Charm & Strange: A Novel

Charm and Strange is the story of Win, a student at a Vermont boarding school who’s a gifted athlete but also a bit of a loner and followed by rumors of rage and mental instability. Win thinks he might be a werewolf and responsible for the dead body recently found in the woods outside his school campus. The blurb doesn’t really tell you if this is a paranormal story or not and this intrigued me and made me want to read it. It really is best to go into this one knowing as little about the story as possible, luckily the first review I read said this so I stopped reading the reviews and dove into this book. And they were right; to get the full experience of Stephanie Kuehn’s novel you must go in organically and piece together the clues that allow you to understand Win’s story.Along the way we’re given chapters that are flashbacks of Win’s childhood which depicts a very different life than the one he leads now, one with parents and siblings and summer’s away visiting grandparents and cousins. I must say that I really enjoyed the relationship between Win and his older brother and younger sister. There’s an honesty and complexity shown, especially between him and his brother that makes their relationship very believable. It doesn’t take long to realize these glimpses into Win’s past are slowly revealing how and why he became the broken person he is today. But does this mean he’s really a wolf? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out :)I found that once I started reading I couldn’t pull myself away; this is largely in part to Kuehn’s brilliant writing. The way in which she tells this story is mesmerizing, she writes in a style that is simple yet full of lyrical metaphors that provide subtle clues in Win’s heartbreaking tale. Once I was hooked into the story I couldn’t help but feel completely invested in Win, he’s one of the most complex characters I’ve ever come across. I felt his desperation and pain so completely that I just wanted to rescue him long before I knew what he needed rescuing from!At roughly 250 page, this is what I consider a shorter novel and easily readable over a weekend or even a day. What it’s not though is a fast read, it starts out a little confusing and requires a bit of patience on the readers part. Patience to feel what this story is about and to see all the pieces coming together in the end, trust me it’s totally worth it. This book won’t be for everyone either, I suspect many people will give it a few chapters and then give up due to the confusing nature of where the story starts. Charm and Strange is more of a complex character study than anything else; there’s still a mystery here but it’s not really the heart of this story, Win is.I absolutely loved this book and read it from start to finish in just one sitting, that’s no easy feat when all 3 of my kids are home! This is a deeply powerful novel filled with complex characters that I won’t soon forget. It’s definitely in my top 10 reads of 2015 list and I’ve already purchased Kuehn’s other novels and can’t wait to read them :) I would definitely recommend Charm and Strange for anyone who likes these types of books. Heck, even if you don’t you should still give it a try because I guarantee you’ve never read a story quite like this!

Maybe it’s because I have a darkness inside me, but I’ve been pleased to find books that deal with tough issues such as the ones found in Charm & Strange. Authors are becoming fearless and giving voice to everything from depression to abuse. I wish these books had been around when I was a teenager. They would have comforted me during times when I didn’t understand what was happening.A bevy of emotions followed me as I read Charm & Strange. The first few chapters instilled a fear of a hokey ending and I prepared myself to be disappointed. But as the story unfolded and clues began to worm their way into my mind a knot formed in my chest. Disgust and dismay strangled my heart and I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know the outcome and I wanted it to be positive because if it wasn’t my heart would continue to be squeezed.Stephanie Keuhn writes fluidly with no superfluous content. The story is paced in a manner that leaves you breathless and the major plot points fall like dominoes. The characters are three-dimensional. I could imagine myself talking with them, getting to know them outside the pages of the book.Drew/Win’s struggle is heartbreaking. Part of me wanted a hokey ending, because that would mean he hadn’t endured such pain and confusion. His battle is against an enemy he doesn’t understand and his strategies leave him vulnerable. Isolating himself isn’t just self-preservation, he truly believes he is protecting those around him.Although the crux of the story emerges from very ugly circumstances, Keuhn manages to convey that ugliness without becoming graphic. To me, that takes talent. And a lot of class. I loved this book and at the same time was disgusted by its morally revolting nucleus. I highly recommend it, but don’t pick it up thinking it will be a quick, light read. You’ll be blindsided and disillusioned if you do.

