TED Talks- Fav + Brainstorming

Favorite- https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity

I’ll be the first to admit that i’m not the biggest fan of TED talks. While I do enjoy listening to them when they’re a subject i’m interested in, I often times find myself not quite as engaged as I should or could be. However, one talk that I found myself drawn to was Sir Ken Robinsons “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”. I have always been a strong advocate of school being less of a mold to fit students into and more of a place that allows intellectual and creative growth, and this talk puts an emphasis on these beliefs. It does a great job of not only staying entertaining and therefore engaging, but also urging the education system to nurture creativity as oppose to put it in a box.

Idea- Following my theme of feminism that I’ve continued to develop throughout the semester, the first idea that comes to mind in regards to a Unit 2 project topic would be feminism and gender equality in all aspects of life. I would be able to take pieces from all of my speeches and writing assignments thus far to touch on the gender norms assigned from birth, ways the futures of children are shaped by their treatment based on gender, and the way that gender has dictated so many things that it shouldn’t, even in the modern age of fights for gender equality. This is definitely a rough draft of a brainstorm, but I feel it is something I would be able to take go into a lot of depth on and already have a pretty good understanding of. Another idea I have, similar to the broader feminism idea, is the relevance of the pink tax, and the way that even as we stray away from gender inequality, it is still a very prominent issue. These are the only ideas that come to mind as of now, but i’m going to continue brainstorming and will come back to edit this post as I think of more.

“It Ends With Us” By Colleen Hoover

Another week another Colleen Hoover novel! I hope ya’ll aren’t tired of these because i’m not even close to done going down my list of her books to review. As the novel that boosted her into a media spotlight, “It Ends With Us” is another that will put you through the seven stages of grief, and end leaving you wanting nothing more than an immediate sequel and conversation with Hoover regarding just how she manages to come up with these plots.

Synopsis- The novel opens following Lily Bloom, a 23-year-old, red-headed woman living in Boston with a dream of simplifying her life and getting out of the corporate world, who meets neurosurgeon Ryle one night on the roof of a high rise, and has an immediate attraction/spark.

Around him constantly due to befriending his sister, Lily can’t seem to get Ryle out of her head, and he is crazy about her, even through his “no dating” rule. After continuous flirting and sneaking around, the two begin dating and sparks fly immediately. At first, their relationship seems stronger than ever, already moving in with each other soon after they begun dating. The honeymoon was going fine, to say the least, that is until Lily runs into her first teenage love.

Through the story, Lily reads her old journals filled diary entries, where she talks about meeting and falling in love with Atlas, a homeless boy who was living in the abandoned house behind her own home. She provided him with food, water, clean

n clothes, and a place to shower and keep warm while her parents were gone. Though she was the one providing him with all these things, Atlas was her savior from her father, who physically abused her mother. The two fell in love and shared countless memories together, all documented in Lily’s journal, as she recounts her first love while falling in love with Ryle. Unfortunately, the couple didn’t get their happy ending, and separated when Atlas moved to Boston to live with his uncle, but they vowed to reconnect someday.

After running into Atlas while on a date with Ryle, Lily begins to question the relationship she has so quickly built with Ryle, and ponders her remaining feelings for Atlas and the relationship they left behind. Ryle notices this shift in Lily’s feelings, letting his anger take over. As her relationship with Atlas begins to rekindle, Lily’s relationship with Ryle begins a downward spiral.. Throughout the novel, the relationship only continues to go downhill, with Lily forgiving some horrible things done by Ryle all in the name of love. Such a contrast from the kind, humorous character introduced at the beginning on the novel, Ryle’s shift in behavior brings a shock to Lily, leaving her helpless, just like she was watching her father abuse her mother as a child.

The novel closes with an extremely unexpected plot twist to end off the already whirlwind of a novel, one that leaves Lily with the ultimate question of whether to stay or leave, prompting her to forever leave behind the chapter of teenage love that she never fully shut. The book highlights abusive relationships Lily experienced and witnessed in both her past and present life, and pushes the theme that the people that love us the most can be the ones who hurt us the most.

