We know that the branches of Christianity differ widely on just about anything under the sun.  Those of us who have spent any time studying Judaism know that it has quite distinct branches.  So why do we expect Islam to be monolithic?  Muslims differ over many controversial issues including the acceptability of music.  That's the message Maleeha Siddiqui delivers to young readers in Bahakah Beats.

     As she enters 7th grade Nimra is attending public school for the first time.  A lot is confusing.  The work is more demanding.  And being in the same school as her best friend Jenna is not all she hoped for.  Jenna seems to be ditching her for a popular athlete crowd.

     What catches Jenna's attention is that a popular eighth grade Islamic boy band asks Nimra to be their 4th member.  Nimra is sure her parents would never go for the idea.  But if she joins just long enough to win Jenna back they'd never have to know.  She isn't counting on really bonding with her bandmates.  With an upcoming public performance she has to decide who she's going to let down.

     Siddiqui deftly delivers insights into a fascinating world religion through this engaging and relatable narrative of a girl doing her best to make it through 7h grade. 

Jules Hathaway

     When my kids were young they were friends with three sisters who lived with their grandmother.  Their mother had lost custody because of substance abuse. Placement with a relative is usually superior to other types.  But it isn't without its own complexities.  That's the message for readers Andrea Beatriz Arango delivers in Something Like Home.

     As we meet Laura she's moving in with an aunt she's never met--a strict aunt she feels has expectations she can never meet.  She's convinced that it's her fault.  After all, she's the one who called 911 when she found her parents unconscious. She's determined to make her stay with her aunt as temporary as possible.  In her mind it's all a misunderstanding.  When she can somehow fix it her family will be together again.

    Unfortunately her parents aren't being compliant.  In fact at one point they run away from the rehab they have to complete to have any chance of regaining custody.  So Laura is thwarted at every turn.

     But there is a ray of sunshine. Surprisingly Laura's aunt allows her to adopt a neglected dog.  She's training him to be a therapy dog with the help of a special new friend.

     Children will really be captivated by this tone perfect, highly engaging book--especially the all too many in similar situations for whom it might kindle hope or at least offer assurance that they're not the only ones.

Jules Hathaway

     Well it's getting close to one of my favorite nights of the year.  Fall leaf colors--crimsons, golds, oranges--are peaking.  Darkness is falling earlier while daylight delays longer.  There's a nip in the air.  Spectral decorations have started to appear.  And the countdown is on.

     You may be planning to wrangle costumed youngsters through your neighborhood or a decked out mall, chaperone a children's party, attend a more adult affair, or do a number of things, hopefully ones that won't draw the attention of the police.  It isn't about what you do, how you dress, or whom you're with.  Catching the true spirit of Halloween involves the perception that for one night the veil between the material and spirit worlds vanishes.

     If you're planning on staying in and curling up with a spooky book you may find your options limited.  On one hand you have the dreadfully formulaic.  On the other hand you have the terribly unsubtle blood and gore fests.  Luckily there are a few notable exceptions.  One of them is HorrorScope Volume 3, edited by H. Everend.  It's an anthology of short stories and poems organized around the signs of the zodiac.  Each writer creates a vivid and tangible world that will draw you in and hold you in its spell.  It's the literary equivalent of a box of exquisite wrapped candies, each different and divine.

     It's hot off the press so it may not have hit a library or bookstore near you.  If not demand that they acquire it... 

     ...you wouldn't want to miss out.

Jules Hathaway  

     Two teens in heartbreaking, scary situations come together to pursue a mutual challenge in Elaine Vickers' Half Moon Summer.  

     Drew was born in Half Moon Bay.  He's the son of a talented carpenter who expects to start working in his father's shop next summer when he turns 13.  This summer there's something off with his father who is exhibiting inexplicable clumsiness.  The something turns out to be Lou Gehrig's disease.

     Mia and her mother and brother have just arrived to stay at her grandmother's house.  Housing insecure all her life, they were drawing close to living in their first house, one her father was building.  Then her other grandmother becomes gravely ill, her father has to go help her, and Half Moon Bay is the only option for the rest of the family.  Now they are in danger of losing not only the house, but the chance of being together as a family.

     Basically novice runners, they sign on for the Half Moon Bay Half Marathon.  There's not a lot of time.  Training will be grueling.  But it's a challenge they're determined to overcome.

     The plot is highly engaging.  The characters are nuanced, complex, and believable.  The setting is captivating.  This fine book is perfect for perceptive juvenile and YA readers--especially for those facing potentially life altering challenges of their own and their friends.  

     Keeping family secrets can be very dangerous.  That's why Sally J. Pla's The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn is both resilience narrative and cautionary tale. 

     Between staying by court negotiated turns with her constantly battling parents, Maudie who is autistic,  experiences vastly different lifestyles.  During the school year she stays with her mother who is a professional blogger with a channel.  Along with makeup and household tips she over shares on the challenges of having a child on the spectrum.  She's married to an abusive man.  Mommy Dearest cares more about standing by her man than protecting her only child.  (Yes, my biases are showing.)  So she sends Maudie to her dad's for the summer with instructions to not tell him what's going on.

     Maudie's dad, a free spirit carpenter, is much more accepting.  He loves her as she is.  He knows many ways to show his love and help her with the challenges she faces.  He's her three month reprieve from the Mom and Ron shitshow.

     The summer starts out challenging.  Right after Maudie arrives she and her dad have to flee a wildfire that destroys his uninsured home and studio.  The only reason Mom and Ron don't swoop in to grab her is they don't want to miss out on their summer long luxury cruise.

     Fortunately her dad has a friend who has a small trailer they can stay in.  He gets a job and starts taking steps to regain a stable life. 

     One day at the beach Maudie sees a poster for a surfing contest with large cash prizes.  If she can learn to surf and win the beginners category maybe they can get their own place.  Maybe she won't have to leave the parent who actually protects her.

     Kids will find this story truly engaging.  And kids in families with dangerous secrets may learn that they're not alone, and may find reason for hope.

     In 1959 Cuba was a hot mess.  Fidel Castre had overthrown the government.  There were intrigues and repercussions.  Many parents felt that the only way to keep their children safe was to send them away at least temporarily...

      ...to a very different country posing daunting challenges.  Alexis Castellanos mother was one of the children who made this journey.  Isla to Island, although fiction,  is based on her experiences.

     This graphic novel does so WITHOUT ONE WORD IN ENGLISH!  Pictures eloquently convey Marisol's experiences--struggles with English and school, peer cruelty, getting her first period which she hasn't been prepared for far from home and family.

     This highly engaging book will beautifully introduce young readers to a defining period in Cuban-American history with repercussions that carry through till today.

    And it's one of those extremely rare books that lets children on various reading levels be on an equal footing.

     Dan Clay's Becoming A Queen would be pegged as a romance.  And it is a superb romance.  When Mark is dumped by his long time boyfriend he spirals into a period of despair.  So when Ezra who he's attracted to shows that the feeling is mutual there are times his insecurities almost sabotage a relationship that has the potential to be solid and sort of awesome. 

     But it's also about identity.  People expect Mark to peg himself as CIS or trans.  But he's still trying to figure it out.  Can he be a boy who likes to wear dresses?  And his dad seems to refuse to think of the issue.

     And there's a third theme that makes this book more appropriate for college freshmen than for high school freshmen.  Big brother Eric is the family's golden boy, their high achiever.  He's also the only one who can really help Mark when he's at his lowest.  Nobody does enough when he is having trouble with alcohol.  Even after he's arrested he convinces his parents it was just a bad day.  And they send him back to college...

