#4 STARS

[roxynani9292]

Sylus 🆕️ look 🔍

[sekaitransparents]

where does the path of thorns go? | what has been lost ~ mizuki akiyama

[prosekaipng]

this moment with you! saki 4* ( @sekaitransparents )

[literatureaesthetic]

march '24 favs:

• those who leave and those who stay & the story of the lost child ; elena ferrante — the final two books in the neapolitan novels, a tetrology recording the lives of two girls in naples from childhood to old age. gutting, beautiful, layered, and complex. this series is a masterpiece, elena ferrante is everything to me <3 (please read it!!)

• sirens and muses by antonia angress — following an array of characters at an art university as they navigate life, work, academia, relationships, and being an artist in a capitalist world where everything is commodified. the depth of characters paired with the nuanced discussions of art, class, and politics left me so pleasantly surprised. (it's also extremely gay and perfect for all you tumblr users with mummy/daddy issues)

[the-ancient-comedy]

Dr. Zayne

❄️❄️❄️❄️ Cards

Part 1 | Part 2

[sekaiicards]

☆ 4 card

Character: An Shiraishi

Group: Vivid BAD SQUAD

Card Event: Whip the wimp girl!

4k high quality card

[sekaicards]

Project Sekai Card Tournament! 3.20

[filmforager]

The Outrun: Review

Saoirse Ronan proves a force of nature

There are plenty of films about the cyclical nature of addiction, where moments of hope are snatched away by painful relapses. But few films capture the essence of being an addict as convincingly as The Outrun, in which setting and sound design are about as key as the story. Portraying alcoholism as a suffocating cacophony of noise, it’s an immersive way into this powerful true-life story.

Drawn from the memoirs of Amy Liptrot, we follow Rona (Saoirse Ronan), an alcoholic biology grad who starts the film at rock bottom. Booted out of a pub for drunken disorder, she lands herself a black eye and a real wake-up call to get her life in order. This leads her to leave the noise of London to recover at her home in the Orkney Islands, where she joins up with her long-suffering mother (Saskia Reeves), and watches over her father (Stephen Dillane), who struggles with mental health issues of his own.

As you can expect, her road to recovery is anything but straightforward. But rather than opting for a linear structure, writer-director Nora Fingscheidt makes the shrewd decision to frame Rona’s bumpy journey by flashing between two different time periods. A breath-taking early sequence in a club shows how Rona falls in love with her then boyfriend (a charming Paapa Essiedu), before her illness slowly and heartbreakingly takes its toll. There’s an undercurrent of threat as the camera shakily homes in on her drunken outbursts and the hurtful comments she makes while under the influence.

These emotionally charged flashbacks show the painful impact that alcoholism has on her relationships in the past, while weighing her down with sorrow in the present. That these potentially jarring time jumps work so well is testament to incredible work from Ronan (also a producer on the film), whose courageous performance will have you invested throughout. Ronan has always been a capable actress, but here she plunges an unseen range of authentic emotional depths – this character really goes through a lot. One scene where she goes from drunkenly abusing her mother to tearfully apologising is genuinely devastating. She’s backed up by terrific performances from Reeves and Dillane as parents going through very different challenges.

In a script that mostly strays from cliché and sentimentality, Fingscheidt refreshingly lets the sense of place do the talking. There’s a real juxtaposition between the noise and chaos of the life she leaves behind, and the healing tranquillity of the natural landscape, where Rona has some agency over her life. It’s here that the film finds moments of relief – after all, what’s more healing than the sight of some seals bobbing their heads in the water?

Moving, inspiring and frequently upsetting, The Outrun beautifully explores the challenges of addiction and mental illness, with a career-best performance from Saoirse Ronan.

★★★★

[vulpixbookpix]

Navigating With You by Jeremy Whitley

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Neesha and Gabby are the new kids at school. Despite Neesha's attempts to start off as a "loner," Gabby manages to talk her into eating lunch together and being lab partners. They eventually start talking and realize that they read the same manga when they were younger. The two decide to find the volumes to read together, which prove to be a bit difficult as they're out of print and hard to find.

Their friendship blossoms as they spend the school year searching for the manga volume by volume. While they read the adventures of Navigator Nozomi, a romance starts to bloom between the two of them.

I enjoyed the scenes of the manga incorporated into the story. It helped to see how Gabby and Neesha could've interpreted parts of it differently while they were reading. Neesha is a young girl who feels like she has to fight all the wrongs in the world, and possibly the world itself if it tries to say that she can't do something due to her disability. Gabby, on the other hand, seems to be able to go with the flow and brush off a lot--until she doesn't.

The graphic novel itself deals with characters struggling with PTSD, the world not being accessible to all, and, overall, family and friends who accept you and are supportive. This was a great read.

[300films]

comfort/lonesome/freeing

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review: Fire From the Sky (Sámi [Sweden])

[image: book cover: an outline drawing of two teen boys kissing in an embrace, is overlaid on a blue background with (possibly traditional) interwoven patterns]

Fire From the Sky

Author: Moa Backe Åstot

Ánte is Sámi, and has lived his whole life in northern Sweden herding the reindeer, just like his ancestors before him. He knows that this is his place. But he fears that being gay will mean he cannot stay, that who he is conflicts with the traditional life he loves.

A bundle of awkward teen love and small village coming out, mixed with embracing your identity and a love for the land and the reindeer. (And a cozy grandma's house <3) The emotions are raw, Ánte's feelings come as physical sensations rather than anything he really understands. And Erik is frustratingly elusive with what he wants. There is occasional homophobia, but despite that this was a comforting teen story with a happy ending.

The author is a young Sámi debut writer. The book comes out in English next month.

Genres: #identity #family #romance

Other reps: #indigenous #gay

★  ★  ★  ★   4.5 stars

Thanks Netgalley for an advanced copy!

[roxynani9292]

Sylus 🆓️cards 🆕️mode

[sekaitransparents]

the power of regret | cheering for you ~ kagamine len

[prosekaipng]

Airi x My Melody

[literatureaesthetic]

mieko kawakami was one of my author focuses of the year, i've slowly been working my way through her oeuvre. i knew kawakami was something special when i read 'breasts and eggs' last summer, and 'all the lovers in the night' has only cemented that impression. although it wasn't as impactful as 'breasts and eggs', it was still a very solid read. i only have 'heaven' left to go, and i'll have read everything she's written :')

you can find my full (and much more coherent) review here, if interested. but to sum, i highly recommend checking her work out if you haven't already!!

[the-ancient-comedy]

Xavier

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cards

Part 1 | Part 2