Latest news with #OutoftheWoods
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch Gracie Abrams Cover Taylor Swift's ‘All Too Well' During L.A. Concert
Gracie Abrams took a moment from her show to play a song that isn't hers, but that her fans definitely know: 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version).' During her show at the Kia Forum on Thursday, the musician played the Taylor Swift favorite. 'It just is not lost on me that the reason that a lot of us know each other is because I got to meet many of you through doing the Eras Tour with Taylor,' Abrams told the crowd. 'I just feel like I'm forever missing what that experience was. I know we all feel that way … I wanted to sing a song for you that I'll forever wish I wrote, if you've got 10 minutes.' More from Rolling Stone Drummergeddon 2025: Why We're Witnessing a Global Percussion Apocalypse Charlotte Lawrence Loves Gracie Abrams and Sad Songs, But Rightfully Hates Men Who Vape Sorry, Trump - Taylor Swift's Career Is Still Very Hot Before performing, she shared that she and Swift had talked 'earlier today,' so it seemed fitting for her to play a song by her friend. Abrams was one of the many openers of Swift's Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024, and even joined Swift onstage during her part of the show several times. During one night in London, Swift and Abrams sang 'Us' together, in Toronto, they did a mash-up of 'Us' and 'Out of the Woods,' and during one of the final nights in Vancouver, the pair performed 'I Love You, I'm Sorry' and 'Last Kiss.' When she was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys last year, Abrams spoke to Rolling Stone about the most significant milestone moments of the year, and spoke of joining Swift on the road, saying she gained experience 'from watching Taylor's show as many times as I have and just kind of being in close proximity to her, learning from her as a musician and as a friend and as a business person.' Swift and Abrams dueted on 'Us' on Abrams' The Secret of Us album. 'I am currently smiling and sweating thinking about it, and I'll never get over the shock of seeing this one on the tracklist. You know how I feel,' Abrams wrote on X when she dropped the song. Abrams is nearing the end of her The Secret of Us Deluxe tour with shows at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Mexico City's Pepsi Center WTC still left before the end of August. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Does Steven Die In ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty' Season 3?!
Summer just isn't the same without new episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty, and thankfully after a year-long hiatus, the beloved Prime Video series is returning for its highly-anticipated final season. Per Prime Video, Season 3's official synopsis is as follows: 'It's the end of her junior year of college, and Belly's looking forward to another summer in Cousins with her soulmate, Jeremiah. Her future seems set, until some core-shaking events bring her first love Conrad back into her life. Now on the brink of adulthood, Belly finds herself at a crossroads and must decide which brother has her heart. Summer will never be the same…' Since The Summer I Turned Pretty's Season 3 trailer dropped on Wednesday, June 11, superfans of Jenny Han's bestselling book series and the show it inspired have been parsing the nearly three-minute tease of the season for clues about what's in store. Beyond the Belly (Lola Tung), Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), and Conrad (Christopher Briney) of it all, however, viewers are deeply concerned about the fate of another iconic character: Belly's brother, Steven (Sean Kaufman). Several Season 3 trailer scenes have fans wondering 'Does Steven die in The Summer I Turned Pretty?! Could that potentially be one of the 'core-shaking events' that brings Conrad back into the picture? Say it ain't so! While we'll ultimately have to wait and see what Han has in store for the fan-favorite character, here's what we know about Steven's fate in The Summer I Turned Pretty books and TV show ahead of Season 3's premiere. The Summer I Turned Pretty's Season 3 trailer (located at the top of this article) gives fans a glimpse at Belly and Jeremiah's love story, college years, and wedding aspirations. It shows Belly and Conrad reuniting, with Belly's voiceover admitting that everywhere she goes, there's always a memory of him. And it also shows Jer punching his brother and confronting Belly about Conrad's feelings for her… As the sacred Jenny Han texts foretold, romance, love triangle drama, and conflicts between Belly and her boys lies ahead. And naturally, we were expecting that! What we weren't expecting, however, were brief clips that appear to show Steven dropping Taylor off, driving away, getting in a car accident in front of her, and then Taylor sobbing by the side of a hospital bed. WHAT?! Needless to say, fans were SHOOK. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kaufman warned,'If the final season was an ice cream flavor for Steven and Taylor, it'd be Rocky Road.' So, uh, things don't sound great! Does Steven die in The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3?! I genuinely have no idea! This is the final season of the series and Jenny Han and that cast are vaults, people! But the synopsis did tease several 'core-shaking events,' so until we learn if Steven survives his crash or not, we'll be listening to Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods.' Fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty book series who've read Book 3, We'll Always Have Summer, were especially shocked to see Steven's car crash and Taylor crying in the Season 3 trailer, because those scenes aren't in the text. In the books, while Steven and Taylor don't have the same epic romance they do in the series, Steven lives! Per Han, however, Season 3 twists like Steven's car crash are to be expected… When speaking with EW, Han explained, 'There are definitely changes… There are surprises. And there are things that aren't exactly like the books.' Even if Steven and Taylor hit a rocky road, here's hoping that Han doesn't take drastic measures and kill him off in Season 3. We can't say goodbye to another beloved character on this show! The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 premieres July 16 on Prime Video.
