Hyperbole and a Half

Brosh, A. (2013). Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened. Touchstone Books.

Adult / Humor / Depression / Blog-to-Book

I gave this book 3 of 5 Stars

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Blurb (from Goodreads):  
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures

Words

Stories about things that happened to me

Stories about things that happened to other people because of me

Eight billion dollars*

Stories about dogs

The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

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Hall Ways Review: A few years ago, I received this book as a gift after adding it last minute to the Christmas list after I read a review about it.  I had never heard of Brosh or her blog, so I really didn't have any expectations other than to be amused.

And I was amused -- the essays (chapters? sections? rants?) on motivation and the goose incident were really funny, and even though I wouldn't say I'm really a dog person, the dog stories gave me a few snort out loud moments -- anyone who owns a dog can relate.  If you're not a dog lover, you will get tired of the dog stories, which take up considerable space.  The drawings are quirky and were a good addition to the book, though there were some times when they seemed random and didn't really line-up with the writing. Then again, that's really a metaphor for Brosh's life & writing and what makes her/it real.

There was a poignant essay about the author's struggle with depression, and I understand now that it is part of what springboarded (yes, I made-up a word) her into the limelight. However, the numerous self-deprecating, look-how-screwed-up-and-superficial-I-am stories got a bit tedious. Even as she seems to be soul searching, she pounds the readers with her perceived shallowness and "shitiness," as she says, and that wasn't too funny.  Depression is a heavy subject, so the book gets heavy and Brash doesn't hold back any punches.

Yes, the main theme behind all the writings is depression, but the book lacks a continuous thread to hold it together, and it wasn't satisfying to go from still feeling an ache in my cheeks from smiling to reading something dark and a little uncomfortable. Maybe the thing to do would have been to take this in chunks instead of reading it straight through, but the last third of the book dragged a bit, so maybe take it in chunks but hop around.  It is a very quick read and appears that the content is really straight from Brosh's blog, Hyperbole and a Half

My recommendation is to check-out the blog (and anything posted after 2013 would be material that's not covered in the book), and if it's your thing, then try the book. Brosh has a new book, Solutions and Other Problems, expected to publish in October, 2016, which is supposed to be all new material not posted on the blog. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Allie Brosh has enjoyed writing ever since her mom tricked her into writing a story to distract her from her immediate goal of wrapping the cat in duct-tape. She started her award-winning blog in 2009. Brosh lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband Duncan, her two dogs, and six pet rats. 

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Absolute Truth, For Beginners

West, K. (2015). Absolute Truth, For Beginners. Self-published.

New Adult / Adult / Contemporary Fiction / LGBTQ

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 Stars

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Book Blurb: 
Elisa Mancini is a Nobody. Painfully insecure, more at ease with books than with people, at twenty-three she’s a university dropout living at her aunt’s, drifting from one day to another, and waiting for something big to happen. 

Judith Shapiro is a Somebody. Arrogant and eccentric, she’s a superstar of mathematics, the subject of scientific articles, and the undisputed ruler of the world around her. 

In a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, Elisa falls madly in love with Judith Shapiro. For sixty-eight days she is the mistress of an internationally acclaimed mathematician. 

But loving Judith Shapiro is like running a marathon in a war zone. As days pass, Elisa’s wild infatuation takes on a suicidal bent, and the world around her starts to go to pieces. Just as everything is about to blow up, the moment of truth comes.

Absolute Truth, For Beginners is a story about truth, time, and love. Or about identity, positive nursing, degrees of happiness, Baroque art, scientific theories, homosexual lovemaking, arrogant television producers, and becoming who you really are.

