BOOK REVIEW: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

(Goodreads)

Where to begin...

It's not often that I read or watch a film starring a Mexican main character, and it's even more rare for it to be a love story (at least in mainstream American pop culture). Needless to say I was excited after reading the premise and seeing the 4-star average review.

Boy, what a let down.

Meet Alex Fuentes. High school senior, auto body mechanic, and part of the local gang known as the Latino Blood. His bad boy 'tough' exterior is emphasized by his multiple arm tattoos and fit physique (his abs are described on the regular as 'washboard abs'). Alex is as much of a stereotype as you can get: his father was killed in a drug deal, his family crossed over from Mexico, he smokes/drinks regularly, and has had plenty of sex.

Then there's Brittany Ellis. Brittany is not far from the 'rich white girl' stereotype. Blond hair, blue eyes, and a "hot bod". The novel really emphasizes that although her life is seemingly perfect, it's anything but. Her mother is a perfectionist who cares more about what the neighbors will say than her own daughter's feelings and her father is a workaholic who appears for no more than 5 pages. The Ellis family has a 'dirty little secret' in the form of Brittany's older sister, Shelley, who has cerebral palsy and is rarely taken outside the house.

I don't dislike the fact that Alex is a middle-class gangbanger or that Brittany is a rich popular cheerleader. What I dislike (and was so disappointed by) is how one-dimensional these characters are. While there's growth in them, they literally go from "I'm in a gang" to "I'm quitting the gang" and with Brittany it's "I need to keep up an image" to "I don't care what anyone thinks, f-you mom". I stared at the pages thinking, where's the progression?? When did they decide to change??

What honestly had me on the verge of tossing the book across the room every five minutes was the HORRIBLE SPANISH. People who speak Spanish and English do.not.talk.like this. We don't choose random words to say in Spanish in the middle of our sentences and we do not immediately translate those words!

Some highlights:

"Si, everything's bien." (33) 

"She might be a mamacita, but she ain't got nothing on this hombre." (51) 

"'Brittany Ellis is out of  your league amigo. You might be a pretty boy, but you're one hundred percent Mexicano and she's as white as Wonder Bread.' A junior named Leticia Gonzales walks by us. [...] Paco nudges me. 'Now she's a bonita Mexicana and definitely in your league.'" (54) 

"I'm in trouble. Tengo un problema grande." (120)

It really frustrates me because it's clear that there wasn't someone who spoke fluent Spanish working on this book. The grammar is sometimes incredible cringeworthy and there's even a couple of misspellings sprinkled in the book (seriously??). And I thought it was really strange that Brittany only asked once for something to be translated, did she just use context clues all the other times?

Also, can books and media please stop describing Latinos as spicy and fiery? We're not food! (Though there is a scene where Brittany has chilaquiles and sticks her tongue in a cup of cold water and I was like...yo...chilaquiles are not meant to be that spicy.)

I honestly don't think Brittany and Alex were really in love, sure they found someone that could see past their public image, but it didn't feel like they ever really knew each other. Here's a great moment:

Brittany rests her chin on my chest. "You're going to quit the Blood now, right?" 

My body stiffens, "No," I say, my voice filed with torment. Hell, why'd she go and ask me that? 

"Everything's different now, Alex. We made love." (315)

I could talk for hours about the numerous ways this book let me down and quite honestly, offended me in more ways than one. Oh and in the epilogue Brittany and Alex develop a medication to halt the progression of Alzheimers.

Someone let me saber if the Perfect Chemistry series gets mejor, because I don't see myself coming near a Simone Elkeles novel anytime soon. Know what I'm sayin', amigo? Me entiendes?

BOOK REVIEW: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

(Goodreads)

The remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.

I think it was highly appropriate that I read 80% of this novel on the train. Part of me would like to think that Murakami's main character, Tsukuru Tazaki, would have liked that.

I couldn't hold myself back from reading other's reviews on Goodreads and I'll agree with a majority of them: Murakami tends to repeat the protagonist. A regular, usually unmarried, self-depreciating sort of guy who describes cooking his own meals and probably listens to jazz at some point in the novel.

And I have to be honest: I'm not tired of it (yet). Murakami has such a great and painful way of describing feelings that I've been unable to put into words. More than once I had to stop myself while reading, because the realization that he just put my tangled strings of thought into even more painfun (and actual) words was too much for me to handle.

thefoxisblack.com

Needless to say, this book came into my life at such a perfect time. I really needed to know that someone out there felt like under all the layers of 'personality', all the things that make them 'them', there might not be anything underneath it all. It's a frightening thought, and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki made me feel a little less alone.

