Hello, readers! I have been gone for a little while, but now I have returned! My husband and I moved into a new apartment recently and just got our internets connected yesterday. So I'll be back to my regular-ish schedule of posting book reviews as I read and other stuff that I think you would find interesting :)
Keep being awesome! AK
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Before, After, and Somebody in Between by Jeannine Garsee is a diamond in the rough. I picked it up in the YA section of a local used bookstore. I hadn't heard of it or the author, but there was something that told me it was going to be a great story. I skimmed the dust jacket and decided to buy it.
First off, this story deals with a lot of deep subject matter: physical/mental abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, etc. If you are sensitive to any of those things, do keep that in mind. There aren't really a lot of stories out there (or at least that I've come across) that cover this kind of material, and I think that's a sad thing. I understand why. A lot of people read for amusement and joy. So a book about a teenage girl struggling with all of these problems in her home and school life probably aren't the things to read if you're just looking for a fun, pick-me-up sort of read. But reading it for the experience, for the knowledge of other lives beyond your own, for empathy is probably the way to go. I know there are people who can relate to the content, which is a very unfortunate thing. But if you're someone who hasn't really dealt with those kinds of problems and likes books that you can relate to, then this probably isn't the book for you. I saw a review or Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, and while the person said it was a good book, they didn't enjoy it as much because they couldn't relate to the experiences of the characters. And that's perfectly fine. Everyone has different preferences. The story stars the main protagonist, Martha, who has to move because her mom has a new boyfriend and she's moving in with him. This involves a new school and an entirely different neighborhood and lifestyle than what she's used to. At her new school, she's one of the only white students which makes her stand out right away, and most students don't take to her too well. However, Martha does make a couple friends which proves helpful later. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will wrap it up here. I read this book a lot quicker than I expected. Like two days. I was reading non-stop until I reached the end and I don't regret it. This book made me feel a lot of things: anger, deep sadness, and hope that Martha would somehow get a break in life and get the chance to achieve her dreams. And that's what I love in a story. Emotion. A real life. A genuine experience. PART 1! Video of the Week...I realize I'm a tad late with this, but hey, what are ya gonna do about it? This video is yet another song, however, less political than the previous video. Because while we do, especially now, need to discuss the politics and how the US is running, it's good to not do that for bit. It's totally alright to take a step back and breathe. Focus on the good and the fun and the things that make you happy :) And none of that is coming from the news right now. So! Along with starting a vegetarian/transitioning vegan diet (which I am LOVING by the way), I am also starting to properly exercise. And what motivates better than a kick-ass playlist? Nothing! Except maybe those dream abs and thighs you want, but that comes later. And right now I am seriously loving me some Hailee Steinfeld. I'm not normally one for a whole lot of pop, but sometimes I just can't help what I like, even if it's unusual for me. I present to you one of my favorite songs right now. Enjoy. It's my workout jam atm. Seriously. PART 2! This part is short. It's just a head's up that I should have a new book review coming up soon, like tomorrow would be ideal. I thought I had written one for the last book I read, but apparently that was more mental writing than actually posting to blog writing. Not the most exciting announcement, but there it is anyway! Have an awesome day! This is a new segment that I probably won't do too often, but if I ever get subscription boxes or other unique things, I'll definitely give an honest review here!
Last month I ordered a free (had to pay shipping) snack box from UrthBox. They have different categories you can choose from like gluten free and vegan, etc, which is pretty cool. And as some of you may know, I am a vegetarian/transitioning vegan, so of course I had to order the vegan box! And today it finally arrived in the mail. I was SUPER excited. Overall, I am really satisfied with the product. I ordered the box in the last week of December, and boxes always ship the following month around the 15th of each month. So it kind of feels like shipping takes forever, but it's actually only about 2 weeks. But of course that probably varies on your location. I believe the smallest box starts at $12.99/month and you can order 3 and 6 month plans at once, if you're interested in that. If you get a free box as I did, you do have to remember to cancel your subscription before it auto-renews. I had absolutely no issues with that process. Customer service was quick to respond and took care of it. If you're into subscription boxes and are looking for something new and filled with healthy snacks, I'd say that UrthBox is definitely worth a try! Below is a photo of everything that came in my box, so feel free to take a look :) No matter what or who you believe in, or even if you don't believe in any higher power, this is a truly beautiful song by Nahko and Medicine for the People. They are a band that is very much needed right now. They never shy away from shedding light on problems that the world is facing. It's definitely worth the listen.
