quartofgoats's review against another edition
3.0
Very thoughtful. Bit of a whirlwind but that dizziness shakes up your mind in a good way.
fairyhill's review against another edition
3.0
King is an absolutely brilliant writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first two thirds of this book, but the last bit just fell flat for me.
mlbaran's review against another edition
5.0
This book evoked the same feelings I got watching The Lobster. It's weird, it's poignant, it's confusing, and it's delightful. A.S. King doesn't lay a straight path- she makes a magical world you can't quite shake after the book is finished.
raechsreads's review against another edition
3.0
Such an interesting take on high school life for the students.
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
I read this, cover to cover, in a day. A week day, even, during which I also did my actual job. It just spun me along with it. I can hear the critiques people might make of this book, but I think this might be my favorite AS King book (usurping Ask the Passengers, in case you wondered). There's a whole lot of pain, and angst, and mental illness that I consider just calling craziness, and there's more required of the reader than simple suspension of disbelief. Perhaps because of previous experiences with King's writing, I questioned everything as I read. What is real? What is reality? Who cares? The ends that were wrapped up and those that weren't were equally satisfying to me.
marcopoloreads's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really weird...
My experience with A.S. King’s books has been a mixed bag. I didn’t like her novel REALITY BOY but loved STILL LIFE WITH TORNADO. After reading I CRAWL THROUGH IT, my feeling towards her books have become even more mixed.
While many people consider this novel to be magical realism, I consider it to be surrealism. Her novel STILL LIFE WITH TORNADO was more of magical realism in my eyes. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this book. From what I can tell, it’s one of those books where you just get it or you don’t; I think I understood what A.S. King was going for, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the execution of this plan.
The story follows these teenagers, all of whom have different aspects of surrealism to them. Gustav is building an invisible helicopter, Stanzi splits herself in two, China swallows herself inside out, and Lansdale’s hair grows whenever she lies. I didn’t have a problem with this, however, most of these characters were extremely forgettable. The only ones that stood out to me much were Stanzi and China, and I think that was only because they were at the forefront of the story. In my opinion, I think this issue could’ve been fixed if one of the main characters were written out of the story or if they became a side character instead. There was just too much going on in this story, and the length of the book couldn’t handle all of the plot points well without making a few weak.
For the most part, I was just confused about everything going on in this book; It was all over the place. While it is an extremely unique, one-of-a-kind book, it didn’t do much for me since I didn’t really understand the purpose behind it. All while I was reading it I was just like “okay, I feel like A.S. King is trying to be really deep here but I don’t get it.” It just left me not knowing how to feel from beginning to end.
The writing is pretty interesting as well. Every now and then there is text that is flipped upside down, so you have to flip the book upside down in order to read it. This was a really cool addition to the novel, though it only happens a few times and I feel like it could’ve been used more often. The writing overall is easy to read and digestible, which was helpful because the writing saved this book from becoming two stars to me.
I feel like I don’t have much more to say on this book since I didn’t really understand what its purpose was. It is indeed really interesting and stands out a lot, but it makes literally no sense. It actually reminded me of another author whose books I don’t like. That being Andrew Smith.
Overall, I just don’t have any strong opinions on this book. It isn’t terrible, but it’s not that good either. It’s just weird. I think that fans of Andrew Smith’s books might enjoy this one because it does give off similar vibes as his books.
My experience with A.S. King’s books has been a mixed bag. I didn’t like her novel REALITY BOY but loved STILL LIFE WITH TORNADO. After reading I CRAWL THROUGH IT, my feeling towards her books have become even more mixed.
While many people consider this novel to be magical realism, I consider it to be surrealism. Her novel STILL LIFE WITH TORNADO was more of magical realism in my eyes. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this book. From what I can tell, it’s one of those books where you just get it or you don’t; I think I understood what A.S. King was going for, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the execution of this plan.
The story follows these teenagers, all of whom have different aspects of surrealism to them. Gustav is building an invisible helicopter, Stanzi splits herself in two, China swallows herself inside out, and Lansdale’s hair grows whenever she lies. I didn’t have a problem with this, however, most of these characters were extremely forgettable. The only ones that stood out to me much were Stanzi and China, and I think that was only because they were at the forefront of the story. In my opinion, I think this issue could’ve been fixed if one of the main characters were written out of the story or if they became a side character instead. There was just too much going on in this story, and the length of the book couldn’t handle all of the plot points well without making a few weak.
For the most part, I was just confused about everything going on in this book; It was all over the place. While it is an extremely unique, one-of-a-kind book, it didn’t do much for me since I didn’t really understand the purpose behind it. All while I was reading it I was just like “okay, I feel like A.S. King is trying to be really deep here but I don’t get it.” It just left me not knowing how to feel from beginning to end.