I know this review is really unlike my other ones, but I think trying to pull this book apart at this point in my life would be too much to handle.

(I'm fine! In case this all sounds really cryptic.)

BOOK REVIEW: This Song Is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin

This Song Is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin

(Goodreads)

Ramona and Sam are best friends. She fell for him the moment they met, but their friendship is just too important for her to mess up. Sam loves Ramona, but he would never expect her to feel the same way-she's too quirky and cool for someone like him. Together, they have a band, and put all of their feelings for each other into music.  

Then Ramona and Sam meet Tom. He's their band's missing piece, and before Ramona knows it, she's falling for him. But she hasn't fallen out of love with Sam either. How can she be true to her feelings without breaking up the band?

Thanks to SourceBooks Fire at Netgalley for providing me with an eARC! 

The teenagers in this book are real. And like real teenagers, they can sometimes be incredibly annoying and supercilious (a word I learned today that fits perfectly; meaning "behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others").

We meet Ramona, a high school senior at St. Joseph's Prep, a school "full of rich kids" and "poseurs". She thinks she's different than everyone and she likes to make it known. Her 'nemesis' is a girl in her year who once commented on Ramona's hair after she hacked it in the school bathroom with craft scissors.

In alternating chapters we meet Sam and Tom. Sam has been best friends with Ramona for years and together they form the band April and the Rain. Sam isn't so bad, like Ramona, he also "can't comprehend [high school girl's] level[s] of superficiality existing" (47). The thing is, Sam's been in love with Ramona forever, he just can't bring himself to say anything about it. He spends most of his time longing after her, his chapters mostly filled with him talking about her or thinking about her.

Tom, like Ramona, spends a lot of time trying to be different rather than genuinely being different. He walks around with shoes covered with the words 'Darfur' and 'Auschwitz' and hands out flyers to whoever asks about them. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, like Ramona, he's incredibly judgmental. An entire chapter of his is dedicated to labeling cliques during lunch time and Tom saying how he doesn't fit in because he's so different.

The most frustrating thing about Tom is his art. There's a scene where his girlfriend is disturbed because he buys a bunch of goldfish and dumps them in a local fountain as a sort of Banksy-like art movement (he knows the fish will die and we later find out that the dead fish clogged up a pipe and cost the city thousands of dollars to repair). To that, he says "this really scared me to death because I was still on probation, and it really did upset me. Causing real harm goes against my ethics" (71). I wanted to scream when I read this. So it wasn't until monetary damage had done that he thought twice about dumping goldfish to their deaths?

However, unlike Ramona and Sam, Tom does redeem himself and show character growth. Upon planning to put up posters with pictures of starving children at the mall during Christmas, he realizes how uneducated on the topic he is and what a bad idea it was.

Back to Ramona. The best part of this novel for me was her nemesis telling her off:

"You just have to make sure everybody knows that you are so special and so weird." She tilts her head higher. "Everything you do, your haircuts and your stupid boots, it's all about proving that you're so fucking unusual. You say that you don't care what people think, but you do. You probably spend more time on your appearance than I do. You act like you're this tortured and misunderstood outcast, but you're really not, okay? You've got friends, and your hair looks like something from a Teen Vogue 'How to Get That Punk Rock Look' column. So get over yourself, Ramona, 'cause we're all sick of hearing about what a unique snow-flake you are." (93). 

Ramona briefly ponders if she really is a poseur but forgets about this instance fairly quickly which I thought was a wasted opportunity for growth. Eventually the two sort of patch things up, but not before this encounter:

"You are unbelievable. You're like a five-year old! Didn't your  mother teach you to share?" I said. 

    "My mother is dead, you bitch," she said. 

               And I was so surprised, 

                         that I said, 

                    "Mine too." (126) 

It was a part where I might have honestly groaned in frustration. I honestly could not understand why Ramona had to make it about herself?

Maybe this book just wasn't for me.

I did enjoy Nowlin's style of writing when characters would break into a sort of poetic thought process. Like the above quote, there's more than a handful of sections broken off like that and I think it was the right balance to regular prose. I wish there had been more conflict in this novel, and looking back on it, I'm not sure if there really was any major conflict at all. I wish Nowlin would have touched more on the polyamory relationship the three had going on. Maybe in a sequel?

