Changing Destiny

There are a few books that I’ve come across in my time that I’ve clutched to my chest, tears running down my face, and felt  a brief moment where I know I’ll never find anything that will quite compare.

“The Serpent King” by Jeff Zentner is one of them.

Wow, this book was incredible. Zentner tells the story of three teens; Dill, a singer and songwriter with a dark past; Travis, a literally enormous boy who is a total softy as well as a fantasy nerd, and has his own family secrets; and Lydia, an up-and-coming fashion blogger with big dreams.

The three explore the dangerous territory of high school together, but the reader is given peeks of their lives when they are alone. Dill’s father, a signs minister who handled snakes and drank poison with his congregation, was imprisoned for child pornography.
He carries the name Dillard Early, the same as his father’s and father’s father, and throughout the book, he wonders if perhaps the name itself is a curse; if he maybe carries on more than just the name.

Travis, six-foot-six and 280 pound teddy bear, lives in the fictional world of a series of books called Bloodfall. It is a welcome escape from a verbally and often physically abusive father. Throughout the book, Travis finds his moments of bravery and learns to stand up for himself and the people he love, like Dill and Lydia, and, especially, his mother.

Lydia meanwhile, carves out a persona for herself online. She is a starkly independent and driven young woman, an excellent heroine for the story. However, she is not perfect. Her blog is an edited and fictional version of her life, where she never mentions her two best friends and yearns for the big city life. This causes problems between her and Dill, who loathes to think of his world without Lydia in it.

The book takes a tragic twist that makes them face their oncoming future, which, after a brief period of darkness, looks brighter and more beautiful by the end of the book.

This book is about being brave, about growing up, and about changing your own destiny. Zentner is a spectacular writer, weaving poetry into his prose. He describes the most beautiful moments, and the most heart-wrenching moments in incredible detail.

When I finish a book and feel changed, I know it was worth it. This book was a spectacular read. I hope others read it and feel the same.

An Insufficient Interpretation

I have to get something off my chest: I am sick of over-hyped books.

Recently I read “Cinder,” which I’d heard such incredible things about, and found it to be nothing more than okay.

This month, I felt inclined to check out “Dorothy Must Die” by Danielle Paige. This book has been all over my Instagram feed like a quickly spreading virus. I loved the cover, and thought the synopsis sounded interesting.

Here’s the truth buried beneath the eye-capturing font and pulse pounding synopsis: “Dorothy Must Die” is cliche and completely uninteresting. The story focuses on Amy Gumm, a rebel without a cause, and not the good kind. She literally has no cause other than the one she is dragged into by the wicked witches of Oz. She hates her mom, then feels guilty about hating her mom, and this becomes a never-ending cycle of “who is the antagonist here?” She is pushed along her journey, rather than having any drive of her own.

Then, of course, there is the ever-present hetero romance. She has heart eyes for every boy she meets, despite having much bigger problems. Romance is a common complaint from me when it comes to YA novels. When done right, I do enjoy a good love story. But a girl fawning over a guy for no reason other than that he is hot… frankly, it makes me gag a little.

I love Oz, and I especially enjoy Gregory Macguire’s re-imagining of Oz. In Macguire’s Oz, the line between good and wicked is blurry. Rather than trying to explore gray areas and the blurry line, Paige simply makes the good guys the bad guys. She takes beloved childhood characters and turns them into horrifying caricatures. The Wicked are the good guys, the good guys are wicked.

Perhaps it’s unfair of me to compare a modern classic to Paige’s novel for teens, but I almost felt cheated as I read this book. I felt like a story I loved had been violated by poor writing.

I haven’t even finished Dorothy Must Die, and I don’t know that I will. Every time I pick it up it makes me groan.

Don’t make the same mistake I did. It’s a good looking book, certainly, but it’s not worth the money, or the trouble.

A modern mystery

I love stories. I read voraciously, and binge watch Netflix. Few people know that I also have a weak spot for podcasts.

