The Raising, Laura Kasischke - A Rant

Please allow me to critique rant about this book.  Oh. My. Goodgrief!  

Bone #1: Writing Style.  She was all over the place.  I know this is a modern style that new authors are adopting, but it only works if you're going to place it all together at some point, which never happens here.  She jostles between two different time periods (one year apart, not enough to really tell the difference) while you try to understand what clues or insinuations she's leaving for you.  Well, don't bother.  They lead to nothing, you may have even made up any insinuations in your head because she certainly doesn't explain them at any point.

Bone #2: Lead-ins, outside figures.  Too many times to count during her back and forth writing did she bring in outside figures that she insinuated or outright told you had bigger plots and that would later become understood or would later become central to the main characters.  No.  They're what, just filler, I guess?  For instance, she brings up the littler brother often and insinuates that he has information regarding the relationship of their parents and why they divorce and comes back to it often with more clues only to never talk about it again after you've spent countless minutes trying to figure it out.  What was the point?!  

Bone #3 and the most important: Interminably long and intriguing story only to reveal NOTHING.  After 496 pages of chaos and trying to keep up with her bouncing around and all of these clues and insinuations, the damn woman ends the book with a frickin goose egg.  When it comes time to empty the pockets of secret knowledge, she refuses.  Not in a classy 'I'll leave it up to you to decide' way, but truly even the effing characters don't know what happened to them!  WTF?!  She ends the story 15 years in the future with the characters still without the answers they tried so desperately to find for however many chapters.  Just tooling around in life still wondering because they didn't have the guts to go through with their investigation.  She made every single one of them a toolbag.

So why all the words?  What new kind of writing style is this that leaves your readers wanting to strangle you?  Why BOTHER?!  Ugh.  What a waste.  So dang good for 490 pages, truly disturbing hypotheses are formed with all of the clues, then six pages of "Ha! Got you.  Bet you thought I had some really good plot on hand."

This is one review I read online by Renee C. Fountain from Book Fetish: "However, the answers aren’t so forthcoming. Midway through the book, the suspense peaks and is ripe for the reveal; unfortunately, things are dragged out for another 150 pages. By the time the story is summed up, patience has long expired and instead of a going out in a blaze of glory, The Raising seems to simply dissipate in a puff of smoke. "

15.5 Weeks

I realized yesterday that I haven't been taking any pictures of my growing belly. Mainly because it wasn't growing, but I officially "popped" last weekend, so I guess its time to show it off. Finally it looks like I'm pregnant and not just bloated.

Also, note the hair. My friend Carrie is amazing when it comes to my hair.  My hair really likes her and does whatever she tells it to. I wanted something just a little darker than what I had to blend in with my roots since coloring it often isn't an option. I think she did a great job. Here's where I plug: If there are any ladies out there in Savannah that hate paying salon prices, but miss having salon hair, let me know and I'll get you in contact with my guru. She works out of her home here on the islands.

p.s. please excuse the face. makeup would have been a novel idea. ^_^

p.p.s. The Mr. apparently forgot that in order to take a "belly shot" you must actually shoot from the profile, not an angle.  I think you get the idea, though.

The Waiting Place...

This is exactly how I feel these days.  His genius was always in the words. The exact words to describe the inner turmoil of a person trying to figure things out.

excerpt from Oh! The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss:

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. 

You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. 

Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. 

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true 

that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. 

And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. 

And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. 

Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. 

Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. 

A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! 

Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? 

How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…

or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? 

Or go around back and sneak in from behind? 

Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, 

for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race 

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace 

and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, 

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…

for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, 

or a plane to go or the mail to come, 

or the rain to go or the phone to ring, 

or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No 

or waiting for their hair to grow. 

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite 

or waiting for wind to fly a kite 

or waiting around for Friday night 

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake 

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants 

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 

Everyone is just waiting.

--------------------

It makes me want to sit perfectly still until it all passes.