Rated: Teen

reviews of books, movies, TV shows, and my roommate skills, by a Gen Z teen with strong opinions...

Hello! How are you? I’ve spent the week visiting colleges in Washington, DC, and North Carolina (with a quick stop in Virginia) with my teenage daughter, Sadie.

In addition to the campus tours, we’ve watched a college basketball game, toured a tiger rescue, visited the Holocaust Museum, learned to dial 9 for an outside line, sampled the chicken and fries at Raising Cane’s, and consumed several TV shows, movies, podcasts, and books.

I’ve listed everything we watched, read, and listened to below, including my Top 3 plus Sadie’s pithy reviews. I also asked her to rate me as a roommate. She awarded me 4 (out of 10) because “…you wake up too early.” Reader, I earned this low rating even after forcing myself to stay in bed until 7 am each day.

We are now officially on spring break, and I’m looking for something good to read while lazing on the beach. I’m open to anything - fiction, nonfiction, old, new - I don’t care as long as it’s well-written, engrossing, and entertaining. If you’ve read something great lately - or have an all-time-fave book to recommend, please hit the Comment button or reply to this email to share! Thank you!

🎞️ Anyone But You: is a new rom-com loosely based on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, starring Sydney Sweeney. In this retelling, our two warring ex-lovers pretend to be a couple while attending a wedding in Australia. At times ridiculous, at times raunchy, and in one hilarious scene, both, this was an entertaining and eye-pleasing watch. Sadie’s review: Different, but good. And funny.

🎧 The Tim Ferris Show: Barbara Corcoran: we both loved listening to the effervescent and seemingly ageless Barbara Corcoran, successful entrepreneur, and Shark Tank personality, talk about her life (she’s one of 10 kids!) and work. Barbara is a hoot - and if you stay tuned for the whole thing, you'll hear her proposition the single Tim Ferris - and his response. Sadie’s review: She's really funny. And energetic.

🎞️ Dave: Inspired by our location close to the White House, I suggested we watch a movie about the Presidency. Sadie chose this early 90s morality tale about a Presidential impersonator (with a heart of gold) who ends up in the West Wing. Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver star, along with numerous cameos by journalists and lawmakers who were in on the joke. It's a short, sweet film where good triumphs over evil. Sadie's review: Funny.

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📖 Never Saw Me Coming: Two of Sadie’s interests neatly intersect (college life and serial killers) in this novel about psychopathic college students solving a series of murders. I enjoyed its bonkers premise and Sadie liked it too. Sadie’s review: Too “Millennial” but intriguing.

📺 Death and Other Details: We caught up on the final episodes to learn who the diabolical Victor Sams was, and what motivated the multiple murders committed on the luxury cruise the show took place on. I'd gotten impatient with this show - my feeling is that there were at least three episodes where nothing much happened - but I stayed for Mandy Patinkin (and his nutty British accent) and am pleased to report it was worth it in the end! Sadie’s review: “A good twist.”

📺 American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders: we were both hooked by this documentary about the mysterious death of journalist Danny Casolaro and the subsequent efforts of his family and friends to verify the veracity of his sprawling investigation into government corruption. It's an eye-opening look into the world of conspiracy theorists and how addictive these rabbit holes can be. Sadie’s review: “Kind of sad.”

🎞️ JFK: The Octopus Murders referenced conspiracy theories about JFK's assassination and Sadie wanted to know more, so I suggested she watch the controversial 3-hour Oliver Stone epic starring Kevin Costner as the New Orleans-based prosecutor who challenged the official version of JFK's death in a lawsuit. Sadie’s review: “It was long, good, and the ending was sad.”

🎧 Huberman Lab: How Placebo Effects Work to Change Our Biology & Psychology: I was surprised that Sadie wanted to listen to this long explainer by Dr. Andrew Huberman about how the placebo effect works but found myself fascinated by the nuance of what actually takes place within our brains and bodies. Sadie’s review: “Very interesting.”

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👓Looking for something else to watch or read? More ideas here:

📆 March 2024 Recs // 📖 Books // 📺 TV Shows // 🍿 Movies

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In Case You Missed It: Wedding bells are ringing again for lovebird Rupert Murdoch // The Fried Rice I Didn’t Know I Needed After Giving Birth // Famous women love starting book clubs // Woolly Mammoths may be making a comeback // 100 Acts of Love // The best diner chains in America // How new accents are developed // A beautifully thoughtful essay about grieving by

Maddie Burton

// Tennis goals!🎾

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Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next Friday! xo Amelia

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