Tell Me Lies
By Carola Lovering
Having survived a volatile relationship with her mother, Lucy escaped her Long Island home and traveled far away to start a brand new life. As a freshman in California, she quickly makes friends and is soon introduced to an upperclassman, Stephen DeMarco, one of the most popular guys at school. Stephen is ridiculously confident and extremely good looking. From the moment they meet, Stephen makes Lucy feel honored to have his attention. He is well aware of Lucy’s desires and enjoys playing mind games to gauge her limits. Lucy becomes obsessed with Stephen’s every move, always at the edge of danger and scarily unpredictable. In addition to his deceptive personality, Stephen is a master of manipulation, keeping his own destructive childhood carefully hidden away. While another girl waits in the wings, half his pleasure is derived from knowing Lucy is always looking for him. Filled with psychological twists and turns, these young adults are trying to figure out who they are away from home, not comprehending the far-reaching consequences of bad decisions. Not your typical romance, this toxic love story is cast perfectly. Season 2 just released on Hulu.
The Nickel Boys
By Colson Whitehead
Raised by his loving grandmother, Elwood Curtis spends his days sweeping the floor at the cigar shop and getting As in school. It’s the early 1960s in Tallahassee and as Elwood plays the speeches of Martin Luther King repeatedly on the turntable, he dreams of college and a brighter future. He is raised on good manners, kindness and hope. On the first day of a college class he proudly gained entrance to, Elwood is mistakenly detained and sent to a juvenile detention center called The Nickel Academy. With no means to fight this archaic system filled with prejudice and a sadistic self-serving staff, Elwood and his only friend Turner struggle to survive while planning their escape. These boys are beaten, raped and stolen from. Most barely survive, and those who don’t are often labeled as runaways. Based on an actual reform school called Dozier, which closed in 2011, University of South Florida archaeology students discovered remains of many bodies mysteriously buried nearby, including evidence of the brutality that made up this boys “school.” An incredibly painful look at America’s past, and now a book-to-screen that cannot be missed. In theaters October 25.
The Chicken Sisters
By K.J. Dell’Antonia
It’s taken Mae Moore six years to reinvent herself, living in Brooklyn with two small children and a successful husband named Jay. Mae is a self-made organizational guru working in reality TV and publishing her first book. But down in Merinac, Kansas, her mother’s restaurant, Chicken Mimi’s, needs her – or at least, they need her conniving manipulating determination. Her sister Amanda, who works for arch enemy Chicken Frannie’s, applied to be a contestant on Food Wars. This award-winning food competition has a prize worth $100,000, and both restaurants are in desperate need of cash. Mimi’s and Frannie’s have been competing for decades, but when Amanda switched teams and shockingly married Frank Pogociello, it was the straw that broke the chicken’s back. It doesn’t take long for the conniving producer to pit the sisters against each other, spilling recipes, lies and secrets. The whole town gets swept up in the rivalry, battling to crown the best restaurant. But in the end, it comes down to a fairly simple choice, and the girls must figure out what matters more: family or fowl. Joining ranks with the feel-goods, this bestseller can now be seen on Hallmark+.
#WorthWatching: “Bad Monkey.” Vince Vaughn is charmingly funny as Andrew Yancy, a detective turned restaurant inspector/murder suspect who tries to rid the Florida Keys of greed and corruption, one body at a time. An adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 bestseller and a must-see on Apple TV.
