All You Never Wanted: A Psychtember Review

 Patient: All You Never Wanted by Adele Griffin

Presentation (from Goodreads): "With my eyes closed and Alex's core friends all around me, it was like I'd become my big sister, or something just as good. And so who cared if they were calling it Alex's party? One thing I knew: it would be remembered as mine.Alex has it all—brains, beauty, popularity, and a dangerously hot boyfriend. Her little sister Thea wants it all, and she's stepped up her game to get it. Even if it means spinning the truth to win the attention she deserves. Even if it means uncovering a shocking secret her older sister never wanted to share. Even if it means crying wolf.

Told in the alternating voices of Alex and Thea, Adele Griffin's mesmerizing new novel is the story of a sibling rivalry on speed."

Assessment:

Axis 1. Characters

Adele Griffin is just so good at writing complex characters. Characters who do the wrong things for the right reasons, the right things for the wrong reasons, and the wrong things for the wrong reasons...but not so often the right things for the right reasons. Her characters are so flawed — but in All You Never Wanted at least one of the two main characters is one you can root for. 

The sisters: Alex is obviously the more sympathetic, likeable sister; she has a whole host of issues to deal with (which will be discussed below) and certainly shows some less than honourable behaviour, but she is definitely easier to like than Thea.

Her sister, on the other hand, is a real pain in the neck. She's the 'bratty kid sister' taken to an extremely toxic level. I never felt like she truly cared about Alex (even though she said she did), because she went around sabotaging her sister — trying to take her friends and boyfriend, be "better" than Alex, and capitalize on the fact that Alex is struggling. Thea is never satisfied; she always wants more, and the only reason she wants it is because Alex has it. This life of luxury she's been given has opened up a realm of possibility. Suddenly there's all this stuff that she never wanted that she has now, and it's almost like she doesn't know what to do with it exactly, but it makes her want more. And she begins treating people like objects, stuff for her to accumulate. I suspect something clinical is going on with Thea as well, so her behaviour will also be addressed in detail on Axis 4. 

I wasn't strongly connected emotionally to either sister, although I found Alex easier to relate to than Thea, but they're very flawed and multi-dimensional. The story is kind of irresistible anyway, though, because it's clear that these two sisters are heading for disaster.


Xander and Joshua: Xander is the one person here who's sensible, the voice of reason/sanity. He's Alex's "rock" in a way. He's pretty awesome and the day he and Alex spend together is cute. While he's not perfect (he does get angry at times), he's pretty steady, and certainly preferable to Joshua. I couldn't get a read on Joshua for a long time, but basically, he's a jerk. I never liked him that much and I don't think we're supposed to!

Other side characters: We don't really get to know Alex's friends, "The Blondes," that well, but they're pretty much there just to show us that Thea is trying to steal them away from her sister. Honestly, I don't know why Alex wants to hang out with them anyway, because they don't seem that nice; I guess Alex and Palmer in particular have a long history and a strong connection. I wish we'd seen a little more about the mom (and Thea's and Alex's connection with her) as well as Arthur. At one point it's mentioned that Alex feels so bad about disappointing Arthur and I was like, "Really? Because you didn't seem to care about him for most of this book..."

Axis 2. Premise/plot

I was really confused for the first few chapters, but then it started making more sense as I got further into it. The whole story takes place in this glitzy glamour world of money, that Thea and Alex were pushed into when their mom remarried. It's almost soap opera–ish in a way; you can see it playing out kind of like the TV show 90210 with all these really rich teens. It conveys that vibe very well, and it's difficult to stop reading (especially towards the end) because you can't tear your eyes away from this glittery, frothy life of these rich people — and how destructive they are in their opulence. This kind of life is tearing Alex up inside, even as she weakly tries to rebel, and Thea is just destroying herself. 

It would have been interesting to have seen more flashbacks to when the mom first remarried, and been shown the effect (as it happened) of the money on Alex and Thea. As Alex acknowledges at one point, the whole thing does seem very "poor little rich girl". I couldn't feel that bad for people who have so much, but on other hand, I guess I can kind of understand how it would completely change your world and how you live, messing with your values and making you doubt yourself. I think how much it changes someone would depend on the character of the person, though. Thea didn't have a strong enough personality to resist it, and was tempted by the money and everything it gave her. It's pathetic how concerned she becomes with what people think of her. I have a hard time buying it's just the money's fault; you can point your finger at the fact that her stepdad's so rich, but really, it's how she reacts to that — the money is just an excuse. 

Plotwise not that much happens here, but it doesn't really matter — it's rich in social drama. Plus, there's the party at the end, and you know that's where everything's going to go down. And does Adele Griffin ever know how to end a book! It's exploiting some shock value, yes, but there's a sickening sort of ambiguity at play here; you don't really know what happened, but you are certainly left to suspect. The very last couple of pages gives us a brilliant dose of irony by being juxtaposed with what just happened previously.

