In The Beautiful Country

juvenile fiction

     As Anna, narrator of Jane Kuo's In The Beautiful Country, waits to join her father in America she's excited.  She doesn't understand her mother's need to collect memories.  Isn't their new country going to be her family's happily ever after?

     Um not quite.  Anna and her family, used to a house, must now share a tiny apartment with just one bedroom.  English is a challenge.

"I used to love school,

The place where I was the loudest in class.Now I'm robbed of words.

Suddenly I have nothing to say."

And the other kids are mean.

     Her parents aren't having an easy time either.  They'd sunk the money from the sale of their house and loans from family members into a restaurant.  Only the customer volume isn't what they've been led to expect.  As if that isn't bad enough, they have to replace windows shattered by vandals.

     Anna's parents have begun to tell her that it won't be disgraceful to return to their former home.  But she comprehends what it will be like for her father to go back as a failed businessman, owing money, to a place where he has neither a job nor a home for his family.

     In The Beautiful Country is a touching and engaging novel in verse, an especially good read for the many kids who have made similar journeys.

on a purrrsonal note, I'm now sort of freaking out because there are now so many things I have to do this summer: work dining, get the house organized, volunteer with Upward Bound, do a lot of commuter lounge networking and organizing, arrange with the office of institutional research and assessment for a field experience, volunteer in library and community garden, write the first draft of my first book, bus commute, cook...I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO START!!!  I think I'll need some help from my friends.  (Jules)

She'll figure it out.  (Tobago)

a great big shout out goes out to the friends who will help me figure things out.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone

Juvenile fiction

     Jennifer Chan is the new kid in town.  She's not your run-of-the-mill twelve-year old.  She believes in aliens.  She sees them not as horror movie bizarre looking creatures, but as superior beings, maybe humanity's only chance for learning better ways of being.  She actively seeks to make contact with them, filling notebooks with her observations.

     Mallory, narrator of Tae Keller's Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone, finds her new neighbor to be cringe worthy: totally unable to survive middle school unless she learns how to stop being weird and fit in, someone who might endanger her own social standing.  When summer ends she sets Jennifer up with two girls, Kath and Ingrid, who are low on her school's social hierarchy and goes on with her life...

     ...until Jennifer is missing and the object of a town wide search.  Suddenly her theories don't seem so bizarre, especially since Mallory saw what looked like a UFO the night of her disappearance.  She, Kath, and Ingrid start trying to use radio frequencies to try to contact extraterrestrial beings to get them to return her. 

     Only the reason for Jennifer vanishing may be much more down to Earth.  Perhaps it has a lot to do with an incident of bullying conducted in a school bathroom to put her in her place, an incident Mallory was involved in.

     In middle school Keller was bullied both online and in person, the victim of an incident very much like the one described in her book.  Years later, as an author of books about middle school, she decided that her readers deserved to learn about this episode in her personal history.  She ends the book with advice for kids today enduring similar experiences.

On a purrrsonal note, I was really disappointed when I didn't get an Upward Bound job this summer.  But I still wanted to be involved with the program.  So I offered to volunteer.  I will be working in the clothes room and planning some evening programs.  I'm really excited about that!  (Jules)

As long as she has time for me.  (Tobago)

a great big shout out goes out to this year's Upward Bound crew.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway

Love Radio

YA fiction

     "But as much as I love her, I know it's just as important for me to do my own thing.  With all the love and support my parents have given me, I still feel like a caged bird.  I gotta fly."

     The place Dani yearns to fly is New York City.  She's itching to take a bite out of the Big Apple.  Her long term goal is to become a celebrated Black writer.  So she's hard at work on her college applications.

     The irony is that she's having trouble with her personal essays.  In fact she's had trouble writing just about anything since an incident that she keeps trying to push to the back of her mind--one that has her isolating herself from her best friend and having trouble trusting anyone.  

     Romance is certainly the last thing on her mind.

     Prince, a poised and popular radio DJ with his own show is probably the envy of many of his high school classmates.  But he has his own struggles.  Ever since his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and his father hit the road he's been the man of the house for his mom and his beloved little brother, Mook.  Looking toward college, despite his ambitions, he can't see himself venturing too far.  He's too much needed at home.

     Prince has been secretly crushing on and off on Dani.  A chance encounter in the library and an apology/kindness on her part lead to him coming to her house to take out her braids.  She seems to warm up to him just a little...

     ...just enough to give him hope.  But getting past her defenses and reading and reading and correctly responding to her mixed messages is quite a challenge...

     ...even for a radio personality who dishes out romance advice on his show.

     Can Prince convince Dani he's the one for her in only three dates?  Read Ebony Delle's Love Radio and see.

On a purrrsonal note, I'd just checked out some inter library loan books from Orono Public Library and was crossing the parking lot to Orono Thrift Shop when a school friend asked me IF I WANT TO BE IN A DRAG SHOW the third week in June AT THE WILSON CENTER!!!  OMG!!!  OMG!!!  OMG!!!  For me performing drag is like flying!  The ultimate freedom.  And I have a special fondness for the Wilson Center where I married Eugene!  It will be a night to remember.  (Jules)

And she has some awesome new drag clothes thanks to Clean Sweep.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful central Maine drag community!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway

We Weren't Looking To Be Found

YA fiction

     "Yeah, well, leave it to Emmeline Rosemary Washington to care more about our community than she cares about her only daughter's happiness.  But that's par for the course around here, as is my insistence on ignoring her concerns.  My mother only cares about the Black community so much as it can make her look good and boost her political clout in the Dallas-Fort Worth region."

     As a child Dani had loved helping her mother with her political campaigns.  But as her mom climbed from school board to Dallas chief financial officer to city council she began to see her as a hypocrite, someone who puts personal prestige and power over public good.  She tries to talk to her mom, only to be told that the issues she's concerned about are too complex for her to understand.

     One evening Dani attends a charity event her parents are hosting, drunk and drugged.  Not such a good idea.  Especially since she passes out.  Especially since the local media gets a juicy story and runs with it.  Not surprisingly, her mom and dad aren't amused and are in serious damage control mode.

     "Then it hits me: the utter folly and stupidity of hope.  The utter folly and stupidity of me.  Because I never bothered to tell my parents I was auditioning again and that I hadn't abandoned my dream of going away to school."

     Camila lives to dance.  After failing to get into the prestigious Fieldbrook Academy of Performing Arts twice, she'd been invited to audition again by video.  She saved all her money to rent a studio.  After an agonizing wait she gets her acceptance email...

     ...Only her parents, sure that she's given up, had used the tuition money they'd put aside on home renovations.  Feeling that she no longer has anything to live for, she tries to commit suicide.  She's thwarted by the police who find her before it's too late and take her to the hospital.

     Dani and Camila, two high school students who never otherwise would have met, become roommates at PeachTree Hills, an inpatient psychiatric facility for adolescent girls. It's set on beautiful rustic acres and prides itself on nontraditional methods and sensitivity to diversity.  But both girls see and resent the control and limitations under all the careful orchestration.