     ...where he dies of alcohol poisoning.

     Becoming A Queen acknowledges the rawness and complexity of emotions of a teen who has lost not only his brother, but his closest friend living  in a home with parents who are grieving the loss of a son in a society that expects healing to be convenient, linear, and fast.

    So in addition to MATURE high school and college students I recommend this book to parents, teachers...anyone who works with teens because we're losing too many to substance abuse... 

     ...And will continue to do so as long as we're unwilling to really address the issue

Jules Hathaway.  

     The teen years can be full of painfully overwhelming moral decisions.  Brandon Hoang's Gloria Buenrostro is NOT My Girlfriend explores one such dilemma.  

     Gary Vo and his best friend are way low on their school's social hierarchy.  They're yearning to get in with the elite.  They know they're pretty despicable.  But they can overlook a little nastiness to snag their dream social life.  Unexpectedly they get the chance.  All they have to do is steal a bracelet from Gloria, who is considered the hottest girl in the school.

     NOT SO SIMPLE.  Gary has gotten to know Gloria a lot better.  Her reputation is quite misleading.  In fact she's a smart, kind, thoughtful, funny girl.  He wants to keep her in his life. And he knows what the bracelet means to her.

     Now he has a decision to make.  Does he let his long term best friend down and perhaps lose him?  Or does he hurt someone he's come to really care about?

    The plot is rich and believable.  The characters are complex and nuanced, except the elites who are truly despicable.  Teen readers will find this book truly engaging and thought and emotion provoking.

Jules Hathaway

     Some of the most beautiful gems of juvenile literature are those books by authors of color  so engaging and evocative that they can let young readers walk in the shoes of children who have to deal with very challenging experiences. Jane Kuo's Land Of Broken Promises is one of these.

     Anna and her parents are refugees from Taiwan.  Her parents own a restaurant where she works after school.  Her parents put big time pressure on her to succeed academically so she can work as a professional rather than working with her hands like them.  She has two choices: doctor or lawyer.

     Then a letter threatens to tear their world apart.  It's paperwork that they haven't filled in on time.  Suddenly they are in the precarious position of undocumented aliens.

     The narrative, told in verse, is tone perfect.  The details are well chosen.  The character of Anna springs to life on the page.  And the suspense is very real.

     Young readers will get real insight into one of the most contentious issues in America today and the effect it has on children like them.

Jules Hathaway

     Finally with Columbus Day transformed to Indigenous People's Day we're acknowledging the wise, responsible, and resourceful stewards of this place before we went and stole it.  Some of us are gaining access to their fascinating stories.  Jessica Outram's Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is a good introduction for younger readers.  Although fiction it's based on it was based on her Metis great-aunt Bernice's life.

     Bernice and her family live in a lighthouse.  It's a rugged isolated life.  Visits from groups of relatives are special occasions to celebrate with singing, storytelling, and feasting.

     A mysterious stranger visits the lighthouse.  He leaves behind what looks like a treasure map.  It looks like the treasure is on a nearby island.

     Bernice's grandmother needs expensive medical care when she swallows a sewing needle.  Bernice, a big Treasure Island fan, decides to help with the bills by finding the treasure.  She sneaks off in a boat accompanied by the family huskies...

    ...only to be stranded on the island when the sea steals the boat.

   This highly engaging book can sow the seeds for further reading and rich discussions.   

Jules Hathaway  

     Some students in elite private schools have secrets they'll do anything to keep secret.  Some students collect other's secrets as potential blackmail material.  The A listers have plenty of dirt on their classmates.  When they do a big reveal there's hell to pay.

     That's the chilling premise behind Aleema Omotoni's YA novel, Everyone's Thinking.

     Iyanu finds safety and anonymity behind the camera.  One Friday she develops the pictures she took of a school event.  She returns to school Monday to find out that the pictures have been converted to polaroids and sent out to certain students with malicious messages on the backs.

     Her cousin, Kitan, is in the inner circle.  She's bothered by the cruelty, self centeredness, and racism of her set, but terrified of a fall from grace.

     The school is an uproar with students turning on each other.  Iyanu is desperately trying to find the culprit to prove that she didn't send the pictures.  Kitan is trying to believe her set is blameless...

     ...until she can't.

     Iyanu and Kitan are two of the only students of color in a majority white, majority clueless school.  Omotoni gives a vivid picture of the microaggressions and other humiliations they all too frequently have to endure.

     This highly engaging novel subtly enlightens while it entertains.  The complex plot and vividly drawn character will captivate teen (and adult) readers.

     Can you guess who didn't before the end?  I sure couldn't.

Jules Hathaway

      Does it seem like adult warnings about internet dangers directed to teens fall on deaf ears?  Maybe if they don't engage them it's time to ask what will.  How about Dashka Slater's Accountable?

     An Albany, California teen started a private Instagram account with racist memes.  He considered it merely edgy humor.  

    His victims didn't.  They told school officials who were totally unprepared.  Things blew up.  Pretty soon you had seriously traumatized victims, the accused (the boy and his followers) facing school expulsions and criminal charges, lawsuits being filed on both sides, and a community being torn apart.  

     This real life narrative is as suspenseful as fiction.  You can tell Slater did her homework.  The characters and situations are portrayed as complicated and complex.  There are no good guys and bad guys, no DARE preaching, and none of the talking down to that teens understandably have no patience with.  Readers are treated respectively as intelligent and aware human beings.

    So provide this fine book to the teens in your life and do some active listening.  No adultsplaining PLEASE.

    This is also a must read for school administrations and boards.  Too many are still in the dangerous mindset of it couldn't happen here.  Too many are misled by higher ups.  In my school board days I went to a lawyer-led workshop where the whole focus was protecting your school from legal liability.  Any mention of actual kids was treated as completely irrelevant.

Jules Hathaway

     Can a teen regain her trust of the father who let her down badly and broke her heart?  That's the question Sally Engelfried's Learning To Fall addresses beautifully for juvenile readers.

     Daphne lives with her actress mother.  When Mom gets a lucky break--a movie role in Europe--she sends her to live with the Dad she hasn't seen in years.

     Daphne sees Dad is really trying to be a parent.  But what if he slips up again?  And what if he loses his grip on sobriety and starts drinking again?

     Can their mutual love of skateboarding help them to reconnect?

     Young readers will find this novel highly engaging--especially those who have been let down by their own parents.

Jules Hathaway

I didn't post for 2. weeks because I was in the hospital.  I had a stroke.  Writing is still tiring so for a while my reviews will be shorter.

P. O'Connell Pearson's We Are Your Children Too blew me away.  To avoid integration in 1955 Prince Edward County, Virginia shut down the public schools and started a whites only academy.  Thousands of Black children had their lives diminished, their futures foreclosed.

The poignant and powerful descriptions of the children's suffering will really grab teens' hearts.  The selfishness and cruelty of those who shut down the schools, treating kids as collateral damage, and the ineptness and sometimes complicity of some in government will enrage them.  

I couldn't think of a more perfect book to introduce teen readers to the concept of systemic racism and the way racist acts hurt people for generations.

Jules Hathaway

The Name She Gave Me

YA fiction

"This birthmother 

you keep asking about

kept a baby she gave birth to

seven years after you were born.

A half sister

from a different father.

The agency called us

during the pregnancy 

to see if we wanted her.

