A STUDY IN TERMINAL: A YA THRILLER BY KARA LINABURG

 Please welcome Amanda Moyer, my guest blogger for a review of Kara Linaburg's suspenseful novel, A STUDY IN TERMINAL (Monarch Educational Services, June 2022). 

REVIEW

A Study in Terminal by Kara Linaburg is a young adult novel telling the story of Sean Brogan, a young man trying to face the demons of his past that have haunted his nightmares since he was a kid. The book broaches intense topics such as self-hatred, depression, and suicide but concludes with hope, healing, and letting go.

We meet Sean first through a page of his journal and a flash-forward to the climax, where we discover that his mother ended her life ten years ago and that he intends to do the same. He has been haunted his entire life by the bad luck of watching people die because he either arrived too late or didn’t have the courage to save them.

His goal is to return to the small town he lived in with his mother before she died and finish writing his novel before following her. His plans change when his motorcycle breaks down just a few miles shy of town, and he gets picked up by the Kenzies, a family he’d known well. Throughout the book Sean reconnects with his childhood friends, Joe and Rina Kenzie, but he never explains that his mother’s death isn’t the only thing bringing him here. He is also being hunted down by his New York gang for betraying them.

Rina delivers a touching theme when she and Sean are talking about Sherlock Holmes. Sean doesn’t think much of the detective because “Sherlock only solved murders—never prevented them,” which echoes his own despair over bad luck. Rina counters: “True, but he had to learn to care for the people first before he could save them.”

When the gang members finally catch up with him, they choose to take their vengeance out on him by kidnapping and threatening Rina. Sean is terrified that she’ll just be one more person he couldn’t save, but his luck finally changes, and they all make it out alive. Despite the victory, the events solidify his determination to end his own life to prevent more people from being in danger because of him.

But this time, Rina saves him.

When she follows him into his abandoned childhood home, he suddenly remembers this wasn’t the first time. She had been there when they were kids, the day his mother died. Since then she has struggled with the same nightmares and the same guilt. She saves him by being present and caring for him. He allows her to meet him in the darkness, a darkness she knows well, and he begins to see hope and freedom he didn’t know was possible. She gives him the power to save himself by showing him that he is worth caring for.

I appreciate that the author set the tone and theme for the book from the very first page which helped me mentally prepare for the rest of the story, but also root for Sean and identify with his darkness. Sean walks out of his childhood home with a different perspective and a second chance at life. He realizes that moving forward and creating a life worth living is the only way for him to let go of the past. The story does mention Christian themes, but never directly says he found faith. In a way, it doesn’t need to. It ends with the beautiful feeling that the story isn’t over, that there is more healing to be done and that Sean will continue moving forward. 

The intense themes and vivid storytelling do warrant a caution for those who, like myself, have personally struggled with mental health, but the ending could not have held as much hope if the story had not held so much darkness. In Rina’s words: “Sunsets remind me that the darkness won’t last forever, that the light will come if I only wait for it.”

GIVEAWAY AND READER'S GUIDE

If you are interested in receiving an E-book, please leave me a comment with your email address by December 4. Remember, I need to approve your comment before it goes live. 

As you can tell from Amanda's review, this book is full of sensitive issues. Click here for the reader's guide that will help parents, teachers, or counselors use A STUDY IN TERMINAL with teen readers struggling with depression and/or suicidal thoughts.

Amanda Moyer lives in Pennsylvania where she works as an accountant. She has always had a love of young adult fiction and fantasy and enjoys writing and worldbuilding with her cousins.

Congratulations to Rebecca Dollins who won THE ORANGE HORSE.

LIST OF TEN: A YA Book Review and TWO Autographed Giveaways!

Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won THE LITTLE THIEVES audio book from last week's blog and to Rosi Hollinbeck who won DIVA DELORES AND THE OPERA HOUSE MOUSE. 

                                                                                ***** 

Tourette (too-RET) syndrome: a disorder that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds (tics) that can't be easily controlled. For instance, you might repeatedly blink your eyes, shrug your shoulders or blurt out unusual sounds or offensive words. 

(From: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tourette-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20350465)

REVIEW

If you've never heard of Tourette syndrome and you're interested in reading a remarkable young adult book which conveys the physical, mental, and psychological pain associated with this disorder, the List of Ten by my friend Halli Gomez is a book for you.

For ten years, sixteen-year-old Troy Hayes has lived with the diagnosis that he shares with his estranged mother: Tourette syndrome. Troy not only suffers from uncontrollable muscle twitches that are accompanied by severe pain, he also has obsessive compulsive disorder. The two together make his academic and social life unbearable. Troy decides that the only way out of his pain is to kill himself.

By page two the reader knows it is only a matter of Troy getting through the other nine items on his "to do" list that he keeps on his phone, before he will take his own life which is #10 on his list. 

