Lady Bird – Mothers and daughters, a love story

At the London Film Festival, I had the immense pleasure of attending a screening at Leicester Square, which was hosting a ‘Surprise Film’ screening on Saturday night. And when previous years have shown the likes of Birdman and Silver Linings Playbook as the LFF Surprise Film, well, consider my curiosity well and truly piqued.

**SPOILER FREE POST**

(…I’m not a monster)

The Surprise Film turned out to be Lady Bird, the directorial debut of American actress and filmmaker, Greta Gerwig. Starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, the story follows a year of her life as she prepares to leave high school and go off to college, with all the troubles and turmoil that entails. It’s a character film, centred on the prominent relationships in Lady Bird’s life, and in particular her female relationships; it’s a different kind of love story.

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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe – Poetic and poignant

Today, I finished the latest book on my shelf: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. And maybe you haven’t heard of it, but I needed to write something about it. Anything. Because hell does this book deserve it.

**SPOILER FREE POST**

Ari and Dante are a pair of teenage boys, living in El Paso. They are opposing forces. Ari loses himself to thoughts of his imprisoned brother, while Dante loses himself to poetry. Ari isn’t the best at communicating, while Dante is skilled with words. Ari is filled with insecurity where Dante is filled with self-confidence. But during the summer that they meet, their lives are intertwined on a journey of growth and friendship. A journey of discovering the truths of the world.

And doesn’t that sound like the most terrifying journey of all to a teenager?