We’re so close (yet so far away) from summer break! We just have to get past the long haul—the last few days of classes and the dreaded two weeks of final exams. As we all begin to bunker down and study for finals, I’ve found that a great way to make the experience tolerable is to think ahead to the exciting things in the coming weeks. I tell myself if I can just make it past these exams, I have a new show to binge watch on Netflix or a new movie to see in theaters with my friends back home. So, to get you hyped for the next few months, I put together a list of fun movies, TV shows, books, and music that are coming out soon to watch, read, and listen to this summer.
1. Everything, Everything (Movie)
Release Date: In theaters May 19
What if you were allergic to everything in the outside world?
This is Maddy’s life. She has never left her house and sees only her mother and nurse every day. Everything changes, though, when a new boy movies into the house next door. The pair begin to communicate with each other, sparking Maddy’s interest and making her wonder about a life outside of her safe, sanitized bubble.
Based on Nicola Yoon’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, this movie is set to hit theaters on Friday, May 19. This is bound to be a sweet, heartfelt and exciting film starring Amandla Stenberg (who you might recognize as Rue from The Hunger Games movies) and Nick Robinson (who played Ben in last year’s movie adaptation of The 5th Wave and also stars in the upcoming movie adaptation of yet another YA novel, Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is set to premiere next year). You can view the most recent movie trailer here, but fair warning, it does spoil a great deal of the plot, so you may want to read the book before watching the full length trailer, if that’s more your style.
2. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3
Release Date: May 19 on Netflix
Another exciting and highly anticipated release on the same day: the third season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is airing on Netflix! If you haven’t started this show yet, I recommend you to drop everything right now and watch the first two seasons (Oh, you have to study for finals? Maybe after that…)
This comedy show is a great blend of quirky humor, the insanity of New York City, and some pretty dark topics. The premise is that Kimmy and three other young women were kidnapped by an insane preacher who locked them away in an underground bunker. He convinced them the world had ended and they were the last people alive. Fifteen years later, the “Mole Women,” as they were dubbed, are freed from the bunker and have to adjust to the real world. Our protagonist Kimmy is now twenty-nine years old with the mind of a fourteen-year-old. She decides to move to the Big Apple and live her life to the fullest, despite her disconnect with modern news and technology and her innocent gullibility.
Starring Ellie Kemper, who played Erin in The Office, this show is loads of fun! The episodes are pretty short too, so it’s very easy to binge each season. You can watch the season three trailer here. After the shocking cliffhanger at the end of season two, I’m very excited to see what’s next in Kimmy’s NYC adventures.
3. Lorde’s new album, Melodrama
Release Date: June 16, wherever you listen to music
I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it.
If you haven’t jumped on the Lorde bandwagon after her incredible debut album Pure Heroine in 2013, I’m sorry, but you’re missing out. We have two new singles from this newest album that came out within the last few months, (Green Light and Liability) and they’re absolutely addictive. It’s been such a long time since her previous album, and I can’t wait to see how her sound has grown and developed in these few years!
4. Because You Love to Hate Me Anthology
Release Date: July 11 in bookstores
Reaching a bit further into the summer, Because You Love to Hate Me is coming in July. This YA anthology is a collaboration between a bunch of well known authors and BookTubers. If you don’t know what BookTube is, it’s a section of YouTube that features users who upload videos devoted to talking about books. From bookhauls to monthly TBRs and wrapups, tags and collabs, these videos are loads of fun, and I highly suggest checking them out. If you just go on Youtube and search “BookTube” a ton of results will come up with some of the top creators’ content.
This book is centered around the theme of villains, featuring thirteen short stories that reimagine classic fairy tales from the misunderstood antagonists’ points of view. It just seems like a lot of fun, and with such notable names from Marissa Meyer (author of the Lunar Chronicles series) to Nicola Yoon (author of Everything, Everything, mentioned above!), this collection is bound to be a great summer read.
5. Wonder Woman Movie and Book
Release Date: June 2 in theaters, August 29 in bookstores
DC fans rejoice! The latest superhero film, this time following Wonder Woman, is coming this June. You can watch full length trailer here! This looks like it’s going to be a super fierce and epic origin story and I’m looking forward to seeing it on the big screen.
More exciting news: DC has partnered with Random House to create a series of books that follow their iconic superhero characters, set to be released over the next year. The first in this endeavor is entitled Wonder Woman: Warbringer and it’s coming out just a few months after the movie, so the Wonder Woman love doesn’t stop all summer long.
This YA adaptation is written by New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo, who is best known for her Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows Duology. Other installments to this “DC Icons” series in the upcoming months are: Marie Lu’s take on Batman, Matt De La Pena’s adaption of Superman and Sarah J. Maas’ reinterpretation of Catwoman.
There’s so much to anticipate this summer!
So let’s make it through these next few weeks so we can experience this EXCITEMENT OVERLOAD!