Stories I Ate This Month: January 2018

Hello, everyone! I'm back, and I'm here to continue my series of The Stories I Ate This Month. In case you haven't read my last post, this is basically a list of all of the stories I consumed within the month. This can include books, movies, and television shows. I may add more depending of what happens in each month, but we'll see if that happens. For now, let's get onto the list!



The first story that I finished this month was Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, and let me tell you, it is a trip-in the best possible way. Crooked Kingdom is the final book of the Six of Crows duology, and I cannot recommend this series enough. It's a con/heist mixed with magic and topped with humor and sarcastic wit. Don't let that fool you though. This novel will also sucker punch you straight in the gut with heartbreak. So there's something here for everyone. "Crooked Kingdom" and its counterpart Six of Crows are apart of the Grisha Universe that Bardugo has created in her other novels. Though as someone who hasn't read her other works, you do not have to read her other series in order to understand this duology. There are some terms that are created for the Grisha Universe, but they are easy to pick up on. But I'm babbling now. All in all, you'll love these characters and their shenanigans. I give this book an A+. 



The second novel I conquered this month was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. This novel tells the story of the relationship between two women and their traumatic experiences in the span of 30+ years. The setting is a war-torn Afghanistan, which only expedites their troubles. This novel is heart-wrenching, but every moment propels readers to the next chapter in hopes that Mariam and Laila will find a decent solution to their problems. I could not put this book down, which has really helped my procrastination. This is my first novel that I have read by Khaled Hosseini, but I can honestly say that I will gladly read his other works. So with that said, I'm giving A Thousand Splendid Suns an A+. 

The third novel that I got to enjoy this month was actually a book that was published this month, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. This novel features not one but two murder mysteries, a boarding school that we all wish we could go to, and secrets galore. It's everything I could want from a novel. I was incredibly happy with this novel until I figured out that it is not a stand-alone, it is the first of a series - a series that I'm going to have to wait for at least two years. I want to know what happens next, and I honestly cannot wait until the next one comes out. I'm going to give this novel an A. I seriously cannot wait for the next one.

To satisfy my taste for murder mysteries, I scoured the internet for young adult murder mysteries. After a tireless search, I found The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and because I have exactly zero self-control, I have read all four and a half novels before the month ended. I say four and half because the last novel of the series is more of a novella, but I'll come back to that in a bit. Overall, the series a mix of Criminal Minds, young adult novels, and Leverage. Basically, teenagers with different natural abilities help the FBI solve crimes. These abilities include profiling, detecting emotions, statistics analysis, and detecting lies. Honestly, you can tell Barnes has a degree in cognitive science from Yale because, as disbelieving as the summary sounds, Barnes makes you believe that these superhuman kids are 100% real. It was interesting to delve into the minds of both the criminal and the profilers. It's definitely a great novel/series for anyone who loves mysteries and the psychology behind them. As a series overall, I'd give them an A, with the final full novel getting an A+. The novella of the series is more of a snapshot into each of the characters' lives after the conclusion of the series, and I would only give it a B+. It wasn't necessary, but fun if you love the series. 

Finally, I managed to read another book this month, and it happens to be another mystery with a supernatural twist. I wanted to read more of Maureen Johnson after reading Truly Devious, so I picked up The Name of the Star. The novel is about a girl, Rory,  who moves to England for school and encounters a Jack the Ripper copy cat, and Rory is the only witness to the culprit. The prose is great, and I enjoy the concept. However, I didn't fall in love with it as much as I did with Truly Devious. I will, however, be continuing this series. With all that in mind, I'm going to give this book an A-. 

I did manage to finish up a TV series this month. I've watched the first season of The Runaways, a hulu original that takes place in the Marvel Universe (though I'm not sure if it will be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe). The show is about a group of kids who find out that their parents are murders, and they have to work together to figure out their parents' plan and stop them. Of course, it wouldn't be Marvel without super powers, and this show has plenty. Plus, I was really excited to see some unique powers from each of the teenagers. There were some cool twists and turns throughout the season, which kept me coming back week after week. There is some iffy acting, and sometimes felt a little bit like a CW show with it's melodramatics. However, I overall enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see what they've got for season two. I'm giving this show a solid B+. 

