And here are their awesome bears.

These bear painters are so excited for the drag show tomorrow night!

More happy painters.

Here I am with my starry sky bear.  I also made a rainbow bear for Pride Week.  Later after the paints were put away I found an unpainted bear on the floor.  I plan to save it for my anniversary and paint "couldn't bear to be without you."

And they had a great time.

People took their bear painting seriously.

37 Things I Love

YA fiction 

     "'I know, right?' I say "Like I'd ever let her do that to you.  Anyway she won't do it unless I say it's okay.  She promised.  So we're fine.  You don't have to worry about anything."

     Ellis, narrator of Kekla Magoon's 37 Things I Love, is visiting her beloved father at the Assisted Living Facility.  The owner of a construction company, he had fallen off a beam suspended high in the air.  Now he's in a coma, kept alive by machines.

     Ellis's mother has to decide how long to hold out hope and when, in the absence of change, to let the facility pull the plug.  Initially she had promised Ellis that she wouldn't do so unless she was ready.  But lately, two years later, she seems reconciled to losing her husband and ready to let go.

     Ellis is at a very different place.  She still believes her dad can recover and doesn't want to let go before it can happen.

     Her mother isn't someone she can talk to about how she feels.  The counselors she gets sent to don't help.  Her best friend, Abby is obsessed with trying to get dates with athletes.  At one point before the girls sneak out to a party while Abby chats about what she's doing to make her breasts look more developed Ellis finds herself thinking:

     "I wish she would just look at me, look at my face and stop talking long enough to see me.  To see that things are not right.  That none of this is real and I am in some other place."

     In the hands of a less talented writer the narrative would be maudlin or happy ending superficial.  Magoon manages to spin an honest and perceptive coming of age story of a teen coming to terms with a situation that would prove challenging for most adults.

On a purrrsonal note, the Commuter Lounge now has a mission statement.  I wrote it and ran it by a lot of people.  My supervisor approved it.  A mission statement is the cornerstone upon which institutional values are combined into a cohesive whole upon which to base decisions.  It has to be both comprehensive and terse.  The Commuter Lounge's is "providing a supportive, welcoming, and affirming home away from home for commuter, future commuter, and nontraditional students."  Most internship sites already have mission statements.  So the chance to create one is sweet.  (Jules)

My mission statement: providing unconditional love to my family and friends. (Tobago)

Just two more days until the drag show!!!

A great big shout out goes out to our  commuters, future commuters, and nontraditional students.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Fast Pitch

Juvenile fiction 

     "I've been playing base related ball--first tee, now soft--since the minute I could hold up a bat.  Just like my daddy.  And his daddy before him.  It's in my blood."

     Shenice, protagonist of Nic Stone's Fast Pitch, plays catcher for the Fulton Firebirds, the first and only all Black team in the 12U division of the eight state Dixie Youth Softball Association.  All eight states were on the Confederacy side during the Civil War.

     "'It's a weight no one your age should have to carry, but can't ignore,' he [her father] says.  And he's right.  Every win feels...historical."

     Shenice is carrying the dreams of three generations of her family on her shoulders.  Her father was sidelined by injury.  Her grandfather had to stop playing so he could support a family.  But no one will tell her what ended her great grandfather's career...

     ...until a much older relative she's only just met tells her Greatgrampy JoJo was framed for a crime he didn't commit which ruined his prospects.  The relative knows who committed the crime.

     It's up to Shenice to bring the truth to light and restore her great grandfather's reputation.

     Stone's second book for middle grade readers is pitch perfect.  Sports loving youngsters will find it highly engaging.

On a purrrsonal note, today's Commuter Lounge event was bear painting.  Not the real thing of course.  Little wooden ones.  I painted one to look like a star light sky and one with a rainbow for Pride Week 2023 and went around advertising.  We got a good turn out and people had fun.  (Jules)

Why bears when cats are superior and much cuter?  (Tobago)

Maybe our mascot.  We are Black Bear Nation.  (Jules)

Why a bear mascot?  Cats are superior and much cuter.  Black Cat Nation has much more pizzazz.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who painted bears.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Study Break

YA fiction 

     "In the spring of 2021, Camryn Garrett sent off a tweet wishing there would be more space for novels set in college in the Young Adult category.  Ananya Devarajan quote retweeted it: Imagine...an anthology of diverse college stories that all connect by the end.  If this does become a thing PLEASE LET ME WRITE IT."

     Some ideas are so spot on that when someone voices one you're left wondering why they aren't already a thing.  Garrett's certainly belongs in that category.  It's a universal library truth that developing humans want book characters who are ahead of them.  Elementary school kids make middle school books fly off the shelves.  Books set in high school are popular with middle schoolers.  So why aren't more books for high school students set in the intriguing world of higher education?

     The immensely talented writers who contributed to Study Break:  11 College Tales from Orientation to Graduation (edited by Aashna Avachat) give readers a tantalizing taste of Garrett's epiphany come to life.  Set in the fictitious University of Milbridge, the stories span a school year, one for each month.  The characters are a widely diverse and inclusive crew.  And best of all, at the time they wrote their pieces the authors were in college or had recently graduated.

     Aarti, protagonist of Ananya Devarajan's The Ultimate Guide to Orientation (August), following in the footsteps of her older just graduated sister, is trying to be every bit as successful as her sibling and feeling like a failure.  But maybe there are more ways than one to live the college experience.

     Rani, protagonist of Arushi Avachat's Rani's Resolutions (January) is home for Christmas break.  Although her family and their friends expect her to become a lawyer, she's discovered that she really wants to be a teacher.  She's planning to break the news at a New Years Day get together.  But how can she when perfect Kush who has outshone her nearly all her life will probably have another amazing achievement to announce?

     Ruby, protagonist of Camryn Garrett's Ruby (March) is super stressed out.  She's buried under homework but unable to get started.  She's starting to hate her major.  An understanding RA, Violet while helping her see a way out of her plight, presents her with a dilemma: she now can't stop thinking of kissing her.

