And this is my new dress for academic showcase.

That's my this year's Halloween costume: the cat in the hat who I know on good authority reads banned books.

Looks like this neighbor is looking forward to Halloween!!!

Autumn is arriving on the UMaine campus.

The #MeToo Movement

YA fiction 

"Society has been long been plagued by a serious problem, but people have rarely talked about it.  The problem is sexual harassment, in which someone verbally or physically harasses another in a sexual manner."

     It first happened to me in high school.  A gym teacher was the culprit.  He told me to keep it "our little secret".  It happens a lot more than most people would think and the harassment is usually coupled covertly or overtly with the pressure to keep silence.  

     Sexual harassment was pretty much a taboo topic until 2017 when #MeToo shone a much needed light on the dirty little secret.  Suddenly women were being believed.  Men who had used their power to bully and cover up were losing jobs and reputations.  Many women began to feel solidarity and power.

     Of course not everyone was a fan.  Men, when accused, have often said that nothing happened or that it was consensual.  Now some people are claiming that there's a modern day witch hunt in which even men's most innocent acts and words can be used to criminalize them.  Some men are afraid to work or socialize with female colleagues.

     If adults find some aspects of #MeToo confusing, imagine how teens might feel.  Peggy J. Parks' concise and well organized The #MeToo Movement gives them an overview from the history of the movement through its consequences, intended and otherwise, to the work being done in state legislatures to combat the evil that we can now name and discuss.

     I consider this book to be a good acquisition for middle, high school, and public libraries.

On a purrrsonal note, yikes! Can you believe we're 1/3 through fall semester?  My week was pretty predictable.  Homework of course.  School and work.  I started a volunteer project for Upward Bound and tossed out a student initiative idea which was greeted with great enthusiasm.  I spent far too much time commuting.  (Jules)

I had my usual week protecting the house from vermin and taking care of my family.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, dear readers, with best wishes for a fantastic weekend.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

You Know, Sex

Nonfiction for everyone 

     We've just observed Banned Books Week.  But this is no time to drop the subject for 51 weeks.  The fact is that conservatives are trying to get record numbers of important books banned from schools and libraries and even bookstores:

*books revealing the systemic aspects of racism;

*books validating nonbinary gender identities and diverse sexual orientations;

*books exposing classism 

*books questioning authority;

*even books saying climate change is real.

It's bad enough keeping these books out of the hands of children who desperately need them.  Censors have their eyes on adult books also.  They'll be only too happy to limit what we can read to what they want us to read.  As in you know, fascism.

     Recall how after 9/11 government officials were trying to get librarians to hand over borrower records?

     One awesome new book that is sure to be banned in plenty of places is Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth's You Know, Sex.  It replaces the " the talk" mentality that isolates sex from all other facets of life and limits it to awkward lectures on menstruation, reproduction, and just say no with nuanced explorations of sex in the context of all of one's life.  There is no wait til you're older.  There is no my way or the highway.  It's about open explorations, not judgement.

     This lively narrative told in graphic novel format is set in a middle school sex ed class.  Four friends take center stage.  Readers get to know them in and out of school.  They and their classmates explore a wide range of topics from very diverse perspectives.  Or course there are expected ones like body changes during puberty.  But there are also ones many people don't see as sex related such as implicit bias and genocide.

     Adults as well as kids and teens are encouraged to explore the book.  Many of us didn't get to explore and discuss issues like sex and gender when we were growing up.  And it's never too late.

     I think You Know, Sex is wonderful and mind boggling and engaging and thought provoking.  If I was a billionaire I'd buy copies for all the people in my life.

     But there is one aspect that really bugs me.  On page 51 humans are divided into age categories: 11 to 19, 20 to 70, and over 70.  The younger two groups are lively and diverse and take up plenty of space.  In the tiny sliver devoted to my age and up you see stereotypes.  Ageism doesn't even get a token mention in the glossary or index.  Come on, Cory and Fiona.  There are as many ways of being 71 as there are of being 17.

     Ray Bradbury once said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture.  Just get people to stop reading them."  I use my blog as a way of letting people know about controversial and much needed volumes such as the one I've just reviewed.  What can you do to help keep these books accessible to all people including kids?

On a purrrsonal note, puberty was not the best part of my life.  Before I even menstruated a gym teacher molested me.  When I tried to report him I was called a vicious little liar.  It made the perfectly natural changes my body was going through feel menacing.  Also I was a gender fluid person growing up in a binary world.  I was always getting nagged to act and dress more femininely.  Mom even enrolled me in modeling school.  I was 63 when I realized there was a term other than weird that described me.  And now at 71 I am delighted with the person I am.  At UMaine where I'm a grad student I'm drag royalty.