The writing is pretty interesting as well. Every now and then there is text that is flipped upside down, so you have to flip the book upside down in order to read it. This was a really cool addition to the novel, though it only happens a few times and I feel like it could’ve been used more often. The writing overall is easy to read and digestible, which was helpful because the writing saved this book from becoming two stars to me.
I feel like I don’t have much more to say on this book since I didn’t really understand what its purpose was. It is indeed really interesting and stands out a lot, but it makes literally no sense. It actually reminded me of another author whose books I don’t like. That being Andrew Smith.
Overall, I just don’t have any strong opinions on this book. It isn’t terrible, but it’s not that good either. It’s just weird. I think that fans of Andrew Smith’s books might enjoy this one because it does give off similar vibes as his books.
sjj169's review against another edition
2.0
I asked myself that question throughout this whole book. I like this author and don't get me wrong, this book is very well written.
It just makes no sense at all to me.
Four teenagers stories intertwine in this book. Stanzi who sees herself as split in two.
Do you know what a tetragametic chimera is?
We learned about it during a genetics discussion last fall.
It's some crazy thing that happens to you between when you're conceived as cells and when you're a zygote. Somewhere between sperm-meets-egg and embryo. Somewhere in there you used to be fraternal twins. And then you blended. Two into one.
Stanzi likes to dissect things. Mostly frogs. She wears her lab coat everywhere and her parents make field trips to sites where disasters happened. Sandy Hook. Columbine. Etc.
Gustav is building an invisible helicopter. He got the kit from the naked guy that sells letters and roofie spiked lemonade out of his bush.
Mama says Gustav is mad crazy. I think he is a genius. I think Mama is jealous. I think she would build a helicopter and take off as soon as she could if she could, be she can't so she doesn't and says lies about Gustav like "That boy isn't right in the head" or "He's going to end up in the looney tunes if he's not careful."
And China.
I am China-the girl who swallowed herself. I just opened my mouth one day and wrapped it around my ears and the rest of me. Now I live inside myself. I can knock on my rib cage when it's time to go to bed. I can squeeze my own heart. When I fart, no one else can smell it.
I write poems.
Then Lansdale. Who can't help but constantly tell lies. She knows she does it and still continues. Her version of Pinocchio but instead of her nose growing...it's her hair. Even though she has to cut it everyday.
Now I totally feel like an evil witch for not liking this book more than I did.
But I didn't.
It's very different and haunting and I hope hipper people than me read it and understand.
I'm just a hipster wanna be..well not really. I'm too lazy to wanna be.
I'll just have to settle with watching from the sidelines.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
My friend Kelly did an awesome Hawkeye inspired review of this book. Kelly is my Goodreads bestie and is one of the reasons I love this site so much. Check out her review.
alinaborger's review against another edition
5.0
I Crawl Through it tackles education, rape culture, family trauma, and friendship with King's trademark, matter-of-fact surrealism.
Stanzi's parents leave her the same note every night, "Went to bed. TV dinner in freezer. Make sure to turn out the lights."
Stanzi's best fried, China, swallowed herself and is a walking stomach or anus on any given day.
Stanzi knows her friend Lansdale is a chronic liar with Pinocchio hair and four stepmothers.
Stanzi's love, Gustav, is building an invisible helicopter. She can only see it on Tuesdays.
The bush man is a nudist and a sculptor of letters. He has all the answers.
Except he doesn't. No one does. And the people who think they do live in an invisible place with no departures. Their answers don't do anyone any good. Gustav and Stanzi run away to them, but escape with the bush man's love, Patricia, in tow.
Meanwhile, China runs away to New York, and Lansdale tries to escape in a newscaster's hotel room.
All of them return to their home town--and each other-- to confront reality and find healing. But it's not like their hometown is perfect. The adults are disengaged with their kids' lives in every meaningful way. They go to a school where there is a bomb threat every day. No one knows who is sending the threats, and no one seems particularly fussed about it. School is one long series of interruptions. In fact, this book suggests school AS interruption to finding the answers, to living the answers.
Still. [spoilers ahead] Home is where the healing begins. Lansdale cuts her hair and her lies, Gustav gets his Physics teacher to give him "full credit" (another clever dig at schooling) for building the invisible helicopter, Stanzi confronts her parents about the car accident that killed her baby sister, and China tells her mom what happened.
That scene--when China explains that her ex-boyfriend raped her and then posted pictures of it all over the internet--is one of the most utopian confession scenes ever written. In sum: King handled it tenderly but in a chapter titled "That Little Shit." She puts China 100% in charge of telling her own story and then she evokes China's mother's emotions without muting China's story. [Wow. Just wow.]
