#reminds me of the drama of his romeo and juliet program

[figureskatingpenguin]

Cha Junhwan (KOR): Balada para un loco | Nebelhorn Trophy 2024, FS

ooh la la ~ 💃🏻

[skzsauce01]

In Fair Verona︱Chapter 10

Synopsis: Jisung knows he is the Romeo to your Juliet. He could wax poetry about you all throughout rehearsal and even a little after. Except Hwang Hyunjin is the one playing Romeo in the school play, not him. Jisung is just another tech crew member that you don’t know, but he’s determined to win your heart... by any means necessary.

Warning: violent thoughts

Word Count: 3.2k

Pairing: fem!reader x Jisung; fem!reader x Hyunjin

updates every Wednesday and Sunday @ 11 PM PST︱chapter list

Two household, both alike in dignity

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Opening night has arrived. Tech crew’s call time is 5:30 PM, and Jisung pulls into the parking lot just a few minutes later. The late afternoon sun is low in the sky, and he has to squint through the light when he runs up the steps to the auditorium. The entrance leading to the lobby is predictably locked, but he doesn’t have time to take the long way. He peers through the tiny window and sees nobody in the immediate vicinity. He pounds against the heavy metal door, hoping someone hears him. When no one shows up, he growls to himself and texts the tech group chat. No answers. Seconds later, you appear, walking by with a box of programs. He doesn’t want your help, but he doesn’t want to get a verbal lashing for being late either. Jisung hits the door again, and you almost drop the box.

“Y/N!” he shouts. “Open!”

With wide eyes, you quickly push open the door for him with the side of your body and go back to place down the programs. You’re dressed in the same shirt he is. While he normally would be delighted at this coincidence, he’s repulsed now, knowing that you stabbed him in the back a mere twenty-four hours ago. You don’t say hello to him, and he doesn’t either.

“Thanks,” he roughly says, avoiding eye contact with you.

You don’t say a single word back.

He swings open the door to the auditorium with more force than necessary, and it knocks against the metal trash can. He’s greeted by a song with a thumping bass and Chan’s rapping.

“What’s happening?” Jisung asks no one in particular. He’s glad that he hasn’t missed anything though. He settles down in a seat in front of the soundboard and watches different colored lights flash across the cyclorama. A couple of silhouetted bodies dance on stage.

“Felix found out two of the actors are dancers,” Changbin replies. “Chan wanted to play his new song, and Jeongin just went along with it.”

Jisung nods, but he doubts Changbin notices in the darkness anyway. Jisung himself can’t make out who’s who. Another figure later appears on stage and shouts in Mr. Gi’s voice, “What are you guys doing?”

The lightshow stops, and the music volume drops to a whisper. Felix, Hyunjin, and the guy playing Mercutio pause in the middle of their dance off. Hyunjin’s smirk is starting to slide off his face, and Jisung feels the sudden urge to drag the corners of his mouth down with barbed hooks. He would look a lot better if he had a perpetual frown.

Felix hesitantly offers, “Sound and light check?”

Mr. Gi lets out a short laugh before turning serious. “We’re going to run through tech now.”

Everyone springs into their usual positions, while the two actors return to wherever they were before. Jisung gives Hyunjin a sufficiently long glare as he walks out the side door. The real sound and light check then begins. Occasionally, the floor crew is needed to set up the stage and to practice for blackouts. Jisung envies Seungmin, who is assistant tech director. He gets to relax for the night.

Before the main doors open, pictures are taken, one of cast, one of crew, and one of everyone involved. Jisung doesn’t miss the fact that Hyunjin has an arm slung around you and that you’re twisting the silver ring on his finger. He looks around and, to his disbelief, discovers that no one cares. The very people surrounding the two of you are busy adjusting their hair and clothes while waiting for the parent volunteer to take the photo.

“3, 2, 1!”

Jisung snaps back to the camera with thinly veiled irritation. Another picture is taken, and the brittle smile he has on is threatening to break. There are calls for a funny picture, and while he normally would be excited, he wants to get away from you and Hyunjin’s public displays of affection. In the next picture, he and Changbin give each other bizarre looks and shoot finger guns at each other, while you and Hyunjin reenact one of your fake endings to Romeo and Juliet.

Disgusting.

During the play, Jisung does his best to stay attentive to Felix and Changbin’s calls. He’s more talkative in the comms now that he realizes what a waste of time the last two weeks were pining after you. He jokes with his friends, and he’s happier than he's been in days. He learns that the stage kisses are now real kisses, and Hyunjin doesn’t bother obscuring the action. Both the crew and the audience cheer loudly when they see it.

During your costume change, he boldly watches you shimmy out of your dress and observes your protruding spine when you bend down to pick up the fallen garment. If he throws one of the metal counterweights from the fly rail system at you, he thinks, you would drop dead.

So would any other person, but he gets a certain thrill when he pictures Hyunjin finding your crumpled up body on the floor. It’s all Hyunjin’s fault anyway. He would get what he deserved.

Strangely — well, maybe not — Jisung actually enjoys the play now. The death scene, which hurt him to watch before, is his favorite part. It’s a fitting ending, you and Hyunjin dying together after all the casualties you caused. He feels vindicated. When the main curtain comes down, he’s almost disappointed.

There’s a crowd of lingering people in the audience after the show ends and when the post-show music starts playing. While you and Hyunjin take (more) pictures with each other, your friends, and families after the show, Jisung once again sits in the row in front of the soundboard, taking in everything happening. Your friends have signs and flower bouquets, and you happily receive them all. Hyunjin momentarily disappears before coming back with a dozen roses for you.

“Romeo’s got game,” Seungmin, who has taken over photography duty, lowly whistles. He picks up his camera and snaps a photo.

Jisung grits his teeth and doesn’t say a single word. You place a shocked hand over your mouth before shyly kissing him on the cheek. There’s another click of the camera.

