"You can always find me in the drift..."

Mako Mori doodle!

I recently saw Pacific Rim and, ever since doing so, I have been having some feelings. I didn't expect to like it. When it came out it looked very much Not My Thing. I made a flat out assumption that it would be something very clinical, unfeeling, plotless. I like action, I like monsters, but I also like characters and interaction and back story. I want to care about the characters. If they're gonna try to "cancel the apocalypse", I want to be able to root for them.

To be blunt, Pacific Rim kicked ass. When a deadly threat from under the Pacific ocean surfaces, humankind must fight monstrous creatures to save the world. Former pilot, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam of Queer as Folk fame) is re-recruited to defend the Earth in giant machines, called Jaegers, that can only be operated by a pair of pilots. When operating these machines, the pilots must share a deep connection. Not everyone can pilot these machines and siblings, or other relations, are usually the most "drift compatible". However, after serving with his brother for many years, Raleigh finds himself compatible once again with a trainee, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi).

Pacific Rim fails the Bechdel Test spectacularly, but it should definitely not be dismissed because of this. It's rare to see an action film that doesn't focus on Americans as saviours of the Earth and, furthermore, actually includes a range of cultures, endeavouring to represent POC really well. I was especially excited to see lots of languages featured in the film with subtitles, adding a certain sense of authenticity. I hate when films, that are set in non-English speaking countries, completely disregard that country's native language and was really excited to see the opposite here.

MOST IMPORTANTLY HOWEVER! My main reason to love this film comes down to my favourite character in the film (and, possibly, EVER). Mako Mori is not a marketing afterthought. She's not there as the obligatory female prop to influence young girls to watch it. Nor is she a piece of eye candy. She is Raleigh Becket's peer, she beats the shit out of him at one point and, although she starts out feeling pretty self conscious about her abilities, she proves that she deserves to be a part of the team. She has an interesting back story and relationship with Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), Head of the Hong Kong Shatterdome, and Mako's adoptive father. I especially liked that there was no explicit romance between Mako and Raleigh, but hints at what their relationship could become.

I just want to know more about this character and her general bad-assery has inspired a lot of terrible drawings from me.

And guess what? There's going to be a sequel.

The Best Thing I Never Had - Erin Lawless

Formerly published as 'Little White Lies'.

Downloaded on a whim, The Best Thing I Never Had turned out to be a pretty great read. Reminding me slightly of David Nicholls' romantic novel, One Day, the story follows a group of university students in their final year of studying.

 Lawless' insight into university life and beyond felt very on point for me. We meet the gang in February 2012, several years after finishing uni. Miles has just proposed to his long term girlfriend, Nicky, leading to a mass text to all of their friends to spread the good news. However, for Nicky, Sukie, Harriet and Leigha, who lived together at university, a lot has changed and the prospect of being reunited is jarring. Especially for Harriet whose relationship with the rest of her university pals has broken down almost entirely. Flashback to September 2006, the start of her last year of studying, and we discover why. 

As the novel progresses, Adam, Johnny and Miles (Nicky's boyfriend), a group of boys who live down the road, become more prominent. Tensions develop as Leigha develops feeling for Adam,  whilst his best mate, Johnny, falls madly in love with her. Quite the kerfuffle. To make matters worse, Adam's friendship with Harriet grows, leading to some serious rivalry between the girls, with disastrous consequences.

I think one of the main draws to this book was, as mentioned, just how brilliantly it captures university life. The characters must juggle their workloads and budding relationships whilst managing to get pissed on a week night. It truly is a hard life. What's more is that Lawless manages to craft some pretty fantastic characters. Personally, I loved Harriet the best. Becoming one of the more prominent characters of the ensemble, Harriet is quieter than her rowdy girlfriends. She's kind, fiercely loyal, bookish, hard-working, yet somehow effortlessly cool. Lawless has us really feeling for this character, whilst an excellent book boyfriend was made in the form of Adam. He, at first, seems rather superficial, lapping up the attention he gets from Leigha, yet emerges as a really lovely and swoon worthy guy.

Furthermore, I really liked Sukie's character, but felt that she wasn't explored enough at all. Only in the final section of the book, when the narrative returns to the present day as the group start to prepare for Nicky and Miles' big day, do we really begin to understand her character. Similarly with Nicky and Miles. We learn a lot about them in the latter part of the novel but their 2006 story sheds only a small amount of light on what makes them tick as a couple. Nicky's lost dream of living and studying in France seems like a massive afterthought. Considering the couple are so important to bringing the group back together, we don't learn as much about them as I'd personally like.

I must say that I felt an unexpected connection to this novel. I lived in a house full of girls at university for two years, after enduring some smelly (albeit secretly sweet) boys in my first year, and found myself picturing my friends and our house as I made my way through the story. Those girls were and are some of my best friends and so I felt an affinity with this group of female characters and their close friendship with each other. It really made me miss them and the thought of falling out with them (as Harriet does in the novel) is unbearable. I think the novel really taps into a sense of time and place that I feel a lot of readers will be able to recognise.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read that I recommend to all young romantics out there.
4/5 stars.