#i haven't finished reading it yet but That One Kid is my actual daughter. i'd die for her

[adolin]

Any fiction recommendations? I’ve repeatedly read Locked Tomb, natch. I’d love something similarly brainwork inducing but maybe a touch lighter. Also not fantasy or sci fi…I need something to listen to while I do a ton of chores, and those can be hard (for me) because the unfamiliar proper nouns get confusing. :/

anon!! I'm terrible at reccing anything based on “if you liked TLT” because TLT is like five different genres in a trench coat, but I TRIED (⭐) Here are some brainworm-y recs that aren't sff — where by brainworm-y I mean that they stayed with me for a while after I finished them, but aren't overly confusing. (most of them are books, but available on audio)

Podcasts: a tumblr pal recced me the deviser based on me liking the eldritch elements of tlt; it's short and horror-y, and I really enjoyed it.

I haven't checked out the new TMA yet but I see many TLT peeps who are enjoying it (or S1 of the original The Magnus Archives could be a good entry point if you haven't ever listened to it)

TV: Unfortunately I hardly ever watch live action stuff BUT if you haven't seen either IWTV (the series not the film) or Yellowjackets, I do rec those! There's a lot of overlap between these fans and TLT fandom on my dash. His Dark Materials also goes hard and you might enjoy it (dysfunctional characters! worldbuilding! religious weirdness!) but it has more sff elements than other stuff I've recced. Oddball out of nowhere but The Great is a fun show if you enjoy the meme moments of TLT + people being gleefully horrible + having feelings despite your best intentions

Animanga: Utena (!!!!!) also Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which occupies a very similar space to TLT in my brain

Books!

✧ I went through my ��women unhinged” goodreads shelf and found some books that are avaliable in audio format, and might appeal. These are wildly varied in scope and ngl the criterion was just “at least one person (besides myself) who enjoyed tlt also this book” and the similarities stop there. It's all vibes baby! Still, I tried

my heart is a chainsaw by stephen graham jones (horror, slasher), bunny by mona awad (horror, wildly unhinged), the witching hour by anne rice (horror, gothic)

matrix by lauren groff (historical, lesbian nuns), anything by sarah waters (historical fiction + lesbians), rebecca by daphne du maurier (historical, gothic)

the plot by jean hanff korelitz (litfic, thriller), sadie by courtney summers (thriller, coming of age). anything by gillian flynn (thrillers with terrible women).

✧ I really enjoy Tana French thrillers for the strong sense of place, great prose, and the complete emotional turmoil of her character-centric narratives. If anything sounds up your alley, I enjoyed the witch's elm + dublin murder squad series. They're murder mystery procedural but the messy characters really elevate the novels. Available in audiobook also

✧ American Elsewhere, technically scifi but set in New Mexico. Somehow, cosmic horrors who have taken over a quaint little town and worse! They are enforcing HETERONORMATIVITY upon it! They also have tentacles. The main character rocks

✧ Sundial by Catriona Ward: insane, gripping psychological horror. A mother and her unsettling daughter take a trip to the isolate desert ranch where the main chracter grew up. Surrounded by unsettling science experiments

✧ A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan: when the parasocial relationship is so strong, it accidentally summons a hellmonster from another dimension

✧ SFF adjacent, sorry, but set in the real world (historical, tho) — Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge, a middle grade novel with fairytale elements that gave me more brainworms than any kids book ought to, mostly because I LOVED the main character. She occupies a very similar place in my brain as Gideon does. This is actually the only book on the list that I'm not sure is available in audio format, but if you get a chance and it's up your alley, I'd check it out

I hope there's at least ONE thing you'll like in here! lmk (also. lmk if you don't have access to a way to borrow audiobooks but would like to)

