Teen and Staff Reviews

La La Land is a movie that showcases the hard realities of life and maintaining a strong, healthy relationship when dreams are so different. The movie’s soundtrack and musical elements provide the perfect setting that gives an Old Hollywood aesthetic. This movie remains my most favorite movie of all time simply because of the message that is developed that essentially, going after your dream is worth it.

This book was written using three different perspectives. The first one was from a girl named Libby, who had just turned 25. This was very significant for her because this was the age that she would receive an unknown trust from her parents. The second perspective was a character named Lucy. Lucy, barely getting by, has two kids, a violin, and no permanent home. The final perspective was a boy named Henry Lamb. Contrary to the first two perspectives, Henry narrates the story in the past (1980s). Libby and Lucy are dealing with the present.

This book focuses on two characters, Pippa and Ravi, and follows their journey of investigating the truth of Andie Bell’s disappearance and Sal Singh’s death five years before the present. Sal, Ravi’s brother, was convicted of Andie’s murder before he died. Ravi never believed that his brother was capable of doing this, so he worked with Pippa to prove Sal’s innocence. 

This Christie short story collection focuses on the titular Miss Marple, an elderly woman who has lived nearly her entire life in the same small town. In each of the 20 stories, she ends up in one way or another listening to a retelling of a mystery (often a murder) and, through her wealth of experience and observations on human nature, arriving at a solution that eluded the other party guests (or book club members, or detectives).

The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs by Tristan Gooley Nonfiction – a guide rather than a story The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs is a collection of information, tips, tricks, and diagrams put together with the intent of introducing the reader to the concept of natural navigation: how to gain insight and knowledge from what we can observe in the world around us. 

The Stranger by Albert Camus follows the story of a man named Meursault who is indifferent to everything around him. He is only really controlled by his basic primal needs, like hunger, thirst, sleep, etc. Throughout the story, he doesn't show any deeper connection to anything and only describes things at face value. This makes sense considering his personality is so indifferent, but it creates a dull story where that is very slowly paced.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is one of the most disturbing and symbolic books I have read. I am hesitant to rate this book so high considering how it deals with so many serious topics, and how it might not be suitable for many people. Lolita deals with the adventure of a French literacy professor who moves to New England in 1947 and goes by the pseudonym Humbert Humbert.

The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of a man from Minnesota who moves to New York City and gets tangled up in Long Island High Society through his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Nick looks up to his neighbor, a grand mysterious man who is somehow in love with Daisy, and the possibility of her reciprocating these feelings is high, especially when struggling with Tom's own infidelity.

The prequel to the Hunger Games series was one I was looking forward to for a while as I had loved repeatedly watching all of the other movies. However, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was by far my favorite of the whole series. The movie starts out with a heart-wrenching scene from Coriolanus Snow’s past, demonstrating how the unfortunate circumstances of rebellions resulted in the creation of the infamous Hunger Games. His life fast-fowards as the audience witnesses Snow as a young adult preparing for the reaping.

The Scarlet Letter is a story that follows Hester Prynne, a woman living in 17th century Puritan society, who has been accused of adultery and must wear a letter “A” to atone for her sin. She struggles to raise her baby without the father there to help her, as he will not confess to his sin. Hester continues to hide the identity of the baby’s father from her husband and the rest of the town until the baby grows up and it’s ultimately revealed.