Review: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was a little hesitant to read this book. I already find I'm too overwhelmed with the news, and already so upset by what's happening in the world. I knew about this story, was angered by it, and did I really need all the details? And yet, I also felt a need to hear this story, because victims deserve to be more than a description in a news story. When I saw that it was available at the library, I put the audiobook on hold. There was a long waiting list, but it became available fairly quickly. Once I started the book, I understood why. Very hard to put down once you start.

This book is amazing. It's about much more than Chanel Miller's assault. This event was the catalyst for her writing and the journey through the legal system that put her life on hold for more than a year. But along the way, in this book, she tells us not only what she went through, but also observes what women in general must endure when walking down the street, when finding themselves in uncomfortable situations, when they're trying to navigate the world after an assault. She delivers her analysis with a laser sharp focus of how the world treats women.

Her explanation of catcalling is one of the best descriptions I've ever read. I wish I could present this to the teenage boys I work with, who claim that telling strangers in random places that they're beautiful is a compliment - seemingly clueless as to why this feels more like a threat to the recipient. It's an argument we have on a regular basis, not made any better when the boys turn to a girl and say, you'd appreciate it, right, is someone you didn't know walked by you at the mall and said, "You look good." And the girl, wanting to show the boy how cool and not feminist she is, says, "yeah, it wouldn't bother me." Alas, I remain the crazy, angry feminist who knows nothing of how the real world works.

I would listen to this book on my way to work in the morning, and sometimes during my planning period, if my classroom was empty, which meant the story was very much on my mind once my students entered the classroom. As we they were working on their art projects, and talking about life in general, I would mention the book. I was heartened to hear some of the comments from the boys in my class, and their disgust with what had happened. They were adamant that men shouldn't act like that, even if someone was drunk, so hearing things like this give me hope. I liked that this book did provide me with a way to discuss topics like this with them.

Throughout the book, Miller reflects on other news events and the way these events are perceived by the public and the media. We very much live in a culture that devalues women, and women's experiences, wanting always to provide excuses for men and others in privileged positions. Her own experiences have allowed her to view these events through the lens of someone with first hand experience with the media, law and public perception.

I think one of her most astute observations though was when she said, instead of everyone saying of victims, why didn't they report, she now feels, after going through this experience, "why would they?" She explains that she was in a position in which she could pursue this case - she was through with school, she was in an okay financial position, her family and boyfriend were supportive, she lived near the court house. But a lot of people don't have that, they have school, or jobs, or children that depend on them. They can't take off work or fly across the country and deal with the frequent rescheduling and long, drawn out process of the legal system. In Miller's case, there were multiple witness who saw the actual assault, there was ample evidence, and she reported within 24 hours, and still it was a long drawn out case which turned her life upside down. Even after all she went through, and her assailant still being found guilty on three charges, all he got was three months in jail - her medical expenses - including the $1,000 visit to the hospital on the night of the assault - weren't even covered. Technically, he was supposed to pay, but he was unemployed so it would have to be a payment plan, and most likely, they would find a way to get out of it. So what does a person gain by reporting they were raped? What if there weren't witnesses, what if they weren't able to gather evidence at the scene of the crime?

Such a powerful book, one I'm going to think about and talk about for a long time. I wish everyone would read it, especially those who don't understand what women go through on a daily basis. I sort of want to buy multiple copies and hand them out to encourage people to read them. This book is so important. I'm really glad I decided to listen to it. And the audio version is read by the author, adding another element of strength to this story.

Also, I loved that she turned to art as a means of healing. For much of my life, I'd planned to be an art therapist. Instead, I'm a high school art teacher, but I see the value of art daily and was glad to hear that Miller felt it was beneficial in the healing process.

Miller is an excellent writer, and comes from a family of writers, I imagine there will be much more from her to be read in the future.


View all my reviews

Review: In Paris with You by Clémentine Beauvais

In Paris With You by Clémentine Beauvais
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn't like this story much at all. It's written in verse, which is not something I've ever read - except maybe in school. That didn't bother me all that much. It made for a quick read and I thought it flowed well.

What I didn't like were the characters. I didn't think it was much of a love story at all. Eugene's a horrible jerk. He and Tatiana first met when they were teenagers, after being friends for a while, Tatiana told him she had feelings for him. He rejected her, then did something fairly awful, involving her sister and her sister's boyfriend - who was also his best friend - and it's ten years before they see each other again. They run into each other one morning, and Eugene becomes obsessed with Tatiana. Most of the story is all in his head, what he wants, what he assumes. Tatiana seems a little more sensible about the situation, but then the story took a dive when she mentions being interested in someone to her sister. Her sister then goes on about how she must do anything for love. It doesn't make sense at all because ten years earlier, this same sister completely ridiculed her then boyfriend because he was too in love - which is exactly what she's encouraging with Tatiana.

