Week 14- Wow, My Dad Hates Me

Hey! It's been a long week. On Monday, I started the second book in the Trials Of Apollo series, The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan. Of course, you already know that, since I used it to write my monologue. I'm really enjoying this book so far. Rick Riordan has been a huge influence for me. He shaped my love of mythology and fantasy, but he also made up a lot of my sense of humor. All of that is stuff that stays true in this book. The humor is still very sarcastic and self-deprecating, which I love.
Being completely honest, Apollo is kind of my spirit animal. He's hilarious! And the thing I love about Uncle Rick's more recent books is that he's really embracing diversity of all kinds, and in this series specifically, Solangelo (Will and Nico) were a featured couple in the plot, and Apollo himself is openly bisexual and often talks about his previous and current attractions to other men. That's a concept that hasn't been involved in a lot of pop culture or popular protagonists. And Leo, who is a main character in this book, is Latino, an ethnicity that isn't as widely represented as others. But… I do actually have a problem with Leo's depiction in the book.
In his previous appearances, he's been described as being Latino, but it wasn't a huge part of his personality (not anything immediately correlated, at least.) In The Dark Prophecy, however, Leo is now spouting words in Spanish every other page. And while it's cool that a Latino character is actually acting Latino, it doesn't make sense to start making him act that way out of nowhere. It's like Rick wanted to make sure he was incorporating as many ethnicities and groups as possible and decided to remind everyone that Leo is Latino by making him speak in Spanish. But it's so random, and out of character. And most Latino people I know don't throw around words in another language like that, anyways. When you're speaking in Spanish, it's kind of taboo to use a word in English in the middle of the sentence. It's not rude so much as kind of strange and out of place, and people won't see you as deserving as much respect. It doesn't really work the same way for saying Spanish in an English conversation, but it's weird. Please keep in mind that I'm speaking from my own experiences and the way I was raised. I'm not saying that this is true for all Latino people or countries. I just think it's weird to switch languages unless you really don't remember the right word. Sorry for that rant.
I’ll catch you up again next week!

Week 13.5- Mini miniblog

Just letting you know I'm actually not writing my monologue with James. I understand his character, but I couldn't think of anything to start it. Sorry!

Week 13- The Serious One

Hi! I just finished Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets and I loved it! I cried a little because thank god for therapists. And the last chapter was a few pages of free verse in the style of Walt Whitman that were really… I don't know how to describe it. They gave me a warm fuzzy feeling, basically. I was really worried for James, because he's honestly so sweet and emotional, but at the end of the book he finally stood up for himself and convinced his parents to pay for his therapy. Well actually he stole some money at first to get a few sessions behind their backs, but then he actually had the courage to ask for help.

I think I need to address that, actually. This book is… it's inspirational, honestly. And the ending might not be super realistic compared to some kids with similar mental health problems, but it’s kind of like those It Gets Better videos: it shows people that it's okay to ask for help, and that if you do, you'll feel better about yourself, your condition, your life in general. And one thing that I think is really important is that admitting you need help is the first step to improvement. James had his imaginary therapist, Dr. Bird, but one distinction James makes is that talking to someone who is part of you, who you are imagining, is not the same as talking to a real person. He says this specifically, but there are also instances early in the book where he mentions that he's not sure what Dr. Bird means, or rather that he does but won't admit it. Because he admitted he needed help, because he went to a real person and got his issues out in the open, even just those first few sessions dramatically changed his disposition. And in the last chapter, once he can see that real therapist on a regular basis, and he has someone he knows he can talk to, he really picks up. He's like another person almost, and it's a gorgeous if not saddening way to depict mental health: as something that keeps you not only from being happy, but from being your true self. I know this blog has been pretty serious, but I feel really strongly about this book. I'm definitely going to write my monologue from James' point of view; I can't imagine doing it with any other character.

Thanks for reading and putting up with my sappiness! I'll start a new book next week. Yawp!

