Book Reviews – Page 2 – Literary Arts Blogspace

Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種) And What It Means To Be Human Part 1

TW// Mentions of Violence, Cannibalism, Self-harm, and Death (among other things)

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE TOKYO GHOUL MANGA, I SUGGEST YOU DO SO BEFORE FURTHER READING! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Tokyo Ghoul (東京喰種) is a manga written and illustrated by Sui Ishida and published by Shueisha’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump between September 2011 and September 2014. It told the story of an 18 year old university student named Ken Kaneki and the struggles he faced when he became a ghoul (a human-like creature that only gains nutrients from eating humans) after a terrible accident during his date with a girl named Rize (Ree-zey) Kamishiro, who was a ghoul herself. He was transformed into a ghoul when his organs were replaced with some of Rize’s during a surgery by Akihiro Kanou. Kaneki monologues that “I’m not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I’m just a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But… if, for argument’s sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be… a tragedy” (Tokyo Ghoul Ch. 1 Vol. 1).

Tokyo ghoul discusses what it means to be human through Kaneki’s psyche, which alters constantly throughout the series. One major moment in the first volume, specifically in chapter 3, depicts Kaneki walking outside in the city. He notices all of the people around him, and starving, slowly goes from thinking of them as “man”, “woman”, or “child” to simply “meat”. To prevent these thoughts, he bites his own finger, and rushes off to a nearby restroom. In this restroom, he sees his singular red eye for the first time, and in a mixture of fear and rage, punches the mirror. He gets a cut on the back of his hand, but it heals almost immediately. He heads home, and lays in bed thinking about his favorite novel “The Black Goat’s Egg”. He comes to the conclusion that he is like a “ghoul’s egg” and, to try to prove to himself that he really is a ghoul, takes out a large knife and attempts to stab his stomach. This fails, and the knife instead breaks apart, leaving Kaneki crying on the floor as he ponders what he should do about this situation.

This is the beginning of Kaneki’s struggle with his identity, and the question of what makes one human. He had previously run into Touka Kirishima, a girl, who happened to be a ghoul, that worked at the café he frequented: Anteiku. He goes to the café, hoping that she would provide help for him. He begs Touka for help, but she responds with a firm “No”. She then goes on to ask what being human is like, expressing a jealousy for the way they can live so peacefully in comparison to ghouls. Kaneki is at a loss for words and does not respond to the barrage of questions.

Tokyo Ghoul has established it’s theme of “what it means to be human”, the baseline that will be explored throughout the series. I am excited to delve deeper into this theme, and the overall story. It’s one of my personal favorite written works. This serves as a baseline introduction to the series and it’s themes, we’ll be focusing a bit more on the theme next time.

That’s all for now. I can’t wait to write the next part of this series!

Midnight Mass: Motherhood and Monologue

Midnight Mass is a Netflix original miniseries about the going ons of the small island town of Crockett Island that slowly changes under supernatural effects. The show itself is a horror piece, using religious imagery of the catholic variety and eventually vampiric lore to arouse unease within the audience. While I find it to be expertly crafted, I want to pay heed as well to the development of the theme of selfishness within the text of the show. I analyzed the use of religion for selfish or personal means and the consequence of doing so as a major theme within the miniseries. In this blog, I intend to describe just how these themes are expressed, focusing on characters used as vehicles for them.

CW: child abuse, religious abuse, islamophobia, murder, self harm, and suicide

Bev Keane(played by Samantha Sloyan) is a parishioner of St. Patrick’s church who is held in high esteem by some characters in the shows large cast, while reviled by many others. Keane is presented as an astutely religious woman from the very beginning, quoting bible verses and correcting the new priest, father Paul Hill(Hamish Linklater), on wearing the incorrect color robes. Sloyan’s character is written to feel overbearing, judgmental, and deeply unlikeable. She complements Erin Greene’s(Kate Siegal) abusive mother in a way to put Erin down, and makes comments on the Muslim faith of the town sheriff(Rahul Kholi), contributing the audience’s dislike of the character. But while she may have expressed her religion despicably, this does not alone show a selfish viewpoint, more simply an elitist one. The perception of the Bev Keane as a simple elitist slips, however, as we learn of her role in the recent events of the town. See, when Crockett island fell victim to an oil spill a year before the start of the series, Keane encouraged the residents to simply take a small settlement from the company responsible. Calling the settlement money a ‘gift from god’, she leveraged many to donate some of it back to the church, which some characters suspect to essentially have gone into her pockets, as the priest at the time had gone senile. Using the money from the donations, the church would erect a rec center, but it is implied the donation money would have covered much more than just the costs of the center. Keane seems to utilize religion as a mask to deflect criticism, and as a means to maintain influence and acquire wealth, making her an insidiously selfish character. When the supernatural events rise within the town, however, her true nature is fully revealed.

