iameatingbooks

[iameatingbooks]

Credits Page:

The Outsiders Sources:

“The Outsiders.” CliffsNotes, 2021, https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/the-outsiders/se-hinton-biography.

“The Outsiders (1983) Official Trailer - Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise Movie HD.” YouTube, Movieclips Classic Trailers, June 2014, https://youtu.be/j4pFHmSuHRQ.

Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret Sources:

“Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret .” IMDb, IMDb.com, 16 Sept. 2022, https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9185206/.

Camele, Elizabeth. “Judy Blume, ‘Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.’” The Banned Books Project, 12 Sept. 2019, https://bannedbooks.library.cmu.edu/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret-judy-blume/#:~:text=young%20adult%20genre.-,Are%20You%20There%20God%3F,100%20Greatest%20Books%20for%20Kids.

SHOUT Sources:

“Shout (Laurie Halse Anderson Book).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Jan. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout_(Laurie_Halse_Anderson_book)

“Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson (Audiobook Excerpt).” YouTube, Libro.fm, May 2020, https://youtu.be/xAWTv8sfxlQ

Criminal Minds Sources:

“Criminal Minds.” IMDb, IMDb.com, n.d., https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452046/awards/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk.k

“Criminal Minds Season 1 Opening Credits.” YouTube, ManyVid98, March 2012, https://youtu.be/WPRWj0nBMIw

Sadie Sources:

“Courtney Summers on Writing SADIE.” YouTube, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, August 2018, https://youtu.be/4CKSsBwTavs

“Sadie (Book).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2021, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_(book)

SOUR Sources:

“Olivia Rodrigo.” IMDb, IMDb.com, n.d., https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7111120/awards

“Olivia Rodrigo - drivers license (Official Video).” YouTube, Olivia Rodrigo, January 2021, https://youtu.be/ZmDBbnmKpqQ

Long Way Down Sources:

“Jason Reynolds reads from Long Way Down.” YouTube, BookTrust, September 2018, https://youtu.be/QgX-Duwm5Bo

“Long Way down (Book).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Way_Down_(book).

Dear Martin Sources:

“Dear Martin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Feb. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Martin#Reception.

“Nic Stone: Writing for Change.” YouTube, Jordan Pettiford, December 2018, https://youtu.be/UD0RQ4RHZ8Q

Hades Sources:

“Hades - Good Riddance (Eurydice Solo feat. Ashley Barrett).” YouTube, Supergiant Games, February 2020, https://href.li/?https://youtu.be/aTg6y2l4duk

“Hades (Video Game).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Mar. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades_(video_game))

Fun Home Sources:

“Fun Home.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_Home.

“Fun Home Performance Tony Awards 2015.” YouTube, Tony Awards, July 2015, https://youtu.be/pMAuesRJm1E

Heart of the Moors Sources:

“Official Trailer: Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil - In Theatres October 18!.” YouTube, Walt Disney Studios, July 2019, https://youtu.be/n0OFH4xpPr4

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried Sources:

“The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried Book Trailer.” YouTube, Amy Marciniak, May 2020, https://youtu.be/7wZIPueH9-E

Ouran High School Host Club Sources:

“Ouran Host club Opening - [HD].” YouTube, Laura Ochoa, November 2015, https://youtu.be/BdfjslKWYmk

[iameatingbooks]

Ouran High School Host Club Review

Hatori, Bisco. Ouran High School Host Club, Shojo Beat Manga, 2002

Ouran High School is a school in Japan that some of the richest and high-ranking families have their children attend. Haruhi, on the other hand, is able to attend the school through a scholarship they’ve gained from their amazing grades. One day, Haruhi is in search of a quiet place to study and ends up going to the room where the Host Club resides. The Host Club has Tamaki, the eccentric president, Kyoya, the business-driven vice-president, Hikaru and Karu, the trouble-seeking twins, Mori, the gentle giant, and Hunny, the smallest and eldest member who adores cake. The club members use their individual charms to provide entertainment to female students. Haruhi, mistaken for a boy, accidentally knocks over an 80,000 dollar vase and is now tasked with working for the club to pay off their debts and slowly forms a bond with the six boys.

