Month: January 2023

The Goal by Elle Kennedy is a romance novel that follows the lives of two college students at Briar. The chapters switch between the perspectives of Sabrina James, a dedicated law student, and John Tucker, an important member of Briar’s hockey team. As the two navigate their unexpectedly tangled lives things become more complicated. Sabrina being dead set that she can manage her future on her own must now grow accustomed to Tucker’s constant efforts to be a part of her life. They both must figure out how to make their very different lives work together, for their sake and others’.

I really enjoyed this book as it showed how quickly your whole life can change, and how you must adapt to that. Elle Kennedy showed two very different types of dedication through different characters, which made them each more relatable. It felt as if I was along for the ride with Sabrina and Tucker while they figured things out. I feel a good book should pull you into the story, make you feel a part of it, as I did while reading The Goal.

The ending was very full circle and typical, however it felt comforting. Knowing the characters, the ending gave just enough compromise on both characters’ parts to be happy with each other. It was a well-written ending that showed maturity.

If you like the typical happy ending romance novels this is a good book for you. It shows the characters coming of age and growing together. The Goal portrayed realistic events for many people in a relatable way. It is a good book to get lost in an alternate yet realistic world.

“When he speaks, at last, his voice is weary and defeated. He doesn’t know how to be angry with me, either. We are like damp wood that won’t light.”

The Song of Achilles tells the story of the Trojan war and the years before when young Patroclus has been exiled from his kingdom. The young Prince meets and falls in love with Young Prince Achilles and later the two venture off to war together after training for many years in the mountains. Despite Achilles’ best efforts to protect his lover from his fate foretold by the gods, Even a demigod cannot protect Patroculus from what awaits him.

Achilles and Patroclus are introduced to us at a young age. Patroclus was exiled to Pithia after a deadly act of violence. For many people, Patroclus is simply the side hand to the great hero of the Trojan war, however, Patroclus was not only a skillful healer but was a warrior to be feared.

Miller uses her own rendition of the classic story to give us new sides to characters that everyone knows yet she is able to keep the story engaging and interesting because although it is based on the Illiad by Homer she makes it completely her own in a way that not only makes it easy for younger audiences to understand the story of the classic tragic hero that is Achilles but she also takes the preexisting characters and takes the relationship between them and turns it into something that would transcend the test of time.

The Song of Achilles is a story of friendship, love, and honor but it also unfolds the cruelty of men and war and how it affects so many others. The book explicitly tells a story about how sometimes a person can become the very thing they never thought he would become. While the Greeks Achilles is a leader and a great warrior Patroclus is able to see Achilles as what is beneath all that. As the war rages on Achilles refused to lead his troops to battle and became consumed with the honor that Agnamemnon stole from him by taking his property. Achilles lets the stive for honor behold all of his other ambitions for love and remembrance and similarly to the original story, this leads to the end of anything that Achilles held higher than his desire to be remembered for the great hero and lover that he was.

Marieke Nijkamp is the author of the fictional, stand-alone book This is Where it Ends. The story is set during the first day of classes after winter break at Opportunity High School in Opportunity, Alabama. Following the principal of the school’s infamous “welcome back” speech, students are dismissed and told to report to class. It quickly becomes apparent that the auditorium’s doors are completely shut, locking everyone inside with no way of escape.

Finally, the auditorium door opens three minutes after the bells signal the start of third period. A boy with a gun approaches the administration and student crowd. Then, he begins firing.

Throughout the 54-minute shooting, the book follows four different students in a split POV style: Claire, a cross country champion and JROTC drill team captain, Autumn, a Juilliard hopeful with a tragic history, and twins Sylvia and Tomas, who are battling with their own relationship and uncertain futures.

The book, This is Where it Ends, explores the grim possibility of an active shooter entering your school, a terrifying reality that many students worldwide have had to deal with.

The book’s primary subject made it exceedingly divisive when it was initially published, and there are still some very strong discussions about it now. After reading reviews, discussion threads, and articles about the book, I have discovered that some of the primary debated issues are whether it is morally acceptable to write a fictional book about a school shooting when you’ve had no experience with the topic, whether Nijkamp overstepped the mark by injecting drama into delicate, actual events, how accurately she portrayed the fictional shooter, and the fear and anguish of the victims.

I’m not here to respond to these questions, and I don’t think I can do so in a way that won’t spark more debate. In order to answer these questions I think you need to read the book and draw out your own conclusions.

Whether or not one agrees with Nijkamp’s depiction of a school shooting, this book definitely generates discussion and attention to a significant issue in America. Nijkamp provides a note at the end of the novel from herself outlining the purpose of the book and a list of conversation points to think about.

This is Where it Ends, was a really challenging book for me. It was so emotional, tragic, dark, and filled with horrifying words and images. The subjects Nijkamp touches on in this book may be upsetting to some readers especially if you are sensitive to the topic of school shootings.