A great big shout goes out to you, beautiful readers.  May you read and promote controversial books and delight in your unique, intersectional selves.

Jules and Tobago Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Of all the flowers on campus these are my favorites.

More fabulous campus flower photos.  Sadly I haven't had the time to draw any flower pictures.  There is never enough time to do everything I want to do. Is your life like that?

Clique Bait

YA fiction 

     "That's why I'm doing this, Mon.  Because Level One ruined your life.  They took you away from me, so I need to take something from them."

     Chloe, protagonist of Ann Valett's Clique Bait, is out for serious revenge.  It's the obsession of her senior year.  The elite crowd in her school, the six mean kids she calls Level One because they're at the top of the social pyramid, ruined her best friend, Monica's life.  So Chloe is out for blood.  It's a dangerous mission.  The clique is determined to stay above their peers, no matter what it takes.  Hapless classmates who somehow offend them are ruthlessly destroyed.  And they have connections galore.

     Chloe infiltrates the group by posing as the new girlfriend of one of its members, Will.  Her method is blackmail.  His father is mayor, a man whose election was largely due to dirty politics.  

     "'My father is CEO of a major news corporation,' I said, meeting his gaze with venom and omitting as many details as possible.  'He stumbled upon some information, and while your family bribed him to keep it safe, you can't bribe me.   Not with money.'"

     Chloe is planning on bringing down Level One, each and every one, by uncovering and exposing their dirtiest secrets.  She isn't prepared for one unexpected complication.  As she and Will fake a relationship she begins to experience very real feelings toward him.  Could they undermine her thirst for vengeance?

     And the relationship between Monica and Level One may not be as clear cut as Chloe would like to believe.  Each chapter begins with a letter from Chloe to her chum.  In each one her certainty crumbles a little more as questions enter the one way discourse.

     Fans of the bring the mean kids down subgenre will find this twisty dark narrative with an unlikely note of romance to be simply irresistible.

On a purrrsonal note, the word that would best describe my weekend is productive.  I made great progress on my homework.  I did laundry and cleaning including cleaning out the refrigerator.  Sunday I visited my mother-in-law.  I was so good I gave myself two reading and eating candy evenings.  (Jules)

I had a productive weekend too taking care of my home and family. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene's brother, Tim, who is finally back in the states alive after another tour of duty.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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And this is me on my amazing birthday.

The fabulous pies.

More of the critters.

Some of the little critters.

Saving Ruby King

     Perhaps the stuff of which nightmares are made is the blight that can endure in the human soul and its consequences in relationships.  This theme runs through the best of horrormeister Stephen King's works.  And it's brilliantly illustrated in Catherine Adel West's debut novel, Saving Ruby King.  

     It's the story of two best friends who grew up in drastically differing households.  

     Ruby was raised in a world of precarity and domestic violence.  Father Lebanon would flare up at the slightest provocation.  Mother Alice was a shadow of her former self, adept at covering injuries with makeup and wearing long sleeves in the hottest of weather.  Only now she's been brutally murdered.  Ruby is alone with the one he sees as "that girl"--an item nobody but him can possess.  

     "Lebanon never knocks on doors.  He pounds on them, splinters the wood, bends the hinges into abstract forms no longer able to hold things in frame.  He treats doors like he treats people.  All things can be broken."

     Layla and her father have been raised in middle class comfort.  Her father, Jackson, is the charismatic minister of their church.  But when she tries to tell him she must save Ruby he orders her not to meddle in an urgent whisper.

     "He doesn't shout.  Shouting draws attention and listening ears.  We're a perfect family and we can't have someone in the congregation witnessing a fight, people talk, rumors swirl.  It's best to leave our dysfunction in the home and out of the church"

     It's also the convoluted deep rooted story of Lebanon and Jackson, a narrative which Jackson has gone to great lengths to keep from his family and congregation.

     It's also the half a century old story of three teenage best friends, girls who like Ruby and Layla have sworn each other loyalty "forever and to the end."  One of them has become pregnant by incest.  Her friends' plan to get her away from her abuser has drastic unintended consequences.

     "Violet closes her eyes, trying to remove what she's seen, praying perhaps when she opens them, it'll be a bad dream.  But when Violet opens her eyes again, King Saul is still dead, Naomi remains on the floor clutching a bloody piece of glass, and Sara stands before her in a blue dress slightly torn at the shoulder."

