Six students in an eighth grade honors English class and their teacher are the narrators of Charles Waters and Traci Sorrels' thought provoking novel in verse, Mascot. Callie is a Black Cherokee Nation citizen. Franklin is a Black sports fan. Priya's grandparents were born in India. Sean comes from one of the just getting by families in the affluent town. Tessa is fresh out of being homeschooled. Luis is an immigrant who has lived half his life in El Salvador. The plot is built around the question: What happens when a mascot is seen as racist, but not by everyone?
The school team is the Braves. Their mascot is a stereotypical warrior decked out for battle. During games and pep rallies their fans wear war paint and make chopping motions with toy tomahawks. While some students and families and community members find the mascot offensive and degrading others consider his presence as merely tradition—nothing to be bothered by. Some even consider it to be a tribute to the indigenous who they refer to as Indians.
Noticing that the students in her honors class are taking both sides in this controversy, Ms. Williams assigns a written and oral presentation centered around the appropriateness of using using Indigenous peoples as mascots. She assigns people to sides forcing some to argue from a position they're vehemently opposed to. There is a lot of anger, frustration and conflict. Friendships are formed and ended.
But the end of the assignment does not mean closure for the class. The anti mascot students are determined to take their crusade into real life and get the mascot replaced with something less offensive. Their pro mascot peers are determined to protect their beloved tradition. Soon there is more animosity between the two sides than the competing schools and school board meeting are getting packed by citizens who want to be heard.
This is a very timely read for younger readers. The issue is quite controversial. The characters on both sides come across as fully human.
On a purrrsonal note, I'm putting on ounces that gradually add up to pounds. I suspect maintaining weight will require effort the rest of my life.
A great big shout goes out to governor Janet Millls who is quoted in the book:
"A mascot is a symbol of pride,
but it is not the source of pride…
It is time for our symbols to reflect that."
Monday, April 29, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
We Were Once a Family
You know one thing That really pisses me off. It's the way we handle child welfare in America. Periodically on the state or national level parents will do something totally horrendous resulting in their child(ran)'s death. The Media operating under the mantra of it bleeds it leads (and attracts listeners/viewere/readers enhancing cash flow) will saturate coverage with grim and grizzly details. Their audience will become outraged and demand that somebody DO SOMETHING NOW!!! Agencies and legislators will fast track policies and procedures to appease the public, many of which will do more harm than good. And the public will be sedated until the next horrific event.
What I appreciate most about Roxanna Asgarian's We Were Once A Family is that it didn't fall into that pattern. It very well could have. The central incident, a couple driving off a cliff with their six adopted children, would have outraged just about anyone, especially with the children being heavily sedated beforehand hinting at premeditation. And after the tragedy evidence emerged that contrary to the idyllic life style depicted by one of the moms on social media, the children actually experienced deprivation, abuse, and increased isolation. By sticking to the customary narrative Asgarian would have more than enough material for a book. Fortunately that wasn't the book she wanted to write.
"In the media frenzy over the Hart family tragedy, the deeper story got largely overlooked. While many of the big stories focussed on Jennifer and Sarah Hart, stories about the children—who they were, where they came from, what happened to their birth families—were mostly absent. Most of what was written about the kids concentrated only on their harrowing abuse—even as major questions about the child welfare system's role in the deaths went unanswered."
Over a period of five years Asgarian sought to provide the missing information and answer the unanswered questions. She conducted extensive interviews with birth family members and professionals involved in their cases in one way or another. She studied "thousand of pages of foster care case files, criminal case records, and law enforcement investigation documents". The narrative of the harm done to the children and their birth families by supposedly protective agencies will break your heart. And a short history of shifting policies and procedures will probably have you wondering, what were they thinking?
A paragraph in the epilogue really caught my eye. But I want to ease into it with an experience that has haunted me for about 23 years. My older daughter, Amber, wanted to wear a sweater to school and I insisted she wear a coat. She told me Chelsea was wearing a sweater. I said, "But Chelsea lives up on Ridgeview; we live in the trailer park." Later that day I ran into an acquaintance who was a social worker and asked if I was being paranoid and she said absolutely not. Imagine knowing that even if you're a really good parent you could be investigated for the slightest thing because of where you live.
"CPS has the duty to keep children safe, but the scales of harm are imbalanced. For one, in virtually all cases, CPS steps in when a family is already marginalized, whether by poverty, race, class, mental illness, drug use, disability or LGBTQ or immigration status. Their offered support is implicitly or explicitly coercive, and the threat of removal to ensure compliance may leave parents in worse shape than they were before CPS entered their lives. Our punitive approach to families that likely need some form of help that the state is not willing to provide does nothing to help the children CPS is tasked with caring for."
This book dovetails ever so neatly with Without Children which we just looked at. Recall it advocates replacing a society in which the isolation of the nuclear family is the gold standard with a more communal one in which we don't just pay lip service to the idea that it takes a village to raise a child. Asgarian ends the book with this paragraph:
"Each child deserves a safe place to call home. So, too, they deserve a community of people who love them, who care for them, and who step in when their own parents can't. This should be the standard of care each child receives. In this respect, we are failing far too many."
On a purrrsonal note, this has been a great weekend. Yesterday Eugene took me to Governors for breakfast. I had perfect weather for hanging out my laundry. Today Eugene and I went on a road trip which we ended with a stop at Goodwill. I got cat winter pajamas, a shirt, and JEANS THAT FIT ME PERFECTLY, all on the children's racks.
A great big shout out goes to Asgarian for doing due diligence and writing truths that will piss off a lot of people.
What I appreciate most about Roxanna Asgarian's We Were Once A Family is that it didn't fall into that pattern. It very well could have. The central incident, a couple driving off a cliff with their six adopted children, would have outraged just about anyone, especially with the children being heavily sedated beforehand hinting at premeditation. And after the tragedy evidence emerged that contrary to the idyllic life style depicted by one of the moms on social media, the children actually experienced deprivation, abuse, and increased isolation. By sticking to the customary narrative Asgarian would have more than enough material for a book. Fortunately that wasn't the book she wanted to write.
