Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

You may know from reading this blog that I have a wee obsession for Gillian Flynn; after devouring Sharp Objects and Gone Girl in quick succession, I really don’t know what took me so long to read Dark Places. But whatever the reason, I made up for lost time by reading this book in about two days (who needs sleep anyway?).

Flynn once again delves deep in the disturbed realm of a psychologically scarred individual, and presents us with the story of Libby Day. Libby is a nondescript 32 year old, made semi-famous after the brutal murder of her mother and two sisters when she was eight years old. Libby remembers hiding in a closet as her family was massacred, and she testified that it was her older brother Ben who committed the crime that destroyed her family.

Living for the last 24 years on the money charitably given to the ‘Libby Day foundation’, Libby is now running out of resources. As she is too inherently slovenly and lazy to actually get a job, she turns instead to a mysterious group known as the ‘Kill Club’, whose hobby it is to solve questionable murder cases and fulfil their voyeuristic urges to know every gory detail regarding high-profile murders.

The Club believes that Ben is innocent, and they’re willing to pay Libby to prove it. But Libby has spent her whole life blocking out that terrible period of her life, doing everything she can to avoid the dark places of her youth – can she really go back there after all this time? And what if the club is right, and Ben really is innocent? Who then killed her family?

With a drunk, money-grabbing leach of a father and another family who were destroyed by the alleged crimes of Ben Day, there are many who could have had it out for the penniless, lower class Day family on the day of their murder.

Flynn has a talent for creating characters so utterly devoid of compassion or kindness, they are resolutely unlikeable. But where in most books it helps to have a character the reader can empathise with, relate to, or simply like, this doesn’t seem to matter at all with Flynn’s storytelling – she could be writing about a slug’s slow journey down the front driveway, and we’d all still be riveted.

Flynn has also not lost her skill for completely and utterly pulling the rug out from under the reader – as with all her novels, no matter who you think did it, trust me; you’re wrong. The journey Flynn takes you on in through her writing is emotional, turbulent and unsavoury – she truly does take you to some dark places.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson was a name that immediately jumped out at me upon first glancing at the cover of this book, although at first I wasn’t quite sure why. It was only after reading her previous titles that the name Speak rung a little bell, and took me back to the time when I’d read that very book as a teenager. Speak is a novel about a troubled teenage girl who is emotionally destroyed after something unspeakable happens to her one summer. Completely traumatised, the young protagonist collapses in on herself as she continually tries to hide her pain and suffer in silence. The theme of emotional turmoil in adolescents seems to be one that resonates with Anderson, as it is also the subject matter of Wintergirls.

Lia is an anorexic 18 year old whose former demons are brought back to life after her best friend Cassie dies horribly, alone in a motel room. Lia was the last person Cassie rang before she died, only Lia never picked up the phone. Why would Cassie call her? They hadn’t spoken in months. Lia is plagued by the guilt and questions surrounding Cassie’s death, and turns to her old coping mechanism of starving herself in the hope it will block out the voices in her head, and finally allow her to reach happiness – only ten pounds away.

As an only child of divorced parents, Lia lives with her father, stepmother Jennifer and young stepsister Emma. Amid her everyday life of calorie-counting, avoidance and lying, both to her family and to herself, Lia’s strength is tested by the constant presence of Cassie, her own personal ghost.

This book is poignant, insightful and deeply sad; Anderson’s portrayal of the mind of an anorexic is both tragic and terrifying. I have always found literature surrounding the subject of anorexia completely fascinating, as only through reading about it have I realised how anorexic is so completely unlike any other disorder; it is like a virus, something that festers and multiplies deep within you, feeding on your inner self and growing stronger as it destroys. At one point in the novel Lia says:

“I wish I had cancer. I will burn in hell for that, but it’s true.”