First Line- “As I sit here with one foot on either side of the ledge, looking down from twelve stories above the streets of Boston, I can’t help but think about suicide.”

Last Line- “It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.”

My Favorite Quote- (apologies in advance for the multiple, there’s just too many good ones)

“In the future… if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again… fall in love with me.”

“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”

“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”

Rating- 9/10 As the first Colleen Hoover book I read, this one will always have a special place in my heart! The raw emotions Hoover was able to portray through her writing made the story extremely powerful, sad and painfully truthful. However, after reading many more of her novels, I can say that there are countless others that deserve the same level of popularity and attention this one has receive. Don’t get me wrong, the story is beautifully written, and by absolutely no means even close to bad, I just feel that of all Hoover’s novels, it’s not the one that should be front and center above the rest. With that being said, it is absolutely a must read and does have countless plot twists that’ll have you wanting to throw the book. Hoover will leave you torn between being team Ryle or team Atlas, and has a way of leaving readers pity even the most undesirable characters.

Reflection Of My Speech

As I reflect on my overall speech performance, I find that there are many personal improvements that can be made for the future. While I will admit that the written aspect of my speech itself is something I am very proud of, as not only did I take a lot of time to write and edit it, but it is something that reflects my genuine passion regarding the subject, I do feel that my performance of the speech is something with much to be improved upon.

I feel that my biggest weakness in my speech recording is my overall “stage presence” and lack of maintained eye contact with the ‘”audience”.  A factor that I likely contributed to my lack of these things was my overall memorization of my speech. I do not think that I prepared myself quite enough in regards to having it decently memorized to avoid needing to read a script. While I tried my best to alternate between my script and the audience, I did find while rewatching my recording that I struggled to keep my eyes completely off of the script at many points during my speech.

However, while I have highlighted the many weaknesses I find within my speech performance, I have also found many strengths. As mentioned before, the topic of my speech is one that I posses great passion towards, and therefore I was able to easily use vocal tone shifts to portray the emotion I wanted to be relayed to the audience. Piggybacking off of this, I feel that being able to relay messages and feelings while maintaining audience interest is something I accomplished, as I used a strong hook and kept my speech fairly concise and straight forward with the information I wanted to share and message I was aiming to spread.

Overall, while I am still very proud of my work and feel that I have written a speech that both informs and reflects my passion, I still have work to do when it comes to the overall speech performance aspect, and will be sure to improve upon it for the next time.

“All the Missing Girls” By Megan Miranda

Happy Tuesday everyone! On this weeks installment of my book blogs we are once again switching up genres to another one of my favorites, true mystery. While we dabbled in it last week with “We Were Liars”,  “All the Missing Girls” is a book that is all mystery, as opposed to the bit of multiple genres as we saw in the last blog. This is one that I only read recently, but can definitely say it’s up there with many of my favorites, and I hope you guys will agree.

Synopsis- When Nic Farrell returns to her home town to help take care of her ill father, nothing can prepare her to confront the memories she worked so hard pushed behind herself when she left 10 years prior. After the death of her mother, teenage Nic was already struggling, her entire life destabilized, mourning with her father and brother. The disappearance of her best friend Corinne pushed her over the edge, and led her to leaving town for good. Corinne was never found, and eventually the search was given up for good, her book closed for good.

Almost immediately after Nic arrives back in town for the first time in 10 years, another girl goes missing, this one just a few years younger than her. The books timeline moves uniquely, opening at 2 weeks into the investigation, and traveling backwards all the way to the day Nic arrives back in town. As we follow her working her way to the beginning, readers watch as Nic slowly unravels secret upon secret, things kept from the police, kept from friends, and even kept within her own family.

When Nic unveils the special interest that Annaleise (second missing girl) had in her friend group, and the way that she held evidence crucial to Corrines case, which she had been using as blackmail for years to bleed Nic’s father of all his money, a chain reaction occurs. Soon after she is confronted by Nic, Nics brother, and her childhood friend who completed the trio with Corinne and Nic, Annaleise disappears into the forest.