Thea is a mess at the end, and Alex's behaviour really says something about how much Thea has torn apart their relationship (although Alex is a little to blame as well for that). However, I had to feel bad for Thea in a way (that is, given a particular interpretation of events), because she is pretty young and doesn't know exactly what she's doing. She's cluelessly reaching for fire, thinking she wants it...and then she finds out that she doesn't. There's definitely a message of "reap what you sow" with this book, and Thea cannot for the life of her figure out that there will be consequences to her behaviour, and that she'll just wind up hurting herself.

Unfortunately, we don't get much resolution about Alex's psychological problems. It looks like she's taking the first steps to getting herself back on track and getting help, though.

Axis 3. Writing Style

I just get so impressed by Adele Griffin's books because she's a really good wordsmith and the quality of writing is always high. In particular, I have to commend her talent for subtlety. She's excellent at insinuating twisted things; it's almost like the spaces where she doesn't say something are as important as all the words she does say. It's masterful writing technique when you can make those blank spaces mean as much (or more) than the actual words.

Alex's chapters are written in third-person and Thea's in first-person, which is interesting, because I feel like I couldn't understand Thea's perspective and attitude as well as I could relate to Alex's. It took a bit for me to switch between the viewpoints for the first little while, but this approach works to separate the two perspectives and keep them distinct.

Present-tense is not usually my favourite, but here I think it really gives the reader that sense of immediacy; the time passing is important because it all happens over a fairly short period. In particular, Xander's and Alex's relationship develops very quickly, and yet despite that we see they share a meaningful emotional (and physical) connection.

Some of the description in here may seem somewhat unnecessary, but it balances out some of the really important things that happen "off-screen" (otherwise it would be really short and simple!). There's also a fair bit of brand name–dropping (they are rich people, after all) which didn't do anything for me, since I didn't get most of the references; some of the slang was lost on me as well.

Griffin is great at creating meaning with fresh or unusual analogies/metaphors, and her writing feels quite powerful; it's not really a book to skim, because you could miss something important. She writes warped behaviour so effectively. I don't know how she does it, but somehow she manages to pull it off really well, so that instead of interpreting the characters as so unbelievable or unlikeable you don't want to read about them anymore, you're sucked in, wondering what they're going to do next. She also uses the unreliable narrator technique to good effect a couple of times, tricking the reader very nicely (spoiler: there are a couple scenes when Thea thinks up a lie, but you don't realize at first she's making it all up in her head, because it's written as though it's real, woven right in there).
 

Axis 4. Psychological Accuracy

The psychology here is mind-boggling — there are so many issues that both sisters are dealing with.

Alex: she definitely has some kind of anxiety disorder, specifically related to the fact that she's worried she will lose control of her bladder in public. While she does appear to have something akin to panic attacks, I don't think she'd qualify for full-blown panic disorder. She certainly displays some symptoms present in a panic attack — pounding heart, trembling, jumbled thoughts — but I don't know that she has enough, or to the extent, that they would meet the criteria for a panic attack.

What I suspect may be going on with her is agoraphobia without panic disorder. Symptoms of anxiety can still occur with this, but they are not at the same level as panic disorder. This page about the disorder states that the individual is afraid of something embarrassing happening in public, and gives a loss of bladder control as an example. Of course, it might also be possible Alex has a form of social phobia or a specific phobia — it's difficult to say without a diagnostic interview! Regardless, what happened to her at the internship was absolutely humiliating, and I can see how that would make her feel ashamed and set off an anxiety disorder that snowballs.
 
Alex also shows hints of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). She has a need for perfection; she was always the admired, sociable sister that everyone looked up to, and while she didn't excel academically the way Thea did, she was planning on going to college. Now she's scared of losing control again and being imperfect. I doubt she is at the clinical level of OCPD, though.

Alex's phobia has led to other difficulties in her life. For instance, she barely eats at all now, because she wants to keep herself "void" to decrease the chance that she will have a repeat of the previous incident. I don't know if it would be classified as an eating disorder — it certainly isn't a typical case of anorexia, as Alex doesn't have body image issues — but it has similar effects. She's unhealthily thin and her menstrual cycle has become irregular. These kinds of problems are not touched on in most YA "issue books", so it's refreshing to see something more unusual being focused on.

Thea: she is such a weird, twisted character. I suspect she might have histrionic personality disorder. She craves attention, going so far as to invent the most outrageous stories and spreading hurtful rumors. Pathological lying can be associated with histrionic disorder. It seems like she does a lot of rash, self-flaunting things, including flirting with her sister's boyfriend.

