Anna Cackler

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The House on Tradd Street – Review

Author: Karen White
Edition: Audio book
Narrator: Aimée Bruneau
Published by: Listen & Live Audio
Publish date: January 1, 2008
Genre: Contemporary | Paranormal
Audience: Adult
Rating: Four Stars

The House on Tradd Street is a sweet, slow burn paranormal mystery set in historic Charleston, South Carolina. And by sweet I mean sweet romance, sentiments, and tea.

This was a fun listen. I usually get audiobooks to keep me entertained while doing monotonous chores, and The House on Tradd Street got me through mowing my lawn, refinishing a huge desk, and countless drives into town. It was good enough that I actually WANTED to do these heinous things, just so I could have an excuse to listen to my book. And that’s always a good sign.

The House on Tradd Street is available on Amazon and in libraries. You can check out its Goodreads page here.

Melanie Middleton is a good protagonist. She isn’t the most approachable person, but she is likable. Flawed, well rounded, and consistent, she is obsessed with order, schedules, and early mornings, a natural result of her chaotic childhood with an alcoholic/useless father and absent mother.

And her ability to see ghosts was well handled, I thought, though it seemed occasionally to be tacked on as an afterthought. There were only three or four ghosts central to the plot, and the rest were just kind of there for no reason. Melanie’s practiced ability to ignore them made them easy to overlook for me, as well. They just became furniture in the background (and sometimes even haunted furniture in antique stores). But the concept was interesting, and it was consistent.

I didn’t like how snobby she was in terms of fashion and appearances. She looks down on Jack’s restaurant choices and continually judges her best friend’s, Sophie’s, wardrobe. Melanie never says anything out loud, but I was repeatedly turned off by her mean thoughts about someone who is supposed to her only friend, and who is majorly going out of her way to help restore the house.

Dating

And I don’t mean the romantic kind of dating, of which there was extremely little. This book appears to be set sometime in the early 2000s. The frequent mention of Blackberry phones was my best clue for dating the book. After researching publication info for this review, that guess seems to be spot on.

That being said, I think the author might have been stuck in the 80s. Melanie’s prudish horror any time sex was even hinted at was a little odd. She is 39 years old, and she is desperate for everyone to know that Jack has his own bedroom in the house. Lady, nobody cares. And you shouldn’t either. You’re a middle aged woman. Nobody is worried about your virtue.

There was also a random gay joke that didn’t age well. When Melanie first sees Jack’s apartment, which has been very nicely decorated, she teases him about it. “Are you sure you’re not gay?”

Plot

The plot arc is all over the place on this book. Most of the book seems to be just renovations of the old house. The house is beautiful, the city is beautiful, and we even get a few interesting historical accounts of the area, which were fascinating. But the ghost story itself seemed to be in perpetual limbo until the two-thirds mark. That was when Melanie finally started actively looking for clues.

At that point, it seemed like an entirely different kind of book than before. It started out as a slow burn romance with ghosts in the background. Then suddenly I’m reading a paranormal mystery and digging up the past. And the climax was a bit underwhelming. I won’t spoil it here, but the author set up expectation of a huge confrontation, but only delivered about 40%.

Technical Notes

The book is well written, though it is proof that even traditional publishers can be guilty of filter words. My only other complaint about this production was the narrator, and that is probably a personal preference. The narrator’s Charleston accent made the story feel very old fashioned. Like floral wallpaper, doily covered plates, and cat smell. But it was accurate, and the history angle was very relevant to the story, so I can’t for the life of me think how they could have done it any other way.

But even so, I think I’ll read the sequels, rather than listen to them.

What did you think about The House on Tradd Street? And don’t forget to check out what else I’ve been reading lately!

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Writing Close – Blocking

  1. Writing Close – Touching
  2. Writing Close – Secrets
  3. Writing Close – Character Awareness
  4. Writing Close – Accidental Nudity
  5. Writing Close – Blocking
  6. Writing Close – Making Exceptions

Sometimes the easiest way to link two characters together is to simply have them stand next to each other as much as possible. In other words, blocking. This is especially true in scenes with multiple characters in a group.

In a previous post in this series, I defined secrets as “intellectually separating two characters from everyone else.” The same is true with blocking, except in this case, we’re talking physical location.

This seems like a no brainer (like many of the posts in this series), but this is one of those details that is easily overlooked. In writing, every single word and action must do double or triple duty. Every word communicates something to the reader, so you have to pay attention to what you’re communicating, even down to little things like where a person is standing in a group.

The movie that made me think of this was The Sapphires. (Yes, I watched this movie solely to see more of Chris O’Dowd, and I was not disappointed.)

Spoiler warning. But honestly, this movie came out in 2012. If you haven’t seen it yet, then you’re probably not going to.

