Heart, Humor, and Hope

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great read! Oskar was the perfect young narrator, with a voice truly all his own. I’ve had people tell me they’re holding off on this book because it seems so sad, but it’s not really. The way sadness is approached in this book is with the right amount of heart, humor, and hope that it’s a delightful read rather than a depressing one. Oskar’s adventures in searching for a way to honor and remember his father are really a journey of grief and self-exploration. From the very first page, I was ready to cheer him on and ride along with him. The story even gives you a view into Oskar’s family history which gave the prose even more depth, and reminded me of The History of Love, one of my favorites. If you’ve ready Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, check out The History of Love; and if you haven’t, then read both!

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The Sharp Edges of Broken People: Thoughts on “Girlchild” by Tupelo Hassman

Girlchild: A Novel by Tupelo Hassman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had to read the first page five times before I could move on, for Girlchild opens with the kind of writing that I will from my own fingertips. Beautiful, brilliant metaphors about life and pain. As the story unfolds, I found myself captivated by the life in which Rory Dawn is trapped, cheering her on to find a way out before the sharp edges of the broken people around her have trapped her for good. Raw and fearless, at times so much so that it’s hard to swallow, Girlchild is an honest and moving portrait of how rough life can be and how some patterns refuse to be broken. Read it!

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