Another winner from Emily Henry

⭐⭐⭐⭐

An enjoyable read. Like the other Emily Henry books I've enjoyed more, the two leads of Great Big Beautiful Life, Alice and Hayden, don't have a previous relationship, so we don't spend the book having flashbacks and only gradually finding out what went wrong (and usually being underwhelmed by what happened). Instead, we have Alice and Hayden on a small island on the coast of Georgia near Savannah, competing to tell the life story of Margaret Ives, heiress to a media empire and widow of music star. Yes, there are echoes of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Both Hayden and Alice can sense that Margaret is holding something back, but they can't discuss it. Instead, they get to know each other. It's a sunshine/grumpy trope, but Alice quickly gets past Hayden's outer layer and Alice's perkiness is never particularly annoying; plus, Henry does a good job giving both character the backstory that their personalities require. Alice can sometimes be a bit frustrating in how she interacts with her mother, but it's both completely realistic and completely earned. 

I continue to appreciate Henry's handling of the relationships of her protagonists and their families, both good and bad. She writes love stories, but the heart of Margaret's story is that of her family (not her relationship with her husband); Hayden and Alice's relationship is well-developed (if possibly being a bit racier than I would've liked, honestly), but their families and friends are also crucial.

On a more minor note, one of the running jokes/subplots is Alice and Hayden's heights--Alice is 5'9" and Hayden is 6'3" and there are not-infrequent comments about how, for example, it makes sitting in a booth across from each other awkward because they're both tall and their legs are always knocking into each other. And though that might happen at particularly small booths...look, I'm 5'9" and my husband is 6'2" and this is something we've literally never encountered. 

Even so, well-played, all around. 

This blog is an Eleanor Roosevelt stan

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've loved Eleanor Roosevelt ever since I randomly picked up a biography of her in elementary school. (That I randomly picked out a biography to read for fun as a 4th grader tells you a lot of what you need to know about me as a person.) I've read a lot about her over the years, but it's been a minute since I read a biography of just her. (And, confession, I still haven't read Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume 3: The War Years and After, 1939-1962. I own it. I just haven't read it.)

In his single-volume biography, simply titled Eleanor, David Michaelis focuses a lot on Eleanor, the person, as opposed to her many accomplishments or events in her life. It veers into being more of a psychological biography; obviously the events of her life are covered, but there's a lot of focus on her relationships and why she relates to people the way she does. There were times, particularly during FDR's presidency, that entire years were skipped with barely a blink. Which honestly wouldn't be an issue, except that Michaelis will mention something in passing that hadn't come up before. In that sense, despite it being a fairly compact biography, it probably wouldn't be great for people who aren't already familiar with the beats of Eleanor's life and FDR's presidency. It does a good job of analysis but isn't a good introduction.

Also, it was a bit weird what relationships he focused on. Obviously Eleanor's relationships with her father and Franklin are the big two. Michaelis writes about ER's relationship with Lorena Hickock, mostly to be like, "It was TOTALLY A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP!!!" and is clearly using diaries/letters to make that assertion. Which, on the one hand, I get. I definitely remember reading biographies of Eleanor that might obliquely reference her relationship with Hick but be like, "But that's just how ladies of Eleanor's age would write to their friends!" On the other hand, I think it was really just how he wrote it that was weird. I don't know. And he honestly spent a lot less time on Hick than I would expect; ditto Earl Miller, another significant relationship for ER.

I particularly felt that ER's relationship with Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook really got short shrift. Again, this is another time when he alludes to a falling out and problems in their relationship, but we don't get the details about it (some of which I know from other biographies). These bothered me because Michaelis clearly did a ton of research and I'm sure he knows loads about these various relationships; I just wanted more of them.

He does spend a TON of time on ER's relationship with David Gurewitsch, her doctor/object of affection late in life. (To the detriment, I feel, of Joe Lash, who sort of fades out of the picture after WWII.) I didn't know a ton about him (mostly that he existed, he and his wife shared a house with ER at the end of her life, and she was fond of him), so getting more information was helpful. But it felt like he got too much attention, particularly compared to others in Eleanor's life. I can't tell how significant he actually was because I feel like this was the story Michaelis wanted to tell.

