Summer Falls by Amelia Williams

    I recently finished the book Summer Falls, by "Amelia Williams." Summer Falls is a book released by BBC programming. Amelia Williams is a character on the BBC show Doctor Who, who in the earlier series, was transported into the past, to 1954, after traveling with the protagonist, the Doctor, for most of her life. The book is marketed as released in 1954 (even though it was released in 2013.) In the first episode of season 7, a boy is shown carrying this book. One of the main characters, Clara, comments on it, saying "the eleventh [chapter] will make you cry." Right now, the Doctor is on his eleventh regeneration, or form. I believe this is a clue on how the departure of the current Doctor will be a tragic one. Leading off of this, I have drawn many conclusions on how the book references the show in many forms.
     In the book, there is a character, the Curator, who I believe is based off of/is the Doctor. When asked what his name is, he says to the main character, Kate, "I'm in between names at the moment. I am having a holiday from them." The Doctor, in the show, keeps his name a secret, and this is why he asks people to call him "the Doctor." He also has other names, and tells people he is never set on one. He also keeps his "shed" under a tarp, because it is undergoing repairs. For a lot of reasons, I think the "shed" is the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. The TARDIS is a time-traveling 1963 London police box which in my opinion looks a lot like a shed.). The Curator says to Kate "The 1950's aren't that bad. I do love the fifties." To me, this seems like a strange thing for someone living in that time would say. It sounds more like something a time traveler, or more likely the Doctor would say.  When Kate's whole town is frozen over and nobody can leave or get in, the Curator is able to. Kate notices that the Curator seems to be calling her on the telephone from his car, as she can hear engine noises as he talks and he says to her that he is "traveling to her right now," yet Kate realizes that phones have not yet been invented for cars, so what mode of transportation could he have been using? In my opinion, BBC used the Curator as a name for the Doctor. 

Sever By Lauren DeStefano (Spoilers)

    I am currently reading the book Sever, which is the third book in the Chemical Garden Series by Lauren DeStefano. The series takes place in the future, a world where the cure for cancer goes horribly wrong and causes males to only live to age twenty-five and females to the age of twenty. Rhine Ellery is a sixteen year old girl living in New York, when she is kidnapped and brought to Florida to be put into a polygamous marriage. Having escaped the mansion,(and the oppression of her terrifying father-in-law, Housemaster Vaughn) Rhine and her former attendant and lover Gabriel set for Manhattan to find Rowan, Rhine's brother. They arrive at the Ellerys' to find that it has burned down. Rhine is captured by Vaughn and brought back to Florida, where she undergoes horrific medical procedures revolving around her having Heterochromia (the condition of having two separate colored eyes). When she wakes up, Cecily,her sister wife, 14, is pregnant for the second time. Linden, her ex-husband,who Rhine has mixed feelings for, arranges for the three of them to stay with Linden's kind uncle in order to escape from Vaughn until Rhine can proceed back into New York to try and get back to Rowan. While there, they learn that Rowan, believing Rhine is dead, has joined forces with Vaughn to find a cure for the virus. He is also a terrorist bomber.
     After learning about the good that Vaughn has done, mixed with he evil, Rhine is very unsure how to feel about him. For the past three books, the reader has been convinced by Rhine to hate Vaughn with a burning passion, that he is a very evil old man. Now, with Vaughn's abrupt change in character, both Rhine and I feel very confused. Rhine listens to Vaughn talk about hope, renewal, and how he has found a cure, and how this cure is them, while he inserts needles into her willing brother's eyes. If I were Rhine, I would be wary of Vaughn. Evil people can have good sides, and so on.

