Literature Deep Dive

    * Spoiler Warning*         In  Circe, a novel by Madeline Miller, we follow the journey of Circe, the daughter of the powerful titan Helios, and minor character in Greek mythology. Being the seemingly talentless member of her extremely bold and pretentious family, Circe struggles with feeling alone and purposeless. This soon changes when she learns that she is a witch, and is able to use potions and herbs to perform magic. Because this is a new and frightening concept to her family and the Olympians, she is shunned to an island called Aeaea. Rather than looking at the banishment as a punishment, she uses the time she has to to learn how to wield her abilities, making her grow increasingly powerful. Throughout the novel, there is an apparent theme of misogyny, that can relate to our society today, and Circe must learn how to navigate through the many challenges this brings.       This theme of a woman's place in ancient...

     Nessa is pretty similar to the protagonists I’ve read about in other books. The plot of The Call by Peadar O’Guilin follows her story as she prepares herself for an event called the call (hence the title of the book). I’m a little less than halfway through the book, so I can’t easily write on how Nessa grows as a character. But, I can say what she’s like right now.      Nessa doesn’t want to show any emotion. She tries to stay blank, above whatever feelings she might have about people at the school. However, she has a hard time truly staying neutral. Despite having a crippled leg, Nessa is quite brave, and is always prepared to do whatever her classmates are doing, even if it takes her longer. She knows that someday she’ll be fighting for her life, and that’s all she thinks about. O’Guilin explains how Nessa likes a boy named Anto, and that she cares for him. But, she doesn’t want to show it. She “strains against the muscles in her neck that want her t...