“They’re dating,” Ryujin announces.

“How do you know?” Seungmin asks. “And why didn’t we know about this news?”

“Yeji told me today when we were getting lunch, and it’s none of your business anyway,” she shrugs. “But it’s been pretty obvious they’ve been crushing on each other since rehearsal started.”

“Who’s Yeji?” Jeongin interrupts.

“Lady Montague, looks like Hyunjin?”

“Who’s Hyunjin?”

“Romeo?” she answers incredulously. “It’s been two weeks!”

“I sit back here and turn the lights on and off!”

While they bicker, the audience members still around slowly start leaving. You wave goodbye to your friends and promise to meet your parents in the lobby after you’re done. The ushers begin walking through the aisles to check for trash, and the actors go to the dressing room to change out of costume. Then Mr. Gi gives out the tech notes for the night.

There’s only a few critiques, and Jisung is satisfied that Felix can’t rib him for any mistakes. While notes are ongoing, you hand back two mic packs to Chan, explaining that one of them is Hyunjin’s. Jisung notices that you’re wearing the jacket you supposedly returned to Hyunjin. It’s unzipped and hangs loosely on your frame. It could have been his jacket there. Another shred of anger rips through him, and he looks away, no longer gritting his teeth but grinding. You prance to the classroom, and he hopes one of the lights falls from its fixture and lands you in the hospital.

After notes are finished, the tech director congratulates them all on a job well done, and they’re all free to leave. It’s late, and Jisung’s excited to go home. He spots your parents milling around the lobby, making awkward small talk with the drama students selling grams. You’re almost a carbon copy of your mother, down to the way her eyes widen when a new person enters the room. He politely smiles, and she returns the gesture like you would have last week. It’s another reminder of what he could have had.

He’s on autopilot the drive home. He rolls at least two stop signs, but there’s luckily no one around in those four way streets. He has an unfinished plan in his mind, and he desperately needs it to be complete. It was previously tailored for Hyunjin, so he makes a few adjustments to include you.

The rest of the night he spends researching online. The glow of his screen illuminates his face in the darkness and reflects off of his bluelight glasses. His back hurts from being hunched over for three hours, but his scheme is ready. As he shuts down his laptop, he stretches, enjoying the tension released from his shoulders and mind. He’ll sleep well tonight, very well.

—

The second show is the day after opening night on Saturday. This time Jisung arrives a solid twenty minutes before his call time. He’s been in a good mood all day; he woke up refreshed and energized, and he even made a quick trip to the local flower shop to buy a beautiful blue monkshood plant for his mother. He takes the long way to the auditorium, knowing that he’s likely the first tech crew member to arrive.

He passes by the green room and spots you eating dinner alone. There are other actors and extras nearby, but you’re sitting at a center table, scooping fried rice into your mouth. How pathetic. He can hear a sword fighting scene being rehearsed on stage, and he’s certain Hyunjin’s part of it. He wonders why you aren’t cheering on your Prince Charming. Surely, you like him more than your terrible, burnt rice. The old Jisung would have jumped at the opportunity to be around you, but the enlightened Jisung strides to the stage, unaffected by your charms.

He’s proud of himself. He feels no rush of rage when he sees you anymore, and when he sees Hyunjin stab Tybalt with a wooden sword, he’s calm. He walks to the back of the auditorium, where Chan has his own headphones on and Felix is furiously tapping his phone screen.

“You guys are here early,” Jisung remarks, taking Jeongin’s chair.

“Nothing better... to do,” Felix mumbles, clearly concentrated on whatever game he’s playing.

Chan is engrossed in his own world, bobbing his head to the music and drumming his fingers across the board. Jisung leans back in his seat and checks Hyunjin’s Instagram. As he expects, his latest post is a photo of you and him from last night. You hold the roses he gave you, and he has an arm around your waist. The caption simply reads, “Opening night.” Satisfied with his findings, Jisung turns back to the stage, where the actors are starting their fight from the beginning again.

As time goes on, he loses interest, and more of the crew starts arriving. Jisung later waits in the lobby, opening doors for anyone too lazy to take the long way around. He’s reading gardening forum posts about monkshood when you and one of the house managers come by with more programs, predicting how packed it will be tonight. He glances up momentarily before deciding to ignore you. He can’t help but feel a tiny bit of resentment when you try to meet his eye. Where was all that a few days ago?

“Hi, Jisung,” you cautiously greet, seemingly trying to dissolve the tension between the two of you. You still have that scared deer look though.

While the house manager gives him a curt nod and then disappears into the auditorium, you linger around.

“Hey,” he replies and leaves it at that. He’s over you, and he doesn’t want any reason to come crawling back.

“Opening night went well.”

“Yeah.”

“How many people do you think will come tonight? I think at least a hundred.”

“I don’t know.”

You try to continue the conversation — though it barely qualifies as one — and Jisung shuts down every attempt you make. He doesn’t want you anymore, not after you strung him along with your jokes and smiles and then ran off into the sunset with Hyunjin.

There’s a knock on the door, and he absentmindedly opens it for Yugyeom, who’s out of breath from running up the stairs.

“Thanks,” he manages to get out. “Have we started yet?”

“I think we’re about to,” Jisung answers. “Bye, Y/N.”

He opens the auditorium doors for Yugyeom and lets it swing shut after him before you have the opportunity to slip inside.

Fine. Maybe he’s still a little angry at you, but it would be insane to think that he would be completely over you after all the interactions he’s had with you.

He follows Yugyeom to stage right. While sound and lights are being tested, the floor crew waits patiently in the wings. Ryujin slides the hangers across the rack, counting the number of costumes, and Yugyeom makes sure all the props are in order. With nothing better to do, Jisung stands by him and watches as he rearranges the items on the table. He sees two chemistry tube looking containers, and he can’t help but reach for them.

