Stace Kramer
We're expired
Alexandra, Irina and Valentina
women
Only great pain leads the spirit to the final freedom: only it helps us reach the final depths of our being, and the one for whom it was almost fatal can proudly say about himself: I know more about life...
Friedrich Nietzsche
I woke up when the rays of the midday sun touched the edge of my hospital bed. After waiting for a moment of confusion, I try to lift my head from the pillow, which seems to have become several times heavier. The room is so quiet that I can hear every beat of my heart. I'm trying to remember why I'm here, but it's not such an easy task. Small scraps of memories pop up in my mind, and I try to grab onto each of them. And when my gaze falls on my hand, which is tied by a bandage, all the memories fit into a single puzzle and finally give the long-awaited answer.
I tried to commit suicide.
I had been waiting for that evening for so long. While still in elementary school, I imagined what dress I would wear at prom, with what jewelry and hairstyle. And so, when I was already dressed in the very dress I had dreamed of, and was holding in my hands a crumpled piece of paper with a solemn speech, which I had to read in front of the rest of the graduates and teachers, I smiled and was amazed at how quickly time flies.
I couldn’t even imagine that that very long-awaited evening would make my entire familiar world collapse overnight.
If you met me by chance on the street, you wouldn’t remember me. I am ordinary, with an ordinary figure, with ordinary black hair, which, coupled with pale skin, gives me the appearance of a vampire or a terminally ill girl. An absolutely unremarkable person with his own shortcomings and a handful of advantages.
But that evening I was not like myself.
I looked completely grown up. Even his facial expression changed. It was now so concentrated and serious. And this custom-made dress complemented me so much. Black, strewn with microscopic sparkles. The luxurious, voluminous hem hid my legs.
For exactly three hours and fifteen minutes, my mother circled me with a comb and hairspray. It was worth it. She turned my lifeless hair into beautiful curls. Mom is a former stylist, so she can turn a frumpy girl like me into a real princess.
Nina, my younger sister, sat opposite me all this time and watched my mother’s actions.
Nina is only six, she is madly in love with ballet, she does not miss a single class at her ballet school, and all the walls of her room are plastered with photographs of famous ballerinas, whom she tries to emulate.
“I want to be just like Virginia,” Nina screamed.
Why? - I asked.
Because you're beautiful, smart, and your boyfriend looks like Zac Efron.
I started laughing.
By the way, where is this Scott of yours going to study? - Mom asked.
He hasn't decided yet. But he will still move to Connecticut to be near me.
How sweet,” Mom said sarcastically.
I dated Scott for two years, and all the most wonderful moments of my life were associated with this period. Before him, I didn’t have a relationship with anyone, because my priority was always study and only study. Scott and I studied at the same school, but we never talked and met very rarely, and it was only at my friend Liv’s birthday party that we met. Although “met” is a strong word. He and Liv dragged my drunken body home. Frankly, this was the first time in my life when I got drunk to such an extent that my consciousness passed out for several hours. The next morning Scott came to see me and only then was I able to get a good look at him. His short, light brown hair was thrown up, and he reminded me of a hedgehog. The upper lip is thin, the lower lip is plump. Eyes the color of a gloomy sky. Dark, beautiful. I never considered myself pretty enough to attract boys, so I was very surprised when he noticed me. He has a peculiar sense of humor. He has a hot temper, but that’s what attracted me to him.
Our interactions with Scott caused dramatic changes in my relationship with my mother. She probably dreamed from the very moment I was born that I would go to Yale University and devote my life to science. And, as expected, mom considered Scott a direct threat to her plans. We often had real family scandals when I was getting ready to go on a date. Only my dad was on my side, he always told my mom that I was already an adult and could quite make my own decisions. And even on that fateful graduation night, he gave Scott and me his new convertible, since Scott's car was being repaired.
Dad, are you serious?
Yes, today I'm too kind.
Thank you. - I rushed into my father's arms. - I adore you.
Here you go. - Dad gave me the keys to his new convertible. - I hope everything will be okay with her?
Certainly.