The Age
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Eight new books to take you from rock ‘n' roll to the joy of nature
From The Hague to London's rock and roll scene in the '70s, to the journey we all face towards old age, there are all kinds of places to escape to among this week's new releases. Happy reading! FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK Out of the Woods Gretchen Shirm Transit Lounge, $34.99 The International Criminal Court has made headlines lately, with warrants issued for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, and the recent arrest of Rodrigo Duterte. Gretchen Shirm's Out of the Woods takes us to The Hague in 2000 (just before the court was set up) and follows an Australian woman, Jess, who travels there to serve as secretary to an Australian judge hearing a war crimes trial. As Jess bears witness to proceedings – a military man has been charged with participating in the genocide at Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1995 – the enormity of the crime is revealed, and Jess reflects on guilt and doubt, and the nature of tragedy itself. Meanwhile, she strikes up a friendship with a woman watching the trial from the gallery, and embarks on an awkward, tentative sort of romance with a man who works nearby. Told largely from Jess' perspective, the novel develops an almost dissociative narrative style and becomes a literary study in how we process inhumanity. The second Martini Club novel from Tess Gerritsen resumes the eventful retirement of a former spy, Maggie Bird. Maggie has decamped to the tiny seaside town of Purity, Maine, where she's joined by others in the intelligence community who've been put out to pasture. They meet for a regular book club – cocktails included – but villains from the espionage game emerged in the first novel to cause havoc, and this time Maggie feels bound to help a neighbour who becomes the prime suspect when a super-rich teenager goes missing near the local lake. Purity police chief Jo Thibodeau isn't thrilled about the Martini Club's involvement, but can't deny their spycraft comes in handy and can crack a case. The Summer Guests is entertaining crime fiction featuring a motley cast of retirees, and I enjoyed the way the book throws off its cosy crime disguise, twisting into dark and deadly conspiracy. An Invisible Tattoo Suellen Dainty Echo, $32.99 A fictional British musical icon, James Bennett, died more than 50 years ago at a midsummer party in 1972. Only one person remains alive who knows the truth of what happened that night – the elderly Ruth Henderson, in Sydney, and she's chosen the ambitious young Kate Griffin to tell her story. Ruth was childhood friends with Adela, James Bennett's wife, and the novel unfolds as a feminist counterpoint to the typical Dionysian rock novel focused on a male star. Shifting between rural Australia, the music scene in the early 1970s and the growing bond between Kate and Ruth as the latter unburdens herself of a secret history in her twilight years, An Invisible Tattoo swirls around the mystery of a celebrity death. It doesn't skimp on sex, drugs or rock 'n' roll, yet its chief appeal lies in the exploration of the sidelined role of women in the music industry, the contours of female friendship and the touching rapport between in-depth interviewer and subject. Love on the Air Ash London Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Popular music journalist and podcaster Ash London has published her debut novel, Love on the Air – a fluffy enemies-to-lovers romance set in the world of prime-time radio. A heartbroken Alex York begins the novel throwing away her career as a radio superstar and retreating to a tropical island, but it isn't long before she's lured back to the airwaves, offered a plum gig as a breakfast radio presenter. She has sworn off dating again, until she meets her hot new boss Leo – and as their working relationship develops a more affectionate side, she must decide whether to be vulnerable enough to love again. This isn't a terribly well-written affair, and Alex is impossibly shallow and brattish at the beginning. She does grow into a slightly more Austen-like heroine, however, and the author hits her comic stride. Expect celebrity melodrama, gossipy anecdote and an insider's eye on eccentric characters from radioland. NON-FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK Bloomer Carol Lefevre Affirm, $34.99 Carol Lefevre is 70, has embraced grey hair and places herself within the Young Old age bracket. But like many Boomers, she rejects stereotypical assumptions about ageing. Embracing Henri Bergson's conception of an enduring life force that is constantly evolving, she proposes we see this phase as an opportunity to savour the inner life while looking forward to the next adventure made all the more precious by a keener sense of life's transience. Set over the period of one year, she muses on the changes in her garden and in her own life as she considers society's attitudes to ageing, older bodies, loneliness, grief, the meaning of home and the inescapable reality of death. A statistic for youngsters keep in mind: a survey of 300,000 adults found that happiness peaks between 65 and 79. Bloomer is a lyrical celebration of the riches of ageing as well as a reckoning with its confronting truths. Deborah Frances-White knows a thing or two about the 'us' and 'them' mentality that pervades contemporary culture. As a teenager, her parents joined the cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses and she learnt to regard 'worldly people' as dangerous. Now a comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, her professional life is spent navigating the minefield of the public square. This thoughtful book examines how these mines might be defused through respectful engagement, critical thinking and self-scrutiny. The current flashpoints she focuses on include how we regard history and historical figures now considered to be repugnant, comedy and free speech, gender non-conformity and cancel culture. 