The Program

A book that made you cry.

Wow, this book was something else.
When teenage suicide becomes so prevalent it is seen as an epidemic, The Program is developed to watch teens, flag them when they seem depressed, and take them in for treatment. The treatment is to erase the memories The Program deems dangerous to the teenager, things that may have led to their depression, people that may have made them sick. Sloane has front seat tickets to the illness infecting youths when her brother kills himself, her best friend is flagged and taken for six weeks only to return with no memory of Sloane or even her boyfriend, Miller, who is next to be infected. When James, Sloane's boyfriend, her brother's best friend, is flagged, Sloane begins falling as well and finds herself in The Program against her will.
Underneath the pain of not being able to show any emotion in fear of being perceived as ill, the characters in this world are trying to not only play at being seen as happy, but maybe even trying for a few moments of actual happiness. And Suzanne does an incredible job at capturing it all with characters just as jaded and complex as the youths of today. Her writing invoked every emotion on the scale as she told a painful love story through the eyes of a trouble teen. I found myself unable to put down the book, choosing to wear sunglasses as I read in public to hide the tears as James and Sloane, both with no idea who the other is, try to fight their way through the after effects of The Program side by side with very little memory of their past.
Suzanne also does an amazing job of showing the parents in this novel. When I was suffering through my first bouts of depression I remember my father's reluctance to even acknowledge a problem. Later when it became too hard to ignore, I listened to him argue for getting me help in whatever way he could and I worried what that meant for me, who was then trying to hold it together not only for myself but a dear friend of mine. We helped each other through the worst of it together and I could not even begin to imagine loosing her to something like The Program, erasing memories of me because I may have made her ill. Like Sloane I clung to my small circle of companions to help get us all through the toughest years. I can fully sympathize with Sloane as she looses her grip on her emotions while too many eyes waited for her to misstep.
This book was so close to home for me, and it made my heart ache at every turn as Sloane made her way through it all. Suzanne's wonderful writing made it amazing, made it a fantastic read that I didn't want to put down late into the night. The next book is already sitting on my shelf waiting to be picked up! And I recommend everyone give these books a chance!

Cut

A book with a one-word title.

I saw this book when I was younger, when I was struggling to come to terms with my own depression. I was visiting the notion of self-harm and the title caught my attention, and I steered clear. I think one of my sisters picked it up and read it, I never asked. This year I am writing a book in which the main character self harms for NaNoWriMo. I thought I would get my hands on some titles that deal with the same issues and found this one in a thrift store. I picked it up a few months back and have only now gotten myself to pick it up and get through it.

I am both angry that I took so long to read this one, and astonished by how much this short novel impacted me. Let me begin by saying that yes, the main character Callie cuts herself, but no, she has no idea what compels her to do it. There are only two instances in the book when she does any actual cutting, but I recommend people that can be triggered by such events approach this book with caution. Callie is the narrator of the story, so we see it all from her point of view, but she is so confused by why she is doing this to herself that the reader, in the position of therapist for young Callie, is left trying to make their way through her emotional distress with her. That is another aspect of the book that captivated and astounded me, the way Patricia weaves the reader into the story as well.

Patricia spent three years researching and writing this novel, and it shows in her incredible grasp of not only Callie and her struggle with cutting, but some of the other girls in the hospital with her as their stories are revealed through what Callie knows about them.

I recommend everyone give this book a try. Especially those that know people who are self-harming, the reasons may not be as simple and straight forward as one might think. Not everyone can control their emotions or keep themselves together. Patricia does a wonderful job of showing this to the reader.

Dismantling Evan

A book set in high school.

I got to meet Venessa Kimball at the Texas Teen Book Festival and got a moment to talk to her about her books. While I am interested in picking up them all, this one appealed to me at this time because of the subject matter.


Evan is a high school senior when her parents move her from California to Texas to try and give her a new start on life. This decision is spurned by her breakdown while trying to interview a bullying jock for the school newspaper, her one outlet. Even is diagnosed with bipolar, something she will deny to her dying day, and given medicine and encouraged to seek counseling int his new town. While trying to deal with the new stress this diagnoses brings into her house, Evan meets a circle of friends that she desperately wants to be a part of, one that closely protects one Gavin Ferguson, a boy bogged down by so many mental labels Evan wonders how his own brother Brody can keep up with them all, let alone with his brother int he absence of their father.

I must say that Venessa did not disappoint when it came to this story. I think she did a great job at writing high school students in all their drama as they try to make their way through life. Evan is a believable teen, even being a little annoying sometimes, and at times I saw some of myself and my own experiences in her. Most of all I liked how Venessa captured Evan's bouts of depression, insomnia, and almost manic episodes as she deals with her diagnosis and illness. 

This book did a wonderful job of setting up the stage as I work my way into the world of depression, self harm, and teenage angst for my NaNoWriMo novel in November. I am so glad I picked up this book and I look forward to reading her other ones and digging further into her writing style.

Bad Blood

A book written by someone under 30

Not only is Zoe Douglas under 30 years of age, but she is a friend of mine, a former college classmate whom I met in short story writing class! When she asked me to do a quick check of her book and give her a little feedback I may have been way too excited, I just love getting to read something someone I know has written. This book was not a disappointment.