     Those are only a few of the gloriously authentic characters readers will encounter.  Study Break is a really excellent acquisition for high school and public libraries.  And if there's a teen in your life who is about to make that big transition we're talking perfect graduation present.

On a purrrsonal note, it's a good thing we have a weekend coming up in a couple of days.  I need to make major progress on my big paper.  And I have to get ready for the Red Cross blood drive next week.  My project to keep students occupied during their fifteen minute canteen stay is writing something they're proud of, working on, or looking forward to on a flower shape and put it on a poster.  I have to draw and cut out probably over 200 flowers.  If the weather is decent Sunday I have two hampers of my laundry to wash and hang out.  Among other things.

     How can it be only three days til the drag show?  I have no clue what to wear.  (Jules)

She'll get it done.  She always does.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to high school students in the graduation home stretch.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Isn't this about the dreamiest beanie cat you've ever seen?  I simply couldn't resist.

The Art of Showing Up

Adult nonfiction

    "Showing up is what turns the people you know into your people.  It's at the core of creating and maintaining meaningful bonds with friends, family, coworkers, and Internet pals.  Showing up is the act of bearing witness to people's joy, pain, and true selves; validating their experiences; easing their load; and communicating they are not alone in this life."

     As Rachel Wilkerson Miller tells readers in her The Art of Showing Up, a lot of people are feeling alone in this life.  Many of us move a lot and maybe have the adult equivalent of standing in a school cafeteria desperately scanning for a friendly face every few years.  Sometimes even if we stay in the same place life transitions can be jarring.  Newly minted professionals can find marriage and the arrival of children thinning out their crowd.  As Miller points out, once we get past childhood and teens making friends can be hard.

     If you want to make new friends but aren't sure how to go about the process The Art of Showing Up can be a valuable read.  It builds from basics (What do you want in a new friend?  Where can you find potential chums?) to more complicated scenarios (How should you handle conflict?  What do you say to a friend who loses a beloved companion animal?).  It has a lot of advice on putting down the devices many of us use as primary means of communication and stepping out into the real world.

     But that's in the second part.  Miller asserts that you can't show up for others until you show up for yourself.

     "Self-knowledge is at the core of showing up because you can't possibly take care of yourself if you don't actually know what your needs are.  Once you figure out who you are (and who you are not), it becomes much easier to understand what you want to do (and not do), and to recognize the types of people you want in your life (and those you don't)."

     So who should read this book?  I think just about all of us.  I know I found lots of helpful advice.  I also believe that the emphasis on knowing and taking care of yourself before reaching out to others is spot on.

On a purrrsonal note, I was going to the bookstore to look for something practical I need for what I'm planning for the blood drive canteen activity for (Yikes!) next week.  I saw an adorable cat squishy beanie.  Pretty.  Must have.  But it wasn't expensive and I have been working hard on my internship.  So I treated itself.  (Jules)

As well she should.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our hard working Bookstore friends.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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A recent Goodwill find.  A steal at only $4.

I stepped up my game a bit for my book banning discussion to look a little more professional.  I got so many compliments on my dress and shoes that if each was a dollar I could have treated Eugene to a meal at the poshest restaurant in Bangor.

Too Bright To See

Juvenile fiction

    Bug, protagonist of Kyle Lukoff's Too Bright To See, is getting through her last summer before middle school.  She feels like life is changing too quickly.  

     She's never been comfortable around same gender peers.  It's like they're all beautifully performing girlhood while she's always a few steps behind.  Now her best (and only) friend, Moira, is talking about reinventing themselves: wearing makeup and developing new clothes styles.  Bug doesn't want a style.  She's anticipating lonely lunches while Moira gets swept up into the popular crowd and begins to see her as a social liability.

     And then there's the new ghost.  Bug's house has always been haunted.  She's used to stuff like cold spots and slamming doors.  The new phantom seems to be her beloved recently deceased Uncle Roderick who appears to have a message to convey to her.

     When Bug figures it out it sets her life in a new direction she never imagined and makes for a most satisfying ending.

On a purrrsonal note, we had our banned books discussion today at the Commuter Lounge.  We drew a small but very engaged group which made for a really good dialogue.  What surprised me the most is I didn't have a panic attack.  I always did before when I was running something.  But I was totally calm.  I think it's partly the self confidence I'm building in my internship and partly being just around the corner from the ultra affirming Student Wellness office.  (Jules)

And having a highly skilled therapy cat.  (Tobago)

Four days until the drag show.

A great big shout out goes out to our wonderful discussion participants.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Ordinary Hazards

YA memoir 

"I used to have a friend who stepped 

off and on the bipolar train

once too often for me to handle.

Had to cut her loose.  Had to.

I'd already taken that rough ride

With my schizophrenic mother,

and that's one ticket

I will not buy again."

     I'm a big fan of Nikki Grimes' writing.  So when I saw her Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir described in a newsletter I just had to seek it out via the magic of inter library loan.  Especially since it was written in verse.

      On the first page Grimes shares this definition: "memoir: a work of imperfect memory in which you meticulously capture all that you can recall, and use informed imagination to fill in what remains." She explains in her author's note that the traumas that were a constant thread through her growing up years stole large chunks of her memories, leaving her to reconstruct periods of time from that informed imagination.

     The traumas Grimes had to survive included but weren't limited to:

*living with a schizophrenic, alcoholic mother who looped between periods of involuntary commitment and precarious being out in the world, never attempting to really communicate with her younger daughter;

*sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather;

*foster home separation from her only sister;

and *the too early death of her father from an accident that could have been prevented.

     Fortunately early in life Grimes learned how to channel her grief, fear, and anger into writing, filling a series of notebooks that would eventually be thrown out by her mother.

"The blank page 

was the only place 

I could make sense 

of my life,

or keep record of 

each space 

I called home.

The daily march of words 

parading from my pen

kept me moving

forward."

Writing and reading were to be her salvation--from foster child to award winning author.  Her account of the journey will both dismay and astound you.