     If any novel successfully explores the theme of the sins of the fathers being visited on the next generation it's Saving Ruby King.  I am certainly looking forward to the next offering from a gifted and talented writer.

On a purrrsonal note, my birthday blood drive was the most wonderful one I've ever participated in.  I came in early to set up canteen.  Along with the drinks and snacks I set out small stuffed animals, mostly teeny beanies.  Enough for each donor to take one home.  People  were so excited to see the animals and pick a favorite.  Lisa brought in a gorgeous It's My Birthday sash for me.  And then in the afternoon she showed up with five pies (pumpkin, apple crumble, blueberry, lemon meringue, and key lime meringue) for me to share with the donors and cute napkins. So it was basically a blood drive/birthday party.  When I got home I was glad it was too late to go out to eat.  Making sure nothing goes wrong in canteen and everyone has a positive experience really keeps me on my toes.  About all I was up for was kicking back and reading... (Jules)

...with their best little cat in the world. (Tobago)

We had really great numbers.  Between the two days the Red Cross collected 163 pints.  So a great big shout out goes out to the nurses, the donors, and the other volunteers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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The Art Of Drag

     At the University of Maine I'm drag royalty.  There is nothing I love doing more that dancing my ass off for a cheering, applauding audience, carrying on an exuberant but intimate conversation.  My drag name is Gotta Believe We're Magic because cast, crew, audience--all are participants in the magic that is drag.  Therefore, it was obvious what review I should post the morning of my 71st birthday.

     "...Not only does drag set out to subvert society's norms, it delights at poking fun at the world around us.  Every day, artists across the globe did deep into their dressing up boxes, using lavish costumes and makeup to magic up larger-than-life alter-egos that dazzle and amaze.  It's exciting, liberating, and deliciously queer, so it's no wonder that drag has fast become a global phenomenon."

     It's magic for the kings and queens also.  We can set ourselves free in a space where we don't have to live by other people's expectations or always be explaining ourselves.  We can just be in a crowd of people who understand and value our truthful presentations.  When I perform I feel like I'm soaring through a night sky among the stars.  

     If you're a performer, a fan, or curious about this art form you'll find a lot to enjoy in Jake Hale's The Art Of Drag.  It's a history that goes way back in time to explore its roots, cruises through the centuries, and speculates about its sure to be amazing future.  Many members of drag royalty are beautifully brought to life.

     You wanna talk flamboyant?  There are bedazzling illustrations on each and every page.

     But then again we wouldn't expect any less in a book about drag.

On a purrrsonal note, I'm about to run canteen for the second day of the UMaine blood drive.  We did super yesterday.  We got something like 78 units.  I'm hoping for another good day.  Today I have something special for donors and volunteers--little stuffed animals like teeny beanies to make their experience extra special because of it being my birthday. (Jules)

An event very dear to my heart.  The birthday of the person who took me home from the shelter.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our donors and volunteers and the Red Cross nurses.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

And here's the other one.

One of the Halloween shirts Eugene bought me.

I'm not sure she gets what we're doing.  But who cares when she's so adorable?

Here's Tobago helping me with bed making.

These are some of the cookies I baked.

Color Me In

     Imagine that, because of lineage, you're a member of two very different groups.  Other people may say you're lucky to have membership in the heritage of both.  But you feel empty, alone, and invisible because you don't really seem to belong in either world while some people are constantly trying to figure out what box to put you in.

     That's the plight of Neveah, protagonist of Natasha Diaz's Color Me In.  Her parents are involved in the kind of acrimonious split up where the drama is front and center and the welfare of the child is peripheral 

     "Jordan walks over from wherever she has been hanging out.  In the sunset, the shadow of her hair looks like a crown.

     'Great, so white girls are gonna see you and think it's okay to get cornrows outside of their annual all-inclusive Caribbean island vacation.   This isn't some fad the Kardashians started, it's our culture.'"

     Neveah and her mother have moved back to her mom's home (and church) in Harlem.  She wants to fit in and belong.  But her cousin, Jordan, can't seem to see beyond the privilege her lighter skin affords her.

     "I barely know what it means to be Jewish; it's one part of myself I never had to worry about because my father told me I didn't have to.  He said he and I were Jewish by birth, but didn't have to be religious."

     Evidently dear old dad has changed his mind.  Now he's insisting on a bat mitzvah--three years late--when Neveah would really prefer to have a sweet 16 party to look forward to.  So now she's attending religious classes with preteens, meeting regularly with a rabbi...

