The only Leigh Bardugo book I haven't gotten around to yet is the second installment to Six Of Crows, i.e. Crooked Kingdom. I hear it's great, and yet I'm pretty positive that I'm not going to love it as much as The Language of Thorns because TLOT is so so beautiful. As in better than the original Grimm fairytales, beautiful.

Going into this collection of short stories, I never doubted that I would love it - even despite not being unquestionably in love with the author as I know many readers are. However, what I didn't anticipate is how much I would love it. If there weren't so many mature themes in this novel, you bet I'd be reading this to any little children that happened to come my way.

This is one of those books that I'm glad I own, because not only is the cover as well as the naked book absolutely gorgeous, but I can already see myself re-reading these Grisha fairytales time and time again. All six of the fairytales included are unique, one of a kind, and oh so memorable. They also have powerful morals that Grimms' fairytales certainly don't bother to explore. Honestly, I'd be so on board with some of these stories being full-length novels, especially the final story, "When Water Sang Fire".

I love this collection of stories in a way that I don't love either of Bardugo's other series (don't get me wrong though, all of her books are really good). Luckily for those of you who have yet to have the pleasure of reading a Bardugo novel, you don't have to have read her other books to read this one - TLOT is a collection of fairytales that characters in her stories aka the Grisha universe grew up on. I kind of wish I grew up on these stories as well.

My favorite thing about these tales: unhealthy love and stupid princes are knocked down at least fifty thousand rungs on the fairytale ladder.

After all the racist comments I've read concerning Sandhya Menon's books, I've come to enjoy diverse books especially when 1) they don't do through the trouble of explaining in detail every aspect of their culture, and 2) the main character isn't a demure girl but no, has quite a bit of fire in her. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee does all that, plus also has non-stereotypical Asian characters, so yeah, you could say that this book is pretty darn good.

Although it may at first seem like the book is a bit unfair in its portrayal of Genie's mother as a stereotypical Asian woman who doesn't want Genie to hang out with boys but also wants her to find "the boy", it's quickly obvious that the portrayal of the main character's parents is actually anything but stereotypical. For one, Genie's mom and dad are separated, and while this is common in books about white people, I don't feel that it's shown very much with many Asian characters. Additionally, I feel that some things that are thought of as stereotypical - such as constantly studying Asians and importance placed on marriage, college, etc. - aren't always stereotypical. Sure, not every Asian is this way, but for many people, it's a part of their culture, and so it's a part of their lives. I can't speak to East Asians, but I certainly feel this way as an Indian. These things may be stereotypical, but sometimes they're also true. 

This book did a great job of making Genie Lo a realistic character. She studies a ton and pays to have her college essays looked over, but again, a stereotype is not a falsity. Genie also has such a unique, fiery personality, and the fact that her family isn't rich or living in a well-to do area brings up a demographic that's not often brought up in books or movies, in my opinion.

I knew I was in for something new with this book when early on, a boy named Quentin rips open his shirt and pulls out a monkey tail. I really enjoyed learning about Chinese mythology and folklore, and I adored what Yee did with it in this novel. She brought it into the present in an exciting way - not at all reminiscent of Percy Jackson, but something completely original. It's fast paced, easy to get into, and I am very much rooting for Genie Lo to slay all the demons whilst defying the pessimists and getting into Harvard.

I'm not sure if there's a second book and if this is a series, but I really hope it is, especially after that ending. I could see this story as a television show while I was reading it, and I am so ready for a second season of saving California from Hell beasts with a side of rubbing it in the faces of unhelpful deities.

I'm pretty late to the party in terms of reading Warcross, but I'm so glad I finally got to it because the hype is well deserved. The diverse cast and setting and the originality of the plot have got me head over heels for this book, and although there were a few things here and there that could have been been done differently, this was such a success of a novel. I had a great time reading it.

One of those things that could have been done a smidge differently is the romance between two of the main characters, Emika and Hideo. I feel that their romance didn't have much depth to it, and that the feelings between the two were there only because they're expected to be there by readers of the YA genre. I myself expected and looked forward to the romance - I squealed about it in the beginning, but as I continued reading, I stopped swooning since their love story felt so "by the book".

The world-building and the characters were a blast to read through, and I saw one part of the plot twist coming, but by no means thought that it would happen the way it did. I loved the twist so much that I was tempted to unconditionally love this book, but compromised with myself and figured that I could do that with book two if it lived up to its promise. The funny part is that by the end of this book, my heart began to stray, and I only expect that it's going to get worse once I finally get the second installment in my hands. I can't wait.

I remember back when Baby Driver came out, I was sitting in my Classical Film Theory class, completely unaware of the movie's existence until some people in class started talking about how good it was, and then the professor expressed her discontent at the fact that she wasn't able to watch it at the nearby theater because she had the wrong showtime or something. Understandably, sitting in a class full of smart film students, I felt that I was missing out on something big - so come holiday break, I sat my butt down and watched it.

One thing I will say for this movie is that it wasn't a chore to watch at all. Despite the length of the movie, it didn't feel exceedingly long, and after it finished, I was pretty satisfied. Granted, after about a fourth of the movie or so, my thoughts were a variation of "this is so weird but also it's not bad".

