Book Review: Every Last Word

One of my recent reads was the young adult novel Every Last Word, written by Tamara Ireland Stone. This book offers a unique perspective into the life of Sam, a teenager living with Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. She deftly navigates both the secretive inner world of her mental illness and the external world of her friends and high school, finding solace in her passion for swimming. Upon meeting Caroline, a new girl at her school, Sam is introduced to a group of teens who are not only supportive but push Sam to reveal more of herself. She gradually begins to grow away from her old friends, but when a reality comes to light Sam begins to question just how deep her OCD has affected her.
There is a lot that this book gets right, the first being that it features a complex and relatable protagonist. Sam is quite fragile in many ways, but her inner strength still manages to radiate from the pages of Every Last Word. Many of the other characters, namely Sue, AJ and Hailey, are also wonderfully developed and play unique rolls in Sam's life. This novel is also well-written, and the author does a great job of incorporating poetry into the fabric of the narrative. A final positive element about Every Last Word is just how well it manages to dive into the essence of someone's mind who is dealing with OCD. This book doesn't make Sam out to be a victim of an illness, but rather makes her seem like a normal and relateable human being just like anybody else.
Where this book falls just a bit short for me personally was creating an emotional attachment to the characters. Although I thought that Sam was very well-developed and complex, I still didn't have much stake in her journey throughout the plot. I didn't feel for her at all, nor did I feel any sort of emotional attachment to any of the other characters. Another element that didn't work was the plot twist towards the end, as I was expecting it from early on in the book. Lastly, I found the character of Caroline to be a bit bizarre. I liked that she represented Sam's strength and positive traits, but how Caroline was developed and introduced to the reader just didn't sit quite right.
Overall, Every Last Word is a well-written young adult novel that certainly delivers on creating a relatable and likeable protagonist, an intriguingly unique storyline, and it gives great insight into the inner world of suffering from OCD. However, it still falls somewhat flat in a few areas and perhaps doesn't quite reach its full potential. Overall, if you are looking for a new book to read that has equal parts real-life issues, romance, tenderness, and humor then this might just be a book that I would recommend you give a try.
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA

Pages: 355

Year Published: 2015

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

How Photography Has Changed

Making pictures in both an authentic and creative way is truly an impressive art. As a photographer I often feel that this amazing form of communication and self-expression is slowly being lost to the modern world that is completely saturated with visual content on a 24 hour basis.
There is absolutely no denying the fact that many incredible steps have been taken in the world of photography since its inception. I am extremely grateful that I can pursue my passion for making pictures without the need of a darkroom, bottles of chemicals, and regular purchases of film to fulfill my impulses. I have the ultimate luxury of making essentially as many photos as I want and within a couple minutes viewing them all on a screen in front of me. I can manipulate and edit to my heart's desire, and I know that Ctrl-Z will always be there for me if I screw up, rendering my original image undamaged. I have had only a minimal level of experience working with film, but still experienced enough problems to know that I should be thankful for the photographical modernities that exist in today's world.
But I also sometimes ask my self, what has been lost? Making photography easier and accessible to a wider audience has rendered it less of an art, and the handful of people out there who are truly passionate and gifted simply need to work that much harder to become known in the photographic world. There is also the problem with image overload, as websites and apps like Instagram and Flickr have made photos become things that nearly everyone interacts with on a daily basis. As more people start seeing images constantly, there is less appreciation for just how much time, thought, and passion went into making that photo.
So maybe next time we're all scrolling through our Instagram feeds, we should take a few moments to really look at each photo we're viewing. Why was the image taken in the first place, and what is it trying to communicate? What do you feel when you're looking at it? Photographs are amazing works of art that communicate myriad emotions, beliefs, cultures, and people from all corners of the globe. Just because there are more than ever before doesn't mean they should be any less valued.

