Sarah O'Connor

Substack – 30 Things I’ve Learned By 30

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December 26, 2023

My sister and I were supposed to be born around Valentine’s Day 1994, but we decided to speed that up by nine or so weeks. Our mom was already in the hospital with preeclampsia, the best place to be when you suddenly go into labour. Our mom was actually supposed to be discharged the day she went into labour. She and my dad were supposed to be visiting her parents for an early Christmas, but I guess my sister and I thought being born would be more interesting.

Even then it took long. I don’t know when my mom went into labour and I can’t ask her about it now. My dad doesn’t remember all of the details, but my mom must have been discharged (or meant to be discharged) in the late morning or early afternoon. Regardless, my sister and I didn’t arrive until the night. It had gotten so late that my parents started to wonder if my sister and I would have different birthdays, but at 11:01pm, sixteen minutes after my sister, I came into the world breeched with medical tongs to assist my entrance into the world.

Read the full post on my Substack.

Book Review: The Book of Benjamin by Ben Robinson

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December 21, 2023

“Sometimes patrons ask if my full first name is Benjamin. Then they ask if I know what my name means…They are surprised to find out I’m the oldest of two sons and not the youngest of twelve. They look at me as if I’m wearing the wrong name tag, wearing the wrong name,” (Robinson 31).

Ben Robinson’s book is a combination of memoir and poetry, examining the etymology of his name and how he is perceived by others and how we perceive ourselves based on our names. How much do our names shape our identity? How much do we shape ourselves around our names? Robinson explores this and so much more in The Book of Benjamin. Continue reading

Book Review: Daddy Lessons by Steacy Easton

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December 19, 2023

“The central tragedy of childhood is never getting what you want,” (Easton).

Easton’s memoir explores their life growing up in the West as a Mormon, queer, Autistic individual. Following them as a child in the Mormon church and a student at an Anglican boys’ boarding school to be “reformed,” to mall bathrooms, rodeos, bathhouses, and Catholic churches, Easton’s book is an examination of want, desire, and the complex murkiness that comes when looking back. Continue reading

Book Review: Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

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December 15, 2023

“If God gives yoyu meaning, if God makes you good, if God makes you real and worthy and powerful, then that’s my Ralph. Ralph made my suffering better, healthy and righteous. He made my suffering want only good things: make the pain stop and I’ll be the best wife in the world,” (Hogarth).

After Abby’s mother-in-law Laura dies by suicide, her husband Ralph falls into a deep depression. Abby was afraid that this would happen. Laura, who hated Abby, suffered from mental illness and Abby can’t stand seeing her beloved Ralph in the depths of despair. Ralph is Abby’s whole world, after a traumatic childhood he’s the one that makes her whole, that makes things good and if Abby can’t make Ralph happy then she can’t be the best wife she knows she can be. When she learns that Laura’s ghost is haunting them, and that her favorite patient Mrs. Bondy might be leaving the nursing home Abby works at, Abby feels alone and is desperate to make things right. And Abby has a plan that will fix Ralph, get rid of Laura, and keep Mrs. Bondy at the home and all she needs is a special recipe for chicken à la king. Continue reading

Book Review: End of Story by Kylie Scott

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December 12, 2023

“The future is a fluid thing, Susie. Little is definite. We’re born and therefore one day we’ll die. That’s unavoidable. As for everything in between…Just do your best, dear. That’s all any of us can do,” (Scott 55-56).

After Susie’s beloved aunt dies she is given her house and is excited to start renovating it. But when she opens the door to find Lars, her ex’s best friend who witnessed their embarrassing public breakup six months before, Susie isn’t feeling as excited. But the house needs work done and Susie can’t afford to be picky. As Lars begins work he finds a divorce certificate in the walls dated ten years in the future with both of their names on it. Curious and confused about how such an item ended up in the drywall, Susie and Lars try to go on with their lives. But there’s a spark between them, but is it even worth pursuing if their relationship is doomed from the start? Continue reading

Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #0)

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December 3, 2023

“The Hunger Games are a reminder of what monsters we are and how we need the Capitol to keep us from chaos,” (Collins 343).

On the morning of the reaping of the tenth annual Hunger Games, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow learns he will be mentoring the female tribute of District 12, Lucy Gray Baird. While unfortunate, Coriolanus won’t let his disappointment of tribute affect him. The odds are already against the Snow family, once mighty the Snows are now struggling, and only Coriolanus’ charm and smarts has allowed him to follow his family’s mantra that he hopes will one day again be true: Snow lands on top. But Coriolanus is drawn to Lucy Gray, and though he knows the tributes from District 12 have little hope of surviving, let alone the Hunger Games but Coriolanus is determined to do just that, even if it means breaking some rules. Continue reading

Book Review: Penance by Eliza Clark

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November 27, 2023

“Do you know what happened to her already? Did you catch it in the papers?…Did you listen to the podcast? Did the hosts make jokes? Do you have a dark sense of humour? Did that make it okay? Or were they sensitive about it? Did they coo in the right places? Did they give you a content warning? Did you skip ahead? Did you see pictures? Did you look for them?” (Clark 6).

In the small seaside town of Crow-on-Sea, sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson has been set on fire by three of her classmates. Journalist and true crime writer Alex Z. Carelli has written Penance, recognized as the definitive book on the crime, taking a gonzo journalist approach to the case. Carelli moved to Crow-on-Sea, spoke to the deceased and culprit’s family members and even met with the killer’s giving an intimate look at a crime that devastated a small community. But surprising information has come out about Carelli, begging the question about how much is true in his true crime novel? Continue reading

Book Review: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

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November 19, 2023

“I think it’s time for me to decide what to be. I can’t go on being nothing forever, can I?” (Blume).

Almost twelve-year-old Margaret Simon has just moved from New York City to Farbrook, New Jersey and is settling in well. She has three new friends, a secret club, and is happy to belong with a group of girls where they can talk about boys and bras and getting their periods. But Margaret’s new friends are shocked she doesn’t have a religion, though Margaret does talk to God on her own without anyone, including her parents, knowing. Margaret starts to wonder if maybe it’s time for her to get her own religion, but which one will she choose? Continue reading

Book Review: Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Crusted Snow #2)

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November 15, 2023

“What about us?…The young ones. The next generation. The future…we trusted you to care for us. To love us. To make the right decisions for us. And you did. We’re alive today because of you…But for a long time, you didn’t tell us everything about what happened when we were little kids…We asked you, over and over. But you ignored us,” (Rice 110).

Twelve years after the lights went out and the world ended, Evan Whitesky and his community have settled into the northern Ontario bush. He has just become a grandfather and Anishinaabe traditions have been reestablished. But resources are getting scarce, and Evan and the elders know it’s time to leave this land they’ve made home and venture to the home of their ancestors where the white birch grow. Evan, his fifteen-year-old daughter Nangohns, and a few others form a group to find that place, learning stories of what happened when the world ended and the threats that exist outside the bush. Continue reading

Book Review: That Way Madness Lies (Ed. Dahlia Adler)

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November 13, 2023

I’m a simple girl, you tell me there’s an anthology of YA stories adapted from Shakespeare’s plays and I’ll read it. That Way Madness Lies doesn’t disappoint, it’s an excellent collection of stories that Shakespeare lovers will love and many of the stories work as a great introduction to Shakespeare’s works that reluctant teens may be wary of reading themselves. As with any anthology there were some winners and some losers, but mostly winners in this bunch!

Read my thoughts on all the stories in the collection below: Continue reading