And here's the pie Katie baked. Blueberry. Every bit as delicious as it looks. Eugene was there too but in one of his keep that camera off me moods.
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Our Last Echoes
Our Last Echoes
YA fantasy chiller
"I'd composed the lie on the way over. People disappeared on
this island. Trying to come up with a logical explanation for what had
happened, saying that I'd seen them die or something--that would just
lead to more questions I couldn't answer. But the inexplicable? The
people here were used to not digging too deeply."
Sophia, protagonist of Kate Alice Marshall's Our Last Echoes,
has just aged out of foster care. She was orphaned at three. She'd
never been told anything more than that her mom had died in an
accident in Montana. Only a mysterious girl has just told her that
her mom disappeared from an isolated island, Bitter Rock, in Alaska.
Sophia wants to know the truth. She talks herself into an
internship at the Landon Avian Research Center. It's the only
enterprise of any kind on the island. It's where her mom had been
working when she vanished.
"I'd done my research before I came here. I knew my mother
wasn't the first to disappear from Bitter Rock. There was the
Krachka. Landontown. And, in 1943, there was a tiny army outpost.
Thirteen men, an airstrip, and a few planes."
Bitter Rock is eerie from the moment Sophia first sets foot on
it. There's the terror that prevents anyone from setting foot outside
when the mist enfolds the island. There's the ghost story of the girl
in the boat. And there are increasingly bizarre incidents that point
to a malevolent supernatural entity and its minions.
Will Sophia, like her mother, become one of those people who
venture to the island and never return?
Only one way to find out. Just not right before bed. Perfectly
crafted alternate realms and their interactions with the one we
inhabit make Our Last Echoes superlatively scary.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful surprise Monday. Awhile back
the grad students in my program got an invitation to write a proposal
for a 50 minute presentation at a student conference that will happen
next semester. I sent one in. After awhile I thought it hadn't been
accepted. Monday I learned it had. It will be about my backpack
project and how people can use what I've learned to create their own
projects. Pre COVID me would have been all "OMG! What have I done?"
New me is all "I've got this!" How can some good things come out of
something as totally crappy as a pandemic? (Jules)
Many cats got adopted because of the pandemic. That's a very good
thing. (Tobago).
A great big shout out goes out to the University of Maine's nursing
school that has been earning big time accolades recently. Nurses and
nursing students are some of the most courageous and dedicated
pandemic superheroes in our midst.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fantasy chiller
"I'd composed the lie on the way over. People disappeared on
this island. Trying to come up with a logical explanation for what had
happened, saying that I'd seen them die or something--that would just
lead to more questions I couldn't answer. But the inexplicable? The
people here were used to not digging too deeply."
Sophia, protagonist of Kate Alice Marshall's Our Last Echoes,
has just aged out of foster care. She was orphaned at three. She'd
never been told anything more than that her mom had died in an
accident in Montana. Only a mysterious girl has just told her that
her mom disappeared from an isolated island, Bitter Rock, in Alaska.
Sophia wants to know the truth. She talks herself into an
internship at the Landon Avian Research Center. It's the only
enterprise of any kind on the island. It's where her mom had been
working when she vanished.
"I'd done my research before I came here. I knew my mother
wasn't the first to disappear from Bitter Rock. There was the
Krachka. Landontown. And, in 1943, there was a tiny army outpost.
Thirteen men, an airstrip, and a few planes."
Bitter Rock is eerie from the moment Sophia first sets foot on
it. There's the terror that prevents anyone from setting foot outside
when the mist enfolds the island. There's the ghost story of the girl
in the boat. And there are increasingly bizarre incidents that point
to a malevolent supernatural entity and its minions.
Will Sophia, like her mother, become one of those people who
venture to the island and never return?
Only one way to find out. Just not right before bed. Perfectly
crafted alternate realms and their interactions with the one we
inhabit make Our Last Echoes superlatively scary.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful surprise Monday. Awhile back
the grad students in my program got an invitation to write a proposal
for a 50 minute presentation at a student conference that will happen
next semester. I sent one in. After awhile I thought it hadn't been
accepted. Monday I learned it had. It will be about my backpack
project and how people can use what I've learned to create their own
projects. Pre COVID me would have been all "OMG! What have I done?"
New me is all "I've got this!" How can some good things come out of
something as totally crappy as a pandemic? (Jules)
Many cats got adopted because of the pandemic. That's a very good
thing. (Tobago).
A great big shout out goes out to the University of Maine's nursing
school that has been earning big time accolades recently. Nurses and
nursing students are some of the most courageous and dedicated
pandemic superheroes in our midst.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
...and one more. It's harder to find pictures with me in them. Could this have something to do with me usually being paparazzi? I'm not camera shy or self conscious. I used to be afraid of scrapbooking. I read the books and magazines that were exemplars of perfection. They intimidated me. But when I gave up on perfection I had fun. And the kids love them.
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The Taking Of Jake Livingston
The Taking Of Jake Livingston
YA chiller
"'What...the...fuck?' Benji is confused too.
'You see it too?'
This is not some dead object bleeding into my reality--this
writing is really here. Someone wrote their initials in blood in my
house. And they meant us to find it."
Although a few of the books I've reviewed recently for our
Halloween gala have touched on spectral presences, you're probably
wondering when I'll introduce you to an out and out ghost tale. Well
have I got one for you! In The Taking Of Jake Livingston Ryan Douglas
brings us to a dimension few of us would dare inhabit.
Commuting between his low income neighborhood and his rich,
snobby, majority white prep school is not the only sense in which Jake
inhabits two worlds. As a medium he has one foot in the world of the
living and the other in the world of the not still living. He
routinely sees ghosts reliving their death loops. Ghouls slink around
the neighborhood and perch in yards like grotesque garden gnomes.
Ectopic-mist drifts like morning fog.
But things are about to get very ugly. The blood initials are
those of Sawyer Doon, a boy who took his life after shooting up his
school. Somehow, in spectral form, he's able to continue his killing
spree. And he seems obsessed with getting Jake.
Before he became a vengeful spirit Sawyer was a little boy
tormented by those he should have been able to trust. His journal
entries are scattered through the narrative. Which means that the
book is pretty darn scary on more than one dimension.
Read it if you dare.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a good weekend. I spent a lot of it
writing. I even penned an op ed piece to submit to the Bangor Daily
News. At that point I told myself to stop writing. Writing is good.
