I’m
a bit of a control freak. I like it when things are organized and
orderly and make sense. But, as you know, those things don’t really jive
too well with the real world. We don’t always get to have what we want.
Things don’t always happen for a reason. And, as Schmendrick the
Magician points out in Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, “There are no happy endings, because nothing ends.”
Except that’s not entirely true. Novels end. Sure, the story continues.
But that’s off-screen. The main plot of the novel is concluded.
Characters learn their lessons, or don’t. Readers are left with a sense
of satisfaction, of completion.
A
novel is like a terrarium. It’s a miniature world in which we can
observe life on a smaller scale. Most of the time our own lives aren’t
so organized. It’s hard to know the point to our lives, because usually,
there are multiple points. And those change.
Novels,
on the other hand, get to be focused. They can zero in on a central
theme and follow it to an inevitable conclusion. In a way, we get to
live vicariously through the characters. Their lives get to have
meanings that are easier to figure out.
Writers
get to be the gods of those worlds. We get to have control over them in
a way we never can in the real world. If used properly, that can be
extremely therapeutic. Think about it: we have a built-in universe in
which to test out and explore our own ideas and issues. Our characters
can act out various scenarios and we get see what the reactions will be
before we have to commit to them in our own lives.
I
don’t think most of us do this consciously. But the issues we’re
grappling with often work their way into our stories. And sometimes
that’s enough distance for us to recognize the possible solutions.
Therapy is all about helping someone figure out the answers to their own
questions. Through writing we get the release of airing our issues, the
commiseration/camaraderie of relating to others (even fictional others)
with similar issues, and the relief of knowing they can be solved.
Max
McKay gets a second chance at life when, after a bizarre accident on
his sixteenth birthday, he is reanimated as a new breed of thinking,
feeling zombie. To secure a spot for his eternal soul, Max must use his
video game prowess as well as the guidance of Steve the Death God to
make friends and grow up.
As
if all that weren’t hard enough, Max discovers that he’s not the only
zombie in town. As he enlists the help of his new friends, Adam and
Penny, to solve the mystery of their un-dead classmate, Max discovers
that he must level up his life experience in order to survive the trials
and terrors of the upcoming zombie apocalypse. And, even worse, high
school.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – YA
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Website http://jrtague.wordpress.com/
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