It feels like I'm nitpicking; truth be told, I did quite enjoy this books. Michaelis's affection for Eleanor is clear throughout the book. He sympathizes with her but doesn't shy away from her flaws. He includes a number of pretty awful quotes from her about Jewish and Black people; she became champions for both groups, but certainly wasn't born that way. One of the remarkable things about Eleanor is how she grew into First Lady of the World, into FDR's conscience.

I also appreciated learning more about her time after FDR's death. I read too many books as a kid that had a final chapter (inevitably titled "On Her Own," after ER's memoir, On My Own) about her life after FDR died, usually focused pretty solely on her work with the UN. She did SO. MUCH. MORE. (while FDR was around, too, to be fair) and I love getting the details about it.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, though with the caveat that it would be helpful to know some of the details of Eleanor's life already. It's a solid, compact biography of my favorite historical figure.

Key Quotes

Advice from her Auntie Bye, which forever guided her life
"You will never be able to please everyone. No matter what you do, my dear, some people are going to criticize you. ... If you are satisfied in your mind that you are right, then you need never worry about criticism" (p. 82)

On Eleanor's reaction to being hurt (relatable)
"When hurt, she suppressed her feelings, and when anyone tried to come closer, whether to help or to hurt more, her only instrument of resistance was to turn away and sulk" (p. 104)

Eleanor trying to cope with her own life
"It was almost as though I had erected someone outside myself who was the president's wife. I was lost somewhere deep down inside myself" (p. 383)

"Work had always been her antidote for depression. Loneliness, she maintained, was a state of mind or of the soul and therefore untreatable, simply 'the lot of all human beings.'" (p. 493)

On Franklin and Eleanor
"As a couple, they were foils. He endured her seriousness and intensity as she endured his pranks and swordplay. ... He was not intentionally unkind, but he could be cold; his sense of fun was often cruel; and the more defenseless the victim, the less Franklin could resist the impulse to bully" (p. 107)

"She yearned for closeness, and yet her own responses prevented it. She would never be kittenishly playful with him; he would never confront hard truth with her. They could scarcely ever relax with each other." (p. 145)

Their son Elliott "saw FDR as a great illusionist, and it was his mother who made the illusion stick" (p. 304)

Eleanor, during FDR's presidency: "I realize more and more that FDR's a great man, and he is nice, but as a person, I'm a stranger, and I don't want to be anything else!" (p. 334)

Eleanor on immigration
The Immigration Act of 1924--"bringing to an end the America that, as Eleanor rightly recognized, 'had profited a thousandfold by what they have brought us, many of them representing the best brains of the countries from which they came'" (p. 245)

Criticism of ER
Steve Early, a press secretary of FDR: "Sometimes I think the Constitution should require that the President be a bachelor" (p. 334)

Eleanor quotes showing how awesome she was
"Her speeches to college students sounded subversive: 'Study history realistically'--'Do not always believe your country is right'--'You'll love your country just as much, the same as you love your parents, although you might not always believe them to be right'" (p. 337)

"If ever any Americans go to a concentration camp, American democracy will go with them" (p. 394)

 

Bananaball in Baltimore

If you've been on social media the past couple years, you've probably seen clips of the Savannah Bananas. They appeal to me for obvious reasons--combining baseball and choreographed dancing? AMAZING. Naturally I was all in.

The Bananas came to Camden Yards this past weekend and we were lucky enough to get tickets (thanks to my Orioles season ticket plan; I didn't win the Bananas lottery). (They were also really awful seats; we had pretty much no say in where the tickets were--all I could indicate was the $40 right field upper deck because that was, I think, all that was available. I'm still pretty miffed at where we wound up, but oh well.)

It was a really good time. When they go to MLB parks, the Bananas line up former players to make cameos in the game; we got Adam Jones and former manager Buck Showalter, plus the band All Time Low. The crowd went absolutely nuts for all of them. 

