I recently finished a book called My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga. It is the story of a girl and a boy who meet on a website and agree to a ‘Suicide Pact’. They both have reasons as to why they want to die, and both hope the other won’t back out, but eventually, things (aka feelings) get in the way and things start to turn a little upside down.
The storyline is enticing as any other. Two people meet and agree to die, and I just found it fascinating. The plot intertwines smoothly and never misses a beat. The characters are everything you expect them not to be. They are funny and loveable and quirky and have their hobbies and love things, and yet they are sad. They are so very sad. He is sad, and she is sad, and they find happiness in each other.
Your love for the characters grows immaculately as their love for each other grows. And who doesn’t love a book where you see that the characters are running out of time since an important date is looming above them and there are only so many book pages left? Every second you read the novel, every word, phrase, line, sentence, however you may wish to put it, is thrilling and precious and anything but boring. The characters have a way of pulling you in, and making you care for them and their outcome. Everything about the novel is amazing.
Even in the back of the book, hidden just after the author’s notes, there are a list of numbers and websites to visit if you find yourself ever in the need of help. I, personally, absolutely adore books like these. They really help set the world on a kinder path. You are not alone, and there is someone out there who can help you.
This is the kind of book that makes you cry, and also feel warm and see the world in a different way. This is a story that makes you want to go out, and find an old park you used to play in and sit in there and revel in the nostalgia. It is the kind of story that makes you want to love your loved ones more than you already do. It is the kind of book that makes you say “The best one.” when someone asks what book you are reading.
My favourite character in this novel would have to be a tie between a few. Our two main characters, Aysel and Roman, Aysel’s half-sister, Georgia, and Roman’s mother, Mrs. Franklin. Aysel (pronounced Uh-zell, which, I admit, I had some trouble remembering.) is one of my favourites because she is very witty for someone who wants to be gone. Her words are sharp with a favoured sweetness, and she has her very-book-character hobbies. She hums classical music whenever she feels uncomfortable, or, whenever she feels like this.
Roman is another favourite because I am biased. I have a character in my own story (which has a very big “Work in Progress” sign written on it.) called Roman, so I was sure, no matter what this character would be like, that I would enjoy his appearance. He grew on me in a way I didn’t expect him to, though, too. He is nice. Actually nice. Not a lot of people are nice in the same way as he is, so it was lovely to read and experience. He is very focused on his goal, death, in a way that doesn’t allow any nonsense to be in play. He is a lover of basketball and sea life. Aysel’s half-sister, Georgia, is another favourite because she tries. She tries very hard. Aysel is older than her by a few years, and acts terribly guarded and snappy towards Georgia, who just wants to connect with her half-sister. It’s kind of sad to witness, but I see it as something that can many may relate to.
Roman’s mother, Mrs. Franklin is the epitome of a gigantic sweetheart. She’s very loving, thoughtful and caring towards both Roman and Aysel, and is a very supportive mother. She’s almost a predictable mother, who gardens and tries her best to cook certain foods for Aysel, (because Aysel is Turkish, she makes traditional Turkish dishes for her, only a little while after they met.) and does all the everyday things, but she is lovely. She is the definition of lovely.
I really enjoyed the book. I laughed and cried and searched for some new music while I read it. (With Aysel’s classical music love, it was hard to resist searching some of them up.) It was beautifully tragic and achingly bittersweet. I love every word of it.
All posts by Sian Thomas
Review All the Bright Places by Sian Thomas
I recently read a book called All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It is the story of a girl who learns to live her days instead of counting them down from a boy who wants to die.
The story is nice. The kind of nice you feel when you look around a coffee shop and see the inspiration for why a writer may have chosen to write about that coffee shop looking just like this or sounding just like that. The kind of nice you feel when you see you are working towards something you aspire to be. Especially the kind of nice you feel when you read a book that makes you feel fuzzy and philosophical and generally in love with the scenery and the people and the atmosphere surrounding you – you feel as if this writing has helped you see what the writer may have. The grass looks greener, to put it simply. And you love it. Or, maybe, rather, the wording is nice. But with every book that the wording makes you feel lovely and warm and content, there is a twist, and a sad ending.
