Happy movie night!
If you're interested in any of the titles listed here, click on the Amazon links below their cover photos. Let's see if they impact you the same way they impacted me.
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My seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. McCrady, forced me to read this book. I hated reading until around age 12 or 13, but this classic piece of sappy, YA romance made me realize that I didn't actually hate it. I was just a stubborn pain in the ass that didn't want to like reading because people kept telling me that I would like it. Now, I'm an English literature major, so we can see how that turned out for me.
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This book is highly controversial. It definitely contains adult themes, and it was probably the first adult book that I actually read. I think I was around age 17. It discusses a lot of societal problems that I knew existed at the time, but that I had never truly mulled over until I read this book. Greenwood showed me that not everything is black and white, and I continue to think about her characters constantly to this day.
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This book is amazing for teenage readers, and it was definitely amazing for me. It is not a happy read, that's for sure, but it discusses the issues of consent and rape at a teenage age, which I think are crucial to consider in these times.
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OK, a theme is forming. I KNOW I READ SAD BOOKS. However, I think that sad books are honest books. Life isn't all magic and rainbows, kids. This is the first classic novel that I truly loved, and I have my twelfth grade English teacher, Mrs. McEvoy to thank for that. This taught me that a love story doesn't need a happy ending to matter and make a difference in people's lives.
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OK, OK, OK, hear me out, please! I read this in like... well, I'm not really sure. Whenever people were still arguing over Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. It held my interest, even when I thought I hated reading. Don't shame people for their book choices, people. If a book makes just one person become interested in reading then it is a successful book.
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This was horror in my childhood years. I was terrified of goblins. I also had a video game on the Wii based off this game. It was a good time until I realized these books were not horror and actual horror movies scared me, and I couldn't sleep after watching an actual horror movie. I'll stick with Spiderwick, thank you very much.
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I don't remember too much about these books, but I do remember thinking they were absolutely EPIC in elementary school. I wish I had a magic tree house. Just saying.
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AMAZING. One of my best friends introduced me to Jandy Nelson, and now this is my favorite book of all time honestly. It is a young adult story told from the perspective of two twins. The writing is beautiful. The characters are hyper-realistic, and this book proves that everyone sees the world in different ways. Read it at this time please.
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This book is cheesy. I know it is. The same friend that introduced me to "I'll Give You the Sun" introduced me to this book. However, it held my interest. This book came right after I read 'The Fault In Our Stars' and it contributed to me becoming an avid reader today. Credit is due here. Also, I have read this cheesy, paranormal romance series of four books probably like three times all the way through now. AND THEY ARE FINALLY MAKING THEM INTO A MOVIE. My inner tween is HYPED.
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This book and "The Fault In Our Stars" are the only books that have made me cry. Like sobbing on my floor crying. I just think that is a feat in itself for some reason. I am not over it, Jojo Moyes, and I never will be.
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Love it. This is probably my second favorite classic of all time. A lot of people hate Fitzgerald's writing because his characters are terrible people. I mean, they are terrible people most the time. I will agree with that. But "The Great Gatsby" sends many beautiful themes out to its readers. One of which is DON'T GET RICH AND RUN THE LONGEST PLAY ON A GIRL EVER JUST TO... Ugh, no spoilers sorry.
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This book is awful. I don't care what people tell me. This is such a long book for no reason, and I honestly don't get why it is so hyped up. This book is the definition of people not knowing how to communicate with each other and it is infuriating. Also, Mr. Darcy is an ass. However, the book made this list because I have never been more frustrated with a book in my life. I still have war flashbacks about this novel to this day.
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I found out that I love Shakespeare after reading this play my freshman year of high school. Shout out to Billy Shakes and the many deaths he has sprung on his many, many readers over the past few centuries.
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Conformity is not good. Everyone cannot be the same. Otherwise, the disaster that is this book happens. Reading this makes you realize that everyone being unique is not just a good thing, but a necessity. I think that's a really good lesson to learn nowadays.
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I aspire to be Junie B. Jones. I feel as though I have been Junie B. Jones many times before; I hope to continue this. Love you, homegirl!
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I WANTED SCOUT AND DILL TO HAVE A CUTE CHILDHOOD ROMANCE. UGHHHHH. This book taught me that the couples I ship in books do not always happen for me, and I'm still mad about it.
