Life Update: Cause I didn’t know what else to write about…

SO, this week has been pretty boring for me.

It is spring break for my school, but because of the pandemic, I stayed at my apartment.

I am basically doing a Marvel movie marathon.

I am watching them all in release date order, which I have never done before, and it is pretty fun. but, the week has left me with little time to read, hence the small amount of posts.

I got straight As in all of my classes this last quarter. I think this was one of the hardest quarters I have had. The classes were so boring and online school is really testing my patience. Thank god we are almost done with that.

I have been doing a lot of research into when I can get my vaccine. I want it so badly. My co-workers and I are planning on starting hot yoga once we all get the vaccines.

I am excited for next quarter which will start on Tuesday. I just paid for my last textbook and for my tuition. After this, I am going to just peruse my courses that are uploaded on Canvas.

I have 200 pages left to go in the Throne of Glass series. I am super excited about finishing it. I have not had this strong of a connection with a series since I read The Maze Runner or Harry Potter. I am just ready for it to be done but sad to see it go.

I did not have a lot to update you guys on but I needed something to post for this week. So hope you had a good time with this tiny post.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Chaos Walking: Was it Worth it?

A Chaos Walking Poster

Director: Doug Liman

Release Date: March 5, 2021

“In Prentisstown, Todd has been brought up to believe that the Spackle released a germ that killed all the women and unleashed Noise on the remaining men. After discovering a patch of silence out in the swamp, his surrogate parents immediately tell him that he has to run, leaving him with only a map of New World, a message, and many unanswered questions. He soon discovers the source of the silence: a girl, named Viola.” -Google

Review: Okay so please please please read what the synopsis says of the movie.

Go on.

Do it.

I wrote it above so you did not have to look it up.

Okay, you read it?

Now forget it.

This movie was nothing like it described. First, the germ was not mentioned in the movie at all. Like, not at all unless I was not paying attention enough. They did not “unleash” the noise on the men. He does not discover a “patch of silence.” He has no map and the girl is not the “source of the silence.”

That being said, I thankfully did not read that before I went into the movie. I just am a huge Tom Holland fan so I went to see it. But, my god, I would have been so confused if I had read the synopsis before I saw the movie. So, I am sorry if you have not seen it yet and had to read that. It just does not accurately portray the movie at all.

I think the synopsis goes along with the book and not the movie. But, that was just something I wanted to pick at before we went into the actual real review of the movie.

Just, if you are expecting what it says on Google, they only got it half-right. Trust me.

Now, dont get me wrong, the movie was good. Just, holy cow, not what I was expecting.

Also, the trailer is misleading too. Not as much, but holy hell there was a lot in the trailer that was not even breached in the movie.

UUUUGGHGHGHHDIHFdklfhsdfjklf clkjnlkvbitenfovtguv (oops sorry I was angry)

And holy cow I am going to have a few spoilers in the next paragraph.

So many questions were left unanswered. Like what are the Spackles? We get one glimpse but nothing else. Why do they not attack women? Why are women not affected by the noise? Why did the Prentisstown colony leave the original civilization? What does the original civilization look like? Like, where are the other civilizations? If Todd had a good or was supposed to have good control over his noise, why did he suck so bad at hiding everything? What was Nick Jonas’s role? Why were there so many supporting characters with no explanation? Who was the preacher? What did the Preacher want?

WHAT THE HELL?

Literally, so many questions. I went into this movie blind, and I came out with even more questions than I did when I knew nothing about the movie.

Photo of Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in Chaos Walking

The story was exciting. It had a really good motorcycle/horse chase in it that really got my heart rate up. (SPOILER) But, then the horse just died (sorry grandma) out of nowhere. Like, they did not have to end the chase that way. (SPOILER) And do not get me started on the dog.