But I can't let it take over too much of my life. Then I remembered
how much my kids like the scrapbooks I've made so far from the familiy
photos in boxes. I had lots more pictures and a really nice scrapbook
from Goodwill. So I just plunged in. It was so much fun reliving
memories and creating a thing of beauty. When the family got together
for the afternoon Sunday it was quite a hit. It was so wonderful
being with my kids!!! Katie baked a gorgeous birthday pie that was
every bit as good as it looked! (Jules)
Pie? Cake? I think birthday tuna with a little birthday nip on the
side is the way to celebrate. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our wonderful family.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"'What...the...fuck?' Benji is confused too.
'You see it too?'
This is not some dead object bleeding into my reality--this
writing is really here. Someone wrote their initials in blood in my
house. And they meant us to find it."
Although a few of the books I've reviewed recently for our
Halloween gala have touched on spectral presences, you're probably
wondering when I'll introduce you to an out and out ghost tale. Well
have I got one for you! In The Taking Of Jake Livingston Ryan Douglas
brings us to a dimension few of us would dare inhabit.
Commuting between his low income neighborhood and his rich,
snobby, majority white prep school is not the only sense in which Jake
inhabits two worlds. As a medium he has one foot in the world of the
living and the other in the world of the not still living. He
routinely sees ghosts reliving their death loops. Ghouls slink around
the neighborhood and perch in yards like grotesque garden gnomes.
Ectopic-mist drifts like morning fog.
But things are about to get very ugly. The blood initials are
those of Sawyer Doon, a boy who took his life after shooting up his
school. Somehow, in spectral form, he's able to continue his killing
spree. And he seems obsessed with getting Jake.
Before he became a vengeful spirit Sawyer was a little boy
tormented by those he should have been able to trust. His journal
entries are scattered through the narrative. Which means that the
book is pretty darn scary on more than one dimension.
Read it if you dare.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a good weekend. I spent a lot of it
writing. I even penned an op ed piece to submit to the Bangor Daily
News. At that point I told myself to stop writing. Writing is good.
But I can't let it take over too much of my life. Then I remembered
how much my kids like the scrapbooks I've made so far from the familiy
photos in boxes. I had lots more pictures and a really nice scrapbook
from Goodwill. So I just plunged in. It was so much fun reliving
memories and creating a thing of beauty. When the family got together
for the afternoon Sunday it was quite a hit. It was so wonderful
being with my kids!!! Katie baked a gorgeous birthday pie that was
every bit as good as it looked! (Jules)
Pie? Cake? I think birthday tuna with a little birthday nip on the
side is the way to celebrate. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our wonderful family.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, September 25, 2021
This camp belongs to the guy who has been Eugene's non family best friend for most of his life. When Richard and his lovely wife, Karen, are at camp the same days Eugene and I are it's always great catching up on all their news and sharing memories. We have some awesome campfires.
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The Woods Are Always Watching
The Woods Are Always Watching
YA thriller
"The footsteps stopped--just out of view. She was sobbing
again, begging for a response. Something weighty and substantial was
lowered onto the ground above her.
And then a man peered over the edge."
If you're planning on a camping trip in the near future do not
read Stephanie Perkins' The Woods Are Always Watching until your safe
return. I'm glad I'm not going up to the camp my husband built as in
a wooden building that locks. If I was settling down in a tent for
the night every rustle in the darkness would startle me awake.
Providing I got to sleep in the first place.
That's how well written the book is.
On the eve of starting college best friends Neena and Josie are
going on an ill advised three day hiking trip. Neither of them has
built up the stamina to climb mountains. They're going to be out of
cell phone range for three days. The only camping they've ever done
was with an adult in charge. But when they show their collective
parents that they can put the tent up they get permission to go.
Their friendship is not all smooth sailing. They are going in
radically different directions. Neena, who still has an intact family
and a brother living up to high parental expectations, will be going
across the country to a place where she knows nobody. She feels
excited and scared at the same time. She'd like to talk to Josie
about her fears.
But Josie is frustrated that she can't have that kind of
opportunity. Her mother hasn't really been up to parenting since her
father's unexpected death. The family lacks the resources, financial
and otherwise, that Neena's enjoys. So she will have to commute to a
local school and keep her retail job. Same old, lame old.
Needless to say all is not smooth sailing. Even putting their
hefty and heavy backpacks on is a challenge. As the fatigue and aches
and pains of the trip wear on Josie and Nina their grievances come to
the fore, splitting them to the point of wishing they'd never come but
being unwilling to be the first to give up.
Then the unthinkable happens. Josie falls into a sinkhole,
badly fracturing her ankle. We're talking bone poking out of flesh.
Neena must hike back solo to get help. She forgets her asthma inhaler.
The girls have been very wary of bears, unaware that the most
vicious predators on the mountain are members of their own species.
If you're an affecianado of hard core chillers put The Woods Are
Always Watching on your to read list...
...Just not right before you go camping or hiking in the
mountains.
On a purrrsonal note, the day after I donated blood I still hadn't
fully bounced back. That's normal for me. I'm only a few pounds over
the lower weight limit. I was tempted to call in sick. But I knew
how short staffed we are. Only I ended up assigned to pot room.
Think a continuous supply of the biggest, grungiest, and, in some
cases, heaviest pots, pans, and other cooking implements you can
imagine to scour and put away. I lucked out. When I came back from
break Sonny, a non student worker, had taken over so I could do tables
(much easier) the rest of my shift. I decided to talk to my manager,
Michele, about the possibility of my not working the day after the
three remaining days I'll donate blood this school year. She agreed
that was reasonable. (Jules)
I just learned that some cats donate blood. They don't get to decide
to. Their hoomans volunteer them. I have no desire to deal with
needles that way. That would be a real life scary story. (Tobago)
Tobago has nothing to worry about. I'm more than happy to be the
donor in the family. (Jules)
A great big shout out goes out to Sonny, Michele, and the rest of the
dining crew family. They are simply the best.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA thriller
"The footsteps stopped--just out of view. She was sobbing
again, begging for a response. Something weighty and substantial was
lowered onto the ground above her.
And then a man peered over the edge."
If you're planning on a camping trip in the near future do not
read Stephanie Perkins' The Woods Are Always Watching until your safe
return. I'm glad I'm not going up to the camp my husband built as in
a wooden building that locks. If I was settling down in a tent for
the night every rustle in the darkness would startle me awake.
