Blarg...

This blog won't come up in a search. I've come a long way from when I first started this blog, but I'm feeling a bit out of my depth...

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I rate this novel 5 out of 5

Allyson has never been the adventurous type. She is content to sit back and let her parents guide her along the ride and tell her what will maker happy. But when she is given the chance to open the door, step through as someone else, Lulu, not Allyson, her whole world changes. After Lulu, Allyson isn't sure anymore who she is. Lulu? Allyson? Someone else entirely? All she does know is that the answers she seeks lay back in Paris where it all started, just one day, one year ago.

I don't know what I had expected from this novel. The inside cover intrigued me. I have read Forman's other YA series If I Stay and the sequel Where She Went, but it has been three or four years. I remember them both being enthralling, and very emotional, but somehow I forgot what it was really like reading Forman's novels.

It's like a roller coaster ride you can't get off. Her stories suck the reader in seamlessly. I was not reading about Allyson, I was her. I felt her story and her pain. I was on this journey too. I started this book and when it got going I just could not stop. I was up until 4:30 am reading it, and I was thanking God that my work was cancelled for the next day because of weather or I don't know what I would have done, because there was no stopping.

The most wonderful part about it was that the excitement and adventure weren't what kept me reading. It was Allyson. The rich feeling that came from her, the perfect way that Forman relayed her struggle without it seeming whiney or overdramatic. I was a freshman in collage again, feeling empty and left out because I didn't fit into the college experience like I was supposed to. I was feeling that deep sense of loss and humiliation that comes with being duped by someone you thought cared, or even the pure relief that comes with things working themselves out again even after it feels like you messed up beyond all return. Somehow between all those pages and inked words Forman found a conduit to the human experience and relays it with a clarity and truthfulness that leaves the reader breathless and wanting more.

Perhaps my background with travel and study abroad made a difference in how close I felt to Allyson's experience, but I feel that Forman has given the reader something we can all identify with. We have all been lost I think, we have all lost things we didn't think we could get back. And whether or not we recovered or ever righted our footing, or our world, I think we can imagine what it would be like to find ourselves and even what we thought irredeemably lost. The relief, the freedom, the joy of life: that was what I found in these pages.

I highly recommend this novel, and any of Forman's work really, to any and all readers. This novel doesn't just reveal Allyson's story, but shows that it is never ever too late to try and live.

Font Apocalypse Apologies

At the moment I'm not sure how much it matters since at this moment I'm not sure how many people even really look at my blog, but here it is!

I have been doing a bit of a revamp for this blog. Some time has gone by and I have found that in doing so I have changed along with the passing minutes, which usually happens....My theme no longer fit me and was in need of a change. In the process of this some of my fonts went off the deep end. I guess they just couldn't handle this type of change, which I guess is just one of those things you can't ever have complete control over. Things will go crazy for very little reason, I find this true in both people and happenings.

Anywho, though my fonts might be fluctuated throughout all of my old work, it's still the same old crappy content. It is readable if not the most appealing. I have been working on trying to fix it for sometime, but the font's mental health issues are deeper rooted than I am capable of handling at this time, despite all my computer experience. I still run in fright at the first mention of code. After a night and another day of struggle I found I knew how to prevent the font insanity, but not fix the currently insane. Since I have a book review to write and 1000 words of my novel today, I realized enough was enough. I'm going to concentrate now on what is important to this blog, my writing, rather than aesthetically pleasing value.

So do forgive me if the font insanity is too much for you. It is not for a lack of trying

So Much It Hurts by Monique Polak

I rate this YA novel 1.5 out of 5

Iris has everything straight and in order. Her grades, her acting, her job. She is playing Ophelia in her high school's production and she fits so well into the part she knows she can't be wrong about her destiny for the stage. But then she meets Mick and her perfectly ordered life begins to fall apart in the face of her love for him, and in the face of his anger that she can't seem to avoid. How many lies will she have to tell everyone before all is said and done? How many lies will she have to tell herself?
                SPOILER ALERT - MINOR PLOT DISCUSSION - proceed with caution

Before I really get into discussion I want to say I read the book all the way through and it was interesting. I think to a younger reader, especially female, it could be helpful in getting them to perceive that they are in a bad situation. Near the end of the book I wanted to know what would happen next, and read through it quickly. My problems lie in the telling of the story and character development primarily, and my thoughts on it are what follows. 

