HOW TO BE A NORMAL PERSON by TJ Klune

This is one of the rare books that everybody who attended likes: Ian, Deborah, Dorcas, Ron, Yen, and Aaron.

As usual, we started off by dissing the book, which wasn’t much to begin with. The book has a typical rom-com formula and Casey is a flat character. An interesting part at this point of the discussion was on the three queens. Their undefined relationship–sisters or polyamoury?–is frustrating for the reader but, at the same time, that is the point of their relationship. While it is interesting to keep their relationship undefined, this also goes back to the long, homophobic history of lesbians having to keep their love in the closet, pretending to be sisters. Not sure if the writer intended it to be lesbophobic. Yen also saw them as the mystical three muses, that despite being authority, they have no answers.

We also spoke about some scenes–phone call with the customer service from the internet company, the trip to the vegan restaurant, Gus googling for the manual in life—and concluded that although the scenes are hilarious, they are also at times sad and realistic about how we try to change for the person we love. But best of all, the novel teaches us about asexuality in an entertaining way. The author, Ian informed us, identifies with being asexual.

For most of us, our favourite character is the lead in the story, Gus; it is rare that we like the main character, and rarer still for everyone to like him. Although it was pointed out that Gus refuses to be categorised, readers would know that he is somewhere on the spectrum. Aaron cautioned that in real life, Gus can be obnoxious in the way he treats people, but the author manipulated readers by putting us in Gus’ POV so that we had little choice but to like him. If Gus isn’t privileged (read: rich), he wouldn’t have gotten away with many of the things he said.

We ended by reiterating how much we liked the young adult novel because it explores and represents asexuality; it shows humour and depths of emotions; it opens us to the possibility of loving someone again; and it teaches us to exist in the unknowability. The author has shown kindness even to characters that he may not have liked in real life; and this demonstration of kindness makes readers want to emulate him.

118th Discussion: The Love of Siam (2007), dir. Chookiat Sakveerakul

Moderator: Timmy
Attendees: Asy, Fatima, Ron, JW, Dorcas

Everyone watched the movie and generally liked it. Initially concerned with the movie’s duration, Fatima concluded that the film was “not draggy” and even cried at the end. Ron, who watched the movie for the second time, found a greater appreciation for the show, especially in its meaning and message.

117th Discussion: The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Moderator: Asy
Attendees: Ron, Dorcas, Timmy

“Have you ever had a crush on, or fell in love with your best friend/s?” Asy asked, kicking off this month’s chill discussion.

115th Discussion: Drag Teen by Jeffery Self

Moderator: Timmy
Attendees: Ron, Raj, Deborah, Hazel, Aaron, Zoe, Dorcas

This is the third young adult book that we are discussing for the year; clearly we are on a roll in spite of everything going on in the world. Unfortunately, the good mood stopped there.

114th Discussion: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki

Moderator: Timmy
Attendees: Aaron, Chris, P, Ron, Hazel, Asy, Raj, Dorcas

What is an 80s-themed party without songs from that era? Following the book’s first pages, Timmy started this discussion by asking everyone about their favourite song/s from that decade, further revealing how old we truly are.

Book Discussion: Candy Everybody Wants by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Attendance: Henry, Daniel, Alexis, Timmy, Mya, Zoe, Vicky, Pierre, Raj, Aaron.

“Hopeful and optimistic.” — Timmy.

“It’s in the details!” — Vicky.

“But it’s the mid-west! It’s the mid-west!” — Pierre.

“Billy is the pet dog, right? Woof woof!” — Pierre.

“The space between the lines is huge… which makes reading easy.” — Alexius.

“Praise the author, not the characters!” — Zoe.

“We went in knowing this book is trashy.” — [I forgot whom]

“The book feels very noisy.” — Alexius.

We also discussed themes such as parenting, family, and diversity; and characters including Toni, Tara, Jayson with a Y, Helene, and Davin.

Book Discussion: Sappho’s Fables by Elora Bishop and Jennifer Diemer

Sappho’s Fables is a collection of three revisionist fairy tales (Snow White, Rapunzel, and Hansel and Greta) given a lesbian twist. Timmy, Shawn, Reynard, and Aaron thought that although it’s not written in a literary form, it is enjoyable. The authors have changed much details from the fairy tales, making it unexpected.

