'One Year' Review

For everyone that does not go to Brown University here is my review for 'One Year' by Courtney Ella Hrabik.

When I first got the email to write this review I was very surprise that they would want my opinion and then I was flattered because this was the first time I have been personaly asked to review a book.

My first reaction to the book was that it was not a book. Yes it meets the word requirement. But it is lacking almost everything else that makes it a book. Their is no antagonist. Their is no exposition. Their is no raising action. Their is no climax. Their is no falling action. In reality it is a very long story.

What I liked about the story. It was a great story. Courtney Ella once said at reading 'Books are a dying medium. I write for an audience (teenage girls) that would never spend twenty dollars on a book. Yet books are what I am currently writing. So they can't be books any more they have to be experiences. The reader has to be able to relate to the book while never reading it any where else at the same time.' This book is that. From the prologue it was an interesting and unique idea to write around. The character of Loren is the average American teenager but the characters around her are fun and interesting. The situations that the characters are put in are average with a twist. It was also a very easy read. I have a very hectic life between grad school and TAing but I had no trouble finishing this book this week. My sister said she wanted to read it and she hates to read. It was also interesting that at the end of the story she had character bios and explaining each section.

This story is either going to be killed for everything it does not have or Harry Potter popular. If it takes off it may re-write the book on books. If she does that it may screw the majority of writers out there right now because everyone else follows the rule. God knows I could never copy that style so lets hope it does not.

Not Throwing Up Tonight

I lay my head down tired as can be

I am just about to enter dream mode when

Something starts to crawl up!

Heart burn in the third degree

Ugghhh! How my stomach twist and turns

Not tonight I say, swallowing constantly

I rub my poor sunk in belly

What could be left, I thought

This was the last straw

Dear God,

It is me again, yes the sheep

That is lost more than found

I just have a few more things to say

I am not throwing up tonight

I am not throwing up any night

I have admitted that I have made mistakes

Not so deep down I am terribly sorry

I hope that one day

Your love will forgive me

I have come to terms with who I am

And it is what I always wanted to be

And hear me now

I am not throwing up tonight

I am not throwing up any night

God, this no longer is a

Request, Plea, or Begging on my knees

This is just how its going to be

I am using my Free Will card

I have been saving it for 19 years

And this is as good time as any

I am not throwing up tonight

I am not throwing up any night

You can tap dance on my bladder all you want

I hope you are hearing me

Because I am shouting on the top of my lungs

Inside this head of mine

So good night God, sleep tight

I know I will for sure

Because I am not throwing up tonight

I am not throwing up any night

Amen

Just like that I started to feel better.

P.S. God... perhaps you could send me little

Reminders from time to time of this night

For tomorrow is a new day

Filled with new fears

And harder challenges

So could you deal me in another Free Will card

For my hand is getting small

An Ode To Sisters

Sisters are strange creatures:

They take without asking

They share without question

They defend without thinking

They bond without realizing

They fight without knowing

They love without boundaries

Yes sisters are strange creatures

But if you have one never let them go!

Getting Out

With every flow of my pen

And word on my page

I am one step closer

To getting out of here

The question is

What happens to me then

As I see it there

Are three paths to take

The Jane Austen Path:

Stuck here forever

A martyr of love

And circumstance

The Thomas Wolf Path:

You can never go home

That life is a high way

And I must travel it

The Jon Bon Jovi Path:

Spend a life time getting out

Only to see its where I always belonged

Who says you can't go home

No matter whick

I will continue to write

So that one day

My chance to get out will come

Critique Me

Dissect my work

Question my word choice

Debate the meaning

Act as if you know

Scrutinize my work

Please, I beg of you

Words

I write the words I can not say

I write the words I should not think

I write the words I must feel

I write these words for without them

Where would I be?

The Dreamer

I am the Dreamer:

The one whose mind never turns off

The one who keeps everyone else entertained

The one who lives their life their own way

The one who see life differently than others

And will one day show the world what I see

Untill then I guess I will keep dreaming

'One Year' by: Courtney Ella Hrabik

I am so excited about posting my first book review on this site.  I am also super excited because I am pretty sure this is the first review of the book.  I was very lucky to be one of the lucky fifteen writers who got advance electric comps of the book. Every one else is just going to have to wait un till the book comes out. I can tell that you all are jealous. 

