Book Reviews
Note: Since I haven’t read or reviewed a ton of books this year, I’m switching it up for the summer to really get serious about not only achieving but going above and beyond this We Need Diverse Books pledge. From June 21st to September 22nd, I’d like to challenge myself to review a diverse book every other day. Whose ready for a diverse summer? I am! I can’t wait!
* Turning Pointe by Katherine Locke
* Unmarked by Kami Garcia
E-book/Book/SYNC Audiobook/BEA Haul
* Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings by Michelle Knight with Michelle Burford
* Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond
* Hold Me Like A Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
* Denton’s Little Death Date by Lance Rubin
* Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton
* H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction
* Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales
* Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
* The Heir by Kiera Cass
* Rumble by Ellen Hopkins
* Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
* The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings
* X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz & Kekla Magoon, Narrated by Dion Graham (Brilliance Audio)
* The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz, Narrated by Jennifer Ikeda (Recorded Books, Inc.)
* Absolutely True Lies by Rachel Stuhler
* Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn
* Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout
* Dancing Through Life by Candace Cameron Bure (ARC)
* Live Love Lead by Brian Houston (ARC)
* Illusive by Emily-Lloyd Jones
* The Silence of Six by E.C. Myers
* None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
* Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler
* Those Girls by Lauren Saft (ARC)
* Bream Gives Me Hiccups by Jesse Eisenberg (ARC)
* This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (ARC)
* What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler (ARC)
* Project Alpha: Voyagers #1 by D.J. MacHale (ARC)
* Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
* The Cost Of All Things by Maggie Lehrman
TV Reviews
* TV Week in Review #32, #33, #34, #35
May Notes
* What was renewed? Cancelled that I’m bummed about? Upfronts took place this month! I ran through ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, and NBC.
* I laid out what’s on my Summer TV Watch List!
* YA Runs A 5K 2015 has raised almost $1,000 for We Need Diverse Books! Thanks to Publishing Crawl for spreading the word! Also, you can read the press release about the grant that is being created with the fundraising money here. You can get signed books, writing critiques, etc… when you donate! You can donate here and/or register to run with us, if interested and available!
* I went to the annual free Broadway concert in Shubert Alley called “Stars in the Alley” and saw Something Rotten! on Broadway which was amazing!
* I also attended the Teen Author Carnival and Book Expo America (BEA) which were so much fun!
* My six month literary internship working for Louise Fury at The Bent Agency came to a close this month. It was such an incredible experience and I am forever grateful for Louise bringing me into her world. What an amazing learning experience! I’ve grown so much as a reader and writer, I can’t even begin to explain. I was going to write about what the internship meant to me but I’m still decompartmentalizing (is that a word?) everything and trying to incorporate all that I’ve learned into revisions for my own novel so I think it’s safe to say I’ll let what I’ve learned speak for itself and hopefully one day you’ll be able to see it.
Photo Credit: Darren Criss
My Insane Book & Movie Challenge Update #17
My monthly update for my Insane Book & Movie Challenge is below!
E-books I Read
Read through Kindle App on iPad
1. Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland by Amanda Berry & Gina DeJesus with Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan
2. Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings by Michelle Knight with Michelle Burford
3. Unbreakable by Kami Garcia
My favorite reads of the month were Hope and Finding Me.
Foxcatcher (Netflix DVD)
The Maze Runner (Netflix DVD)
To Write Love On Her Arms (Netflix DVD)
Whiplash (Netflix DVD)
20 Feet From Stardom (Netflix Streaming)
Casting By (HBO Now)
Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip (HBO Now)
My favorite movie/documentary this month was Casting By.