     ...and wondering how this new complication is going to play out in her snobby private school, a school in which she already feels like an outsider, a school she may have to navigate alone her junior year.  Her best (and only) friend, Stevie, is about to audition for a twelve month dance Fellowship in London.

     What more can go wrong? Read the book and find out.

     In a letter to readers at the end of the book Diaz says, "Color Me In is the book of my heart.  I based this novel on my real life, even though I have written the story as fiction."

     No wonder the voice is so authentic!

     I can't imagine not being drawn into this poignant and powerful coming of age narrative.

On a purrrsonal note, I'm having a productive weekend.  Yesterday was sunny; today is chilly, grey, and on and off drizzly.  You can really tell autumn is almost here.  Eugene spent a lot of time at Winterport.  He did take me shopping this morning and buy me two Halloween shirts which I'll wear the two days of the blood drive.  I did a lot of homework.  In fact I finished my reflections and am about to start my big paper.  After I turn that in I can get ready for academic showcase.  Dr. Gillon says I can be excused from it because my kidney stone operation is a week before.  But I don't want to be excused from my last academic showcase.  I want to show everyone how wonderful my internship was.  I plan to be tough and take time off work and achieve my goal.  I also got major cleaning done and made taco soup and applesauce chocolate chip cookies from scratch.  Last night I rewarded myself with several hours reading and eating candy.  I plan to do the same tonight.  (Jules)

She's going to do academic showcase.  She's tough like that.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.  Those Halloween shirts are fine!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Something Worth Saving

     "Aidan is a thief, and Victoria doesn't know it.  Mom seems distracted by Mark.  Dad won't stop drinking, so he is not welcome at home.  How can I get anyone to help Charlie when my humans keep making things more complicated?"

     If humans are anything we're complicated, especially when it comes to families.  In Something Worth Saving Sandi Ward looks at a decidedly in stress and transition family through a very different lens.  Her protagonist, Lily, is the gorgeous, long furred family cat.

     Lily had a rough start in life.  A kick from an abusive owner has left her with a permanent limp.  The limp deferred would be adopters at the shelter she ended up in until Charlie, the family's younger son brought her home.

     Now Lily sees bruises on Charlie, injuries he's trying to hide.  She desperately wants to stop whoever is hurting her devoted and sweet best friend.  But she's deterred by more than the language barrier.  Everyone in Charlie's life seems preoccupied with their own problems, too busy to notice what's going on with him.

     But Lily isn't giving up.  This tender, boy and his cat story of love and loyalty is a must read.

On a purrrsonal note, I wish Tobago could write.  I wish I could know what she experienced in her first years and what events brought her to the shelter so I can help her overcome any trauma she's lived through.  She may be a rescue cat but she's been a rescuer to me.  She helped me survive not only the death of my precious Joey cat, but the isolation of that first year and a half of the pandemic. (Jules)

I'm much too busy to write.  I've got a house to keep varmint free, people to take care of, a neighborhood to watch...Just thinking of it all makes me realize I need a nap.  Wake me up at dinner time.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the companion animals who light up our lives.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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I have no idea what these flowers are.  But they are my favorites on campus.

These are some of the flowers I photographed for the purpose of sketching them.  I'll show you a few more.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler

     "Shame is a way of life here.  It's stocked in the vending machines, stuck like gum under the desks, spoken in the morning devotionals.  She knows now that there's a bit of it her.  It was an easy choice not to go back in the closet when she got here, but if she'd grown up here, she might never have come out at all."

     Here is False Beach, the town that Chloe, narrator of Casey McQuiston's I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and her two moms moved  to from California at the beginning of high school.

     "It's just a town by some water where nothing interesting ever happens.  And, in what Chloe has learned is the nature of small towns, when one thing does happen, everyone knows about it.  Which means that by Monday morning, all anyone wants to talk about is where Shara could have gone."

     Shara is more than just a classmate.  She's the daughter of Principal Wheeler, the evangelical Christian law and order principal of Willowgrove Christian Academy.  In fact Chloe first saw Shara on a forty feet wide billboard advertising the school.  Shara is adored by most of her classmates for being smart, kind, talented, and "the football team's good luck charm". So when Shara vanishes into thin air right after the prom, despite her father's best efforts to deflect gossip, it's front page news.

