#but i just added a whole convo section and i like it but UGH now i gotta nitpick this too

[mustlovesteve]

why do i always have great ideas at the 11th hour

[starryevermore]

paradise island: a review

A note before we begin: everything above the cut will be spoiler free and will just be my general feelings about the story as a whole, the writing, and if I’d recommend it. Everything below the cut will include spoilers to explain my feelings about the story.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Visiting the North Shore had been a bizarre and unsettling experience, to say the least, but when they got home after vacation was over, he was going to suggest to Colby that they make a video about it.

Hell, no. Even better. Write a book. Videos melted away after a while, but a book? Books and stories solidified on the conscious mind forever. (91-92)

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I generally enjoy stories like this, but there were a few moments throughout the novel where things just fell a bit flat. 

While I was reading, I made a few notes, the first being that there was a weird juxtaposition between talking about more adult topics (drinking, women, sex, etc.) but in an odd, almost kid-friendly way. Some of the word choices were interesting, such as constant use of “fancy-pants”, “hottie”, “goofball”, “oddball”, and “doofus”, as well as the one moment where Colby said he hated “dicky” people and the moment where Sam said Colby was about to have an “emo-ruption”. (Though I did laugh a lot longer than I should have at “emo-ruption”.) It felt like they were still trying to make the story appropriate for their younger fans by using more kid-friendly language, while also appealing to their older fans by being like “look!! we drink!! and ooh look, we talked about smoking weed 👀🤪”. I wish they would’ve committed to one or the other, because it added an odd sense of disjointedness to the story that could’ve been easily resolved.

The other big thing I made note of was that there was a lot of “tell, not show” throughout. There’s a heavy focus on dialogue to progress the story rather than seeing into the boys’ inner thoughts and using other means to find out information. (I’m not one to talk, though, since I also focus more on dialogue than description.) It sometimes made it difficult to fully get into the story. I struggled with developing a picture of what the Belle Estate looked like, or what the other characters (beside SNC, Nate, and Alex) looked like. In terms of the boys, it seemed very reliant on us knowing who Sam and Colby are and what they’re all about (which is fair, since probably 99.9% of people who bought the book are fans of them but, if they want success outside of their audience, it could’ve been more descriptive in that regard). 

As for the big twist at the end, it was a bit lackluster. I’ll go more in detail on this in the “spoiler section”, but it kind of diminished everything that had happened throughout the story and left me wondering “what was the point?”. 

I was excited when I’d heard that the story was told through both Sam and Colby’s POVs, but, I’ll be honest, I saw little difference between Sam’s chapters than Colby’s chapters. The most difference was the almost stereotypical portrayal of Sam being the logical one while Colby being the emotional one. Aside from that, they were almost indistinguishable from me and I often had to flip back to the start of a chapter to remind myself of who’s head I was in.

Since that was all critical, here’s some things I did like:

I feel like, while the inner monologues were a bit lacking, Gaby did make up for it by making the dialogue between the boys really realistic to them. In this regard, she really nailed the portrayal of them. 

The depiction of the paranormal things was really great. I feel like those parts were the ones I could get most into the story. The way Gaby wrote them was so interesting and pulled me in. I wish there was more of these moments throughout the story, because I think they really showcased who Gaby is as a writer.

The convo where Colby called Sam “Velma” and then Nate asked if Colby was “Fred”? I really enjoyed that because (a) Scooby is my favorite thing in the whole world and (b) I chose Sam and Colby be Velma and Fred in my moodboards a month ago so just a lil fun moment for me.

Just how meta the book was. Like, the quote I included at the top? I laughed for way too long when I read that. 

There was a nice sense of nostalgia throughout, specifically when they brought up their YouTube channel, their Vine days, them being arrested, wining a Teen Choice Award, and Corey and the Shadowman. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and reminded me of how proud I am for how far they’ve come.

*slight spoiler here* Speaking of being arrested, there was a moment where SNC were contemplating escaping to the beach and they had a conversation if it was worth being arrested again. I really loved that, especially with how much fans joke about them inevitably being arrested again.

This is more for the person who designed the cover, but holy shit?? I loved it so much?? 

I don’t know if I would have picked this book up if it didn’t have Sam and Colby’s name attached to it. I will say, though, I finished the book in one sitting, which is pretty rare for me nowadays, so it was engaging. I think, overall, it was a great story with a great concept but it could’ve been fleshed out more. In some ways, it almost felt like this was a draft rather than a completed novel. 

That being said, for SNC’s first book and Gaby’s first time working with the boys, it exceeded my expectations. If they were to continue writing books together, I imagine it will get better and better as they get more used to each other and potentially open up more so that their characters become a more accurate depiction of them.