Who’s it gonna be?

I am fairly good at immediately picking out which two characters will get the romance subplot in any ensemble movie or tv show. Usually it’s the musical cues that do it. A girl sees a cute boy walking across the high school cafeteria, and thanks to the romantic melody underlying the scene, there is no question that this is the love story. Neither character has had any interaction whatsoever. They don’t know anything about each other. But we all know what’s coming.

The Sapphires didn’t do this. In fact, the romance subplot didn’t even begin until nearly halfway through the movie, even though the relevant characters met in the first 10 minutes.

You want to know when I pegged Dave and Gail as the lovers in this story? Pick your favorite:

You’ll notice even when the whole group is together, Dave often ends up next to Gail.

There was no hint of a relationship between them. No longing looks, no real interest. In fact, they barely get along at all, though they have good chemistry. Gail is very hard headed and stubborn, and Dave doesn’t mince words when telling her she’s not good enough to sing lead. Gail is mostly concerned with her fellow singers, and when she does talk to Dave, it’s all business and scolding.

All of the moments pictured above (plus a few I didn’t bother to grab) happen in the first half hour of the movie, but the first hint of a romantic inclination doesn’t happen until the one hour mark. That’s when they have a revealing conversation by the river and Dave asks her to dance.

But the director blocked these two characters this way intentionally. Even though there was no hint of a closer relationship in the script yet, they needed to prime the audience for it subconsciously. That way, when they do start to look at each other differently, it doesn’t come out of left field.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Though blocking can be much more obvious in movies, it is important in books as well. Take this popular series by Sarah J. Maas. (Major spoilers! Stop now if you haven’t read book one at least.)

The romance between Feyre and Tamlin during book one is fantastic. The reader is supposed to ship these two, and it works.

But toward the end of book one, Tamlin gets taken out of the picture. Feyre starts getting more and more association with another character, Rhysand. She is basically given to him, spends parties with him, and owes much of her success to him.

During parties and events, Tamlin sits next to the villain of the story. Feyre sits next to Rhysand. Despite the success of the romance between Feyre and Tamlin in book one, by the end, I knew for a fact her true love story lay elsewhere.

Without that intentional blocking, the reader would not have wanted or expected a relationship to grow between Feyre and Rhysand later in the series. Of course there were other hints as well, secrets and touching among them, but this blocking was a significant factor.

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Audrey and Morgan

Who doesn’t love a good platonic relationship? That’s right, I’m talking about Audrey and Morgan from the movie The Spy Who Dumped Me.

For those who haven’t seen the movie, what in the heck are you waiting for? It’s a slick action comedy with plenty of laughs and charismatic leads. The action is fun to watch (and isn’t full of frequent cuts), and the main characters are funny and relatable.

The MacGuffin (the one item everyone wants to get their hands on) is a fairly cheesy and unrealistic, but all it takes is a quick suspension of disbelief on that one detail. Other than that, the villains, motivations, settings, and situations are all spot on for the genre.

To be fair, a cheesy MacGuffin is fairly spot on as well, so I really can’t complain.

But this isn’t meant to be a review for the movie. The point of this post is the relationship between Audrey and Morgan, so let’s get to it.

Girl Power

The main protagonists are best friends Audrey (played by Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon).

First off, both actors do a fantastic job with their characters. Audrey’s flaw of being a terrible liar is consistent and well handled. And though Morgan is set up as the “wacky best friend” cliche, assumedly only present for comic relief, her character has some real depth. More on that later.

In many buddy comedies, a very common trope is to have the two best friends get angry, jealous, misunderstood, or fight about something — really anything to separate them just before the climax. That way the friend can make a heroic reappearance just in time to save the day.

That did not happen with Audrey and Morgan. There was never even a hint of it. In fact, when one woman confessed something that could possibly lead to a disagreement, the other immediately apologized for the pain her friend had experienced. These two women supported each other from beginning to end. No exceptions.

Women as Rivals

This is partly remarkable because it’s very difficult to find women in fiction who AREN’T set up as rivals. They’re usually competing over friends, jobs, lovers, or really anything. Of course not every woman in a story is at odds with each other, but very often every MAJOR female character is set up as a rival.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Sarah and Rachel, the only female main characters in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, are rivals for the attention of the same man.

All the men in that movie get along fine with each other, including Peter and Aldous, who are in the exact same situation as their female counterparts. They’re both in love with the same woman, but they like each other just fine.

I’d like to point out that the top billed cast on IMDB for this movie has 11 male characters and 4 female. Two of those females are leads, and their only rival is each other.

Bridesmaids

Annie and Helen competed over who was the better friend to Lillian.

This movie had a slew of female characters, but the main characters are two female rivals and the female character they’re fighting over.