So, how did Halli Gomez write a 353-page book and keep the reader interested since the ending has already been revealed?

By raising the question--does he do it? And by hooking every reader into hoping and believing that he doesn't. 

By using deep point of view, Troy's conflicting thoughts and torturous emotions are shown on the first pages. Through his eyes we meet Khory Price, a girl imprisoned in her own life of pain. She is someone who is able to look beyond his compulsion to touch a dirty floor multiple times as he walks down the school hallway, a girl who finds him cute and smart, and a girl who he becomes afraid to hurt.

The novel is full of teenage angst as Troy moves from just being Khory's math tutor, to being a friend, to becoming her boyfriend. He finally wins her protective parents' trust only to blow it when he tries to drive and his erratic behavior on the road attracts police attention. He's busted for driving without a license and his friend is busted for having marijuana papers in the car. But Troy is no normal teenager. The shadow of his list of ten things to do before he kills himself pervades all of his thoughts and drives many of his choices.

Khory is a well-developed, authentic secondary character. She has struggles with her own parents, guilt over being a surviving twin, and gives Troy reasons to think about his purpose in life. 

Beyond amazing "showing not telling" what it feels like to be a person with Tourette, my other favorite parts of the book are when Troy begins wrestling with his decision to kill himself. When his science teacher tells him he has potential, when he is an inspiration to another family whose son has Tourette, when he realizes how Khory will feel when she realizes he lied to her--these were all very authentic and compelling conflicts. 

My least favorite part of the book was when Troy's father attempts to have a discussion about sex and ends the conversation by giving his son condoms. I know I'm in the minority,  but I don't believe literature for young adults should include frank permissiveness toward sex.

So, how does List of Ten end? I won't tell you! But, it is satisfying and it is hopeful. And that should be enough to make you want to read it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As Halli explains in the author's note, when she was eight-years-old, she told her mother she wanted to die. That was when she learned that she had Tourette syndrome; medications and doctors visits became a normal part of her life. A #myownvoices book, Halli wanted others "who have neurological disorders, or who are contemplating suicide, know they are not alone." She has accomplished this in a BIG way. Teens with neurological problems will see themselves and those who don't have similar issues will grow in empathy for someone who faces these challenges. I applaud Halli's transparency in writing a book so close to her emotional home. 

For an in-depth author interview, please see The Winged Pen. In this other post, Halli and some other debut authors provide ideas on launching and marketing their books.

Here is a downloadable pdf of discussion questions and resources.

GIVEAWAY

I have two copies of List of Ten to give away and Halli has agreed to personally autograph each one! Please leave me a comment by April 23 with your email address if you are new to my blog. Share this on social media or decide to follow my blog and I'll give you an extra chance to win a copy--just tell me what you do. 

Sure Signs of Crazy: A Review and Autographed Giveaway!

Congratulations to Linda Phillips who won an autographed copy of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD on last week's blog.

Several years ago I bought Karen Harrington's book, SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY (Little Brown Books, 2013) at a SCBWI conference. As my bookshelves fill up with newer books, sometimes older ones take a back seat. Deciding it was time to read this debut novel, I sped through it in just a few days. For some fortunate reader of this blog, I bet you will too.

Twelve-year-old Sarah Nelson is haunted by her past. When she was two, her mother tried to drown her and her twin brother, Simon. Sadly, Simon died and her mother was sent to a mental-health facility. Sarah hasn't seen her for the last ten years and hears from her only two times a year. More than anything, Sarah longs to know her mother, to have her mother know her, and to not go crazy like her mother did. 

Recently, I blogged about Jan Cheripko's workshops at Highlights Summer Camp about secondary characters. Since I found the secondary characters in SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY to be so well-developed and adding so much to the plot, I decided to show how they contributed to Sarah's story. 

Early on the reader meets Plant, Sarah's best friend. Plant gets moved from one rental house to another and is the recipient of Sarah's confidences and fears. 

Most days when I water Plant, I have a new trouble word to tell her. All of them are mixed deep in her soil. If secrets were seeds, she could bloom leaves that would make me blush.
And if she did bloom and show the world all my secrets, I just don't know what I'd do. Probably I'd lie and say, "Oh, she was here when we moved in. These are the secrets of another girl." (p.  13)

The book begins with the end of sixth grade. Sarah receives an assignment from her English teacher, Mr. Wister, who is another important secondary character. On the last day of school he hands out composition books with the assignment to write an actual letter or story. When the students complain he answers, "Most people don't know what they truly think until they write it down. Don't you want to know what you truly think?" (p. 39)

Without too much thought, Sarah begins a letter to Atticus Finch, one of her literary heroes.

