A Monster Calls Film, Book to Film Adaption

A Monster Calls book review

This 2016 adaption of Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls was alright. I'll make this quick review based on my thoughts about it being shown in a library or having it in the collection. 

Library Showing

I think the problem with this film is similar to what I also believe is an issue with the book (perhaps): most adults can enjoy it, because adults can theoretically relate to dying before their children. Teens, though, I think the book might not connect with everyone unless they are dealing with a parent that is ill. Honestly, I don't think I would have connected with the book at all when I was the target demographic. I'm fairly certain I would have found it childish. Like the film, there's something childish about Conor that I found off-putting. But as an adult, I can appreciate what he's going through. 

Ultimately, I don't think it would hold the interest of teens, unless you can find a group of them that WANT to see it together.

Library Collection 

Why not? I suppose someone might be upset by the bullying. It wouldn't go in the children's department, and I never hear of teens' sections having AV materials. There shouldn't be too much trouble putting it in the regular film collection. 

Other Thoughts

The three stories are animated instead of live action. I think the animation is good, but it's jarring. I get why they did it for the narrative, though. 

The monster was interesting. I suppose it is like most films where you get to see the monster up close and regularly: it becomes familiar and no longer frightening. 

There's a lot of scenes that adults get how good they were filmed.

I felt that it was an ok film, and I'm a little disappointed, but it did convey the story nicely. No reason not to include it in your collection, though it is a few years old now. I'm waiting on the Chaos Walking Trilogy to be filmed. 

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. 

Keeper by Kim Chance

Published: January 30, 2018
Publisher: Flux Books/Northern Star Editions
Author's Youtube

Introduction

Lainey thought the SATs were the worst thing in her life. Then, a 200-year-old witch attacks her in a parking lot. The witch shows up, bleeding, scaring the bejesus out of her. She also meets a handsome new boy. Then, everything she thought she knew about her life gets blown out of the water -- the world of the magical rises up and threatens everything she has known. To avoid the evil that is pursuing her, she will have to: 1. Believe in the unbelievable, and 2. Be stronger than she ever thought possible.

Beginning 

The beginning was boring, I'll say it here. I'm surprised, with all the beta readers she has listed, that this is what was published. I really had to make myself keep reading. The ending was a huge payoff for my efforts, but seriously, the beginning and most of the middle was a slog to get through. I considered abandoning the book. I had been watching Chance's Youtube channel for a while now, and I know she's better than this lousy beginning.

Atmosphere/Overall Feel

This book is mostly a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of romp. Which isn't bad, but it's predictable. I was hoping for a bit more horror. We get a bit of that in the beginning, with the bloody witch following Lainey around. But where does this happen? In a parking lot of a comic book store. That's terribly mundane. Most of the novel takes place in familiar settings such as: parking lots, cars, and home. Sometimes they go to a bookstore, and hey, they go to the cemetery a couple of times.

There is also a lot of comic book and general nerd references from best friend Maggie all the time. I didn't mind the references, but Maggie's catchphrase got old real fast.

Insta-Love 

Although the term "love" isn't thrown around much until the latter half of the book, here is another pot of instant love/love at first sight. I'm sick of this. I get that younger people tend to be smitten, but how naive do we all think young adults are?

The Good Parts

I know I'm throwing this book to the wolves. There were some great parts. Unfortunately, I don't want to spoil the entire latter portion of the book. However, the pace picks up, the stakes are raised, and Lainey stops being so bloody mopy/dramatic. There are many moments where my cold, frozen heart started to melt with the sad turn of events--and there are many!

At the end, there's a major betrayal. On par with the movie Frozen. All I'm going to say is that someone needs to get revenge in the next book.

Final Thoughts

I'm glad I made it to the end. I'm sure her sequel will be better, as the world building and set up are done. Would I recommend it for a library purchase? Sure. Librarians don't need to adore every book in their collection. There isn't anything subjectively offensive (blood happens, and that's all I can recall), and a few mild swears. I'd say if someone asks for it, buy a copy and put it in your collection. When the sequel is released, read that, and maybe the series will begin to sway you.