Providing I got to sleep in the first place.
That's how well written the book is.
On the eve of starting college best friends Neena and Josie are
going on an ill advised three day hiking trip. Neither of them has
built up the stamina to climb mountains. They're going to be out of
cell phone range for three days. The only camping they've ever done
was with an adult in charge. But when they show their collective
parents that they can put the tent up they get permission to go.
Their friendship is not all smooth sailing. They are going in
radically different directions. Neena, who still has an intact family
and a brother living up to high parental expectations, will be going
across the country to a place where she knows nobody. She feels
excited and scared at the same time. She'd like to talk to Josie
about her fears.
But Josie is frustrated that she can't have that kind of
opportunity. Her mother hasn't really been up to parenting since her
father's unexpected death. The family lacks the resources, financial
and otherwise, that Neena's enjoys. So she will have to commute to a
local school and keep her retail job. Same old, lame old.
Needless to say all is not smooth sailing. Even putting their
hefty and heavy backpacks on is a challenge. As the fatigue and aches
and pains of the trip wear on Josie and Nina their grievances come to
the fore, splitting them to the point of wishing they'd never come but
being unwilling to be the first to give up.
Then the unthinkable happens. Josie falls into a sinkhole,
badly fracturing her ankle. We're talking bone poking out of flesh.
Neena must hike back solo to get help. She forgets her asthma inhaler.
The girls have been very wary of bears, unaware that the most
vicious predators on the mountain are members of their own species.
If you're an affecianado of hard core chillers put The Woods Are
Always Watching on your to read list...
...Just not right before you go camping or hiking in the
mountains.
On a purrrsonal note, the day after I donated blood I still hadn't
fully bounced back. That's normal for me. I'm only a few pounds over
the lower weight limit. I was tempted to call in sick. But I knew
how short staffed we are. Only I ended up assigned to pot room.
Think a continuous supply of the biggest, grungiest, and, in some
cases, heaviest pots, pans, and other cooking implements you can
imagine to scour and put away. I lucked out. When I came back from
break Sonny, a non student worker, had taken over so I could do tables
(much easier) the rest of my shift. I decided to talk to my manager,
Michele, about the possibility of my not working the day after the
three remaining days I'll donate blood this school year. She agreed
that was reasonable. (Jules)
I just learned that some cats donate blood. They don't get to decide
to. Their hoomans volunteer them. I have no desire to deal with
needles that way. That would be a real life scary story. (Tobago)
Tobago has nothing to worry about. I'm more than happy to be the
donor in the family. (Jules)
A great big shout out goes out to Sonny, Michele, and the rest of the
dining crew family. They are simply the best.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, September 24, 2021
The genuine American Girls doll is a gift I gave myself. Actually someone gave her to me in a bag of dolls and critters and said to do whatever I saw fit. I tried to give her to a friend with a daughter the right age. She brought back so many precious memories of sharing AG books with my daughters. But keeping her felt selfish. But when I paired her with a very precious teddy bear (the one my uncle bought me the last time I visited him 35 years ago) I realized that they made a purrrfect pair. Don't you agree?
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These slippers were also part of my gift. I got mostly money which was perfect because I'm bankrolling grad school on a minimum wage job which could disappear just like that if the university has to shut down again. And I'm very much appreciating the textbook my kids gave me. Every time I open it I'm reminded that they believe in me.
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This is me working canteen after donating blood. The socks which are a good match with the shirt are part of my birthday gift from the in-laws. The sparkly leggings are my favorites. And, of course, a cat shirt. As you can see I'm dressed purrrfectly to give the gift of life.
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The Girls Are Never Gone
The Girls Are Never Gone
"...According to Kiwi, this place is as haunted as it looks.
There are reports of objects moving on their own, phantom smells,
feelings of being watched--a ghost hunter's dream. And it just so
happens this lucky ghoul will be staying there for the entire month of
July, volunteering with the town's historical society to help renovate
the estate as a museum."
Penguin Random House has become my go to for this years YA
Halloween appropriate scary stories. And I have read a lot of
offerings in this genre over the years. My most recent three posts,
today's, and the next three are theirs. If you're looking for a
literary seasonal party, they're hosting.
Dare, protagonist of Sarah Glenn Marsh's The Girls Are Never
Gone, is a ghost hunter. She plans to create a podcast, Attachments,
focussing on the mysterious drowning death of a teen, Atheleen Bell,
to try to discover what really happened to her. She'll be living in
Athaleen's former home, Arrington Estate. She and two other teens,
Quinn and Holly, were chosen to help restore it to its former grandeur.
Actually for a ghost hunter Dare is quite a skeptic. In all her
time searching for phantoms she has never found even one. She's sure
that logical, scientific causes can explain all so called supernatural
phenomena.
Arrington Estate will sorely test her skepticism. Rooms are
unexplainably cold. Warnings are painted on the wall of Quinn's
room. Bruises appear on the girls' bodies. There's a hidden room
with a missing key. The bells of a servant call system that's
supposedly been dismanteled ring. Water drips from ceilings. And the
lake the property fronts gets closer and closer.
Atheleen may not be only one of the ghosts on the premises. A
malevolent entity responsible for their deaths may be planning on
snagging a new victim.
Will all three girls and Dare's dog get out alive?
Only one way to find out. Come on down to the lake...
...if you dare. Bwa ha ha!
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful birthday. I was able to
donate blood. Then I volunteered in canteen, talking to donors and
making sure nobody fainted. Class went well. Eugene took me to
Family Dog (a restaurant with outdoor seating) for supper. I talked
to all three of my kids on the phone. So it was an amazing birthday.
(Jules)
She did have a good birthday. My birthday is in December. I will be
five. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, Amber, Katie, and Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"...According to Kiwi, this place is as haunted as it looks.
There are reports of objects moving on their own, phantom smells,
feelings of being watched--a ghost hunter's dream. And it just so
happens this lucky ghoul will be staying there for the entire month of
July, volunteering with the town's historical society to help renovate
the estate as a museum."
Penguin Random House has become my go to for this years YA
Halloween appropriate scary stories. And I have read a lot of
offerings in this genre over the years. My most recent three posts,
today's, and the next three are theirs. If you're looking for a
literary seasonal party, they're hosting.
