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I’ve been an avid Block fan since a friend had me read Violet & Claire in 2001, after which I went out and bought all the books on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. Hanged Man has always been one of my favorites. It’s always struck me as odd, as it’s one of the touchier subjects, centering around molestation and repressed memories, but I suppose I felt I could identify, and her writing is just incredible.
As per usual with FLB books, her style is unique. Reality meats fantasy, poetry meets prose.
Laurel’s father has died, and she and her mother spend their days floating around one another, like ships anchored just out of reach, or at sea always passing but never meeting. The AIDS scare has begun, and Laurel worries for her friends and their wild lifestyles. Though constantly urged otherwise, she doesn’t eat. A man has been going around the valley breaking into women’s rooms, and Laurel can’t sleep, though her room is in a tower.
Phantasmic Jack haunts her dreams, appears at random at parties, on the streets. It’s he who eventually helps her to break free of her internal bars, to let go of everything held inside. Only after this point can she and her mother then confront what’s been between them for so long.
Laurel’s emotional journey will likely resonate with many, even if they can’t relate to her specific circumstances. The language alone makes it worth the read. I have a handful of favorite authors, but I’ve still yet to find anyone who can out-style Francesca Lia Block.
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In the latest installment of the Dexter series, we start pondering the bigger questions. Always comfortable with the idea that he was what he was, Dexter never had reason to question where his Dark Passenger had come from, and what, it anything, that might mean. But when a new case leaves him feeling cold, off, and worst of all, alone, suddenly questions are all Dexter has.
Nothing about the burnt corpses with their ceramic bull heads is really all that much worse than any other case. In fact it all seems pretty much run-of-the-mill, except for the feeling that something about it is all wrong. And since Dexter doesn’t feel…well, you can see how he’d be a little upset.
Lost without his inner companion, Dexter divides his time between searching in vain for answers, attempting to go along with plans for his wedding, and mentoring Cody and Astor, whose impatience nearly lands them in a world of trouble.
Some fans may find this installment irritating. Dexter, without half of himself, is not himself. I know of one reader who found him annoying and just wanted it to be over with. Myself, while he certainly is a changed Dexter, I found his questioning and insecurity to be perfectly understandable, and his search for answers is fairly compelling. And the Astor and Cody story line certainly keeps things interesting.
Not necessarily my favorite of the three, but definitely a good read. I’m very interested to see where this will go next.
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This is not the book to read if you’re looking for a happy story. Which isn’t to say that it doesn’t end well, but it’s not going to leave you feeling uplifted and light.
Set in small town Minnesota, this is the story of a family. A mother who never quite wanted to be, a father who can’t quite get it right, and isn’t happy enough with what he has, a son who gets lost inside himself, and a daughter just trying to keep up. The story is told from ever side, each looking a little different.
Claire speaks to trying to cope first with a drunk, depressed husband, and then to life without him. Esau speaks to his time in the hospital, and to trying to cope with life outside of it. Kate speaks to all of it. Her missing brother, her lost father, her mother, lost in a different way. Trying to fit the pieces together.
The book is beautifully written, and seeing the story unfold through three sets of very separate eyes is…for sudden lack of a better term, eye-opening, to say the least. Fans of Hornbacher’s memoir will likely enjoy her foray into ficiton, as will anyone who appreciates a good book.
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I have to say this is one of the best books I’ve read this year–and also one of the hardest. All I can say is, you’ll probably hit a point where you’re not sure you can read this story, but if you hang in with it, it will all be worth it.
Boy Toy tells the tale of Josh Mendel, South Brook High attendee, ball player, and news item. At least, if you asked him, he’d tell you he’s all people talk about. Him, and the past he’d rather forget. It all started on his 13th birthday, with an incident in a closet gone wrong–if you asked him. In actuality, it started long before that, when Josh was still 12, but being smack in the middle of it, he just didn’t notice. In fact, looking back, even after so long, he still has a hard time figuring out where it all went wrong.
In seventh grade, Josh was ahead of his time. Smart in a way most couldn’t understand, which left him with an equal non-understanding, since it all came so naturally to him, and mature for his age, Josh was in a league of his own. A fact which his History teacher, Mrs. Sherman, didn’t fail to notice. And by the way? She’s 24, and gorgeous.
After a mishap involving missing his bus during an emergency closing, Josh finds himself stranded at school. Mrs. Sherman, not yet gone herself, offers to call his mother for the school and sort it out, since she lives close by and can spare the time. But Mrs. Mendel is also stranded. The roads by here have been closed and will be for hours. And so it is Josh makes his first trip to Mrs. Sherman’s apartment, which turns out to be a kid’s dream: video games galore, thanks to her husband’s occupation as a game tester.