It was pretty overwhelming. There was literally always music playing. Various "cast members" (Bananas staff and players not in the night's game--the pitcher with the hat above showed up in our section a few times) would appear in the stands randomly for things like a sing-off. The game would be actively going on and the Banana mascot would be wandering around the outfield, or a group of players would run down to the foul pole to climb it. There'd be a brief pause as players did an elaborate dance before an at-bat (and having watched countless of these online, it was interesting watching the logistics of the filming):

The Bananas do a dance for an at-bat at the game on Friday, August 1 at Camden Yards.

For the game itself, players would periodically make trick plays. It was very difficult to figure things out about what was going on during the game; there was only one place in the park that showed balls, strikes, and outs. (It also showed trick plays and the clock--Banana games have a limit of 2 hours) I had tried to remind myself of the rules specific to Bananaball, but a lot of them slipped my mind, which meant I was very confused when the Bananas left the field after scoring a run in a late inning (due to the complexities of the scoring system, which I will not bore you with). 

I had fun singing along and watching the million things going on. But I don't feel like I need to see them again for at least 5 years or so. It was all spectacle and craziness and I liked it, but I don't know that I'd call it exciting. I'm sure there are people with favorite players, but it's not like the result of the game mattered. (I can't actually find the Bananas' win-loss record for the year.) The Bananas PTB get offended when people compare them to the Harlem Globetrotters, saying that the games are real and not scripted (other than the various antics). And while they may not know who's going to win, the issue is, it doesn't matter who wins.

I chatted with a friend who isn't a baseball fan and went, and I said that people weren't invested in the game. She pointed out the many people in Bananas gear, which is true, but I couldn't discern much of a difference in crowd noise when the Bananas scored. People have Bananas gear because they like the concept and the spectacle; I don't think they particularly cared about--or wore involved in--the game on the field. 

I do wonder what it would be like to see a game in the Bananas' own stadium in Savannah. I'm pretty sure they do have season ticket holders; there probably are people who are emotionally invested. But those aren't the majority attending games at MLB (or NFL) stadiums. And clearly enough people are watching for ESPN to broadcast their games.

I also wonder about their staying power. They've been around for 5 years; I wonder what they'll look like in another 5. 

A lovely end to a charming series

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Dear Miss Lake is a fitting end to the 4-book Emmy Lake Chronicles by A.J. Pearce. We've experienced World War II with Emmy Lake Mayhew, from the early days of the Blitz, when Emmy joined the Woman's Friend magazine team writing advice, to the late days of the war. It's 1944 and Emmy and her Woman's Friend family know that the end of the war is getting close; even so, that doesn't mean life has gotten easier for any of them. They've lost friends and family, they have loved ones fighting, and they're trying to figure out what life in peace times will look like.

I have so appreciated this series for showing life on the home front in England and how it's highlighted the experience of women as they take up unexpected jobs and positions. Pearce manages to balance more global concerns with everyday life, showing wartime weddings and Christmas fairs. I've also really liked the glimpses at Emmy and co. having to balance writing the stories they want with publishing what the government wants them to say; there's a tension at trying to show that "Keep calm and carry on" attitude without seeming like the magazine workers have no sympathy for the hardships their readers are experiencing.

Pearce continues to have Emmy walk the fine line of being a naturally optimistic, driven person but not being irritating. She's chipper without being twee. And I have no doubt that I'll go back and reread The Emmy Lake Chronicles time after time; it manages to be a comfort read even as it tackles heavy subjects. Emmy is someone with whom you want to spend time.

The first three books in the series are Dear Mrs. Bird, Yours Cheerfully, and Mrs. Porter Calling, and all are very much worth a read; they provide insights into different aspects of the war, including life in London during the Blitz and what life was like for women factory workers. And because I work in publishing myself (though in a quite different sector!), I loved the scenes throughout the series about running the magazine.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for my honest review.

Of racism and family

The theater world is deep in conversation about the announcement of Andrew Barth Feldman to replace Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending. The musical, which is about two lifelike "helper bots," is set in Korea and the producers leaned into the Asian background of the show during their Tony campaign. The two leads in the show, Criss and Helen Shen, are both Asian; Criss's standby is also Asian. Andrew Barth Feldman is not.

