I feel like I haven't posted in such a long time! I've actually read a few since last posting, but none really worth mentioning. SUCH a bummer. It's probably my reason for listening to "Goblet of Fire" in my car. It's reliable.
Today I'll be talking about:
From Goodreads.com: "When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take."
UGH.
I really genuinely wish I hadn't read this all the way through. Doesn't that synopsis just make you question my taste with choosing what I read? I would.
Needless to say, this book was a BEATING. First, the narrator speaks in a first person plural. "We think this.." "We knew this.." It's kind of interesting, but mostly it makes things confusing and tires you out. You're just left wondering who they're talking about.
Secondly, it ends exactly how you think it will. Think about it. What do you think Carolyn will do at the end? Will someone save her? No. Will she save herself? No. I kept hoping that she would pick herself up or have someone change her mind. I know..by golly I know that depression is hard. Whatever you're feeling, no one can truly understand that. I know. But there was a point where positive light was found, only to be trashed and blown out again.
My heart hurts for kids like Carolyn. Kids who can't see past the situation..and who really can blame them? With your cellphones able to capture video..and Facebook being ever present. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. It's all there and it's used and used. You're not safe from anything. Even Snapchat has ways for you to save images. It doesn't just go away..not if someone doesn't want it to.
And these kids..they don't get a break from it. It's a constant. And it can be anonymous. What kind of trash is that? Where you can say whatever you want, whenever you want and it be covered because you didn't own up to it? It's hard. It's so unbelievably hard.
And this book..it didn't say anything. It didn't do anything. There wasn't one good person in it. It was a waste of paper. She didn't once say "it's okay to feel sad, but never EVER think that your life doesn't mean anything..that you'll never get out of this place and this season."
Not once. And it's a damn shame.
You have to use the platform when you have it. Otherwise it's just a waste.
Let's go ahead and say..I didn't have any favorites, but this quote stuck out:
"We thought it would never feel better, that this would stay around our necks forever. We'd carry it with us to college, and to our first jobs, and into our marriages, and bestow it on our children and then our grandchildren. Not a gift, but a curse, or just a heavy stone that you picked up as a child and never took out of your pocket. Later, when things did start to feel more normal, the guilt would kick in: You did something horrible. And you are too horrible to even realize it."
It sums up exactly what I've been saying and feeling towards this book. No sympathy, no empathy, no heroes. I know life isn't about saving one another, or even about the underdogs all the time - but what's the point of life if all your energies are flooded into just you. You wouldn't do anything. You wouldn't change anything. Again, such a waste.
I don't recommend this book. Not even a little bit, and there have been a few others that I haven't finished or I've totally disliked that I've skipped talking about. This one needs to be talked about. You need to hear about empathy, and you need to get some. You need to be reminded that being in high school sucks, but it doesn't forever, and you will come out the other side. And you need to know that you don't need to brandish a knife and stab someone to kill them. There are other ways - and you need to be reminded that it is NEVER okay to treat someone the way Carolyn was treated.
Never.
C
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