Memorable Quote

"And making plans doesn't make you safe; it just makes you feel that the future owes you something." (176)

BOOK REVIEW: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

(Goodreads)

A short, sleek novel of encounters set in Tokyo during the witching hours between midnight and dawn, and every bit as gripping as Haruki Murakami’s masterworks The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore.  

At its center are two sisters—Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny’s toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they’ve met before, a burly female “love hotel” manager and her maid staff, and a Chinese prostitute savagely brutalized by a businessman. These “night people” are haunted by secrets and needs that draw them together more powerfully than the differing circumstances that might keep them apart, and it soon becomes clear that Eri’s slumber—mysteriously tied to the businessman plagued by the mark of his crime—will either restore or annihilate her.  

After Dark moves from mesmerizing drama to metaphysical speculation, interweaving time and space as well as memory and perspective into a seamless exploration of human agency—the interplay between self-expression and empathy, between the power of observation and the scope of compassion and love. Murakami’s trademark humor, psychological insight, and grasp of spirit and morality are here distilled with an extraordinary, harmonious mastery.

What's interesting about this novel isn't about where it takes place, but when it takes place. After Dark spans its 200 pages from the hours of 11:56pm to 6:52am. What happens in between those hours is a mixture of events that can only happen to one, well, after dark. Bumping into a guy that liked (likes?) your sister, helping a retired wrestler that runs a love hotel, and jumping from strange place to strange place in order to pass the slow time of the night.

"It's true, though: time moves in its own special way in the middle of the night," the bartender says, loudly striking a book match and lighting a cigarette. "You can't fight it." (78)

Murakami doesn't fail to bring in the magical realism in his works. While After Dark takes place in a completely average world, there's a eeriness that creeps up on the pages when you least expect it. The chapters focusing in on Mari's sister, Eri, give the sense that something otherworldly is happening. Eri has been stuck in a sort of 'Sleeping Beauty' state, doing nothing much more than sleeping for the past couple of months. While that is strange in and of itself, the narration places us directly in the room with her as a silent observer.

"Unfortunately (we should say), there is nothing we can do for Eri Asai. Redundant though it may sound, we are a sheer point of view. We cannot influence things in any way." (185)

There's not a lot that happens in this novel, in fact, the small instances that happen to either Mari or Eri are greatly magnified. However, that isn't to say that the moments aren't written beautifully. There's a lot of events left open for interpretation and I would say that in fact, nothing comes to a sound conclusion.

BOOK REVIEW: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

(Goodreads)

Charlie is a freshman.  

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.  

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.  

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

I loved this book.

I would say I don't know why it took me so long to read it but I know why. At the time the movie came out I felt like it was overhyped and I rolled my eyes at the praise and later streamed the movie in secrecy long after it came out. I was a bit of an elitist snob back then, I honestly don't know why and it's embarrassing lol.

I've mostly gotten over being an elitist snob (old habits die hard) so I was excited for this book. However, I did not expect for this book to impact me the way it did. There weren't moments where I could feel my heart being pulled apart, but I related to Charlie's sadness so much that sometimes I had to put the book down and take a moment to process what I was feeling.

I really loved the letter-writing format that Chbosky did. It's different than the movie in that the movie allows you to see a wider spectrum whereas the book only gives you a tiny slice of Charlie's life and leaves a lot of things open for interpretation. Charlie's voice is incredibly innocent but observant and wise without him knowing it. I think that's what makes so many lines from this book so quotable and beautiful in their simplicity.

Chbosky's characters are memorable and unique. Charlie's eye for observation gives you important details about them that an average person might not catch. These details jumped from the page and painted a full picture of a character in a matter of sentences.

Charlie sometimes reminded me of my brother (who happens to have autism): not necessarily understanding social norms, being a generally in the background of the action, and waiting for instructions a lot of the times. Maybe that's another factor that played into me having such a tender spot for Charlie.

I see myself buying a copy of this book to read again and again. I went through the book so fast that I was on Charlie's final letter before I was ready to say goodbye.

"My grandfather was crying. 

The kind of crying that is quiet and a secret. The kind of crying that only I noticed. I thought about him going into my mom's room when she was little and hitting my mom and holding up her report card and saying that her bad grades would never happen again. And I think now that maybe he meant my older brother. Or my sister. Or me. That he would make sure he was the last one to work in a mill." (59)

BOOK REVIEW: Native Son by Richard Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright

(Goodreads)

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.