Radio dramas have made a comeback in recent years in the form of podcasts; the very popular Welcome To Night Vale started in 2012 and has gained popularity ever since. Those following WTNV are bound to, like me, branch out to other podcasts. I have listened to a variety of podcasts, and gotten very addicted to several ongoing stories.

Today, though, I’m here to talk about a specific podcast. Tanis.

Tanis is produced by Pacific Northwest Stories, and is the convoluted journey of Nic Silver, PNWS producer. Nic is obsessed with a mystery: the mystery of Tanis. Tanis is set up as a sort of place with a foggy history. A place, or thing, that moves around and influences the area it’s in. As Nic brings himself and his listeners closer to finding Tanis, he sprinkles in horrific stories of serial killers, deadly hotels, and people who went insane. He posits that the sometimes bloody history of the Pacific Northwest was influenced by Tanis.

However, there is the idea that those “worthy” of Tanis can reap it’s rewards. Nicholas Flamel comes into the story at one point, and Nic hypothesizes that Tanis is a sort of fountain of youth.

As Nic tries to unravel the mystery of Tanis, his new-found partner in crime, Meerkatnip (a fake name, obviously; no other name is revealed throughout the story besides MK), tries to unravel internet mysteries. Usually a whiz with computers, she becomes frustrated by ghosts (people who don’t exist online) and a numerical sequence.

His search for Tanis brings Nic into government conspiracies, and leads him to a brainwashing cult. He is threatened and drugged, and yet, admirably, he continues his search for answers. He is driven on by the idea of one last mystery in the world.

Early on, Alex Reagan, host of The Black Tapes Podcast (another podcast I am hopelessly addicted to) begins reading journal entries, presumably written by someone on their way to Tanis. There is an element of cosmic horror to the entire podcast, but the horrors really come to life in these journal entries. The narrator loses track of who they are, and sees horrible things, including trees that bleed, impenetrable darkness during the day, and something they refer to as “the blur,” a sort of force that makes them forget who they are and where they are. These narrations, underscored by slow, dissonant chords, are undoubtedly one of the best parts of the show, especially for someone who loves their horror.

The season finale, uploaded last Wednesday, was as exciting and creepy as I’d come to expect from this fantastic podcast. Nic and his producers gave us listeners a wild, mind-bending plot-twist and set up the story for what will assuredly be a fantastic second season. Now comes the frustrating part of listening to a podcast: the waiting.

If you don’t think podcasts are your thing, it’s time to re-think. Try Tanis out, I guarantee you will be hooked.

Just another YA novel

The phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” is total baloney. It’s not a secret that I love books. And I don’t just love them for the words inside. I find books aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, I am bound to pick up a book based on its cover. I like a nice font, pretty colors, loud patterns.

I’ve been steeped, lately, in the bookstagram community, a place where I see photo after photo of beautiful books. I have been particularly drawn, lately, to the Lunar chronicles, which were recommended to me years back.

I finally talked myself into reading ‘Cinder,’ the first book in the series after several people told me that I’d love it. In fact, I did have an affair with this popular YA novel, but I will say that “love” is not a word I would use in our relationship.

All things said, I can see why the series is popular. The story was certainly entertaining. It is easy to read, which makes it difficult to put down.

However, it was also difficult to get into. I wasn’t grabbed by it, or compelled. I saw the inevitable love story immediately (which, granted, I knew about going in), and I was unimpressed with the vague, futuristic world that had been created.

Going forward, I began to enjoy the characters more. I found myself sympathetic toward Prince Charming (a.k.a. Kai), and more supportive of Cinder’s stubborn will. Cinder, a cyborg servant in her step-mother’s home, plans to escape her life. Meanwhile, people are dying of a futuristic plague and she is somehow immune.  Even the mad scientist, a doctor named Erland who experiments on her, becomes almost endearing.

