All The Wind in The World by Samantha Harry Book Review

Sarah Jacqueline Crow and James Holt work in the vast maguey fields that span the bone-dry Southwest, a thirsty, infinite land that is both seductive and fearsome. In this rough, transient landscape, Sarah Jac and James have fallen in love. They’re tough and brave, and they have big dreams. Soon they will save up enough money to go east. But until then, they keep their heads down, their muscles tensed, and above all, their love secret.

When a horrible accident forces Sarah Jac and James to start over on a new, possibly cursed ranch called the Real Marvelous, the delicate balance they’ve found begins to give way. And James and Sarah Jac will have to pay a frighteningly high price for their love.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

I read this about three months ago (whoops I’m really behind on my reviews) and I’m still unsure how I feel about this book. I definitely enjoyed it but there were still some things that kind of made the book fall flat for me and there was so much things that weren’t touched upon as much as I would have liked. Despite that I really liked the book and I’m interested to read Samantha Mabry’s other books because damn can she write.

Okay I know it’s a superficial way to start off a review but this cover is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! I honestly think that it’s one of my favourite covers ever: it’s absolutely breathtaking and I wouldn’t be opposed if all YA novels had covers like this. The beautiful cover goes nicely with the nice writing style. Mabry has this very beautiful yet simple writing style that really compelled me to read the book for long periods of time. It made it really easy to fly through the book which is always nice.

I also really enjoyed the setting of the book because I’ve never really read any books set in the desert before so that was interesting. I know it’s kind of weird and there’s not really any connection but for some reason All The Wind In The World reminded me of Of Mice and Men which was kind of cool. I think one of the reasons that I have trouble deciding how I feel about this book is because I’m not really sure how to describe it. Is it magical realism?Is it dystopian? Is it a romance? I honestly don’t know and I honestly wouldn’t be able to describe the world if asked. It’s such an interesting and unique concept and I loved it so much but at the same time I feel as though it lacked development. This may work for some people but when a book is set in what is basically a wasteland I’d like just a little bit more context. I do love how ambiguous it is but at the same time just a little bit more detail would’ve been nice.

I feel like I just keep on listing things I didn’t like which makes my high rating kind of confusing but I really did like it! I just think it could’ve benefited from an extra 100 or so pages to really flesh some things out and possibly establish the romance a little more because while I did like it, I would’ve liked slightly more backstory. So basically I liked everything that was presented, I just wish there was more so the book could go from a good book to a great book.

Love, Simon Movie Review *Spoiler-Free*

Last Thursday, I was invited by HCCFRENZY to see an early screening in Montreal. If you haven’t read the book or watched the movie don’t worry, this review will be very broad and will not spoil you in any way.

The minute I watched the first trailer, I instantly knew that this movie was going to be amazing. I had even guessed that it would become my new favorite, beating The Perks of Being a Wallflower which has been my favorite for five years. While Perks will always be a close second, I can safely say that Love, Simon is my new favorite movie. I laughed, I cried, I laughed while crying . This movie was a roller coaster of emotions and I can’t wait to see it theatres again in March and then I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it again and again.

I’ve seen people complain that it looks like a overdone typical romcom and sure maybe it’s filled with cliches but you know what? This isn’t your typical romcom. Never before has a huge production company released a teen romcom about a gay protagonist. This movie is monumental and it’s going to change the game. I truly believe that this movie will be the first in a long line of amazing LGBTQ+ movies of all genres that don’t use the bury your gays trope, but that give them the happy ending that straight people have gotten time and time again. Queer people deserve their happily ever after as well. Towards the end of the movie when things start to get really romantic, it kind of just hit me : I’ve never seen a movie like this before, I’ve never seen a movie where queer people get their happy endings and I just started to cry. This movie means so much to me which is why I love it so much. Yes the characters are amazing, the acting is phenomenal and it’s also a brilliant movie cinematographically but this movie is so fucking important and I can’t wait to see it take the world by force.

I know a lot of people who love the book are worried about how faithful the movie is but I don’t think you need to worry. Yes there are some changes and yes there are some things that were left out but movies and book are two different mediums that need to be treated differently. A lot of people don’t understand that and it leads to them being unnecessarily bitter about things that the movie didn’t have but the book didn’t. There are so many scenes that “they should have included” but if you just keep piling it up, the movie would be so long and while I’m sure tons of book nerds would love that it’s just not realistic. Yes it is different from the book but it stays true to the heart of the book and I think that in the end it’s all that matters. You still have the same dorky Simon with friends and parents who love him more than anything and while there was been some minor changes these changes make the movie work better. I wouldn’t change anything.

Now that I have finished my little rant and rave, I’m just going to do a little list of all the things I love

• The soundtrack: I can’t wait for the whole soundtrack to be released because damn was it good. Music is so important to movies and Love, Simon really utilized it well
• MY CHILD SIMON SPIER: I love Simon Spier so much. He’s such a precious cinnamon roll and he’s so wonderful. Also Nick Robinson did a fantastic job of portraying him.
• The humour: The Movie was so funny!! There were so many moments that had me laughing hysterically and the humour was just so on point
• Simon’s room: Damn whoever designed Simon’s room is amazing because it was so wonderful. It really reflects Simons wonderful nerdy personality. I can’t wait for the DVD to come out so there can be some frame by frame analysis because I’m there’s a bunch of cool things that I haven’t noticed.
• ITS SO SAD: okay so I cry at like everything so take what I say with a grain of salt BUT I CRIED SO MUCH. It was so tragic and I just wanted to give Simon a huge hug because he didn’t deserve any of the bad things that happened to him.

BLUE: it was really interesting watching the movie knowing who Blue was but id be curious to know people will react to the Blue reveal if they haven’t read the book. Blue and Simon are the ultimate OTP and they’re so godamn cute together and JUST AGHHH. I was squealing so much. Also I love how they kept the fact that Blue is Jewish. We need more movie characters that are Jewish.

So there’s my “review” ( more like rave) of Love, Simon. Read the book if you haven’t, it’s just as beautiful as the movie. Support this movie. Give it the love it deserves.