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books

Cult Memoirs

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After listening to Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear, I decided to dig into these two memoirs – one about Scientology, one about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). I had begun Jessop’s Escape in print several years ago but never finished. (In my
early 20s I often checked out lots of interesting nonfiction from the
library and then never read it.) I have an interest in first-person
accounts of fringe religions/cults (like many of us do, I’m sure).
Raised without a religion, I’ve always been intrigued by what people
believe and why they believe it, as well as where that line between a
religion and a cult actually lies. 

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill with Lisa Pulitzer
Jenna Miscavige Hill is the niece of David Miscavige and was born into Scientology, trained from a young age to join the Sea Org. She fled Scientology in her early 20s and wrote this book about her experiences growing up in the religion. Much of what she discusses is covered in Wright’s book, but getting it from a first person point of view is valuable.

Although Hill was related to the most powerful man in the religion, this was a mixed blessing. At times it seemed she was given preferential treatment (allowed to visit her mother and stay in a relatively nice hotel while others in the Sea Org were not); at others, it seemed she was blamed for it (punished for asking for something she had always gotten before, not realizing it wasn’t standard). What struck me most about Hill’s story was the manipulation and mind games played by Scientologists with power. Frequently, Hill was called in for “security checks” that lasted hours. She was made to answer personal questions and often felt like she was being disciplined for an unknown infraction. Sometimes she’d discover that it was her parents who had misbehaved; often the reasons remained unknown. Particularly startling are Hill’s statements as to how infrequently she saw her parents (half a dozen times in as many years) and how little supervision is exercised over young children. For example, one of Jenna’s jobs as a pre-teen was to administer medical care to all the other children in training for the Sea Org. There was no adult back-up.

The “harrowing” part of the subtitle is a little misleading when compared with Carolyn Jessop’s account of her escape from the FLDS (below). This is partly due to Hill’s writing, which is simplistic and very event-based. She describes her feelings, but mostly this is a straightforward account of what happened, and then what happened next. The events themselves are interesting enough, but it’s not among the most riveting memoirs I’ve read. (Interestingly, neither of these two memoirs were narrated by their authors.)

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

Jessop’s account of her life in the FLDS and her escape at age 35 after over a decade of marriage with a man over 30 years her senior is riveting and horrifying, just as the accounts of Scientology are. She had eight kids at the time of her escape, including one who was profoundly disabled. She managed to escape with all of them and received full custody of them. She tells of rampant abuse, both physical and psychological. I expected that her husband would be horrible, and he was, going so far as to deny life-saving medical care to one of Carolyn’s children in order to punish her. What I didn’t expect was just how horrible her “sister wives” were as well. One of the wives was clearly the dominant one in her husband’s affections and used that power to manipulate and harm the other wives and their children. It ranged from little things, like not allowing the other wives time to use the washer and dryer, to more extreme things like preventing enough money to be given for the purchase of food.

In some ways, members of the FLDS are harder to understand than Scientologists – perhaps because of the way they dress. At first glance, Scientology doesn’t seem harmful as much as it seems just weird and a place for gullible people to get fleeced of all their money. The FLDS is definitely more blatantly awful, particularly for women (but not only for them).

As memoirs go, Escape is better-written than Hill’s Beyond Belief. The people in Jessop’s story have personality and depth, even those who were sometimes cruel to her. She delves deep into her reasons for believing and staying in the FLDS as long as she did. While both Hill and Jessop were born into their respective religions, the FLDS doesn’t really accept newcomers as Scientology goes. The FLDS needs to get them from birth and keep them isolated, and that’s exactly what happened with Jessop. Unlike Scientology, there doesn’t seem to be much to appeal to someone raised outside the FLDS. Even as she came to realize that her husband and those in power were not good people, Jessop believed in her religion. This creates sympathy for her daughter, Betty, who returned to the FLDS when she turned 18.

Next on my list: Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven.

Both books borrowed from my local library.

Graphic Novel Roundup

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Fables vol. 20: Camelot by Bill Willingham
I feel like the shine has worn off the Fables story somewhat. After the main story with the Adversary was resolved, new antagonist Mister Dark carried the Fables crew through several more successful issues. But since the defeat of Mister Dark, the series has been floundering. In volume 19, Willingham killed off Bigby and left Snow White trapped in a castle. This volume does precious little to move that along (Snow White isn’t seen except in flashbacks). Fables characters who die aren’t ever dead permanently, so there’s some spellcasting on the part of the other Fables to bring him back, but I can’t say I was terribly interested. The Camelot of the title references Rose Red’s wish to help rebuild by rebooting the Camelot concept – you know, because it worked so well last time. For a reader who was obsessed with Arthurian legend as a teen, this held surprisingly little interest for me. Not much seemed to happen – a few subplots but nothing terribly exciting – and I’m still annoyed at what was done to Snow in volume 19 anyway. Both volumes 19 and 20 seem to undo a lot of the character growth done in previous issues, and certain parts of 20 hint at even further undoing in future installments.

