Howl

I believe the biggest characteristic of my generation is being connected and in the loop. Being connected is both an amazing and not so good thing. It's an incredible thing that everything is at our fingertips.
My generation has developed such a tight knit sense of community, and sharing. Everybody has to know what their friends are up to 24/7. Sharing is a huge part of my generation. We share everything, and also love to pirate things and get them for free. The idea of sharing also helps keep people up to date and in the loop if they do not have the traditional means. For example if somebody does not have a television, and wants to watch breaking bad. A friend can lend them a netflix password and they can binge on all the breaking bad they want.
On the downside there is always this sense of no privacy. Because we are always connected and it's impossible to be fully alone. You always get the feeling that you are being always observed. Plus with the NSA spying program you really don't feel alone. Disconnecting yourself becomes harder to do.

Girl In Landscape

My philosophy of coming of age stories is that stories of about girl characters will go through a sexual experience. Coming of age stories about boy will be through a traumatic event. Girl in Landscape is not an exception to this. The book does surprisingly mix genres pretty well. The book starts off with a science fiction feel. We are in a futuristic Brooklyn where the ozone layer is completely gone, and protective cones have to be worn at the beach to protect skin. The book quickly paints a portrait of the “typical family”.Then immediately destroys that idea, and sends them off to the planet of the Arch builders.

Once they settle on the Planet of the Arch Builders it immediately transforms into a western. The settlement on the planet of the Arch Builders just like the wild west represents a clean slate. The settlement is this lawless isolated place. Where the residents can mold the town into something great. All of the adults in the settlement are seen as failures on Earth. So this opportunity to attempt to leave a legacy is really attractive to the residents. Just like the west where people wanted to make money, and build legacies.

Then these very spiritual and supernatural events begin to happen when the Arch Builders come more into the picture. The Arch Builders are obviously the Indians in this western genre. Efram treats them like second class citizens on their own planet, just like common racism in the west. Pella soon gains the ability to see through the house deer while she sleeps. When she becomes part of the deer, Pella starts to have a sexual awakening. She becomes very voyeuristic, and develops this strange sexual tension and almost lust for Efram. Her lust quickly turns to total disgust when she realizes how terrible Efram really is. I’m happy that nothing really happened between Efram and Pella it would of been too crazy if it started to go in the Lolita direction. She does use her sexuality a bit to attempt to stop him.