Makenna Knighton

Book Review

Published on May 23, 2020May 3, 2020 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

The New Girl by Harriet Walker

Publisher: Ballantine Books, May 19, 2020
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 293
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Pre-order the book locally.

Summary

As fashion editor for Haute magazine, Margot seems to have the glamorous, picture-perfect life of any girl’s dreams. Looking forward to deepening her relationship with her oldest friend Winnie through their shared experience of pregnancy, Margot prepares and looks to the future, even handpicking her maternity replacement, Maggie.

But when Winnie’s baby dies, their friendship falls apart as Winnie rejects Margot’s attempts to reach her. Margot spirals into negative cycles of neuroses as she grapples with her repressed trauma from an accident years before, her fears of her own baby’s death, paranoia that Maggie is too good of a replacement in her job, and the intense pressure from a social media harasser that seems to know a little too well how to jab her where it hurts.

Though focused primarily on Margot’s anxieties and struggles, this engaging thriller also contains scenes from Maggie and Winnie’s perspectives, as the three women’s lives become more progressively, and darkly, intertwined.

Thoughts

I picked up this book one evening intending to read for fifteen minutes before starting my homework—only realizing that I had forgotten about my homework hours later when I actually gasped out loud at the unexpected ending. Walker’s writing pulled me in immediately, and the characters felt so real I forgot I was reading until the very last pages.

Besides being totally gripping and engrossing, The New Girl also provides insightful glimpses into female insecurity, motherhood and career, and the effects of cyberbullying, among other subjects. By dusting the veneer off of an outwardly perfect life, Walker reveals the gritty reality of the anxiety of comparison and compulsion for her vivid characters.

With consistent pacing and a surprising ending, this page-turning debut would be good fit for those who like thrilling surprises, complex relationships, high fashion, and/or unreliable narrators.

Thanks to the Changing Hands Bookstore for providing an ARC in
exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

Staff Book Spine Poetry

Published on May 7, 2020October 7, 2020 by Makenna Knighton1 Comment

Since we were unable to meet in person for a social event this semester, our staff connected through a virtual book spine poetry reading, a great option that was both bookish and fun. Over video chat, each staff member shared a picture of their book stack, where they’d arranged book titles into a poem of their own. We found our results engaging and thought we would share them below!

Rachel, Editor-in-Chief

Wicked
headstrong,
big, little lies
FOOL
wise blood.

While creating this book spine poetry about the steadfastness of lies, I had to keep reminding myself to work with the titles I had on my bookshelf and to not get distracted by my wandering imagination. I needed to restrict my vocabulary to that of the authors in my library. In this challenging writing practice, I was reminded that limitations force us to be creative in new ways. What at first seems to be an unfortunate obstacle can actually help us to think differently and to create uniquely. As many of us find ourselves in uncertain and seemingly impossible situations during this new season, I think one hopeful silver lining is that this resilient, creative force we each have is able to thrive in moments of limitation.

Payton, Managing Editor

Losers. 
Dispatches from the 
other side of the scoreboard;
Great expectations.
Girl, wash your face,
Eat, pray, love,
I'd give anything.

My poem is about the struggle with perfectionism (very close to my heart) and the growth/pain of learning to accept weaknesses, picking yourself up, and not letting accomplishments or met/unmet expectations define your worth.

Makenna, Communications Coordinator

This is What Happy Looks Like
This is what happy looks like:
a light in the attic,
love and gelato,
our family recipes.
Happier at home:
no one can take your place.

I dedicated this poem to my twin sister, who recently returned from eighteen months away from home on a service mission in another country. It represents our experience in two-week quarantine at home which was full of love and happiness through our reunion together as a family.

Roxanne, Staff Writer & Communications Coordinator Apprentice

Diary of an Oxygen Thief
A Dance with Dragons,
Imaginary Friend.
A Wrinkle in Time,
The Fault in our Stars.
Two by Two,
The Tenth of December.