“Do they actually drink this?” Jisung asks as he picks up a clear vial filled with green liquid. “And what is this?”

“Just colored water,” he shrugs. “And yeah, they drink it. Hyunjin asked if I could change it every day since he and Y/N use it as a water break on stage. He said Ms. Park was okay with it.”

Jisung remembers the vial Hyunjin drinks from in the death scene. He grimaces as he sets down the container, suddenly feeling contaminated.

“Water, but not coffee or something?”

Yugyeom shrugs again. “He said water. And also, water is free.”

“But not food coloring.”

“Ms. Park asked the culinary class for some. Wanna help me change out the water?”

Jisung looks around and sees that Changbin is scrolling through his phone, eyes glazed over, tuned out of what’s happening despite wearing a headset. “Sure. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Jisung and Yugyeom take the vial of poison and Juliet’s sleeping draught. Apparently, you used that as a water break as well. Though Yugyeom asked him to help, Jisung does nothing but observe. It’s not like he needs the aid either; all he has to do is dump the water in the bushes, refill from a water fountain, and stir in a few drops of food coloring. The sleeping potion is a midnight blue, while the poison is a murky green. Neither look particularly appetizing, and he wonders how anyone would be able to drink either without feeling sickened.

When they return to the stage, Jisung goes back to his usual spot and continues waiting. In the meantime, he resumes reading about monkshood. Apparently, their roots are especially toxic.

The show that night goes well. He doesn’t know the exact number of audience members, but when he peeked past the curtain before the show began, he saw that at least half the seats were filled. During the death scene, Jisung pays close attention. Hyunjin’s back faces him, so he doesn’t know if he actually did drink it. He does get a good look at you, and he sees you kiss Hyunjin squarely on the lips with no hesitation.

At the end of the night, he waits by the soundboard for all the audience members to leave before tech notes can begin. The main cast stays around, talking to people they know and taking pictures with them. You don’t get any flowers this time, but a random girl with adoring eyes gives Hyunjin yellow and pink roses. There’s not a hint of jealousy on your face, and Jisung feels strangely irked by that. Hyunjin accepts the flowers sheepishly and shyly introduces her to you, his co-star and girlfriend. The girl’s expression falls, and Jisung empathizes with her. He’s been there before.

Seungmin’s snapping pictures, and he takes one of Hyunjin holding the flowers. “A potential love triangle?”

“No way,” Ryujin replies. “Hyunjin’s head over heels for Y/N.”

“Y/N’s Juliet, right?” Jeongin asks. Ryujin opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. “Right. She is.”

Felix chimes in, “Minho said that Hyunjin’s totally in love with her. They are cute together.”

The old Jisung would be outraged by those statements from his friends, but the new Jisung agrees with those remarks. Even he has to admit that the two of you make a pretty picture together. You and Hyunjin perfectly deserve to be with each other for the rest of your lives.

“Who’s Minho?” Jeongin expectedly asks.

“Mercutio,” Felix answers. “The other guy in the dance off yesterday.”

The gossip dies down when they notice you and Hyunjin heading over with your mics. Chan strikes up a discussion about the cast and crew dinner after the last show next week, and everyone immediately gets excited. Chan takes the mic packs from you two, and Hyunjin sticks around for a bit. He murmurs something to you, and you nod before leaving. Jisung doesn’t miss the nervous look in his direction, like you’re trying to work up the nerve to approach him. Jisung snaps his stare away.

“It’s at District 9 this time,” Jisung says, taking care to not include him. Hyunjin could have you, but he’s not going to let you take away his friends, too.

Chan groans. “Again? Their food sucks.”

“What’s at District 9?” Hyunjin says.

“Oh, right. I keep forgetting you’re new since you’re the lead. The cast and crew dinner. We all go to a restaurant and eat together after the final show,” Felix explains. “We usually go to District 9. Their food’s okay.”

“Their food sucks,” Chan echos.

“It’s not that bad,” Jisung counters. “You ate everything on your plate last time.”

“Because I was hungry! And because Jeongin ate my snack!”

“You let me have it!”

A side conversation starts up, and Hyunjin stands awkwardly at the side, not understanding the references and inside jokes. It’s petty, but Jisung wants Hyunjin to hurt as much as possible before next week when he won’t ever have the opportunity again. Mr. Gi finally finishes chatting with a colleague of his and starts tech notes. Hyunjin looks relieved to have an excuse to leave.

Notes are short, given that it’s a Sunday night and that they did well overall. They’re reminded that they have two more shows next weekend before they’re dismissed for the night. Jisung, feeling drained by all that’s happened, silently cheers before walking out to his car through the main doors.

Under the yellow streetlights, he sees you hold hands with Hyunjin as you make your way to his car. Hyunjin laughs at something you say and tucks one of the pink flowers from his fangirl into your hair so tenderly, Jisung has to look away.

Hyunjin is so in love with you, and you with him. It sickens Jisung to his core, but he has a remedy for this illness.

~ ad.gray

[p---leia]

Ancient Writer of dreams and nightmares: I am 71 (-one month), and have been writing (making up tales) since I was three. I can still remember my Pawpaw whittling a pencil for me, and Mawmaw tearing a piece of brown grocery bag for me to write on. They weren't 'poor', but writing paper wasn't to be wasted on a 'kid' just for fun. I carefully scripted my first short story.

Of course my 'letters' looked more like ancient Hanguel, so I had to read it to my "captured" audience. I really don't remember the story, but as my grandparents had a yard full of chickens and my dog, Mutt, liked to chase them (because of this we 'both' got into trouble -- because I always joined the chase) I most probably wrote about that.

My Pawpaw was a story-teller. For several years I thought there really was a baby found in the wilds of the African jungle and raised by the great apes. I thought he was the luckiest babe, EVER!

Then I found Pawpaw's books about three years after he died. I was eleven when he died, and felt that my best friend had abandoned me. But when I found those books I realized just where Tarzan actually came from and went to. I read everyone of those books and got the complete picture. THEN..