The art is, as always, gorgeous, remaining one of my favorites among comics. The cover art in particular is stunning, whether it’s James Jean in previous volumes or Daniel Dos Santos on this one. Fables has a set end date with collected volume 22 later this year. Fables as its worst is still better than a lot of the other stuff out there (and this volume isn’t bad per se), so I’m sure I’ll keep reading until the end. I hope it can go out on a high note. We’ll see.

Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan (issues 1-6)
This relatively new comic is about Gotham Academy (bet you didn’t see that coming), a prep school for the elite kids of Gotham. It differs from a lot of other comics focused on Gotham because the characters most people know are only peripheral (Bruce Wayne is a benefactor of the school and drops by occasionally, but it’s only a cameo). The book’s main characters are the school’s students, mainly Olive, who has a hole in her memory and whose mother is in an institution; and Maps, a younger kid obsessed with maps (hence the nickname) who becomes Olive’s sidekick.

Strange things go on in the school and Olive, Maps, and a group of other quirky kids and teens investigate. Some of the things have to do with Olive and her inability to remember parts of her past, and this storyline makes up the main plot of the first six issues. This is a fun comic with a lot of humor and great Easter eggs for DC readers, though it’s also perfectly accessible to people who haven’t read much (or any) DC – like myself. It was recommended to me by someone with more knowledge of comics who also knows my love of heist stories and mysteries featuring teenagers (my boyfriend), and his recommendation was spot on. The art is clear, detailed, and moody, making significant use of light and shadow, perfect for a mysterious old school with secrets in its bones. Issues 1-6 comprise the first collected volume, which will be published June 17. I’d easily recommend it for comics-loving tweens and teens.

Personal copies.

2 Recent YA Titles on Sexual and Gender Identity: None of the Above and Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

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I’ve read two books recently that tackle some element of gender or sexual identity. Since I’m still not entirely on in terms of wanting to write in-depth reviews — partially because I’ve been reading a lot lately and want to keep up with that pace and partially because writing reviews feels like a risk more than a reward — I thought I’d talk briefly about both, with their strengths and weaknesses. Both of these books are available now, having released earlier this week.

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Let’s start with a lighter-hearted YA novel about a gay boy who is trying to figure out who spilled the beans about his sexuality. Well, almost spilled the beans — someone knows he’s gay, but since he’s not out, he’s paranoid about who it is who knows the truth and what that person may or may not do with it.

The romance that builds between Simon and Blue, the boy who he’s been in an email relationship with, is really sweet and well-drawn. It grows at a realistic pace, and I love the way we’re able to see into the way they begin trusting one another and sharing pieces of their day-to-day as well as bigger wants in life.

There’s drama in this one, but it doesn’t feel manufactured. Simon is playing the role of wingman to one of his classmates in order to try to keep his sexuality under wraps (he’s convinced he knows who knows and this is one way of staying on top of it). There’s a nice thread throughout this one about friendship and how friendships can shift and change. Simon isn’t a perfect guy, and even though he’s finding himself in a tough spot, he’s also putting some of his closest friends in a hard place, too: he’s spent less and less time with them as he’s become somewhat self-involved.

The one drawback for me as a reader, which will likely not bother teen readers, was that some of the middle sagged a bit. While it was well-written and at times witty (this is a charming book all around), I found the high school friendship/relationship challenges a little drawn out for me. I’d have liked it a tiny bit tighter. However, I’d recommend this one without hesitation, and I think teens, especially gay teens, will love seeing a story like this. Simon’s parents are noteworthy, too — in fact, they might be some of my favorite YA parents in a long time. It’s worth noting, too, coming out is a part of this story.

This is a debut that makes me eager for Albertalli’s next title.

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Were this book out when I was a teenager, I would have eaten it up. Even as an adult, this was a hard one to put down because it was so fascinating.

When Krissy and her boyfriend try having sex for the first time, it hurts. And it’s more than a first-time-having-sex kind of pain. Since Krissy’s mother isn’t around, she doesn’t have another woman she can talk to this about, so she seeks out the help of one of her female friends, who recommends she seek a gynecologist. It’s at the appointment where Krissy learns that she’s not a female; rather, she’s intersex — she has a vulva and vagina, but she lacks a female reproductive system and instead has internal testicles. She’s 18, so her medical access alone makes sense, but her father does learn about her condition and it’s then she’s left to make the choice about whether to have surgery to remove her testicles or not.