     Besides offering up a riveting and engaging narrative of discovery and relationship, We Weren't Looking To Be Found explores adolescent issues most adults don't want to face: anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and self harm.  It's a must read for its target demographics and well beyond.

On a purrrsonal note, I'm back into my weekly routine.  I'm still mostly playing catch up with all the work that piled up during spring semester and Clean Sweep.  But I've also started making plans for the rest of summer break.  (Jules)

Which of course involves spending plenty of quality time with her best little cat in the world.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway

Dear Medusa

YA fiction in verse 

"She thinks she's been done grievous wrong 

by the two dollars extra on her waxy receipt 

and my mouth is supposed to be apologizing 

but my mind is on everything else:

*the whole school/world calling me a whore

*Sarah cutting me out of her life like a tumor 

*my parents, the wood chipper of their life between them"

     Whether you graduated high school in this century or decades earlier you probably saw how girls considered "fast" are ostracized and bullied.  While boys who score between the sheets frequently are called players and retain or gain in popularity, girls who do the same are called sluts and hos and reviled.  They're also the girls parents consider cautionary tales, deviants capable of bringing their own flawless kids down by association.

     Alicia, protagonist of Olivia A. Cole's Dear Medusa, is considered to be one of those girls.  Her peers avoid her like COVID.  They call all kinds of mean names.  At one point she makes a list of eleven.  Only some do worse than shunning.  Random strangers including guys beyond high school age call her demanding her services.

     Meanwhile she's lost her long term best friend, Sarah, who now attends a Christian school.  Alicia had sensed that Sarah's joining her church's youth group would change things but

" I just didn't know how much--

how virginity would become a coin in her purse 

how hell would become a comet in her palm

how judgement would become a sword in her belt."

     School is torment for Alicia.  She was sexually abused by one of the most popular teachers.  Memories of what he did royally interfere with her ability to feel safe, welcomed, and valued.

     This powerful and poignant narrative is a must read for people in its target demographics and well beyond, especially parents, teachers, and school administrators and boards.  The behavior of predator teachers has to be stopped before more kids are hurt.

On a purrrsonal note, me too.  I was in high school.  He was a teacher.  He told me to keep it our little secret.  I realized that he was telling me that so he could hurt other girls.  So even though I didn't want to talk about explicitly sexual matters with adult authority figures any more than any other '60s teen I tried to report him only to be told that I was a vicious little liar.  I knew that I was not to blame and that he had committed both a sin and a crime.  This was a mixed blessing.  I wasn't burdened by guilt.  But I also didn't have a way to stay safe from even the most seemingly respectable adult males other than making myself unappealing to them.  I felt like my changing figure made me a prey animal (like Alicia's rabbit) with a year round hunting season.  For a long time I starved myself to create a prepubescent appearance.  I don't want other kids to have to go through that.

A great big shout out goes out to Cole who shared her experiences so bravely through this truly engaging coming of age narrative.

Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Before The Streetlights Come On

Adult nonfiction 

     "How in the world are Black folks supposed to talk about climate change when we have other pressing issues to deal with?  How and better yet, why?

     I've asked myself these questions a thousand times.  I hear them when I talk to Black people about climate and environmental topics.  Why talk climate in an era of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor; with BBQ Beckys and Karens monitoring Black behavior; while school shootings and voter suppression continue unabated?"

     In Before The Streetlights Come On Heather McTeer Toney addresses these questions and many more.  At the beginning of the pandemic people started tossing around the phrase, we're all in the same storm.  After awhile some people started qualifying it with the notion that we weren't all weathering it in the same boats.  Whites were much more likely to be steering around cabin cruisers or at least motor boats while a lot of people of color were navigating the disaster on leaky rafts.  The same is true about the ongoing tragedy we're currently calling climate change.  And even as Black people unfairly bear the brunt of this unraveling they also have to deal with social justice issues that whites have the luxury of being able to ignore.  

     "The difference between mainstream majority-white environmental movements and minority-led Black, brown, and Indigenous movements is that the latter does not have the luxury of silo.  Our issues coexist.  Climate change collides with other historic and systemic racially based issues to create a long-overdue desire for one thing: equity."

     Of the environmental books I've reviewed in the nearly twelve years my blog has been around Before The Streetlights Come On is the one I most highly recommend.  

     The first reason is that it's much more accessible for those of us who didn't ace organic chemistry.  The title gives readers a big time clue.  As children Toney and her friends knew that if they didn't drop everything and get in the house before the streetlights came on there would be serious consequences.  In the book this phrase most of us can relate to also sums where humankind is in relation to climate change.  We still have some daylight left.  But if we don't get things turned around before darkness falls the consequences will be tragic and irreversible.

     This preaching to a wider audience carries on throughout the book.  Each chapter discusses one aspect of the problem and its disproportionate effect on people of color.  Each features a glossary of terms professionals tend to throw around and suggestions for incorporating expanding into personal and community life.

     This book is intersectional.  It ties together issues of environmental and social justice.  But it isn't telling people with my pallid complexion to go all white saviour.  It stresses that because of their traditions of Earth stewardship instead of exploitation and their adaptation to conditions of adversity and scarcity people of color have a lot to teach the rest of us.

     Toney doesn't wake us up only to soothe us back to sleep in the last chapter like so many books do.  Comfort and complacency are luxuries that we can no longer afford.  She spells out just why tweaking here and there just won't work.

     "This is the same way we've tried 'quick fixes' to address climate change.  Too much plastic?  Tell people to stop using straws.  Electric bill too costly?  Unplug your microwave and coffee pot.  The solutions are based on small personal acts versus the larger societal transformations that will be necessary to save the foundation of our planet."

     Amen to that!  We have only a limited window of opportunity to ensure the continued viability of our one and only planet.  In the words of Toney, "Playtime is over, it's time to clean up."

     I usually suggest that people seek out the books that I recommend in their local public libraries.  But Before The Streetlights Come On is too important.  If you can afford to do so buy a copy.  If you can afford to go above and beyond consider buying an extra copy to donate.

     And join me in promoting the book.  Do you have friends, family members, or coworkers who would want to read it and respond to its timely message?  Are you a member of a book club?  Do you belong to a house of worship or other organization that could put its collective force toward educating about and working toward much needed change?

     As Toney so eloquently reminds us, if we don't collectively get home before the streetlights come on there's gonna be hell to pay.

