Bennett MadisonRecensioni
Autore di September Girls
Recensioni
This book was definitely not what I was expecting from the cover, although I got some hints about it from looking over the goodreads review page. It's definitely an interesting twist on the mermaid fairy tale and I'm glad it wasn't a cookie cutter ending.
This book was definitely not what I was expecting from the cover, although I got some hints about it from looking over the goodreads review page. It's definitely an interesting twist on the mermaid fairy tale and I'm glad it wasn't a cookie cutter ending.
This book was definitely not what I was expecting from the cover, although I got some hints about it from looking over the goodreads review page. It's definitely an interesting twist on the mermaid fairy tale and I'm glad it wasn't a cookie cutter ending.
This book was definitely not what I was expecting from the cover, although I got some hints about it from looking over the goodreads review page. It's definitely an interesting twist on the mermaid fairy tale and I'm glad it wasn't a cookie cutter ending.
I found that the story was slow and the action almost minimal. The main character, Sam, learns about himself and makes some profound discoveries. However, the author spends so much time philosophizing that these revelations came out as sanctimonious and dull. I continued to read only because I thought that the story must get better; but it never did. I was left feeling bored, not reflective; which I can only imagine was the author's intent.
Sam’s father decides that the boys, Sam, his father and his brother Jeff, should summer in the Outer Banks. It’s been six months since Sam’s mother abruptly left the family, basically to find herself, without the company of men. So, off they go, a trio of unspeaking men. When they get to their destination, they find a town inhabited by the most beautiful girls they’ve ever seen, all perfect, all blonde, all able to toss their hair alluringly. There is something mysterious about them all, besides the fact that they look very much alike.
The story unfolds primarily through Sam’s narrative, interspersed with the story of “we“, the September Girls, the myths and legends that rule their lives.
September Girls is a story of love, of accepting, of sacrifice, of destiny, of growing up. As we (I) age, we want those perfect relationships that sprout and grow almost unannounced. Madison says it so well. “So I waited, and it happened. The way you put your hand on my shoulder. The way you smiled at me when I was talking, the way I’d tell a joke and not even realize it was a joke until you were laughing. The way you kissed me, the way I saw you ambling toward me down the beach, still in the distance. In your small movements and gestures, something happened: the girl you thought I was began to acquire form…and she was beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with what I’d thought of as beauty.”
This is the love I want. I wonder whether it exists other than in books.
I didn't hate it for the male/female dynamics or because there's an argument to be made for the agency of the Girls only coming into being with a male but because the writing, except for about five sentences, is sub-par and the "plot" is boring.
I liked this one, I didn't expect to having read a multitude of reviews that panned it, but I actually liked this one. I will also say that it wasn't perfect but I found it a good read.
It would probably be best described as closer to magic realism than true fantasy, the fantasy is not central to the story, it is an aspect and not as important as the relationship between the characters. It's ultimately a coming-of-age story, Sam's story of a first sexual encounter, of the pressures on girls to be one way and boys to be another.
Yes, some of the language is crude, but it comes across as authentic to me and while he starts off thinking of the world in black and white you can see the maturity dawning in him by the end, he makes choices that are more thoughtful of others rather than of himself and he understands that sometimes when you love someone you have to let them go and that you can't make decisions for other people, they have to make decisions for themselves.
Sam meets DeeDee when his father drags him and his brother to a beach town because their mother has gone off to explore herself, which at first Sam finds incomprehensible. In this beach town there are beautiful girls, who seem to be everywhere with ridiculous names, one of them is DeeDee and Sam finds himself entranced by her. As the relationship grows he learns that these girls aren't run-of-the-mill and their secret is big. There's a curse that needs to be broken and he has the key.
Yes there's crude moment and the way Sam thinks at first isn't the way it ends and that's important. His unthinkingness is blatantly wrong and he needs to be a better person before he can be a hero. This is the story of that path. I get what people have had issues with in the story but I found it a rewarding read and did enjoy it.
Author: Bennett Madison
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Edelweiss DRC
Genre(s): YA Supernatural, YA Fantasy, Mermaids, Coming of Age
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Spoilers: Moderate/High
GoodReads | Amazon
Mermaids are becoming the next zombies just like zombies were the next vampires – and I guess werewolves are in there somewwhere, too. Every now and then you see a mermaid book but they are becoming a lot more common. September Girls is an interesting new take on the classic mermaid lore and something more akin to the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale version of the Little Mermaid than the Disney version.