Week 12- Imaginaaaation

Hi! I know that normally these go up on Saturdays, but I don't know if I can put it up tomorrow. So, let's get started! As you know, I finished The Raven Boys, but I didn't tell you which book I'd be starting (mostly because I didn't know yet). I started reading a happy little book called Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos. And when I say it's happy, I'm being 100% sarcastic. The main character is a boy named James Whitman. Because of his last name, he likes to quote Walt Whitman, and is into poetry. I'll be completely honest, and please don't kill me, I don't think I've read a single thing from Walt Whitman. Maybe I have, but I don't remember. Anyways, James is a poet. That's cool, and not what I mean when I say it's not a happy book. What I mean is that James isn't just a poet, he has anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Yay. Because high school isn't hard enough when you're just joking about wanting to kill yourself. And he hates his parents, which is apparently because his parents don't like him either. Or his sister, who they literally kicked out of the house for something James can't figure out. They never explained it to him, and he wasn't in the room. But then he finds this box in her closet and OH MY GOD THERE ARE KNIVES IN THERE and BLOOD and poems and stories about CUTTING HERSELF I AM HAVING UNWANTED FEELINGS RIGHT NOW.

Right. Well, now that that's out of the way, I should explain the title of the book. So, James clearly has some issues. So he decides he wants to see a therapist. But he doesn't want anyone to know he has a therapist. And even later on when he asks his parents, they don't want to pay for one. So instead, James makes a therapist for himself. In his mind. With imagination.

And his therapist he creates is human-sized pigeon named Doctor Bird. Doctor Bird is female, in case you were wondering. A giant, female, human-sized pigeon. Because... reasons. If I was going to make up a therapist for myself who wasn't human, I'd at least make it something interesting. Maybe something magical, like a dragon or unicorn? Or if it was a real animal, something exotic. Like a zebra. But a pigeon? That's so weird. Although maybe it makes sense, because James seems to be really close with nature. He literally hugs trees to shake off anxieties or depression, and he threw himself in front of a bus to save a bird with a hurt wing. That scene was interesting to read. I'm not even joking, it was hilarious. He wanted to impress a girl, so he jumped into the street and all of a sudden he says, "I think I've been hit by a bus!"

I started cracking up in the middle of Outback.
So basically, this book is not happy, but it is indeed funny. I actually really like it so far. And it's short, so I think I'll finish it soon. TTYL!

Week 11- HOW DARE YOU, SIR

I know we didn't need to do a blog this week, but I finished The Raven Boys and I need to rant to you for a sec. So I was right about the “getting sucked into a spiral” thing, because I need to finish this story. Also, I had a sneaking suspicion, but NOAH IS A FREAKING GHOST. Yeah, hi. I love you, now stop being dead. Oh, and plot twist, Noah was the one who got sacrificed by Whelk. Cool, good to know. I'll just come over here and sob.

And then there's the reason I decided to write this in the first place. You remember how much I love Adam, the precious, adorable, sweet, quiet, marshmallow of a boy? HIS DAD HIT HIM. REPEATEDLY. His dad was BEATING him. NO! IT'S TIME TO STOP! PLEASE, JUST STOP! His dad hit him so hard, he fell onto some stairs and LOST THE HEARING IN HIS LEFT EAR. Adam's dad, you know what? You are dead. Get down before I force you down. I am going to murder you. I AM GOING TO STRAIGHT UP MURDER YOU. HOW DARE YOU, SIR. You have the sweetest son in the history of the world and you MAIM HIM WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, excuse my French, but STOP. And then dear, dear Ronan came in and PUNCHED ADAM'S DAD RIGHT BACK YOU GO BABY BOY YEAH! BEAT HIM UP! RIGHT HOOK! UPPERCUT! Sorry, I'm just excited he did exactly what I wanted to do in that moment. My poor baby is deaf in one ear now because of that man and I will NEVER FORGIVE HIM.

Anyways, Adam kinda sacrificed himself to wake the ley line, only he didn't actually die, and he went crazy for a few minutes and killed Whelk, but honestly who cares? Whelk killed Noah, who is also pretty precious and sweet, so I'm gonna let our marshmallow off the hook for this one. Plus, he didn't technically kill Whelk, he just didn't save him from getting trampled. So does it really count? Not if Adam did it, that's for sure.

And I have a confession to make… I did some rough sketchy fan art. Whoops. That's how you know I enjoyed the book: not only did I want to draw the characters, I came up with basic designs for them. And can you see HOW CUTE ADAM IS? I wasn't even trying and he just came out that way. And his ear is shaded because they mentioned his ear is slightly red now because of the BASHING HIS FATHER GAVE HIM and because he's now DEAF IN THAT EAR. Just wanted to be accurate, which is why I redrew Ronan when I read that he had a shaved head after I'd finished drawing him with hair. Anyways, here it is! Have fun with these.

Week 10- Smoke Weed Every Day?