On a purrrsonal note, reading the book got me unstuck on an issue that was really bugging me.  Right before Christmas 2017 Eugene surprised me with my first smartphone.  I knew that stewardship of it was a serious responsibility.  The minerals used in it are not in infinite supply.  The ways in which they are mined often involve oppression of and downright cruelty to people of color.  And the discarded phones become landfill environmental nightmares.  So I took very conscientious care of it.  A few weeks ago Eugene told me to choose a new model to upgrade to.  I told him no need for that.  Mine didn't even have the smallest screen crack.  I didn't need all the bells and whistles that would make a newer model a "must have."  Eugene showed me the letter.  The service provider was going to stop providing services to my model.  So everyone who had it was being forced to upgrade.  WHAT THE FUCK!!!  This was planned obsolescence of the worst sort.  My first reaction was, fuck this shit!  I don't need a damn smartphone.  I did perfectly fine without one for most of my life.  I can go offline just like that.  I don't get withdrawal pangs when Eugene and I spend a weekend (even a long weekend) at camp.  Only seconds later I realized that the profession, student services, I've been working so hard towards will render it a non option.  So I was in a state of grieving.  The end of the chapter suggestions reminded me that I have a lot more power to change things than I was realizing.  I have these mad oral and written communication and networking skills going for me.  I go to a church where racism and environmentalism are regular sermon fodder.  I've volunteered for my local public library since the day it's doors opened.  And at UMaine I'm very popular and drag royalty.  In just the past semester I collaborated with both Green Team and our Diversity and Inclusion office as the commuter lounge intern.  I'm going to be coming at that planned obsolescence bullshit like a mad hornet!!!

     If the book can get me that much on fire just imagine what it can do for you and yours.  But don't just imagine.  Start reading already.  (Jules)

It isn't just about you humans.  Your actions endanger all of God's creation.  And you're the only ones with opposable thumbs.  So heed the warnings and do something while there's still time.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Heather McTeer Toney for telling the truth.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do

Adult nonfiction 

     I first encountered Amy Morin's 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do when I was helping set up Clean Sweep.  It was one of the many donated books.  My initial reaction was yeah, right.  Over my years reviewing books I've developed a healthy skepticism of self help books or articles starting with numbers.  

     I skimmed it anyway and found that it made a lot of sense.  So I ordered a copy via inter library loan and read it at camp.

     Each chapter examines one disruptive behavior/mindset in depth.  It explores its impact on self and others, using a combination of insights derived from professional literature and personal practice.  It ends with a summary of what behaviors are helpful and unhelpful.  In this review we'll look at three ending with my personal favorite.

     Here's one many women have.  Even those who aren't perfectionists know at least one person who is.  It's understandable in a world where photoshopped models give an unattainable beauty standard, carefully curated social media pictures create a feeling of lesser than in people with regular lives, and there's pressure for women to have it all at once.

     "Much like Shelby, many women think perfectionism is a badge of honor.  But expecting more from yourself than you're able to give is a serious issue that can prevent you from living a fulfilling life.  For many women, the quest for perfection takes a physical, financial, emotional, and social toll on their lives."

     In another chapter we learn mentally strong women don't fear breaking the rules which also include social norms.  Women tend to be more rule breaking averse than men.  It's a difference that's reinforced all through childhood.  Then in adulthood males are respected for behaviors that have adverse consequences for females.  

     "When you break a few rules in life, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you lived your life according to your terms.  And even though you might encounter some people who aren't happy with your decisions, you can find strength in knowing you stayed true to your values and acted according to your beliefs."

     The one I'm most jazzed about, though, because it's the one I'm totally rocking is that mentally strong women don't feel bad about self reinventing.  If you spend any real length of time on this Earth you'll probably hit a point where a life style ceases to be functional.  For me this process began as my children became increasingly independent.  The question became, who am I apart from being a mother?

     I thought the answer would involve getting a job.  Only the humungous gap in my work history made just about anything other than retail or fast food unattainable.  I wasn't going there.  Then I heard of this graduate school program in higher education that would be perfect for me.  Only a lot of people didn't share my enthusiasm.  Why risk heartbreak pursuing an impossible dream?  

     I made my decision on a bridge.  Literally.  The bridge between UMaine and downtown Orono.  I knew I might not achieve the degree.  I might not even get accepted into the program.  But if I did succeed I'd be living my dream.  And if I didn't at least try I'd spend the rest of my life drowning in what ifs.

     My very reinvented self is going part time and living my dream.  My advisor says that I am a real credit to the program.  Next May I'll be walking in the graduation ceremony.

     Anyway out of the self help books on the market it's one of the better ones.  So if you're ready for some change in your life it's a good investment.

Jules Hathaway 

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The House Party

Adult fiction 

     The plot of Rita Cameron's The House Party could have been ripped from newspaper headlines.  A group of teens decides to use a custom designed almost completed house as a party setting.  There's a lot of drinking and a fair amount of drugging going on.  At some point the point of the party becomes trashing the house to the point where a second floor toilet is wrenched off its base and thrown out of a window.  Damage estimates are in the vicinity of half a million.

     Maja has just seen the results of a once again negative pregnancy test when she gets the phone call saying her dream house has been vandalized.  She has to face not only the prospect that mending it will be prohibitively expensive if not impossible, but that she and her husband will be seen as the villains, not victims of the story.

     Most of the party participants come from wealthy, privileged families.  Their parents have elite lawyers on speed dial.  Even if they don't believe their offspring to be innocent their one concern is that the kids' brilliant futures not be tarnished.  There is a lot of pressure to put all the blame on the sons of the one not wealthy family, a family who could very well lose the family apple orchard as well as the younger son's Princeton acceptance and scholarship.

     Meanwhile behind the scenes Maja's husband is experiencing work stress he will not share with her, giving her the run around when, for instance a credit card unexpectedly bounces.

     And then there's the conflict between the assistant district attorney who performs due diligence and his boss who feels that not rocking the boat comes before getting to the truth.

     With a wealth of perspectives included The House Party is one of those all too rare adult novels that inspires thought and insight even as it serves up a riveting plot.  We're talking superb beach or camp read.

On a purrrsonal note, 33 years ago today I became a mother for the first time.  My life changed forever the moment I met Amber.  I fell head over heels in love in a way I never before had thought possible.  (Jules)

I love our Amber.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Amber with best wishes for a birthday that's as special as she is.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Play the Game

YA fiction

     Where we're on the tail end of Memorial Day weekend you know what can't be far off.  The long awaited pre k to grade 12 summer vacation.  If you're a parent familiar with the concept of summer slump you'll probably want your kids to read at least a few books between June and September.  This may not be on their to do list.  If you have a child much more into games Charlene Allen's Play the Game may be a relatively easy sell.  The action segues seamlessly between beautifully created tangible and virtual worlds.

     Not so long ago VZ had been part of an unlikely tightly knit trio.  He'd been the sensible anchor.  Jack had been the clown, the extrovert, the one who got pumped from playing to crowds.  Ed had been the computer geek, bad joke loving game creator...

     ...until Ed had been killed by a guy, Singer, who got off free.  The two survivors had tackled their grief in drastically different ways.  Jack has been with the protest, striving to get justice for his fallen friend.. VZ has been keeping a low profile.

     Then Singer is killed in the same spot Ed had been fatally shot.  It's right outside the restaurant where VZ and Jack work.  When the cops come around looking for more information and start trying to intimidate their beloved boss Jack gets up in their face.  One cop has said that the only way the case will end is with an arrest.  

