Our Favourite Media of May 2019

[helloladies]

Each month, we look back over the media we loved in the previous month, from books to film to video games and more.

KJ

The True Queen by Zen Cho — I loved Zen Cho's first book, The Sorcerer and the Crown, and have been waiting with bated breath for this sequel. Although Prunella and Zacharias appear, this story focuses mainly on two new characters, sisters Muna and Sahkti, who travel from Malaysia to study at Prunella's new school for women magicians -- but of course nothing is nearly that simple, as Sahkti disappears enroute, and Muna is drawn into political machinations that threaten to take down both Faerie and England. Add in a couple of charming queer romances, and you have a delightful and fun story that sucked me in from beginning to end. I hope Cho writes a dozen more stories in this universe.

Renay

Veronica Mars, Season 1 — While at WisCon, I caught a few episodes of Veronica Mars with friends. Then I came home, bought the first season, and proceeded to finish it in two days. It's not a new watch for me—I first watched seasons one and two a few years ago—but it really holds up. It's one of the most perfect first seasons of any show I've ever watched, tightly plotted with excellent characterization, red herrings, and a solid mystery. I was pleased with how well the show held up—I'm really excited for the new series this July.

Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston — I added this book to my TBR thinking it was a YA novel, but it turns out marketing was misleading. I do think it has a lot of crossover appeal, but it's definitely an adult romance. The son of the U.S. President and a prince from England hook up and throw their futures—decided and planned out—into doubt as they try to figure out how they can be together. It's a delightful read and it was exactly what I needed, not just for the very cute romance, but for politics where the people doing those politics care about each other and the people they're serving.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang — After loving The Kiss Quotient, I've been waiting like a fat spider for Hoang's follow up. Arranged relationships aren't something I've read a ton about in original fiction, although it's pretty familiar from fanfic. This was different, because it was about culture and family and supporting a member of the family who doesn't see or interact with the world the same as the rest of his social network. Khai and Esme's story is so warm-hearted and painfully realistic, as Khai learns to understand his feelings and Esme learns she can stand on her own feet even if it's hard. I love them and I love this book and I would go into battle for Helen Hoang.

Susan

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu — My expectations were quite low going into Detective Pikachu, because I had a suspicion from the trailer that the humour was going to squick me a bit. I wasn't wrong about that, but there was a lot that made up for it. I loved seeing how all of the Pokémon were integrated into everyday life! From the practicalities of working around Snorlaxs sleeping in the road to the common Pokémon as pest animals – my heart grew three sizes, just looking at the world they'd made, it was like being a kid again. It's not perfect – the humour did squick me, and disabled critics have been highlighting that the villain plays into ableist tropes – but in terms of the visuals and the worldbuilding, it was like someone had brought my childhood to life.

Until Dawn — Saying that Until Dawn was my one of my favourite pieces of media is maybe stretching the truth a little, because I spent about half the game with my hands over my face or going "Oh no, we don't want to do this, we don't want to go in there, oh nooooooo." But it's very effective at being what it set out to be, which is a trope-filled video-game exploration of the slasher and horror genres! Some of the tropes were ridiculous and the dialogue was wooden, but the atmosphere and gameplay were incredibly tense, and I found myself getting emotionally attached to characters that I hated at their introductions. I don't know if I recommend it to anyone, but it was compelling.