I did, however, notice two mistakes in the writing. Why does this happen? Self-published books that are put out way too soon, I see why it happens (still not saying it's ok, btw). Keeper has a traditional publication, with an editor!

WHYYYYY?

Lilo basically sums up my thoughts for this book. Great premise, boring beginning, two writing mistakes, but a great ending, and a desire to read more of the good writing.

The Ravenous by Amy Lukavics

Published: September 26, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Introduction

The Cranes are a family of five sisters that look picture-perfect from the outside. What the world doesn’t know is that their home life is less than ideal. When tragedy strikes, it threatens to rip their world apart, but their mother steps in with a mysterious fix that has disastrous consequences. The dead don’t have to stay dead, for a price.

NB: If you don’t want spoilers, don’t read the book blurb! I know the jacket blurb isn’t up to the author, so she gets a pass. It’s a poor decision on the publisher’s part to spoil the entire plot if you read the dust jacket. I’m very glad I didn’t read the whole thing before I read the book.

Family Dynamics/Characters

The Cranes are so dysfunctional it’s hard to read at times. If you’re looking for a book to compare and/or contrast family life in literature, this is a good pick as there is lots of evidence. The mother is mentally ill and an addict, and not equipped to be a caregiver. The maternal responsibilities fall to the eldest daughter, Juliet, which causes resentment. Next in line is Taylor, who cannot separate herself from Juliet, and she really doesn’t have any other outstanding character traits. Anya uses...illicit substances, but is otherwise fine. Mona, the main character, has her own problems. The youngest, Rose, is too young to have any real problems, yet, and she is loved by the family. Their father is in the military and is deployed or otherwise engaged outside of the house.

What I did like about this family is how each of the characters has their own personalities. Have you ever read a book that has many characters but they are all flat? Where you could easily cut 50% of the characters because they don’t add anything? It is not the case for this book, as all of the characters add something and move the plot forward.

Writing

Just as with The Women in the Walls, the horror scenes were fantastic. They elicited a visceral reaction that you don’t always get with horror novels. Unlike The Women in the Walls, the other writing was mostly improved. When there wasn’t guts and gore being thrown around, the story was just as engaging. My only point of contention here is the swearing. Yes, young people swear. It’s true! But it’s inserted in here so much it’s awkward. It’s a part of speech that needs to flow, but it’s jarring here and disrupts the regular patterns of speech.

I do have to say, the inciting incident was poorly written. It is reminiscent of a main character’s death in Sever. I stopped and asked, what actually happened? I can’t envision it. It’s also unbelievable. I can think of a few ways to at least make it more believable, but we got what we got, and it’s disappointing.

Military Aspect

I had written A LOT on this, and ultimately, I took off a star from my review. I have chosen to remove the critical bits because the last thing we need is the military calling my husband because they don't like what I wrote on the internet. I'll only give my briefest comments, but it is something that really took the novel down a peg for me.

The Cranes live on a military base, but it is evident that the author doesn’t have substantial knowledge of the military. Maybe don’t rely on only one person to give you info for the setting of a book. There are many parts of this novel that I cringed so hard because it was wrong by varying degrees. Every gif is at least a paragraph that I removed.

The end. I rolled my eyes so hard it’s a miracle I can still see. The military police would have been involved MUCH more than the regular police. You live on base, that’s it. And in all probability, their dad wouldn't have his job anymore. That's all I say.

The dad being deployed/posted, considering their family situation. Unlikely. All this information is readily available on the internet, btw.

Yeah, there was more. This whole page would be gifs if I kept going. So, below are some spoilers. Feel free to go to the Final Thoughts.

Other Issues

I expected THEM to drive the convertible to their mom and Harlow to see what was keeping their mom/get the cure themselves. To me, this is the obvious course of action that just isn’t taken. I don’t recall it ever being suggested, either.

End of Spoilers

Final Thoughts

Despite all the gripes I have against the setting, and some of the holes I found, I really did like this book. Could it be better? Yes. (Instead of the military setting, he could travel internationally for business.) Aside from the compare and contrast with this dysfunctional family, I can’t think of other ways to utilize this for academic work. The military aspect should have been axed-Lukavics needs to stick with what she knows if she can’t be bothered to research properly. But for a horror story with a dysfunctional family, it was great. If your library is alright with horror for a YA audience, such as Lukavic's other book, Women in The Walls, I recommend this book.

