Thursday, June 28, 2012

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Contemporary fiction
Five stars


This book is about a girl named Hazel who has been diagnosed with a severe form of thyroid cancer. She's been surviving off of miracle pills, but she knows her illness has always been a terminal one. Limited by the oxygen tank she carts around, Hazel spends her time attending college classes and reading. And prompted by her mother, she attends a cancer support group where she meets the sexy, in-remission Augustus Waters. As their relationship develops, they will push and guide each other through pain, discovery, and love as they examine what it means to live and leave a mark on the world.

I usually don't buy books that I haven't read yet (from a friend or library), but I took a chance with this one. It just had such good reviews and the praises on the back are from three of my favourite authors - Markus Zusak, Jodi Picoult, and E. Lockhart. I had high expectations, and even though it was different from how I thought it would be, I fell in love. I fell in love with the writing, with the characters, with the pure rawness of the novel. This is my first John Green book, and he is just ridiculous. He manages to capture the spirit of a teenage girl so well in his writing, and he does it with such amazing depth and insight. His observations are striking in their beauty and realness, in their ability to evoke power in truth. I just read his words over and over. And his writing allows for such a connection with Hazel, for the way she sees the world and the people around her. The relationships are so realistically portrayed and developed, not only between her and Augustus, but with her parents as well. The dialogue between the characters is both hilarious and devastating. Picoult says it perfectly: "Filled with staccato bursts of humour and tragedy." I was literally laughing in the middle of my sobbing. But what really made the book was just the reality of it. The idea is not particularly unique, with the terminal illness and everything, but Green manages to bring such originality to it. You see the characters at their worst, you see the effects cancer has, not only on their life, but their family's. The cover calls it "irreverent," which I think is the perfect description. It is not some cheesy story about acceptance and coming to terms with death. It is about suffering and fear and finding meaning where you can.

I just want to keep reading it forever.

“I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it - or my observation of it - is temporary?”

Also recommended: How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford. This just reminds me of it.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Those Perfect Stars

Well it took me long enough, but I finally finished my short story. There comes a point in writing where you have to stop editing and just be done with it. So I hope you enjoy it. I hope it makes you feel something, helps you find meaning. That's all any writer can ask.

Please read it here

Monday, June 18, 2012

Review: Fall for Anything

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
Contemporary fiction
Four and a half stars


Eddie Reeves's father has committed suicide and she is left reeling in the aftermath, surrounded by questions that can never be answered. Her father was a brilliant photographer, full of life and inspiration and love. What could cause him to leave everything behind? Distancing herself from her friends, she soon becomes acquainted with one of her father's old students, Culler Evans, who reveals things about him that she never knew. With his help, she tries to uncover explanations, but their attraction grows and the relationship takes a dark turn. Eddie is shaken from grief but she needs Culler's help, and she must decide what she is willing to do for answers, and if they are truly worth knowing.

Courtney Summers is one of those authors I hate. I hate her for the way she touches subjects so deep in so few words, for how she captures the rawness of emotions so beautifully, and basically for her outrageous writing. She has been one of my biggest inspirations, and I am so envious of her talent. Her style is very distinct, very abstract and fragmented. This adds a powerful imagery to her writing. You become so engaged with the story and characters, so consumed in their emotions and struggles. Eddie's loss, not just of her father, but of herself, paints the whole novel, and there is an incredible connection between reader and character. Summers is so talented at developing her characters, making each one unique and giving you such a strong sketch of their personality. The relations and tensions between them are magnetic, explosive, beautiful. You are drawn in. And although the conflicts in her writing tend toward the dark, they are lightened by moments of laughter, joy, discovery. It's just a magical novel about death and friendship and letting go.

Just read it already.

“This is awful. This is so hopeless. We're all lost in different ways, so how do we even help each other find our way out. We won't. We can't. We'll just stay lost forever.