I actually read Ouran High School Host Club and watched the anime when I was a child, I will admit that I was likely too young to be reading/watching it since is definitely more fitting for an older teen audience. Reading it as an adult, who has a lot more anime/manga experience under their belt, helped me see what all this manga was making a satire of. The series is very forthcoming and wall-breaking with pointing out what they’re doing, the troupes they’re relying on to entertain the students, and, for the most part, their views on sexuality and gender is fairly progressive for a manga that was released in the early 2000s. There are some problems with what happens in the series, some outdated language for the work Haruhi’s father does as, the closest in American terms would be, a drag queen and a lot of telling Haruhi that they can’t do certain things or should act a certain way because they’re a ‘girl’ that pushes into some boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed regardless of the ‘you can’t do everything alone’ message they’re trying to present, but thankfully the worst of it is in the beginning and as the manga gets comfortable with what they’re showing, it starts properly focusing on some of the very interesting plot points and overarching story rather than just ‘what silly theme is this episode’. Going back to Haruhi, I do really enjoy them and their character arc. From the beginning Haruhi is not ashamed of who they are, they’re comfortable with being androgynous, uncaring of being perceived as a boy or a girl, gets rightfully angry when told they can’t do things because they’re ‘just a girl’, and has a strong passion for achieving their goals. This manga reads fairly well for those who know the general ideas of the types or troupes used in harem-styled mangas, reverse or not.

Extra:

This manga has a fairly popular anime adaptation and a, long-awaited, season two is due to be coming out but no word yet on when. I will say that I am highly interested in seeing it, mainly for the curiosity of how they continue the series; if they'll stick with the manga or branch out to try something new. I also hope they have just as an iconic opening as the original season:

link

[iameatingbooks]

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried Review

Hutchinson, Shaun. The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried. Simon & Schuster, 2019

Summary:

Dino, the son of two morticians, is in the summer before his senior year of high school. He’s looking forward to spending that time with his boyfriend Rafi until his sister’s wedding and then starting a job at a local diner, doing what he could to avoid the assumption of him working in the family business, knowing that his sister would be a better fit to take over. The first interruption to Dino's plans comes from his crass ex-best friend, July, dying and the next is her suddenly coming back to life.

Review:

There were several points in the novel that got me to genuinely laugh, mainly from some relatable one-liners, and being able to pop between Dino and July’s point of view provides context into thoughts and explanation for some decisions which I always am thankful for full context. And yet, I found myself hating July for the entire novel. It's hard to enjoy a book when every time one of the main characters is there, you get annoyed. There are plenty of examples of ‘bad guys’ that, while not being the greatest of people, are still entertaining enough to deal with, or have their more relatable sides shown, allowing for empathy or at least understanding of why they’re being the way they are. But with July, no matter her brief and few, and I mean few, moments of self-reflection, she ruins it in a page. Now, there’s a good chance I had problems with this novel due to my own toxic ex-friendship that has caused a bias in my eyes. It’s easier for me to connect with Dino’s frustrations than it is to understand July’s reasons. But I truly believe that if July's character was just a bit more redeeming, I would have enjoyed the book so much more, the writing style of the novel itself was interesting and fun with those previously mentioned one-liners and the author has several other books out that have very high reviews and I may give those a go.

Extra:

While there wasn't much to be found about the novel, I did find a small youtube channel that makes book trailers and they made one on this book and it was cute to look at with the knowledge of what the clips shown represents in the book

link

[iameatingbooks]

Heart of the Moors Review

Black, Holly. Heart of the Moors. Disney Press, 2019

Holly Black has always shown in my recommendations, but I’ve yet to read much of her work but now I can see why she’s commonly suggested. Despite this book taking place between two films, I’ve yet to see, the world in the book itself is contained enough to understand everything that is happening, adding in enough hints of exposition to explain the thoughts of Aurora and Maleficent. Jumping around four character’s perspectives allows for a full view of everything occurring in the book, allowing the reader to fully grasp the reasons behind actions and forming their own opinions and thoughts about what the other characters think later on in the novel makes this a fun read that actually makes me want to watch the films out of curiosity.x

Heart of the Moors is about newly crowned Aurora trying to find peace between the faeries and humans since she was now queen of both. Forming a treaty between the two opposing worlds proves difficult as an insider for the castle wishes to take the power of queen from her, dealing with potential love for Prince Phillip and her godmother Maleficent trying her best to keep Aurora safe but in her own…ways.