We talked about the sexualisation of the fairy tales and normalisation of sex, removing sex as taboo, providing a safe space in the fairy tales.

Most characters are complex without a clearcut morality. Shawn particularly disliked Greta who is a brat and couldn’t defend herself.

Like most lesbian novels, we wondered why men are portrayed as useless or evil. Perhaps, Shawn suggested, it is lesbians’ way to reclaim power. Seen in this light, the ragers with their physical prowess could be a symbol of hypermasculinity, threatening civilisation.

Interestingly, the stories could be read as the protagonists recovering from various medical conditions: schizophrenia a la Fight Club in Snow White; bipolarity and hallucinations in Rapunzel; paranoia, hysteria and eating disorder in Greta.

Dunno What Nth Discussion: Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On

Dunno what nth discussion because someone hasn’t written the past discussions yet. *passive aggressive mode on* Just kidding.

It’s back to the good old days, with Raj, Timmy and Aaron, like we were at the start of the book club 5 years ago. The book is a fan-fic of a queer Harry Potter—queer because he likes the person, not the sex—and a gay Edward Cullum.

These are some of the things we talk about:

1. Shallow and superficial: Simon wishes father is a footballer, mom is a model (8). All along, Agatha is trying to break out of the “blond cheerleader” typecast, yet at the end, she becomes the damsel-in-distress, and doesn’t even fight to save her life. She wishes she has nicer clothes so that she can die pretty (465). WTH.
2. All characters are queer but with limited character development: Agatha seems to be the most interesting character because she tries to break out of her mold; none of the other protagonists does it. Simon plays his Chosen One role; Penny plays the Hermione role dutifully, and Baz the anti-hero.But Agatha struggles with her emotions, fakes her emotions (9, 74, 75), and claims “we are all monsters” (14), a deep thought coming from a putative “bimbo.” Unfortunately, the damsel-in-distress part is a big gaping plot hole.
3. Treatment of LBGTQ characters: These characters are not human. Baz is a vampire, Simon becomes a dragon/devil caricature; and Trixie is half pixie. There is something homophobic in that.

   That is not to say this book isn’t a book with good intentions. Baz’s difficulty of admitting he’s a vampire (262) mirrors the difficult coming out. His dad, preferring him to be Undead than to be queer, is heartbreaking (215, 279).

   Futhermore, there are two gay sex scenes between the homos, and gay sex scenes are always good, even if they are encoded. First scene: Baz and Simon’s fight scene with the dragon is written in erotic terms: “I did something I’ve never done before—something I probably wouldn’t try with anyone I was scared of hurting. [anal sex hurts.] I push… I just push it into Baz” (239). “His arm straightens like a rod… I push a little more magic. I worry that it’s too much… His shoulder is rock hard… it’s jerking itself…I stop pushing… letting Baz draw on my magic” (240).

   The second scene is more subtle (391).

4. Sexism: No strong male characters, only strong female ones, like Fiona, Baz’s mother, etc.

   

5. Magic as metaphors:
   1. Class: The powerful magicians are always depicted as “rich and powerful,” kept within old families. Magic is also seen as hereditary, which reeks of biological essentialism; we can never transcend our DNA, which means the novel advocates a racist, sexist, homophobic philosophy.

      In a way, The Mage, wanting to liberate magic so that even people with a smidgeon of magic can go to Watsford, and eradicating school fees, can be seen as democratic.

      But Mitali, Penny’s mom, an Indian woman, who calls The Mage sexist for no apparent reason, wants a traditional Watsford, keeping magic for the best students. She also thinks that they are better than Normals (111, 261, 401). In a way, Mitali is supporting the system that oppresses her. Raj thinks that Mitali and Penny are portrayed as a stereotypical Indian family, which makes the novel racist.

      Unfortunately, the death of The Mage, especially at the hands of Baz from an Old Family and Penny, Mitali’s daughter, implies that Mage’s democratic ways are wrong; they revert to the old traditional methods.

      One could argue, as Raj did, that the Mage represents extreme democracy, ie, he is an extremist that he must be destroy. After all, in the end, he wants to be the most powerful magician of all time.