     "I can't see his face, but I know it's screwed up, red heat burning through his light brown skin.  'How you gonna fix your face to say that?" he asks.  'It didn't end that way when Singer killed our friend.  Now, Ms. Fox told you she doesn't know anything, all right?  Hell, wouldn't nobody tell you if they did.'"

     Needless to say, that statement goes over like a lead balloon with the boys in blue.  Suddenly they're seemingly sure that they know who took Singer down.  Jack is nowhere to be found.  And VZ is trying to find a way to prove Jack's innocence.  Some leads turn out to be dead ends.  Perhaps the video game that Ed was working on when he was murdered might hold some clues.

On a purrrsonal note, I can't imagine a more purrrfect Memorial Day weekend.  Three days of blue skies, sunshine, and moderating breezes.  Eugene and I spent most of it at camp.  I had no homework.  Eugene did all the cooking.  So I was free to sit in the rocking chair on the porch and read book after book.  I finished three and started on a fourth.  (Jules)

My people are finally back.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Keeping It Real

YA fiction 

     "Kara came in hating me.  

     I was an uppity Hill Girl to her.

     And she was just another charity case my parents loved to take on to prove they were still Pea Head and Nut from around the way."

     Paula Chase's Keeping It Real is a lively, fun read and so much more, sensitively taking on issues of race, identity, and family.

     Mari, Chase's narrator, leads a double life.  She's one of the few Black students at pricey and privileged Flowered Arms Academy Magnolia.  But, although very financially secure, she isn't from old money.  Her parents started out in very poor neighborhoods and had to really work hard to start and grow their company.  They are as angered by the white oriented policies and procedures of the school and the microaggressions she encounters there as she is.  

     Her parents own Flexx, a hip-hop fashion company that, among other things, curates the images of very famous celebrities.  They make sure to also donate a lot of money to charities.  Mari suspects that it's a strategy to keep people from thinking they've become all that.

     This summer they're premiering Style High, a program "dedicated to exposing Black youth from District City to opportunities designed to help them play a role in the evolution of hip-hop culture.  Style High is a competitive training program for rising ninth-graders with a passion for fashion and styling."

     Highly competitive isn't kidding.  Out of hundreds of applicants only three have been accepted.  That's worse than grad school.

     Then Mari learns that her crush, Justice, will be one of the trainees.  Although they're both minority students in the same posh school, he's a much poorer scholarship student, hence program eligible.

     Only there are ways to crash the party.  Having parents who own the company is one of them.  

     From the first day Kara, a trainee, is blatantly hostile to Mari.  Nothing Mari tries defuses the situation.  What makes things worse is that Justice seems to be taking Kara's side.

     Nothing can prepare Mari for the reason for Kara's anger.  It's a revelation that has her questioning every aspect of her life, especially the people nearest and dearest to her.

On a purrrsonal note, as one of the perks of working Clean has been the free stuff I accumulated--mostly clothes, a lot of yummy snack food, some Beanie Boos.  Of course books.  My favorite is my Razor scooter.  When school starts up again I'll ride it all over campus.  It takes minimal talent to look amazing riding it.  A great boost to my already bad ass reputation.  But I didn't just get stuff for myself.  I got a big bag of small stuffed animals for the Black Bear Animal Shelter and a lot of school supplies for Backpack Project.  I also got a great gift for Amber who has a birthday Monday.  She loves cosplaying.  I got her five shimmery never worn prom gowns ranging in price from $69 to $259 for free.  She is very excited.  (Jules)

I love Amber.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Amber.

Tobago  and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

In The Same Boat

YA fiction

     "We race because it's hard.  Because it's pushing yourself further than what a lot of people even think is possible.  It's finding out what you're made of."

     For Sadie, protagonist of Holly Green's In The Same Boat, the annual Texas River Odyssey is a family tradition.  In fact it's considered what makes a Scofield a Scofield.  

     It's a brutal 265 mile boat race that goes on for days and nights.  Venomous snakes, alligators, underwater rocks and trees, rapids, and lightning storms are only some of the hazards paddlers face.  Serious injury is an ever present prospect.

     But Sadie has been brought up with sayings like "Scofields don't even stop to rest."  Her grandparents, parents, and big brother, Tanner, have finished the race.  She had tried with her father the year before, only to prematurely terminate their run by needing medical attention.

     So she's going to make the run with Tanner.  Only the night before the race he ditches her for another boat with their father's consent, maybe even encouragement.  She overhears a conversation between her parents.

     "'Nicole.' Dad's voice is softer now.  'Our kids don't belong in a boat together.  Can't you see how much drive he has?  He'll never slow down.  He'll never quit.'"

     You can imagine how Sadie feels.  She retreats to her room.  Suddenly she hears a rapping sound at her window.  It's the boy next door, Cully.  He asks her to do the race with him...

     ...which isn't as simple as it sounds.  They had been best friends.  Their families had been cordial until one year when the dads had run the race together and come back full of enmity.  Since then the clans have been like the legendary Hatfields Mccoys.

     So if Sadie teams up with Cully it won't sit well with her family.  But it's her only chance to prove herself.

     If a suspenseful race narrative with drama on and off the course is your cup of tea, you owe it to yourself to read In The Same Boat.

On a purrrsonal note, I saw Ben today.  He'll be leaving UMaine the middle of next month.  Ben was my Commuter Lounge internship supervisor.  We worked so well together.  He gave me the respect and agency I needed to do an untraditional internship and get a good start on turning the commuter lounge around.  We'd planned to work together this summer and fall semester to consolidate and expand the gains.  So when I learned he was leaving my mind went to a dark place.  What if the person who replaces him doesn't give a damn about the commuter lounge or hates all my ideas.  At least for now I get to work with Brittany who loves all my ideas.  So I want to accomplish as much as I can before things change.  But also I've known him almost five years from when he was ahead of me in the program.  He's as geeky as me and a thoughtful and considerate friend.  He adores his family and looks radiant when he's with his kids.  I'm really going to miss him.  (Jules)

Sounds like a great guy.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the one and only Ben Evans.  

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

Revival Season

Adult fiction

    "Papa turned up the radio as our van became one of an anonymous throng of vehicles barreling beneath an overpass.  But none of the other cars had the important task that we did:  driving nine hundred miles to bring the word of God to people who needed to be saved from their sins."

     If you haven't heard of the revival circuit don't feel bad.  I think it had its heyday in the 19th century when tent revivals were major summer social as well as religious events in small towns.  Believe it or not.

     Basically a well known (in evangelical circles) preacher visits a series of small town churches.  At each one he holds a bunch of high octane, very emotional services, usually in a huge tent.  At each one he preaches a vehement sermon and prays over all who acquire a need to be saved.  Sometimes he does faith healings.

     Miriam, protagonist of Monica West's Revival Season, is the daughter of one such minister.  Each summer he and his clan (wife, two daughters, one son) hits the road to visit the churches to which they've been invited.  Son Caleb serves as his apprentice while the family females hover in the background.