On a purrrsonal note, looking forward to next semester I've pretty much decided I want to do a third internship instead of some random elective.  It would be with the office of institutional research and assessment.  I'm a total assessment geek.  I took an extra statistics class for the fun of it.  And more practical experience will make me more employable.  I've talked to a few OIRA people who like that idea.  Now I just have to convince my advisor.  (Jules)

Know of any internships testing cat treats or nip?  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to survivors of traumatic childhoods.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Two YA chillers

     OMG!!!  Could it really be eight years ago that we discovered E. Lockhart's We Were Liars which looked beneath the rich and powerful Sinclair family's facade to uncover their deep, dark secrets?  I read that book on one of those rare days when I felt sick enough to stay in bed.  Precious Joey cat cuddled up with me.  He was such a loving, faithful companion all the years we were together!

     Anyway I discovered another chiller by the same author.  Genuine Fraud is every bit as dark and twisty as its older literary sibling.

"Hey, Jule.  By the time you read this, I'll have taken an overdose of sleeping pills.  Then I'll have hailed a taxi to the Westminster Bridge.

     I'll have stones in my pockets.  Lots of stones.  I've been collecting them all week.  And I will be drowned.  The river will have me and I will feel some relief."

     Jule, Lockhart's narrator, discovers this note in the bread box of the London flat she's sharing with her best friend, Imogen.  Evidence is consistent with a suicide.  Imogen's clothes and suitcases are still in the flat.  Beyond her laptop, driver's license, and passport, nothing other than their owner is missing.  Her cell phone only has records of calls and emails from family and close friends.  Even though they're not sure when/if they'll locate her body, the police feel it's an open and shut case.

     Forrest, Imogen's boyfriend, is sure she wouldn't have killed herself.  What if a kidnapper or killer had forced her to write the note before removing her from her residence?  He's planning to stick around until the truth comes out.

     Imogen's parents, back in the States, can't come handle her affairs.  Her father is terminally ill.  Her mother is his caretaker.  Jule is in charge of tying up all the loose ends...

     ...At least this is how it appears.  But Lockhart had created a treacherous, convoluted world in We Were Liars.  You can safely assume that in Genuine Fraud also much is not like it seems on the surface.  

     Can you deduce what's going on by the end of the book?  If so, you're a much better sleuth than me.

     "Beneath the silvery moonlight, our skin gleams like bones.  Skinny-dipping in the frigid waters of North Lake after the Halloween Dance is a Bates Academy tradition, though not many students have the guts to honor it."

     It looks like this year the tradition won't be honored at all.  Kay, narrator of Dana Mele's People Like Us, is about to when she hears her best friend, Brie, scream.  There's the body of a girl, Jessica, in an elaborate white gown floating on the water.  Pretty soon the campus of the ritzy private school is swarming with police asking questions and the headmistress, Dr. Klein, is feverishly engaged in damage control.

     Although Jessica's death is at first considered a suicide, the police find evidence of foul play.  Pretty soon they're looking for suspects.  Kay is pretty high on the list.  She had both motive and opportunity.  She had some unaccounted for moments that fateful evening.  And her exboyfriend, Spencer, had cheated with the deceased.  

     Kay gets an email from dead Jessica who wants revenge on the still living.  She'll receive instructions for each task which involves getting a peer expelled from the school.  If she fails to complete any one in a timely enough fashion the police, her parents, and the whole school will get some very damaging information about a crime in her past.

     So who killed Jessica? Might they seek another victim?  Will Kay manage to get out of her bizarre assignment before the whole school turns against her?

     If you like your chillers served up with lots of twists and turns you'll find People Like Us to be totally delicious.

On a purrrsonal note, we had a Quil event which was free fruit smoothies.  Of course I ran around driving traffic to the Commuter Lounge.  Tomorrow we'll have my discussion of book banning.  I hope we'll get people.  It's more of an engagement commitment than free food.  At least we're getting great publicity.  We've had our poster appear twice in the weekly diversity newsletter.  And the Maine Campus, the UMaine online paper is running a story I wrote on book banning in Maine with a mention about the event.  At this point all I can do is get a good rest and do my best tomorrow.  

And five days til the Drag Show!!! (Jules)

Nothing like a snuggling cat to induce good quality sleep.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the people who will hopefully attend tomorrow.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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I Rise

YA fiction 

     "There are no ghosts here.  There's nothing to remind me that my skin is a crime for which I could very well lose my life.  This space doesn't require me to defend who I am or why I should exist.  Here, I'm just one in a crowd of Black bodies that can still dance, sing, and give no Fs about the outside world."

     Ayo, protagonist of Marie Arnold's I Rise, sometimes just wants to be an ordinary teen.  This modest goal seems impossible to her.  She's Rosalie Bosia's only child, the daughter for whom she's founded and built up a huge New York civil rights organization, See Us.  Rosalie expects Ayo to have her single minded focus on combatting racism.  Ayo is not on the same page.

     " I'm not crazy.  I know I can't opt out of her being my mom.  But I want out of See Us and out of the activist life.  I've done more than my part.  Now I just want to be normal.  My reading list may be advanced, but my social life is so far behind that I'm not sure I even qualify as a teenager anymore."

     As the date for See Us' biggest protest draws near tensions grow between mother and daughter.  Things really get bad when Ayo does something her mother considers irresponsible.  But when she explains how hard her responsibilities are Rosalie really surprises her.

     " I sob into her arms.  She holds me tight against her, rocks me slowly, and whispers, 'It's okay, baby.  No more weight.  No more ghosts.  You're free...'"

     Happily ever after?  Not quite.  As Ayo watches the news with her friends the peaceful protest becomes a riot and Rosalie is shot by a police officer.

     Now people are pushing Ayo to carry on for Rosalie.  This would be a huge challenge under any circumstances...

     ...never mind for a teen whose most important person in the world is in a coma and may never wake up again.