Is Supernatural A Misogynistic Show? (Non-Fiction)

     I recently became addicted to the show Supernatural, which is about two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who go around the US killing supernatural entities to avenge their mother's death and to find the thing that killed her. It's a great show, it's funny, scary, and overall amazing in my opinion. However, one thing I noticed after finishing the first season was that there were no female leads. After thinking a little more, I noticed that there, in fact, was a female character in every episode, and although she was always different, she usually played the same role: a single girl, sometimes a mom of young kids, who has been affected in one way or another by the supernatural entity in question, she's pretty, has a spunky personality, and is attracted to one of the brothers; or if she's evil, she's pretty, controlling, and pretty "bad," if you know what I mean. So I did some research, and I found the article Is Supernatural a Misogynistic Show? by Red Newsom.
     The article goes on to explain something I did not notice until now, the language is often very Misogynistic. Dean especially uses derogatory terms for women, calling them sl**s, b*****s, and wh***s. "Even when facing down dudes, it’s always 'you son of a b****'," says the article. On top of this, Dean always teases Sam for not being as manly and macho as he is, for being sensitive and possessing more feminine traits than he does.
     I don't think that the writers hate women, or have purposefully misogynistic views in any way. I think that Supernatural is a good show with a bit sexist undertones. I know that later on in the season (thanks for the spoilers, tumblr!!!) things get better, as there are better female characters and even a lead or two.

Romeo And Juliet

            It is not an uncommon occurrence for two people to fall in love, especially if they are young. But how often do these relationships last forever, and how often do they actually work out? In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare is trying to teach us that young love cannot always work out, because young people tend to be more impetuous, impulsive, and often are not mature enough to make such serious decisions.

            Shakespeare often voices his opinion through other characters in the play that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship isn’t completely right, or that they should slow down. The only characters completely supportive of Romeo and Juliet’s romance are themselves. Friar Lawrence notes to Romeo early in the story that he wants them to move more slowly so that when the end comes, it won’t hit them as hard. “Violent delights have violent ends,” (2.6.9.)  he says. He is saying that a love this lustful, fast, passionate and young will have an equally strong and powerful ending.  He’s right, as they both die for love in the end of the play. Many other characters, such as Mercutio and the Nurse, actively voice their disapproval of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.

            Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, which means that there will be at least one death in the play. Sure enough, Romeo and Juliet die for each other in the end of the story. They each say that they cannot live without the other before they kill themselves. Romeo’s last words are “O true apothecary, / thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (5. 3. 119-120) “Here’s to my love” clearly and obviously states that he would rather be dead than live without Juliet. Juliet’s intent is similar in some of her last words, “I will kiss thy lips. / Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, / so that I may die with a restorative.” (5. 3. 169-171.) She hopes there is still poison on his lips, so she kisses him. She feels as if to love Romeo is her purpose, so she tries to end her life by making it the last thing she does. Romeo and Juliet are very young, Juliet being thirteen and Romeo being of a slightly older but equally youthful age. By making Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Shakespeare is emphasizing their immaturity. If you are as young as Romeo and Juliet, you still have your whole life ahead of you and you should not kill yourself over another person, you will eventually move on. Young people often have feelings of suicide or angst, and Shakespeare is showing that they are this young by showing that they are feeling this way. Romeo and Juliet should not have had to make this decision.

            Romeo and Juliet only knew each other for less than a week before marrying each other and dying. It was “love at first sight” when they met at Capulet’s party- when Romeo first saw her, he gushed over Juliet’s beauty and asked himself, “did my heart love till now?” (1. 5. 59) Romeo, being young and impulsive, decided that they were meant to be forever with only a glance. What happened to Rosaline? What happened to loving her forever? If Romeo was so convinced he was in love with Rosaline before, how does he know he really loves Juliet? Juliet is also impulsive, and again shares a similar opinion when she asks Romeo to propose to her in the Balcony Scene. “If that thy bent of love be honorable, / thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow.” (2. 2. 150-151) Shakespeare wants us to be shocked at how young they are, and to question how in love they really are in order to move this fast.

            By including his disapproving opinions and adding a tragic ending, William Shakespeare is trying to share with us his true thoughts on young love. He thought young lovers were somewhat immature, impetuous, and that they should stop being so serious in their relationship. If two people are as immature in a relationship as Romeo and Juliet were, their relationship has high chances of ending badly, with death, or with heartbreak.

