My First Ron Rash Novel

was Above the Waterfall and I am VERY disappointed.  NOT disappointed in the book!  It was excellent!  But disappointed that this was not a series!   The main character, the town sheriff named Les would be an excellent main character for a series.  Rash is such a great writer though, I bet he would get bored.  But man, this was really good. 

Angela's Church

I really loved Release.  Adam's part of the story.  I really, really loved it.  I love books that show that there are, indeed churches that actually follow Christ when it comes to homosexuality.  Angela, Adam's friend, attends a church in which an 80 year old lesbian couple were married.  I remember officiating my first same body part wedding.  The couple had been together for thirty years.  They were in love with Christ as their Savior and with one another.  There was much rejoicing.  While Adam's family holds non-Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality like Marley's in A Very Bad Thing, I love that Patrick Ness recognizes that those who are really trying hard to follow Christ on the issue don't have this problem. (We all have lots of problems, this just happens to be one we don't have!)  I loved Adam's brother, too.  I didn't understand the other story, the magical realism-y/fantasty one involving the gal who was murdered.  I also never read Mrs. Dalloway, so I can't say I saw its influence here, but I did get the sense of the Forever influence, even though I am not a Judy Blume fan!  Very good book.  I would not be upset if it received a Printz Honor.  I would not be upset at all.  But I really, really didn't get the other part of the story.  My fault.  I am going to dig around online and see if I can find an explanation. 

Any book that Jason Reynolds recommends...

is probably going to be amazing.  I heard him talk about his newest book on MashReads and he recommended Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.   It won the National Book Award this year and as far as I am concerned, I can't imagine a better choice.  I listened to her on the New York Public Library's podcast, which was recorded on the day before the book came out and just found her to be fascinating.  It was neat, too to to hear that she hopes one day to write a middle grade fiction book!  Can you imagine?!
Excellent.

What Does This Mean?

When I heard about Blitzed I wasn't sure how to feel.  My dear friend told me about the book, which details the use of drugs; especially methamphetamine, by the Third Reich.  She said that is made greater sense to her.  That otherwise, how could humans be capable of such unspeakable horrors.  And we talked about horrible crimes we had heard of, committed by those under the influence of powerful drugs.
I bought the book right away, needing to see for myself.
This of course, does not excuse nor fully explain the atrocities committed during WW2; nor is it meant to by the author, Norman Ohler.  But Hitler's brain and heart and soul were already so fouled, that the addition of meth to the mix made him all the more toxic.
In a way I felt better about life when reading this.  It is hard to say that though, I mean, reading anything about the horrors of WW2, how can that make one feel "better" so maybe that isn't the word.  I felt I had a more full understanding after reading this, not in that it made me understand how the Nazis could do what they did, but that my thoughts that the world isn't getting worse are correct.  There is a lot of drug use today, but there ALWAYS has been.  Human nature is not getting worse.  It is the same.  There has always been and always will be evil.  We just hear about the evil more now, because of the media.  But we can't let the evil overcome the light.  And it won't.  It won't.  Because just like a pin prick of light slices through the darkness, the good will always, always shine through.  We just have to believe that.  And keep moving forward until the day when He will take us Home.  Until then, we must be vigilant.  Guard each one's dignity, save each one's pride, fight against evil and work for inclusion and acceptance and diversity and freedom and love.