     But it looks like Shara wants to be found.  Before she went missing she kissed an unlikely trio:

*Chloe who has all through high school seen her as her only serious rival for valedictorian;

*Smith, the football player boyfriend with whom until their recent breakup, she had been the school's alpha couple;

and *Rory, the boy next door (in Shara's ritzy gated community) who deliberately projects a bad boy image and may be harboring a crush.

She's also left them a series of cryptic clues on fancy pink stationary that will require a lot of risk taking including rule breaking to unravel.  In the process they'll discover a lot of people aren't who they appear to be--including Shara herself and her supposedly ultra virtuous dad.

     Although a delightful rom com, I Kissed Shara Wheeler also makes some pretty deep observations about the darker side of high school dynamics and Evangelical Christianity.  McQuiston wrote the book because " I know intimately that the Bible Belt contains some of the best, warmest, weirdest, queerest kids you'll ever meet, whether or not they even know that last part yet.  If you're one of those kids, I wanted this book to exist for you.  I think if it had existed for me back then, a lot of things in my life would have been different.  I wanted to write a book to show you that you're not alone."

On a purrrsonal note, it's Friday and I am more than ready.  If we go to camp fine.  If we don't fine.  I have a bunch of things I can do and not just homework.  Draw a picture or two in my sketchbook which I've been neglecting horribly.  I want to have some new work in it for when I go to the Big City in case I see Ann, Jacob's mom, who is a professional artist.  Bake cookies.  Make a new scrapbook out of family photos to bring to the Big City.  And of course get in a little extra reading.  Today on my way home I'm going to drop by Orono Public Library to do a little shelf reading. (Jules)

My plans: make sure no mice invade the house, play, eat, nap, watch the neighborhood, get belly rubs.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our fabulous readers, with best wishes for a great last weekend of summer.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

The You I've Never Known

YA fiction 

"I can't remember 

Every place

Dad and I have 

Called home.  When 

I was real little, the two 

Of us sometimes lived in

Our car.  Those memories

Are in motion, always moving."

     For most of Ariel's seventeen years her world consisted of herself, her father, and his fleeting romantic conquests.  Their lifestyle was nomadic, constantly taking off at a moment's notice.  School was not in the picture.  It's only recently that they've settled down and she's been able to attend high school.  She loves finally having a community and friends, but constantly fears that she'll lose them when something sets her volatile and violent father off.

"Funerals stink.  Especially your daddy's funeral.  Especially, especially when you have to sneak out to go because your crazy mother would totally flip if she had a clue that was your plan.  And, hey, why not toss in the fact that your lunatic mom was most of the reason your dad drank himself to death to begin with?"

     Maya's mother has become obsessed with Scientology and the desire to climb higher in their hierarchy.  Her response to her daughter's disobedience: "Soon enough saying no won't be an option.  We're moving to Sea Org in Los Angeles this spring.  They won't put up with your shenanigans."

     Maya needs to get away.  But how? An older military man impregnates her and proposes.  She knows marrying someone who is basically a stranger is not a great option.  But she can't come up with any others.

     The unlikely meeting of these two protagonists will send sparks flying.  

     Hopkins' plots and protagonists are often drawn from her life.  The You I've Never Known is no exception.  Her youngest daughter was kidnapped and kept from her for three terrifying, heartbreaking years.

     If you're already a Hopkins fan or enjoy suspenseful drama with complex characters and relationships you'll find this literary gem to be a must read.

On a purrrsonal note, it was a productive but frustrating weekend.  Eugene was away both Saturday and Sunday.  I was stuck at home since I can't drive and there aren't buses on weekends.  I got a bunch of homework done.  I got my laundry done and hung outside.  I did more spring cleaning.  Only not being able to drive I can't get the returnables and other stuff (including the beat up bed) out of Adam's old room so it can be Eugene's man cave for all his stuff cluttering up the living room.  I don't mind Eugene having his own interests.  I have mine.  But I want to know what he's doing far enough in advance to make plans of my own.  Enough already!  I am going to make a few plans.  And if he wants me last minute available, tough.  I'm also going to start looking around for help with that room.  I plan to have made real progress by deer season.  (Jules)

That should be interesting.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who is the love of our life.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

See, not a chonk.  I think she's gorgeous.  But I want to keep her in purrrfect health.  Today I cleaned her loft (top bunk) which had been accumulating lots of stuff.  Now she has more space.  But I forgot how to get down.

I had to show her how to get down twice.

Ha ha!

Not that funny, Tobago.

Yes, that funny!!!  And our readers agree.