"In the media frenzy over the Hart family tragedy, the deeper story got largely overlooked. While many of the big stories focussed on Jennifer and Sarah Hart, stories about the children—who they were, where they came from, what happened to their birth families—were mostly absent. Most of what was written about the kids concentrated only on their harrowing abuse—even as major questions about the child welfare system's role in the deaths went unanswered."
Over a period of five years Asgarian sought to provide the missing information and answer the unanswered questions. She conducted extensive interviews with birth family members and professionals involved in their cases in one way or another. She studied "thousand of pages of foster care case files, criminal case records, and law enforcement investigation documents". The narrative of the harm done to the children and their birth families by supposedly protective agencies will break your heart. And a short history of shifting policies and procedures will probably have you wondering, what were they thinking?
A paragraph in the epilogue really caught my eye. But I want to ease into it with an experience that has haunted me for about 23 years. My older daughter, Amber, wanted to wear a sweater to school and I insisted she wear a coat. She told me Chelsea was wearing a sweater. I said, "But Chelsea lives up on Ridgeview; we live in the trailer park." Later that day I ran into an acquaintance who was a social worker and asked if I was being paranoid and she said absolutely not. Imagine knowing that even if you're a really good parent you could be investigated for the slightest thing because of where you live.
"CPS has the duty to keep children safe, but the scales of harm are imbalanced. For one, in virtually all cases, CPS steps in when a family is already marginalized, whether by poverty, race, class, mental illness, drug use, disability or LGBTQ or immigration status. Their offered support is implicitly or explicitly coercive, and the threat of removal to ensure compliance may leave parents in worse shape than they were before CPS entered their lives. Our punitive approach to families that likely need some form of help that the state is not willing to provide does nothing to help the children CPS is tasked with caring for."
This book dovetails ever so neatly with Without Children which we just looked at. Recall it advocates replacing a society in which the isolation of the nuclear family is the gold standard with a more communal one in which we don't just pay lip service to the idea that it takes a village to raise a child. Asgarian ends the book with this paragraph:
"Each child deserves a safe place to call home. So, too, they deserve a community of people who love them, who care for them, and who step in when their own parents can't. This should be the standard of care each child receives. In this respect, we are failing far too many."
On a purrrsonal note, this has been a great weekend. Yesterday Eugene took me to Governors for breakfast. I had perfect weather for hanging out my laundry. Today Eugene and I went on a road trip which we ended with a stop at Goodwill. I got cat winter pajamas, a shirt, and JEANS THAT FIT ME PERFECTLY, all on the children's racks.
A great big shout out goes to Asgarian for doing due diligence and writing truths that will piss off a lot of people.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Without Children
Where we're coming up on Mother's Day I wanted to find a just right book to review. I don't mean one exalting the totally wonderfulness of mothering. You don't need me to find those at this time of year. Don't get me wrong. I love being a mother. What I don't love is society's pressure on seemingly everyone perceived as having a uterus to be fruitful and multiply. Even my younger sister who is profoundly brain damaged. I can't imagine her raising a hamster, let alone a human infant. So what I was looking for affirming the validity and honor of choosing not to be a mother. And I thought I'd found that in Peggy O'Donnell Heffington's Without Children…
…until I discovered that it's all that and a whole lot more. Just as Heffington started out to write "about the value and accomplishments of women without children in part because I wanted us to get more credit" and then dug more widely and deeper to unearth a wealth of tantalizing inconvenient truths such as:
*As much as America professes to deeply value motherhood this nation is rife with policies and practices that make it much more grueling and perilous than countries like France and Sweden. It starts at the very beginning. In the wider world the average for government mandated PAID maternity leave is twenty-nine weeks. Meanwhile in America nearly half of the women can't get twelve weeks of UNPAID maternity leave which is not an option for families barely getting by. Heffington reminds us that "dogs, mammals that reach adulthood in the span of a single year, are generally not taken from their mothers until they're eight weeks old." And those other nations have subsidized childcare, generous time off, universal health care…. Try to find them in the USA.
*There's also the way in the United States we're sold the myth that the nuclear family is the only normal healthy way to be a family. A glam version is pushed as much as sponsor's products on entertainment media both traditional and electronic. If we need help from anyone else we're somehow deficient. But hunkered down in our castle fortresses leaves us burnt out and lonely.
Heffington describes a communal model of child raising that sounds absolutely amazing.
*America has often urged only certain (read white, affluent) women to reproduce. Heffington dishes the unvarnished truth on stuff like eugenics and forced sterilization and not just in the distant past, right in the 21st century.
In place of a world where mothers and non mothers are pitted against one another she asks us to imagine a future "where the difference between having or not having children isn't so stark, where more than two adults are involved in raising any given child, where motherhood doesn't mean being crushed by work and life, and where non-motherhood doesn't mean you are irrelevant in raising the next generation."
I have only one thing to say about this kind of future: BRING IT!!!
On a purrrsonal note, I'm now at the stage where I have to explain why I'm not despondent that I'm not a grandmother. I'm just too happy with the life I have created. I urge people not to hinge their post child raising happiness and identity on their children's reproductive capacities.
A great big shout goes to my kids who have chosen not to parent and my fabulous grand cats: Archie, Beans, And Delilah.
Jules Hathaway
…until I discovered that it's all that and a whole lot more. Just as Heffington started out to write "about the value and accomplishments of women without children in part because I wanted us to get more credit" and then dug more widely and deeper to unearth a wealth of tantalizing inconvenient truths such as:
*As much as America professes to deeply value motherhood this nation is rife with policies and practices that make it much more grueling and perilous than countries like France and Sweden. It starts at the very beginning. In the wider world the average for government mandated PAID maternity leave is twenty-nine weeks. Meanwhile in America nearly half of the women can't get twelve weeks of UNPAID maternity leave which is not an option for families barely getting by. Heffington reminds us that "dogs, mammals that reach adulthood in the span of a single year, are generally not taken from their mothers until they're eight weeks old." And those other nations have subsidized childcare, generous time off, universal health care…. Try to find them in the USA.
*There's also the way in the United States we're sold the myth that the nuclear family is the only normal healthy way to be a family. A glam version is pushed as much as sponsor's products on entertainment media both traditional and electronic. If we need help from anyone else we're somehow deficient. But hunkered down in our castle fortresses leaves us burnt out and lonely.
Heffington describes a communal model of child raising that sounds absolutely amazing.
