Favorite Summer Movies

Summer brings a lot time for people to spend together and a few occasional lazy days when all you want to do is relax. My favorite ways to relax alone or with others is reading, binge watching tv shows, and watching my favorite movies. These are some of my favorite movies that are perfect for summer days or nights.

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Our Song

Our Song is a great coming of age film about 3 girls and their summer together. I first saw this  It's actually one of my favorite movies. It's a great summer movie because it takes place during the summer. It's about young girls of color living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It's about friendships, relationships, growing up, living in an urban environment, and some of the issues that come with growing up with no money like healthcare issues and the struggles of the school system. The story just comes across so honest and real. It's a really good film!
One of the books I read last summer, On the Come Up, is based on the life of Anna Simpson who is one of the stars in the film. A great movie and a great book!

Real Women Have Curves

I first saw this movie back in middle school. This movie does a wonderful job at honestly portraying the relationships that women sometimes have with their bodies. It covers how our relationships with our bodies impact the relationships with the people in our lives. Also, between this movie and Gotta Kick it Up, I became a huge fan of America Ferrera.

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is such a cute and fun movie. It's a perfect summer movie, I think, because it has everything you need for one of those feel-good movies. There's a love story, friendship, competition, music, and plenty of jokes. I didn't expect to like this movie so much but it's really enjoyable and the soundtrack is incredible! This is a great movie to watch with a group of friends.

The Color Purple

 This is just a movie that everyone should see. It's a classic. The book, written by Alice Walker, is also a classic that everyone should see. The Color Purple is a classic. It covers so many things! This movie brings up domestic violence, relationships, child abuse, self-esteem, racism, religion and so much more. I consider this movie to a staple of American culture. With it being such a phenomenal movie, there is an abundance of great scenes but this one below has to be my favorite.

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The following and cute movies for every age! A lot of these movies are cartoons. They're fun and they tend to bring back memories. These movies also have a lot of meaningful lessons and stories in them. Don't let the animation fool you! There are great stories about family, growth, friendships, and so much more!

Lilo and Stitch 

The Lion King

(An Obvious Classic)

Despicable Me

Up

Horton Hears A Who

13 Going On 30

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Love Stories :)

Love and Basketball

The Object of My Affection

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And this movie will just make you cry. I love movies that make me cry.

Tru Confessions

There are so many great movies that I love and would recommend but I don't want to go on forever. I hope you enjoy any movie days that you may get. Water, popcorn, and summer fruit are the perfect snacks for movie nights.

I hope you continue to have a happy summer! :)

On The Come Up by Hannah Weyer

"It came to her just before sleep, an idea crystallizing in the dark--how maybe the size of your world ain't what matter, whether it expand or shrink up or expand again. Hurdles to jump. You jump. Erase the lines, draw new ones. Chart a course and follow." (p290)

I recently finished reading On The Come Up by Hannah Weyer. I found out about this book when going through the Our Song tag on tumblr. This book is based on the life of Anna Simpson, one of the girls who stars in the film. Because I loved the movie, I had to make sure I found this book and I am so glad I did. This was a real page turner. I couldn't get enough of it. I really appreciated how honest and real this story came across. I also think that this is the first story I've read in a long time that really takes place in NYC and I especially loved that because I'm living in NYC again. I think that made it feel more real to me. I also loved any part of the book that was set while they were filming the movie. It felt like I was going behind the scenes of one of my favorite movies!

I loved reading this book early every morning during my commute to work. It was so easy to get lost in this book. I'm so glad I found it!

I recommend this for readers who:

• like to read biograhpies
• enjoy oral histories
• like stories that take place in urban settings
• want to read a story that takes place in NYC/Far Rockaway
• want to read a story about aspiring actresses/singers
• enjoy "coming of age" stories
• are interested in reading about teenage pregnancy/parenthood
• liked the movie "Our Song"
• are interested in reading LGBT stories
• love books you van get lost in

Because it is one of my favorite movies, here's the trailer for Our Song.

♥