Also recommended: Some Girls Are and Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Dystopian fiction
Three and half stars


Dashner's book begins with the main character, Thomas, waking up in a dark lift with no memory of anything other than his name. When it's opened he is helped by a group of young boys living in the Glade, a section of land surrounded by large stone walls. Every morning the walls slide open, leading to a seemingly impossible maze that the boys have been trying to solve for years. And every night they close, sealing anyone outside from getting back in - and no one's returned alive. Thomas' arrival is no surprise as a boy is sent to the Glade once a month, but when a girl shows up the next day bringing a message, everything changes. As the group rushes to solve the maze and the way out, Thomas must search for answers of his own, starting with the ones locked beneath the surface of his memory.

So Dashner isn't one of the most poetic writers, but he definitely knows how to keep a reader interested. The book is very action-motivated, very straightforward in its delivery. There is a mood of suspense throughout it, which is frustrating at first because the reader is given little information, but becomes more exciting as the plot moves along and discoveries are made. Also, the writing style can create a lack of connection with the characters at times, an impression of flatness. But you do experience the sense of community between the group of boys, you understand their fear and desire for escape. It was fairly realistic in terms of their interactions and the way they organize themselves. There are moments of humour, pain, anger, anticipation. It's hard to put down because of the fast-paced plot, and I was legitimately terrified at a few places. Dashner's novel is adventurous, a little gruesome, but ultimately a story of survival.

“Just follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does.” 

Finish the series: The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure by James Dashner

Sunday, June 3, 2012

A Little Snippet

I am currently working on a short story to post. I'm super excited to get back into writing again, to be motivated. But it's been pretty slow lately - I can't seem to follow my own advice and push ahead. Perhaps I will try some writing exercises to help me loosen up. Anyway, I thought I would post a little sneak peek to give you an idea of what's coming up:

This is how I live now - in my memories. They are the only reason I am here, pushing deeper into this blackness, this rank existence. That and the fear. It is almost a comfort now, a reminder of everything I have lost and everything I have to lose. Without it I am nothing. 

The aid comes in the room then and asks me if I want to sit outside for a while. I nod. She offers a hand and I almost slap it away. I don't need her help. But I take it because I am just an old woman who cannot let go of the past, even as I watch it spill through my fingers. 

Friday, June 1, 2012

Review: The Sky Is Everywhere

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Contemporary fiction
Four and a half stars


This is Nelson's first book. She creates a story around Lennie, a seventeen-year-old band geek who lives with her grandmother and older sister, Bailey. Lennie has always been the quiet one, living in contrast with Bailey, who is passionate and beautiful and fearless. But in a sudden and tragic accident, Bailey dies, forcing Lennie to take control of her own life. In the devastating aftermath, Lennie is pulled toward two different boys. One is Toby, Bailey's old boyfriend, who relates to her grief and helps her in it. The other is Joe, a boy recently moved to town, full of life and joy and music, who separates her from her grief. In her journey to recovery, Lennie must decide who she is without her sister, who she wants to be, and who will be there with her.

It's been a while since I've read this, and I forgot how much I love it. It made me cry more than once, perhaps because I can relate to it. I have an older sister and a strong connection with music, and these relationships are so magnificently described in this novel. Nelson is one of the most beautiful writers I have come across. Her language is so abstract, so poetic, and able to carry such deep emotion in so little words. Between every chapter is a little note written by Lennie on various mediums, and these poems have such impact on the story, on understanding Lennie's character. She is at times difficult to connect with, but you feel her grief so intensely that you never completely lose her. The relationship painted between her and Bailey is incredibly strong, you  feel yourself break at her loss, suffer through her grief. That is another thing about the book - all the characters are so deep, so three-dimensional. They all have their own story and identities, and this creates moments of incredible rawness and intensity. I thought this was going to be another awful love-triangle book, but it is refreshingly realistic. You see Lennie's guilt for her feelings toward Toby, her uncertainty about Joe's character. This realness is so evident in the novel's dealings with loss and love and music and healing. It is just a beautiful work.

"My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is."