I think this quote perfectly illustrates the complex and terrible nature of anorexia. It is so much deeper than a superficial refusal to eat; it is a constant psychological war with yourself, an internal battle that cannot be subdued by popping a few pills. The nature of the illness is so deeply ingrained into the individual’s psyche, it dominates their every thought and action. It is the voice in your head that tells you you’re disgusting, weak, stupid and ugly. It is not so much an obsession with physical appearance as a deep hatred of what is within you. It is despising yourself; it is punishing yourself for who you are while desperately trying to make yourself better, make yourself worthy. The ironic thing is that anorexia is not a sign of weakness; it takes an immeasurable amount of strength to go against every one of your body’s natural survival instincts and starve yourself. And it takes even more strength to recover from it.

The first book I ever read on the subject of anorexia was Monkey Taming, by Judith Fathallah. I read this novel when I was fairly young, and it completely opened my eyes to the nature of this illness, what it means and how it can happen. I think it is important for everyone to understand anorexia, and allow themselves to understand who can be susceptible to it and why.

Anderson has done all this and more in Wintergirls; she has provided an incredibly intimate insight (alliteration, anyone?) into Lia’s painful struggle, leaving readers with a story – and a lesson – they will be completely moved by.

Every Day by David Levithan

Nowadays, with the abundance of literature we have at our disposal it can often be difficult to find a story that hasn’t in some way been done before. Although no two plots are exactly the same, many books have plotlines that are extremely similar, especially when it comes to the typical boy-meet-girl love story. So it came as a welcome surprise for me when I came across David Levithan’s Every Day, a book unlike anything I have ever read before.

Each chapter covers a day in the life of a character referred to as many things, but whose true name is simply A, and who wakes up each day in a different body. Boy or girl, he must live as an intruder in a stranger’s life; interacting with their family, friends, boyfriends or girlfriends, all the while just trying to get through the day and disrupt their lives as little as possible. A has never had a real life of his own, as he has never known anything last for longer than a day. All until A wakes up in the body of Justin, and in the course of a day falls in love with Justin’s girlfriend, Rihanna. But the day inevitably draws to an end, and A continues to cling onto the memory of Rihanna, seeking her out in his different lives and dreaming of a future with her that can never happen.

In the meantime, trouble is brewing under the surface; someone A has inhabited remembers his presence. He believes A is a demon who possessed him, and he wants the whole world to know the truth. A now has to juggle keeping Rihanna in his life, while every day takes him further away from her, whilst keeping a low profile as the internet explodes with stories of a demonic possession he is guilty of.

Levithan writes a story of despair and loneliness in the life of a perpetual drifter, always lingering on the fringe of society. I found this novel insightful, heart-breaking and oddly beautiful, giving a voice to the feelings of exclusion and the impossibility of love many are plagued with. Levithan completely drew me in to his tale, and left A on an ending screaming for a sequel. There’s going to be a sequel, right?!

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I spoke briefly about this book in my previous post listing the books I would be reading next; I had never even heard of this book until one of my favourite YouTubers and celebrated author, John Green, sang its praises.

This book begins with high school student Clay Jenson, who one day receives a mysterious shoebox in the mail containing seven cassette tapes. Upon listening to the first tape, Clay discovers with horror that they are filled with the voice of Hannah Baker, a fellow student and friend who had recently committed suicide. Through these tapes Hannah explains the 13 reasons why she ended her life, and the people who were responsible. We are told that these tapes have been sent to each person on the List, who must then send the box on to the next person when they have listened to all the tapes, so Hannah may personally recount to everyone responsible how they contributed to her suicide.

I found the dual narrative of Hannah’s voice and Clay’s thoughts interesting; it gave us two separate viewpoints to a small town and its inhabitants, and a tragedy which affected them all.

As Clay tries to process the fact that Hannah is speaking to him from beyond the grave, as well as the rather troubling fact that he apparently had a hand in her death, we move through Hannah’s list of the 13 people responsible, one by one. These people are not all monsters who tormented her relentlessly and drove her to her death, but they are normal people whose behavior had repercussions they never expected. Not everyone on the list meant Hannah any harm at all, and in many individuals I can see reflections of my own behavior at times in my life.

What I love about this novel is that the story begins before we’ve had a chance to get to know the main character, Clay. We don’t know whether he is a decent guy or not; all we know is that he is partly responsible for a girl killing herself. Albeit not a great place to start in terms of his character, Asher manages to develop Clay through his reactions and clear good nature. He changes our minds from instantly judging him on principle, to feeling empathy for him, to genuinely liking him and dreading to hear what it is he’s done.