Dear Atticus Finch,
I am writing to you for a class assignment given to me by the greatest English teacher ever, Mr. G. Wistler. He had the idea that we should choose a character to write to. I can't say for certain, but I think I'm the only one writing to you. That is good for me. Most of my classmates are writing to Harry Potter and Lucy Moon. Maybe you've met them at the library. When I was little, I used to think that when the library closed, all the characters came out of the books. (p. 41)

With that, a "correspondence" between Sarah and Atticus begins in which she pours her heart out to him. Although she tries hard to hide the reality of her mother's actions from the people around her, Atticus (and Plant) are safe. They'll never rat on her and they help her feel less alone. 

Lisa is her best friend ("But when you hardly have any friends, best is relative." p.45) who really doesn't serve as much purpose as Atticus or Plant do--except that Sarah hides the truth of her family from her. Lisa is also the girl who is what Sarah wants to be-- a "normal" about-to-be-seventh-grader that has pierced ears and wants her first French kiss. 

Charlotte is the college-aged babysitter who Sarah stays with while her father is at work. She is like a big sister to Sarah, helping her out when Sarah gets her period for the first time and teaching her about make up. But Sarah is more sensible than her babysitter. When Charlotte can't seem to break up with her loser boyfriend, Sarah tries to convince her that she'd be better off without him.  

Because Sarah spends her summer days at Charlotte's house, she meets Charlotte's younger brother Finn. Despite a big age difference, the two connect over their love for words. One day they're killing time watching The Price is Right when an announcer breaks into the show. 

"This is only the second time in Texas's history the charge has been brought forth, the first time being the case of Thomas Nelson following the trial of his wife, Jane Nelson." And there she is, entering my life announced and unwanted. (p. 157)

Finn handles the news with aplomb and later says to her,

"Anyway, we all have big secrets," he says. 

"Really? What's yours?" I ask. "Do you have a tattoo somewhere?" 

He leans into the door frame, studies his shoes."My dad killed himself when I was eleven." 

Then time waits for him to speak again. That's how big the secret is. It has to come out slow. "Apparently, I look just like him, which is a real problem for my mother," he says. "She still has a big reminder of him, you know, whether she wants it or not. So when he died, I sort of lost both my parents, you know. I was mad at both of them, but that doesn't help. I think that's how it might be with your dad." 

I swallow hard. This is the kind of information you want to run and be alone with, dissect it and break it down to be sure you heard it right. 

"It sucks," is all I can say. 

"I agree with your choice of verbs," he says. 

"At least your secret cannot be announced during The Price is Right.  (p. 190)

Sarah's alcoholic professor father, Thomas Nelson, is a very important secondary character. Although Sarah hates his drinking and even at one point pours out his Jim Beam, he is all the parent she has. Her growth is almost in spite of him. At the end of the book after Sarah sees him passed out on the sofa at his parent's house Sarah announces: 

"I'm going to go see her so I can talk. Just to her. I have things I need to day." 

"Couldn't we talk---" 

"No," I cut him off. 

"Maybe a counselor..." 

"No," I tell him again. I want to cry, but the brave girl won't let me. "You are evading. Atticus says a child can spot an evasion quicker than grown-ups. You are supposed to answer my questions." (p. 253)

Sarah tosses To Kill a Mockingbird at her father, tells him to read it and suggests he might learn something from it. 

Easily the most important secondary character is Sarah's mother, Jane Nelson.  The reader mostly meets her in Sarah's thoughts about her, but despite her father's protests, Sarah decides to visit her at the hospital. On the bus trip to the hospital, Sarah writes a moving letter to her mother, pouring out all of her hopes for the relationship they never had. Sadly, Sarah never gets to say what she longs to tell her.  

But her letter writing to Atticus has changed her. Before visiting the hospital they stop by Simon's grave. Afterwards her fathers asks Sarah:

"What did you put on Simon's grave?"

"A page." 

"From the book?" 

"The part where Atticus describes courage. What it means to have it." 

Dad tells me I'm the most courageous person he's ever met. It goes straight to that secret place inside of me where I keep my favorite words. (p. 272)

To win my autographed copy of SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY, please leave me a comment by October 27th. If you decide to follow my blog or post this on social media, I'll enter your name twice. Just let me know what you decide to do and PLEASE leave your email address if you are new to my blog!

The Last Cherry Blossom: Review and ARC Giveaway

In my last post you read the backstory about Kathleen Burkinshaw's middle grade book, The Last Cherry Blossom. Now, here's the review...but be warned, I'm including a spoiler alert!

Fears and Mysteries

Twelve-year-old Yuriko has become accustomed to daily air raid drills and the sounds of American B-29's flying over Hiroshima. But even though the sounds are familiar, she is always worried: Will we actually get bombed? What if the school collapses? Will a desk actually protect me? Is my papa safe? How will I find him if a bomb hits us? (p. 2)

With that foreboding introduction, the reader is propelled into Yuriko's world in 1944. 