Hi again! I forgot to mention something last week. The point of view actually switches between three people, not two. The third is a teacher at the rich kids' school. Hiss name is Barrington Whelk. I know. Blech.

His parents must hate him. It's probably why he's such a sneaky creep. He basically wants to take over the world using the ley lines that Gansey is looking for. He had this whole flashback where he explained how at first he just wanted to find them to be cool and ~adventurous~ as seems to be the norm in the books I read, but then he and his friend did some kind of demonic ritual to find the ley lines and his friend died? And also it drove him insane basically. Yay for demons.

So, Gansey went to Blue's psychic family and they met and Blue actually knows it's him. Blue, Gansey, and Gansey's friends Ronan, Adam and Noah, are on an… say it with me now… ~ADVENTURE!~ They're looking for the ley lines, which Blue has seen because that's where she saw Gansey's spirit, so she leads them to it. And then… some super weird stuff happened. Gansey made some fish show up with his mind, Adam saw something he won't talk about, Blue saw a vision of her about to kiss Gansey, and Gansey saw Glendower, the king dude he wants to wake up. It was pretty surreal. Also, time stopped. I'm guessing all of this is going to lead up to something later, but for right now it just seems like they all got high together or something.

One thing that's bothering me is the whole “Gansey is either my true love or I killed him or both” thing. Or, well, it's not that concept that bothers me. It's that Gansey is the one Blue saw when, right now, she is hard core into Adam. I would yell at them to kiss, but a) They're not real and b) Blue might kill the precious marshmallow. So if Blue is into Adam, how can Gansey be her true love? None of it makes sense. There'll be some kind of plot twist, obviously, but what kind of plot twist is hard for me to picture without it being something boring and unsatisfying. But this is only the first book in the series, so maybe it goes deeper than I think. I would love it if I could move on to other things I want to read after this book, but if the story isn't resolved at the end, I can tell I'm going to get sucked into a never ending spiral of psychics and possible ley line weed. We'll just have to see. I'm guessing I'll finish the book by the end of Thanksgiving Break. If not, I'll catch you up on all the deets. Have a great break!

Week 9- Can I Change my Name to Magenta?

This week I started the first book of a series, The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater. I don't know if I'll read the whole series, but so far I'm definitely enjoying it more than Uglies. It's a little confusing for the first few chapters for a couple of reasons. First, even though it's written in third person, it focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one character in one chapter, and another the next. It only switches between two, but it switches after a random number of chapters without warning. It could be one chapter before it switches, or it could be three.

Second, a bunch of characters got introduced in a jumble. The first chapter, the female lead and literally her entire family got introduced. Then maybe two or three chapters later, we're getting introduced to the male lead, his three best friends, and one of the best friends' brother. What? Too much at once. And the third thing is that everyone has really weird names that no one actually seems to think are weird. The female ls named “Blue.” Like the color. The male lead is technically Dick Gansey, but he goes by Gansey. I would be fine with him going by Dick. Some people might laugh, but it's actually a name, unlike GANSEY. Also, I'm in love with Dick Grayson (the first Robin from the Batman timeline) so I've become desensitized to the name.

Anyways, TL;DR the point of view switches too suddenly, there's too many characters getting introduced all at once, and all of those characters have names I didn't think were names. Except for Ronan, which I heard when I went into a two-day Irish phase, and Adam, who is a precious smol bean and I want to protect. He's adorable and I don't even know what he looks like.

I haven't actually told you anything about this book, have I? Wow, I'm great at this. So, basically, Blue (because that’s a name that no one provides an explanation for and just is) is the only one in a family of real-life psychics who doesn't have prophetic powers. But every psychic she's seen has told her she'll kill her true love if she kisses them. Yay, exactly what every little girl wants to hear.

Anyways, apparently there's this there’s this thing where on a certain day psychics can see people who will die in the next year, but Blue isn't psychic, so she can't see them. But this year, she sees a boy and talks to him. (Spoiler alert, it's Gansey!) And she's like, ‘wow, that was weird. What just happened?’ and her crazy aunt tells her that either he's her true love or she killed him. Apparently, if we believe the previous psychics, it's both. And then we go see inside of Gansey's head. He's looking for some magic stuff, I guess, because he… wants to wake up a king or something? I don't even know. But he and his friends go to this rich-kids' school that Blue hates because all the guys there are mean. And they just happen to go to the restaurant where Blue works, and Gansey and Blue HAVE A CONVERSATION but Blue doesn't know it's him WHY oh my God Blue you're so stupid (that's a lie, you couldn't have known).
So yeah. That's what happened. Also Ronan and his brother got into a fistfight, but you know. No one died or anything, so it's fine. Probably. Byyye!

