Summer Construction
Undiscovered Gyrl
by Allison Burnett
August 11th 2009 by Vintage
Paperback, 320 pages
0307473120 (isbn13: 9780307473127)
From the publisher:
Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt is taking a year off before college to find her passion. Ambitious in her own way, Katie intends to do more than just smoke weed with her boyfriend, Rory, and work at the bookstore. She plans to seduce Dan, a thirty-two-year-old film professor.
It seems like a great idea, an awesome book along the lines of If I Stay or Wintergirls. Just watch the trailer:
The publisher continues:
Katie chronicles her adventures in an anonymous blog, telling strangers her innermost desires, shames, and thrills. But when Dan stops taking her calls, when her alcoholic father suffers a terrible fall, and when she finds herself drawn into a dangerous new relationship, Katie’s fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.
Sexually frank, often heartbreaking, and bursting with devilish humor, Undiscovered Gyrl is an extraordinarily accomplished novel of identity, voyeurism, and deceit.
Vintage itself has mounted a "huge, strange online campaign" fueled by social networking as its marketing strategy, complete with its own little army of grassroots publicists.
The biggest problem I have with this whole hoopla is that, while undiscovered gyrl is being marketed as a YA book, it's really an exercise in postmodern reflection that should only be undertaken with discussion and analysis.
In a book group or an English class or with a friend over coffee.
If you like (and understand) J.D. Salinger, this is the book for you. Allison Burnett definitely seems to be the next Salinger.
I do not at all care for Salinger.
Though it will not be released until August 11, undiscovered gyrl has already caused a buzz in entertainment news because of the alleged reports last summer that Miley Cyrus will play the protagonist - even in the nude (Cyrus denies it as an internet rumor) in the movie version (something I've difficulty conceptualizing. The movie, not Miley.)
Some bloggers (like Melissa) love undiscovered gyrl, some hate it (Holly is one), some find it disturbing (like Kelly does). Some aren't sure. Reviews can be submitted by site users at the original undiscovered gyrl site.
However, I can find few who have really analyzed it. I'm not ready to do so here because so few people have read it yet. But I will say that if you need a topic for a paper, the societal perceptions Burnett invokes by using the word "gyrl" is a good place to start. And that I'm absolutely astonished at the number of people who say they can "relate to Katie."
You may remember that I questioned the validity of a white man writing a black point of view. Well, how about a middle-aged man writing as a teenage girl? Yes, that's right. Allison Burnett is a man.
novel [that] keeps readers guessing as to the identity of its narrator by “putting traditional point of view on its head and playing around with the major identity issues of our age.”It's the whole point. Burnett is a precipient interpreter of postmodern life. To stop at the surface story is to miss the entire point of undiscovered gyrl.
I've never been a particularly patriotic, especially since I realized (sometime in my late teens) that the United States is one of the countries that still bestows the death penalty. I'm aware of the great things about my country and of the (many) skeletons in our closet. With the election of Barack Obama, I find myself hopeful that the United States reclaims its potential.
On Wednesday night, at the Celtic Woman concert, there were two songs about the United States. All I could find online were fan-videos taken live, but you should still watch (at least) the first one. (The second one is pretty but the lyrics are...repetitive, which reminds me a little too much of wartime propaganda.)
Happy Independence Day!
The song "Isle of Hope" is about Ellis Island, in New York Harbour, where Irish Immigrants and others were processed.
image from http://bhuvi.sweetcircles.com/
The first Immigrant to be processed there was Annie Moore, from County Cork.
She arrived with her brothers on 1/1/1892, her fifteenth birthday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Moore
The statue of Annie and her brothers in Cobh, Cork:
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears
Lyrics By : Brendan Graham
On the first day on January,
Eighteen ninety-two,
They opened Ellis Island and they let
The people through.
And the first to cross that threshold
Of that isle of hope and tears,
Was Annie Moore from Ireland
Was all of fifteen years.
CHORUS:
Isle of hope, isle of tears,
Isle of freedom, isle of fears,
But it's not the isle you left behind.