The Kindest Lie

Adult fiction 

     Ruth seems to have it all: an Ivy League education, a profession, a new house, and an equally prosperous husband.  But she has a secret:

"No one talked about what happened in the summer of 1997 in the house where Ruth Tuttle had grown up.  In fact, there were days when she remained certain she had never given birth at all.  Somehow, she had convinced herself that her life began when she drove away from that little shotgun house in Indiana without her baby.  She had been only seventeen."

     When Ruth's husband, Xavier, starts wanting children to fill the new house she starts thinking of the son she only got to hold a few minutes.  Did he get good parents?  How was he doing?  Could she have a chance to make up for eleven lost years?  She decides to go back to the town she grew up in to try to locate him.

     Ruth returns to a town that is hurting.  The factory that had sustained its population has closed.  Lots of people, including her brother, are scrambling to find work.

     Ruth's quest is not appreciated by her family.  They'd managed for her to finish her pregnancy and give birth at home and arranged the adoption clandestinely so she wouldn't lose out on her Ivy League future.  They can't see why she suddenly wants to look back.

     And what if she does find her son?  How will her arrival effect him and his family?

     Ironically as the narrative opens Obama is elected president.  Racism, both personal and systematic, in the small town very much negates any notions of a post racial society.

     I think The Kindest Lie is a complex and engaging narrative.  But you don't have to take my for it.  Jodi Picoult raves about this "deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, and what it means to grow up black."

On a purrrsonal note, precious Tobago is on a diet.  She isn't a chonk by any stretch of the imagination.  But she has put on weight since her adoption.  I don't want her to be overweight because that would put her at risk for diabetes.  I knew a couple who had a dog with diabetes.  They had to give him shots four times a day.  I couldn't do that and work.  Plus I don't think baby girl wants all those shots.  ( Jules)

Shots!!!  Every day!!!  What a nightmare!!! (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the best little girl cat in the world.

Jules Hathaway 

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I lucked out on picking up my library books.  Lisa Morin gave me a ride to the library and then home.  I was expecting six books.  But by the time I got there there were eleven with my name on them.  This is going to be some fine reading!

Here is where I work.  This is the patio we hung out on when the place was evacuated Tuesday.

I saw this happy scene on my way to work today.  Happy people and dogs living it up on a very fine late summer Friday.

But it isn't all fancy.  I have colored chalk.  I'm going to add to the art as soon as I figure out what I want to draw.  Maybe become one of the regular contributors.

Here's another section.  I have no idea who started the tradition.  But it's one of the coolest spaces on the UMaine campus.

This brick wall is part of a curved covered walkway I go through on my way from the Union to work and back.  Some really artists share their talents.  I mean look at the sleeping red fox.  Every now and then the wall is washed and new work goes up.

The Cost Of Knowing

     "I know that I can't stop it, but I shut my eyes and begin ripping through the facts I have in my head regardless.  Everyone dies.  Isaiah's going to die, just like me, but is it really in only a few days?"

     Imagine you can see into the future.  Usually what  you see is pretty mundane.  But sometimes it's something pretty tragic that's going to happen to someone you love.  And there's nothing you can do to prevent it.

     That's the plight of Alex, protagonist of Brittney Morris' The Cost of Knowing.  He and his little brother, Isaiah, live with their Aunt Mackie.  Their parents died years ago in a car accident.  Ever since then every time he touches an object or person he sees into its/their future.  That's why he wants to just wash dishes at the ice cream parlor where he has a part time job.  He gets too many visions from all the customers when he works up front.  And it's why he is reluctant to touch his girlfriend, no matter how much he wants to.

     A few years Alex had foreseen the death of his best friend and run away not wanting to witness it.  Even though he was only thirteen then he feels guilt and regret.  What if in his last moments on Earth Shaun had felt abandoned?

     One day, touching a photograph, Alex sees Isaiah's funeral.  He realizes his brother's death will happen in a matter of days, a week at the most.  He hasn't spent much time with Isaiah since their parents' death.  But perhaps if he hangs out with him he can prevent him from dying or, at least, make his last days on Earth special.

     The Cost of Knowing is super engaging.  Almost too engaging.  I almost put the book down for good a couple of times because I didn't want to read about Isaiah dying.  That's how real Morris' characters are.  

     It also raises some important race related questions.  Alex desperately wants Isaiah to be able to just be a twelve-year-old boy and not have to think on how to protect himself in a society that sees him as adult and too often thug.  