     " I might break the two-thousand-soul mark this year.  Wouldn't that be a blessing?"

     Despite an incident from the previous summer Miriam's father is still being invited to visit fairly large and prosperous congregations.  But the incident is still on her mind.  She's hoping that this summer he'll "redeem himself."

     This doesn't seem likely even though Miriam's father stuns the crowds at their first stop with an act of healing on a little boy.  He's preaching to standing room only crowds until...

     ...at a church in North Carolina behind the tent a man whom he had tried to heal loudly accuses him of being a fraud.

     " I know about the girl you assaulted last summer.  How you got angry when you knew you wouldn't be able to heal her.  Just like you're angry now."

     Miriam is the only one in her family to see her father beat the man.  But the word spreads.  The next night attendance is lower, people are jeering instead of cheering, and there are accusations that he put the man into the hospital.  From then on the tents are mostly empty.  And back at home at the end of the summer his congregation is diminishing.

     In that church healing (and just about anything else considered important) is said to be the exclusive domain of men.  For a girl or woman to heal would be a cardinal sin, a blasphemy.  But that autumn Miriam inadvertently discovers that she has the gift of healing--a gift that would alienate her from her community and family, especially her very angry father.

     Revival Season is a highly engaging story of a teenage girl coming into her own in a truly hostile environment.

On a purrrsonal note, one thing that made me really angry happened last weekend.  I realize that some of the materials used in making smartphones are not in infinite supply and that mining them often involves severe mistreatment of people of color in some African nations.  So I'd determined that I'd make mine last as long as possible.  I'd gone five and a half years without as much as a cracked screen.  Imagine how I felt when I learned that my cell phone service provider is phasing out services to that model so everyone who has it has to needlessly buy a new one.  WHAT THE FUCK!!!  That is truly sinister planned obsolescence.  The Earth can't survive that corporate mindset.  We've all got to wake up, smell the coffee, and unite to defend the Earth against unsustainable corporate greed.  That's my little sermon.  (Jules)

Amen! (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who fight against corporate greed and the evils it spawns.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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A Song Called Home

Juvenile fiction 

     Lou, protagonist of Sara Zarr's A Song Called Home, is experiencing too much change for a fifth grader to deal with.  Her alcoholic father rarely shows up.

     "He didn't live with them anymore, and he still drank.  But, also, he was still Dad.  She didn't need a new one.  She just wanted the one she had to be different."

     I bet you guessed it.  Lou's mother is getting remarried.  They're moving to her new husband, Steve's house which necessitates changing schools right before middle school and leaving her best friend.  Big sister, Casey, formerly her chum, is too preoccupied with a boyfriend to play much of a role in her life.

     But there is a ray of hope.  On Lou's birthday a guitar appears at her old home.  She is sure that it's a gift from her father.  Perhaps if she can learn to play it and perform in her new school's talent show maybe he'll really see her and be proud of her and change.

     A Song Called Home is a truly insightful and engaging narrative for young readers, especially those hoping desperately that someone in their own lives can change.

On a purrrsonal note, I decided to just handle the small stuff like catching up with laundry and running errands for yesterday and today.  No big decision making until after the three day weekend.  I hope you have something really good planned.  Eugene and I are going to camp.  He'll do all the cooking and I'll sit on the porch and read.  Perfect division of labor.  Maybe on the way there or back we'll see a few yard sales to stop at.  (Jules)

I'll take care of business while they're away.  (Tobago)

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

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Don't you just love this book cover?

Bugs for Breakfast

Juvenile nonfiction 

     "Entomophagy is practiced in most parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Mexico, and South America.  Beetles, caterpillars, ants, wasps, bees, grasshoppers, and locusts are the most commonly eaten insects, but they're hardly the only ones being devoured.  In fact, more than 2,100 species are regularly consumed in a out 113 different countries.

     So, why is it that in the United States, Canada, and Europe most folks would rather squish bugs than eat them?"

     Why indeed?  That's one of the questions Mary Boone addresses in Bugs for Breakfast: How Eating Insects Could Help Save The Planet.  This fascinating book introduces middle grade readers to the nuances of entomophogy which is not just the domain of contestants on wilderness survivalist shows.

     The fact is that the diet practiced by most Americans, focused on the consumption of large animals such as cows and pigs, is unsustainable.  It requires too much in the way of limited resources.  The methane put out in large animal farts is a seriously deadly greenhouse gas.  And with the world population steadily rising and more people aspiring to emulate the American lifestyle the shit (oh, yeah, another nasty animal byproduct with deadly environmental consequences) will hit the proverbial fan in the not so distant future.

     Young readers learn why insect farming is so much more eco friendly than raising large animals, how even modest dietary changes toward entomophogy (similar to the popular meatless Mondays) can help the planet, and how they can get started.  The book includes thirteen yummy looking starter recipes.

     And, although targeted toward kids, it isn't just for them.  Joseph Yoon, a chef, says, "Bugs for Breakfast is the book I wish I had when I first started working with edible insects--it's incredibly informative, entertaining, and quite simply delicious!  While targeting a younger audience, this will still be the book that I recommend anyone interested in entomophogy read immediately."

     An affordable paperback, it's quite a wise investment.

     Boone is optimistic that insect eating will go mainstream, even in the United States.  She cites two examples of foods going from eeeuw, gross! to trendy.  The idea of eating raw fish and seaweed grossed most white Americans out in the past.  Now sushi is popular in venues ranging from college cafeterias to posh restaurants.  And then there's a food that in this nation's settler colonist days was considered garbage, "fit only for servants, children, prisoners, or the very poor."  Now most tourists visiting my adopted state wouldn't consider their stay complete without at least one Maine lobster.

     I only have one problem with the book.  And it isn't unique to it.  It includes gratuitous ageism.  A line is drawn between those who first eat a bug by age 40 and those who don't, turning a measure that is really a continuum into a binary and contributing to the portrayal of older people as hopelessly stodgy and lacking in curiosity and adaptability.  Hasn't the woman heard of intersectionality.  Class and ethnicity can be factors along with education level, degree of familiarity with entomophogy, and availability and cost of insects.  There is the fact that we are more influenced than we'd like to think by the people around us.  Certain residential and work settings would be more open than others.  So how many candles you blow out on your birthday is only one of a number of factors.

On a purrrsonal note, I've had insects and consider them quite tasty.  When I get my degree and my first professional job I plan to find out where to get them and start eating them on a regular basis.  Of course I'll need to put a mini fridge in my studio.  Eugene would freak out if he thought there were insects in the freezer.  And we're talking about someone who eats Spam and pepperoni!  (Jules)

I am avant garde.  I supplement my commercial cat food with yummy insect protein.  Any time a bug flies or crawls into my turf I get to exercise my predatory prowess and it becomes what's for snack.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all who practice entomophogy.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Hijab Butch Blues

Adult memoir 

     A few weeks ago I was having one of my potentially running out of books crises.  Although I much prefer the selection at Orono Public Library, my schedule and the bus schedule (still no Saturday runs) were making it temporarily a non option.  So I grabbed a few volumes from UMaine's Fogler.  The crisis never happened.  I returned half the volumes unread.  But I am very glad that I got my hands on Lamya H's memoir Hijab Butch Blues.  It's a real eye opener.  