The plot sounds relatively simple. “A girl who learns to live from a boy who yearns to die.” Oh, you think, they’ll probably fall in love, too. They do. And it’s very bittersweet. The two of them are assigned a project, it sounds cliché, and it absolutely is, but it becomes a very lovable scenario. Our two main characters, Violet and Finch, are both huge lovers of words, stories, books, writing, brainstorming and general writing and words. The chapter titles are something I penned down as creative. They aren’t called actual chapter names, which is fine, but what I liked about it was it’s simplicity. Each chapter was either labelled “Violet” or “Finch” with a short sentence underneath it, such as: “135 days until graduation.” or “Day 6.” or “How to survive quicksand.”
The book itself is immaculately representative,which is fantastic. We find out Finch could potentially be – watch out, spoilers – bipolar. I’ve yet to read another book where one main character has bipolar disorder. Things like mental illnesses aren’t exactly mentioned in many books, or at least not that I’ve read. And quite frankly, that sucks. I believe representation, of many things, is important. Gay characters, bisexual characters, pansexual, asexual, transgender, transsexual, those with mental illnesses, those with disabilities, genderqueer people, nonbinary people, intersex people, aromantic people, and demisexual people should all be represented in as many ways as they can. Books, movies, TV shows, comics, anything – anything. I like to think that with every book that has representation is a step closer to something bigger, and this being the first book I’ve read with a character with a mental illness, I think that is one huge step.
Even in the back of the book, where the author’s notes sit, there are a list of numbers and helplines for places all over the world so the author really gets the point across. You are not alone. (I have read one other book with something like this similar in the author’s notes. A book called Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, where the main character is trans – female to male – and in the author’s notes there is a section on what the author calls the “transgender umbrella”. She talks of all different types of gender identities, and with every book like these I read, I realise we are a little more away from blue and pink, and a little closer to a full colour spectrum.)
The book itself, while yes, it was sad, and yes it was bittersweet and heartbreaking and emotional, it was also light and humourous. Our main character, Finch, is what most people on sight would label a ‘weirdo’, and since this particular novel happens to be set in a high school, well, you can see why it feels a lot harsher. However, Finch is comedic and light hearted and sarcastic. It seems to lift the novel’s atmosphere up as you read. The plot is full of exploration of sites in Violet and Finch’s state. The way the author describes the scenery and the way Violet and Finch interpret them makes you want to slap on your shoes at 3am and go for a walk so you can see the world the way these two might have, even if it’s only a sliver of their world you glimpse. It makes you want to sit up on your windowsill with your feet dangling over the edge so you can see the view from a fresh perspective which is a lot higher up than your usual one.
My favourite character would have to be Finch. He is witty and sarcastic yet sad and questioning and insightful. He is a bundle of adjectives that I took a shine to, and he is a bundle of adjectives that I relate to.
For notes here, I wrote: “Recommend it – why would you?” and honestly, why wouldn’t I? The book is sad and funny, bittersweet and heartwarming, and definitely one to make you cry. The characters are well-rounded and lovable, complicated and realistic, and possibly the best ones I have ever read about. If you, like me, are one for tears and laughter and that comfortable philosophical feeling tingling from your toes all the way up, I absolutely recommend this book to you.
Review Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Sian Thomas
I have just finished a book called Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. It’s written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. It’s just one single book instead of a series, this time.
It’s about two teenagers who live in New York and it’s set during Christmas time. One of them, Lily, usually has a very family filled Christmas, however, this Christmas, her parents left for Fiji for their 25th Anniversary, so her brother suggests a project for Lily. He gets a red moleskin notebook and writes instructions for any passer-by who may want to take on a few dares. Dash picks up this notebook and follows along, eventually creating a back-and-fore conversation between himself and Lily by using the notebook, while he throws in other suggestions, instructions and dares just as Lily does, too.
As this continues, we see them both start to idealise the other in an almost fairytale way. While neither of them knows what the other looks like or acts like or is like, it’s a pretty predictable thing to see. It wasn’t bad, if anything I expected it. Countless reading of clichés get you like that, I have found out. I don’t particularly believe it to be a bad factor, if you enjoy clichés.
The book was written in a funny and sarcastic way, as if the two teenagers, Dash and Lily, were there in front of you, taking turns telling their story. While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it was definitely mine. The witty way it was written was most likely designed for teenagers and young adults, and definitely works for getting them to have a giggle at the book, story and characters.