After reading this book, I learned it was a modern take of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin - which in not something with which I am at all familiar, but it's classic Russian literature. That explains why the characters behave the way they do - they follow the original story, even having the same names, but I still didn't enjoy the story. The characters just seemed like jerks. It doesn't work in a modern setting, at least not for me.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.


View all my reviews

Review: Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this at first. The format is a little weird - it's like one big interview, so it's all just quotes for example:

Daisy: I liked doing drugs and hated people telling me what to wear.
Jon: Daisy had big eyes and little skirts, and very long legs. Everyone looked at her when she entered the room. They couldn't help it.
Daisy: I didn't care it people looked at me.
Karen: I wished Daisy didn't put so much focus on her body.

(None of those are actual quotes, just an example of the format. Other than a few italicized paragraphs at the beginning of some chapters, the entire book is like this.)

I nearly gave up on this book early into it. Not only did the format bother me, but I got so tired of reading about how beautiful, and wonderful, and gifted Daisy was. She tells you how great she is and then everyone being interviewed talked about how great she was. And all she did was lots and lots of drugs.

But I got used to the format and eventually the story included people other than Daisy. Daisy was by far my least favorite character in this story. At no point in this story did I like her. But I liked the other people in the band. Karen was my favorite. I really liked the relationship between Billy and his wife Camilla. That felt real. The story won me over, by about the 30 or 40% mark, I couldn't put the book down.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in stories about rock bands, especially those during the 70s and 80s. It's fiction, but I felt it could describe what a lot of bands went through.



View all my reviews

Review: Speak by Leslie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book a lot. It's the story of a high school student who is dealing with a traumatic event, and feels unable to talk about what happened. The story is about how she copes, or at times, doesn't cope, and eventually finds the strength to speak up.

My students and I were moved out of our classroom a couple of week ago as a result of a competition our school was hosting. I took my things to the library, planning to do some work, but finding myself in a room surrounded by books, not much work is going to get done.

I've been hearing a lot about this book because the author recently wrote a follow up called Shout. Speak was written twenty or so years ago, but that was a time when I wasn't reading young adult. I was in my twenties, and didn't become a teacher until my 30s. Even now, I don't read a lot of young adult because I spend all day with young adults, my reading time is my escape from them. But on that particular morning, I noticed the book prominently displayed as part of the library's March Madness competition, so I picked it up to look at it. Started reading and kept reading. (This was during my planning period, no worries, I wasn't neglecting my students.) When my students arrived, I asked the librarian if I could check out the book - I really wasn't sure if teachers were allowed to check out books, but I learned that we can.

My biggest concern as a teacher, was the way the student perceived school and her teachers. I started asking my students if they'd read the book, and if they had, do they view school the way the student in the book does? "Do students really think teachers don't care?" - I kept asking my students, even if they hadn't read the book. One student said, "Yeah, we think that about most teachers, but not you." (Well, I am the art teacher - the one teacher in the book that shows some compassion and understanding.) "What about cliques? Does that exist at our school? Is this something that's here that I'm not seeing because I never leave the art hall?" and I got a resounding "No, our school isn't like that. That school was bad, we don't have that here." And that made me feel a little better.

I didn't finish the book that day, and it remained in my classroom for the next week. Students kept noticing the book on my desk, and asking about it. So I would tell them what had happened so far - and then they started telling me things: "Oh, that happened to my friend at a party," one student said. A boy asked, "Did they arrest the guy?" "No, she won't tell anybody." Boy: "Why not?" And then it was explained to him that no one believes girls when they tell, and the girls are often told they wanted it or was in some way their fault. And these boys seemed so confused.

I'm glad I read this book, because while I think I understand my students and I believe they know they can talk to me, it made me realize that there are always things happening in their lives that we don't understand, that they can't talk about. This book is powerful in that it shows students they aren't alone, that bad things do happen, but that a person can survive and overcome those things.


View all my reviews

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book made me angry, and I despised Evelyn Hugo. I had to keep reminding myself that this was fiction, and that there was no point in getting so angry about someone who wasn't even real..

Hugo has invited someone to write her life story, to be published after her death. It's her way of confessing her sins, setting the record straight - so to speak. She did horrible things, and to her credit, she's very blunt about all she did. She used people, she had sex with people she didn't like just to get things she wanted, she lied all the time, she manipulated the press to get attention, she treated the people she claimed to love horribly. Even in telling her story, she is completely using the person she's manipulated into writing her story - and when it's revealed why, it's really awful.

