By Sarah Lausi

Helen of Nowhere
Makenna Goodman
Coffee House Press (Sept. 9, 2025)
ISBN: 978-1566897358

Helen of Nowhere is a story that truly grabs you in such an interesting way. In between characters monologuing about the evangelical nature of plants or the various ways they have overlooked their wives, this surrealist novel is about a professor looking to buy a house in the middle of nowhere after losing his job and dignity. While the Realtor shows him around, she tells the professor about Helen, the home’s former owner. Slowly but surely, the professor becomes obsessed with his own idea of Helen and his own explicit interpretation of who she was.

With its monologue-like format, Goodman places readers straight into the characters’ minds; instead of the typical objective narration of how one person speaks to another, the curtain is fully pulled back, as we watch the story unfold through their eyes, hear their thoughts, their own biased perspectives of the world. This uncommon form of storytelling is truly engaging and works especially well for the complex characters that Goodman writes about. For example, seeing the professor’s unfiltered beliefs and how they affect his relationships with the others—his wife, the realtor, and of course, Helen,—is simultaneously a disgusting yet entertaining experience. Reading from the professor’s perspective is a twisted form of torture, to put it lightly; there are countless times throughout the novel that I had to either physically put the book down or show the excerpts of text to companions that were reading beside me. One such excerpt is: “My wife and I tried to do something about the chasm between us. We saw a therapist. A pathetic waste of time. We went to a tantric sex workshop in Iceland. It was cold. Everything, my wife said, was about me finding pleasure. No, I said, everything was about the dog” (25). Knowing that the professor’s wife was his former student makes me feel so genuinely uncomfortable in my own skin. This isn’t exactly a negative point in the story, however; I much prefer the seething hatred I feel for this man, rather than feeling nothing. Still, this does not excuse the fact that there is so much wrong with the professor, from his superiority complex to his hallucinogenic relationship with an elderly woman; I want to put him in a jar and shake him around until he is thoroughly concussed.

Beyond the characters themselves, there are a couple interesting themes that Helen of Nowhere explores, the most prominent one being self-perception and ego. One way this theme is presented throughout the text is via the idea of doers and takers. The professor introduces this idea early on in the first chapter, “Man,” where he explains that a doer is “a person who takes positive action to benefit others” (16), while a taker “thinks about how much they need, not about how their need’s fulfillment might affect others” (16). Despite everyone else in the professor’s life labeling him as a taker, the professor is convinced that he is a doer being overlooked and abused by everyone else. Because of how the professor’s self perception does not align with how others perceive him, the reader is given a couple different ideas about the state of his ego. Immediately, I assumed that he was just extremely disconnected from others, that he was just an egomaniac who believed he was better than everyone else. While this interpretation has sufficient evidence to back it up, I eventually came to the second conclusion that perhaps the professor’s ego is so fragile, that he cannot fathom the idea of being perceived in any way other than “a man so kind, so plant-loving, so mild-mannered” (19).

The other prominent theme in the novel is how gender tends to play a part within power dynamics. Like doers and takers, the idea of gender and power is described as anchors and kites. Wife explains the concept to the professor in the chapter “Helen and Man.” While the professor acted as a kite, able to live his life freely and without consequence, wife acted as an anchor to keep him grounded in reality. While this dynamic is not inherently harmful, “[wife] realized that while an anchor’s main purpose was to hold a ship in place, it wasn’t meant to solely anchor—it had every right, and in fact demanded to be pulled up from time to time to rest on deck and enjoy the feeling of the open air. This didn’t mean the kite had to stop flying, but at times it would have been nice for her to lay coiled on the deck without having to work so hard” (91). Here, wife is realizing just how much she has given up for the professor, having quit her research and dreams of becoming a professor herself just to stabilize his own projects. This experience is not unique to wife, as many women end up altering or sacrificing their own dreams so that they can settle down and begin a family. Meanwhile, the man may feel he has less household or familial responsibilities, allowing him the freedom to roam and continue exploring the joys life has to give. This fact gives the line “She was ready to be a kite, too, in fact” (91) so much more power, as wife attempts to regain her freedom by rejecting the role of an anchor and divorcing the professor.

