Medicine River by Thomas King

Published: 1990
Publisher: Penguin Canada

Introduction

Will has not been back to Medicine River, Alberta, in years, and he only returns for his mother's funeral. He meets Harlen, a man who is nosey and annoying at times, but ultimately well-meaning. The book details the other inhabitants of Medicine River. As a single, 40-year-old man, Harlen attempts to get Will into relationships, sports, and business. Will himself is half Indigenous and Medicine River is bordering on a Blackfoot reserve, so there are some tensions in the community. This book about identity, culture, and self-discovery. 

I decided to do a short review here because in my AP literature class in high school, another student was assigned this book. Plus, I believe it was included in one of my university classes. 

Genre, Pace, & Plot

Goodreads has this listed as Fiction and Cultural > Canada. I'd call it literary fiction. It has literary merit and subtle complexities regarding social issues that deserve insight and further thought. The pace is fairly slow, with the stories revolving around Medicine River and Will. While the stories can be intriguing in a slow-burning and quiet way, they are realistic and quite frankly, boring. A lot of criticism I see online for this is that it is boring, which I do not refute. However, welcome to real life. There are no big explosions, rarely do people get "hero" moments in their lives. Life is usually a string of mundane experiences with occasional knots of mild interest.  

The major problem I have with the plot is with regards to Will's overall arch. He is insecure, passive, and simply floats in life. The thing is, this doesn't change! By the end of the book, he doesn't learn, despite Harlen's attempts to make him DO something. The book ended and I turned the page, expecting there to be more. No, there isn't. It's like King just stopped writing. Did he forget to write the end? Is my copy missing pages?    

Essay/Discussion Topics

Families, identity, location and identity, First Nations/Indigenous/Aboriginal Peoples in literature, Canadian literature, fatherhood. I enjoyed how Will interacted with South Wing, given his own history with his father.

Final Thoughts

For a personal read, it was an okay book. I hate that the reader is left with Will being exactly the same, unchanged, learning nothing. There area few spelling errors in my edition which bothered me (this was published by Penguin!). For an academic read, it does give an interesting dynamic to dissect. It was a quick, easy read. This book is similar to Stone Angel, as it is set in the present day and there are flashbacks to the past (I know this sometimes bothers readers). If you need to read Canadian fiction for a class, this is a good pick.  

Also, question, if this book is set in Canada, why does it use miles rather than kilometres?

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls film review 

Published: August 27th 2013
Publisher: Candlewick Press

Author's Website

Introduction

Every night at 12:07, a monster comes to13-year-old Conor. It wants stories, to tell them, and to hear them. The ancient creature wants Conor's story, a truth that the boy refuses to acknowledge. The monster began coming after Conor's mother started another round of treatments at the hospital. He has become That Kid, and he despises how other people treat him differently. Without his father in his life, he is left with his maternal grandmother, a woman detached from her grandson. And the monster continues to call, demanding to be heard.

Male Protagonist

I originally found Ness years ago when I was looking for books that have believable male main characters, preferably written by male authors. In this regard, this book doesn't disappoint. I appreciated that Conor, as a boy, handles his grief, and bullying, and family issues, differently compared to a girl. I suspect there's more literature with girl MCs in this genre. I find that sometimes male characters are written like tom-boy girls or the author's lay on the masculinity THICK. I recommend this for male readers who really don't want to read books with female leads. 

Essay Ideas/Grief and Mourning books

Without directly saying it in the novel, Conor's mom is going through cancer treatments. This may put this book on the "sick lit" category, but Ness handles this very delicately, and it is not the MC that is ill. Another book that it can be compared/contrasted to is Shoulder the Sky. I see that it is often on the same lists as The Fault in Our Stars, but Monster Calls is about when a parent has an illness. I think it would still be an excellent candidate for an essay discussion. 

Book Riot has a list of 6 YA Novels About Grief and Mourning that should be helpful. Aside from Fault, I haven't read them (though they are now on my Goodreads list). 

Other topics could be fear (about the future, mortality), family, and magical realism. An essay I would love to see would be looking at monsters in literature and their psychological symbolism (Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, dragons, dementors, Cthulhu, Mr. Hyde, zombies, etc.). 

Film

Update: I reviewed it here. For now, have a Gif from the film!

It's ok, it's just a giant hand.

Final Thoughts 

This is a very touching book about a very difficult, but real situation a young person (or anyone) can find themselves in. I don't see a reason why this shouldn't be in a library collection. Not only is Ness a gifted writer (The Chaos Walking trilogy is one of my favourite sets of books), it's a book that may be helpful to someone, or they may relate to it. It's also a tear-jerker, if you feel like you haven't had a good cry lately.