Reverend Paul Hill, the new Priest of St. Patrick’s, is similarly influenced by a form of selfishness, causing him to ultimately share the blame of the fate of Crockett island. Hill comes to the church intended as a temporary replacement to their aging original Priest, Monsignor Pruitt, who he tells them to be recovering from a sickness on the mainland. In truth, the young Hill is the same person as the elderly Pruitt, revitalized and given youth from drinking blood given to him by a winged vampiric creature(Quinton Boisclair) he encountered on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Hill has brought the creature with him to the island, and has been mixing it’s blood with the eucharist of the church, resulting in the healing of many of the town’s ailments. When a girl previously confined to a wheelchair miraculously stands during mass, a religious revitalization spreads across town. While in his sermons, he speaks of the resurrection of the church, we find in the final episode what he is truly motivated by. After it is revealed that drinking enough of the blood and dying will result in immortality, a thirst for blood, and an intolerance to sunlight, Hill and Keane reveal to the entire church what they have been doing, offering the church members to die and become creatures of the night. It takes a moment for most of the members to accept, all(except for several main characters) do, and they go out and feed on the town. Linklater’s character, who is recovering from a wound suffered earlier, sits with the newly regenerated Mildred Gunning(played by Alex Essoe). Mildred had formerly suffered with severe dementia in her old age, being taken care of by her daughter(Annabeth Gish), but is now young and fully cognizant as a result of having drank the blood of the creature. They lament the happenings, revealing that they were former lovers, and the Hill was the father of Gunning’s daughter. He reveals to her that all of this, despite his feverous sermons, was so he’d never have to see her or their daughter grow old, so he could save them from that. In the end, he was acting selfishly.

The disastrous actions of Hill and Keane fed on, or turned, with the exception of a few main characters. Bev decides to take the role of a leader of them all, seizing her opportunity for power, and leads her flock to burn all the trees and buildings of the island, leaving only the church and rec center to provide cover at sunrise for those she decides to let in. Erin, the sheriff, -people who throughout the show were wronged by Keane- and Hill’s very own daughter, work together to destroy the church and it’s rec center, leaving no cover for those turned by the blood. When the sun finally upon the island, none survive. Hill’s selfish actions exploiting faith lead to the even more selfish Keane to exploit it, resulting in the death of hundreds.

The Warriors

The Warriors is a novel written by Sol Yurick in 1965, that was later adapted into the 1979 film with the same title. The Warriors is one of my favorite movies ever so once I found out that it was a novel as well I had to read it, because if the movie is great then the book has to be 10x better. The setting takes place in New York, and is centered around a gang that goes by the name The Warriors. We follow them as they make their way through New York to meet at some kind of assembly held by the leader of the strongest gang in New York whose name is Cyrus. The purpose of this meeting is to get all the gangs to work as one to take over the city and overthrow the police, and everything goes as planned until it takes a drastic turn. The leader of the top gang is shot and killed, and the police also appear so this sends everybody into a panic. The leader was shot by the leader of another gang whose name is Luther. Luther then decides to throw the blame onto the warriors and everybody believes him. So now here the warriors are far away from their base, and they have to make it back home all while avoiding not only police, but other rival gangs along the way.