Bad Blood is the story of angels, called kalendes, and demons, known as sinnach, as the the latter group fights to find a way to Earth and the unsuspecting humans living there. The story begins in middle of the war but the beginning of the battle for some new recruits as they struggle not only to fight the enemy but to discover the truth about everything that is going on int heir world as people lie, motives become muddied, and sides become unclear. So much more of the story must soon come as Zoe works to tell her version of events relative to forces people have talked about forever.

I will say this. The story does slow down a bit in some places as Zoe tries to give the reader so much more information than may seem necessary at the time being, but will soon become vital to the story unfolding. If the reader will only hang in just a little longer when this happens, I truly believe it is worth it. This book is something else! I eagerly await the next one to find out the grand tale Zoe is planning on telling us.

Give this book a try, I think Zoe has a new vision of how things are working out beyond our realm and a wonderful way of telling it.

Hollow City

A book with nonhuman characters.

The sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs does not fail to once more weave an incredible tale around discovered pictures that captivate the reader almost as much as the story does. In the first book we are introduced to the band of peculiar children with special talents, and with the beginning of this book the children are fleeing their home in an effort to find others like them to help them and their caretaker Miss Peregrine. That's all I will tell you to avoid spoilers from the first book.

I can however tell you that these books are amazing! Numerous people have told me they have hesitated to read the first book due to the creepy pictures interspersed among the pages. And even I must admit I was among that number at first. But finally picking up the book was the best thing I could have done! Each picture is one that friends of Riggs have found over the years in various places. He went through their collections, found ones that intrigued him, and wrote a story around them. He does this so well that it would seem that the pictures were taken for the story! And there are some weird pictures!

In this book we met a few animal peculiars, which let me check off the list item for nonhuman characters. Well, and of course the story has the terrifying hollowgast, hideous shadow monsters that go unseen to all but those few peculiars like Jacob Portman, the story's protagonist who has been thrown into this previously unheard of world. 

So if you haven't picked up this series, you must! I recommend it for everyone.

A Room With A View

A book that is more than a hundred years old.

A Room With A View was a slightly difficult story to read as it was a little slow going. I greatly enjoyed A Passage To India back in high school even though it was a little slow to start as well, so when I found this one loosing my interest I had to remind myself that I really do like Forester's writing and to just push through. Sure enough I ended up enjoying the ending of the whole thing.

 I am not much for classics, I will be honest, but a hundred years ago is not so hard to relate to the older I get. In fact, I was very astonished to discover that this particular book met that goal on my list. Wow' now I feel old. But I was glad tht it did, because it was a lot easier to read than some of the other older books were that I had considered.

So here is another item off my list for the year and another classic I have always wanted to read. And once more Forester delivered a story that I enjoyed. If you haven't read any of his work, I think this is a good place to start. Let me know if you have read it and what you thought!

Bobby Singer's Guide To Hunting

A book a friend recommended.

David Reed is a script coordinator for the show Supernatural and has even wrote a few of the episodes himself. So when he picked up his pen to write a companion book to the show, telling the story of Bobby Singer a little more in depth, it was an excellent idea! Reed takes a character that has grown in importance throughout the show, one who is greatly loved (and missed) by fans, and gives him a tough case that makes him take a closer look back at his life as he fights loosing his memories to a monster he can't even remember encountering. Through his nostalgia we find out more about the crotchet old hunter than we are allowed since the show is very focused instead on Dean and Sam Winchester. By reliving his memories, Bobby tells the reader about how he started hunting, a story he never felt comfortable with elaborating on in the show since it all started with heartbreak. The reader is also privy to some of the hardest memories in Bobby's catalogue including what exactly happened in Omaha between him and Rufus Turner, and the details of the last time he saw John Winchester and his boys, something that is only hinted at in the series when Dean seeks the old hunter out after years of silence. Underlying all of this is a memory Bobby refuses to let surface, the only thing we are left mostly in the dark about, but maybe for good reason.

As a fan of the show, and admittedly a reader of fan fiction (hush, some of it is really good!) I loved getting the chance to read this addition to the show. It gave the fan in me a little more info about one of my favorite characters that is actually fact based. I mean come on, a show writer wouldn't lead us astray, right? Let's hope, even if it means that now I feel even more heartbreak for the character that meant so much to the Winchester brothers.

So why does it fulfill this particular goal? Well because every week our closest friend gather for dinner, every other time being here at my house. At some time during the night the conversation usually dissolves into talk about the latest episode of one of the shows we all have in common: Supernatural. A couple of weeks ago one of the woman in attendance hands me this book and says "oh my gosh, I couldn't put it down, you have to read it." She said it only took her two days to read it. This is a woman with a full time job and two toddlers. If she flew through it with what little time she has, of course I am going to be interested! So I read it! Loved it! And this week I will be passing it on to another woman in the group so she can love it as we did. That's the great thing about gathering with people I. Your fandom and who like to read, you get to pick up new books! Because while I love the show, I may never have gotten around to picking up this book, or at least no time soon. And I am so glad I got the chance.

So find a friend, ask what they would recommend. You never know when you will find something new to love. And always think of someone else who will like any book you really enjoy, pass on the joy!

Onto the next item on the list!