This novel covers the intriguingly taboo subject of romantic entanglement between a young woman, a seventeen year old minor in Iris's case, and an older man. Add to this equation Mick's propensity for violence and the book is a two in one for a bad news abusive relationship story. Most of the times this kind of gritty reality subject is arresting, upsetting, and deeply impacting for me as a reader. However I just did not feel it for this story and was rather disappointed.

Iris as a narrator bothered me. It was not just that she was weak and delusional about her own situation. Many women in this type of relationship have probably said and done the same thing she did throughout the novel. Perhaps this was the problem. This character was channeling so much of the overall voice of 'abused woman' that there was not enough room for her own voice to come through. As a character she just didn't seem very original. On top of this, whenever she made a step forward it always seemed manufactured so she could say just the right thing at the right time, a little speech about the situation, per say. I felt as if I was listening to the author preach rather than witnessing the character make any kind of development. 

Besides Iris there were plot holes that bothered me as well. The author often had the story jumping around, telling something that happened and then back tracking, or even just skipping bits that were less important. Whatever happened to Tommy after the whole 'first time'? I understood that Iris didn't care for him and that she broke things off with him, but I can't really believe he would just drop right off the earth like that. Especially considering his usage of the "L" word. There had to be some sort of awkward moment or even just some words exchanged between the two when she stopped seeing him. I sincerely doubt he would just stop calling. It seemed a bit strange that it was barely even talked about in passing within Iris's own mind. Surely it would have caused at least a little more thought.

Then there was the character of Mick, which made very little sense to me. Why in the world would he just pick up with Iris the way he did? As a high school student, albeit a pretty talented one, the risk would be too much with him in the middle of a custody battle where spousal battery was a prime concern. He was a brash, violent, conniving man. I understand that about the character. But pursuing Iris so determinedly when he knew nothing about her and had no reason to be interested other than thinking her hot just goes beyond believable stupidity for even this character. I could believe it if he had spent some more time around her, maybe saw her own attention to him for a bit and liked it. Then pursuing, no matter how stupid, would have made a bit more sense. But just out of nowhere? It didn't really fly for me. His other actions throughout the novel didn't make a lot of sense either. He could fly off the handle at the littlest thing and hurt Iris for it, and then it comes to a moment when she stands up to him and straight out accuses him well-deservedly, and he does nothing!? All his actions spoke pretty clearly that he would sooner beat her into submission than even take the slightest argument from her. I feel like the story tried to chalk it up to fear on his part, but I'm not sure that he would get that afraid of whatever prowess Iris had over him. Perhaps she had served her purpose to him, and now leaving the country she no longer mattered enough. Considering his obsessive controlling behavior over her throughout the novel though, that doesn't seem like it would be the case. 

There is mention of his affair with Iris's drama teacher, Ms. Cameron, but the time of that happening is never specified, only barely alluded to being before Iris took up with him. Did it happen before Ms. Cameron introduced him to the class? If so, was he making the moves on Iris before even closing ties with the teacher? If Ms. Cameron had already left him due to his HITTING HER, why in the world would she introduce him to a group of young impressionable teenagers, and then continue to let him be around them??? I mean she is shown to be a good teacher, but really? What kind of irresponsible idiot would do something like that?!? Then again I don't know how much stock I hold in her as a teacher since she introduced this man to her class in the first place, had suspicions of Iris's activity with him and said nothing about it save a few words to Iris, and then was supervising a party where there was obvious underage drinking as well as the smoking of weed. I mean there is the "cool teacher" and then there is the negligent adult. I don't have so much a problem with her being negligent, as I do with it being inferred that she was blameless in the situation. 

To top it all off the side story plot about the BIG SECRET that her mother was keeping was disappointing and vastly anti-climatic to me. I won't give anymore away than I already have, but I definitely don't think it was worth the suspense that was expended on it.

So all in all, I feel like the plot and characterization had a lot of potential but it didn't really reach any of my expectations of it as a story.

Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger

I rate this YA novel 4.5 out of 5

Sophronia is back at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Qual-i-tay and there certainly isn't a dull moment. Sophronia and her fellow levels are up for evaluation and the results are bittersweet for Sophronia and her friends. Luckily there isn't much time to worry because the school is having visitors and some are actually going to a ball! Not to mention the continued subterfuge and plot intrigues carried over from Sophronia's first adventure, which if anything have become even more mysterious. Vampires, werewolves, ladies, sooties, a gadget toting cross dressing ten year, and even a few young gentlemen come together to make Sophronia's life very interesting in the steampunk story with a supernatural twist.

As the second novel in the Finishing School series, Carriger does it again, delivering a witty and amusing adventure that's sure to keep the reader glued to the pager. As an enormous fan of the Parasol Protectorate adult fiction series, I thought Carriger's first attempt at YA with Etiquette and Espionage a very good attempt indeed. However, as stated in a previous review, I felt the book a little too forced. As if the author was overly aware of the audience she was aiming for. However these complaints were smoothed over in the face of her second in the series. This one I feel even surpassed the first in the story telling and deliverance. It was obvious that Carriger was more comfortable and settled into the genre, making for an even more enjoyable reading experience. 

I highly encourage any readers interested in Steampunk or fans of Carriger's previous work to pick up this series. It is so much fun and well worth the read. Carriger seems to only get better with each published book and I sincerely hope this is a trend that continues. It is great to see her continue to work with the same world and history as she created in her first series, only with different characters and unique stories each time, and still remain fresh and interesting. So many times authors become set in a formulaic path and the resulting stories become worn out and boring, the same story rehashed over and over with slightly varied characters and plot. With Carriger however I never find this the case and I hope it stays that way!

Son by Lois Lowry

I rate this YA novel 4.5 out of 5

Clare is a vessel and she makes the product. She doesn't ask questions. Life is easy this way. She is content. But then something goes wrong and the product is cut from her. She is left with a scar and dismissed from her place as Birthmother. But what's more, she is left with a gaping hole that only the product seemed to feel. No, not the product, her son. Clare can't fit back into the perfectly constructed life of the community and as she grows closer to her child she realizes she might not want to. 

Written in the same world of The Giver, Gathering Blue, and The Messenger, this novel is the final installment of the series. Lowry writes with the same simple gravity and arresting detail as her previous books. It took the first two sentences of this novel to get me hooked. It would be hard to speak too much about this novel without giving things away, but I will say it is highly worth the read and that you run into old characters as well as meet new ones. 
                                            Spoiler Alert - Proceed With Caution

The only thing about Son that I didn't like was the choppiness of the narration. In her previous novels she stays from one point of view and tells the story from there and it works for her. There were multiple points of narration in this end-cap novel and it just didn't flow for me. I felt Lowry was trying to tell more story creatively, but I was left with more questions instead. The sectioning off of the story was also something that further made the story choppy feeling. 

I still highly recommend reading it, but I have to say that I was most attached to the story in the beginning section. Overall, though still good, it did not reach the esteem of The Giver or Gathering Blue, at least in my mind. 

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

I rate this non-fiction book 3.5 out of 5

This memoir account is the true story of Kerman's 15 months spent in a women's prison. The novel starts with the events that played out in her early twenties that led to the situation and then details her stay in prison from beginning to end. 

I read this book after watching the Netflix series loosely based off Kerman's life. However it is a very loose account, only the very barest of circumstance and character carrying over from book to show. I definitely did not feel like I was reading the script of something I had already watched. The book is interesting to be sure, but it is not half as dramatic as the show. The novel, though written form Kerman's point of view, relies largely on her family and the people she went to prison with. They form the backbone of this story and provide most of the self-revelation that Kerman discovers throughout the story. This novel is largely about strength and struggle and working through a tough situation. It also is very revealing as to the circumstances concerning living and dealing with federal prison. However, this is not the place to look for the risqué romance that the show was fraught with. This story is about strength, struggle, and overcoming the roadblocks we create in our own lives. 

It was a good book, but not quite as arresting as I first thought it would be.