Well, Pawpaw also told stories of Daniel Boone and Davey Crocket...before I saw them on Disney. Then, of course, I went to school and learned what I already knew. Pawpaw was an excellent story-teller and never mixed up his facts, time-lines, or characters.

Growing up under his influence had a lot to do with how I developed as a story-teller. At family gatherings when I meet cousins I haven't seen in decades, they STILL remember me and the stories that I used to tell them. My children and grandchildren have grown up with me re-telling Pawpaw's old stories, and sharing many that I made up on the spot.

But I think what I read in my early years developed my writing style.

I was just turned eight when I read my first Shakespeare, MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. He was my first favorite author. Then I was forced to read Romeo and Juliet. I was disgusted by the fact that TRAGEDY was made famous as a ROMANCE! Even at the innocent (then) age of fourteen, I was disgusted with the idea that it was considered romantic for 'anyone', let alone 'teenagers' to commit suicide over unrequited love.

My sister (now 68) and I recently discussed this play. Because she had a 'forbidden' teenage love, she said that she related to the story (even though she had never read it). GASP! It was required reading in ninth grade!

I remember our dad breaking up my sister and her boyfriend, who was really cool. He was a hard working farm boy who had saved his money to buy a motorcycle. AND his own car. But he wasn't good enough for my sister. smh

I always thought her story would make a great LifeTime movie. But I'm not touching it. She would 'skin me' for sharing with the world her broken heart. And if I added the stuff that sells today, she'd scalp me for lying. Not a win situation at all. So, I will write notes in my "Random Jottings Journal" for future decendants who might grow into writers or story-tellers.

By the way, the title "RANDOM JOTTINGS" came from a sci-fi book that I read as a kid in the fifties. I don't remember the author, although I'm pretty sure it 'might' be from a Heinlein juvenile book. But I've never found a reference to any sci-fi books using that term. SO!!! If anyone recognizes "RANDOM JOTTINGS", which was a note book that a professor/scientist/genius used to keep his 'thoughts', PLEASE share the author's name and the title of the book!!! Thank You.

In the meantime, I referenced Shakespeare. James Oliver Curwood wrote about Kazan, the Wolf Dog, and later Baree, Son of Kazan. From those two books, read when I was eleven, I searched for and found other books about Canada. Later there was Walter Farley, author of the Black Stallion, and the Island Stallion series. I think I met my FIRST friendly alien in the Island Stallion Races.

Of course, Edgar Rice Burroughs taught me much false history about the jungles of Africa, as well as the Moon and Mars. But I loved every 'read-under-the-covers-with a-flashlight' minute! I believe he was a contemporary of Zane Grey, because he wrote a few non-jungle and non-space stories, too. Which led me to Zane Grey.

Having read both of their biographies at a young age, I learned about the hardships of being a writer. I should say 'the hardships of a struggling writer'. I have never had a problem writing. Since I write for 'fun' and not 'profit', the few short stories I've had published were by local press, and a State magazine.

No, my struggles have centered around graduating high school, and completing college, stuggling to satisfy my husband, a 'Mr. Spock in the Flesh' personality, and later raising two children without benefit of parental support or child support. But we survived in the middle of laughter and many tears. And my made up stories about children lost in the woods who were rescued by a great friendly bear, or wolf. Or dog. And sometimes by a great Black Panther - a by product of one of my Pawpaw's 'local historical tales'.

I understand that publishers detest stories that begin with "It was a dark and stormy night.." But let me tell you, some of the BEST bedtime stories occur on stormy nights when the power has gone out, and it's too hot for candles or lanterns. That shadow that stands darkest in the corner and seems to be moving towards the bed is actually grandma come to check on the kids, and stands quiet so not to disturb the kids if they're already asleep. But since they are awake, and they see her 'shadow', she becomes the old crone who lives in the castle dungeon, and has slipped her chains to visit with the 'wee folk'. But there are no fairies out on such a blustery night, so the old crone comes to visit with the 'wee bairn', who fall all over themselves to get out of bed and sit around her to hear her stories of 'long ago' and other 'dark and stormy nights'. Again -- unpublished, because publishers don't like ... LOL

Of course there's always On-Line publishing. But that involves more work than actual writing.

Back to the writrs who influenced my writing:

While I enjoy a good Western, an adventurous space trek, or time travel, I also enjoy the occasional Historical Romance. Georgette Heyer was my first! I still re-read her amazing books. Of course there's Jane Austen.

There are a myriad of modern writers that I have read over the last five decades. Heinlen, Asimov, Norton, Bradley, McCaffrey, Moon, Stirling, Krentz/Castle/Quick, and Moening, just to name a few of the ones whose books I have in my personal library.

Those older authors did affect my writing style to develope as I read their stories. The later authors helped me to move into the late 20th century. But I'm not so sure that I like the 21st century so much. It's all about being politically 'correct'. If you aren't ashamed of your gender, your race, your country, your religion, your culture, your family, your history, then you are prejudiced. That's just too much guilt to have to live with.

I'm still dealing with my mom's death from ten years ago. I was her care-giver for five years. Her doctor had given her nine months. I still worry if I did enough for her in those last years.

And though my children are grown with their own families, I worry that I wasn't a good enough parent. And I worthy as a grandmother? How was I as an older sister? I was responsible as a moral guide when our parents were at work. Was I a good neighbor? A good support in our Church? And Hollywood wants me to feel guilt about something I can't change?!!

I'm an old woman who still likes being a woman and enjoys liking men. I'm not just white. I'm also mixed with a bit of Native American, and even a drop of -- OMG!!! --- Black. snicker.