Album Review: Full Circle

The three-member band HAELOS has just recently entered my musical world, thanks to the recommended section on YouTube. As I got listening to more and more of their songs, I realized that I wanted to review their debut album Full Circle here on my blog. Managing to blend a beautiful contradiction of angelic and powerful sounds in their music, HAELOS has created a standout debut album that many listeners will eagerly consume.
Overall Full Circle is laden with masterful instrumentals and vocals, and honestly there is very little to critique about it. Perhaps the only area where the album falls just slightly short of its potential is the repetitious nature of many of the tracks. This results in a slightly insipid sound throughout the entire album, marginally dulling its brilliance.
With this being said, the album Full Circle is highly effective in just about every other aspect of its delivery. The vocals in particular are just enough in the sense that they are powerfully conveyed and filled with meaning, but do not detract from the instrumentals at all. There is also a strong sense of calmness that this album gives the listener, and it provides the perfect soundtrack to listen to while falling asleep or on a late night road trip.
The sound that HAELOS has produced with Full Circle is truly distinctive, making the album stand out from the uniformity of most mainstream music today. If you are looking for a musical artist that delivers on both amazing music and uniqueness then I would highly recommend giving this album a listen.
Artist: HAELOS

Genre: Dark euphoria/Alternative

Number of Songs: 11

Release Date: March 18, 2016

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Molly's Music: Entry 4

So here is yet another blog post detailing my current favorite songs. Maybe it will help you find some new artists to check out. Enjoy the jams, and let me know in the comments what you've been listening to lately.

AlunaGeorge - I Remember:
This upbeat track combines pop and electronic musical elements to create a very catchy earworm. Between its smooth vocals and artistic lyrics, it is certainly worth a listen.


Haelos - Dust:
I recently discovered the band Haelos and love the sound that they create with their music. Their song "Dust" features paradoxically subtle yet extremely powerful vocals, layered magically with a unique blend of instrumental notes.


The xx - Fiction:
I've actually known about this song for a while now, and I'll be honest and say that at first I didn't really care for it. However, for some reason beyond my understanding I've been drawn into the unique sound that The xx manages to create with their music.


Chelsea Lankes - Paralyzed:
The last song on my recent favorites list, Paralyzed is a discovery I made just a few days ago. It's just a good blend of ethereal vocals and a catchy melody that results in a great track to listen to.

Book Review: The Memory Of Light

The Memory of Light by author Francisco X. Stork is a newly published book that I had recently added to my "to read" list. So when I happened to see that my local library had it available, I jumped on the chance to give it a read.
The book begins by introducing Vicky, who has just been admitted into a hospital for attempted suicide. Upon recommendation from her doctor she stays at the hospital for an extended period in order to receive treatment for her depression. It's here that she is introduced to several influential peers who help her sort out her problems and realize what life has to offer. After Vicky leaves the hospital and faces her old life that drove her to the brink of ending her own life, she must find the strength inside her to face the dark thoughts invading her mind.
While reading The Memory of Light, I found myself constantly going back and forth on what my opinion of it was. There were brilliantly written moments that did a fantastic job of describing the visceral feeling of mental illness. The author was very poetic in the way that he described several themes throughout the book, and his personal experience with depression and suicide certainly lended themselves to this strong descriptive writing. I also liked all of the main characters in this book and thought that they all captured unique points of view regarding just how varying mental illnesses can be from each other.
However, this is where the positive elements end. First of all, I had an issue with a lot of the writing and the general flow of the words in this book. Several paragraphs needed to be read multiple times in order to grasp who was saying what. There was a clunkiness that was hard to overlook and it impeded the reading process. I also found myself not emotionally connecting with any characters in The Memory of Light. They were all well-developed and likeable enough, I just simply did not care what happened to them or have any empathy for their conditions at all. A final issue was with how this book deals with the treatment of the main characters. Their doctor randomly up and takes them to her ranch for two weeks, which simply struck me as odd and extremely unrealistic. I understand that this is a work of fiction, and authors have the freedom to write whatever they desire in the pages of their work. However, it just seemed out of context with the rest of the book and didn't bolster the storyline at all.
So in conclusion, The Memory of Light was a somewhat disappointing book. I wanted to love it, but in reality it was somewhat of a struggle to get through. I had to mentally motivate myself to pick it up and read a few chapters, and ended up just marathoning through the last 100 pages just so I could finish it and write this review. There are a few short-lived moments of pure brilliance and wonderful writing where the author transcends the printed word and you can physically understand what mental illness feels like. But these moments are severely masked by the mundaneness of the rest of the book. Overall, I would let this novel be and choose a different book to quench your thirst for a good read.
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Genre: Drama/Mental illness/YA

Pages: 325

Year Published: 2016

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