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

BUBBLES!!! My love, my life, oh. my. goodness!!! before I dive into what has me so emotional: how are you doing on this lovely monday (only this happy for it to be a Monday because of you <3) but seriously! the story you just posted, oh 🥹 my heart can't handle it, it makes me want to grab you and kiss you all over <3 i've had so many ellie x reader (obviously platonic) headcanon ideas!!! I won't share them just yet, first I need to finish the one I started yesterday but soon, I promise!! first, I'd like to congratulate you and thank you for sharing such a beautiful piece with us. I loved the idea, loved how you dealt with ellie having her first period—the panic that she tries to ignore, trying to "pull herself together" is the perfect way to write it and very much in character— but most of all, I adored the way Joel and Reader dealt with that event. I won't get too much into it but I totally agree with how maternal reader is with Ellie and that's how I see their relationship in all my headcanons And joel, my, my, my 😭 this man will be the death of me I swear and I could honestly go on for hours and hours about Ellie and Joel but your genius brain summed it up oh so perfectly it would be stupid to so "Because truly no one could love more than Joel Miller could." YES!! this man loves hard, profoundly, with every fiber of his being, you name it but all in all, being loved by Joel Miller is the greatest thing that could ever happen to you. Also!! love the idea that Ellie truly is Joel's daughter (even if there is no blood relation) but just with how she behaves, you know? Reading the story it felt a bit like "welp...she definitely her daddy's girl 😌" because Joel and Ellie are very similar and they have their own little language but Reader's presence is the perfect catalyst to get them both out of their shells a little and show their more caring side and i. just. find. that. lovely. actually, I loved that so much reading it isn't enough anymore I NEED TO SWALLOW IT!!! gosh that is so weird im so sorry BUT I did manage to find a big flaw in the story: now all I want Joel to take care of me when I get my period and after very thorough research IT. IS. NOT. POSSIBLE. so miss bubbles you are selling us a dream that can never become reality and you're just leaving my poor heart broken over the tragedy that has become my life 😭😭 I want a Joel pls pls pls 😭😭 ALSO (and I will finish with this because it is CAPITAL news) I used to hate the nickname "baby"/"babygirl" for a significant other (just found it weird to call someone who isn't a kid or another baby that lol) BUT NOW all I want is to be called babygirl AND ONLY BY JOEL!!! some other random dude calls me that? ew ew ew BUT JOEL DOES??? ...y-yes? 🫠 okay that's all for now, I'm hoping to send the rest of the headcanon soon and uuuh yeah much love to you my little bubble <3

-🪷

Well, now that I cried for an hour or so... Do you even understand how much joy you bring me? And this is a serious question because uhh I know writers will back me on this but it's so easy to just start to overthink the stuff you put out and start to feel not good enough about what you write. But then there are angels like you and people who take their time to react to the story and just suddenly make you feel like you actually haven't let the whole world down. And I know it's dramatic but it really really means a lot to me. Making you all happy makes me happy! 🤍😭

On the other side, please.... I do need me a Joel Miller. Like it's a crime we can't have him. Cuddles, love, periods like man can do it all. Cruel cruel world. 😭🫧🥲

[charlieslowartsies]

So... random question, but any HCs for Mrs. Afton? We know she was named Charlotte and she wanted to keep her sons and she passed away from what sounded like some kind of illness, but what else is there?

Very little beyond that, actually. Charlotte was going to be changed to Elise for LS (and I'd have to change the other mentions of her too.) She and Max had the same eye color, Alexander got her smile, Henrietta had her laugh. Little painful things like that. I'm leery of adding ocs in my fics without good reason, and I never felt there was enough from canon/lore to really find a place for her. (Bear in mind I haven't read any of the books/written stuff except for the first two novels.)

However, Last Shift's epilogue WAS going to go in a VERY different direction, but I didn't want people to draw the conclusion she was haunting the Marionette, (esp with Lies Within's characters) which was super easy to assume based on what little I'd written, as well when one took into consideration one of it's over-arcing "the dead don't die until..." theme. You can read the scrapped scene below:

A young man sat back from his work, running a hand through dark blonde hair and hemming and hawing over the finishing touches.

“Don’t you look marvelous,” The man peered through his glasses, and smirked as he pretended not to notice the creak of a door.

“…daddy?”

“What do you think?” He turned around, holding out the slender, black animatronic, it’s limbs dragging uselessly since it wasn’t hooked up to anything yet.

The young girl eyed the strange creature, then her father, and scrunched her nose critically.

“…no?” Henry hummed, sitting back and guiding the wooden puppet carefully back so that it sat upright. Sort of.

“I think it looks weird. What if Goldy and Springy are mean to it, because it’s different?”