That's a serious joke, because as a kid I had a recuring nightmare that I was a black man being judged by a group of people in white hoods I was hanged amidst their fiery torches. I always thought those white hoods represented the Catholic Church, because at that young age I didn't know about the Ku Klux Klan. Even though I grew up in the South, my family was not involved with that group of out-lawrey. Thank God!

Still, I'm supposed to feel shame? For something not even my family supported.

I've always believed there's a hint of Fae in my DNA. Because I love dancing in the light of the full moon, and flying with the owls who perch outside my bedroom window and call to invite me to follow the moon's shadow. If I am part Fae, I know it came from my mother's people. They were Irish mixed with Alabama Indians who believed in the Nunnehi aka Immortal, and the Yunwi Tsunsdi, aka Little People.

ALSO, while there's no DNA proof of ancestry, I've always been a 'closet Chinese'.

In the Fifties, when WW2 was still fresh, and we were involved with the 'Korean Conflict', and at odds with China, I would sneak around the radio, turn down the volume, and tune into 'that wierd channel' that sometimes played Opera, or Chinese music. Ahhh. I would close my eyes and wander through the few visuals I'd found in books, or the occasional movie. (before color tv)

A year or two ago I was totally depressed and disgusted with American TV. Hollywood has become so political, so wierd. Their programming is no longer for entertainment, but to 'educate, enlighten, or to inform'. zzzzz

Then I found KDrama!!!!! Korean TV. Japanese Tv. squeal!!! Chinese TV.

The rom/coms are sweet and 'pure'. Okay. I'm realistic. This is not a reflection of real life on any planet. But the innocence of the early 1950s programs is there. Similar to Disney's 'Summer Magic'. I'm happy with those dramas that remind me of thati nnocence. I have found a few dramas that shared more than I cared for, and I do enjoy an occasional 'romp'. But I've always preferred the Lady and Gentleman characters.

And watching these programs have reminded me of those fairy tales and legends from my childhood that had been sprinkled with the Occasional Oriental myth, legend, and children's tale.

Then I remembered my FIRST historical legend. "The White Stag" by Kate Seredy, is the tale of Atilla the Hun!

I recently found a copy of that book and am waiting for a quiet time, when the power is out and there's nothing to do. Then I will use one of the many flashlights I bought for a huge hurricane, and relax on the sofa beneath an open window and read this legend once again. I live in Florida. The odds of this happening increases as the summer progresses. I can't wait to learn if my memory of this tale of Atilla the Hun remained true, or has been distorted in the last half of a century.

Most of the tales that I write involve space adventures, the occasioanl ghost, and encounters with fairies, the evil ones, not the romantic ideal fairy. smh

I've never been very good with romance or comedy. But thanks to the recent influence of the Asian productions, I have re-formatted one of my dark adventures and turned it into a rom/com.

I love a good joke, but very seldom get the point or see the humor. And I can NEVER remember the punch line if I try to share a joke. My family have said they will write on my tombstone --

"I don't remember the punchline ... but it was funny."

But as I write humorous lines or events I find myself laughing. Or crying at sad events. And I am all 'giggly' when I write what is supposed to be innocent romance between a young and shy couple. But I have never felt that my own reactions were a true guide to how the story might come across to a 'reader'.

As it happens, I have two sisters younger than I am. My middle sister is bored easily and immediately redirects our conversation to something about 'her'. Okay. I understand. She is lonely, needy, and maybe a bit selfish? Not judging. She's the 'middle child' and that's her excuse. ROFL..

But the youngest sister is my greatest fan who declares that I am an awesome writer. "I love you, sister, dear."

So she visited me last week and patiently listened as I read the first chapter. She listened quietly, and I wondered if I had 'read her to sleep'. sigh. Boring books are often the best sleeping pill. Then I heard her laugh.

Squeals/Dancing/hooting/flying around the room in ecstasy!!

Okay! At least one person has laughed. And she's not that easily 'tickled'.

So, I will always carry on and write. But now I feel that at least I might be following a path strewn with "Black-Eyed-Susans, honeybees, butterflies, and bunnies".

I don't know if anyone will read this, or will enjoy it. I hope so. While sharing bits of my youth, my worries, and my concern about certain ones of my 'stories', I actually had ideas for developing 'new' stories.

I am always amazed when writers say they are 'blocked'. I have only to open my eyes to see a world around me that no one else can envision. I listen to a song, and I'm in a different world, time, planet. A gift from Pawpaw, and Mother's DNA.

It is my oldest granddaughter's birthday this month, and I don't know what to give her for her birthday. But when she was younger, she always asked me to tell her a story. I think that I will pull out one of my OLD/ANCIENT tales that I wrote when her dad was her age and make it into a book for her.

p---leia aka Mamma KayeLee

7/19/2020

[igsy-blog]

BBC 100 books (with commentary)

thanks for the tag @thegreatorangedragon  As an English major I was compelled to read a lot of these, and I may only have skimmed/read chunks of some of them if I could get away with it....