'Let us not get stuck in our 'rightness', or we will be left behind. Let us learn to change minds, starting with our own because then we have at least a chance of changing our world.' Human/Nature Jane Rawson NewSouth, $34.99 Most of her life, Jane Rawson held certain staunch beliefs about nature. Humans are ruining the environment. Introduced species are bad. Biodiversity matters. Wilderness is the real nature. We are on the brink of apocalypse. Writing this book, she says, has made her challenge all these assumptions, especially the division between nature and not-nature. She comes to no neat conclusions, but her informed and probing questions about why we lament the extinction of some species but not others, or how we justify killing for conservation, are like the ripples from a stone tossed into the water. They unsettle, but in a good way, inspiring unexpected hopefulness. The more complex the picture became for Rawson, the wider her circle of compassion. 'I thought discovering more about the natural world would break my heart, but instead I keep finding myself in a state of transcendent joy.' There are no simple solutions to the rise of misinformation and the erosion of trust in institutions, the media and society as a whole. In these essays, ethicists, journalists, scientists, business leaders and other thinkers offer diverse perspectives on how we might regain community cohesion and the ability to agree to disagree. Instead of the curated truths of 'extreme individualism', says Anglican bishop Michael Stead, we need an acceptance of something larger than ourselves whether it is God or a social compact. The importance of strengthening civil society is a recurring theme, as is learning from the example of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and of being attuned to our own biases and preconceptions, rather than simply defending them. Above all, the message is that doubt can be constructive as well as corrosive, an opportunity to rethink the very foundations of society.
Sydney Morning Herald
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Eight new books to take you from rock ‘n' roll to the joy of nature
From The Hague to London's rock and roll scene in the '70s, to the journey we all face towards old age, there are all kinds of places to escape to among this week's new releases. Happy reading! FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK Out of the Woods Gretchen Shirm Transit Lounge, $34.99 The International Criminal Court has made headlines lately, with warrants issued for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, and the recent arrest of Rodrigo Duterte. Gretchen Shirm's Out of the Woods takes us to The Hague in 2000 (just before the court was set up) and follows an Australian woman, Jess, who travels there to serve as secretary to an Australian judge hearing a war crimes trial. As Jess bears witness to proceedings – a military man has been charged with participating in the genocide at Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1995 – the enormity of the crime is revealed, and Jess reflects on guilt and doubt, and the nature of tragedy itself. Meanwhile, she strikes up a friendship with a woman watching the trial from the gallery, and embarks on an awkward, tentative sort of romance with a man who works nearby. Told largely from Jess' perspective, the novel develops an almost dissociative narrative style and becomes a literary study in how we process inhumanity. The second Martini Club novel from Tess Gerritsen resumes the eventful retirement of a former spy, Maggie Bird. Maggie has decamped to the tiny seaside town of Purity, Maine, where she's joined by others in the intelligence community who've been put out to pasture. They meet for a regular book club – cocktails included – but villains from the espionage game emerged in the first novel to cause havoc, and this time Maggie feels bound to help a neighbour who becomes the prime suspect when a super-rich teenager goes missing near the local lake. Purity police chief Jo Thibodeau isn't thrilled about the Martini Club's involvement, but can't deny their spycraft comes in handy and can crack a case. The Summer Guests is entertaining crime fiction featuring a motley cast of retirees, and I enjoyed the way the book throws off its cosy crime disguise, twisting into dark and deadly conspiracy. An Invisible Tattoo Suellen Dainty Echo, $32.99 A fictional British musical icon, James Bennett, died more than 50 years ago at a midsummer party in 1972. Only one person remains alive who knows the truth of what happened that night – the elderly Ruth Henderson, in Sydney, and she's chosen the ambitious young Kate Griffin