Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood

*Note: I've been using the older ISBN system but, I know the system changed in... 2007 or 2008 to a 13 digit code. It's encouraged using the 13 digit one but I'll switch so everyone is sure what book i'm talking about.
* Second (less important) note: Another class book! I'm going to Barnes and Noble to get actual 'fun' books Saturday but school books always take priority! I'm a little frustrated but my class list requires all seven. This is number two and i'm already halfway through the third. I'm getting there lol. ANYWAY!

Book:  Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by  Benjamin Alire Saenz  published 2004 
ISBN 13:  9780060843748
How I found this book: School list
Average Goodreads rating: 3.97 stars (out of 414 ratings)
My rating:... 5 out of 5 dinosaurs! 

    I know I said i'm already getting sick of class books but this one actually felt like something I would pick for myself. It's considered YA and it was a hit book among teens when it came out ten years ago (or at least according to my teacher). 
      
     This book kind of reminded me of a  Mexican american version of The Fault in Our Stars. They're both about two teenagers who are actually going through real life problems. Also... *spoiler alert* Juliana is tragically murdered by her abusive father along with her entire family. I'll admit... that scene got to me. I didn't exactly consider this book a love story though since Juliana dies within the first few chapters, so I think the main point of the story was how Sammy dealt with her loss.
       
     This book captured so many issues in one. Sammy loses more of his friends, one of them being Pifas who is drafted to the army and eventually killed by a roadside bomb. Another close friend Jaime is forced to move to another state once he is discovered to be gay and is almost beaten to death (this is 1969). Added to the more central issues like racism, poverty, and coming of age. 
     
      The way the Hispanic race is treated during this book is horrible. Teachers openly say the they don't like Sammy to his face and treat him like he has no right to have an education alongside white students. All of the students are given crap and then expected to take it. The preacher calls him and his friend an animal right inside of church. When a Latino girl Gigi, runs for class president 
(and wins according to the student vote)  the principal overrides the vote and she still loses. 

       Juliana never did get the chance to tell Sammy she loved him. However in the roughly 50 pages where she was alive I had no question that she did love him. The reader can just... feel it. I'm not sure how to explain it exactly but she acted differently with Sammy than the other guys. Juliana wasn't the type to just fall into someone's arms like the classic storybook princess and openly confess her love. She was too strong of a girl for those kinds of things, she didn't want or need to be protected by anyone. Knowing how badly she had been abused, she had to be that way. Juliana always had her guard up and wasn't exactly trusting. Saying 'I love you' requires a lot of trust, and  I think she would have eventually gotten to say it to Sammy when she was ready. Her life was just too short to have the chance. 

    I really think this book was beautiful. There was so much rage, hurt, and fear in these pages and I couldn't put it down. It really made me think to myself about how far society has come in terms of being accepting of not just race, religion, and sexual preference, but just people in general. This book took place 45 years ago and how far we have come since then is really encouraging but we still have a long way to go. There is still hate in this world and there probably always will be. I would like to think that it gets better every year. I'm still young and I can't wait to see how things will change in my own lifetime. In just a few hours another year will pass and we'll just have to wait and see what the new one brings us. 
         Thanks for Reading! Happy New Year!                       - R 

1984

Book: 1984 by George Orwell published 1949
ISBN: 0451524934

How I found this book: School book list

Average Goodreads Rating: 4.09 stars (out of 1,396,869 ratings)

My Rating: 3 out of 5 sleeping puppies


    1984 by George Orwell is a classic dystopian novel that stars a 39 year old man named Winston Smith. In Winston's world, Oceania everyone is constantly under watch through futuristic tv sets that broadcast government propaganda at all times. Everyone is not allowed to say or even think anything negative towards the party or Oceania's mysterious leader, big brother. Winston himself has a job altering historical documents to favor the government knowing full well what he is doing and the consequences of doing so.

   A key point in the book I have to mention, is the slogans of the party:

                                                          War is Peace 
                                                    Ignorance is Strength 
                                                     Freedom is Slavery
  
 There is lots of discussion about the meaning of these statements floating around, but my interpretation of them is this... 'War is Peace' In Oceania the people are united by having a common enemy. While the people are busy participating in Hate Week they are distracted and their hate is directed an outside force instead of at their own government. It also acts as a way to burn resources as stated in the book of the brotherhood Winston obtains.
      
          'Ignorance is Strength' A common theme in dystopian literature is the idea that government leaders are hiding important secrets from the people under the rational that 'what they don't know can never harm them'. Which seems like an almost good idea on the surface, but as shown in these novels time and time again is, it never lasts. 
     