Overall, Helen of Nowhere is an entrancing novel that allows us to explore complex themes through the perspective of four wildly different characters. The unique format combined with the eccentric characters and surreal story make it stand out against other books I’ve read in the past.

By Maura O’Brien

Body Memory
Meriwether Clarke
Unsolicited Press (Oct. 7, 2025)
978-1-963115-62-8

Body Memory, poet Meriwether Clarke’s first full-length publication, does a stellar job not only in its execution, but in its portrayal of the lives of women and what many of them must endure every day. The book consists of a number of poems, all divided into three distinct parts. These three parts detail not only the harmful effects of misogyny and the dehumanization that it causes but also the act of overcoming such things and seeking out connection and identity despite everything else. Above all, this collection focuses on remembrance. It is about looking into the past and doing your best to acknowledge how it shapes you but not letting it entirely define you.

These poems are especially effective because despite taking place across different timelines, they can easily be connected to each other through not only a common theme, but also the shared voice of womanhood. They could all be from the perspective of one person’s life, or they could each be separate, self-contained stories about different people. This effect unites the poems and still allows them to shine individually. It is up to the reader to decide how they want to read this collection.

Another common thread is the focus on the natural and the man-made world. Alongside the allusions to the bodies of women and what they are constantly subjected to, there exists imagery of orange trees and mountains and cities and their sidewalks. In “Oranges,” the second poem, the title fruit brings the speaker back to their childhood and the orange tree that was in Mimi’s (another name for a grandmother) backyard. They loved picking the fruits and smelling orange on their hands but hated actually having to eat the fruit that they picked. This poem is like a bittersweet snapshot into childhood. It is a reminder of simpler times, where the only thing you had to worry about were oranges. Even amid this sweet imagery, the speaker still feels the need to point out that her “chest still looked flat.” This implies that while it may be irrelevant at this moment, it will become important later on. Although this is a time of innocence, there is still this consciousness of the body.

This kind of wonder makes the poems that come after, like “Rug Burn,” even more tragic and disgusting. The speaker is only thirteen here when an older man dangles his hands near her breasts while she is reading in a bookstore basement. The most powerful part about this poem is that it is gross, plain and simple. The visceral disgust that comes from this poem is palpable. As an adult, the stranger should not be taking advantage of the situation, but he does anyway. The speaker’s breasts and clothes were still hers, and the creep should have minded his business and left her alone. In the end, the speaker is the only one who suffers from the consequences of his actions.

Another phenomenal poem for its portrayal of this collection’s message is “Body Memory,” the title poem, which does not appear until much later in the book. In this phenomenal piece, the speaker is lying in bed, but instead of the speaker as they are now it is the version of themselves before puberty and before “men started honking.” The speaker is emotional about this visual. To them, it is a reminder of what she once was, and how she mourns the loss of this version of herself she now realizes is precious. She is quite literally remembering her body in a way she couldn’t have when she was that young girl. She did not realize before how lovely she had been in her youth until that loveliness and innocence were gone, which speaks volumes about the way society views women and girls today. It demands that girls grow up too fast and then have the audacity to mourn what once was. This time, however, the mourning has meaning because it is the speaker’s grief, not someone else looking in on her life and feeling sad about it.

Overall, the poems of Body Memory masterfully tell of the horrors of being a woman and how that ever-present fear affects women all throughout their lives. There is innocence, then a loss of innocence over the course of these poems. However, the speaker or speakers show time and time again that through it all they are survivors. Despite everything, you must persist. Despite everything, you must remember so that you can move forward. If you do not persist, the men who put that fear in you win.

