Review: Your Own, Sylvia - Stephanie Hemphill

Opening Sentence: "Who are you, Sylvia Plath?"
Author Website* | Goodreads | Amazon

On a bleak February day in 1963 a young American poet died by her own hand, and passed into a myth that has since imprinted itself on the hearts and minds of millions. She was and is Sylvia Plath and Your Own, Sylvia is a portrait of her life, told in poems.

With photos and an extensive list of facts and sources to round out the reading experience, Your Own, Sylvia is a great curriculum companion to Plath's The Bell Jar and Ariel, a welcoming introduction for newcomers, and an unflinching valentine for the devoted.

I’m not the biggest poetry fan in the world. I would go as far to say sometimes I loathe it. I like things that get to the point, and poetry tends to beat around the bush. I love to try and convince myself I like poetry, though. I often get books of poetry from the library, take a couple looks at them, and then turn them in again without reading more than a few poems.
I picked up this book of poetry because it’s about Sylvia Plath and her life. I’m a fan of Plath’s works (to an extent), but I love even more to read about her life, short as it may have been. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this particular collection.

I’ll say right now that this book pleasantly surprised me. It’s made up of a series of poems, in the point of view of various people from Plath’s life, that come together to document her entire life from beginning to bitter end. The poems themselves were nice to read. They weren’t trying too hard to be poetic, yet they were “pretty”, as many poems are… and got down to the nitty-gritties without too much fuss about trying to make things socially acceptable. It’s a challenge to be honest and unbiased when writing about someone’s life (even your own) and I really think Hemphill did it effortlessly.

Most of the poems were accompanied by footnotes with additional information, which I really loved. Also, I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives. I don’t think this book would have worked if it were from the perspective of just one or two people. There’s an array of people such as family, friends, doctors, et cetera. It really gave variety and a large scope of opinions.

While I have many good things to say about this book I do have one rather large bone to pick with the author and publisher. I’m absolutely confused by the genre of the book. Is it Fiction or Non-Fiction? It’s officially published as Non-Fiction because it’s about real events, but the author (in her letter to readers) says it’s Fiction. I’m torn as to what to label it, because while it is about real events, the author stood in as the people in Sylvia’s life. How can something be Non-Fiction when the words were never really said by the people in the story? Anyway, since it’s published as Non-Fiction I’ll label it as such.

Aside from the genre problem I’m very fond of this book. (Honestly, the genre doesn’t make that much of a difference.) It was interesting to read and presented Sylvia Plath’s life in such a way that gave the full story without a bunch of fluff. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes poetry, Sylvia Plath, or the Non-Fiction genre. I really think it’s worth the read no matter what you like, though. I hope to own this one in the future.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
*I wasn't able to find an author website, so I posted Hemphill's profile from the HarperTeen website.

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started/hosted by The Story Siren in which bloggers share the books they buy, borrow, and receive. Click here to learn more!

I'm pretty excited to read the books I got from the library for this week. Gathering Blue and Messenger were originally checked out by my mom in anticipation of Son, Lois Lowry's newest edition to The Giver Quartet. As you can see I snatched them up when she was done. 

As for Thirteen Reasons Why and Where She Went, I have been hearing good things about them for some time now and I finally got around to picking them up. Thirteen Reasons Why is one I have been eyeing for, like, a couple years since my sister-in-law read it and loved it.

I was surprised to have gotten Burn for Burn so quickly from my library (just a few days waiting time) considering it's relatively new. The cover is still fresh and scratch free and the pages unscathed by dirty hands or dog-earing twits. (Sorry! if you dog-ear. No offense, but I hate your habit.)

Last, but not least, I'm so excited to have Clockwork Angel. Admittedly I didn't know that The Mortal Instruments series (that I have yet to read, I'll get there eventually) and The Infernal Devices series were connected until  I had the book in my possession. Oh, well. At least I know now. So far I'm really liking this book.

1. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
2. Messenger by Lois Lowry
3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
4. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
5. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
6. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Have a good week! (:

P.S. Special shout out to Burn for Burn because I'm in love with this cover design. I love me a good cover design.

The Moon and More Cover Reveal (!!)

I got a newsletter this morning saying that USA Today revealed the cover for Sarah Dessen’s newest novel, The Moon and More. This was enough to reel me in, but then in her newsletter the fabulous Miss Dessen also announced that with the cover there is an excerpt of the first chapter of the novel. It took me less than five minutes to decide to read it then and there. You may insert some sort of excitement .gif here.

Based on what was posted I know Sarah Dessen has done it again, for me at least. It’s no secret to anyone that I’m a super fan of Sarah Dessen’s books so it should be obvious that I like this excerpt. I do have some woes, though.

I was cruising the Goodreads discussion boards the other day and someone mentioned the similarities between all of Sarah Dessen’s books. In a nutshell they were saying the plot lines are all mostly the same with a troubled girl who finds an equally (or less so) troubled boy who she hits it off with. There’s a tragedy, the girl and boy fight for some time, and then by the end it’s happily ever after-ish.

I’ll admit I was a little offended when I first saw the post. That feeling was quickly followed by one of “Oh, my god… they’re kind of right!” to one of “Eh, I love her books.”. All of these feelings were ultimately cast aside for one last feeling. My sentiments about Sarah Dessen and her books are, as of right now, “Can’t stop, won’t stop.” So that is that.

But still, I thought it was an interesting topic definitely considering she’s a very successful author and continues to be. If you look at any one author I think you’ll find similarities in all their novels as well. I don’t think this is due to poor planning or a lack of talent, but more the type of books they are writing… what genre they fall under. The mystery will always be solved just as the person coming of age will grow up. How they get there is never the same, even if the plot is similar.

