Day 63 of 365 - May 22, 2013                                                                                 Free 4 Day!

Post anything you want, just make sure it's related to Divergent
I'm sharing the different Divergent covers

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Arabelle's Shadows

Everything in Arabelle's life is coming together. She has confidence, great friends, she's even dating Naak, a wealthy Thai socialite. But there are too many models in Bangkok. Arabelle’s broke, she can’t find an agent in New York, and Naak isn’t as wonderful as he first appears.
Slowly the Shadows creep back into Arabelle’s mind, bringing with them thoughts of hopelessness and despair. The vile Shadows know something Arabelle’s refusing to remember and, if she’s not careful, they’ll use it to destroy her.
Based on a true story, Arabelle’s Shadows takes us on a journey through the struggles of growing up, not quite making it as an international model, and attempting to overcome a crushing depression.

This book deals with a lot of issues, I think everyone can find something to relate. As I was reading I kept wondering about it, it's written in form of a journal so I didn't know where it would lead. Knowing is based on a true story, I believe it makes it even more powerful.

The way is written, it talks about previous dates but we're focusing on her present, you keep going back and forth, so sometimes it was a bit hard to keep track of the details. Still, it only took a couple of phrases to remind me what had happened and what she was talking about.
It definitely needs your attention; some stories are similar since she relates them to her present life.

I don't know if this is targeted to young adults or adults, but I feel like it has some strong moments. Yet, at the same time I know most of those issues are real in young kids. It talks about many sensitive subjects and I feel like if you don't finish reading this, it would affect some people even more. It's a sad story, it made me think about other people and myself. I may not have such strong thoughts or feelings but you understand what she means when she refers to her shadows. I think it's something we all deal with, in different ways, but maybe they can have the same effect in the end if we let them.
Even though the character always tried to keep a positive attitude to try to overcome them it wasn't easy. I'm afraid that, readers that are in her position would be influenced by this if they stop reading it before they finish it.
The issues are very real, so I think it's a great way to help others, for them to know that they're not alone.

There's also a different perspective, if you read it not having the same emotions as the character, you could take a look at her life and think about others. Maybe even people you know and there's a way for you to help them. There are several quotes that I like to share. "I can be quite distant with people so maybe that's why they didn't think they could get close to me."
"Wanting only to be normal"
"The longer I spent by myself, the more often I would feel sad and insecure."
"I had no one to help me, no one to talk to."
"why has no one noticed that you're not happy?" I feel like this is always an issue, people blame the parents or close friends. But they hide their pain so well that sometimes there's no way to know. Maybe there's something that they say or do that we take for granted that could be a clue and we could do something.

No matter if you relate to the character personally or not, there is so much you can get out of this book. It's a little strong and sad but it's a different way to see the people around you and yourself. Especially, knowing it's based on a true story.

Favorite parts:
"Today is a great day - full of hope, joy and new beginnings."
"I didn't feel judged because they accepted me as I was."
"Why do I have so many things the rest of the world doesn't?"
"I have to stop complaining and being so pessimistic or I'm going to lose everything."
"Giving is always more rewarding than taking."
"You're allowed to make mistakes."
"No matter how bleak things appear, you'll still occasionally come across magical people who make everything seem worthwhile."

11 comments:

  1. Wow, Rivie. This looks an intense read. I like the point you make where a person hides their pain so effectively, the people who would step up to help have no idea anything is wrong. I know that I do not ask for help enough. I'm working on it, but something inside me stands in my way. I'll be thinking about this review for a while.

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    1. It is an intense book and I'll be thinking about the book for a while. I don't ask for help either and reading this just made me wonder so many things.

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  2. This seems like it would be one of those books that, once you finish, you just sit and stare at the wall for awhile, trying to digest everything. It looks to be a pretty powerful read. I really like your review and completely agree with Robyn, I'll be thinking about this. Your sentence "No matter if you relate to the character personally or not, there is so much you can get out of this book" is so very true. In a book like this, you tend to take the character's story and relate it back to your own or someone else you know. I think this is why books are so important! You always can learn something. The ending must be important if you think it's crucial that everyone finish it! I hope the character, and essentially the girl in real life, beat her "shadows" and depression.

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    1. Yes, except if I do that, sit and stare after a book like this, I'd get depressed, so I had to get my mind off it and do something. I mean, the end is important, especially if someone is going through something like it. But, it's not as powerful as the rest of the book I believe, but it's so they'll have a different way of seeing everything. It seems like the author could be the girl in real life, so I'm hoping her having a book about it, means she did beat her shadows.

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  3. Seems like a very strong book with a good message, and lots of emtion in there with the depression. I would connect because I struggle with it too.

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    1. It's very strong, in my opinion. I thought I struggled with stuff as well, but seeing her perspective and description of depression, makes me think I don't have many issues. And that is all in my head, so that was a good thing, but I did connect with somethings.

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  4. I've found that journal type books can be hard to follow some times. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. And sounds like a good book with all different issues it relates with.

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    1. I think the only journal type book I had read before was Anne Frank's but hers is day after day, so that was not hard to follow. This was very different and my memory didn't help at all

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  5. Yay, I've been waiting for your review on this one ever since I saw you had a copy! I also thought that some issues were a little much for the YA crowd, but like you said-they are real issues that teens have to face sometimes. Love how you talk about relatability and how everyone has there own shadows to face. Great review!

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    1. This made me think a lot, I connected with her sometimes because I've had similar thoughts, I likes how she kept pushing herself even when she felt completely lost, I think that's a great thing to teach younger kids.

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