The story starts off really interesting. It opens with a quote that I did not have time to read because my roommate who I went to see the movie with was giggling the entire previews. (Our local theater played the same 3 ads for twenty minutes. We could not stop laughing at the heroine addiction commercial because it was a guy floating in an elevator. You had to be there.) It goes on to bring in Tom FREAKING Holland and his cute puppy. We kind of begin to understand the noise, but as I said earlier, I still have so many questions.

We get introduced to his town and then to his father and his father’s male partner? Lover? Roommate? Friend he shares a bed with? I am not sure. That was not delved into. I am not even sure it was his real father because the synopsis said surrogate parents. But, he kept calling him Dad. I dont know. It was kind of a confusing movie.

And then comes the spaceship, (not a spoiler it was in the trailer) and Todd finds it and here starts the adventure in the plot. He sees a girl for the first time and comically is trying not to freak out while also thinking she is hot while she is not trying to freak out because she can hear his thoughts.

She gets captured by a man who can do A LOT with his noise. Why can no one else control the noise like he can? UGGGGHHHH. Anyways, Todd tries to help her get out of that town and they go on a crazy adventure, yadayada, normal thriller movies plot line.

But, holy god the plot did not answer a lot of questions. Now, the books the movie was based on is a trilogy. So, it would make sense that they are laying the ground work for a sequel, but that much ground work is intense. I dont even think they will be able to make a sequel because this movie was just such a bummer. Like, the rotten tomatoes score is a 21% as of March 18th at 10:07pm PST.

Death Note (2017) got a better score than this movie. Pitch Perfect 3 got a better score. A movie called Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009) got a better score than this movie. Holy crap.

Daisy Ridley in Chaos Walking

I enjoyed this movie. I dont think this was the worst movie to exist. But, really. The disgusting, live-action Death Note got a higher ranking than this movie. Oh god.

Ugh, this is making my head hurt. Let me talk about something that did make sense; the casting.

Tom Holland in Chaos Walking

Tom Holland was fantastic. He played the dorky teenager seeing a girl for the first time really well. Also, he played the hero role really well, but, he was not as good as Daisy Ridley. He also had quite a few shirtless scenes that I very much appreciated. I, again, only watched this movie because I knew Tom Holland was going to be in it.

Now, they really are setting up their movie for failure in two ways. One, they got the movie buffs who read the premise or saw the trailer and thought it would be good, who are now all leaving the theaters confused and disappointed. Two, the hoards of teenage girls who came to see this movie because pretty Tom Holland was in it are going to be PISSED. you wanna know why? Because that the ass shot that we got WAS BLURRED. Like seriously. I mean he was great being the dorky kid who has never seen a girl before. But, you have got to be kidding me. The fact that I was teased with an ass shot and then not given it made me want to scream. Those two groups were probably a majority of the people going to see this movie and they are all not going to be giving good reviews of the movie.

Daisy Ridley in Chaos Walking

Now, Daisy Ridley was AMAZING. I have only seen her in the newer Star Wars movies so I was excited to see her play this role. And she did it REALLY well. I think she outplayed everyone in the movie. She was probably the biggest role. She passed the Bechdel test. She had an amazing performance. I think that if the movie wasn’t so confusing her role would have been even better. Like, her character was great, but she was only allowed to be awesome for a little bit. Like, just so much was going on it was hard to focus on her I feel like. I think that she somehow had a smaller role even though SHE WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER (you cannot tell me Todd Hewitt is the main character) because she was a woman. Women in film are not represented well. But, maybe that will be another post.

The other actors were great. But, those two got the most screen time. Shoutout to Cynthia Erivo, playing Hildy, who was the only other living female in the movie who got a speaking part. She was a badass town leader and mayor of the town.

So, now that I am unpacking everything, I get more and more frustrated. One, the movie was confusing. Two, the ass shot. Three, there will most likely be no sequel, I am calling it. Four, the female representation SUCKED, but what can you expect from a movie where they literally have no women in one town. Five, the animals.

When I was in the theaters watching the movie, I had a great time. When we left, I had exclaimed how I was a little confused, but I thought it was pretty good. My roommate chalked it up to the sequel needing to come out. But, now that I am here and did research and am reflecting on the events in the movie, I am unsure about my resolve that this was a good movie.

