Jay Asher’s book: Thirteen Reasons Why, is about a girl named Hannah Baker who committed suicide and had made a set of 13 tapes containing reasons as to why she killed herself. The main character: Clay Jensen, receives these tapes and listens to each one because he is one of the reasons, along with many other people who made an impact on Hanna’s life.

This book was turned into a Netflix series just last month, and I was anxious to watch it because I had read the book in my health class and wanted to see how they would portray the book. Each episode was like listening to one of the tapes, only with action and drama to be seen.

The characters were spot on, the stories were made well, and the whole series really kept me engaged on what would happen next

The difference between the book and the series is we follow more of Clay’s life and what he goes through while listening to these tapes in the series; where as in the book we listen mostly to Hannah and the tapes while following Clay’s actions from time to time. They also changed an important point in the book, and that is Hannah’s death, but just like with movies, they need to change a few things in order to really draw the crowd and make it seem interesting.

An important topic to learn from either the book or the series is the seriousness of suicide, or depression, or anxiety, etc. According to Medical News Today – Suicide is one of the top 10 leading causes of death, and most of those deaths are teens and young adults. Thirteen Reasons Why shows you all about the warning signs of suicide and how it could be prevented.

If you would like to know more about these signs and/or depression, visit your school guidance counselor for more information.

If you haven’t heard the new Julia Brennan track on KDWB you might’ve never heard of this new artist from Minneapolis. This upcoming artist was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1999. Music has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember, considering she took piano lessons since she was only four years old.

She recollects in her biography about memories of her mom being a wedding singer, and her grandma being Ms. Minnesota. Her talent? Singing and playing the piano, much like her granddaughter. From these two women she gathered her inspiration to become an artist herself.

Some other inspirations for the young singer are Adele and Sam Smith.

Julia released her three song EP “Inner Demons” in the summer of 2016. She had the three songs just sitting around on YouTube until one day she decided to send them to KDWB to see if the popular Twin Cities radio station would play them. The people at the radio station ending up liking her song a lot. They called her back and interviewed her about her new EP. After that her young career took flight as she soon was able to snag a record deal with the prestigious Columbia Records.

Her song, “Inner Demons,” currently is at #7 on iTunes’ Singer/Songwriter chart and is an instant hit in the Twin Cities.

Julia’s voice influenced people with her lovely piano music. Her music reflects on people going through hard times: especially on her song “Inner Demons.” On this track, she talks about how “demons fight their battles with fire” and why it’s difficult to rise against the things that hold us back; most of those things being inflicted by ourselves.

Brennan said in her biography that “Inner Demons” is about a time when her friend was going through a hard time. She didn’t know how to help her friend but she wants to give a voice to those people in the silence.

All of her three songs use piano and vocals to express her emotions. Julia Brennan is a great listen for anyone battling their own “inner demons” or for anyone who wants to hear some soulful music with incredible vocals.

For more information about Julia, please visit: www.juliabrennanmusic.com ⊹ ALL THINGS JULIA  (music-video-bio-art) for articles-broadcasts ⊹ INNER DEMONS video-audio ⊹ INTRODUCING JULIA BRENNAN ⊹  THE MAKING of INNER DEMONS video ⊹ www.gomoxie.org

Arrival, a science fiction and mystery movie starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, was one of the nominees for Best Picture this year at the Academy Awards. This is special, because science fiction movies are rarely nominated for that highest of awards. In order to do so, the move in question must be very high-quality.

So, of course, I went to see it, and I can now confirm that it is, indeed, really excellent. It’s also the kind of movie that is hard to talk about without ruining it, but I’ll try my best to avoid spoiling it. I will tell you that once you see it once, you’ll want to see it again in light of the ending. It’s also got beautiful cinematography; the sort of movie that you’d want to see on as big a screen as possible. I saw it in the movie theater and loved it.

The movie is set in the present day, immediately after twelve giant, featureless oblong “spaceships” touch down all over the planet at seemingly random locations. It focuses on a linguist who is brought in to figure out how to communicate with the aliens inside, squid-like creatures called “heptapods” for their seven legs. The whole movie is driven by a need to ask a simple question – “Why are they here?” – before intergalactic war breaks out.

Of course, the movie isn’t perfect. It’s very slow-moving, so even though its running time isn’t even two hours, it can feel much longer. It can also be quite confusing at times, because some scenes are shown out of order, and the timeline of the movie doesn’t really make sense until the end. The soundtrack is very loud and sad, and can sound like an endless funeral dirge at times.

The ending, however, is fabulous in a very bittersweet way, and the story is overall quite interesting and thought-provoking. I recommend it highly.