We said yes,

we'd take your sister,

but then your birthmother

changed her mind."

     Rynn was adopted as an infant.  She doesn't even know her birthmother's name, never mind why she gave her up and kept her half sister.  She's desperate for any information she can get about the woman who brought her into this world.  The two years she'll have to wait feels like an eternity.

     Prior to adopting Rynn her parents had tried unsuccessfully to have children.  She gets along beautifully with her dad.  But her mom's a whole other story.  There are so many ways Rynn can get in trouble because she never can anticipate what will set her mother off.

     Rynn does have one clue about her birthmother.  She shared a name, Scheherazade, with her until her adoptive parents changed it.  One day an internet search reveals that her mother died when she was twelve, leaving her younger, Ella...

     ...in the foster care system.  Her father is serving serious time in jail.  Her caseworker wants to find her a permanent adoptive family.  But Ella is not a fan of this plan.

"I don't want 

to get to know

a new family,

with new rules

and new food.

I want to stay

with Martha

until I'm eighteen,

and that's the only fact

that matters."

     Through a newly discovered uncle Rynn manages to start a series of caseworker meetings with Ella.  Suddenly her parents and Ella's caseworker are talking adoption.  But Rynn feels this would be a huge mistake.

     Author Betty Culley was placed in foster care at nine months and adopted at three.  As an adult she was reunited with five siblings and other family members.

     "Over the years, every new fact, even those that were hard to hear, gave me back another missing part of my history.  And they made me think even more about what it means to be adopted, what family is, as well as how we try to protect ourselves and the people we love.  And while Rynn's story is not my story, my personal experiences inspired the book."

On a purrrsonal note, I had the best day Saturday.  The fam (Amber, Brian, Katie, Jacob, Adam, and Brian's mom) got together at Amber and Brian's place for the several times postponed Father's Day cookout which now included my birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊  and Brian's mom's birthday.  Brian grilled burgers and hot dogs and people brought other good stuff.  I'd baked 🍎 sauce chocolate chip 🍪 s because they're Katie's favorites.  We had so much fun being together and eating and talking.  I got some nice 🎁 s from the kids.  Adam gave me a black cat ☕️.   Now I have coffee mugs from all three kids.  Ann (Jacob's mom) who is a professional artist send me a framed 🖼.   And she's invited me to the Big City to go to an event in October.  Katie will pay for my round trip tickets.  Family time is the best! (Jules)

Adam stopped by to see me.  Family time is the best.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our amazing family.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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Nowhere Better Than Here

Juvenile fiction 

     Shut your eyes a moment and picture a climate refugee.  I'm betting you're envisioning a person of color from a global south nation most of us couldn't locate on a map.  Sarah Guillory's Nowhere Better Than Here should serve as a much needed wake up call.  It shows that environmental destruction is also a lot closer to home than we'd like to believe.

     "And you want to visit Boutin.  We have live oak trees that are older than the state itself.  Most of them are draped with Spanish moss, which is like nature's version of lace.  Sunsets over the marsh set the sky on fire and turn the water a really pretty shade of pink."

     Jillian (13) can't imagine living any place other than her small coastal Louisiana town.  Her parents and grandparents went through its public schools.  She loves fishing and shrimping and sees her future in out of doors work.  In contrast school, with its mandate to stay inside makes "my head hurt and my skin crawl."

     Change, however, is on the way.  As the narrative opens school is canceled for a day and a half due to rain.  Nothing especially alarming in that.  Rising water is such a regular event houses are built on stilts.  

     But this time it's different.  Jillian and her friends aren't returning to their school.  They're being bussed to the school in the next town over.  

     "Carolton was forty minutes away.  I didn't know anyone there.  And I'd seen their school.  It was a lot bigger than ours.  Like, I'd-get-lost-on-my-way-to-class big."

     In the meantime Jillian has made a startling discovery.  While asking some long term residents about old photographs she's learned that Boutin used to be twice as big.  A lot of it has been submerged by the ocean.

     There's talk about not replacing bridges that were washed away including the one to the Boutin schools.  Then the school arrangement is made permanent.  It seems to Jillian that the adults have given up on saving Boutin and all it stood for.

     "As people moved on, the culture would die.  It had shrunk considerably over the years, but as families moved and stopped living off the land, stopped fishing and shrimping, stopped blessing the boats and telling stories and sharing food, their children and then their children would grow further away from this life.  They'd adopt the life of Applebee's and the Gap, a life that looked the same no matter where you lived it."

     But she's not about to let it this happen if there's anything she can do about it.  

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday I had an incredible meeting with Jasmine who is a member of the Upward Bound full time staff.  I described my plans for the clothes room transformation and a 🎀 cutting next semester.  Totally green lighted.  She's also talking about restarting Friends of Upward Bound and the newsletter.  Those would be great ways I can continue to contribute after I 🎓 .  Thank goodness I don't have to work dining!  Also thank goodness I didn't get the field experience I was hoping for!  I'm plenty busy as it is.  And so far this semester I've kept up with my inside biking and cooking suppers for us both or for Eugene solo on my late 🌙 nights.  (Jules)

Yes, thank goodness!  She'd be away even more if she had to do all that.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Jasmine and the rest of the Upward Bound crew.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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With 5 new members this week my little littles family is getting bigger.  Notice the two 🦄 s and the pink 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 in front who looks like Tobago asking for a belly rub.

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Small Town Pride

Juvenile fiction 

     "Still, a part of me wanted more.  I thought I'd feel like a whole new person: confident, full of pride.  It's not like they did anything wrong.  But I wanted them to, I don't know, prove to me that this doesn't change anything.  Make me feel like my whole family supports me.  My whole village supports me."

     Jake, protagonist of Phil Stamper's Small Town Pride, on the school bus ride home, is talking to his best friend, Jenna, about coming out to his parents.  He's not quite sure how they're taking his announcement...

     ...until the bus gets to his stop and everyone on the bus sees a huge rainbow 🌈 pride flag flying in front of his house.

     Not surprisingly not everyone in Jake's village (they don't have a big enough population to be considered a town) is enthusiastic about the flag.  The mayor who tries to convey the image of unity by squashing any hint of controversy is especially irked.  She just wants the issue to go away already...

     ...which is so not going to happen.  Brett, the mayor's son, tells Jake:

     "But anyway, on the drive up here, Mom was telling Dad about how that pastor called her this morning, ranting about your flag.  It's not funny, it shouldn't be funny, but he seemed so out of touch that even she was laughing about it.  He said something like 'Next thing you know, we'll have a whole pride parade in this town, and then what?'"

     This puts a new idea in Jake's head.  He wants a pride festival in his village that isn't all about school sports.

     Only any kind of big event has to be approved by the town council.  The mayor has said that will never happen on her watch.  Not only does she have the whole council in her pocket, but she'll do anything it takes, even changing municipal rules, to enforce her will.

     Can a group of kids win over such formidable opposition?

     Read the book 📖 and see.

On a purrrsonal note, I had a really good birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊.  I was at school where I saw lots of friends.  A friend took me to a special gourmet food tasting event.  Class was great.  I got some nice gifts.  Tobago gave me the best one--a night 🌙 she didn't wake me up once, just snuggled all night.  To me a birthday is a chance to realize my great good fortune to be alive and healthy with a wonderful family and friends, a great educational program, and an amazing future.  (Jules)

And a chance to celebrate 🍾 ✨️ 💕 that I have my Jules.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our family and friends with wishes for a wonderful autumn 🍂 weekend.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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An American Story

Picture book 

     When Kwame Alexander's daughter was in the fourth grade she was being taught about life in the colonies without being taught about the enormous harm and trauma created by slavery.  He realized she (and so many other teachers) hadn't been really prepared to present such a hard, scary topic.  He wrote An American Story to help them to "speak the truth to children".

