Almost Perfect

Obviously Almost Perfect talks about a topic that people (young and old) are insensitive to and don't like to talk about it. I will admit that as a youth I was not sensitive to it. My sister and I would see a girl that was trans and snickered calling them "Hebeshebe" as we were exiting the store. Not friendly, considerate, or kind. But this was coming from a two young catholic girls, from a very white town that rarely saw diversity. My dad, to this day, when I talk about a friend that is trans or was reading this book was similar to Sage's dad in calling her a boy, enunciating it for me. 20 year old me gets mad and irritated at him for being so inconsiderate. But then I remember that that would have been me three years ago and he lived in a household where his mom was the picture perfect Catholic woman--she would have probably done the same thing. If it wasn't for my classes at WSU and for working with someone who is trans would my perspective on it start to shift forever. This book although from the perspective a straight person still shows the struggles people that are trans face (I am not sure if I am using the word trans in the right tense or grammatically; I am trying to not be offensive though). If the book was written from Sage's point of view I think the book would have been better and better represented of the people that face the issues she faces. But because we are seeing it from Logan's perspective we see only what he sees and his struggles with thinking he is gay and falling for a man--we are forced into the selfish head of Logan and I really wished I could have seen what was happening from Sage's point of view.
I think adolescents who are struggling with their sexual identity need books like the choice books we read. They need to see that what they are facing is not wrong or bad or odd. They need to know they are not alone. What is shown on media is mainly straight men and women who were born that way. That is the only thing they see and because of this they feel what they are feeling is wrong. Especially if family is pushing the idea aside and making them feel ashamed. These books teach and help people feel more considerate and learn about a topic that is not talked about. But, since I do not have this issue I didn't want to read it. I won't lie, I honestly didn't want to read the book. I didn't think it was for me and that part of younger me is still in the back of my head. I am so glad I did though. It helped me feel more considerate and really showed me what a pompous white privileged girl I was being and I was irritated with myself alongside being irritated with Logan. It was a really great book and I wish there was more out there for people that are struggling with this issue of feeling ashamed for feeling different. It also helped that two boys in the middle school class I visited over the break are going by girl names and don't want to be identified by gender names. One of two I did not meet. The teacher said he only comes in to class when it is convenient to him and when he is in class doesn't do anything. . .  This may be true, but it also may be true that he is struggling with who he is and maybe having problems at home? It's the same age Sage officially knew she was a girl. I think adults often forget that middle school is when students are realizing who they are, they aren't stupid.
My rating: A-

Wintergirls

I love Wintergirls. Like a lot of the books we've read I read this in high school, but I can't believe I did. I remember that her friend died but I forgot that you knew from the very beginning. I remember her working out for hours, but I don't remember her knowing every single calorie. I remember little things, but not much. For me, this shows that for teens just reading the book they may not pick up on the negative views towards anorexia. I just remember the book was about anorexia. I don't know if this says a lot about teens, or just about me (that I was reading so many books in high school this was just another one). This book creates such a dark and ominous mood that I was constantly having to take moments of pause while reading and really think about what just happened. It is a book that forces to think and see this disease as what it is, a disease. It is easy to see people with mental disorders and say that they just need to have faith and get through it, but its easier said then done. Anderson shows this in a darkly beautiful way. She uses all literary elements you can name, but for me the one that stood out the most would be her writing style. With having the words that haunt her I a different font. With having words crossed out. With the calories next to the food. We as readers were I Lia's mind and it was spooky. It was so beautifully done that it made me cringe. I have done a lot of research on anorexia because I have always been so fascinated with it, and everything she describes is to a tee--most of the things I only learned when I was in college. How hair starts to grow all over the body to help heat the body. The drawing how you see yourself on a poster board but then the doctors tracing around you to show you how you really look. These are all things that are done and are so true and high school students need to know. They need to know that these are the signs and that it is a disease. I have a friend that has some of these symptoms but she doesn't realize that she has these tendencies. She has no idea and that scares me. This book showed me that I was right and that scared me even more.
This book isn't very culturally responsive in how its about two upper class white privileged girls--a bit stereotypical. But I love this book so much I don't really care. Is it weird I love this book so much? I just love how much detail and style is put in this book. It's so different than other books I read and I just think Anderson is brilliant.
I honestly think every girl wants to be skinnier then they are. Every single one. Just every girls differs in how they go about it. I know for me I work out and try to eat more veggies. For teens I am worried this could give them ideas because when I try to lose weight some of these things I would think of after I had read it in high school. I wasn't anywhere near Lia's problem--I love food far too much and have too good of a life that I feel out of control. I would just think of them. If I was anorexic this is what I would do. Nah I'm hungry I need a burger now. I didn't have the mental disorder that had me act on them. But the fact that as a teen I thought back on this book, that is worrisome even if I didn't act on it. I think this is because this book wasn't taught, as well as once I hit high school I can't remember talking about anorexia or bulimia. We talked about it in middle school and watched videos, but now as much in high school. So I do think it could be worrisome for teens if they are reading it just to know how to do certain things. I could see girls, who do not know much about the disorder, wanting to be skinnier and reading this book to get answers. I think teens read this book because they are fascinated by the topic. They are fascinated by how it works and how the mind rationalizes things. These girls are mostly just trying to find control in their lives and this is the only thing they can control and it just snowballs from there. I'm fascinated by it.
I would rate this book an A+.

Unwind 2

It's funny after finishing the novel and thinking about the characteristics the novel has, Lev--the one character I disliked--was the character that had the most change. He starts out as this annoying goody-to-shoes who is sacrificing himself for God. But then when he's taken and realizes his pastor wants him to run away he starts to have a midlife crisis. But in the end he is the one character who has a climax and a conclusion. He could either clap, or save the people he cares about. It was just interesting to me that the one character that wasn't the most viewed protagonist and I'm guessing least liked, was the most interesting and intricate of characters. Besides having the dystopia theme of technology as destruction and war, it also had a huge theme of deciding between right and wrong. which are huge themes and I think so important for teens. Dystopia novels show teens that they can make a difference in the world and are important. What they do with their future decides how our world goes. Their decisions are huge and dystopia books show students what they don't want to become. That's what happens every time I read a dystopia book, I think "Shit I really hope that never happens. That would be horrible." It creates action in a more subtle way. This is why I think teens also would like this book. It is intriguing. Abortion is a huge topic and this book brings it up the idea of getting this happy medium between pro life and pro choice and how it got so intense. Obviously we are not even close to the same spot the people in the book were during the new war (thank God) but it is still a huge issue. This book answers the question, "what would happen if both pro life and pro choice had a happy medium." There are so many questions to ask but this is the one I think it biggest in the book.
My Grade for this book is an A- by the end