And, I try not to outright say I do not like things.

But, this movie, kind of sucked.

It is a great movie to watch once. I think it was cool. But, by god there was so much missing. I dont know. I dont want to deter anyone away from the movie. I actually want a bunch of people to watch it so that we can get a sequel. But, yikes.

Anyways, I hope you guys had a good week. I have been a little MIA and just putting out random stuff because the last two weeks I have been so stressed about finals so I have not read that much. But, today before the movie I did a lot of reading, and hopefully next week there will be a decent amount of posts.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 2.5

I finally finished Tower of Dawn. Here is what I thought

Title: Tower of Dawn

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Series: Throne of Glass #6

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Magic

Published September 5th 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 660

“Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea’s last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold.

After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need—and will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries shadows from his own past, and Yrene soon comes to realize they could engulf them both.

In this sweeping parallel novel to the New York Times bestselling Empire of Storms, Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience if they wish to save their friends. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, deep in the shadows of mighty mountains where warriors soar on legendary ruks, long-awaited answers slumber. Answers that might offer their world a chance at survival—or doom them all . . .” –Goodreads

My Review:

Okay, to everyone out here who has finished the ToG series and ACOTAR AND Crescent City, leave me alone. I know I am late. To put into perspective how long I have been trying to finish this series, I finished Queen of Shadows before Tower of Dawn came out, and then I stopped reading for like four years. But, I am now jumping back into the game. I re-read all the books. I just did a review of Empire of storms. And here I am done with Tower of Dawn.

What a long road it has been.

And it isn’t over yet. I still go tone more book to finish. It is going to be a crazy time.

Even after starting this series back in 2016, I still have not been spoiled the ending of Kingdom of Ash. It scares me a little because do people just not want to talk about it because it is that horrifying? Or was it just so good the book community is still in shock? Or am I just not in the right circles?

I DONT ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW. DO NOT SPOIL IT AT ALL. I HAVE BEEN LIVING PEACEFULLY AND EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SPOILER FREE.

Anyways,

Tower of Dawn.

What an exciting book.

When I tell you how much I disliked Chaol at the beginning and how much I loved him at the end. Was that a universal thing or just me? I feel like the fourth book just made him seem like an asshole and he just never recovered from that. Until now.

I am glad we got this whole other perspective to the story. It was kind of nice to going back to only having three POVs. I love Maas and her POVs but Empire of Storms and Queen of Shadows was insane with the switching. This was a nice break. But, I am sure the Kingdom of Ash is going to have all the OG POVs and Nesryn and Yrene and Manon and Elide and Lochan and literally everyone who has a name in the story.

Gotta love it

Also, I did not think that this story would be such a big part of the whole series. I was told once a few months after it came out that it was utterly unnecessary to read. UM WHAT? This gave us like the biggest plot twist ever and if I had to just get that summarized my Kingdom of Ash, I would have been PISSED.

So, if you are reading ToG please read this book. Don’t let people lie to you.

You learn kind of really important information like almost vital information to the entire war that is happening. When the whole thing drops about Maeve my jaw hit the floor. It was insane. And when Yrene did the thing.

OH MY GOD SHE SO SWAG!!!

I am really trying to keep this spoiler-free but I cant say much without ruining it. As usual.

Also, can we talk about Yrene. What a beautiful person! She was so nice. I thought she had an amazing personality. She was described so beautifully and she was so badass!!

Lets go back to Chaol’s character development in the story. I think he starts off as an arrogant ass and ends up as a less arrogant ass. But, all improvement is good. And who doesn’t love an arrogant ass, am I right?

I mean seriously, look at him.

Chaol Fanart by zirael_art

Also, while looking for fanart I found this. WHAT THE HELL? Is this real or did someone just make this. I couldn’t find any art credits. I…….This would have looked so well on my shelf instead of the shield. BUT I AM NOT DOGGING ON THE SHIELD, just saying I would have preferred a person on the cover.