Today, the United States of America has a new president. That new president comes with so much baggage for the nation. So much fear. It is a sad thing to see. I am sad that so many people in this country are so blind that they voted for this man. A man who has openly made racist remarks, sexist remarks, mocked people with disabilities. It is angering that this is the man who has to represent our country for the next four years.
The hashtag #NotMyPresident has been going around. While I see the motive behind it, it needs to stop. If you are a citizen of the United States, Donald Trump is your president, whether you like that fact or not. You can refuse to support him all you'd like, but that does not make him any less your president. And that's just the bottom line. This man has said many things that he plans to do in office: build a wall between Mexico and the United States to quell violence, force all Muslims to be entered into a computer database so they can be monitored, repeal Obamacare, remove funding from Planned Parenthood. I could go on and on. While these are plans that are not good at all, I try to remain hopeful. I hope that our Congress will make good decisions in what they allow to happen. I hope that our Supreme Court will take action if anything happens that goes against our Constitution. We do not have to respect President Trump's every decision. We don't even have to respect him as a person, because from what I've seen he's not a very good one. However, we have to respect him for the position that he holds. As American citizens, we have the duty to support our leaders when their decisions are moral and just. We also have the duty to oppose them if they are not. We can hope that he makes good decisions, but if he does not, we have the right to make our voices heard. We have the ability to make a difference for the better. And that is what we must try to do. Through these next four years, we need to be louder than ever. The second we stop fighting is the second that the enemy wins. Always remember that. If Trump wants America to be great again, let us be the ones who make it great in all that we do. For many years of my life, there has been a dark cloud hovering above my head. Sure, I could pull out an umbrella and pretend it wasn't there, but my arm would eventually grow tired and I would have to put the umbrella away again.
At first, I didn't know what exactly it was. This was at least high school. Maybe a bit earlier. All I knew was that I was sad all the time. I didn't socialize. I worried all the time. Eventually that turned into self-harm. Nothing too severe, because I was afraid of people finding out. But just enough to feel some of the pain on the outside. As I browsed the Internet, specifically Twitter and Tumblr, I found groups of people who felt the same things I did. Who felt as lost and hopeless and heavy as I did. Suddenly, that ominous rain cloud had a name: depression. Over time, that depression led to other areas of mental illness that I'm not really going to get into. It was a daily struggle, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I was afraid how people would respond because I didn't think they would understand what was wrong with me. After all, how could they when even I didn't totally understand? There were a few close friends online I was able to confide in, which did help sometimes. But never for very long. I found helplines to email from time to time. I often found it nice to be able to dump everything on a stranger. Especially someone who chose to help people like me. I knew they wouldn't judge me for my feelings. Today, I am in the process of recovering. And it's still very difficult. I finally made an appointment with my doctor about my illness. I've been on my medication for about a week now. So it's definitely a very new thing. I look forward to see how it helps in the long-term. I long for a life that is free of the burden of my own mind. And I believe that one day I will get there. It will just take work and patience. And time. I picked up this book a few months ago. I had heard of neither the book nor the author, however, the premise intrigued me quite a bit. While I mostly read YA fiction, it's typically contemporary--not so much drama/action/thriller as this book is. But I think the political aspect is what drew me in the most. I love learning about politics and government and reading theories about our government's possible corruption and downright illegal activity. The US was capable of MK ULTRA, so I don't believe much more needs to be said.