"How do you tell a story

that starts in Africa

and ends in horror?"

     The first part of the book depicts the horrors of the kidnapping of Africans, the middle passage that many didn't survive, and the cruel exploitation of survivors in the colonies.  

"How do you tell a story

about strength

and pride

and refusing 

to be broken

and refusing 

to stop smiling

and loving"

     That part tells about resistance and hope.

     Alexander's evocative poetry and Dare Coulter's amazing illustrations create a narrative we all need to read and take to heart.

On a purrrsonal note, the second day of the blood drive went well.  We had good numbers.  I'll share our stats as soon as I learn them.  I also had a fun time at Union Fest.  It was where a bunch of organizations tabled.  I was very excited to see that Orono Public Library had a table.  I saw lots of friends and got cool stuff including FOUR squishies.  People enjoyed making book marks.  Today is my hectic but fun birthday.  So far it's a very happy 😊 😃 😀 😄 😁 one.  (Jules)

An occasion to celebrate 🍾 ✨️ 🙌!  🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 treats and belly rubs!

A great big shout out goes out to all blood drive participants!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Forgive Me Not

YA dystopia 

     Jennifer Baker's Forgive Me Not is set within a horrific context.  Juveniles who have broken a law are sentenced by those who have been harmed.  There are three options.  One is forgiveness.  The offender returns home.  The second is a prison sentence.  The third is a series of trials which are often cruel if not downright sadistic experiences designed to prevent re offending.  The narrative is told in the alternating voices of teen siblings Violetta and Vince.

     Violetta had been grounded one night.  She was supposed to be baby sitting her little sister, Viv.  Secretly inviting her boyfriend over led to a series of bad decisions that culminated in Viv's death.  Her grieving parents have chosen the trials and she has agreed to participate.

     Vince is her older brother.  He's torn apart by his family's situation.  He doesn't think his sister should be able to return home without getting some kind of help.  He desperately misses Viv as he constantly sees traces of her around his home.  But he hates the way the system manipulates his family.  He starts to wonder if what they call rehabilitation is as benign as those in power claim that it is.

     He's also under serious pressure for achievement and perfection from his parents and track coach.  A classmate savvy about his situation is quite eager to help him ease the pain with drugs.

     In her author's note Baker reminds readers of some of the sobering realities of a juvenile justice system that disproportionately imprisons and criminalizes BIPOC youth and fails to provide them with even basic services, never mind anything resembling rehabilitation.

     "I hope reading Forgive Me Not provokes a different way of thinking about incarceration and leads to questions about the practices currently in place.  I also hope when you finish this novel you remember that it's a book about family.  A family in pain, a family who loves, a family who errs and works through what forgiveness is for themselves and others."

On a purrrsonal note, the first day of the campus blood drive went really well.  We had lots of donors.  Nobody got dizzy or fainted.  Of course I was in charge of canteen.  In the afternoon Lisa who was running the whole thing told me the last shift (when we take care of more donors) volunteers had both canceled.  I said "whatcha need them for?  You have me."  She said, "That's right, Jules.  You can handle it.  And I did.  Like a rock star.  Lisa gave me a voucher for a Bears Den lunch because greasy 🍕 is not heart smart.  I got a 🥗 and a bag of candy.  (Jules)

She was showing people pictures and video of me.  I feel like a 🌟.   (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in the blood drive.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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The Traveling Camera

Picture book/juvenile Nonfiction 

     There's a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.  It's certainly true in regard to the work of Lewis Hine.  Alexandra S. D. Heinrich introduces younger readers to this crusader against child labor in her The Traveling Camera.

     Hinrich's text and Michael Garland's illustrations portray the horrific reality of life for many children in the twentieth century.  Parents were often paid so little that children had to work so the family could keep a roof over their head and food on the table.  Kids as young as six spent days shocking oysters, picking cranberries, and laboring in factories and coal mines.  Some worked perilous night shifts.

     Young readers will realize that these are kids like them.  Other than the difference in clothes styles, a picture of girls and boys streaming out of a shoe factory for lunch looks like one you could see today of kids running out of school for recess.

     Traveling around the country taking those photographs was not an easy task.  Early cameras were bulky and heavy and required a lot of equipment for taking pictures and processing film.  Hines had to use many tricks to get to photograph some of his subjects.  Factory owners did not want the public to see what went on behind closed doors.

     As Hinrichs points out in her Note to the reader, despite all the laws that were passed, child labor, involving children as young as five, is still a major problem around the 🌎 including in the United States, especially during times of economic upheaval such as the pandemic...

     ...and, as we learn in the news, conservative lawmakers are trying to strip children and teens of protection from exploitation in the workforce...

     ...because it's never their children whose presents will be imperiled and futures will be foreclosed.

On a purrrsonal note, the rest of the week I have three late days followed by a semi late day.  Today and tomorrow I run canteen for the on campus blood drive.  Thursday I have my leadership class and Wilson Center.  Friday I'll get home from ☕️ hour at 6:00--in time to make something quick.  Yesterday I spent more time in the kitchen making supper, making 🌽 chowder from scratch to put in the fridge for Eugene, and catching up with dishes.  Planning and preparing meals in advance is my life balance Achilles heel, harder than multiple regression (statistics).  It gives me a new respect for my mother who worked a professional job, parented, and had all the housework.  How did she do it?  (Jules)

I don't like all those late days.  It's a good thing I have my dad to feed me.  But I still miss my Jules.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out to all who have a lot of responsibilities to juggle.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Eugene bought me this shirt.  It's to honor Joey's precious memory.  My sweet little friend lives on in my heart.  So I will be a tuxedo mom for the rest of my life.

And Tobago is a tuxedo too.

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This is one of the best gifts I ever received in my whole life.  Katie gave it to me for my birthday right after Joey did.  A real artist 🎨 painted it from a photograph.  Looking at is like stepping into a time capsule.  I clearly recall not only that day but those surrounding it.  It has one of the best spots in my studio.

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The Probability Of Everything

YA fiction 

"BREAKING NEWS: MASSIVE ASTEROID ALTERS PATH,

NOW ON COURSE TO MEET EARTH!!!

NASA RELEASES STATEMENT 'DO NOT PANIC!  PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN THIRTY MINUTES!'"

     Kemi, protagonist of Sarah Everett's The Probability Of Everything, is (like me) a big fan of probability.  Knowing the likelihood of a given occurrence helps her feel like her life is more predictable.  She's also really into research.

     One day Kemi is enjoying a rare treat--a Sunday breakfast with her whole family: her father, her very pregnant mother, and her active toddler sister, Lo.  Suddenly the headlines above scroll across the television 📺 screen.  The asteroid, named AMPLUS-68 (because of its size) has a 84.7 probability of striking Earth in four days!  

     Recall how you felt when COVID shut down the world and multiply that by about a zillion.

     Suddenly probability is not all reassuring.  But Kemi doesn't want to spend her last days drowning in grief.  She decides to make sure that her extended family will be remembered, that they matter.  So she's creating a time capsule with a treasured object from each member.  The book starts with this letter:

"Dear Reader,

     If you are reading this, then chances are that our world has ended.  I don't know what that makes you.  A survivor?  Or an alien from another planet, coming to pick through what's left of Earth the way raccoons dig through the trash looking through leftovers?  It doesn't really matter who you are.  All that matters is that you've found this.  All that matters is that you know we existed."