The go through an array of obstacles the end up picking off certain members of their gang, leaving them with a smaller group than how they started. They make their way through several areas that belong to rival gangs who are trying to kill them because they think that they shot Cyrus. Their own leader ends up being killed by Cyrus’s gang, so a member that goes by the name Swan takes over. Along the way Swan meets a girl who lived with another gang. Her name is Mercy, and they form a bond that is toxic, but still romantic. Mercy ends up leaving with the warriors after she instigated a fight between them and her previous gang. Through out the night they have to survive many fights and battles with gang members and the police as well. We truly see the dynamic of the group and what roles they each play as the story progresses. Eventually they do make it make to Coney Island, where Luther and his gang is there waiting to kill them, but it does not go according to his plan. Cyrus’s gang received information on who actually killed him, and pays their respects to the warriors and end up killing Cyrus. From there the warriors are free from running and have nothing to worry about. They lost three members in total and ended up gaining one more.

I’m not able to do full justice by just describing how this story went, but it is truly one of the best things that I have both read and watched. It was incredibly enjoyable and I loved how well the novel was paced. There was a single moment where I felt it was rushed or drug out too long. It’s an amazing film and an occult classic, so I encourage everyone to at least watch the movie if reading is not your favorite thing!

A Literary Student Analyzes Slipknot Pt. 1

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog space! I haven’t seen you all in a few months, so I figured we should start this year with something to get us in the Locklyn’s Blogs mood, you know what I mean? So, without further ado, I will analyze and connect the dots between some of my favorite slipknot songs in the story’s chronological order! You’ll soon see why this story is one of my favorites.

Killpop: 5th track from “The Gray Chapter”

In an interview, Corey Taylor, the singer from slipknot, revealed that Killpop was about the music industry. While that explanation seems fitting, I decided to dig a little deeper and figure out what else this song could be connected to. So, in the song, the lyrics read:

“Maybe I should let her go

But only when she loves me

How can I just let her go?

Not until she loves me.”

This song is from the perspective of a man who eventually comes into contact with a woman whom he quickly becomes obsessed with, but the more he seems to get to know her, the more he realizes that she is also self-destructive. Though after being with him for a little while she begins trying to heal and get better so she can leave him, but he has other ideas. He becomes so obsessed with her that he cannot stand the idea of her leaving him. So he kills her using lyrics a bit too… aggressive for this blog.

Vermillion: Track 8 from “The Subliminal Verses”

“She is everything and more

The solemn hypnotic

My Dahlia bathed in possession

She is home to me

I get nervous, perverse, when I see her, it’s worse.”

This says a lot about the man’s mentality after the murder. He is still obsessed with her, and from those lines, it feels a lot like the man is seeing visions of the woman. The Dahlia line could also reference the black dahlia case, which was a real-life case about a woman who was also murdered. The second half of that line about possession shows that by killing her, she will always be his. This song is also sang in a very aggressive manner, which gives off major frustration and rage vibes. He is so stressed about the visions and generally goes even more crazy over the fact that he killed her.

“She isn’t real

I can’t make her real

She isn’t real

I can’t make her real”

These lines reoccur a few times throughout the song. This is the man angrily beating himself up over the murder and then the visions that stem from that. He knows the visions he sees aren’t her, and he is frustrated that he can’t bring her back. He can’t touch or kiss her again because she’s no longer real. He is beginning to feel the guilt.

Thank you all for reading this month! I hope you enjoyed it and will come back to read the next part in the following weeks!

i’ve seen “elvis” (2022) four times…and i’m not done yet.

hello again! it’s good to be back. now, if you’ve been anywhere within a ten mile radius of me in the past two months, you know that my life-long elvis obsession has flared up and is in full swing!

i’ve been a diehard elvis fan since i was about three years old. i’d walk around the house, singing “Blue Christmas”, lips curled and voice bellowing. i ate my breakfast on a plate with his face on it and drank my pepsi from a mug with his face on it (still do, sometimes, tbh). i guess growing up in mississippi, especially so close to tupelo, there’s just something that makes you feel close to him. or, that’s the case for me, anyway. i’ve always loved his music, and it’s what inspired me to sing and learn guitar in the first place. i remember being a little girl, imagining myself playing the “Heartbreak Hotel” solo on a red electric in front of the whole town. now, i play it on a red electric in my bedroom at home. like most things that interest me, i could go on about E for hours on end. believe me. or ask anyone who has been around me lately. his music, talent, heart, and spirit just speak to me in a way that no other artist ever has or will. so, when i heard that there would be a movie about him, i was nervous to say the least.

