Simone and Her Books

books, reviews, and recommendations

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

recent posts

  • The 2016 Bookish End of Year Wrap Up

    giphy

    Hey folks! I’m sorry I haven’t been around for a while. I’ve been in some terrible reading slump where I wasn’t enjoying what I was reading and boycotting writing blog posts about it. Also, there was that big holiday that happened that kept me away from the computer.

    No, honestly I’ve been reading a great book and any time outside of reading that book is wasted time. I’m just a reading machine.

    Anyway, it’s been another amazing year of reads. I’m obviously going to list all the books I’ve read this year, but I do want to highlight some of my favorites. I’m not a huge fan of saying a book was good or bad because liking something is entirely subjective. Instead, I’m going to just point them out. Perhaps you’ll like them, but perhaps you won’t. Either way, reading will always get you #woke.

    Also because I’m a data nerd, I’ve decided to put down some stats I’ve gathered from my reads:

    • # of books read this year: 37 (not as impressive as last year, but I’m OK with that)
    • # of books about POC: 5/37 or 14% (not bad, but I can do better)
    • # of books written by women: 35/36 or 97% of the books I’ve read this year (holy cow!)
    • Most read author of the year: Leigh Bardugo
    • Favorite books of the year:
      • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
      • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
      • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
      • It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
    • Author I fell in love with: R.S. Grey!

    Here’s my book list. For some reason I feel like I haven’t read a lot of books this year, but in hindsight I’ve read a ton of books:

     

     

  • How to manage emotionally triggering books

    5792188

    Is it weird when I call a book “emotionally triggering,” I’m talking about the passive of time in the book rather than anything else?

    I can deal with my fair share of self-harm, sexual abuse, and even suicide. When a book writes about them (and they do it well), I find it most fascinating and continue to read instead of depressing and want to put the book down.

    However, you mention the passive of time and getting older and being on your deathbed and I’m an emotional wreck.

    I’m currently reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and if you haven’t already heard of this book it’s an emotional time bomb. Each section of the book brings forth something else that will break you down, make you cry, or leave you in the dark of your bedroom with a full blown anxiety attack. Almost every review (despite its star rating) has said “THIS BOOK IS DEPRESSING AS FUCK. HEED CAUTION.” Who would ever want to read a book like that?

    But people do and they all fall prey to its emotional triggers and depression. Every time someone mentions how old they are and how their bodies and deteriorating and culling up dead people, then I’m in the dark having an anxiety attack. It’s got something for everyone!

    tumblr_lznlek5zyl1qdes1mo1_500

    For the most part, if a book is emotionally triggering for me (and many are. How do you write an adult book that doesn’t talk about existential crisis?) I will put it down. If it’s not worth my time reading or if the book straight up sucks the I won’t do it. I’ll just put it down, remove it from my Goodreads, and not mention it again. I won’t write a review. I won’t talk about it with friends. If a book is emotionally triggering for me, it might not be for anyone else so I don’t bring up my opinions on it because I would rather someone read it for themselves.

    22822858However, this book is good. The writing is beautiful albeit a little heavy on the descriptors and unnecessary comments. And yes, emotionally triggering. So I’m stuck at this crossroads where I need to decide if I want to continue reading the book despite its emotional triggers, or if I should put the book down and go the route that I’m used to.

    And I’ve decided that I’m going to continue reading it. But how do I manage the emotional triggers? How do I get passed them and still enjoy the book. I’ve basically put together a list of ways I can manage this emotion and continue on. I hope you enjoy it!

     

    1. It’s just a book. If you’re a big fantasy book reader always wanting to ship your OTP and bust out the knives and guns to defeat the bad guy, then you might be one of those Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole falling people who have pretty bad book hangovers. You get lost in the book. You find yourself traipsing along through a story as if you’re standing beside the main character. What they feel, you feel. It’s a great feeling and one of the ones that really makes me love reading. However, you need to draw a line when it comes to the emotionally difficult stuff. If you find yourself trapped in the abuse of a character or tripping down a dark path, you have to remember that it’s just a book. It’s fiction. It’s a fantasy. It’s something that someone made up in their brain, put to words, and got some sadistic publisher to publish. It’s just a book and reality is waiting outside your bedroom door and reality isn’t as bad as the book you’re reading.

    giphy2

    2. Take breaks. It’s so crucial that when you’re reading a book that is emotionally triggering and an amazing read is to take breaks. Take 5 minutes. Take an hour. Set a timer on your phone. If you’ve got one of those smart watches or a Fitbit, then set it to tickle you every hour and take a walk. Sometimes the cause for the emotion draining is the fact that you’ve spent too much time stuck in the book’s story and you need to pull yourself out. Forcing yourself to take a break while you read will refocus your brain to the reality of things. It’s a sunny day. There’s a dog sleeping at your feet. There’s a cat swatting at your water glass. If you take a break and look around or walk around, your brain will naturally pull itself out of the emotionally draining and give you the energy you need to continue reading.

    3. Keep distractions close by. This kind of goes along with taking breaks. If you’re like me and you think about books long after you’ve finished reading them, then you need to  refocus your brain on something else. I don’t want to say “distract” yourself because that implies almost a bandage to the wound rather than a fix. However, if you’re able to refocus your brain on another activity then you’re not distracting yourself from the inevitable continuation of reading, but taking your mind completely off the book and doing something else for a while. It’s a method used for people with have obsessive thoughts (like me). Don’t “distract” yourself, but refocus your brain to do something else other than thinking about the book. I like Candy Crush personally as a way to stimulate my brain and refocus.

    4. Learn to know when to let go. The final step is basically pulling the ripcord. While you may try to be as strong as you can be when reading an emotionally triggering book, sometimes the themes and the story are just too much. In this case, you need to let the book go. I’ve come across so many books where I thought it was enjoyable but then feel emotionally triggered by one little theme that runs through the entirety of the book that I had to let it go. It’s tough for us book readers especially since we’re all about reading what’s new and interesting and possible award winners. I feel a little bit of pressure to read and enjoy some very popular books because everyone else is reading them. Granted this is all in my head and I can easily turn it off, but it’s an insecurity of mine. But knowing when to let a book go or stop reading when you’re feeling emotionally triggered is like learning that what you’re going through isn’t the definer of your being. It’s like CBT to know when enough is enough. You have control and it’s as easy as closing the book.

    tumblr_nut82zkljk1uefxi4o1_500

  • The Kardashians and the imagination

    giphy1

    Ok, I know that’s not a bookish topic but just hear me out.

    Over Thanksgiving, my family and I got into a conversation about reality TV. As we were rattling off the shows that we loved, I told them my guilty truth. I love Keeping up with The Kardashians.

    My cousin who isn’t a big fan of most popular things asked me why I loved it. “I’m really curious! A lot of people like that show and I don’t get why.”

    I’ve gotten this question pretty often, but it wasn’t until Thanksgiving that I really thought about it. If you haven’t seen KUWTK, it’s a reality TV show based on the sordid Kardashians and their life. I mean, hopefully you haven’t been living under a rock for the last 10-11 years as the show’s been airing.

    It’s kind of funny when I think about the people I know that love the show. Every single person I know that loves the show is a strong, independent, and extremely intelligent woman. Women you wouldn’t expect to see watching the show are sitting alone on a Sunday night watching whether or not Rob will delete all the photos from his Instagram account. How is it that all these women, all these strong women, are so in love with the Kardashians? It’s actually a good question and I honestly don’t know.

    But I got to thinking about it. What is it about the show that makes me enjoy it? I can’t speak for everyone, but I think as a woman who reads a lot and spends her time mulling over my existence and struggling with depression and anxiety and possibly OCD it’s kind of fun to watch the show knowing that there are people and reality. I spend so much time in my own head that when I watch TV, I’d rather watch a bunch of overprivileged girls talk about how to raise their daughters to be strong women. It’s like taking a break from the crazy going up in there and seeing how the other side lives.

    There’s a strange attraction to celebrity. While the Kardashians aren’t well known artists or musicians, they’re somehow rich and famous. And creating a show where we can see what rich and famous looks like is genius. You’ve basically put the most average and mundane of human beings into the living room of the 1% and seeing that kind of life will either make you completely distraught by their extravagance or infuriated.

    However the honest-to-God truth of it is that I don’t care what you all think. I love watching the sordid lives of the Kardashians play out on television. It makes me laugh.

     

  • The Wangs vs. The World by Jade Chang – Book Review

    screen-shot-2016-12-09-at-12-57-18-pm

    I think the last time I read a book by an Asian woman it was Amy Tan. When you’re growing up in the 90s in America, there’s not a lot of stories that feature Asian characters. All I had was The Joy Luck Club and that was pretty much it.

    Nowadays, you can read so many stories of so many people and feel that sense of connection you need when you’re a young minority growing up in America. I think The Wangs vs. The World could be that kind of book; a benchmark for younger people to remember where they’re from, who they are, and most importantly how their families arrived here.

    28114515 Synopsis (from Goodreads.com) – Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he’s just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family’s ancestral lands—and his pride.

    Charles pulls Andrew, his aspiring comedian son, and Grace, his style-obsessed daughter, out of schools he can no longer afford. Together with their stepmother, Barbra, they embark on a cross-country road trip from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the upstate New York hideout of the eldest daughter, disgraced art world it-girl Saina. But with his son waylaid by a temptress in New Orleans, his wife ready to defect for a set of 1,000-thread-count sheets, and an epic smash-up in North Carolina, Charles may have to choose between the old world and the new, between keeping his family intact and finally fulfilling his dream of starting anew in China.

    Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America—and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.

    Rating: 3.5/5 stars

    My thoughts – I struggled a little bit with deciding on a rating for this book. On some levels, this book really didn’t capture me as well as I thought it would. On another level, it was amazing and relatable as a 2nd generation-er in America.

    As  I mentioned before that this could possibly be the kind of book that new generations growing up in America would want to read. However, it’s not every author’s intention to write a book to hit one minority in this country. The story is also relatable to anyone who’s ever had family strife.

    I was lucky enough to be in a family that’s worked hard to build their fortune and have a couple of finer things . It’s always nice to live in comfort and my parents worked hard to give that to us. However, losing your entire fortune could happen to anyone. A dad so determined to piece their family back together can definitely happen to anyone. Disconnected siblings that find solace in each other one day will always happen over and over again.

    This family isn’t just about being Asian American, but also about the struggle of life. While not everyone dad is off to another country to claim some land he inherited as a kid, but every family can relate with the strain and turmoil it takes on to stay together. And especially so when you’re not from around here.

  • December 2016 TBR – #readthemargin

    img_0764

    Recently, a fellow book blogger going by the name of @ladybookmad created a new hashtag called #readthemargin for the month of December.

    What’s the point of the tag? Well, because there’s a want and need to read more diverse books. As an Asian American woman, I want to educate my fellow readers on the different cultures and backgrounds . Also, it feels good to relate to the people and places I read about.

    So, I’ve dedicated my December TBR not only to reading authors on the margins of society, but also to read a little bit of the people that make up a huge part of my being. I hope you’re reading the margin, or at least taking some time to read.

    The Wangs vs. The World by Jade Chang

    28114515

    Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he’s just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family’s ancestral lands—and his pride.

    Charles pulls Andrew, his aspiring comedian son, and Grace, his style-obsessed daughter, out of schools he can no longer afford. Together with their stepmother, Barbra, they embark on a cross-country road trip from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the upstate New York hideout of the eldest daughter, disgraced art world it-girl Saina. But with his son waylaid by a temptress in New Orleans, his wife ready to defect for a set of 1,000-thread-count sheets, and an epic smash-up in North Carolina, Charles may have to choose between the old world and the new, between keeping his family intact and finally fulfilling his dream of starting anew in China.

    Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America—and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.

     

    Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

    18373213When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor. 
     
    On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.

     

    Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

    23398763“Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, drama, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

     

    A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

    22822858When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever. 

     

  • How I failed NaNoWriMo

    giphy

    There are no excuses.

    There are no excuses at all.

    But I failed regardless.

    I knew going into NaNoWriMo this year that my efforts in writing a novel would be fruitless. I assumed I’d make some good headway, but definitely no where near the end of the story. Sadly, I ended this month with the same amount of words I had when I started. 5000 words.

    While I tried to convince myself that this is fine, I can’t still help but to feel a sense of failure. Failure in not pursuing my dreams. Failure to allow myself to be happy with the progress I made. Failure to give myself time to actually write. Failure to let my job be the main rotating point in my life at all times.

    Maybe my life is much busier than I assumed it was, but I couldn’t for the life of me sit down and finish the rest of it. I’m honestly having difficulty with writing this post.

    If I could grasp at any ideas of what may have happened, I think that I ended up at a roadblock and couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. The ultimate plot line of the book was supposed to be a romantic one, but I slowly found myself tying in commentary on diversity. While I do want my book to be diverse (me being a diverse human), I wanted it to be more about the decisions we make when we’re young and how ultimately those decisions shape our lives.

    When I saw my fingers fly across the screen and the story starting to change, something in me took a step back. I couldn’t write this. This wasn’t my story. This is going in a different direction and I wasn’t prepared.

    And somehow that road block put me on a writer’s block because I didn’t know how to escape it. I told myself that I would just follow the story, continue moving and flowing and dealing with the repercussions later, but maybe my tired ass old person brain just said no.

    I know it’ll take me a few days to recover from not being able to complete the task, but something that I won’t forget and will not let myself forget is that there’s a story waiting to be told. It may take me a little bit longer than 30 days to write it, but I know it’ll happen and I’ll know that all my fruits won’t be for any less.

     

  • November 2016 Book Wrap Up

    I knew this month was going to be pretty light on the reads, but I didn’t think it would be this light.

    I’ve been blaming the weather for everything lately, so I’m going to call weather for this one too. I read only two books. TWO.

    It’s always during this time of year when I get slower and slower to read books. It picks up again when the new year begins, but I’m much more interested in hanging out with friends and family during the holidays than isolating myself with my books.

    I remember one time an aunt of mine decided to read at the table during a family meal and my grandma chewed her out for it afterwards. I have two things to say to that:

    1. More power to you. If you can pull off reading and eating at a table filled with your other family members, kudos.
    2. I wish it was me. The thought of my 90-year-old grandma yelling at me for being rude is probably the worst punishment you can receive in life. It’s like being waterboarded, but with guilt and senility.

    But I’m not going to be that person. Nope. I guess for me, two books is all I can handle. Anyway, here’s my books:

    28686840Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven – Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

    Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

    Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

    31823218A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey – When her mother’s incessant matchmaking hits an all-time high, Georgie Archibald does what any sensible woman would do: she flees the country.

    Seeking refuge in the picturesque seaside village of Vernazza, Italy, Georgie’s only plan is to lie low, gorge herself on gelato, and let the wine and waves wash her troubles away… that is until she wakes up in a bed that belongs to the most romantic-looking man she’s ever seen.

    Gianluca.

    After going out of his way to rescue her, the former London financier turned mysterious recluse makes it clear that despite acting as her white knight, he has no plans to co-star in her fairytale.

    But Georgie isn’t asking for his heart—she’s merely intrigued.

    After all, Gianluca isn’t just gorgeous—tall and tan from days spent in the sun—his touch sets her world on fire. With him, Georgie experiences the most intoxicating passion she’s ever known, and it only takes a few steamy nights for her to realize that sometimes running away from trouble is the best way to find it.

     

  • My thoughts on the Gilmore Girls revival

    d459373009a871b5a9dcf75a3fd3c77c
    Yes I’m using this same pic again.

    A few months back, I decided to re-watch all of Gilmore Girls. It was right around the time they announced they’d be reviving the show. I was ecstatic, but I didn’t remember much of the show I grew up on.

    When I re-watched the show, I noticed that I felt less akin to Rory and more akin to Lorelai. Perhaps it was the years that have passed, but I didn’t care about the trappings of a 14-year-old who got to go to the best schools and have some pretty serious relationships.

    No, I felt the life Lorelai lived and the reasoning was simple: I’m 31 years old and I have bigger things to worry about than what college I’m going to get into. It was revelational and it was different. I went into watching the revival with that same mentality.

    Yes, it was different and yes I’ve read what people have said online about it. Everyone in the book universe and Gilmore Girls universe have been waiting for this new season to arrive and I couldn’t help but to be a part of those masses and that sentiment.

    I geared myself for the time I’d spend on it. I poured a big hot mug of mulled cider, neatly arranged my knitting to work on while watching the show, and even made myself a stack of gluten-free/dairy-free waffles with tons of maple syrup because hey, it’s junk food. I was that optimistic.

    I needed to know how Rory’s life panned out. Is she a famous journalist? Was she living in some swank apartment on the LES with her artist/musician/actor boyfriend who happened to have minored in comparative literature in college? Most importantly, is she living the life I expected for myself and now I’ll have to vicariously live through her?

    The truth is (and if you haven’t seen the show yet, avert your eyes) no. She’s not a famous journalist (some fame, but not a lot) and she doesn’t have the swank apartment on the LES with her dramatic arts boyfriend who looks good with a shirt off. She’s actually burned out to a point where she’s decided she will just live everywhere. Where she’s getting offers to go back to school and teach (those who can’t do…).

    lead_large

    Suddenly, it hit me, I was Rory. I’m the 31-year-old person who dreamed of being a famous writer and journalist only to be disenchanted by the entire journalism world and ending up finding something else to do. Granted, I don’t have as interesting a life as Rory Gilmore, but I found a way to pivot and do something semi-OK while writing and reading books on the side.

    I found myself changing with every iteration of the show I’ve seen. Sometimes I felt for Rory while other times it was for Lorelai. In fact, my favorite character from this new season was Emily! Out of everyone, I liked Emily the best and I don’t think I’d ever appreciated her if it wasn’t for this show. I mean, she wore jeans for an episode. JEANS!

     

    I’ve been reading the online reviews for this show and a lot of people are not happy with the way it turned out. Where were the books? Where was the quirk? Why in the hell would Lorelai volunteer to hike the Pacific Coast Trail?

    Yes, it’s not the show I recalled when I was a kid, but it wasn’t the show it was when I watched it as an adult. I know people were hoping for some big show stopper like Fuller House where you felt like you were right back in that little house or driving around Stars Hollow, but one thing needs to be understood; people change.

    People are constantly reinventing themselves and surging forward with a different tune. Amy Sherman-Palladino did just that. She made the Gilmores real people with real feelings and real hopes and dreams and real problems. I think if you were expecting the same old book-loving Rory, then this story wouldn’t have been believable.

    To see Rory struggle the way she did, to find herself amongst her friends who have all moved forward and beyond, it was like seeing me and feeling the stagnation I sometimes feel when thinking about my life. Perhaps others are more well-adjusted, but for me, well, I don’t see myself writing a memoir anytime soon but I’m doing something I love.

    636034668832327424-836190849_20

     

  • Holding Up the Universe, bullies, and allies

    I mentioned in my review of Holding Up the Universe that I would make some time to write about one of the major themes of the book; bullying. I didn’t want to bring it up in the review because I want to keep those thoughts and these thoughts separate. Also, I could probably write forever about bullies and allies.

    With the recent elections and living in New York, the fight against bullying has heightened to a level I’ve never seen before. Constant discussion chatters on about being an ally and a friend to those who may be persecuted by the alt-right. It’s been a tough few weeks and there’s no knowing what the next four years will bring. We all need to be there for each other and weed out the bullies of our world and snuff them out (metaphorically, of course).

    A friend of mine recently went out to drinks with a few of her coworkers saying farewell to someone who was leaving. At the party, a conversation about the bubble we all live in ensued. My friend put in her two cents on the topic only to be met with a hand in her face and “it’d be better if you weren’t a part of this conversation.”

    As you can see, bullying doesn’t necessarily mean a physical blow. It sometimes can be as cruel as the words shaped by your mouth.