Overall, the book’s not something you really need to race out to get. I think, if you have a gift card or there’s some sort of deal or you need to spend a little more to get free shipping, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up Paradise Island. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a great, top-tier novel in my opinion. That being said, if you do pick it up, I think you will enjoy the book.

Spoiler Avenue

The characterization of all four of the boys is a bit 2D. Sam’s logical and wants to keep the peace, Colby’s emotional and more of a wildcard, Nate’s focused on his schoolwork and flexing his vocabulary, and Alex? Well, I couldn’t get a good read on Alex until he sells out SNC at the end of the novel and even then, he didn’t feel so much like his own character, more like someone just present to further the plot.

Speaking of characters, the introduction of Trey was...meh. I wish we could’ve gotten more insight on why Colby was so adamant about not liking Trey and why Nate was so gung ho to ditch their plans to go to the North side of the island for this guy they barely knew. Finding out that Colby didn’t like Trey because he said college was the only way to success was such an odd thing? Like, undoubtedly there’s been many people who would’ve said that, so does Colby also dislike everyone who’s said that or is there a more specific reason he didn’t like Trey? Just...👏🏻 more 👏🏻 inner 👏🏻 thoughts 👏🏻 please 👏🏻 and 👏🏻 thank 👏🏻 you 👏🏻 

@golbrocklovely​ brought this up in her review but Colby’s fixation on the  mermaid statue of a 16-year-old was really odd. It probably wouldn’t have been as odd if Amy was aged up a bit to 18, but as a 16-year-old with the descriptions that were given? Yeah...not the vibe.

I also wasn’t a fan of how so many things plot-wise was just...told to the boys. They could’ve found some newspaper clippings or something, anything to make them put in a little bit of detective work. But for so much information to just be handed to them? It got old, and almost lazy. 

The big twist being that all of the paranormal stuff they’d encountered being a hallucination? God, that was so fucking annoying (though I did go back afterwards from the moment that they first arrived at the Belle Estate—starting as early as page 36—and it felt incredibly obvious knowing now that it was all drugs, so props to Gaby for dropping that many hints early on). To spend so much time making all of this scary shit happen just to turn around and say “HAHA JK THE BOYS WERE JUST TRIPPING BALLS” was such a cop out. It would’ve been more terrifying for it all to be real, make the boys question their beliefs and the reality of there being something out there that they didn’t quite understand. Though, there is something terrifying about not knowing you’ve been drugged and having hallucinated that vividly, but I feel like it didn’t quite fit in with the story. 

Alex betraying the boys? So interesting! This was one of the few things that made sense in terms of them being drugged. But then when he was betrayed when Pauahi (who’s name was misspelled a few different times in the book) escaped? Ugh, amazing. We love instant karma like that. 

Going back to the “tell not show” thing, I wish the sacrifice at the end would’ve been more detailed. For all of the paranormal stuff to be written off as a drug-induced hallucination, I would’ve loved if Gaby had leaned more into the horror of being used in a human sacrifice. There was more of a focus on Colby bargaining for his life, which is fair, but I would’ve loved to see more of the pure terror there.

That being said, the way Trey finally snapped out of it? *chef’s kiss* Loved that shit so much. And I loved the fact that Trey stayed behind in the end. It added a nice eeriness to the story that had been lacking since they debunked the paranormal shit as being hallucinations. 

Again, going back to my overall, thoughts, I enjoyed the book in general. Some things could’ve been fleshed out a bit more to reach its full potential. I wish they leaned more into the paranormal aspect and had more descriptions to balance out all of the dialogue, but other than that, I did enjoy the book and don’t regret buying it. 

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Someone Saved My Life Tonight (17x17)

I found so many, many, many things about this episode incredibly frustrating! And I'm frustrated by my own frustration, because I just wanted to have a good time and be done with it.

Cons:

Where to start? I think one of my issues with this episode was the time wasting that happened from last week's installment. Why did we have that whole little tiff between Maggie and Winston about when to get married, if they were going to arrange a quick wedding, then call it off literally during the ceremony, then just have a bigger ceremony later on? What was the point of that whole little run-around?

And even more annoying because the stakes are so much higher... why have Jo denied custody of Luna, then go through all of the drama of having Link foster Luna, and then just show that Jo won and got custody... all happening offscreen so we didn't get to see any of that juicy drama play out? Why not stretch this journey out over the past couple of episodes, and instead of showing Jo getting denied, show that there are difficulties in front of her, and that she needs to fight, then have it be framed through that lens of fighting for what she wants? The Link fostering Luna thing was so absurd and then we didn't even really see that play out at all. Link, a man who wants more children, didn't get too caught up in the fact that he's the legal guardian of a baby? Okay then...