This behaviour particularly happens when she's being "Gia", this "alter ego" of Thea's who makes her feel like a sexier, more confident person. She's aware of Gia, so I wouldn't classify it as dissociative identity disorder, but there are moments with hints of dissociation, and she certainly feels like she's playing two different roles.

It's creepy that Thea can be so cold and ruthless, and yet she has her innocent, naive side as well. We very occasionally see glimpses where Thea's real self (or at least her old self) comes back — for instance, when she feels guilty about something. A lot of the time, however, she just wants to be a manipulative Queen Bee. I wish we'd seen more of Thea before and witnessed the change in her; it's pretty sad what she's become. I think I would have liked her a whole lot more back when she was "bookworm Thea".

Validity Score: How psychologically accurate was All You Never Wanted?

Axis 5. Miscellaneous 

The girl on the cover doesn't look like either of the sisters, in my opinion. (But it is a striking image!) Also, I think All You Never Wanted is a really good title for this book, as it works on a few levels.
 

Patient's statement:

"Everyone knows your written story is a lie. But if you're going to get people to believe your lie out loud, then you have to muffle them in your breezy, shocking, junky, juicy, sexy, needless words. As for your darlings? That's the goo of anticipation. What sticks 'em to their seats. And the whole entire point of the project is that you're launching yourself into the void. Spitting in blood and crossing your heart to vouch for an experience you'd never known. That you couldn't feel, touch, or taste until the moment it was on your tongue and you realized — Everyone is buying this crap. Even me.

It pumped me up just to think about."

Diagnosis: 4.5 shooting stars. 

This book counts towards my goal for the Just Contemporary challenge. 

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from the author for review.

Note: this book has some mature language/references. 


Read my Psychtember interview with Adele Griffin here!

Tenderness: A Psychtember Review

Most of my Psychtember reviews will be formatted differently than my standard reviews, to reflect the mental health theme. I've structured things as though the book is the patient and I'm giving it an assessment. Each axis is an aspect of the book that I'll give my thoughts on (characters, plot, etc.), and the validity score refers to how psychologically accurate I think the book is. Then I may list some other books that this one "shares symptoms with" (i.e. novels dealing with similar topics) and provide the patient's "statement" (quote) before giving the "diagnosis" (my shooting star rating). The rating still reflects my overall view of the book, using my standard rating system. 


Patient: Tenderness by Robert Cormier 

Presentation (from back of book): "Eric has just been released from juvenile detention. Now he's looking for some tenderness — tenderness he finds in caressing and killing innocent girls.

Lori has run away from home again. She is also looking for tenderness — tenderness that is about more than just sex, tenderness she finds in Eric. 

Together, they begin a harrowing journey that will either save or destroy them."

*Note: it's difficult to avoid spoilers entirely in this kind of review. I have white-texted the most obvious ones, but there may be some milder spoilers. You have been warned.

Assessment:

Axis 1. Characters

Eric: he's a difficult character to understand or empathize with — not surprising, given the fact he likes to assault and kill girls — but it's clear what the author is trying to show us: he's basically a psychopath with mother issues (the Freudian interpretation of his behaviour is addressed in more detail below, on Axis 4). Interestingly, Eric does feel some emotion — which goes against the traditional understanding of psychopaths, but is in line with recent research findings. He doesn't seem to feel much guilt about the girls he's murdered, but one could argue he feels culpable at another point in the story (major spoiler, highlight to read: ironically, it's about the one death that isn't his fault, Lori's, and he actually cries). I never really understood what Eric got out of murdering these girls, but we're told he experiences these "moments of tenderness" (hence the book title). 

In a strange way I preferred Eric's character to Lori's, because he's more rational, and in some situations he can be nice and considerate. He actually forms a bit of an affectionate relationship with Lori, so it feels like he's not wholly "bad." At the same time, it's obvious, of course, that he is very psychologically disturbed, and although we don't actually see the murders he's committed, he thinks about what he's done or going to do to these girls with fondness and excitement. We see different aspects of him as we go through the book, elevating him to a complex, more-than-black-and-white level and almost making him a sympathetic character in some respects. However, there's no getting around the fact that he is an unrepentant murderer, and that never goes away.

Lori: I found Lori even harder to figure out than Eric. She has these unusual "fixations" as she calls them, that are never explained properly, which involve kissing strange guys. More worrying is that she believes herself to be in love with Eric, and she continues to stay with him despite the fact that she knows he was charged with murdering his parents, and she's heard rumours that he's murdered young girls. I just had to keep asking, "WHY? Why is she behaving so idiotically? Why is she risking so much?" It actually made me kind of mad that she was so careless with her life. 