Tower of Dawn cover but with a man

Also I found this really cute art piece. I am going to show it but it contains a little spoilers (even though it is obvious that they get together in the end).

Chaol and Yrene fanart by Meabhusd

How talented is that.

I love it so much.

I love their whole story arc. I also love that Chaol hated himself for a moment because he kissed Yrene. It just makes me happy to see him get some revenge.

Ugh, the whole story was amazing. I honestly think this beats out Crown of Midnight for my favorite book in the series. It is so good. The emotions are raw and intense. It deals with really hard issues in life. It has some badass women in there. It leads up to the ending really well. The beginning was a little slow and the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked but, you cant have the new love birds die just yet can you?

Wink Wink

Anyways, I think I am done for today. I am trying to figure out if more people will read my stuff on the weekends or if posting on the weekdays is alright. I just see the weekends as my time to write. But, I can change it up depending on what people prefer.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 5

I need to see more bloggers my age

So, I am having a difficult time.

Every time I go onto my reader, I see a lot of sappy romance novel reviews and an unnecessary amount of children’s books.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not think that these are bad topics. I think that everyone has their niche. My niche is writing book reviews about books that were published years ago so I get no clout. But, I want to READ reviews and such by people my age and who are interested in the same things.

I am following people who do post that but it is usually drowned out by the stuff I listed above. But, I do not want to unfollow these people who post sappy romance novels or children’s books because I know how hard it is to get followers and a lot of them have good content. I just don’t read them. They are more than likely (and I am sorry if I offend anyone) quite a few years older than me and do not read YA novels as much as I do. All these people I follow, which I follow a lot, post loads about books I don’t want to read or are not in my genre interest. But, I followed because I liked them at a time or they liked a post of mine and I checked out their stuff and I liked it.

Now, there are loads of people I followed like Taking on a World of Worlds and Bookiedote that I never see. So I have two dilemmas.

One, do I unfollow the other accounts that I do not want to see?

If it does not look like it is talking about something I want to read, I usually skip them. I don’t even click on them. I want to be more engaging but I am scrolling through the reader seeing all these things about things I, frankly, do not care about (sorry everyone this is about. it isn’t you, it is me). When I am doing this, I do not want to read anymore. Like the other day, I read a stacking the shelves and the person added like ten children’s books to their shelf. Good for them but I do not want to see it. I don’t want to unfollow because I don’t want to hurt people’s follower count but I don’t want to see it. What do I do? Is it rude to unfollow even when I don’t look at their stuff anyways?

Second, WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE MY AGE?

I think it is because I usually am just reading through my reader, but I am having such a hard time finding people my age on here. Like, without telling you guys my exact age so creeps don’t get weird, I am between 18-25. I want people who are like me. I want fellow Maas and Rowling fanatics in my reader. And I know to go through tags and stuff. So I got that going for me. But, if there are any people in that age range reading this, whose blog do you follow? Can anyone just shout some people out in the comments? I am just so bored with WordPress.

Anyways, I hope this did not offend anyone. Everyone’s hustle is great. I am just a picky person. I am by no means a good blogger. I am about to post a review for Tower of Dawn which came out YEARS ago. So, it is okay to post whatever.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

*image cred: https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/43/2019/12/many-old-books-stacked-in-texture-picture-id1074590734-800×450.jpg

I DID IT!!! 2 WWW’s in a row!!

YEEEEEESSSSSSSS!

I am winning at life.

If I am being honest I really did not know if I could finish Tower of Dawn in time for this post.

But guess what? I did AND I read four others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, excuse my excessive exclamations points.

So without further ado, let us get into the WWW for this week.

If you don’t know what WWW is, then why do you live under a rock? Just kidding! It is a meme and this meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of WordsAnd it involves answering the 3 Ws!

What are the three Ws you may ask?

Well, that is easy, I answer.