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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Katarina West is such a gifted, thoughtful, REAL writer. She proved it in Witchcraft Couture, and she's proven it again in Absolute Truth, For Beginners. Here, readers meet Elisa, a twenty-four-year-old who has big dreams and aspirations but completely lacks confidence. (REAL) It is only an act of desperation (the first of many) that lands her a job -- her first grown-up job -- that has her moving away from home and starting an independent life. Elisa's world is both humorous and heartbreaking, and as Elisa becomes hopelessly consumed by passion for her new love, readers will likely relate and remember their own experiences. From the starstruck start, through the blissfully unaware middle, and into the obsessive destructive end, thanks to Katarina West's remarkable writing, readers will feel every part of Elisa's emotional landscape in her affair with Judith. 

As a woman closer to Judith's age than Elisa's, I had a very hard time tolerating the relationship. It was inappropriate, abusive, unhealthy, and Judith clearly was mentally unstable and felt like a predator to me. I found myself searching for just one tidbit of insight to make Judith an okay person and not a self-absorbed user and abuser. Just as Judith is unreachable and un-knowable to Elisa, so is she to the reader, which was frustrating but I believe quite intentionally done by West. Readers (and Elisa) are not supposed to know Judith. Because of this distance, Elisa has to create her own version of Judith: a Judith who spends time with her and talks to her an listens to her -- and it is that Judith with whom Elisa falls in love. It was heartbreaking to watch because clearly, reality was bound to enter the picture at some point and there was no way it would be pretty.  Here again, West masterfully describes the rawness of rejection, the false hope of thinking the relationship isn't really over, the madness of getting even, and the beauty when hope rears its head again.

As the story progresses and then concludes, it is almost an afterthought that the relationship was a lesbian one. This is no accident because Katarina West is writing about passion, love, grief, and heartbreak. These feelings and experiences are a shared human experience, and the sexual preferences of the players are not important.  West handles them with finesse and keeps it classy.

American readers will notice that European conventions of writing and punctuation are used and will be delighted with some new vocabulary and expressions.  The editing could have been a bit more thorough, as there were some typos, dropped words, comma splices, etc. -- hence the 4.5 star rating. Naturally, Ms. West was gracious and appreciative of the feedback, and I fully expect corrections to be forthcoming. Thank you to the author for providing me an eBook in exchange for my honest opinion -- the only kind I give.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katarina West is the author of Witchcraft Couture, her debut novel. She was born in Helsinki, Finland, into a bilingual family that in addition to humans consisted of dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, canaries, rabbits and – thanks to her biology teacher mother – stuffed owls and squirrels.

She spent time travelling in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and went on to study at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London and the European University Institute in Florence, where she completed a PhD in political science and published a book based on it, Agents of Altruism. During those student years she started work as a journalist, and continued writing for various Finnish magazines and newspapers for over ten years, writing on various topics from current events and humanitarian issues to celebrity interviews and short stories. She also briefly worked as a university lecturer on humanitarian issues in Northern Italy.

Katarina lives in an old farmhouse in Chianti with her husband and son and when not writing, she is fully immersed in Tuscan country life, from jam-making and olive-picking to tractor maintenance.

Connect with Katarina West and her books:

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Last Words of the Holy Ghost

Cashion, M. (2015). Last Words of the Holy Ghost. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press.

Adult / Short Story / Realistic Fiction

I gave this book 5 out of 5 Stars


Publisher's Blurb: Funny, heartbreaking, and real—these twelve stories showcase a dynamic range of voices belonging to characters who can’t stop confessing. They are obsessive storytellers, disturbed professors, depressed auctioneers, gambling clergy. A fourteen-year-old boy gets baptized and speaks in tongues to win the love of a girl who ushers him into adulthood; a troubled insomniac searches the woods behind his mother’s house for the “awful pretty” singing that begins each midnight; a school-system employee plans a year-end party at the site of a child’s drowning; a burned-out health-care administrator retires from New England to coastal Georgia and stumbles upon a life-changing moment inside Walmart. These big-hearted people—tethered to the places that shape them—survive their daily sorrows and absurdities with well-timed laughter; they slouch toward forgiveness, and they point their ears toward the Holy Ghost’s last words.