*America has often urged only certain (read white, affluent) women to reproduce. Heffington dishes the unvarnished truth on stuff like eugenics and forced sterilization and not just in the distant past, right in the 21st century.
In place of a world where mothers and non mothers are pitted against one another she asks us to imagine a future "where the difference between having or not having children isn't so stark, where more than two adults are involved in raising any given child, where motherhood doesn't mean being crushed by work and life, and where non-motherhood doesn't mean you are irrelevant in raising the next generation."
I have only one thing to say about this kind of future: BRING IT!!!
On a purrrsonal note, I'm now at the stage where I have to explain why I'm not despondent that I'm not a grandmother. I'm just too happy with the life I have created. I urge people not to hinge their post child raising happiness and identity on their children's reproductive capacities.
A great big shout goes to my kids who have chosen not to parent and my fabulous grand cats: Archie, Beans, And Delilah.
Jules Hathaway
Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay
It's a good thing that I started reading Kelly McWilliams' Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay when I'd turned in my last paper of the semester because McWilliams had me hooked from page one, unable to put the book down, propelled from chapter to chapter by insatiable desire to learn what happens next. Don't you love a book like that?
Harriet lives on what once was a working plantation. Now it's an enslaved peoples museum—the fulfillment of her late mother's dream of enlightening people through educating them. Each day tour leaders including Harriet show visitors how truly horrific slavery was.
And some become enlightened. But then there are others who exhibit extreme white fragility cover up with belligerence. They demand to speak to the manager. They claim that they are attacked. They ask dumb ass questions. As the story starts Harriet is being confronted by a vacation Karen.
Harriet's mother could have handled the woman. But she died of cancer and probable medical negligence. Seeing her go from vibrant, brilliant, loving mother and wife to a shadow of herself and then leave them devastated her family. While her father has become seriously depressed, Harriet has developed what she calls a rage monster. Shall we say the encounter does not go well?
But that's not Harriet's biggest problem. A soap opera actress with a social media influencer daughter has bought the plantation next door and is turning it into an ante vellum event venue. Think Gone With The Wind before the Union Army crashed the party. And of course all the servants will be black.
Two movie stars have signed up for the first plantation wedding.
"But blood was spilled across that endless green. Thousands of enslaved people suffered to build those white mansions, and before that, the land itself was brutally stolen from the Indigenous tribes by German farmers. The true history of a plantation is violence, pure and simple."
But even the prospect of this to-be-highly-publicized false narrative wedding is not Harriet's biggest problem.
Guess whose majority white school is planning on a plantation prom.
Harriet, of course, deeply feels the total wrongness of the situation. But what can she do? And who can she ask for help? Her dad is MIA. Her best friend is studying abroad in Italy. And since her mother's death she's ghosted her other friends.
Treat yourself to this highly relevant, deeply engaging narrative. If you're anything like me you'll be glad you did.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was a school spirit day. The Darlings ice cream truck was on campus raising money for the class of '26. I got me three ice creams! And people could hang out with Bananas the Bear (school mascot). If I didn't know better I'd think the bear was crushing on me because he always gets so excited when he sees me. Like at the drag show he high fived everyone else and hugged me. Then I told him at next year's drag show he'll be playing Olivia Newton John to my John Travolta in a medley from Grease. Bananas mimed delight. Today I told him not to ask anyone else to next year's prom because I've chosen him for my date. I promised him the most awesome proposal EVAH. He mimed delight. He blew me a kiss as I left. I know as a grad student I'm expected to attend the formal. But it sounds dreadfully dull.
A great big shout out to Bananas, best mascot EVAH!!!
Harriet lives on what once was a working plantation. Now it's an enslaved peoples museum—the fulfillment of her late mother's dream of enlightening people through educating them. Each day tour leaders including Harriet show visitors how truly horrific slavery was.
And some become enlightened. But then there are others who exhibit extreme white fragility cover up with belligerence. They demand to speak to the manager. They claim that they are attacked. They ask dumb ass questions. As the story starts Harriet is being confronted by a vacation Karen.
Harriet's mother could have handled the woman. But she died of cancer and probable medical negligence. Seeing her go from vibrant, brilliant, loving mother and wife to a shadow of herself and then leave them devastated her family. While her father has become seriously depressed, Harriet has developed what she calls a rage monster. Shall we say the encounter does not go well?
But that's not Harriet's biggest problem. A soap opera actress with a social media influencer daughter has bought the plantation next door and is turning it into an ante vellum event venue. Think Gone With The Wind before the Union Army crashed the party. And of course all the servants will be black.
Two movie stars have signed up for the first plantation wedding.
"But blood was spilled across that endless green. Thousands of enslaved people suffered to build those white mansions, and before that, the land itself was brutally stolen from the Indigenous tribes by German farmers. The true history of a plantation is violence, pure and simple."
But even the prospect of this to-be-highly-publicized false narrative wedding is not Harriet's biggest problem.
Guess whose majority white school is planning on a plantation prom.
Harriet, of course, deeply feels the total wrongness of the situation. But what can she do? And who can she ask for help? Her dad is MIA. Her best friend is studying abroad in Italy. And since her mother's death she's ghosted her other friends.
Treat yourself to this highly relevant, deeply engaging narrative. If you're anything like me you'll be glad you did.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was a school spirit day. The Darlings ice cream truck was on campus raising money for the class of '26. I got me three ice creams! And people could hang out with Bananas the Bear (school mascot). If I didn't know better I'd think the bear was crushing on me because he always gets so excited when he sees me. Like at the drag show he high fived everyone else and hugged me. Then I told him at next year's drag show he'll be playing Olivia Newton John to my John Travolta in a medley from Grease. Bananas mimed delight. Today I told him not to ask anyone else to next year's prom because I've chosen him for my date. I promised him the most awesome proposal EVAH. He mimed delight. He blew me a kiss as I left. I know as a grad student I'm expected to attend the formal. But it sounds dreadfully dull.
A great big shout out to Bananas, best mascot EVAH!!!
The Queen of Sugar Hill
Hollywood's glamour years were not good ones for Black actors. Jim Crow was alive and well even there. You can learn lot about this dark side of Tinseltown in ReShonda Tate's The Queen of Sugar Hill, a novel based on the life of Hattie McDaniel.