There’s more than the diagnosis, though. The pitch for this book is Middlesex meets Mean Girls. It’s the Mean Girls part that ramps up the drama in this title — Kristin thinks she can trust her friends with her diagnosis, but it turns out that someone spilled and she’s become not just a laughing stock at school, but she’s bullied. Her boyfriend feels utterly betrayed, and he calls it off with her. Even later, when she’s able to try to talk to him alone, outside of school, he’s still reluctant to accept her as she is.

This is a book about how people can be cruel and unaccepting of those who don’t fit into neat societal boxes. Gregorio’s book isn’t afraid to be feminist, and readers who pick this up will likely be fascinated by intersex individuals. I stopped numerous times to do a little research, and Gregorio weaves in the stories of other intersex people through Krissy’s connections via an online listserv and an in-person meeting with another person.

The writing reads like it’s from the voice of an 18-year-old girl, which at times doesn’t come off as fluid or outstanding as it could. But this isn’t a book readers will seek out for killer writing; this one is about character and about the story we rarely, if ever, see or hear. This is a must-add to collections.

Three Quick Reviews + a free TLA Program

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I don’t do a whole lot of programming in my current position, but I’m happy to say that I’ll be bringing three YA authors to my library next week while they’re in town for TLA. If you’re in town too, won’t you consider stopping by? We can say hi and you can watch me moderate a fun panel on writing for teens with three talented authors. There will be discussion, open Q&A, signings, giveaways, and you can even snap a photo of yourself and the authors in our iGeek photobooth.

In preparation for their visit, I read a few of their books. Since they’re Harlequin Teen authors, all of their books have some element of romance (which I am absolutely there for), but they’re wildly different from each other regardless. We’re giving away a copy of each of the three books below (two of which are advance reader copies) plus a few more surprises.

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
As longtime readers may know, I’m a sucker for fairy tale and classic story retellings. This is a sort of Alice in Wonderland with zombies, where the zombies can only be seen by some people – but they’re no less terrifying for it. Ali’s father is paranoid and won’t let his family be outside after the sun sets. He says he sees monsters, but no one else can see them, and Ali secretly believes he is mentally ill. Ali convinces her father to let them all go see her little sister’s dance recital, even though it will end after dark, and everything seems to be going OK. Until the trip back. Ali’s dad sees something, freaks out, and the car flips. Her entire family is killed, not necessarily in the crash itself, but by something…else. Soon after, Alice starts to see the monsters, too.

Her family’s death is revealed in the blurb, but I hadn’t read it, so when it happened, it was a huge punch to the gut. Showalter knows how to make her readers hurt. But this is also a fun story, with lots of zombie hunting and, of course, a sizzling romance. When Ali moves in with her grandparents after the accident, she starts at a new school, and she ends up locking eyes with a resident “bad boy,” so-called because he is always skipping school and getting into fights – though none of the fights ever seem to happen on campus. It turns out he’s part of a group of teenagers who fight the zombies, and Ali gets caught up in their mission. Showalter is well-known for writing adult paranormal romances and it shows in her teen books.

The parallels with the Alice in Wonderland stories are not explicit, and this is not a retelling per se. Instead, there are clever little homages, like a cloud that resembles a rabbit and fanciful chapter titles like “Down the Zombie Hole” and “What Bloody Bloody Nonsense!” This is a good pick for teens who still crave zombie stories but are ready for something a little different.

Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry (publishes May 26, 2015)
McGarry is known for writing high-appeal contemporary romances for teens, and her latest – the first in a new series about a motorcycle club – is sure to be popular. Contemporary romances aren’t usually my thing, but I quite liked this story about family, loyalty, and the prejudices we all carry about ways of life we don’t understand. Emily is sent to stay the summer with her biological father, a member of a motorcycle club and a man whom she believes has no interest in parenting her. There she gets to know her extended family and begins to fall for Oz, the son of the club’s leader whose dream is to follow in his father’s footsteps. She also uncovers secrets of her family’s past and learns that her mother’s story about why they left her father doesn’t necessarily line up with the truth. Lies on both sides of her family create grave danger for Emily.

This is a long book, but  the pages move quickly, thanks in part to short chapters that alternate between Emily and Oz’s points of view (emblematic of McGarry’s writing style). The romance incorporates a lot of common tropes (dislike and physical attraction at first sight, slowly giving away to real affection, a “bad” boy and a “good” girl, long-hidden secrets), but it also feels very genuine and age-appropriate. Emily and Oz fall in love like teens do, and McGarry’s characters don’t assume it will be forever – which doesn’t make it any less real. The romance combined with the secrets in Emily’s family’s past make for a multilayered book with a lot of threads to unravel.

