Review: Bliss - Lauren Myracle

Opening Sentence: "Grandmother won't tolerate occultism, even of the nose-twitching sort made so adorable by Samantha Stevens, so I'm not allowed to watch Bewitched."
Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon

Lauren Myracle brings her keen understanding of teen dynamics to a hypnotic horror story of twisted friendship.
When Bliss’s hippie parents leave the commune and dump her at the home of her aloof grandmother in a tony Atlanta neighborhood, it’s like being set down on an alien planet. The only guide naive Bliss has to her new environment is what she’s seen on The Andy Griffith Show. But Mayberry is poor preparation for Crestview Academy, an elite school where the tensions of the present and the dark secrets of the past threaten to simmer into violence. Openhearted Bliss desperately wants new friends, making her the perfect prey of a troubled girl whose obsession with a long-ago death puts Bliss, and anyone she’s kind to, in mortal danger.
Lauren Myracle has taken the ubiquitous friendship novel to a new, dark place.

In a world full of computers, mobile phones, and television it is absolutely refreshing to read something recent that takes place in the past. All the Andy Griffith quotes and information about Charles Manson didn’t tip me off. I wasn’t aware the book took place in the sixties until, while already questioning the use of “groovy”, Bliss mentioned people chasing the Dead (as in Grateful Dead). I mean, come on! There are still hippies today, but none of them are chasing the Dead seeing as the band is no longer active. You may consider me quite pleased.

Onwards!

This is a pretty thick novel, with my version registering in at 444 pages, but the amount of chapter changes throughout is a huge factor, I’m sure. The pace is quick and to the point, but I never felt like information was lacking when it shouldn’t have been. Mystery? Check. Random omissions? Nope. The story is intriguing throughout and yes, often creepy.

What is with that ending, though? The whole book was stimulating and piling on more and more suspense and then at the end, like a bad movie, it just… fizzles. I don’t know what I expected to happen, but I feel like nothing was resolved. We saw what happened and that’s it. I’ve heard that Myracle’s book Rhymes with Witches is a sequel (published earlier) to Bliss, so maybe I’ll have to read that to figure out exactly what happens now, but it would have been nice to have some sort of closure. Cliffhangers are good, but when it comes to mysteries and omissions this was definitely an omission. Alas!

While I did like most of the story I was a little disgruntled by a couple character relationships. I can’t explain how tired I am of the main character (usually average by her/his own terms) getting the heart of the heartthrob that no one has been able to catch. It’s unrealistic and quite fantastical in most cases. And I read it ALL the time, of course.
Also: in what world does a person put complete trust in another person after hardly talking to them… ever? And with their most sacred secrets! It works for the story, but it’s inconsistent with the real world.

I know it sounds like I didn’t like this novel, but I did. Little details aside it’s interesting and different from anything else I’ve ever read. It might even be one of those books I’ll buy a copy of someday. I’m still feeling dissatisfied with the end, but I’ll get back to that point after I’ve read Rhymes with Witches. Until, then I’ll recommend this as something to at least try out.

P.S. I love the name Bliss Inthemorningdew.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: Page by Paige - Laura Lee Gulledge

Opening Sentence: "Today is my third day living in New York."
Author Website (Alt.) | Goodreads | Amazon

Paige Turner has just moved to New York with her family, and she's having some trouble adjusting to the big city. In the pages of her sketchbook, she tries to make sense of her new life, including trying out her secret identity: artist. As she makes friends and starts to explore the city, she slowly brings her secret identity out into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding.
Laura Lee Gulledge crafts stories and panels with images that are thought-provoking, funny, and emotionally resonant. Teens struggling to find their place can see themselves in Paige's honest, heartfelt story.

My sister brought home Page by Paige and mentioned something to me about reading it. I don’t usually read graphic novels or comics, but I gave this one a try because 1) it’s realistic fiction and 2) according to the sticker on the front cover it was a “Teen’s Top Ten” choice in my county’s library system. And I was also hearing decent things about it on the interwebs. I dove right in and, for the most part, I was impressed.

