REVIEW

Once upon a time there was a hazel-eyed boy with dimples. I called him Khalil. The world called him a thug. He lived, but not nearly long enough, and the rest of my life I’ll remember how he died.

Aside from a great twist or premise, I always find myself drawn to books with beautiful or interesting covers. With the sole image of a young black girl holding a sign in a sea of white space, The Hate U Give always drew me in, but it was yet another one of those situations where I promised to come back to it and something always took precedence. I didn’t know much about the story when I heard there would be a movie, but context clues from the cover gave me an inkling so I checked out the trailer when it came across my radar to see if it was something I could get into. The emotion and subject matter left me stunned and I immediately went to the bookstore to get a copy so I could dive right in.

The Hate U - the letter U- Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody. T-H-U-G L-I-F-E. Meaning what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out.

The thing that stands out to me the most about this story is how real it feels - which makes me wonder in the back of my mind if that’s the reason it took me so long to rip the bandaid off and read it. So much of this is going on the news now in a never-ending somber cycle that it felt as if I was just reading another headline, not living in the pages of a fictional story. The inspiration and connection to Tupac was very clear here, just as it is if you apply it to our current social climate. Reading and watching so many of these stories is both heartbreaking and terrifying; put that together with the exhaustion that then turns into anger when nothing seems to change and you get a lot of the actions portrayed in both this story and real life. I could see everything playing out in my head - the road stop, the court proceedings, and definitely the protests and the aftermath, which were the most triggering of all.

I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I’ve tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down.

Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.

I felt a strong gravitation to Starr. Having also split time in two environments and being too much of one thing for one and not of enough of one thing for the other, I knew her struggle of not only just trying to find her footing and where she belongs, but struggling with if and when to code-switch and to what degree. It was great to watch her find her voice in all of this and embrace her identity and position. Much like the tragedy and hurt of everything going on around her, everything close to her also felt real. One of the things I loved about Angie Thomas’ writing throughout the course of the story was how grounded it all felt and how much I could relate. Her family unit was painted especially strong, given all of the odds against them, and I really appreciated the smaller moments that provided light breathers in the midst of heavier situations. 

Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.

As much as I avoided this for fear of the feelings it would bring back up about the current state of things, I’m so glad I finally did. The fact that I had so many emotions but still managed to finish with a feeling of hope is a great testament to what I believe truly works within the pages of this story. Now that I’ve absorbed the full story, I look forward to seeing in brought to life on screen, even if it may slightly change through transference of adaption. This is definitely a story we need, no matter the form, and I’m excited for the new people it attracts.

REVIEW

Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?

This was another story that caught my attention from the news of an adaption. I’d seen pieces of the trailer many times at work before I actually sat down and watched it in full. I was drawn to the fantastical atmosphere of the imagery, and I had a fear that the mother-son relationship I’d seen in the clips would be an emotional one (especially for me because I’m extremely close to mine), but there was still enough there to pique my interest in the film. After I’d watched it, and cried my eyes out, I went to the library to find the book, hoping to get more of the same, even if there were the ususal changes that take place when a book goes from page to screen.

Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving. Quite often, actually. You’d be surprised.

I don’t know what took me so long to read this, or why it had never crossed my path until now, but I absolutely loved it - reading Conner’s story broke me just as much as when I watched the movie. It was such a beautifully tragic story about grief and healing, much deeper than I could have ever imagined it to be. I connected so much with Conner’s character, his relationship with his mother and his method of coping with fear and pain. I’ve had so many moments where I felt as if not accepting something as reality would keep it from being so, but having now read and seen Conner’s journey with the Monster’s tales in relation to his own journey with his mother’s illness helped me realize that it does more harm than good, which is a lesson I needed even in my adult age. 

“You be as angry as you need to be,” she said. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Not your grandma, not your dad, no one. And if you need to break things, then by God, you break them good and hard.”

As an added bonus - if the stories themselves weren’t enough, the illustrations in this are gorgeous! I’ve always loved the illustrations in the new Harry Potter editions, so having these done by same person was great. They capture the atmosphere of a child and a monster in both the scary and the tragic moments, as well as just adding little ornaments to the pages of an equally beautiful story. I wasn’t expecting them to be mixed in with the story, so they were a nice surprise and another way to help visualize what was happening beyond the words.

“The answer is that it does not matter what you think”, the monster said, “because your mind will contradict itself a hundred times each day. You wanted her to go at the same time you were desperate for me to save her. Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.”