In September Girls, Sam is a young man whose family life is falling apart. After his mother took off on the family without warning for some feminist commune and his father – amid what seems to be a midlife crisis – pulls him out of his last weeks of school and drags him and his brother – whose home from college – to a remote beachfront in North Carolina. It seems like it’ll be boring and lame but the island has it’s charms. Among those are literally hundreds of blonde haired girls with perfect bodies who seem to be ubiquitous in the area, filling every shop and restaurant and hotel in the area. They work by day and party hard by night; they are always celebrating ‘birthdays’ and going aways. They would sound like your usual Southern beach girls but there’s something strange – they are all rather fixated on him. Sam realizes it one day and doesn’t understand why until he meets DeeDee (and Kristle) who over the course of the summer explain everything and initiate him into a sort of lore that he never could have imagined to be true.
The story is told primarily through Sam’s POV though every now and then an alternating chapter will jump in for a few pages and give the point of view of one of the girls (ultimately revealed to be DeeDee in the final chapters). Both POVs are crude and speak very frankly. Unfortunately while Sam was a pretty decent narrarator the cryptic mermaid chapters were kind of meh. They worked when they were just a page or two but some of them stretched a bit too long and were just unhelpful pages on pages of nothing, really. Plus even the mermaid chapters are full of curse words. Both Sam and the mermaid narrator curse and talk like you would expect teenagers to talk. This book gets points from me for at least being realistic and not pretending that kids don’t think of your ‘butt’ as your ‘ass’ and stuff like that. It was a bit much at times, though, and I can’t imagine the parents who would be buying the book for their kids would approve.
Not that you ought to be buying this for anyone under like fourteen or fifteen. Sex plays a major part in this story with Sam’s virginity turning into some mythical key to the mermaid girls’ freedom. Which was actually a kind of nice plot twist because how often do you find stories revolving around a guy losing his virginity?
I’m not going to say too much because it’s actually hard not to spoil this book entirely. In some ways I liked it, in others I didn’t. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing for whatever reason. But the story wasn’t bad and I liked the way the story ended for the post part. Just don’t expect a happy ending. Or a sad ending. Just an ending. It’s very much a coming of age story and I think the ending proves that. Sam walks away from this summer trip a different person and the reader walks away with an inventive interpretation of mermaid lore if nothing else. I do think, though, that if you’re in the mood for mermaids there are probably more fulfilling stories out there. I wouldn’t say that you should necessarily pass on this book – because it wasn’t bad. But it’s not what I think most people expect or most teenagers want in something marketed as a supernatural romance.
I do, however, really appreciate that this is a standalone book. I love standalone books in this era of trilogies and sequels and series.
Lulu seemed to me like the super-trendy, somewhat fluffy type, not the sort of character I really identify with. Her boyfriend Charlie is mega-rich, Lulu's family is at least comfortably well off, and I think the same goes for Daisy (who, by the way, can kick butt like someone from a martial arts movie). I wasn't sure how I'd like the book, but it turned out to be an okay read.
Although Lulu has apparently had crime-solving success in the past, investigating doesn't seem to be something she knows too much about. She does seem to excel at going places she shouldn't, which is how she manages to find various clues, and she's got that attitude that so many confident, trendy characters seem to have that convinces others (a police officer, a celebrity gossip columnist, and a bunch of bus riders) to help her out. Luck is also a factor, plus her determination to find her mother and, eventually, Charlie and Lisa when they are kidnapped by the Fox.
Lulu's relationship with Charlie was interesting. For the most part, Madison doesn't often write scenes with Charlie and Lulu together, since Lulu spends a good portion of the book avoiding Charlie. She doesn't like his clingy-ness (he always wants to know where she is and what she's doing) and the way he seems to have stopped having his own opinions since they started dating. However, that doesn't mean she's happy when she sees Lisa on TV, hanging on Charlie's arm. I was amazed and a little impressed that Madison didn't decide to just neatly fix Charlie and Lulu's relationship by the end of the book. The state of their relationship by the end of the book may upset those who've read the first book, and unfortunately there isn't a third book (yet?) that either matches Lulu up with someone else or begins to mend things with Charlie. For a reader like me who began with this, the second book, however, it wasn't too upsetting. This book just didn't tell me enough about Charlie for me to really feel anything when Lulu and Charlie had their final relationship heart-to-heart.