One character that stood out to me was Lily’s older brother, Langston. While most of Lily’s immediate family was away, Langston was not, and he invited his boyfriend, Benny, over to stay a few nights before both of them accidentally became ill and stayed at separate houses. The way that Langston talks is very older-brotherly yet sarcastic, which added a few extra laughs into the book – even though the way the book was written was already done hilariously. I personally believe that the factor that Langston is openly gay is a great thing. I do believe we need more representation of gay people ( to go further, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, transgender or transsexual people, also) in, well, anything, really. Novels, tv shows, movies, anything. I feel the creation of Langston was a step closer to something greater writers and readers alike will hope to see more of.
The book was highly enjoyable. Funny, loveable and enticing as any other. If anything, I’d recommend it to anyone with a sense of humour similar to that of a teenager like myself or young adult who can have a laugh, or someone who needed a bit of a giggle as they curled up to read with a cup of tea.
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater by Sian Thomas
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is a four part series with three current instalments and a plot that makes you keep turning the pages until you realise you’ve read a lot more than you originally planned to. Time seems to scarcely exist in the story, and it also scarcely exists as you read it, forgetting more and more about the real world and getting sucked into this one.
The series is about a girl, Blue Sargent, a non-psychic in her psychic family and a girl who has been told her whole life: “If you kiss your true love, he will die.” She eventually meets four boys who quickly become her closet friends. Gansey, a rich boy searching for the lost king Glendower, and also the boy Blue was fated to fall for. Ronan Lynch, also rich, hard on the outside and a secret keeper; Adam Parrish, a poor but fiercely determined to be rich boy who wants to find Glendower as much as Gansey, and Noah Czerny, a mystery, but not for long.
The first book of four is named The Raven Boys. An alluring cover (a picture of a raven in which you can’t see the eyes and a small, wispy heart) drew me to it one afternoon in a rather warm WHSmith. The book starts out almost tentatively, but quickly pulls you in to a world completely different to your own. The life of Blue Sargent, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah is a tight knot which slowly frays and unravels before your eyes, each thread tracked carefully just in case.
The Raven Boys alone similar to a starter or appetizer meal in a restaurant. Since it’s the first book, it’s mainly dedicated to exploring the characters personalities and backgrounds, but in between, it becomes mostly about plot, all the while shuffling in facts about our main characters slyly.
The Dream Thieves is the second instalment in the series and is a book you could say is centred around characters who aren’t your usual main character/s, but neither are they background characters. The plot continues as does the unwinding coil of secrets, leaving the reader wanting more and more, and having them realise they’ve read over half the book in one sitting, instead of perhaps one chapter, like they had planned. (I speak from experience.).
Blue, Lily, Lily, Blue is the third book out of four in the series, and is the one where the plot immediately starts rolling from start to finish; from the opening sentence to the very, very last one. Its plot is enticing, but can also leave you suspicious as the character begin to feel things are happening too easily considering what their task is. You’re quickly drawn in, hoping that they can do what they must, but praying you’re not nearing the end of the book, even though you so desperately want to find out what happens at the end.
Maggie Stiefvater is an almost sassy author, seeing as in her books she seems to write as if she is there, talking to you personally through the page, in a way in which she uses speech and text not in a brisk, strict story-telling way, but almost as a friend telling you what happened.
As difficult as it is to choose favourites, I think my favourite character out of the series so far would have to be Gansey. Gansey has a number of different personalities to which he uses at different times for specific events. Seeing as he is from a rich family (and his mother is running for Congress in-plot) he has to go to many gatherings where other rich people clink their champagne glasses and talk about things that they probably aren’t really interested in. Here, he has a very formal and straight-forward but not intimidating attitude, however, around Blue Sargent and the rest of his friends, he swiftly relaxes and becomes more of a teenager that you would expect him to be, rather than a glass-clinking-rich-man. The switch can be so sudden and can immediately bring or dismiss tension from a situation which shows how much power he could have by standing up a little straighter and speaking a little tougher.
While it is hard to choose favourites, each character I have been introduced to in The Raven Cycle holds a special place in my heart. If you like sassy and almost spiritual reading material, I recommend this series to you. Maybe you like plain old romance-with-its-issues type of books, this book would still be a great read.
This is a series I will adore for a very long time, and if you read it, I’m sure you will, too.
