I Crawl Through It by A.S. King

"Four teenagers are on the verge of exploding. The anxieties they face at every turn have nearly pushed them to the point of surrender: senseless high-stakes testing, the lingering damage of past trauma, the buried grief and guilt of tragic loss. They are desperate to cope, but no one is listening.

So they will lie. They will split in two. They will turn inside out. They will even build an invisible helicopter to fly themselves far away...but nothing releases the pressure. Because, as they discover, the only way to truly escape their world is to fly right into it.

The genius of acclaimed author A.S. King reaches new heights in this groundbreaking work of surrealist fiction; it will mesmerize readers with its deeply affecting exploration of how we crawl through traumatic experience-and find the way out."

Author, A.S. King

I started and finished I Crawl Through It by A.S. King within the span of a couple days. I found the characters all uniquely intriguing and I felt guilty every time I had to close the book to focus on something else (or sleep). The lives these characters lead every day are not contrived or redundant - I guarantee you've never met China before, the walking stomach who swallowed herself. But you'll love her - even when she's a walking tongue or rectum.

I Crawl Through It is sad, happy, weird and wonderful. And, of the three A.S. King books I've read, this is by far my favorite. I'd highly recommend this book to all for an entertaining read that'll leave you with that feeling of having made a new friend - or six.

I Crawl Through It by A.S. King on Amazon

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Please Ignore Vera Dietz was my second A.S. King novel. I had first read Everbody Sees the Ants and really appreciated the unique psychological element that came with the character's narration. Vera was no different. Though rather than having visions of ants here and there influencing your thoughts and actions, Vera saw Charlies. Thousands of Charlies. Charlie was (and is?) Vera's best friend. It had been that way for as long as either of them could remember. But with high school, drugs, alcohol and sex getting in the way they went different directions but maintained an unspoken dedication to one another.

Author, A.S. King

When Charlie dies and is blamed for arson, Vera is overwhelmed with guilt. Her major case of the coulda-woulda-shoulda's is silenced, however, by an upbringing that taught her to bottle it up and fly under the radar. No matter what she encounters she holds onto it which sometimes threatens her safety and causes her dad to further doubt her sense of responsibility.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a young adult novel that accurately portrays the struggles of friendship, community and loss. I felt the greatest lesson to be learned in the novel was to talk about things with those you love and trust and develop a sense of community. If you witness something bad, consider what would happen if you did nothing about it. Consider the lives that could be affected outside of your own. Just because you can walk or drive away from something safely doesn't mean the next person will be so lucky.

Read along and experience the story of Vera as she comes to terms with the past, the present and the future. Watch her develop a sense of responsibility and self-respect as she comes to terms with the loss of Charlie and begins to understand her dad better.

You can borrow Please Ignore Vera Dietz from your local library or purchase it from Amazon.