monthly wrap up: april, ’21

Hello, friends!

2021 is going by so fast is ridiculous. Like, how come we’re already in April? I am relieved, cause I can not wait to get vaccinated and for things to get back to normal. At the same time, I have no idea where time is going and it’s pretty weird.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. I have a new job! On one hand, it is pretty exciting, because I’m teaching English to young kids. On the other, it is incredibly overwhelming. I have made so many mistakes during my first week is not even funny and I have no idea how I haven’t been fired yet, lmao. I’m just trying to get by and adjust already, so hopefully I can be a better teacher too.
   

BOOKS I READ

★★★☆☆

I started out the month by picking up Going Off Script. I liked this one a lot. It’s Jen Wilde, so the writing is a bit juvenile, and this one felt like a particularly badly-researched view on the media industry (or simply what is like to have a job lol pls don’t talk back to your boss because you want to show him how badass you are), but the characters were so great and overall it was a really entertaining time.

★★★★☆

I was excited to read To Love and to Loathe and I really enjoyed it. The characters had a lot of chemistry,and it was well paced. I was also obsessed with the writing – it felt historical, but it was witty and hilarious as well. However, the representation of a lesbian side character was pretty insensitive in my opinion and made me take a star for the final rating.

★★★★☆

Considering April was Autism Acceptance Month, I wanted to read an own-voices autistic book and Please Don’t Hug Me was very interesting. I’m not used to books entirely written in letters, so I struggled a bit with the writing. Still, I loved the humor, the family relationship is A+ and most importantly: the protagonist finds comfort in sharing her experiences in A BLOG!!!! The way this book made me remember everything I love about blogging was beautiful. 

★★★★☆

I also got an unsolicited ARC of Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun which was such a pleasant surprise! This book was adorable, though I wish it had gone deeper in some aspects at times. Nonetheless, it made me smile so much and saying goodbye to these characters – especially because the found family aspect is so big in this story – actually made me tear up. 

★★★★★

Ace by Angela Chen was such an eye-opening read. It’s one of those books that I encourage everyone to read, as I feel like its descriptions of sexual attraction, sexual desire, compulsory sexuality, queerplatonic partners, as well as how the author develops the intersectionality of asexuality and race and disability to be extremely important and not enough talked about.

★★★★☆

And, finally, I picked up The Tyrant’s Tomb, the fourth book in the Trials of Apollo series. I enjoyed this installment so much, and the more and more we read about Apollo, the more I fall in love with his character. He’s grown so much since book one is ridiculous. I was also happy to see again my favorite Camp Jupiter campers – Reyna, Hazel and Frank – and am looking forward to conclude this series soon.

MONTHLY PLAYLIST

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) pretty much dominated my month. Out of The Vault tracks, Mr. Perfectly Fine has got to be my favorite, but I love That’s When a lot too. I also watched Billie Eilish’s documentary and found out there are actually a couple more songs by her I really enjoy.

LOOKING FORWARD

So many exciting things come out this May, including the second season of HSMTMTS, Olivia Rodrigo’s new album and a couple of my most anticipated releases, including May The Best Man Win and Counting Down With You. I hope May is as much of a good month as I am anticipating it to be!

What are you excited about in May? Which songs you loved hearing this past month? Let’s chat in the comments!