Review:

Holly Black has always shown in my recommendations, but I’ve yet to read much of her work but now I can see why she’s commonly suggested. Despite this book taking place between two films, I’ve yet to see, the world in the book itself is contained enough to understand everything that is happening, adding in enough hints of exposition to explain the thoughts of Aurora and Maleficent. Jumping around four character’s perspectives allows for a full view of everything occurring in the book, allowing the reader to fully grasp the reasons behind actions and forming their own opinions and thoughts about what the other characters think later on in the novel makes this a fun read that actually makes me want to watch the films out of curiosity.

Extra:

As mentioned above, this novel takes place between two films, the first being Disney's Maleficient, here's one of their official trailers:

link

[iameatingbooks]

Fun Home Review

Bechdel, Allison. Fun Home. First Mariner Books, 2007

Video Transcript:

[Screen shows pages 15-17 of Fun Home]

“I was Spartan to my father’s Athenian. Modern to his Victorian. Butch to his Nelly. 'Who cares if the necklines don’t match?’, ‘Yellow turtleneck. Now.’. “Utilitarian to his aesthete. 'What’s the point of making something that’s so hard to dust?’, ‘It’s beautiful.’ “I developed a contempt for useless ornament. What function was served by the scrolls, tassels, and bric-a-brac that infested our house? If anything they obscured function. They were embellishments in the worst sense. They were lies. My father began to seem morally suspect to me long before I knew that he actually had a dark secret. ‘Mom says hurry up.’ He used his skillful artifice not to make things, but to make things appear to be what they were not. ‘Mass will be over before we get there.’ “That is to say, impeccable. He appeared to be an ideal husband and father, for example. But would an ideal husband and father have sex with teenage boys?”

[Cut to an adult holding a cat with subtitles ‘Guest star Blossom' at the bottom]

“Fun Home by Alison Bechdel-”

[Blooper noise]

[Cut to the adult]

“*Incoherent muttering*

[Part of the backdrop falls, causes the adult to shout and then stare into the camera]

[Blooper noise]

[Cut to the adult]

“Technical difficulties let’s try that again. I don't think you understand how many times I had to look up words to make sure I was pronouncing them correctly during that read-over.”

[Subtitle on the left side of the screen says ‘was probably still wrong…’]

[Cut to the adult being mostly off-screen]

“Be free…be free”

[Subtitle on center screen says “*book wiggle*”]

“This is what happens when you own six animals, chaos. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a graphic novel memoir of the author and it’s about the complicated relationship she has with her father, her sexuality, and how those two things have more in common than she would have ever known as a child. The voice of Alison in this book is a very intelligent one, using a complex vocabulary that forces the reader to actually sit and digest what is being said. She uses a vocabulary that she’s learned from years and years and years of reading, one of the few things that her and her father have bonded over. Alison is also very logical, factual, and straight to the point when it comes to describing the emotions she had in her youth, being very analytical about how and why they were happening. This likely comes from having a family that’s almost the exact same way, none of them really acknowledging their emotions at the moment despite the fact that the mother is an actress. This novel makes you think in-depth about things that are usually ignored or just a one-and-done conversation. Death, sexuality, sex in general, homophobia, and compulsive disorders. There is so much I’d really want to dive into, analyzing the art style and all of that, but I don’t want to ruin the fun of you guys reading it on your own

[Cut to a physical copy of Fun Home]

[Cut to the adult with the words ‘Special thanks to my friends for providing the voice of the father and Alison’ covering most of the screen]

“Actually, I am done. Do it. Fall. Do it. Now you’re not gonna fall!”