Lulu's father was a bit of a surprise to me. I believe he's labeled gay in the book, but I think it might actually be more accurate to call him bisexual, since he still seems to have some very fond memories of his times with Lulu's mother and others. He, his partner, and Lulu live together, and it seems to be a nice, happy, and stable family relationship, which is great, since it doesn't seem like Isabelle could handle the practical aspects of parenting. Of course, Lulu's father's partner, Theo, flakes out, too, when it's convenient for the plot - otherwise, Lulu would never have been able to get out of the house to save everyone.
The aging actresses aspect was interesting to me, too. I mean, it's got to be frustrating that so many female actresses just can't get certain parts anymore once they hit a certain age. Back when I used to watch soap operas, it always struck me as a little unfair that some of the male actors were still getting romantic/sexy/whatever scenes even as their hair grayed and they developed wrinkles, while a lot of the female actresses didn't (or they were just flat out replaced).
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Since apparently I am “desperate and unable to express a real opinion on a book”, I am giving you a full review on this book which probably doesn’t deserve the attention its been having. I won’t be using an “scatological grade-schooler” phrases since I’m going to pick off the quotes out of the book which made it unnecessary for even me to say some scatological references. Before we could get even started, these is some of the screen-captures from the book that show how unreasonable it was to blame the reviewers for all the rude words in their reviews when the content of the book reflect it so eloquently.
The author use “ho” more instead of fully worded “whore” in this book but from this you’ll get the gist. The book wasn't even an erotica. Its a young adult romance about mermaids. If you've seen the demographic of YA communities, it translate to a largely female audience. For anyone thinking this is your own average supernatural teenage romance, you’ll be heavily disappointed with the content in this book.
September Girls is a male wet dream YA mermaid fantasy about Sam – a virginal 17 years old boy – who went for a vacation with his foul-mouthed brother, Jeff and mentally-testosterone-challenged father without his absentee mother who went for a mid-life crisis stunt in Womanland. Once they arrived at the small touristy beach town, he was bombarded by the attention of gorgeous blonde sexy Girls who held him in deep fascination.
The girls had taken notice. Everywhere I went, they smiled at me. They stared. They swiveled their hips a little more when I walked near, pushed their boobs up a little higher. Their hair was always tossing, tossing, tossing; their eyes sparked and pulsed like flakes of mica at the bottom of a creek. It made me nervous. It’s not that I minded the attention. I was as flattered and turned on as any person would be to have insanely hot girls staring at him wherever he went.
Among them was Kristle who rubbed herself all over him the moment she met him and go on having a relationship with his brother Jeff while continuously trying to have sex with Sam and DeeDee another mysterious girl who are not like the rest of the girls and sometimes she read books give award-winning commentary like:
“I’ve never read the Bible,” I said. “I didn’t know anyone actually read it.” “Well I did,” she said. “Three times. It seems like it’s going to be a real drag, and some parts really suck, but it actually has some good sections. I like the parts about hos, even if they always come to a bad end. Eat a fucking apple, you’re a ho. Open a box, you’re a ho. Some guy looks at you: turn to stone, ho. See you later, ho. It’s always the same. The best one is Lilith—also a ho, but a different kind of ho. She went and got her own little thing going, and for that she gets to be an eternal demon queen, lucky her. No one likes a ho. Except when they do, which, obviously, is most of the time. Doesn’t make a difference; she always gets hers eventually.”
Since this book is a first person POV around Sam, the book also consisted of various state of a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack excitement between his outings with the sisters who are not exactly sisters, his constant state of boredom around his virginal status and the need to compensate it with drinking too many beer (yes, he’s 17) and the story eventually leads to the mysteriousness around Girls and the sea and their inability to swim.
“Still, it’s kinda like incest, though, huh? Two brothers fucking two sisters? Look, I like you, bro, but let’s watch our step here.”