     As for why you should read this amazing book, Kwame Alexander sums it up better than I could.  "From the first line to the last, this novel sings.  It's a poetic and powerful anthem of justice.  A love song to Harlem and hope.  I Rise is smart and funny and full of heart."

On a purrrsonal note, I am so tired of seeing gratuitous ageism in so many books.  In real life the last two acceptable isms seem to be ageism and fat shaming.  At least in juvenile and YA fiction I'm not seeing fat shaming.  (Adult lit is always a step behind.)  Last week I started instances I come across as I read.  A little exploratory assessment.  The cover of the notebook says "Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."  (Jules)

Not a big fan of Monday because my people go to work and school.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our readers with best wishes for a great week.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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In Limbo

YA graphic memoir 

"About a fifth of my life was spent working on this graphic novel.  Since I began working on In Limbo in 2018, its drafts have seen two places of employment, three cities, four apartments, and a million and a half coffee shops.  The story, which began as a weekend project--a four-page comic on Twitter about transgenerational language barriers--evolved into a much-needed, over five-year therapy session that I can carry in my hands."

     In In Limbo Deb JJ Lee depicts her high school years which were definitely not the best years of their life.  They candidly share the ups and downs and the very real challenges of those years, challenges that will resonate with many high school readers.

     There is a lot of pressure to do better from her mother, a woman who tosses out statements like "You know that dentist's daughter skipped another grade and Yale might accept her already.  And she's playing at Carnegie Hall next month."  In one family car trip she announces that a C in [AP] physics isn't trying.  When Lee comments that other parents wouldn't be mad her mom comments, "Other parents?  Really?  Pathetic.  Now I really hope you aren't truly my child.  She'd know better than to kill me with shame like that."

     Her mother has had human services called on her for her treatment of her daughter.

     Then there's ethnicity.  She's Korean, having arrived in America as a very young child.  Teachers can be clueless.  Peers can be cruel.  Others seem to have a beauty she can never achieve.

     Mental illness plays a major role in Lee's narrative.  It led to an incident in eighth grade.  In high school she finds herself feeling overwhelmed again.  As an adult she doubts it will ever completely go away, but she has ways of managing it.

     This is another of those books where a graphic novel conveys much more than a text only narrative could.  Facial expressions and postures alone speak volumes.  And the palette of shades of greys enhances the sense of aloneness and sadness that permeates much of the book.  I highly recommend this illuminating volume not only to its target audience, but to college students and professionals who work with teens and young adults.

On a purrrsonal note, it's a good thing I'm keeping up with my homework.  Today I was working on a paper.  It was a messy, slushy morning.  Eugene didn't really want to stay inside.  So I wasn't surprised when he asked if I wanted to go for a ride.  We explored one of our favorite fun antique (as opposed to stuffy antique) places, got subs for lunch, and stopped at Goodwill.  We had fun and made some great finds.  Oh yeah,  six more days to the drag show.   You'd better believe I'm counting down. (Jules)

More yucky weather keeping the birds away.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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Kids Living In Precarity

Juvenile fiction 

     " I pause near the bananas to make her think I'm grabbing one, and I notice there are three left, not two.  I leave them all.  My school lunch will come soon enough, and Gabby gets hungry in the morning.  She can have two bananas if she wants."

     Once Maya, protagonist of Christie Matheson's Shelter, had a home.  Now she, her mother, and her little sister, Gabby, reside in a small room in a homeless shelter.  Her mother is trying to get a job so they can move out.  But Gabby's extreme allergies make most day cares non options.

     Once Maya's family was together.  Her father has been in a hospital since he was hit by a car, kept alive by machines.  The staff has been easing up on his sedation.  Soon they'll learn if he'll be able to breathe on his own.

     Shelter covers a day in Maya's life, focusing on the uncertainties and challenges she faces: commuting on a rainy day without raincoat, umbrella, or boots; being unable to concentrate when she's desperately hungry, trying to ignore the comments of a very mean girl.

     "I go to our new apartment's tiny kitchen to fill my reusable water bottle.  My mom calls it a galley kitchen because it's a narrow room with the cabinets and appliances on either side.  It can barely fit all four of us at once.  The kitchen in our house was at least three times bigger."

     Joy, protagonist of Janae Marks' A Soft Place to Land, has just moved out of the place she's called home for her entire twelve years.  After her father lost his job her parents had to sell it.  Now the family is crowded into a tiny apartment.  Joy has to share a bedroom with her little sister, Malia.  She also has to not make too much noise.  They can't upset other tenants.

     When her family lived in their own house Joy's parents never argued.  Now they fight constantly.  Sometimes her dad stays with his brother.  Joy and Malia fear that divorce will be the next step in their family's sad story.

     A new friend, Nora, shows Joy a tiny hidden room below the basement the kids her age have decorated.  It's their hideout--a place they can escape their cramped quarters and annoying siblings and chill, draw, even have game nights.

     The one hideout rule is don't let the adults know.  One night a mistake on Joy's part leads her mother to it.  The custodian locks the place up, sure that it's not safe.

     Now Joy needs to find a way to regain not only a safe space but her new friends.

     Kids are capable of great empathy for the suffering of peers.  They also have a great desire to help.  Either or both of these fine books provide a great opening for family discussions and actions.  What are kids in your community lacking? Are their organizations your family can assist?  If not how can you all start something?  I've heard of kids coming up with amazing answers to poverty in their own back yard.

On a purrrsonal note, today I went to a meeting.  My friend, Tamra, has enlisted a bunch of us to create a mutual aid society to help students, non tenured faculty, and staff with financial emergencies.  Unlike traditional charities, mutual aid societies build community, afford help recipients more dignity, and don't confuse and exclude people who need help by bureaucratic red tape.  (Jules)

Jules was cleaning when she found a bunch of fake mice and stuff.  She calls them cat toys.  Toys?  They aren't for playing.  We predators need to keep on top of our game for the important job of keeping our homes rodent free.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Tamra.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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The Golden Hour

YA graphic novel 

     Graphic novels have come a long way since my childhood when we hid our Archies and Batmans from those disproving parental eyes.  Today they tackle some historic tragedies and sensitive emotional issues in a way text only narratives can't.  Nikki Smith's The Golden Hour is a wonderful example.