     And then there's the Karen's, the whites who will proclaim left and right that they don't have a racist bone in them but harbor a deep down fear of people of color and make assumptions based on this fear and act on those assumptions, either calling in the police or taking matters into their own hands.  

     Talking to his Aunt Mackie, Alex says that white people have to stop making those assumptions so that people of color can stop dying from them.  Mackie says this will be very hard to achieve.  

     "It crushes me, the knowledge that she's right.  But I still feel compelled to try.  How do I explain to Mrs. Zaccari that apart from the cops, white women are just as scary to me now.  How do I explain that just by existing, I'm guilty until proven innocent?  That Isaiah was guilty until proven innocent?"

     Speaking through Alex, Morris reminds readers that nearly seven decades ago Emmett Till was killed because of a white woman's complaint and asks if so little progress has been made in well over half a century.

     The answer is yes.  And it's up to those of us who are white to work on making more progress in fighting this cruel reality. 

On a purrrsonal note, I was so deeply engaged in pondering on the questions The Cost of Knowing raises and writing this review that I almost missed the bus and was late to work.  Luckily I caught a glimpse of my clock and realized I had, oh crap crap CRAP, ten minutes to make it to the bus stop.  It lit a fire under me, I'll tell you.  It takes an excellent book to get me so caught up the real world vanishes.  And I did make that bus which is a damn good thing because I want to ask Anne if I can clock out early so I can make the right connections to get to Orono Public Library on time.  They've got six inter library loan books with my name on them, more if any come in today.  And the buses still don't run on weekends.  As long as I'm bringing my A game to work Anne will be working with me which I truly appreciate.  I'm glad it's Friday.  As much as I love my job I'm looking forward to two days off where I'm in dish room until we get more student workers.  I'm very grateful that nothing went south this week that could have.  When we had to evacuate I didn't get sent to Northern Light.  I got enough help that I could get this week's homework in on time.  Dr. Gillon says if my kidney sends me back to the hospital or I have to COVID quarantine we'll work something out. ( Jules)

Weekend!  More time with my people.  More belly rubs.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, with best wishes for a great weekend.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Here's another view.  Aren't they the cat's pajamas?

These are the sneakers.  See all the little cats.

FW: The Kate in Between

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-------- Original message --------

From: "julia.hathaway" <julia.hathaway@maine.edu>

Date: 9/7/22 7:35 PM (GMT-05:00)

To: Lisa Morin <lisa.morin@maine.edu>

Subject: The Kate in Between

     Junior high, middle school, whatever you want to call it--those transitional years between elementary and high school--is often a hard stretch as far as friendships are concerned.  Kids develop physically, socially, and emotionally at different rates.  The chum who has been your bestie since you started kindergarten may seem out of step with the crowd you want to be part of, a social liability.  Or you may being dumped for reasons you don't understand.  In The Kate in Between Claire Swinarski poignantly portrays the precariousness and volatility of middle school belonging.

     Kate, Swinarski's protagonist, and Haddie have been chums since first grade.  They have traditions, hang outs, favorite foods.  The last Saturday night before seventh grade Kate swears on a jar of fireflies to be Haddie's best friend "for all eternity."

     "The Dynamic Duo, my mom called us, when Haddie and I spent hours last summer learning how to tie bracelets out of rope.  We made one that was blue, white, and gray--the colors of the lake--and gave them to each other.  We were wearing them the night of the fireflies.

     But that was before."

     Taylor and her friends are super popular.  They've accepted Kate into their group and lunch table crew.  Suddenly Taylor is showering Kate with invitations.  At the same time she very clearly rejects Haddie.  Wearied by the competition for her time and attention, Kate tries desperately to bring her friends together.

     The friend drama isn't the only issue Kate has to deal with.  Her mom, rather than holding down a steady job, sells beauty products for True U Cosmetics.  She pitches lipstick and eye shadow at house parties and gets bonuses for recruiting other salespeople.  Often there isn't enough money to cover expenses.  Now she has decided that to move up in the ranks she has to move to company headquarters in Utah.  She does just that after dropping Kate off with her father.  

     Kate has to get used to her dad's routines which are very different from her mother's.  The apartment is very small.  Kate doesn't even have a bedroom--just a lumpy sofa in his study.  She is too embarrassed to let her peers know about her move.

     One day the conflict between Kate's friends goes dangerously wrong.  She's hanging out with Taylor's crew when Haddie unexpectedly shows up.  A game of keep away with Haddie's hat ends with Haddie falling through pond ice.