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen: not my favorite Austen, actually (Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility are 1 & 2) The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - OMG, SO many times. My siblings and I had rituals around the reading of LOTR.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte.  Yes - it’s OK Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - Yes!  My kids grew up to them and the experience was almost as good as the books.  But I also really enjoyed watching Rowling mature as a writer over the course of the series.  I don’t ask for perfection from my writers, but warmth and growth.  :-)  Also, they got my stubborn non-reader sons to READ. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee  - like probably every other person who went to MS/HS in the US. The Bible - yes, and twice all the way through.  once at about 10, and then more recently along with Slate’s Blogging the Bible (ok it was just the Old Testament).  That was a stage on my journey to my current fallen-catholicness 
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - yes, but prefer the Pat Benatar song :D Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell - yes and really need a re-read 
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman - No, keep meaning to. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
.  Yes, and can I say I love Dickens - LOVE Dickens - but I hate this book.  I think it’s always assigned because it’s shortish.  I regularly reread the glorious messes that are Pickwick Papers, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, and my fav, the insane Our Mutual Friend (but ONLY the Lizzie Hexam/Eugene Wrayburn segments). Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - and the sequels.  I think Jo’s Boys might actually be my favorite. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
.  yes - I am pretty sure??? Catch 22 - Joseph Heller.  read enough of it to count Complete Works of Shakespeare - William Shakespeare; yes! my mom was a Zefferelli Romeo & Juliet junkie - we had the album of the film - and I must have heard it 3 dozen times before I was 7.  She bought a complete works and I read all of it over the years. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier. No 
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - Yes.  My husband’s favorite book.  And I really liked the Rankin-Bass film, when I was young.  Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk  No Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - yeah The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger  Realllly?  This is a good book but I’m not sure it belongs on this list.  First novel and feels fresh out of an MFA program.  My other complaints I won’t say here because I tend to get very snarky about this book. (Another book I read around the same time [mid-oughts] was Then We Came to the End, the debut novel of Joshua Ferris - much better, like DeLillo without the air of self-importance.) Middlemarch - George Eliot; love me some Eliot (but prefer Silas Marner, mainly because of a very good tv adaption). Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell - Again: really?  I read this book because I spent the summer between HS and college in a really small town with a teeny library and I basically read my way through the fiction stacks.  Won’t say more than that, because I would get political. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald Yes, but not a favorite. Bleak House - Charles Dickens. A great, great book for which two amazing miniseries have been done in my lifetime.  But rightly criticized, IMO, for the annoying tone of its first-person narrator, Esther.  Dickens was dazzlingly, spectacularly wrong in writing about women.  Not to mention other groups.  But my god did he skewer institutions on behalf of the (British) poor - none better. This book wins for the Jo’s death scene and its sweeping, bitter, critique of church and state and society and everything - and so human.  “Dead!  And dying thus around us, everyday.”  I was 12 when I first read that, recovering from chicken pox, and I sat straight up in bed.  This is the book that made me a socialist. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy This is so horrible, but I haven’t! The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams.  Yes, fun, but not a favorite. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - No.  I started to and have a copy at work, for some reason I don’t even remember.  But not enough to county Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky  No :( Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck.  Yes, oh and my grandma’s family were Okies.  Everyone in my family has a copy of the Sacramento Bee front page story sneering about the dust bowl immigrants arriving in town and my great-grandmother is mentioned by name (though they mistakenly think she is her widowed father’s wife).  I love Cali, and Sactown, but we have a long history of being not-so-welcoming to everyone at certain times (was it in the 80s where the “Welcome to California, Now Go Home” bumper stickers were everywhere?).

Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - yes The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - yes but so long ago I don’t remember it at all Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy yes. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens.  Yes, not his best by far.  Another “easy” read like Great Expectations Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - and many other of his works, when I was trying NOT to be an atheist - Mere Christianity, his sci-fi trilogy and Til We Have Faces, a retelling of my favorite myth, Psyche and Cupid.  I like the more obscure books in this series best - The Silver Chair and The Horse and his Boy. Emma - Jane Austen Persuasion - Jane Austen - oh, here it is!


The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis .... uh, yes The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - was a group read at work a couple of years ago.  recommend. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne - yes Animal Farm - George Orwell - another book I want to re-read. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - nope 
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez; YES A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving 
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ... did I?  I’m pretty sure. Or was it The Moonstone? Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery.  YES.  Anxiously awaiting the new adaption.  Why is it so hard to get Anne of Windy Poplars on kindle?  That is the funniest one.  And Rilla of Ingleside so heartbreaking 
Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy 
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood, yes and ever so long ago.  Another book to re-read soon (haven’t started watching the series yet) Lord of the Flies - William Golding Atonement - Ian McEwan; LOVE this book and his writing in general.  He also wrote the screenplay, and the movie and the book are a perfect match in tone. 
Life of Pi - Yann Martel No, but on my list Dune - Frank Herbert - no Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - yes, Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - yay! 
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon 
A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - my intro to Dickens, though not his best Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - starting to get depressed at all this dystopian fiction that needs to be re-read as a primer for the present times 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - lives at my desk at work.  Not even a favorite book of mine, but I love diving into his words every once in a while Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov The Secret History - Donna Tartt The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold  - when I saw the movie it reminded me why I wasn’t into reading the book Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - plot better than the story 
On The Road - Jack Kerouac Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy - yeah, I had to read so much Hardy Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie - no, want to though 
Moby Dick - Herman Melville; I can’t even think about this book without remembering our class discussion of the “circle jerk” chapter.  I remember literally nothing else. 
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - meh Dracula - Bram Stoker 
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett  - an ALL-TIME favorite Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson Ulysses - James Joyce; all hail the master, and the bastard responsible for my sick dependence on the em-dash The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome Germinal - Emile Zola Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray - unfortunately, yes Possession - AS Byatt A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens; of course Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell The Color Purple - Alice Walker - excellent The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry Charlotte’s Web - EB White: yes The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yes.  I prefer Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter series hands-down, but despite her association with Tolkien, Lewis, et al, she got squashed between Conan Doyle and Christie.  Her Gaudy Night is one of my top five books.

The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - yeah The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery heck, yeah The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks Watership Down - Richard Adams yes A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole - my kids read this book in HS, so I have a copy lying around, but have never read it A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas Hamlet - William Shakespeare - yes, probably too many times.  What are my favorite Shakespeare dramas?  Maybe King Lear, Richard III? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl. yes 
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

[yawednesdays-blog]

The long hot summer has officially begun and our summer TBR list is on FIRE! By the beach, by the pool, by the air conditioner…we’ve good ALL the summer books.

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June 1st

Truth or Dare by Non Pratt, June 1, 2017, Walker Books, 304 pages

Love is a game with the highest risks. What are you willing to sacrifice in the name of love?