     Manuel has experienced a violent incident that's somehow tied in with a teacher who is on medical leave.  Suffering from nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety, he's pretty much isolating himself at school.  At home he doesn't see much of his mother who works long hours.

     Then he catches a break when he's assigned to work on a group project with Kaysha and Sebastian.  They begin to hang out together.  He really likes the farm Sebastian lives on and the calf his new friend is raising for a competition.  He even joins Ag-Club and decides to enter photographs in the competition.  Kaysha has some pretty funny chickens.

     At the camp where the competition is held Manuel hears gunfire from a rifle range and disappears.

     The characters' facial expressions and postures eloquently convey the emotions they're experiencing.  You can't see Manuel caught in a flashback and not sense his terror.  The combination of dialogue and visuals will help readers better grasp concepts such as anxiety.

On a purrrsonal note,

Emma's party mix

Chex party mix, both original and cheese

Chocolate chips

M & Ms (variety of kinds if possible)

Pretzels 

Raisins 

Nuts 

Popcorn (regular, cheese, and caramel)

My thoughts for additions

Golden raisins

Cranberries 

Mango

Coconut 

(Jules)

Tobago's party mix

About six flavors of cat treats.

Distribute generously to the precious cats in your life.

(Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Emma for inspiring the recipes.  Enjoy!!!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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No Filter and Other Lies

YA fiction 

     The swift ascendancy of and rapid changes in social media pose many moral and ethical challenges for us all.  Teens are very vulnerable.  In No Filter and Other Lies Crystal Maldonado explores one such dilemma.

     Kat, Maldonado's protagonist, has a challenging family situation.  She lives with her grandparents while her younger (and infuriatingly more popular) brother, Leo, lives with their parents.  Mom and Dad tell Kat to say that she lives with them.  But they never make a real effort to get her to move in.  It leaves her wondering why they don't seem to want her.

     Kat has a complicated relationship with long term best friend Hari.  He thinks they're becoming a more romantic twosome.  True, she may be partly responsible for his new interest.  They have been hooking up a little.  But she desperately yearns to returning to being best friends without benefits.  

     Kat has a really frustrating relationship with social media.  A very dedicated and talented photographer, she posts her work on Instagram, only to reap low numbers of likes and hardly any comments.  Just about everyone she knows (including Leo) has exponentially more followers.

     Kat has taken scads of pictures of Becca, a gorgeous college student who works with her at an animal shelter.  It really irks Kat that Becca had social media fame and chose to close her account down.  One night when she's had a bit too much to drink Kat is looking at her latest crop of Becca pictures.

     "She doesn't even deserve these photos, I think to myself.

     And you know what? They're mine anyway.

     I conceptualized them.

     I took them.

     I edit them.

     So technically, these belong to me."

     The next morning Kat discovers that the new account she has created, wedding a picture of Becca with a fictitious name, Max Monroe, is really taking off in a way her real account never did.  Instagram, it seems, shares the in real life preference for skinny white girls.

     Kat wants to enjoy her new found success.  She knows there can be consequences, especially if the person she's posting the photos of finds out.  She doesn't plan to keep the account up forever.  But a little while can't hurt...

     ...or can it?

     After all, her mom does something similar on Facebook, using photos to make her family look more united and perfect than they are in real life.

On a purrrsonal note, well the weekend is here.  Last week was really great.  Any week that includes seeing Adam is fantastic.  And it was great hearing about all that my friends did over break.  Snow cones were a taste of summer in the tentative beginning of spring.  And we had an event at Foster Center last night.  Emma put out all the ingredients for the purrrfect snack mix.  She let me take a bunch home.  Purrrfect for my reading and cat snuggling time!  (Jules)

I live for weekends when I see my people more unless they go to camp when I guard our home against maurading rodents.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Emma, hostess with the mostest.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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We Were Here

YA fiction 

     Miguel, narrator of Matt de la Pena's We Were Here, has been sentenced to a year in a group home following a serious unspecified crime.  He's supposed to keep a journal that will help a counselor figure out what makes him tick.  His first day there he is attacked by Mong, a Chinese boy with a badly scarred face.  He decides that he's going to do his time there solo, not getting involved with the other residents.  He passes the time there discovering the joy of reading.

     Only life has other plans for Miguel.  Mong asks him to join him in running away to Mexico.  Rondell, an illiterate, very religious Black teen wants in.

     Not surprisingly, the boys' plan falls apart the night of their escape.  Suddenly they're alone on a beach with no shelter, no idea how they'll get to their destination, and plenty of reason to suspect that when they're discovered missing the cops will be after them.

     It's an eye opening voyage of discovery for a boy who considers himself merely the sum of the worst thing he's ever done.

On a purrrsonal note, I ended up not going to the drag show audition Thursday night.  When  I saw that the weather was going to be crappy I asked if I could pass on it.  A lot of the dumb asses who drive on Route 2 don't adjust their driving for reduced visibility.  No sidewalk.  In my mind not getting hit by a car or truck is self care.  The person running it said yes because I nailed my numbers last year.  Then when Eugene and I were eating supper Adam called to say he was in the area and was going to stop by.  We and Tobago had a lovely visit with him.  I wicked lucked out that night.  (Jules)

I saw my Adam!!!  He is the best!!!  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our Adam.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Bride of the Sea

Adult multicultural fiction 

     "She is nineteen.  He is twenty-three.  They have been married for a year and a half and their first child will be born soon.  And the word divorce is whispering in his ear, a secret no one else knows."

      Not surprisingly.  Muneer and Saeedah are cousins.  In their native Saudi Arabia they marry as a consequence of violating rules.  He gives her an unchaperoned ride in his car.  They are seen.

     "'Give her what she wants,' his mother had said.  'And she won't be your problem anymore.  She'll be my son's problem.  God help them."

