The Best Defense
Currently reading:
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison
Magicicada by Claire Milliken
Books finished this week: 1
★★★☆☆
Where this book came from: Purchased at the one and only BookHampton during Hamptons Whodunit!
Why this book: I adored the premise, and I’m putty in an author’s hands the minute I get to hear them discuss their work in person.
Thoughts: This was a solid four-star read for the first half of the book. But then it began to feel very quiet——too quiet. This is a story largely about a woman in captivity, so that makes complete sense. But if there isn’t much happening in the plot, then there should be something else to hold a reader in the narrative. There is so much interesting psychological and emotional nuance to dig into here, but I don’t feel like we got to go beyond the surface with any of our POV or featured characters. Also, the ending made me literally toss the book down next to me and say aloud, “No.”
Library updates:
My brain feels a little muddled. Somehow, the end of the semester is coming up, which this time around also means that my time in Emerson’s PopFic program is also coming to an end. I remember attending an informational meeting about the program years ago, probably in 2021 or 2022 sometime, and when the admissions rep mentioned the program could be completed in two years, that felt like both not enough and far too much time. And then, when my first classes started in May 2023, I counted ahead and couldn’t fathom still doing it in May 2025. It also immediately reminded me of undergrad, the endless cycle of registering for classes, taking those classes, finishing those classes, and then registering for the next semester, the cycle going on and on for eternity. Or four years, in that case.
But somehow, here we are: the end of my last semester of grad school. I was lucky enough to take part in two other programs this semester too. The production editorial mentorship with Penguin Random House and having my manuscript reviewed by student editors in Emerson’s publishing MA program are both also wrapping up in the next week or two. (I also had a job interview this week, but I’m trying to be chill about it.)
School-wise, this week was a big one in particular because I successfully completed my thesis “conversation” on Thursday afternoon. Assuming I get all the paperwork signed and format my PDFs correctly, I’m done. I’m done.
(To clarify, the book is not done. But the master’s degree is just about there!!)
Once upon a time, this would’ve been called a “defense,” but I didn’t really have to defend anything (thankfully). It was just two professors telling me what was great about my work, what needed some fine-tuning, and what would make it stronger. As expected, I wasn’t nervous until about two hours before the scheduled meeting time, when my stomach decided to tie itself in knots and my brain started spiraling, but once the three of us were on Zoom, it felt easy——mostly me listening and nodding and madly scribbling notes. And I came away from it feeling relieved, above all, and also buoyed, supported, excited. These very smart people think my book has legs.
There’s plenty of revising I still need to do, because we only talked about the first 110ish pages, but I feel like I have a solid foundation and a clear road map for revision, and I can’t wait to jump back into it!
Though I am taking a bit of a break right now (and daydreaming about potential spin-offs instead). I deserve it.
Closing thoughts:
I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but this week’s events brought to mind the wise words of Semisonic: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.”
(Listen to “Closing Time.” That’s my closing thought for the week.)