I had just finished the last book I was reading and was perusing my shelf to see what I wanted to read next. Finally, I settled on Zero Day, Jan Gangsei's debut novel. The novel opens in a very dramatic game of Connect Four between childhood friends Darrow Ferguson and Adele (Addie) Webster. The reader can already tell that both children are no doubt intelligent for their age, yet the playful aspect that we can all relate to is very much still there. When the game starts to go poorly in Addie's direction, however, she "accidentally" bumps the little lever, sending all the pieces scattering to the floor. Darrow confronts her cheating and Addie, clearly upset, runs away. Darrow waits a few minutes and then runs after her, worried, of all things, that Addie is going to eat all the blue M&Ms in their tree house. But when he climbs up, she isn't there, which is odd. He checks the rest of the house before realizing that his best friend is actually missing. The main action of the book picks up eight years later, in a mess of emotions: relief, confusion, happiness, and terror. It's Zero Day, and there are very few people who can stop it. If you're a fan of thrillers and dramas and politic-filled stories, I highly recommend this book to you. And if those aren't your favorite area's to read, I encourage you to read this book anyway. It is very well written, and the smooth narrative helps the words to fly off the page, creating a very fast-paced read that's nearly impossible to put down. If this novel is only a debut, I am very excited to see what Gangsei creates for us in the future, because I will definitely pick up a copy. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan is a short novel--a one day read. However, this short books gave me a wonderful experience in it's limited number of pages. The overall tone of the book isn't a happy one. It deals with a typical relationship and the things that typical relationships face: love, conflict, betrayel, dating, loss. It's one of the most mundane relationships I have read in a book, but that does not make the story boring. It's far from it.
Sometimes it's nice to take a break from the complexity around us, and this book allows for that. It is told through short entries--words in a dictionary. It's powerful, yet simple, and beautifully done. Levithan's talent as a writer shines in this book. Here is an example of one of the entries in the book: "contiguous, adj. I felt silly for even mentioning it, but once I did, I knew I had to explain. "When I was a kid, "I had this puzzle with all fifty states on it--you know, the kind where you have to fit them all together. And one day I got it in my head that California and Nevada were in love. I told my mom, and she had no idea what I was talking about. I ran and got those two pieces and showed it to her--California and Nevada, completely in love. So a lot of the time when we're like this"--my ankles against the backs of your ankles, my knees fitting into the backs of your knees, my thighs on the backs of your legs, my stomach against your back, my chin folding into your neck--"I can't help but think about California and Nevada, and how we're a lot like them. If someone were drawing us from above as a map. that's what we'd look like; that's how we are." For a moment, you were quiet. And then you nestled in and whispered. "Contiguous." And I knew you understood." When you have a couple free hours one day, definitely pick up this little book and give it a read. I'm sure that you won't regret it one bit. A few days ago, I finally completed The Last Star, which is the final installment to the trilogy. I have not read a lot of sci-fi, as it's not my preferred genre, however, I enjoyed these books very much. And I think that much of that has to do with how character-driven this story is.
The narration is divided among different tenses and different characters, giving the reader a lot on insight into the lives of multiple people who are experiencing the invasion: Cassie (who wished to be called Courage), Sam a.k.a Nugget, Ben a.k.a Zombie, and Marika a.k.a Ringer, just to name a few. And the side characters are honestly no less interesting to me. The trilogy deals with present-day Earth that is suddenly plagued with panic when an alien spaceship starts to circle above the planet before resting above the United States. It remains there for 10 days without contacting humans once. When the Others as they are called finally begin to invade, they attack in a series of Waves to quickly kill billions of people without damaging the planet more than necessary. When a small group finds out the truth about the Others, it is up to them to convince other humans the truth. But it proves impossible. A small group of child soldiers must find a way to defeat the system before the aliens unleash the 5th and final wave of destruction, which will lead to the extermination of most survivors. The characters are very dynamic, showing major changes in how they carry themselves throughout the books. That leads to an emotional impact when something happens to a favorite character--and there are plenty to choose from. The writing is smooth and the plot is well-constructed. By far, The 5th Wave trilogy by Rick Yancey is definitely on my list of favorites as far as series are concered. I'd totally suggest that you put the trilogy on your TBR list if you haven't already. :) |
AuthorAlex Katt is a writer, primarily in Young Adult fiction at the moment. She is published by Dark-Ink Press in MA. When she's not writing or reading with a cup of hot tea, she's probably cuddling with a kitten or watching vegan recipes and BookTubers on YouTube. ArchivesCategories |