We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson (SPOILERS!!)

     Last week, I finished We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson. We Have Always Lived In The Castle is about a girl named Merricat Blackwood, her older sister Constance, and her Uncle Julian. Six years before, when Merricat was twelve, she poisoned her entire family except Constance with arsenic, killing them all except Uncle Julian, who did not react to the arsenic for an unknown reason. Constance was framed for the murders, and there was a lot of evidence to lead one to think she did commit them. The entire town hates the Blackwoods, and they are incredibly cruel to them.
     There is a great possibility that Merricat could be mentally ill. She behaves like she is five, when she is really eighteen. She will follow Constance around like a lost puppy, and interrupt her with "I love you"s every chance she gets. She seems to believe she is actually from the moon. "On the moon, we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down upon a dead dried world. On the moon we wore feathers in our hair and rubies on our hands." She hates strangers, and often thinks about murdering them in her head, the same way she killed her entire family.

"Self-harming: 'It's a very lonely experience'" by Joanna Moorhead

     I recently read "Self-harming: 'It's a very lonely experience'" by Joanna Moorhead. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/08/self-harm-anorexia-help) It tells the story of Imogen Smith, who, a few years ago, in her late teens, was hospitalized with anorexia and self-harm. Imogen and her mother, Jane, tell the interviewer how her depression ruined their family life. "I felt angry. I felt caged," she says. "When you've got anorexia you want to exercise a lot and you don't want to eat. In the hospital I wasn't allowed to move at all, and they made me eat. I think part of me just wanted to get back at them for keeping me there," says Imogen.
     When someone cuts, or commits another act of self-harm, there are many consequences. Your scars stay with you for life. Every time you look down at yourself you see the ugly scars of what you've done, and you feel guilty. And if your parents find out, they will lecture you for hours, and if it's really bad, rush you to the emergency room. Your mom will cry and your dad will yell. It's also addictive, like the razor or nail or whatever you use is a drug. Studies show that the more you cut, the more you want to cut. Studies and sources say that "if the individual is upset to a certain extent, only holding a sharp object, feeling pain, or seeing their own blood will calm them down."
     More people cut than you would think. Off the top of my head, I can name four people I know who do it. I beg them to stop, but to my horror and sadness, they grin and say "I can't." These people do not know, or do not want to know, that this can destroy relationships with family and friends. 

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

    I recently read "Graffiti Moon" by Cath Crowley. "Graffiti Moon" was about a girl named Lucy who devotes a great deal of time obsessing over Shadow, her town's local graffiti artist. Lucy is in love with Shadow, even though she has barely any idea of who she is.
     Lucy believes that Shadow is somehow "the perfect guy," and wants to be in a committed relationship. However, her best friend Jazz is more into hook-ups with any guy. I think the contrast between these two characters is very great. I believe that Crowley made their ideas about love so completely different so they would each stand out more, and to show that love isn't always perfect, and some people might want different things from other people.
     I think she also made them so different to show that opposites attract. Even though Lucy is shy and even-tempered and Jazz is fiery and outgoing, Jazz will do anything to protect Lucy, and Lucy will do anything to protect Jazz. Jazz may be the polar opposte of Lucy, but she still loves her and their relationship as friends shows a lot about real life in the story.

In The Bag by Kate Klise

     I am currently reading "In The Bag" by Kate Klise. It's an extremely cliché book about a girl named Coco Sprinkle (whose mother is a famous chef) and a boy named Webb Nelson. The two are strangers, each with single parents. Their bags get mixed up on a flight to paris, and they are each stuck with each other's luggage. However, Coco has her email on the side of her duffel, and so Webb emails her about the mix-up. The two email back and forth, arrange to meet up, and end up falling in love.
     I do not love this book. I don't like clichés- I rolled my eyes when Coco and Webb kissed. I can already guess how the ending will turn out, all sappy, happy, mushy, and unrealistic. In my opinion, two people can not fall in major, head-over-heels love with someone over a few emails. I mean, what if Webb had been some gross, creepy old man stalking young girls?? Coco was extremely stupid to plan a meet-up with him. But NO, she stepped off the train and there he was, attractive and blonde and "puppy dog adorable," looking nervous and excited to meet her. And then they kissed, two complete strangers on a train platform. THEY FELL MADLY IN LOVE OVER FOUR OR SO EMAILS. THIS IS NOT LOGICAL. THIS IS NOT LITERATURE. THEY USE THE WORDS "LIKE" AND "ACTUALLY" TOO MUCH. THEY SAY "OMG." THEY HAVE SILLY NAMES. 
     I apologize for those who have read and enjoy this book. I'm sorry. I truly am. I am having a bad day, and nothing upsets me like a poorly-writren book.

The History Of Love By Nicole Krauss

     I am currently reading "The History Of Love" By Nicole Krauss. It is a book set in New York about an old man named Leopold Gursky, a writer and a WWII refugee, who left to America when he was a young man during the war in pursuit of his lover, who married another man when he was gone. It also follows the story of Alma, a young girl whose mother is trying to cope with the death of her husband. Alma is set on finding a new man for her mother.
     The relationship of Alma and her friend Misha is very interesting. Misha moved to New York from Russia when he was thirteen, and Alma began using him as a pen pal to keep him company. They became friends fast, and when Alma was fourteen and Misha fifteen, Alma began to have feelings for him. However, when Misha kisses her, she acts very awkward, and tells him she doesn't like him. However, she obviously does. Alma is so caught up in finding her mother love, that she doesn't recognize it when it's staring her right in the face.
     I believe that though you should do things for others, at the same time you should focus on yourself, too. If you are so caught up in someone else, you can never gain anything for your own well-being. This is the case with Alma.