I wish I enjoyed the book more, because it has one of the best titles ever. ( )

‘’Skeletons of lovers slumped toward each other in embraces beneath the earth, almost parts of the roots but not quite assimilated, their backs, you could tell, broken. Sad-looking monsters with jugged triangles of teeth, trying to hold the too delicate in their large claws: pretty little boxes ruined, birds dead or dying.’’

Ida tells a simple story. The tale of a childhood in the company of her friends, Jackson and James, her brothers in spirit. They are her partners in crime, in games, in joys and sorrows, during a childhood that Ida must face without her mother, supported by her gentle, wise father. And she falls in love with her best friend. She and Jackson must cope with a reality where demons are lurking, waiting to devour them and tear them to pieces.

This novel spoke to my heart in ways I never thought possible, given the fact that I am not exactly sentimental. Yet, I cried. I cried reading about the places of our childhood that have been fenced off and are now out of access. Either for safety reasons or because of monetary motives, the sites that disappear demonstrate what we love to call our ‘’coming of age’’. Ever the pessimist, I tend to call it our ‘’loss of innocence.’’ There is a deep, moving nostalgia in the story, the memories of long, lazy summer afternoons and golden autumn days, when everything was simple, life waiting to be discovered.

But now you need to help the one you love fight their demons. What can you do when they do not want to leave the world of their sleepwalking, but succumb to it with hungry frenzy?

This is a novel that offers an honest, realistic and respectful look on sexuality and the relationships we form at an early age, only for them to be thwarted once we become ‘’responsible’’ adults.

‘’Officially, I’m Ida, though Jackson has called me I as long as I remember. The symbolism is sickening. Even in the worst of it, even in phases where I spoke almost exclusively in monosyllables and guttural sounds and sat around lost in the worn flannel shirt he left behind, I would never bring this up to anyone: and he calls me I. Like I. As in myself.’’

My reviews can also be found https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

2.5 Seeking other things by Alcott after reading Infinite Home, but this did not measure up (this was her debut novel). Also, read this on an e-reader and think it had an impact on my ability to get into the story. Also, for whatever reason, the download had several typos and issues which made it feel like something that wasn't complete yet. Ida is the narrator and the story is primarily about her and Jackson (the I & J being the proximal alphabet to beware of). They have grown up together -- almost as close a siblings, with both homes being equally open and welcome to them and nightly sleepovers where Ida is on the floor between Jackson and James' (the younger brother) beds. While the relationship is quite triangular when they are young (elementary age) by high school Ida and Jackson have coupled off and given into a mutual attraction that will plague them into adulthood. The book is narrated primarily in the present when Ida has "lost" Jackson and then filled in with flashbacks that have the fuzziness of memory, but the immediacy of raw emotion and tell all the in-between. Despite the original innocence of the relationship's beginning, it is a toxic one that has alternately smothered one or the other and has also impacted their relationship with James. The larger family dynamic is affected too -- Ida has grown up with a single father after her mother died in a horrible accident involving fire and James and Jackson have a single mother after their father abandoned them and also perished in an accident. The crux of the story is how Jackson and Ida fell apart after so much of their lives (and the story) building up their togetherness. One aspect of the relationship's toxicity is how damaged they each are in their own right. For example, Jackson has terrible nightmares, sleep-walking and talking. Often times Ida is injured in these violent episodes she and Jackson try to turn it into art as an opportunity for healing, Jackson is forced to confront the darkness within. Slightly creepy but a very effective portion of the story. Overall, these characters felt like millenial hipsters that I couldn't quite relate to, and much of the drama is of their own making. Interesting, but not fulfilling. ( )

I liked this, but I think I expected I would love this, but I didn't. I'm not entirely sure what was missing to make it a love because really it features a lot of elements and language that I really enjoy. ( )

I hate it when people level the "MFA" or "workshoppy" accusation at a book... I mean I know what they're talking about, but it seems like that's one of those pejorative terms they toss around to make whatever point about literary fiction they need. That said, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets did feel vaguely... I don't know, creative-writing-y. Which is to say it seemed more like an artful parable than a storyline with a plot. And that's fine, actually. It was well written and explored some good themes -- how close, in a relationship, is too close? And how much do you want to find that mythical "other half," the person who completes you? The fact that it didn't really go anywhere left me a little high and dry, but I still enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it so long as you're not hot for straight up narrative. ( )