Scott, are you a good driver? - Mom asked. Her cold tone sent shivers down my spine.
Um... of course.
Just don’t think anything, we just trust you with our daughter.
She'll be fine, Mrs. Abrams.
I could feel Scott starting to get nervous. He squeezed my hand so tightly that I almost squealed.
“Well, I think it’s time for us to go,” I said.
“Have fun there,” said dad.
I should have realized a long time ago that my relationship with Scott was not what it used to be. We saw each other less often and talked on the phone. Scott became secretive and stingy with revelations. But then it didn’t alarm me at all; it seemed to me that everything that was happening was explained by stress due to exams.
The ceremonial part began. Our director, Clark Smith, came to the center of the stage and began to give his memorized speech. He had a lisp, which made half of what Clark said incomprehensible. At the end of his speech, the director put a smile on his face and left. Next, Mrs. Verkhovsky, the assistant director, appeared on stage. On the screen behind her, photographs of the school's best students were displayed. Among them I found mine. Verkhovsky began to talk about what this year had been like. I, like everyone else present, could barely resist falling asleep. But it turned out that the “fun” event did not end there. Every now and then some important people came on stage with congratulations written down on paper, then each of them talked about how he studied at school. My eyelids stopped obeying me, I felt like I was about to fall asleep on Scott’s shoulder, but then my name came from the stage.
And now we give the floor to one of our best students, Virginia Abrams.
I stood up to the sound of applause. How scared I was. Speaking in public is not my thing. I already know in advance that I will definitely stumble somewhere or, even worse, fall, getting up on stage, because my legs are treacherously giving way due to trembling. When I got on stage, I started looking for Liv or Scott. Everyone stared at me intently, I took the microphone with shaking hands and forced myself to give a rehearsed speech.
Hello everyone, I... want to congratulate all of us on graduating from school. We have all been waiting for this day for a long time, and it has finally come. I want to thank the teachers who put up with us for so many years. Now we all begin a new stage in life. When we were in school, we had two worries. The first is how to cheat on a test without being noticed. - Everyone started laughing, it instantly gave me confidence. - And the second is how to sneak out of physical education class unnoticed. And now new problems, new worries begin, and they are much more serious than those to which we are all accustomed. I wish us all to cope with all the difficulties that we will face. - After a second pause, I continued: - I love you, school, and I will miss you very much. Thank you.
Everyone started applauding me again.
Twenty minutes after my speech, the ceremonial part ends. The crowd has gathered in the hall again, everyone is hugging, kissing each other on the cheeks, taking photographs of the teachers as souvenirs.
Virginia, can I talk to you for a second? - I hear Mrs. Verkhovsky’s voice.
“We’ll be waiting for you in the car,” Liv said.
I approached Verkhovsky.
Excellent speech.
Thank you.
I heard you're going to Yale?
Although I am sure that everything will work out for you, I still want to wish you good luck. You have a great future.
At that moment I was overcome with heat, I was so pleased with her words.
Thanks again. - We hug each other.
All the graduates, including me, Liv and Scott, headed to the party of twin brothers Paul and Sean. These are famous partygoers throughout Minnesota, in whose house the noisiest parties in the state are held.
Although no, this is not a house, this is a real palace. Three floors, two buildings. The house itself is made in a strict classical style, but multi-colored lights, stuffed into almost every window, make it not so ascetic. They also have a swimming pool, which caught my attention as soon as I stepped through the gate. It's huge! Blue water mixes with snow-white foam. Near the pool there is a bar with shiny bottles of alcohol on the shelves.
Stace Kramer
We're expired
Alexandra, Irina and Valentina
women
Only great pain leads the spirit to the final freedom: only it helps us reach the final depths of our being, and the one for whom it was almost fatal can proudly say about himself: I know more about life...
Friedrich Nietzsche
I woke up when the rays of the midday sun touched the edge of my hospital bed. After waiting for a moment of confusion, I try to lift my head from the pillow, which seems to have become several times heavier. The room is so quiet that I can hear every beat of my heart. I'm trying to remember why I'm here, but it's not such an easy task. Small scraps of memories pop up in my mind, and I try to grab onto each of them. And when my gaze falls on my hand, which is tied by a bandage, all the memories fit into a single puzzle and finally give the long-awaited answer.
