GNW: Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz

In this gritty and honest graphic novel by Julia Wertz, readers get the chance to follow the adventures (and misadventures) of the author as she recounts her somewhat rash move to New York in her mid-twenties. Written as an autobiographical work, Drinking at the Movies is a collection of events in the life of Wertz. It follows the chaotic movements of her life and times as a new inhabitant of New York City.

Dealing with everything from a brother that slips in and out of rehab like a favorite pair of shoes, to her own inability to hold a job or keep herself from visiting the liquor store every other day, Wertz tells her story from the perspective of someone who knows how insane and unfair life can be. She tells her story with startling honesty and a hilarity that keeps you turning the pages long after you promised yourself you would stop.

I'm not sure I've ever read an autobiographical graphic novel before, but I can definitely say I'm a fan after reading this one. The art brings that much more reality to the story and keeps the reader engaged at every level.

Wertz spares us no detail or embarrassing point of view. She doesn't sugarcoat or whitewash anything, instead telling the story of her struggles and triumphs through the lens of someone who knows what it's like to battle uncertainty and fight to keep going, even while constantly asking herself whether or not she's lost her mind.

If you're looking for something real, filled with adult humor and uncomfortable truths, this is definitely the novel for you. I know I'll be revisiting this graphic novel more than once in the near future. Maybe you ought to do the same.

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

But I wasn't simply going nuts, tumbling down a shaft into Wonderland. It was my misfortune- or salvation- to be at all times perfectly conscious of my misperceptions of reality.

I found this book after watching the movie of the same name that stars Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. I had been eyeing the movie at my work for a few weeks and finally had time to watch it. I rented it out and grabbed a beer before settling in to watch it.

Turns out, it's a ridiculously interesting movie with quite a bit of great acting in it (particularly from the aforementioned leading ladies). When I realized it was based off a novel, I immediately headed over to bookdepository.com. I had already purchased it by the time the credits began to roll.

Girl, Interrupted is the memoir of Susanna Kaysen in which she details the events of her stay in a mental hospital in the late sixties. She had been sent to this hospital after being diagnosed with depression and borderline personality disorder.

In the book, Kaysen recounts her two year stint in McLean Hospital and her coming to terms with the conditions that brought her there. She details the friends she made and the encounters she had with her own mental instability as well as the instability of others.

As someone who takes a particular interest in memoirs, particularly those written by those who have had to tackle their own mental illness, I was not at all surprised that I enjoyed this book. It was deeply interesting and I really enjoyed getting to see through Susanna's eyes as she dealt with the daily rigors of living in a mental infirmary.

Girl, Interrupted is an insightful look at what it was like to be diagnosed with a mental illness in the late sixties, while providing the reader with an incredible view of the practices and malpractices of McLean Hospital at that time. It's definitely one of those memoirs I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to read.

Rating: ★★★★☆

This clarity made me able to behave normally, which posed some interesting questions. Was everybody seeing this stuff and acting as though they weren't? Was insanity just a matter of dropping the act? If some people didn't see these things, what was the matter with them? Were they blind or something? These questions had me unsettled.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins

In Control

Out of control

Sometimes they're

            the same thing

The trick is knowing

that, realizing

             it's okay to feel 

out of control

             once in a while

as long as 

you're sure

you can regain

the upper hand

when you

              absolutely need to.

And really, when

it comes to my

reclaiming control,

it comes down to one

simple little thing

something I sometimes 

have difficulty with:

saying no.

I've been eyeing Ellen Hopkins's books for ages. Every time I see them at the library or the bookstore, I think, "Ooh, I'd really love to read that. It looks like it could be really good. After all, what's not to like about a novel written completely in poetry and each dealing with majorly tough issues? But I knew that poetry novels were a bit hit-and-miss with me and the books each look like they may be a bit much, so I've always put them off, waiting until I have more time to read a lengthier book. Boy, am I glad I finally got around to it.

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are the identical twin daughters of a judge (their father) and a politician (their mother). So it's a given that they're expected to be perfect or, if they can't manage that, fly under the radar. Anything they do, anything they say, if brought to light could easily destroy everything their parents have been working for.

However, both girls are hurting so deeply that neither have any idea how to escape the pain. After the car accident where their father crashed their SUV a few years ago and put nearly all of them in the hospital, their mother grew distant and their father turned to Kaeleigh for the love he wasn't receiving from his wife.