to tell her story. Ruth was childhood friends with Adela, James Bennett's wife, and the novel unfolds as a feminist counterpoint to the typical Dionysian rock novel focused on a male star. Shifting between rural Australia, the music scene in the early 1970s and the growing bond between Kate and Ruth as the latter unburdens herself of a secret history in her twilight years, An Invisible Tattoo swirls around the mystery of a celebrity death. It doesn't skimp on sex, drugs or rock 'n' roll, yet its chief appeal lies in the exploration of the sidelined role of women in the music industry, the contours of female friendship and the touching rapport between in-depth interviewer and subject. Love on the Air Ash London Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Popular music journalist and podcaster Ash London has published her debut novel, Love on the Air – a fluffy enemies-to-lovers romance set in the world of prime-time radio. A heartbroken Alex York begins the novel throwing away her career as a radio superstar and retreating to a tropical island, but it isn't long before she's lured back to the airwaves, offered a plum gig as a breakfast radio presenter. She has sworn off dating again, until she meets her hot new boss Leo – and as their working relationship develops a more affectionate side, she must decide whether to be vulnerable enough to love again. This isn't a terribly well-written affair, and Alex is impossibly shallow and brattish at the beginning. She does grow into a slightly more Austen-like heroine, however, and the author hits her comic stride. Expect celebrity melodrama, gossipy anecdote and an insider's eye on eccentric characters from radioland. NON-FICTION PICK OF THE WEEK Bloomer Carol Lefevre Affirm, $34.99 Carol Lefevre is 70, has embraced grey hair and places herself within the Young Old age bracket. But like many Boomers, she rejects stereotypical assumptions about ageing. Embracing Henri Bergson's conception of an enduring life force that is constantly evolving, she proposes we see this phase as an opportunity to savour the inner life while looking forward to the next adventure made all the more precious by a keener sense of life's transience. Set over the period of one year, she muses on the changes in her garden and in her own life as she considers society's attitudes to ageing, older bodies, loneliness, grief, the meaning of home and the inescapable reality of death. A statistic for youngsters keep in mind: a survey of 300,000 adults found that happiness peaks between 65 and 79. Bloomer is a lyrical celebration of the riches of ageing as well as a reckoning with its confronting truths. Deborah Frances-White knows a thing or two about the 'us' and 'them' mentality that pervades contemporary culture. As a teenager, her parents joined the cult of the Jehovah's Witnesses and she learnt to regard 'worldly people' as dangerous. Now a comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, her professional life is spent navigating the minefield of the public square. This thoughtful book examines how these mines might be defused through respectful engagement, critical thinking and self-scrutiny. The current flashpoints she focuses on include how we regard history and historical figures now considered to be repugnant, comedy and free speech, gender non-conformity and cancel culture. 'Let us not get stuck in our 'rightness', or we will be left behind. Let us learn to change minds, starting with our own because then we have at least a chance of changing our world.' Human/Nature Jane Rawson NewSouth, $34.99 Most of her life, Jane Rawson held certain staunch beliefs about nature. Humans are ruining the environment. Introduced species are bad. Biodiversity matters. Wilderness is the real nature. We are on the brink of apocalypse. Writing this book, she says, has made her challenge all these assumptions, especially the division between nature and not-nature. She comes to no neat conclusions, but her informed and probing questions about why we lament the extinction of some species but not others, or how we justify killing for conservation, are like the ripples from a stone tossed into the water. They unsettle, but in a good way, inspiring unexpected hopefulness. The more complex the picture became for Rawson, the wider her circle of compassion. 'I thought discovering more about the natural world would break my heart, but instead I keep finding myself in a state of transcendent joy.' There are no simple solutions to the rise of misinformation and the erosion of trust in institutions, the media and society as a whole. In these essays, ethicists, journalists, scientists, business leaders and other thinkers offer diverse perspectives on how we might regain community cohesion and the ability to agree to disagree. Instead of the curated truths of 'extreme individualism', says Anglican bishop Michael Stead, we need an acceptance of something larger than ourselves whether it is God or a social compact. The importance of strengthening civil society is a recurring theme, as is learning from the example of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and of being attuned to our own biases and preconceptions, rather than simply defending them. Above all, the message is that doubt can be constructive as well as corrosive, an opportunity to rethink the very foundations of society.