At the top of the list: I really love the artwork within Paige’s pages. (Do you get it? Har har.) The gray scale drawings are a mixture of simple and highly detailed depending on, it seems, whether they’re real happenings in her life or images from “inside” her head. I’m no art expert, but to someone with an untrained eye the technical details and beauty is fantastic.
The dialogue, on the other hand, wasn’t so fantastic. Several times I found myself claiming that no one talks one way or another shown in the book. It seemed a little stiff, maybe even molded, to me on more than one occasion.

The story also adds to that problem. Am I the only one who felt like things came a bit easily to Paige? Yes, she did have some struggles, but it seemed like a lot of the book was her walking around claiming she wants something and then just getting it with minimal effort. I’m aware this is a relatively short graphic novel and maybe not everything has to be worked out and explained, but it was all a tad too bubble-gum-pop for me.

I will admit I really liked the rules that Paige’s story was moving with. It set the pacing well, but also gave a purpose to what Paige wanted. She didn’t just want to be an artist. She was inspired by her grandmother and wanted to be an artist too, so she used the rules her grandmother made up to help her along the way. It made the story more personal while also adding some structure. Brava! to Gulledge for that one.

In my notebook one of the last things I wrote reads: “Corniness and occasional lapse in realism aside, I quite liked this one.” I’ll stick beside that opinion. In all honestly, sometimes you have to corn it up and go with something bubble-gum-pop that works out in the end. (Yes, I know I said we were corning, but then bubble gummed instead.) There’s no false advertising going on here. From the looks of the cover one can assimilate the book is going to be light. I just wish it were fleshed out more than it was.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review: Paper Towns - John Green

Opening Sentence: "The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle."
Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge— he follows.
After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues— and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

Wow, I have no idea where to start with this one. Not even because I have a whole lot to say (because I kind of don’t), but because I just can’t get my thoughts in a line about this novel. I’ll begin by saying that I am a John Green fan. He is such a terrific author and he uses literary devices so fluidly that you hardly realize they’re there and serving their purpose. But, of course, they are.

Now that that’s out of the way lets continue. At the very beginning of the book I was on the fence about whether I would like it or not because, to be completely honest, it didn’t grab me. I put it down for a few days, picked it back up, and then everything was peachy. But even while I was reading it and enjoying it there was something that made me feel weird. I have no idea what it was, but I’ll get back to you with any news on the subject.

Despite not feeling impressed at the beginning I eventually started reading again, and that counts for something, right? I’m glad I gave it another chance because I really feel this novel has a lot to offer. You can read rather mindless YA books all the time, but Paper Towns is different…. There’s Whitman, Guthrie, Plath, and others contributing to this book and making it interesting and intelligent to read, all in addition to Green’s initial wittiness and I love that… probably because they are people (and works) that I love too. It makes it all the realer for me.

I’m not sure how, because it’s difficult, but John Green is so excellent at writing stories that are trying, intelligent, a little silly at times, and usually humorous and packing them nice and neat into the books that the audience eventually reads. It’s a talent, my friends, and one that John Green clearly possesses.

Also, can we take a second to talk about the sentences that are one word comprised of several words smashed together? (Is there a name for that? I would love for someone to fill me in, because honestly, that last sentence sucked.) I love when authors use subtle things like that to express urgency, excitement, fear, whatever.

For instance: In the first couple pages young Margo and Quentin come across something so terrible it sticks with them forever. (Sorry, readers. Don’t want to spoil too much for people who have never read the book.) Quentin, being a rather normal nine-year-old, is flustered and scared and just wants to get out of there, so he says: “Margowegottagohomeandtell.” Margo is cool, calm, collected… curious and wants to know more, but Quentin is still freaking out. He says again: “Margowegottagorightnow!”

Don’t you love that? It’s such a great contrast between the two, but it’s also fabulous at conveying the level of fear that poor Quentin is feeling in that moment… without coming right out and saying it. The sight intrigues Margo, but Quentin, he just wants to get away… needs to get away and it’s such a desperate need that he doesn’t have the time to keep calm and speak normally.

