I fell for clickbait, and now I want to talk about it

I’m going home next weekend to celebrate some birthdays and father’s day with the family. It promises to make me crazy. However, a shining light is C and I are going to see The Fault in Our Stars. This is a film based on the John Green novel of the same name. Green is important on the Interwebs with his brother Hank who have created a safe, respectful space for teenagers online. I’m not even kidding they do not tolerate bullying on their vlog or blogs. It is pretty incredible to know thousands of teenagers are listening to these two instead of the racist Canadian.

But that isn’t the point, the point is Green is ushering in a new era of young adult fiction. Post-Twilight my expectations of young adult literature is low. Really low. However, Green’s novels (and I’ve read several) value language in addition to storytelling. He is not alone. His books wrestle with complex themes that a lot of contemporary fiction just isn’t. I think he is working on a novel about two young men and privilege right now. Mind blow.

Let’s talk about fiction, novels, and young adult (YA). Fiction, like most art, can be a tool to critique and challenge those in power. Look no further than JM Coetzee, JK Rowling, or Jane Austen. (Come at me about Harry Potter, because it is about ethics of war and parliament.) Jane Austen is a great example that brings me to novels in general. The novel was considered a base level of literature. Specifically, novels were for women *side eye.* I’m serious though, novels weren’t considered worthy of real authors instead they were considered feminine because the pioneers of novels were women. They rose while poetry was still considered the premier form of literature.

Now, we’re talking about YA the way people had referred to novels, and then consumer fiction, and I’m sure some I’ve missed. It is all very dismissive of literature and new innovations. After all, one of my favorite books To Kill a Mockingbird would most certainly be YA. Don’t get me wrong some YA blows, but so does some general fiction, and some classic cannon. I’m looking at you Hemingway. End rant.

Book Review: When She Woke

I've been trying to get this feminist book club off the ground for a few weeks. The first book on the list is When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. Personally, I was sold on this book after this Washington Post review. The Washington Post was not impressed by the novel mostly because the large amount of blame perceived to be placed on Christians, which is indicative of their lack of understanding of the novel. The most striking aspect of the novel is the way the main character questions her faith and the behavior of those around her, but also her own. How quickly decisions spiral out of control for the heroine. When considering the motto of the resistance movement in the novel, "It's personal," the reader must understand that the origins of the oppressive policies become less important than the choices of the main character. That it not to say they don't matter at all, but the emphasis is placed on the choices individuals make.

So a brief run down: distopian future where fundamentalist Christians have taken over in a states' rights kind of revolution following a superclap outbreak (a little poignant given the antibiotic resistant strain of gonorrhea recently in the news). They passed personhood on a massive scale when women were rendered infertile by the superclap; abortion is now prosecuted as murder. Additionally, budget constraints resulted in melachroming, a treatment which colors your skin depending on your crime along with other punishments, and then the criminals are leased they live as social pariahs. Our heroine, Hannah Payne (i.e. Hester Prynne) wakes up red, for murder, specifically abortion. Then the novel details her trials after her release from the Chrome facility. Violence, rape, and exploitation are daily fears for all the Chromes, but red females are rare, which makes them more of a target. Then there is a resistance movement to overthrow these restrictive laws with the motto, "It's personal." Which is similar to what Hannah told the police about the man who impregnated her and the doctor who performed her abortion.

The major themes are pretty straight forward feminist principles: 1. medical procedures and sexual history are personal, 2. the personal is political, and 3. regardless of crime violence is unacceptable. There are minor discussions of sexuality but not sexual orientation, instead discusses of sexuality focus more around the rights individuals have regarding their sexuality. The resistance movement resembles the underground railroad and is full of dangers. Actually, it is a very good depiction of how similar the vigilant movement and the resistance movements are and how they mirror the government's actions or in actions.

However, the little things what make this a good novel, particularly the seemingly insignificant things which have a huge impact on Hannah. For example, her mixed feelings on her first menstruation after her abortion, which signifies that the procedure was not only successful, but that she was still fertile. Then for her to remember that after being found guilty of an abortion/murder, she will never be permitted to be pregnant again. The humiliation Hannah feels at almost every step of the novel.

Jordan tells a quick paced story, perhaps she tries to cram too much into the novel. She draws largely from Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter  and Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. I'm giving it a solid 4.5/5. Of course, I'm partial to the novels Jordan pulls from as well.