That isle of hunger, isle of pain,
Isle you'll never see again
But the isle of home is always on your mind.
In her little bag she carried
All her past and history,
And her dreams for the future
In the land of liberty.
And courage is the passport
When your old world disappears
But there's no future in the past
When you're fifteen years
Chorus
When they closed down Ellis Island
In nineteen forty-three,
Seventeen million people
Had come there for sanctuary.
And in Springtime when I came here
And I stepped onto its piers,
I thought of how it must have been
When you're fifteen years.
Chorus
O, America
Music: William Joseph
Words: Brendan Graham
O, America you’re calling,
I can hear you calling me:
You are calling me to be true to thee,
True to thee… I will be.
O, America no weeping,
Let me heal your wounded heart:
I will keep you in my keeping,
Till there be… a new start.
And I will answer you, and I will take your hand,
And lead you… to the sun:
And I will stand by you…do all that I can do,
And we will be… as one.
O, America I hear you,
From your prairies to the sea,
From your mountains grand, and all through this land,
You are beautiful to me.
And… O, America you’re calling,
I can hear you calling me:
You are calling me to be true to thee,
True to thee… I will be.
And I will answer you, and I will take your hand,
And lead you… to the sun:
And I will stand by you… do all that I can do,
And we will be…as one.
O, America you’re calling…
I will ever answer thee.
O, America! by Brendan Graham and William Joseph (C) 2008 by Peermusic (UK) Ltd. (PRS), Songs of Peer, Ltd.(ASCAP) and Paybill Publishing (ASCAP) All Rights on behalf of Peermusic (UK) Ltd. Controlled and Administered by Peermusic III, Ltd.(BMI). All Rights of behalf of Paybill Publishing Controlled and Administered by Songs of Peer, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Well, in case you missed the news last week, I was punished by McKoala (long story) and forced to write 5000 words by Sunday evening. As you'll see from the post date, tonight is Sunday evening.
Here are my wordcounts for the past week:
MONDAY - ZERO
TUESDAY - ZERO
WEDNESDAY - ZERO
THURSDAY - ZERO
FRIDAY - ZERO
SATURDAY - 1449
Leaving one day in which to write 3551 words. As you can see, I wrote nothing over a five day period. Could I possibly write 3551 words in one day? Actually, one afternoon, since Sunday is a work day for me? Is Rosey up against the McKoala Claws of Doom? Did I misjudge and fatally procrastinate?
NO! I ACTUALLY MADE THE 3551 (okay, 3713) words this afternoon! And none of them were "watermelon"!
Because....you can never have too much birthday. And because, Sarah's right, I'm totally stalking Pete (I want an acknowledgement in his first book..ha!)
Daughter of the Flames
by Zoë Marriott
February 10th 2008 by Walker Books Ltd
Paperback, 268 pages
1406308617 (isbn13: 9781406308617)
rating: 4 of 5 stars
From Booklist
Marriott’s first novel (The Swan Kingdom, 2008) was inspired by a fairy tale; this second fantasy creates its own world with a complex history of civil war, racial struggles, and religious beliefs. Fifteen-year-old Zira, raised by the Ruan people, bears facial scars and buried memories of her true heritage—she is the hidden heir to the kingdom of Sedorne, ruled by her despotic uncle Abheron. Being half Ruan herself, she represents the possibility of a union between the indigenous Ruan and the occupying Sedorne. When Abheron sends his troops to destroy her home, Zira learns the truth about her identity and sees a glimmer of hope to overthrow Abheron through marriage with a Sedorne lord. Readers of Tamora Pierce will happily immerse themselves in a character not unlike Alanna: a headstrong, feisty teen who glories in physical combat and longs for (and finds) a true soul mate. Marriott’s writing is smooth and compelling; lush descriptions are balanced with plenty of fast-paced battles. A satisfying read for fantasy lovers, with rich backstory, lavish costumes, and a happy ending. Grades 7-11. --Debbie Carton
I finished Daughter of the Flames with a smug sense of justification. When I read Marriott's debut novel, The Swan Kingdom, I predicted her second novel would be remarkable. And, indeed, Daughter of the Flames is an amazing leap from an author who has really stepped up her game. The writing moves quickly, the originality of the story stays fresh throughout, and, above all, Marriott's done some first-rate world-building. Addressing my biggest pet peeve, Marriott does especially well at creating two religions which must co-exist, and she keeps the theologies of these systems consistent. (Yay!!)