At this point I am not going to do subtle with this. Continue on reading if you want the whole story on why this book are so marginalized by the Goodreads community. Think again when you try to accuse the necessity to think we’re bullying the author when basically we’re just reading the book and we’re giving honest opinions on it. As for the necessity to use crass and vulgar words, the book is crass and vulgar and let me show the way.
Apparently, the Girls are cursed mermaids. The reasoning behind why they came out of the sea naked and start walking and preying on teenage boys were vague as to why their parents (Endlessness and Deepness) curse them to lead half lives between coming into the land and their eventual ‘death’ when they reach 21. Kristle was the oldest among the whole mermaid sisterhood which explain to her desperation to paw all over Sam and why DeeDee was quite apathetic about it when Sam told her all about it.
“Kristle can be so ridiculous. But who knows what I’d do without her. Total ho, by the way—not that I’m judging; I actually like hos myself. Maybe I am one—I barely know what counts anymore. Being blond certainly never helped anyone’s case. Hey, want to do the quiz?” She fished a pencil from a hidden place in her tangled hair.
Interestingly because they borrowed most things about who they are from shampoo and celebrity magazines, their naming system seem to revolve around brands and wacky porn names like Nalgene, Chantarelle, Tressemé, Activia, Jessamee, Blair, Serena, Visa and Taffany. In fact, there were absolutely no personality or mental capacity that made female readers identify themselves to the story. There were absolutely no realism in this book for girls to even like. The book cultivate the idea that mermaids are vacuous empty creatures that only resonates from whatever things they were expose to and these means reality television and various cosmetic products.
DeeDee read a cover line aloud: “‘Ten Steps to the Old You! Rediscover the Gal You Used to Be!’” Then another: “‘Snack Happy: Slim Your Waist by Improving Your Attitude!’ Give me a fucking break. Who reads this? Besides me I mean. Just once I’d like to find a rental stocked with The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Almost anything would be better than this shit. Not that much better, but every little thing counts when you’re working on your English
Exactly how on earth they get their girly items from? They’re in the middle of nowhere and they’re the mixture of “The Stepford Wives” melded with “Mean Girls”. If they osmosis themselves from the things they’re exposed to, why can’t they open up internet – the ungodly universe of information – and embrace more expect of being a girl than from trashy mags. Was this book a healthy representation of femininity? I hardly think it was.
“You guys make this big deal about we. It’s always we we we. You act like you’re all the same, like you all want the same things. It’s like you think with the same mind or something. But you don’t. Sometimes you’re really not alike at all, other than all having basically the same hairstyle. Which I hate to tell you, but blond is not technically a personality trait.”
I don’t think this book was constructed by slut-shaming but it does consist on mostly stick-figured female characterization. Its not even Mary Sue-like. In fact, every characters in this book is problematic and shallow. I don’t think its even satirical piece nor its metaphoric. The book is a cheesy and sleazy harem fantasy with no depth or anything worth redeeming.
Even the mystery around the mermaids remain unresolved. The curse remain a curse, the mermaids still living in the beach town and goes out at sea and develop some scales and the cycle repeats around summer until they die for no reason at all. Even DeeDee apparently escapes because after Kristle’s apparent ‘death’ (which is still uncertain and confusing) that Sam finally let go of his virginal state because its too late for Kristle which he loved at the same time.
As a whole but the book have its own moments uneven shock placements around the book which does nothing to the content of this book. September Girls is just a coming of age about a virgin guy’s sexy dreams and the environment he’s been living in which is saturated with sex and stereotypical misogynistic references. The book is simply a mismatch of ennui, masquerade as literary fiction with unnecessary exposition. As much as the ennui happening around the book, there were no exact resolution to any of the story in this book as the ending and the secondary narrative is still vague and confusing.
If you think everything I say here is harassing, demeaning, dehumanizing and abusive to the author, please do note that nothing here was targeting on him except that every quotations coming from this review came from the author which are inflammatory in nature. Why does nobody even bother about how the book is harassing, demeaning, dehumanizing and abusive to the female readers as a whole? The book maintain its facade that you as a reader; you’re not perfect nor ever mysterious as the blonde perfectly-figure naked beautiful Girls in this book that doesn’t do much anything except gossiping, wearing skanky bikinis and lusting on the last boy virgin on the planet.