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It is always difficult to write a review of a book of short stories; however, Last Words of the Holy Ghost by Matt Cashion is solid quality writing from start to finish.  Whether he's describing a landscape or a character, author Cashion provides readers with quick snapshots that have a lasting impact. Through character behaviors, Cashion masterfully shows just enough for readers to make a good call on the true nature of each character.

Before I let somebody drive me crazy, I drive them crazy first. 

That's the secret right there.

To say the characters are memorable is an understatement. The common thread of the characters in the twelve stories is that they all are struggling in some way and are searching for some thing, but their struggles stretch from and lead to a myriad of different situations.  My very favorite story was "Clarissa Drives John-Boy to the Jacksonville Airport," in which Clarissa (my favorite character) is brilliantly brought to life and so real readers will feel like they are in that car with her. Clarissa is a HOOT, and this was the first story where I had laugh-out-loud moments. Clarissa has loads of life lessons, like "Before I let somebody drive me crazy, I drive them crazy first. That's the secret right there," and "Every time you think you escaping, you really just swapping the devil for the witch."

Overall, the book was more melancholy and less humorous than I had hoped, but it was well written (just a few scattered punctuation and agreement errors) and Cashion's perspectives and approaches are unique and unforgettable. I highly recommend this book and thank the publisher for providing me a print copy in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give. 

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View the trailer for the short film Last Words of the Holy Ghost

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Matt Cashion was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina and grew up in Brunswick and St. Simons Island, Georgia.  He earned an MFA at the University of Oregon and now teaches at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.  He is the author of two novels, How the Sun Shines on Noise and Our 13th Divorce. He lives in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
Connect with the author:
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The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone

Griffin, A. (2014). The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone. Soho Teen.

YA / Mystery / Realistic Fiction

I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Realistic fiction non-fiction. Can a book be categorized that way? With this book, yes. I had to keep reminding myself that Addison Stone was not a real person, despite the interviews and photo documentary of her short, colorful, brilliant, tragic life. This was such a unique approach that I am sure will be mimicked across YA. As the author defines The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, "It is a novel posing as a memoir," and in it are photographs and selfies of Addison and even some of Addison's sketches and art work, all which make Addison a very real person.

Griffin manages to weave an intricate story with a cast of thousands, it seems, that absolutely works. The answer everyone wants to know is how Addison died. (That she dies is not a spoiler). It is clear Addison is the real deal, talent-wise, and it is also clear that she suffered from mental illness. As such, the presence of the spirit of a long dead artist must be part of Addison's psychosis -- or is it?

Readers will have to decide for themselves how Addison died, and it is worth the time spent information gathering. I recommend it for ages 16 and up. There are lots of situations of minors in adult situations, sex (not detailed), drug use, underage drinking, and profanity. All of it was fitting, as Addison was leading a life she was too young to live.

Thank you to Soho Press and Edelweiss for providing me a free ARC in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give. 

Watch the book trailer:

THE UNFINISHED LIFE OF ADDISON STONE by Adele Griffin Book Trailer from Victoria Bata on Vimeo.

or click here
 

Click here to go to Addison's Tumblr

(remember, she's NOT A REAL PERSON!)

Click here to read "The Story Behind Adele Griffin’s Hybrid Novel, ‘The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone’," an article by Elizabeth Burns

 

I was super excited to meet Adele Griffin (who is nice as can be) at the Texas Library Association Conference 2015, and she signed a copy of the book for me. Sweet!

 

Witchcraft Couture

BEAUTIFUL NEW COVER 7/15!

West, K. (2014). Witchcraft Couture. Self-published.

Adult / Fiction / Supernatural? / Magic?

