Author: Rachel Hagerman

Rachel Hagerman graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies) in May of 2021. With the help of her two English major besties, Makenna Knighton and Payton Kline, Rachel founded the ASU student-run book blog, The Spellbinding Shelf, to give college students practical writing and editing skills as they build an online community for fellow book lovers. During her time at ASU, Rachel helped spearhead projects for the university's first-year composition program as a Senior Writing Mentor. Today, she works as an Account Director at MDS Communications Corporation, where she has the opportunity to help nonprofits in their fundraising efforts so they can carry out their important work.

Book Review

Published on June 21, 2019June 29, 2019 by Rachel HagermanLeave a comment

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 544
Format: Hardcover
Buy Local
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary

This book is about horse races, first loves, and storytelling—but it’s also about guilt, loss, grief, and family: brothers, fathers, and a many-named mother.

The novel tells the coming-of-age story of five Dunbar brothers whose father disappears after losing their Chopin-playing, Homer-loving mother to cancer. Later, their father returns into their lives asking for help to build a bridge. All of the brothers refuse to help, except for Clay.

The book peers into the lives of not only Clay, but all the family members and those whose stories intertwine with the Dunbars.

Thoughts

Let me start off by writing that Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is one of my absolute favorite books. I first read it in elementary school, but the characters still stand vividly in my mind. That being said, I was a bit anxious to read Zusak’s latest novel, Bridge of Clay. He hadn’t published in over ten years, and—even though I had waited excitedly for the new book—I was afraid to start reading Bridge of Clay. I was hesitant because I wanted to enjoy the characters in the new book as much as I love Rudy Steiner and Hans Hubermann from The Book Thief.

When I finally worked up enough courage and time to give his new novel a fair reading, I must admit I was shocked by the first 100 pages or so. The novel isn’t at all what I was expecting. Though published and marketed to a young readers audience, I think that this novel better fits an adult audience. I worry that a younger audience might pass up this book as insignificant or boring, when I feel the novel is anything but that.

This book contains carefully crafted, beautiful, lyrical prose with a clear influence from famous Ancient Greek writing. A classics lover at heart, I appreciated all of the subtle (and many not-so-subtle) references to the great Homeric works—from the epithets to the home address to the pet names to Penelope’s reading preferences.

You’ll notice a few lines towards the end of the novel borrowed from earlier in the book. I believe it’s this repetition that closes the work so gorgeously. This stylistic choice is Zusak at his finest.

As much as I adore the sophisticated writing and mother character who feels very real to me, I also recognize that Zusak took some big risks when crafting this novel. With a highly detailed and incredibly emotional family history, temporarily withheld information (sometimes for hundreds of pages), artistically vague description, and switchbacks in both time and storylines, the book can be difficult to follow. It demands a patient audience. It begs for your emotions and your empathy. And this sort of book might not appeal to a large audience, particularly not a young readers audience.

It’s a beautiful book, but Zusak makes you work for it.

And I’m glad he did.

8 Mysterious and Fantastical Island Novels

Published on June 14, 2019June 21, 2019 by Rachel HagermanLeave a comment

Are you stuck indoors avoiding the summer heat? Praying that your air conditioning survives the next couple of months? If you’re like us in the Valley of the Sun, you are ready to escape the desert sun trapping you inside the house. Join us as we let our imaginations carry us far from the Sonoran Desert, over wavy ocean waters, and into some mysterious and fantastical islands with excitement and danger lurking around every corner.

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie. Back in the late 1930s, a mysterious writer lures eight strangers to his island by sending personal letters making tempting offers like a job interview or a summer vacation. When the guests arrive, a butler and housekeeper explain that their hosts, married couple Mr. and Mrs. Owens, have left a set of instructions for each stranger to complete before their arrival. The next morning, the guests begin to disappear one at a time—and the murder accusations begin flying.

The Magus – John Fowles. Bored by his teaching position in England, young Oxford graduate Nicholas Urfe decides to teach on a remote Greek island. Here, he meets local millionaire Maurice Conchis. What first looks like a promising friendship quickly devolves into a dangerous game that leaves Nicholas questioning the difference between reality and deception.