I tried to commit suicide.
I had been waiting for that evening for so long. While still in elementary school, I imagined what dress I would wear at prom, with what jewelry and hairstyle. And so, when I was already dressed in the very dress I had dreamed of, and was holding in my hands a crumpled piece of paper with a solemn speech, which I had to read in front of the rest of the graduates and teachers, I smiled and was amazed at how quickly time flies.
I couldn’t even imagine that that very long-awaited evening would make my entire familiar world collapse overnight.
If you met me by chance on the street, you wouldn’t remember me. I am ordinary, with an ordinary figure, with ordinary black hair, which, coupled with pale skin, gives me the appearance of a vampire or a terminally ill girl. An absolutely unremarkable person with his own shortcomings and a handful of advantages.
But that evening I was not like myself.
I looked completely grown up. Even his facial expression changed. It was now so concentrated and serious. And this custom-made dress complemented me so much. Black, strewn with microscopic sparkles. The luxurious, voluminous hem hid my legs.
For exactly three hours and fifteen minutes, my mother circled me with a comb and hairspray. It was worth it. She turned my lifeless hair into beautiful curls. Mom is a former stylist, so she can turn a frumpy girl like me into a real princess.
Nina, my younger sister, sat opposite me all this time and watched my mother’s actions.
Nina is only six, she is madly in love with ballet, she does not miss a single class at her ballet school, and all the walls of her room are plastered with photographs of famous ballerinas, whom she tries to emulate.
“I want to be just like Virginia,” Nina screamed.
- Why? – I asked.
- Because you are beautiful, smart and your boyfriend looks like Zac Efron.
I started laughing.
- By the way, where is this Scott of yours going to study? - Mom asked.
- He hasn't decided yet. But he will still move to Connecticut to be near me.
“How sweet,” Mom said sarcastically.
I dated Scott for two years, and all the most wonderful moments of my life were associated with this period. Before him, I didn’t have a relationship with anyone, because my priority was always study and only study. Scott and I studied at the same school, but we never talked and met very rarely, and it was only at my friend Liv’s birthday party that we met. Although “met” is a strong word. He and Liv dragged my drunken body home. Frankly, this was the first time in my life when I got drunk to such an extent that my consciousness passed out for several hours. The next morning Scott came to see me and only then was I able to get a good look at him. His short, light brown hair was thrown up, and he reminded me of a hedgehog. The upper lip is thin, the lower lip is plump. Eyes the color of a gloomy sky. Dark, beautiful. I never considered myself pretty enough to attract boys, so I was very surprised when he noticed me. He has a peculiar sense of humor. He has a hot temper, but that’s what attracted me to him.
Our interactions with Scott caused dramatic changes in my relationship with my mother. She probably dreamed from the very moment I was born that I would go to Yale University and devote my life to science. And, as expected, mom considered Scott a direct threat to her plans. We often had real family scandals when I was getting ready to go on a date. Only my dad was on my side, he always told my mom that I was already an adult and could quite make my own decisions. And even on that fateful graduation night, he gave Scott and me his new convertible, since Scott's car was being repaired.
- Dad, are you serious?
- Yes, today I am too kind.
- Thank you. – I rushed into my father’s arms. - I adore you.
- Hold it. – Dad gave me the keys to his new convertible. “I hope she’ll be okay?”
- Certainly.
- Scott, are you a good driver? - Mom asked. Her cold tone sent shivers down my spine.
- Um... of course.
“Just don’t think anything, we just trust you with our daughter.”
“She'll be fine, Mrs. Abrams.”
I could feel Scott starting to get nervous. He squeezed my hand so tightly that I almost squealed.
“Well, I think it’s time for us to go,” I said.
“Have fun there,” said Dad.
I should have realized a long time ago that my relationship with Scott was not what it used to be. We saw each other less often and talked on the phone. Scott became secretive and stingy with revelations. But then it didn’t alarm me at all; it seemed to me that everything that was happening was explained by stress due to exams.