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Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle, RHCP Digital

This follow-up to her 2015 debut The Accident Season promises to be just as dark and atmospheric.

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June 6th

The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson, June 6, 2017, HarperTeen, 464 pages

We’ve been excited about this environmentally themed dystopian since we reported on its auspicious beginnings February 2016. A must read for 2017!

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Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill, Simon & Schuster, 400 pages

Daniel Tate went missing at age 10. Daniel Tate returned at age 10. But this isn’t Daniel Tate. This is a con artist. And whoever has returned to take Daniel’s place may have just walked into a bigger scam than he bargained for.

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Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee, June 6, 2017, Simon & Schuster, 367 pages

Natasha aka Tash is dealing with lots of exciting new changes. He web series has gone viral and she’s becoming internet famous. But with fame comes more exposure than she planned for. Can she handle the pressure? Can she handle her crush on fellow vlogger Thom? And more importantly, can he handle her asexuality? Fame, love and Russian literature collide in Tash Hearts Tolstoy.

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The Hundredth Queen (Book 1) by Emily R. King, June 1, 2017, Skyscape, 300 pages

Kalinda has long since resigned herself to a fate of living her life in solitude among the sisterhood. Kalinda is sickly and unfit to fight for a coveted spot as a royal wife. But unexpectedly that is precisely what happens. Kalinda is now fighting against 99 other wives and courtesans for the King’s attention, a spot Kalinda does not want. Can she survive and escape to the quiet life she was resigned to live? And is that still the life she wants?

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Everything All At Once by Katrina Leno, June 6, 2017, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 360 pages

Anxiety plagued Lottie finds herself doing the impossible after the death of her favorite aunt. Dares, challenges and facing your fears- Everything All At Once is a story about taking all life has to offer.

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Once and For All by Sarah Dessen, June 6, 2017, Viking Books for Young Reader, 400 pages

With a mother who’s famous wedding planner whose job it is to make The Big Day picture perfect, no matter what’s happening behind the scenes, it’s no wonder Louna is cynical about love. But when she meets handsome overly optimistic Ambrose, his perptual good mood just wan win her over.

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Perfect Ten by L. Philips, June 6, 2017, Viking Books for Young Readers, 352 pages

Sam has been trapped in a dating wasteland. But when he performs a Wiccan love spell with his bestie, he suddenly has not one, not two but THREE guys vying for his attention. But which of these magical suitors will be Sam’s Prefect Ten? Or is he setting the bar too high?

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Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser, June 6, 2017, Bloomsbury Childrens Books, 373 pages

“From debut author Sarah Tolcser comes an immersive and romantic fantasy set along the waterways of a magical world with a headstrong heroine determined to make her mark.”- Goodreads

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The Impossible by Tara Altebrando, June 6, 2017, Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 304 pages

“Unusual and gripping, The Possible will twist the reader round and round as it hurtles towards a sensational climax. For lovers of We Were Liars, Patrick Ness and Derren Brown.”- Goodreads

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The Impossible Light by Lily Meyers, June 6, 2017, Philomel Books

This novel-in-verse tackles body images, eating disorders and relationship with poetic rhythm.

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Wildman by J.C. Geiger, June 6, 2017, Disney-Hyperion, 336 pages

Lance Hendrick knows where’s going. He’s heading to his graduation party 400 miles away, where this valedictorian will accept the well deserved praise of his peers and affection from his girlfriend, respectively. But when his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Lance has experiences that his “normal” self would never dream of.  Now reaching his destination seems less important than it did just a few days ago.

Sometimes it’s the detours in life that set us on the right path.

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The Evaporation of Sofi Snow by Mary Weber, June 6th, Thomas Nelson, 352 pages

In a future where Earth is run by corporations, online games for real consequences, have blackmail is just part of the job, Sofi will stop at nothing to find the brother the world believes is dead.

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Dramatically Ever After (Ever After Book 2) by Isabel Bandeira, June 6, 2017, Spencer Hill Contemporary, 378 pages

The high drama continues for Em in Ever After Book 2.

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Internet Famous by Danika Stone, June 6, 2017, Swoon Reads, 320 pages

This online fairy tale romance is threatened by a real life troll in Danika Stone’s latest novel.

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The Unliklies by Carrie Firestone, June 6, 2017, Little Brown and Company, 336 pages

“Five teens embark on a summer of vigilante good samaritanism in a novel that’s part The Breakfast Club, part The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and utterly captivating.”- Goodreads

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What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard, June 6, 2017, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 400 pages

Elizabeth as lost a lot. And physical weight is just a part of it. Now she’s trying to get through the program to gain some of what she lost back.

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Romeo, Juliet & Jim by Larry Schwart & Iva-Marie Palmer, June 6, 2017, Christy Ottaviano Books/Henry Holt

“Shakespeare meets Gossip Girl in this modern-day tale of two star-crossed lovers that soon becomes a love triangle in the first book of a trilogy.”- Goodreads

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Dividing Eden (Book 1) by Joelle Charbonneau, June 6, 2017, HarperTeen, 336 pages

Carys and Andreus are brother and sister who shared the bond of twins and of second siblings. They never thought they’d know the stress of ruling Eden. But when the king and their older brother are killed, these siblings will be divided by the most important competition in the land, the Trial of Succession.

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Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley, June 6, 2017, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 288 pages

Imagine professing your love to a boy and never receiving a response. Now imagine it’s a year later and your working in that boy’s family book shop, surrounded by words and romance and the constant reminder of unrequited love. Welcome to Rachel’s world.

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  June 13th, 2017

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali, June 13th, Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Janna is an Arab-Indian American girl, a book lover, a photographer, a graphic novelist…She’s all of these things and working out how they fit together. But when she meets Jeremy starts to care about what people think of her in a way she never used to. Janna finds herself questioning not only herself, but what it means for others to be saints, misfits and monsters.