Week 8- Tally ex machina

So... I finished Uglies. Whoo-hoo. Here we go.

Like I said, Marian Susan all the way. And... random love story in the middle of it. I was so confused and underwhelmed by Tally's sudden feelings for David. When she first met him, she noticed how Shay felt about him and saw David as a friend. In fact, when Shay started accusing Tally of trying to take David from her, she insisted that it wasn't like that. But as soon as Tally finds out about the brainwashing, suddenly she goes, "Oh, David~, you're so handsome, you showed me that people can be pretty without the operation! I love you now!" And of course David likes her, not Shay, even though he actually knew Shay for months and only met Tally a few days ago. And so of course they kiss and are happy and then they go on another ~ADVENTURE~ which again lasts only a few chapters. Great.

So, this thing happens where Tally, always perfect and not at fault like the Mary Sue she is, accidentally calls the government to the Smoke and they attack and capture everyone there. But of course, since she's a spy, they let her go, which lets her get away and find David. And they come up with this foolproof plan to save everyone else, and even though she said it took them two weeks to get there, only Shay has been turned pretty. Because... Tally ex machina, I guess.

And Shay's mind has been changed because brainwashing, but they "rescue" her anyways, and she's complaining literally the entire time. I get that it's because she's brainwashed, but she's so annoying and shallow. I would let her fall off the hoverboard.

And then, Tally ex machina, David's mom magically finds the instructions to fix the brainwashing. Why wouldn't she? Oh, and by the way, David's dad died, but no one really cares for more than five minutes max. So David's mom uses these instructions to make a cure, but because she wants to be nice she doesn't force Shay to take them, and the book ends with Tally giving herself up as a test subject for the pills by letting herself become pretty, because she hasn't done enough heroic, selfless things in this book. Of course, there's a 99% chance that she'll not only be pretty like she wanted from the start but also retain her brain, so really it's pretty much guaranteed that everything will go perfectly for her, which means that there's not actually any tension in this "cliff hanger."

If the story was less predictable and Tally was less flat, I might actually read the rest of the series, because the ideas behind the world are really interesting, but... no. Just no. I'm sorry if you like this book, but I don't.

Week 7.5- Miniblog

Some plot twist.

Apparently when the uglies become pretties, something happens to their brains to brainwash them. Seemed pretty obvious and anticlimactic to me, since it's not even affecting them that much. It just makes them nicer and more confident, and more responsive to authority. It's not like the brainwashjng is making them evil or anything. But of course Tally reacted like it was the end of the world.

Also there's some completely random thing between Tally and David, the leader of the Smoke, and now they're like... together I guess? Even though literally a second before she said she was upset because Shay likes David, and now they're, like... making out or something? Where did that come from? But I'll talk more about that at the end of the week when I've read more.

Week 7- The Maryest of Sues

Hi! So… a lot has happened since last week. Tally is still the biggest doormat ever, but now she's a doormat on an ~ADVENTURE~.

First of all, she met some girl named Shay who was probably was voted “Most Likely To Accidentally Kill Herself” and is against the idea of making people ‘pretty' and that people before this procedure are ‘ugly.' In my opinion, Shay definitely seems more like a main character than Tally. But instead we're seeing everything from Tally's point of view because… reasons. I guess because of what happens next: Shay tells Tally about a place called the Smoke where everyone is ugly. Because Shay knows about it and Tally is an outsider like the reader, Tally is the one telling the story. That's basically it. And from what I can tell, she really is a Mary Sue, just like I predicted, but I'll get to that later.
Shay disappears, and leaves Tally some cryptic instructions to get to the Smoke if she wants. Then these random guys come out of nowhere and say, “Hey, so, you can't turn pretty until you find Shay and the Smoke because of course only you can find it. After all, even though we've totally been spying on you, there's no way we could just listen to your conversations and figure out the right directions, because that would make the problem solve itself. And of course you care enough about being pretty that you'll do it for us.” Not impressed, Scott.

