Book Review: The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin

The Year We Fell Apart  by Emily Martin

Goodreads | Amazon
Series: no
Release date: January 26th 2016
Rating: Coulda been better

This book wasn't as good as it could have been.  It is the story of seventeen year old Harper set in the summer between her junior and senior years of high school.  She has been engaging in some destructive behavior (I am basing this on the fact that she feels frantic, out of control, and unhappy with her choices) since she broke up with her boyfriend last year after he moved away.  Enter Declan, the ex boyfriend, into her life again and the plot is set for many a terrible choice and misunderstanding.

One of the problems that I had while reading was the lack of intimacy.  The book is set up as a girl's intensely personal journey through destructive behavior and towards self forgiveness.  Which I am all for.  However, the reader never really gets close enough to Harper. I just finished the book and I don't really have a mental picture of Harper aside from being tall and not as thin as she used to be.  I never really understood how she thinks, why she feels the way she feels, and what her motivations for acting out are.  It seemed to be self perpetuating, "I am bad because I drink and make out with guys so I am going to drink and make out with guys." If a character is engaging in destructive behavior I need to know what is driving her.  I should ache for her to make the "right" choices, the healthy, safe choices while completely understanding why she doesn't. This also would have made the theme of self forgiveness more powerful.  

Unfortunaely this book was rife with slutshaming.  Yes, it is about a girl in high school and yes she does make out with some guys so I was expecting some towards Harper. I was disappointed that Harper herself often mentally slutshames her friend Sadie and even her other friends.  There is also a scene where she talks about being a virgin that made me uncomfortable.  It was as if the author was saying that if Harper had actually slept with all the guys that she made out with then she would be unforgivable.   It also pissed me off that the whole school and her parents were completely comfortable putting all the blame on her.  Why is it still okay for guys to sleep around and make stupid choices but not for  girls?  Why is having a "reputation" still a thing?  If the book had explored the unfairness of this or how it impacted Harper's life I would have been much more satisfied with it.

I did appreciate that Harper had strong friendships and family relationships.  It was one of the more interesting aspects of her character.  She would get into a situation and need help and know that she had people to call on to come and get her and then actually would call them.  

This wasn't a terrible book.  There was some decent writing and some of it was adorable. It just could have been much better.

Book Review: Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

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Series: no

Release date: October 1st 2008

Rating: my students were right

"Now, in five hours, barring the end of the world, the moon will obliterate the sun. On the one hand I am so excited I can barely think straight. On the other, the eclipse means that everything will start happening really quickly."

I teach seventh grade and during lunch on Wednesdays I run a Middle School Book Club, which may be the most awesome activity ever.  Two of the girls in the group relentlessly mentioned this book every week.  "Have you read it yet? Have you read it yet?  Have you read it yet?" It took me awhile to get to but I finally did read it. There is something exciting about seeing books resonate with the age group with which it is intended so I had pretty high expectations for this book which for the most part it lived up to.

It is the story, told in three alternate voices, of three middle school students whose lives intersect with a solar eclipse. The main characters Ally, Bree, and Jack all have clear and separate voices.  This is important to me because I find almost nothing more annoying then losing track of who is narrating because the author doesn't vary the voice.  The character also acted age appropriately. 

"I am not plain or average or -god forbid- vanilla.  I am peanut butter rocky road with multicolored sprinkles, hot fudge, and a cherry on top. Not that I would ever eat such a thing, because it would go right to my thighs."

Let's take a moment to talk about Bree.  I found her to be the most challenging character to care about and root for.  She is "that girl" in middle school and high school who has embraced and been entrapped by the ideals of popularity and the social norms that we hold ourself to at that age.  It is a realistic depiction but honestly making someone who is shallow (and proud of it) sympathetic is difficult.  I felt as if I was holding myself back from the character almost the whole time that I was reading. 

The science aspect of the story seemed well researched (not my area of expertise but there is a bibliography at the end of the book so sources are cited) but was not at all heavy handed. 

"My heart is pounding so fast I bet everyone can hear it, even over the din of voices. There's not sign of the approaching moon in the bright sky. An eclipse can only happen when the moon is in the new moon phase, when we can't see the sun reflecting off of it. So it's like looking for something invisible."

I really appreciated the nuanced examination of what we can change about ourselves and our life situations and what we should we should accept.  Pretty big themes for middle schoolers and yet Wendy Mass managed make the point delicately without being preachy or losing the fun.

All in all I found this book sweet, satisfying, and compulsively readable (read it in one sitting). And I love the last lines of the book.

Book Review: Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

Book Review: Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian 

Goodreads | Amazon
Series: no
Release date: February 12th 2013 
Rating: Pretty darn good

"You gotta wonder who the genius was that came up with the plan to put a bunch of Africans in Maine, the coldest, whitest state in America"

This is the story of Tom Bouchard, a soccer team, a small town in Maine, an influx of Somali refugees, and the small choices we make every day.  How do we do what is both right for ourselves and for others?  How do we make that the same thing?

One aspect of this book that I found both interesting and accurate at the same time was the distance that was maintained between Saeed and Tom even after they become friends.  They aren't speaking the same language.  This sis true in a literal sense, a cultural sense, and from a life experience sense.  This doesn't mean that their friendship isn't valid but it does leave a lot of room for misunderstandings. Until they can speak one language together fluently they are always going to find one another slightly puzzling.

The casual racism displayed in this book was infuriating. Realistic, but infuriating. People call the Somali players, "Osama".  Someone jokes that Mecca is over by the mall and the girls wearing hijabs are a constant source of ridicule.  The thing that is so realistic is that no one really thinks that they are being cruel.  They see themselves and being funny and anyone who points that out is seen as a killjoy.  

 Source 

I teach an an international school.  More than 80% of my students are not native English speakers. It takes a certain amount of effort but it does not have to been the train wreck of the school in this book. Yes, strong EAL teachers are needed (and don't seem to be present here) but all teachers and staff have to accept and embrace that face that WE ARE ALL LANGUAGE TEACHERS.  The portrayal of support that the students receive (which is probably very accurate) hurts my heart. The school was obviously trying but also sort of flailing wildly in an attempt to find a "solution". I may have been yelling at the book while reading.

I found that this book balanced plot well with characterization.  Sometimes, after I am done reading a very character focused book I struggle to remember what actually happened in the story.  In this book both the plot and the characters were given due attention.

Bottom line: Thought provoking, entertaining, and well worth reading.