Let's see, this week I have read my way through two middle grade books: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch and Everything is Fine by our very own Ann Dee Ellis.
The first, I found to be deeply emotional and near-rage inducing, also vomit. Not really, but close. I mean, the young girls are saved for the old men? Don't be fooled by its length and intended audience, this book is plenty disturbing in its own horrific right. But in a good way! Haha :P I can't imagine what it must be like to write books like this, from a character's POV that you've never experienced and on such heavy topics that one might think therapy for depression would have to be done parallel to the writing process. Despite the obviously alien situation, I found it was easy to relate to and care about Kyra. Her attitudes and ideas were believable for someone with such restrictions on them [being nearly only 14 and being part of a sheltered polygamous group]. Lynch's writing style in this book worked as commonly known prose as well as the stop and go format of a thought process without breaking the flow of the writing as a whole. Everything just fit.
The second, I found to be a refreshing surprise in style and content [if anyone else has read this you'll understand how that sentiment can be found somewhat disturbing]. Everything is Fine also deals with a heavy topic through the eyes of a budding teen and, unlike The Chosen One, the tragedy that lies behind Mazzy's current situation isn't obvious at first, being revealed piece by piece as I have seen done in other stories. However, despite the clues that were dropped along the way, the important revelation of the whole story blew me away. The bare bones of the situation I knew, but the details were what really popped then. It's books like these where one read demands another because once you know the back story, then a second read adds a completely new level to the initial scenes we read before. Also, I admire Ellis for the ending. While the romantic in me cries out for happily ever afters all the time, I do enjoy, and appreciate, those stories that have closure but also leave room for the characters to live on, even if it's just in our imaginations. Mazzy has more problems ahead of her, but hopefully she and her family will have a healthier head-start, and future, now :)
For an odd aside: I just realized today that when I am rushing to get down a particular scene or bit of dialogue or character description that has formed in my head, I hold my breath. Does this happen to anyone else? Does anyone have any other odd writing ticks, per se?
Okay, personal writing time. Prepare to potentially feel awkward or embarrassed [for me]. As we've seen in class, my style generally doesn't lend itself to humor so we'll see how this goes over. [keep in mind this is meant to be humorous ><]
Do you ever have times when you are acutely aware of the people around you? You know, like those scenes in movies when the character walks into a room and everything's kind of slow-motion all of a sudden and they see everything turning to stare at them even though, outside of their head, no one actually is?
I think a lot of people maybe feel this paranoia of sorts when they are in large, pressing crowds and that man's elbow is RIGHT THERE or if they ever walk into a room when there's a silence or they're late and the teacher is giving them THAT look and someone is snickering.
Well, I have many times when I can say I feel this hyper-awareness but the one reoccurring place/situation is in public bathrooms. The public bathroom is an interesting phenomena. Never, I dare challenge, has there ever been a place that combines unspoken bodily functions that we strive to hid from the world with the competition and peacock-ing that our society is so soaked in. It is both a place of embarrassment and performance.
"Stage fright" is one of the most commonly cited issues in public restrooms, the fear of being identified in your little stall by the stranger 3 stalls down that's not even paying attention to the stranger 3 stalls down from them [you] and whom you'll never see again.
This, in turn, raises the interesting female paradox that requires women to travel to the bathroom in groups and then to studiously ignore each other upon arrival. Because nothing is more awkward for everyone involved than the stall-to-stall conversation.
Tangents aside, for me, the sink situation is killer. I often find myself timing my sink arrival in an attempt to arrive at a slightly different time that the girl 2 doors down that flushed at the same time. And actually washing your hands? Forget being judged by the shoes you're wearing or even the state of your hair!
Wash too long and people may wonder what you're up to [does she have OCD? poor dear] or what you were up to.
Wash too quick and you get the "please don't touch me when you pass because you totally still have germs on your hands" look.
The worst, of course, is the crowded sink approach. You know the one. Let's say there are 3 sinks, only one is open. Now you have to decide. Do you wash at your normal speed and time and if you finish before the girls that got there before you, so be it? Or do you wash as long as they do and end at the same time as them? Or do you wash until a while after they have finished so as not to seem suspect of timing your washing with them?
This may be your only impression on these strangers you'll never see again. You should probably think about it. I do.
I've read a couple of blog posts from other people in our class who have also read The Chosen One, and all the reactions have been pretty much the same: tantrum inducing. So, you're not alone.
ReplyDeleteI liked your humorous piece. Something about humor that I've learned (which you might have heard before, it's not some closely-kept secret) is that many successful funny people feed you something surprising, but at the same time, familiar. So a bathroom scene is totally relatable. And I loved the hand-washing part because I definitely do that, but I never really thought about it before now!
Anyway, nice post. Your blog is fun to read!