     Those are not exactly auspicious circumstances for starting a life together, especially in another country.  They go to America where Muneer is a student a week after their wedding.  Not surprisingly, the marriage ends when the baby, Hanadi, is four.  By religious custom Saeedah is supposed to raise Hamadi until her seventh birthday and then hand custody over to her ex husband, who has returned to Saudi Arabia so he can find the best possible marriage match for her.

     Saeedah is determined to not give her beautiful daughter up.  She tells Hanadi that Muneer is dead and flees to a friend's house where she cuts their long hair and changes their names.  This is only the first of numerous spur of the moment moves undertaken whenever she feels that her secret is about to be discovered.

     Saeedah is not being paranoid.  Muneer desperately misses Hanadi and is willing to do anything to bring her back to Saudi Arabia.  Even when his family starts to encourage him to move on, marry again, and start a new family, he pays private investigators in the United States.  He personally flies every time he gets a particularly promising bit of intelligence.

     And then there's poor Hanadi, the child whose address and identity are changed about as often as most of us swap out summer and winter clothes.  What will happen if she discovers that her life as she knows it is based on a lie?

     If you like fiction based on the strengths and weaknesses of humans, the choices they make, and the repercussions these choices have on other people's lives, you'll find Eman Quotah's Bride of the Sea to be a must read.

On a purrrsonal note, today we had snow cones at the commuter lounge.  Of course my job was to run all over letting people know what we had to offer.  Which meant I had to eat a lot of snow cones.  Can you say sugar buzz?  (Jules)

Why do people like sugar so much?  Tuna is a truly addictive substance.  (Tobago)

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

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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All Four Quarters of the Moon

Juvenile fiction 

     When Peijing, 11, protagonist of Shirley Marr's All Four Quarters of the Moon, moves with her family from Singapore to Australia it's more of a challenge than she expected.  Her father is usually working.  Her mother rejects the people and ways of her new country, after awhile even refusing to leave their new home.  

     Her grandmother is forgetting more and more.  Usually she sits around and watches television.  But she sometimes gets out and disappears.

     At school Peijing's classmates aren't exactly welcoming.  Only one girl who is rejected by her peers becomes her friend.  

     And then there's Peijing's five-year-old sister, Biju.  Peijing is to be a good role model for her sibling, modeling for her traditional Chinese values.  In Australia Biju adapts easily to a more easy going way of life.  Peijing is caught between the old and the new, wondering if it's too late for her to change.

     But the girls share a special secret.  Peijing is an artist and Biju a story teller.  They've created the Little World, a kingdom of paper creatures about whom they've created elaborate stories.  

     All Four Quarters of the Moon is the perceptive coming of age story of a girl learning to cope with very big challenges.  It can help middle graders gain empathy for the increasing number of peers struggling to fit in in new countries very different from their homelands.

On a purrrsonal note, the girls' Little World reminds me of my own Little Little Land.  When I went back on campus after the first part of the pandemic it was exciting and scary at the same time, especially where I was commuting by bus and working a student job in dining, interacting with up to 800 people a shift.  One day I was given a squishy, a creature smaller than the top part of my thumb.  Now I have more than 20.  I keep them on a shelf near my reading chair in my studio.  To me they symbolize rebirth and renewal.  This weekend I plan to clear them more space.  (Jules)

They are some of my subjects.  I rule the place you know.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to kids making challenging moves between countries and cultures.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Love Times Infinity

YA fiction 

     "Basically, the hospital held me hostage so I wouldn't play with matches or sharp objects.  We affectionately call group R.P.E.--Raised as a Product of Evil--pronounced reap, like the Grim.  You know, since most of us were pretty close to being on the other side before we even took our first breath, if you catch my drift."

     Because of an incident, Michie, protagonist of Lane Clarke's Love Times Infinity, was hospitalized the previous summer.  Now she's out and attending school but a member of therapy group for children of sexual abuse victims.  She lives with her grandmother and hasn't heard from her mother since she was seven...

     ...not that she really blames her mother.  She's alive because she came into the world as the result of her mother being raped at the age of fifteen and opting not to abort.  She feels survivor's guilt when she realizes that the only way for her mother to not have given up the opportunities she was entitled to was for her not to exist.  She has no idea who she really is.

     This is not a good time for any kind of self doubt.  It's Michie's junior year.  She has a lot going for her in terms of academics.  Since fourth grade she's been bussed out of her neighborhood to a gifted and talented program in an affluent suburb.  But between guilt and anxiety she can't attempt the essays colleges also require.  Although she has the brains to be a first generation student she isn't really sure that she deserves the opportunity.

     Complicating matters she's caught the attention of Derek, the handsome and quite popular senior who was recruited for his basketball abilities.  From the first time they meet he's pursued her.  While she too feels attraction, anxiety and guilt keep standing in the way.

     All this makes it a terrible time for her mother to out of the blue request a reunion.

     Love Times Infinity is a truly masterfully written book that deals perceptively and sensitively with challenging topics.  But some of its themes make it a not yet choice for readers not ready to tackle them, especially those at the younger end of the middle to high school YA continuum.

On a purrrsonal note, this evening is the audition for the UMaine Pride Week drag show.  I'm not worried about the audition per say.  Drag comes as easily to me as breathing.  And I have quite a reputation on campus.  What worries me is the high probability of rain and maybe crappy visibility when I take the last bus home and have to walk the sidewalk less mile down Route 2.  (Jules)

You know she'll nail the audition. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the people who are doing the work of setting the drag show up.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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Mighty Inside

Juvenile fiction 

"Melvin Robinson lay in the bottom of the bunk bed he'd been sharing with his older brother, Chuck, for almost all of his thirteen years.  In one week, he thought, I'm dead meat."

     Melvin, protagonist of Sundee Frazier's Mighty Inside, dreads starting high school.  He has a really bad stutter that marks him as different when he struggles to speak.  Things that are simple for most of us, like introducing ourselves, are major challenges.  This makes him a bully target.  Popular football player Chuck has announced that he won't intervene if Melvin gets picked on.