She seems to be motivated a lot by a need for attention, as she's very insecure, and she's drawn to charismatic guys (which Eric can definitely be when the situation requires it). There's also the reason given — and I thought this could have been put a good deal more subtly — that she loves him because he doesn't assault her or treat her like other guys have. Lori's attracted a lot of male attention, often unwanted, in the past, and though she is used to using her body to get what she wants, she doesn't like it. 

But she does not have a speck of sense in that head of hers, and I found her to be a very frustrating character, who I honestly didn't feel really sorry for. She seriously has no sense of self-preservation. Also, there was one thing she did in particular which I took issue with (spoiler): she encouraged Eric to hang out with a girl that fits his "type" when she knew he could be a killer. In essence, she was helping to put that other girl's life at risk!

Eric and Lori:

Honestly, the two of them together is pretty much the worst possible combination of two people: he's a psychopathic killer of young girls, and she's a young girl who always thinks or does whatever is completely counter-intuitive. The only thing that could have made it more disastrous is if she had been the physical type that Eric was drawn to. (And if she was, she would have been dead shortly after they met and there wouldn't have been much of a story!) 

Interestingly, though, Lori does have an effect on Eric. At the beginning he comes across as quite the cold psychopath, but Lori brings out different sides of him, shaking him up. He isn't as rational and careful after spending some time in her company, and at the end it almost seems like he's losing his touch. It's just possible that he isn't an entirely hopeless case, and she may have changed him a little bit. It's tempting to think that if they began some kind of romantic relationship, she could "save" him, but he needs more help than she can possibly offer.

Ultimately, the bottom line is: they both need a whole lot of professional help.

Axis 2. Premise/plot

Plot-wise, it's actually not the most exciting or unpredictable read, but it's so psychologically twisted that you want to keep reading to find out what happens, because you just know it's headed for disaster. There's a low-level tension throughout because of the whole 'creep factor.' I was a little disappointed that the finish wasn't more dramatic; it comes off somewhat anticlimactic but it does feel fitting in a way, and ripe with irony. Still, I wasn't totally satisfied by the ending — I'm not sure what I was expecting but I think I would have liked more explanation for Eric's behaviour.
  

Axis 3. Writing Style

The writing style reflects the time the book was written (it was published in 1997), so it does feel a little dated. It's quite simple, with lots of similar sentence structure, but I feel like it doesn't need to be very fancy or convoluted because there's so much creepy stuff going on; the point here is not the writing.

The switching back and forth between Eric's and Lori's perspectives worked for the most part, although it was a bit confusing and jarring when it occurred within the same chapter. The 3rd-person POV used for Eric's sections provides what I think is a necessary distance that allows us to see him as a criminal; it would be difficult to have a 1st-person POV that managed to show who Eric was without alienating the reader. Unfortunately, despite the fact Lori's sections are told with 1st-person POV, I never really felt close to her or understood her.

Axis 4. Psychological Accuracy

Psychopathy is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), but there have been measures developed to assess it, most notably Hare's Psychopathy Checklist. Personality traits on the list include pathological lying, superficial charm, cunning, and grandiose sense of self-worth. I think we can argue that Eric displays most of these at one point or another. He has no problem lying when it suits his interests, can be charismatic and devious, and believes he's very clever and can outwit the cops. Other aspects of his character, however, don't fit the profile quite as well — he does occasionally appear to feel empathy for Lori, and perhaps even remorse over one event, and he does seem to experience some authentic emotions throughout the book. Since recent research suggests that psychopaths may not be as emotionally limited as we originally thought, I don't think we can rule that out for Eric. Furthermore, his history also correlates with a few of the items on the second part of the checklist, like "early behavior problems" and "parasitic lifestyle."

It's also possible he could be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). While there is some overlap between the two categories, they are separate, with ASPD being more common (and there are actually DSM criteria for diagnosing ASPD). One would have to administer appropriate measures to decide whether Eric was ASPD or psychopathic; however, the references in Tenderness all suggest psychopathy.

As to the cause of his behaviour, the author points the reader in a very specific direction: a Freudian interpretation. Eric goes for a specific physical type of girl — tall, slim, with long dark hair — and I don't think it's any coincidence that he describes his mother as having long black hair as well. Even small things about the writing point to a Freudian explanation (for example, "Although he never dreamed, he spent sweet moments in his bed, curled up as if in his mother's womb..."). Traditional Freudian theory would likely say that he has an Oedipus complex and resents his stepfather for ruining the closeness he and his mother shared, so to take his revenge he kills both his mother and his stepfather. He wants to share a "moment of tenderness" with girls who resemble his mother, but since they represent his mother to him, he also blames them, so he kills them. It's all very Freudian. I'm not sure what the other theoretical orientations would have to say about Eric's motivations, but I think we'd need to know more about him first.