The Guardian
21-04-2025
- The Guardian
Out of the Woods by Gretchen Shirm review – a compelling reflection on bearing witness
Out of the Woods, the fourth novel of Gretchen Shirm, is a sobering reflection on the necessity of bearing witness. It is also inseparable from real events: the massacre in 1995 of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys by the Serbian Army of Republika Srpska in Srebrenica, and the later conviction of a senior military commander, Radislav Krstić, for genocide. The novel, though imperfect, elevates the lived experience of survivors with care and verisimilitude, while asking probing questions about how to comprehend their trauma. Jess, an introverted Australian woman in her 50s, has moved to the Netherlands to work as a legal secretary at The Hague. It's the year 2000, and a United Nations tribunal is prosecuting war crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, with Jess's days filled with transcribing the testimony of survivors of the Bosnian war. As the trial unfolds, two divergent feelings increasingly disorient her: the yawning gulf between the atrocities and her written account; and her sympathy for one of the defendants, a military commander named K. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Beyond the walls of The Hague, Jess navigates new relationships and old demons. 'She had always struggled, that was who she was,' she reflects, and we come to know her hardships: a childhood spent in poverty; the abuse and neglect of a mentally unstable mother; a divorce following her husband's adultery. We also learn about the challenges she has faced as a parent; that she worries her love for her son, Daniel, is too overbearing, and that somewhere deep within her, she is, in fact, cruel. She bears psychic scars; some are still healing. These passages focused on Jess are tended to with nuance and care, though they are occasionally repetitive and overlong (the novel as a whole needs a tighter edit). In contrast, the sections focused on the judicial process cut through, rendered with authenticity and depth. Shirm formerly worked as a legal intern at the UN tribunal for former Yugoslavia, and the breadth of her research, attention to detail and familiarity with this world are tangible. The weaving in of real witness testimony, in the vein of Svetlana Alexievich, is delicately resonant. Shirm also navigates moral complexities around culpability, as Jess struggles with the sympathy she feels towards the military officer K. She questions the guilt of a single man, a link in a command chain. But as the personal turmoils Jess is projecting on K become clearer, the novel becomes more interested in what our preoccupation with moral binaries reveals about ourselves. As Merjem, a Bosnian woman, asks, is there a meaningful difference between 'an evil man and someone who was involved in circumstances beyond their control and, because of that, did evil things'? The novel never offers a definitive answer. Elsewhere, Out of the Woods offers compelling observations on the human need to articulate ourselves and the inadequacy of language for the task. The unknowable nature of the suffering experienced by genocide survivors is powerfully evoked, with the words of their testimony failing to cohere, to cling to an understandable reality. For Jess, who initially takes comfort in the 'compact, contained' nature of her transcription, a garish dissonance begins to resonate, exacerbated by the lag time in the court's English translation: … she was writing these words down but none of them seemed to make sense and she wondered whether something was wrong, whether the translation was off. She waited for someone to tell the witness to stop, to say that an error had been made. Something as colossal as genocide, the lived experience in a sentence such as 'I couldn't utter a single word to my child as she was being taken away', resists description and comprehension. But for Jess, the act of bearing witness – including visiting the places where the atrocities took place – helps aid her understanding; helps her find 'the places to slot these words away inside her'. The words become a part of Jess: 'now in her dreams, they played out as stories, laid out in her mind'. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion The epigraph for Out of the Woods includes a quote featured in Bosnian writer Semezdin Mehmedinovic's 1960 work Sarajevo Blues: 'There are neither major nor minor tragedies. Tragedies exist. Some can be described, there are others for which every heart is too small.' Shirm draws faint lines between these minor and major experiences, incomparable yet nonetheless lived traumas. Neither are flattened in doing so, with Shirm instead articulating how, when faced with the incomprehensible, our own experiences can be a prism through which we may glimpse understanding. Out of the Woods by Gretchen Shirm is out through Transit Lounge ($34.99)
