The year 2017 was one of record-breaking and genre-bending music. One of the biggest songs of the year, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, soared through the charts. It has the most views of any video on YouTube,  is the best-selling song that isn’t primarily English, and is tied for the longest reign at number one. If it wasn’t for the smash hit, “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor swift, then Despacito would have remained at the top of the chart for a much longer time.

Despite its release late in the year, Swift’s album, Reputation, was the number one selling album of 2017. In fact, it became the best-selling album after only four days, with 1.9 million units sold. Her friend and collaborator on the album , Ed Sheeran, had the second best-selling album of the year, Divide, and the best selling song of the year, “Shape of You”. He also had the third, fifth, and eigth best-selling songs: “Castle on the Hill,” “Perfect,” and “Galway Girl.” Another outstanding achievement of this year was Cardi B topping the charts with her song “Bodak Yellow.” She is the only solo female rapper to achieve that since Lauryn Hill in 1998.

The highest award a musician can ever get is a Grammy and, in February, many deserving artists were awarded. Adele won the most with five awards including Album and Record of the Year. Later in the year, Bruno Mars dominated at the American Music Awards, with eight awards for his album 24K Magic.

Music has always been a way for people to connect and heal, which has never been more true than in 2017. It began with the horrific  attack on Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester, England, last May that left 23 dead. To combat this hatred, Grande threw a benefit concert called One Love Manchester with all of the profits going to the victims of the attack. Other musicians began to follow her lead, realizing that they could use their platform to help others. These musicians included Jennifer Lopez, Lin Manuel Miranda, Jay-Z, and Willie Nelson, all for different causes.

In 2017, music started to become more political. Two artists stand out for doing this, Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z, with albums heavily focused on issues that the American people are experiencing today such as racism and intolerance. In addition, several artists returned to the industry after going a while without a new release, including Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Katy Perry, Kesha, Eminem, and Lady Gaga. 

Many intriguing movies hit cinemas in 2017 According to IMDb, the most popular movies of the year were as follows:

The Shape of Water
Set in the 1960s, this film directed by Guillermo del Toro is about a young janitor who works at a research center and falls in love with a creature being studied at the facility.

The Greatest Showman
Directed by Michael Gracey, this film is about the origins of the entertainment industry and the influence that one individual had in creating a show that would entertain millions.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
When four teenagers are transported into the world of a video game, they must solve the game in order to return to reality. This remake of a 1995 movie was directed by Jake Kasdan.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
After her daughter is murdered, a woman works to prevent the police from being idle in the search for the culprit. Directed by Martin McDonagh.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi 
Another installment in the Star Wars series, this one directed by Rian Johnson. The Last Jedi is about Luke Skywalker’s training of Rey, who has recently discovered her special powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance and the First Order prepare for combat.

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My personal favorite movie of 2017 was Coco, directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina. Set in Mexico City, this Pixar-animated film is about a young boy who loves to perform music. However, the boy’s great-great-grandfather left his wife and children years earlier in order to pursue a career in music, causing the entire family he left behind to take a stance against music for generations. Conflicted, Miguel embarks on a quest in the Land of the Dead to locate his great-great-grandfather. Coco is a celebration of music, family, and loyalty and is brought to life with beautiful and colorful animation.

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Several movies to look out for in 2018 include new takes on classic series and books:

Ocean’s 8
In this film starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Rihanna, a group of women conspire to plan an elaborate robbery at the Met Gala in a spin-off of the original Ocean’s movies. Hits theaters in June.

A Wrinkle in Time
Based on Madeleine L’Engle’s acclaimed novel, this movie set to premiere in March traces the journey of Meg and her companions as they search for her father in space.

Source: IMDB.com

The year of 2017 was filled with the release of new page-turners hot off the presses. According to Goodreads, a website where users rate and review the books they’ve read, the most popular books of the year were all fictional novels and included the following:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Ranked the most popular book of the year, this novel is about a town where everything from its infrastructure to the future lives of its citizens is planned with scrutiny. When a free-thinking artist named Mae and her daughter Pearl move into the town, conflict emerges between the new family and other residents. This book suggests that even careful planning and management cannot prevent the inevitable messiness of life.