The Bear and the Nightingale

Vasya and Anna were set against each other. These were the only female main characters in The Bear and the Nightingale. The other women were a couple of barely-there sisters, the occasional village woman, and a nanny. And Nanny also became an antagonist toward the end.

Daughter of the Forest

Sorcha and Lady Oonagh were absolute antagonists. Again, aside from a handful of side characters with little importance and depth, these were the only two female main characters.

And don’t even get me started on Mean Girls.

And yet Audrey and Morgan never once became rivals in any way. While they did have one female antagonist, Nadedja (played by Ivanna Sakhno), she was not the only other female main character. Wendy (Gillian Anderson) was so admired by Morgan that she fondly called her “the Beyonce of the the government.”

So out of four female main characters, only one was an antagonist. Usually it’s only two female main characters in a given plot arc, and they are usually set against each other.

The Wacky Friend

I was genuinely surprised in Morgan’s characterization.

Audrey is arguably the true protagonist. She is the titular character (she is the one who was dumped by the spy), she gets a romance subplot (with a hunky Sam Heughan), and she has considerably more plot-advancing agency.

That, along with McKinnon’s trademark comedic style, should make Morgan the “wacky best friend.” She’s just along for the ride, and basically her only purpose is to provide comic relief.

And for a large portion of the movie, that truth holds firm. She’s funny, outspoken, and has no skin in the game (aside from her love and support for Audrey).

A Little Much

But Morgan’s insecurities make a subtle appearance in a relatable, heartfelt way. In two short scenes, slipped in between the jokes and action sequences, we are reminded that even people who appear happy and well adjusted can be hiding secret pain behind the smiles. (Spoilers ahead!)

During a lull in the action, Morgan tells Audrey a different account of the night they met Drew, the titular spy. As an introduction, Morgan stretches the sentiment “be nice to my friend or I’ll make you regret it” into a solid sixty-second speech about eating dicks. Drew then responds with: “Has anyone ever told you you’re a little much?”

After Audrey apologizes for her ex’s rudeness, Morgan insists that “It didn’t hurt my feelings. Well, it hurt my feelings a little bit.” And in an impressive show of emotion, McKinnon looks close to tears. Morgan has opened up something painful that she’s been hiding for a long time.

I’d like to draw attention to the fact that Audrey apologized immediately. This could have easily been turned into an argument for the sake of cheap drama. Instead she chose to be supportive of her best friend. It was a lovely moment for them.

Judged

Much later, just before the big showdown, Morgan makes another sly confession. This has been the best week of her life. “Doing the right thing, and nobody’s judging me. I don’t know.” Then she peters off, extremely uncomfortable.

Audrey is in shock. “Do you normally feel judged?”

The subsequent conversation between the two is supportive and heartfelt, though brief. And again, I was impressed with McKinnon’s ability to look hurt, grateful, and desperate not to cry — all at the same time.

And this unconditional support from Audrey helps with Morgan’s confidence and insecurity. In the climax, when Drew makes yet another rude comment about Morgan’s dramatic personality, she doesn’t get hurt. She gets mad.

It’s not often that the “wacky best friend” is given such a well rounded, heartfelt characterization.

Secrets

One of the best loved scenes from the movie is when the two women try to prove they aren’t lying under torture by telling every secret they know — about each other.

This was one of the funnier scenes between them, and it was a concise, active way to show just how well they know each other. This scene on its own made their relationship feel much older than the 55 minutes the audience has known about it.

I’ve already talked about how secrets can make two characters feel closer to the audience, but this was a whole new level. Audrey and Morgan are showing how close they are, while also attempting to draw Nadedja into that same level of intimacy. It almost works.

What is your favorite movie with supportive female leads?

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How I Found Ariana – Review

Author: Luna Tibling
Published by: Amazon
Publish date: February 2, 2021
Genre: Contemporary | LGBTQ+
Audience: Adult
Rating: Four Stars

How I Found Ariana is a soulful introspective into the daily struggle of Skylar, a person with depression and body dysphoria in a world that doesn’t quite understand them.

I will admit, I did not read the blurb before agreeing to read this book. I commented on a romance forum that I was looking for a new book to read and review, which is where the author reached out to me. That circumstance lead me to believe it would be a lgbtq+ romance, and I didn’t question my assumption even once.

Boy was I wrong. There is an existing romance for the main character, Skylar, with their two boyfriends, but that romance was NOT a plot point in any way.

If I had read the blurb first, I probably would not have read this book at all. I prefer happy books with happy endings and happy middles. Escapism. Fantasy, romance, and humor. That’s my tagline. So if I had known this book was about depression and stress, I wouldn’t have picked it up.

Boy am I glad I didn’t read the blurb first.