They are:

What am I currently reading?

I am currently reading a book I have been working on reading for THREE MONTHS now. It is Into the Wild by John Krakauer. I swear to actual everything the reader of this believes in, that I will finish it this month or I will never read again. I absolutely do not find it interesting at all and I have forgotten most of it by now. But, I am just going to power through and read it. SO hopefully this will be the last time this annoying book enters the blog. I am not even going to include a picture of it I am so mad at it.

The other two books I am reading are two books I have been very excited to read for a long time. They are:

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Caraval Cover

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

One of these days I will have no more Maas books to put in these posts. That will be a sad day.

Kingdom of Ash Cover

What did I recently finish?

I read three Sonia Sanchez poem books for class. One book that is titled Love Poems is not on Goodreads. I cannot find it anywhere. The other two were We a BaddDDD People and Homegirls and Handgrenades. They were all fantastic. I kind of cheated because these were for school but oh well.

I also finished:

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Tower of Dawn Cover

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Fun Home cover

What am I reading next?

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

Troubled Blood cover

AHHHHH

I might have lied about this last one. I haven’t planned what I am going to read next. I am waiting to see what I finish first I guess. Anyways, I have a post of tomorrow scheduled so follow so you can see that. It is sort of a little rant about how I am bored. So, check that out tomorrow. I am thinking my Tower of Dawn review will be up Friday. If not, sorry. I am being lazy and it is finals week next week so I am preparing for that.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Is it really February already?

So I guess its February?

When did that happen?

Well I guess it is time for me to do my monthly wrap-up.

Books I read this month:

A list of posts I made:

(Also I just found of I can drag and drop post titles from another tab onot here so I did not have to rewrite out all these titles!)

Things I did:

I really did not do much. I played ALOT of Minecraft. I started my Winter quarter in school. I went to Yakima with my roommates. I went home twice for a dentist and a doctors appointment. I had my first IV and my first (and hopefully last) MRI. I kept up with all my school work. I think I am following through on most of my resolutions. I just have not been able to purchase my journal. I did not even know that February was so close so I am going to do that after work. I am excited for Febuary.

I would like to, in the future, be able to provide my posts that I plan on making in this part but I am lazy at the moment unable to do it for the moment.

Anyways, as always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

WWW: Some Random Reads 1/20/2021

Hi guys!

Guess what? It is WWW Wednesday.  This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of WordsAnd it involves answering the 3 Ws!

•What are you currently reading?

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

“Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea’s last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold…”-Goodreads

Lucy by Jamacia Kincaid (for school)

“Lucy, a teenage girl from the West Indies, comes to North America to work as an au pair for Lewis and Mariah and their four children. Lewis and Mariah are a thrice-blessed couple–handsome, rich, and seemingly happy. Yet, almost at once, Lucy begins to notice cracks in their beautiful facade. With mingled anger and compassion, Lucy scrutinizes the assumptions and verities of her employers’ world and compares them with the vivid realities of her native place. Lucy has no illusions about her own past, but neither is she prepared to be deceived about where she presently is…”-Goodreads

•What did you recently finish reading?

Empire of Storm by Sarah J. Maas

Kingdoms will collide.

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius as war looms on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t…” -Goodreads

What if it’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

“Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things…”-Goodreads

•What do you think you’ll read next?

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

“Aelin Galathynius has vowed to save her people ― but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unraveling with each passing day…” -Goodreads

Anyways, hope you guys are having a good week. I am trying to get my review for What if its Us out as soon as possible. It has been a busy week but I get to go home for a quick visit.

As always, thanks for reading!