      Another frequently used trope in Science Fiction and YA literature, 'Freedom is Slavery' if people are free to think for themselves they will fail. That is what tyrannical leaders say in order to keep people afraid and in their power. However, a literate, individual minded person is dangerous to an unjust society. They are aware. Awareness is the first step in changing a situation which is what the party of Oceania fears.
         
            One of my favorite parts in the book is the complex character relationship between Winston and his young lover, Julia. Throughout the book I kept going back and forth over ''do they really love each other''. Yes they have sex. That doesn't necessarily mean anything emotionally. I was under the impression that Julia, a twenty something year old girl seduces Winston just for sport. She is against the party but whenever Winston wants to have a deeper conversation on this she seems distant, uninterested. Nearing the end of the novel she throws him under the bus and confesses him to the thought police. Granted, he does the same eventually. But Winston doesn't betray her for a very long time proudly saying to his torturer, ''I have not betrayed Julia''. He thinks of her while held captive. He definitely had some feelings for her but I don't think she shared those feelings on the same level.

         I did this book a lower rating. There were a lot of good points brought up by Orwell in this book about both government and philosophy and I do have respect for this novel. However, it was a very dark, heavy book. I'm almost used to YA fiction in which the main character gallantly saves the day and we have a happy ending. I kept finding myself waiting for that to happen and in a way I was disappointed I didn't find that.

             Thanks for reading!                                 - R

Invisible Man

Book:  Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison published 1952 

ISBN: 0679732764 

How I found this book: 

AP literature class optional read +  School librarian recommendation

Average goodreads rating: 

3.8 stars (out of 89,433 ratings) 

My Rating:

4  of 5 purple elephants  


     One of the most interesting things about this novel is the nameless protagonist or 'Invisible Man' as he encounters adversity as an african american man in the 20th century. The book is full of deep, well written metaphor to the extent where you could probably read this book ten times and see different things each time.  Even the first page took my breath away. It was both frighteningly real and hauntingly beautiful how the narrator describes his invisibility.
 
   The book made me angry in a good way. Mostly because of the sheer injustice bestowed upon the black community. A great example being the powerful scene in which the main character wakes up in the hospital after an accident at his brief job at a paint plant. He overhears the doctors discussing his controversial treatment -shock therapy- and how they would never use it on a 'harvard graduate' but he was fine since he was just so inferior. I was both disturbed and angry at this.

     However I was also somewhat upset his character. He was a definite pushover in that he accepted the torment of both the white community and the brotherhood. I do realize that this was a core aspect of the book and related to his invisibility how he grows as a person and learns to develop his voice and figure out who he is.
       
      I can't write about this book without mentioning the relationship of the narrator and Brother Jack. At first I had good feelings about the both the brotherhood and Jack. They seemed to have good intentions and Jack seemed to be kind (however a little quirky) but as the novel progressed it seemed to grow darker and darker. Evidence of corruption began appearing in the brotherhood and we learned of Jack's mistress, Emma. Jack cracked down harder and harder on the protagonist's speeches and I started questioning whether they were still even on the same side. Near the end of the book I wasn't as shocked when it was revealed Jack had written the threats to the narrator. I took both the change in Jack's attitude and the warnings of Ras the exhorter about ''deception of the white man'' as foreshadowing to this.
   
  The reason I deducted a purple elephant... The book was a little hard to understand, slow in a few places (granted, what did I expect? It's a book for AP lit) But mostly I hated the treatment and lack of representation for women in this book. The leader of the women's rights group... supposedly an activist for equal treatment and lower sexualization of women decides not to discuss her activism when the narrator meets with her, but to have sex... I mean, come on! Later in the novel, another woman named Sybil throws herself at him wanting not to talk to him for anything except to convince him to take part in her graphic rape fantasy. Also, no main characters were women. (Unless you count Emma but her appearance in the story was super brief)

   But overall I think this was a great depiction of struggle in black society that isn't exactly shown in history books and the story is beautifully written. It's a classic book that I believe everyone should read at some point of their lives.

                   Thanks for reading!           - R
     

Welcome!

  
       Welcome to my blog! With the new year comes new excitement and for me, a new blog.
 I sort of unsuccessfully tried to do a blog a couple years back but I thought I could try starting fresh. My blog will mostly feature my passion for books. Ever since volunteering at the local library recently I've been getting into reading more and more. 

   *  I mostly read YA fiction but on occasion I'll read classics or modern adult fiction. 

Anyway! Hopefully this will be a fun experience for us both :)


                                                                                         -Rios