   2. Magic as Commodity: Magic is often viewed as something to be conserved and not to “waste” (38, 78, 186, 187); it is also seen as something to be “eaten” and consumed (47). We didn’t appreciate this cultivation of materialism.
   3. Magic as Objectification: Simon is often objectified because of his magic; he’s “power” (67), a “vessel” (123), “element” (181), “nuclear” (181, 242),  “generator” (258). Simon even objectifies himself, calling himself a “current” (337), and “I am magic” (455). Ebb is also a “generator” (284). Baz is used as a “wand” (254). Penny’s dad is a “book of footnotes” (247). Like the message of magic as a commodity, this sends the wrong message.
   4. Magic as ozone layer: Magic leaves holes, unfortunately, this is not explored further in the book.
   5. Magic as finding the right words (107)
   6. Magic as texture: Different people’s magic feels differently. An interesting concept that isn’t explored in the novel.
   7. Magic as Religion (197): If magic is seen as a religion, it would explain why Agatha finds it so hard to walk away from the magic community; to become a Normal is to be outcast.

      The theme of outcast recurs in the book, not just gay people—a vampire and a demon—are outcasts. Ebb’s brother, who chooses to leave the world of living to become a vampire, is ostracized by the magic community, and by Baz, Simon, and Penny who need his help badly, bearing in mind that Baz himself is a vampire and that Ebb’s brother is very powerful. Even the outcasts can outcast others.

      Ebb’s death can also be read as her rejection of her power. Because she rejects her immense power, because she lacks the training, she dies at the hands of The Mage.

      Superficially, this book seems to be a message of inclusion, but at a deeper level, the prejudice of the book shows. If you don’t want to be in the magic/religious community, you will be outcast and we will never accept you back, regardless of the direst situation. If you don’t practice your magic/religion, you’ll be punished, and in Ebb’s case, her punishment is death.

 

53rd Discussion: Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens

Shout-out to Isaac for allowing us to use his office for our discussion; Aaron moderated the discussion.

OPENING

Alexius thought the book was not as good as he had hoped, as he thought it could have been the female version of Lord of the Flies. He stated that it was funny for him initially; however it became cheesy and the “singing at the end spoiled the book” for him. Isaac also agreed that it was not funny and felt that the book was not catered to “people of his age.” Jiaqi thought the book was fairly entertaining, though the author did not set out to explore the presented themes in a deep manner and glossed over issues in an attempt to make it more “politically correct.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Javin actually read the book and declared that he liked it, comparing it to Miss Congeniality. Aaron gushed about the book too, saying that despite the “cheem” English being used, parts of the book were a “tour de force” with sublime writing.

THEMES

We first delved into the opening chapter, “A Word from Your Sponsor.” Aaron asked why did the author started with this. Alexius commented that it acted as a preface and to give context to the book. Javin felt that the chapter was meant to be ironic and read with a sense of humour. Like Alexius, he believed that the opening chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book. Both of them agreed that it was akin to the reality television format that we see nowadays.

Death was pretty imminent in the book; in fact, according to Aaron, they were too many of them. The closest explanation that we derived from this was to showcase the blood, sweat and tears to becoming beauty queens, and what their world is like in extreme situations (Javin).

From there, we moved on to why Taylor started on her killing spree. Aaron thought that the change in character was freaky; Javin felt it was too sudden and Alexius commented that Taylor may have been possessed. All three agreed that Taylor suddenly became unstable.

We also touched on the topic of race. Aaron felt there was diversification covered in the book, which got the thumbs up from him. It also highlighted racism and society as a whole. Aaron asked Shanti’s motives for being best friends with Nicole, the other minority character of the book. Javin viewed it as a strategy to win the beauty pageant, while Timmy felt it was just a minority allaying with another minority. Jiaqi opined that the two share the same challenges and thus, would be able to understand the problems if they face it together.

Jiaqi felt that the transgender issue was not treated in a “deep” manner and no serious conflicts were portrayed. Javin disagreed, highlighting that Petra was initially supposed to be cut out of the pageant due to her nature, but was eventually allowed to stay when they were stranded on the island. Aaron questioned whether the issue was sensitively handled. He also brought up the question as to why Shanti disliked and ostracized Petra. Timmy commented it may have been a case of minority versus minority, while Javin quipped that “all Indians dislike transgenders.”