A Bookie

Book Review: The Escapist

Author: David Puretz

Publisher: Global City Press

Publishing Date: Jan 21, 2020

Genre: Literary Fiction

“It’s 2011 in America, the Iraq War is coming to a close, and the Occupy Wall Street movement has been gaining steam. And at twenty-one years of age, Billy Chute is sitting in the breakdown lane on the side of the highway in his ’98 Altima with his drugs in the cooler on the passenger seat floor, in the midst of escaping yet another stale reality. Still high on an opioid and amphetamine kick, his new escape crystallizes in a journal entry: Find dad. And those few simple words seal Billy’s fate- what started as another of his impulsive flights becomes a mission, and it terrifies him, for his father is like wildfire, burning all in its path, yet confronting his traumatic past may be Billy’s only sustainable way forward. 

A propulsive story with profound insights about freedom and imprisonment, motion and stasis, chance and destiny, The Escapist delves deeply into the internal and external calamities that shape this special human life and mind. Mental health, family conflict and abuse, drug addiction, and sexuality are intricately woven together in a turbulent pre-Trump America in this dynamic and layered narrative of violence and hope.” -Publisher

Review:

I recieved this book off of NetGalley and shall be giving it an honest review.


Now when I say, I do not know how to feel about this book, I mean I REALLY do not know how to feel about this book.


The thing about this book is that it was not the most well-put-together book, but I honestly could not put it down. I devoured this book.


I am honestly disappointed that I finished the book. Or I am disappointed in how it ended, I am honestly not sure.


I could not stop reading it. There were such vivid, eye-opening details in the book. Every single thing about drug use and the violence was described so deep and hauntingly, it entranced me. I was so pulled in by the description of his drug use, family issues, etc., that I almost could completely ignore the huge plot disappointments.


The plot was absolutely wack. It was like a Catcher in the Rye, but completely high on drugs. It was super chaotic which I thought paired nicely with the book until the end. The ending left me in a huge ball of confusion. I understood everything but there was a certain part with Billy’s sidekick that I felt completely unnecessary. I liked the book until they began bringing back certain people. It was utter chaos. And I like chaos in some aspects. This was not one of them.


Billy was a great character except he had the voice of a 35-year-old heroin addict when he was about 20 years old popping pills daily. Sometimes when people mentioned that he was “too young” it took me by surprise. I feel as though for him to have been a better character, he needed that extra feel of being young and stupid. But, all I got from him was being old and f*cked (pardon my French).


All the negative stuff aside, I did enjoy this book. Yes, it did have its downs but, I will have to say that once I picked it up, I could not set it down. I think the book would have been a lot better with a different ending and a whole chunk of it taken out, but what can I do?


Anyways, thank you for reading. I appreciate it. I hope you guys all check out this book when it comes out in January!

Star Rating: 3.6

A SERIOUS Life Update: A Year of Adventure

Since I last posted (not counting yesterday), a whole lot of things have happened. Like a whole lot. I have experienced some of the craziest things in my life since January 3rd 2019. I have had so many crazy experiences but I am going to sum them all up quickly for you guys.

If you are a loyal follower, you know that I have had a hard time being on this blog and I dissappear for a while. But now I am back and have a bit more time on my plate then the last time I talked to you all. So let’s try this blog thing again, by talking about my life since we last talked.

Accepted Admission to college

I finally accepted admission to my dream school. I also attended an orientation day and bought a WHOLE lot of swag from the store. I got everything I needed ready and began saving my money for school.

WENT TO PROM

I went to prom with my yearbook friends. They were the some of the bestest friends I had in high school. I went with a guy friend from my work. I had one of the best nights of my life and I loved every moment of that night.

Graduated!

I graduated from my high school and began my life as an adult. Graduation was surreal. I honestly cant believe that I actually graduated. High school was crazy to me. I stayed in the same school district my entire life so I graduated with people I have known since I was 5. It was crazy seeing these people walk across the stage. It was crazy for me to say that I graduated and that I walked that stage. I made it through high school. I have never been more proud of myself.

Grad Party

I had an epic grad party. My mom put together this amazing party at our house. A whole lot of family came and all of my friends came and that was crazy. I had the best time and it was one of the best day sof my life. I will never forget everyone who came and supported me. I loved it so much.