Henry sat back, looking puzzled. Part of him knew the truth—the AI’s recognition wouldn’t matter too much yet. Everything was still so new to the two animatronics on the stage.

“Well, he’ll be mostly sitting at the Prize Counter. We needed someone new, someone helpful though. here, come closer, meet the Prize Puppet good n’proper. Those two are friendly enough, I don’t think they’ll tease the little Puppet too much.”

Charlotte shrugged, but wandered closer.

“its smile sure is big.”

“Doesn’t he look happy?”

“I guess…”

Henry chuckled. Well, he’d asked her opinion. Out of the mouths of babes…

“It needs make up. To make it prettier.” Little Charlotte piped up. “Like how Auntie Elise always had such pretty lipstick?”

“What color, same as hers?” Henry chuckled sadly, already reaching for his bright ruby paint. “Charlotte, remember what I said. Try not to say her name too much, especially at the diner, dear.”

“Sorry, daddy…”

“It’s quite alright. It’s going to take getting used to for all of us. But it’s especially hard on the boys, and on Henrietta, and of course on Uncle Will.”

“…why can’t I say her name? I miss her, too.” His daughter asked quietly, leaning on the worn desk as she eyed the long, awkward limbs of the strange animatronic designed to give the prizes out.

“Well, sweetie, it’s just…painful. It’s easier if we avoid reminding them about losing her. Like how we tell you kids not to lift a band aid before the cut’s all sealed, right?” Henry spoke without looking up from his current project, as he so often did. “Same basic principle. I know it seems strange, but trust me. It’s what’s best.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Charlotte stood on tip toe, watching to make sure her father painted the bright, vibrant red correctly, in a way that would have made her Aunt proud.

But she was careful never, ever, to speak the name again. She didn’t want to hurt anybody, after all. Especially not her family.

“…Why are its eyes black?”

Henry chuckled. Kids…

[certified-bi]

So I'm watching Bly Manor and I'd thought I'd do them as Sanders Sides because why not:

Dani - Logan

Hannah - Thomas

Flora - Roman

Miles - Remus

Jamie - Virgil

Owen - Nico

Peter - Mitchell

Rebecca - Elliot

Charlotte - Patton

Dominic -

Henry - Janus

A couple big reasons I placed people where I did:

Thomas - Hannah's entire epsiode... anyways

Dani: Obviously she's the teacher. But she's also very logical in how she acts and prides herself on this which blinds her to her more emotional moments and makes it hard for her to cope with them.

Remus and Roman: Once I actually learned whats going on with the kids it just makes sense. The way Miles did what it took to get back to his sister. The way Flora is a romantic.

Virgil: look I read one au where he was an angry Gardner(adrienwrites fantasy au) and that's who Jaimie is. I think she's very self conscious and angry in a very similar way to Virgil. I like this idk.

As for Elliot and Mitchell... I just really didn't want a side as Peter.

Finally I think I like Janus as Henry because of the way Henry pushes through his regrets and returns to Bly in the last episode in ep 6(I haven't finished yet). I think the lies he tells align very closely Janus.

Patton... I struggle with. I think Charlotte's moments with the kids match him well. In this au I think he would choose to break things off with Janus and actually confess to his partner. The only conflicting feelings I have about this is the scene where Henry is confronted by Dominic. And he says "She's my daughter"... very pattony vibes... but that conflicts with pretty much everything.

So as of ep 6 this is where I think the sides would fit.

[pepprs]

HEY EVERYONE GO FOLLOW MY FRIEND LAIKA!!!

their main blog is @pomania and they also have a sideblog for references and crow cillers (an Amazing comic by cate wurtz) which is @y2crittler !!!! they're really nice and cool and creative i know them irl and they're honestly one of the best people ive Ever met so please go check their stuff out and follow them and say hi!!!!! <:-33333

[hotchley]

i saw your reblog of the Spencer giving Aaron a father's day card thing and i can't stop thinking about how Aaron is the father figure to the entire team now.