i was terrified that it would be cheesy, exploitative, or just horrendously casted. but, wow, i truly couldn’t have been more wrong. finding out that baz luhrmann was directing was super exciting because i think he’s one of the most talented directors of the past half century. however, he is known for his…less than orthodox approaches to his films.

i won’t lie, initially, when i found out that austin butler would be playing elvis, i nearly lost all hope for the film. it just didn’t seem quite right to me that the cute blond guy from zoey 101 would be the king. right up until the movie came out, i had strong doubts. i saw pictures of him in costume, and i just couldn’t see it. i thought miles teller would have been the better choice. now, while i greatly admire teller, i can confidently say that no one could have played that role as well as austin butler.

when my friends asked me to see the film with them, i was hesitant. i just didn’t want to partake in anything dishonoring E’s legacy. but, with some convincing, i sat on the end of the fourth row with a small coke and a cinnamon pretzel and watched, in my opinion, the greatest biopic of all time. though austin doesn’t look much like elvis in a traditional sense, he just seems to completely transform on screen. you can just feel how hard he worked, the research he did, and the respect he has for the man he embodied. his performance was truly a masterclass in capturing the spirit of another human in film. if austin doesn’t get an oscar for this movie, i will be personally calling the academy and berating them for their foolishness. olivia dejonge’s performance as priscilla is also incredible, and she does steal the show during her screen time with her eerily cilla-like cleverness, wit, and compassion. she and austin have perfect chemistry that is showcased brilliantly in every scene of theirs together. (MILD SPOILER) a scene that comes to mind (probably because i have it memorized) is the scene in which she leaves elvis. you can physically feel their hearts breaking, and it’s just breathtaking.

on the other hand…tom hanks. i never thought i’d say this about him, but his performance just wasn’t giving what it needed to give. the hokey accent was extremely distracting and not very true to character. the colonel was notoriously unlikable, and if it was hanks’ goal to showcase that, he executed it perfectly. for me, it was one of the only flaws of the film. however, i don’t think that it ruins the film in any way. austin plays off of hanks’ off-putting colonel perfectly, which softens the blow of seeing tom hanks in a rare role that he cannot play well.

the soundtrack is an entire story in itself. it takes some of the best elvis songs and revamps them, sometimes in an awesome way and sometimes…not. i love the remastered songs that make the audio better or expand the instrumentals, but there were some unnecessary touches here and there. i’ve gotta say, watching elvis walk through memphis with doja cat playing in the background was laughable and a tad jarring–neither in a good way. i do love some of the rap on the soundtrack, i just think it should’ve been blended a little better or just been bonus tracks rather than being featured in the film because it can really take the viewer out of the 50s vibe and remind them of where we are now. and isn’t that why we go to the theatre–to escape where we are now? again, could just be me. the covers in the film are so incredible, and the actors who play b.b. king, big mama thornton, little richard, and sister rosetta tharpe deserve all the accolades in the world for their acting and musical performances–just as the musicians themselves deserve full credit for the way that they revolutionized music and created rock n roll. special mention to shonka dukureh for her magical performance as big mama. may she rest in peace. yola, who is one of my favorite musicians and easily one of the best singer-songwriters of this generation also steals the show with her portrayal of sister rosetta, particularly her performance of “hound dog”. some truly amazing artists (stevie nicks for example) are featured on the soundtrack, and i highly recommend checking you out!

one of the things that blew me away most about the film is that austin butler did most of the singing himself. i nearly didn’t believe it when i found out that he wasn’t lip-syncing because he just does such an amazing job. it’s yet another testament to his dedication to this role. i read that austin was extremely afraid to fill such big shoes and wasn’t entirely sure if he could do it until he found out about elvis losing his mother. elvis and austin both had their mothers pass away when they were 23, which made austin feel closer to him, and from there, he transformed for two years into mr. presley. for his audition, austin was supposed to simply sing “love me tender” but instead opted to play piano and sing “unchained melody”–a hugely emotional ballad, especially for elvis fans because it was the last song he performed live. it was a bold, meaningful choice that paid off in the end.