And oh god, Link. Amelia. Why the fuck. Seriously, I've long said that I like Amelia as a character when she's not bogged down in too much drama. This season and the last, when it was focused on Link, and the baby, and yeah there were some bumpy patches but honestly a lot of it was just the two of them being an actually good couple and making each other smile... it's the most I've ever liked Amelia's character. And now we're back to drama with Link and Amelia? Whyyyyy. Do not want. It's fine if Amelia doesn't want more kids and doesn't want to get married. I'm not mad at her for that. I'm mad at the writers for deciding that Link just had to want those things, and Amelia had to be bad at communicating her own desires, and that they had to break up. And that I had to watch the most embarrassing failed proposal scene, with Mer's kids standing there eagerly awaiting their Auntie Amelia's response... I was just cringing the whole time.

For the record, if I was in charge, I'd do the Amelia/Link "drama" thusly: Amelia founders a bit on telling Link she doesn't want more kids, but eventually opens up and shares a bit about what she's been telling her NA group. And then Link could think about it, and say he's happy being Scout's father and obviously he's going to have a lot of kids around in his life what with his nieces and nephew and possible future kids if Maggie and Winston have any, and now baby Luna because Jo has adopted her, and he's content with that. But then, he'd propose, and Link would express that for him, marrying Amelia would make him really happy, and it doesn't have to be a big production, he just wants to have that, and Amelia would say yes, not just as a compromise/sacrifice, but because she realizes that she's content with this part of it. Something gentle, after a few minor bumps in the road.

Instead Link is sleeping in Jo's as of yet still unpacked new house with Jo and baby Luna. Sighhhhh. Maybe they'll co-parent Luna as platonic partners? I'm just mad.

And then while we're watching a couple I really like go through a breakup, we also have to put up with Owen being all cheesy and stupid and making it snow in Meredith's lawn, and proposing to Teddy. Ugh. Gag me. Can they fuck off into the "happily ever after" sunset and leave the show for good, so I don't have to watch them anymore? And also, what was the point of Teddy having COVID and then being just totally fine? It added nothing.

For the most part I enjoyed Meredith's plot in this episode but it did feel a little choppy, pacing-wise? Like, she takes the new job but then doesn't seem to want to do the job at all? I wish they could have shown that she was fostering good relationships with the residents in a different way than Richard had done it, but instead they implied that she went all-in on saving Girlie, and kind of neglected them... so then it made sense that Bailey was in a tiff, but her solution was to tell Meredith to go back to doing things the way Richard did it, and then we didn't actually get to see her doing that... just kind of odd and unbalanced.

Pros:

God, sorry. That's such a long "cons" section and I hate that! I didn't have a bad time with this episode; it was filled with plenty of material and moments I genuinely enjoyed.

Even though the Maggie and Winston fake-out wedding was really odd, I did think it was funny when little Bailey asks about cake and Maggie says go for it and then starts chugging Champaign. I like happy Maggie, and I like that she did get to have this really fun and beautiful wedding with a great guy, with Richard officiating, and her dad to walk her down the aisle. Good vibes all around.

Also super happy that Jo got to have custody of Luna, despite the weird way it all came about. I'm happy for her. She deserves this happiness, and I hope the show can focus on Jo as a mother moving forward, while keeping her around in the show proper. Her selling her shares of the hospital to Koracick was so funny. Awesome to see him (and Jackson!) both briefly make appearances to show that they're still around in the universe of the show.

Meredith's plot line in this finale involves her focusing on long-term COVID complications, and helping a patient, Girlie, get a lung transplant to help save her life. This is breaking ground, helping someone who has recovered from COVID dealing with the long-term issues that come from having had the disease. There were some great moments here, especially the residents all suggesting the lung transplant to Bailey, trying to phrase it in different ways because Meredith had made them promise to never stop bringing it up. I like that Bailey and Meredith butt heads on a lot of things, but the support underneath all of their issues is rock-solid. I also loved that Meredith told Teddy that they had to be Girlie's support system, since Meredith only survived because she had so many people advocating for her. Every patient deserves that.

There were just a lot of good Meredith moments, like seeing her be happy with her kids at Christmas, the text convo with Cristina, that little flirty moment with Hayes that we might get to explore next year... I just love her and think she's neat and deserves the best.

This episode didn't really feel big enough to be a finale. It was a time-skip episode, covering about a year of content, and it had just a lot going on, and a lot of it was stuff I straight-up did not enjoy seeing. But none of that means I'm not interested in what next season will bring us...

6/10