Check Out This Week's Recommendations! (1/10/2021)

Ace of Spades (book)

The book follows two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo. They are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, which is great for their academic plans since it looks great on college applications, and it puts them on the right path to become valedictorians. However, not long passes when someone who goes by Aces, using anonymous text messages, starts to reveal secrets about the two of them that will ruin all their plans for the future, and what seemed like a sick prank turns into a dangerous game.

This book is an amazing thriller full of shocking twists that mixes high school teen drama (you know you love it) with horror. Imagine Gossip Girl mixed with Get Out, well, this is it. The book has two perspectives and the two characters are very different so it makes for a very fun read. The book also has a very interesting approach to racism and its impact on black people, so it’s definitely worth a read.

Dear Evan Hansen (movie/play/book)

This story follows Evan Hansen who is an anxious, isolated high-school student who just wants to understand and be a part of this hard world. And when a letter he wrote for a writing exercise ends up in the hands of a couple whose son took his own life, he starts to discover himself.

This story deals with many important issues related to mental health like loneliness and relationships, and suicide, from prevention to the effect of it on others. It is also about remembering and honoring the dead which makes for such an emotional story that will definitely have you crying. And lastly but most certainly not least, the songs are just *chefs kiss*

Shang Chi (movie)

This movie follows Shang-Chi, a martial-arts master who has to face up the past he thought he had abandoned when he has to enter the Ten Rings Organization.

This movie is simply phenomenal. Of course, the visual effects are crazy as is always expected with Marvel. But it's much more than that. It's also not the typical hero movie that we always get with Marvel; It shows a lot of Chinese culture and it’s actually really funny, like, laugh out loud funny. So if you like superhero movies or any of these things appeal to you, you should check out this movie, you won’t regret it.

Banana Fish (series)

The story is about the war between a mafia boss named Dino and a gang leader, and follows a 17-year-old boy, the leader of the New York street gang. He witnesses a man dying and then tries to find the meaning behind his last words, “banana fish”

[Please read trigger warnings] This series deals with a lot of complicated issues related to violence which is why it is so emotional. You get really attached to the characters which are what makes it so emotional because they suffer a lot throughout the series. There are great relationships between characters and we get to see their own personal journeys. We see how the main character learns to open up because of his trauma and we see him develop as a character. This series is amazing, but be prepared for the tears.

Accidentally in Love

The series follows a popular singer who decides to go back to school and he quickly becomes the center of attention there. However, he meets an ordinary female student with a dual personality who turned out to be not so ordinary. Actually, she was running from her grandfather who wanted to marry her, and this relationship soon evolves into a hate-to-love story.

This is a really good story, the love story is really cute and wholesome because they have a great relationship. The series shows the importance of love in a relationship and the reality of beauty not being the most important thing. Overall, great for a light watch to grin like an idiot.

Bibliography

Accidentally in Love (n.d.) [Photograph]. Drama Wiki. https://drama.fandom.com/es/wiki/Accidentally_in_Love

Accidentally in Love (Chinese TV series) (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accidentally_in_Love_(Chinese_TV_series)

Ace of Spades (2021) [Photograph] Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Ace-Spades-Faridah-Abike-Iyimide/dp/1250800811

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (2021). Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42603984-ace-of-spades

Ace of Spades (2021) Google Books. https://books.google.com.uy/books/about/Ace_of_Spades.html?

id=5uEAEAAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y

Banana Fish (2018). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8515016/

Dear Evan Hansen (n.d.) [Photograph]. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Evan_Hansen

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. (2021) [Photograph] IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9376612/