I like that this novel reminds us that everyone has troubles, and that the smallest things we do can impact others in ways we never imagined. You are accountable for your words and your actions, no matter how inconsequential you believe them to be. Hopefully this novel will encourage its reader’s to pay more heed to how we treat others, and remember that people can still be hurting even if we can’t see it on the surface.

This novel was definitely unlike anything else I’ve ever read, and it is pretty rare to actually find a book like this nowadays, as so many novels have storylines that are vaguely reminiscent of something else. But 13 Reasons Why was truly original to me in both its plot and its form, and it is not a book I will likely be forgetting any time soon.

Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

            

It may seem a little odd for me to review the second book in this trilogy without reviewing the first, but the truth is that I really didn’t get along with Oliver’s first novel in this series; Delirium. I had looked forward to reading it after hearing so many good reviews, and I thought the basis of the novel was fascinating, as it is set in a world where love is seen as a disease. Although love is undeniably the best thing in our world, it can also be argued that without love there wouldn’t be heartbreak, depression, suicide, alcoholics, abuse… But I found the novel itself to be so disappointing. The character of Lena was an empty shell; she had almost no personality, and her relationship with Alex was predictable and without intrigue. It seemed as though Oliver was going through the motions of the story she had created; there exists a world without love, so ofcourse the main character must fall in love. But I didn’t believe Lena’s love story; there seemed to be no reason why her and Alex fell in love other than the author said so. The only relationship that I did enjoy in Delirium was the friendship between Lena and Hana. After I finished Delirium I was completely discouraged from continuing with the series, and I started reading Ally Condie’s Matched instead. But then I read a review of another reader who has disliked Delirium, but promised that the series vastly improved in Pandemonium. So I gave it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised.

A lowdown on the story so far: Lena lives in Portland, one of the many cities across the country that believes love is a disease, known as amor deliria nervosa. If one is ‘infected’ with the disease, they could be thrown in the terrifying prison known as the Crypt, or even killed. Once they reach their eighteenth birthday, each citizen is administered with the cure; a surgical procedure which removes any trace of love from their brains. They are then matched with a suitable partner so they may procreate. But they are cold, distant and do not care about anyone. Lena once yearned for her own cure, but after meeting Alex, she begins to question the authority of her community. They soon fall in love and plan their escape to the Wilds, the place on the outskirts of the city where Alex is from. But when the night comes for them to go over the fence, they are separated, and Lena must run away from all that she has known, completely alone. Lena begins a new life in New York as a part of the resistance, which includes following Julian Fineman, the son of Thomas Fineman, leader of the DFA – Deliria Free America.

Lena has grown in the space between Pandemonium and Delirium; she is strong, defiant and passionate. I found the boring, predictable Lena from Delirium gone, and I loved the fire that can now be seen in her. She is finally a real character, someone that reader can empathize with and respect. I also adored the love story between Lena and Julian. Although some readers may be outraged that she has fallen in love so quickly after losing Alex, I found that this relationship had a real foundation, and was so much more believable; I found myself falling in love with him right alongside her.

Reading Pandemonium has finally got me hooked on Oliver’s series, and after the shocking ending of the novel, I couldn’t wait another minute to read Requiem.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

I first became interested in Lauren Oliver after hearing of all the good reviews her Delirium series has received. You may have noticed that I’ve a bit of a dystopian junkie (see here, here and here for some examples…), so naturally Oliver’s trilogy was high up on my to-read list. This was when I first noticed Before I Fall, a story about Sam, a popular high school girl with exciting friends and a wonderful boyfriend, who after attending a house party at her childhood best friend Kent McFuller’s house, dies in a car accident. She then gets stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of reliving her last day over and over again. What would you do if you knew that today was to be your last day on earth? Would you do anything differently?

I didn’t have particularly high hopes for this novel. I don’t know why, but I always find that books that focus on the themes of death and dying seem unable to live up to such a huge, poignant theme. But I was wrong, and this book completely blew me away.

