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killerkaleidoscopeYesterday I went to the library this afternoon to renew some books for a friend. I did not actually get to renew them because the woman behind the counter took them from me and set them down behind the counter without another word. I didn't have the nerve to ask again, when it was so very clear she did not approve of my request. True, they were weeks overdue, but they were also Calculus textbooks. I did, however, see Guardian of the Dead, Ash, and Huntress all on the shelves in the YA fiction section, and took them home to tear through all three in quick succession.
Guardian of the Dead I did like a lot. The main character is flawed and not always nice, she's embarrassed she's gained some weight on her school's lousy vegetarian option, and she felt like a real person to me, which is something I have lately had a hard time finding in fiction.
The other two--okay, I've been meaning to read them for a long while. And I did like them, and I'm happy I read them. But holy shit, this author knows what loneliness is. Especially in Ash. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone with depression struggling to keep it together. It was very good, but I wound up sitting on the floor drinking several glasses of wine and wondering sleepily if anything was worth it. (This is why I can't read sad books often. Yes, it's a failing, but I tend to displace a lot of myself whenever I put a lot of something I've been consuming into in my head, and the side effects can be unpleasant.)
Huntress is more action-plot than emotion-plot, although there are some major emotional plot points. Fantastic imagery, and interesting in its own way, but (thankfully) not as affecting, although strictly speaking it probably often gets categorized as sadder.
Somehow Ash still wound up as my personal favorite, although Huntress comes very, very close--I am more interested in what happens after the events of Huntress, and the (surviving) main characters, than the actual duration of the book itself. I would love a more solid look at this book's world, but I don't think this writer really does meaty worldbuilding. Maybe my fondness for Ash is because of its timeliness--I've been dealing with a depressive flare-up after a recent, painful rejection from my own stepmother, and I was in the mood to watch someone (a girl! a queer, thoughtful girl!) outlive worse.
Recently my stepmom has declared she's not speaking to me anymore (and wasn't that a fun conclusion to a long week) but for now she's still in charge of my finances because Dad's too busy with business to function as intermediary. While I'm still out and about looking at furniture a lot, I'm going to be very careful with how I spend anything, at least until I'm settled up north in Berkeley.
One good thing out of this mess: I really, really like my new apartment. It's clean and fairly sizeable and I have my own room, and between the two of us it is going to be FILLED with books and art. My dear friend doesn't mind if I date anyone, or if I come back at weird hours, and in most ways she's easy to share a space with. The landlord's letting my dear friend keep her bird with her, which is pretty cool--I really do love her bird, and at some point, I'll be able to get a parrot of my own to keep her company. That will be wonderful. I feel like I'm gearing up to begin my actual life. I can't wait.
Guardian of the Dead I did like a lot. The main character is flawed and not always nice, she's embarrassed she's gained some weight on her school's lousy vegetarian option, and she felt like a real person to me, which is something I have lately had a hard time finding in fiction.
The other two--okay, I've been meaning to read them for a long while. And I did like them, and I'm happy I read them. But holy shit, this author knows what loneliness is. Especially in Ash. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone with depression struggling to keep it together. It was very good, but I wound up sitting on the floor drinking several glasses of wine and wondering sleepily if anything was worth it. (This is why I can't read sad books often. Yes, it's a failing, but I tend to displace a lot of myself whenever I put a lot of something I've been consuming into in my head, and the side effects can be unpleasant.)
Huntress is more action-plot than emotion-plot, although there are some major emotional plot points. Fantastic imagery, and interesting in its own way, but (thankfully) not as affecting, although strictly speaking it probably often gets categorized as sadder.
Somehow Ash still wound up as my personal favorite, although Huntress comes very, very close--I am more interested in what happens after the events of Huntress, and the (surviving) main characters, than the actual duration of the book itself. I would love a more solid look at this book's world, but I don't think this writer really does meaty worldbuilding. Maybe my fondness for Ash is because of its timeliness--I've been dealing with a depressive flare-up after a recent, painful rejection from my own stepmother, and I was in the mood to watch someone (a girl! a queer, thoughtful girl!) outlive worse.
Recently my stepmom has declared she's not speaking to me anymore (and wasn't that a fun conclusion to a long week) but for now she's still in charge of my finances because Dad's too busy with business to function as intermediary. While I'm still out and about looking at furniture a lot, I'm going to be very careful with how I spend anything, at least until I'm settled up north in Berkeley.
One good thing out of this mess: I really, really like my new apartment. It's clean and fairly sizeable and I have my own room, and between the two of us it is going to be FILLED with books and art. My dear friend doesn't mind if I date anyone, or if I come back at weird hours, and in most ways she's easy to share a space with. The landlord's letting my dear friend keep her bird with her, which is pretty cool--I really do love her bird, and at some point, I'll be able to get a parrot of my own to keep her company. That will be wonderful. I feel like I'm gearing up to begin my actual life. I can't wait.