After getting the story from the source, I’m definitely going to have to carve out some extra time to watch the movie again and revisit this world and the characters. Even though I’m more than likely going to cry again, it’s a story that I feel needs to be told and experienced, no matter what the age. 

REVIEW

Down is up, up is down. Good is Wicked, Wicked is Good. The times are changing. This is what Oz has come to.

Fairy tales were some of the first books I read before I started reading harder books on my own. Now that I'm older, I'll still revisit them from time to time, but I also keep my eye out for anything that takes a twist on them while still keeping remnants of the original. I’ve always loved The Wizard of Oz in any capacity, whether it be the original story, the musical from 1939 or The Wiz, so this got my attention from both the concept and the beautifully abstract cover.

I hate to break it to you, but just because someone has pretty hair and good skin tone and a crown instead of a pointy hat doesn't mean she's not the baddest bitch this side of the Emerald City.

I really enjoyed the character changes and worldbuilding in this twisted version of Oz. Having a power hungry Dorothy running Oz into the ground with a now mad scientist Scarecrow, lethal bodied Tin Man, and a beastly Lion on her side really added to the fact that this was not entirely the story we were initially familiar with. This also made room for so many horror movie elements that I appreciated, like the PermaSmiles and reanimated corpses of Dorothy’s prisoners. Everything was described so vividly that I could picture even the tiniest of details in my head - from the animation of Indigo’s tattoos to the draining of color and magic throughout the land. The concept of the roles being reversed combined with the world’s drastic changes really painted the picture of an almost post-apocalyptic environment under Dorothy’s rule, which wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when I started reading, but completely welcomed and accepted by the end.

You’re a long way from Kansas, I know, she said. But there’s more than one kind of home. And you’re right. You are on your own. We all are, and we all have to learn it sooner or later. If you have to be alone, wouldn’t you rather be alone among friends?

The glue to this story for me was probably Amy. From the very beginning and throughout, this whole journey to this alternate Oz played out as a trip of self-exploration for her, going from Salvation Amy from Flat Hill, Kansas to the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked’s savior. I liked watching her grow in strengths as both a warrior and a person, perfecting her new magic skills and learning her worth. With this new found knowledge, I’m excited to see where this takes her as she continues to carry out her mission.

There is a moment in magic. Whether it’s a tiny spell or a big one. There’s a point where you can turn back or you can give yourself over to it—even the most Wicked have to pull back.

Overall, this was a great trip back to the land of Oz. I really enjoyed all of the twists and turns to a story I’ve been fascinated with since childhood. It took me a while to actually find and get into this one, but I can’t wait to see where this story goes next. Hopefully an adaption is made soon or in the future - I would love to see there visuals come to life, whether on a big or small screen.

REVIEW

My name isn’t Offred, I have another name, which nobody uses now because it’s forbidden. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, your name is like your telephone number, useful only to others; but what I tell myself is wrong, it does matter. I keep the knowledge of this name like something hidden, some treasure I’ll come back to dig up, one day. I think of this name as buried.

I first became aware of this book when the news came out about the series on Hulu. Somehow I’d missed anything by Margaret Atwood in the past, even in school, so I was intrigued to check this out just based on the premise. Although it had moved a few notches higher on my TBR list at the time and I made sure to take note of when the first episodes premiered, I hesitated to start reading because it seemed as if it would feel a little too close to home given everything going on regarding women’s issues politically. After a little back and forth, I finally dove in and gave this a chance.

Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

Despite my initial reservations, the uneasiness I felt is a big part of what made this a great read. Some moments were hard to take in given the context and the connections my mind made to the present, but I almost think it was written that way to get its point across. At times this read as historical fiction detailing events from the past, while other times it seemed to take place in a future dystopian era - I could never truly get a handle on its point of reference, but in the end that didn’t bother me.  That initial discomfort carried over into worry for the characters’ situations and fear of how/if they would survive.

Maybe none of this is about control. Maybe it isn't really who can own whom, who can do what to whom and get away with it, even as far as death. Maybe it isn't about who can sit and who has to kneel or stand or lie down, legs spread open. Maybe it's about who can do what to whom and be forgiven for it. Never tell me it amounts to the same thing.

Overall, it was still a great read and I look forward to finally diving in to the show. The ending left me wondering about both Offred and the town’s futures so maybe this adaption will be able to expand on that.