after seeing this movie for the first time, it was basically all i could think or talk about. i couldn’t wait to see it again. it almost felt like a beautiful dream that i just wasn’t ready to wake up from. i saw it again, and again, and again, and it just seems to get better every time. i had never seen a movie that made me cry, laugh, dance, smile, and feel so close to music until i saw this. so, as the title suggests–i’m not done. if you made it this far, first of all, God bless you, you’re quite a trooper. and secondly, if you have even a remote interest in seeing this film, please, please do yourself the honor of seeing it. and if you’re reading this as an msa student or family member who has yet to see the movie or is ready for another go–by all means, contact me immediately. i would climb a mountain if it meant seeing this again, and the moment i have enough time, i will be sprinting to the nearest theatre.

thank you for reading, and hopefully, i’ll see you next time! ’til then, TCB!

mini playlist (five of emma’s favorite elvis songs):

are you lonesome tonight?

moody blue

she’s not you

one night

kentucky rain

Elvis Box Office Prediction: Aims for $35 Million Opening Weekend - The Filmik

Book Reviews Are Back :)

So, in the spirit of returning to my roots, I’m going back to what began this lovely little blog journey in the first place. Now, I’ve recently dug myself out of the rut of rereading my comfort books and ventured into new territory, courtesy of a Black Friday trip to BooksaMillion last year. With this comes the subject of today’s review, Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat.

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker from fantasy, from Harry Potter, to Chronicles of Narnia, to Simon Snow, I’ve definitely wracked up quite the fantasy tab. However, I’ve never encountered a franchise that captures that sense of “Old, forgotten world” quite as well as Dark Rise does. There’s just something about the way that this franchise showcases a world that no longer exists that is impossible not to love.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, a review of the basic story. Will Kempen is on the run from men who killed his mother months ago. As the sixteen year old evades Simon Crenshaw, a wealthy aristocratic trade monarch, he encounters the Stewards, in particular a man named Justice. It’s discovered that his mother’s death and his life are entangled in an ancient lore involving a Dark King who’s on the rise, a Lady who is the only one who can stop him, and the Stewards, rigidly disciplined keepers of the old world’s history and fighters of the light. As he meets Violet, a girl with formidable Lion’s strength and Katherine, an aristocratic daughter with a fear of magic, Will’s life becomes more and more fantastical, and more and more dangerous.

Now, I’ll not spoil anything because I highly recommend this book to anyone with even an inkling of fantasy interest. However, I will discuss the things about this book that really stuck with me; statements of meaning, if you will. First and foremost is the richness of the writing. This may come from the startlingly easily comprehensible setting of London in the 1820’s, the well developed characters spanning from “Knight from the past” to “aristocratic lady of the manner”, the substantial quality of the plot (seriously, I’ve scarcely seen a plot this well developed) to the general sense of majesty that accompanies all the settings of this book. Regardless, this book is so intricately written it makes most super popular franchises pale in comparison.

The other thing I love about this book is James. You’ll understand if you read it.

My absolute favorite thing about this novel, however, is the way Pacat writes intimate moments. There’s not a single scene of sexuality in this books pages, and there is scarcely a scene of romance, as is expected of a book set in London 1821. However, there are so many moments, between so many characters that have an inexplicable sense of intimacy about them; the tying of an ascot, the escorting of a lady home, the release of a prisoner from manacles. All of them are amazing. Beyond all the plot twists and epic battles, the thing that really captured my heart was the way this novel shows intimacy. It’s so pure and unfiltered that it almost aches on the page, and I’ve never seen that and now will never forget it.

All in all, this book was fantastic. 10/10 read that I will strongly recommend to absolutely anyone that will listen and will also provide me with inspiration for my own forthcoming fantasy endeavors. Please, at least consider reading this phenomenal story, I assure you every word is worth it. Until next time,

Sincerely, someone who’s constructing his own “Old World”

A Review of Life Changing Books: Installment 5 :)

This week’s entry really puts a new spin on the popular phrase “last but not least”, in that, while it only made the bottom of the “tier list” (meaning nothing more than it was mentioned last), it is certainly no lesser than any of the previously mentioned works.

David Arnold’s “Mosquitoland” is merely distinctly different than the other works on this list. And, what I mean by this is that, while it didn’t necessarily change my perspective on life, per se, it absolutely changed my perspective on literature.

