Body Talk: Book Review / Blog Tour

Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy

Edited by: Kelly Jensen 

Number of Pages: 256

My Overall Rating: 3.53 rounded to 4 / 5 stars

Published: August 18, 2020

Read in August 2020

Summary According to Goodreads

We experience the world in a body, but we don’t usually take the time to explore what it really means to have and live within one. Just as every person has a unique personality, every person has a unique body, and every body tells its own story. 

In Body Talk, thirty-seven writers, models, actors, musicians, and artists share essays, lists, comics, and illustrations - about every from size and shape to scoliosis, from eating disorders to cancer, from sexuality and gender identity to the use of makeup as armor. Together, they contribute a broad variety of perspectives on what it’s like to live in their particular bodies - and how their bodies have helped to inform who they are and how they move through the world.

My Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this novel for the purposes of a review, but that does not affect my opinion.

Let’s talk about body image. Most people have had a struggle with their bodies at some point in their life, and I am no exception. I have gone from hating the way I look to learning to appreciate my body and acknowledge its resilience to how much I have put it through. I am not shy about my destructive behaviours such as self-harm and eating disorder, but my body has pulled me through so much and I am so grateful. 

This collection was very powerful and just solidified my appreciation for myself so much more, and I think It can be a good tool for other people as well. I would suggest that if you are currently in a negative state with your body image you may find some of the stories to be a little bit triggering, but overall it is something I am glad to have read and proud to have been included in this tour.

I rated each authors contributed individually to calculate my average rating. However, I do not believe that it is necessary nor appropriate to share those ratings as each author shared their personal experiences in this novel and it is not my place to publicly judge their vulnerability. 

Heroine Book Review

Heroine

Written by: Mindy McGinnis

Number of Pages: 419

Average Rating: 4.26 / 5

My Rating: 5 / 5

Published: March 12, 2019

Read in August 2020

Summary According to Goodreads

When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she’s ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she’s been prescribed can help her get there.

The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good.

With a new circle of friends - fellow injured athletes, others with just time to kill - Mickey finds peaceful acceptance, and people with whom words come easily, even if it is just the pills loosening her tongue.

But as the pressure to be Mickey Catalan heightens, her need increases, and it becomes less about pain and more about want, something that could send her spiralling out of control.

My Thoughts

“I’m taking the oxy because I like the way it makes me feel”

I am sure that I am not the only one that has felt the want of escape. This novel explores what can happen to young adults that are exposed to the dark world of drugs. 

Mickey is a talented softball player preparing for a championship going into her senior year, when she and her best friend are in a car accident. She experiences a traumatic injury to her hip and her leg, threatening to ruin her chances of a collage scholarship and future career in sports. With the help of OxyContin she can push herself through physical therapy, as well as the guilt she feels from being the one behind the wheel during the accident. As her tolerance to oxy builds and the pain and stress continue to climb, she realizes she needs more “medical help” than the doctors are willing to give her. 

If you know my reading preferences, you know that I love dark contemporary novels. This one was just what I look for, bringing a voice to the opioid crisis that is taking over society right now. This was my first time reading from Mindy McGinnis, but it won’t be my last because I found her writing to be so smooth and emotional, and I can’t wait to see what other stories she can tell. 

Overall this novel was fantastic and I am so happy I listened to it as an audiobook because the reader was FANTASTIC. She was so emotionally invested it added a whole new element into the story.