Then and Now

                I just finished racing the book "The Diviners" by Libba Bray. Bray is one of my favorite authors as she conquers the world of historical fiction with a surprisingly current and relevant to readers today. This is what makes historical fiction great, the idea of an almost fantastical time where things weren't quite as they are today but still relatable. From reading last books from Bray and other Historical Fiction authors such as the wonderful authors of the American Girl books that I thoroughly perused as ages 7-10, I know that problems of today often correlate closely with the problems of those in years past. For example, although Samantha wanted a china doll in the year 1907 and I wanted a Tamagachi in the year 2009, we still had to beg our respective elders for the toys and be "good" in order to earn them from our parents. The same goes for books as I grew older. Although Grace was trying to earn money for new shoes in victorian london and I was trying to earn money for eating lunch out in 21st century new york, we both felt the unfairness of job options available to a 12 year old and the little monetary gain that could be earned.

                  This brings us to my current book, "The Diviners." The Diviners takes place in the "roaring '20s" in New YOrk. A girl named Evie arrivers from small town Alabama ready to take in the wonders and pleasures of New York. A boy named Memphis works for the Boss of Harlem, collecting illegal lottery tickets while taking care of his younger brother Isiah. A chorus girl named Theta is hoping to forget her past with the help of closeted Henry, her "younger brother." And a giant of a man named Jericho is used to hiding his secrets, until he meets a girl who could untie them all. And all across the city murders are occurring. Murdeurs that correlate with a secret extremest religion, founded long ago who sought to bring hell and the anti-christ, the "beast" onto Earth. The murders are gruesome, arranged like texts in the book of Revelations to the tune sung creepily by the murderer.

"Naughty John, Naughty John, Does his work with an apron on, Cuts your throat and takes your bones, sells 'em off for a coupla stones."




And it is only the aforementioned people, with their extraordinary powers such as seeing into the future or becoming invisible can help.

                 

           Funnily enough I likened this experience to High School, or what is going to be the high  school experience for me. New York City is huge, scary and inviting all rolled up into one irresistible package. Like the characters in the book, I am drawn to the opportunities and sights the city affords, things I will see in my journeys to schools in Manhattan and the like. The book starts off not telling us how these characters are related to each other, just that they are all special and hoping to make it in New York. I think that this relates to the many students across New York City, all different and all hoping to go to the school they want, to become someone special and more than they already are. No matter what time we find characters in, they all want to succeed and hope NYC will help them get there. The gifts that each character has in the books also relate to the students of my year. We are all talented in some way, be it artistically or academically or even something that can not be measured. We all have something about us that makes us unique.

                Its true, times have changed. We now ride in subway cars as opposed to trolleys on the street. But one thing is for certain, people, at least not on the surface, have changed very little

Affirming Existence

                  The title alone was enough to draw me in. Not to mention the bright turquoise cover, gold embellishments, '80s writing and the drawing of a kick ass Indian girl on the front cover. But the title and sub-title really got me, because it spoke to a lot of stuff I'm thinking about. "Tina's Mouth, An Existential Comic Diary." Wow. To fully understand the title, I looked "existential" up online. It turns out that existential means "of, relating to, or affirming existence" (merriamwebster.com). Or, as a character in the book, Mr.Moosewood so aptly puts it, "find{ing} true and authentic meaning and purpose to your life."As I mentioned, I've been thinking about a lot of questions referring to the idea of existing.  For example, why am I here? What is my place in this world? How can I do something that makes my existence worthwhile? This book really helped me delve deeper into my questions. I'm not saying it answered them, it didn't. But it did help define my thoughts a little more, and introduced me to new ways at looking at the world through existentialist glasses (existentialist, a person who thinks about existential things). 

             Tina's Mouth takes place in sunny California. Tina is 15 and the youngest in a family of five very different people. Her parents were a product of an arranged marriage and she has a square older brother and an artsy hippie older sister. Tina has a best friend named Alex (she and Alex form the "clique of two" as Tina calls it) and a crush on a boy named Neil. However, Alex drops her for a "self-obsessed clotheshorse" named Claudia and a new boyfriend. After moping around for a while, Tina is inspired by her existentialism teacher Mr.Moosewood to get more involved. For a while, it works. Tina gets the lead in the school play- even though she has to get fake- raped by the disgusting Ted Fresh- and makes friends with Hollis McAdams, a popular alternative deep-thinker. Tina also gets to go on a date with Neil and they start semi-going out. However, Neil ends up hooking up with Hollis at a party and Tina is alone again. Prompting she and Alex make up. However nothing will ever be quite as it was again. Throughout the book, we see Tina's assorted family members and how she solves their weird problems, and them hers.