The process behind this poem was a little chaotic. I essentially pulled out all of the books I have from my bookshelf at my college housing and stacked them in various ways, but it took a while to find a combination that I liked. Finally, I decided Diary of an Oxygen Thief was a great poem title, so I started there and moved down the line. I wanted to make sure it flowed like a poem, so I made sure some titles had determiners in them like “a” and “the” to add some separation. While it is still kind of list-like to me, I liked that it almost reads like thoughts or words someone (an oxygen thief?) jotted down quickly in a notebook. It adds an element of mysteriousness and that kind of became the mood of the poem in the end!

Edward, Staff Writer

Pity the Reader 
We the Animals 
In the Dream House

I composed my poem specifically about the sound, wanting to put unique titles together.

Abhilasha, Staff Writer

Matters of the heart
Trouble the saints—
The cheapest nights,
Dead land.

When we’re emotionally involved, the lines between right and wrong get blurred. Matters of the heart need a margin of human error. Also, the most imperfect things can be beautified by a loving gaze—the cheapest nights, a stretch of barren land.

Jade, Staff Writer

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living:
Now that you're here, 
Don't be a stranger. 
Rise and shine, 
Chasers of the light: 
Start something that matters.

When creating my book spine poem, my mind immediately went to the current state of the world and the fear and anxiety we are all undoubtedly feeling. My poem is meant to be a response to this and a reminder that the important things in our lives (connection, love, meaning) still exist amid the uncertainties. While worrying is an inevitable part of life, it’s important to remind ourselves that we can still choose to focus on the important things in life that bring us joy and a sense of meaning

Mackenzie, Staff Writer

One Hundred Years of Solitude: 
The Stranger Ruins 
All the Bright Places

My process for creating this poem was to try to construct a narrative, so I looked for a book title that contained a verb and worked from there. I also tried to incorporate different genres of books I liked so that it represented what I like to read.

Erin, Staff Writer

Lost Souls
Waiting
On Earth we are briefly Gorgeous
Mumbo Jumbo

My book spine poem was created by grouping together titles that evoked similar feelings or images. Although I was working with a limited collection of my books, I enjoy how the poem turned out. My untitled poem is about the feelings of confusion and uncertainty that are plentiful in the world right now. For me, the poem acknowledges the beauty of being human in a largely chaotic world.

Sharon, Staff Writer

"no rules!"
RULES
exciting times
but
hey, kiddo
look
both
ways

As my daughter turns 18, her thoughts are consumed with the “no rules” lifestyle that she believes college will bring her. My poem is about my acknowledgement that these are indeed exciting times, but hey kiddo, you have to look both ways and not get tripped up by your own sense of freedom.

Amanda, Staff Writer

Into the wild, wise child
What dreams may come
With wicked, reckless 
Beautiful creatures
Catching fire
Crazy making
Writing magic

My inspiration came from Reckless and Beautiful Creatures being next to each other on my bookshelf. This poem is about being a writer, and how the writing process includes a little bit of chaos and darkness.

Bonus: Mackenzie, Staff Writer

History
A Dark History, The Tudors. 
The Source: 
Six Wives. 
—The Executioner's Journal.

I used my history books to construct a little joke about the craziness that is Tudor history. Enjoy!

Book Review

Published on March 21, 2020March 14, 2020 by Makenna Knighton2 Comments

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 31 March 2020
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 463
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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Summary

For fans of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Janice Hadlow has imagined the story from the perspective of “the other Bennet sister,” Mary, who was always perceived as less physically attractive than her sisters and thus shunted into the background.

Now, Mary gets the spotlight and, finally, a fully fleshed-out character. Key scenes from Austen’s novel are told from Mary’s perspective and then her story continues in describing her life after her sisters’ marriages.

Mary struggles with finding her place in the world, especially in a sense of home. She tries living with Jane and Charles Bingley, then with Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, and then an extended visit to Charlotte Lucas and William Collins, but in each place she lacks purpose and belonging, and she cannot rid her mind of the stinging retorts of Caroline Bingley. It is not until she goes with her aunt and uncle Gardiner in town that she begins to discover who she really is and what she really wants for her life.