Before I Fall is the most heartbreaking novel I have read in a long time. I was crying on and off throughout the entire book, and I was astounded by Oliver’s incredible talent of bringing me to tears with a single sentence.

“[he’s] the kind of guy who deserves the kind of girl who wears cashmere sweaters and is really good at crossword puzzles, or plays the violin, or volunteers at soup kitchens. Someone nice and normal and honest. The pain in my stomach intensifies, as though something’s caught in there, snapping away at my insides. I could never be good enough for him. Even if I lived the same day into infinity, I could never be good enough.”

During the first chapter I didn’t warm to Sam’s character at all, which is kind of the point. She is stuck-up, arrogant and at times downright cruel. She disregards her family and believes she is in love with her empty-headed jock boyfriend, even going as far as planning to lose her virginity to him that night. After she is killed and rewinds time to go through the motions of her last day again and again, the little details start to make themselves known to her. She begins to notice the cruel twist of her boyfriend’s sneer, the insecurities that lie deep within her best friend, the detail and love put into the Valentines note she receives from Kent, and the ghosts in the eyes of her lost classmate Juliet. Sam slowly discovers how she is capable of changing the lives of those around her, with only the smallest of gestures, but also discovers how some wounds are too deep to be healed.

I especially love the attention Oliver pays to her characters, as she slowly delves beneath the surface and builds them up as people in the reader’s minds. When you first meet a person, or make a new friend, everything about them is not on the surface for you to see. It takes time to discover their fears, hopes, dreams and desires. You learn bit by bit that they are flawed, and that that is what makes them whole. They are not character profiles, but people. Oliver truly turns her characters into people, especially with Lindsay, Kent and Sam. Their inner selves are revealed slowly, layer by layer.

This novel really made me question what I value in life, and how some things that I believed to be important perhaps aren’t important at all.

“I think about letting go – of the trees and the grass and sky and the red-streaked clouds on the horizon – letting it all drop away from me like a veil. Maybe there will be something spectacular underneath.”

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I’m currently on a bit of a dystopia binge, and after devouring Veronica Roth’s ‘Divergent’ trilogy I decided to try ‘The Maze Runner’ by James Dashner. The blurb sounded really intriguing – the story begins with Thomas, a teenager who has no memory of his life before he is deposited inside a huge concrete maze with a group of other amnesiac boys. With no idea of who they are or who put them here, these boys have spent the last 2 years surviving in this maze, aswell as trying to find a way out. As if this isn’t enough of a bombshell, the day after Thomas arrives a girl is placed into the maze for the first time ever, and Thomas thinks he knows her.

This story reveals the big picture slowly and teasingly, leaving you on tender-hooks as you follow this ‘Lord of the Flies’ style tale of survival in a world that makes no sense at all.

The series continues with two other books: ‘The Scorch Trials’ and ‘The Death Cure’.

Although I think the idea of this story is interesting and completely original, it wasn’t quite what I expected. Infact, it is probably the very basis of the story that was the problem – the amnesia that all the characters are crippled with. Although an exciting literary technique, it makes it very difficult to feel connected to the characters. As a reader, you get no back story, no sense of the kind of person that Thomas is. For the majority of the book he is an extremely passive character: he is the eyes through which the reader views everything in the maze, but he doesn’t seem to show many strong emotions or sense of personality to engage the reader. He is a blank slate. Which means that the reader must decide for themselves over time whether Thomas is kind, funny, boring, strong, intelligent or cruel. His sense of character is built up slowly, making the connection between reader and protagonist delayed and weak.

Minho is the only character is this book that I felt had a particularly strong personality, as most of the others blended together somewhat into a vague picture of a confused and scared boy. Minho is strong, stubborn and fierce. He is engaging.

I also felt that the basis of this story – the dystopian world in which these boys live – was a little far-fetched. And that’s normally fine; I love dystopian novels with wild and unimaginable versions of our world, as long as the reasoning behind these civilizations is somewhat sound. It has to be slightly believable (even if we have to turn our heads and squint to picture it) in order for it to be a good read. And although ‘The Maze Runner’ is thrilling and fun and exciting, it is not believable.