Lori, on the other hand, is much harder to pinpoint. Her "fixations" seem to present a little like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) — she gets these ideas in her head which she feels she must act on. However, it's inconsistent; when it comes to Eric, she wants to kiss him, but then never does, later claiming that her fixation has disappeared and that she's fallen in love with him. So if it is OCD, it's not characteristic OCD. She's suffered from sexual abuse, so perhaps this has led to the development of these fixations? I'd even posit that perhaps she has dependent personality disorder, since she seems to latch onto Eric and not want to let him go. But it's really not very clear, and I wish we'd gotten more insight into Lori's psychological problems, to help explain why she persists in spending time with Eric.

Validity Score: How psychologically accurate was Tenderness?

Axis 5. Miscellaneous

The cops could have been rounded out and given a bit more personality; they came off as pretty stereotypical.

Patient shares symptoms with: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Patient's statement:


Eric Poole began with cats. Or, to be more exact, kittens. Liked to hold them, and stroke them, feel the brittle bones beneath the fur. Fragile bones, as if they'd snap and break if you pressed too hard, caressed too hard. Which he did, of course, impossible to resist. Later, he didn't just caress them but found that it was easier to fold them into his arms and place his hands over their faces and feel them go beautifully limp. He liked this way best, because it was so tender.

Diagnosis: 4 shooting stars.

For more information about psychopathy, see here.

This book counts toward my goal for the Just Contemporary reading challenge.
 

Nevermore: In A Nutshell

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore..."

Isobel isn't the type to stay up late pondering tomes of forgotten lore. She'd much rather be practicing her cheerleader jumps and hanging out with her friend Nikki. But when she is paired with the unsettling Varen for her English project, and he decides they are studying Poe, she is forced to become a little more familiar with the topic. But it seems like the more she finds out about Varen and Poe, the stranger her life becomes, and the harder it is for her to discern what is and is not reality...

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

One sentence sum-up: A story just creepy enough to make you want to keep reading.

My reaction: Nevermore was a captivating read. It starts out simply enough — goth and cheerleader must work together on an English project — and gradually builds as mysterious elements are introduced. Creagh balances her horror with humour, and for the most part she pulls it off; despite the fact that it's a homage to Edgar Allen Poe, the dark aspects of the story don't become too overpowering.

I loved all the connections to Poe. It's a creative premise, although I wish the book jacket description hadn't given quite so much away. I never officially studied his work in school, so apart from some familiarity with "The Raven" I wasn't aware of Poe's other poems, or his life generally. Now, I don't know how much Kelly Creagh took strictly from Poe's work, and how much was her own genius, but it doesn't really matter. Her book may spark an interest in Poe for some readers, who can look up all the specifics on their own, and for others, it can simply be an entertaining story.

Best aspect: Nevermore is one of the only books I've read that has a main character who is a cheerleader and yet who is likeable. Yay for breaking the stereotypes! It's become such a cliche to have the cheerleader be the nasty spiteful bully in a YA story. While I have no interest myself in cheerleading, I respected Isobel for the passion she felt for her sport and the desire she had to excel at it. (Although I did think that she didn't have the right to worry about her grade in English when it was so clear that she was *not* trying very hard to work on her project.)

I also admired Isobel for being able to switch friendships so quickly and so dramatically (Gwen and Varen are nothing like her former friends) without making a big issue out of it. Isobel stands up to her "friends" without even really thinking about it, and then later doesn't angst too much over losing Nikki and Brad and her former cheerleading life. She's not afraid to speak her mind, and I really liked that about her. I often felt like the reader was given such a good perspective of Isobel's mindset that it surprised me a few times when something would remind me that it is written in third-person.

Also, several of the other characters and their relationships with Isobel were well-sketched. Varen gets some great sarcastic lines, and he has the whole 'moody goth' persona down. He was pretty nasty to Isobel at the beginning, but I felt sorry for him once we see what he has to deal with at home. Gwen was a fabulous, fun character, Isobel's dad was written to be so very irritating, and I could tell that Isobel and her brother cared about each other.

If I could change something... Well, it did begin to frustrate me that neither Isobel nor Varen ever confided much in each other about the strange things that were happening. This isn't so shocking on Varen's side, since it goes along with his personality, but there were several times where Isobel would broach the topic but then Varen would have to leave or there would be some distraction. That was a little too convenient for me.

The book is long, and perhaps it did not need to be stretched out quite so far before the climactic scene, but the pacing never really put me off while I was reading.  I did find the climactic scene itself rather drawn out and kind of confusing; I had difficulty keeping track of everything that was going on and what the various characters' motives and goals were. Spoiler, highlight to read: Of course, this was partly because it is a dream sequence of events, and dreams are never too straightforward.