As you can probably tell from the earbuds in Baby's ear in the movie poster, music plays a huge role in the film. I love how the music is constantly synced up to diegetic sound and film sequences - I'm thinking of the "fireworks" sequence in Kingsman where everyone's head blows off to music - because it makes everything more quirky and fun, which is undoubtedly part of what this film is. I also really loved the long take right after the title screen, where Baby is walking to and from the coffee shop after another successful robbery (at least, I think it was a long take - by the time I started paying attention to the lack of cuts, it was nearly the end of the scene). Either way, this film did some really cool things with the shots and the music, and I may have enjoyed it for that more than for the plot.

At the same time, people were saying that this movie is so good and I don't feel that. It's so unique, yes, but not in a wow this is such a cool movie way, but in a this movie does cool things way. Also, at least twenty-five percent of the reason I watched this movie has to be the pretty posters - the one in this post and the other one with the gun shooting out a car, against a pink background. They're so eye-catching and I cannot stop staring at the shade of pink.

Finals have just recently finished for us college folk, so I figured it was a good idea to take my newfound freedom and drag my mother to Coco with me. I'd meant to watch it back in November when it came out, but month-long programming final projects don't do themselves, you know. My mom was straight up bored until the last quarter of the film, but I believe I feel more positively about it.

Truth be told, I do feel that the beginning of the movie is pretty boring - or at least it sets you up to believe that it will be boring. Things pick up once we get to the Land of the Dead, though. Basically, the further you get into the movie, the better it gets. It's certainly better than going in the opposite direction.

I loved the music and the songs, I loved the characters, I loved the warmth of the film and the importance of family, and I loved the plot. Coco is a feel good movie that reminds you to follow your dreams, and that's always a nice concept to emphasize. My favorite part of the film is either the adorable doggo or honestly, Miguel's entire family. Yes, they could be overbearing at times, but it stemmed from a place of love, and I adored getting to see them actually listening to each other. And even in the beginning, it was clear that Miguel's parents were never so mad as to forget his feelings; it's such a sweet thing to see.

The entire story revolves around the importance of putting up pictures of family members during The Day of the Dead, except of course it's Disney-fied and adorable. The theater was almost empty since it's been several weeks since the movie came out, but there were a pair of kids a couple rows below us, and they were laughing out loud at scenes that I only smiled at: a sad reminder that I'm getting old.

I know rating movies with either a thumbs up or thumbs down is an awful way to go about things, but Netflix does it, and sometimes being horrible is fun. I give Coco a thumbs up.  It's a light, fun, meaningful film, although I wouldn't go in expecting something fast paced. I'm doubtful as to whether I'd finish the movie if I watched it at home, but having seen the entire film, I really do like it a lot. The only thing I'd change is the speed of things happening - I'm that impatient person who prefers newer films to older films, and prefers cut after cut after cut to long takes.

A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean is the first book I've finished in a while, and it's one of the better historical romances I've read lately. So there I was, basking in the fact that I'd finished a book for the first time since, say, summer break, when I decided to check out some reviews on goodreads. Clearly, that was an awful decision, as I went to bed quite angry, and yes, ranting.

I won't name names - partly because I can't remember the reviewer's name - but she wrote that she hated the novel because she absolutely couldn't stand the main character, Lily. She said that she lost all respect for Lily when she was "stupid enough" to pose nude for a guy, and also she hated how "whiny" the main character was. Lily was sad about being lonely, she was beautiful and yet had no self confidence, and she was preoccupied with the idea that she could never be loved; oh, how unrealistic - I may be paraphrasing a bit, but I am so offended on behalf of Lily.

First of all, I fail to understand how you can hate a girl because she chose to pose in the nude for an artist that she was in love with and fully expected to marry? And not only that, but the reviewer is basically judging her the same way English society would and does in the book, and in fact, I don't believe that the reviewer said anything at all about the scum of an artist. I shudder at the double standards. So yes, sexism was one hundred percent a part of why the first part of that review riled me up. The second part of the review, however, is just as unconceivable to me, and I'm still shocked that there wasn't a single comment that disagreed with the review: just lots of thumbs ups and "wow, you said that so solidly, I totally agree"'s.

My problem with the other part of the review is, again, a lack of empathy, except not just with the main character, but mankind. This might just be me, but personally, I feel like it's quite normal for a person to feel like he or she doesn't belong. In fact, a lot of people probably feel this almost every day. Furthermore, you can't possibly tell me that the majority of people in this world haven't at least once worried about not being lovable or being desired and keep a straight face - it doesn't even have to be in a romantic context. Not everyone is fully confident in the fact that they'll find someone they want to marry some day in the future, and that that person will feel the same way. I believe this worry about the future is a perfectly plausible thing. And it's not like Lily was actually complaining about it - no, she was content to live alone and unloved, no matter how lonely it would be.

The essential part of all this is that I'm not exaggerating when I say that Lily is unloved. Her relatives are all dead, literally nobody loves her or acknowledges her until the annoyed and also mostly unloved Scot comes into town, and now this new scandal will most certainly further her isolation. So the fact that this reviewer and all the people who commented on the review are in agreement that Lily is unrealistic or weak or boring, it just frustrates me.