And maybe I would have appreciated this book more if there had been some acknowledgement of what a bad person Evelyn was. But in the end, it was all summed up as if she'd done some powerful, brave thing in telling her story. How brave is it to reveal all after the person is dead? That's not brave, that is complete cowardice. Finally revealing the love of her life because she felt exposure was important - but that isn't what she did. She kept her true love hidden her entire life, only allowing others to find out in a book that would be published after she was dead. And this so-called true love, she had seven weddings that she made sure the entire world knew about - rarely for love, usually for the attention. When she decided she wanted to "marry" the person she claimed was her one true love, she made the suggestion in bed, said they should just say vows to each other - again, keeping it secret, never revealing in until her posthumous biography. Also, saying she wanted the world to know that none of it mattered, she never cared about the fame, only the people she loved. She may have said that, but none of her actions supported that, not at all. Easy to make claims like that when it's all over, when the fame is well-established and everyone she loved was gone. Of course she's saying they're important now, because she realizes what she lost. Everything she did was for the fame, and she repeatedly abused or neglected the people she said she loved so much.

Even though so much happened, and there were so many highs and lows in the various relationship - seven husbands and several other lovers - there was a coldness to the story. I never felt any sort of emotion. The big, great love story did not feel at all convincing or passionate, and that was disappointing. The idea was great, but the presentation made it seem like just another convenience for Evelyn.

I read this because I saw so many people saying it was great. And I admit, Hollywood stories are intriguing, but if that's what you're interested in, there are so many Hollywood biographies and memoirs out there to read - authorized or unauthorized. I've read a lot of those, and that could be another reason this book didn't work for me. I felt like the author had taken bits and pieces from stories about actual Hollywood stars to build Evelyn and they simply didn't work for me because they felt like bits and pieces, not a complete, complicated person.







View all my reviews

Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really good book. The author captured the details and feelings of being alone so accurately. Like some of this story, the descriptions of Eleanor going about her life, the routines, the organization, hit really close to home. I can't relate to the horrible, tragic backstory, but I know very well what it's like to go through life alone - and living in a world that doesn't understand people who are alone.

I really loved the characters, all of them. I loved seeing how Eleanor gradually began to allow people into her life.

The twist at the end, I was sort of expecting it, but I wish there had been more elaboration. Like it was accepted so easily and they just moved on. But maybe I feel that way because I wasn't ready for the book to end and let the characters go.


View all my reviews

Review: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am very much a political junkie, and so as soon as I saw this was available at the library, I requested it. I like what I know about Kamala Harris, but I don't know all that much, so, of course, I wanted to learn more.

I was a little worried this was going to read too much like campaign literature, but I actually found it very interesting and an enjoyable read - and I'm now an even bigger fan of Kamala Harris.

This book is a bit about her personal life, we learn some about her parents and her childhood and her education, but much more so about the work she'd done in her career as district attorney in San Francisco and Attorney General in California - and how her personal life has influenced the decisions she made at work.

Through her work, Harris has dealt, in-depth with topics such as crime, trafficking, immigration, the housing crisis, and health care. By reading this, I felt as if I gained a much stronger understanding of so many of these issues that are affecting the United States right now. Much more information that can be gained in tweets and soundbites on TV. She talks about how these issues affect the government, policy making, communities, and of course, individuals. One thing I liked most about the book is way it makes the political personal - we all hear, "this law does this and this" and in this book, it's explained in such a way to also show how these policies effect families, such as your neighbor who doesn't have a platform on the evening news.

Also, what I liked about this book is that while she does present issues that are having dire consequences on the U.S., she also presents ways to solve those problems. She has ideas, a vision. this isn't just complaining and pointing out what's going wrong. She backs up every problem with a way to fix it - and she's blunt about saying, this way may not work, but you won't know until you try - and nothing will change if you don't try to change it. As depressed as I often feel about the state of the world, this book provided a sense of hope.

I'm trying to make sure I write this as a book review, and not a review of Harris. So suffice it to say, I did enjoy the book. I think anyone interested in politics and wanting to learn more about what's happening in the United States would gain from reading this book, even if you don't consider yourself a Harris supporter. This book has a lot of good information in it. After reading this, I feel like I have a better understanding of what's happening with regard to immigration and the opioid crisis - both topics I hear about all the time but knew little about.

Also, since Harris announced her candidacy - there have been a lot of horrible things said about her on social media by people of both parties - and a lot of that is addressed - such as some of the laws she supported in California. It's easy to misinterpret things when you don't know the whole story. I felt better about supporting her after reading this.

This is a good book if you're interested in stories about people involved in politics, especially modern day politics - because Harris has been on the front lines for a lot of this. It's well-written, has a very thorough notes and index section - so if you're doubting any of this information, you can click on any of those links if you've got the e-version and read the full stories. I'm very glad I read the book - and I'm especially glad Harris is running for president - based on what I read in this book, she understand the law, knows how it works, and cares about the people she represents.




View all my reviews