Right when you were born, the tunnel was huge. You could be anything. Then, like, the absolute second after you were born, the tunnel narrowed down to about half that size. You were a boy, and already it was certain you wouldn’t be a mother and it was likely you wouldn’t become a manicurist or a kindergarten teacher. Then you started to grow up and everything you did closed the tunnel in some more. You broke your arm climbing a tree and you ruled out being a baseball pitcher. You failed every math test you ever took and you canceled any hope of being a scientist. Like that. On and on through the years until you were stuck. You’d become a baker or a librarian or a bartender. Or an accountant. And there you were. I figured that on the day you died, the tunnel would be so narrow, you’d have squeezed yourself in with so many choices, that you just got squashed.
I wasn’t exactly looking forward to reading this one. That’s not quite accurate, but, I mean, I wanted to read it obviously, but I was dreading it in the same way I dread reading any book that has good buzz and is well-liked. What if I’m the one that doesn’t like it? I like liking things! And I don’t care about having an unpopular opinion, but I do dread having to talk about it since it usually amounts to me going, “I DON’T KNOW, IT’S JUST NOT FOR ME.”
This time though, I had nothing to worry about because the hype about Tell the Wolves I’m Home is totally founded.
I keep trying to articulate the ways in which I found this one so pleasing and there are lots of technical reasons why — the pacing is lovely, the writing is gorgeous verging on astounding in places, the story is rich with life and feeling and emotion, and the depth with which the reader understands June is near magical — but I just keep coming back to the almost physical sensation of pleasure that happened while I was reading, a feeling like climbing into cool sheets or a warm bath or your favorite pajamas. I cried a lot while reading and it was good, hard crying that left me feeling wrung out in the best, most satisfied way. There’s magic in that kind of writing, a kind of careful sorcery of emotion and language that takes your readers apart in a way that’s satisfying and thrilling and unforgettable.
June isn’t perfect and that’s what makes her so remarkable. She’s likable and weird and funny, but she also makes bad decisions and it’s what makes her so full and human. She makes the kinds of decisions that fourteen-year-olds make and you understand them, even when you hate them or know they’re not the right ones for her to make. She’s wonderfully well-fleshed and she’s not alone, Toby and Greta are complex, complicated characters that bring vitality and life to June’s interior. Greta’s not likable and I’m not sure I’d have ever been able to treat her with the near-unfailing humanity that June does, but that’s what makes them such great characters.
I genuinely want to have tons of things to say, lots of eloquent commentary and brilliant observations, but I don’t. Tragically. Tell the Wolves I’m Home is just good. It was a good, quick read and I felt bone-deep satisfied when it was over. It deserves the hype. It’s better than the hype. Read it.
since today is the solstice and the first official day of summer and the sun is set to drop at 9:58 pm in my middle-of-nowhere corner of the world, i thought i’d finally throw together my playlist for the summer. i typed this twice on a manual typewriter. a. manual. typewriter. TWICE. my index fingers are furious.
totally top five jamz for summer 2k13:
5. ace hood feat. future & rick ross, “bugatti” – if you don’t wake up thinking “i woke up in a new bugatti” every morning after you hear this, i don’t understand you.
4. austin mahone, “what about love” – this CHILD. i can’t watch or look at him because i get the motts (secondhand embarrassment) so bad that my teeth feel like they’re going to fall out of my mouth, but this is a good-ass song.
3. fake shark real zombie, “paint it gold” – put me on a raft in the middle of a pool and leave me there to die. this is filling the void for pool jamz in my heart, since i don’t have new lana del rey to do it.
2. robin thicke feat. pharrell, “blurred lines” – if i was putting cash money down on the song no one will be able to escape for the next three months, it’d be this one. S U C H A J A M.
1. ariana grande feat. mac miller, “the way” – i legit thought this was a mariah carey song the first time i heard it because it just felt like one. that’s a compliment. straight-up “honey”-esque vibes.
From Amazon: It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
Last month’s book was a massive disappointment to me, so I am terribly excited to move on to something else. That something else being Ready Player One for mostly selfish reasons because I already had it on hand (I bought it when we were in Bismarck last month. In a Barnes & Noble! An actual building! With stuff in it!) and it was the next thing up that I wanted to read. I’m selfish? Shocking!
So here’s the plan as always!
1. Read the book!
2. Post about it on the internet*
3. Link me to your post in the comments here
4. I’ll do a round-up post on July 1st-ish and announce the next book
5. We can have a casual-ass comment party about the book
6. REPEAT
Your site, Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, even Twitter is fine! (Just Storify and link!) Whatever works for you!
This is a very casual, kick-back, low-expectations, low-effort deal! I just like the idea of reading the same book and then hearing what people think about it. That’s literally it. FUN, YES?! Good.
If you have suggestions for the next book, please please please comment with them and tell me! I’d appreciate if it was available on Kindle, but that’s the only requirement.
Share this with people if you do it! Tell me if you’re going to do it! Tell everyone!
*Even if you don’t get the book finished and posted about by the end of the month in which we’re reading it, do it and link me anyway! I will add it to the round-up post no matter how late it is and you know I always want to talk about things I’ve read!
Tell the Wolves I’m Home was really very extraordinary.
