Tips for Tuesday- Books: Guilty be Definition & Last Chance Live!; Movie: Casey Makes a Mixtape

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: Guilty by Definition & Last Chance Live!

Today, we recommend Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent. When Martha and her colleagues at the Clarendon English Dictionary begin getting mysterious coded letters, she discovers they might be connected to the disappearance of her older sister, who went missing years ago. This is a great book for mystery lovers, puzzle lovers, and word lovers. The story is very original and exciting. It is full of interesting word puzzles that the characters have to solve. Even though readers may not be able to solve these puzzles themselves, they are still intriguing.

A particularly unique aspect of the story is the fascinating look it provides at the process of compiling a dictionary. It is also full of interesting words and their definitions that most people are not likely to know. In fact, each chapter starts with such a word. If you want to read an absorbing book and increase your vocabulary at the same time, this book is a great choice.

Today, we are recommending Last Chance Live! by Helena Maywoode Henry. Eternity Price and a house full of other young murderers on death row chose to forego their opportunities to file any further appeals. Instead, they elect to compete in a reality competition where one of them will earn their freedom. The rest will be eliminated one per week by the vote of a television viewing audience. The losers will be sent back to the prison they came from to be immediately executed. 

This book is shocking and horrifying, and also exciting and unputdownable. The primary characters are very well written, multifaceted and intriguing.  Their crimes are appalling, but their stories are sad and heartbreaking. Even the main character, Eternity fluctuates between being a likable sympathetic character and an unsympathetic unlikable one. It is the adult characters most of whom are only on the periphery of the story who are the true villians and even they are mostly only a reflection of the harsh realities of the world we all live in. 

The book provides a bleak and unflattering view of our world. It examines numerous important issues, including the complexities of the justice system and how it works differently for people of different backgrounds, the impact of society on the individual, and the ethics of reality TV. It's not an easy read, but it is an important one. It doesn't leave a smile on the face, but it is hopefully provides an inspiration for us all  to do our part to work toward making this a better and more equitable world.

Movie: Casey Makes a Mixtape 

Today, we recommend Casey Makes a Mixtape. This sweet coming of age film is full of 80s nostalgia. It revolves around Casey, a young girl on a quest to find one last song to make the perfect mixtape while spending the summer with her grandparents. It is unique and original and successfully manages to avoid many of the cliches usually associated with films of this type. It's  refreshing and enjoyable not to always know exactly where the story is going. 

And that's our view. Guilt by Definition was published on September 30. Last Chance Live! was published last week. Casey Makes a Mixtape is available on major streaming platforms starting today. 

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

Book images used in this post are our own.  Film photos hav have been sent to us Smarthouse Creative and are used with permission. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, contact us here, and we will look into the matter.