Haunt
After about 24 hours to ruminate, I've come up with my final rating and some thoughts.
4.5 stars—half of the last one deducted because I felt like the ending didn't quite wrap everything up as well as I thought would be fitting for this kind of book. For me, this is basically a comfort read, and ideally, for me, a comfort read shouldn't leave so many questions. For example:
-What happens with Val and Kaiya? I very much appreciate not coupling all the characters off, but this particular potentiality was practically a subplot, so it feels weird to not have some kind of resolution at all. (Personally I've decided, apropos of absolutely nothing, that Kaiya is ace—though not necessarily aro, soooo...!)
-Hob??? Hob Hob! Hob?! HOB
-Basically most of the side characters' arcs felt sort of unfinished. Hob has this whole unexplored backstory (and future) I would kill to read, and Latimer's last appearance seemed to hint at a future tale of his own, and Kate was way too hyped to be left unwritten.
All that said, though, I really do think a good epilogue would have been enough to put to rest most of these loose ends for me. It felt like one was coming, and I even went back and reread the ending to check whether I missed something the first time. (And then checked the author's page for related short stories and novellas.) Maybe the ending was just a little too quick overall for me; it definitely felt like it was leading up to something more, like possibly a sequel/series based on side characters' own adventures or at least an epilogue to round things out, until right at the last page.
Incredibly thorough in its account of everything McLean, which is both a blessing and a curse. Beam's writing is clear but anything but concise, and frequently segues into trivial, often unrelated side notes which may or may not be of interest. Each page is littered with names of individuals mentioned only once, random interjections that don't connect to the point, and so on. However, some of these rabbit trails are in fact interesting and even useful to know, and you'll definitely come away with a very broad, inclusive array of information on the subject. I do wish Beam had regularly included sources in footnotes in a more typical APA-type fashion, because some things I would have liked to look up later, but there is a section in the back of the book that details where his information originates (and I believe much of it was in oral form or otherwise unavailable to the public anyway). One thing to note is that this book is not a true account of patients' experiences at McLean, as the title suggests, though snippets of patient accounts are incorporated throughout. Although a great many aspects of the patient experience are included, the use of only small excerpts of patient recollections tends to make the book read more like an account of the institution itself, albeit well-peppered with anecdotes of patient life, than of the advertised “life and death” inside. I went into the book thinking it would be a highly detailed account of the patients and procedures of McLean, focused heavily on patients' own memories and accounts of their experience. In the end, it was not as patient-focused as expected, but proved an interesting and valuable, if occasionally tedious, read.
Overall a great read—some of the stories actually had me a little spooked when I found myself out alone late at night, which is quite the accomplishment. As I've been focusing on the GRE lately, I also couldn't help but notice the significant amount of GRE vocab in these stories, so it's an excellent read for anyone studying for the verbal! Carmilla is, of course, certainly the best short story in the collection, but the others hold their own perfectly well and should not be overlooked.
I read this as part of a graduate ABA training program and was impressed with its accessibility, readability, and straightforwardness. In particular, I feel this is an excellent guide for parents and caregivers of people (primarily children) with autism. I wish my family had had this resource throughout my sister's diagnosis and the subsequent learning curve for us all.
Although I feel it is much more geared towards babybats and non-Goths than fully-fledged Gothly creatures, “Gothic Charm School” is a fantastic overview of the Goth subculture–its history, traits, customs, and the like. For those seeking further information, Jillian Venters also runs a website, including an advice column, at gothiccharmschool.com.
4.5 stars
I read this in one sitting. The writing is beautiful and the plot is interesting and twisted, and I really related to a lot of it. It was also awesome to see such accurate representation of being a bisexual female–both in how the characters are treated by others and in how they view their own sexuality.
Unfortunately, the layout was extremely confusing. More than once I went back to read the last chapter or so because I was positive I had missed something important, only to discover every time that I had not. Eventually I started to get the hang of it, but pretty much I spent the first few pages of each chapter trying to figure out where exactly it fit in the timeline.
Lots of triggering material, most of which is easily found on the back cover summary. If you're sensitive to graphic sex descriptions or violent scenes, or alcohol or drugs, skip this one.
The writing was gorgeous and the memoir portions were very realistic and similar to my own experiences, but I found the tone towards the end, in the portions written in present-day, off-putting. Also important to note that Kaysen's account is slightly outdated and, for the most part, does not reflect modern psychology. For a detailed review, please see: http://lapsusxcalami.tumblr.com/post/120077491519/review-girl-interrupted
Unfortunately a complete and utter crock. Instead of this book, I recommend “Sybil Exposed,” which details both the material covered here and a much more accurate, well researched review of this account and the truth and events around it.