By Phoebe Robbins

The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace
Megan Okonsky
Lanternfish Press (Aug 19, 2025)
978-1-941360-89-7

Megan Okonsky’s The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace follows a young woman balancing her desire for freedom with her need to please her family, friends, and the “Tombstonians” of Tombstone, Texas, all while dealing with the devastating loss of her beloved cat, Sweet Potato Grace. And did I mention she’s gay?

Okonsky’s novel is a sweet tale (tail?) of found family as main character Pinky Swear confronts grief and contends with her sexuality. This book is driven by Pinky’s wonderfully sheltered yet hopeful outlook on life, and I found myself saying “one more chapter” because of her. I kept reading because I care what Pinky has to say, and I care about who she becomes on her search for belonging. She finds kinship in a queer (in both senses of the word) group of adventurers who look straight out of the 70s in their orange VW van that “parted the Red Sea of boring, sticky air that hung over Tombstone” as it drove into town. While these rad travelers are intriguing, it is Pinky who makes this story the inviting page-turner that it is.

Pinky’s often comedic explanations of the world lend a naivete to the prose that allow readers a glimpse into the small town life she leads, doomed to a seemingly inescapable life of taking over Swear-Itz, her family’s general store. Her description of Sweet Potato Grace as “a mean old bitch” sure makes her a “riot,” as one of her new groovy friends says. As she navigates her closeted sexuality, she develops a crush on one the adventurers, a woman named Mars. The tentative, gentle bond that these two form throughout the novel is a beautiful example of queer joy and acceptance, and it was truly a delight to read.

In the middle of my journey through this book, my family and I discovered that my dog is dying. The vet said his best guess is 4-6 weeks. She’s only 8. I put off my reading for days after Sookie was diagnosed because I wanted nothing to do with a story about a girl grieving her dead cat. But when I picked the book back up, I found myself relating to the sadness that pervades this moment in Pinky’s life, finding comfort in her attempts at honoring Sweet Potato Grace. First, of course, with the inciting incident: Sweet Potato’s funeral service and the eulogy that the gaggle of groovy gadabouts crashed. But in other ways, too, throughout the book, by sharing Sweet Potato Grace’s story with her new friends and painting pictures of her and toasting to her in joyous moments.

And as she struggles to hold on to her best friend’s memory, she muses on grief: “I found myself thinking how happy I truly was in that moment—until I remembered why I hadn’t been so high in the clouds for the past few weeks. Sweet Potato Grace. My kitty, whom I’d failed. Grief hides like that, doesn’t it?” I think we all feel this way about lost pets—wondering if we should have taken them to the vet sooner, if we should’ve noticed something was off. Through Pinky, Okonsky reminds us to give ourselves grace in grief. It comes creeping back up right when you’re finally feeling alright and because you’re feeling alright, the guilt you feel makes the grief all the more powerful. But Pinky, through Okonsky’s honest and emotional writing, allows readers to see that process from the outside, and come closer to understanding the ineffable complexities of loss and love.

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely! I have already recommended it to both my mother and sister, and we all enjoy very different stories, so I think that is a testament to the lovability of this book. It truly has something for everyone, and I promise, Pinky Swear will capture your heart the way she captured mine!

By Faith Grasso

I have read 7 out of the 10 books published under the name Morgan Matson, so I’d say I’m somewhat of an expert on most things Matson. Her books usually have the same setting or eventually end up in the same setting, which adds to the coming of age and romcom charm her work. Matson typically sets up her stories in a fictional town called Stanwich located in Connecticut. The town is small but charming—the kind of place you’d visit for vacation. Imagine a girl next door, Dawson’s Creek, Mystic Pizza vibe, and you’ll be in Stanwich. For The Ballad of Darcy and Russell, the setting changes to Jesse, Nevada and as much as I love a change in scenery, I missed Stanwich.