Feeling both ashamed and confused by her father's attentions, Kaeleigh isn't sure how to cope. Meanwhile, Raeanne is jealous that her father loves her sister more, yet hates him for what he's done to Kaeleigh. Both girls seem to be sinking in a pit of despair and chaos. It seems like all hope is lost. The more the people around them reach out to them, the more they retreat into themselves. It's clear that neither can handle the portion they've been given and one of them will have to save the other before it's too late.

It's hard to say you really enjoyed a book with such heavy and scarring topics. These are the traumatic issues that no one wants to touch. They're too messy, too difficult. That's why it's so amazing to me that Ellen Hopkins managed to wrangle them and carry out the story with such finesse and perfection. I never expected this book to be nearly as good as it was, but the plot line was perfect and the pacing timed to a tee. I

Of course, I can't write a decent review for this novel without touching on the poetry aspect of it. Like I mentioned before, books written entirely in poetry can be rather hit-and-miss, which made me worry about this particular book. Wouldn't the poetry break it up too much? Would it make it less relatable and feel like separate works all tied up to create some sort of scrapbook novel? Much to my relief, this was not the case. The page-long poems were each tied together so seamlessly that it was just as effective as simple prose. I really appreciated the poetry in the end, because it really gave the reader that emotional connection without adding all the extra narrative that might have taken if it hadn't been written that way.

Altogether, it was an amazing read. The content is dark and something you have to prepare yourself for, but absolutely worth reading. Go pick it up! You won't be sorry.

Rating: ★★★★☆

I stare out over the fog-shrouded

          valley. The gray gulps me into

it, infiltrates my brain. Sad

          Will I ever find a way beyond

this sad? Tears puddle my eyes.

I let them fall, like how they 

          feel, then come to my senses.

"S-sorry," I sniffle, not sure

          why, except it's lame to cry,

like it's ever done any good.

          Sorry? What for? Greta asks. You've

                    got some powerful demons, girl,

          but I've got a few of my own.

                    Already told you I'm a good listener.

          Talk to me when you're ready.

The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon

I know that darkness is the absence of light, but where does the light go when it's not here? And how do you know if it'll ever come back?

Picked up this volume in the Non-Fiction shelf in the YA section at my library. It seemed interesting and I really enjoy interesting memoirs, so I figured I'd give this one a shot.

Let me just go ahead and inform you: as soon as I finished, I found The Burn Journals on the Book Depository and bought it immediately. That's how much I enjoyed this book.

When he was fourteen years-old, Brent Runyon got in trouble at school for accidentally setting something on fire. When he got home from school, he went to his bathroom, doused his bathroom in gasoline, and set himself on fire. Brent survived his suicide attempt, but not without burning 85% of his body and spending over nine months in the hospital.

In The Burn Journals, Brent Runyon gives us a first-hand account of his healing process. The reader receives the chance to take a look inside his head as he comes to terms with what he's done and begins to realize his own warped way of seeing things. Runyon brings the reader in, giving us fascinating insight into the mind of a depressed fourteen year-old boy who only wanted to be happy.

If I could describe this memoir in one word, that word would be "fascinating." I cannot tell you how deeply enthralled I was with this book. I really did enjoy getting to see inside the mind of Brent Runyon at such a vulnerable time and, though I'm sure it was hard for him, I couldn't be more thankful to him for writing it.

The Burn Journals is an important book for many reasons. I'm honestly quite sad that I hadn't heard of it before now. I think it addresses a deeply important issue and a prominent mental illness that too often goes right under the radar. Nearly everyone I know, including myself, has undergone some type of battle with depression and it seems like everyone is scared to address that. However, Runyon handles it with a finesse that I cannot praise enough.

One of my favorite things about the way he handles it is the fact that the reader gets to see exactly what was going on behind the closed doors of his mind through various stages of his struggle. It is absolutely insane how well the reader can see the various little bits that show just how warped his thinking was, and yet it is warped in a way that it's clear he thinks is normal and you can absolutely understand how he would think that.

All in all, it was a fabulous book and one I'll be suggesting frequently to as many people as I can manage from now on!

Rating: ~★★★★★~

I'm standing in the closet with my head in the shirts. I can't stop crying. I can't stop.
"You're asking me all the wrong questions." Why don't they love me? Why don't they take care of me? Why don't they act like I'm their son? The tears are all over my face and I can taste them in my mouth, like salt water, but I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying. I can't believe how little they know me.