              As someone who has been thinking very existentially, I wonder what Tina got out of her experiences. The end of the book shows Tina in almost the same position as in the beginning of the book. The last words we read are, "this is only the beginning." So, has Tina gotten anything out of her existentialism class? I think that the author formatted the pages in the beginning and end of the book for a reason. It is so that we can see that Tina has come in a full circle. What I mean by a full circle is that she  started out happy, then went through a lot of complicated issues and events. Now Tina is back at the beginning, she has moved through all of her problems and is ready to keep going on with her life. But, the picture is not exactly the same, because that picture is not the last page. The very last page shows an envelope. Tina is mailing her diary to Mr. Moosewood. I think this symbolizes her closure, and how she does not need the diary any more to express herself, she can do it in her life. 

               This is one of the changes that Tina went through. At the beginning of the book, and through to the end, Tina writes down everything about her life and her thoughts about her life in her existential diary. She talks to the diary when she has no friends, or when she feels like she has nothing to do or participate in. I think that, by sending the diary off, Tina is realizing that she needs to go out in the world and be a participant. Tina has been writing all about her existential thoughts, but the truth is, how will you know the purpose to your life if you are not leading a full life? Although Tina does not know the purpose to her existence, she finds that she needs to be in the world if she is going to figure out anything at all. Mr.Moosewood says, "you have to figure out how to be." and how can you figure out how to be if you are not out there and being yourself?This is a really huge change in Tina, and I think it is better that she realizes this.

Encoded

            I just finished reading the book Code Name- Verity by Elizabeth Wein. The book takes place during World War Two in various places across England and France. The book starts as a first person narrated tale. We don't know who the narrator is, but we can assume she is a girl, probably around 17-23 based on her tales of school, her vocabulary, and her job. The job, we find, is spying as she says that she was "under-cover" and that she was chosen for her aptitude for "making up stories" and "blending into a crowd." But this journal is not from the point of view of a spy on a mission, it is an account of treason, betrayal, and most of all loyalties. The narrator is trapped in a Nazi prison, under the watchful eyes of the Gestapo (the "police" who enforce Fuhrer Hitler's decrees). She has just emerged from four days of torture that includes being held underwater until she fainted, being burned with a red hot poker and being hit and lashed with various instruments. However, she has made a deal with the Gestapo captain von Linden. She will write everything she knows about the British war effort in an account in exchange for an end of the torture. She also buys back her clothing with eleven sets of British wireless code. The narrator feels extremely guilty and awful about giving away the code and details, but we are shown that she feels the endless torture she could have endured, like her fellow prisoners who scorn her treason, would be unbearable. She begins to tell the story of her friend Maddie who flew her into france employing novelistic techniques and bargaining for more time all the way, while her desperation in response for her imminent departure to a concentration camp grows.
            I had mixed feelings about the narrator, it seemed she was a vain and dull girl. In exchange for the codes she could have bargained for her freedom or asked for food. Instead she says that she is content to be interrogated starving and dirty, if she gets to wear clothes. Also, she does not seem extremely guilty about giving up the code or her accounts after the initial mention she puts down in her account. This makes me think about her character role as a heroine. Is she a heroine who has endured torture and survived? or is she a weaker character who gives in quickly? It does not seem to fit. Another   missing puzzle piece was her intelligence. In the account of her friend Maddie's travels and career she speaks of herself in third person, as "Queenie." Queenie is smart and adept, she is calm under pressure and very clever and confidant. Queenie does not sound at all like the narrator who strikes me as dumb or at least shallow. Also, all across the story, random lines are underlined. Very little of the story sounds believable.
          Then the tale cuts to Maddie and suddenly everything makes sense. The eleven sets of wireless code were false sets that connected to dead radios. The radios were shown in pictures of the wreckage of the plane she flew in on, given to her to convince her that Maddie was dead. The account was fake, she wasn't really guilty about the code or even as shallow as she seemed. The journal was just feeding von Linden another identity, to make him trust her. Maddie tracks down von Linden's house keeper and gets the journal, which she realizes has information about how to find her prison and how to get the prisoners out. We find out that when "Queenie" says "red is her color" (referring to her watch guard) she means that the underlined red passages were made by the guard, who is risking everything to help "queenie."
           Wein takes us on a journey with the characters. We as the readers are not omniscient, we are fooled along with von Linden and the Gestapo as to the character of "Queenie." It takes Maddie's piercing and logical gaze to lend us the sight to see who she really is.  Although the book is confusing because of this, it also makes it unforgettable. Wein's book is  made tenfold more interesting and arresting than if she had let us see everything. I recommend it heartily as both a heartbreaking historical fiction novel, but also as a brain teaser.

