friday5 for March 11, 2016

I don't know about you, but I'm bracing myself for March Break next week. If I'm being perfectly honest, I'm looking forward to a few days where it'll be just me and my girl E (with Baby H in daycare), but I know E is going to miss the routine of school, and will probably get quite squirrely by the end of the week. That I'm not looking forward to... Needless to say, there won't be a Friday5 next week, but with the PLL finale airing, there will be at least something of a Pretty Little Reaction post. Housekeeping note over. Let's get to the Friday5!

1. Have you seen the official promo for the new season of Game of Thrones? No? Then you need to. Yes? Then you need to watch it again. There are a lot of goodies in here to discuss. Where to start? Oh, I dunno, how about BRAN AND THE FREAKIN' NIGHT'S KING? Okay, clearly this isn't really happening cause Bran is standing tall, but what's that all about? Is it possible Bran's story won't bore me as much as it has up to this point? We will soon find out!

2. Speaking of GoT, does anybody believe Kit Harrington's claims? Anybody? I'm seriously asking. I go back and forth about this several times a week. It's not like the guy has to worry about credibility. Not really. 

Photo credit: HBO

3. Queen Rowling herself is releasing a whole lot of new information about the North American Wizarding World, to mixed reviews (but let's not get into that here). Feelings about the specifics aside, does anybody else find this feels kind of surreal? Harry Potter fans have been immersed in the UK Wizarding world for so long that it feels really, really strange to now hear these kinds of details about magic's existence outside that. Don't get me wrong, I love the expansion of the wizarding world. I want it to live and grow forever, but it all feels so...disconnected for me right now. Like, everything in HP 1-7 is real, and this somehow isn't. Maybe Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will change that. I hope so.  

4. Get ready for more Kimmel. ABC has announced that Jimmy Kimmel has been tapped to host the 168th Primetime Emmy awards. I think this is a good choice. He did a plenty good job the last time he hosted, and when it comes to these awards shows, I always find the best hosts are the people who are used to hosting as a regular gig. Should be good. Let's just hope the nominations reflect the actual best talent out there, and not just the same old tired choices year over year. 

Photo credit: ABC

5. Noteworthy New YA: BURN BABY BURN by Meg Medina

While violence runs rampant throughout New York, a teenage girl faces danger within her own home in Meg Medina's riveting coming-of-age novel. 
Nora Lopez is seventeen during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora's family life isn t going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn eighteen and be on her own. And while there "is "a cute new guy who started working with her at the deli, is dating even worth the risk when the killer likes picking off couples who stay out too late? Award-winning author Meg Medina transports us to a time when New York seemed balanced on a knife-edge, with tempers and temperatures running high, to share the story of a young woman who discovers that the greatest dangers are often closer than we like to admit and the hardest to accept.

-Courtesy of Indiebound