     As a child Everett lost a favorite uncle.  Only nobody talked to her about his death.  The grief she felt over his loss motivated her to start writing this book.  Then there was a string of hate crime murders of Blacks.  Their deaths became her asteroids.

     "I can't speak for the people who loved these victims, but I felt it was important to tell this story about a family living with the gaping hole of a missing loved one.  Both when grief is tied to injustice and when it is not, discussing death and loss is important.  We honor those we have lost when we talk about their lives, but it also helps us to move forward...Most importantly, we can honor those we lost by working for a more just world, by telling their stories, by making waves."

On a purrrsonal note, my hardest recent loss was the death 💔 😔 😢 of my beloved Joey Cat, my precious companion of sixteen years.  Right away well intentioned people were smothering me with platitudes and asking me when I was getting a new cat.  I knew that the kind of closure they were offering would erase the precious memories to anesthetize me.  I knew I'd rather feel pain that forget a great love.  Four years later the memories are clear while the grief is manageable.  Last night I was reading 📚 one of my 13-year-old journals.  Several times I read about nights I slept in the living room with Joey curled up sleeping on my chest.  I remembered clearly what that had felt and looked and sounded like.  Lynn Plourde, an author friend, says that while death stops a life it doesn't stop a love.  That's for damn sure.

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Salat In Secret

Picture book 

     Observant Muslims pray five times a day.  They are expected to begin doing so at quite a young age.  But this can be quite challenging.  In this country many people, even many Christians who support the development rite of first communion at about the same age, find this form of worship strange and disturbing if they know about it at all.

     When Muhammad turns seven his father gives him his own salat rug.  He is proud and determined to perform all prayers.  But one must be done when he's in school.  He can't seem to find the right place.

     This lovely book helps young readers understand an important religious ritual many adults don't know about.  It's a beautiful way of enabling diversity and inclusion discussions in schools and communities.

On a purrrsonal note, Hurricane 🌀 Lee was, in my opinion rather underwhelming in Penobscot County, Maine.  At my house we lost power about 10 hours.  But we didn't get all that much wind or rain.  After breakfast at Governors I sheltered at home with Eugene and precious Tobago.  I did a lot of reading.  Tobago was cool, not panicked, just curious.  Eugene made supper on a camp stove.  We had to eat the ice cream 🍦 in the freezer so it wouldn't melt.  After darkness fell I had a scented candle 🕯 and lantern to read by.  Today is bright 🌞 and sunny out.  You'd never guess that Lee had paid us a visit.  (Jules)

I had both my people home all day.  Party 🥳 🎉 🪅 🎊 on!  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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The Last Karankawas

Adult fiction 

     It looks like Maine isn't the only state with more precarious communities very close to tourist attractions.  Born on the island (one of terms she explains in her glossary) Kimberly Garza set her debut novel, The Last Karankawas, in Fish Village, a less known Galveston neighborhood, that is about to be slammed by Hurricane Ike.  It's the kind of place where people know each other and many are related by blood and marriage.  

     It's the story of these people and, looping back and forth in time, their decisions and the consequences.  

     Magdalena raised granddaughter Carly after the girl was abandoned by both her parents.  Claiming descent from the Karankawas, an Indigenous tribe, she follows beliefs and practices that seem strange to others.  At one point she almost gets kicked out of a long term care facility for trying to burn palm fronds.

     Jess, Carly's boyfriend, was a sports star in high school.  He doesn't take an interest in the working waterfront until he gives a ride to Vinh, a fisherman with a shrimper and an oyster boat.  What starts out as a spring vacation gig morphs into a lifetime vocation.

     Ike's hospitalized wife of 52 years, is about to be transported to a safer location.  The island is under an evacuation order.  He decides to sit it out.  Despite the fear he feels as he realizes how big the storm is getting, he rescues a cat from a tree.

     This ensemble cast narrative gives a vivid picture of everyday people caught up in a terrifying event painted by an author who set the story in the places closest to her heart.

On a purrrsonal note, I decided to post this review when Hurricane Lee was en route to Maine.  So far all we're 👀 ing is 🌧 and not that much.  In fact Eugene and I had our weekly Governors breakfast date before returning home 🏡 to shelter in place.  How bad will it get here?  Nobody really knows.  UMaine had our first football home game yesterday instead of today and all outdoor events for the weekend have been relocated indoors.  But then there are people who see this as excess of caution.  I even know people who are planning on an outdoor picnic.  (Jules)

If you have a feline friend shelter in place with the cat.  If you don't shelter in place and plan a trip to the Humane Society.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out and wish for safety go out to all in the path of Hurricane Lee.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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My Nest of Silence

Juvenile/YA Nonfiction 

     Matt Faulkner, author of My Nest of Silence, was horrified when he learned about the treatment of Jewish ✡️ people during World War II.  Then his mother dropped a hard truth on him.  Some of his relatives had been forced into the Manzanar Relocation Center.  

     "After all the reading I'd done, I must have been doubtful.  I must've said Wait.  Hold on, Mom, we didn't build concentration camps in America."

     Fast forward to 9/11 when people were talking about similar camps for Muslims.  While writing Gaijin, American Prisoner of War Faulkner also learned more about the horrific experience some of his relatives had endured and realized he had to write about that dark stain on America's history.  His My Nest of Silence is a narrative for young readers told in a unique and highly appealing format.

     Mari was torn away from her community--her home, friends, and school--and imprisoned in a concentration camp in the very inhospitable desert.  She and her parents and brother must share a 20' by 20' space.  (Take a moment to imagine your family in that predicament.)  Meals are monotonous and unpalatable.  The camp is surrounded with barbed wire fences and patrolled by armed guards who see them as the enemy.

     Things are about to get worse.  Big brother Mak has turned eighteen.  He's being sent off to war.  His family may never see him alive again.  Mari vows to not speak again until he's safely home.

     The story unfolds through their alternating voices.  Through Mari's, told in prose, readers see the hardships of imprisonment, the grief of losses, the strain on her family, and the fear of losing her beloved brother.  Through Mak's, shown in graphic format, we see the confusing, terrifying, and heartbreaking 💔 aspects of combat.  Together they create a gripping and moving literary experience.

     My only concern is the juvenile listing.  Juvenile covers a wide range of ages and levels of emotional maturity.  Not all kids are ready for graphic presentations of war.  I would recommend this fine book for juvenile readers who can handle the content, the YA crowd, and adults.  It would be a good adult book club selection because of its unfortunate relevance to the times we live in.

On a purrrsonal note, UMaine is gearing up for Hurricane 🌀 Lee.  The big football game has been moved from Saturday to Friday.  Outside events for the weekend have been moved inside.  Everyone in admin is sending cautionary emails.  Last night was great.  My leadership class was lit.  Everyone was making great contributions to the discussion.  Wilson Center was wonderful.  We had a yummy vegetarian meal and a presentation by the wonderful group Food and Medicine.  Finally we got to do rock 🎨 ing.  I got a ❤️ shaped rock heavy enough to be a paperweight.  I painted lead on it as from lead from the heart.  I'm going to give it to Seth in my leadership class.  (Jules)

Yesterday the sky was blue.  It's hard to believe a hurricane 🌀 is roaring up the coast.  But the meteorologists keep saying it's coming.  And they studied weather in school.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to leadership class, Professor Leah, the Wilson Center crew, and Food and Medicine.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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My nice new pillow

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Taking Care

Adult nonfiction 

     A nurse saved my life.  