The ceremonial part began. Our director, Clark Smith, came to the center of the stage and began to give his memorized speech. He had a lisp, which made half of what Clark said incomprehensible. At the end of his speech, the director put a smile on his face and left. Next, Mrs. Verkhovsky, the assistant director, appeared on stage. On the screen behind her, photographs of the school's best students were displayed. Among them I found mine. Verkhovsky began to talk about what this year had been like. I, like everyone else present, could barely resist falling asleep. But it turned out that the “fun” event did not end there. Every now and then some important people came on stage with congratulations written down on paper, then each of them talked about how he studied at school. My eyelids stopped obeying me, I felt like I was about to fall asleep on Scott’s shoulder, but then my name came from the stage.
– And now we give the floor to one of our best students, Virginia Abrams.
I stood up to the sound of applause. How scared I was. Speaking in public is not my thing. I already know in advance that I will definitely stumble somewhere or, even worse, fall, getting up on stage, because my legs are treacherously giving way due to trembling. When I got on stage, I started looking for Liv or Scott. Everyone stared at me intently, I took the microphone with shaking hands and forced myself to give a rehearsed speech.
- Hello everyone, I... I want to congratulate all of us on graduating from school. We have all been waiting for this day for a long time, and it has finally come. I want to thank the teachers who put up with us for so many years. Now we all begin a new stage in life. When we were in school, we had two worries. The first is how to cheat on a test without being noticed. “Everyone started laughing, and it instantly gave me confidence.” – And the second is how to sneak out of physical education class unnoticed. And now new problems, new worries begin, and they are much more serious than those to which we are all accustomed. I wish us all to cope with all the difficulties that we will face. “After a moment’s pause, I continued: “I love you, school, and I will miss you very much.” Thank you.
Everyone started applauding me again.
Twenty minutes after my speech, the ceremonial part ends. The crowd has gathered in the hall again, everyone is hugging, kissing each other on the cheeks, taking photographs of the teachers as souvenirs.
– Virginia, can I see you for a second? – I hear Mrs. Verkhovsky’s voice.
“We’ll be waiting for you in the car,” Liv said.
I approached Verkhovsky.
- Excellent speech.
- Thank you.
“I heard you’re going to Yale?”
– Although I am sure that everything will work out for you, I still want to wish you good luck. You have a great future.
At that moment I was overcome with heat, I was so pleased with her words.
Year of book publication: 2016
Stace Kramer's new book, We Expired, did not go unnoticed after the scandal. This time the work was not marked by scandals and litigation. Thanks to this, the book went on sale and was received with interest by readers. Well, the young writer’s numerous fans ensured high interest in her new creation.
The plot of the book "We Expired" in brief
In Stace Kramer's book We Are Expired, you can read about seventeen-year-old Virginia Abrams or simply Gina. This girl is doing well - she graduates from high school today, she has a boyfriend, Scott, she is the best student in school and is predicted to succeed at Yale University, where she plans to enroll. Tonight's graduation could be the best night of her life. Moreover, dad even gave Scott the keys to his Cadillac. Twins Paul and Sean had a really great party. Virginia decided to have a blast - the alcohol was flowing like a river, and then there was a joint. In general, when the main character came to her senses, she decided that she had simply lost Scott. The search ended in the shower, where her boyfriend was hugging some Pamela. It was then that it turned out that, as in, Scott had long ago decided to break up with Jean. Not remembering herself from anger and resentment, the main character gets into the car and drives home. The result of this crazy race is an accident and disability. What was supposed to be the happiest day of my life turned into an inability to walk.
Jean's adaptation to the new reality is going very poorly. She even almost commits suicide. Therefore, her parents decide to send her to a rehabilitation center for people like her. Contrary to the expectations of the main character of the novel “We Are Expired” by S. Kramer, here the girl finds new friends. And they are different from her in many ways. She goes on a trip with new friends, she enjoys life and learns to live in a new way. Here, in a rehabilitation center, she finds new love.