Thoughts

As an unashamed Janeite, I was thrilled to read more imaginings in the world of Pride and Prejudice, and The Other Bennet Sister did not disappoint. I loved being able to dive back into 95 (yes, 95!) more chapters of life following the Bennets. Hadlow’s portrayals of the scenes from Austen’s original novel read faithfully, as were her representations of the characters. In particular, she captured Charlotte Lucas Collins’s characterization and choices strikingly well.

Without giving away Mary’s ending, I will say that even the predictability of the conclusion was satisfying. The echoes for Mary’s experiences from what Elizabeth suffered during the latter part of Austen’s original were tastefully included.

Overall, watching Mary’s progression from a little girl in her sister’s shadows to a confident woman capable of securing her own happiness was even more delightful than the pleasure of seeing beloved Pride and Prejudice characters in new scenes. For that reason, I could recommend this book to readers looking for a taste of Austen’s characters and themes even if they haven’t read Pride and Prejudice (although knowing that story first would definitely make this read a much richer experience). And for other Janeites, this is a first-rate addition to your Austen bookshelf!

Thanks to the Changing Hands Bookstore for providing an ARC in
exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

Shakespeare on the Border: a talk with Ruben Espinosa

Published on February 27, 2020February 15, 2020 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

Guest speaker Professor Ruben Espinosa is coming from El Paso to ASU! He will speak about the intersection of Shakespeare and Latinx culture in film, media, fiction, and social networks.

Using border epistemologies to analyze the significant literary legacy for Latinxs, Espinosa will discuss the value of recognizing the influence of the underrepresented Latinx perspectives in the ongoing study of Shakespeare.

You won’t want to miss this free, public, thought-provoking talk!

For more information, click here.

Location: Lattie F. Coor Hall 4403, ASU Tempe Campus

Date: Tuesday, March 3

Time: 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Price: Free and open to the public

Ruben Espinosa, an associate professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Shakespeare Association of America and is co-editor of “Shakespeare and Immigration.”

Book Review

Published on October 10, 2019October 4, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

Relief by Execution by Gint Aras

Publisher: Little Bound Books, 8 October 2019
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 94
Format: Paperback
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My Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary

Beginning with an illustration of the “deep connection to the dead” felt from the European cobblestone streets, Gint Aras begins his story when he is just about to visit the Concentration Camp Memorial nearest to his former Lithuanian home for the first time, announcing his intention to imagine himself not as a victim but as a perpetrator. Switching to past tense, Aras describes formative moments and impressions in his life, from a childhood in the violent West Chicago suburb Cicero in a physically abusive Lithuanian immigrant family to his time in Europe and then back in America.

Aras charts his progression from one who silently accepts and ignores abuse to one who identifies and confronts this behavior, whether it be the Lithuanian complicity in Nazi atrocities towards Jews during WWII to more broad racism, Anti-Semitism, and physical violence. He then ends the memoir back with his visit to Mauthausen in present tense recognizing a “relief by execution” for both prisoner and guard.

Thoughts

The tense and section changes in Aras’ work were somewhat disorienting for me personally, but his easy, conversational style immediately made me feel as involved in his realizations as he was. Though I have not suffered PTSD or uncovered a family and national history of abuse and atrocity, reading Relief by Execution allowed me to experience the emotions and sensations of these moments along with Aras.

In my admittedly brief experience, I too “sense a deep connection to the dead any time I stand on cobblestones in Europe” (1). Aras’ narrative provides a clear individual perspective on how the aftermath of WWII still affects thought patterns today, suggesting that we may not have left those atrocities as far in the past as we may wish to believe.

Since Aras provides such a personal and approachable take on the complicated conceptions of ethnic identity, race, nationality, and abuse, I would recommend Relief by Execution to anyone (high school age or older) who seeks to understand how our individual identities are affected by our cultural and familial baggage.

