I love Dexter Holland's voice. It's like he was made for what he does, you know? I tried singing Self Esteem the other day and I was breathless by the second verse. Might've been cause I wasn't singing right but it still proves he's got a great range.
I'm at Costa now, but it's the one at 313. My coffee's gone cold :( I would be eternally grateful if someone could invent something that would keep coffee warm. Not a tumbler, just something that would keep having-here coffee warm... (wrap-round easy-to-carry styrofoam??) Alright, this is going nowhere.
I'm wearing a new top. Got it from Bangkok, and it's super light and comfy, like I'm barely wearing anything. Haha. I luv it. I think I got it because the design reminded me of something pretty I saw on Tumblr.
Anyways, I'm here to talk about the book, The Boy Who Could See Demons by Carolyn Jess-Cooke. So the story revolves around a highly intelligent, emotionally sensitive ten-year-old called Alex Connolly, who claims he can see demons, one of whom is his 'best friend', Ruen.
The story is set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a place deeply impacted by NI's violent past, and where children take on the brunt of the psychological effects of the war. Alex lives with his dysfunctional mother, Cindy, who plunged into depression after Alex's father 'left', in one of the roughest parts of Belfast.
Cindy has attempted suicide four times, and each time was rescued by Alex. Anya Molokov is a trained child psychiatrist assigned to Alex's case. She has to work closely with Alex's social worker, Michael Jones, who is dedicated to what he does, but unlike Anya, advocates the idea of keeping Alex in his home environment with his mother, as he believes it would be beneficial to the two of them to stay together.
Anya herself has lost a young daughter, Poppy, to early-onset schizophrenia, and is haunted by memories of her and the belief that she failed her because she was unable to save Poppy despite her training. She recognises similar symptoms in Alex, and is determined to help him receive proper treatment. As the story progresses, Anya starts to wonder if Alex is truly ill, or if he really has a special gift.
(SPOILER ALERT)
In the end, after a dramatic turn of events, Anya wakes up in hospital after a blackout when Alex tries to kill her and then himself. Michael is with her, and when she asks him if Alex is alive, he reveals that Alex does not exist.
Michael is not a social worker, and is in fact a fellow child psychiatrist who noticed signs of psychosis in Anya after Poppy's death. He has been doing his best to help her recover, but despite his efforts, Anya developed delusions and created Alex in her mind, a young boy with symptoms similar to Poppy's. Cindy, a mother too wrapped up in her problems to consider the impact her illness had on Alex, is a manifestation of Anya's guilt- her belief that her own incapabilities as a mother led to her daughter's suicide.
So all in all, I'd say it was a great read cause it was pretty riveting, but I just felt so asdfghjkl in the end when I found out Alex didn't exist, especially since most of the book was narrated through his perspective, in the form of a diary. It was entirely believable. Carolyn, you have deceived me. Oh yes, it was revealed Alex's diary was written by Anya while she was having delusions.
The ending reminded me a lot of Shutter Island, though. I was half-expecting Michael to say, "Haven't you noticed Alex's full name is an anagram of yours?"
Now I'm on to another book, Kids These Days by Drew Perry.
And... abrupt end haha bye
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