Said goodbye to my teams

I said goodbye to my high school equestrian team and I attended my last county and state fair for 4-H. I spent most of my life in these programs and I was really sad to see it go. I will always appreciate those experiences I had because they taught me so much.

Went to New York

I went on a week vacation to New York with my Grandma. We went everywhere in Manhattan. I have fallen even more in love with the city that I ever was. I went to all these cute little and big book stores. I also went to see Wicked, The Lion King, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (which only reaffirmed my love for this book depsite everyone else’s hate on it). All of these shows I cried at. They were the best shows I have ever seen. I appreicate my Grandmother so much for letting me experience this amazing place.

Went to college

And for the last event, I went to college!!! I went with one of my best friends. He and I are fighting through college together. It is alreayd a wild ride and I have not even finihsed one quarter yet. I love this place so much and I am excited to explore my major. I have alreayd declared my major which is Digitial Journalism.

Thank you for reading about my crazy life. There were so many other thi gs that happened to me this year that I just dont have the room to include in this.

Anyways thank you for your patience and being so supportive. Love yall.

Movie Review: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

“At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore (Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.” -Rotten Tomatoes

Two weeks ago I went to see The Crimes of Grindlewald.

And OH MY GOODNESS

IT

WAS

AMAZING!!!

It was all boom boom BAM!

I loved it. This movie was absolutely amazing. I loved it so much and I thought it was one of the best movies.

The scenery, the cast, the action, the magic…

It was all just so spectacular. Starting with Newt (Eddie Redmayne), he was so beautiful. Scamander is a “magizoologist” is you haven’t heard and the animals he takes care of are extremely cute creatures, obviously fake, but I wish they were real. The beginning of the movie Newt is unable to leave the country because of the events in the last movie. In true Newt fashion he breaks that rule due to orders from Dumbledore, an unrecognizable Dumbledore because he was very young. I love Newt so much.

I mean look at this cast…WOW

I really suck at doing movie reviews. But I believe I must review this movie because I reviewed the last one and this is a part of the franchise that I cherish deeply in my soul.

Now, looking at other reviews like Rotten Tomatoes I understand that not everyone likes it. But, I think that they are going into it as lobby old people with out the joy and wonder that they had when they watched the Harry Potter movies as young adults or even children. Expecting the same childhood joy and thrill to come from these movies are unreasonable for two reasons. First, we are all older than we were when the Potter movies came out and feelings change. The older the are the more you become like Umbridge and less like Harry. Secondly, IT IS NOT THE SAME FRANCHISE. It is not the same people, same setting, or same plot. Voldemort does not even exist in these movies. Nothing is the same. This is a pre-Harry world. Going into the theater and expecting to see Hogwarts and the magic of the school (although does make an appearance) is completely absurd. The stories obviously follows around adults so already the story is in a completely different mind set than the books/movies of Harry Potter.

To enjoy the movie you cannot go into it hoping for the same feeling and that same interaction you got from Harry Potter.

While yes, a little disappointing, you cannot expect Rowling and Yates to stay in that world forever. They need to move on some day. You cannot just trash their masterpiece because it is not like the other masterpiece they created and you are not ready to accept it.

I thought the movie was very well done. I love who they casted for every part. Everyone is exceptional in their job. I am amazed at how each and every character fits with he actors that plays them. I thought everyone conveyed their role well.

The one disappointing thing for me was the lack of beasts. For a Fantastic Beasts movie, there were only a couple. I loved the first movie because it showed you many new creatures almost throughout the whole film. This one just seemed a little too focused on the people and their love lives then the focus on the animals which the series is named after.

But other than that it was a fantastic movie. I loved it. I cannot wait for it to be out on DVD so I can add it to my Harry Potter marathons.

I hope everyone gets to see it. As I am posting this it is almost out of theaters so I hope everyone sees it soon or if you missed your chance and don’t want to commit to it just yet, go get a Redbox. I seriously HIGHLY recommend.

Thanks for reading!

-Kat

Star Rating: 4.5