But this may not bother other readers. It’s only for dystopia that I like my stories to be slightly believable, so I can imagine what I would do and who I would be in such a place. For me, horror stories/thrillers/fantasy novels can be as wildly unimaginable as they like – that’s the fun of them! – so maybe for others, a smidge of reality isn’t really necessary to enjoy a dystopian novel. And besides all of that, ‘The Maze Runner’ is definitely an enjoyable novel.

This book is also being turned into a film, with Kaya Scodelario (Effy from Skins!) playing Teresa, so it should be fantastic.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Wow. This is without a doubt one of the best books I have read this year, a thoroughly thrilling reading experience. I have always loved dystopian novels, for example Scott Westerfeld’s ‘Uglies’ series was one of my favourite books growing up. But with the exception of Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ – one of the most insightful novels I have ever read – I haven’t gotten my hands on any dystopia in a long while. But after reading ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy last year, and the release of the incredible second film, I decided to indulge in my previous love for dystopia. And Divergent definitely didn’t disappoint.

Divergent is set in the city that was once called Chicago, which is now divided into five different sections – Amity, Erudite, Abnegation, Dauntless and Candor. I found the theory behind this novel so interesting: that people be divided into ‘factions’ in which they live and work, based upon arguably the most vital aspects of our humanity – bravery, honesty, intelligence, selflessness and peace. When all citizens reach the age of 16, they are tested to see which faction they are made for, then they choose where to live the rest of their lives. Beatrice has spent her whole life in Abnegation, but feels she does not possess the selflessness needed to continue this life. Worried about letting down her parents and her brother Caleb, the choosing ceremony weighs heavily on her mind. But then her test reveals something almost unheard of – she is not made for one single faction, but for three. She is Divergent. Beatrice then makes a choice that will come to define her, as she must learn in training to forget everything she has been taught in the last 16 years, and become who she really is.

The violence, murder and suicide which are prominent themes in this book make Divergent a novel aimed at an older teen audience.

I loved the idea of this book – creating a society made of qualities that together make a well-rounded, heroic person, but individually have the potential for such brutality, cruelty and darkness. I found these books moving, full of action and suspense and inspiring in the way they portray the decisions we all have to make about who we are, and how these decisions affect the people we become.  I also found myself wondering throughout what attributes I valued most in life, and which faction I would belong to. Divergent is thrilling, insightful, and beautifully written. It reminds me of the emotional pull I felt towards my childhood dystopian favourites; that yearning to experience another version of our world, to have adventures and the chance to be truly brave.

Jodi Picoult

As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, Jodi Picoult is one of my absolute favorite authors. She is a particularly skilled storyteller: the subject of her novels is often shocking and troubling material, which she then proceeds to try to make sense of. Needless to say, her novels are gripping, tense and completely un-put-down-able.

Jodi Picoult centers her novels around a particular action or event – ranging from murder to suicide to molestation – then lets her story evolve from there. She relays the reactions and emotions of those involved, and also often employs flashbacks to give the reader an extra layer of information and hindsight. For me personally, reading Jodi Picoult’s novels has shown me that things aren’t as black and white as I once thought. I’d often read the blurb of one of Picoult’s novels, and believe I knew exactly what I’d do in such a situation, or what my opinion would be on a certain issue. But then I’d read the novel, and Jodi Picoult would open my eyes to things I’d never considered before.

Although Picoult has written many amazing novels, here are a few of my favourites:

Nineteen Minutes

One day in Sterling, New Hampshire, local teenager Peter Houghton walks into his high school with a gun, and kills 10 people. What follows is the aftermath for Peter’s parents, fellow students and the police, as the whole town tries to work out how such a tragedy has happened. We see hurt, anger and guilt emerge within those who knew Peter personally, as all have played a part in his violent outburst, and all have burdens to bear.

This was the first Jodi Picoult novel I ever read, and it remains as one of my favorites. Picoult shows how easy it is to hurt those around you, and how all your actions have ramifications you couldn’t even dream of.

The Pact

This is one of Picoult’s earlier novels, and definitely the most emotional.

