Kiarra Taylor on Roxanne, Roxanne and April’s Must Reads

Books

Times are a changin’, I tell ya! In a matter of weeks, two different books, by two different BLACK women have dropped and went straight to the top of the NYT Bestseller’s list. Growing up, for me, this was unheard of! So, to see it happening now, especially with the…complicated racial climate in the world today, is EPIC and so damn inspiring. Go ‘head with all that #BlackGirlMagic, Dhonielle and Tomi!

Trust me, you’ll want to pick up The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Reviews coming SOON!

Movies & Film

Read on for a review of A Wrinkle in Time, but heads up, this review contains movie AND book spoilers!

I finally saw A Wrinkle in Time yesterday and I have so many thoughts. Let’s get right to it.

I know a lot of people (myself included) went to go see the film and automatically compared it to the movie. That said, there were some notable differences. For example, in the book, Meg has two more brothers. I found it odd that they were just cut from the story. In the movie, there was just the adorable Charles Wallace. In the book, Meg’s mother (portrayed in this film by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, most known for her role in Beyond the Lights) had a more…active role. In the book, she was a brilliant scientist who interacted more with her children and as a result had a big impact on the story. However, in the movie, it felt like she was there just for decoration. She wasn’t in a lot of scenes, probably because the scenes from the book she was in weren’t depicted in the film. *rolls eyes*

As expected, the cinematography was S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G! The lush, vivid colors, the special effects, the outfits and hair and makeup (I’m looking at you Oprah, AKA Mrs. Which, because you slayed, hunty!), they really breathed life into the movie.

But other than the incredible special effects, the garb, and the spectacularly diverse cast, the film, for me, wasn’t all that good.

The film was a little shorter in length than I was expecting and I think that had a part in the end result being a bit lackluster. Fantasy is a genre that cannot be rushed and absolutely no corner can be cut when building a world. Or, in the case of both the book and movie of A Wrinkle in Time, building multiple worlds. There were so many little scenes from the book that I felt would have played out well on screen and made the movie flow better. It felt rushed, and incomplete, and honestly just left me wanting more. If they go on to make the next book in the Time Quintet a film, I sure hope they take their damn time and make the movie longer!

Review outcome: 3.7/5 buckets of popcorn!

Film: Netflix is KILLIN’ the game!

I know some people are mad at Netflix right now, but one thing can’t be denied: they bring some AH-mazing content to our devices! Case in point, they recently dropped a new original series and film that are both a MUST-watch.

On My Block, the new, original Netflix series was soooo good. I liked that it was culturally diverse—and most of the time when we hear ‘diverse’ we automatically think black people/culture, but that wasn’t the case this time. This time, we were immersed in the vivacious Latino culture—and that it was geared towards young adults. Initially, I only watched the show to see if it was age-appropriate for my 11-year-old son and my 9-year-old daughter to watch, and, yeah, no, IT’S NOT. LOL! I’d say 14+ is a good age range, considering some of the shows themes include: sex, gang life, and gun violence. The show starts off slow for the first few episodes, but just when I rolled my eyes and was starting to think this was another “bubblegum” show that was only set in the hood, but not actually about that hood life, the show proved me wrong. It gets deep and FAST. And, oh, by the way, the last episode is going to ruin you, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. I love us for real, y’all!

Recommendation level: 100%

Roxanne, Roxanne

I hope I’m not the only person who hadn’t heard of 80’s Femcee, ‘Roxanne Shanté’ before this movie? Anyone else? Anyone?! Well, in any event, I DEFINITELY know who she is now!

Roxanne Roxanne initially appeared at Sundance Film Festival before Netflix acquired the rights to it. So, if you check it out, don’t expect a…‘traditional’ type of film, if that makes sense. Indie films typically have a slower pace with a deeper, even if hidden, message. True to form, Roxanne Roxanne was no different. After watching it, I thought about the movie for the rest of the day and finally realized what the take-away was. What was it? I’ll let you find that out for yourself! But heads up, some wiiiiiiild stuff happens in this movie.

Recommendation level: 100%

Kiarra M. Taylor is a proud Pittsburgher who currently resides in San Jose, California. She is a mother to a handsome son, as well as a beautiful daughter. A lifelong bookworm, Kiarra began writing in the fifth grade and hasn’t stopped since. Her published works include: A Series of Agains and The Quarter Change. When she isn’t transferring fictional worlds from the dredges of her mind onto her laptop, you can find her nose-deep in a book, or spending time with her children. Ever the social butterfly, Kiarra is very active on social media, so please feel free to catch up with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads!