Tag: amwriting

Books

You don’t have to write diverse books

by Simone2 Comments on You don’t have to write diverse books

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The other night, I had an interesting conversation with a friend. She’s an aspiring writer and doing research on books where the story is written by an Asian author but doesn’t have Asian characters.

We were meeting for drinks because it’s been a while and she mentioned wanting some recommendations. “I want to write a book where the main characters aren’t Asian.”

I wasn’t surprised by her response but I did wonder why. There’s so many books coming out right now discussing the struggle of being a person of color in America and in the world. But she was pretty clear. She didn’t want to write a book for the sake of her race, she wanted to write a book for the sake of telling a good story.

It’s not uncommon that people of color write stories that don’t speak directly to diversity. People write the characters and the stories that inspire them. It doesn’t have to be about race. And perhaps a lot of POC writers feel pigeonholed to write about their experiences; that books need to be all about diversity and how much of a struggle life is.

But not everything in life is a struggle. Sometimes it’s a beautiful moment in time and those stories are just as worthy a read as any other.

And the truth is that sometimes when we highlight diverse stories we end up burying the simple fact that we are all people and we all have lives to live. So why choose to write about diverse themes?

I think it’s because everyone can write about anything. There’s something more intense in a diverse story because it’s bringing up topics that people tend to ignore. We don’t talk about race and how people in this or any country are treated. We know we’re not racist but that’s the extent of our knowledge. It’s not about educating the masses, but sharing the stories that don’t get told.

Our conversation went on and she described how isolating and lonely her childhood was being Asian and growing up in a predominately White town. I knew exactly how she felt and how torn you are between who you are and who you’re around.

I understood exactly where she’s coming from and how rehashing those memories for the sake of a story didn’t feel like the best use of her time. She could be writing anything because anything is possible. I sometimes feel like the themes of my stories need to be about being Asian, but I’m more than my race and I’ve got more to write about than being Asian.

We all live similar enough lives to connect with anyone and a story written by a person of color that isn’t about being that race is recognizably still good writing. Perhaps writing a story where the emphasis is not on being diverse will help readers see that we’re not so different.

We are all writers here. We all have stories to tell and some stories are much more relatable than others. So write your stories and come up with ways to rewrite all the genres. Make the stories your own and don’t feel pressured into writing a diverse story.

Write what you want. People recognize a good story no matter what the subject.

Here’s some authors who were able to reach beyond diversity:

  • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
  • To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
  • The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Book Reviews, Books

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

by Simone2 Comments on Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

I honestly am so happy that a book like this exists. Shortly after being told I had OCD, I tried to search the book world for fiction stories featuring characters with similar traits. I was a little surprised to find out that the world’s exposure to OCD was only As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson and some documentaries of folks with such debilitating compulsions that they rarely leave the house.

My mother told me that when I was in kindergarten class, I would wash my hands after using a single color in finger painting. The teacher thought it was adorable that I would dip my finger in the paint, brush it across the paper, then get up to go wash my hands. Was it because even at that age I didn’t want to blend my colors too much or was there something more insidious going on?

I never liked getting my face painted. I don’t like touching things with my bare hands. I hate bugs of all kinds even butterflies and lady bugs. I can’t stand when strangers touch me. I can’t walk on grass barefoot. I’m the only person who knows how to clean my house.

And I thought these were all quirks. That everyone thinks about the microbial germs crawling across the surface of a subway pole. That everyone knew if you touched a smelly homeless person, you would get whatever disease that they had that made their feet and ankles balloon up. I believed everyone thought about the dust mites that crawled across your skin and carpet.

It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with OCD that I realized these thoughts weren’t thoughts everyone had. This isn’t “normal” and most people think about them briefly and then move on with their life.

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN starts with the sudden disappearance of a local billionaire. In attempts to try and win the reward for more information, Aza and her best friend Daisy start to look for clues that could help them score some big money. After all, it was Aza’s friend, Davis, who’s father disappeared suddenly.

Aza was just your average girl who seemed for the most part just living her life. She went to school. She had a pretty solid family life despite her father’s death. However, what you find out and realize is that her mind is a swirling jungle of thoughts and worse case scenarios and worries that she didn’t need to worry about.

I thought this book was going to be about a group of kids who were looking for a missing billionaire. You’d believe that too if you read the inside cover. I thought this would be The Goonies of the 21st century with a little twist, that the main character would have OCD. I thought this would be some manic version of Sherlock Holmes.

It most definitely wasn’t.

While you’re led to believe this is some rag tag team of teenagers looking for their friend’s dad, TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN is not about that. The story is truly about Aza. The use of the first person point of view in this context lends a hand to shape the story. You read what Aza thinks about in her head. You see her running through her thoughts. You find her battling herself and reminding herself that it’s not real. Her thoughts aren’t real and that her OCD is battling out against her.

I guess the idea of having a story about a billionaire gone missing also lends itself to the power of OCD. One minute you’re trying to find a missing person and have a grand adventure with your friends. The next you’re having an all out anxiety attack and spiraling downward toward oblivion.

For Aza, everything is a battle. Trying to maintain her friendships while her brain tells her to go and do something else. Trying to keep her mother from worrying too much as she picks on a scab that’s been trying to heal. Trying to be in love with a boy she’s known for a long part of her life without freaking out about kissing him.

There were so many examples of how debilitating OCD can be. I loved that John Green gave examples of how the thoughts can be so evasive that you forget you’re in the middle of a conversation with someone. You spend a lot of time pushing to be present and speaking directly with the person in front of you.

It did feel like the whole looking for a billionaire part was an afterthought that was wrapped up in the last ten pages of the book. I wish there was a little bit more there and spread more evenly throughout the book.

While it would have been really cute to see the four kids running around trying to find a missing billionaire and get some answers to the choices he made, I get that this book is to be more about exposure and understanding when it comes to OCD.

For those who do have OCD, you’ve found a friend in a book that knows exactly what you’re going through. Although, I would be careful because there are some triggering thoughts. I needed to step away for an evening even with only a few pages left. The thoughts it triggered in my head were too overpowering for me at times.

And for those who don’t have OCD, you get some idea of how our brains work daily but I would keep in mind that everyone struggles from any mental health issue in different ways. I feel I have a firmer grip on the thoughts my brain tells me, so I’m able to snap back to reality much quicker than Aza. I know that my condition could be so much worse, so I’m grateful that it’s manageable.

I would strongly recommend approaching this with an open mind. This book is good, but I can imagine someone who doesn’t have OCD getting really annoyed by the characters and their mindset. It’s really hard not to want to shake Aza and say “snap out of it,” but this is how it is. You’re doing whatever life thing that you’re normally doing and then, something triggers you and you’re spiraling down.

Books

Banned Books Week: Be Proud to be Banned

by Simone1 Comment on Banned Books Week: Be Proud to be Banned

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Today, I’d like to highlight one of my favorite authors: Toni Morrison.

Toni Morrison’s work to me has been these haunting tales of loneliness, sacrifice, desperation, and turmoil. Set during some of the most difficult times for black Americans, Toni Morrison has this incredible way of making you feel and understand what it must have been like for black and African American people. You’re transported there and you gain more consciousness.

And obviously, her works have been banned or challenged.

I absolutely love banned books week. I think it’s because I’m a perpetual questioner of the rules of engagement. I always have to test things out for myself and go against what the popular thinking is. I blame my mother, who has been subversive my entire life.

But I love banned books week and I love checking out all the books that have now been banned. Can you imagine in 2017 books are still being banned because they have themes like homosexuality, teenage girls getting pregnant, drug abuse, mental illness, and…magic?!

I’ve been going through the list of books and there are so many favorite authors where everything they write is banned or challenged. Toni Morrison happens to be one of them where most of her books have been challenged or banned in some way.

I thought to myself what must authors think to see every single book they’ve written is challenged or banned?

In my mind, I hope it’s a state of pride. I imagine them puffing their chest and standing very tall knowing that they challenge something for people. They make adults uncomfortable. Their books are deemed inappropriate even if they’re written for children. And not just one book. All of their books.

Authors like JK Rowling who’s books were deemed too magical and magic is some form of satanism so that’s bad. John Green’s books are also banned or challenged too. It’s probably all those kids dying of cancer and falling in love in the final days of their lives. Who knows?

It must give them a sense of pride to know their books challenge the way people think.

And if they aren’t proud, they should be. We’re creating a world where what we say can influence what other people think. It’s a massive form of power and while not every book needs to hone that power in, those who have been judged and misunderstood should continue to do what they do.

Keep pushing the envelope and talking about those taboo topics people are so keen on sweeping under the rug. It’s important to the kids in the world and the adults who are interested to know that someone is speaking up.

Be proud of your work! Be proud to be banned or challenging. Continue to challenge the social norms of this country or your country and hopefully we’ll be all proud to say they’re not longer challenged or banned books.

Books

Welcome to Banned Books Week!

by SimoneLeave a Comment on Welcome to Banned Books Week!

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Happy Banned Books Week and it’s going to be a good one.

This year’s theme is “the freedom to read,” which feels oddly relevant given that everyone has been talking about. Censorship is always around us telling us what to do and what to think and how to say things. It’s the faceless folks that tell us that something is too edgy and pushes the envelope. It’s the inability to discern for yourself if something is good or bad for you. It’s the fodder for amazing books that make you think for yourself and that’s a wonderful feeling (as long as you can cope with the anxiety).

On Instagram each day this week, I’ll be posting a book that’s been consistently banned or challenged in the past. While I’ll be highlighting one book, they’re representative of the many books in that genre that undergo scrutiny everyday. I know that the people who make these decisions aren’t doing it to harm young readers. In fact, they would argue that they are protecting them from it.

The choice for children to stay children, but sometimes you have to understand that children grow up. When they grow up without exposure to these banned and challenged books, then they face a world where it isn’t friendly and it isn’t kind and what they think could possibly be more dangerous than helpful.

Of course, I come prepared with an infograph from the American Library Association website on who these big whigs tend to be:

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Freedom should be celebrated. We do it every year in July where we remember our fore fathers who came to this country to free themselves from the censorship and persecution. We can pray to whatever God we want, but we can’t read books? Bit of a double standard.

So let’s celebrate our freedom to read! We’re one of many countries that allow it, but I do want to remind people that that’s not the case for a lot of people and still a concern for us as a country. So let’s ring those bells of freedom and get to reading.

If you’d like to participate in Banned Books Week with me, here’s some ways you can easily join in!

1. Read and share a banned book

While for some people this is easy as pie, for others it might not be that easy. It could be because their families don’t like it when you read these kinds of books or it could be because you don’t know what books are on the banned books list.

If you’d like to read a book that’s been banned or challenged in the past, check out this comprehensive list of books provided by the American Library Association.

The most important part about this one is to share those reads. If you learn anything from the book you choose or if it opens your eyes in ways you didn’t think it would, then share that love! Books aren’t meant to be stuck on a shelf and kept to yourself. They’re like living and breathing animals that need to let go and available for someone else. Don’t let what you’ve learned only stick with you.

2. Donate to ACLU or to ALA

While you may not be a reader, reading is considered one of the many freedoms protected by our first amendment. If you believe that we should have the freedom to read or even the freedom of speech, then donate whatever you can to the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU is doing everything they can to ensure that we, as a people, continue to speak freely, practice religion without any issues, and always always read books that may make you look at your world a little bit differently.

If you’re not into civil liberties, then perhaps you’ll be into reading books. The American Library Association is also always taking donations to help with keeping libraries across America open. If you ever complained that you don’t have enough money for books, then obviously you haven’t been to a library. Free books! All you need is a plastic laminated card.

3. Share with the bookish community

I emphasized this once, but I’ll emphasize this again. We should all be sharing our love of books with each other. It’s so important to share especially when it’s considered a community. Don’t be afraid to read your books and don’t be afraid to talk about them.

I hope that we’re loving and open enough to accept anyone and their beliefs. The only way our community will be able to make a difference is to share these reads and be empathetic to those who don’t want to read them and hope that they will.

Don’t keep your books locked up on a bookshelf. These may be yours, but the written words are for everyone. Buy another copy of your favorite banned book and leave it on the train or in the park. Donate your old copies of banned books to the local library. Books are physical copies of an amazing journey and you can always take that journey again. Let’s let someone else walk down that path for the first time.

Book Reviews

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

by SimoneLeave a Comment on You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

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For my second YA novel of this month, I chose You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan.

I picked this book up last year in hopes of learning more about sexual identity and preference. It was way before I started reading diverse books, but even then I was curious as to stories like this. I was afraid of approaching people and still afraid to this day to say something stupid or make someone feel uncomfortable, so I decided to look for books that talked about being gay or questioning your identity. I definitely knew I didn’t want to be the dolf that said “so what does being gay mean?”

The great thing about You Know Me Well is the subtly of the subject. It’s not this big shout to the void screaming I AM GAY AND I HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT. The story begins with the characters already knowing this about themselves and they blossom like flower buds to fully incorporating their lives with the new knowledge that they have.

I had read Nina LaCour’s We Are Okay a few months back and she was able to do this subtle conversation about sexual preference in that novel as well. It didn’t read about a girl who is trying to figure out if she’s straight or gay. It read like a story of a young woman lost from the tragedies bestowed on her life and how she found solace in her first soulmate ever. It was beautiful.

I think the important lesson about sexual preference and identity is normalization. Asking questions and trying to understand why someone was gay are all in the past. At this point, in 2017, you either are or you’re questioning and your sexual preference doesn’t define you. Your friends are your friends because you like them and you get along. They’re not there to be your “gay best friend” or have the word “gay” put in front of phrases like “bestie” or “shopping buddy.” We’re at the point where no one should be defined by their sexual preference unless they want to.

But let’s get into the details of the story and stop talking politics.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book written by two people, but somehow these two authors are able to seamlessly combine their two stories into one. Honestly, it felt like one voice the entire time coming from one author, but what each author brings is a sense of authenticity. You’re the gay jock that’s in love with your best friend or you’re the girl in love with a crush for so long it’s almost surreal to be with them in real life. Mark and Katie dealt with things only teenagers go through and they were able to find each other to help figure this out on their own.

I loved that after a night of knowing each other Mark and Katie were just best friends. They were looking to each other for advice and trying to help each other as if this was something they did all the time.

Mark was in love with his best friend, so it made it difficult for him to discuss things with him that he wanted to talk about specifically about their relationship. Katie was in love with her best friend’s cousin and while she was secure with her feelings for her, she somehow managed to mess it up at every turn.

It was quite cute and beautiful at the same time. The writing is effortlessly easy to get through and a lot of it was conversational. I think that’s the great part about YA sometimes. You don’t get too caught up in making the language something out of an AP English class, but you make the subjects hard hitting ones where the people they’re meant to attract will learn a little bit about society.

You can find a copy of You Know Me Well: A Novel on Amazon.com

Book Reviews

Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert

by SimoneLeave a Comment on Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert

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Imagine you’re in high school.

Now imagine you’re in high school coming to terms with your sexual preference, your decisions for school, your religious identity.

Now imagine that you have a brother who is bipolar and you love him to death and you want to make sure he’s okay.

LITTLE AND LION by Brandy Colbert is a novel about mental health, understanding your sexual identity, being in love, feeling responsibilities of being an adult, being a teenager, and being yourself. It’s jam packed with excitement all within 250 pages.

Suzette (aka Little) is your narrator for the story and from her point of view alone you get a myriad of different questions and thoughts that I don’t even know I was thinking when I was sixteen.

The story begins with her returning from school in New England. She was sent there out of concern that her brother’s behavior will affect her. First, she’s struggling with her sexual identity. Is she gay? Is she straight? Is she bi-sexual? She can’t know for sure. Then, she’s struggling with her friendships with her friends prior to leaving for school. Finally, she’s struggling with protecting her brother who seems to have it together, but she believes she needs to be closer to him and help him out.

Lionel (aka Lion) seems like your average sort of guy, except last summer he was having a hyper manic moment leading to his diagnosis of bipolar disorder and testing out different medications before deciding that he was going to quit them cold turkey.

This was at the same time Suzette came back from school to finally spend a summer with her brother. They were very close for step-siblings, but Suzette’s concerns for Lionel pulled them apart eventually changing their relationship forever.

I’ve known some very bi-polar people in my life including my cousin who went from partying all night long to waking up and asking Jesus for forgiveness for the sins she committed during the evening (she just danced. I was there, God). I’ve dated people struggling with their anti-depressant medication and how the medication made them feel listless. They didn’t have any more interest in what they were doing. They hated the person they were without them.

The world for people struggling with mental illness is tough. I should know; I struggle with it myself. But in order for us to feel normal, we need to be treated normally. We need to feel that our diagnosis isn’t us; that we aren’t the mental illness people tell us we have. We need to feel that our medications don’t define us either; that anti-depressants are there to help us normalize not make us feel like monsters.

However, these are two areas that a lot of people who don’t struggle with mental illness don’t understand. This is where Suzette’s perspective comes in. I believe this story is great for a lot of reasons, but I think the most important reason is that it gives light to the perspective of those who have loved ones with mental illness. Suzette’s reactions to Lionel’s behavior feels on par with someone who hasn’t adjusted yet to knowing or being around someone with mental illness.

I think something valuable that you get out of this story is that you learn that people with mental illness are trying their best to put on a smiling face everyday and feel like the person they were before they were diagnosed. Our jobs as loving friends and family members are to always make sure they feel included; don’t approach us with kid gloves. We may be struggling, but we’re not fragile porcelain dolls.

It’s just so funny how Brandy Colbert approaches the topic. While yes, a part of the story is about Lionel, but a lot of the story is also about Suzette. I think in her own way, Brandy Colbert is trying to tell us that you should continue to live your own lives. Don’t get caught up in making sure your loved ones feel comfortable, fall in love and go out and have a great life. We’re trying to do the same thing too.

So if you’re new to knowing someone with mental illness or if you want to better understand why some people act the way they do towards people with mental illness, then I would recommend reading this book. It’s good to show you how people approach different challenges in their life and the most important lesson you can take away is that mental illness is an extremely personal struggle.

Buy it on Amazon: Little & Lion

Books

Eight celebrities who love to read

by Simone6 Comments on Eight celebrities who love to read
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From Oprah’s Instagram

I love it when I find out that a celebrity is a book reader. Something happens to me where I light up and almost feel closer to that person even though I’ve never met them in real life. I do hope that one day that I do, but for now I can only dream. Perhaps even I’ll get famous and have my own celebrity book club. A girl can dream.

Over the years, I’ve been collecting these bookish celebrities who have been vocal about their love for reading. Some celebs have gone out of their way to create book clubs for their followers to read along with. Others are a little bit more on the downlow, but you can always catch them reading something. However, I wanted to share with you all the best of the best celebs with their awesome love for reading. Some you may already know while others you might find surprising.

1. Oprah (DUH)

I think everyone in the entire world knows that Oprah is a book reader. Aside from her infamous book club, she’s also starred in tons of movies based off of books. From Beloved to the upcoming A Wrinkle in Time (alongside Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling), Oprah loves books. I’m pretty sure she’s going to do a Weight Watchers commercial about it soon.

2. Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon is a new bookish celebrity I collected. I didn’t know that she was such a reader until I read an article about how she basically fought tooth and nail for Big Little Liars to be made for the silver screen. Reese also has her own bookclub where she suggested great novels written by some super strong woman. Many of her suggestions are thrillers, but sometimes you get a few more even-keeled stories.

3. Mindy Kaling

I think this one is another obvious celebrity in the bookish universe. Mindy Kaling has written two books about herself and each includes stories about her love of reading and spending time doing so. She’s also been seen reading and sharing her favorites online.

4. Ameriie

Ok, this one was a little out of left field but I love that Ameriie is also a reader. Like totally in love love love with her being a reader! If you don’t remember who she is, she sang a little song a few years back called 1 Thing and then disappeared from the spotlight. All of a sudden, she’s come out with a compilation of short stories written by various YA authors and some written by herself! I couldn’t believe it until I heard it and I’m so excited to check that out.

5. Britney Spears

I actually didn’t find out that Britney Spears was a reader until I read an article about it a few months back. Apparently, scattered through her Instagram feed, you can find little bookish gems hanging out. I think that’s incredible and it makes me so happy to know that she’s bookish!

6. Emma Watson

Ok, this is another given since everyone in the bookish world already knows that Hermione Granger loves to read. But seriously, Emma Watson has her own feminist book club where she not only reads the Feminine Manifesto, but other novels written by strong women.

7. Emma Roberts

This was another unbelievable one for me, but I recently came across the Belleist Instagram account and loved the book club choices. I started following them a little bit more earnestly and boom, there’s Emma Roberts sitting there with a book in her lap. It was her book club! Wow, I’m just so happy to see the Emmas reading.

8. Kat Dennings

The last one is Kat Dennings. This might have been one some of you know and others may not know, but she is a legit reader. I’ve read interviews where she gushes over spending her time surrounded by her books. Sometimes you’ll see her post about it, but I just find Kat Dennings to be this incredibly intelligent woman who probably only got this smart from reading books.

What other celebrities do you know that love to read? Leave a comment below!

Book Reviews, Books

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

by Simone2 Comments on Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

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TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains themes related to childlessness and child loss. Please proceed with caution if you are sensitive to this type of material.