As the story progresses, going backwards to the beginning of her investigation, Nic also begins to reveal the circumstances of Corinne’s death. Her revelations are shocking, and leave her tied to the town she spent so long trying to forget. As she allows the ghosts of her past to reappear, coexisting with her present, Nic pushes the line of just how far you can truly go to protect the ones you love, and at what point protecting them puts you in danger as well. After all, there’s no life without fear, and no fear without life.

First Line- “It started with a phone call, deceptively simple and easy to ignore.”

Last Line- “That I survive. It’s only one thing. But it’s also everything. Pick yourself up. Start over again.”

My Favorite Quote- “People were like Russian nesting dolls – versions stacked inside the latest edition. But they all still lived inside, unchanged, just out of sight.”

“There is nothing more dangerous, nothing more powerful, nothing more necessary and essential for survival than the lies we tell ourselves.”

(these were both too good to decide between!)

Rating- 10/10 I can genuinely say that this is one of the best mystery novels I have ever read. The unique way of telling the story backwards leaves readers unable to put the book down, as the end of each and every chapter leaves a major cliff hanger. The story starts a two weeks into the investigation, and then circles back to the beginning for the ultimate plot twist reveal. Not only is the overall structuring of the story good, but the contents themselves as well. It’s one of those mysteries that is just creepy enough to leave you slightly scared, but not too much to the point where you don’t want to keep reading until every little secret is revealed in the end.

**Image found on GoodReads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23212667-all-the-missing-girls

Speech Almost Final Draft & Essay Rough Rough Outline

“The Future is Female” Rhetorical Analysis Speech 

132 years. Longer than anyone here will be alive. That is the projected length of time it will take the gender gap to reach full parity. This means that not a single woman on this planet today will ever get to experience the true equality that the feminism movement has been fighting to gain for the last 182 years.

While it has been an issue addressed since the 1840’s, when the first of many women’s rights conventions took place, and has been taking seemingly decent strides towards success throughout the years, recent events have caused backpedaling in the fight for gender equity. In light of these events, one commonplace has jumped out as a prominent representation of this movement, making waves across countless nations as not only controversial, but powerful. The future is female. In stride with the feminism movement, this slogan has come in waves of popularity, first coined in 1975 on a t-shirt designed in a feminist bookstore, and now most recently regaining traction with everyone from celebrities, to politicians, to devout feminists alike. Found in the form of not only t-shirts, posters, flags, and signs for women’s rights marches, but advertisements and even awards as well, this seemingly simple statement is one that holds an immense power in regards to the ever-so prominent fight for equality.

While used in many instances through the generations of fights for feminine power, one company made a powerful statement with their use of “The Future is Female”. Employing the slogan as the centerpiece of their shoe collection launch, Wittner Shoes created not only a beautiful advertisement showcasing their high-class product, but an advertisement that uses visual rhetoric to create a deeply-layered message regarding all things feminism, and a future of equality. 

The company took a statement that has not only gained media traction, but controversy along the way as well, and gave it the ability to make a difference with just 4 simple words. Although widely used and supported for many years, this commonplace has also caused a bit of backlash. With its seemingly straightforward way of “cutting men out of the equation” as some put it, people in disagreement claim that it’s a push for roles to be completely reversed in the future, with men being in the position of lesser treatment while women gain success and opportunities. It brought forth a particular level of distaste from many when 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton used the line in her speech addressing the 2017 MAKERS conference, with many publicizing their negative feeling towards her use of the statement, making claims that it “creates a bias towards men” and promotes the idea of men being the “bad guys” of society. However, this advertisement does not make any of these types of claims or insinuations, and instead focuses on showing off the beauty of both women and their product, using what would have already been an existing advertisement to spread a message of support during these less than ideal times in so many places for women’s rights. This advertisement is a great example of the way that a simple few words without context can mean so little, but adding context can make all the difference in the world. 