     Lamya was born in South Asia.  When she was young, but old enough to have memories of her native land, her parents moved the family to a wealthy Middle Eastern country to get better opportunities for their children.  Only the move essentially isolated the children.  They were too dark skinned to be accepted by the much lighter pigmented natives.  They had no extended family in their new nation.  Lamya remembered the sense of belonging she felt in her native land with her grandmother next door and her cousins around the corner.

     In a poignant episode that I believe that most of us who have ever been kids will be able to relate to Lamya and her brother have made friends with a girl willing to share her pogo stick.  One day the girl's mother sees the children together and freaks out.  The next day the formerly friendly girl avoids Lamya and her brother.  The girl's brother tells them:

     "Because our mother told us not to [play with them], stupid.  It's because you're curry people.  You smell nasty and you sound nasty and you're dirty.  Stop making trouble for us.  If we play with you, we'll become like you."

     And then something happens when Lamya is fourteen.  She gets a crush on one of her teachers.  She yearns to be seen as special by this woman.  She feels new sensations in parts of her body.  She knows that her feelings are like those other girls have for boys.  But in her mind boys are stupid smelly beings who obnoxiously think they're better than girls and don't have to help out with household chores.

     Dealing with racism and reconciling her religion (Islam) and sexual orientatiown are challenges that continue to dog Lamya when she moves to America to have access to higher education.  But she is gradually able to find her tribe.  With honesty and vulnerability she takes readers along on her journey from childhood through college and graduate school and into her first professional years.

     In the narrative Lamya shares surahs from the Quran.  I think that's one of the aspects I found most enthralling.  I'd known that Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have the same roots.  But the stories she shares in this context are, except for slight name differences, the same ones from the Old Testament I learned in Sunday School.  Where we share so much of our origins, why are so many Christians intent on othering and demonizing Muslims?  I just can't understand.

On a purrrsonal note, it's the day after Clean Sweep clean up and I'm exhausted.  Only it isn't a physical tiredness.  I've done a lot more challenging things like 14 hour days keeping up with teenagers in a serious heat wave while lugging around a very symptomatic kidney stone without these burnt out feelings.  I think I feel overwhelmed by all that piled up during my spring semester through Clean Sweep marathon.  As in OH MY GAWD!!!  Where do I even start???  The house looks like it barely survived a category 5 hurricane.  But that's the easy part.  I also have to plan and organize my whole summer after my original plan totally fell through.  Well we have a long weekend coming up.  I can work on the cleaning part now and put the planning part off til next week.  (Jules)

We'll figure it out.  No doubt in my mind.  (Tobago)

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Nigeria Jones

YA fiction 

     Some books are so well crafted, rich, and nuanced that they are the hardest to do justice to in reviews.  It's sort of like the really gorgeous dresses for cosplaying I scored for my older daughter, Amber.  When I took pictures to send her they didn't half way capture the shimmer and sparkle.  So I'm looking at Ibi Zoboi's Nigeria Jones and wondering how I'll be be able to capture the intersectionality and complexity of the situations the title character finds herself in and the way she and the rest of the cast react to them.  But the alternative is not trying.  And I very much want you to know about this amazing novel.

     Nigeria is the daughter of a famous Black separatist who wants to create an entirely independent Black society that renounces all things white.  He walks the walk as well as talking the talk.  The house he and Nigeria live in is also a way station for people escaping poverty and abusive situations to join his beloved community.  All members become vegan.  And all children and teens are homeschooled to protect them from indoctrination into the racist educational system.  Her father is trying to raise enough money for them to start their own school.

     Nigeria carries the heartbreak of missing her mother who vanished after giving birth to her beloved toddler brother, Freedom.  She knows that her parents had disagreed on important issues.  Her mother, for example, had been much less of a fan of total separation of the races.  She is sure that her mother will return someday and is frustrated by how other members of her household, including her father, are moving on.

     When Nigeria discovers that her mother had gotten her accepted with adequate financial aid to the Philadelphia Friends School she is at first conflicted.

     "Part of me wants to tear this letter into pieces.  The other part of me lights up with some glimmer of hope, a spark of a dream, maybe.  Did Mama ever hear me and Kamau talking about his school?  Did she ever catch me googling Philly Friends and sensing a little bit of envy for my cousin?"

     Nigeria isn't sure that she really buys into her father's vision.  He's all about divesting and decolonizing.  She feels that maybe she wants to change the world rather than renouncing it.  But when she enrolls at the school her continued attendance is tenuous at best.  Her father is willing to do whatever it takes to get her out, seeing her decision at an affront to the Movement rather than a chance to explore the wider world and discover who she is and what she really wants out of life.

     This powerful and poignant coming of age narrative is a very timely read for teens and people well beyond this target demographic.

Jules Hathaway 

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The Headmaster's List

YA chiller 

     Dear Readers, do I have a treat for you!!!  Melissa De La Cruz's The Headmaster's List is another delicious look into the more sinister aspects of an elite private school, the stuff they don't include in their carefully curated brochures.

"One of them was driving.

One of them was high.

One of them screamed.

One of them died."

     When Spencer, a senior at Armstrong Prep, wakes up in a hospital her mother is trying to get a detective who is intent on questioning her to wait.  She's been in an accident.  She'd been riding away from a party where she'd found evidence of boyfriend, Ethan, cheating.  Ethan had been driving.  Tabby and Chris had been in the back.  The car had smashed into a tree.  Chris, at fifteen the youngest of the group, had been killed.

     Although toxicology reports show that Ethan was not drunk or stoned he's facing serious charges that could put him behind bars for a long time.  At first Spencer can't recall anything about the crash.  But as memories trickle back in bits and pieces there are pronounced inconsistencies between them and the official story, inconsistencies that might exonerate Ethan.  If his brakes had been tampered with, for instance, he wouldn't be at fault.  Even though they are no longer together she doesn't want him to be wrongly imprisoned.

     Only her investigation may be putting her in danger.  She finds an anonymous note in her school locker telling her to 

"Stop looking into the crash

Or else."

     And a dark element of the Armstrong Prep culture hovers menacingly in the background.

"At Armstrong, there's this thing called the Headmaster's List.  Only a few students are chosen every year, but everyone tries to make the cut since it's a surefire way to get into the best colleges.  The Headmaster himself writes your recommendation.  It's super competitive.  Think of it as an honor roll but on steroids.  

     Three of the four students in the car that fateful night were on the Headmaster's List.

     If you're a fan of chillers set in the context of less than picture perfect elite private schools (as I am) you're going to love The Headmaster's List.