(yes I'm also especially thinking about that one scene of Spencer and Derek stuck in the malfunctioning lift shrieking for Aaron just because. 🥴 dad!Hotch ftw!!!!!)

i know this concept has probably been done hundreds of times already but imagine: (SORRY THIS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY LONG ASK, I deeply apologise in advance)

[tw food/eating habits, some references to murder cases because you know this is Criminal Minds, some slight spoilers for people who haven't really watched the show and also reference & mention of autism & a character on the autism spectrum -> just a heads up, a disclaimer, I'm in no way diagnosed with autism, so if i have misrepresented autism, or made any mistakes, i apologise, it wasn't my intention, and i welcome all feedback & criticism — i genuinely want to learn]

a year after Spencer joins the BAU, Aaron notices & becomes very concerned over Spencer's (super bad) eating habits aka him only drinking coffee and forgetting to eat actual proper food when he gets absorbed in cases or research or reading etc -> which results in Aaron absolutely being like "hey Spencer let's grab lunch together" almost everyday just so Spencer eats (healthy, full meals)

(also Spencer picking up on this after Aaron "casually" gets him lunch/treats him to dinner/invites him over for meals for almost every day of the week and he was initially almost irritated/offended until he realised he could use Aaron's habit to make Aaron himself eat properly too because this hypocritical bastard doesn't eat properly himself either so every alternate day you can see Spencer purposely not going for lunch breaks while sneaking glances at Aaron's office just waiting for him to notice and drag them both to lunch together 😌)

also I really think Spencer is on the autistic spectrum (high functioning, imo, but I'm not really sure how this works, and I'd have to do more research) so I'd like to imagine Aaron knows that too because he's noticed Spencer's behaviors + Spencer got an official diagnosis and told him about it maybe 6-7 months into joining the BAU so I really think Aaron lets Spencer stim (physically, his hand gestures) on their lunch break because he knows that Spencer can't really do that in front of the others, so even when they're on cases, he would take Spencer out either for a private lunch or dinner or something, just the two of them, and he'd let Spencer stim & talk about any subject of his fancy as much as he wants to (I'm pretty sure someone wrote a fic like this and I absolutely can't remember the name or the author but I really LOVED the idea too)

initially Spencer was really taken aback too, because you know, this isn't something you do with your boss, of all people, but Hotch had always meant what he says and his facial expression and body language suggested that he was being absolutely sincere and serious about this, so Spencer tentatively started talking, and as their meal progressed, he eventually got comfortable enough to just go on, and not once did Aaron cut him off rudely, until the end of their meal, when Aaron couldn't continue to pretend to drink his soup because he'd finished it somehow with those incredibly small spoonfuls, and he'd had to gently tell Spencer that they had to go back, but Spencer wasn't upset, because he'd just got over an hour to talk about this recent seminar about the connection of ancient Greek mythology to the developments of the society in ancient Greece which no one had ever done for him before and he's full, satisfied and beyond elated because Hotch really didn't have to do this, but he did anyways

at first it was just something between them but eventually Derek noticed & like in the end I think it's a kind of open secret between Aaron, Spencer & Derek and now when Derek notices Aaron doing it he gives Aaron a small nod and he wards off & deals with the questions that the others have when they inevitably notices the private meals Aaron & Spencer has

speaking of Derek, Aaron definitely has 1 on 1 time with Derek too, but doing different things. Derek's thing is sports & home renovations, and he repairs/maintains cars & bikes when he can, and I like to imagine Aaron knowing about his hobbies and casually asking Derek about the home renovation he's working on one time (before or early S1) Derek came into his office to submit a case file, and Derek being kind of shocked/caught by surprised initially (because he knows Hotch has a soft spot for the kid because he's much younger and much, much more inexperienced but Derek's older and should know better, so Hotch won't do the whole private lunch thing with him, right?) but then he grins and starts telling Aaron about how "I got that place absolutely shining right now, man" and then he invites Aaron over to take a look at the place out of courtesy/habit (his mama raised him as a good, polite young man, and no way Hotch would even say yes right?) and to his surprise once again, Aaron does accept his invitation