I am not Asian; I have not seen Maybe Happy Ending, though I have heard good things about it and will undoubtedly see it when it tours. I do think the conversation is interesting, and I understand the arguments on both sides; I just hope it doesn't wind up hurting the show itself.

It did make me think of the play Yellow Face, by David Henry Hwang, which I recently watched on PBS (and which is not related to the novel by R.F. Kuang). That play uses another casting controversy as its springboard, when Jonathan Pryce was cast as the Engineer in Miss Saigon, in both the original West End and Broadway productions. The Engineer is half-French, half-Vietnamese; Pryce is neither. Yellow Face is about Hwang writing and putting on a play, Face Value, about the controversy--it's a farce (the character DHH winds up hiring a white actor to play an Asian character in Face Value), but it's very much about race and politics and family and how they all intertwine.

I also saw DHH's Soft Power at Signature Theatre last year, in which he also has himself as a character; DHH was stabbed, and he incorporates that into the musical, which is largely about a Chinese producer wanting to put on a show to make people in the U.S. like China more. Hillary Clinton is a character and it was both incredibly upsetting but also somewhat cathartic to have seen that in the months leading up to the 2024 election.

What really got me about Yellow Face, and what has stuck with me since I watched it, is the attitude of the character of DHH's father. He's an immigrant who has built a bank and he fits the stereotype of the ultra-patriotic American immigrant. His faith in his son, his faith in his adopted country, his faith in his ability to bootstrap himself to success are what have been running through my mind.

Daniel Dae Kim in Yellow Face. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Similarly, I walked away from Soft Power thinking of how images have power, and how American exceptionalism can affect everyone. The rise of anti-Asian hate crimes in the wake of covid (though the actual event that inspired the play, and the play itself, are both set in 2016) and whether that affects the electorate in a meaningful way--and what it means to the rest of the world, watching.

I also recently read All That's Left Unsaid, by Tracey Lien, about an Australian-Vietnamese woman looking into the murder of her brother. It's really an exploration of generational trauma, the lives of immigrants and refugees, and the friendships and familial relationships that exist in those circumstances. We get to hear from the people who fled Vietnam, their kids (some of whom were born in refugee camps, others born before--or after--their immigration), people who interacted with them all. It's a perspective on Vietnam-era refugees that I wasn't at all familiar with; being in the U.S., most of what we hear about is the U.S., but it makes perfect sense that a lot of southeast Asians would flee to Australia.

Ky's relationship with her best friend Minnie is at the center of the story. Ky is more a straight-and-narrow kid, wanting to do well at school and please her parents and behave. Minnie questions everything and everyone, in a way that I found both admirable and frustrating.

I don't really have anything tying this together, other than the importance of the arts to help people see new perspectives. Whether that's a book or a play, serious or a farce, there's nothing like the arts to make people's worlds larger.

JUST SING ALREADY

I have, of course, been watching The Gilded Age, which is now in its third season on HBO and has been picked up for a fourth. It's from Julian Fellowes, who also did Downton Abbey and Gosford Park. It's not as good as those; there are far too many characters, particularly since the action focuses on two households and have the family and servants for both. There are definitely storylines where the characters appear on the screen and I'm just like, "Ugh, I don't care!" 

The thing is...the actors. I'm not saying that literally every one of them has at least a Tony nomination, but most of them do. One of the storylines I don't care about involves the chef at one of the houses, and I can't get too mad at it because the chef is played by Douglas Sills, who I saw in The Scarlet Pimpernel in the 90s and actually met at the stagedoor and let me tell you, he was the loveliest person.

However, all this also means that I spend every episode muttering about how I just want everyone to start singing. This has gone into hyperdrive this season, because while Audra McDonald--AUDRA MCDONALD!!!--has been a regular for the entire run, BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL just showed up this season. Every time they appear on the screen together, I practically start vibrating on the coach from the strength of my desire for the two of them to start dueting.

