media update: January

Asterisks denote something I particularly enjoyed or found especially worthy of my time; double asterisks are reserved for the creme de la creme. As always, your mileage may vary.

FICTION

1. What Lies in the Woods* by Kate Alice Marshall:  When she was eleven years old, Naomi spent a lot of time in the woods with her best friends Cass and Liv, making up elaborate stories about fairies and goddesses.  One day, Naomi is brutally attacked and her testimony, along with that of her friends, sends a man to prison.  But when she grows up and learns more about the man, now dead, she begins to wonder if she and her friends were wrong, and she returns to her hometown in search of the truth.  Yep, another "woman returns to her hometown in search of the truth" book, but this one is excellent!

2. Phaedra* by Laura Shepperson:  Phaedra reluctantly agrees to wed Theseus, the hero who killed the Minotaur, her monstrous half-brother.  When her stepson Hippolytus rapes her, she refuses to stay silent.

3. Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh:  In post-WWII London, a group of women, ruled by the fearsome Alice Diamond, start a lucrative business stealing from upscale stores.

4. Really Good, Actually* by Monica Heisey:  Maggie is getting divorced from her husband of 608 days, who's no longer answering any of her texts or emails.  She's broke, her job is no longer fulfilling, and her initially supportive friends are getting increasingly frustrated with her.  Still, she tries to convince herself that she's doing great.  Anyone who's been through a nasty breakup will relate, but it can also be really funny.

NONFICTION

Nothing this month.

MANGA/GRAPHIC NOVELS

1. My Brain Is Different by Monzusu

2. My Dress-Up Darling vol. 7 by Shinichi Fukuda 

MOVIES

1. The Menu*:  A group of very wealthy people go to an exclusive restaurant on an isolated island, where they discover the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared an unusual experience.  A deliciously sly treat; try to know as little as possible going in.

2. Smile:  After witnessing a patient's suicide, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) finds herself haunted by disturbing visions.  Some nicely creepy visuals, but awfully derivative of It Follows.

3. Injustice:  After suffering a tragedy, Superman starts enforcing peace by any means necessary, which puts him at odds with many other superheroes.  The animation wasn't great and there was one weird and unnecessary plot element, but the dialogue was punchy and it was pretty good.

4. Shotgun Wedding:  Darcy and Tom (Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel) bicker before their lavish island wedding, but things get worse when pirates invade before the ceremony.  It doesn't exactly reinvent the romcom wheel, but it's amusing enough.