The Quill & The Cross

BOOK

WINNER

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Scarlett and Donatella Dragna are desperate to get off their island and escape their cruel father, so when they receive invitations to the famous Caraval games, they seize their opportunity. With the help of a dashing and mysterious sailor named Julian, they escape the island and arrive at Caraval, where magic and reality collide. Once inside the game, however, Scarlett discovers it is much more than she bargained for. With Julian’s help, she must find Donatella before the time is up; now her sister is the central part of the game.

My Take: Caraval was magical, exciting, adventurous, full of twists and turns, unique characters, and a little bit of romance. It was entertaining and I was hooked a chapter in.

RUNNER-UP

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter is a 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, focusing on Hester Prynne, who is forced to wear a scarlet “A” for adultery after having a daughter named Pearl with a secret lover. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, seeks revenge on the father, Arthur Dimmesdale, a respected minister tormented by his own guilt. The story explores themes of sin, shame, and redemption as Hester and her child navigate a society that shuns them.  

My Take: The Scarlet Letter can be very dark at some points, and its old-fashioned writing style can be a little difficult to read, but I found it very engaging and it pulled me into the story. It delves into a lot of deep things, but ultimately I found it very well-written and very redemptive.

MOVIES

WINNER

Train Dreams (2025)

Train Dreams follows the life of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker in the early 20th-century west. It gives us a slice of life, chronicling his quiet and solitary life: how he was orphaned at a young age, witnesses the mass deportation of thousands of Chinese people, his job as a logger, his marriage to his wife Gladys, the birth of his daughter Kate. Train Dreams tells his story, from his solitude to his happy marriage, through crushing tragedy and profound joy.

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon, Nathaniel Arcand, Will Patton

My Take: This was honestly one of the most gorgeous movies I’ve ever seen: it just tells the story of one man’s simple life, but the way it does it is so unique. The entire overall look of the movie is beautiful, and I was definitely crying happy tears at the end.

RUNNER-UP

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel to the original Hunger Games series. It takes us back in time to the 10th Hunger Games, where young Coriolanus Snow is a promising student in the Capitol. Except the Games are different this year: each student will be assigned a kid to mentor in the games–the coveted Plinth prize is the reward. Coriolanus is assigned a girl from District 12, the underdog district, but Lucy Gray Baird has a way of getting the audience to listen. With the Plinth prize on the line, he goes out of his way to help Lucy Gray, but he ends up falling for her even as he believes that she can’t win the Games. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tells us just how Coriolanus Snow became the evil, twisted president we meet in the The Hunger Games trilogy.

Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Josh Andres Rivera, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis

My Take: This might be my favorite Hunger Games movie: the characters are so captivating and well-written and the story-although intense and sometimes depressing-pulls you in at the first scene. It includes some incredible songs, too!