On the positive side, the actors themselves are very aware of it. Morgan Spector, who plays George Russell (and who doesn't have a ton of musical theater in his background, though Wikipedia says he did a tour of The Lion King), said in a Variety interview

“You know what we should do? There’s the British tradition of the Christmas special,” Spector tells me on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “If we could have a Christmas special, then we could have some singing and it would be great. Give the people what they want.”  

Someone needs to get on this. 

The Cursed Child is probably the least interesting of the main characters in his titular play

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a trash person. 

 

I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London in 2016. It was still in previews, a couple months before the script was published. This was a few days before the Brexit vote. I saw it again on Broadway, on February 29, 2020. I'm hoping that I saw it again this weekend isn't a portent. Or maybe that I saw the one-play version will bode better for me?

 

Here's my initial reaction, from 2016 (I held off on my thoughts until it officially opened for review by the press): 

So, as stated when I saw this a month ago, I really enjoyed the play. As some of these [reviews] say, the actual stagecraft was more impressive than the plot. The story itself was enjoyable (though I had a problem with one BIG plot point and one thing that contradicted the books).

 

It seems that the reviews largely ignore Harry's plot. In fairness, the action of the play revolves around Albus, Harry's son, but Harry's journey of dealing with what he went through at Hogwarts is present throughout the two plays. Those are the sections of the plays that I can't wait to read. There are loads of articles of "I grew up with Harry Potter" about kids who grew up reading him--and he was their contemporary. But now the man on stage is mine; we're the same age, and it's fascinating seeing him at that stage of life, dealing with his past and the traumas therein but also dealing with parenthood and a job full of paperwork.

 

The play will be interesting to read, and I imagine people won't enjoy the script as much as audiences enjoy the play. The stagecraft, as mentioned, is fantastic, and there's a lot of staging that was just so cool--and I don't mean the magic stuff. The movement of the actors was SO good. There were large chunks that were totally extraneous but really neat to watch, basically just of people moving around. (I was like, "I don't need 5 minutes of transition from Platform 9 3/4 to Hogwarts, but it's neat to watch, so...never mind.")

 

I do have to second whichever review(s?) highlighted Scorpius. He's a well-drawn, nuanced character who is probably better formed than any of the other new characters.

 

In some ways, I do wish it had been a book. We're missing a lot, and not just by not knowing what people are thinking, but by missing the throwaway exposition about random characters. There's more about the world of Harry Potter in 2016 that I want to know.

Do I remember what plot points I had issues with? I do not. (I think it had something to do with Delphi's plan.) Anyway, this still pretty much stands. I was concerned that the move from two plays to one would mean losing a lot of those scenes of movement, but happily those bits are still in there. It's just very cool to watch; the effects and tricks are fantastic.

John Skelley and Emmet Smith as Harry and Albus Potter. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Watching it, I didn't notice specific things missing, but I found myself thinking that there was more Harry in the original version. In a helpful rundown of the changes made, I found I was right. The two-play version, which is still playing in London, has a bunch of flashbacks from Harry's childhood as well as more scenes of adult Harry having nightmares. Which is a bummer, because as noted above, I really liked getting to know adult Harry and seeing how his incredibly traumatic childhood and adolescence affected him in adulthood. There are some other scenes about the adults that are missing, which is a shame, but I can't blame playwright Jack Thorne for wanting to focus on the titular cursed child.

The other change that I noticed was how they tweaked the relationship of Albus and Scorpius. It wasn't huge--just some adjusted language, mostly--but their relationship went from one where you could interpret it as romantic or not to one that is pretty clearly romantic, but in a way that makes complete sense for two adolescent boys. I thought that change was really well done.

Scorpius remains probably the most interesting character in the show. I thought that actor Aidan Close played it a bit too broadly and it bothered me, but when I mentioned it to my Bonus Sister, who I went with, she said she really liked it--he was such a contrast to the completely buttoned-up Draco, which was a fantastic observation.

Overall, Cursed Child remain an amazing show to experience. I totally understand people not wanting to see the show because they don't want to support Rowling; that's completely fair. Also, the story itself is a bit weak. But still, actually seeing it live is a great time. (I will say that I'd probably recommend doing so on Broadway, where there's a dedicated theater, which means that some effects are more immersive than what can be done in a touring production.)