This is most definitely the year of diverse reads. I’ve read so many great novels in the past eight months about other cultures, other people, other gender identities, and everything in between. I mean, I can go on about how amazing diverse books has changed my world view.

STAY WITH ME by Ayobami Adebayo is no exception to this rule. In its tiny 250+ pages, I’m so surprised by how jam-packed it is with themes.

When I first started reading STAY WITH ME, I was anticipating a novel about a woman’s struggle with getting pregnant and having children. That on its own is a pretty heavy theme and could easily be a full story.

As it unfolds this book isn’t only about childlessness, it’s also about child loss (trigger warning), societal pressures of having children, male and female gender roles in raising a child, phantom pregnancy, polygamy, adultery, and male impotence and the “blame” of impotence put on the mother. It was like the author decided one day that she wanted to cover a lot of issues two partners could potentially have when it comes to having a child.

Also, it takes into consideration the thought process for Akin, Yejide’s husband, and what he’s going through. Honestly, I’m so surprised that his narrative was also included bringing to light the kind of lengths men also go through to make their wives happy. It takes two to make a baby and Akin isn’t the typical male perspective, which made me love the book even more.

I think one of the most important themes here is the psychology of a woman desperate to have her own child. Yejide, the main character, is thrown into a polygamist relationship when her husband’s family brings home another woman her husband has married. Even though polygamy is accepted in this culture, it’s almost a catalyst for Yejide to do everything in her power to have a child. Can you imagine spending four years trying to have a child with your husband only to be “replaced” by another woman who may be able to get the job done?

So this new wife comes into the picture and completely upsets Yejide’s psyche. She finds herself asking questions like “what if she’s better at sex than I am? What if my husband finds her more attractive than me? What if she becomes the first wife and I’m relegated to the second wife?” You can only imagine the kind of urgency she must be feeling at this time and how that triggers her obsession with having a child of her own.

When she finally does start having children, everything begins to unravel. I won’t go into it because it’ll definitely spoil the book, but I will say that it’s expertly written, beautifully poignant, brings up a ton of “taboo” topics even for an American audience, and makes you think about how much you love your own mother and the kind of love only a mother can provide their daughter.

I’m so surprised from a debut author how amazing this novel is. Usually you get these debut novels that try too hard to be sophisticated and edgy. Even Toni Morrison’s first novel THE BLUEST EYE wasn’t her best work (IMO), but for Ayobami Abedayo I think this is the beginning of an amazing career for her.

I strongly recommend this book to you all and it may cause a few of you to shed some tears because while I wasn’t tearing up at the story, I was definitely gasping at every major event happening in this couple’s life.

Find it on goodreads.com.

I received this book for free from Knopf in exchange for an honest review.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

 

Book Reviews, Books

Things that Happened Before the Earthquake by Chiara Barzini

by Simone1 Comment on Things that Happened Before the Earthquake by Chiara Barzini

“California girls, we’re undeniable. Fun, fresh, fierce, we’ve got it on lock.” – Katy Perry

When you think of California, you think of that easy breezy place where everyone surfs and eats vegan and worries more about how they’re composting than how people in the middle of the country are starving.

However, California has its own checkered past and in the early 90s you saw something similar to what’s happening in America today. Things that Happened Before the Earthquake takes that slice of time between the LA Riots and OJ Simpson’s infamous white bronco ride to punctuate the life of a family who moved to America to follow that well-known American Dream.

Eugenia is the main character here and she couldn’t be less thrilled to be leaving her home country of Italy to watch her parents try to become big movie producers. Feeling completely abandoned by them in a huge new city, Eugenia sets out to find some small amount of attention. Whether it’s by finding another sexual partner or experimenting with drugs, you see Eugenia struggle to find herself amongst the vast canvas of the San Fernando Valley.

I have to say, it was a little bit played out and cliched. I love a coming-of-age story like the next person, but this story is as old as the decade its describing. I don’t want to be mean here especially when it comes to a book that other people may really enjoy. But I don’t buy the story of a teenage girl who comes to America and making losing her virginity her first priority.

While I was reading, I was thinking about an old friend of mine who reminded me so much of Eugenia. She was always a little indifferent about everything and always a slight arm’s distance away from you. She had a lot of different partners and tried a lot of different drugs only to feel more and more empty and a lot less seen.