after that one time, Aaron begins casually asking him about his projects and even starts offering to help him do some of the painting and decorating (to be fair, it calms Aaron too, to have a getaway from Haley and initially from the crying baby, because while he absolutely loved Haley and Jack with all his heart, some days, some days he just couldn't take it, all the stress from Strauss and from trying to be a good father unlike his own, and he had to take some time off to himself, and painting walls is calming and therapeutic to him in some sense) & Derek and Aaron start bonding over hotdogs while sitting out on the front porch of some halfway remodelled house, talking about the latest sports news (they support different baseball teams but that's okay, because Derek gets to grin at Hotch and ask him to pay up when Hotch's team loses to his, and Aaron gets to raise his eyebrows with that small knowing smirk of his and ask Derek to "complete this by the next weekend, will you" when Derek's team loses to his)

when Aaron recruits Penelope, he's read her file, or what little the FBI's cyberteam got on her anyways. he knows the Black Queen's reputation, and he knows that the cyberteam really don't trust her and recommended high levels of surveillance, but the moment he saw her through the glass of the interrogation room and her resume & application on pink paper, he knew that she's not just what the file said she is. initially, she sticks to the "bureau regulated office attire" because you know, Penelope knows she's lucky, she should've been jailed for what she did, she was jailed, until this Aaron Hotchner guy decided, somehow, that she was deserving to be on his team, even after looking at her resume, which she had written on pink paper out of pure spite (because nothing in the FBI rulebooks said anything about submitting your application on specialized coloured paper anyways) but she was moody and unhappy because she's stuck in this tiny office having to answer the phone whenever agents called to ask for details on icky, gruesome murders and disgusting, vile murderers so she decides that hey, since no one ever comes in here anyways, she might as well do some re-decorating right? so she starts bringing in her own soft toys and figurines and starts amassing a whole collection of soft, plushy, and colourful toys in because it's her office and if she has to deal with all these yucky stuff on a daily basis she's going to make it at least bearable to be in here

one day, some tall, stern looking guy just comes into her office with this Tupperware in his hands saying "hey, Garcia right? my wife made some extra cupcakes for the team, you want some?" and she asks "do i know you?" and he blinks, stands there for one, two seconds before- "sorry, i forgot we haven't actually met. Special Supervisory Agent Aaron Hotchner, assistant unit chief of BAU Team 1, nice to meet you," [i like to headcannon that before Boston & all, Hotch was Gideon's assistant, some kind of assistant unit chief probably, but while he wasn't yet the unit chief he was definitely taking care of most, if not all of the administration matters i.e. hiring new agents etc already because let's be real Gideon is caring & capable but really hands off sometimes (also in S1E1 Derek referred to Gideon as their Unit Chief so I assumed Hotch took over the position full time, officially somewhere between S1E1 and S1E2 or 3)]

and then Garcia's brain kind of short-circuits because holy shit this is her BOSS, aka the guy who somehow, crazily looked at her resume and decided to HIRE her and she just asked him if she knew him OH GOD ALL THOSE FIGURINES- and she tries to explain because she really didn't mean to break any rules with them and they aren't, are they? and she can remove them but just, please, she can't go back to prison.

but then Agent Hotchner just goes "hey, hey, Penelope. it's fine. I understand. this is your office, and you have the right to decorate it. I'm not going to fire you over.... My Little Ponies? and uh, some unicorns?" and Penelope can't help but laugh because he genuinely looks baffled by her collection on her desk, and did he just call her Penelope?

and after that, once, after a bad case that Aaron knew affected Penelope (it involved murdered parents & their only child left orphaned and it just hit too close to home for Penelope), he stopped by a local toy shop and bought the brightest, most sparkly, most colourful thing he could find in there (it ended up being a small figurine of a princess on a small, detachable throne that could light up and play some really funky pop music. Aaron cringed internally as he brought it over to the counter, and awkwardly nodded as the cashier asked, "buying this for your daughter, sir? she's going to love it, it's the latest in a collectable series" and he pretended to not see the questioning eyebrow that Derek gave him after seeing the package) and when he presented it to Penelope when they got back, he got the biggest and most bone crushing hug ever from Penelope because "aw that's so sweet, thank you! and you got me the latest in the collection! it's limited edition!" and it just ended up becoming a tradition — Penelope always looks forward to the end of a case now, not only because that means her people are coming home, safe, in one piece (sometimes debatable but still, they're coming home, to her) but it also means that Hotch has brought her yet another tiny figurine or souvenir to add to her collection and she can't wait to see what it is, and Hotch always, always, finds the time after they've wrapped up the case, before the jet leaves, to pop by a local toy shop to get both Penelope and later, when he's older, Jack some toys or souvenir from wherever state he's in, because he wants both of them to know, that despite all the bad out there, there is still good in the world, and they should never forget that