Hallmark Movie Roundup: Following Yonder Star

Title: Following Yonder Star (2024)

Actor(s) You Know: 
Brooke D'Orsay, who has done a bunch of Hallmark movies, but whom I always think of from starring in Drop Dead Diva, the plot of which was that a model (D'Orsay) dies and is reincarnated into a plus-size lawyer

Plot: 
Abby was the star of a long-running tv show where she played a perfect mother/wife. After finding out her ex-husband is getting remarried, she has a minor meltdown in a store, which naturally goes viral. She heads off to Vermont to ride out the bad press, where she meets Nick, a widower who runs an inn, and helps him direct the Christmas pageant.

Trope(s):
    Royalty
    Alternate reality
    Small town ✔
    Fake relationship
    Family business getting sold/going bankrupt
    Enemies-to-lovers
    Best friends-to-lovers
    Second chance
    Stranded

Meet Cute: 
Abby wants to stay in the luxury spa, but accidentally booked for next year. The hotel clerk directs her to the small inn run by Nick, where there's a single room left.

Rundown:
    Dead parents ✔
    Montage(s) ✔
    Christmas-related name(s) ✔
    Animals
    Returns to hometown
    Is Santa a character? 
        Secretly or overtly?
    Cookie baking ✔
    Tree decorating
    Somebody hates Christmas
    Christmas festival in a small town ✔
    A literal competition
    Child plays matchmaker
    All work, no romance/life
    Kiss before the end of the movie
    Interrupted kiss ✔
    Flashback to childhood
    The leads literally run into each other
    Gratuitous shirtless scene
    Big Secret
    Wacky misunderstanding
    Someone pushing the leads together ✔
    Real family = chaos / bad families = cold and not chaotic
    Learns the meaning of Christmas
    Stranded by snowstorm
    Hot chocolate ✔ (though it's hot cider)
    Ice skating
    D-list celebrity
    Enemy-to-friend storyline
    The love interest is an ex
    Career change
    Lying to each other
    Tries to apologize, but keeps getting cut off
    Christmas pageant ✔
    End with a flash-forward

Did I actually like/root for the heroine? How do the lead(s) annoy me?
I actually did like Abby a lot. That initial meltdown truly wasn't that bad and she clearly is just minorly annoyed by it, not bemoaning that her life is over. She's aware this is something that's going to blow over quickly. I liked that Nick recognized her and clearly was like, "A celebrity!" in a way that seemed realistic. 

Is it in any way not completely generic? 
I mean, it had the Christmas pageant and a small town, but it was must less festival-focused than expected. I found it relatively original, and the conflict was pretty organic.

Is the BFF actually the best? Do they need their own movie?
There isn't really a BFF! There's a hotel clerk who works at both the spa and Nick's inn who pops up a couple times and Nick's sister-in-law, but not really any other side characters.

How is the romantic alternative wrong for the heroine? 
N/A. There's no romantic rival. (There does seem to be a woman who's interested in Nick, but Nick is clearly not interested.)

Thoughts/Other Notes:
I like how Abby uses some of the skills she picked up as an actress, both in working with children and also random skills she had to pick up for episodes. Nick's crush on Abby is adorable. And there were more musical theater references than I expected. Note: This is more explicitly Christian than most Hallmark Christmas movies. Many mentions of faith and how it's a part of the characters' lives.

Rating
🧀🧀🧀 (three cheese out of five, would re-watch) 

All the men--plus a 90s soundtrack

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

More of a 3.5, but I rounded up because I liked the ending.

More of a coming-of-age/woman-finds-herself story than the woman-in-the-same-love-triangle-twice story it's billed as, All the Men I've Loved Again is the story of Cora. Split between the early 2000s, when Cora is in college, and 2021, we see Cora emerge from her shell and start to learn about love and life. Her first love is Lincoln, who she's with for most of college...but we see letters from Aaron a few years later.