Through the use of a stylistic design, with limited color palette and simple structure, the Wittner advertisement team was able to put an emphasis on the harsh lines of the models’ stance, and boldness of the “Future is Female” slogan. The red line striking under the slogan and through the legs of the model highlights the words as being the focal point of the ad, which says a lot in regards to the companies passion towards the movement given it is technically still a promotion of their shoes. Additionally, the choice of red in contrast to the black and white of the rest of the ad can be seen as not only an emphasis on the urgency tied to the phrase, but a symbolic representation of what “The Future is Female” really means. Historically and culturally, the color red has a variety of meanings, including life, health, vigor, war, courage, anger, love and religious fervor. While these are all different, and there’s no way to confirm exactly which Wittner was aiming to incorporate into their ad, each of these meanings has one common thread, they all require passion. It is safe to state that this ad thrives off of its creators passion for the women’s rights movement, and we can infer that the use of red can be seen as a symbolic emphasis on the way that passion fuels power, and power helps to create change. 

Additionally, the stance of the model in the ad is another interesting point in regards to its visual rhetoric. She is posed in such a way that has her simultaneously leaning forward on her toes and rocking backward, creating what is referred to in high-fashion modeling as a “line of beauty” with her body. This S shape creates a direct line of sight to the words on the advertisement, and draws the attention of the audience to its central message of “The Future is Female”, while simultaneously highlighting the female model, who is a representation of all females fighting for equality through this slogan.

Overall, this advertisement uses a seemingly simple approach of visual rhetoric to promote a message with great meaning and importance. Through powerful color, bold font, and a sleek stance, it puts forth a message that cannot be ignored.

The future IS female, but that doesn’t mean it’s anti-male, it simply means that women WILL get the rights we deserve, and the use of this commonplace by Wittner Shoes is a great asset on the track to change.

Thank You.

“The Future is Female” VS “Inspire Her Mind” A Feminine Future (i promise that this is in the works and will be better by next week!)

Intro

Feminism. More than a word, it advocates for women’s social, political, legal and economic rights being equal to those of men.

With a projection of 132 years until full parity of the gender gap, not a single female on our planet today will ever get the opportunity to be treated with genuine equality, or viewed as an equal peer to male counterparts. Though this is a pressing matter just as prevalent now as it has been for the last century, companies such as Wittner Shoes and Verizon have made waves in media advertisement with their “Future is Female ” and “Inspire her Mind ” campaigns. While they are seemingly opposites in rhetorical approach and overall execution, both promote an overall future of equality for women, and provide a sense of empowerment, urging our next generation to follow their dreams, not the societal expectation so deeply ingrained in our minds.

 

Background on gender equality (lack-thereof)

Contrast of ad’s (Verizon emotional appeal vs Wittner visual appeal )

  • phone company vs high fashion apparel (way that their audiences differ)
  • video vs simple/minimalistic advertisement (affect on overall rhetoric appeal)
  • overall company promotion vs specific promotion of certain product

Deeper rhetorical analysis of video

  • timeline of girl growing up
  • background music
  • outside people commenting on her actions
  • happy ending

Deeper rhetorical analysis of ad

  • Through the use of a stylistic design, with limited color palette and simple structure, the Wittner advertisement team was able to put an emphasis on the harsh lines of the models’ stance, and boldness of the “Future is Female” slogan. The red line striking under the slogan and through the legs of the model highlights the words as being the focal point of the ad, which says a lot in regards to the companies passion towards the movement given it is technically still a promotion of their shoes. Additionally, the choice of red in contrast to the black and white of the rest of the ad can be seen as not only an emphasis on the urgency tied to the phrase, but a symbolic representation of what “The Future is Female” really means. Historically and culturally, the color red has a variety of meanings, including life, health, vigor, war, courage, anger, love and religious fervor. While these are all different, and there’s no way to confirm exactly which Wittner was aiming to incorporate into their ad, each of these meanings has one common thread, they all require passion. It is safe to state that this ad thrives off of its creators passion for the women’s rights movement, and we can infer that the use of red can be seen as a symbolic emphasis on the way that passion fuels power, and power helps to create change. Additionally, the stance of the model in the ad is another interesting point in regards to its visual rhetoric. She is posed in such a way that has her simultaneously leaning forward on her toes and rocking backward, creating what is referred to in high-fashion modeling as a “line of beauty” with her body. This S shape creates a direct line of sight to the words on the advertisement, and draws the attention of the audience to its central message of “The Future is Female”, while simultaneously highlighting the female model, who is a representation of all females fighting for equality through this slogan. **go into more depth