OKAY this ask is SUPER LONG already i apologise skfjsk i have ideas for JJ & Emily but idk if you'd even wanna continue reading them... (maybe.... give me a sign and I'll send another ask and write it? 🥴)

anyways this was just something that came up and i had to write it out 🥺 sorry for spamming you, i hope you're having a great day/night ahead.

- 🌙

Hi so I'm putting everything below the cut for scrolling purposes x

He is!!

Oh my god, I love that scene. It came up in a TikTok about ships, because Person A and Person B are both very smart when they're alone, but put them together and it cancels out, and it made me laugh.

I also love Dad Hotch. Like I love him as much as I love "fighting to keep his emotions in check because he needs to be a leader, but you can tell from the slight change in tone, or the slight glaze of his eyes that he's seconds away from crying" Hotch. Which is saying something.

DON'T APOLOGISE FOR LONG ASKS!! That's what the keep reading on posts is for :))

Oh I love how much Hotch cares about Reid, and of course Reid uses it to his advantage to get Hotch to do the same, because they're similar in that way. Also, he would definitely start grinning when Hotch looks down at his empty plate like: oh. Platonic Hotchreid is everything to me, because it's these two people that have been caretakers their entire life trying to look after another person that wouldn't let anyone do that and it's just... the HOTCH ANGST POTENTIAL THAT IS SO UNTAPPED!!!

Also, not a criticism of you, but from what I've heard from people is that functioning labels are harmful and shouldn't be used because it misrepresents the situation!

I love that idea though!! And Derek being protective over them so he's just like: no, you won't interrupt them, and I will take control of the situation for a few hours AAH!!

OH I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT MORGAN AND HOTCH BONDING!! It's so perfect!! I love the idea of Morgan teaching Hotch to do things, and Hotch realising how relaxing he finds it to do these things.

And because we can't have nice things: he refuses to go after Foyet breaks into his apartment because he doesn't deserve peace, but then Morgan just uses his key, drags him out, takes him to a house and presses a brush into his hand because he's not going to let his friend self destruct like this.

EVERYTHING ABOUT GARCIA!! OH MY GOD!! I need to get some work done, so I'm going to finish up there, but seriously!! Amazing!! I love the idea of Hotch getting her little figurines and stuff <33

(shameless self promo, she does the same for him in "and he will come back home" hehe)

I would love to hear the Emily and JJ ones!! I hope that's the sign you need :)

Don't apologise for spamming I was having a dull day, and I hope you have a good day too!

[books--andt]

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon Review and Discussion!

Hey all!

Everything Everything is about a girl with SCID, a sever immune deficiency disease that, in short, makes her allergic to everything and unable to fight back any disease or sicknesses. Living with this disease her entire life, and never setting foot outside, Maddy hasn't ever really wanted more than what she has. This is until Olly, the new kid moves in next door and suddenly her interest are perked and for once in her life Maddy wants more than what she has.

Sounds gripping right?!? Well let me tell ya, I was GRIPPED by this book. It a super fast paced quick contemporary read. I like to read contemporary's after I finish a dense epic fantasy book because for me, they're easy to fly through and 'fluffy'. While this book was easy to fly through it certainly wasn't your typical 'fluffy' YA love story. IT THROWS YA FOR A LOOP.

I loved that this book has diversity. It's one of the only YA books I've read (or THE only) where the couple is interracial. This shouldn't be a big deal, but it's just refreshing to read a story that isn't white-washed and the race of the characters isn't brushed over so people assume they're white. It matters and I liked the change.

I also loved that we had some really strong female relationships between Carla, Maddy's nurse and between Maddy and her Mother. Despite Maddy's situation she loves her mother and their close-knit relationship reminded me of my mum and I!

The pacing was pretty fast at times and I thought the illustrations weren't always necessary. But it gives us way to how Maddy's mind works and made me really attached to her!