As for the reviews of Stace Kramer’s book “We Expired,” they, as with the writer’s first book, are far from unambiguous. The disadvantages of the work include the stereotyped and banal plot. Many of the main character's actions are inexplicable and incomprehensible. The actions of others also raise questions. At the same time, the advantages of the book include the simple and exciting language of the work, as well as the noticeable successes in literature made by Stace Kramer. As a result, the book “We Expired” can be recommended to be read by true fans of the writer. If you are not one, then the novel most likely will not make an impression on you.
The book “We are Expired” on the Top Books website
The novel “We Expired” by Stace Kramer is so popular to read that the work took a high place in our winter 2017. At the same time, interest in it is noticeably decreasing. Therefore, it may not be included in the next ratings of our site.
Pages: 278
Year of publication: 2016
Language: Russian
Description of the book We Expired:
Great time in high school. When you are young and full of hopes and dreams. Especially if your parents made sure that you didn’t need anything.
Virginia was such a girl. She possessed not only bewitching beauty, but also intelligence. Her plans included entering Yale University. But alas, the plans were not destined to come true. At graduation, she learned that her boyfriend was leaving her. All dreams of an ideal future together came crashing down. And alcohol, a lot of alcohol, helped her smooth out the gap. The girl, holding her feet, sat behind the wheel. That evening was full of disappointment, combining the beginning of adulthood with a broken heart. And the next thing Virginia saw was a hospital bed. But the first thing that was difficult to realize was the deprivation of my legs. The terrible accident took away not only her dreams, but also her ability to walk. Instead of a place of honor among the most successful students - a certificate of disability. Now she faces a very long and difficult path of accepting her new self.
On our website you can read the book We Are Expired online completely free of charge and without registration in the electronic library Enjoybooks, Rubooks, Litmir, Loveread.
Did you like the book? Leave a review on the site, share the book with friends on social networks.
A new book from a rising star of Russian contemporary literature - Stace Kramer "We're Expired". Not recommended for persons under 18 years of age.
The book tells the story of a seventeen-year-old girl, Virginia. Confident in her own beauty, well-being and career, she goes to her graduation. But her whole life suddenly goes down a terrible slope: her boyfriend leaves her and cheats on her; under the strong influence of alcohol, she sets out on a risky journey in a car and gets into an accident. Her life is now confined to a wheelchair, but will she be able to believe in life again?
Read online and download the book “We Are Expired”
On our website you can read Stace Kramer's new book thanks to a beautiful and very convenient reader that will perfectly fit your tablet or phone. The book is published in the “Runet Star” series and, according to the author, film adaptations of her works will be waiting for us very soon, but for now you can download the book in convenient fb2, txt, epub or torrent formats.
Book Review
text version: If you are a fan of Stace Kramer's work, we strongly recommend that you do not read this review, especially if you cannot take criticism of your favorite author normally. Well, if you like to watch me tear books to smithereens, welcome!
I have a new review in which I will discuss, condemn and criticize the new book by Runet star Stace Kramer, “We Are Expired.” In January, I learned that Stace Kramer's underage fans can't take criticism and don't know about concepts like dark humor and sarcasm. May you die piece of shit! The book is awesome, an unreal book. You just don't understand. The book is amazing.
A new product from Ms. Kramer, popularly simply called Anastasia, “We are Expired.” Even at that moment, when I read the first chapters of this book, I honestly set myself a goal: that until the very last page I would abstract myself from the factor that it all came out of the hands of Nastenka “Stace” Kramer. Abstract from this fact and get an unbiased opinion about the work. I practically succeeded, I want to say in advance that I have no goal to belittle or offend anyone, especially the author of this book.
What I like about the book is the cover. It is quite interesting, enticing, better than most covers that are generally available in bookstores. Not counting those terrible birds that fly away in the background, but since they are part of the plot, this is basically understandable.
First of all, I want to say that this is indeed an allusion to the book. May God forgive me, but this is really some kind of book, unlike “50 days before my suicide,” where there was nothing similar to a book at all.