When Hattie won an Oscar in 1940 for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With The Wind (the first Black woman even nominated for an Oscar) she was optimistic. She'd seen the award be a real career boost for white performers. And she wanted a lot more than personal fame and fortune. She wanted justice for herself and her colleagues. Roles for Blacks were limited to stereotypes. Hattie was always portraying maids. And working conditions epitomized separate and far from equal.
However Hattie, who had been banned from the Atlanta premier of Gone With The Wind, found herself mired in controversy, criticized harshly by both whites and Blacks. Whites saw her as uppity, needing to be put in her place. Many Blacks saw awe as a race traitor. The following quote appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier: "Negroes in Hollywood need to reject any further roles in such films and put an end to these economic slaves like Hattie McDaniel whose participation in the film amounts to racial suicide."
NAACP president, Walter White, was an especially harsh and persistent critic.
It was a plight Hattie would be caught up in the rest of her life. Her courage and persistence in the face of persecution greatly impressed Tate.
"I felt an undeniable connection to it because of her perseverance in spite of the criticism from Blacks, who hated her 'demeaning' Mammy character, in spite of hatred from whites, who felt Mammy was too sassy…in spite of four failed marriages and never feeling seen. In spite of everything she forged ahead. This endeared her to me and made me determined to tell her story."
It's a story well worth telling and reading.
On a purrrsonal note, at UMaine we just finished the last week of Spring semester classes. There were lots of fun crafts. I got to paint flowers on a cloth bag, decorate the covers of some blank books with beautiful flower stickers, paint an already drawn pirate ship on a black canvas, and make an adorable little zen garden. There were plenty of calorie rich snacks to fuel people for finals week.
A great big shout out goes out to students at UMaine and elsewhere getting ready for finals.
Jules Hathaway
When Hattie won an Oscar in 1940 for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With The Wind (the first Black woman even nominated for an Oscar) she was optimistic. She'd seen the award be a real career boost for white performers. And she wanted a lot more than personal fame and fortune. She wanted justice for herself and her colleagues. Roles for Blacks were limited to stereotypes. Hattie was always portraying maids. And working conditions epitomized separate and far from equal.
However Hattie, who had been banned from the Atlanta premier of Gone With The Wind, found herself mired in controversy, criticized harshly by both whites and Blacks. Whites saw her as uppity, needing to be put in her place. Many Blacks saw awe as a race traitor. The following quote appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier: "Negroes in Hollywood need to reject any further roles in such films and put an end to these economic slaves like Hattie McDaniel whose participation in the film amounts to racial suicide."
NAACP president, Walter White, was an especially harsh and persistent critic.
It was a plight Hattie would be caught up in the rest of her life. Her courage and persistence in the face of persecution greatly impressed Tate.
"I felt an undeniable connection to it because of her perseverance in spite of the criticism from Blacks, who hated her 'demeaning' Mammy character, in spite of hatred from whites, who felt Mammy was too sassy…in spite of four failed marriages and never feeling seen. In spite of everything she forged ahead. This endeared her to me and made me determined to tell her story."
It's a story well worth telling and reading.
On a purrrsonal note, at UMaine we just finished the last week of Spring semester classes. There were lots of fun crafts. I got to paint flowers on a cloth bag, decorate the covers of some blank books with beautiful flower stickers, paint an already drawn pirate ship on a black canvas, and make an adorable little zen garden. There were plenty of calorie rich snacks to fuel people for finals week.
A great big shout out goes out to students at UMaine and elsewhere getting ready for finals.
Jules Hathaway
Black Candle Women
Are you in the mood for a truly spellbinding novel? If so you would do well to get your hands onDiane Marie Brown's Black Candle Women.
The women are several generations of the Montrose family: Augusta, the matriarch; Madelyn, her daughter; Victoria and Willow, her granddaughters; and Nickie, Victoria's teenage daughter.
Bet you've noticed something strange. There's obviously been some procreating going on. So where are the men?
A little back story here. Although the women reside in California, they're transplants from New Orleans. In her earlier years Augusta had apprenticed herself to a practitioner of hoodoo magic, Bela Nova. The relationship had ended badly when Augusta seduced Bela Nova's son. Bella Nova had pronounced a generational curse. Augusta and her descendants would never know love because everyone they loved would die. Even Bela Nova's own son. The adults in the family, except for Willow who was deterred by the curse, have lost husbands.
Now for the first time Nickie, who knows nothing about the curse, brings home a boy she really likes. When Victoria tries to keep them apart without explaining why Nickie reacts like just about any thwarted teen. When she finally runs away Augusta is forced return to the place where the curse was born, a place she's sworn never again to set foot in, for a show down with her former mentor turnoff nemesis.
Black Candle Women is a perfect stormy night read and so much more. In addition to serving up a riveting plot, it offers up food for thought on family relationships and the toxic power of secrets.
On a purrrsonal note, I've been having more trouble with weight. Since my visit with my primary care physician when she blew off my concerns about weighing 98 I've lost even more. My ambitions are modest. I just want to get up to and stay at three figures.
A great big shout out to the friends who are helping me figure out how and Eugene who is doing all the cooking.
Jules Hathaway
The women are several generations of the Montrose family: Augusta, the matriarch; Madelyn, her daughter; Victoria and Willow, her granddaughters; and Nickie, Victoria's teenage daughter.
Bet you've noticed something strange. There's obviously been some procreating going on. So where are the men?
A little back story here. Although the women reside in California, they're transplants from New Orleans. In her earlier years Augusta had apprenticed herself to a practitioner of hoodoo magic, Bela Nova. The relationship had ended badly when Augusta seduced Bela Nova's son. Bella Nova had pronounced a generational curse. Augusta and her descendants would never know love because everyone they loved would die. Even Bela Nova's own son. The adults in the family, except for Willow who was deterred by the curse, have lost husbands.
Now for the first time Nickie, who knows nothing about the curse, brings home a boy she really likes. When Victoria tries to keep them apart without explaining why Nickie reacts like just about any thwarted teen. When she finally runs away Augusta is forced return to the place where the curse was born, a place she's sworn never again to set foot in, for a show down with her former mentor turnoff nemesis.
Black Candle Women is a perfect stormy night read and so much more. In addition to serving up a riveting plot, it offers up food for thought on family relationships and the toxic power of secrets.