On a purrrsonal note, this week we've been cleaning up from Clean Sweep.  And we don't just throw the leftover stuff in the dumpster.  We have a bunch of agencies that take specific things.  Like the Kiwanis Club takes general interest (non textbook) books for their annual sale.  Welcome To Housing takes stuff formerly homeless people need for new apartments.  This year I was really excited to see that a representative of Mano En Mano (Hand In Hand) came all the way from Millbridge to fill a big van with bedding and bed rolls.  They work to meet the needs of migrant workers who harvest crops such as blueberries, potatoes, broccoli, and apples.  (Jules)

Good people!!!  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the people who run Mano En Mano.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Delicious Monsters

YA chiller 

     My older daughter, Amber, watched The Shining and became a Stephen King fan for life in first grade. As a reader she devoured every R. L. Stine book she could get her hands on--multiple times for the choose your own ending ones.  It wasn't long before she was back with the Horrormeister hanging out in the Overlook and Salem's Lot.  So a chiller has to be GOOD to impress her.  I believe  that when she starts reading Liselle Sambury's Delicious Monsters she'll have a hard time putting it down.  And there are very few books I'd say that about.

"Seeing dead people was the worst.

     They shuffled from one place to another, mouths gaping wide even though most of them didn't talk...Mostly they were distracting and annoying.  And I seemed to be the only one cursed to notice them.  I had seen them walk through people who didn't even give the tiniest shiver of subconscious recognition."

     Daisy can't step outside her house without seeing the deceased who linger on Earth, unable to pass on.  Only as the story begins it's the very much alive who are royally pissing her off.  To be more specific, it's her boyfriend and the girl she's seen him cheating on her with.

     "At the end of the day, we hand in our proposal for the third season of Haunted:  'Houses That Kill.'...Our first stop will be the Miracle Mansion and the mystery of Grace and Daisy Odlin--including how the house racked up a body count.  The very same place that my mom, in her bestselling book, claims changed her from an abusive and neglectful parent to a completely reformed woman."

     Brittney is working an internship at a media company.  With two seasons of a hit show behind her she hopes that if the third is even bigger she'll be able to earn the kind of money that will enable her to break free of Mommy Dearest and expose her as a fraud in the process.  And find out whatever did happen to Daisy.

     The girls are separated by ten years but united across time by one of the most evil houses portrayed in literature.  It's the isolated mansion Daisy's mother, Grace, unexpectedly inherited and decided to turn into a bed and breakfast.  It's the house where Brittney's then pregnant mother credits with her miraculous recovery.

     It's a house that draws in the dead and devours the living, a mausoleum seemingly nobody can get under control.

     Portions of the book get really scary.  But if you're a hard core chiller affecianado you'll find Delicious Monsters to be the Cat's Pajamas.

On a purrrsonal note, it was a pretty good weekend.  Saturday, of course, was the end of Clean Sweep.  Eugene was at camp that night.  He came back early Sunday.  We got breakfast at Denny's and went on a short road trip.  (Jules)

Slumber party weekend for me and Jules.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.  

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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STEM Like a Girl

Juvenile nonfiction 

     Back when I was a girl there was a popular misconception that girls weren't wired to understand science and math concepts.  Even when my kids were little this stupid myth was still in ascendency with teachers paying more attention to the boys in their classes and women really represented in STEM vocations.  

     Things are finally starting to change.  Girls are exploring STEM activities at early ages and discovering strong and vibrant passions.  Sarah Foster's STEM Like a Girl is a celebration of this evolution.  Most of the book is devoted to dozens of portraits of girls between nine and twelve and their areas of interest and favorite projects.  They also answer questions such as "When an experiment or design doesn't turn out how you expected, how does that make you feel?" and "What other activities make you feel courageous, confident, and bold?"  There are also instructions on how to do fifteen experiments that can be carried out with stuff people either already have in their homes or can buy inexpensively at stores.

     This fine book is an excellent acquisition for school and public libraries.  It's also a great investment for homes where girls (or nonbinary people are growing up).

On a purrrsonal note, I was born decades too early.  I had a chemistry set.  I collected insects and rocks.  I built structures.  I dissected road kill.  I wish I could have been into a time where it was actually encouraged.  Goodness only what I could have become--maybe even a veterinarian or civil engineer.

Jules Hathaway 

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Victory Stand

YA graphic biography 

      The 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico.  Tommie Smith took the gold in the the 200 meter event, becoming the first to run it in under 20 seconds.  As the American national anthem sounded he and the bronze medalist, John Carlos, raised their fists in the air.  Just like when more recently football players were reviled and punished for kneeling when it was played, their dignified protest generated a lot of hate from white journalists.  Avery Brundage, the white International Olympic Committee president who has been compared to Bull Connor, stripped them of their medals and sent them home.

     But why did they make this statement that predictably would have ended or at  least jeopardized their athletic careers?   As teen readers can learn in Victory Stand:  Raising My Fist For Justice they were using an international platform to show the rest of the world what America was really like in regard to racism.  

     I highly recommend this book for school and public libraries.  The topic is sadly still very relevant.  And the graphic novel format carries its message much more powerfully and eloquently than words alone could have.

On a purrrsonal note, today was the second day of Clean Sweep.  We set a new record.  This year we netted over $11,000 for the campus food pantry and student volunteering. (Jules)

That is a lot of money.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to all our customers who spent that money. 

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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This is what the ice hockey arena looked like before we let the customers in.

As you can imagine, these guys sold very quickly.  I absconded with all the really little ones for the Black Bear Animal Shelter before I took this picture.  I also scored a bunch of school supplies for my Backpack Project.

We had to do a lot of pricing.

My friend Joey looks psyched about Clean Sweep.

This is not a Personal Statement

YA fiction 

     "Now that I think of it, if we lived in a world in which the Perfect Perezes weren't always on display, then maybe I wouldn't be in this mess.  Maybe I could've talked to them about getting rejected from Delmont or listened when our high school counselor suggested applying to more safety schools, ones that don't headline some published list but would still be good for me."

     Perla, protagonist of Tracy Badua's This is not a Personal Statement, has basically been raised in a pressure cooker.  She goes to not only a hyper competitive high school, but one in which she doesn't really get along with her peers--maybe because she's two years younger that her classmates.  The parents in her neighborhood are making sure their kids are the alphas.  Her mother and father are no exception.  They've been on her to achieve all her life, negating anything she enjoys that doesn't get her closer to the goal.

     The goal is becoming a doctor.  The first step on her higher educational path is to be pre med at prestigious, highly selective Delmont University...

     ...only she gets rejection letters from Delmont and every other school she applied to.  She can't exactly tell Mom and Dad.

     "A couple years ago, I heard the phrase utang na loob, a sort of debt of gratitude.  My grandparents and parents did everything to get me where I am today, so I have a cultural obligation to show my appreciation by being the smart, obedient, Perfect Perlie they want.

     Basically, I owe them."

     So Perla forges an acceptance letter.  She plans to spend fall semester on campus learning all she can about the school and what they're looking for in the students they accept.  Then she'll apply for spring semester acceptance.  

