Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which made it’s debut July 11, received a 8.5/10 rating on IMDb and a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The original film premiered in 1968, and two years after, in 1970, four sequels trailed until 1973, including Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. In 2001, Planet of the Apes was released as a remake to the very first movie.  A series of reboot films commenced in the 21st century, called Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which included the installment of the Dawn. The new plot is that of an ape rebellion across the world with Caesar (Andy Serkis), a genetically-altered chimp, at the head of the resistance. An untitled third film in the reboot series is scheduled to be released July 29, 2016. In Dawn, the growing nation of these evolved apes have settled in a forest near San Francisco, calling it home. On the ape front, Caesar attempts to establish peace between both sides but rival Koba (Toby Kebbell) will simply not share Earth with the hated primate relatives and plots against Caesar’s ruling. Among the humans survivors is leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), who wants to abolish the ape species, and Malcolm (Jason Clarke), who only wants to coexist. Existing in a post-apocalyptic state causes desperation amid the human holdouts. A war becomes inevitable as the two battling sides only strive for survival and to be crowned the most dominant species. Taking sides in a film like this is difficult, as good and evil lay on both sides.

Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent Series, has written yet another bestselling series for teens. With the success of Roth’s character “Four”, well mostly to the world’s population of swooning teenage girls, in Divergent it was pretty legitimate that she respond with five short stories written in the world of Divergent. The first story of the collection, Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene, came out in April 2012. The second story, The Transfer, came out in September 2013. The third story titled The Initiate, the fourth story, The Son and the final story, The Traitor, all came out on July 8, 2014. Conjointly with the release of these stories, which as of that date were all solely e-Books, a collective edition of the five short stories, Four: A Divergent Collection, was released. In the series we read a narration by the ever so mysterious Tobias “Four” Eaton, exploring his background life before meeting his love, Beatrice “Tris” Prior, which is where the two books, Divergent and the last book of the series, blend together. Teenage girl Divergent Fans will be thrilled to read a book exclusively dedicated to this heartthrob.

The place where many teens love to occupy the summer is at lakes, whether it be right here in Missouri or Michigan. There are over 61 lakes in Missouri varying from all sizes, but none are too far from Saint Louis, such as Lake of the Ozarks, Mark Twain Lake, Wappapello Lake and Clearwater Lake. Michigan lakes tend to have more of a beachy shore, which are choice for laying out and relaxing. Lakes here in Missouri are never but a drive away.

The  jam that has surely made its way into the hearts of carefree tanned teens is the single “Shower” by Becky G. If girls aren’t already “dancing in the mirror” and “singing the shower” while listening to this tune, it sure will make them start. Summer is all about being rebellious, adventurous and generally having a good time. The song “Come With Me Now” by KONGOS has no ifs ands or buts about it. With lyrics like “I was born without this fear” and “I need to lose myself tonight”, it certainly alludes to that mentality. The techno accordion paired with rhythmic drumbeat will surely make you turn the volume up.