Another revelatory scene happens near the end of the novel when the principal suggests that they've found the man making the bomb threats and put him on public display on the football field. When Stanzi goes to investigate, she finds the bush man surrounded by her peers and teachers. Everyone is throwing things at him--all their trauma and anger and questions and wrong answers. When she asks why, someone answers "Because he can take it."
The bush man is a Girard-ian scapegoat if ever there was one. But even that doesn't work. They don't need answers. They need each other. Because the only way out of any of their trauma is to crawl through it.
As a post-script, I particularly enjoyed EW's review, which you can find here: http://ew.com/article/2015/09/25/i-crawl-through-it-as-king-ew-review/
[Excuse the personal addition here, but I cannot even talk about how important this book became to me as I listened to it, and listened to it in Amy’s own voice. For a long time, I’ve had one book of “answers” on my shelf: I’ll Give You the Sun. This month, I added I Crawl Through It. I cannot imagine a more transformative or liberating book for me as a writer.]
Stanzi's parents leave her the same note every night, "Went to bed. TV dinner in freezer. Make sure to turn out the lights."
Stanzi's best fried, China, swallowed herself and is a walking stomach or anus on any given day.
Stanzi knows her friend Lansdale is a chronic liar with Pinocchio hair and four stepmothers.
Stanzi's love, Gustav, is building an invisible helicopter. She can only see it on Tuesdays.
The bush man is a nudist and a sculptor of letters. He has all the answers.
Except he doesn't. No one does. And the people who think they do live in an invisible place with no departures. Their answers don't do anyone any good. Gustav and Stanzi run away to them, but escape with the bush man's love, Patricia, in tow.
Meanwhile, China runs away to New York, and Lansdale tries to escape in a newscaster's hotel room.
All of them return to their home town--and each other-- to confront reality and find healing. But it's not like their hometown is perfect. The adults are disengaged with their kids' lives in every meaningful way. They go to a school where there is a bomb threat every day. No one knows who is sending the threats, and no one seems particularly fussed about it. School is one long series of interruptions. In fact, this book suggests school AS interruption to finding the answers, to living the answers.
Still. [spoilers ahead] Home is where the healing begins. Lansdale cuts her hair and her lies, Gustav gets his Physics teacher to give him "full credit" (another clever dig at schooling) for building the invisible helicopter, Stanzi confronts her parents about the car accident that killed her baby sister, and China tells her mom what happened.
That scene--when China explains that her ex-boyfriend raped her and then posted pictures of it all over the internet--is one of the most utopian confession scenes ever written. In sum: King handled it tenderly but in a chapter titled "That Little Shit." She puts China 100% in charge of telling her own story and then she evokes China's mother's emotions without muting China's story. [Wow. Just wow.]
Another revelatory scene happens near the end of the novel when the principal suggests that they've found the man making the bomb threats and put him on public display on the football field. When Stanzi goes to investigate, she finds the bush man surrounded by her peers and teachers. Everyone is throwing things at him--all their trauma and anger and questions and wrong answers. When she asks why, someone answers "Because he can take it."
The bush man is a Girard-ian scapegoat if ever there was one. But even that doesn't work. They don't need answers. They need each other. Because the only way out of any of their trauma is to crawl through it.
As a post-script, I particularly enjoyed EW's review, which you can find here: http://ew.com/article/2015/09/25/i-crawl-through-it-as-king-ew-review/
[Excuse the personal addition here, but I cannot even talk about how important this book became to me as I listened to it, and listened to it in Amy’s own voice. For a long time, I’ve had one book of “answers” on my shelf: I’ll Give You the Sun. This month, I added I Crawl Through It. I cannot imagine a more transformative or liberating book for me as a writer.]
neverfullybooked's review against another edition
3.0
I would give it 2 stars, but the extra star is in case the entire book just went over my head.
It was all pretty confusing, and I didn't want to finish it, but I was waiting to see if it made any sense. Alas, it didn't, but there were some obvious underlying messages or stories that make the book a heart wrenching truth.
When I finally thought I understood what was happening (what, with an invisible helicopter and lies that make hair grow), I got slammed with more "What the heck is this?"
I would only recommend it to see if another person could make sense of it for me, or or have someone to share my confusion.
It was all pretty confusing, and I didn't want to finish it, but I was waiting to see if it made any sense. Alas, it didn't, but there were some obvious underlying messages or stories that make the book a heart wrenching truth.
When I finally thought I understood what was happening (what, with an invisible helicopter and lies that make hair grow), I got slammed with more "What the heck is this?"
I would only recommend it to see if another person could make sense of it for me, or or have someone to share my confusion.