So, the Mary Sue thing. I was expecting most of the book to be the epic adventure of deciphering the instructions and almost dying multiple times in a thrilling adventure that is adventurously adventurous. Instead, it took maybe five chapters and I still have about half of the book left. C'mon, Scott. Not only did it take no time, but things that should have killed her like FALLING OFF A CLIFF didn't even faze her. Now she's safely at the Smoke as a secret spy. And only one person suspects her, so of course the leader of the city defended her without knowing anything about her. And she's adjusting perfectly to a place that couldn't be more different from the only place she's ever lived. You could have TRIED making her a realistic character, Scott. Work with me here.

There seems to be a big plot twist coming up literally on the next page, though, so maybe my opinion so far will change. Overall, it's not a bad book, it's just a ‘meh' book.

Week 6- Automatomatomaton

Hey! Like I said I would, I finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret on Wednesday. I don't have that much more to say, but I wanted to talk about the ending real quick because *shivers* it was simple but incredible at the same time. Basically, Hugo talks directly to the reader and says that many years after the end of the story, he built a second automaton, and it was that automaton that wrote and illustrated the book I just finished.

OH MY GOD SELZNICK IS A GENIUS! I know I've said it a million times, but I'll say it a million more. Just… *sigh* genius.

Aaaaanyways, since I finished Hugo, I started Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. A lot of people have recommended this book to me, but I haven't given it a try. The beginning is a little slow, but it's interesting so far. The thing that hooked me almost immediately is how you're thrown into the story. That is, Tally, the main character, lives hundreds of years in the future, with advanced technology like talking rooms and bridges, hoverboards, and a coming-of-age ritual I'm slowly learning more about as she drops hints.

This works because, instead of explaining what everything is and does, she refers to the tech in passing as though the reader is expected to know, because this is the real world, so why wouldn't they? If it hadn't been executed as well, it could have been confusing, but it comes off as mysterious and intriguing, which makes me want to read more.
I have no idea if I'll finish it or even if it's going to be good, but I guess we'll see. Tally seems like a bit of a pushover, but you do you. She did crash a party, pull a fire alarm, and bungee jump to safety, so… either she's an overpowered Mary Sue or there's more to her than I thought. I've still got a lot of reading to do. Talk to you next week!

Week 5 - I'm Late!

Sorry! I completely forgot to write my blog post, so here we go.
Last (this) week, I started reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. This. Book. Is. Amazing. I think I read it when I was younger, but I don't remember. What I do know is that I recently watched the movie based on the book, Hugo, for about the fifth time. Because I watched it so recently, I'll often find myself thinking, “Hey, this is different.”
For one thing, Isabelle was a lot more prominent in the movie. She helped Hugo get through the movie: gave him advice, helped him escape the Station Inspector, etc. She was actually a character. In the book, she's less of a character and more of a plot device. She's a way to introduce the key Hugo needs and a way into Papa George's house. That's it. It honestly makes me kind of mad. She was such a good character in the movie, but the book it's based on didn't give her much of a role at all.
Secondly, I feel like a lot of characters and events got cut out of the movie to make room for things that don't matter or weren't in the book at all, like the Station Inspector's side of things. The actor was great and all, and it gave him more of a round character, but he's hardly in the book at all so far, so if the story flows this well just mentioning him, why did they have to cut out characters like Etienne, who is pretty cool, to make room for the Station Inspector making eyes at a florist? On the topic of Etienne, he's not super important, but he's pretty awesome. He's got an eyepatch. So yeah. Also, he helps Hugo with a bunch of stuff, burt got cut out of the movie so Isabelle could help out instead. Another thing that got cut out seems a lot more important, that being the fact that Hugo breaks his hand and Isabelle breaks her ankle. It actually causes a bunch of tension, and makes things harder for them in general.
Also, I like the way you can sort of see into Hugo's head. I see a lot of elements from the movie that didn't make as much sense, and now I see Hugo's explanations and reactions. It helps me connect more with him and the story in general.
Sorry if this is turning into a movie review.
Anyways, besides differences with the movie, this book is amazing. Like I said, there's a lot of a connection to the characters. They're very relatable and interesting. But the thing that really draws me to this book is the illustrations. I mean, wow. Selznick did all of the drawings, and there are so many of them. Every single one is gorgeous. What I love about this is , a) pencil sketches are my aesthetic and b) the way the words and pictures are intertwined is incredible. The only other book I've seen do this is Wonderstruck. Every time I see this form of storytelling, it gives me chills. Somehow, even without words, the story is understood perfectly. And when there are words, they don't feel out of place. Selznick is seriously a genius. If I can find more of his books, you can be sure I'll write about them here.
The thing about this book is that, even though it's 500+ pages, it's something that doesn't take long to read because at least a third of those pages are illustrations, and some pages without illustrations aren't even a full page. It's awesome, but it means that after this week I'll probably finish it. Talk to you then!