Contemporary

               For those of you who are not jewish or just don't know when Channukah is, it started last night. Channukah is a Jewish holiday that usually occurs in December and some consider the "jewish version of Christmas." Channukah is all about the past. It celebrates when the Jews fought the greeks with their army, the Maccabees. The battle was long, hard fought and bloody, but in the end the underdog jews overpowered their grecian enemies. However, their beautiful temple was destroyed in an act of sacrilege and there was no way to keep the menorah (a holy candle holder) burning as they had enough oil for just one day, and it would take eight days to get more oil and return to the site of the damaged temple. The miracle of Channukah was that the oil ended up lasting for the whole eight days it took to replenish their supply. We celebrate this miracle today by lighting one candle progressively each night for eight nights. We also eat the oil soaked soifganot or jelly donuts and latkes, or potato pancakes. We play dreidl, eat gelt (chocolate coins) and children receive presents from their elders. Channukah, and Judaism really is all about the past. But it is the idea of an uninhibited future full of possibilities which makes life great. The Maccabees had to look to the future and pray that their oil would last, and when it did, they knew they has endless possibilities for rebuilding the temple. Envisioning these possibilities is what artists and builders do, they take the past and look to the future. For Channukah, I received a book call 50 Contemporary Fashion Designers You Should Know, by Doria Santlofer from my mom. This book encompasses this belief and is extremely interesting and informative.

              

              Couture is fashion that is the epitome of luxury and exaggeration, couture also is all about the past. Legendary design houses such as Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultiern and Christian Dior comply to the severe demands that a couture design house must have. THese include:

• Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.

• Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.

• Must have twenty full-time technical people in at least one atelier (workshop).

• Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.  

(Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia)


Couture has a rich history but modern couture-esque  designers such as Mary Katrantzou and Giles Deacon have been able to take that luxe, attention to detail and personalization that is what makes couture couture and use it to make more modern pieces that incorporate bold gowns and sensouse fabrics but also use quirky shapes and details such as buttons or emblems to make the piece theirs. Katrantzou in particular is famous for using vintage inspired prints of scenes such as gardens or type writers and combining them with exaggerated bubble skirts or floor length gowns to combine the delicate and precise past with what she envisions for the future. Some people critique this idea saying couture is all about tradition and following specific rules and guidelines. However,  I do not agree. I believe that if couture stayed exactly as it was in the 1950s it would slowly die out and no one would be interested. It is a challenge to find new ways to do couture and I feel that the only way is to move forward in design.
         

The Perfect Summer

       When Zachary Beaver Came To Town    by Kimberly Willis Holt is about a thirteen year old boy named Toby and one life changing summer. Toby lives in Antler the, "boring-est town in the world." And he can't wait for summer. But even though school has let out Toby still has some troubles, despite the care free warm months he imagined. Among them are his best friend Cal's brother Wayne, who joined the army, whether the "amazing" Scarlet Stalling will ever like him, if his mom is ever going to come home and the self proclaimed "fattest boy in the world," Zachary Beaver.

       Toby, though he thinks of himself as normal, helps many people in small ways that add up to something greater. And the way he does this is even more impressive. For even though Toby has a lot on his mind, he manages to overcome his own feelings in order to give someone the help that they need. For example, Toby has a huge thing for Scarlet Stalling, but when her ex-boyfriend Juan comes dejectedly asking for help, he orchestrates a rendezvous between Scarlet and Juan to get them back together. I think this is because Toby recognizes that Scarlet will never like him in that way, and that she does however like Juan. Toby wants Scarlet to be happy, so he does the thing that will make her (not him) happy. Its a selfless guesture, but one Toby has resigned himself to. And because of this, he can't enjoy their happiness, he gets no reward, furthering his suspicion that life will never let him have the one chance at a perfect summer.

          Another example is Toby and Zachary. Toby and his friend Cal were pushed together with Zachary by the town Sheriff, but they began to genuinely like Zachary. Yet, Zachary has been nothing but abrupt and mean to Toby and Cal. I infer that this is because he is not used to people actually wanting to do things with him and does not know how to act around Toby and Cal, or because he suspects that they actually do not want to hang out with him, but are being forced to. Its easier to push someone away then to let them in and get hurt. Sure you might never have a real relationship but you will also never get hurt. However, despite Zachary's grumbling and insults, Toby still helps Zachary get Baptized, a lifelong goal of his. I think that Toby recognizes Zachary's fear of people actually liking him, because he has no one who ever has, his parents died. Toby wants to make Zachary see that people can be good and that Zachary isn't just a lonely freak.