     But that's not the only challenge that Melvin is up against.

     "So it was appropriate to talk about the atomic bomb that killed a hundred thousand Japanese and it was appropriate to talk about the annihilation of Jews in World War II, but they couldn't talk about the murder of one teenaged boy in the United States of America.

     He was our age! Melvin wanted to shout.  He was a kid, just like us."

     The year is 1955.  Emmitt Till's death is new news.  While some people in Melvin's hometown of Spokane, Washington dismiss racism as something that happens in the South, Melvin is learning that it's also uncomfortably close to home, especially when he discovers part of his family's history.

     As you'll learn in the author's note, Frazier based this powerful coming of age narrative on her own family's story.

On a purrrsonal note, well today is the equinox, the beginning of calendar spring.  And it was a warm, sunny day.  But people who live in Maine and other of the colder states better not put away those snow shovels yet.  We're almost certain to get slammed with at least one more storm before we're done with winter.  (Jules)

So when are the birds migrating back?  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to people who bring up topics not considered appropriate.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Two Juvenile Novels In Verse With Spunky Girl Protagonists

     Recently in what can only be described as beautiful serendipity I discovered two coming of age novels in verse featuring spunky girls overcoming obstacles, both external and internal, with determination and resilience.

     Quinn, protagonist of Caroline Brooks Dubois' Ode to a Nobody, lives through a tornado.  But even before it her life was stormy.  Her parents fought a lot.  Often her father slept at his mother's house.  Her older brother Forrest, the perfect sibling she always feels compared to, had just gone off to start college.  She felt tenuous in her best friends triangle.  And when instructed to make a list of the things she's good at she drew a total blank.

     The tornado slams through Quinn's town during a terrifying stormy night in that hop scotch way of all tornadoes.  Some houses are skipped; some are totalled, and some, like Quinn's, are left potentially habitable, but in need of a lot of work.  While her father stays on to do the work she and her mother must move into the basement apartment in the run down house of a grouchy seeming man and his mean looking dog.  Her best friends, Jack and Jade, whose homes were unscathed, are treating the situation as a big joke and drawing further and further away from her.

     But good things are also happening.  As Jack and Jade become people she doesn't really want time with Quinn makes new friends.  Finding a neighbor's cat motivates her to volunteer in the community clean up.  Seeing her neighborhood transformed gets her in touch with a special talent and gives her a way to create a unique gift of hope for those around her.

     The storm in Andrea Beatriz Arango's Iveliz Explains It All is no less real.  It rages in her head instead of outdoors.

     Iveliz is sure that seventh grade will be different from the previous two terrible years following her father's death, a death she feels responsible for.  She's made lists and set goals.  She needs nobody else's help.  She's ready to move on already.  

     Except things don't work according to her plans.  Iveliz can't keep up with school work.  When classmates push her buttons she gets in trouble for fighting.  Her one friend seems to be becoming ambivalent about his role in her life.

     Iveliz's grandmother has moved to her home from Puerto Rico, unable to live on her own due to advancing Alzheimers.  She has good days and bad days.  That alone would be hard for a preteen to cope with.  But Iveliz has been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety.  Her grandmother doesn't think she should be taking the meds she needs.

     They might not be enough.  Iveliz struggles to get by from day to day and to fool people into thinking she's fine.  They don't seem to listen to her anyway.

     Iveliz Explains It All skillfully portrays a girl overwhelmed by life and inwardly terrified that things won't get better.  It can help kids who cope with similar diagnoses feel seen and represented and neurotypical peers become more understanding.

      This is Arango's debut novel.  Hers is a voice we need to hear a lot more of.

On a purrrsonal note, tomorrow I go back to school from what has been a purrrfect March break, an ideal balance of work and play.  I got ahead on my homework and did some internship stuff and worked on my own writing.  I baked a pie.  I visited the Peeps holy grail which is Dollar Tree in Orono.  I finally went to Portland to visit Katie and Adam.  I got in a lot of candy fueled cat assisted reading.  Now I'm refreshed and ready for the final stretch of the academic year. (Jules)

All that play and snuggling! Vacas are the best!  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the students who are traveling back from home with best wishes for safe journeys!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

       

     

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Playing The Cards You're Dealt

Juvenile fiction 

     In Varian Johnson's Playing The Cards You're Dealt the title carries two distinct meanings.

"The house always wins.

     At least that's what us card sharks say when things don't go our way.  It's an old saying about gamblers.  No matter how skilled, sharp, and slick you are--if you ain't smart enough to quit when you're ahead, you'll eventually lose all your hard-earned money to the 'house.'  Which, for all you youngbloods out there who don't know better, means the casino."

     As Ant (Anthony) starts fifth grade academics aren't the first thing on his mind.  The annual Oak Grove spades tournament isn't far off.  Playing in it is a family tradition.  Last year he'd tanked while big brother Aaron brought home a trophy.  Ant wants to win this year and see the look of pride in his father's eyes.

     Things get complicated when Ant's spades partner, Jamal, gets into a fight at school and is grounded.  Ant needs a new partner.  But can he ditch Jamal for a highly skilled girl he just might like.

     At home Ant also seems to be holding a crappy hand.  His father, an accountant, has been losing business.  He's taken on online gambling just til he gets more customers.  And he may be drinking again.  Ant's mom and Aaron can remember when his addiction put toddler Ant in danger.

     This sensitive coming of age narrative tackles the sensitive issue of alcohol abuse in the family.  It comes with a list of resources for kids who may see this problem in their own households.