It's not really a love triangle either time so much as it's about Cora trying to figure out who she is and what she wants. Cora struggles, having been raised by a single father, one of few Black students at her private school in Northern Virginia. She lacks confidence in herself as someone who can be in any kind of relationship--friendship or a romantic one. She finds friendship in college, and love as well.

I found the writing style to be a bit lacking at times, and I'm not sure how I feel about the introduction of Aaron to the story; we know from the beginning of the book that Cora is torn between Lincoln and Aaron (again), but we get the first letter from Aaron, hinting at romance, when Cora is happily together with Lincoln. I'm sure it was done that way to increase the drama, but I don't know how well it worked for me. Cora and Aaron's first encounter is so much briefer than her relationship with Lincoln; the emotions of it worked for me, but I think more time could've been spent there.

I will say that, without spoiling anything, Pride does a great job of showing how Cora interacts with both men and how that's a reflection of herself and how relationships can make people feel differently about themselves. I also loved the relationship of Cora and her father--Wes is a fully drawn-out figure who has his own relationships and this is done SO well. Cora's friends Kim and Neisha are also great, and I love how realistic their friendship felt, both in college and through later years.

To take a moment, though, to rant a bit (spoilers!): I am SO SO glad Cora didn't wind up with Lincoln. Even during college, even before the abortion and before he cheated, their relationship just seemed off. He talked, she listened. Everything was all about him. I was incredibly concerned that this would be a First Love Is Forever! book. Honestly, I would've been OK if Cora had wound up single. I do think Pride did a good job of showing the difference in connection between Aaron and Cora and Lincoln and Cora; from the beginning with Aaron, Cora opens herself up and they truly connect. I think Cora is somewhat to blame for how her relationship with Lincoln developed; she was so unsure of herself and amazed to find herself in a relationship. And I get it! But I spent a lot of the book just very concerned about how it would end, because a life with Lincoln would be bad for Cora.

Worth a read, and not just because at one point Cora lives in Silver Spring.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review!

Rebellions are built on hope

My sister is a big Star Wars fan, so I grew up surrounded by the original trilogy. I don't particularly remember sitting down to watch the movies that often, but watching them now, I sure can recite an awful lot of the dialogue. Which came in handy, because my husband is also a big Star Wars fan. We haven't watched all of the various Star Wars properties, but we've watched quite a few.

After the first season of Andor came out, everyone raved about it, saying it was one of the best Star Wars-related properties in years. So naturally we watched it; we just finished the second season (and naturally had to finish off Cassian's story with Rogue One.) 

After watching the first season, I remember thinking that I liked it well enough--I mean, Diego Luno is fantastic--but wasn't as over the moon about it as some people. And that remains true after the second season, which I did like quite a bit. There were some plotlines that I wasn't particularly interested in (i.e., pretty much anything with Mon Mothma, though I did like the wedding; Saw, who I honestly had forgotten about being in Rogue One; that weird bit with Cassian in the group of random rebels early in season two, which I assume is Making a Statement about the looseness of the rebellion) and it felt like bits could be tightened up.

I spent a lot of time watching the second season and thinking about when this must've been written--ages ago, given the amount of time it takes to revise, film, do post-production, etc.--and how incredibly resonant it is for today's world. And I got frustrated thinking about the number of people watching this series who voted for Trump who can reconcile that (or, honestly, just not even think about it) while rooting for Cassian and Mon. It felt like the show was ripped from today's headlines, with the news that Syril's mother watches and the protests on Ghorman and how they were framed by the government and the reaction to the massacre there and the checking of papers on whatever planet that was where Bix was hiding out. It honestly felt too on-the-nose at times for me, to the point that I was distracted from the actual show.

Hopefully there are people who watched it and thought about it and thought about what the creators of Andor were trying to say about our own current political situation, and how tenuous a time it is we live in. Sadly, I wound up mostly thinking about sure, Cassian helped to bring down the Death Star. But they built another. And even after that was destroyed, the Empire rose again (much as people want to not think about Episodes 7 through 9) (OK, not think about Episodes 8 and 9; The Force Awakens was dope).

Rebellions are built on hope. Sometimes it's hard to find some. It does help knowing that there are people like Cassian and Mon and even Luthen out there.