If you have a love for musicals or anything romantic then La La Land is the perfect movie for you. This movie starts out with the two main characters, Mia and Sebastian, who meet on a rather rude note, which gives their relationship a bad start. Even though these two seem to barely have anything in common, they both are struggling creative types that are trying to find their way in life, there’s a spark that they both feel, pushing aside the two bad encounters that they had, which only leads to them to start a love filled relationship that makes everyone’s heart swell.

This film will make you feel all sorts of emotions from sad to happy to disappointed all in a matter of seconds. This Oscar nominee is a brilliant film that has made millions fall in love with it.

La La Land is still showing in theaters, so catch a showtime as soon as you can; you won’t regret it.  

Everyone knows that Christmas movies are a clear indication that the holidays are truly here. Out of curiosity, we wanted to know what movies Highland favors. We distributed a survey asking students to pick their favorite film out of these five choices: The Polar Express, The Grinch, Home Alone, A Christmas Carol, and Elf. Christmas movies are a great way to spend the holidays and this was the perfect kick off to winter break!

When we surveyed our classes, the results came back, and without a doubt the family classic Home Alone was the favorite Christmas movie. Most people wrote that they liked it because it was funny and entertaining. They said things like:

“It shows that mischief can be mixed with love. True loyalty lies in the heart.”

“It is a funny movie and is great for the family.”

“Because it’s funny and entertaining”

As for the other movies, there were a fair amount of votes for Elf and The Grinch. But it is easy to understand why most of them picked Home Alone. We love all of these great Christmas movies and any one of them could have been the top choice for our Highland community.

Based on our survey’s outcome, Home Alone was deemed the winner as the best Christmas movie of the five given. The movie has always been labelled by many as a Christmas essential, and we here at Highland would have to agree. If you’re looking for a light-hearted family film to get over the holidays, or anytime, Home Alone is a perfect choice.

The holiday season is for spending time with family and friends. What better thing to do then listen to some great holiday music while you do just that. Holiday music has been around for many years dating back to the 13th century. Today many talented artist create new holiday music or give their voice to old classics. Through the years there have been lots of holiday albums, but we are going to count down our picks for our “Top 10 Best Holiday Music Albums Ever.”  

10.  Noel: Josh Groban

His one and only holiday album, Josh Groban brings the spirit to you this season. Released in October of 2007 Noel is one of the best selling holiday albums and best selling albums ever. Selling over 3 million copies in 2007 it is easy to see why people love it so much. The melodious vocals of Groban complement the piano that is usually present and the choir in the background perfectly. Highlighted by the “The First Noel (with Faith Hill)” this album makes you feel in the mood to relax with family and friends on a cold day.

9.  Christmas Portrait: The Carpenters

This album was The Carpenters only Christmas album, and was released on October 13, 1978. Since the album’s release, there has been about 1,950,000 copies sold, and the album has reached a peak position of number 93 on the Billboard 200 in 2015.

8. The Beach Boys’: Christmas Album

Released in 1964 at the peak popularity of The Beach Boys, this album will make you say “Merry Christmas, Baby!” With almost all original songs, this album brought a lot to the table. Highlighted by the hit single “Little Saint Nick” the Beach Boys tight knitted harmony and swinging beats translate perfectly into great Christmas music.

7. Michael Buble: Christmas

The album Christmas is Michael Buble’s second Christmas album. It was released October 21, 2011. This album has reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, and was his third album to reach this position.

6. Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas

Mariah Carey is very well known for her Christmas music, and this album has been one of her biggest claims to fame. The album features the song “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which is  one of the most popular Christmas songs to this day. The album was Mariah Carey’s fourth Christmas album recorded, and was released November 1, 1994.

5.  Charlie Brown Christmas

Accompanying the classic Christmas movie a Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi’s melodies make wonderful holiday music. These songs have gained a good reputation, and many people love listening to this music during the holiday season.

4. A Christmas Gift For You: Phil Spector

A Christmas Gift For You is an album where Phil Spector collaborated with some of the best musicians of the time to create one good holiday album. Phil Spector, most famously known for his role in creating the Wall of Sound, recorded a rockin’ Christmas album in 1963. Highlighted by The Ronettes rendition of “Sleigh Ride” this album will get you rockin’ and rollin’ this holiday season.

3. White Christmas: Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album is a wonderful trip back in time when vocals were all you needed. This smash hit of an album headlined by the songs “White Christmas” and “Mele Kalikimaka” is a measuring tool for all other Holiday music albums.