The story telling style of this novel, while the exact opposite of the traditional linear style, accomplishes so much with it’s erratic method of story telling. Given that our narrator, Mim, is someone who is more than a bit unorthodox, it’s very easy to get confused or find the story difficult to follow.

However, if you can manage to keep up with Mim’s story and avoid the whiplash that my come with the frequent flashbacks and erratic plot, I promise the story is well worth the ending.

Mim’s story begins in, ironically enough, Mississippi. There, she receives ill word about her mother, whom she used to live with, in Ohio. Then, the mentally unstable Mary Iris Malone embarks immediately to get back to her mother. Along the way, she meets several colorful characters, including the old lady Arlene, the bus driver Carl, the true love to be Beck, the lovable and unpredictable Walt, and even villains such as Poncho Man.

Along the way, Mim reminisces about her own childhood, writes letters to Isabel (quite the plot twist there), and experiences the absolute chaos of the journey. Through this lovely little cacophony of chaos, we learn that Mim is mentally ill, blind in her right eye, a child of divorce, and, truthfully, just homesick.

It’s a truly heart wrenching tale if one has the dedication to stick with it all the way through, and it’s definitely not boring, though the deeper parts of the story are possible to overlook if you’re not paying attention.

But, for Mosquitoland especially, it is not about the destination. It is about the journey, and Mim’s is definitely one worth following. So, if you ever see a copy in the local library, give it a read. I promise, you won’t regret it.

Sincerely, someone else hoping to escape “Mosquitoland”

A Review of Life Changing Books: Installment 4 :)

Since series seem to be a popular thing amongst bloggers, and I have left this one dormant for quite the little while, I thought that I would bring back my first and favorite series to date. Reviewing these books truly does mean something special to me, and I sincerely hope that caries over to my readers.

Now, this weeks installment is dedicated to, you guessed it, another John Greene book. What can I say? The man’s writing speaks to me, and I will not pretend to be apologetic about gushing over it.

Particularly, I’m drawn to his work in the book “Paper Towns”. This book completely changed my perspective on relationships. Before reading this work, I was a decently firm believer in the standard “relationships are time based and sensical” ideal, to a degree anyway.

However, after observing the story of Quentin Jacobsen’s wild chase after the mystical Margo Roth Spiegleman in a fast paced adventure of no less than outlandish proportions, I found myself not so certain I believed what I had come to know relationships to be.

Now, in all honesty, since I read every book on this list back to back in one quick series, some of the finer details blend together. For some pieces. But Paper Towns was never one of them. Because I have seldom identified more with a character than Margo.

She is eccentric, and unpredictable, and chaotic, and untamable, but most importantly, she is unsatisfied with the world around her. She seeks something deeper, something more. And that is what makes this book special to me.

It isn’t watching Quentin chase after Margo like a dog after a ball (though that part is amusing), it isn’t the chaos of their late night scandals before the chase. It isn’t really even Quentin’s many realizations in the days after Margo’s disappearance, though I identify very closely with them (particularly the epiphany about the feeling of leaving something). It’s the fact that there was someone like me who simply wanted something more.

The shared, simple, and innate dissatisfaction with the shallow seeming world around us is what draws me to Margo, and therefore this book. In it, the idealistic girl discusses her distaste for “paper people” (i.e. “normal” people) as they go about their lives in their towns and their jobs and their houses. She, I assume, like me, is repelled by the idea of monotonousness and normalcy, and is no less than disgusted by the idea of a normal “nine to five” life. Therefore, she enacts the logical solution of disappearing to relocate to a ghost town in New York and become a writer. Now, admittedly, I do not see myself going to such extreme measures to subvert the cycle of society. However, I, like Margo, refuse to fall into the pit trap of “normal” life. I want adventures, not a day job. I want individuality, not uniformity. I want creativity, not normality, and I intend to get it by living my life in an exciting way.

All of that isn’t even touching on the flawless way that Greene plays out Margo’s methods of searching for something deeper. The twists and turns in this story truly have the ability to redefine the term “encapsulating” if one allows them to. So, if you ever find yourself feeling unsatisfied in this “paper world”, give this book a read. I promise you, you will not regret it.

Sincerely, a somewhat less paper-y person.