Also, I occasionally found the dialogue inauthentic, and I thought a few of the side characters (like Nikki and Alyssa) were a little flat.

Hopes for the sequel? I was under the impression that Nevermore was a stand-alone novel so when I came to the end I was thinking, "Um, WHAT? That can't be it!" Turns out it isn't, thankfully! Apparently it is set to be a trilogy. I'd like to learn more about both Reynolds and Ligeia, and hopefully see some resolution to Isobel and Varen's story. Also, some more of the sibling relationship between Isobel and her brother would be nice.

Plus, a little spoilery question I would love to get answered: How did Varen come to class that day while at the same time he was supposedly asleep? That is still puzzling me. Did he dream himself there? But if so, how was everyone able to see him? Or was it someone else posing as him?

In five words or less: engrossing, imaginative, and slightly disturbing

Quote: 

Isobel looked up. She stared past her reflection in the dresser mirror, her gaze fixing on her window. She waited, and the sound came once more. A soft and quiet tap. It was accompanied this time by a low scuffle, like the scrape of rough fabric against wood. 


She twisted around to stare at her window, ears straining.

The rustling came again, louder this time. There, beyond the lace of her curtains, under the tiny slit at the bottom of the shade, something moved.

Recommend for: anyone who likes Poe, goths, or creatures that go bump in the night.

Final verdict: 4 shooting stars

Author's website: http://www.kellycreagh.com/

The Maze Runner: In A Nutshell

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

From Goodreads:

Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.

Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, and does Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?

In The Maze Runner, Dashner has crafted a creative and engaging novel that's both mysterious and thought provoking.

One sentence sum-up: The most bizarre book I've read in a while — and yes, if Lord of the Flies turned futuristic dystopian, it would look something like The Maze Runner.

My reaction: I've seen mixed reviews of The Maze Runner for quite some time now - some people raved about it, others were less than impressed. Personally, I found it very strange and creepy...I think that was the intent, so it succeeded in that regard, but I never really connected with the characters, so emotionally I didn't find myself very engaged.

The first half or so is quite slow-moving, especially for a dystopian novel; Dashner is setting up the world, which is pretty complex and takes some getting used to. There were some exciting sections but then it would return to a slower pace, instead of continually mounting action. I was really confused about what was happening for the first few chapters (and all the unfamiliar slang) but slowly I began to grasp the situation. Things pick up later in the second half action-wise, but when comparing it to The Hunger Games (as I have seen done a lot, although really, they aren't very much alike)...I just wasn't on the edge of my seat with The Maze Runner in the same way. I would put it down, go do something else, pick it up later and read a couple more chapters...but it just didn't have me hooked.

Best aspect: The world that Dashner creates...it's a microcosm of a society, basically. There's a pecking order amongst the boys, they've developed their own jargon and set of rules, they all have their own "jobs" to ensure everything functions well...and yet they have no idea where they are, what they're doing there, or how they will escape. It's a fascinating look at how societies can be created in dire circumstances and manage to work fairly smoothly (although there are certainly a few hiccups in this one, especially when tempers get fired up and arguments break out between the boys).

Also, I  also enjoyed the relationship between Teresa and Thomas. They both seemed to need each other and work well together, and Thomas didn't really have a good friend up until that point, so I was feeling a little sorry for him. Also, spoilery aspect (highlight to read): the telepathic speaking-to-the-other's-mind Teresa and Thomas do actually really worked in this novel. I appreciated that they weren't *reading* each other's mind...more like sending messages without speech. And their "instantaneous" connection is explained by their past acquaintance, so it really isn't so instantaneous at all. 

If I could change something... I wanted more from the characters, really. I never felt very connected to Thomas, I think partly because his emotional side is told to the reader more than it is shown.  The other boys were all introduced quite quickly and I kept getting them confused (except Chuck, I liked him) because their personalities didn't seem all that distinct. A lot of them just seemed angry or moody all the time (yeah, I know they're trapped in a creepy world, but the gloom factor was pretty high.) Teresa seemed like the most fun out of all the characters — she had some spunk, at least — but we don't see all that much of her.

I just didn't get into Thomas' mindset or experience the Gladers' predicament in a close or personal way, so I wasn't that emotionally invested in the end result. Of course, I wanted them to succeed in their escape, and I definitely wanted to know more about the Creators, but that stemmed more from general interest in the plot than rooting for a character because you care about them.

Also, although I do understand the reader needs an introduction to Thomas' new world, a first half with more momentum would have been appreciated.

In five words or less: complex world, less complex characters.