Overall comparison + meanings of both (way they come together to relate as a bigger picture although vastly different)

Conclusion (way our society has miles to go before reaching equality, but ad’s like these are a step in the right direction and sign of hope)

“We Were Liars” By E. Lockhart

Welcome back! After our week long mini-hiatus I have returned ready to give you yet another book review, this time we’re taking a break from our queen Colleen Hoover and diving into what was one of the most viral books on Tik Tok a few years ago, “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart. Keeping in stride with most of the others i’ve reviewed, this one’s a whirlwind, so buckle your seatbelts. **I should give a fair warning that while I try not to spoil it, there are some things that are unavoidable reveals to actually make the synopsis longer than 5 words, but your big plot twists will still remain, so don’t worry!

Synopsis- When Cadence Sinclair, eldest granddaughter of the wealthy and attractive Sinclair family, arrives at her families private island for the summer after two years of not attending, she hardly recalls the last time she was there, and is determined to figure out what happened. What she thought to be a swimming accident left her with migraines and a spotty memory. Cadence arrived to Beechwood Island upset with her little group of cousins and a family friend (who she had been in love with the previous summers) (all nicknamed “the liars”), who didn’t respond to any of her emails or letters the past summer when she went out of the country with her dad.

The book follows Cadence as she switches between a present day narration (referred to as summer17), and a narration of the previous summer (summer15), slowly recalling the events of it. As she watches the tension between her mother, aunts, and grandfather build present day, she begins to remember more and more about summer15, and the way that her family was fighting over the inheritances and assets that were to be left by her grandfather, including not only his 4 million dollar property in Boston, but all of Beechwood as well. As the chapters progress, Cadence begins to remember just how frustrated the liars had become with the materialistic nature of their family. Additionally, Cadence starts questioning the renovations of her grandfathers home on the island, which included none of her deceased grandmothers personal possessions, and the way her family tip-toes around the events of summer15, when she supposedly just had a swimming accident. She tries asking her cousins about it but is ignored and told she will remember with time.

Eventually, Cadence has a series of memories that leave her in shock. Amidst the fights over family fortune during summer15, the children began to get dragged into the disputes, used as pawns in their grandfathers game of pitting his own daughters against each other. Realizing the role they were being forced to play, the liars decided to do something big about it. An action that they thought would bring their family back together, and ruin the one thing keeping them apart, they vowed to ruin the symbolism of their families wealth. Realizing what she had done, Cadence fights to continue remembering more, and endures the pain of facing just what they had done.

However, this isn’t even close to the worst part, and only opens up a floodgate of memories for Cadence, which lead to her eventual realization of just what happened during summer15. The reason for the home renovations and lack of personal items, the mysterious death of her grandfathers dogs, the reason the other liars didn’t want to do anything involving being with the rest of the family (or so she thought they simply “didn’t want to), and the way everyone in her family seemed to have a somber cloud around them when with Cadence. As she pieces together the events of summer15, and the way that one decision changed her entire family forever, Cadence begins to realize that some puzzles just aren’t meant to be solved.

First Line- “WELCOME TO THE beautiful Sinclair family.
No one is a criminal.
No one is an addict.
No one is a failure.
The Sinclairs are athletic, tall, and handsome. We are old-money Democrats. Our smiles are wide, our chins square, and our tennis serves aggressive.”

Last Line- “My full name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman. I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools. I like a twist of meaning. I endure.”

My Favorite Quote- “We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.”

