The Thousands of Twists and Turns of Evelyn Hugo

   

    After discovering the book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, through TikTok and friends, I decided it was worth a shot. However, there should be a warning on the cover of this book, and it should read "WARNING: You will not be able to put this book down, and you probably will spend more time reading this than any other necessary and productive things you need to do." 

   The story covers the life of a famous movie star from the 50s, Evelyn Hugo, and her life, as well as what the title suggests, her seven husbands. Hugo is willing to do anything to advance her career, and when she reaches her later years, she selects Monique Grant to be the only person to know the entire story. 

  I was amazed by how powerful Reid portrays Hugo and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. I was astonished by her demeanor and simultaneously sad to read about her life and the people around her. 

  The story contained many twists and turns that added layers to the story and gave a closer glimpse of the real Evelyn Hugo. The number of lessons she learned through the strenuous experiences aided in her character development. When she is faced with the choice between the career that she has spent so much time building and what her heart truly wants, it takes her a couple of tries to get it right. And each time it breaks your heart a little more that she chooses wrong. However, when she finally gets it right is incredibly written and provides the reader with so much happiness and closure (or maybe that's just me?).

 

   The story ends painfully when Evelyn reveals why she specifically selects Monique, an unknown writer for a magazine, to publish her life's story. It leaves the readers wanting more, but also knowing that although the ending is not what we wanted, it is exactly something that Evelyn Hugo would do. And from what we can tell from the small excerpt of the Hugo story, Monique can share with the public that Hugo finally made the right choice. 

Rating: 4.6/5 Stars 

Going Old School

  

    Over the winter break, I decided to read the well-known book "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. I was sitting poolside in Florida and thought, "what better to do with my time than catch up on books that I bought years ago?!" And so I began...

    I began to read the book and had some trouble getting used to the old and proper language. Once I got used to it, I learned that there were a lot of overly long sentences just trying to get the point across. But enough critiquing arguably the best author of the eighteenth century. The book follows the Bennet family, which consists of five daughters that need to be married off, a mother that is trying to find the perfect match, and a father that is more concerned about his paper than any festivities. 

    At the beginning of the book, I was surprised by the number of women's rights that we take advantage of. I was blindsided by Lizzy's strong sense of herself and her place in the world. She was exceptionally analytical of others and was not distracted by the objects and materials that the other girls were into. I admired her character and thought she was incredibly well-written by someone that most likely did not have the same rights. One of the most surprising parts of the book is when one of Lizzy's admirers, Mr. Collins, who was also the heir to her family's house if her father died since there were no males in the family, asked to marry her. Elizabeth quickly refused graciously and assured Mr. Collins that her opinion would not change. Lizzy's mother was appalled by her denial and tried to persuade her to take one for the team and marry him so the house would stay in the family. 

    After this, I was shocked at the number of freedoms that Elizabeth expected and questioned whether she would even marry at all. Then cue Mr. Darcy...

    Mr. Darcy had presented himself to the Bennet family as a stuck-up, handsome, arrogant, handsome, rude, handsome, and did I mention handsome man? Lizzy hated Mr. Darcy and had nothing but disgust for him until she realized that the repugnance might be covering a part of her that longs for him. Long story short, Mr. Darcy turns out to be a good guy that is just rough around the edges. 

    I enjoyed reading this book and watching the characters develop. The unexpected relationship between Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet was very playful and made everyone reading want to grab them both by the shoulders and scream, "JUST ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER ALREADY!!" Austen wrote the story perfectly to keep the audience wondering if they would keep ignoring each other or which one would break first. 

    I would recommend this book to everyone to experience English life in the late 18th century and read a classic. 

Rating: 3.6/5 Stars