           Toby also helps people in seemingly small ways,when he plays catch with the old crazy Judge, he furtively steps forward so that the Judge can catch the ball, making the Judge smile for once in a long time. Toby also writes letters to Wayne in the army, pretending to be Cal so that Wayne will get the news of home that he asks for as Cal refuses to write to Wayne. Toby sees what people need and helps them, but he cannot help himself. The one problem Toby hasn't solved is how to deal with his mothers absence.

         Toby's mom Opalina, went to Austin to win a country singing contest. Toby doesn't know how to deal with her absence, and his touchy on-edge dad. Toby doesn't know how to help himself out of the mess that is closest to home, even though he can help everyone else. This often happens with oneself, its easy to see everyone else's problems if you try hard enough, and helping them comes naturally to Toby. The problem is, he can't see his own problem, can't identify it, so he can't solve it.

           Control is a tricky thing. It is something that many desire, but it is also something you can never truly have. Life is always going to change, there are always more surprises and variables out there. The world is fraught with distrust and imperfections but its the only reason to live. Toby thinks he didn't have the perfect summer because all of his carefully controlled plans didn't work out. But what if it was? When Toby stands at the edge of the pond, sopping wet and muddy, he says "There is a rip in my pants, just where they always ripped and Mama used to fix them, and I know she never will. But when I look around and see the ways the sun looks on the water, I feel for once like I am happy."

Child Soldiers: Perpetrators or Victims?

            "I will cut them.” Says Tanzi Bakenzi, 16. He is referring to the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel uprising that terrorizes civilians, burning houses and smashing skulls. Tanzi is what is known as a child soldier. Child soldiers are armed servicemen who are under 18, and are a widespread problem across the world. Found on every continent accept for Antarctica, child soldiers are boys and girls, their ages average at just under 13 with the youngest on record being a 5 year old boy. One of the many ethical dilemmas on the issue of child soldiers is: are child soldiers victims or perpetrators (a victim being a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action and a perpetrator being someone who willfully carries out a harmful action)? While some people may argue that child soldiers are perpetrators because they kill people and many choose to stay in fighting after a certain war ends, child soldiers are victims because they are manipulated into service and exploited while serving, as well as sustaining trauma that lasts for years.

              Many say that child soldiers are perpetrators of violence, but most of them never would have been involved in armies if not for the deceit and forcefulness of others. A large number of child soldiers were forcibly abducted or tricked into service, not by their own choice. In the article “Children at War” by P.W. Singer, a sixteen-year-old child soldier proves this point by saying, “the rebels came and attacked us. They killed my mother and father in front of my eyes. I was 10 years old and they took me with them.” The soldier did not have good judgment, as he had just seen his parents get murdered, and was not even asked to use it. Instead he was abducted. Ishmael Beah, although not abducted was tricked into joining up, according his video interview. Beah’s parents had died due to the war and he was on the run with a band of boys in the same situation. As he says “Naturally we thought if we went to a military base we would be protected… that was not the case.” Instead the militants told them they had to go into service. If Beah and ­­­­­­­­the anonymous soldier had not been deceived or forced to enlist, they would not have fought in their respective wars, proving they were victims.

                 After child soldiers have been forced into the army, the manipulation does not end. Child soldiers are victims because while in service they are exploited and brainwashed to be killers. Ishmael Beah attests to this in his video interview with Katy Couric when he says, “You have to do it {kill} to survive.” In order to be a perpetrator Beah would have had to kill others of his own free will, instead his life was threatened by his superiors unless he slaughtered others for them. Beah was a soldier in South America, but the manipulation of child soldiers who have nowhere to go and have to comply with their commander’s wishes exists across the world. In the article “Armed and Underage” by Jeffery Gettleman, in Iran “12-16 year old boys {were given} plastic ‘keys to heaven’ to hang around their necks as they cleaned battle fields.” This proves that child soldiers were victims as the army knew the children could and probably would die, and tricked them into thinking they would go to heaven if they fought for the Iranian army. Child soldiers were used in armies around the world, tricked and manipulated by forces above them, showing they were victims.