    Stunned, my friend walked away from the conversation only to come back a few minutes later when she had her bearings. She simply laid out her feelings and how the comment and the gesture made her feel. She was being real with this person and he defended himself saying that this was just something he, his wife, and daughter do to each other. Sometimes people just get too comfortable with the people around them even if they don’t know them very well.

    The shocking part was the people around her. She expressed how she felt like she was by herself, alone. She was surrounded by people who call her “friend,” but no one stood up for her or mentioned how rude the gesture was. Just shrugged it off as something silly.

    It doesn’t take much to make someone feel less isolated in a situation. All you have to do is speak up.

    I’ve been bullied a lot when I was a kid. I’ve been called freak, stoner, loser, chink, gook, and dike (I’m not a lesbian, but apparently I dressed like one? Please explain how one dresses like a dike). What is it about kids who seem to dole out the punishments for being different a lot? I couldn’t wait to get out of the little suburban town I grew up in and moved to New York, where the entire city understands who I am and can nurture me.

    Luckily for me, I had a lot of friends who understood and provided a shelter and safety I needed from the cruelty of young people. They made me feel like I belonged and they showed me that you don’t need to be popular to feel wanted. Even when the president of Student Council was calling us freaks out loud, I didn’t feel the blow because we were in this together. It’s what got me through high school. And that’s what we need to remember otherwise we’ll see much more kids in the news.

    I don’t want to get political because this is a book blog, but one thing that needs to be said is that we all need to be allies. Friend or foe, we need to be looking out for each other. If there’s a bully and someone needs help, we can help them. I’m not asking that you puff out your chest and show them who’s boss, but I’m saying that if someone needs our help and we’re able-bodied human beings we should help them.

    My friend could have used someone who could have simply said that what he did wasn’t cool. Libby could have used someone against her bullies and maybe she wouldn’t feel like she’s in this world all alone. Every person who witnesses someone being messed around with can help that person out. We just need to be alert.

  • Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven – Book Review

    img_0058

    I love Jennifer Niven and when I heard she’s publishing another book, I immediately picked it up. Sadly (and a lot of other book people understand this), I’ve got a TBR pile on the verge of burying me in books sitting around waiting to be read. While it took me a few months to finally get to this book, I’m so glad I finally got to read this.

    28686840Synopsis (from Goodreads.com) – Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for every possibility life has to offer. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

    Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.

    Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

    Rating: 4/5 stars

    My thoughts – I’ve actually got a lot of thoughts about this book. To give you a brief explanation of this book, it’s about the pressures of fitting in high school and the problem we have with bullying. Two people, Libby and Jack, are both thrown into the high school experience in different ways. While Libby is verbally abused because of her weight, Jack hides himself and his disability to avoid the kind of ridicule Libby receives. Jack is considered “popular” while Libby is known for being pulled out of her own house by a crane.

    The writing itself is very convincing. I’m always skeptic about writers writing from the opposite sex (male writing a female character’s point of view and vice versa), but Niven did an excellent job creating a voice for both Jack and Libby.

    I think the only reason why I didn’t give the book a full 5/5 stars is because at some points I wasn’t really sure why Niven decided to go the way she did. Also, there’s some messing around with mental health. Libby “lets herself go” because she’s grieving her mother’s death. Jack has a lot of anger and gets into fights because he found out his father is cheating on his mother as well as hiding the fact he has prosopagnosia. Niven doesn’t do enough to dive into those specific areas and deals more with the bullying and finding oneself when the rest of the world feels like they’re against you. I think it would have made an interesting story to also include some therapy sessions to talk through the anger or sadness. However, not my book so I can’t judge hah.

    I do want to get into the bullying aspects, but I feel like it could make up a blog post on its own. I have a lot of feelings about bullying mostly because I’m a person that faced it when I was in high school. While most people get out of high school free from those bullies, there are some people who are really affected by their high school years. Jack and Libby are two examples of people who were able to rise up against their bullies and find themselves. Not everyone is that lucky and I wonder if there was a possible way to show that without taking away from the story.

    Either way, if you’re a high school student dealing with questions of your own existence or faced with bullying at school, I think this would be a good book to help you overcome it or help you feel like you are wanted.