Review In Time O’Strife, National Theatre of Scotland by Sian Thomas
On the 23rd of October, myself and my classmates from Willows High School went to the Sherman Theatre as a part of their Sherman 5 program to see a performance called In Time O’ Strife by the National Theatre of Scotland. The performance was about the miners’ strike, and the angst and difficult period of time for the miners and their friends and family. I didn’t know of this strike before learning of it in my history class, only a few weeks ago. Learning it then I could only learn it from a political point of view, however seeing this production enabled me to see the strike from the miners and their friends or family’s point of view which gave me further insight into the strike for the pony of view of the miners.
The performance opened with the company and band playing music, singing and dancing as the audience filed in to fill the theatre. The atmosphere was lively and fun as they sang and danced up to the very beginning of the play. As the audience were taking our seats, the songs and dance numbers enthralled us, me in particular. The songs were infectious and myself and my friends couldn’t help bobbing along and dancing in our seats. Some of the songs that were joyous and happy made everyone want to get up and join in on the celebrations that were occurring, however the songs that were slow and meaningful made us all feel the fear, the deprivation, and most importantly feel the sadness that the miners, their friends and their families must have been feeling throughout this time.
When the performance started and throughout it, the thing I noticed, and was most impressed with, was the use of lighting. Numerous light switches were strewn around the set which the cast themselves used to change the lighting between scenes. The use of this was so effective. The changes of colour and density caused definite emotion to stir up during the scenes for both the performers and the audience.
The set designed by Graham McLaren created an almost antique feel to the performance. The way it was designed fit the era it was set in and the whole performance perfectly. The use of the small TV which was counting the days of the strike and the small radio on a little shelf really made the whole performance seem real.
The performance was hugely enjoyable and the loud music, strong choreography and excellent acting doubled it so. If you are both passionate about music, dance and history, I recommend this performance to you.
Review The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak by Sian Thomas
The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak is a book which at first, I didn’t want to read. Uninterested in war stories and books that get turned into overly popular movies as I may be, reading this has definitely begun to change my mind.
The Book Thief is about a nine year old girl named Liesel Meminger and her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann, during the time of the Second World War. Liesel’s parents are taken away to a concentration camp, so she grows up on Himmel Street stealing books, spending time playing football in the street, and dealing with the war any way she can, but with multiple things often stealing her attention away from it.
My friend bought me this book as a late birthday present, and the only things that really drove me to read it was the fact that another one of my friends really enjoyed it, and that the story was told by Death itself. The fact that the novel was narrated by Death made me both curious and compelled. This, I decided, was what made me read the book, but then other things in the book stepped in and caused me to be attached to the plot and characters.
The plot itself was both heart-wrenching and addictive. Every time something intriguing or heartbreaking would happen, I would always thirst for more. The book was difficult to put down and every page had something worth remembering on it. The things that Liesel Meminger and her foster parents did are the types of things I would have expected to find in almost all war stories. Them not going with the flow. And they didn’t, but I enjoyed it. Often I believe that stories involving the war are about the protagonist/s not doing whatever the higher-ups say, and I often predict that I will not enjoy it. (This fact contributes to me not wanting to read war stories.) However, I was wrong. This book was something I loved every second of, every single word was special.
Learning of the characters and all of their quirks was another thing that led me to be attached to the story. Every single character was special in their own unique ways which I won’t be forgetting any time soon. Each character was so different from another, yet all of them were extremely likeable. Some of my absolute favourite characters were Rudy Steiner, Max Vadenburg, and Arthur Berg. All of these characters were extremely loveable, in very different ways.
Rudy Steiner, the best friend of our main character, Liesel, was the kind of character somebody would love to pluck out of a work of fiction and have them in their life. A kind and caring person, fictional or real, is worth treasuring – and this, I realise, is what I have done. With “hair the colour of lemons” and an appetite that wouldn’t quit, Rudy Steiner is that kind of person anyone would enjoy knowing, he’s funny and brave and would do anything for someone he holds close and knowing him in a work of fiction is as good as anything.
Max Vadenburg is a Jewish fist-fighter with “feathery” hair who winds up hiding in our main character and her foster parent’s basement. He is a character with a personality which anyone would vow to protect after learning about it. Captivating and sweet, Max Vandenburg is someone who would do anything he could do for someone he loved, just like Rudy Steiner.