     My first childbirth could have been scripted by Stephen King.  I woke up thinking my water had broken.  Only there was blood everywhere.  I was instructed to go right to the hospital where I was in labor 16 hours until my blood pressure started plunging and they had to do an emergency c section.  A couple of days later I woke up sure I had an infection.  The doctor on rounds (the villain) said it was my imagination and made a snide comment to the doctorlings about first time mothers.

     You know what we're taught to do, accept that doctors know best.  I didn't.  I rang for the nurse (the hero) and asked her to take my vitals.  I was in the grip of a hospital acquired infection so aggressive that if I'd gone along with the doctor I wouldn't have survived.  I'm a big fan of survival.  I owe almost half of my nearly 72 years to a nurse.  My husband didn't lose his life partner.  Our two younger children, one of whom went on to save lives as an EMT, were able to be born.

     I am a big fan of nurses and of Sarah DiGregorio's Taking Care: The Story Of Nursing And Its Power To Change The World.  It's one of those rare books that I believe can engage both professionals and the rest of us.  I tore through it in a day because I couldn't put it down.

     The book starts off with the history of the profession.  A lot of people including me were taught that Florence Nightingale (the lady with the lamp) started the whole enterprise in the 19th century.  Actually there were nurses well before her time as in Bible times and before.  A lot of them were not privileged white ladies.  Indigenous people and people of color were rocking a lot of wisdom and knowledge.

     At the time of the Crimean War there were actually two competing paradigms.  Nightingale's basically replicated the the sexist, classic, and rigid hierarchy of the Victorian social order.  Mary Seacole's approach was more holistic and patient centered...

     ...not surprisingly Nightingale was practically sanctified and Seacole basically forgotten.

     After the history we learn about some of the amazing roles 21st century nurses play:

*in neighborhoods educating and treating people in familiar surroundings;

*in building community;

*in end of life care;

*in the fight for accessibility of birth control and abortion;

*in understanding and combating climate change; and

*In humanizing addiction treatment.

     In the final chapters we learn that when nurses someday win their battles for professional respect and safer working conditions we all will be a lot safer than we are now.

     If you're a nurse read the book.  If you're related to or friends with a nurse read the book.  If you have a human body with potential for illness and injury for sure read the book.  It needs to be in every college, university, and public library in this nation.  So if your library lacks it and you can afford to donate a copy please do so.  A lot of people will benefit from such a thoughtful gift.

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday my good friend, Mazie, took me to Sweet Frog to celebrate 🍾 my birthday early and catch up.  That was so much fun.  When we stopped at Goodwill I found something I'd been looking for for months--a Squishmallow big enough to be a pillow.  I'd wanted a new pillow but find traditional ones too hard.  I also found a package of adorable Christmas cards featuring cats and dogs.  I'll need them pretty soon. The kids have wisely decided to not have the get together this weekend.They're tentatively rescheduling it for the next weekend. (Jules)

Mazie is a good friend of the family.  We had a nice visit when she brought Jules home.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Mazie and to Amber, Katie, and Adam.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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When Darkness Falls

Picture books

    

     "In the night garden, fireflies look like fallen stars."

     Those of us fortunate enough to spend time in gardens tend to do so in the daytime when the sun beams bright, busy bees and other pollinators bustle around doing their essential work, and humans sometimes accompanied by canine companions plant, weed, water and harvest.

     Carin Burger's In the Night Garden introduces young readers and listeners to a whole different side of the garden in lyrical prose.  Moon flowers open up as stars become visible.  A cat frolics through a number of the pages.  A mother fox tends to her cubs.

     The collages are simultaneously breathtaking and soothing--highly detailed and whimsical.  My favorites, of course, are the ones showing the gorgeous gold eyed black cat who looks and acts just like my precious ❤️ Tobago.

     In the Night Garden would be an especially good parent-child read aloud for kids who view the darkness with apprehension, showing the quieter, gentler sides of night.

  

     Young children tend to be fascinated with what adults do out and about in the world while they're asleep and dreaming.  Julie Downing's Night in the City follows a number of essential workers through their busy shifts.  A baker makes bread.  A firefighter prepares for an emergency.  A janitor at a museum dusts a dinosaur skeleton.  A new baby arrives into the world.

     In contrast to the dreamy collages of In the Night Garden, the illustrations of Night in the City convey a vibrant energy.  The characters are diverse and inclusive.  Throughout the book you catch glimpses of a child who gets tucked into bed by a parent heading off to work, sleeps and dreams and in the morning participates in a joyous reunion.

     This book would be a great bedtime 🌙 😴 read for kids who have a parent who works at night.

     Both books would be excellent acquisitions for public and school libraries and bed time story reading parents.

On a purrrsonal note, the meteorologists are getting all excited about the hurricane 🌀 they say is barreling toward Maine.  It's supposed to hit Saturday.  On campus people are scrambling to find indoor locations for outdoor weekend events.  I'm hoping it fizzles out so we can have my family early birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 celebration.  Yesterday Diane and I were the only ones in the community garden.  There wasn't anything we could do except harvest.  Oh, yeah, the pizza I sent a picture of had sungold tomatoes and eggplant from the garden.  (Jules)

I don't think I like hurricanes.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our long time garden buddy, Diane.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Here's a picture from the ice cream 🍦 social.  It's my advisor and me.  I'm the one in the cat 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ attire.  Leah is an awesome advisor and professor.  But I'm the one of us who can give advice on parenting.  

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Finding Papa

Picture book 

     Author Angela Pham Krans and artist Thi Bui had to flee Vietnam as very young children.  Their experiences are the basis for their poignant and deeply engaging Finding Papa.

     Mai loved to play a special game with her father.  One day he goes away and didn't come home at night.  Her mother says he's finding a new home for them.  For awhile there are only letters.  Then Mai and her mom set off from the only home Mai has ever known on a perilous journey to find him.

     Finding Papa will certainly help children feel empathy for refugees past and present in a country where too many people demonize them.

On a purrrsonal note, Sunday I really wanted to attend zoom church.  My attendance has been terrible.  But even when I don't go somewhere on Sunday there is so much I have to do.  Plus Tobago loves zoom church.  I was trying to decide what to do when I remembered my laptop is portable.  I could take it into the kitchen.  So I did some cleaning while Tobago and I participated.  I'm sure Paators Malcom and Mariah would rather have me washing dishes and folding laundry while listening to the sermon and singing hymns than not dropping in at all.  (Jules)

I was so happy to go to zoom church.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Pastors M & M and our church family. 

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Last Flight

Picture book

     When Kristin Mae Giang was only eighteen months old she and her family were on the last commercial flight ✈️ allowed out of Saigon.  It was decades before she learned that she was part of that historic event.  Her Last Flight is a fictionalized narrative of the event from the perspective of her then eight-year-old sister.

     The fall of Saigon is described from a child's viewpoint.  The booms 💥 come closer.  Tear gas hurts.  Finally there is only one flight to safety and huge obstacles in the way of getting on it.

     This is a picture book for older children ready to ask questions, old enough to empathize with kids in perilous situations needing to flee to safety with obstacles in the way--then and sadly now.  Kids who will hopefully grow up to demand change.

On a purrrsonal note, apart from breakfast at Governors yesterday this has been a work weekend.  For me it's homework, getting ready for week 3 of fall semester, and the perpetual cooking and cleaning.  My big, ambitious project was a thorough refrigerator clean.  Eugene is working on getting a new oil barrel before heating fuel deliveries start.  (Jules)

He buys that stuff that keeps our home toasty warm when it's blustery cold 🥶 outside.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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That Flag

Picture book

"Bianca and I are almost twins.  We're the same in so many ways.

We both wear our hair in braids.

We spend independent reading time together.

We play four square better than anyone in our class.

    We're inseparable.  She's my best friend."

    However, Kiera, narrator of Tameka Fryer Brown's That Flag, and Bianca are only allowed to be together in school even though they live on the same street.  It's because of the flag in Bianca's yard.  Kiera's parents call it a hate flag while Bianca's call it a heritage flag.

     When the girls' class goes to the Southern Legacy Museum on a field trip Kiera begins to see the evils associated with the Confederate flag.  Later her parents tell her about racist incidents people in her family have experienced.

"We talk about the things Black people have to do every day to stay safe.

After our talk, I feel scared, confused, and mad.

But mostly I'm sad."

     Kiera is afraid she and Bianca can't be best friends anymore...

     ...but she's in for a good surprise.

     As a child Brown was warned to stay away from people who flew the Confederate flag but never told why.  It was only as an adult that she learned about its connection with white supremecy.  She ends her author's note with these words:

     "If human beings can learn to be racist, we can also learn not to be.  In fact, your generation could grow up to be the fairest, most inclusive generation our nation has ever seen...especially if we adults do our part and tell you more truths about more things.

     I wrote That Flag to do my part to make humanity better, because I believe in your power to change the world."

     I love ❤️ 😍 💖 ❣️ 💕 this empowering message.  We have to begin teaching it to children as early as possible.  So many of the smart, capable undergrads I work with are overwhelmed with the sheer amount of crises in the 🌎 today.  They feel that getting involved in any way, even voting, won't make a difference.  We have to begin empowering kids way before college age.  We have to raise the number of younger people voting and holding elected offices.  We need bold strategies and actions to save our nation and planet.  There is no way establishment politics with an emphasis on incrementalism and civility will cut it.  We need to address the 🐘 s in the room we tiptoe around and have the difficult conversations...

     ...before it's too late.

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday afternoon was amazing.  Elizabeth Allan, the head of the higher education program, had a meeting for the students who are graduating this year.  This year that includes me.  We shared what we did last summer ☀️.  Then we had the chance to ask questions.  When I learned that one of my classmates said that she'll be attending a regional higher education conference in Portland I almost fell out of my chair.  For quite awhile I've been trying to get down to the Big City.  My two younger children live there.  That's the bigger reason.  TBH I am also feeling root bound.  The places I spend time in are home, UMaine, downtown Orono, Goodwill, and camp.  Sometimes I want to spend time in a place more diverse and cosmopolitan than Penobscot County.  I want to really get to know Portland.  After the meeting the first year students joined us for an ice cream 🍦 😋 😊 😀 social.  We had good flavors and toppings.  And it was early enough for me to catch a bus home.  (Jules)

Home to her cat of course.  Home is where the 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 is.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Dr. Elizabeth Allan, the hostess with the most established.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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Fire Keeper's Daughter

YA chiller 

     It was only weeks ago that I read one of the most amazing books ever.  Since, in the twelve years I've been reviewing for this blog, I've written about 2521 books 📚 that's really saying something.  And that doesn't touch the books I reviewed for the Bangor Daily News in the past.  When I got to the last page of Angeline Boulley's Warrior Girl Unearthed I checked to see if she'd written anything else.  I was thrilled to see that she had an earlier volume, Fire Keeper's Daughter, that allows her fans to visit or revisit the rich setting and complex characters of her newer book.

     Fire Keeper's Daughter is set earlier in time in the early aughts.  The twins who will be the center of Warrior Girl Unearthed are still children.  The narrator is their then teen age Aunt Daunis.  The plot is rich and suspenseful.  The characters are well rounded.  And an important issue is central to the narrative.

     "But then terror grips my heart again.  The gun.  Back at my face.  

     Mom.  She won't survive my death.  One bullet will kill us both...

     I am thinking of my mother when the blast changes everything."

     Daunis had been planning to leave home to attend a state university.  That was before her family was hit by tragedies.  Her uncle died unexpectedly in April.  Her grandmother suffered a massive stroke in June.  She's in a long term care facility with increasingly slimmer chances of going home.  So now Daunis is deferring admission to take classes at a local college.  Her mother, who is falling to pieces, needs her.  And maybe if she stays at home she can prevent a third tragedy.

     "I need answers as to why a cop is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, posing as a high school senior.  On my brother's team.  Because my best friend is dead, and Jamie Johnson has something to do with it."

     It turns out that Jamie and his uncle, Ron, not their real names, are undercover law enforcement officers representing the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  They're investigating a wave of methamphetamine distribution in reservations and 🏒 circuit towns in her area.  At the time of his death her beloved uncle had been working with Jamie and Ron as a confidential informant.

     Jamie and Ron convince Daunis to take his place in the investigation.  She's going to learn some ugly truths about members of her beloved community and risking everything including her life.

     If you're a fan of Warrior Girl Unearthed you'll want to read this most excellent prequel.  If you've read neither of these fine books 📚 you are in for a double treat.  Don't waste a minute getting your hands on them.

On a purrrsonal note, I'm almost at the end of my second week of fall semester.  So far so good.  Last night Wilson Center had an outdoor program.  After the meal we discussed aspects of our personal and social identities in small groups.  Today will be fun.  There will be a meeting for students in the group who will be graduating in the spring.  Going part time I've seen my peers walk.  Now it will be my turn.  Following that there will an ice cream 🍦 social for everyone in the program.  It will be such a fun event.  It's such a congenial group.  And Elizabeth's house is warm and inviting: beautifully kept up but not so perfect I'd be afraid of spilling something.  Honestly I don't know how she keeps it up in addition to all her professional responsibilities.  I'm just a student, but I have a hard time planning and cooking meals for Eugene and me, especially the days when I have night 🌙 events and I need to have something in the fridge my guy can heat and eat.  (Jules)

I'm low maintenance.  Canned cat food and bagged cat treats and I'm good to go.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the Wilson Center crew and you, our readers, with best wishes for a fabulous or at least restful weekend.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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There Goes The Neighborhood

Juvenile fiction 

"Aight, so I know how it looks--bad--but I can tell you for damn sure that we didn't do it.  Everyone thinks the gang did it, which I guess makes sense giving that gangs tend to have a reputation for stuff like this, but I know for a fact that it wasn't the gang is fake.  I made it up."

     I don't know about you, but talented new author Jade Adia had me hooked on her There Goes The Neighborhood with that very first paragraph.  She followed through on the promise of that paragraph beautifully.  She made a modern day evil--gentrification--the focus of a suspenseful and engaging novel with beautifully crafted characters.  If you're anything like me and you pick up the book you're going to find it very hard to put down.  And you'll hate it when the story ends.  The characters are so real you'll want to know what happens to them next.  It's that kind of excellent.

     Rhea is seeing her Los Angeles neighborhood changing all too quickly, and not for the better.  The unique stores that have been cornerstones of her community are closing and being replaced by the kind of soulless establishments favored by the rich white hipster crowd...