Snake Ropes – Jess Richards. On an island off the coast of Scotland, a mysterious building stands called Thrashing House. The novel is narrated by two girls, Mary and Morgan, who both come from broken families. After the young boys on the island start to disappear unexpectedly, Mary and Morgan must track down a lost three-year-old son with the help of magic. At the heart of the story, the girls confront trauma and healing in a fantastical manner.

Shutter Island – Dennis Lehane. Shutter Island is home to the secluded Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. When one of the high-security patients, murderess Rachel Solando, escapes from her cell, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule, are called in to crack a code and solve the mystery of the missing patient. This psychological thriller is sure to keep you at the edge of your seat, but be careful—not everything is as it seems.

From the Mouth of the Whale – Sjón. It’s 1635 and Icelandic Jónas Pálmason has been banished to an island for blasphemy. Stuck in exile, Jónas recalls an exorcism, local massacre of innocent whalers, and mythical marvels—like bezoar, a magical stone with healing powers. This lyrical text blends science and magic to form a strange sort of beauty.

The Island of Dr. Moreau – H.G. Wells. Once cast aside for its terrifying depiction of scientific possibilities, this 1896 science fiction novel has since inspired several movies and is now a successful classic English novel. Between the shipwreck, abandonment, humanoid creatures, and jungle chase, this creepy novel is sure to feed your need for adventure and the grotesque.

The People in the Trees – Hanya Yanagihara. Anthropologist Paul Tallent and doctor Norton Perina travel to a remote Micronesian island to find “The Dreamers,” a tribe of islanders who enjoy mysteriously longer lives than those in the outside world. Perina believes their power stems from a rare turtle living on the tribe’s land, and, tempted by the promise of longevity, steals a turtle for research. When he proves the turtle’s magical properties to the scientific community, Perina believes he has finally found success. But he quickly learns otherwise.

Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton. Scientists have discovered a method for cloning dinosaur DNA. This gives billionaire John Hammond the perfect opportunity to open Jurassic Park, an island dinosaur amusement park. When paleontologist Alan Grant and paleobotanist student Ellie Sattler are invited to a weekend visit to the island, they are met with a technological difficulty and biological nightmare. After you’re done reading the book, you can blast the A.C. while you stream the famous blockbuster film!

Author Event: Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls

Published on June 7, 2019June 13, 2019 by Rachel Hagerman1 Comment

Get ready Eat, Pray, Love fans: Changing Hands bookstore is hosting an author event with Elizabeth Gilbert, the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and her most recent release, City of Girls.

Gilbert’s latest novel, City of Girls, is a fictional love story set in New York City. In the book, 89-year-old Vivian Morris recounts her experience dropping out of Vassar College and moving to live with her Aunt Peg who owned a crumbling theater house in Manhattan. It’s here that Vivian met a very outgoing stage crew that helped shape the course of her life.

A Letter from the Founding Editor

Published on June 1, 2019October 26, 2021 by Rachel HagermanLeave a comment

Welcome to The Spellbinding Shelf, a book blog named in a sprightly first editorial meeting held right outside of a busy Fry’s Marketplace. (You know, inspiration can strike anywhere!)

We are here to share our love for books and bring our individual reading preferences to the table—and the bookshelf. An Arizona State University student organization, we will also promote the local literary community by interviewing authors and advertising literary events here in the Valley of the Sun. You might even find us attending an author meet-and-greet or poetry reading!

My personal hope is that this blog creates a space for ASU students to gain practical writing and editing experience as they bolster the literary community and foster a love for reading outside of the classroom.

Of course, I can’t introduce this blog without thanking the peers that have helped me spearhead this project. I am incredibly grateful for my friends and fellow bloggers, Makenna Knighton (our Communications Coordinator) and Payton Kline (our Managing Editor). I admire their insight and creative spirits and am so pleased they have joined the team. I also want to take a moment to thank the wonderful Professor Tara Ison for supporting our project as our faculty advisor.

We hope you join us in our reading journey, searching for those books that make us laugh, shout, cry, learn, relearn, and challenge ourselves—those books that feed our minds, souls, and conversations.

Sincerely,

Rachel Hagerman, Editor-in-Chief