The movie The Fault in Our Stars, based on the international bestselling novel by John Green, premiered on June 6. The novel was published in Jan. 2012 and that the announcement of the film adaptation was made in that same year. Thus, waiting for opening night was excruciating for millions of loyal “TFIOS” fans. Shailene Woodley (Hazel Grace Lancaster) and Ansel Elgort (Augustus Waters), two up-and-coming teen actor/actress portray star crossed lovers who exchange witty retorts with each other. However, what makes the plot so tragic and raw is their medical pasts; Augustus has a prosthetic leg from amputation that eliminated his cancer, and Hazel tows an oxygen tank from the thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs. After seeing this heart-wrenching film I promise you will leave the theater in tears.

If you and a few friends are up for a more comical relief, Neighbors, starring Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, Dave Franco and Rose Byrne, gives the perfect laugh. The plot revolves around a young couple and their child move into a new neighborhood and aren’t ready to accept their new adult lifestyle. However, while seeking to maintain their wild young sides, a new fraternity house moves in right next door. The house and the couple agree that because they have a newborn if the fraternities party’s ever get too loud just to talk with the president of the house, Efron, before calling the cops. When Rogen and Byrne don’t comply to the promise, things break into an all out feud between partiers and parents.

A throwback to our days of Disney and a more family friendly film is Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. It’s the untold fantasy of the classic Sleeping Beauty concentrated on the villain, a vengeful witch, who curses the princess Aurora. The movie is the journey to restore peace to their troubled land and find lost happiness.

On June 12, many people attended the Luke Bryan concert at the outdoors Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on his “That’s My Kind of Night Tour”. Luke Bryan has always had top trending summer songs such as “Play It Again”, “That’s My Kind of Night”, and “Crash My Party”. Some of his popular songs in past summers included “Drunk On You” and “Country Girl” (Shake It For Me).

A few books chatted about by those who spend their summers with their noses in a good paperback are If I stay written by Gayle Forman and We Were Liars by the author E. Lockhart. Books that have been out for awhile but you never got a chance to read with class in session are the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth; the other two in the trilogy include Insurgent and Allegiance and of course the now ionic The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  You can also check out other works by John Green, such as Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines.

The song heard every time I tune into the radio is “Beachin’” by Jake Owen. The song definitely has a musing vibe that makes you feel like you’re in paradise whether you be on vaca on the beaches of Mexico or right here in your backyard of Kirkwood. Other summer favorites are “Rude” by Magic!, which recently earned the second top song on the iTunes charts, “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith, and “Am I Wrong” by Nico & Vinz. Many of the songs from Ed Sheeran’s new album X (pronounced “multiply”) have made the top charts with songs like “Bloodstream” and “Thinking Out Loud”, in third and fourth place in the charts.