It’s July 20, which means My Second Impression of You releases 2 months from today!

Every month leading up to publication, I’ve been giving a backstage pass into the book. So far I’ve covered:

• The inspiration for the story
• A playlist
• Broadway wisdom
• The cover story

And now it’s time for a watch list!

You should know by now that the main character of My Second Impression of You, Maggie, dreams of a life on Broadway. So the watch list to accompany the book of course begins with musical theater movies–but if you can find YouTube versions of the stage shows or can go watch them live, even better!

Maggie highly recommends a weekend bingeing the following:

• Hamilton
• Into the Woods
• Hairspray (There are multiple versions, so pick your favorite!)
• The Music Man (If you’ve gotten to see the new stage production on Broadway with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, I am so jealous!)
• Grease 2 (Yes, Maggie also knows it’s not as good as the first one, but there are still some catchy songs.)
• Annie (Wow, so many excellent choices for this one! But for purposes of the watch list, Maggie would go with the 1982 movie, as the voice guiding her through the Best Day app sounds just like the actor who played Grace!)
• Newsies (Seize the day, right?)

And if you can get access to live shows:

• Hadestown
• Wicked (Who else is excited for there to be a movie???)
• Frozen (I’m always up for watching the animated movie, but it does not include the song Maggie sang when she was in the musical so won’t give you the full experience.)

There is more to Maggie’s life than musicals… sort of.

When Maggie breaks her foot, the surgery prevents her from performing as Helena in her school’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I highly recommend the 1999 movie adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic comedy; the star-studded cast is fantastic!

In addition to losing out on her current role, Maggie can’t audition for a summer production of Footloose the Musical (her brother has a field day with that!). There isn’t a musical movie (yet 😉), but you can watch either the original Kevin Bacon movie or the 2011 remake.

Now on to some movies/shows you won’t see specifically mentioned in the book but are still great companions.

First up is one of my all-time favorites: Legally Blonde. As you may have heard me mention before, the book opens with Maggie anticipating a promposal from her boyfriend, Theo. What I don’t believe I’ve mentioned before is that my early drafts started with Maggie running out of the coffee shop, having already been dumped. During my first round of revisions, my editor suggested I back it up and show Maggie being dumped and specifically mentioned Legally Blonde, although she referenced the musical version (which I haven’t seen yet, but I get to NEXT WEEK!). Anyway, Maggie’s breakup scene is definitely inspired by Elle’s proposal-turned-breakup scene in Legally Blonde.

As you’re reading the book, you’ll probably also get some Christmas Carol vibes–okay, maybe more than vibes. There’s actually a mention that Maggie feels like Grace (the voice in the Best Day app) is Ghost of Christmas Pasting her. There are tons of direct adaptations of A Christmas Carol you could watch, plus all sorts of other stories that pull directly from it and allow someone to change their life, but my personal favorite is Scrooged with Bill Murray. It’s totally campy but still gets the message across. If you have a favorite adaptation, drop it in the comments!

Finally, I need to give a nod to the two guys in the story, Theo and Carson, who are both competitive golfers. If you’re into it, you can tune into the Golf Channel for the next PGA tournament (looks like the 3M Open starts tomorrow!), or you could go with something more widely accessible like Holey Moley. It’s kind of like mini golf plus American Ninja Warrior–not for the average recreational mini golfer! I wonder how Theo and Carson would do? In the book, Maggie tackles mini golf on a scooter while recovering from her broken foot, so maybe she’s already the best equipped for managing extra challenges…

I hope you enjoyed this latest backstage pass into the book. Just one more until the book is out!

I am so close to announcing everything for the pre-order campaign. Jacqueline is finalizing the design for the bookmark and character stickers (I love them so much!), and I’ve also ordered items for a grand prize. If you are ready to pre-order now, I recommend ordering from one of my local stores–The Novel Neighbor, Main Street Books, or Left Bank Books. I will be doing events with all three of these stores (details coming soon!). But if you’ve already pre-ordered somewhere else (thank you!!), there also will be a way to get pre-order goodies and enter for the grand prize.

Thank you so much for your support, and I can’t wait for you all to read this book in just two short months!