The press release stated that McGarry did some hands-on research for the book by spending time with an actual motorcycle club, and it shows. I can’t say I have any firsthand experience, but McGarry’s story is immersive and she turns characters that could have been stereotypes into real people with strengths and flaws. Highly recommended for contemporary romance fans or any reader interested in modern ways of life outside the mainstream.
 

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (publishes August 4, 2015)
When they were freshmen, Dave and Julia made a list of all the stereotypical high school things they’d never do: go to a beer party, dye their hair an unnatural color, hook up with a teacher, go on a road trip, fall in love with your best friend. A few years later, with graduation on the horizon, they decide to turn their list of Nevers into a To Do List. Unbeknownst to Julia, Dave has already checked one item off the list: he’s hopelessly in love with Julia.

Alsaid’s second YA book leads with its gimmick, but it doesn’t take the trajectory you’d expect – at least not for long. Readers will enjoy watching the two teens check items off the list, from the relatively innocuous (dying their hair, which turns out terribly for Dave, who chose green), to the much more serious (hook up with a teacher, which Julia takes to with gusto). This hooking up with a teacher storyline is played for laughs and as an adult I was horrified by it, but teens will probably just think it’s funny like Julia and Dave do. (This part in particular made me feel old.) The first part of the book is told from Dave’s perspective and the middle part from Julia’s; Alsaid is more successful with Dave than Julia, though he manages to get real pathos out of both points of view. I was pleased that the story surprised me in the end, and I felt real sadness but also satisfaction at how everything turned out. This is a good pick for fans of lighter contemporary YA.

Romance Roundup

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Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
I read a Tessa Dare book a couple of years ago and was underwhelmed. But I keep seeing her on lists of favorites, so I decided I’d give her another try. I’m glad I did. Any Duchess Will Do is funny, swoony, and narrated quite well by Eva Kaminsky, who nails both the upper-crust English voice of the hero (a duke) and the lower-class English voice of the heroine (a serving girl). It’s a re-telling of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, in a way: the duke claims he will not get married, his mother tells him he must, he picks out a serving girl to annoy her, the mother says “game on” and decides to turn the serving girl into a duchess, hoping her son will then marry her.

The duke, Griffin, is kind of a jerk, but not in an “I’m going to go out of my way to make you feel awful” way. It’s more of an “I’m just concerned with myself and only myself” way. He makes an appearance in a previous book in the series, where he comes off rather badly. He does better for himself here. I doubted Dare’s ability to make me see him sympathetically, but she does a good job. Pauline, the serving girl, is a vastly more interesting character though. She has aspirations to start a library, stocked with naughty books for the ladies of her town to read, and she agrees to go through duchess training because Griffin has agreed to pay her to do a bad job and help get his mother off his back. The money he promises her will start the library. The pairing is a little different from most romances (where the woman is usually high-born), making this a refreshing read.

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
I’ve read two of the other books in Quinn’s Smythe-Smith quartet, which share a universe with her much-beloved Bridgerton series. I didn’t really love them. They weren’t terrible, but their leads didn’t have much chemistry, the stakes felt ridiculous, and there wasn’t much personality to them – surprising to me, since Quinn’s books are usually loaded with personality. That’s what makes her so hugely popular.

Just Like Heaven, narrated by Rosalyn Landor, is actually pretty good. It’s the first book in the series (I read romance series out of order since there’s really no spoiling anything here) and it’s a sweet one. It doesn’t put its characters through the wringer. The hero isn’t particularly tortured and the heroine not particularly self-doubting or put upon by others. They love their families and have been friends for years. They actually get together rather easily, compared to most romances I’ve read lately. If this sounds a little boring, that’s because it sort of is. It’s not Quinn’s best work, but coming off of the other two disappointing books, it was nice to get a solid one. And there’s always room for the sweet stuff in historical romance. We don’t need all Tragic Heroes all the time.

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
My previous experiences with Sherry Thomas have all been with her YA books, which are excellent. This was my first historical romance by her and I’m so sad my library doesn’t own anything else of hers on audio. Corrie James narrates this one, and she does an excellent job – but it’s Thomas’ writing that carries it.

The book features a hero whose parents modeled a loveless, manipulative marriage and a heroine who must marry well in order to support her impoverished family. Neither is looking for love, and when they marry each other, they don’t expect to find it. I’m not normally a fan of romances where marriage happens before deep affection or love, but this one works really well. Thomas’ writing is sharp, her portraits of these two flawed characters well-done. The exchanges between the two leads are witty, like the best banter from the Bridgerton books, but with a darker edge. I thoroughly believed in their attraction at the outset and their love at the end. There’s no real “hook” to this story plot-wise that sets it apart from others; it’s the execution that makes it shine.