The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

Published: 2016

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Author’s Website: http://www.amylukavics.com
On Goodreads
My Review on Goodreads

Setting

The book is set in a Victorian mansion in contemporary times. It is a great setup for a horror story: lots of space (dark halls, empty rooms, attics, repetitive wallpaper, fireplaces in the rooms), no neighbours (particularly isolated), and surrounded by woods. There is a hint of female madness, men trying to keep control, ghosts, disappearances, all the good stuff.

Essay prompt: Gothic tropes in literature - compare the classic Bran Stoker’s Dracula (1897) or any literary gothic horror (this whole list is available from Goodreads and has great suggestions) with The Women in the Walls (a “then vs now” comparison for gothic themes would be great).

However, I feel like this book could have been set 100 years ago, and it would have been more dynamic because of gender roles. But you can’t conveniently boot up the computer and Google your house LIKE YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE.

Essay prompt: The Women in the Walls vs The Yellow Wallpaper or Jane Eyre and madness with gender (women’s power vs the infantilization of women).

Characters 

Overall, the book did have some memorable characters. The further you go away from the protagonist, Lucy, the better the characters are developed. 

To begin with, the book doesn’t take enough time to set up the characters and bonds before those characters begin to be plucked off. Why do I care if a character goes missing in the first few pages of the book? I feel like I am supposed to care, but I can’t. More time should have been given to conveying them to the reader. 

The main character, Lucy, doesn’t have a consistent character. I know at 17 you are still figuring that out, but what are her hobbies, her fears, her hopes, her manner of speaking, etc.? She self-mutilates, but that really shouldn’t be the only thing we know about her. (Plus, please don’t think that someone who cuts is this simple and flat. People who genuinely start cutting do so for very complex reasons.) She’s entrenched in the Acosta’s legacy. She seems unreasonable to her father (even though, yes, a lot of what is going on needs to be questioned) and that’s the only consistencies I could find. She mostly lets the plot happen to her, which gets old. 

Her father seems to have more of a defined character than Lucy. Margaret was an unlikable character, but she had more character than Lucy. Perhaps Lucy is a Mary Sue, which is an avatar for the author. The country club’s wives, their husbands, the new cook, the supernatural presence, all have more character than the main character. 

Writing

When the author isn’t writing about something scary, the writing isn’t the best. The sentences could be tighter and clearer. I found as I was reading them, my brain was automatically correcting the sentences. However, I have read that her latest book, The Ravenous, is a much better example of good writing, and I look forward to reading it (I actually own all three of her currently published books already). I want to stress that when Lukavics does write the “scary” passages, they are genuinely unsettling. Because those passages are so engaging, the book was a quick read that didn’t make me want to skim. 

Final Verdict 

The main character’s lack of individuality and inability to move the plot herself is frustrating, it may turn off some readers. With the addition of the non-horror sections not being especially well-crafted, I can see this be disappointing to some readers. However, I do recommend it for its horror qualities. Plus, it is a fast, engaging read. If your library isn’t squeamish about horror, non-suicidal self-injury, and gore, I recommend this. This book can be very versatile for high school essays (if you’re a teacher who is adamant about pushing the classics, pair this book with a literary classic). I also think Lukavics is an author to watch, if the reviews for The Ravenous are to be believed (and I will be starting that book tomorrow). Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and I will be keeping it on my shelf.

A Boy and His Dog (Short Story) by Harlan Ellison VS the Film

Published: 1969

Film: 1975

Author’s Website

Author’s Goodreads

15-year-old Vic is a survivor of World War IV. In this alternate world, dogs have achieved telepathic abilities, and Vic has teamed up with a dog named, Blood, arguably the smarter of the pair. Together, they scavenge the wasteland of the former United States. They search for food, shelter, and women for Vic. It is in this quest that they find a woman named Quilla June, who is out to lure Vic for her own purposes.

I'm doing things a little differently here, so anything beyond here may have spoilers!

Sexist Attitudes of the Protagonist and the Post Apocalyptic Wasteland
  

In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, it’s every man for themselves. Women are used for sex, and it’s not often that women are spotted. Vic grew up in this world, presumably without the proper guidance that we, today, give children. So, is not surprising that he is a product of more primal urges. The story is not framed in a way that gives the impression that Vic (or the author) think that what they are doing is moral, just that it is the new norm in that world. Women are commodities, just like food, shelter, and weapons. I point this out because I know there are large groups of readers who are more sensitive to these topics. I don’t believe it isn’t worth reading, even when it is, at times, difficult to read how badly the world has fallen.

Unlikable Protagonist

I foresee that some audiences might not like Vic, or the story in general, on principle. As for not liking a protagonist because you don’t agree with his morals or actions, a protagonist isn’t a hero. By literary definition, it’s just the main figure of a story. A third-grade teacher might say the protagonist is a hero so their students can understand, but protagonists are so much more. We don’t have to like them. We can’t always believe them. But we follow their story. (Did you know there are people in this world that we don’t like, but have interesting stories? Shocking.)

Film Adaptation

Have an essay in university that you need to compare and contrast the original source material (novel, short story, etc.) with an adaption (comics, films, etc.)? Consider Ellison’s “A Boy and His Dog” and the 1975 film. Are you objective? Can you also write objectively? It couldn’t hurt to know how closed-minded your professor is, too. When I was in high school and 17-years-old, this would have been deemed outrageously inappropriate. But when I was in my first year of university and 17-years-old, nothing is deemed off-limits. The short story “A Boy and His Dog” is arguably not high school reading, but by the grace of being in university or college, a wider range of reading material is opened up to students who may still be teenagers. I am actually disappointed that I didn’t use this for one of my adaptation essays. I usually only write about homework with high school students in mind, specifically, but I thought I would throw some ideas out on the internet in case anyone needs some inspiration. Note: I don’t have access to a lot of English literary criticism databases anymore, so perhaps this is overdone to death. What I am interested in is how the film toned-down/dumbed-down the messages for the screen.

Decrease in Crude Language and Behaviour

I can see why the film version made him less crude and forceful with his interactions with women (though he does have quite the remark about the woman who was killed in the beginning of the film). Even in the 70s, I think it would have been hard to reveal on the screen that Vic had indeed, raped many women before, hurting them, leaving them in dangerous situations, and had zero regards for them as people. He was specifically trying to find Quilla for this purpose, but in the film, he softens quickly to her idea of being together forever (as long as Blood can come, too).

The film also has nudity (as in, topless women, mostly Quilla). The tagline for the film is: “An R-rated, rather kinky tale of survival”, which is, arguably, rather false advertising. It gives it a pervy allure when it is much more than that. I would be interested in a paper discussing why this tagline would be deemed better than say, something that exalts the post-apocalyptic world, friendship, and love?

Quilla June: Book VS Film

What was disappointing to me is how obviously evil she is in the film. In the book, it’s ambiguous how the reader is definitely meant to feel about her. Vic’s ultimate decision brings an array of possible reactions/emotions: disgust, resignation, understanding, sadness. 

In the film, she is a terrible person who is using Vic for her own agenda. So when it’s barbeque time, it’s difficult to have too many conflicting emotions about it. Blood would aggravate Vic, but Quilla is undeniably a detestable character. The film dumbed-down the whole conflict. This should have been the best aspect of the film and it turned it into, eww, cannibalism! No. The ending to the book is, “A boy loves his dog.” The film ends with Blood saying, “Well I'd say she certainly had marvellous judgement, Albert, if not particularly good taste.” Way to kill any kind of nuance.

Book Topeka vs Film Topeka

You can look at your best friend and say, "To the farm, immediately" and have an in-joke. There, I just gave you a thing. 

Topeka in the book is stated to be more religious, as they had kicked all the scientists out to establish their own rule. Other than that, it isn’t described in detail.

In the film, Topeka is an oligarchy that imitates the deep south in dress and morals. The townspeople are in whiteface with painted smiles and rosy cheeks. The film is also full of bright colours, and the atmosphere isn't described that way in the book (I got the feeling that it was dingy). They get rid of the people who don’t fit in by sentencing them to the farm, immediately (as in, where your parents tell you where your dog is because they are too cowardly to tell you Rover has died). While I find that the film Topeka is much more interesting, it is again portrayed in such a way to make the audience’s distaste for it obvious. Why do we assume that film audiences are stupid?

Final Thoughts

Originally, I discovered this more than 10 years ago from the I Read Comics podcast by Lene Taylor. I can't see which episode specifically talks about it, though they are all great. I am indebted to her, not only for all those hours of entertainment, but for introducing me to more stories I would have never come across otherwise. She currently blogs at Look At His Butt! and that has it's own podcast (her voice is exceptional btw, go check her out).

I can't recall if it was her or a guest, who basically said, Well, it's not called A Boy and His Dog and His Girlfriend. And that sentiment has literally stayed with me and I've repeated it so many times I've lost count.

Update: Harlan Ellison's passing on June 27

Unfortunately, the author passed on June 27 in his sleep. He was writing another book in this series and a screenplay. Perhaps one day we'll get to enjoy the rest of his story.

The Salbine Sisters by Sarah Ettritch

*ebook from NetGalley-much thanks!

Published October 2010

Publisher: Norn Publishing

Website: Author’s Website 

Introduction

Maddie entered into the monastery of Salbine Sisters, a religious order of offensive mages that draw on the elements to defend their country. She begins her lessons with a mistress that she has taken as her lover, and discovers that she cannot draw on the first element, fire. With the news that there is something different about her, she travels to another monastery to find her answers.  

Story

It takes too long to establish how this world works, and I still have questions. Most of all, I want to know more about their religion. At one point we get a run down about Lina from a tapestry, but what about Salbine? It’s the name of their God/Goddess, a central aspect to this story, and I know nothing about Her.

The story was supposed to be about Maddie travelling and researching her condition. The story takes another turn and in the end I was left asking BUT WHAT ABOUT HER CONDITION? Nope, we have just forgotten about that. The book ends. Thanks, Book, for disregarding what you set out to do.

With this said, it was not a terrible story. It meandered all over the place, and it presented itself as fantasy. It’s really a romance. Straight up romances usually aren’t my cup of tea, but this story had me wondering about Lillian and Maddie’s relationship. How can it survive the awful conclusion that she cannot draw on the elements? So much happens consecutively after that, it made me anxious to read what would happen next in their relationship. There are many instances of dialogue that had me smiling or sad-the book was exceptionally moving to me, at times. Aside from a romance, the story accomplishes very little.

Characters

There are a ton of characters. For the most part, they are terribly flat. Because the story is concerned with an order of women, the characters that the reader is concerned with are women. It’s too bad that none of them have a convincing personality-the author populates the covenant with people whose only traits are that they are women. Gwendolyn is evil for about 10 minutes, and she has to most personality out of all the women.

Message

            The author’s website says that this is “A story about faith and love.” The faith, the religious kind, was alright until I felt like I was being hit in the face with everyone has a purpose set forth by a higher being. That became old quickly. Because I don’t want to spoil it here, Maddie’s purpose is the kind of thing I rail against with a feminist fervor.  

Verdict

Yes, it has two women as lovers, labeled lesbians (though the term is not used in the text), so some people will gasp, cover their mouths, and be offended. In this instance, it would be best to know a person’s sensibilities before you recommend this book. I recommend this book as a love story, not a fantasy. Because there is no fighting against a society that wants them to conform, I don’t even recommend it for people looking for LGBT literature that is about breaking free from society’s rigid structure. It's an nice love story of two women, one older, one younger, struggling against a series of unfortunate events, and I found it to have some wonderful moments.

Lauren DeStefano's Video on Wither's Publication

Way back in 2013 I wrote a review of Lauren DeStefano 's Wither (spoilers, I really like her series).