Now that I’ve gone totally off the topic I meant to stay on: I’m seriously wondering how other people feel about the release of the cover and excerpt for The Moon and More. Is anyone else as excited as I am? Because I’m pretty freaking excited.

Click here to read the beginning of The Moon and More.
Click here to see the discussion that spawned my ramblefest.

Review: Annie Leibovitz at Work - Annie Leibovitz

Opening Sentence: I forgot to get it before returning the book. Sorry.
Author Website*| Goodreads | Amazon

Annie Leibovitz describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon's resignation, a story she covered with Hunter S. Thompson, and ending with Barack Obama's campaign. In between are a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. The most celebrated photographer of our time discusses portraiture, reportage, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. It was about photography and that’s about all I knew, aside from random people stating it was interesting to read.
If you’re looking for a lot of backstory and personal details on Annie Leibovitz this is not the book for you. Rather, it’s about—as the title states—the work she has done, the processes on each shoot, successes and pitfalls, et cetera.

I was thoroughly impressed with the whole thing and can hardly think of anything I didn’t like in the entirety of the book. The writing is quick and to the point but never boring. It was captivating and I’m sure interesting even to people who don’t have a particularly strong interest in photography. Leibovitz doesn’t stay on one topic for too long, rather presenting an array of topics and different jobs (photo shoots) in separated chunks and always accompanied by at least one photograph each.

Again, I was pleased with Annie Leibovitz at Work, though I do think you should probably be at least a tad interested in photography if you plan to read it. That’s pretty much all I have to say about it. You get a really great look at not only Annie Leibovitz and her work, but also her subjects and how they interact with each other. I thought it was fantastic and absolutely worthy of five stars.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars
*Annie Leibovitz doesn't have a website as far as I could see, therefore I added her profile page from Vanity Fair rather than leave nothing at all.

Review: Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Opening Sentence: "They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me."
Author Website | Goodreads | Amazon

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

The concept of Before I Fall is one that was completely new to me before I started reading the book. If, after you died, you lived the day of your death over and over what would you do differently, the same, or not at all? Would you go on as normal? Maybe spend more time with your loved ones? Make a fool of yourself because it doesn’t matter? I haven’t the faintest idea what I would do, so it made the idea of reading a book about it all the more welcoming.

I’ll be the first person to tell you when I don’t like a book, so I had absolutely no problem expressing how unimpressed I was with Before I Fall when I first started reading. I almost abandoned the whole operation. I thought the writing was slow and cheesy. And what was with all the food fighting? French fries, ice cream, beer… and why were they such a big part of the narrative? I understand the beer scene, but really… who would get into an ice cream fight when they know they have three plus more hours to sit through school?
I don’t think those scenes played any particular purpose (again, except for the beer scene) in the grand scheme of things. The French fry and ice cream scenes were supposed to show some type of bonding between the characters, I get that, but it seemed more like adolescents being immature and, frankly, unrealistic. Mommy needed to come by and scold them for playing with their food.

It took me over one hundred pages to get invested in the story. In fact, I was sure to update Goodreads with how I was feeling.

Click the photo to see it bigger.

As a whole, I can overlook the slow start and say that despite the pitfalls this novel was well worth the read. It got deeper as it went and even made me cry at a couple points. Oliver was great at showing the different forms of grief the main character, Sam, was going through following her death. Sure, she was still living in her normal, everyday life, but it’s the same day (Cupid day) every time with all the little details intact and fixed. That knowledge in itself can become miserable before adding in the fact that everything she does is ultimately in vain.

I can’t explain how afraid I was of the end. Instead of just reading the book and finding out how it ended I stressed about the end being terrible. My thought process was basically “If it ends this way I’ll call it a cop out and hate it. If it ends this way I’m going to be totally upset and unsatisfied.” I’m happy to announce that neither of those is true and I am completely satisfied with how things turned out. I wasn’t expecting parts of it, but I don’t think it could have been any other way. It’s a tragedy, but a good one.

Even if I didn’t like Before I Fall to begin with I’m rating it four stars, because it did pick up and morph into something more like the story I was expecting it to be. I’m certainly glad I didn’t stop reading even when I wanted to, because it proves itself a good book that’s well worth your time. The fact that it doesn’t exactly snatch you and pull you in from the get-go may be a problem for people like me and others who may not keep reading anyway, but I definitely urge anyone who hasn’t read the book to read it. It will get you eventually. I promise.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picture Books My Nephew Liked

The other day while I was babysitting my 6-year-old nephew, Aiden, he requested I read some books to him. I searched, offered some up, and then got to reading. These are the four I read to him... all of which he liked immensely and I thought I would share with you.

My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
In this uproariously funny counting book, illustrated by popular artist Kevin Hawkes, a ravenous little sister eats everything from one hare to ten peas. Now in Dragonfly, this is the perfect book for any kid who loves to giggle (and who doesn't?) and parents who love to hear them.

Albie the Lifeguard by Louise W. Borden
At the beginning of the summer, Albie can't swim the length of the town pool without stopping. But he can do a cannonball off the board and dive for pennies. With patience and encouragement from his friends, Albie gains the courage to go the distance.

If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
The famous little mouse from the children's classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is back in another irresistible tale full of holiday antics. This time, if you take him to the movies, he'll ask you for some popcorn. If you give him the popcorn, he'll want to string it all together. Then he'll want to hang it on a Christmas tree.

The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
Deep in the woods on the coldest day of winter a little boy drops his mitten. And that lost mitten stretches and stretches -- and stretches -- to provide shelter for many woodland creatures. A Ukrainian folk tale.