Oblivion by Sasha Dawn

Title: Oblivion
Author: Sasha Dawn
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions: I'm not usually a fan of full face covers, but I like this one.  The eyes are very detailed and the writing keeps your eye moving across the cover.  I am not, however, a big fan of the title font.
The blurb sounds really interesting and I am excited to read about someone who suffers from graphomania.  I have heard of this condition before and I really hope the author gets her facts right.  I do wish they had left the whole "new guy at school" part off, I don't see any reason for this story to be wrapped up in a romance.

The Gist:  Calliope Knowles suffers from Graphomania - a compulsion to write.  Words pop into her head and torment her until she is able to get them out.  The disorder started the night her father, a local minister, disappeared with a young girl from the parish.  Callie was found in her old apartment, scrawling I KILLED HIM across the bathroom walls.  Since that day, she has no memory of what happened, but as she refuses to take her medication and slips deeper and deeper into the grip of the words that haunt her, they begin to form a pattern.  These clues lead her on a search that uncovers more family secrets than she ever thought possible.

Review: 

I skipped over this book when I was in the middle of a reading slump and decided to wait to review it until I was more likely to enjoy ANYTHING that I was reading.  I'm very glad I did because Oblivion got off to a pretty slow start and and needed some patience.  There was something about the writing style that didn't quite grab me.  There was a distinct lack of transition between Callie's narrative and her Graphomania episodes and hallucinations/memories.  There was a great deal of description every time one of these hit (which was A LOT) and it really started to slow down the plot.  Callie spent a ridiculous amount of time searching for a pen, which drove me insane.  Every time her graphomania hi, she went frantic looking for a pen and notebook and I kept questioning why someone who suffers from this disorder doesn't have a pen in every pocket.  The plot was also slowed by the whole romance element.  Callie has a boyfriend, but naturally starts to fall for another guy who, unfortunatly, is the current interest of her foster sister - which leaves him off limits.  This led to a lot of pages dedicated to teen angst when all I was interested in was what actually happened to Callie and if she killed her father.  Eventually, I started to skim until I got to the halfway mark and things got interesting.

The mystery was less of a whodunit, and more of a whatexactlydidtheydo.  There were some decent surprises along the way.  I did feel like this book could have been more effective as a mystery if they cut some of the boyfriend drama and gotten rid of some of the repetition and made the book shorter.  By the time the main mystery had been resolved, it felt like the story was done, but there was a great deal of time spent wrapping up some of the loose ends, which left me a little bored. 

Callie was a decent main character, though she had more a tendency to follow along with other people's plans rather than to take charge of her own life.  When she did make her own decisions, they usually left her squatting in an unoccupied apartment with no real plan for the future.  The most interesting part about her was the graphomania.  I would love to know how accurate a portrayal this was and if Callie is representative of what people living with this issue actually go through.  I would also like to know how someone who has experienced this felt about John referring to it as a gift.  None of the other characters were particularly compelling, except Callie's mother, who is barely featured.

Oblivion didn't work for me right away, but the last 1/4 or so picked up and I enjoyed the mystery plot. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age:15 and up
Sex: Sex between teens
Violence: Physical Child Abuse, Sexual Child Abuse, Knifeplay, 
Inappropriate Language: Piss, Bitch, Fuck, Whore, Shit, Slut
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Marijuana Use

Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Eleanor & Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is very cute.  I love the use of the headphone cords to make the '&' symbol and the colors are muted but work well together.  Not sure about the all lower case letters, perhaps an homage to how Eleanor writes?  The English teacher in me cringes nonetheless. 

The Gist: On Eleanor's first day of school she immediately stands out from the crowd with her bright red hair and strange clothing.  The bus is a battlefield with clearly drawn lines but a cute Asian boy named Park begrudgingly makes room in his seat.  Over the course of the next few weeks they tentatively explore each others taste in comic books and music.  As they draw closer and closer together, Park begins to realize that Eleanor's standoffish demeanor has a lot to do with a rotten home life and some serious insecurities. 

Review: Eleanor & Park is a sweet love story with some genuine feeling, real problems and the typical teenage angst.  The main story was about how the two characters, admitted misfits among their peers, found one another through comic books and music and fell in love.  But the story in which I was more interested was the tragic home-life that Eleanor endured.  Having been sent away once by her abusive step-father and frightened mother, Eleanor is terrified that she will be thrown out again.  Where she once stood up for her mother and tried to end the abuse, she now huddles with her brothers and sister in their bedroom, trying to stay quiet as church mice.  Rowell did an excellent job of portraying the sense of helplessness that a teenager can feel when stuck in an abusive household as well as the burden that younger siblings can pose on someone not ready to take on that role.  I was more than a little disappointed that the adults in Eleanor's life clearly knew of her situation and did nothing, but I can see how this too is based in an all too frequent reality.