[Video end]

Extra:

Fun Home actually has a musical adaptation and performed a song at the Tony's in 2015

link

Awards:

Source

GLAAD Media Award (2007)

Stonewall Book Award (2007)

Publishing Triangle-Judy Grahn Nonfiction Award (2007)

Lambda Literary Award (2007)

Eisner for Best Reality-Based Work (2007)

[iameatingbooks]

Hades Review

Hades. Nintendo Switch, Supergiant Games, 2020

Image from Amazon

Summary:

Hades is a roguelike dungeon crawler game developed by Supergiant Games. The main idea is that the son of Hades, Zagreus wishes to leave the Underworld but is stopped along the way by his father’s workers and those living in the several layers of the Underworld. With the aid of the Olympic Gods, he hopes to one day make it out of the Underworld to be with the rest of his family.

Review:

Hades lives up to its genre of roguelike because you will die over and over and over again but each death comes with forming better bonds with those living inside of Hades’ castle, upgrading Zagreus’ room, his weapons, and even Zagreus himself. The game is filled with beautiful imagery, addicting gameplay, and a story that always keeps you guessing what could possibly happen the next time you end up dying out in the Underworld. And as someone who has a high…admiration, read as ‘fixation’, for Greek Mythology, I’ve always enjoyed seeing different takes and versions of the Gods and Heros from the mythos and Hades actually spotlights some beings that are rarely spoken of and it’s exciting to read the lore-bits in Zagreus’ journal that comes from speaking to them.

Extra:

I will also note the amazing soundtrack this game comes with, one of my personal favorites being Euridicie’s song Good Riddance

YouTube Link

Awards:

Source

Golden Joystick Awards (2020)

The Game Awards (2020)

17th British Academy Games Awards (2021)

24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (2021)

Nebula Award (2021)

Hugo Award (2021)

21st Game Developers Choice Awards (2021)

[iameatingbooks]

Dear Martin Review

Stone, Nic. Dear Martin. Crown Publishing Group. 2017

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Justyce is the top of his class, captain of his debate team, and is bound to be accepted into an Ivy League school but all of that means nothing when he’s falsely put in handcuffs by an officer. Justyce is aware that the reason is that he’s black and it makes him look at his current world in a different light. Justyce begins a personal project of writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his journal and starts to learn that a lot of his friends aren’t actually there for him and ends up becoming deadly for the one that should understand him the most

Review:

The voice of Justyce throughout the whole story is very captivating, you can understand his annoyance and frustrations at how other people are acting. It’s realistic how certain aspects of life just don’t quite make sense yet at that age. Dear Martin covers a serious topic that most try to avoid and it’s done through the eyes of someone who has to face it first-hand on a daily basis. You’ll find yourself unable to put the book down as you turn each page to see what could happen next, what would someone else say, is it going to get better for Justyce or worse? After learning that there is indeed a sequel to this book in the eyes of a different character, I’m just as excited to get my hands on that book as I was reading this one.

Extra:

Here's quick interview video of Nic Stone where she talks a little bit about some events and thoughts that lead her to writing Dear Martin

link

Awards:

Source

American Library Association's (ALA) Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (2018)

ALA's Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2018)

[iameatingbooks]

Long Way Down Review

Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2017

Video Transcript:

[Black screen with subtitles]

“My name is Will, William, William Holloman. But to my friends and people who know me know me, just Will.”

[Elevator ding/cut to video of an elevator opening and someone stepping inside with subtitles scrolling up the screen]

“So call me Will, because after I tell you what I’m bout to tell you, you’ll either want to be my friend or not be my friend at all. Either way, you’ll know me know me. I’m only William to my mother and my brother Shawn whenever he was trying to be funny. Now, I’m wishing I would’ve laughed more at his dumb jokes because the day before yesterday, Shawn was shot-”

[elevator sing/cut to a black screen with subtitles]

“And killed.”

[Black screen with subtitles Long Way Down ages 2-4]

[Cut to an adult holding a physical copy of Long was Down]

“Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is classified as realistic fiction but with some hints of, what I believe is surrealism-surrealism-surrealism…that.”

[Points to bottom of scream with the subtitles ‘surrealism’]

“The novel itself is about 15 year old Will getting his older brother Shawn’s gun. Traveling down the elevator of the apartment complex they live in with plans of killing the man who he believes killed Shawn. But, during this trip, Will is greeted by the ghosts of his past who have also been killed and they all ask him if he’s really willing to take somebody else’s life. Will himself is a very dedicated kid, any task he is given he will put his full heart into it, that includes following the ‘3 rules’ that were given to him by his brother, who got it from their father, who got it from his brother who got it from their father. Now, in general, the three rules are; no crying, no snitching, and get revenge. The majority of this book only takes place in about a minute and is written in verse just like Ellen Hopkins’ books or Laurie Anderson’s memoir SHOUT. I’ve already recommended this book to several friends, even those who aren’t really the biggest fan of reading nor have a lot of time to sit and read a long book. This book will keep you coming back to read for more and the ending-the ending! I’m not going to spoil it but it will definitely make you think about the book even more after you’ve finished it.

[Cut to a picture of a physical copy of Long Way Down]

[End of video]

Extra:

I will always say that I enjoy hearing the author read from their book and was really glad to find a video of the author reading part of the book:

link

Awards:

Source

Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2017)

Edgar Award for Best Young Adult (2018)

John Newbery Medal (2018)

Walter Dean Myers Award (2018)

Cybils Award for Poetry (2018)

Odyssey Award (2018)

Michael L. Printz Award (2018)

Indies Choice Book Award (2018)

Coretta Scott King Award (2018)

Rhode Island Teen Book Award (2019)

[iameatingbooks]

SOUR Review

Rodrigo, Olivia. SOUR. Geffen Records, 2021

Video Transcript:

[Video up on an adult]

“Now, if you have ever been on TikTok for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard this-”

[Cut to a black screen with subtitles]

“God! It’s brutal out here”

[Bottom of screen notes the song is brutal]

[Cut back to the adult]

“This-”

[Cut to a black screen with subtitles]

“Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me”

[Bottom of screen notes the song is drivers license]

[Cut back to the adult]

“And this-”

[Cut to a black screen with subtitles]

“Like a damn sociopath!”

[Bottom of screen notes the song is good 4 u]

[Cut back to the adult]

“Now, all of these songs could be heard from Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR

[Quick flash of SOUR’s album cover in the top right-hand corner of the screen]

“Now, this album is filled to the brim with songs that anyone could sing to at the top of their lungs. All of us have had heartache in one way or another, regardless if it’s romantic or not, we have all had that sorrow-filled rage that just makes us want to scream to the heavens anything and everything that we can think of. It’s highly unlikely that someone could listen to this album and not find something to relate to. Even then, Olivia’s voice is filled with such raw emotion that even if you can’t personally relate to it you end up feeling like you do. I listened to it while doing some cleaning around the house and I found myself doing the classic head bob as I was working. This album is emotional yet catchy and is a fantastic duo to find yourself rocking out to.”

[End of Video]

Extra:

The song and music video for drivers license practically, well, drove Olivia Rodrigo to the status of fame she holds. Here's a link for anyone who's yet to see it:

link

Awards:

Source

Brit Awards International Song of the Year (2022) for the song good 4 u

MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) (2021) for the song drivers license

[iameatingbooks]

Sadie Review

Summers, Courtney. Sadie. St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2018

CW: The book contains topics of pedophilia, sexual abuse, drug use, and murder

Video Transcript:

[Black screen with subtitles]

“I’m going to kill a man.”

[Screen now has a candle being lit with subtitles]

“I’m going to steal the light from his eyes. I want to watch it go out. You aren’t supposed to answer violence with more violence but sometimes I think violence is the only answer.”

[Screen back to black with subtitles]

“It’s no less than he did to Maddie, so it’s no less than he deserves.”