As whole, (setting weirdness, “honeybunnies”, and peeing in bottles aside; ugh, ugh, ew) I really enjoyed reading this book. John Green is masterful at keeping his stories from getting too heavy or too light and I think that great balance is a huge reason so many people like his work. As far as things go for me: I’m awaiting his next release.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Review: When it Happens to You - Molly Ringwald

Opening Sentence: "As far as Greta knew, there was nothing in the sky that night."
Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon

When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren't facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.

Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life—revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.

In "The Harvest Moon," a stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility, and an increasingly distant husband. In "Ursa Minor," a former children's television star tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalized for "exhaustion." An elderly woman mourns the loss of her husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter in "The Little One." In "My Olivia," a single mother finds untapped reserves of strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to wear dresses and be addressed as Olivia. And in the devastating title story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an eviscerating denouement.

As the lives of these characters converge and diverge in unexpected ways, Ringwald reveals a startling eye for the universality of loss, love, and the search for connection. An unflinching yet poignant examination of the intricacies of the human heart, When It Happens to You is an auspicious literary debut.

I was really interested in this book for two reasons:

1. Molly Ringwald
2. I love the idea of a book written in short stories.

Molly Ringwald sure didn’t disappoint me with this one. (A lot of people are wary of books written by celebrities because, unless they have a ghostwriter, it will probably be shit. I don’t know if I agree with that in general, but I certainly don’t agree with it in the case of Molly Ringwald.)

When it comes to being a fiction author I think she has great potential. Her writing flows seemingly effortlessly and is pleasant to read without being exceedingly easy (this is ADULT fiction, after all) or difficult. I never got the feeling the writing or the story was trying too hard and I was able to sympathize, if not empathize, with a lot of what was happening. Had someone been in the room with me they would have heard my “aw”s of appreciation at the end of one particular story. (Okay, fine. It was My Olivia.)

My Olivia was one of the stories that really stuck out to me (along with When it Happens to You, the story the book is named after). It was sweet and heartbreaking all at once and something I wouldn’t mind reading again as a stand-alone. In fact, I wouldn’t mind reading the entire novel again, but maybe not until after some time has passed.

When it Happens to You managed to be harrowing but hopeful at the same time. Molly Ringwald really got into the minds of these characters and made them dynamic and real when shown in the situations they were thrown into and without too much unneeded fluff and background story. I was definitely rooting for some characters whole-heartedly and others not so much (which is totally part of the fun of reading).

I read somewhere that someone was dissatisfied because it seemed all the characters in the stories were well off (at least middle class usually), but I really see no problem with that. The main focus points in the story are in a good place financially and are obviously surrounded by people (neighbors, friends, et cetera) who are in somewhat of the same situation. I don’t see this as anything different from real life. Honestly, that’s just how cliques (for lack of a better word) are. Sigh, I just wanted to get that out.

Anyway, this is a book that I want to have sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for the next read. There are good characters, a good story, and some difficult topics handled with amazing care that I know a lot of people will love. While I don’t know that it will be everybody’s cup of tea, I will definitely put a bug in people’s ears to try it. I’d have to say this was a successful push into the world of fiction for Molly Ringwald.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

BBW Fail

I'm pretty much the worst Banned Books Week celebrator ever. At least in the reading society.

I had made a list of possible reading choices for the week, planning to read two or three of them. The reality? I got through 68 pages of The Color Purple, decided I wasn't feeling it, and started reading whatever I felt like reading. This included books like:

• When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald
• Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
• Paper Towns by John Green
• Karma by Cathy Ostlere

I actually finished reading Fifty Shades Freed and When it Happens to You today. I plan to post about the latter sometime in the near future... when I feel like it. Hopefully within the next few days if I can get my thoughts together.

Anyway, that's my Banned Books Week update. I didn't complete anything I had written on my list, but I figure most books are banned/challenged SOMEWHERE at SOME POINT... so... it's not so bad?

Have a good night/day!

Supporting Reading

I figure the best way to get people in my house (mostly my sister) to read is by showing support. Yes? No?