Thanks to the publicist at The Next Best Book Blog for providing an ARC in
exchange for this honest and unbiased review.

Book Review

Published on September 30, 2019September 28, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

Check Me Out by Becca Wilhite

Publisher: Shadow Mountain, 2018
Genre: Proper Romance
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
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My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary

Greta’s best friend Will promises that he always delivers on her birthday presents, and this year he out-does himself, fulfilling her wish for a perfect boyfriend. While Greta is shelving books at her job as an assistant librarian, Will arranges for her to meet his cousin, Mac, who is single, incredibly attractive, and even seems obviously interested in Greta, based on his adorably poetic texts.

Greta falls for Mac quickly, enjoying the free hot chocolate at the cafe where he works and his clear interest in her, but she can’t help but wonder why he is always so much better at expressing himself in texts. Busy with research and planning various events to save her beloved library from impending foreclosure, Greta has to recognize what she really wants and whether she is willing to go far enough to get it.

Thoughts

Honestly, I was afraid this book was going to be too cliché, but it surprised me in a great way. I ended up reading it all in one sitting, not even just to see how Greta’s relationship would end up, but also because her character arc was so compelling.

In Check Me Out, Becca Wilhite crafts a charming world where Greta takes the reader between the library and the cafe with increasingly more dramatic stakes and powerful recognitions. The romance is not as uncomplicated as it seems from Greta and Mac’s immediate mutual attractions in the first chapter, and Greta’s purposeful choices provide a sense of more weighty thematic elements than just “and they lived happily ever after.”

Greta has poignant interactions with her mother and the library neighbor Mr. Greenwood, and her friend Marigold is simply delightful in her memorable appearances on the page. In the end, the only aspect that felt too cliché was Mac’s relatively flat character, though I fully acknowledge that that was part of the point of his presentation in the novel. Even with that minor wish for more depth, I still really enjoyed this book! You should all go check it out!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, clean romance, especially all those who can see themselves as readers who are dedicated enough to do anything to save their town’s library.

5 Academic Classics Worth a Re-Read

Published on August 29, 2019August 24, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

For us ASU students who are just starting to get used to the routine of this semester, here’s a list of six books that may have been on your school booklist in years past that it may be time to dust off again. Contrary to popular belief, most of the books we read in English class are chosen for a (very good) reason, so I thought it might be very good to revisit some of my favorites. But don’t worry, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (as valuable as it is for every sophomore in America to endure the agony of this reading assignment) didn’t make today’s list.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee. First off on the list is Harper Lee’s beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, a favorite read from high school for many. As you likely remember, the narrator Scout’s refreshing tone provides a glimpse into the racially divisive setting of the 1930s American South as her father Atticus Finch defends a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman. With Scout’s honest realizations about race, class, and individual responsibility, this book is especially timely for today’s climate. It’s time to pick To Kill a Mockingbird off your high school bookshelf and take a trip back to Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression for a reminder that our natural conceptions of innocence and responsibility are filtered through biases of class and race.

The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank. Many of us haven’t opened a copy Anne Frank’s diary since junior high, but her painfully acute realizations about human nature through the harsh realities of years of hiding during World War II are well worth another look. Though undergoing intense danger, much of her account shows the day-to-day monotony of her situation, with a realistic portrayal of what it felt like to live in her environment. Her story is critically important as one of the few non-American narratives that has entered into popular culture in defining the experiences of Jews in the Holocaust, and provides an accessible lens for viewing genocide—including those that have occurred more recently.

The Giver – Lois Lowry. Lois Lowry’s The Giver is often taught as a children’s dystopian novel, read aloud in elementary school classrooms across the nation. But, Lowry’s work also contains themes vitally important to the modern adult, especially concerning memory, interpersonal relations, and the role of government in controlling people’s lives. When 12-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly utopian society, receives a unique career assignment, he begins to learn the real history of his world and ultimately makes a difficult choice to create his own destiny apart from the governmental system’s prescribed methods. His decisions, and their necessity in his world, provide great insight into our own challenges.