On a purrrsonal note, I've been having more trouble with weight. Since my visit with my primary care physician when she blew off my concerns about weighing 98 I've lost even more. My ambitions are modest. I just want to get up to and stay at three figures.
A great big shout out to the friends who are helping me figure out how and Eugene who is doing all the cooking.
Jules Hathaway
Friday, April 26, 2024
How You Grow Wings
Rimma Onoseta's How You Grow Wings takes readers to a place, rural Nigeria, most of us will never visit and describes it so vividly it comes to life in our minds. It is a story set in a nation still suffering the lingering effects of colonialism and government corruption.
It's the story of a highly dysfunctional family. The mother, who grew up bearing the scorn of lighter skinned family members, obsessively bleaches her skin and takes her simmering anger out on her two daughters. The father, ashamed of not attaining the power and wealth of his older brother and aware that his wife wishes she was married to his sibling, has become silent—a shadow presence in his household. Older daughter, Chita, meets her mother's hostility with defiance. When she is ten she is hospitalized a week for injuries inflicted by her mother. And it's only the first time. Her younger sister, Zam, adapts by complying with her mother's demands and desperately attempting to stay out of her way.
When their Aunt Sophie requests that Sam come to live in her household the girls' lives go in very different directions. Zam is introduced to a life of privilege and opportunity. Chita flees her abusive mother to a precarious existence in the slums and a struggle for survival.
A voracious reader growing up, Onoseta writes the kind of stories her younger self wanted to read, "stories about young Nigerian girls who are chaotic and fierce and who question what they're taught." I certainly hope she's at work on another one.
The one thing I take issue with is the book's YA designation. YA covers a lot of developmental territory. The book opens with a scene in which Zam returns home to find a relative beating his daughter so severely she'll have to be hospitalized in a living room full of guests including the local priest who do nothing to stop the assault. This is not content for the younger end of the YA spectrum. Maybe could we have a mature YA category? On the other end it's also perfect for post secondary readers. In fact, given higher education's current emphasis on diversity and inclusion and the way in which topics such as colonialism, class, colorism, and intergenerational trauma are embedded in a riveting narrative, How You Grow Wings belongs in college and university classrooms. Maybe writers like Onset can replace some of the long dead white males who are still being inflicted on students.
On a purrrsonal note, the Black Bear Exchange had its official grand opening in the spacious location it moved into last winter. It was well attended and I saw some people I hadn't seen in awhile. People were quite impressed with the place.
A great big shout out goes out to Lisa and the BBE crew.
Jules Hathaway
It's the story of a highly dysfunctional family. The mother, who grew up bearing the scorn of lighter skinned family members, obsessively bleaches her skin and takes her simmering anger out on her two daughters. The father, ashamed of not attaining the power and wealth of his older brother and aware that his wife wishes she was married to his sibling, has become silent—a shadow presence in his household. Older daughter, Chita, meets her mother's hostility with defiance. When she is ten she is hospitalized a week for injuries inflicted by her mother. And it's only the first time. Her younger sister, Zam, adapts by complying with her mother's demands and desperately attempting to stay out of her way.
When their Aunt Sophie requests that Sam come to live in her household the girls' lives go in very different directions. Zam is introduced to a life of privilege and opportunity. Chita flees her abusive mother to a precarious existence in the slums and a struggle for survival.
A voracious reader growing up, Onoseta writes the kind of stories her younger self wanted to read, "stories about young Nigerian girls who are chaotic and fierce and who question what they're taught." I certainly hope she's at work on another one.
The one thing I take issue with is the book's YA designation. YA covers a lot of developmental territory. The book opens with a scene in which Zam returns home to find a relative beating his daughter so severely she'll have to be hospitalized in a living room full of guests including the local priest who do nothing to stop the assault. This is not content for the younger end of the YA spectrum. Maybe could we have a mature YA category? On the other end it's also perfect for post secondary readers. In fact, given higher education's current emphasis on diversity and inclusion and the way in which topics such as colonialism, class, colorism, and intergenerational trauma are embedded in a riveting narrative, How You Grow Wings belongs in college and university classrooms. Maybe writers like Onset can replace some of the long dead white males who are still being inflicted on students.
On a purrrsonal note, the Black Bear Exchange had its official grand opening in the spacious location it moved into last winter. It was well attended and I saw some people I hadn't seen in awhile. People were quite impressed with the place.
A great big shout out goes out to Lisa and the BBE crew.
Jules Hathaway
We Are Not Broken
We Are Not Broken, George M. Johnson's childhood memoir, the sequel to his All Boys Aren't Blue, is a loving and brilliant tribute to the central figure in his life in his growing up years—his grandmother. Along with his older cousins, Rall and Rasul, and his little brother, Garrett, he spent afternoons after school and weekends at her Big Yellow House. It's also a tribute to her peers, the other Black grandmothers who through physical and emotional labor held their families together and taught their grandchildren their worth in a world that was far from welcoming and often downright hostile. Johnson's memories are candid and evocative.
Embedded in the tales of joy and sorrow, love and loss there is pointed criticism of the larger world: its acceptance of harsh physical punishments that left generations of children traumatized, the racism that put Black youth in frequent jeopardy, and the homophobia, sexism, and patriarchal ideologies upheld by the Black church.
Johnson has a poignant message for readers.
"Black boys in society are often seen as adults by the age of twelve. We are viewed as dangerous and more prone to violence, and often left broken. This book is attempt to change our narrative and give voice to our stories through our own eyes. Most importantly, this is an opportunity to disprove any notion that Black boys don't deserve love, affection, care, and the space to be open, vulnerable, emotional, and kind."
On a purrrsonal note, Orono Public Library's Volunteer Appreciation Night was truly special. The refreshments were a sophisticated blend of sweet and savory. The appreciation gifts were flower filled glass vases. The speaker gave us a sneak peek at what the library will look like after its long awaited expansion. Such an exciting prospect!
A great big shout out goes out to librarians for putting on such a fine event.
Jules Hathaway
Embedded in the tales of joy and sorrow, love and loss there is pointed criticism of the larger world: its acceptance of harsh physical punishments that left generations of children traumatized, the racism that put Black youth in frequent jeopardy, and the homophobia, sexism, and patriarchal ideologies upheld by the Black church.
