Laura Smith writes with precision and honesty in the third book of her popular Status Update series. College girls need to read this entire series. ItLaura Smith writes with precision and honesty in the third book of her popular Status Update series. College girls need to read this entire series. It’s Addicting, even more than the first two books, asks readers to consider their own lives and the blinders we all wear. The college roommates in this series, and especially in this book, struggle with the most authentic of issues—the sometimes subtle but often overwhelming addictions we all cling to. In the end, the answers aren’t easy or pretty, but Smith, with characteristic gentleness, pushes readers to see that clarity and hope come from one place—a God who seeks us as fiercely as we seek Him. ...more
Debut young adult author Rajdeep Paulus has crafted a story riddled with pain and terrifying uncertainty. Readers, most of whom will have never experiDebut young adult author Rajdeep Paulus has crafted a story riddled with pain and terrifying uncertainty. Readers, most of whom will have never experienced anything remotely similar to protagonist Talia’s nightmare, will emerge from this story with more compassion for children and teens who are forced to live life with a contrived duality. There are many masks these children must wear depending upon where they are and who can see them.
Talia and her younger brother, Jesse, aren’t just dealing with a father whose moods and whims make their lives tough. They are literally living in danger every day of their lives. The dark sickness of their father is reminiscent of the twisted nature of Dwight, the stepfather in Tobias Wolff’s memoir This Boy’s Life—including forced, inappropriate chores, horrific abuse, and public humiliation. But, while Wolff dreamed constantly of running away and even attempted to leave several times by reaching out to others around him, Paulus’s characters only try once, and the memory of that failure haunts them. They never breathe a word of the atrocious way they live at home—not to teachers, school counselors, neighbors, or law enforcement. Paulus leaves it to us to figure out why, and the reasons are psychological, but not based in a reality that we understand.
Enter a tenacious, stubborn boy named Lagan Desai, who sees Talia at school and for some reason decides his mission will be to pull the new girl out of her self-imposed silence. He does this in the only way possible—through small, unobtrusive gestures of kindness that slowly gain Talia’s trust. As readers might imagine, Talia is not a girl who trusts easily—especially not males. But Lagan sees a spark in her that he wants to nourish, and he does, very sweetly. He’s a character who is able to step around his own popularity and busy-ness and invest a great deal of time in this odd girl who shields her face with hair and every inch of skin with clothes.
This is not a bubble-gum, high school sweetheart kind of story. Lagan shows a maturity rarely seen in high school kids, and, although Paulus never says it outright, she intimates that Lagan’s nature has been honed through a deep faith and a spirituality that has been nurtured. Our nation and our world have experienced such devastation in recent years that the only thing I look for now in people is kindness. I don’t care who you are, who you have been, or who you will be, if you are kind to others, I love you. This is Lagan. He sees in Talia a girl who is suffering in monstrously large ways—inexplicable ways—and his only response is kindness.
It is here that we find the redemption in Paulus’s story, because for so much of the book, we wonder if there will ever be hope for Talia and Jesse. Lagan gives Talia so much through a book about a gardener who whispers hope into her soul and lights a spark that becomes movement. It becomes lightning. It becomes escape. No, we don’t all experience abuse like this, but we all experience hopelessness and paralysis that rob us of abundant life. When someone steps into our mess and holds out a seed, a sliver, of kindness, we feel hope flutter. This, readers, is the message of Swimming Through Clouds.
I recommend this book to older teen readers due to the mature thematic issues and intense scenes of abuse....more