Like my friend, Eugenia is trying to speak out here and find her niche, but for some reason her niche just wouldn’t stick with her. Towards the end, I found her to be a little self-absorbed and self-obsessed after abandoning the people who tried really hard to get close to her. If you tried to get near her, it was like approaching lava. The closer you got, the quicker you could burn.

And right when everything felt like it was falling apart for Eugenia, the earthquake of 1994 not only broke the ground in LA but also Eugenia’s frustration with her life. I really wanted the events around that period of time to impact her life, her family’s life, the decisions she made, think of America in a certain way. For an adult literature book, it really was almost like medicore YA.

I’m sorry, I really don’t like being mean about books because I know that authors take a lot of time and put in a lot of effort to write something compelling. I really liked this story. It’s a coming-of-age but in a place where it felt like you needed to grow up pretty quickly. It wasn’t really my cup-of-tea, but it might be yours.

Don’t give up hope for Eugenia, though. She’ll eventually find her way out of the rubble.

Find it on goodreads.com

I received this free copy of Things that Happened Before the Earthquake from Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Books

The importance of sharing diverse novels

by SimoneLeave a Comment on The importance of sharing diverse novels

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This world is huge.
Massive.

There are so many cultures of people represented on this speck in the sky and all of them have their traditions and heritages and lifestyle. They also struggle. They all struggle. And struggle for some reason brings us a host of stories. There’s this famous quote that writers all around the world know which is “write what you know.”

People are extremely fascinated by the know. What do you know? What can you share?

And for a long time, the knowers wrote novels about their strife. Jane Austen wrote about the complications of love and being an ambitious woman in the 19th century. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about the jazz era and partying and sometimes how those parties were a little too decadent. Hemingway wrote…well, he pretty much “suffered” all his life if you’ve ever read anything by him.

People draw from their realities. It may not be the whole truth, but it’s enough truth to give you an idea of how that experience really was.

This is where diverse books comes in. You’ve got this whole world of experience and suffering and stories. You’ve got writers writing what they know. So why aren’t readers interested?

Recently I met someone who was interested in knowing how I found diverse books. I tried to recall the very moment that it happened but I think in my reality I’ve been looking for diverse reads since I was a kid. I’ve always had an eye out for these books and always tried to get my hands on them. I’ve always wanted a way to connect to my two halves and I sometimes feel that will be a search I’ll be doing my entire life.

So I tried to think about how other people find diverse reads and I was kind of clueless. Granted I could go pretty negatively into this thought, but I like to believe that people don’t read diverse reads because it’s just not available to them. They don’t know how to find it and they don’t know what to look for.

You go to Barnes and Noble and the novels on the shelves right when you walk in are representing the “best sellers” but not the “not a best seller, but it’s important so please check it out.” If it isn’t coming from a hometown Book Club or making the New York Times Best Seller List, then perhaps you may not see it. And this isn’t anyone’s fault at all!

What I’m glad to see is that this is slowly changing and it’s a great thing to behold. I’m starting to see some great novels I’ve read show up on the bestseller lists and on the shelves right when you walk into a bookstore. But our work isn’t done. What we need are for people to seek out diverse reads and advocate for them to the masses. We need to share these reads and not only preach about how important it is to read but how it affected you. Did it shed some light on a topic you knew little about? If so then I think you can say it’s doing its job.

One of the many hobbies readers like to do is share what they’ve read. “OMG I just finished reading this great book…” We love to share the stories we loved. Whether it’s a hard-hitting thriller or a soft and cuddly romance story, I always tell myself that someone took the time to write this “truth” and you are taking the time to read it and share it so why not do the same for a diverse novel?

And I know that I’m preaching to the choir here because we all read diverse books, but it’s time for us to share them. Scribble your name out of a copy of Beloved and leave it on a park bench. Tell someone how a diverse read changed the way you understood African culture and the slave trade. Share with your parents how you recently read a book about gender identity. Join a book club focused on diverse reads. All these efforts can help to shed a little bit more light to diversity in books and really help to teach everyone a little bit more about the other cultures out there.

There’s so many stories; so many interesting and compelling stories of battling the odds and finding love and setting your own path. As a reader, I want to share these stories with people. During a time in our country’s history where we’re seeing some pretty harsh things on the news and hearing pretty harsh words everywhere you go, you need this kind of representation to show people that we are just the same as everyone else. That we have stories too and we’re here to share them.

Are you ready to listen?