Darcy and Russell meet at a bus station, phones dead and no cash, and that is where their meet cute happens. Darcy is a hopeless romantic who believes in love at first sight and taking chances. Russell is quiet and struggles to separate himself from his father’s light. He yearns to be seen for himself and not the familial ties attached to his name. We are taken through a series of events that unfold between walking around a somewhat empty town, to finding tacos, football fields with confessions and kisses, breaking into pools. In typical Matson fashion, she adds in strained family dynamics and (of course) romance.

I wouldn’t say The Ballad of Darcy and Russell is one of my favorites I’ve read from Matson. However, the overall story line with its twists and turns did keep me turning the pages, such as when we find out Russell’s dad is a famous singer and he’s been hiding that little detail from Darcy. I do also think some elements of the story felt unrealistic, which I was not a fan of. Russell’s father being a famous singer is largely something that turned the book from great to just good. As much as I love a dramatic and unexpected reveal, that sort of made the book feel less realistic. One of the reasons I love Matson’s writing so much is because I feel like she writes scenarios I would realistically experience. In her book Save the Date, we are thrown into a Father of the Bride moment where everything goes wrong, from alarms not going off to wedding planners gone missing. In Amy and Rodgers Epic Detour,  we’re taken into what I’d say is arguably one of the best road trip novels out there. There’s really nothing better than a cross-country adventure with a cute boy. Both books among others all convey that sense of familiarity. The scenarios presented are things I could picture myself doing. Now let’s be honest, how many of us are going to meet a cute boy who happens to have a super famous and rich father? I’m going to say not many.

I’m not saying this book wasn’t good because it does have some enjoyable moments. I enjoyed the emotionally and physically  intimate scenes shared between Darcy and Russell. Matson doesn’t often go too deep when it comes to the physicality of her characters’ relationships, and I was pleasantly surprised when she added a few more scandalous scenes into The Ballad of Darcy and Russell. Getting to watch the family dynamics between Russell and his family was quite enjoyable and made me yearn for a big family like that. The ending of the book where they both vow to meet at the bus station in Jesse, Nevada if they still felt the same way they did in the moment gave total Serendipity vibes. But the best part of all Morgan Matson books is that they are not just love stories. Within the romcom, the characters are also figuring out who they are and who they want to be. They have to fight through past traumas and learn to forgive those who’ve hurt them. We always see the value of family and mending relationships that have been broken. Those sentiments are what truly make a Morgan Matson book as enjoyable and they are and why I will always recommend a Matson book to anyone who asks.

By Abigail Grossman

    Once again, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has hit the big screen with a new adaptation from director Emerald Fennell. Although this adaptation is different from Brontë’s 1847 novel, it captivates fans and critics alike. From the controversial castings to the disturbingly beautiful sets to the historically inaccurate yet sophisticated gowns, everyone is talking about the uniqueness of the film. Recently, I went to the theater to witness it not once but twice, and both viewings left me craving more of the moors.

    During the fall of 2025, I came across some online discussions about an upcoming film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. I had never heard of Wuthering Heights, but I became increasingly interested as teasers and trailers came out for the film. As a lover of literature, I was devoted to reading the book before seeing the movie. Luckily, I received a copy of the novel as a Christmas gift, giving me enough time to finish before the release of the film. After I finished, I understood why the movie was controversial and wondered how it would compare to the book.

    Nevertheless, I decided to enter the theater with an open mind and fully immerse myself in Fennell’s vision. My boyfriend took me to see it on Valentine’s Day, as I had not stopped talking about its release since receiving the book. To my surprise, we both left the theater speechless and wanting to see it again. It was as if we were too stunned to speak, unable to process the roller coaster of emotions we had just witnessed.

    After a few days passed, I found myself thinking about the movie nonstop. The film has a haunting effect similar to that of the book, in which it refuses to leave your head. It is like a ghost at your window, tapping on the glass, luring you to come back and see it again. Luckily for me, my grandma is a huge Jacob Elordi fan, so I asked her to go with me, knowing she would happily say yes. We turned it into a family event as my mom, dad, and sister decided to come as well. To be honest, the movie is not exactly one you would like to see with your family. However, I wanted to know what they would think of it, so I set the awkwardness aside.