To say this book wasn't what I expected was an understatement. I read it based almost solely on reading the reviews here and on other sites. The "surprise twist" is what really piqued my curiosity.In truth, however, the surprise twist is neither a twist nor a surprise. It becomes apparent fairly early what is happening, if not why. That too, eventually becomes apparent.The way in which this story is told is unique and really makes you think about what it must be like to be inside the narrator's head. The writing is solid, and as you figure out what is at the heart of the story, the dread and the sympathy become almost overwhelming.I almost feel like this book should come with a warning. POTENTIAL SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!I certainly wasn't looking for a book with such a heavy topic when I bought this, and I'm probably not the only person who dove into the story thinking it dealt with the paranormal or some other more mundane topic. For people who have lived through circumstances similar to the narrator's, finding themselves inside of his reality part-way into this book could be a rude and unwelcome surprise. Even with no particular emotional baggage to influence my experience, reading this story was an incredibly emotional experience - one that will stay with me for quite some time. In fact, I dreamt about the book last night when I'd finished reading it, and still find myself rethinking a lot of the earlier passages in the book, in light of what we discovered later in the story.The style, tone and story structure of this book are very clever. Not an easy or forgettable read, but a very good one.

Trigger Warning: This book features child sexual abuse, violence, and suicide.What to say about Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn, other than that it's awesome? There's so much about this book that I can't really talk about, because of spoilers, so this review is going to be a difficult one.The story is told in alternating chapters. Back when Andrew Winston Winters was 10, known as Drew, and told mostly during the Summer when visiting his grandparents and cousins with his older brother, and in the present, where he's 16 and known as Win, told mostly over one night at a party while at his boarding school. Drew was a fantastic tennis player, Win does cross-country running. Drew had a violent streak, Win thinks he's a werewolf, and has problems connecting to people. Drew has an older brother, Keith, and a younger sister, Siobhan, Win doesn't have any siblings.And it's really difficult to talk about what led to these differences between Drew and Win. This book is dark and disturbing, and so very, very upsetting. As you're reading, it's quite clear than Win is an unreliable narrator, and is definitely has a mental health issue. We find out later he has post traumatic sress disorder (PTSD), that is linked to whatever happened to lead to his brother and sister's deaths.Win is angry, so angry, and yet he's also disconnected. Disconnected from himself, and from other people. It's almost like he's having a little problem with his empathy; he knows he should feel bad when someone is hurting, but he doesn't. He knows he should comfort this person, but he chooses not to. He knows he should feel bad for the not so great things he does to people, but he doesn't. It's not like he doesn't understand why he should, it's just that he doesn't. And it's not like he's callous and enjoys other people's pain - he doesn't. He just doesn't really feel anything. To me, it seemed like there was this wall that was blocking him from feeling what he knows he should be feeling. He also doesn't want to form relationships with anyone. He's not interested in having friends or a girlfriend. He doesn't want to get close to people. With his anger, he seems so tough and strong, but there's a vulnerability underneath it all; he doesn't want to get close to people, because he doesn't want to get hurt.He is absolutely convinced that he is a werewolf. The term "werewolf" is never mentioned, but he knows his family all turned into wolves at the full moon. But he hasn't yet, and he doesn't understand why. He thought perhaps it was linked to puberty, but he's well past puberty, and he still hasn't changed. That's why he's out on the night of the party. It's a full moon, and he's trying to change. He thinks it's dangerous for him to be anywhere near the party, but for some reason he can't explain to himself, when new girl and loner, Jordan, wants to go to the party in the woods, he leads her, and ends up staying. But he knows it's a bad idea. Someone was killed in the last full moon, and no-one has yet been able to explain why. Could he have changed and killed a man? And just completely forgotten?This is not a paranormal novel. Win is not a werewolf. This is clear to us readers from the beginning. And not just us, but his former roommate, Lex. Lex is the one person who Win has told about him being a wolf, but shortly before telling him, Win betrayed Lex. So Lex has been pretty anti-Win for quite a number of months now, but at the party he sees what is really going on with Win, why he's out, and his attitude towards him changes. Lex isn't the smartest, he's not even necessarily the nicest, but he knows Win needs help.And all the while, we have the story of Drew. Drew, whose father want him to be the absolute best at tennis. Drew, whose grandmother treats him horribly because of how he fractured his tennis opponent's skull with his racket when he lost to him. Drew, who used to get on well with his older brother Keith, but who is now not being very nice, and has a overly fond relationship with one of their cousins. Drew, whose cousins tease him, and tell him things that aren't true. Drew who experiences, is involved in, and witnesses a number of things no child should ever have to.The actual discussion of mental illness doesn't come until the end of the book. He has PTSD. And the being a werewolf was the way his mind tried to make sense of something awful, as he explains to Jordan.'"My doctor says that sometimes when things happen to kids, like really little kids and really terrible things, they don't know how to make sense of it all. So they come up with ways of understanding the world that don't look like how other people think the world works. Almost like a new language.""A private language," she says.Yes."He calls it a system of meaning," I explain."You're saying something bad happened to you when you were a little kid?""I'm saying that my system of meaning about life, about death, everything, is sort of messed up. But . . .""But what?""But it doesn't mean I'm dangerous. That's what I've learned. That's what's helped me."' (p210)I'd also say Win is perhaps not far off having an eating disorder. Sport is important to him, but not in the sense of it's his passion, but in that it's something he has to be good at. He was brilliant at tennis, and now he's brilliant at cross country. So he is good at cross country, but he has to make sure he is good at it. So he calorie counts and eats very little, dangerously small amounts. Because if he eats too much, he may end up being crap at cross country, and he can't be. It's almost an obsession, the way he thinks about food and how he controls what he puts in his body. But the way he thinks about food is also kind of... incidental to everything else. I know that sounds bad; an eating disorder is a big deal. But the focus is more on his past, and his certainty that he's a wolf. With his possible eating disorder, it's almost like, if you blink you'll miss it.Charm & Strange is a beautifully told, completely captivating, but unbelievably dark and disturbing story. It's not a happy read, it's a really upsetting and heartbreaking read, in so many ways, but it's such an incredible story, and an important one, I think. It's one I kind of want to read over, knowing what I know. I want to hug the little boy Drew so tight, and I want to hold teenager Win's hand and help him through. This book is just fantastic, and if you can, I implore you to read it.