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

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Witchcraft Couture spins the tale of artist "Oscar" Federico Pellegrini, who has lost his confidence and creativity. When he faces his former love, who has now become a major player in the fashion world, the stress to succeed becomes too much for Federico, who goes into a panic of self-doubt, fleeing the country and drinking himself into oblivion. As he vacillates between reality and hallucinations, Federico gains possession of a machine - either divine or devilish -- which converts plain clothing into designs which have otherworldly qualities. In the process, Federico becomes obsessed with the machine as the public becomes obsessed with his pieces. Rather than feeling better about himself as he becomes a fashion world sensation, Federico suffers debilitating depression, paranoia, and guilt, as the voices in his head call him an imposter and the few people who love him are forced to distance themselves from his erratic and destructive behaviors.  Does something supernatural power the machine, or is it Federico's mind that creates via the crutch of the machine?

Katarina West has created a truly unique premise that will have readers drawing their own conclusions as to what is real and what is imagined, and no conclusion will be final. I found myself feeling strongly that Federico was simply a delusional, brilliant artist suffering from mental illness, but then West would provide some evidence that would taint my theories with doubt.  West built her characters so richly that we could feel they were going through the same struggles as the readers with what to believe. Conflicted friend Ben and designer Dante seem to be the only people who are clearly sane, but even they get swept away with the magic and success of Federico's designs. Federico's mother seems intentionally blurry for the reader, adding to the mystery of what is truly unfolding. Readers know only what Federico tells them through his journal, which is the format for most of the book, and we can't know for sure if its truth or only Federico's version of it.  When Dante asks, "Why can't you do ordinary things in an extraordinary way," Federico, in striving to do something extraordinary, can't grasp the possibility of escape from his self-imposed chains.  An epilogue written by Ben clears-up some issues, but muddles others so that the reader is left with MUCH to ponder. 

Clearly, author Katarina West has been deliberate in her word choices, creating beautifully descriptive scenes and characters, for a well-edited, cohesive, and captivating story. Witchcraft Couture explores the power of the mind and how experiences and expectations can drive people to extreme behaviors. 

Thank you to the author for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give. 

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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Sáenz, B.A. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. 
     NY: Simon and Schuster Books For Young Readers.

AWARDS: Stonewall Book Award (2013), Printz Honor (2013), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten) (2013, Pura Belpre Author Award (2013).

QuickNEasy, 359 pages, ages 14-17

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads

So. . .  the reason I read this book was because I was asked to do so by a local librarian who wanted to know if it belonged in the collection or not.  My short answer is YES, YES, YES! READ THIS BOOK!

"Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing."   Wow. . . so much said in so few words.

This story and writing flow like honey out of a jar -- slowly, deliciously worth the wait.  The writing was absolutely beautiful, and though it flies in the face of logic that the narrator, a fifteen-year-old boy, would be so poetic in his narration, it works perfectly.  Ari is insightful, introspective, and angry, and it takes the full spectrum of the two years spanned in the story for Ari to figure out why he feels how he feels and recognize his feelings and reactions, which were sometimes misguided and at other times spot-on.

The strange thing about this book is that though Ari narrates it, I feel like I better know his best friend, Dante.  Both Ari and Dante are recognizable characters, as are both boys' parents.  In reading, I felt like these were people I'd met at work or church or down the street.  It was refreshing that though these families weren't perfect (find one that is) and slightly dysfunctional (again, whose isn't), these parents were THERE for their boys. They care, they love, they do the best they can and they are working to be better parents. There were times that my heart ached; it was painful to hear Ari's thoughts and his descriptions of what he was observing.  I just wanted to shake him and say "TALK to your dad! He is ready!"  And likewise, "Come on, Mom! Just tell him what he needs to hear!"

This book is about the often painful process of finding one's identity and finding acceptance of it -- both internally and from others.  The short chapters and lots of white space on pages made it very readable, which is why I labeled it a QuickNEasy book despite the number of pages.  So much to learn and think about including the value of family, friendship, trust, and love -- and the destructiveness of anger and silence.

