monthly wrap up: may, ’21

Hello, friends!

May has been a weird month. I hope y’all are staying safe and mentally well during these times. Also, if you can, check this link out for places to donate & petitions to sign to help Palestine at this crucial moment, as well as this one with more resources.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. I taught high school students for 5 days. And it was awful, lmao. But are we surprised? Teenagers are just… terrifying and also the worst. I work mostly with kids ages 4-6, and moving from that to high school was daunting and not an experience I’d like to repeat. I’m still proud of myself for doing it, but it definitely was not an easy one.
2. My parents are vaccinated! They have yet to get their second shot, but it will be a while until they do. Nonetheless, I am so happy! Both of my parents suffer from high blood pressure, and my mom is diabetic, which is why they got the vaccine earlier than most people. Still, I am so so sooooo thankful!
3. Also, season 2 of HSMTMTS is here! It feels weird talking about something so shallow, but I also think shows/movies/music can help distract us from the atrocities of the world. I can attest that, during one of the hardest days I had this month mentally, this show was like a blanket of comfort and made me so happy. I am really enjoying the season so far and have high expectations for the upcoming episodes.

BOOKS I READ

★★★★☆

I was hoping to finish Born a Crime last month, but unfortunately, with my hectic schedule as I adjust to my new job, I couldn’t find time to do so. I expected this book to be funny, since Trevor Noah is a comedian, but it was honestly just a very sad and hard-hitting book. It discusses violence, abuse and racism at length and it was not easy to read. I still really enjoyed drawing parallels between Trevor’s experience in South Africa and my experience in Brazil (ofc they’re vastly different, but some similarities surprised me) and reading about Trevor’s beautiful relationship with his mom.

★★☆☆☆

Unfortunately, Counting Down With You turned out to be a disappointment, even though it was one of my most anticipated 2021 releases. Like I talked about in my Goodreads review, I mostly found the relationship between the main couple to be cringey and cheesy. I also found there was a lot of missed opportunities in developing the side characters, having a more nuanced discussion on religion and Ace as a protagonist read like a big cliché. I still think the friendgroup was iconic and the anxiety rep will definitely resonate with some people.

★★★★☆

Long Way Down is possibly Jason Reynolds’ most famous work and I am so glad I read it. It’s a very short book, set in the spam of an elevator ride from the protagonists’ apartment to the ground floor and I absolutely loved this setting. The discussions throughout this book – “don’t cry, don’t snitch, get revenge” – are very powerful and were definitely written for teenagers in similar situations, which I appreciated a lot.

★★★★☆

While I am not a fan of thrillers, I was very intrigued by the premise of The Sun Down Motel and I’m happy it did not disappoint. I found the resolution of the mystery to be satisfying, albeit the book was definitely longer than I think it had to be. I enjoyed both timelines and perspectives equally and the overall theme of feminism – how women are never listened to and how they mostly have to rely on other women to find help – was very well developed.

★★★☆☆

May The Best Man Win was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and my overall thoughts were… conflicting. On one hand, I appreciated the themes and how the book allowed the characters to be messy and flawed. However, I did find the character development to come a bit too late and therefore it felt rushed. I also felt like a lot of central themes of the book – such as Lukas’ grief and autism – were left off without any proper conclusion.

★★★★☆

This morning (yes, literally this morning) I also finished Boyfriend Material. I am so glad Ruby convinced me to read this, because it was indeed, amazing! I loved the banter between the characters and it was laugh-out-loud funny. I also appreciate how much information this book had on so many different themes. It might seem something weird, but it was genuinely interesting. I also loved the dynamic between the main couple and the friend group was so hilariously supportive.

 

MONTHLY PLAYLIST

“if i could make it go quiet” pretty much ruled my month. I love girl in red and I was so excited for her debut album and it absolutely did not disappoint. I was also surprised by the amount of female artists I’ve been listening to recently, and pretty proud of myself for doing so. Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR will only show up in my June playlist, but I have been loving that one too!

LOOKING FORWARD

June is Pride Month and I have some books I am super excited to pick up and finally read this month. S4 of Élite comes out this month as well and… yes, we have feelings. I am not hopeful about this season but I’ll watch anyway, ofc.

What are you excited about this June? Have you read some of your anticipated releases of 2021 already? How did they meet your expectations? Let’s talk in the comments!