Rating- 7/10 I know I know not a 10 how crazy. This is a really really good book, It keeps you on your toes the entire time, and doesn’t reveal the biggest of the many plot twists until the very end. However, the things that make it so great are also what take off a few points in my opinion. It was so incredibly hyped up online when it became popular that I expected it to be the best book I had ever read, and it just isn’t. In my opinion it seemed to drag on a little bit, and while it was all leading up to the grand reveal, some of the detail seemed unnecessary and a bit repetitive. Additionally, I tend to be a person that loves re-reading books, and this is one that I feel like I wouldn’t be able to, because the entire foundation of the book lays on the big secret that comes out at the end, so once y0u know what happens, it’s not really the same level of enjoyment. However, with all that being said, the plot twist in itself is something worth reading it for, and I promise you will be thinking back to the entire book once you find out and feel so dumb for not putting together the pieces sooner. This book really has it all, there’s mystery, romance, plot twists, and an emotional pull. Even if you don’t want to read it, at least look up an in depth summary, because it truly is an ending that will have you questioning how the author managed to pull it off so well.

“November 9” By Colleen Hoover

Surprise surprise, on this weeks installment of Daniella’s book blogs, we’ve got another Colleen Hoover novel! Buckle your seatbelts, because this book is the only one to ever make me cry in all my 18 years, and by the end of this blog, it’ll be “Colleen” your name too. -bad pun I know i’m sorry-

Synopsis- On November 9th, the anniversary of an accident that left half of her body scarred, and just a day before she moves across the country to pursue her theatre dreams, Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist. While initial attraction leads them to spend the 24 hours before Fallon’s departure by each others sides, well on their way to falling in love by the looks of it, they ultimately make the decision to cut contact when she leaves, agreeing to reconnect once a year on November 9th. Promising to meet at the same place and time they saw each other for the first time on that November day, or at least what Fallon thought was the first time.

The novel chapters jump from year to year, as Fallon and Ben rekindle their feelings for each other, seeming to be right on track for the perfect storybook love. However, in typical Colleen Hoover fashion, this is not the case, and their relationship takes multiple sharp declines throughout.

From a family death to pregnant sister-in-law turned girlfriendish -I know I know that one weirded me out too-, Fallon and Ben’s relationship is far from the romance novels she assigns him to read as homework between their meetings.

Just when you think it can’t get any more heart-wrenching, a manuscript written by Ben makes it’s way to Fallons home, and all the sudden puzzle pieces she didn’t even know existed start to fall together. A shocking reveal leaves Fallon heartbroken, and Ben risking not only losing Fallon forever, but arrest as well. But at the end of the day, what’s a little risk when you’re playing the long game at love? And is it even considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

First Line- “I wonder what kind of sound it would make if I were to smash this glass against the side of his head.”

Last Line- “And then I kiss her. And it’s a twelve. Not the end. Far from it.”

My Favorite Quote- “It took four years for me to fall in love with him. It only took four pages to stop.”

Rating- 10/10 Big surprise on this one another perfect 10, but I promise it’s a very validated rating. I know that the synopsis does little to reveal the true masterpiece that is this book, but unfortunately that comes with the territory of not spoiling Colleen Hoover books. They are so full of twists and turns that it’s hard to give a good description without leaving much to the imagination. However with all that being said, I would like the reiterate the fact that I had never in my life cried because of a book up until reading this one, and this was not just a couple tears either. This book will manage to have you on both characters sides, frustrated that you can’t jump into the pages yourself and talk to each to clear the air. It’s more than just a romance, and provides a unique spin on the typical one-week love-stories, showing the growth and increasing maturity of both characters every year they reconnect. I couldn’t recommend this one more!

Essay Intro Draft + Outline

132 years. Longer than anyone here in the year 2022 will be alive. This is the projected length of time it will take the gender gap to reach full parity. This means that not a single female on our planet today will ever get the opportunity to be treated with genuine equality, or viewed as an even peer to male counterparts. Though this is a pressing matter just as prevalent now as it has been for the last century, companies such as Wittner Shoes and Verizon have made waves in media advertisement with their “Future is Female” and “Inspire her Mind” campaigns. While they are seemingly opposites in rhetorical approach and overall execution, both promote an overall future of equality for women, and provide a sense of empowerment, urging our next generation to follow their dreams, not the societal expectation so deeply engrained in our minds.