“You do it with a virgin,” she said. “I mean, we do. I do. A virgin boy, obviously. Don’t hear much about them, do you?”
I’m ending this by leaving you with the author’s own words explaining it clearly about what his book really was.
The moral of the story here is that if you’re ever offered anything that seems like it might lead to sex, there is no turning back. You just have to take it as it comes or you will remain a virgin for life.
I liked the story and the characters. The chapters alternated between the point of view of Sam and one of the girls. I liked Sam's voice but thought the girl's was too odd for my taste.
This book is trying to look at a lot of issues related to conventional views of gender roles for teenagers, and sexuality, and empowerment, and sometimes it's successful but there's still a lot that isn't really working on that level. But that said, for all the times it swung and missed, overall I'm pleased that this is something male authors are trying to put out there for male readers. Even the missteps didn't make me want to set the book on fire, it was more like I wanted to sit down with the author and talk about what he was trying to do, and why did he think it was working?
The writing was surprisingly solid, and it felt genuinely, tangibly beach-y throughout. There were even a few story lines that surprised me by how much I emotionally bought into them, because I would have thought I was too busy being picky about the unraveling of the "issue" aspects. I do wish that he hadn't left the origin details of the Girls and the curse so vague ... I can be cool with ambiguity, but not if I strongly suspect it's because the author doesn't even the answers in his head.
Sam was really off-putting to me and I was actually a bit shocked by some of the things he said and thought. I couldn’t help but think, is this what guys actually sound like when girls aren’t around? I seriously hope not. As a person, he was actually pretty sweet, but the way he would express himself was just crasser than it needed to be. The supporting characters are all middle of the road. Some are weird, some are likable and dislikable at the same time, and others are just forgettable.
The plot was another aspect of the novel that I could really take or leave. On the one hand it was an intriguing concept, on the other hand I was bored most of the time. I did like the ending though and the way Madison tied up all of the pieces.
While I did not love or hate this book, I think that die-hard fans of Jackson Pierce’s Fathomless will enjoy it. The books are similar with regard to the plot, although Fathomless is more focused on memory and is a bit of a psychological thriller, while September Girls is more of a light mystery and a bit more character driven.
The setting was also well done. I felt the descriptions were well done and made me feel part of the scenery and story.
The pain and set up of Sam's mom and her abandonment. I think that a lot can relate with the theme and feelings or knows someone who could. Sam is a deep character in a lot of regards and emotional in others. Caught up in his hurt and anger and I think that is what connected him.
What I didn't like: The stream of though and the "we" mentality from the girls at the beginning. I understand but it still didn't sit well with me.
I also didn't like the way that Sam thought about girls at first. It seemed really demeaning to me, and I don't know if I am just sensitive or read at a time when self esteem is low, but I really hope that is not how guys think about girls. There was (to me) too much talk of sexual aspects and cursing--I can handle some, but not when it seems over the top.
Bottom Line: It was just okay for me. A lot of deep woven in with elements I didn't like.
For a novel about shoplifting, it’s interesting that shoplifting really isn’t the point. Francie teaches Val how to steal, but in the end, it’s not about stealing the insignificant items that they do from the mall – it’s about finding that Holy Grail of theft – stealing an aura.
As Val blossoms (or some might say, self-destructs), Francie starts to fade. It’s a novel about the slipperiness of identity and about betrayal on so many levels. A lot of the details are vague. There’s something wrong with Francie’s mom, Val’s older brother is dying, and a teacher disappears without explanation. But it all fits the mood which is decidedly wistful and melancholic.
A complex, fascinating novel which doesn’t go where you think it will and doesn’t bother tying up loose ends. It definitely makes you think and would make for a great discussion.
Then Francie joins her class and everything changes. Francie is flamboyant, defiant, she smokes, she's always late to class, her clothing pushes the dress code: she's nowhere in Val's league. But for some reason, she latches onto Val, who is astonished and grateful, and willingly learns to smoke, cut class, and learn the skills of shoplifting from Francie.
Val is even a little bit in love with Francie, although "not in a lesbo way." Homophobia rears its ugly head in this book, with Val, and her brother's ex-girlfriend referring to him as a fag. Fourteen year old Francie sets out to "cure" him by dressing particularly provocatively, and then can't handle it when she gets attention from a group of construction workers.