Not long after his afternoon in heaven, Mrs. Sherman seeks permission from Josh’s parents to use him in a grad school project. Her timing, as it turns out, is perfect. Mr. Mendel has been hounding his wife about going back to work, concerned that Josh is too young to spend time home alone. With Josh spending afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Mendel can now work without the guilt, and his father can allay his fears.
As time progresses, Josh goes from spending afternoons at school doing tests, to sitting on Mrs. Sherman’s couch doing tests. His visits get longer, and longer, which lets his mother work later without worry. Soon he’s eating most of his dinners with Mrs. Sherman and George, who enjoys coming home and watching Josh beat whatever game happens to be in the Xbox at the time. Eventually, all Josh is doing is playing games and hanging out. And Mrs. Sherman is morphing from teacher to friend. Some days it’s too much to try and remember not to call her Eve at school. But when Eve tries to cut off their afternoon’s together, after having kissed, Josh is distraught and begs her to let him stay.
He has fun at her place. He can play games, unlike at home. He gets treated like an adult. He doesn’t want to lose that. And so she relents. And things progress. Right up until the night in the closet with his best friend Rachel, where her kiss sets his mind to automatic pilot, leaving her scared and confused and Josh feeling a freak.
The relationship with Eve comes out, and Rachel’s parents immediately drop the charges. But for Josh, the damage is done. He no longer knows how to face Rachel, which breaks up the four musketeers and leaves him with only one friend: Zik. His parents and the police hound him endlessly, but he doesn’t want to betray Eve too. He promised he wouldn’t.
But in the end, they wear him down, and he fills legal pads with his story. Because he remembers it all. Only on the stand in court, even faced with his books, he doesn’t want to talk. Seeing his distress, Eve changes her plea to guilty and confesses all. Her confession ends up on the internet. And even though it states no names, Josh is sure everyone knows it was him, and is just as sure everyone’s read it. Which is why, if you asked Josh, everyone is talking about him.
This ordeal turns Josh’s High School career into an effort to blend into the shadows. Aside from classes and baseball, where his sole role is that of Designated Hitter, Josh steers clear. He also avoids Rachel at all costs. Until Eve is released and in his confusion he visits The Narc during Rachel’s shift and walks right into her.
Over the next few weeks, Josh regains his friend, albeit with some discomfort. He gets roped into Prom. He finally spills about just what happened, after losing a bet. And he starts to gain some true understanding, including the most important one of all. For five years, he’s been living a misconception. And only that realization can truly set him free.
Note: Boy Toy is scheduled for release in September.
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In the world there are many cycles, and sometimes they exist between you and you. The inner commentator never letting you speak, too afraid you’ll only mess things up. The outer prtoector, trying to make you less visible, generally only make you more conspicuous. The friends who aren’t real, but are better than loneliness. The truths buried in closets, because it’s easier for some to pretend they never happened, even if nothing has been the same since, and the damage is still everywhere. Worrying that your haunted past will become your daunting future.
This is Lacie’s world.
Her father’s dead, he mother hides away in endless work, and Lacie is lost between the cracks of herself and a world in which she doesn’t belong. Can’t seem to fit in. Can’t seem to get it right.
Bit by bit, her best friend’s cruelness starts to become more apparent. Forced into agreeing to meet a boy, she soon realizes Benji is just about the only real thing in her life. Except for the ghosts.
Bit by bit, things get harder, and some get easier. Best friend Jenna is lost, but Lacie is found. Her mother begins to slowly come back, she begins to slowly move away. Away from the fake and the meanness she used to emulate. Away toward who she really is, and should be. Away towards Gretchen, returned to town after disappearing for years. Away into a perfect world, in which she does belong.
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Benji sees the world in shades of angel and demon, which makes it, more often than not, a rather scary place. While his father may be less trouble than his mother, less abusive, less of a demon-magnet, in order to live with him Benji had to leave his personal angel, Lacie, behind.
Being in a new school suits him, though, as it’s easier to disappear when no one knew you were there to begin with. Being labeled a freak is fine with him. As long as no one takes any notice. As long as no one tries to get close. As long as he can hide inside Dogboy.
But when Benji takes a liking to Rianna Moore, things get a little more complex. She isn’t like them, but she travles with the in crowd. They don’t really see her, but they certainly know she’s there. Which makes Benji a bit less of a shadow. And his feelings make him a bit less dead. And wanting to be near her makes it all a bit less safe.
Eventually, the demons start to show themselves. It turns out they’re everywhere, and when you’ve got your own too…well, they travel with you. No matter how much you might want to leave them behind.
But just because they can follow you, and get inside you, and affect you, doesn’t make them you. And this is what Benji has to discover. This is the only real path out.
Of all of James’ books, I liked this one the best. Most likely because every time he writes one, they just keep getting better. And while they all come with a bit of a harsh face, there is always a light shining through.
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