As finals week is coming to an end, taking the time to do self-care is important to your mental health. While school may seem like a main priority around this time, take a break and enjoy yourself. Books, shows, and podcasts are a great way to relax even when you’re at home. These are some of the best options if you’re looking for something new. 

Books

The Fault in Our Stars, written by John Green, takes readers on the perfect love story. Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, two teens with cancer, show what it means to live without the promise of tomorrow. The book embarks on the journey of fear, heatbreaks, love, and sorrow and gives a new perspective on the challenges of life. The book is approximately three hundred and thirteen pages and is available at Barnes and Noble.  

 Milk and Honey, written by Rupi Kaur, sheds light on the issues of sexual assault, abuse, feminism, and loss. Readers feel a connection to the author with the emotion carried in this poetry novel. Each chapter takes on a different issue of awareness and makes it a novel you’ll never forget.  The novel is two hundred and twenty six pages and is available at Target.

All This Time, whose authors are Rachel Lippincott and Mikki Daughtry, takes readers through an unexpected twist and turns through a fatal night. Kyle, a top high school football player, life takes a drastic turn on a day he thought would be the best day of his life. The book puts you in a world wind of emotions you should always expect the unexpected.  The book is 325 pages and is available at Barnes and Noble.

Podcasts

Anything Goes by Emma Chamberlain is a podcast that you never want to stop listening to.  Emma talks about things like the pressure of having academic validation as a high school student, regaining perspective, and trendy vs. timeless. Each episode is normally about forty five to sixty minutes long, but this conversation is truly captivating. It is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

Teenage Therapy by Mark Hugo, Thomas Pham, Kayla Suarez, and Issac Hurato focuses on the feelings and emotions we encounter in high school and the future beyond high school. The podcast varies in topic focusing on things like college applications, the feeling of graduating, and reflecting on high school experiences. When listening to the podcast you feel like you’re part of the conversation and can truly relate to experiences. It is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Serial by Sarah Koening has a different theme every season. The first season talks about the trial and evidence in the Adnan Syed case, the second season talks about an American soldier being held captive by the Taliban, and the third season sheds light on diversity within the public school system. The podcasts definitely makes you more aware of the social issues among the world today. It is available on Spotify. 

TV Shows

The Bold Type is a series with five seasons that follows three young women, Jane Sloan, Sutton Brady, and Kat Edison, on their adventures of love and life. The three women who all work at a well known magazine company tell their stories of equality, romance, and fashion. The series will have you up all night watching feeling like your best friends with them. It is available to watch on Hulu.

Blindspot, a five-season drama series, is truly a binge watch that will captivate you from episode one. The series takes viewers on a wild ride focusing on the main character Jane and how she ended up covered in tattoos in a duffle bag in New York City. You will be on your toes the whole time and guessing what will happen next. The series on Hulu.

You,  a captivating thriller, will have viewers on the edge of their seats. The show follows Joe Goldberg and his lethal ways of having a romantic relationship. He will let nothing and no one stop his path of finding true love. The series is available on Netflix and a season three has just been released.