Johnson has a poignant message for readers.
"Black boys in society are often seen as adults by the age of twelve. We are viewed as dangerous and more prone to violence, and often left broken. This book is attempt to change our narrative and give voice to our stories through our own eyes. Most importantly, this is an opportunity to disprove any notion that Black boys don't deserve love, affection, care, and the space to be open, vulnerable, emotional, and kind."
On a purrrsonal note, Orono Public Library's Volunteer Appreciation Night was truly special. The refreshments were a sophisticated blend of sweet and savory. The appreciation gifts were flower filled glass vases. The speaker gave us a sneak peek at what the library will look like after its long awaited expansion. Such an exciting prospect!
A great big shout out goes out to librarians for putting on such a fine event.
Jules Hathaway
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Perfect Mother
Ready for an adult mystery? Aimee Malloy's The Perfect Mother blends a captivating narrative with spot on social commentary.
They're the May Mothers, a cadre of new moms who gave birth in the same month, brought together by a questionnaire. Meeting at first on line and then in person, they share their hopes and fears in the new, unpredictable worlds of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
Many members come and go. But there's a regular core group. Collette is an author not writing under her own name. She's ghosting the sequel to the memoir of an egotistical politician. Although the original was hot, the sequel isn't getting off the ground. Nell is returning from maternity leave to her high pressure career in publishing. She's intent on keeping a secret from her past hidden. Francine is married to an architect who left his established firm in Tennessee to start a private practice in New York. When a big contract falls through they aren't sure how they'll manage.
When the moms plan a Fourth of July bar trip that trio, concerned about Winnie, a single mom who seems depressed, make sure that she can go. Nell even provides a babysitter.
Unfortunately Winnie comes home to an empty crib and a sleeping babysitter. So who took baby Midas? Will Winnie ever see him alive again? When the police seem to be nothing but ineptitude the trio takes matters into their own hands.
In addition to delivering a real page turner of a plot The Perfect Mother takes a hard look at the dimensions along which mothers condemn and are encouraged to condemn each other. Breast milk vs formula. Working outside vs staying home. You know—the mommy wars.
On a purrrsonal note, I wore a gold sequined dress today even though the winds were fierce. I'm wearing dresses more because I get so many compliments when I do. Now some of the undergrads are copying me and I'm lovin' it.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow thrift shop and yard sale fashionistas.
Jules Hathaway
They're the May Mothers, a cadre of new moms who gave birth in the same month, brought together by a questionnaire. Meeting at first on line and then in person, they share their hopes and fears in the new, unpredictable worlds of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
Many members come and go. But there's a regular core group. Collette is an author not writing under her own name. She's ghosting the sequel to the memoir of an egotistical politician. Although the original was hot, the sequel isn't getting off the ground. Nell is returning from maternity leave to her high pressure career in publishing. She's intent on keeping a secret from her past hidden. Francine is married to an architect who left his established firm in Tennessee to start a private practice in New York. When a big contract falls through they aren't sure how they'll manage.
When the moms plan a Fourth of July bar trip that trio, concerned about Winnie, a single mom who seems depressed, make sure that she can go. Nell even provides a babysitter.
Unfortunately Winnie comes home to an empty crib and a sleeping babysitter. So who took baby Midas? Will Winnie ever see him alive again? When the police seem to be nothing but ineptitude the trio takes matters into their own hands.
In addition to delivering a real page turner of a plot The Perfect Mother takes a hard look at the dimensions along which mothers condemn and are encouraged to condemn each other. Breast milk vs formula. Working outside vs staying home. You know—the mommy wars.
On a purrrsonal note, I wore a gold sequined dress today even though the winds were fierce. I'm wearing dresses more because I get so many compliments when I do. Now some of the undergrads are copying me and I'm lovin' it.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow thrift shop and yard sale fashionistas.
Jules Hathaway
Select (juvenile fiction)
Alex (12), protagonist of Christie Matheson's Select, loves playing soccer. She's been on a team since she was 5 1/2. In the intervening years she's amasses some pretty impressive skills.
One day after a game Alex sees her mother talking to a stranger. He's the coach of Sanfrancisco Select, a prestigious soccer club. He wants her to join, dangling the possibility of a college soccer scholarship. Alex wants to go to college. She knows that her mother, raising two daughters on a low income job, can't make that happen.
When Alex quits her rec league soccer team to become a select her coach tells her not to forget why she loves soccer. On her new team she quickly discovers the reason for this reminder. Playing brings a lot of stress and little pleasure. Her new coach is a sexist who is extremely verbally abusive, not only to his team, bur to woman coaches and referees. And he's never satisfied with his team's performance. Even winning every game they're not good enough. They should have crushed the other team.
Then one day he goes too far.
Unfortunately Select is all too relevant. In today's big money high stakes youth sports world too many coaches forget that their players are children or teens and deserve a developmentally appropriate and enriching experience.
Sports loving kids will enjoy this lively narrative while being reminded of a very important right.
On a purrrsonal note, Maine Day went off really well even though inclement weather drove it inside. The fun activities were conveniently located in the Union.
A great big shout to all who worked so hard to give UMaine students a Maine Day to remember.
Jules Hathaway
One day after a game Alex sees her mother talking to a stranger. He's the coach of Sanfrancisco Select, a prestigious soccer club. He wants her to join, dangling the possibility of a college soccer scholarship. Alex wants to go to college. She knows that her mother, raising two daughters on a low income job, can't make that happen.
When Alex quits her rec league soccer team to become a select her coach tells her not to forget why she loves soccer. On her new team she quickly discovers the reason for this reminder. Playing brings a lot of stress and little pleasure. Her new coach is a sexist who is extremely verbally abusive, not only to his team, bur to woman coaches and referees. And he's never satisfied with his team's performance. Even winning every game they're not good enough. They should have crushed the other team.
Then one day he goes too far.
Unfortunately Select is all too relevant. In today's big money high stakes youth sports world too many coaches forget that their players are children or teens and deserve a developmentally appropriate and enriching experience.
Sports loving kids will enjoy this lively narrative while being reminded of a very important right.
On a purrrsonal note, Maine Day went off really well even though inclement weather drove it inside. The fun activities were conveniently located in the Union.