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This book was weirddd. HOWEVER, it is the only book that I remember checking out from my elementary school's library that I actually read. The rest of the books I just turned back in after the allotted time. There's something to be said there.
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This series is so magical and epic, and I read the entire trilogy by this author within a week or two. This is the first fantastical universe I ever became truly obsessed with. I highly recommend.
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I love the Lorax. Always will. End of story.
Mean Girls is a must watch because it's one of the most quotable movies of all time and never seems to get old!
Ahh, The Notebook. What a wonderful sappy love story. Noah and Allie are too cute to handle.
The Pitch Perfect series is one of my favorites! If you're in the mood for a sing-a-long, Pitch Perfect might be the best choice.
What a classic! 27 Dresses is so utterly adorable, and for a girl who love weddings it's highly entertaining.
If you want to bawl your eyes out, The Fault in Our Stars may be the right movie of choice. Hazel Grace and Augustus' relationship is to die for... literally.
Another awesome girls' night movie is Clueless. Cher's preppy sass and coming-of-age make this movie the classic it is today.
I love 10 Things I Hate About You!! I definitely remember watching it three times in a row one day.
Amanda Bynes is hysterical in She's The Man. This high school sports rom-com will have you laughing all night!
This movie is so ridiculously entertaining. Just the concept of trying to "lose a guy in 10 days" makes me laugh.
The Vow is sad but has an amazing plot based off a real-life story. Plus, a Channing Tatum movie is always worth watching!
Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway take the term "Bridezilla" to the extreme in Bride Wars. This gif is from one of my favorite scenes where Anne Hathaway's character switches Kate Hudson's hair dye at the salon to a bright blue!
The Proposal features a hate-to-love slow romance. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds have great chemistry and really bring this couple to life.
Really any Nicholas Sparks movie is great for a movie night, but The Longest Ride is one of my favorites. I like the alternate plot lines of the modern day relationship between Sophia and Luke and the past relationship of Ezra and Ruth.
I hope I've given you a pretty good selection if you are searching for some good movies to watch! Enjoy your night!
Now Is Good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOP3Uicg04U
Dakota Fanning and Jeremy Irvine play Tessa and Adam, two young people who found each other in an unusual circumstance. Tessa suffers from terminal acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer that makes a person feel tired, bruised, and can have bone pain. Tessa and her friend, Zoey, create a bucket list of things to do before she passes and that leads Tessa to Adam, who comes to terms with her illness and tries to follow and love her no matter the circumstances. My friend and I still rave about how much this movie means to us and how much it affected our emotions when we first watched it.
The Fault In Our Stars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn55UgZQC6U
Genius Young-Adult novelist John Green introduces us to Hazel Grace Lancaster, who has terminal cancer and suffers from a life of depression which leads her to meet her Augustus Waters, a survivor of bone cancer who lost a leg because of it. They don't immediately have a connection, but as the movie continues, they start sharing parts of themselves with each other that ultimately leaves them with forever. They go on adventures like having a picnic and even going to Amsterdam. I forever will love this novel and I praise the movie for being a stand-alone classic along with it.
Call Me By Your Name
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjgD2JmD4k-/
It is 1983 in northern Italy and seventeen-year-old Elio and his family welcome Oliver, an American archaeology graduate student studying under Elio's father. Elio becomes infatuated by Oliver and over time Oliver reciprocates his feelings towards Elio and they begin a summer full of romance and secrets. This movie really touched me because it was so heartfelt and heartbreaking at the same time. It is a coming-of-age romance that really takes the extremes that love can bend us to and completely shatters viewers perceptions. I cannot give this beautiful movie justice so please do yourself the favor of sitting down with a glass of wine on a rainy night and giving this one a try.
Steel Magnolias
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnqvpFhj6tU/
Steel Magnolias has gained a reputation as probably one of the most profound stories about loss and maintaining friendships. The story focuses on a group of Southern women (an amazing cast of actresses) who face a dilemma when one of them, Julia Roberts' character, suffers from diabetes, and is married and has a child, regardless of her hardship. The story goes on about how these group of women, who all know each other, are able to overcome life's unstable feats and are able to live on through each other.