The first movie that I got to see this month is The Disaster Artist, and I will be honest. I did not have high expectations for this movie. Basically, the movie covers the friendship between Greg and Tommy, the later of which wrote, produced, and starred in The Room (which is generally thought of as the worst movie to have ever been made). And when I first saw the trailer for it, I couldn't help but think that it was just going to bomb, perhaps not unlike The Room. But I was really surprised. I understand the hype around this movie now. It was funny in a really weird and cringey way, but it also had a lot of heart into it. You really feel sympathetic to many of the characters, including Tommy. There were moments where I questioned the validity of the movie (some scenes seemed to take more artistic licensed than others), but overall, I quite enjoyed the movie. I would give The Disaster Artist an A-.

The second movie I watched this month was The Greatest Showman, a musical about the beginnings of the circus. I have been super excited about this movie since the trailer was released. The ensemble, musical numbers, and overall performances, based on the trailers, were expected to be dynamic and fast-paced. I can say that I wasn't disappointed by this movie. Every song featured in this movie was nothing short of amazing, and each had their own quirks that set them apart. The performances were also well done, especially by Zendaya. I just thought that she really hit her stride in this movie, and there was a point that I was nearly in tears because of her execution of Anne Wheeler. However, I did feel that some of the transitions between movie and musical numbers felt a little "off." The transitions just seem jarring, and for that I'm giving The Greatest Showman a B+.

The third movie I got to see this month was Pitch Perfect 3. I will preface this by saying that I love Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. I've been a fan of this series for a while now, so I was excited when I discovered that a third movie was being made. However, I was really disappointed in how this movie turned out. It turned from a music competition to an action movie for seemingly no legitimate reason. Tonally speaking, it was completely different from the first two movies, which may be the reason that I had such a strong reaction to it. Also, for a movie about singing, there was certainly a lack of it in this movie. Again, that may have something to do with my seeing The Greatest Showman right before Pitch Perfect 3. With that in mind, I'm giving Pitch Perfect 3 a C+.

The fourth movie that I saw this month is Insidious: The Last Key. This movie takes place sometime before the original Insidious but after the third movie of the franchise; however, I have not seen any other Insidious movie before this one. This is manly because I have an extreme dislike for horror movies. Their intent is to scare people, and I find that really off-putting, but my friend wanted to go, so I did. Overall, I wouldn't say it was a good or bad movie. It was more of a "meh," if anything. The story was interesting, but some of the plot devices didn't really work the way they should have. Plus there were some really cringy scenes that were just ridiculous. The Disater Artist had some cringey moments, but those moments added to the overall story. The ones in Insidious did not. Overall, I would give this movie a C+, but if you are a big fan of the franchise, you might give it a B-.

My fifth movie that I saw this month is Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Now, I'll say that when I first saw the trailer, I wasn't hopeful for this movie. It looked like it was going to be overly cheesy (in an incredibly bad way) or a ridiculous action movie. It turned out to be a bit of both but executed surprisingly well. The Rock was incredibly funny in this movie, and Karen Gillian and Jack Black also put out some stellar performances. That isn't to say Kevin Hart wasn't funny. He definitely was. But I think that the other actors really stepped out of their typically performance box and becomes completely different characters Kevin Hart seemed to just play Kevin Hart. I probably wouldn't have minded except that it didn't match with his real-world counterpart. But I digress. I was thoroughly entertained despite my feelings about Kevin Hart's performance. I'm going to give this movie an B+. 

My sixth movie of the month is Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I have never seen before. I know, my friends are also appalled. In case you're like me and have been living under a rock for the past thirty years, Raiders of the Lost Ark tells the story of Indiana Jones, an archaeologist who has been tasked with finding the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazi's get their hands on it. And for a movie that was made in the 80's, this movie has aged incredibly well. It was a fun adventure story with bits of humor and romance that provides an overall good time. My only gripe that I had with the movie is that it suffers from damsel disorder, and there's also a creepy up-skirt shot that was completely unnecessary. For that, I'm giving this movie an A-. I will be continuing this series, in case you're wondering. 

Well, that's it for this one! I hope you've enjoyed this post. Hopefully, the next post will have a bit more variety to it, but I just can't help but finish a series. But, we'll see. Anyway, I'll see you lovelies next time!