Jennifer Yu十九岁时写的小说在编辑严谨而耐心的指导下， 经过两年半的修改终于出版了，《 Four Weeks, Five People 》这周在全美各大书店上架。今天正式release.
美国NBCNEWS 4/24/2017 专文介绍了这本书，并以“Debut Novelist Takes on Mental Health Stigma ‘ Four Weeks, Five People’ ” 为标题， 其中更是着重谈到作为亚裔走上写作这条路所承受的压力。
全文点击下面链接：
下面是售书连接：
https://www.amazon.com/Four-Weeks-Five-People-Jennifer/dp/0373212305
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/four-weeks-five-people-jennifer-yu/1124690519
从目前网上的反响来看，这是一本有争议的书。有人不喜欢给两分，有人大赞给五分，虽然不是祖国江山一片红，却也没见楚魏之争的风云，不同意见的读者有着一个共同点， 那就是他们都是冲着故事的内容而去读这本书的。
这是关于五个有心理疾病的青少年的故事，故事是围饶着他们在夏令营的四个星期展开的。 这个主题触及了目前日益引起人们关注的青少年的心理问题，从一个十九岁的女孩子的眼睛来帮助我们了解那些在旁人眼里“不一样”的孩子。
这里是一位读者在goodreads 上的书评与：
Apr 23, 2017Zachary Flye (Zach's YA Reviews) rated it it was amazing
Review:
Protagonists: This story has five first person POVs, which on its own is a serious challenge, but it really works in this story. While there is a central plot of sorts that these characters all participate in they each have their own trials and struggles and add serious depth to this story. It's funny but since this is a standalone novel, for some reason, I expected that the development of these characters would have been more dramatic and that by the end they'd be, well maybe not "cured," but better, but that's not how mental health works, and I appreciated that the author didn't provide an idyllic view of mental health, but, from what I could tell, a very real one. I can't say I necessarily loved all the characters because Mason could be severely insufferable, and Ben could be overly dramatic at times, even though I think I identified with Ben the most. I loved Stella's sardonic and sarcastic personality, though she does soften a bit as the story goes on. Clarissa feels like this sweet and innocent creature you want to protect from the world, but also hope she can find a way to stand on her own to feet. Andrew, who is probably my favorite character, but ironically it's more for his interactions with Stella than who he is as a character, though he is a pretty great character who adds a lot of comic relief to this story.
Romance: I don't know why but I went into this book expecting a romance, but I was unprepared for the romance that actually formed in this story. I don't want to say too much about it because I fear if I say too much it will shatter your experience of this romance. I will say though that I really respect how the author handled this romance. It's tricky to write a realistic story where people dealing with mental health issues are attracted to each other, but they still have to deal and work to overcome their own issues. I really liked the way the romance unfolded and how it added another element to the overall story and where these characters end up by the end of the book.
World Building: For those who do not know, I suffer from clinical depression as well as anxiety, so I feel I can only really comment on how well those aspects are portrayed in this story. I feel as though those aspects were portrayed in an extremely realistic way. There was a moment when a character has a complete breakdown and I could very easily relate to how he was feeling and it kind of scared me just how connected I felt to that character in that moment, even though the rational side of my brain was telling me he was being completely unreasonable. As for the other mental health issues addressed in this story, while I don't have first-hand experience with them, from what I understand about them the author did a great job of showing off these characters' struggles.
Predictability: Since the author takes such a realistic stance with this story it's not as if everything fits in that YA fiction formula, and instead there are twists that happen with no warning at all, or things that don't happen because this isn't some cheesy YA contemporary where everyone pairs off or discovers some hidden truth about the world. Instead, there is a bit of foreshadowing if you know where t look for it, and there are secrets that these characters keep that over the course of the story and as we get to know them, slowly come to light.
Ending: I feel a bit like this book tricked me. When I first received it I wrote it off as one of those deep, heavy, books that focus on serious topics and while they may be amazing, they really drain a lot out of you. However, I decided to read the first chapter and found there was a levity to the story and some humor to break up moments that could be very draining, and that pattern continued for quite a while. However, as the story got closer and closer to ending, those fluffy moments or those moments filled with comedy spread out more and things got pretty heavy. The ending to this book deals with some pretty intense stuff and while there are still moments of serenity or humor to break it up, I did feel pretty drained by the end of the book. It is a standalone story so I expected a wrapped up, but it's also a realistic story and while I'm not completely dying for another installment, there are still some things left up in the air.
Rating:
This book drained me good. I loved it so much and while I still have a few questions about some of the characters, I'm fine with this being a standalone, but I can't wait to see what this author will write next.
Author’s note:
“It wasn’t like I was trying to write a book. I wrote two pages and didn’t realize it was going to get longer,” Yu says. “The voice of Stella just came to me so strong. She’s returning to camp for her second summer and talks about how stupid it is – the idea of ‘getting better’ and what does that even mean? But at the end, it’s hard for her not to hope that it will help.”
“In school, I would read these stories of people with mental health challenges and it was like they realize they have a problem, they commit to something, and…they did it! But that’s not how it really works. I think t’s important for young people to see that change doesn’t always happen. I hope this book shows that for people with depression or other issues, it’s okay and they can be less hard on themselves. I hope that reading about characters who struggle will help people see that it’s okay to struggle,” Yu says.
“I used to think, if only I could be a different person! I wanted to cut out part of myself – cut out the part that felt totally inadequate at school,” Yu says. “But now I see you have to look that part of yourself in the eye. The most you can learn is to be okay with the person you are.”
选择“Disable on www.wenxuecity.com”
选择“don't run on pages on this domain”
