FW: The Kate in Between

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

-------- 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