The CLEAN-O-METER rating is a 7 out of 10.  There is some violence: a character gets severely attacked for being gay, but only the bodily injuries, not the attack is not described. There is a quick but bloody fistfight that results in a broken nose, and there are references to murders from fistfights. There is no sex, but there is some kissing between opposite sexes and same sexes. There is mention of masturbation, but no details.  There is discussion of sexual orientation and sexual identity with gay, lesbian, and questioning characters. As far as vulgar language, there is a bit of it, including the all powerful Fbomb, but sometimes it's used intentionally because Ari wants to see how his mom will react to it. One humorous use is in the word ba***rd, as it's in a William Carlos Williams poem that the boys like because they can say a swear word if it's in a poem.  There is underage drinking and purposeful drinking to get drunk, and also one incident of smoking pot and another of a person encouraging Ari to shoot-up heroine (he declines). 

Side Note:  I was fortunate enough to attend the Texas Library Association's 2012 Conference in Houston last year. Mr. Sáenz was on a panel of TAYSHA's authors, and though I had never read any of his works, I was impressed by the tips he gave for encouraging students to write.  He also talked about how life experience influences his works.  Now I see it in action, as he is a professor at UT El Paso, and this book's setting is El Paso and two boys' Mexican-American experiences there.  COOL!

Brooklyn Burning

Brezenoff, S. (2011). Brooklyn Burning. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Lab.

YA Realistic Fiction / Contemporary Fiction / Urban

QuickNEasy, 195 pages, ages 14+

I gave this 4 out of  5 stars on Goodreads.

I started reading this book for two reasons: 1) I am on a trek to find books appealing to kids who don't think they like to read, and 2) this book was under 200 pages and available at the library!

Going into a book cold-turkey is always interesting.  I hadn't read the book jacket or any reviews of Brooklyn Burning and assumed by the cover that the book was about a pyromaniac. (By the way, I like the cover and am so glad that it's not a back view of a teenaged girl wearing a formal gown and her hair blowing ever so subtly in the wind.  Thank you Steve Brezenoff. Never mind that the girl cover wouldn't fit in any way, shape, or form with the contents of the book.) So, not knowing what I was in for, I was initially frustrated because I couldn't tell if the main character, Kid, was male or female.  Enter character Scout, who also is not identified as male or female, and I started to get it. Ding! The author was being INTENTIONALLY VAGUE in stamping a gender label on these characters. Brilliant! People are just people with talents and skills and beliefs and feelings.

The book's main character is Kid, who writes some chapters directly to Scout, so that the readers almost feel like they are getting a peek into a journal or love letter.  Other chapters are written as general narratives, mostly filling in what the readers don't know about Kid's year prior to meeting Scout. Those back chapters made my heart ache for all the injustices poor Kid experienced, and they made me angry. Had Kid's parents been accepting and loving and acted like parents, Kid's life wouldn't have been so hard.  On the other hand, as a result of being rejected by Kid's father, Kid found love not once but twice and acceptance in places and ways that never would have been possible if Kid's parents had just loved Kid.  

The characters that showed love and acceptance towards Kid were really what made this story push forward.  With the presence of Fish, Jonny, and Konny, the readers didn't have to waste energy worrying about things that didn't matter -- Kid was going to be okay.  Imperfect as they are, these characters feel so real and familiar -- like you'd find them in any inner city neighborhood, looking out for their own. 

There are questions that aren't answered (namely, the genders of two major characters), but it's okay to be left wondering about some things.  And again, that intentional vagueness reminds us that sometimes there aren't clear answers for the questions in life. 

On the Clean-O-Meter rating. . . this is tough. There's an Fbomb fairly early on, but then I don't recall there being so much as a damn after that. There is significant underage drinking (mostly without any consequences, effects beyond the characters being identified as drunk), and drug references of shooting-up and junkies.  There is also a character who is a bisexual prostitute, but we are spared any details, and another character who is a minor and very sexually active with multiple partners, though we are also spared details.  Several of the characters are lesbian or gay or bisexual or questioning or not caring. Again, no details other than putting two and two together that character A - who is either male or female - is attracted to both males and females. There are several homeless teenagers, but they all seem to have food, money, shelter, safety.  There isn't any violence and nothing in the story is graphic.  I'm going to say a 7 out of 10.