    For a second time, the credits began to roll, and I turned to my family members to see their reactions. My sister and dad, bored out of their minds, quickly rose from their seats, ready to go home. On the other hand, my grandma, mom, and I sobbed ceaselessly while clapping our hands in tearful delight. “Well, what did you think?” I asked them. To which they replied with big smiles, “That was excellent!” Seeing the film for the second time with my family made for a lovely bonding moment, which solidified my love for it.

    If you’re considering seeing the movie but are unsure whether you will like it, I say go for it anyway! It is true, this adaptation is different from the novel. There are missing characters, scenes, and story arcs, but that does not take away from the beauty of cinema itself. Keep in mind that the director did not direct the film, wanting it to be exactly like the book. Her unique interpretation demonstrates art’s ability to transcend time. Brontë’s 19th-century novel is so impactful that it continues to be adapted today.

    Regardless of how you feel about the film, it is definitely worth seeing. In an age where entertainment is at our fingertips, it is easy to take going to the movie theater for granted. This is why my favorite thing about this film was that I got to see it with my loved ones. I will always cherish this Valentine’s Day because I went on the perfect movie date. I will never forget being the only family brave enough to see the movie together. I suggest seeing Wuthering Heights with those you love the most, regardless of your thoughts on it or how awkward it gets, because it makes for a great memory.

By Katherine Abissi

If you like mystery that’s a bit out of this world, you should seek out Lockwood & Co., a five-book supernatural mystery series written by Jonathan Stroud. The series is written in first person perspective and follows Lucy Carlyle, a teenage agent who fights alongside her coworkers, George Cubbins and Anthony Lockwood, to protect their society from ghost attacks. Stroud has turned the ambiguity of the afterlife into a concrete construct which plagues the living, especially children. These children have the talents of sight, hearing, touch, and research, which they use to detect and fight ghosts who materialize at night to terrorize the living. After an accident in her hometown, Lucy hastily joins Lockwood & Company, an independent ghost fighting agency. Together, Lucy, Lockwood, and George solve many mysterious cases and fight dangerous ghosts while hunting for the cause of the hauntings.

In each, Stroud follows a similar structure: the hook, the background, the main mystery, the final battle, and the twist. Like many authors, Stroud’s hook tends to be a battle with a ghost or multiple ghosts. After the attention-getting opening, he provides the reader with background information about where and what the characters have been doing. Next, the main mystery is introduced and developed throughout the book, often interwoven with other cases. During the action-packed finale, a twist is revealed in dramatic fashion. The cards are down, and the chips are out; the agents of Lockwood & Co. never falter and bravely rally to success. The structure Stroud creates captivates the readers, making the series quite addicting. The unique world Stroud has created is colored by the affable qualities of the characters of Lockwood, Lucy, and George, whose found family dynamic adds a wonderful layer to the story.

The Lockwood & Co. series has been adapted into a TV show by Netflix and recently celebrated its two-year anniversary. The show, which stars Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman, and Ali Hadji-Heshmati, has one season that covers the events of the first two books, The Screaming Staircase and The Whispering Skull. While the series was well received, Netflix cancelled it after its pilot season. Fortunately, Stroud’s addicting books continue to be sold in stores and online.

by Katherine Abissi

“Art has no influence upon action. It annihilates the desire to act. It is superbly sterile. The books the world calls immoral are books that show the world its shame.” –Oscar Wilde

In the classic novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde explores the themes of morality and vanity in a coming-of-age story that sours due to the corruption of the main character. The novel opens with Dorian Gray as a naïve and vain young man who, under the influence of a man called Lord Henry Wotton, is taught to value nothing other than beauty and pleasure. The story serves as a cautionary tale to not be consumed by passion or pleasure. To not, in other words, forsake morality for a quick serotonin hit. Terrified of what will happen when he grows older and loses his looks, he is able to remain looking the same while his portrait ages and decays instead. At the same time, though, he is imprisoned by his beauty.

