By Aubrey Amila
Have you ever read a book in which the author includes song titles within the story, leading you to listen to those songs and you end up making a playlist for it? This book gives a similar vibe but with books. Suddenly, I found myself adding three more books to my reading list: J.D. Saligner’s “The Catcher in the Rye,” Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” and “The Book of Changes,” a traditional Chinese text.
In September 2024, Jen Ghastin made her literary debut with the novel “The Sun-Greeters.” Paying homage to two notable cities on central California’s coast: Santa Cruz and Salinas, Ghastin accurately portrayed places and demographics using descriptive imagery. She painted them with fresh eyes and fresh air and gentle strokes of pride.
So what is her secret to painting the story as vivid as possible? She earned her bachelor of arts, studying literature and creative writing fiction, from UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) and is currently a graphic design teacher at North Salinas High School. She also owns a yoga studio, Yoga Salinas, where breathing and relaxation is of utmost importance. A marriage of creative writing, art and tranquility can only mean one thing: the birth of a masterpiece!
This story unfolds on the UCSC campus where the protagonist, a freshman college student, finally meets her perfect circle of friends. However, her time with them is short-lived as she finds herself stuck between life and the afterlife after she falls from climbing a 150-foot Douglas fir. Not ready to proceed to the afterlife yet, she watches her friends navigate through life in her absence, grappling with grief while in pursuit of their purpose in life.
Ghastin’s first few lines from the prologue: “At first, it’s just an exhale. The breath leaves you. Then, time slows, if you would believe it. And for a moment, you’re flying,” commences with a breadth use of imagination, proof that books are portals to another world – an escape – where time does not exist. It is rare for a book to transport me into the narrator’s perspective at first glance. Although it is scary being thrown into the story from the first page where I am in the midst of dying as Jules, the main character, but to feel the sense of adventure from within… it is worth it.
This thought-provoking coming-of-age story feels like a warm embrace from a friend. The deep, realistic dialogues between the protagonists and their internal selves, feel like someone out there, in this case, it’s a book that somehow understands what it feels like to be grieving and not knowing what to do or where to go.
How does one “correctly” confront the issues within romantic relationships, of homelessness, addiction, sexual identity, unplanned pregnancy and apathy? Ghastin’s storytelling encourages readers to perceive beyond the tip of the iceberg– to think things thoroughly and be open-minded when issues arise.
Not only does this book cover emotional dialogues, but Ghastin also illuminated the tone with sprinkled humor from one page to another. Throughout the book, I found myself losing track of time, annotating, and bookmarking quotes that I may go back and revisit.
It would be nice to have a movie adaptation of this book sometime in the future. I enjoyed the dynamic characters’ celebration of friendships and solidarity because of how their movements and thoughts echo cinematic timelessness. I highly recommend “The Sun-Greeters” by Jen Ghastin and would give it a cosmic six out of five, for its sophistication and appreciation of the interconnectedness of everything.