Week 4- The Finale

If you've read the title, you might have guessed what happened... I finished Conversion! Yay!
So, a few things.
First: my prediction about Wheez was wrong. Completely, utterly wrong. She had absolutely no purpose in the story. What the heck, Katherine.

Second: It was exactly the kind of ending I was hoping I wouldn't get. Which is, open-ended. In some cases, they're cool. And the way it was written was very interesting in the moment, but at the same time, not really as satisfying as some other open-ended books I've read.

Third: Because of this open ending, it's kind of unclear what's happening and what the true reasoning behind the events were. I think I mentioned last week that Colleen seemed unsure of the true reason for the Mystery Illness. She saw the parallels between the girls at her school and the girls in The Crucible, but at first she thought everyone was faking, but towards then end experts diagnosed the symptoms as conversion disorder (ha, ha, Katherine. Nice title drop), an actual illness. Colleen, because of how her symptoms had started around one of her (frankly kind of forgettable) friends, Emma, when she was upset, decided that this was being caused by Emma, either on purpose or without knowing, and it sure feels that way. The thing is, though, that because it's told from the point of view of a girl who, according to experts, has a mental health issue, we can't actually know if the glowing eyes or energy emanating from Emma are real or in her mind: that's the problem with an unreliable narrator. Plus, the story ends with a motif from Ann's story. There's a yellow bird (like the one on the cover. We get it, Katherine, you're very clever).

I'm guessing this implies that everything really was caused by witchcraft. But then it cuts to an epilogue with Ann, who admits that she was lying about being attacked by witches. So it's all kind of confusing and not very satisfying.
I think that was everything I wanted to talk about in the finale, so there you go! Thanks very much for reading. I'll be starting a new book, and I'll tell you about that either this week or next week, depending on how I feel! Bye~

Week 3- Oh, Quiznak

I didn't see a theme this week, but it doesn't matter that much since I wasn't gonna stick to it very well anyways. I'm aaaalmost done with Conversion, and there was stuff I thought I had figured out that, just as I was about to call it, got disproved. Howe is awesome at not being predictable--or rather, at making you think she's predictable and then--BAM!-- whacking you upside the head with originality! Like when I think the suspicious substitute teacher is the one sending mysterious texts, and then she denies it, and then she says she is and AUGH Howe is such a good writer. She knows how to suck you in to the scene without trying to describe every detail like I sometimes fall into the habit of doing. In fact, most of the time, she leaves out details like who's speaking, and instead of being confusing, it just kind of adds to the spooky mood. So cool!

Anyways, things are starting to get really crazy. At first I didn't understand the connection between Ann and Colleen: there didn't seem to be any parallel in the stories or even in the time span that everything on their sides of the story were happening.

But now I can see that Ann's story is a version of what happened during the Witch trials in a way that relates to the illness. It's interesting how Howe's been dropping hints the entire time, without even my over-analyzing brain figuring it out. I had my doubts that the girls were faking, especially when they seemed to lose their symptoms completely at one point, but it seemed like that wasn't the right answer somehow. It was too easy to reach that conclusion.
But then Colleen of all people starts feeling symptoms, at first just a headache, and I knew it was coming and then it came and she got sick too, which meant no one was faking after all! Called it! Only everyone but her seems to think it's the girls' brains tricking them into having symptoms. Which I guess makes sense, since why would they trust the opinion of a teenage girl with no medical training? But everything is still really weird. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen next.

But the thing that really interests me is about Ann's story. All of the girls, from what I can tell, are the actual ones from the Salem Witch trials, and the story is based on their accounts of what happened. What interests me is that, even though it started out as pretend, and it only continued so they wouldn't get in trouble for lying, now they're acting like they really believe it, and even Tituba, the slave they accused of bewitching them seems to be either truly believing it or completely out of her mind. It's hard to tell what's real and what's not, especially now that Colleen is feeling symptoms, and it really is scary now, with real suspense and mystery. Exactly what I was looking for!

I really love Howe's style of writing, and I think it's her style that helps create this mood, combined with her interesting word choice. Not to mention the idea of an unreliable narrator, which both Colleen and Ann may or may not be. It's creepy not knowing if the person whose eyes you're seeing through is really seeing what you think they are.
In conclusion, I'll probably finish this book by the end of next week, but until then, just know that I am seriously freaking out. Keep being awesome!

