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The Realm of Possibility
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Book Review in Verse

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message 1: by Eli (new) - rated it 5 stars

Eli | 3 comments #1. The Realm.

"Here's what I know about the realm of possibility—
it is always expanding, it is never what you think
it is. Everything around us was once deemed
impossible. From the airplane overhead to
the phones in our pockets to the choir girl
putting her arm around the metalhead.
As hard as it is for us to see sometimes, we all exist
within the realm of possibility. Most of the limits
are of our own world's devising. And yet,
every day we each do so many things
that were once impossible to us."

–Jed, in the final poem of the book, Possibility.


There are five parts
Each with the voices of four people.
Daniel, Mary, Diana, Megan,
Tyler, Anton, Gail, Jill,
Anne, Jamie, Pete, Clara,
Charlotte, Elizabeth, Cara, Lia,
Zack, Karen, Lily, and finally Jed.
Their adventures
and misadventures
take them everywhere from a church to a sex shop
And everything in between.
Essentially, though, the poems
(if they can be called that,
as they are in that perfect format
that blends verse and prose),
are about relationships. Of all sorts.
The poems have relationships, too
they all reference each other,
whether obviously
or subtly,
or retrospectively
(where you have to go back to understand).
There is no continuous plot, per se,
several plots, indeed,
one of frustration, some of mystery, and quite a few of love.
but what all these have in common
is that they push the limits
of the realm of possibility.
But the realm of possibility
is actually
New Jersey.
(Read the flap. You'll understand.)

#2. Twenty.

Like the stories, the characters
are all kinds of people
Some Christian,
some goth (Anton is both),
some popular,
some anything but popular,
some "gay as the day is long"
some straight, in an obvious way
some have a great sense of humor (Clara),
some could be a little less serious (Cara),
some are introverted,
some outgoing (even too outgoing).
There are twenty.

Take Mary, for instance.
She is not described fully by herself,
but rather, by Pete, her unlikely boyfriend.
When you read her poems, on page 12,
you will not understand her until page 122.

#3. Reality.

"there are alligators in the sewers of 
Bloomfield Hills...
...there was once a Blockbuster cashier
who tried to charge an alligator late fees
and they found his body in the next morning
bitten in twenty-three different places. his blood
came out of the faucets
for days."

–Anton, in suburban myths


Why have one plot?
Reality has many plots.
Some, no, all, are interconnected.
Together, they form
the realm of possibility.

They all feel real. They could be real.
There's something really magical about Daniel and Jed.
There's something really interesting about Cara and Elizabeth.
There's something really amazing about Gail and Anton.
There's something really funny about Zack and Clara.
There's something really great about this book. ★★★★★ -EF


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