"Dev is a producer on a fairytale-based reality dating show that Dev is relentlessly convinced is a show about love. Dev is also really good at what he does. He knows just how to create a scene and coach the talent to make good television. This season, he is the only one entrusted to be the handler for the new “prince” Charlie. Charlie is a conventionally attractive tech millionaire who awkwardly stumbles his way through life and is very much not selling his role as prince ch

"In How to Tell When We Will Die, Johanna Hedva explores a large breadth of topics through essays surrounding disability, kink, and their incompatibility with capitalism. They combine theory with personal anecdotes creating a dynamic writing style that discourages passive reading. Hedva, at times, projects a dissecting analysis onto unwilling subjects and leaves gendered dynamics in their described interpersonal relationships unchallenged. For this reason, Hedva may sink in a

"The niche yet prolific genre of the unhinged road trip novel just got its newest edition with Make Sure You Die Screaming . In this bizarre novel, the newly nameless main character embarks on a grief and alcohol fueled journey to track down and kidnap their estranged father. By their side is their new best friend Yivi, a self-described “garbage goth” on the run from her murky past—and also a cowboy in a tan sedan. Together, they make an unstoppable and utterly insufferable d

"A Day in the Life of Abed Salama is a non-fiction book that utilizes a narrative prose akin to a fiction novel to tell the story of a tragic bus accident just outside of Jerusalem involving a school bus full of Palestinian children. Through this accident, the author examines the systems of oppression against Palestinians that enabled this accident and exacerbated its severity. This is done primarily through the story of Abed Salama’s journey to track down his son after the

"Spanning multiple decades and three countries, Against the Loveless World follows Nahr, the daughter of Palestinian refugees in Kuwait. Nahr's main concern is providing for her family, by any means at her disposal. Her plans of being her family’s savior, however, are uprooted by Sadeem Husain’s invasion of Kuwait and the displacement of Palestinian Kuwaitis that follows. From there, Nahr is torn between her identities that stretch across borders and pushed out of each place

"Natural Beauty is a commentary on the beauty industry and Eurocentric beauty standards that utilize body horror and aspects of speculative fiction told through the lens of a daughter of Chinese immigrants after she is presented with a new opportunity to pursue the American dream that her parents wished for her. This unnamed protagonist begins working for an exclusive beauty company known for their experimental beauty treatments, dismissing the dark theories circulating the

"Midway through this book, I noted, “Where they lack in communication skills, they make up in horniness.” However, I don’t fault the book for falling into this dysfunctional trope because the novel really was so much more. This can largely be attributed to the main character, Eva, who is a Black single mother who experiences chronic migraines and has made a career for herself writing erotic romance novels. Eva is chaotically complemented by the love interest, Shane, a Black m

"Open Water is a contemporary love story written in second person POV and a striking lyrical prose. It follows two unnamed main characters, both Black and British, both young artists—a photographer and a dancer—who meet at a party through a mutual. This first interaction, however, they “negate as too brief an encounter.” Their true first encounter is a meeting at a bar where they agree to undertake a project of photographing Black creators. This sparks the beginning of their

"As you can imagine, I have been repeatedly told that I cannot, in fact, control everything as much as I might wish. But of course, in an attempt to maintain some semblance of control in a point in my life where I have very little, I am compiling some advice, as much for myself as for you, about how to navigate feelings of uncertainty about the future." As Adrian approached graduation from USC, they contemplated how to leave behind their Trojan Family and what advice to leave

"Previous years, I have chosen my obligatory half of the month by celebrating in the first half of the month, the last half of the month, and the last half of each day. This year I get to celebrate Latine Heritage Month in the first half of the day! So to make the most of my part of the month, I will be waking up early to have more waking hours in which my Latinidad is celebrated!" This tongue-in-cheek article pays homage to Adrian's mixed-race identity by exploring (largely

"When I started at USC, I anticipated stressing over homework, homesickness, and an adjustment period to my newfound independence. I didn’t anticipate, but soon learned, that new environments and major life changes are known to aggravate Tourette’s Syndrome." In this vulnerable piece, Adrian shares their journey navigating their Tourette's Syndrome while attending USC. Many with this condition, they share, find that their symptoms worsen in new situations, such as the start o

Photo Credit: Gus Ruelas — USC Photo "On October 31, the 4th floor of the Student Union officially reopened after months of remodeling, providing the numerous cultural centers located there a home once again. Prior to this grand reopening, these groups continued to operate while finalizing the changes, including meeting in various locations within the Student Union and its surrounding USC buildings before the 4th floor space became available to the public. Now, these groups c