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
After Jules’ sister Nel dies in a river nicknamed the Drowning Pool, Jules must care for Nel’s teenage daughter. At the same time, Jules is forced to confront her fears about the place where she and her sister grew up and the nearby frightening river, which has been the site of the mysterious deaths of women over the years.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This book handles themes of police violence and the divide between wealthy and impoverished communities. When 16-year-old Starr sees her friend Khalil shot by the police despite being unarmed, she enters into the heart of a conflict between protesters and those who support the decision of the police to kill her friend.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
In the latest novel by the renowned young adult author, teenage friends Aza and Daisy embark on a search to undercover information about a criminal named Russell Pickett. A coming-of-age story, Turtles All the Way Down depicts how Aza learns about friendship and perseverance during her quest to uncover the truth.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
This novel was inspired by a true case of child trafficking that took place in the first half of the twentieth-century by Georgia Tann, the director of an adoption organization in Memphis, Tennessee. This novel tracks the fictional kidnapping of Rill Foss and her siblings, who are taken from their family by an orphanage connected to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

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My personal favorite read of 2017 was The Peculiar Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. Though this book was not published in 2017, I highly recommend adding it to your reading list. The story is about a young girl named Rose who can taste the subconscious emotions of other people in the food that they cook for her. This novel explores the hidden, deeper feelings that humans keep just below the surface of everyday life and conversation.

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Several new books to look forward to in 2018 include:

A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3.1) by Sarah J. Maas
This is the third novel in Maas’ series,  about a royal court that rules in a realm full of drama and fantasy.

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files, #3) by Annie Kaufman
This is a science-fiction novel from a series set in the future around the year 2575. After a large corporation invades a small planet, one group of the planet’s inhabitants leaves to find another home. In the third book of this series, these individuals must return several months after the attack despite not knowing what remains of their home planet.

Untitled (Throne of Glass, #7) by Sarah J. Maas
This is the last book in the Throne of Glass series. This series chronicles events that occur in a world of pirates, assassins, and suspense.

Source: Goodreads.com

By Yasmina Berkat

This study of a statue of an angel, done in Mr. Crawford’s art class, took about five hours to complete. The geometry of the angel was easy to sketch out; the only difficult part was the proportions.

click on each picture to enlarge

If you have artwork you’d like to share, please see Mrs. McHugh in the library.

A prism is an object that has refracting surfaces that take light and sound and bounce them off one another, making it seem like you are surrounded by something beautiful. This is exactly what Mr. Wade and Mr. Harden accomplished on Thursday night with the spectacular Prism Concert!

This was the first year that the concert was held, organized as part of the district-wide Choose Presence Program that encourages students and staff to unplug from our devices and social media and connect in real life.  Mr. Harden, the band director, first witnessed this type of concert while at other districts while Mr. Wade, the choral director, experienced it while student teaching. Everyone in the room, performers and audience members alike, were captivated by each performance that took place.

Starting off with a bang, all chorus and the bands collaborated in a beautiful piece called Resonances that truly embraced the definition of a prism. With the chorus singing on the staircase and the band performing from all corners of the room, it truly made you feel embraced by the music. From there on, the night just got better!

Each time a new group would perform, they would be positioned somewhere in the auditorium that you totally wouldn’t expect! Interspersed among the performances were videos in which  students explained what music meant to them and how it made them feel happy and together with other people.

The concert definitely made you feel one with the music! Starting with the ninth grade chorale and ending with the jazz band, it definitely was a night to remember!

Do you enjoy musicals? Are you a fan of mystery and extravagance? Regardless of whether you are drawn to musical theatre or not, The Phantom of the Opera on stage is well worth the ticket. With an iconic soundtrack, intriguing characters, and skilled actors and actresses, the play will entice all audiences, regardless of their interest in classic musicals.

Recently, a group of French students at Hanover High School took a field trip to see Phantom performed live at the Boston Opera House. The play is based on a 1910 French novel by the same name written by Gaston Leroux. The story has inspired many movies and play productions because of its dramatic and original plot.  In the story, a female performer at the Paris Opera House catches the attention of a masked composer who hides below the Opera to conceal his disfigured face. Christine, the singer who attracts the concealed “Phantom,” must choose between an admirer from her childhood and the mysterious, often unpredictable composer. Though the play contains elements of tragedy, the convincing performances by the actors, the beautiful stage sets, and the dramatic music make the experience of seeing the play exciting and suspenseful.

Before watching the play, French teachers Mrs. Dhommee and Mrs. Youngworth took their students to Brasserie JO, a Boston restaurant that serves French cuisine. Students ate from a delicious selection of foods, including French onion soup, a variety of sandwiches, and a plate of French desserts such as crème brûlée. Some even tried escargot—and liked it, for the most part!

Overall, the day served as an enriching learning experience, exposing students to aspects of French culture from baguettes before lunch to French literature performed on stage. It is uncommon for students to leave high school for the day to travel into Boston and experience so much culture firsthand, and it will be an unforgettable experience for all who attended. I highly suggest seeing The Phantom of the Opera when it comes back to Boston again, or wherever it finds you in the future!