Fissures start to edge into the friendship, and it all comes crumbling down one day at the mall as Val and Francie realize that their vows to be there for each other can't address the real issues each of them is facing.
An interesting story of a friendship built on lies and fantasies, flawed by homophobia.
Lulu Dark is back, and definitely done with her days as a girl detective. She's got enough on her plate without solving mysteries. And, anyway, Lulu is so not the girl detective type, even if she did do a spectacular job of solving a mystery in LULU DARK CAN SEE THROUGH WALLS. That's all over, and so is school! Lulu is thrilled that summer vacation has finally arrived. She is going to watch bad television, hang out with her friends, talk on the phone, and sunbathe on the fire escape. She is not going to be doing any detective work, no matter what mystery comes her way...Right?
Wrong. When her mother, actress Isabelle Dark, shows up, Lulu's summer plans are ruined. Isabelle is shooting a movie, and one of her fellow actresses, teen superstar Lisa Lincoln, is the target of the mysterious Fox. After Isabelle's disappearance, however, the Fox's plans become a little clearer. When Isabelle Dark is one of four blonds in hot pink jumpsuits to show up just as Lisa Lincoln accepts her award, that's when things really get interesting. Apparently, these actresses, working for the Fox, want recognition for older actresses, not just talentless bimbos like Lisa. And they're willing to use any means necessary to get what they want.
When Lulu's sometimes-boyfriend, Charlie, starts hanging out with Lisa Lincoln, Lulu is not happy. She's even less happy when Charlie's association with the starlet gets him kidnapped! Lisa and Charlie are missing, presumably kidnapped by the Fox, and Lulu is definitely involved in this mystery, whether she likes it or not.
LULU DARK AND THE SUMMER OF THE FOX is a fast-paced mystery with likeable and believable characters that is sure to be a hit, especially with readers of Bennett Madison's first novel about Lulu Dark. You don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one, though. The twists and turns of the mystery are numerous, and Lulu's reluctance to get involved makes her a lot more realistic than, say, Nancy Drew. This book has everything! There's humor, suspense, romance, and more, all in Lulu's unique and funny voice. I can't wait to read more from Bennett Madison!
Valentina has had friends throughout the years. But they all just seem to fade out and then she's left by herself again. She spends her time at the mall, hoping that one day something there will change her life. And what do you know, it actually happens.
While she's browsing the racks at the Wet Seal, Francie Knight taps on her shoulder. Francie is a very provocative girl in Val's class who has been seen around campus wearing the "raincoat."
Apparently, Francie is a major shoplifter, and soon Val is, too. All the girls ever do is hang out at the mall shoplifting basically whatever they can get their hands on in search of the "Holy Grail" - the one most amazing thing that they have ever seen in their life.
When Val isn't with Francie, she's worrying about her older brother, Jesse, who is mysteriously dying. Val has never really understood why he is, but apparently it's going to happen someday soon. She's also starting to mess around a bit (behind Francie's back) with the very attractive boy that the girls met at the mall one day.
Francie also deals with her own problems involving her basically psychotic mother, who randomly disappears, and when Francie finds her she'll end up staying with her grandmother for a week or so while her mom checks herself into the hospital.
Soon Val gets a little tired of Francie's ways and decides she needs to do something. But how drastic will that something be?
THE BLONDE OF THE JOKE is one of those books that's kind of hard to summarize, but I definitely loved it. Francie's character was so out there, and soon Val's character was, too. I also loved the ending of the story, which wasn't too abrupt or unfinished.
All in all, this is a pretty great book. I definitely want to read something else by Bennett Madison now!
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I liked the story, but had a few issues besides the tone (those first two hateful chapters, in my opinion, could just be omitted entirely, as they add nothing to the story). If Sam's dad knew about the enchanted mirror, that would mean that he'd found it and given it to someone during his last visit 30 years before--and if he'd given it to Sam's mom, it would have shown her who she was (and she wouldn't have to go through all the soul-searching that's driving her family nuts). Sam's mom being a former Girl would answer a lot of questions, except for that magic mirror bit. On the other hand, if Sam's mom is a regular messed up human, does she really need to be that ridiculous? Sam could still have bonded with DeeDee if the mother was absent, period.