This book can not only be squeezed in for money, but also appreciated! The book is divided into four parts, but I think the reader will find the division into two parts clear. Before travel and after travel. But auto made four parts, thirty-one chapters, but the book is half as long as “50 days before my suicide,” about 300 pages.
I want to say in advance that, in principle, this entire review is spoiler, so watch at your own risk.
The main innovation of this book by Stace Kramer is logic, or rather some kind of premonition of it. It was as if the spirit of logic was flying around and decided to hit Nastenka so that she would realize that logic is a very important part of the book. You heard right - I put the word logic and the name Kramer in one sentence.
The plot revolves around a girl named Virginia, who calls herself by the abbreviation Gina, which for some reason reminds me of the nicknames of strippers, but that’s not what we’re talking about. This same Gina finds out on her graduation day that her boyfriend is cheating and getting drunk. Gets behind the wheel. Boom. Accident. Gina is confined to a wheelchair.
Her parents send the girl to a rehabilitation center, which she herself calls a center for people who have expired. The main character can be praised, she is not so bad and stereotyped. She is quite adequate, more or less showing the existence of her gray matter and even the ability to use the cranium. She grows spiritually throughout the entire plot of the book. We no longer have an idiot main character who decided to dye her hair blue, thinking that this would solve all her life problems and the problems of the whole world.
Another positive aspect of this book is the sensitive topic of disability that was raised in the book. We give Anastasia such a small plus to her karma for not being afraid to cover such a complex topic.
Now I’ll start distributing the book, you didn’t think that I would only praise the book. The first part describes the clinic where Virginia undergoes rehabilitation; it is described in a rather uninteresting and monotonous manner. By chapter 4, the main character’s mother abandons her daughter, saying that she needs professional help. Somehow fast? Just four chapters. It is necessary to bring the plot to the main part, but still not so quickly and, in general, the mother drove off there, and we will not see her until the middle of the book.
Stace Kramer in We Are Expired tries to make everything look very romantic and attractive to the audience of girls, but the author’s style is incredibly weak. The incredible far-fetchedness and sweetness caused my nerves to twitch and my eyes to roll for a long time. The sentences are “sprinkled” with sophisticated words. Phrases seem to be taken from numerous VKontakte public pages. Just the phrase about “Falling in love is not a diagnosis, but you suffer from it no less” in the context of the location of the main character, it looked inappropriate.
It is not possible to create the atmosphere of a dark and gloomy Stace clinic, the descriptions are scant, there is no drama, there is no ideology, the dialogues between the characters do not really fit in with each other. Everything turns out to be some kind of incomprehensible, simply flat picture that is impossible to imagine in your head.
As soon as I started to think that this was just the beginning of the book and the author would show and be able to reveal the clinic from the other side, she was already sending the heroes on a trip around the world: starting from Mexico and ending in New Zealand. An unexpected plot twist from a bad fanfic. It seems that this part of the book was written by a schoolgirl who, at the age of ten, went with her parents to Turkey and there decided to play at being a mystical and mysterious girl.
The whole plot comes down to a simple formula: there is a disabled person or a person in a difficult life situation and there is his mentor-mother hen who takes care of him, tries to restore faith in life, a lifelong journey takes place together and the main characters fall in love with each other against the backdrop of this drama . That's the whole story "We're Expired" And "Me Before You" Jojo Moyes(the novel was written in 2012, filmed in 2016). The plots are very similar.
The very idea of a disabled person traveling is quite interesting, it is even intriguing in some aspects. But the descriptions of the places are described as if they were taken from the interesting facts page on Wikipedia. Of course, there is a love line, unlike her previous book, here Stace Kramer decided to limit herself to one love line, not counting her ex-boyfriend. In fact, by the middle of the book you will have no problem writing out all the love lines and there will be no intrigue left for you. Psychotherapist Adrian goes on a journey as an assistant and finds himself in love with the main character from the moment they first met. Meanwhile, towards the end of the book, idiotic throwings typical of romance novels begin, but the time for these drinking sessions has already passed - the book is almost over, so everything happens rather boringly in the final part.
Here's a review of the book. After reading it, do you think this book is worthy of a film adaptation? Is it good? Write - in the comments!