     ...and it isn't only stores that are being replaced.  For much of Rhea's life her disillusioned mom has been MIA.  Her best friends, Zeke and Malachi, have been the cornerstone of her found family.  Now Vic, the slumlord of the apartment building Zeke's family lives in bumps up the rent by an unaffordable 60%.  The building is about to be renovated to house richer, whiter tenants.  

     "I clench my fists until the knuckles crack.  Our crew is not falling apart.  Not like this, not on my watch, not ever.

     We have to stop him."

     Rhea knows that the invasive species, the rich whites seeking affordable housing in vibrant neighborhoods made over for their convenience, fear the original inhabitants of color, associating them with violence and crime.  Maybe if they detect a strong gang presence they'll question their new choice of habitat. 

     "Holy shit.  That's it.  I can picture it clearly: Duos of young white women with quirky bumblebee tattoos and pre-distressed denim jackets hear shots.  They pack up their collection of succulents and stockpiled boxes of LaCroix faster than you can say 'home-brew kombucha.'  They email their landlords as they flee to the Westside, stating that they will no longer continue renting in a neighborhood with so much...action."

     At first the fake gang seems to be working. It's blowing up on social media.  Rich whites seem to be getting the message...

     ...then Vic is found dead and the nonexistent gang becomes suspect numerous uno.  The cops know that even if the perp is white it will be so much easier to convict teens of color.

     "If you haven't realized it by now, here's my not-so-hot take: gentrification sucks.

     It sucks because communities of color are the culture bearers of many cities, yet we are currently facing the threat of displacement.

     It sucks because gentrification undervalues and discredits this cultural labor while exploiting and promoting its product.  

     It sucks because it destabilizes the fragile ecosystems of human connection that not only make diverse neighborhoods so special, but also make life worth living."

     Adia lives in one such neighborhood.  She knows from personal experience the challenges long-term residents of color face.  In There Goes The Neighborhood she seeks to humanize victims of gentrification while celebrating resistance.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Living Beyond Borders

YA anthology 

"The idea for this anthology arose when our heritage came under attack in the media.  Witnessing the constant spread of negative information fill my newsfeed, I felt compelled to do something.  To fight back against the damaging rhetoric and biased images that clashed with the culture I lived and loved."

     Luckily Margarita Longoria was able to do something to combat the demonizing of Mexicans by the Build A Wall! crowd and their allies.  Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America, of which she is editor, is a celebration of the diversity, beauty, bravery, and resilience of the culture she grew up in and embraces.  The pieces by talented Mexican American authors included provide readers with the stories she found tragically missing from her newsfeed.  

     "As the bus started toward downtown, the two teenyboppers' piercing voices, foul language, and shrieking laughter were becoming intolerable.  They were in that junior high stage when obnoxiousness and vulgarity made someone more popular among their insecure peers.  But I guess it was pretty normal teenage banter.  Then they said it--a word I had previously given little to no consideration."

     In Dominic Carrillo's Ghetto Is Not An Adjective the narrator witnesses a bystander telling two girls who called each other Ghetto as an insult that it's a noun referring to the place he lives and describes both the perils and beauties of living in a place too many people only associate with gangs and crime.

"Tell me a story.

Dime un cuento.

It can be a long story, or it can 

be a short one too.

It can be a brand-new cuento,

or a favorite old one."

     In Xavier Garza's Tell Me A Story/Dime Un Cuento, done in a graphic format, an appealing small child makes a near universal request of a distracted dad.

     "When I got home, I told Mami what had happened.  Her smile disappeared.  She helped me out of my dress, hung it carefully on the nail, but not before I saw tears running down her cheeks."

     The child narrator of Guadalupe Ruiz-Flores' My Name Is Dolores is only weeks into her first year of school when the teacher instructs the children to wear their best clothes for class picture day.  Her mother puts a lot of work into grooming her for this very important occasion.  Then just before the picture is taken her teacher takes her aside away from her classmates and camera range.

"He could only give me one dollar 

a week.  On Fridays, when I'd serve him 

dinner after work, he'd pull the single dollar bill

out of his worn wallet with weathered 

Hands--hands that had cut and transformed 

mesquite, planks, shingles, tiles, and cement."

     Guadalupe Garcia McCall's Ode To My Papi brought tears to my eyes.  Her words brought me back in time to when my now engineer son Adam, would tell my husband he would be a construction worker "just like you, Dad" and Eugene would say, "No, you will do better.  You will work with your head, not your hands."  Across race, ethnicity, time, space--any other divide you can think of--so many workers put their all into creating opportunities for their beloved children to have better lives.

     This anthology is like a sampler box of candies.  Readers discovering an affinity for a particular author can look in the listing in the back of the book 📖 to see what else they've written.  I've added some titles to my to borrow by inter library loan list.  ❤️ 💙 💜 💖 💗 💘!

On a purrrsonal note, the weather continues hot and muggy, temps we in Maine aren't used to.  I can't imagine what people in states like Texas are coping with.  Tobago sleeps more during the day.  At night with the AC on she's ready to party.  She had me up three times last night.  It's like having a new 👶.  Luckily she's irresistible.  🍅 s are finally coming in in community garden.  We're watering, harvesting, and cover cropping.  Yesterday I insisted on carrying watering cans.  The water spillage kept me cool.  We had 🍉 and Zoe's good shortbread 🍪 s for snack.  (Jules)

It's much too hot for us obligatory fur wearers.  I'm a big fan of AC.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the community garden crew.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Just East Of Nowhere

Adult Fiction

     When non residents think of Maine they tend to envision all things ocean related:  lighthouses, boats and ships, beaches, quaint souvenir shops and bed and breakfasts, and of course that infamous over priced bottom feeding crustacean, lobstah.  They probably see the Maine coast as the epitome of Vacationland.

     What they don't see is those coastal towns that don't share in the prosperity of places like Portland and Cape Elizabeth.  Some, victims of loss of manufacturing jobs with decent incomes, are beset by levels of poverty, precariousness, opiate addiction, and hopelessness usually associated with Appalachia.  In his debut novel, Just Easy Of Nowhere, Scot Lehigh takes readers to the way off the tourist track area where he grew up.

     Dan, a Bates College student, is returning to a place that doesn't feel like home to him for his estranged mother's funeral.  He feels that her fundamentalist church was more of a family than he could be in her mind.  He's experienced the house he grew up as a possibly inescapable prison.  He plans to just attend the funeral, play his expected role, and return to school.  But there are people from his past who make this unlikely. 

     Dan has managed to track down his biological father, the man who served many years in prison for impregnating his then teenage mother.

     Dan, himself, had spent time in juvie for beating a peer, Griff who had said the wrong thing, savagely battering him after he'd become too injured to fight back.  Griff is still around.  He's bought a gun and learned how to use it.

     Susan, Dan's first girlfriend, is now with Griff.

     Lehigh's first novel is pure raw suspense set in a place far removed from upper crust coastal Maine narrative.  Let's hope he brings us back in the near future.

On a purrrsonal note, I hope you had a wonderful 😊 Labor Day weekend.  Mine was 😍 purrrfect--a romantic weekend at camp.  Eugene did all all the cooking 🍳 leaving me free to read.  For fun reading 📚 😊.  I left the textbooks at home.  The weather was all blue skies and sunshine 🌞.  Eugene's best friend and his wife and their older son were at their camp.  We hung with them some.  Sunday night we joined them for a bonfire with refreshments.  It was so beautiful.  (Jules)

They always leave me enough food.  And they came home safe.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and the Brown family.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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