Christine Heppermann

Nine Kinds of Awesome

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

Public School Kids Always Ask

How do you meet guys
if you go to an all-girls school?

Immaculate Heart Academy
is named for the pure love of God
that flows through Mary’s heart.
But here’s the real reason why
our logo is a hunk of dripping muscle:
five hundred girls in red plaid skirts.

Even if we brushed with garlic toothpaste
we couldn’t keep the vampires away.

###

Mary’s Parents show more

Sure, they tried their best
not to treat her any different.

What choice did they have?

After all, she was still their daughter,
and they had promised
God to love her no matter what
crazy shit her body could do.

###

The summer before her junior year of high school, Addie becomes pregnant and decides to have an abortion. In a refreshing twist, her parents and boyfriend are wholly supportive of Addie, and her decision: Nick accompanies her to the appointment, and mom and dad sign off on it without argument (Addie lives in Minnesota, a state that requires parental consent).

She isn't conflicted about her choice, but Addie does slip into a bit of a depression or malaise after the fact. Worried about disappointing everyone yet again, she mostly keeps "Hurricane Addie" to herself. She withdraws from Nick and loses interest in classwork. She quits the cross-country team - which was supposed to fund her college education - and starts spending her afternoons at Java Joes, so her parents are none the wiser. There she runs into Juliana, another former track star from Immaculate Heart Academy, who is dealing with her own capital-s Shit. And then, slowly, Addie finds her way back to normal: her new normal.

As much as I believe that abortion needs greater representation in popular culture, stories dealing with the procedure make me nervous: will they be too preachy? Anti-choice? Slut-shaming? Misogynist? But the synopsis for Ask Me How I Got Here looked fairly reassuring, and Book Riot's glowing review sealed the deal for me.

As it turns out, Ask Me How I Got Here is pretty effing great. Although Addie does withdraw after her having an abortion, she never second-guesses herself; she knows, 1000%, that it was the right choice for her. Yet there's no escaping society's conflicting views on abortion - especially when you attend a Catholic school. In lessons on compassion, Addie's forced to listen to her classmates' ideas of how women who have had abortions should react: with shame, guilt, and remorse. Addie feels none of this, though her peers' conservative leanings do force her to keep it a secret: she doesn't even tell her best friend and teammate Claire, which only adds to her feelings of isolation. It isn't difficult to imagine that Addie's experience might have been more positive - or at least neutral - if everyone around her was as accepting as her parents.

Ask Me How I Got Here is a novel written in verse, which I know some readers find gimmicky; but I enjoy the change of pace, and I think it works quite well here. Many of the poems are works of art - sly feminist masterpieces - on their own, and they all come together to create a lovely story worthy of multiple readings. You can fly through the book rather quickly, but why would you want to? These verses are meant to be savored. Addie's poems are even tied to the story's ending, which made my heart swell.

Also, there's a really great #WNDB twist that I won't mention because spoilers, but you'll know it when you see it.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/05/06/ask-me-how-i-got-here-by-christine-hepperma... show less

"you are more than just a hero or
a villain, cursed or charmed. You are
everything in between.
You are everything."

Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty is a fantastic collection of poems for teens who grew up with Disney tales. These fifty poems by Christine Heppermann are very short yet pack a very powerful punch in each line. It takes the tales of love, beauty, and happily ever after and applies them to the real world and issues teenagers face. The poems are paired with stunning show more black-and-white photographs that are as beautiful as they are haunting. Without giving us a full-fledged story, it gives us a taste of how some of the fairy tales we know would play out in our actual world. It is written in a way that is very simple to understand, but leaves a deep impression, keeping you coming back to the poems that speak to you most deeply.
I will say this collection does need a slight Trigger Warning as it addresses some tough issues with a very frank manner. It does address issues including eating disorders, self-harm, and assault. But it does so in a way that feels genuine, rather than including it just to be controversial or just to fill space. While it may address some rough topics, it does so with the connecting theme of finding your way through the haunted woods to discover your own happily ever after. show less

A fantastic set of poems for teenagers! Ranging from body image, to men, to family, and friends, this dark and twisted collection of poetry will be sure to talk to teens. The fairy tale theme is a good cover for some hard topics such as: anorexia, unhealthy relationships, bullying, body image, and more. As the poet says in the author's note at the end, "I have never been particularly brave. But when I put on the mask of fairy tales and started writing these poems, I felt powerful. I felt show more free to poke around inside stories that scared me or saddened me or made me mad. The more I explored the darkness, the more I realized that the forest only looks impenetrable." The poems are accompanied by dark and sumptuous photography which really helps capture the feeling and essence of each poem.

For fans of Francesca Lia Block, young adult poetry, and dark fairy tales. show less

“But you are more than just a hero or a villain, cursed or charmed. You are everything in between. You are everything.” Declarations such as this await the reader of poems that show fairy tales aren’t always what they seem, and although it would be nice to live in a fairy tale world, such a world isn’t possible.

The chilling nature of this book lies in the supposed dichotomies between reality and fairy tales, and the realization that the line often blurs. It’s jarring to read about show more a girl whose Prince Charming isn’t so charming--and treats her like an object. Similarly, it’s disconcerting to read about Sleeping Beauty’s wedding day and the stanza upon stanza of things she must do to make herself look perfect for her wedding. It’s the fairy tales we know as children, updated so we understand them as young adults.

Clocking in at 114 pages, Poisoned Apples is a fantastic volume for reluctant poetry readers; because the poems are written in free form, it’s only the rhythm that gives away that it’s really poetry. However, a word of caution: this poetry is best left for older readers; issues like eating disorders, sex, and abuse are present in the poems. For older readers, though, this slim volume will leave an indelible mark on a generation of girls who were taught that princesses lived happily ever after but grow up sometimes learning otherwise. Highly recommended. Grades 9 and up. show less