Best Movie

Lauren Kriss

The novel that captured many of our imaginations in sixth grade has been reincarnated in cinematic form. Based on the 1994 Newbery Medal winning novel by Lois Lowry, “The Giver” dazzles with stunning cinematography and fascinating characters.

Brenton Thwaites endears himself to the audience as heroic Jonas while Odeya Rush captivates as Jonas’s loyal friend Fiona. Mega-celebrities Jeff Bridges, Taylor Swift and Meryl Streep add to movie’s chilling effect.

While the movie deviates from the book in several scenes, Lowry’s message is still conveyed with integrity. This movie is a must watch for all YA readers.

Best Styles

Emilee Guernsey

Just like summer comes and goes, so do fashion trends. Looking back at this summer, many styles came along or re-appeared. A look from the 90’s, formally known as “grunge” has made an entrance back into the popular trends.

This look portrays a sloppy, “I don’t care” vibe. With plaid t-shirts, Dr. Martins, ripped up stockings and shirts with holes. This style is either hit or miss. It is a very bold look and I give props to anyone who has the confidence to pull it off. If you’re not really feeling this outfit, you may want to look into the new “preppy” design.

The “prep” look starts with Sperry’s at the feet, and anything polo on the top. Many boys and girls, aging from 15 to 25, are rocking this style. The ladies are wearing their hair straight or curled. And don’t forget the length! It’s gotta be long. The gents, on the other hand, are using polo hats to cover their locks.

Choose your look but what’s most important is keeping the confidence that you are totally pulling it off. Some people even do a mix of the two looks, believe it or not. It’s your choice, rock it how you want.

Best YouTube series

Anjali Sundaram

As summer comes and goes, new styles in entertainment have come to light, such as YouTube. While YouTube has been around for many years, a new genre has come around. This includes a group of people called “YouTubers”. They make videos for a living and post them on YouTube.

Among the hundreds of YouTubers, there’s one who specifically comes to mind, Tyler Oakley. The infamous YouTuber known to millions of people around the world, just hit five million subscribers this summer.  He also won two Teen Choice Awards. One was for a collaboration he made with best friend Troye Sivan called the Boyfriend Tag, and the other award was Teen Choice Web Star: Male, which he won alongside friend and fellow YouTuber Bethany Mota who won Teen Choice Web Star: Female.

Oakley’s personality is just one of those funny, blunt, adorable personalities that everyone loves. He also has a way of talking to his audience as if there are really there with him. He is never fake, as he is a very open about being gay and is okay with giving out his opinion for the world. He gives the audience a connection that they can cling to and make certain aspects of their life seem a little brighter. One of my favorite things to do is to put Oakley on when I am having a bad day. He’s just of those people that people can’t help but feel comfortable with.

Along with inspiring a numerous amount of teens, Oakley is also very involved with an organization called The Trevor Project. The organization has devoted themselves to helping LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) community. He had the goal to raise $150,000 but instead ended up raising over $500,000 for the project and won the Trevor Youth Innovator Award.

Oakley is not only an amazing role model, he also represents a greater population. He helps so many different people, most of which he hasn’t even met. In the beginning, I thought watching YouTube videos was stupid, but after watching him and other YouTubers, I realized how much they do to change the community that we live in.

I highly recommend watching Oakley, or the many other YouTubers out there. Sometimes, it feels like they are the older siblings that we never had.