Dare, protagonist of Sarah Glenn Marsh's The Girls Are Never
Gone, is a ghost hunter. She plans to create a podcast, Attachments,
focussing on the mysterious drowning death of a teen, Atheleen Bell,
to try to discover what really happened to her. She'll be living in
Athaleen's former home, Arrington Estate. She and two other teens,
Quinn and Holly, were chosen to help restore it to its former grandeur.
Actually for a ghost hunter Dare is quite a skeptic. In all her
time searching for phantoms she has never found even one. She's sure
that logical, scientific causes can explain all so called supernatural
phenomena.
Arrington Estate will sorely test her skepticism. Rooms are
unexplainably cold. Warnings are painted on the wall of Quinn's
room. Bruises appear on the girls' bodies. There's a hidden room
with a missing key. The bells of a servant call system that's
supposedly been dismanteled ring. Water drips from ceilings. And the
lake the property fronts gets closer and closer.
Atheleen may not be only one of the ghosts on the premises. A
malevolent entity responsible for their deaths may be planning on
snagging a new victim.
Will all three girls and Dare's dog get out alive?
Only one way to find out. Come on down to the lake...
...if you dare. Bwa ha ha!
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful birthday. I was able to
donate blood. Then I volunteered in canteen, talking to donors and
making sure nobody fainted. Class went well. Eugene took me to
Family Dog (a restaurant with outdoor seating) for supper. I talked
to all three of my kids on the phone. So it was an amazing birthday.
(Jules)
She did have a good birthday. My birthday is in December. I will be
five. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, Amber, Katie, and Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, September 20, 2021
The first intimations of autumn's approach are seen in subtle color changes in the leaves up to camp. It will be a few weeks before we hit peak color with the trees flamboyantly decked out in shades of yellow, orange, gold, and crimson. I hope Eugene and I will join the tourists in leaf peeping.
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Burden Falls
Burden Falls
YA chiller
Romeo and Juliet. Hayfields and McCoys. Feuding families whose
enmity lasts longer that anyone can remember what stirred up all the
bad blood in the first place. If that story line captivates you you
owe it to yourself to read Kat Ellis' Burden Falls. The
author of Harrow Lake has also created yet another location where
anything is possible and probably not something any halfway rational
person would want to experience.
Like other locales we've visited recently, Burden Falls is
special. In addition to its living inhabitants it boasts one spectral
dweller--Dead-Eyed Sadie, an unfortunate girl who was allegedly not
only brutally murdered but had her eyes carved out of her head.
Locals believe that she hasn't moved on to any kind of after life.
A year earlier Ava Thorn had been the sole survivor of a car
crash that had killed her beloved parents. Now she has to move out of
the manor that her hamily has dwelt in for generations. It's not only
been sold, but been sold to Madoc Miller, the man who crashed his car
into her family's that fatal night. Now she has to not only deal with
the Miller kids, Dominick and Freya, in school (no love lost there)
but know they live in the only place she shared or could ever share
with her mother and father.
By the way, the Thorn and Miller families have been enemies for
as far back as the living can remember and then some.
Dead bodies start turning up. A missing girl washes up on the
river bank. Freya's body turns up at the pavilion on her estate,
gaping holes where the eyes should be. Then someone really close to
Ava with whom she had a falling out becomes the third victim. Plenty
of folks think Dead-Eyed Sadie has come out to play. The police,
however, consider Ava to be the prime suspect.
Ava has to find out who the real murderer is to prove her
innocence. Dominick is on a similar mission because he has no
confidence whatsoever in the police being able to do their job. Could
they become unlikely allies or even, shades of old Bill Shakespeare,
star crossed lovers?
Only one way to find out, ya know.
Burden Falls will satisfy even the most hard core chiller
affecianado. I read the grand finale in what felt like a trance--
dreading what might evolve, but unable to put the book down. It felt
like I was experiencing the narrative as it unfolded rather than
reading it from a safe distance.
On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I went to camp Saturday morning and
came back Sunday. The weather was purrrfect for stopping at yard
sales and flea markets on the way up and for sitting out writing and
reading nearly til it got too dark to see. Eugene grilled hot dogs
for supper. We watched a funny movie and had beer happy hour. I got
back in time for zoom church. But I cut. I had so much to do to get
ready for the school week which is ready to start. Soon I'll be on
the bus to school. The only thing different about this week is that
my birthday is Tuesday. I can't find my usual excitement because it
will be a birthday without a celebration. I'll head out early, do
homework in Fogler Library, hopefully be able to donate blood,
volunteer at canteen, bus home for my zoom class, and read before bed
if I have the energy left. I know I'll get gifts. Mostly money for
grad school. But I hate the thought of not celebrating. You only
turn 70 once.
I'll help her celebrate. I iz a party animal, (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
Romeo and Juliet. Hayfields and McCoys. Feuding families whose
enmity lasts longer that anyone can remember what stirred up all the
bad blood in the first place. If that story line captivates you you
owe it to yourself to read Kat Ellis' Burden Falls. The
author of Harrow Lake has also created yet another location where
anything is possible and probably not something any halfway rational
person would want to experience.
Like other locales we've visited recently, Burden Falls is
special. In addition to its living inhabitants it boasts one spectral
dweller--Dead-Eyed Sadie, an unfortunate girl who was allegedly not
only brutally murdered but had her eyes carved out of her head.
Locals believe that she hasn't moved on to any kind of after life.
A year earlier Ava Thorn had been the sole survivor of a car
crash that had killed her beloved parents. Now she has to move out of
the manor that her hamily has dwelt in for generations. It's not only
been sold, but been sold to Madoc Miller, the man who crashed his car
into her family's that fatal night. Now she has to not only deal with
the Miller kids, Dominick and Freya, in school (no love lost there)
but know they live in the only place she shared or could ever share
with her mother and father.
By the way, the Thorn and Miller families have been enemies for
as far back as the living can remember and then some.
Dead bodies start turning up. A missing girl washes up on the
river bank. Freya's body turns up at the pavilion on her estate,
gaping holes where the eyes should be. Then someone really close to
Ava with whom she had a falling out becomes the third victim. Plenty
of folks think Dead-Eyed Sadie has come out to play. The police,
however, consider Ava to be the prime suspect.
Ava has to find out who the real murderer is to prove her
innocence. Dominick is on a similar mission because he has no
confidence whatsoever in the police being able to do their job. Could
they become unlikely allies or even, shades of old Bill Shakespeare,
star crossed lovers?