A Review of Life Changing Books: Installment 3 :)

Greetings everyone! I’m very excited to see you all again and, in an effort to get through to all the blog ideas that are quite literally pouring out of me at this point and stockpiling rapidly, we continue this little series. 🙂

The next book in our little series is another work by the famed John Greene, “Looking for Alaska”.

This absolute miracle work of young adult fiction centers around the experiences of main character Miles “Pudge” Halter as he settles into life around the boarding school “The Creek”. There, he meets characters such as Alaska Young and Chip “the Colonel” and we get to see Miles embark on his journey through the series.

From petty prank wars, to the absolutely devastating death of his classmate and friend, and everything in between, “Looking for Alaska” puts a previously unexplored spin on the classic telling of the teenage experience. It’s not often certain experiences, especially the more traumatic ones, are explored in such visceral detail, however this book has no qualms in detailing Miles’s feelings about each and every event in his life at The Creek.

And that, my dear reader, is what I adore about this work. No matter how grisly or dark or stupidly teenage-esque an occurrence gets, this book does not shy away from it. “Looking for Alaska” is unyielding in it’s depth filled pursuit of inner connection with it’s readers, and that brazenness is something I can only hope to live up to when and if I begin novel writing.

This book changed my life because it wasn’t afraid to. That’s the important part.

And, as someone who has endured what can easily be considered far more than my fair share of trauma in my life, I’m very proud anytime I find a work of literature that explores that. Works such as this, which don’t hesitate to put emphasis on failed sex attempts and drunken breakdowns and spontaneous forays into the forest that lead to nothing but petty pranks and bad consequences, are truly what brings me comfort as someone who has been through so much.

I love seeing works like this that give a true picture of the “teenage experience”. Because it is messy. It is nonsensical. It is a roller coaster. It can be awful. It can be amazing. It is often both. It is a good story.

And this book tells it flawlessly, hence the reason your read for this week is “Looking for Alaska”. I promise, it’s very worth it.

Until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between, above and beyond.

Sincerely, Someone looking for their own Alaska.

A Review of Life Changing Books: Installment 2 :)

As promised, the list of works that have truly changed my life continues. This week’s installment: “Turtles All the Way Down” by John Greene.

In this book, seventeen year old Aza Holmes navigates a missing person’s mystery, young love, loss, and extreme anxiety, particularly over physical health.

This book did something no other piece of literature ever has for me. It gave me a term for the way my anxious mind works. In her story, Aza compares her anxious thoughts to a literal downward spiral, as in a whirlpool of thought that goes further and further down, getting tighter and tighter.

I never knew how much I related to this feeling until I experienced it. This metaphor, though not exactly identical to my own experience, gave voice to a sensation I wasn’t even aware others experienced. That is one of the most powerful things a piece of literature can do.

My spiral, however, tends to spin outward. Sure, there are certain thought processes that feel constricting, but my vice is a sort of “creative surplus” rather than an anxious buildup. It often feels like my mind is too big for, well, itself. It’s like my thoughts are spilling over, growing out of me and leaving all that is safe, and solid, and known behind and it can be terrifying.

An entire universe blossoming out of your head when you’re just trying to stay together is no easy concept to digest. This book helped me believe that, somewhere out there, someone, be it the author or my fellow readers, understands how it feels to have thoughts outside of thoughts.

Hence, the reason it places so very high on the “life changing” list.

Another reason this particular book ranks so high is the metaphor of “turtles all the way down”, which is actually referenced within the book. In it, the phrase is used in a sort of parable about a woman in a college lecture to argue a professor that the Earth is on the back of a giant turtle, which is standing on another turtle, which is standing on another turtle, all the way down. Hence, the metaphor. And, though it might not necessarily be the meaning intended to be drawn from this particular inclusion, what I took from it was this: it is completely okay to be wrong about the world. You do not have to have everything all figured out, there’s no pressure to be right. And that, in and of itself is beyond reassuring for someone with my spiral problem.

If you struggle with any thought disorder, diagnosed and concrete, or unexplained and vague, I suggest checking out this book. It’s no substitute for mental help, but it may help you, at the very least, be a little more grounded for a few pages. Until next time. 🙂

Sincerely, someone learning to ride the upward spiral.