This is definitely a classic book. Think Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird. They're books you'll probably encounter (or have encountered) at one point or another in public school (at least in the US) and that have their own SparkNotes pages that can help you with essays and not actually having to read the book. Assigned books are tricky, I definitely didn't appreciate To Kill a Mockingbird until I was in college but I loved The Outsiders and The Watsons Go to Birmingham. 

However, despite feeling daunted by the thought of 400+ pages, I decided to tackle this book (but I'll admit I left it at my desk for a few days with the definite thought of returning it). We meet Bigger Thomas. And the thing about Bigger Thomas is he's not a good person, he's not likable, he's not nice to his family or friends, and he doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. So why did I keep reading a character I almost hated?

That's where Richard Wright's character building comes in. Despite all these negative aspects associated with Bigger, I still sympathized with him. He's a real person, feeling these terrible feelings brought on by years of oppression to his race that make him lead such a crappy lifestyle. His options for his future are limited, none of them which lead to anything he truly wants to do. The brief moments in which he acts out on instinct liberate him from these rules and unfortunately land him in irreversible trouble. (And now I'm starting to sound like I'm writing an essay, right? Bare with me here!)

Hopelessness is a major theme in this novel and it's presented extremely well by Wright. There are tons of pages that touch on careful and slow epiphanies (some that don't even seem logical at times). However, at the same time, pages on pages on the same subject could easily push a reader away. (There was a speech that was about 25 pages long, yes, only one person speaking, and I'll admit to skimming through the last 10 pages of it). The book is split up into three different sections: Book One: Fear, Book Two: Flight, and Book Three: Fate. None of them have chapters and they rarely have breaks, so sometimes it can be hard to keep going with no space to pause.

Nonetheless, this book is truly a powerful piece. It's both sad and incredible to realize how little has changed since this book was published in 1940.

Memorable Quotes

"There was no day for him now, and there was no night; there was but a long stretch of time, a long stretch of time that was very short; and then–the end. Toward no one in the world did he feel any fear now, for he knew that fear was useless; and toward no one in the world did he feel any hate now, for he knew that hate would not help him." (273) 

"An organic wish to cease to be, to stop living, seized him. Either he was too weak, or the world was too strong; he did not know which." (345)

COMIC REVIEW: The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat (And Pokey!) aka Grumpy Cat Volume 1

The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat (And Pokey!)

(Goodreads)

Dynamite proudly presents the comic book misadventures of Grumpy Cat, featuring "The World's Grumpiest Cat" and her brother, Pokey! With her ever-present pout and sassy disposition, Grumpy Cat has won the hearts of people everywhere. Now, her unbearable cuteness and infectious sourpuss are featured in an all-new, all-sensational collection of comic stories, sure to make fans of all ages laugh! If you love the memes, the videos, and that irresistible scowl, then get ready for the wildly fun antics of Grumpy Cat and Pokey!

Thank you to Diamond Book Illustrators at NetGalley for this eARC!

Comic books intimidate me. It's something I've always wanted to get into but always back away from due to the numbers and editions and universes available. I'd love to start...but where? Do I find the first one or do I pick up the latest one and what's the difference between titles based on the same character? Are they the same character or is it a completely different story??

So many questions. 

Thankfully I didn't have to ask any of those for Grumpy Cat Volume 1. I love cats in general (understatement) and love Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce) ever since she surfaced the face of the internet in 2012. 

I mean, what's not to love?? Remember when she was on Anderson Cooper's talk show?

So tiny. 

Or when she basically had Disneyland all to herself and met Grumpy?

Grumpy Cat Volume 1 is a fun and easy read that highlights Grumpy Cat's snarky bad temper and her brother's innocent enthusiasm. They go on adventures you'd expect (dealing with dogs and missing cat treats) and wouldn't expect (alien invasions and becoming super heroes). I don't think this series will become as addictive to children as Captain Underpants, but it's definitely a cute read that will keep you entertained. 

Volume 1 comes with 11 different stories that are sometimes as short as one or two pages. The only (slightly) negative comment I have is that the different artwork threw me off until I realized there were different artists for each story and it wasn't just a case of inconsistency. 

Grumpy Cat in "Detective Cats"

Grumpy Cat and Pokey in "I Know What You Did Last Summer (I Just Don't Care)"

Grumpy Cat and Pokey in "I Know What You Did Last Summer (I Just Don't Care)"