Outline-

Introduction (rough draft above)

Background on gender equality (lack-thereof)

Contrast of ad’s (Verizon pulling at heartstrings vs bold simplicity of Wittner)

Deeper rhetorical analysis of video

Deeper rhetorical analysis of ad

Overall comparison + meanings 0f both (way they come together to relate as a bigger picture although vastly different)

Conclusion (way our society has miles to go before reaching equality, but ad’s like these are a step in the right direction and sign of hope)

“Verity” By Colleen Hoover

After last weeks overview on a classic, we’re switching it up a bit this week. Author Colleen Hoover has been making waves across social media (especially Tik Tok) for her gripping opening lines and plot twists that leave you not knowing if you want to throw your book at a wall or never put it down. Her novel Verity is no exception.

Synopsis- The novel follows Lowen Ashleigh, a writer struggling to make ends meet when she stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime, completing the unfinished books in a very popular series for an author who has become injured and unable to complete them herself. Lowen is hired by author Verity Crawford’s husband Jeremy; he claims Verity was a big fan of the works of Lowen and felt they had similar writing styles.

When Lowen arrived to the Crawford mansion, she was ready to sort through the notes and outlines of Verity, planning to do a deep dive into the mind of the famous author and do the remainder of her novels justice. What Lowen didn’t expect was to uncover an unfinished autobiography, unintended to ever be found by Verity. We follow Lowen as she reads page after page of the bone-chilling autobiography, illustrating unthinkable things, such as Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter mysteriously drowned, and the reason one of her twins came out of the womb with a scar across her face.

Upon discovery of the autobiography, a horrified Lowen decides to keep it a secret from Jeremy, as she knows the contents would absolutely devastate him, and taint his view on the woman he loves, who is non-responsive and basically a living corpse in her bedroom. However, as she sits on the autobiography, Lowen begins developing stronger feelings for Jermey, and in turn begins to realize all the ways Verity’s autobiography confessions could benefit her if Jeremy reads them. After all, no matter how strong ones love is for their spouse, some truths are just so horrifying they prevent anyone from ever looking at their lover the same again.

First Line- “I hear the crack of his skull before the spattering of blood reaches me”

Last Line- “No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?

My Favorite Quote- “The things lurking around inside the mind can be just as dangerous as tangible threats.”

Rating- 10/10 I can genuinely say that never in my life have I read a book that 1-had me permanently slack-jawed from being so shook for pretty much the entire thing and 2- had me needing to put it down at night before bed because it was kinda scaring me a little bit. This book is an interesting one to start with in terms of Colleen Hoover reviews because it is truly so different from any of her other novels, but genuinely one of the best in my opinion. Every single character will make you hate them in one way or another (even the kid), and you’ll finish the book angry, questioning your sanity, and looking up other peoples opinions on the ending just to make sure you all read the same thing because of how much of a whirlwind it is, but it’s really in the best way possible. I could not recommend this novel more if I tried.

“We are all a bunch of fossil fools”- Shoshana’s Elevator Pitch

“We are all a bunch of fossil fools”. This is the opening line of Shoshana’s elevator pitch speech on climate change from class today, and the words that got me and i’m sure the rest of the class drawn in to her passionate and informational speech on the alarming state of our nations environment. Through her attention-grabbing opening line and overall passion and knowledge of the subject, both evident through her tone of voice and presence in front of the class, Shoshana presented a beautifully written and extrmely informational pitch.

The introduction of her artifact is another thing that Shoshana did a great job with. Using an artifact found on Tik Tok helps to again ensure the audiences presence and keep everyone engages, as it’s a platform the majority of us are present on and therefore holds our interest. The idea that any one of us in the room could be scrolling through our feed and see the artifact described, “Environmental Sustainibility Ninja Leaves No Footprint”, and an animated ninja in the corner, brings a sense of hope to our generation. If one person can see it on Tik Tok, millions can, and that means that millions of people could also now be more knowledgeable on the environmental crisis of our nation and willing to take a stand for it, all through seeing a commonplace on Tik Tok.

Overall, Shoshana’s pitch not only brought great awareness to an extreme issue in our nation and one of the sustainability goals, but kept her audience extremely engaged and eager to learn more about what we as a society can do to help.