Today I stumbled on a vlog the author did on her publishing journey for Wither. The video is below:

You can also watch the video on Youtube here. I recommend that you go to her Youtube channel and show her some love. Her story about publishing is fantastic, and we share basically the same experience with getting a BA in English when you want to be writer (with the exception is that she got a big break and is now a best selling author).

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Published: 2007

Publisher: Razorbill

Website: http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/

Introduction

Hannah Baker has committed suicide. In the wake of her sudden departure, the people who knew her get a set of tapes with a map. On the tapes is the voice of Hannah narrating the thirteen reasons why she chose to kill herself. Nice guy Clay receives his and he listens to the harrowing story that was her life; one event after another. Everyone who contributed to her decision is on the tapes, and they have, or will have, their chance to listen. Clay is eager to know, yet terrified - why is he on the tapes? What did he do to her?

Themes

This book is like rubbernecking a highway traffic accident. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it gets dark. If you’re sensitive to uncomfortable topics such as the obvious suicide, bullying, sexual situations, etc., stay clear. Some people just don’t want to read about that, and that’s fine. However, I don’t advocate that this book be kept from teens or adults who wants to read it just because of its content. If you are alright with tougher subjects, go ahead and read it. If you don’t think your kid is up to the challenge, talk with them.

Also, you can write some amazing essays with this book. Comparing it to other books, or talk about glorification of suicide, bullying, sexual assault/consent, or the reality of suicides, or how the media handled it (sensationalized).

Hannah’s Character

Got this from here.

She comes off more of a psychopath to me. Clever like Jigsaw or Grandpa Rick, but not something glamourous. At many points in the book she seems to be more of a monster. Not because she has killed herself, but because she tries to drag everyone down to the hell she experienced. Her suicide was her escape, but the tapes were to punish those left behind. She's an emotional blackmailer.

The Courtney Character

Oh, hey, what a surprise, another smear on my name. Her last name is pretty cool though.

My Regular Person Opinion on the Book

Don’t give me that OMG think of the children! overreacting. Teens, adults, seniors, children - they are all capable of committing suicide, and they do. Copycat suicides? Sure, but you can get inspiration from anywhere if you are already in the mindset. The news, the bible, children’s fairy tales, urban legends, history, etc. all have instances of suicide and/or violence towards others. (Of course, video games get a lot of the flak nowadays.)

Thing is, it’s well-written. The voices are spot on, the characters are strong, which surprised me because there are so many. Aside from being on the Jigsaw spectrum, it’s story is unique. Dark, yes, and I don’t believe shielding the masses from stuff that might trigger them will help anyone. Parents should be talking with their kids - it shouldn't take a controversial book in the media to make you parent.

The End

I did love the end, and it’s exactly as I hoped it would be. The circle is broken. I’ll watch the Netflix series and report back, though they have a second season already lined up, which confuses me. It’s done, isn’t it? It’s over. Go home.  

Although I do have to say something about Clay’s tape, and a few of the other tapes. You can click right here and you’ll be directed to a page on this blog that will have spoilers and what I think is a major flaw in this book.

Suitability in a Library

Should you carry this book in your library? Depends. How’s your collection development policy? How do you handle book challenges? Personally, I’d put it in, but that’s just me and my (mostly) irrelevant opinion. Whose opinion counts, might you ask? The heads of your library that have to write policies and procedures, and then implement said policies and procedures, that’s who.

And if you start banning now, you set a precedent, and you'll be having everyone on Harry Potter and Jane Eyre and 1984 and Brave New World and The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and Fahrenheit 451 and Hamlet and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and... 

I recently read this book and it was great - Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for YA & School Librarians. I recommend it if you're an advocate for intellectual freedom.

Final Verdict

It’s a good book. Well-written with the integration of the story on the tapes, what’s happening to Clay as he listens to the tapes, and what Clay remembers. Due to the themes, it’s not for everyone - and that’s fine. If a reader is good with dark themes, I recommend this book.

I think there’s too much that happened to Hannah, though, to the point that it becomes unbelievable. I can see that might be annoying to some people. The media attention is unfortunate, but it will subside eventually and we can go back to reading instead of attending all these mandatory book burnings.