Arthur Berg is in a different place on the spectrum. Preferring to come off as hard, but inside is a big softie, Arthur Berg is a top food thief in this novel, and doesn’t appear for very long, sadly. Arthur Berg, someone who says they would leave you behind if you weren’t fast enough, but would come back for you if you did in fact fall behind, is someone who everyone would enjoy being friends with and would most likely enjoy reading about. Arthur Berg reminds me of one of my own friends, which made him doubly special to me.
The book was fantastic and I’m sure anyone who read it would enjoy it. Those I’m close with recommended it to me, and I do the same to you.
Review Romeo and Juliet, Sherman Cymru by Sian Thomas
Seeing Romeo and Juliet at the Sherman Theatre on the third of October changed my perspective on the play completely, I have studied the play for coursework in year nine and ten and I couldn’t have hated a play more than I hated this one, it absolutely did my head in! The language was pretty difficult for me to grasp and use for evidence in my essays, but after seeing it on stage, I wanted to go back in time and tell myself to hold on, and not judge it rashly. I’m not an expert on Shakespearean English, but the way the actors portrayed their characters in time with their lines made everything so much clearer and much more enjoyable.
My favourite character in this play was Mercutio, who was played by Scott Reid. When I was doing the play in school, I didn’t really know much about any character I didn’t have to write a lengthy essay about, (I wasn’t really supposed to focus on anyone else) so seeing him as a bubbly and loveable character really was a nice change of scenery from two star-crossed lovers and their angst. Reid was phenomenal in this role, because he could use the space around in really interesting ways, I don’t think I ever saw him not using his hands or being completely still! (Unless he had to, during that one particular part in the party scene in the Capulet’s’ manor.) to me, personally, this is a sign of an actor who definitely knows what they are doing on stage. My drama teacher often says for us to “never just stand there” – always do something, even if it’s little – It was never boring to see him excitedly moving about! It even made me want to join in! His facial expressions when his character had been stabbed made me feel the pain he must have been feeling, and it made me want to jump up and reassure him. I remember that he pulled the coat he was wearing around him as he did this, which made my feelings of wanting to help practically double. When studying the play in school, I wasn’t swayed by him dying, but when I saw it on stage after noting all of this, I wished it hadn’t happened at all. I adored the fact that many actors had an accent. I loved that Mercutio had a Scottish accent, as it seemed to maximise his bubbly and fun personality.
I particularly loved the modernised representation of certain characters such as the Nurse and the servant, Peter. They went from simple servants to someone who you could just tell had been angry to have been cut off, from rather bland to sassy and likeable . Every hip-swish and hand gesture was amazing and I’ll never forget them.
I loved the clothes that everyone wore especially the Nurse and Lady Capulet’s costumes. The pink tracksuit the Nurse wore (along with her fantastic accent) made me grin every time she appeared. A pink tracksuit like that was so much more enjoyable to see than a maid’s outfit! Lady Capulet’s costumes were great, too! I loved that in the very beginning fight scene she tried to use her high heel as a weapon! Her costumes especially in the party scene one was a lot more exciting than a corset and a dress with a thousand layers to it!
I loved the music that was played between and during scenes. The party scene at the Capulet’s’ was absolutely top, with a very infectious beat, I couldn’t help bobbing along with the characters. I don’t know the names of the tracks of the songs used, if I did, they’d be sitting in a playlist on my iPod labeled “Fab Romeo and Juliet tracks!!” Dubstep in a Shakespearean play? Loved it!
The set designed by Kenny Miller was outstanding! The modern posters and newspapers, which had been put up, and stripped/ripped down made the set really look like a modern street, which was fantastic for the street brawls! I loved the almost-jail-cell, which doubled as a coat wardrobe. It made me smile. It looked so interesting amidst the rest of the set. The air of mystery was thick and fantastic with that thrown in the mix as well as everything else. I dare to think how much effort was put into creating it and how long it must have taken. I didn’t even expect the top to lift up and reveal a balcony set. (Even though I should have known about it! I studied the play!).
I loved the play and the direction by Rachel O’Riordan, if I could see it again and again I would be very happy. Every character was loveable in their own unique way and each and every single one touched my heart and left a mark there I’ll never forget. The way the cast performed made it a masterpiece; I’ll never forget Romeo and Juliet at the Sherman Theatre.