Before Yuriko leaves school in this opening scene of The Last Cherry Blossom, she asks her teacher for her grade on her ancestral project she just completed. Yuriko is proud her lineage traces back to samurai warriors in the 1600's. Against the backdrop of her anxiety over the air raid drills, Yuriko does not receive the praise she anticipates. Instead her teacher says, "That is not right."

She leaves without telling Yuriko what's wrong with her paper.  

That question, as well as the appearance of a friendly yet sad stranger, are mysteries snaking through this novel which will appeal to both girl and boy readers. 

No Longer Normal

Yuriko's "normal" is living with her beloved Papa, her Aunt Kimiko  (who she doesn't particularly like) and her pesky, younger cousin Genji, and sharing secrets with her best friend, Machiko. As a member of the upper class she is protected, loved, educated, and the recipient of luxuries like custom-made silk kimonos for the annual cherry blossom festival. 

Her life begins to change when her widowed father decides to remarry. At the same ceremony Kimiko remarries a man named Akira-san and suddenly the house holds two families instead of one. When an acquaintance alludes to a man named Nishimoto-san who would have loved to see her, Yuriko learns who her true parents are.  Like being hit by a bomb, Yurko begins to experience excruciating repercussions in her identity, family, and home life.  

Burkinshaw's use of lines from newspapers, posters, and radio shows at the beginning of each chapter effectively sets the story within its' historical and political context. The next chapter after Yuriko hears her devastating news is sub-titled, "No matter what sort of air raid comes, the neighborhood association will be safe." Since we know what happened at Hiroshima, the neighborhood association's words foreshadow more bad news for Yuriko. 

More Worries

Right after Tokyo is bombed, Yuriko walks into a conversation between Akira-san and her papa. 

 "Do you really think they will bomb our city?" I asked, a quaver to my voice.    

 "Anything is possible in war." As Papa said this my stomach swarmed with butterflies. I ran to him and welcomed his embrace.      

"Papa, are we all going to be all right?" I squeezed tighter. I swear all one hundred million hearts from the radio slogan were beating in my chest. Will fire be raining down on us soon? Maybe we should just live in the bomb shelters? But how is that really living?      

He hugged me close and then stepped back. He looked at me and said, "I will keep you safe."      

Akira-san added, "Our family's safety is our main concern." He glanced at Papa. "But now you should get ready for bed. It is late."      

I nodded and gave him a hug as well. When I got to the door, I turned and asked, "Papa, do you think we will have school tomorrow?"      

I noticed that both he and Akira-san looked up to answer. I did not know what made me feel worse--the fear that this new firebomb could be dropped on Hiroshima next or the tugging of my heart as both men responded to "Papa." (p. 133-4)

The Last Cherry Blossom reflects the mixture of cultures present in Japan during World War II. Yuriko's father loves The Three Stooges movies and she and Machiko listen to American jazz. At the same time, the emperor is considered divine and suicide is an honorable option if one falls into enemy hands. 

Cherry Blossoms

There are many lovely references to cherry blossoms which tie the book together. After attending the annual cherry blossom festival and singing and dancing, Yuriko returns home to a family celebration. 

Once we were all seated, Papa raises his glass and said, "Cherry blossoms are like life itself--so beautiful, yet so fragile that they bloom only a short time. A toast to my family and to enjoying our time together. Kanpai!" (p. 146)

 Sadly, a few months later, the atomic bomb destroys Yuriko's world. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186815/The-nightmare-aftermath-Hiroshima-Parents-carry-burned-children-past-corpses-rubble-rare-photographs-taken-days-atomic-bomb-killed-140-000-people.html

After the bomb is dropped and Hiroshima is devastated, Yuriko faces one loss after another. Overwhelmed by sadness, she is close to giving up her own life. The sight of cherry blossoms falling off a tree help Yuriko choose a path out of despair and into a new life with a new family. As Kathleen Burkinshaw notes in the afterword, "Originally, scientists said nothing would grow again in Hiroshima soil for many years after the bomb was dropped. Yet the cherry blossoms bloomed the following spring." (p. 219)

https://www.parkingpanda.com/blog/post/sf-cherry-blossom-festival

To win my ARC, please leave me a comment by July 28. If you are new to my blog, make sure you leave your email address. AND if you decide to start following the blog, let me know and I'll enter your name twice. You can enter again even if you entered last week. Don't worry- I'm keeping track of the growing list of entries!

If random.org doesn't choose your name, you'll have another chance to win The Last Cherry Blossom in September. Joyce Hostetter and I will be giving away a copy through our next issue of Talking Story on "Radiation: Friend or Foe". And if all else fails, of course you can buy one here!