I was seriously afraid that I’d be wasting my time on yet another damsel in distress story where the awkward boy gets to find himself and be the hero, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that Bone Gap played with all those expectations and tropes in an unexpected way. This was shortlisted for the National Book Award, so I was hoping it’d be good. It was! Bone Gap is a strange town with some serious secrets. Finn and Sean are two young men/boys just […]
An abusive boyfriend that lives inside your mind
A friend lent this book about eating disorders to me so I could better understand certain aspects of her struggle with food and body image. While 100 Questions & Answers About Eating Disorders was a great generalized introduction, Life Without Ed got into the nitty-gritty of trying to escape the grasp of this mental illness. Although this is one woman’s story and it’s not going to represent every ED sufferer’s experience, I’ve been told that most would identify with at least some of Schaefer’s experience. […]
How to tell meaningful stories
Out on the Wire is a must read for anyone who does creative work, even if it’s just as a hobby. I guess it’d be helpful if you listen at least occasionally to podcasts or NPR-type radio too, just so you have context. Abel basically spent a year interviewing and observing the creatives at 99% Invisible, The Moth, Planet Money, Radio Diaries, Radiolab, Snap Judgment, and This American Life. Somehow she took all that information about the process of telling stories via radio and distilled […]
A must read for urban fantasy fans
I enjoyed Older’s Half-Resurrection Blues, but adored Shadowshaper. He really brought a magical alternative Brooklyn to life with this tale. Sierra Santiago is a normal teenager excited for her summer break. She’s going to hang out with friends and spend her time painting murals around the city, until a creepy guy crashes the first party of the season and ends up chasing her. Combined with some weird occurrences like a mural weeping and her incapacitated abuelo repeating the same phrase over and over, she knows […]