Did you ever watch Christian Slater in Heathers?
Other girls my age were watching My Little Pony while I was obsessively borrowing Heathers from the vidoe store (remember those?) I was like six years old and I thought Christian Slater was the shiz. Now it occurs to me, what the fuck were my parents thinking? I feel like this personal tidbit alone explains a lot about me. Where’s my therapist’s number? I think it’s time for another session.
Well, we’ll get into why I mentioned Christian Slater, but for now, it’s simply because I’m being nostalgic.
Delaney Maxwell falls in ice water and dies. Yet she lives. Marvel at the paradox! But coming back to life has given her some super creepy powers and she has to deal with that whilst resolving long-standing issues with her bestfriend, Decker. All of this is complicated by Troy, who I imagine as looking a lot like Christian Slater did in Heathers.
And it’s not because Troy is sexy, charismatic, mysterious and a little bit of a dramatic, emo psychopath.
Okay, maybe a little.
For a debut novel by Miranda, this was pretty good. The writing was decent, most of the characters were complex and well written.
The themes seem to surround how one deals with an impossible situation. Delaney spends a vast majority of the novel trying to cope with her survival and the lingering repercussions as well as her relationship with her mother and Decker.
The novel was mostly gripping, if not confused about what in wanted to achieve. Troy was sufficiently unsettling and yet sympathetic.
Once again, absolutely no reason why I’m bringing him up. But read the novel for yourself and see if you don’t get Heather’s flashbacks!
Delaney was a bit of fresh air in that she had goals and purpose in her life that exceeds the usual YA standards of wanting to procreate with the love interest. She also had a complex and rich relationship with her parents. Who were, you know, actual parents and did actual parent-like things. Another big breath of fresh air. That’s a pretty sad commentary on the state of YA.
I think the novel fails by trying to do too much of many things and not enough of other things.
At first I thought it was too few abs (Christian Slater), but then I realized that maybe it was too much whining (Winona Ryder)
Overall, it was pretty good but not without its flaws. There’s potential here, and not just for more pictures of 80’s Christian Slater, further proving my truly tragic taste in men as a child, but for real depth of story telling and emotion. I’m just not sure how fully it was achieved here.
Maybe the problem is that it took itself so seriously. Heathers was great because it was full of camp, but I am digressing… or regressing. Maybe both. But the novel had no humour about itself and when your love interest is a hot teenage badboy psychopath – it pays to have some self awareness.
Or Christian Slater.
Or not… gosh he’s old!
*Also, now other women my age watch a whole bunch of cool movies – my favourite show atm? My Little Pony! That’s right, bitches! I’m a brony!