Week 2- Some Assembly Required

So this week the theme is characterization, and I want to talk some about that, but it might not be all I talk about, so just be aware.

First off, there's something I forgot to mention last week, which is that every few chapters there is a chapter or two told not from the point of view of Colleen, but of Ann Putman, a girl living in the 1800s in Salem. Ann tells the story of how she and her friends sort-of-kinda-accidentally made everyone in their town think they were basically possessed. They peed on rye last I saw them. So that was awkward.

Let's start with that characterization now. As long as we're talking about Ann, I'll mention some of her characteristics. Ann is a weird character. And I'm not just saying that because she said she'd willingly fall asleep in a room where there are multiple wasps' nests.

Ann is kind of a pushover, and she'll basically do anything to get attention. Like when one of her friends bit her and instead of telling the doctors examining her that it was a bite from a crazy human girl, she stayed silent and let him assume that a demon was attacking her. Because that's a logical conclusion.

Then we're back to Colleen. She actually reminds me a lot of me in a weird way. She cares a lot about her grades, but gives herself enough time to spend with the few close friends she has instead of having a large group of less close friends. She's very conscious of how other people view her, and is genuinely humble when it comes to her achievements. She really makes me think of me in the way she handles certain situations.

I also wanted to mention some little predictions and stuff. So, a lot of girls at Colleen's school are getting this "mystery illness", and one of the characters mentioned that his girlfriend, one of the girls there, wasn't returning his texts, and I immediately thought to myself, "Yeah, she's sick" and a few chapters later there was a 'dramatic reveal' that the character got the mystery illness. Called it. I'm usually able to predict little things like that in movies and books.

A prediction for later in the book? Colleen's little sister. Her name is Louise, but Colleen's family calls her Wheeze. She's very young, and no one pays attention to her. They just kind of ignore her, and she'll disappear for long periods of time before briefly reentering as comic relief. My prediction is that Wheeze will somehow be crucial to climax of the story. The author wouldn't include a character so close to the main character for no reason, so she's gotta have some kind of ulterior motive that we don't see yet. If I'm gonna be more specific, she could even be the mystery texter who's been sending Colleen hints on what's going on, although that doesn't seem likely considering her age. But she'll definitely be crucial later.

I guess that's all for now. Later!

Week 1- It's Razzle Dazzle Time!

Hi! The first book I chose to read this year was Conversion by Katherine Howe. According to the blurb, this book is a sort of fantasy/supernatural story related to the Salem Witch Trials, but set in modern times. I had a list of books I was considering to grab from the library, and this book was not on it. But when I saw it, the cover caught my eye, because it has a sort of creepy quality without you being able to tell exactly why it looks creepy. It's got a sort of yellow canary-esque bird with its beak open like it's calling or singing, and it's perching on what looks like a branch at first but is actually more like a stem, and has thorns on it. It really made me stop and stare, especially with the font used for the title and author. I almost walked by it because I'd already chosen other books, but I just had to stop and read the inside jacket cover. Once I did, I almost squealed. I love reading about the Salem Witch trials and things related to them. It's just a really interesting topic! Supernatural and fanasy appeal to me in general, but I'm not really sure why. I just like stories that change the world we live in.
Anyways, I've only read a few chapters, but so far I like the style of writing. The story is told from the point of view of Colleen, a girl at a private school, where girls start having seizures and experiencing other strange symptoms. Colleen is very down-to-earth and realistic for her age. She takes the time to describe her relationships with other people as they are introduced, which can get a little tedious at the beginning when all the characters are being introduced, but it really does give her more depth that matters a lot. Colleen is dedicated to her schoolwork, but isn't a geek and has actual friends who care about her. She's smart, but she's not a stereotype, and so far she's pretty relatable. I'm not sure exactly how this book will end, but I have a feeling it could go one of a few ways: Colleen becomes a hero and everyone is saved from the "illness" described in the blurb, Colleen is an actual person and not a "chosen one" and can't save them (a new set of Witch trials), and the extreme of that second one, where the world possibly falls into some kind of dystopia or at least the illness continues to spread and there is a new set of Witch Trials, but worldwide.
I know this is super long, especially for a first post about a book I'm not very far into, but I just wanted to explain my thoughts and feelings so far. Thanks for reading!