Only one way to find out, ya know.
Burden Falls will satisfy even the most hard core chiller
affecianado. I read the grand finale in what felt like a trance--
dreading what might evolve, but unable to put the book down. It felt
like I was experiencing the narrative as it unfolded rather than
reading it from a safe distance.
On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I went to camp Saturday morning and
came back Sunday. The weather was purrrfect for stopping at yard
sales and flea markets on the way up and for sitting out writing and
reading nearly til it got too dark to see. Eugene grilled hot dogs
for supper. We watched a funny movie and had beer happy hour. I got
back in time for zoom church. But I cut. I had so much to do to get
ready for the school week which is ready to start. Soon I'll be on
the bus to school. The only thing different about this week is that
my birthday is Tuesday. I can't find my usual excitement because it
will be a birthday without a celebration. I'll head out early, do
homework in Fogler Library, hopefully be able to donate blood,
volunteer at canteen, bus home for my zoom class, and read before bed
if I have the energy left. I know I'll get gifts. Mostly money for
grad school. But I hate the thought of not celebrating. You only
turn 70 once.
I'll help her celebrate. I iz a party animal, (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Dark and Shallow Lies
Dark and Shallow Lies
YA chiller
"People down here call us the Summer Children. We started our
lives as a complete set.
Ten. The most perfect number. The number of divine harmony.
The number at the heart of the universe. Ten commandments. Ten
plagues of Egypt."
In Ginny Myers Sain's Dark and Shallow Lies the rich and
haunting setting is as much a character as the humans (and jumbo
alligator) who inhabit it. La Cachette is located in the spooky,
superstitious bayou country of Louisiana. It's claim to fame is
billing itself the world's psychic capital. Most of its inhabitants
possess some form of supernatural ability.
One summer ten babies were born to eight families in La
Cachette. Sadly not all of them lived to see seventeen. Twins Ember
and Orli were drowned when they were only four. And Elora has gone
missing. Although posters pleading for any information are still
hanging, various psychic sources are in seeming agreement that she
won't be won't be showing up alive.
Grey, Sain's narrator, still holds out hope. She'd moved away
with her father after her mother's suicide. Now, on her annual summer
stay with her grandmother, she's determined to learn what happened to
her best friend. She's having a series of terrifying visions that may
be clues to Elora's fate.
She's also trying to figure why the previous summer Elora had
tried so hard to break off the friendship. Could it be more than a
simple case of growing apart? Could it be that La Cachette's fiercely
guarded secrets are so deadly she'll only be safe elsewhere?
Head on to that eerie small town and find out for yourself. If
you dare.
Dark and Shallow Lies is Sain's very promising debut novel. Her
bio says, "Having grown up in deeply rural America, she is interested
in telling stories about resilient kids who come of age in remote
settings."
I can't wait to see where she takes us next.
On a purrrsonal note, it's been a good week mostly focussed on school
and work. I got 100% on my second paper and can hardly wait to submit
my third which I really enjoyed writing. In fact I was so inspired by
my topic I'm also writing a future Bangor Daily News opinion piece on
it. Work is going super. I had fun astounding my supervisor. I
noticed two garbage cans that were full and in danger of overflowing.
I wrestled the bags out, tied them off, and relined the cans. The
look on his face was priceless. I guess he hadn't realized someone so
small could wrangle something so big and heavy. I am some lucky
working at Wells where I have yet to encounter a boring shift. I also
scored a cat shirt and a unicorn shirt on a Goodwill run and stopped
at downtown Orono where I got books (library) and tomatoes and flowers
(community garden). (Jules)
No wonder she smells so fascinating when she comes home from work.
(Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Sain with best wishes for a prolific
career.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA chiller
"People down here call us the Summer Children. We started our
lives as a complete set.
Ten. The most perfect number. The number of divine harmony.
The number at the heart of the universe. Ten commandments. Ten
plagues of Egypt."
In Ginny Myers Sain's Dark and Shallow Lies the rich and
haunting setting is as much a character as the humans (and jumbo
alligator) who inhabit it. La Cachette is located in the spooky,
superstitious bayou country of Louisiana. It's claim to fame is
billing itself the world's psychic capital. Most of its inhabitants
possess some form of supernatural ability.
One summer ten babies were born to eight families in La
Cachette. Sadly not all of them lived to see seventeen. Twins Ember
and Orli were drowned when they were only four. And Elora has gone
missing. Although posters pleading for any information are still
hanging, various psychic sources are in seeming agreement that she
won't be won't be showing up alive.
Grey, Sain's narrator, still holds out hope. She'd moved away
with her father after her mother's suicide. Now, on her annual summer
stay with her grandmother, she's determined to learn what happened to
her best friend. She's having a series of terrifying visions that may
be clues to Elora's fate.
She's also trying to figure why the previous summer Elora had
tried so hard to break off the friendship. Could it be more than a
simple case of growing apart? Could it be that La Cachette's fiercely
guarded secrets are so deadly she'll only be safe elsewhere?
Head on to that eerie small town and find out for yourself. If
you dare.
Dark and Shallow Lies is Sain's very promising debut novel. Her
bio says, "Having grown up in deeply rural America, she is interested
in telling stories about resilient kids who come of age in remote
settings."
I can't wait to see where she takes us next.
On a purrrsonal note, it's been a good week mostly focussed on school
and work. I got 100% on my second paper and can hardly wait to submit
my third which I really enjoyed writing. In fact I was so inspired by
my topic I'm also writing a future Bangor Daily News opinion piece on
it. Work is going super. I had fun astounding my supervisor. I
noticed two garbage cans that were full and in danger of overflowing.
I wrestled the bags out, tied them off, and relined the cans. The
look on his face was priceless. I guess he hadn't realized someone so
small could wrangle something so big and heavy. I am some lucky
working at Wells where I have yet to encounter a boring shift. I also
scored a cat shirt and a unicorn shirt on a Goodwill run and stopped
at downtown Orono where I got books (library) and tomatoes and flowers
(community garden). (Jules)
No wonder she smells so fascinating when she comes home from work.
(Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Sain with best wishes for a prolific
career.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Here's a super cool Goodwill find. And so true. I may not be floating around in a pool. But thanks to graduate school, work, and fabulous family and friends I am living my best life. And having this blog to share book reviews in is one of the reasons it is my best life. Thanks, readers!