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Want by Cindy Pon, June 13, 2017, Simon Pulse, 336 pages

“From critically acclaimed author Cindy Pon comes an edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller, set in a near-future Taipei plagued by pollution, about a group of teens who risk everything to save their city.” -Goodreads

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Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab, June 13, 2017, Greenwillow Books, 528 pages

Last year’s This Savage Song still plays in our hearts. We can’t wait for what Victoria has in store for Our Dark Duet!

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Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios, June 13, 2017, Henry Holt and Co., 368 pages

The title of this book says it all. There are bad boys, but worse is a Bad Romance.

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The Fallen Kingdom (The Falconer Trilogy Book 3) by Elizabeth May, June 13, 2017, Chronicle Books, 336 pages

“The long-awaited final book in the Falconer trilogy is an imaginative tour-de-force that will thrill fans of the series.” -Goodreads

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Thief’s Cunning by Sarah Ahiers, June 13, 2017, HarperTeen, 416 pages

“The companion novel to Assassin’s Heart—an action-packed fantasy that Printz Award winner Laura Ruby said “will keep you turning the pages all night long”—Thief’s Cunning picks up eighteen years later and follows Allegra Saldana as she uncovers the secrets about the line of killers she descends from.”- Goodreads

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Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire, June 13, 2017, Tor.com, 176 pages

“Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…”- Goodreads

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Obsidian And Stars by Julie Eshbaugh, June 13, 2017, Harper Teen, 368 pages

In the sequel to Ivory and Bone—the prehistoric fantasy novel that New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman described as a “richly crafted world of life-and-death stakes”—the story shifts to Mya’s viewpoint as vengeful adversaries force her to flee the life she once knew.

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Roar (Stormheart #1) by Cora Carmack, June 13, 2017, Tor Teen, 384 pages

“In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.” -Goodreads

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Be True To Me by Adele Griffin, June 13, 2017, Algonquin Young Readers, 352 pages

It’s summer 1976, Fire Island. Jean is falling for Gil, the new boy with a secret past. But she’ll have to challenge her tennis rival Fritz for the top spot and Gil’s affection.

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The Suffering Tree by Elle Cosimano, June 13, 2017, Disney-Hyperion, 368 pages

An inherited mansion, a new town, a boy clawing himself out of the grave….moving to a new town is never easy.

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Solider Boy by Keely Hutton, June 13, 2017, Farra, Straus & Giroux, 336 pages

“Soldier Boy begins with the story of Ricky Richard Anywar, abducted at age fourteen in 1989 to fight with Joseph Kony’s rebel army in Uganda’s decades-long civil war. Ricky is trained, armed, and forced to fight government soldiers alongside his brutal kidnappers, but never stops dreaming of escape.” -Goodreads

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Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson, June 13, 2017, HarperTeen, 272 pages

Kansas, 2065. Oklahoma 1934. London 1919. Midnight at the Electric weave three stories together for miles and generations.

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June 20th, 2017

Maybe in Paris by Rebecca Christiansen, June 20, 2017, Sky Pony Press

Keira wants to show her brother Levi the time of  his life in Paris. But Levi is autistic and has just spent months in psych ward after a suicide attempt. Keira wants to believe Levi’s problems are behind him, but the deeper they get into their adventure, the more apparent Levi’s problems are. When Levi disappears from their hotel while Keira is out with a cute Scottish bassist, it might be too late for her to admit Levi needs more help than she can provide.

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Two Roads From Here by Teddy Steinkellner, June 20, 2017, Simon and Schuster, 448 pages

“Five high school seniors. Two different roads. One life-changing decision. For fans of Tommy Wallach and Patrick Ness comes a thoughtful, funny novel that explores what happens to five teens when they choose the road…and the road not taken.”- Goodreads

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June 27th, 2017

Now I Rise (The Conqueror’s Saga #2) by Kiersten White, June 27th, Delacorte Press, 496 pages

The highly anticipated sequel to As I Darken (The Conqueror’s Sage #1), a story of Vlad the Impaler as a woman.

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Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #3) by Richelle Mead, June 27, 2017, Razorbill

We’re back at the Glittering Court, but this time we see things through the prism of Mirabel’s eyes.

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Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, June 27, 2017, Katherine Tegen Books, 528 pages

“An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way.”- Goodreads

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Girl on the Verge by Pintip Dunn, June 27, 2017, Kensington, 256 pages

“From the author of The Darkest Lie comes a compelling, provocative story for fans of I Was Here and Vanishing Girls, about a high school senior straddling two worlds, unsure how she fits in either—and the journey of self-discovery that leads her to surprising truths.”- Goodreads

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If Birds Fly Back by Carlie Sorosiak, June 27, 2017, HarperTeen, 448 pages

“With humor and heart, debut author Carlie Sorosiak weaves a story of finding people who leave and loving those who stay, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Emery Lord.”- Goodreads

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Aftercare Instructions by Bonnie Pipkin, June 27, 2017, Flatiron Books, 265 pages

“In the tradition of Jandy Nelson and Rainbow Rowell, a big-hearted journey of furious friendship, crazy love, and unexpected hope after a teen’s decision to end an unwanted pregnancy.”- Goodreads

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The Impossible Vastness of US by Samantha Young, June 27, 2017, Harlequin Teen, 384 pages

India is in a new town, with a new step-sister and a new social status- or lack thereof to be exact. As India spends more time with her new sister Eloise and her boyfriend Finn in their rich new community, she learns that things are not always as they appear.

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You could read a book a day and still not get through all the June releases. Hopefully these this will be enough to keep you out of trouble this summer. If not, stay cool, we’ll be back next month with more One To Watch Books!

Ann-Eliza

Have you added our May One To Watch Books to your TBR?

One To Watch Books: Your Guide to June YA Releases The long hot summer has officially begun and our summer TBR list is on FIRE! By the beach, by the pool, by the air conditioner...we've good ALL the summer books.