For the Students

The Shadow and Bone series, written by Leigh Bardugo, is a young adult fantasy series. The trilogy includes Shadow and Bone, Seige and Storm, and Ruin and Rising. Our protagonist, Alina Starkov is an ordinary map maker of the first army. That is until the Darkling reveals her gift to all of Ravka. Thrust into a world of power, privilege, royalty, and riches she is overwhelmed with a new duty to a broken country. Determined to save them all she has to master her powers and fight a war with all odds stacked against her. She doesn’t know who or what she can trust anymore. She doesn’t even know if she can trust herself. Out of the three books, I feel that Seige and Storm had the best writing elements come together. One thing I observed while reading this series was that the author writes really meaningful and impactful scenes well. On the other hand, the filler plot lacks passion and makes the books a bit of a struggle to get through. I liked this series as a whole but I feel that the pacing was slow and maybe multiple points of view could have brought the story together more. It could have created something more exciting to read. In the end, everything comes full circle and readers are left satisfied with all questions answered. This trilogy is a solid read and leads into two new series: Six of Crows and King of Scars.

How I Met Your Mother is a nine-season show about five best friends who are in their thirties making their way through the dating world in the big city. More specifically, Ted telling his children the story of how he met their mother. In this show, you have Marshal and Lily, the ultimate couple, Robin the independent woman, Barney, the wildcard, and Ted, the hopeless romantic. Each of these characters compliments each other in such a way as to make the ultimate friend group. It’s the perfect show for fans of F R I E N D S who are looking for the next New York City Sitcom with that one iconic hang-out spot. I loved the show as a whole and liked to see how the characters developed and became more iconic as they went. I wasn’t particularly a fan of the way it ended. It was an unexpected plot twist. I feel that out of all the endings that could have been written, this would be one of my least favorite options. This being said, an impactful message was left for viewers in the last episode. Life is the ultimate experience. If it’s worth it in the long run to love someone, you should love them with all you’ve got no matter what happens, or how much time you have left. What’s meant to be will always find its way. I’m grateful to have gotten to know these characters and have this new comfort show. I would highly recommend this show to anyone.