A great big shout to all who worked so hard to give UMaine students a Maine Day to remember.
Jules Hathaway
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Ruby Lost and Found
Ruby (13) was especially close to her Ye-Ye (grandfather). He had so many ways of making their time together special like their frequent trips to their favorite bakery for egg tarts and coconut bread and their elaborate scavenger hunts. Now he is gone and she's missing him terribly. She's also missing her two best friends—one who has moved 3000 miles away and one who is still physically present but switching her friendship loyalties.
As summer vacation begins Ruby has served a two week detention for being caught off campus during school hours. Her parents have deemed her untrustworthy and decided that during the week days while they work, she'll stay with her Nai-Nai (grandmother) who hangs out at a senior rec center. She's sure it will be a long, boring summer…
…until it isn't. Ruby starts developing strong feelings for Nai-Nai and her chums. The senior center turns out to be more fun than she expected. There's even a boy her age with friendship potential who goes with his grandmother. But she's in for two cruel changes. She's noticing that Nai-Nai is experiencing moments of confusion where she forgets people's names, misplaces things, and even gets lost in the city she's lived in for decades. And after over half a century in business the beloved bakery will be shutting down.
Big sister, Viv, is filling her last summer before college with fun and friends. And their parents, preoccupied with starting their own business, are clueless.
Christina Li's Ruby Lost and Found is pitch perfect for its target demographic, kids who are about to be hit with a whole lot of change which often does include loss. And it has the potential to be especially helpful for those who are seeing the frightening and confusing signs of dementia in their own beloved grandparents.
On a purrrsonal note, wouldn't you know it! The picture perfect weather we started the week with has turned ugly just in time for Maine Day, the day of volunteering and free barbecue and all kinds of activities UMaine students look forward to just about all year.
A great big shout out goes to the folks running this MAJOR event.
Jules Hathaway
As summer vacation begins Ruby has served a two week detention for being caught off campus during school hours. Her parents have deemed her untrustworthy and decided that during the week days while they work, she'll stay with her Nai-Nai (grandmother) who hangs out at a senior rec center. She's sure it will be a long, boring summer…
…until it isn't. Ruby starts developing strong feelings for Nai-Nai and her chums. The senior center turns out to be more fun than she expected. There's even a boy her age with friendship potential who goes with his grandmother. But she's in for two cruel changes. She's noticing that Nai-Nai is experiencing moments of confusion where she forgets people's names, misplaces things, and even gets lost in the city she's lived in for decades. And after over half a century in business the beloved bakery will be shutting down.
Big sister, Viv, is filling her last summer before college with fun and friends. And their parents, preoccupied with starting their own business, are clueless.
Christina Li's Ruby Lost and Found is pitch perfect for its target demographic, kids who are about to be hit with a whole lot of change which often does include loss. And it has the potential to be especially helpful for those who are seeing the frightening and confusing signs of dementia in their own beloved grandparents.
On a purrrsonal note, wouldn't you know it! The picture perfect weather we started the week with has turned ugly just in time for Maine Day, the day of volunteering and free barbecue and all kinds of activities UMaine students look forward to just about all year.
A great big shout out goes to the folks running this MAJOR event.
Jules Hathaway
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The Weight Of Blood
A couple of years ago I'd rave reviewed Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight Of Blood. I Remember thinking it sorta reminded me of Carrie and wasn't surprised when she cited Stephen King as one of her biggest inspirations. When I brought the book back to the library I didn't plan on revisiting it. Certainly not this soon. But two things happened. First I learned that this year Carrie turns 50. Then I was reading in the juvenile wing of the Orono Public Library while waiting for a friend to show up. Looking to the side, I saw Maddy (Jackson's Carrie figure) covered in white paint and blood looking dazed on the cover of her book. Probably coincidence, but I saw an imperative for rereading and added it to my stack of inter library loans.
I am really am glad I did, this time oriented to seeing the parallels between the two books rather than noticing a resemblance in passing. Both books have a central figure who yearns to be accepted by the other teens and has the chances of achieving this modest success of a snowball in Hell. Each is being raised by a domineering parent who sees her as deeply flawed. Physical characteristics come to represent something larger. Carrie's breasts, referred to her mother as dirty pillows, stand for sexuality; Maddy's hair, which her father is constantly straightening, stands for race. In both a very oppressive fundamentalist brand of Christianity is a dominant influence. Both are sent to school with a wardrobe and mindset guaranteed to alienate peers. And in both the prom, the chance for one night of peer acceptance, is warped into a truly horrific event.
Has half a century made a difference? Yes and no. Technologies have advanced plenty just as they have in real life. But the hatred and fear of difference burns just as brightly in the hearts of many of our fellow citizens.
Interesting difference: While Carrie is seen as adult fiction The Weight Of Blood is shelved under YA. I wonder why. Any ideas?
If you like your horror novels based on a keen understanding of human nature both are very good options. It's been way too long since I've picked up Carrie so I'm adding that to my summer reading list.
On a purrrsonal note, I was waiting for Diane and a few others. We met up to distribute flyers about Orono Community Garden and a new food cupboard organized by Orono Health Association to the residents of the two housing complexes for older people.
A great big shout out goes out to the Community Garden's new partner, Food and Medicine. I'm a big fan of their philosophy and greatly looking forward to working with them.
Jules Hathaway
I am really am glad I did, this time oriented to seeing the parallels between the two books rather than noticing a resemblance in passing. Both books have a central figure who yearns to be accepted by the other teens and has the chances of achieving this modest success of a snowball in Hell. Each is being raised by a domineering parent who sees her as deeply flawed. Physical characteristics come to represent something larger. Carrie's breasts, referred to her mother as dirty pillows, stand for sexuality; Maddy's hair, which her father is constantly straightening, stands for race. In both a very oppressive fundamentalist brand of Christianity is a dominant influence. Both are sent to school with a wardrobe and mindset guaranteed to alienate peers. And in both the prom, the chance for one night of peer acceptance, is warped into a truly horrific event.
Has half a century made a difference? Yes and no. Technologies have advanced plenty just as they have in real life. But the hatred and fear of difference burns just as brightly in the hearts of many of our fellow citizens.