We also discussed briefly on lesbianism, which Javin felt was handled too tamely compared to the other issues that were present throughout the book.

Aaron questioned whether the book was a feminist book, which got a positive response from everyone else. They all agreed that it portrayed all kinds of women – stupid women, weak women, strong women, coloured women. Aaron felt that this portrayal was “amazing” as it showed the different sides of beauty queens and not as one-note, dumb females; that behind these facades, they are smart, gung-ho women.

In comparison, the males were glossed over and came across as only two-dimensional. The pirates, in particular, were hardly portrayed (Jiaqi), only had to be hot, good looking and have abs (Javin), and were daft, scheming douches (Aaron).

CHARACTERS

Taylor

Aaron felt that the author was punishing her by turning her into a crazed killer and making her stay on the island. Javin agreed, adding on that she has the necessary skills to become Ladybird Hope. Overall, he viewed her as a sad character who may have decided to remain on the island because she “cannot win the beauty pageant.”

Jiaqi disagreed; he felt that she became more interesting due to the transformation and may have even found herself. “She became what she wanted,” Alexius quipped, from being leader of the (beauty queens) tribe to leader of the jungle.

Adina

Javin found her annoying, “high and mighty”, sarcastic and disrespectful; someone who was no better than the rest of the beauty queens. Aaron agreed, commenting that she was too moralistic and compared her to Sandra Bullock’s character in Miss Congeniality. Alexius felt there was nothing special about her.

Shanti

Javin’s favourite character; he found her “realistic” and felt that she was “interesting” due to her devious nature. Aaron, however, felt that the author made her unlikable and only used her “cultural background” to make people/ readers like her. Javin disagreed, proclaiming that Shanti “does not represent her race.”

Petra

Jiaqi thought that she was not negatively portrayed. Aaron and Javin both agreed, saying that her character was fleshed out quite well (Aaron) and she was tastefully written (Javin). Javin further added that the author gave her a good ending and allowed her to shine. Alexius agreed to a certain extent, but also found her “scary” as “transgenders may influence heterosexuals to like them.” (WHUT.)

Tiara

Jiaqi felt that she was not stupid, perhaps just “slow” in thinking and reaction.

Jennifer

According to Aaron, she was not like a typical beauty queen, although Jiaqi felt that she did not get her “happily ever after.”

Sosie

Javin viewed as a typical, normal person who struggled with her decisions and took more time to figure things out. Jiaqi felt that she was sexually experimentative, and that was fine with him, which led to Aaron asking whether she was just using Petra to figure out her sexual orientation (“any hole to poke”).

Mary Lou

Jiaqi found her to be the more interesting character of the book. Aaron thought her sexual awakening scene to be the dreamiest and sublime part of the book.

Agent Jones

Like Taylor, this character too ended up going crazy, which led to Aaron proclaiming it as his punishment for being the mastermind of the island. Jiaqi and Javin both viewed him as the bad guy of the book. Alexius felt that he was the only one to have a back story out of all the characters. Agent Jones is also Alexius’s favourite character thanks to his humorous outcome (he put on a bunny suit, had a serious exchange, and then died shortly afterwards).

Apart from Javin and Alexius, both Aaron and Jiaqi did not have any favourite characters. Aaron found them all to be unlikable and hated them, yet he still liked the book, which he felt was very difficult to achieve.

CLOSING STATEMENTS

In capping off the discussion, everyone was required to share something (good) about the book. Alexius liked the back cover and thought it showed some initial promise and meaning to the book. Javin liked the book and found it hilarious, commenting that the book did not take itself too seriously and was portrayed realistically to a certain extent. Jiaqi found the book fairly easy to read and was kept entertained. Aaron thought the book was well-written and multi-faceted, though he felt it was rather difficult to sustain a satire throughout 400 pages.

Isaac, however, found the book annoying and the humour did not bode well with him; hence he had a DNF (did not finish) stamped all over it.

52nd Discussion: Sonya Sones’s One of those Hideous Books where the Mother Dies

Present: Timmy, Luke, Aaron, Jiaqi, Gavin and Alexius.

Themes

1. Father-Daughter Relationship: Why does Ruby need to know that Whip loves her mother before forgiving him? Timmy suggested that knowing it is a revelation for Ruby, turning her world around, sets her thinking.

