Book Review One: Glass

Glass by Ellen Hopkins, published by Simon Pulse.

I thought I would be speechless by the time I finished this book. However, I've found that I have a lot to say about it. I couldn't put it down. It's 681 pages and I read it in 2 days when I wasn't working. Which is really good since I've been spending a majority of my downtime just watching tv shows on my computer. So hey, it made me productive. It brought me back into the reading game. It made me want to write. But it did not make me want to do crystal meth.

If you're a friend of mine you probably know that I joke about doing crystal meth a lot. I can't stand drugs, don't have a tolerance for people who do them, and yes, can be judgmental about it. But I watch a ton of intervention and I paid attention in health class so I just don't understand why someone would do that to her body. I've joked that it helps you lose weight, which it does do for the narrator in this story, yet it completely destroys her in the process.

I don't know how to explain this format any better than it being a poetic structure. It takes the format of poems although most often it sounds like the narrator is just thinking to herself or arguing with herself. More like Kristina arguing with Bree, her personality when she's on the "monster." The monster is what she calls Meth (crystal, crank, glass all being other names for it). The poem structure will sway you into her perspective. You'll feel like you're Kristina. You'll feel confused and lost. You'll feel like you aren't rational and you're hooked in to something you can't control. I know it sounds ridiculous, but reading it made me feel like I was on meth, that I was a horrible mother and daughter and I had spun out of control. It was all I could do to put the book down and take a step back. I had to remember who I was versus who Kristina was.

As good as the poetry is, and it is helpful in constructing a believable narrator and story, I was troubled by the line breaks. There were many that were unsophisticated, such as ending a line with or, to, one, a, do, to, for, and on. However, most of the poems had a clear construction as can be seen by the image of the poem: one is in the shape of a G and ends with "uilty," or by what words are indented and which aren't:

"Walking with the Monster

Life

was radical

right after I met

the monster.

Later, life

became

harder,

complicated.

Ultimately,

a living

hell,

like swimming

against a riptide,

walking

the wrong

direction in the fast

lane of the freeway,

waking

from sweetest

dreams to find yourself

in the middle of a

nightmare."

(Glass, Hopkins, pg 1).

As you can see, the middle lines repeat the message of the entire poem, yet they do it in a simpler, more direct form. It was interesting to view what little poems could form out of their larger counterparts and to see if they agreed with the main message Kristina was trying to convey. So even though the poems were easy to read, and the book could be read in its entirety in a small amount of time, the smaller poems, the conflict with Bree, the images portrayed by the poems, all forced me, the reader, to spend more time on the page. I couldn't just take it at face value; there was too much to digest.

Unfortunately when I got the book I didn't realize that it was the second part to an already established story about Kristina: Crank, by Ellen Hopkins. I also didn't realize that it was her daughter's story I was reading until I had already started the book. None of this was especially needed information to appreciate Glass, however it does make me respect Hopkins more for not only choosing to write this painful story, but choosing to do so in such an intense and beautiful manner. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books in the future, and also to meeting her in May at the Festival.

P.S. I wouldn't recommend this book for younger readers. It's a sensitive subject and one that should be read with understanding and maturity. There are a lot of intense and emotional topics including graphic and suggestive imagery. However, I would recommend this to anyone who needs to understand why someone becomes addicted to methamphetamines and how they can continue to love and support them.

Future of the Blog

So I was thinking about what the shape of this blog should be. We all know my life isn't fascinating enough to constantly keep Michaela's Voice updated on it. Besides, it wouldn't affect a ton of people. What could affect people is what I read. I have a pretty extensive library of books and and even bigger list of books I want to read. Have a request? Send it in! I'm going to start reviewing what I read, writing down what I see selling at Barnes and Noble, and even some suggestions that I overhear.

Keep in mind that it's mainly going to be young adult. It's what I love to read, what I can relate to, and what I want to write. I figure if my writing career never pans out (and for it to be successful I'll have to actually get writing one of these days) I'll always have reading. I've always loved to read ever since I first learned how. I spent hours a day reading. I read one book in the morning on my way to school and another book on my way home in elementary school. You couldn't pry chapter books away from me in middle school. And I devoured young adult lit like it was Halloween candy in high school. So you can pretty much put your money on there always being a book in my bag.

First Review to keep an eye out for: Glass by Ellen Hopkins. This is my first Hopkins' book in preparation for the Teen Lit Festival in Rochester May 15th. It's crazy how excited I can be about something months away but if you look at the list of attending authors below you'll see why.

Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival

May 15, 2010

Nazareth College

Authors:

Laurie Halse Anderson (<3)

Coe Booth

Robin Brande

Kay Cassidy

Marissa Doyle

Simone Elkeles

Ellen Hopkins

Patrick Jones

James Kennedy

A.S. King

Daniel Kirk

Alisa Libby

E. Lockhart (<3)

Barry Lyga

Mari Mancusi

Lisa McMann

Ben Mikaelsen

Alyson Noel

Sarah Ockler

Matt de la Pena

Lisa Schroeder

Jennifer Smith

Terry Trueman

Vivian Vande Velde

Martin Wilson

Two of these authors are on my favorites list but I plan on reading at least a little of everyone else's work before the big day to prepare. Stay tuned for some reviews on what I read.

Much Better

So I feel much better, as the title suggests. The car situation is almost fixed (finally!) and I'm getting a pretty nice settlement considering the fact that I was pretty much screwed over. And poor Ruthie was crushed into a small box.

Ruthie after the accident:

Have a new car, still unnamed, that is actually pretty comfortable to drive considering I've been driving myself everywhere lately. :[ I miss my chauffeur.

Got my driver's license in the mail today. Along with a ridiculously over-priced heating bill, which I managed to get fixed. It's not so bad being an adult as long as you stay on top of things. Just know your budget and what cost-effective things you have to do to stay in budget. If that means buying a Sunday paper for the coupons, layering up to avoid turning on the heat, and doing laundry at your parent's house, that's fine. As long as you can stay afloat and you're happy, then what does it matter?

And I am happy. Particularly because I just finished this amazing teen book: This Book isn't Fat, it's Fabulous by Nina Beck. I hope my opinion counts for something in the Teen Lit world (just look at my recommendations to the left) because this one is a must-read if you like teen lit. It's hilarious due to the main character who doesn't realize she's a snooty New Yorker. She actually gets out and smells nature in an undeniably cute trip to upstate New York. She doesn't know what love feels like even though she believes she is in love, and to top it all off, she gets sent to fat camp and tries to keep it a secret!

I don't want to ruin anything for you, but if you ever get so into character that your heart literally hurts for someone in a novel, then this one is for you. I've got to say I fell for one of the characters (although Riley the main character is charming, it wasn't her) and my heart crunched up. I love that feeling because it shows not only that the book has heart but that it's making an impact on me. I'll remember these people. They aren't just words on a page.

Anyway, besides all that, the Christmas shopping is going really well! The knitting is improving, and I really should do this NANOWRIMO thing. If only it were warmer...

One of those days...

You ever have one of those days where everything annoys you?

Take today for instance, I woke up and heard the dogs whining (who I am watching for a week while my mom is in California). That was annoying because I had to get up earlier (like 6:20 instead of 6:30, but when you're exhausted ten minutes can mean the world) and take them out. Then I bring them back in, get changed, and notice they went to the bathroom in the living room. Fuck. Now I have to clean that up, eat an eggo quick, and run out the door.

Now I'm also annoyed because I have to drive and I hate driving. Get to work, there aren't that many shelves to do, almost seems like a waste of time for me to go in. I then keep myself busy for a few hours. Get back on the road to go home and no one wants to do the speed limit!

Why am I the only person that understands you'll get a ticket for going 10-15 miles over? Sure, 5 miles is fine (although during my 5-hour course she said you could get a ticket for going even ONE mile over!). So everyone is racing by me per usual and I decide I should merge over to the middle lane since my lane just became an exit only. I look at my blind spot and in all the appropriate mirrors, slow down because the car in that lane is going the speed limit (nice truck) and then am halfway over when a red car zips out of nowhere and proceeds to go through the middle lane and then the left lane, no turn signals in sight. Like, what the fuck, if you're going to turn use the signal. It's there for a reason. So not only am I scared to merge now because he came out of nowhere, but now a truck is coming up behind me and the truck infront of that is going too slow for me to merge over. I'm stuck in the exit only lane. No big deal, except I get off and don't know where I'm going.

I take a series of wrong turns and then finally pull over only to realize that when I switched cars with my mom I brought the gps in the house and don't have it with me. I call Ravee for directions and by that time I already frustrated and sick of driving so I don't have the patience for small talk. To make a long story short, I almost get killed like 10 times, I end up at the zoo. I have to turn around to get back, I go down what I thought was a street but turns out to only be the entrance to a parking garage, and no one in the city wants to go 30 or let me ahead of them.

Get home, still pissed that the insurance lady has never called me back with the quote for how much my totaled car is gonna get me. Why do I have to do everything? I had to get it towed, and find rides for me and Ravee, had to call to get it inspected, had to call both insurance companies with information, had to clean out the car and take the plates off and get it towed to a junkyard. Had to pay the towing company and drive back to Henrietta to get the money from the junkyard. Had to drive to Buffalo by myself to sign the paperwork and pay for a new car. Had to print out new registration forms and mail the license plates to my mom and get the police report and fucking keep hounding this lady to get with the program. Had to drive back to Batavia to get my new car, and pay for collision, and get everything transferred over, and get this car inspected twice. All this lady has to do is call me back. And she can't even do that.

Does she not understand that two people are sharing one car for three jobs and four classes? It's a little nerve-wrecking.

So yep, annoyed about all of that and now the knitting I was working on just got unraveled and I have to finish like 14 rows all over again.

Seems like one of those days I should just call quits and head to bed. Only tomorrow I'm working both jobs and won't have this free time.