The love story, on the other hand, was a little more common.  I did enjoy that Eleanor and Park didn't even like each other right away, no insta-love here!  They fell for each other more slowly than is typical of contemporary fiction and I enjoyed watching as they made small sweet gestures towards one another.  Some of the passages became a little difficult to get through, particularly when Eleanor doubts and demeans herself.  Occasionally, this comes off in much the same manner as a teenager who posts a clearly flattering picture of herself on Facebook with the caption "I'm so ugly!" in a transparent ploy for attention.  The relationship also becomes all-encompassing at a remarkable rate.  Very quickly after they meet, Park starts to cancel plans with friends and remarks that "He wasn't going anywhere without Eleanor."  I never enjoy reading about teens in this type of relationship - it just doesn't seem healthy.  

The characters are interesting, despite the almost constant self-deprecation.  Eleanor clearly stands out from the crowd but does little or nothing to change this fact.  There are sparks there that make me believe that in a different household, she could be a strong and confident individual.  Park also doesn't see his own good qualities and the pair rely on each other as a reflection of their own self-worth.  They make connections through comic books and music, dress differently from their peers and shun the usual small town entertainment.  Eleanor occasionally gets a witty line or two but the real character who made me smile was Park's mother.  She doesn't like Eleanor at first, and makes no secret of it, but eventually warms when she learns of the home situation.  It is clear that she loves her son and want's what is best for him.  Her dialogue is written in broken English and her command over her boys and her husband made for a character that I truly wish had gotten some more page time.

My one concern with Eleanor & Park is the frequent and varied use of inappropriate language.  I understand the desire to use swear words in a YA novel to give it an authentic feel, but I think here there was a bit of overkill.  Nearly every second page contains a swear word and some of those chosen are quite vulgar.  I am not sure that I could, in good conscience, recommend a book with the four letter C word to any of my students.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing, Light Petting
Violence: Spousal Abuse, Neglect
Inappropriate Language: Shit, Piss, Fuck, Dick, Bastard, Jesus, Slut, Bitch, Cum, Fag, Cunt
Substance Use/Abuse: Alcohol Abuse, Smoking, Underage drinking, Marijuana Use

ARC Book Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Title: If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Rating: 5/5

Cover Impressions: The cover is not particularly attractive and I don't feel it will stand out on a shelf.  This is unfortunate, because the story that is held within it's pages would never blend in and deserves to be highlighted appropriately.

The Gist: As a child, Carey was spirited away by her meth addicted mother to a camper in the woods.  Suffering abuse, mal-nutrition and the ever-aching cold, she manages to carve out an existance for herself and her sister, Jenessa.  When two strangers enter the woods and claim that their mother has left them for good, the two girls are brought back to society and must learn a whole new way of life.  As the girls attempt to put the past behind them, Carey finds she cannot escape not only what was done to her, but the horrific things that she has done.

Review: 

In If You Find Me, we are introduced to Carey and Janessa.  Carey has spent most of her life attempting to survive in the most awful of circumstances and raising Janessa in the absence of their mother.  Carey has one of the most incredible voices that I have encountered in quite a while.  As the narrator, Carey's speech patterns are authentic, using colloquialisms and speech patterns, without becoming gimmicky and distracting.  Her sister also plays a very important role in the narrative.  Neglected and suffering from selective mute-ism, Janessa still manages to steal the hearts of everyone that she encounters - readers included.  Though, I must admit, I found it a little hard to believe that a child born and raised in the woods would not find this new world at least a little overwhelming.  Rounding out the cast are Carey's father, his wife, Melissa and her daughter, Delaney.  The relationships of the entire family are well written and realistic.  Carey and Delaney certainly do not get along right away and there are some moments where I wanted to strangle the spoiled princess, but, eventually, we do get a glimpse of the situation through Delaney's eyes and are able to see how Carey's kidnapping has impacted the lives of all of those left behind. 

Carey and Janessa's story is a heartbreaking one that is often difficult to read.  Having had a child, I find these books hit me much harder now than they ever did before.  They also remind me to think about the secret struggles that my own students might be dealing with at home.  The book begins with the girls "rescue" and their history is only revealed through references and flashbacks.  I found this style very effective as it starkly compares the struggles of Carey's new life (trying to fit it, bullying and homesickness) with those from her old life.  I was very glad that the author chose to portray Carey's longing for the woods and her desire to run back there as a result of the human condition to find beauty in almost any situation and the fact that it was the only home Carey had known for such a long period of her life.  

If You Find Me is not an easy read, but it is one worth the effort.  If you are considering it for a younger audience, please take note below - this novel contains some disturbing descriptions of child abuse and rape and needs to be read with a certain level of maturity. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 16 and up
Gender: Both
Sex: Kissing, Sex between teenagers
Violence: Child Abuse (physical, emotional and sexual), Neglect, Kidnapping, Rape, Gunplay.
Inappropriate Language: Ass, Shit. Bitch
Substance Use/Abuse: Meth use, Underage Drinking, Smoking