It is easy to get caught up in the story as it takes a few sudden, heart-wrenching turns. And the story really gets going when the Evil Queen (a.k.a. Queen Levana) enters the picture. She is the Queen of a race that has evolved on the moon. They are advanced to the point where they can control other people’s minds, and the vain queen uses her power to control an entire society too scared of her to rebel.

It is all around a good idea and a solid story. But it was also predictable. At one point, I noted “If this book surprises me, then I am going to be very surprised.”

Despite the beautiful cover, I wasn’t especially wowed by this book. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good YA read and a pretty cover. But I will, by no means, be recommending ‘Cinder’ as strongly as it was recommended to me.

A Modern Classic

I love the theatre. I love being onstage, I love being offstage, I love watching. I love the soft hum of fresnels coming to life. I love the clink of stage rapiers.

One of the things I love the most is watching a play come to life. It is amazing to see an entire progression from the words on the page to the actual production. One sees it best from the seat of Stage Manager; I was a stage manager for two shows while I was in college, a both times I had excellent experiences.

I was lucky enough to take part in watching a show come to life again these past two months, this time as an assistant stage manager for CSC’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s journey is a confusing one at many times. And as the two title charcters try to find out the source of Hamlet’s madness, they do so with much witty, though disorienting banter.

One thing that actually stuck with me after four years of theatre classes is that theatre  is supposed to make an impression on the audience. A good play should make the audience walk away having learned something, felt something, been given any sort of impression that makes them really think. This absurd, existential piece makes it’s actors and viewers ruminate on death and fate. Do we really have any sort of choice? Or is our compass always pointing in one direction?

I can’t imagine a pair to better take on the challenge of Ros and Guil than the two cast in this recent production: Wacey Gallegos and Molly Thornton. Gallegos had a sort of childlike curiosity. He is always delightfully playful onstage, and always full bodied, truly making use of “suiting the action to the word,” as Bill put it.  Thornton, meanwhile, was the ever staunch leader of the two, and consistently full of questions.  Together, the two made the most of every confusing moment, and hilarity ensued despite the tragic ending the two face. (This isn’t a spoiler, let’s look at the title again.)

Just as important to the show as Ros and Guil’s ruminations on fate, choice, and death, is the Player and his merry band of tragedians. The Player, played by Patrick Bergin is almost a shadow, haunting them, leading them to their inevitable fate. Bergin played the mostly benevolent and often jolly player, which just barely covers his more sinister role.

Tom Stoppard, keeping in the tradition of Hamlet, puts on a play within a play. The players put on “The Murder of Gonzago,” which is basically Hamlet in miniature, showing the audience and those onstage that once something is written, it must play itself out. “Things have gone about as far as they can go when things have got about as bad as they reasonably can get,” points out the player.

This show is as meta as they come. One of the most exciting moments is when Rosencrantz leaps from his seats and runs across the room screaming “Fire!” When Guil jumps up ready to run, Ros smiles at her, straightens his jacket and says gleefully, “Nothing! I was just demonstrating the misuse of free speech.” He looks out at the audience, sniffs importantly, and says “Not a move. They ought to burn to death in their shoes.” It is the first and only time Ros or Guil makes any note of the audience. And it serves to remind the audience that they are outside observers, while, at the same time, they have been caught up in the action, the same way the two title characters have.

One of my favorite teachers would always ask while we read Shakespeare: “Have you ever read the play of your life?”

Of course we haven’t and Ros and Guil hadn’t either. “We’ll know better next time,” says Guil, though, of course they won’t. They are forever locked into the already written events of their 95 page lives.

Under the patient tutelage of director, Derek Phelps, who encouraged his actors to play with every moment, the show became quite a magical experience.

I was so lucky to get to see this incredibly weird, meta, tragicomedy come to life. I can’t thank my director or my Stage Manager, Jessica Steffen-Scheppers enough for letting me be a part of it.

If you live in Chadron and you didn’t come see the show, shame on you. If you have the opportunity to see it somewhere down the line, definitely do. This one is called a modern classic for a reason.