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Friday, September 17, 2021
They'll Never Catch Us
They'll Never Catch Us
YA thriller
My studio was my girls' bedroom when they were growing up. When
I inherited it I built the decor around the art with which they
adorned the walls. Amber was a big Nightmare On Elm Street fan. She
used rainbow nail polish colors to paint "EVERY TOWN HAS AN ELM
STREET," a Freddy Kreuger quote that implies that every town, no
matter how postcard picturesque, has its dark secrets. It's a premise
many YA thriller authors have exploited successfully.
Jessica Goodman goes in the opposite direction in They'll Never
Catch Us. The town, Edgewater, in which her narrative is set, has
been nicknamed Deadwater. In the not so distant past it was the place
where a serial killer, a villain who was never arrested, brutally
murdered several cross country runners awhile back.
Goodman's sibling narrators, Stella and Ellie, are cross country
runners, the top ones on their school team.
Stella is focussed on her sport. She had been considered a shoe
in for an athletic scholarship at a prestigious university that could
help her escape her town. But an incident in which she was accused of
badly injuring a runner from another school during a race has resulted
in a fall from grace. She's even had to spend the summer at a place
that combines running and anger management. Now it's her junior year.
If the coaches who check out high school meets don't approach her--
game over.
Sophomore sister, Ellie, is a lot more social, hanging with her
crowd and enjoying parties. But she has her own secret. Over the
summer she's been hooking up with another girl's boyfriend. This led
to a crisis neither was well prepared to handle and an action neither
would want their peers to learn about.
As fall semester starts Stella and Ellie are no longer the only
elite runners on their team. Mila, Connecticut State Champion, is the
new kid in town. In fact she beats Stella in the first race of the
year.
One morning Mila doesn't return from an early run. The Steckler
sisters, especially Stella, are prime suspects in her disappearance.
Has the killer returned or spawned a copy cat? Or could cross
country competition be getting a little too intense? Come on out to
Edgewater and find out for yourself.
Goodman established herself as a master of YA thriller crafting
her debut novel, They Wish We Were Us. They'll Never Catch Us is its
very worthy successor. Let's hope she's working on a spine chilling
third!
On a purrrsonal note, I envy skilled runners like Stella, Ellie, and
Mila. I wish I was waking up early to take off like a cheetah and
winning medals at meets. What stalls me each and every time I try to
take it up is shin splints which never let up. The only way I can run
painlessly is backward. Sad but true. (Jules)
I'm a super fast runner. I can leave all the hoomans in the dust
(Tobago).
A great big shout out goes out to the writers of mysteries and
thrillers who are making the dark a bit more menacing for us all in
this lead up to Halloween.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA thriller
My studio was my girls' bedroom when they were growing up. When
I inherited it I built the decor around the art with which they
adorned the walls. Amber was a big Nightmare On Elm Street fan. She
used rainbow nail polish colors to paint "EVERY TOWN HAS AN ELM
STREET," a Freddy Kreuger quote that implies that every town, no
matter how postcard picturesque, has its dark secrets. It's a premise
many YA thriller authors have exploited successfully.
Jessica Goodman goes in the opposite direction in They'll Never
Catch Us. The town, Edgewater, in which her narrative is set, has
been nicknamed Deadwater. In the not so distant past it was the place
where a serial killer, a villain who was never arrested, brutally
murdered several cross country runners awhile back.
Goodman's sibling narrators, Stella and Ellie, are cross country
runners, the top ones on their school team.
Stella is focussed on her sport. She had been considered a shoe
in for an athletic scholarship at a prestigious university that could
help her escape her town. But an incident in which she was accused of
badly injuring a runner from another school during a race has resulted
in a fall from grace. She's even had to spend the summer at a place
that combines running and anger management. Now it's her junior year.
If the coaches who check out high school meets don't approach her--
game over.
Sophomore sister, Ellie, is a lot more social, hanging with her
crowd and enjoying parties. But she has her own secret. Over the
summer she's been hooking up with another girl's boyfriend. This led
to a crisis neither was well prepared to handle and an action neither
would want their peers to learn about.
As fall semester starts Stella and Ellie are no longer the only
elite runners on their team. Mila, Connecticut State Champion, is the
new kid in town. In fact she beats Stella in the first race of the
year.
One morning Mila doesn't return from an early run. The Steckler
sisters, especially Stella, are prime suspects in her disappearance.
Has the killer returned or spawned a copy cat? Or could cross
country competition be getting a little too intense? Come on out to
Edgewater and find out for yourself.
Goodman established herself as a master of YA thriller crafting
her debut novel, They Wish We Were Us. They'll Never Catch Us is its
very worthy successor. Let's hope she's working on a spine chilling
third!
On a purrrsonal note, I envy skilled runners like Stella, Ellie, and
Mila. I wish I was waking up early to take off like a cheetah and
winning medals at meets. What stalls me each and every time I try to
take it up is shin splints which never let up. The only way I can run
painlessly is backward. Sad but true. (Jules)
I'm a super fast runner. I can leave all the hoomans in the dust
(Tobago).
A great big shout out goes out to the writers of mysteries and
thrillers who are making the dark a bit more menacing for us all in
this lead up to Halloween.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, September 11, 2021
The In-Between
The In-Between
Juvenile thriller
I know there is still a month until Halloween. Some would say
it's too early to start reviewing scary books. My super talented
daughter, Amber, however, would say it's never too early. I'm gonna
go with her on this.
And there's no better book to start with than Rebecca K. S.
Ansari's The In-Between. Cooper, Ansari's protagonist is not in a
good place. His father had taken off a few years ago and now has a
life that revolves around a new wife and children.
"Just you wait, Cooper thought grimly to his unborn half-
sibling. Someday he'll ditch you too..."
Cooper's mother has had to take on a second job to take care of
expenses. His little sister, Jess, has been diagnosed with diabetes.
The family's life for the most part revolves around her routines and
crises. He has pretty much dropped out of his friends' lives...
...And then there's this strange girl who lives in the house
behind his, a house that was renovated in an impossibly short time (a
summer visit to his grandparents) from a falling apart refuge for the
homeless to a posh residence). For three months she's silently
watched him from a tree swing, always wearing a school uniform with an
unusual insignia.
One day Cooper discovers that Jess has been reading about a
train crash that happened in 1928. One body was not identified, that
of a boy with the same insignia. Researching it, Cooper and Jess
can't find it on the uniforms of any local private schools. But it
leads them stories of tragedies in which one deceased child wearing a
garment has never been identified.