Quote:


Thomas tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. Newt ran forward and pulled her fingers apart, grabbing the paper. With shaking hands he unfolded it, then dropped to his knees, spreading out the note on the ground. Thomas moved up behind him to get a look.

Scrawled across the paper in thick black letters were five words: She's the last one. Ever.

Rating: 3.5 shooting stars

Bottom line: The world-building is good, but if you want to be blown away by characters and action as well, read The Hunger Games instead. This is the first in a series so perhaps there will be more plot and character development in the next book, The Scorch Trials?

Author's website: http://www.jamesdashner.com/

Top Ten Tuesday: Creepy Books

The "Top Ten Tuesday" meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is scary books, in honour of Halloween coming up!

I tend to not read scary books, so I had a bit of trouble with this list. Some of the books on here frightened me when I was a kid, but probably wouldn't so much if I read them again now. And several of them I took from my post "Children's/YA Books that Creeped You Out" here.

 1.) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Okay, the book probably didn't scare me that much, but the movie (with Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton) sure did! I think I must have seen it first when I was about 11 or so, and I always hated the parts with the mad woman's laughter echoing about all over the place. Also the scene where she comes into Jane's room and we see her purple, bloated face. *shudders*

Jane getting scared at the very thought of mocking, crazy laughter.

2.) Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen

There's a very weird secret at the wizard's hall and some pretty sick-minded people. I kind of had a horrified fascination with this book. I remember reading it more than once, each time not remembering how truly creepy it was (or thinking it wouldn't bother me as much), and then getting freaked out all over again, LOL.

3.) The Half-a-Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman

This poor mute boy gets totally mistreated by this abusive inn-owner. I believe I had to read this one for school and I seriously found it quite horrifying. I mean, she steals his boots and then puts them in the soup she serves!

4.) Castle Tourmandyne by Monica Hughes

The dolls come to life and the girl gets trapped inside the castle, from what I remember. I think there was some kind of weird power struggle between the two cousins. So psychologically it was pretty disturbing.

5.) Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

I don't remember much about this book (or any of the others in the series) except that I really did not like the idea of a vampiric bunny with red glowing eyes. According to Goodreads the bunny turns out to be vegetarian, so I'm not so sure why this one disturbed me when I was a kid...maybe it was the creepy cover?

6.) Obedience by Will Lavender

This one's an adult psychological thriller and while I don't know that it scared me per se, it certainly did get my heart pounding!

7.) "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury

Not a book, I know, but this short story so totally freaked me out. I read it in about grade 9 and it seriously made me feel a little sick.

8.) The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

I read this one a little while ago, and the killer's perspective was really quite creepy and perverted. Not to mention the whole ability to find the dead (I don't envy her that at all.)

9.) Animal Farm by George Orwell

Technically I guess 1984 has more scary elements, but I read Animal Farm much earlier (maybe around age 11) and I remember finding the ending particularly unsettling.

10.) This last one isn't my pick, but I was talking with my mom about creepy books and she said the book Struwwelpeter by Heinrich Hoffman scared her so much when she was younger (she can read German). It's basically all about the terrible things that happen to naughty children, complete with horrifying illustrations. And they really are horrifying, because they creep me out just looking at them now on Wikipedia! (And I am not posting a picture of the cover because I don't want to be scared each time I look at this post, but if you want to see it go here.)


What books freak you out?

Children's/YA Books That Creeped You Out

I came across a description of a book I read when I was about 11 or 12 that I found really disturbing. It got me thinking about other books that freaked me out when I was younger. These are books that weren't necessarily meant to be scary, but for some reason they left a fairly strong and horrifying impression on my mind (at the time). Thought I'd blog about it and see if anybody else had the same reaction!

So, I remember the following books as being pretty creepy...

Eva by Peter Dickinson

The girl gets turned into a monkey. Something about that just didn't sit right with me.

Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen

There's a very weird secret at the wizard's hall and some pretty sick-minded people. I kind of had a horrified fascination with this book.

Castle Tourmandyne by Monica Hughes

The dolls come to life and the girl gets trapped inside the castle, from what I remember.

The Half-a-Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman

This poor mute boy gets totally mistreated by this abusive inn-owner. I believe I had to read this one for school and I seriously found it quite horrifying.


James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

I know this isn't the most obvious choice (being a much-beloved children's book by many people) but I found it a little too bizarre for my liking. Plus I really dislike bugs, and there were so many bugs in this book. I don't believe I ever finished it.

Nell's Quilt by Susan Terris

The title hardly sounds frightening, but the girl starves herself for a long, long time in order to get out of an arranged marriage. Something about her wasting away like that really made an impression on me.