2. The Christmas Song: Nat King Cole

The Christmas Song is one of the all time classic albums for Christmas. Headlined by the Christmas anthem “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” this album has reached critical acclaim in the music world.

1. Christmas Album: Elvis

Elvis is most well known for his rock and roll music, but he did release a very popular Christmas album in 1957. This was his first of two Christmas albums, his second was released in 1971. Since its release, the album has sold around 15 million albums worldwide. It shows some of the best music from Elvis even as a Christmas album. Some say it was his last “real” album.

Are these T.V. shows worth the hype?

The X Files:

The X Files is a show that started in the 1993, and is still playing today. This T.V show is a sci-fi thriller that follows the lives of two FBI agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. These two agents are best known for their work on cases that showed signs of non-human forces at play, aliens, god, monsters, ect. While agent Mulder was a strong believer in such forces, agent Scully had her doubts.

Now that you know what the show is about you may want to know is it really worth watching? Well we are here to tell you YES!! This show is definitely worth watching. In this show everything is real and committing crimes from God to werewolves to aliens to psychics and much more. The X Files brings to light many thing that you may or may not believe in; whether you do or don’t, in this show, it does exists, which is why it’s so good.

This show combines real world work like the FBI, with extraordinary phenomenons like shape shifters. The X Files is thrilling, funny and a bit steamy and romantic all at the same time. If you have never seen The X Files or are contemplating watching it, then our suggestion to you is GO FOR IT, you won’t be sorry and if you are, well then we don’t know what to tell you.

Another great thing about this show is that it has an abundance of seasons, so you won’t watch it super quickly. The X Files is a show that is 100% worth watching.

Scandal:

Scandal is another interesting show that began in the April of 2012. The show revolves around a character by the name of Olivia Pope. Pope is a former White House Communications Director who starts her own organization to solve the crises of the wealthy and well known. Olivia and her team of gladiators are so good at what they do that people hurry to them, before the police. Olivia can bury someone’s deepest secrets and ultimately solve any chaotic problem placed in her path.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this series is the dirty political vendettas among the people of Washington D.C., along with the continual backstabbing that comes with them. The series is undoubtedly alluring and quite addictive. If, and only if, you’re prepared for a road of enormous secrets and uncanny events, Scandal is the show to watch.

Gossip Girl:

As the show that gave actress Blake Lively her rise to fame, Gossip Girl (2007-2012) has gotten an array of reviews from its audience, and is labeled by many as a “must watch” show. The series centers on the socialites of the Upper East Side of New York, following the scandalous lives of Serena Van Der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Nate Arichbald, Dan Humphrey and fan-favorite Chuck Bass.

Going into the show, we expected plain, annoying rich kids arguing over popularity, but was greeted with a much different tale. We can’t reveal too much, but, the twists and turns make the seemingly boring plot interesting. With several different storylines regarding each character, it’s hard to get bored of the same old thing.

The comedy throughout, gives watchers a break from the intense hardships the group faces. We are into binge watching shows, as it takes a lot to keep us interested, but Gossip Girl had us staying up all night waiting for the next ambush. We would highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a Netflix binge session.

We all love going to the movie theater to enjoy a good movie, some popcorn and spending time with people you like, even though you do have to be quiet during the movie. Evelyn, a couple of our friends, and I had the great opportunity of being able to see an advanced screening of The Space Between Us directed by Peter Chelsom.

This movie is about a boy named Gardener, who was born on Mars, who starts talking to a 16-year-old in Colorado named Tulsa. They have an online friendship until Gardner finally gets the chance to go to earth. While he is on his way to earth, he stops talking to Tulsa because there is no way to contact her. She thinks his story is crazy because she doesn’t believe he’s really from Mars.

Once they meet their connection only grows. While Gardener is having the time of his life on earth scientists discover that his organs can’t withstand the atmosphere and he has to go back to Mars. He and Tulsa are on the run from the scientists so he doesn’t have to go back.

While they are on the run from the scientists, they are also trying to find Gardener’s dad, because all he has of him is a picture, and his mom is dead.

“I really enjoyed the movie, it was romantic and cute. I also hated it because it made me cry!” said our friend Michael.

“I liked it because it showed how just because someone is completely different from you that doesn’t mean you just deny them.” said Manuel Perla.

Evelyn and I talked about our thoughts and we really enjoyed it. We both liked how you kinda knew what was going to happen, but it turned out to be something completely different, which was good. We both enjoyed the movie and we both cried.

Overall, we all really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it to anyone! Make sure to check it out on December 16th 2016 when it’s out in all movie theaters.

Movie trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AFjJ7Itetgk