How I Found Ariana is available now on Amazon. You can learn more about the author on their Facebook page and connect with them on Instagram.

I usually like to start with the pros first, but let’s switch it up a little this time. Spoilers ahead.

Cons

I expected a book titled How I Found Ariana to be mainly about a character named Ariana. And for the first couple of chapters, this hypothesis held up.

But it turns out that Ariana doesn’t have much of a story to tell, at least not in this book. She doesn’t even have much of a character. She seems to exist solely as a source of stress for Skylar, and is sent to live with someone else by the end of chapter six. Then, aside from a few short appearances at parties where she is a background character, she doesn’t have any more meaningful interactions until the last couple of pages of the book.

So while all this is perfectly fine, it makes me think the title isn’t very fitting. This book simply is not about Ariana, much less finding her.

Public Service Announcement

There is some hint of the difficultly Ariana struggles with, but the reader only gets the Cliff’s Notes. She is kicked out by her parents for coming out as trans, but her supportive and loving friends are a source of comfort for her. She is excited to begin living openly as a woman, and the reader gets snippets of talk about bras, shaving legs, and picking out dresses.

As someone who is very, very straight, it was interesting to get this glimpse into the life of someone who must actively discover and create identity, rather than have it be a given. But these short scenes with Ariana felt more like an after school special than a story about a character. It is a fictional how-to of how to be supportive of a loved one who is queer.

Skylar, along with all their friends, provide perfect examples of how to handle Ariana’s coming out. Clearly the point of this is not to tell a story, but an attempt to make a statement on how society should be handling these sorts of situations. This was made even more painfully obvious when Ariana uses the women’s restroom for the first time.

‘So,’ Dale leans forward, looking serious, ‘in a female-only safe space with all those women in their most vulnerable states, you’re absolutely sure you didn’t prey on any of them?’ 

‘Nope!’ Ariana laughs. ‘The thought didn’t cross my mind. Too busy pissing!’ 

‘Amazing,’ says Dale, looking up with a furrowed brow and stroking his chin. ‘I wonder what dear Rowling would think of that…’ 

How I Found Ariana – Chapter 9

This isn’t story telling. This is the author taking the opportunity to make a political statement. It’s an entirely correct statement, of course, but it doesn’t belong in this context.

And it’s entirely unnecessary as well. These statements didn’t need to be made outright to get the message across. Skylar’s daily struggles at their job were more than enough to create a human face behind the misunderstood labels. And what’s more, those struggles were active story telling, not politicizing.

Pros

But enough with the negatives. I actually loved this book, despite my gripes about the titular character. I will admit the middle was a bit slow, mostly details about Skylar’s customer service calls, but looking back, those scenes were necessary for the ending to work.

As I said before, this book is about Skylar’s struggles with depression. The author does an excellent job of setting up the cyclical, recurring nature of depression. It never really goes away, it simply comes in waves.

The plot arc mirrors this pattern beautifully. How I Found Ariana doesn’t rise steadily to an intense climax where Skylar has to muster all their courage in a final push to save the day. Instead the plot arc wallows, sometimes high, sometimes low. And the climax, like a bad bout of depression, is an all time low point that Skylar has to claw their way out of.

Not many books can make me Feel things (with a capital F, you’ll notice). But I Felt Skylar’s emotional journey. By the time I finished the epilogue, I felt like I could breathe freely for the first time in a while. I hadn’t noticed how the book had slowly, slowly clenched me up during the second half, only to have the tension released with something so banal as a washed face and a much-needed trip to the toilet.

It was a bittersweet release, however, because the reader knows that Skyler’s relief is only temporary. The depression will come again, and they’ll have to fight again. And again.

Technical Notes

Luna Tibling has a fantastic voice. Very clean and easy to read. This was the main reason I was game to continue reading through the slightly slow middle. Even though it seemed (at the time) like there wasn’t much plot happening, it was still enjoyable to read about the characters.

They are an extremely visual story teller. The reader is transported into the scene, right into Skylar’s shoes.

…the world maintains its obscene indifference – trees dance in the breeze, birds sing, people go on their merry way, every object in my room just stands there, rigid as ever, watching me suffer… 

How I Found Ariana – Chapter 14

The fact that Tibling is a poet probably helps with voice, sentence structure, and readability. I’m no big reader of poetry, but even I enjoyed the verses included throughout the story. For some reason, the one about the streetlights was my favorite. Again, I’m no poet, so I couldn’t say exactly why I liked that one. But it was certainly my favorite.

This was not my usual type of book, but it’s one that I’m glad I experienced.

What did you think about How I Found Ariana? Let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to check out my other reviews here.

Bluewater

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The Glass Wheel

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The List

Table Five Prequel

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