I think that's all I can say for non spoilers. Oh and also Olly is bae. Bye non spoiler peeps!

*****SPOILERS AHEAD****

OKAY!!! SO!!! THIS BOOK!!!!! I! CAN! NOT! TELL! YOU! HOW! GRIPPED! I! WAS! I was thinking about the characters after I'd put the book down. I couldn't turn the pages quick enough. I'd heard that people weren't fans of this book and like her other book, The Sun is also a Star way better, but hey... I liked this one a lot! I think Nicola Yoon is going to become an insta buy for me... Ya'll know I'm gonna be picking up TSIAAS immediately!

I really loved Olly. Now, you all know how much I HATE insta-love but to me this didn't really feel insta lovey. Sure, they told each other they loved each other pretty quick and went to FRICKEN HAWAI'I together but... in this case I think it's justifiable. Since Maddy hasn't ever met anyone her age before. I liked how they'd IM. Those were some of my fav scenes to read. It was cute how they fell in love with each others brains first before really meeting one another.

When I found out that Maddy wasn't actually sick I FLIPPED!!! I actually had to take a breather. I. COULD. NOT. Believe. It. Seriously wasn't expecting that. I was fully 100% expecting that Maddy would die at the end. I mean, how could she survive her Hawai'i trip? How could Nicola Yoon end this book realistically???? But then BOOM! She does the unthinkable!!! The fact that Maddy's mom was so devastated by her husband and sons death, and how she never got over it is a believable reason as to why she would lie to Maddy like this. She has some psychological damage, and convinced herself that Maddy was truly sick, so she'd stay safe. This situation could totally turn around and be some horror-like story where the mom is a psycho and wants the daughter all to herself. Obvi that's not the direction this book went in but I'm just sayin'.

It makes sense now, that Carla let Olly in to meet Maddy and that she let Maddy go to Hawai'i since she had suspicions about Maddy's sickness in the first place.

I also thought Olly's background story to be really interesting. He's sort of the polar opposite of Maddy, yet he has issues of his own. It added more dimension and interest to the story.

Now as for the ending. I. COULD. NOT. BELIEVE. IT. ENDED. LIKE. THAT. I was expecting AT LEAST two or three more chapters. But nope. It just... ends???? Like umm.... Excuse me????? I NEED to know what happens. Does Maddy return home? Does she ever forgive her mom? (IMO I can understand why her mom did what she did but that doesn't make it ok. I'm not so sure I could ever forgive something like that.) Does Maddy get sick due to her compromised immune system?? Do her and Olly live Happily ever after?? What else does she experience in life?? I NEED TO KNOW.

After I finished the book I watched the movie trailer like 12 times. If you haven't read the book yet, DO NOT watch the trailer. I repeat: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!!!! It gives literally everything away. I think that's why I enjoyed this book so much and was as shocked as I was; because I knew nothing that was going to happen. Now that I've read and seen the trailer I can't tell you how excited I am!! I think the casting is perfect. It's normal for a movie to include it's own lil things here and there but it looks like it's going to stay really true to the books. Nicola Yoon got to give her notes on the script so I think we're in good hands!

The movie isn't out until May 19th.... *sigh* so until then I guess I'll just read and watch other reviews and watch the trailer ummm maybe 12132432 more times.

My only real issues with this book were the pacing at times and the ending. I thought the believability was off here and there but once you got to the part that explains how she doesn't really have SCID and how her mother has some issues, that cleared the previous unbelievable-ness up. I thought at times it was moving too quickly and I just wanted things to slow down. I liked the little pictures and drawings we got to see. It sort of made me feel like I was in Maddy's head. I also kind of want to read The Little Prince now!

As for the ending... I just wanted MORE. I hate it and love it at the same time. But GAHH I just need to know more. I'm not sure if a sequel is quite what I need... Literally just three more chapters would satisfy me. And maybe like a "20 years later" sort of epilogue??

What are YOUR thoughts on Everything Everything? I'd love to know! Have you read anymore Nicola Yoon? Be sure to tell me!

5/5 stars. (I would say 4.75 just because of that ending and the pacing but.... I'm still so giddy about it now I can't bring myself to.)

Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to stay up to date with what I'm reading on instagram--> @books_andt

- T