In the censored version, published in 1891, it is not clear why this happens. in adaptations such as the 2009 movie titled Dorian Gray, it is implied that Dorian made a deal with the devil. The lack of a clear explanation makes the reader curious if not simply confused. The ambiguity seems to suggest the underlying message that, under certain influences, anyone could succumb to immorality and horrors as Dorian did. In this way, Dorian can be seen as a mirror of the reader. The novel is a cautionary tale to not nurture immorality and vanity as Dorian does throughout the book. In the end, Wilde delivers poetic justice through his symbolism of having Dorian die by his own hand. Throughout the book Dorian has been wrecking his life and the lives of others through his apathy and cruelty. In a moment of hysteria, Dorian seeks repentance by stabbing his portrait, paralleling the self-sabotaging cycle he has trapped himself in by valuing nothing but vapid pleasure.

Oscar Wilde’s vivid writing style powerfully depicts the self-destruction, immorality, and vapidness of his protagonist. Wilde’s masterful story telling allows his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, to transcend time periods. Readers and writers today can learn much from this highly regarded work.

By Maura O’Brien

I recently attended a performance of the play Strange Aeons at Widener University. I was especially excited because I knew absolutely nothing about it except for some posters hung up around campus decorated in clocks and tarot cards and what my friend in the play had told me. I was essentially going in with no idea what to expect.

I made my way over to Lathem Hall a little early so that I could get a good seat. It was there that I found out that there were no seats. The show was interactive, which meant the audience would be moving throughout the different sets the entire time. There were three different paths that we could choose to follow: the path of the Hermit, the path of the Empress, and the path of the Magician. I chose the path of the Magician, because that sounded like the most fun to me. Once everyone was assigned a group the doors opened and the show began.

Regardless of the path taken, attendees made a bargain with someone called the Emperor. The Magician wanted to bring her sister back from the dead, but in making the deal her memories were stolen from her. There were a lot of things happening at once, which made for a very chaotic but fun experience. On the Magician track, we received lemonade, watched someone try to summon a ghost, attended a tea party, and at the end watched all three of the paths meet their fate.

Overall, I would say it was a unique experience, and something that I would absolutely do again if given the chance.

by Abigail Grossman

People get together to enjoy a range of autumn festivities every year. One of the most enduring activities is the sharing of spooky stories. Who has not gathered around a fire with family and friends to share terrifying tales of ghosts and ghouls?

With Halloween close at hand, if you’re looking for a perfect scary story to tell, look no further than Edgar Allan Poe, one of the all-time best writers of horror. “The Black Cat,” one of his most famous works, was published in 1843. From his jail cell, the narrator recounts his descent into madness. As the story progresses, they reveal how they were caught for the devious crimes that landed them in prison. Although it may seem like a simple tale of a criminal’s lament, the story is much more complex. Poe includes elements of murder, mystery, and even magic, leaving readers on the edge of their seats with every line. For these reasons and more, “The Black Cat” makes for the perfect spooky story to share with loved ones this Halloween.

That said, there are many other horror tales by Poe that are worth sharing as well, including “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Read these tales at your own risk, though, because they will be sure to haunt you!

On a related note, our university’s very own FreshBaked Theatre Company is performing Poe! Poe! Poe!, a play by Kathryn Schultz Miller. Public shows are on November 9th and 15th in the Alumni Auditorium on Widener’s main campus. The production is free to attend, but any donations will support charity groups in Chester, Pennsylvania. Quoth the raven: “We hope to see you there!”

Good news!: You don’t need to rush. The deadline for the next issue of The Blue Route has been extended to November 30. If you are an undergraduate student, send us your best poetry and prose for consideration. For more information, please see our submission guidelines.