            

Home Away by Launa Schweizer

     I am currently reading the memoir Home Away by Launa Schweizer. It's an amazing book about a woman, Launa, who moves to the Aups in France for a year with her husband Bill, their seven year old  daughter Abigail, and heir eleven year old daughter Grace in 2010. Launa describes in vivid and humorous detail her family's experience in France. I have known the Schweizer-Leinhards since I was about two years old. I love the experience of reading a book, when you yourself have experienced some of it, know the inside and personal lives of all the characters, and know by heart some of the personal anecdotes described by Launa. 

     I really love how the character Grace is portrayed. Grace has been one of my best friends for my entire life, and I know her extremely well. In the book, Grace is described as fairly distant, quiet, soft-spoken, brilliant, kind, and smart. She likes to keep to herself, often spending time alone in her room by herself for fun. In real life is brilliant, smart, kind and solitary, but she is also loud, funny, outgoing, social, and overall a wild and fun person to be with. I adore the contrast between these two characters- I feel like I'm getting a sneak peek into the characters' lives by knowing them.

     Launa includes many personal anecdotes of her family throughout the story. For example, when grace was younger, she tried to make friends by saying "I have enjoyed thinking about death lately. What are your ideas on that topic?" I know this story very well. I've heard it a million times. It makes me smile every time I read it, knowing that everyone who buys this book will probably also laugh and smile when they read this section, but for a different reason. Yes, it's funny, but I laugh because it's such a typical Grace thing to do. 

    I love this book. I'm very proud of Launa, and of the whole family, too. 

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

I am currently reading The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan. It is about a young girl, Grace, who, in 1914, elopes with Henry Winters, the love of her life. They decide to move to America from London to escape Henry's judging parents. Henry takes Grace aboard an elegant ocean liner. However, halfway there, there is an explosion on the ship, and it sinks. Henry sacrifices his life to put Grace on a lifeboat, which is immensley overcrowded. There is a brutal power struggle between a sailor, Mr. Hardie, and a powerful maternal figure.
      I'm not very far into the book, but from what I can tell, Grace is unable to choose a side. Mr. Hardie is very experienced at sea. He seems to know what he's doing. However, he is very cruel, and when there is a small drowning boy in the water, he whacks him in the head with an oar until he drowns. She is also drawn towards Mrs. Grant, a major maternal figure, who seems to calm people down. She wants to take more people into the lifeboat. But both the reader and Grace know that Mr. Hardie is right, that if they took any more people in, the lifeboat would sink and they would all die.
     To survive, Grace has to make the choice of who to trust, of who she thinks should lead the 39 survivors of the shipwreck.

Sullen Girl by Fiona Apple

My favorite song is currently "Sullen Girl" by Fiona Apple.
I believe it is about when she was molested by a stranger when she was twelve years old, and how it affected and ruined her life, and made her who she is currently.
"Sullen Girl" is tragically tender. It is a symphony of sweeping and bitter emotion, laced with mourning.

Days like this, I don't know what To do with myself
All day and all night

After the violation, and on hard days, Apple does not know how to cope.
I wander the halls, Along the walls and Under my breath I say to myself "I need fuel To take flight"

She needs something to feed off of to help her feel free, perhaps someone to comfort her.

And there's too much going on
But it's calm under The waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Apple is tired of being bombarded with comments on how "sullen" she is, and how she knows, inside, there are people oblivious to how happy and unaffected she is inside.


Is that why they call me
A sullen girl, sullen girl

In an interview, Apple says that before the molestation, "I used to be this really lighthearted person. And I still am a lighthearted person, but everyone looks at me and they think I'm really serious and depressed and sullen. Do I come off that way because of this experience?"
Apple wonders if the reason why people perceive her as a 'sick person,' or a "sullen girl," is because of the rape.

They don't know
I used to sail the
Deep and tranquil sea

As previously stated, before the rape, Fiona Apple was seen as a lighthearted, happy girl.

But he washed me ashore
And he took my pearl
And left an empty
Shell of me

The man who raped Fiona showed her the harsh reality of the world, or the "shore."

He took her innocence, and left her bitter.

And there's too
Much going on
But it's calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion