Pretty Girl-13

Hmm....I really expected to like this more. I know that may sound....weird (for lack of a better word) when thinking about the subject of the book but it could have been written so well. I know that this book is out there to educate kidnappings/sexual abuse that in the end come to happier conclusions (Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard, etc.) but there were no surprises here. I found myself thinking, "was that supposed to be a surprise?" "Really? That's the "twist"?" and I guess I'm not sure what I fully expected from this book. It did it's job in introducing the world to a character that you could almost relate to. I thought some of the plot lines were a little weird. I really loved the idea of exploring Disassociative Identity Disorder and the reality of being in a situation you are beyond dealing with and your body basically taking over. But, and this is a big one, this could have been MUCH better. I applaud the author for taking a really hard subject and giving it a voice. Not often in literature for teens do certain sort of taboo subjects come up.

Angie, our main character, goes camping and the suddenly finds herself back on the street she lives on. She goes home and her parents are elated to see her. She doesn't understand that three years have passed because she doesn't remember them. Her alternate personalities are basically shielding her from what has occurred so the last thing she remembers is leaving to go camping and then winds up home instead.

I found I couldn't relate to Angie as a person. The story felt like a story and not a world that I could try to understand and join. It lacked some sort of emotion for me that would have made it seem more realistic or at least made the characters more realistic. I also had a hard time accepting her "alters" as real characters. The interactions with them were strange and kind of detracted from the story a bit for me.

I wouldn't say I don't recommend that you read this, just that it really wasn't for me. 

An Apple a Day

I've noticed a certain trend in my non-fiction...I mostly read about eating disorders and animals. I will read some memoirs but they have to be pretty good or I get bored quickly. I love a book that will make me laugh so the new book by Jim Gaffigan (my favorite comedian) was an obvious choice as well as BossyPants by Tina Fey. I also like the occasional random non-fiction thrown in there but I usually ready about murder or anything YA. I can't help it.

Best line of the book. "Remember when Kate Moss said, ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’? She’s wrong: chocolate does." This is said as Emma Woolf walks down the street unwrapping a kitkat, the first chocolate she has eaten in over 10 years. 

I thought this book was great. I loved how honest the author was in her struggle and she just seemed so real. I will say she also has some pretty strong views on things and isn't shy to let you know them. I didn't like her view on suicide because it seemed skewed and actually a bit juvenile. Her thoughts were that suicide is selfish and I used to think that growing up but as I got older I realized it isn't that way for those who suffer severe depression or suicidal thoughts. I have a very close relationship with a couple people with suicidal tendencies and I definitely have a different view, including my own bout of depression while growing up. Senior year in high school was really hard for me because of depression so I am not one to judge others on their demons.

Back to the eating disorder part. Emma Woolf brings up some good points. Doctors and even family members have the main goal of trying to get the sufferer to their "goal" weight that is healthy for them but there isn't always a lot of therapy for the mental side of the problem. Once your at a higher weight it can seem like everyone is thinking, "Oh well you're fine now. No big deal just eat." Well it's not that easy.

I thought it was brave of the author to write a column while she was struggling with overcoming anorexia and letting her audience kind of follow her progress. That is also a scary decision and for the less brave might have even set them back quite a bit in their recovery.

I think the most heart-wrenching part was reading her struggle to stop over controlling her food and body so that she could have a baby. For some reason when people can't have children or get pregnant and have miscarriages it makes ME emotional, as though I am suffering right along with them. I don't have children nor do I want them right now. I do not have a stable enough life for kids, my cat is plenty yet these aspects of stories really get me. It might be because I would love to have children someday or because I know people who struggle but it goes right for the heart.

If you like to read about eating disorders for whatever reason, you should definitely pick this one up. It might just give you a different view on things. I give this one 4 stars.

Amped

About time I finally write a blog post!

Amped is a wonderful book written by Daniel H Wilson. I must say I was quite impressed to read in his author bio that he has a PhD in Robotics. I didn't know that was a thing, but I approve.

I have to start off by saying that I wasn't sure what to expect with this story. Amped takes you on a journey through the lives of those with medical implants that completely alter the brain. The main character, Owen, is an Amp. Owen has epilepsy but the implant prevents him from having seizures. Have a kid with ADD? No problem! Give them an implant and they will have improved m

ental focus. The implant can make you smarter, faster, and most of all, an apparent threat to the unaltered people of the world.

I was immediately hooked into this technology thriller. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Owen. It took me a while to even figure out the main character and his personality which would usually turn me off from a story but this was so intriguing I couldn't wait to get on with the story.

The view we see from Owen's life begins when the Supreme Court has begun to pass laws that basically state that amps don't count as people. The "normal" community can't enter in contracts with the amps, which basically means they are left homeless, jobless and in a whole new class of undesirable status. Why would anyone want to do that? We all know that is going to be a bad idea. Who let them vote that in?!

Joseph Vaughn (the nemesis of the amp communities) and fear let them vote that in. That is the scariest part of this story. I could actually see something awful happening in the book that could be real. Fear and lack of understanding create a lot of the problems we currently have in our world and sometimes it seems as though technology is only hurting us. I love technology but that doesn't mean I don't worry about it running our lives. Hell, it kind of does already.

I can't wait to read others by this author. His writing is fast paced and so refreshingly honest. I loved this.