And when I was really, really young, I found a few Robert Munsch books disturbing, in particular:

Purple, Green and Yellow - The girl draws on herself and the ink just won't come off, and then eventually she turns invisible and has to color herself to look normal again.

50 Below Zero - The boy's dad sleepwalks outside on a cold night and the boy finds him pretty much frozen outside.

So, thoughts? What kinds of books made you shudder when you were younger? Any books other people seemed to enjoy that you found positively creepy?

Nothing: Review

"Nothing matters. I have known that for a long time. So nothing is worth doing. I just realized that." When Pierre Anthon decides there is no meaning to life, he climbs up a plum tree and won't come back down. Determined to prove him wrong, his classmates begin a game of making each other give up the one item they care about the most. At first it's small things - a fishing rod, a soccer ball, a pair of green sandals - but soon the items escalate in value. Yet the quest for meaning continues despite the price being paid, all to one end: show Pierre Anthon that some things do matter. When he sees what they have given up, will he finally admit that they are right? And if he does - will it make any difference?

Nothing is a book that makes you think. There are a whole host of deep issues and questions raised in this book that you'll be pondering long after you've finished it. It's simple and gripping and twisted.

Questions continually bubble to the surface as you read this book. What would you most hate to lose in your life? How would you react if someone took it away from you? What if it was something you could never get back? How do you define 'meaning' - and can you put a price on it? Does everyone know when something is significant?


Characters:

The tale is told from the point of view of Agnes, one of several Grade 7 students in a class in the fictional town of Taering, Denmark. We don't find out until a few chapters in who the narrator is (or even if it is a boy or a girl), which distracted me a bit. However, Agnes does an excellent job narrating this type of story. Ordinarily I would wish for a closer understanding of the protagonist - we don't really get much of a sense of her personality - but the point of the book isn't Agnes. It isn't even Pierre Anthon. Agnes distances herself from the action, takes her role out of it, and in this way we see how each individual contributes as a member of a group. She speaks in 'we' form repeatedly, emphasizing a singular plural nature, as though all the children thought as one entity. While I would have liked to have seen how Agnes individually reacted to some of the events, I see how it might have taken away from the tone and message. Also, Agnes' distanced tone ratchets up the mysterious and disturbing nature of everything that unfolds.


Writing style:

Generally, the writing style worked really well to hook the reader in and keep them reading. It's meant to be a bit of a thriller, in a way, and I found myself needing to finish it so I knew the ending. The one aspect of the writing style I didn't like was when synonyms or comparative/superlative adjectives were used - they seemed sort of out of place. For instance, "Blue. Bluer. Bluest." If this had happened a few times, I probably wouldn't have minded so much, but she did it to the point of excess, where it ceased to pack a powerful punch.

Of course, this is translated from the Danish, so that may explain it.

Plot:

The plot is simple but effective, but I wasn't too clear on the ending. No spoilers here, but I was left with some questions about exactly what happened. However, given what the book was about...perhaps that was intentional?

Also, there is some suspension of disbelief required on the part of the reader. Otherwise, all the practical sorts of questions will start occurring to you. Like, how is it feasible for Pierre Anthon to stay in the plum tree for months (without starving?) Where do his parents and teachers think he is? Where are all the other kids' parents, and aren't they getting suspicious about items going missing? However, do your best to ignore these practical concerns - they'll just distract you from an otherwise extremely engaging read. And anyway, if the author had mentioned all of those nitpicky details, it would have somehow lessened the impact of the important elements of the story.

Themes:

So many topics are tackled in this short book: the innocence of children, or lack thereof as the case may be; the desire to be right, regardless of the consequences; the fleeting nature of our own mortality; the desperate need for meaning in our lives. Best of all, Janne Teller isn't preachy - indeed, I'm not at all sure that she's even trying to send a particular message in her novel. I think if anything, the author just wanted to get her readers to question their beliefs about life, death, friendship, and meaning.

Creepy factor:

Nothing's been compared to Lord of the Flies, but I'd say that it's more. Yes, it deals with issues of peer pressure, of children's behaviour snowballing out of control, and there is no parental influence to be found - but with Lord of the Flies I was just sickened, disgusted, and depressed. I felt all those emotions with Nothing too, but I got a good deal more out of it. It speaks to larger philosophical and psychological issues, and it handles them in a way that is less clear-cut than Lord of the Flies. It was pretty obvious what William Golding's point was; Janne Teller is a little more ambiguous.

That said, I have to say this is the most disturbing book I've read in quite a while. It is a YA but I would only recommend it to older readers of that age range. I could see this book having a stronger emotional impact than a lot of books that contain much more violence (and this book definitely contains some). Would definitely NOT read it before bed either!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 shooting stars. Read if you want to think hard about philosophical questions and be creeped out psychologically. NOT for younger readers.