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What happens when an idealistic trio takes their innovations too far? In The Startup Wife (2021), Tahmima Anam shows the dark side of technology while satirizing startup culture. Asha is the brilliant coder behind a new social media platform developed with her new husband and his friend.

“This Savage Song” by V.E. Schwab is a dystopian fantasy book set in a world run by two factions who each control different species of monsters. The story focuses on their children, August and Kate, and their desires to prove themselves to their fathers. While tasked to kidnap Kate, August befriends her and has to keep his nature as a monster a secret.

Heartstopper is a beautiful story of gay panic and romance. The main story, of course, is the romance of the two main characters: Nick and Charlie. The multiple side character romantic subplots and reflections on the difficulties of high school and the prevalence of homophobia tie it all together.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe is about magical books, and those who can write magical books. Filled with minute twists and turns, this page turner leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. However, the romantic subplots in this story are forced and mechanical, this is definitely not a book to read for the romance or character development.

When their son, Ewan, tragically dies, Richard and Juliette Willoughby fall into desperate grief and cannot let him go.  While Richard digs into the dirt of their field in an attempt to connect to Ewan, Juliette brings a team of mystics into the house to attempt to contact the child's spirit.  Their bucolic farm becomes dark, menacing and eerie as an evil folklore bogeyman dominates their daily lives.

A boy named Chase ends up in the hospital after falling off his roof. He has to learn his whole life over again starting with his own name. He even forgot that he used to be a bully. Chase learned his lesson to not be a bully because he saw how it hurt people. For example, he noticed that this one kid was always afraid of him. 

I really liked the action in Chase’s life. Also, I liked the characters.

“A Gentleman in Moscow '' by Amor Towles is set in 1922 Soviet Russia and follows Count Alexander Rostov as he has to adapt to the changing world while trapped in a hotel. After being convicted of treason, he gets sentenced to house arrest inside a luxury hotel.

“A Conjuring of Light” is the final book in V.E. Schwab’s fantasy trilogy. It takes place immediately after the last book ended and goes back to the normal fantasy plot with a strong and compelling villain. This book puts more focus on Holland than the other books did, but Schwab still keeps all the great characters and their histories.

“A Gathering of Shadows'' is the second book in V.E. Schwab’s fantasy trilogy. It takes place a short time after the first book ends and focuses on the upcoming Elemental Games. It is a spectacular view into the thorough world that Schwab set up in the first part without all the action that would distract the reader from the finer details.

See You Yesterday by Rachel Solomon is a YA rom com, Groundhog Day story. And it worked so well. Barrett is excited to begin her first day of college and leave her high school self behind. Unfortunately the day is mostly a disaster.

Spinning Silver (2018) is a fairy tale-like fantasy version of Rumpelstiltskin. Miryem, daughter of a softhearted moneylender, takes over the money collecting duties to try and turn around the fate of her family. Her success and boasting that she can turn silver into gold captures the attention of the Staryk king, a fey creature from a wintery land.

The Peasants (2024) is a visually stunning film that transports the viewer to a 19th-century Polish village as events unfold over four seasons. Using the same technique from their previous film, Loving Vincent, the filmmakers use a blend of real-life actors and oil paintings to create the effect of paintings brought to life in a unique animation style.