[Black screen saying Sadie Page 43]

[Video up on an adult holding a physical copy of Sadie]

“Sadie, by Courtney Summers, is a mystery novel about the title character, 19-year-old Sadie doing anything and everything that she can to hunt down the man she believes killed her sister Maddie. She’ll do anything ranging from dying her hair to threatening people with a switchblade that she stole. Throughout the novel, you experience everything through two different points of view. The first is through Sadie in a first-person perspective. Now Sadie is fairly blunt and very aware of how people could potentially perceive her due to a life-long stutter and having to raise Maddie since she was six years old. Now the other half of the novel is done through a podcast called The Girls hosted by West McCray. At the very beginning West wanted nothing to do with this story. To quote the book itself, it mentions multiple times that “Girls go missing all the time, what’s so special about this one?” But the more West dives into what Saide has been doing, what she is willing to do to find this man, he can’t help from getting dragged right back in and doing everything that he can to find Sadie himself. Now a quick warning about this novel, it does dive into some serious and sensitive subjects. It doesn’t get too gritty or gory with the details, but it is mentioned and there is a lot of discussion of the aftermath of these…situations. Overall, Sadie is a great book and will constantly throw you off guard for what could happen next. You think you might have a guess on what’s going on and then the next thing you know it’s something else.”

[Cut to a picture of a physical copy of Sadie]

[End video]

Extra:

I found a short video of the author Courtney Summers talking briefly about how writing Sadie was with the contrasting narratives:

link

Awards:

Source

Edgar Award (2019)

Odyssey Award (2019)

White Pine Award (2020)

[iameatingbooks]

Criminal Minds Review

“Extreme Aggressor.” Criminal Minds, created by Jeff Davis, season 1, episode 1, CBS, 2005

Image from: Paramount Plus

CW: This show often looks into and discusses topics of sexual assault, torture, murder, and mental disorders

Summary:

Criminal Minds is about the work and lives of those working for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, otherwise known as the BAU. The agents use behavioral studies to help solve serial killer murder cases. Commonly each episode dives into an Unknown Subject, known as an ‘Unsub’, deduces how they think, and the team works together to take down the Unsub.

Review:

Having already watched the entire series recently, it was fun to go back to the very beginning. You can very much see the age of the show with some of the language used but thankfully they’ve adjusted as the series has gone by. The way the show starts by explaining in detail how the group works and why is fairly interesting and a great way to allow viewers to continue the series with this knowledge without the show having to explain every single episode. While the behavioral sciences may be confusing for some, the characters in the show is what really holds on to you. I will say that Penelope Garcia is definitely my favorite character with her expressive clothing, personality, and phrases shared between herself and Derek Morgan.

Extra:

Criminal Minds is known for its iconic opening theme which, fun fact, shows articles from real-life killers:

link

Awards:

Source

ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2006-2013)

BMI Film & TV Awards (2008-2009 & 2013)

California on Location Awards (2014)

Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) (2010)

Image Awards (NAACP) (2014-2015)

Leggio d'oro (2010)

People's Choice Awards, USA (2017)

Telly Awards (2015)

Young Artist Awards (2008, & 2011-2012)

[iameatingbooks]

SHOUT Review

Anderson, Laurie. SHOUT. Viking Books, 2019

CW: Sexual assault, domestic abuse, child abuse

Summary:

SHOUT is a poetry-styled memoir of the author who tells her life story in three different parts. The first part discusses her difficult childhood growing up with a father who drinks away his PTSD and a mother who followed the ‘soap in mouth’ and ‘smack for disrespect’ treatment of the church and how her life changed even more after being raped at thirteen years old. Part two discusses how Laurie saw her novel Speak having an effect on those around her. Speaking to schools and having young girls, boys, and adults come to her and talk of their own similar pains. The third part catches up to the current day. Discussing her husband, children, and the passing of her parents.