The Hartes and the Golds have been close friends for 18 years; they live next door to each other, and their children, Chris and Emily, grew up together. But then they get a phone call in the middle of the night. Emily is dead, and Chris is in the hospital; a suicide pact gone wrong. Two families are torn apart as they struggle to cope with a tragedy no one saw coming, and no one understands. This novel is extremely raw and emotional; Emily’s pain and anguish felt so real for me, and I couldn’t stop crying the whole way through. This novel gives the reader an insight into the psychology behind suicide, and how a seemingly happy teenage girl could want so desperately to end her life.

Perfect Match

This novel has perhaps the most delicate subject matter of all of Picoult’s works, and for this reason incites the strongest reactions from it’s readers.

Nina Frost is an Assistant District Attorney, and spends her days speaking for children who cannot speak for themselves. She sees children fall through the cracks of the legal system all the time as they are unable to testify for themselves, and as a result, monsters get away with their acts of violence. But then Nina’s 5 year old son Nathaniel stops speaking. The truth soon reveals itself – Nathaniel has been sexually abused, and Nina will do whatever it takes to catch the man responsible, and protect her child.

Picoult takes the reader round and round in this novel, as the subject of your scrutiny constantly changes: everyone is a suspect, even Nathaniel’s father. And the question remains throughout of what should be done when the villain is caught: is prison too good for  a pedophile?

Change of Heart

After the death of her first husband in a drink driving accident, June has finally begun to get her life back on track. She has a loving husband and two beautiful children; she couldn’t be happier. But then her husband Kurt and her oldest daughter Elizabeth are murdered. Michael Wright is a priest, and one of the 12 jurors who once sentenced Shay Bourne to death for his crimes. But now June’s youngest daughter Claire needs a heart transplant, and Shay is volunteering. Can June live with her daughter having the heart of a murderer? Wouldn’t she do anything to see her live?

Old wounds are opened up and examined as the clock counts down for both Shay and Claire, one an act of god and the other demanded by the people. Change of Heart examines capitol punishment in a way I’ve never read before, and certainly made me reassess my own beliefs.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Once again Gillian Flynn completely blew me away, and demonstrated her incredible talent in this fast-paced, thought provoking thriller. I downloaded Gone Girl onto my Kindle the second I finished reading Sharp Objects, as I couldn’t wait to see what more Flynn had to offer. And trust me, it’s alot.

Gone Girl tells the story of Nick Dunne, an unemployed journalist whose life is thrown into disarray when his wife Amy disappears, seemingly abducted. Things get even more confusing when all the evidence begins to point to Nick himself. Once again, the blurb portrays this novel as a standard ‘Whodunit’ thriller, but it is nothing of the sort. Nick’s own narration and the diary entries of Amy seem to conflict with eachother as they paint very different pictures of their married life. In a story with so many conflicting viewpoints, psychological distress and paranoia, who can be trusted? Flynn got me again in this book, as I had a long run in thinking I had it all figured out, only to realize I didn’t have a clue.

Every aspect of Nick and Amy’s relationship is thoroughly scrutinized by the reader, as we get Nick’s present day monologue alongside Amy’s past diary entries. As I mentioned in my previous review of Sharp Objects, Flynn has a particular skill for portraying all the intricacies and issues within human relationships. She did it spectacularly in the mother-daughter relationships within Sharp Objects, and she has done it again in her portrayal of Nick and Amy’s marriage. All the desires, blame, resentment and love present between this husband and wife is traced all the way back to it’s very roots. This leaves the reader with a more rounded opinion of both Nick and Amy, as no emotions are merely provided and meant to be accepted at face value, but all are described in such a way so as to be truly understood.

I found the character of Amy a particular work of art on Flynn’s part: so many conflicting personalities and emotions are fused together within this one person. The characterization of Amy is impeccable, and very impressive.

As with Sharp Objects, this is not a novel that leaves the reader with a happy ending, all neatly tied up. Questions are left unanswered, emotions are left unchecked and characters are certainly not left content. But I find that ending a book in such a manner makes it even more unforgettable in the mind of the reader, as long after you put the book down, your mind keeps on working through it. I for one have not been able to get Gone Girl out of my head, and I think the only thing that will dislodge it is to read Flynn’s next work, Dark Places.