                   Child soldiers are exploited and deceived during their service, but their suffering does not end after they have left the army. Instead, underage soldiers are traumatized and battered by their deeds and experiences. A fact that supports this is stated in “Children at War” by PW Singer, “For the child soldiers, the impact of being plunged into war creates problems long after the end of actual combat. Many suffer long term trauma….” Singer, who wrote a book of the same title, is an expert on this topic. He states that due to his research, these children have been victimized and they are perhaps permanently scarred by their service.  Also in “Children at War,” Singer states “girl soldiers are often singled out for sexual abuse, even by their commanders and have a harder time integrating back into society.” These female soldiers are definitely victims of sexual abuse, but as soldiers they are also victims because they retain trauma and often have a hard time fitting back into society. Ishmael Beah says that it took him eight months recover from his time in the army and that it may take some soldiers even more time. There is no way these children were perpetrators as they have been so hurt by their service.

                  To conclude, child soldiers are not perpetrators, but victims of a terrible experience. They are deceived and forced into service in the first place, once in the army they are exploited and threatened to do deeds that some say they perpetrate, and they sustain long lasting trauma after the fighting is over. These children did not bring such a life upon themselves; they were victims of their countries’ crimes. And although Ishmael Beah and other soldiers have been rescued from the endless cycle of killing, drugs and madness, many remain. Unawares of the public, these children are still being victimized. So I challenge you to raise awareness and hold the real perpetrators accountable for the exploitation of these kids.

                     

Elementary My Dear Watson

                   As a wise woman once said, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you might get." I guess the same goes for books because I did not figure on reading half of the things that I do. For example, today I began reading A Study In Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Or a you plebeians might understand, a Sherlock Holmes book. This is the first Sherlock Holmes book both in chronology and in my reading life. My parents have always tried to get me to read the Sherlock Holmes series, indeed my mom pre-downloaded  A Study In Scarlet to my birthday present, a kindle (on which to read Sherlock Holmes, presumably). I put off the reading as long as I could but was accosted by the awful fate of having nothing to read except for the dreaded book. However, as I said before, "you never know what you might get" because I LOVED it. The book was witty, challenging to read, introduced me to new vocabulary and the story was fascinating. I was worried about many things that classics are prone to include, such as flowery paragraph-long descriptions of a chair and other equally non-central objects, slow paced plot lines and overly cautious and wordy dialogue that holds a challenge for the impatient mind of a teenager. However the descriptions were brief and succinct, the plot line was fast paced with the murderer found in around 100 pages, and the dialogue exciting and short. To speak briefly, it was a surprise that the book was enjoyable.
                     Not only was it enjoyable, it was also relatable. The book is told from the perspective of Dr. Watson, a seemingly staid man who finds adventure with the insane Sherlock Holmes and begins to escape from his mundane and painful life as a listless army casualty of the Afgan war. They meet on a quest for a house and end up roommates of sorts. The story between the two friends is relatable, as no one that I know solves murders in 1800s London. Sherlock Holmes is the crazy friend who is always niggling you into doing outlandish things and often embarrassing yourself in public, but he always gets you out unscathed and ready for the next adventure. I have friends like that, and to some people I am that friend. All the Sherlock Holmes of the world do is get you out of your comfort zone. And at the end of the day you've had fun in their crazy carefree whirlwind of a life. However, the fact that they can all of this and survive while you worry yourself with the repercussions is sometimes annoying, as Watson complains about cleaning up Holmes' messes. So the book was also relatable making it an easier way.
                     The friendship between Watson and Holmes was not just relatable, but a key factor in this first book. Conan Doyle is setting up the two companions for a long haul in the books to come, so establishing their friendship was one of the main purposes of this first book, I infer. Murder is a messy business and trust is key to any working relationship. There's a reason people synchronize watches, its to be on the same page, and that's what needs to happen with Watson and Holmes. So Doyle establishes their friendship subtly, as real friendships are made as well. First it starts with accepting the friendship, this happens when Watson sticks with Holmes when the crime is discovered. Watson has been at war, he has seen horrible things and doesn't need to be around more killing, but he sticks by Holmes, showing that he knows that Holmes needs him as much as vice versa. The second point is when Watson backs Holmes up with a gun, again the war has traumatized Watson but he is willing to look past that and roll with the adventure. I can see their friendship growing stronger throughout the books.
                      All in all, sir Arthur Conan Doyle has created a timeless masterpiece of fiction that I'm so glad that I read. Both the lack of values that I dislike in classic and the relatable budding friendship between Watson and Holmes make it exciting. Bring me the next one!