Review:

Reading SHOUT as someone who, as quoted in the book several times, is a Melinda. Someone who has felt that pain that Laurie describes in her memoir in ways that put words to thoughts long echoed in my mind. The poetry style that is used fits perfectly with how complicated emotions can be related to the topic and she drives in hard to not be afraid to speak out and to be loud about it, hence the title being SHOUT. It is a difficult read for those who understand, I’ll admit to having to put the book down for a break at several points, but it’s a powerful read as well. My favorite part of the whole book is towards the end of part two, on page 243:

face my truth

---

This is not

a resting bitch face

This is

a touch-me-and-die face

Extra:

I found an excerpt on YouTube of Laurie Anderson reading SHOUT and I always enjoy hearing how the author originally intended the lines to be read since poetry can be read several different ways:

link

Awards:

Source

National Book Award Young People's Literature Longlist (2019)

Goodreads Choice Award for Poetry (2019)

Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth -- Nonfiction for Older Readers (2019)

American Library Association Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2020)

Rise: A Feminist Book Project List Top Ten (2020)

[iameatingbooks]

Books That Have Been Reviewed

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Heart of the Moors by Holly Black

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun Hutchinson

Graphic Novels

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Mangas

Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori

[iameatingbooks]

Misc Items That Have Been Reviewed

TV Shows

Criminal Minds

Music

SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo

Video Games

Hades

[iameatingbooks]

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Review

Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Bradbury Press, 1970

Summary:

Margaret Simon, eleven-years-old and now the new girl in school is at the beginning phases of one of the hardest parts of life; puberty. Trying to fit in with her new friends, working through a complicated relationship with religion with a year-long project, and adjusting to everything around her is a lot for one girl to do on her own.

Review:

Reading Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, had me reflecting on my own preteen years and finding many patterns that fit despite the book being published nearly forty years before that time. Also, during my reading, I had to pause to sigh at how painfully accurate the treatment of puberty in public schools is. Even to this day they still struggle to give a proper discussion to everyone to ensure safety and health when it comes to the difficult time that they are facing. The children characters are written perfectly with their unwaning curiosity about everything, their desire to be grown and want to fit in with the others. There is also Margaret’s complicated relationship with religion due to the conflict between peers saying you’re born into one and her parent’s allowing her to choose, and the novel covers how an eleven-year-old would be so confused about it all fairly well and I could see many people relating to it. Overall, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has a very open discussion about subjects that are usually called ‘private’ and whether you’re in the midst of puberty or had finished it years ago it’s a great, quick, and easy read to remind us all that puberty isn’t something to be ashamed of talking about.

Extra:

It has been announced that in September of 2022 there is to be a movie adaptation of the novel, not much is out except for some actors according to the IMDB page, link, and I'm honestly unsure if I'm excited or terrified to see it

Awards:

Source

Outstanding Book of the Year, New York Times;

Time Magazine All-Time 100 Novels List;

Scholastic Magazine’s Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids.

[iameatingbooks]

The Outsiders Review

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. Viking Penguin Inc., 1967

Summary:

Ponyboy Curtis’ world consists of either being a greaser or a Soc. Greaser is the term used for those living on the East Side who aren’t that financially well off while Socs, short for Socials, are those on the West Side that are very well off financially. Ponyboy lives with his older brothers Darrel, called Darry, and Soda and the three of them deal with the constant clashing between the two groups with their group of friends they called their gang. While Ponyboy spends most of his time outside of school either reading, watching movies, or hanging with the gang, one day that’s all turned around after a fight with his brother Darry sends him on a late-night walk with a fellow gang member Johnny which leads to a deadly encounter and the two running away from the law.

Review:

The Outsiders is a fast read, and by that, I don’t mean the book is fairly short, it’s almost two hundred pages, I mean that so much happens right after each other that there isn’t a lot of space that makes you want to put the book down. There are moments when you believe that things have calmed down and you’re in for a relaxing time, but no, you’re thrown right into the next eventful scene and I found myself finishing the book in two sittings. It would have only been one had I not been interrupted by pets. Looking at the fully-developed and complicated characters through the eyes of the somewhat analytical and logic-based Ponyboy forces the reader to not see the story as black-and-white while Ponyboy struggles to do the same in his internal monologue. Overall, The Outsiders is a quick, entertaining, and easy-to-follow novel that has you constantly questioning what could happen next.

Extra:

In 1983 a film was created based on the novel and S.E. Hinton helped with the script, here's a link to the official trailer: Link

Awards:

Source

New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967

Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967

Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975

American Library Association Best Young Adults Books, 1975

Massachusetts Children's Book Award, 1979

[iameatingbooks]

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