The weakness in Daughter of the Flames is in the almost ulterior motive Marriott has to validate Zira with a man. The third wave feminist in me wants to celebrate a male-female equally empowered relationship. And I'm all for romance. But Zira marries at Sorin's insistence for political and convenience reasons, in an act that seems remove the possibility of her own agency and choice. Then, Sorin fades, more or less, into suggesting that it's only his backing her that makes Zira powerful.
The Actor and the Housewife: A Novel
by Shannon Hale
June 9th 2009 by Bloomsbury USA
Hardcover, 352 pages
159691288X (isbn13: 9781596912885)
rating: 3 of 5 stars
"Becky was seven months pregnant when she met Felix Callahan."
As you can tell from the title and the jacket flap, Becky Jack is a 34-yr-old mother of (almost) four when she meets Felix Callahan (think Hugh Jackman, only British). By the time they've shared elevator and limo rides, both of them know they have a bond. Not romantic. Not sexual. Months and years later and millions of phone call-minutes later, they agree that they're more than best friends but less than spouses.
My first inclination was to give this book four stars. It's captivating and funny. I adore Shannon Hale (Austenland, Book of a Thousand Days.) And I am grateful she accomplished what I'd long wanted: to see When Harry Met Sally disproven. Men and women can be friends, and sometimes very close friends (without their relationships being a threat to their spouses.) The Actor and the Housewife is worth reading if only because everyone needs to rethink what constitutes "intimacy" and "friendship."
However, there's much of The Actor and the Housewife that left a poor aftertaste. "Housewife?" Could we fuel the stay-at-home v. working moms fight any more? Yes, I'm a stay-at-home mom with a part-time job and a career on hold. So perhaps it's only my own feathers that get ruffled at the implausibility that Becky bakes pies every week, keeps her house relatively clean, manages her four children, still adores have sex with her husband and manages to write - on the first try - a screenplay that's snatched up by a major Hollywood studio (the setting for her meeting with Felix.)
Becky's not only a housewife, she's a Mormon housewife, and there are definite religious overtones to the book. (See this recent article about three Mormon authors: Hale, Jessica Day George, and Mette Ivie Harrison). Don't misunderstand: Hale doesn't preach. (Let's be clear about that! Hale doesn't preach.)
What she does do, however, is base the friendship of Felix and Becky on Becky's belief that "God meant it to happen." The reader has to believe Becky, because there's nothing else to connect these two. We never hear about a shared love of books or movies; they're two entirely different people, religiously. politically and socioeconomically. But if the reader is not a Mormon, or a person who believes in God (see Mormons & Christianity), or who believes God "works" in the way Becky does, then the reader is left wondering....what the heck holds these two together?
Steph Su and Jena give The Actor & The Housewife 5 Stars, Melissa liked it, too.
Flowers For Elvis
by Julia Schuster
April 1st 2009 by Bell Bridge Books
Paperback, 248 pages
0982175612 (isbn13: 9780982175613)
rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley on January 8, 1935 in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi."
Though Schuster's Catholic tendencies (which tend to be traditional, somewhat conservative, but not fundamentalist) are obvious, she uses them honestly in her perception of Olivia's story, rather than a tool with which to preach to the audience. Because the first chapters are about Olivia's birth and death and encounter with the Mother Superior who buries her, I worried a little about getting through the rest of the book. I stumbled, a bit, over Olivia's brief encounters with God and the capitalized pronoun "He," since that doesn't reflect my own theology nor a common use in progressive churches. I'm not sure whether Schuster's trying to capture the time period of the modernist church or just mirroring her own beliefs (she's a religion teacher in Memphis, TN.) 
THE CHALLENGE: Write at least 100 creative words a day. Every day.
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