids, with their own personalities and flaws, whom Lara had to choose from.)
The book is told in a then and now format, starting out with Lara in high school and then flashing back to her summer in the Outer Banks with Jasmine. As someone who has spent some time in the Outer Banks, I loved the beachy setting, and the book just felt fun, summery, and exciting. You could feel the thrill of Lara and Jasmine falling for each other. It's so rare that we get this in our literature, and it brought back memories of my own first love and that fun, scared, happy feeling, along with all that uncertainly of realizing you were feeling these things for another girl. Adler captures it all so perfectly.
"If I somehow got Jasmine back--if I even wanted her back--what would it mean losing when everyone else found out the truth?"
The premise for this book is fascinating and lovely. Lara suddenly has everything she wants: she has pined after Chase for THREE YEARS. She comes back from vacation with a tan, a new haircut, and a newfound confidence (which no one knows the source of) and he suddenly takes notice of her. She should be in heaven--her friends certainly think so. Faced with having to make all these monumental life decisions, to realize whom she loves, and what she is--it's a lot. The book does such an excellent job of portraying bisexuality and the journey of figuring out who who you are. It's very well done, but also funny and witty. All the characters seem real and, for the most part, true to their age.
Overall, I loved this one. It portrays the queer community very well and does an excellent job capturing teens. The story is fun, sweet, and captivating. I feel like it would speak well to teens and adults who remember that spark of falling in love. I have to go read everything else by Adler now... 4.5 stars.
Amy Norman (1048 KP) rated The Haunting of Bly Manor in TV
Oct 10, 2020 (Updated Oct 10, 2020)
Ok wow. There is so much to deconstruct from 'The Haunting of Bly Manor'.
*there will be no direct spoilers but I will be talking about indirect spoilers*
Indirect spoilers to me are still spoilers, as they change the way you view what piece of media you are consuming! So fair warning here, don't read on if you want to watch Bly unencumbered, or directed towards certain aspects.
The first thing I hope that everyone appreciates about Bly is that it is not a carbon copy of 'The Haunting of Hill House', it is a beautiful piece of its own theatre, and should be appreciated in its own right e.g. each individual season of American Horror Story.
If you are looking for more jump scares, and something more akin to Hill House, then you need to look else where.
Bly is such a delicate and deliberate story, that unfurls so slowly, it crawls. I understand some will find this boring, and will likely give up watching after the first 3 episodes, but it is so perfectly placed, I would implore you to watch on until the end.
*Every* detail within Bly is precise.
I constantly felt like the walls, the flooring, paintings, and general decor were changing, but it was so subtle, and often hadn't at all, it is purposefully disorientating.
Even the camera angles are ever so slightly askew between each shot, the cinematography is unfalteringly gorgeous as a whole anyway.
The colour palate, and colour itself, becomes a character of its own, and was a joy to watch, and take note of.
The dark corners are so black, and add to the heaviness and gravity of any particular scene, leaving you constantly second guessing if you saw a ghost in the background, or if something did subtly change, and then importantly why.
For me, a great many of the characters are heart achingly powerful to watch. I was mesmerised by certain scenes, and I was so drawn in, I sometimes forgot they were delivering an absolutely powerful monologue, and haven't interacted with another character for a while.
For me this was absolutely an ensemble piece, it would not have worked without each moving part, and I would struggle to choose an outstanding performance, as they all delivered.
Some noteworthy topics!
The background ghosts blend in so sublimely, I am sure I missed plenty of them, including some obvious ones, but again that is all part of the absolute majesty of Bly, or 'The Haunting' series.
I would advise to try not to look for them on a first watch through, and let them come to you organically.
I've already seen some mention of this, and I expect it will become a bone of contention - the accents.
I will admit, at first I found some of the accents difficult to listen to, but they are so important, and key to a much larger arc. At first I thought someone needs to fire that voice acting coach! However, what they have done is actually absolutely stellar.
I could gush about the programme for a while but I will leave it here, and let each person decide for themselves what they enjoy about it!
Overall, the whole series is surprisingly poignant and heartfelt - not a lot of titles in the horror genre can claim that. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will likely rewatch, something I haven't been overly inclined to do in recent years.
I so hope that audiences will enjoy this for what it is, and it won't be downplayed as being 'not as good as Hill House', as they are non-comparable to me.
Masterful! Please enjoy for the utter eye candy the whole thing is.
*there will be no direct spoilers but I will be talking about indirect spoilers*
Indirect spoilers to me are still spoilers, as they change the way you view what piece of media you are consuming! So fair warning here, don't read on if you want to watch Bly unencumbered, or directed towards certain aspects.
The first thing I hope that everyone appreciates about Bly is that it is not a carbon copy of 'The Haunting of Hill House', it is a beautiful piece of its own theatre, and should be appreciated in its own right e.g. each individual season of American Horror Story.
If you are looking for more jump scares, and something more akin to Hill House, then you need to look else where.
Bly is such a delicate and deliberate story, that unfurls so slowly, it crawls. I understand some will find this boring, and will likely give up watching after the first 3 episodes, but it is so perfectly placed, I would implore you to watch on until the end.
*Every* detail within Bly is precise.
I constantly felt like the walls, the flooring, paintings, and general decor were changing, but it was so subtle, and often hadn't at all, it is purposefully disorientating.
Even the camera angles are ever so slightly askew between each shot, the cinematography is unfalteringly gorgeous as a whole anyway.
The colour palate, and colour itself, becomes a character of its own, and was a joy to watch, and take note of.
The dark corners are so black, and add to the heaviness and gravity of any particular scene, leaving you constantly second guessing if you saw a ghost in the background, or if something did subtly change, and then importantly why.
For me, a great many of the characters are heart achingly powerful to watch. I was mesmerised by certain scenes, and I was so drawn in, I sometimes forgot they were delivering an absolutely powerful monologue, and haven't interacted with another character for a while.
For me this was absolutely an ensemble piece, it would not have worked without each moving part, and I would struggle to choose an outstanding performance, as they all delivered.
Some noteworthy topics!
The background ghosts blend in so sublimely, I am sure I missed plenty of them, including some obvious ones, but again that is all part of the absolute majesty of Bly, or 'The Haunting' series.
I would advise to try not to look for them on a first watch through, and let them come to you organically.
I've already seen some mention of this, and I expect it will become a bone of contention - the accents.
I will admit, at first I found some of the accents difficult to listen to, but they are so important, and key to a much larger arc. At first I thought someone needs to fire that voice acting coach! However, what they have done is actually absolutely stellar.
I could gush about the programme for a while but I will leave it here, and let each person decide for themselves what they enjoy about it!
Overall, the whole series is surprisingly poignant and heartfelt - not a lot of titles in the horror genre can claim that. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will likely rewatch, something I haven't been overly inclined to do in recent years.
I so hope that audiences will enjoy this for what it is, and it won't be downplayed as being 'not as good as Hill House', as they are non-comparable to me.
Masterful! Please enjoy for the utter eye candy the whole thing is.