Hurricane Child

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callendar     256 pages

"Twelve-year-old Caroline is a Hurricane Child, born on Water Island during a storm. Coming into this world during a hurricane is unlucky, and Caroline has had her share of bad luck already. She's hated by everyone in her small school, she can see things that no one else can see, and -- worst of all -- her mother left home one day and never came back. With no friends and days filled with heartache, Caroline is determined to find her mother. When a new student, Kalinda, arrives, Caroline's luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, seems to see the things Caroline sees, too. Joined by their common gift, Kalinda agrees to help Caroline look for her mother, starting with a mysterious lady dressed in black. Soon, they discover the healing power of a close friendship between girls."

This book was not for me. Not only were the main characters unlikable, but the themes in this story seemed much too heavy to be geared toward young readers (now, I know, depending on where children grow up and what their sexual orientation is, or what their home life is like, this story isn't any worse than what they've experienced, but the way this story is written doesn't seem like it would bring a reader in, especially a young reader. The writing style, to me, doesn't seem as if it were written for the age the main character is, but this is my opinion). I will just say that I don't know what kind of reader I would ever be able to recommend this book to, because the story is challenging, the narrative is a bit all over the place, and there is not much of a plot.

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned

Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower     256 pages

Viking marauders descend on a much-plundered island, hoping some mayhem will shake off the winter blahs. A man is booted out of his home after his wife discovers that the print of a bare foot on the inside of his windshield doesn’t match her own. Teenage cousins, drugged by summer, meet with a reckoning in the woods. A boy runs off to the carnival after his stepfather bites him in a brawl.

Just a whole bunch of stories about sad, sometimes pathetic people, whose lives are a train wreck. There were bits and pieces that I enjoyed - some clever prose popped in and out - but I really didn't much care for the stories. 

This had been on my to-read for a while, so I can only imagine I put it on my shelf when I saw there was a story about vikings in it. Sadly, the viking story was my least favorite out of the whole compilation. 

I really don't like reading sad stuff, so that's probably why I didn't enjoy Tower's stories. There was also a lot of meat butchering and general icky things that I just don't enjoy reading about. Most of the stories were told from a male perspective, which is fine, except that it came to be another blah story about a sad, depressed middle aged white man after another and yes, I'm going to say it: if you've read one, you've read them all. Boring, done.

The Marriage Plot

The Marriage Plot  by Jeffrey Eugenides, 406 pages

I've been meaning to read some Jeffrey Eugenides, and this is my first title by him. It's a sort of bizarre love triangle/anti-love story. Mitchell loves Madeleine but she doesn't love him back. So he sets off on a trip through Europe, bound eventually to India, to find himself and explore religion. Madeleine loves Leonard but Leonard is a severe manic-depressive and being with him is like being on one of the most insane roller coasters you could possibly imagine. Leonard seems to love being depressed. He needs Madeleine to make him feel complete but he doesn't think he needs the Lithium his doctor has prescribed. Madeleine needs to feel needed but doesn't realize that in caring for someone else, she neglects herself.
Eugenides accurately captures the complexity of relationships, where in completing someone else, you lose something yourself. His portrayal of the constantly imbalanced relationship and the power struggle within will be familiar to anyone who's ever experienced it.
This is not a light book, by any means, but it's a realistic depiction of a modern love story.

P.S. It's set in the 80s, so there's some fun pop culture references throughout.