Movie - Crazy Rich Asians from John M. Chu

      

This movie is an adaptation of the trilogy by Kevin Kwan, which I haven't read and most certainly won't, as I've watched the movie and I don't like already knowing the whole story. 

So, the main character is Rachel Chu, a young professor of Economics from New York, raised by her mother, who came to the US when Rachel was a baby. One day, her boyfriend, Nick, invites her to go to his best friend's wedding in Singapore, where his whole family lives. She accepts it only to find out that his family is one of the richest of the island and the wedding is the event of the year. 

Rachel finds herself face to face with socialites who spend absurd amounts of money on shoes and jewelry and make her feel she's not good enough because of her status. His mother, a woman who is all about the traditional family values, also thinks she's not worthy of her son and goes great extents to show it to Nick.

In the middle of this mess, Rachel struggles to prove she's not less than them because she's a daughter of a single mother and is not rich. But sometimes it's not easy to change such convinced minds and desperate times require desperate changes.

I don't usually watch romantic comedies but this one was so advertised I thought I'd give it a shot. It was average. In my opinion it's a good movie to watch when you just wanna see something light without having to think too much. The conflict between social classes is not uncommon in Hollywood movies, but the distinction between Asians and Asian-Americans is, so I think the focus being on these communities was interesting. The wedding scene was really emotional, the scenarios and the music, I loved it. 

However, I didn't like the twist at the ending, it was predictable and extremely cliche. It was an OK watch with its funny moments, but it could have been so much more.
Rate: 3/5

Book - Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell

  

Ellie Mack was a 15 year old girl who disappeared after she left her house to go to the library. She was the youngest of 3 children and was very close to her mother, Laurel. After she went missing, her parents' marriage fell apart, her father got a new partner, her brother moved away, and her sister Hanna grew cold and distant because she felt unappreciated. 

Laurel now lived alone with her thoughts, with a simple routine of going to work 3 times a week, visited her mother in a old people's home and cleaning Hanna's apartment. The media portrayed Ellie's disappearance as a teenage runway, which felt odd because the girl had no reasons to do it. Summer was just around the corner, she was studying for her final exams and she had a loving boyfriend. Was it an accident or a kidnapping instead? Her mother is unable to move on without finding out what really happened to her daughter. 

One day in a coffee shop, Laurel meets Floyd, a nice man with two daughters who quickly grew close to Laurel and started a romantic relationship with her. When Laurel is introduced to Floyd's younger daughter, Poppy, a clever and precocious 9 year old, she is amazed by the resemblance with Ellie and is intrigued by the unusual way Floyd protects and worships the little girl. 

A new clue appears on Ellie's case, a bag with some of her belongings. Laurel's haunting thoughts come back again, and she starts to realize that there is a connection between Ellie and Floyd's family and that there are secrets to reveal.

Mysteries and thrillers are one of my favorite kind of books and although it's easy to figure out what that connection is really early in the book, I still enjoyed it very much. Yes, most of it is predictable and unbelievable, but the writing is very captivating and you never know when it's going to be a sudden twist or revelation. 

Have you read more books like this? Tell me one in the comments!
Rate: 4/5