Things Fall Apart – China Achebe. It is wonderful that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is taught in high school classrooms, but sometimes this prevents us from seeing it holistically, instead treating his work as defining a particular, singular perspective on the world rather than illuminating possibilities for understanding colonialism. Achebe’s chronicle of how things fall apart when white colonizers arrive in a Nigerian village offers implicit commentary about the Nigerian culture and about the colonizing culture, as well as the complications of navigating the intersections of these conceptions.

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Expuéry. After reading Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince in high school English, I had a significantly different experience revisiting this work in college French. The somewhat biographical, somewhat fantastical, account of a pilot’s encounters and adventures with the Little Prince has a much less substantial plot compared to other books on this list, however, its themes are no less critical. The Little Prince teaches important lessons through the observations of a precocious child, suggesting paradigm shifts from traditional adult mindsets to a more dream-driven lifestyle. It’s a quick read, but a valuable one.

Storyline Slam: “Adulting”

Published on August 21, 2019August 17, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

It’s time to head back to school, so this is the perfect time for a Storyline Slam about Adulting! Right after the first week of ASU classes, join Changing Hands Bookstore at their Phoenix location for another Storyline Slam focused on adulting life skills.

Ten storytellers (drawn at random) will have six minutes to tell their own stories based on the theme.

With crowd judges, prize money, and an hour of adulting stories, you won’t want to miss this latest installment of Storyline Slam!

Book Review

Published on August 14, 2019August 9, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

Atlantia by Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books, 2014
Genre: Dystopian YA novel
Pages: 320
Format: Hardback
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My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary

Feeling trapped as a hidden siren in the underwater world of Atlantia and forever recognized as the daughter of the beloved deceased leader Oceana, Rio Conwy is desperate to go Above. But her twin sister Bay unexpectedly chooses to go Above instead, without leaving an explanation. Heartbroken and alone, Rio is forced to find answers from the only family she has left—her mother’s sister Maire, the dangerous siren.

As Rio attempts to find out why her sister left and to get Above herself, she discovers secrets and truths about her family and herself, and the Divide system now separating her from Bay. Rio learns to recognize the strength in her own voice through unexpected ways as she unearths the past and determines her future.

Thoughts

Admittedly, Ally Condie is one of my favorite YA authors, so I was a little biased in favor of Atlantia when I chose it off the shelf. However, even for those unfamiliar with Condie’s other award-winning work, Matched, this stand-alone bestseller is sure to be a satisfying read. Though Rio’s story presents serious themes that are handled justly, the narrative retains a feeling of enjoyable entertainment throughout. In particular, the races in the deepmarket have a pleasantly exciting rhythm. The style of the narration flows and fits well with the subject matter, and the ending is appropriate without being unrealistic.

The romantic relationships in this book were paced well, although some of their dialogue and scenes came off somewhat stilted. The romance was the weakest narrative aspect for me personally. The dynamics between family members or friends felt more natural and engaging. In particular, I felt that the difficult decisions at the end for Rio and Bay were well structured, showing the progress and strength in their connection from the beginning when Rio’s world was ripped apart by Bay not explaining beforehand why she had to go Above.

I would recommend this book to any YA reader who enjoys page-turning dystopian fantasies with beautiful world-building and expert character development.

Book Signing: Faye Hamilton’s “Rescue 12 Responding”

Published on August 5, 2019August 3, 2019 by Makenna KnightonLeave a comment

Looking for action and emotion amidst starkly realistic events? Come to Changing Hands Phoenix on Tuesday, August 6th at 7 p.m., where local Arizona author Faye Hamilton will be signing and speaking about her book, Rescue 12 Responding—a novel based off her decades of paramedic experience.

Hamilton’s book follows paramedics David and Jonathan, whose lives are profoundly impacted by a call about a drug overdose at a teenage party. Answering deep questions and provoking poignant memories from various characters, Rescue 12 Responding reveals the surprising depth of emotional complications and insights of paramedics.