I picked up Charm and Strange for two reasons. One was that "Delicate Monsters" by the same author had recently been recommended to me and because I had already loved "Complicity" which had put Stephanie Kuehn firmly on my reading radar in the first place.Now I've finished this I'm honestly not sure what to feel about it. It was a pure read for me - straight through pretty much, it is utterly gripping and has some dark themes and beautiful writing that just really appealed to me. It was really horribly sad in places, uplifting in others and extremely difficult to review because this is a life story, a story that is haunting and delicately constructed - a novel best read cold.At it's heart is a boy who struggles daily to recognise life, more importantly to place himself in it - his past stalks him, his future confounds him, the reason for his confusion being slowly revealed over time.The author has a touch of storytelling genius in her for sure, writing here a character driven, powerful and emotionally resonant tale that will stay with you long after finishing. And that is really all I can say.I'm now going to move straight on to "Delicate Monsters". My list of must read authors just grew by one.Happy Reading Folks.*Purchased Copy*

brought for my daughter she is 15 going on 16, she said it was a great book,

A really nice quick and consistent ambiguous and good read

Ich habe so viel Gutes über dieses Buch gehört. Aber ich wurde nicht wirklich warm damit.Win, bzw. in den Rückblenden Drew genannt, ging irgendwie sang und klanglos an mir vorbei. Und das, obwohl er ein äußerst tragischer Charakter war. Nicht nur, dass er nicht so ist wie andere Menschen, dazu leidet er auch noch unter psychologischen Problemen. Er lässt seine Wut gerne an sich oder anderen aus. Und das nicht gerade unbrutal.Es baut sehr gut darauf auf, wie Familien uns formen und deformieren können. Eine Familie ist nicht immer glücklich und findet am Ende doch zueinander und alle haben etwas gelernt, eine Familie kann dich auch zerstören.Aber dennoch, ich glaube im Gegensatz zum Charakter Drew/Win, versuchte man ein poetisches Buch zu schreiben. Was meiner Meinung nach wenig gelang. Ich fand der Schreibstil war zu plakativ im Sinne dessen, das es für mich kein Gefühl erweckte. Alles ging recht kalt an mir vorbei. Nun, nicht überall, aber im Großen und Ganzen. Besonders die erste Hälfte des Buches.Allerdings mochte das Konzept mit den Rückblenden. Die Kapitel wechseln sich jeweils mit der Zukunft und dem Vergangenen ab und beide Stränge fließen zum großen Finale zusammen. Spannend war es auf jeden Fall und ist mit seinen 259 Seiten und großzügig angelegter Schrift auch schnell weg gelesen. Vielleicht lag es auch daran, es war zu wenig Zeit um mich damit anzufreunden.Dieses Buch ist wirklich ein Einzelstück was für Überraschungen gut ist. Es könnte ein Buch sein, was ich leiden mag. Es ist verzwickt, eigenartig, sehr psychologisch, teilweise ist alles gebrochen und fügte sich dann wieder zusammen. Es hätte so gut sein können. Aber es sollte wohl nicht sein.Es ist einfach ein Buch, was man selbst lesen sollte.