So what can their new neighbor have to do with tragedies that
happened decades before she was born. Why is it that Cooper and Jess'
mom can't see her? How can the house transform in the blink of an eye
from its new incarnation to its old one and back again?
More crucially, does seeing the girl mean that Cooper and his
loved ones are about to be engulfed in tragedy? Is there any way to
keep that from happening?
Well there is a way to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, if you want to deck yourself or your home out
for Halloween look no further than Amber's crafts blog:
Https//:amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
It has all you need to rock the special day whether hosting, partying,
or staying home solo to hand out the candy. (That is if partying or
handing out candy is even a thing six weeks from now. We are living
through the biggest real life terror in a century with no clue when or
even if it will stop.) Amber's latest post has the most awesome
seasonal earrings. If you're at all into crafting and Halloween check
it out. (Jules)
Well at least it's stopped raining. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Amber along with congratulations on
her blog's tenth anniversary!!! (We started our respective blogs the
summer of '11.) My amazing daughter is putting the final touches on a
scary novel she plans to get published. Now that's a book we can't
wait to review. Of course we might be biased. Understandably so.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile thriller
I know there is still a month until Halloween. Some would say
it's too early to start reviewing scary books. My super talented
daughter, Amber, however, would say it's never too early. I'm gonna
go with her on this.
And there's no better book to start with than Rebecca K. S.
Ansari's The In-Between. Cooper, Ansari's protagonist is not in a
good place. His father had taken off a few years ago and now has a
life that revolves around a new wife and children.
"Just you wait, Cooper thought grimly to his unborn half-
sibling. Someday he'll ditch you too..."
Cooper's mother has had to take on a second job to take care of
expenses. His little sister, Jess, has been diagnosed with diabetes.
The family's life for the most part revolves around her routines and
crises. He has pretty much dropped out of his friends' lives...
...And then there's this strange girl who lives in the house
behind his, a house that was renovated in an impossibly short time (a
summer visit to his grandparents) from a falling apart refuge for the
homeless to a posh residence). For three months she's silently
watched him from a tree swing, always wearing a school uniform with an
unusual insignia.
One day Cooper discovers that Jess has been reading about a
train crash that happened in 1928. One body was not identified, that
of a boy with the same insignia. Researching it, Cooper and Jess
can't find it on the uniforms of any local private schools. But it
leads them stories of tragedies in which one deceased child wearing a
garment has never been identified.
So what can their new neighbor have to do with tragedies that
happened decades before she was born. Why is it that Cooper and Jess'
mom can't see her? How can the house transform in the blink of an eye
from its new incarnation to its old one and back again?
More crucially, does seeing the girl mean that Cooper and his
loved ones are about to be engulfed in tragedy? Is there any way to
keep that from happening?
Well there is a way to find out.
On a purrrsonal note, if you want to deck yourself or your home out
for Halloween look no further than Amber's crafts blog:
Https//:amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com
It has all you need to rock the special day whether hosting, partying,
or staying home solo to hand out the candy. (That is if partying or
handing out candy is even a thing six weeks from now. We are living
through the biggest real life terror in a century with no clue when or
even if it will stop.) Amber's latest post has the most awesome
seasonal earrings. If you're at all into crafting and Halloween check
it out. (Jules)
Well at least it's stopped raining. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Amber along with congratulations on
her blog's tenth anniversary!!! (We started our respective blogs the
summer of '11.) My amazing daughter is putting the final touches on a
scary novel she plans to get published. Now that's a book we can't
wait to review. Of course we might be biased. Understandably so.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, September 10, 2021
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder
YA mystery/thriller
"Their home was like the town's own haunted house; people's
footsteps quickened as they walked by, and their words strangled and
died in their throats. Shrieking children would gather on their walk
home from school, daring one another to run up and touch the front
porch.
But it wasn't haunted by ghosts, just three sad people trying to
live their lives as before. A house not haunted by flickering lights
or spectral falling chairs, but by dark spray-painted letters of 'Scum
Family' and stone shattered windows."
Pippa, protagonist of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide To
Murder, has chosen a very unusual high school capstone project. Five
years earlier a beautiful, popular high school girl, Andie, went
missing. Her boyfriend, Sal Singh, from a brown family in a very
white town, was the only suspect despite having an alibi. A couple of
days later Sal was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide.
Pippa believes that the police, aided and abetted by a prejudicial
press, closed the case too quickly. She wants to prove Sal's innocence.
Pippa, aided by Ravi, Sal's younger brother, begins to interview
people with possible insider knowledge. It's very fruitful. It turns
out that Andie was not as good as her image suggested. There are
plenty of people who had motive and opportunity. The challenge seems
to be finding out which of them committed the homicide. Or maybe if
it happened. Andie's body was never found.
But while Pippa investigates someone is watching her--someone
who does not want her to learn the truth and is willing to go to great
lengths to keep this from happening. A series of threatening notes
leaves her wondering if her quest is putting her family and Ravi's in
danger.
If you enjoy suspenseful narratives full of unexpected twists
and turns you can't do better than A Good Girl's Guide To Murder.
On a purrrsonal note, the sky is clearing up after a couple of rainy
days. We did need the rain. We're in a drought. The meteorologists
are predicting two bright sunny days. Other than homework I have no
idea how I'll spend my weekend. I hope you have a great one. (Jules)
Weekends are made for quality time with the hoomans you love. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA mystery/thriller
"Their home was like the town's own haunted house; people's
footsteps quickened as they walked by, and their words strangled and
died in their throats. Shrieking children would gather on their walk
home from school, daring one another to run up and touch the front
porch.
But it wasn't haunted by ghosts, just three sad people trying to
live their lives as before. A house not haunted by flickering lights
or spectral falling chairs, but by dark spray-painted letters of 'Scum
Family' and stone shattered windows."
Pippa, protagonist of Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide To
Murder, has chosen a very unusual high school capstone project. Five
years earlier a beautiful, popular high school girl, Andie, went
missing. Her boyfriend, Sal Singh, from a brown family in a very
white town, was the only suspect despite having an alibi. A couple of
days later Sal was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide.
Pippa believes that the police, aided and abetted by a prejudicial
press, closed the case too quickly. She wants to prove Sal's innocence.