Timmy also said that Ruby giving Whip his name is Whip’s way of submission.

For Ruby to reconcile with Whip, several severe incidents have to occur: death of a classmate (Jiaqi’s point), betrayal of best friend and boyfriend (Jiaqi), natural disaster (Timmy), and substitution of absent, seemingly uncaring Aunt Duffy with Aunt Max (Aaron). (Alexius chimed, “Wah, Ruby makes a very good accountant, she knows her debts and balances”.)

Except for Jiaqi, we thought that it was heavy-handed for the author to bring the father-daugther together in such a manner. Jiaqi was thinking in terms of time, and said that it was relatively short time (6 months) for the daughter to accept the father.

Would the author be so heavy-handed if it were a straight father? Aaron contended that the heavy-handedness is a form of overcompensation, and hence, showing insecurity of one’s sexuality: “Look here, everyone abandons you, except for your gay father and his boyfriend, so gay people are nice people after all.”

This overcompensation is also shown in the “clean” handing of Max and Whip’s relationships. Alexius pointed out, “Why is the house so quiet at night? How come they don’t moan?” Throughout the book, there are no telltale signs of Max having an intimate moment with Whip, or no direct declarations of “I love yous.” Javin said, “They are gay, but they have no sexuality.” Indeed, it seems like gay men are Ken dolls.

Because of the overcompensation of a gay father, Aaron argued that the author worked so hard to bring about the reconciliation of the father-daughter pair. A gay father is better than “an alcoholic heroin addict who brutally beats her and sexually molests her thereby causing her to become a bulimic ax murderer” (p. 7). It is as if the author is saying, “phew.. look here, the father is gay, but he loves the daughter and does all these things for her that no one else can do. A gay father is a step up from a child-molester, right?” Jiaqi disagreed with Aaron, stating that there was no direct evidence of the sexuality of the father having to do with her acceptance of him.

2. Gay Stereotypes: Alexius observed that stereotypes of gay men are presented: goodlooking actor and buff, sensitive nanny. The usage of “Aunt Max” irked us, although Alexius justified that it is easier to call “Aunt” (1 syllable) than “Uncle” (2 syllables).

3. Mother-Daughter Relationship: Timmy brought up the emails that Ruby sends to a dead mother as a form of working through her grief, which Aaron found touching while Alexius found inane.

Structure/ Literary Devices

1. Verse: Both Alexius and Timmy thought the novel is MRT-friendly, easy to read in bite-size.

2. Readership: Javin pointed out the narrator is an American teenage girl and the target reader is an American teenager.  Timmy continued that we may be too old to read a Young Adult book, which accounts why we didn’t like the book.

3. Lyrics: Aaron noted that in many instances (pp. 89, 48, 87, 191, 207, 205) are written very similar to song lyrics. Timmy suggested that the writing came off as trite.

4. Movie references: There are several movie references, as if Ruby’s life is a movie. Alexius hinted that it is because Ruby’s epistemology is learned from movies, and Timmy suggested that instead of coming off as smart, the author’s plans backfire, making the novel predictable and cliche.

5. Title: Alexius disliked the title because it is too long to be keyed in the National Library catalogue, hard to search, while Timmy thought the

Characters

1. Ruby: Most of us, especially Timmy, disliked her because she is self-absorbed and unforgiving but insecure.

2. Ray: Alexius’s favorite character.

3. Colette: Timmy’s favorite character.

4. Max the muscle bear is Aaron’s favorite, although Alexius finds him creepy; he keeps going to Ruby’s room, like he’s the 3 bears and Ruby is Goldilocks.

5. Alexius hates Mom because she is the cause of everything.

Conclusion

Timmy said the book doesn’t deserve the blurbs on the back cover. “‘Ruby’s voice is pitch-perfect’….ly off-pitch,” Timmy said.

While we all disliked the book, we wanted to end on a positive note and say something nice. Timmy calls on the “Disney ending.” Both Timmy and Jiaqi agreed it was easy to read. Alexius liked the consistence book covers across all her books–they all have an orb of light. Javin, who didn’t read the book, turned the cliche-ness of the book into something positive: “I can discuss the book even without reading it.” Timmy’s favorite part is page 226. The page starts with “Things I am Thankful For”–and is a blank page.