I read this as an ARC about a month ago. Thank you to G.P. Putnam for making it available to me to read. **May contain minor Spoilers**
Where we left off after Warcross, Hideo had betrayed Emika and really everyone else who uses his Nuerolink lenses by releasing his algorithm that effects how people think and makes it impossible to commit crimes. Zero who was Emika’s original quarry might now be the ally that she needs to stop Hideo but can he be trusted because after all, he did try to kill her. That would put a damper on any relationship. Can she ever forgive Hideo for what he is doing? And who is Zero and the blackcoats? Are their goals really the same as hers?
If that wasn’t enough, her actions in the Warcross championships has made her the hero to some and cheater to others. Emika has a lot going on but that doesn’t stop her from doing what she thinks is the right thing to do, even if that means going against the man she loves. A lot has happened to Emika in her short life. Her father died and she was placed in foster care. She ran away and lived on the streets only to support herself by becoming a bounty hunter. She’s an incredible hacker that is what brought her into this to begin with but she’s used to everything on her own. The greatest growth that she had was learning that she doesn’t have to do everything on her own. That she has friends who are willing to carry some of the load for her and when things get even more complicated and she doesn’t know who to trust that friendship becomes even more important. In Wildcard, we finally learn what really happened to Sasuke, Hideo’s younger brother and it’s even more heartbreaking than anyone assumed. More under the cut. Continue reading
So I finally got around to seeing To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix and it was delightful. It was every bit as charming as the book was and the casting was truly spot on. Lana Candor is the perfect Lara Jean. She’s sweet, shy and romantic. She’s unassuming and comfortable being in the shadow. Noah Centineo is the perfect Peter. He just oozes the big man on campus charisma. You can’t help but fall in love with him, which it seems like everyone on the internet has. The story is the same. Lara Jean is 16 and is about to start her Junior year in high school. Her big sister is going off to college making her the big sister at home. Her mother died when she was young so it was just her and her sisters and her dad. Lara Jean has never had a boyfriend but she’s had a few crushes. She wrote her crushes a letter that was never meant to be read until they were. Two of those letters went the Josh, the boy next door who dated her older sister Margot and Peter, her former friend from Middle School. Peter and Lara Jean decide to fake date to make Peter’s ex girlfriend jealous and help her avoid Josh. All goes well until of course she starts to have feelings for him. The movie goes by at a pretty clip. Establishing both Lara Jean and Peter and their relationship. As they spend more time with each other we see what a great couple they are for each other. They allow each other open up to each other and be honest about their feelings that they can’t be with each other. I also love that while Peter asks Lara Jean to do things outside her comfort zone like go to parties, he never asks her to change who she is. Obviously in the book we see more development of their relationship then we do in the movie because of time constraints it still comes out. They relationship may have started as pretend, you can see from the beginning that there was always something there. If there is one thing I wished there was more of was Kitty. Kitty was always my favorite character in the book and I think she needs her own series. *cough Jenny Han cough* I can only hope that Netflix greenlights a sequel so we get more of Kitty, Lara Jean and Peter in the future. The movie is not earth shattering but it is so cute and charming that i feeling it’s going to be on heavy rotation in my Netflix queue for now on.