The Lovely Bones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGlYrRNYrUk
I loved this book from the first time I read it back in high school. I shared it with numerous people and every single one that read it said they wished they could read it over and over. Susie Salmon, a teenage girl living in Pennsylvania, is lead by a man living in her neighborhood, down into a homemade bunker, and murdered in it. The story revolves around how Susie's family and friends deal with her death and not knowing how she died. Her dad, played by Mark Wahlberg, stops at nothing to solve her murder while her mother can't wait to move on. Susie left not only her family but a love interest that was just beginning to flourish. We see Susie transported to an in-between world where she can watch her family and friends as she discovers herself what really happened to her. I can't say enough about how much this book and movie affected me as a person and shaped my reality today.
This classic is undeniably one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors, so most of his movies will definitely be on this list.
This movie was filmed in my hometown so it is an even bigger deal of how great this movie is every time I watch it. I have probably seen it about fifty times but the love and sadness from Jamie and Landon never go away. It was Mandy Moore's character, Jamie, that made me stop caring what people thought about me and my appearance in high school.
GiphyThe Hate U Give was one that I have recently seen, and I was extremely impressed. After the movie, I sat in my car and just cried. The many struggles of being black in America and issues with police brutality were portrayed beautifully in this movie.
Even if you're not black, this movie is something everyone should watch because it shows the lives of other demographics in an insightful yet heartfelt way.
GiphyThe Notebook is one of the most classic love stories that has ever been created. I think this is a movie that can be appreciated by women and men, which is rare with love and romance films. Noah and Allie's love has inspired many since the creation of this movie.
One of the most memorable quotes from the movie is, "If you're a bird, I'm a bird."
GiphyI know most movies that include someone being ill or suffering from a terminal disease are sad, but The Fault in Our Stars is a movie that is more than about terminal illnesses. It's about teens who are looking for support from others. Not only do they find that in each other, but they also find love as well.
For young adults and teenagers, the support and friendship that the two characters had in this move are inspiring.
GiphyAgain, Nicholas Sparks is a genius when it comes to love and romance movies to make your cry. I warned you that many of his movies would end up on this list, so this the third so far.
First, Scott Eastwood was no doubt a great choice to get anyone's attention. You cannot deny that man's good looks. This movie was a big deal in my hometown because there were scenes filmed there, similar to A Walk to Remember.
With Sophia in college and falling in love with a champion bull rider, it gave me ideas of how I wanted my love life to be in college. I never thought about dating a bull rider until I saw this movie, so thanks Mr. Sparks! I'll be waiting for my cowboy to show up on my doorstep.
If you haven't seen this movie, then you're definitely missing out. Well, maybe it's good that you haven't seen it or you would be drenched in tears. Whether you're a child, teen, or adult, this move can touch many. I think that's what makes this move so adored.
The inspiring, yet simple friendship between two children brings me back to the simpler times of life. The tragic ending may have made me afraid of bees, but it still definitely brought out my ugly tears.
I actually read this book in middle school, so this is the only movie on this list where I have read the book and seen the movie. I wasn't going to watch the movie because everyone kept telling me that the book is nothing compared to the movie. They said that is was much sadder. I didn't believe that those things could be true, but I was definitely wrong.
There were some differences from the book and the film as it is for most movies based off of a book. I think this movie brought out every tear that I had in my body at the time. I will say that the sad parts didn't get to the point of crying, in my opinion, until towards the end. Throughout most of the movie, I thought everyone was exaggerating about the film like I thought until the end hit me.
GiphyThis movie is one of those that you just happened to stumble across on Netflix after you feel like you've seen every movie on there. Ever since that time, I have never forgotten about this movie since. This movie was so good that I even bought the DVD as soon as I saw it in the store. This movie stood out to me because the main character that was dealing with cancer wasn't fazed by it at first. Yes, she was shocked and of course, didn't want to have cancer. She just continued to act like she was okay and even tried to prevent getting close to people.
In many movies involving cancer, the characters are usually looking for that last bit of love or an adventure of a lifetime. This character wasn't and still fell in love in the one place she didn't think she would.
This movie was interesting because it involved a terminal illness that I still don't even fully understand, but it was an extremely sad movie. It wasn't your typical cancer movie, which was one thing that made it stand out. It involved a different illness that still had the same effect on the audience as if it was cancer.
After only seeing Bella Thorne in Shake it Up, this was definitely a new role to see her play. If I must say so myself, she played it well. After the film was over, I sat on the couch crying to the point where a friend thought something had happened to me.
GiphyThis is the fourth of the Nicholas Sparks films on this list. This movie is definitely a crier film. It's even more touching because of the real-life love story of Liam and Miley, aside from the one in the movie.