-The Book-

The book begins in April 2007 at the Virgina Tech.  In the prologue we see Joshua Stevens gunned down in Spanish class during the VT tragedy.  As the book progresses we meet his younger sister Loren Stevens.  The majority of the book focuses on Loren's year after his death.  Through out the book the narrator introduces the reader to a color full cast of characters from Latimer the Mute to Ms. Hall (no first name) to the over protective Susan.  She spends her summer at Camp Piomingo.  As they return to school we see Loren interact with new challanges and people.  We are invited to four sweet sixteen parties, a school play, two vacations and prom.  The book ends in May 2008 on a happy note with a very special wedding and all the characters seem to be at peace at last.

-The Review-

I will be honest when I first heard the concept of the book I thought the idea sounded crazy: it is about Loren Stevens whose brother dies at VT becomes a homeless angel and the book also happens to be narrated by a home less angel and oh their is a song for each section.  Crazy Right? I have to say I loved this book from beginning to end.  It is over 500 pages but it does not feel long enough.  It was a quick read, it took me a day and a half.  The dialogue was witty, the characters were interesting, and the plot flowed very well.  There are a lot of components to the book but they all connect together perfectly.  I loved that she chose to begin with the VT tragedy.  It was a bold way to start but it was done creatively and respectfully.  I loved how Courtney Ella Hrabik brought Bug Juice back to life by having Loren on the show.  I think alot of the readers grew up watching that show so it was so cool to see it again. It is also an example of how Courtney Ella perfectly blended our reality with Loren's reality.  What depressed me about the book was how honestly she showed Americans after tragedy.  How we get so upset and tend to generalize.  We see this when Loren initially over reacts when an Asian student joins her class.  When I first read it I thought 'Racist'.  But as I thought about it more I came to realize that was probably an honest reaction that most in that situation would do. Sadly I also think most Americans act just like Principal Mitchell. The mother/daughter relationship also disappointed me.  In a time like that your mother should be a pilar of strength and it was the opposite in this book.  What really depressed me was that Courtney Ella noted that the relationship was based on her own with her mother.  Then their is the teenage dynmanic.  The friendships, drama, and dating was spot on.  That brings us to the music.  Oh my gosh it was the perfect playlist for her year.  The music was an indicator what the chapter/section was going to be about.  The songs she chose fits each section and just lets you experience the story in another way.  Does any one know if there is an iMix on iTunes for this book yet?  I would love to download it. You could tell that she put so much time and effort in to making this book a time capsle for the year.  I mean the book is about Loren's year but reading the book it brought me back to that year and how I had many of the same experiences.  We see Loren send in a post secret post card, we see reference to many TV shows, get a facebook and twitter, drive, date, and text. It is also apparent where Courtney Ella likes to get pizza, coffee, etc because she mentions those places through out the whole book.  Including an almost full page for Starbucks and Carmel Apple cider. The last thing I found really interesting about the book was that she gave a detailed background of the book and character bio.  Like where each character ends up and why she chose each song.  I had never seen a writer do that before.  It was a cool touch.

This book is for 15 and up for mild language and situations.  This book was written for a female audience in mind.  I would reccomend this book to teenagers who do not like to read because it does not feel like a book.       

Empty

My hallow shell is empty

Like that needed to be said

That is the definition of hallow

To empty to think or write

Or to live or die

Look what you did to me

You took it and ran

Into the arms of my best man

What good is a shell

That may never be whole again

To empty to think or write

Or live or die

Even to care

I repeated without thinking

Not my fault though

Like I said, I'm empty

My hallow shell is empty

From Your Father

This is your father

Who wanted you more than any thing

I was so excited to hold you

To tell every one you were mine

All the trips we would take

Everything I would teach you

A nursery filled with stuff

Then you were gone

The only reason being

I was your father

Think about you every day and night

My almost baby

I Hate You

I Hate that you cheated on me

I Hate that you killed my baby

I Hate that I called you wife

And that I loved you at all

I Hate that you left me

But I really Hate

That I would have never left you!

For My Mother

It was like a tidal wave

One day you were here

And the next you were gone

We did not get enough time together

All those wasted years

So much you won't see

I hate that you were taken

When I needed you the most

All alone when the world ended

I am still picking up the pieces

Breathing once again

But it will never be the same

Never to forget

That I write for you

For My Mother