On a purrrsonal note, even though we haven't hit calendar spring and it's far from spring in Maine I've started my spring cleaning.  Even though I have a storage shed it's a challenge.  It's been much more of a challenge in the last few years.  Back in the summer of '19 the kids decided that we should transform Adam's old room into a man cave for Eugene just as the girl's old room is now my studio.  We meaning me for the clean up phase.  It was slow going.  The pandemic slowed things even more.  Now the place is just about full of bags of bottles and cans that need to be redeemed and stuff Adam no longer wants that needs to go to a thrift shop.  It would be no problem if I could drive.  But I can't.  And Eugene is always too busy.  So once again I have to try to figure out how to accomplish the seemingly impossible.  (Jules)

I help as much as I can.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to those of our readers who are celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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A Truly Devious Trilogy

YA chillers

     Well, book fans, I've hit the decadent part of March break.  I've gotten quite a bit ahead on homework.  No real progress on housework but that would require getting off the sofa which Tobago is not ready for me to do.  Recall I recently learned about a trilogy of Maureen Johnson's Stevie narratives?  I was able to acquire them all by inter library loan.  Now I have not only the time and feline companionship, but the candy.  So I will indulge myself and share what I discover with you.

"Stevie Bell had a simple desire: she wanted to be standing over a dead body.

     She didn't want to kill people--far from it.  She wanted to be the person who found out why the body was dead, that's all."

     By now you may have guessed that Stevie, protagonist of Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair, and The Hand on the Wall, is not your typical teenage girl.  And she does not attend a typical American high school.  Ellingham Academy was founded by a tycoon in the 1930s to provide personalized learning experiences to rich and poor kids alike.  Albert Ellingham had located it on the secluded top of a Vermont mountain.  No expenses were spared to make it the epitome of lavish eccentricity.  Think the setting of the Harry Potter movies minus the wizards and ghosts...

     ...actually there might be a ghost or two haunting the place.  Shortly after the school opened its founder/headmaster was sent a bizarre poem detailing a number of methods of homicide.  Days later his wife and toddler daughter were abducted in a ransome scheme.  His wife turned up dead in a lake.  No trace of their beloved child was ever found.  A student, maybe one who had seen too much, also met a tragic fate.  Over the intervening decades detectives, both professional and amateur, had failed to find out what happened and many people claiming to be little Alice, the missing child heiress, had been proven to be frauds...

     ...which is why Stevie finds herself on a mountain in Vermont.  Ellingham has a unique way of student selection.  Rather than going by private school standards like test scores, grades, and recommendations, they have prospective students write letters about their passions.  They're looking for kids who are strongly committed to individual passions...

     ...like Stevie, a budding detective who has read everything she can about the school's tragic past.  She is determined to solve the mystery of the century, the one that has stumped even professionals, before she graduates.  Not only is this quite ambitious...

     ...it has the potential to be deadly.  When Stevie starts investigating her classmates start dying...

     ...so if you'd find a three volume chiller that segues between past and present, contains violent deaths in both time periods, and takes place in a unique and quirky setting to be the cat's pajamas...

     ...you're going to love the Truly Devious trilogy.

On a purrrsonal note, there's another reason that I love the trilogy and its two sequels.  Stevie has anxiety just as I do.  It feels amazing to encounter a character who stresses in situations that other people seem to glide through and has panic attacks.  We tend to think of literary representation in terms of race, gender identity, and sexual orientation.  But now I'm starting to see books with neurodivergent main characters.  In my mind that is a very good thing.  (Jules)

That is one of the reasons she needs me.  (Tobago)

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

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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This is my funny looking pi day apple pie.  I'd better cut myself a slice for supper dessert.  Eugene has had half of it which he deserves for having to plow last night.

I find this stuff truly addictive--almost as good as Peeps and sea salt caramel dark chocolate.

And Other Mistakes

YA fiction 

     "It's been eight months since I've run cross country.  Eight months since I felt the sun sear into my skin and I raced with the wind.  Now we're on our way to the school's field and I'm about to face my teammates for the first time since Coach stripped me of my title as captain last November."

     Her teammates and Coach aren't the only ones Aaliyah will have to regain the trust of.  During the fall, while she was reneging on her responsibilities to her team she was in free fall academically after a really good two years grade wise.  On probation, she has to meet regular with a guidance counselor and a peer counselor who is also her captain.  She has to not only pull up her grades, but somehow start applying to colleges.

     The cause of Aaliyah's precipitous fall from grace was her mother, a rigid fundamentalist.  When a church elder snitched that her older daughter was gay she hit the roof.  Her unrelentless pressure to fly straight caused Aaliyah to lose interest in just about everything.

     "Straight kids don't have have to deal with this stuff--this whole coming-out-to-your-parents thing, as if you've  been an alien all along, body-snatching the normal kid they thought they'd been raising.  They don't have to deal with the fear that they might wake up one day and have a parent who looks at them like they don't know who they are.

     Like the kid they loved is gone."

     But their clash is not the only crisis in the household.  Aaliyah's father is an alcoholic and a very ugly drunk who breaks things, physically abuses his wife, and is even verbally cruel to his youngest daughter.  Mother and daughters have to quickly flee their home they have clothes packed.

     At school Aaliyah really wants someone to lean on and possibly even a first girlfriend.  But she isn't sure who she can trust: long time friend Yasmin who seemingly ditched her after a kiss, more recent sometimes quite confusing bestie, Marissa, or the new on the team, cutie, Tessa, who really seems to be into her.

     And Other Mistakes is Turner's extremely crafted debut novel.  I think whether you're in high school or your kids are high school grads you'll find it engaging and enjoyable.  I'm looking forward to what this talented newcomer serves up next.

On a purrrsonal note, Happy Pi Day!!!  I've gotten into the spirit of the day by baking an apple pie.  Any special day centered around math and tasty pastries is aces with me.  

After the spring like weather yesterday we're caught in a nor'Easter.  Lucky for me, I didn't have to go out today.  Poor Eugene will have to spend the night plowing that mess.  (Jules)

That freaky groundhog wasn't blowing smoke when he predicted six more weeks of winter.  I think no matter what he sees Maine gets more winter.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our Eugene and all the other blizzard battlers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

     

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This will probably qualify for ugly sweater events.  But it isn't ugly.  It's cute.