Pippa, aided by Ravi, Sal's younger brother, begins to interview
people with possible insider knowledge. It's very fruitful. It turns
out that Andie was not as good as her image suggested. There are
plenty of people who had motive and opportunity. The challenge seems
to be finding out which of them committed the homicide. Or maybe if
it happened. Andie's body was never found.
But while Pippa investigates someone is watching her--someone
who does not want her to learn the truth and is willing to go to great
lengths to keep this from happening. A series of threatening notes
leaves her wondering if her quest is putting her family and Ravi's in
danger.
If you enjoy suspenseful narratives full of unexpected twists
and turns you can't do better than A Good Girl's Guide To Murder.
On a purrrsonal note, the sky is clearing up after a couple of rainy
days. We did need the rain. We're in a drought. The meteorologists
are predicting two bright sunny days. Other than homework I have no
idea how I'll spend my weekend. I hope you have a great one. (Jules)
Weekends are made for quality time with the hoomans you love. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Concrete Rose
Concrete Rose
YA fiction
"'You're gonna do what you have to do, Maverick, she says.
'That's what being a parent means. Your child is now your
responsibility. You'll be changing his diapers. You'll be feeding
him. You'll be dealing with him in the middle of the night. You--'
Had my whole life turned upside down and she don't care?"
Maverick, protagonist of Angie Thomas' Concrete Rose, has just
learned from a DNA test that he's the father of a baby when the baby's
mom takes off, leaving him to parent. Suddenly there's a crib in his
room and he's changing diapers, giving bottles, and getting up in the
middle of the night. He's discovering how draining it is to parent
while working and going to school.
Then, as he's bonding with his son Maverick's life is turned
upside down in a heartbreaking way.
"I pat Dre's face. 'Dre, wake up! C'mon man, wake up!'
He don't move.
He don't answer me.
He'll never answer me again."
Maverick is putting his son to bed when he hears gunshots and
screeching tires. He runs outside to find his beloved cousin, who had
been in his car calling his fiancée to wish her a good night, slumped
over the steering wheel, shot in the head.
Maverick and Dre are King Lords. Part of the code they live by
is that when someone kills one of your own you go the eye for an eye,
life for a life route. Maverick is pretty sure he knows who gunned
Dre down. He has someone willing to supply him with a gun.
But having a son who needs him complicates things. He could
become the next in a chain of retaliation deaths. Or he could go to
jail for a long time, becoming the same kind of absentee dad...
...his dad has been for ten years.
If a narrative of a teen candidly struggling to understand and
cope with harder challenges than most of us have to deal with in a
lifetime is your cup of tea, put Concrete Rose on your to read list.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was TOTALLY AMAZING!!! It started at
work. When I went in I was sure I was going to do tables again. Only
Jacob put me on cash. That's actually a misnomer because cash rarely
is involved. Doing cash is just sitting there making sure all the
cards get swiped correctly. People seem to think I did great.
Santiago told Jacob they'll have to put me on cash more often!
YASSS!!! After work I went to the Black Bear Exchange for the first
time since oh, snap, pandemic started. People can go in. That was
great. I'm really looking forward to volunteering there again. And I
really hope this year we can have Clean Sweep! After supper I found
out I got 100% on my first reflection paper! I'm also doing fine on
class participation. Unless campus goes all online before I know how
to submit I should be fine...and halfway to my masters. And then in
the evening Adam dropped by unexpectedly!!! We and Eugene and Tobago
had a lovely visit. Nothing caps off a sensational day quite like
seeing my one and only son! Days like that really help me get through
the more challenging ones. (Jules)
I saw Adam!!! YASSS!!! (Tobago)
Great big shout outs go out to Jacob,the tech person who helped me
submit my paper correctly, Lisa and the BBE crew, and Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"'You're gonna do what you have to do, Maverick, she says.
'That's what being a parent means. Your child is now your
responsibility. You'll be changing his diapers. You'll be feeding
him. You'll be dealing with him in the middle of the night. You--'
Had my whole life turned upside down and she don't care?"
Maverick, protagonist of Angie Thomas' Concrete Rose, has just
learned from a DNA test that he's the father of a baby when the baby's
mom takes off, leaving him to parent. Suddenly there's a crib in his
room and he's changing diapers, giving bottles, and getting up in the
middle of the night. He's discovering how draining it is to parent
while working and going to school.
Then, as he's bonding with his son Maverick's life is turned
upside down in a heartbreaking way.
"I pat Dre's face. 'Dre, wake up! C'mon man, wake up!'
He don't move.
He don't answer me.
He'll never answer me again."
Maverick is putting his son to bed when he hears gunshots and
screeching tires. He runs outside to find his beloved cousin, who had
been in his car calling his fiancée to wish her a good night, slumped
over the steering wheel, shot in the head.
Maverick and Dre are King Lords. Part of the code they live by
is that when someone kills one of your own you go the eye for an eye,
life for a life route. Maverick is pretty sure he knows who gunned
Dre down. He has someone willing to supply him with a gun.
But having a son who needs him complicates things. He could
become the next in a chain of retaliation deaths. Or he could go to
jail for a long time, becoming the same kind of absentee dad...
...his dad has been for ten years.
If a narrative of a teen candidly struggling to understand and
cope with harder challenges than most of us have to deal with in a
lifetime is your cup of tea, put Concrete Rose on your to read list.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was TOTALLY AMAZING!!! It started at
work. When I went in I was sure I was going to do tables again. Only
Jacob put me on cash. That's actually a misnomer because cash rarely
is involved. Doing cash is just sitting there making sure all the
cards get swiped correctly. People seem to think I did great.
Santiago told Jacob they'll have to put me on cash more often!
YASSS!!! After work I went to the Black Bear Exchange for the first
time since oh, snap, pandemic started. People can go in. That was
great. I'm really looking forward to volunteering there again. And I
really hope this year we can have Clean Sweep! After supper I found
out I got 100% on my first reflection paper! I'm also doing fine on
class participation. Unless campus goes all online before I know how
to submit I should be fine...and halfway to my masters. And then in
the evening Adam dropped by unexpectedly!!! We and Eugene and Tobago
had a lovely visit. Nothing caps off a sensational day quite like
seeing my one and only son! Days like that really help me get through
the more challenging ones. (Jules)
I saw Adam!!! YASSS!!! (Tobago)
Great big shout outs go out to Jacob,the tech person who helped me
submit my paper correctly, Lisa and the BBE crew, and Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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