     Not really such a good idea.  Even basics like shelter and food are a serious challenge.  And there is always the danger of campus police catching on to her illicit status.

     This coming of age narrative is quite an indictment of the lengths to which parents too great expectations can drive young adults to.  It combines a riveting plot with a believable narrator to create a book that is pretty hard to put down.

On a purrrsonal note, today was the first day of Clean Sweep.  The crowds started gathering quite awhile before we opened.  Something like 250 people surged through the doors the first twenty minutes we were open.  I was in charge of clothes.  People were having fun sifting through the garments.  I'll be eager to learn what we take in this year.  (Jules)

Lots of loot.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the Clean Sweep gang.  

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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A Duet for Home

Juvenile fiction 

     How would you describe the place you call home?  Ranch?  Split level?  Colonial?  The kind of house kids portray with crayons?  Apartment?  Condo?  Maybe, like me, you live in a trailer?

     Sadly a lot of families reside in homeless shelters...

     ...or worse as you'll see in Karina Yan Glaser's A Duet For Home.

     When June's father dies unexpectedly her mother retreats into herself, leaving June in charge of her home, herself, and her little sister.  Not surprisingly money runs out.  Much to her horror, they end up in a room in Huey House, a homeless shelter.  However, she begins to see good things about her new residence when she becomes friends with...

     Tyrell, a three year resident.  He sees it as a place he and his mom can be safe and fed while she develops the skills with which she can earn enough money to afford a place of their own.  There are other kids.  And every night he can hear a talented musician in another building practicing.  

     But change is afoot.  The mayor of the city feels that its rapidly growing number of homeless people is bad publicity.  She's instituting a new policy to keep them out of the news.  After 90 days in a shelter a family will be moved somewhere else.  They may end up in a place unfit for human habitation or too far from the public transportation necessary for commuting to jobs.  

     June and Tyrell are determined to keep Huey House and other shelters available for families to stay until they are strong enough to transition to decent housing.  But what can kids do?

     You'll be surprised.

     Glaser knows what she's writing about.  Her first post college job was with a network of homeless shelters.  She saw a policy that moved families into filthy, dangerous housing stay intact for three years.  A Duet For Home  shows our younger readers that government officials don't always act in vulnerable people's best interests.

On a purrrsonal note, this makes the 2400th book I've reviewed on this blog.  So basically over the last almost 12 years I've read and written and posted reviews of 200 books a year.  (Jules)

That's a lot of books.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the authors of those fabulous books.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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Each Tiny Spark

Juvenile fiction 

     Emilia, protagonist of Pablo Cartaya's Each Tiny Spark, has a lot going on in her life.

     For one thing, because of ADHD, she has trouble concentrating in school.  Her mom helps her organize her school week and keep track of stuff like homework and tests.  As the summer begins her mom is about to leave for a week long conference.

     That night Emilia's father arrives home from his latest deployment.  A marine, he's been coming and going since she was four.  This time he seems distant and reclusive, exploding every time she tries to find out why he never responded to the thirty videos she sent him.

     But not all the drama is in Emilia's family.  The school board in her town is about to vote on whether their school should take in students from one of its poorer neighborhood's overcrowded ones.  It's a very explosive and divisive issue with many people thinking that Park View students will be a bad influence on their own children.  The conflict has filtered down to the middle school.  Emilia's best friends are taking opposing stands.

     Each Tiny Spark is an engaging narrative about coming of age in a complex environment.

On a purrrsonal note:  we've put four more days on organizing Clean Sweep and also playing around, having fun.  Tomorrow at 11:00 the sale starts and goes until 5:00.  Then Saturday it runs from 8:00 to noon.  I sure hope we sell a lot of stuff!  (Jules)

They will.  They always do.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the '23 Clean Sweep crew!

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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The inside of the card.

The outside of my mother's day card.

Lulu and Milagro's Search for Clarity

YA fiction 

     If you have at least one sister or brother you know that sibling relationships can be complicated.  This is made quite clear in Angela Velez's Lulu and Milagro's Search for Clarity.  Sisters Lulu and Milagro were very close as children.  But now in high school they're about as far apart as possible.  Lulu is the socially awkward high achieving pride of St. Agnes High School.  Her ambitions are sky high and include being a Stanford University High School Summer Scholar.  Milagro is the popular, stylish sibling who has trouble keeping her grades up and avoiding detention.

     Not physically with them but nevertheless omnipresent is big sister Clara, a first generation first year college student.  At the end of winter break she had had a huge fight with their mother who is now pressuring Lulu to stay home for the summer and aim for a college within commuting distance.

     The girls, .not surprisingly, have quite different plans for their week long school break.  Lulu is going on her school's college road trip, hoping to ace an interview for the summer program and discover the reason for the fight that seems to be limiting her opportunities.  Milagro plans to lose her virginity to her hunky boyfriend while her mother is with her aunt at a religious retreat.

     But then Milagro unexpectedly ends up going on the trip which changes the week radically for both girls.

     Will Lulu achieve her goals? Might Milagro discover that she too has higher education potential?  Will the sisters' relationship begin to improve or totally tank?

     Well read the book and see for yourself.

On a purrrsonal note, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I sure did!  The highlight was Mother's Day.  Eugene took me for a ride.  We got breakfast and lunch out.  I saw Amber.  She gave me a book and a bunch of cool stickers.  I talked to Katie and Adam on the phone.  Eugene gave me a card "from me and the cat" with money.  And of course little Tobago was sweet and affectionate.  Who could ask for more?

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

Jules Hathaway 

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Star Knights

Juvenile graphic novel 

     Kids encounter prejudice in regard to a lot of aspects of their identity.  On the playground, for example, they can be excluded because of a number of immutable facets of themselves such as race, gender, class, and disability.  They also see it play out in the larger world and the news.  Kay Devault's graphic novel, Star Knights, takes it on in a parable set in a world where not all animals are created equal.

     All the animals long to be star knights like the ones who created a utopia and kept the Marsh Witch at bay "many lifetimes ago."  Tad, a frog, is no exception.  But when he tries to join in their games they reject him, believing that "mud dwellers" are Marsh Witch's gross minions.

     Rejection, however, is not enough to make Tad give up on his dream.  One night stars begin to fall as they had in the legendary past.  Tad gets one and is transformed.  Now he can protect the star knight and return him to his proper place in the universe.

     Young readers, especially those who are bullied or left out by peers will love the colorful adventures of this loveable but far from perfect underfrog.

On a purrrsonal note,  on a sad note, Ben Evans, who was my Commuter Lounge internship supervisor, will be leaving UMaine in mid June to take a job down South.  I sure am glad I did this internship before he left.  He gave me a chance to really show what I could achieve and was so supportive.  But the side of him that I adore the most is the joy he takes in parenting.  I really am going to miss him.  I guess the internet is good for something, especially where he'll have all my resumes to edit when I start job hunting.  (Jules)

Good guy, that Ben.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Ben.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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