     Luckily Kate is able to save Haddie from drowning.  Her act is captured on smartphone and sent out into the virtual where it goes viral.  She becomes a media darling, a hero to many.

     But there may be more to the story.  Kate may have tossed the hat on the ice, may have been the reason Haddie is out on the ice in the first place.  Suddenly the people who built her up are having a field day cutting her down.

     So who is the real Kate: a hero, a villain, or a kid doing her best to navigate painful and confusing life changes?  If my girls weren't way beyond middle school I'd for sure gift them with a copy.

On a purrrsonal note, in junior high I stuck with my elementary school best friend, Nikki Galinos.  Our split up happened right before I started high school when my family moved from Beverly to Cambridge, Massachusetts.  With the internet not even a gleam in its inventors' eyes, long distance phone calls expensive, and Nikki not fond of letter writing we went our separate ways.  

Now I have the privilege of having an incredible best friend.  Lisa Morin and I go back over a decade.  I was one of the first people she met when she arrived to take her job on campus.  We share similar passions like the on campus food pantry, volunteering, and empowering our wonderful undergrads.  We share a lot of memories.  We know and love each other's children.  We've seen each other through ups and downs.  And we're there for each other.  A little later this month I'll be volunteering to run the canteen for her blood drive.  I wouldn't be getting my homework in on time this week without her computer help.  She surprised me today with the most incredible cat sneakers.  She is the only one outside of family who I would donate a kidney (minus a stone of course) to if she needed one and I was a match.  If you have someone like Lisa in your life consider yourself incredibly blessed. (Jules)

My best friends are my people.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Lisa.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

This is the Beanie Boo unicorn Eugene bought me in Machias.  I think she's adorable.  Don't you?

This is my new Halloween shirt.  Notice the cat.  I plan to wear it to school tomorrow.  Any day after Labor Day is fine for wearing Halloween shirts.  Then when Halloween is over I haul out my Christmas cat shirts.

A duo of picture books

Eight Days

All The Way To Havana 

    "I was brave, I was told then, but when the earth shook again and again, I was afraid.  And sometimes I cried because I missed Mamman and Papa and my little sister, Justine.  But in my mind, I played."

     Edwidge Danticat's Eight Days: A Story Of Haiti is a tale of survival and resilience.  Junior (7) is trapped under his home after an earthquake.  It takes people eight days to dig him out.  All that time alone in darkness and silence.  I don't know about you, but I would have totally panicked.  Instead he imagines himself doing the things he enjoys: flying kites with his best friend (who he somehow knows will never wake up again), helping his father, playing soccer...

     In her author's note Danticat tells us: "The earthquake on January 12, 2010, dramatically changed their lives.  Many watched loved ones die.  Others, like Junior, were stuck in the rubble of their homes...Yet in spite of everything, Haiti's children can still dream.  They laugh.  They live.  They love."

     Classic car fans as well as car loving kids will find Margarita Engle's literary road trip, All The Way To  Havana, lovingly illustrated by Mike Curato, to be a real treat.

     Believe it or not, many of the cars in Cuba today rolled off the assembly line before 1959.  And they are still running because of the tenacity and ingenuity of their owners who patch, rewire, and swap out parts in ways more spoiled American consumers would never think of.

     A boy and his family take a long drive to see a new born cousin.  Cara Cara, their car, doesn't sound right.  So dad and son must get under the hood and tinker before the clan can set off.  Neighbors who need a ride join them.  En route they see quite a few carefully cared for antique automobiles.

     I bet you can guess what father and son will be doing the next day.

     BTW there is a real Cara Cara, a '54 Chevy.  You can see the photo in the illustrator's note.  Visiting Cuba to research the book, he rode to Havana and back in her just like the family in the story.  

     In her author's note Engle says: "This simple poem about the island's noisy old cars is intended as an expression of admiration for the everyday ingenuity of poor people everywhere who have to struggle, persevere, create, and invent on a daily basis, never losing hope."

     How about taking this fine book for a test read?

On a purrrsonal note, we had some drama at Hilltop today.  It was nearly the end of my shift.  Luckily our lunch crowd had departed.  I heard loud alarms and headed for the nearest door.  Firefighters were running in and telling us to evacuate right away.  We sat at the tables on the patio in front of Hilltop.  Suddenly there were all these EMTs, probably every one on campus.  There was carbon monoxide in the building so they had to test everyone to see if they had to take us to the hospital.  Of course I was fine.  (Jules)

Thank goodness she was fine. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all the EMTs who hustled over on like a moment's notice.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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Some pictures from camp.