Interesting difference: While Carrie is seen as adult fiction The Weight Of Blood is shelved under YA. I wonder why. Any ideas?
If you like your horror novels based on a keen understanding of human nature both are very good options. It's been way too long since I've picked up Carrie so I'm adding that to my summer reading list.
On a purrrsonal note, I was waiting for Diane and a few others. We met up to distribute flyers about Orono Community Garden and a new food cupboard organized by Orono Health Association to the residents of the two housing complexes for older people.
A great big shout out goes out to the Community Garden's new partner, Food and Medicine. I'm a big fan of their philosophy and greatly looking forward to working with them.
Jules Hathaway
Saturday, April 20, 2024
A Work In Progress (juvenile fiction)
When we think of victims of fat shaming we usually visualize teenage girls. We rarely think of younger boys. That's why Jarrett Lerner's A Work In Progress is such an important contribution to juvenile literature.
"Fat people
are never heroes.
If they get
to be anything
at all
fat people
are the stupid sidekicks."
Ever since he was first taunted about his size in fourth grade Will has internalized a fat identity. He's destroyed all his clothes except the baggiest garments. He tries to make himself as invisible as possible—feeling a sense of shame, of guilt, of not fitting in
Three years later Will is in a school full of skinny peers and thin teachers. His clueless parents encourage him to put himself out there. They suggest things like starting a club. Will is sure following their advice would be merely a waste of time. He's sure that the other kids, including the girl he has a crush on, can't see beyond the fat.
But what if he can slim down? Eating less is hard at first. But as it becomes easier Will takes food limitations to dangerous extremes.
The best thing about the book is that it's very visceral. The combination of well chosen words and black and white drawings gives the reader a real sense of what will is thinking and feeling.
On a purrrsonal note, in Mind Spa we got to paint on old 45 records. I came up with some flower designs I was really proud of. People were telling me beautiful and calling me an artist. And to think that less than 7 months ago I couldn't hold a pencil with my right hand!
Agreat big shout out goes out to the amazing Mind Spa crew.
Jules Hathaway
"Fat people
are never heroes.
If they get
to be anything
at all
fat people
are the stupid sidekicks."
Ever since he was first taunted about his size in fourth grade Will has internalized a fat identity. He's destroyed all his clothes except the baggiest garments. He tries to make himself as invisible as possible—feeling a sense of shame, of guilt, of not fitting in
Three years later Will is in a school full of skinny peers and thin teachers. His clueless parents encourage him to put himself out there. They suggest things like starting a club. Will is sure following their advice would be merely a waste of time. He's sure that the other kids, including the girl he has a crush on, can't see beyond the fat.
But what if he can slim down? Eating less is hard at first. But as it becomes easier Will takes food limitations to dangerous extremes.
The best thing about the book is that it's very visceral. The combination of well chosen words and black and white drawings gives the reader a real sense of what will is thinking and feeling.
On a purrrsonal note, in Mind Spa we got to paint on old 45 records. I came up with some flower designs I was really proud of. People were telling me beautiful and calling me an artist. And to think that less than 7 months ago I couldn't hold a pencil with my right hand!
Agreat big shout out goes out to the amazing Mind Spa crew.
Jules Hathaway
Friday, April 19, 2024
Ginny Off The Map (juvenile fiction)
As a member of a military family Ginny, protagonist of Caroline Hickey's Ginny Off The Map, is used to frequent moves. Whenever her father is reassigned they have to start over in a new town or city. As she finishes fifth grade her family is all packed—ready for another relocation. Moves are easier for her big sister, Allie, who has an easier time making new friends. But as long as Ginny has her dad she can cope.
Only she won't have him to help her settle into the new neighborhood. He's been assigned last minute to a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Ginny is a STEM magnet school student with a passion for geography. She's a big fan of Marie Tharp, the scientist who first mapped the Atlantic Ocean floor and proved the theory of continental drift. She constantly aggravates Allie with the seemingly inexhaustible supply of geography facts that she finds fascinating. Before he leaves her father enrolls her in a geography camp near her new home so she'll have at least one thing to look forward to.
On what's supposed to be the first day of geography camp Ginny learns that it's been been cancelled. Her mother enrolls her in a jewelry making class in which she has no interest. Meanwhile the kids in their new neighborhood are gravitating to Allie and ignoring her. She feels left out and lonely.
And she's very anxious about her dad being in a war zone.
How does a kid adjust to too many challenges without her most trusted friend there to help her navigate them? Ginny Off The Map is perfect for the many kids who are in that situation.
On a personal note my American Community College is over. There's still a week of classes but Jim wisely reserved the last day as a make up for in case too many classes got cancelled by snow days. It was a really awesome class. It was truly collaborative so we could learn from each other and even tell Jim a thing or two. And we had insightful guest speakers almost every week.
A great big shout out goes out to my classmates, Jim, and the guest speakers.
Jules Hathaway
Only she won't have him to help her settle into the new neighborhood. He's been assigned last minute to a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Ginny is a STEM magnet school student with a passion for geography. She's a big fan of Marie Tharp, the scientist who first mapped the Atlantic Ocean floor and proved the theory of continental drift. She constantly aggravates Allie with the seemingly inexhaustible supply of geography facts that she finds fascinating. Before he leaves her father enrolls her in a geography camp near her new home so she'll have at least one thing to look forward to.
On what's supposed to be the first day of geography camp Ginny learns that it's been been cancelled. Her mother enrolls her in a jewelry making class in which she has no interest. Meanwhile the kids in their new neighborhood are gravitating to Allie and ignoring her. She feels left out and lonely.
And she's very anxious about her dad being in a war zone.
How does a kid adjust to too many challenges without her most trusted friend there to help her navigate them? Ginny Off The Map is perfect for the many kids who are in that situation.
On a personal note my American Community College is over. There's still a week of classes but Jim wisely reserved the last day as a make up for in case too many classes got cancelled by snow days. It was a really awesome class. It was truly collaborative so we could learn from each other and even tell Jim a thing or two. And we had insightful guest speakers almost every week.
A great big shout out goes out to my classmates, Jim, and the guest speakers.
Jules Hathaway
The Reformatory
Tananarive Due's The Reformatory is the kind of masterpiece Stephan King could write if he was a Black woman. It skillfully blends two genres of horrors: the horrors of the supernatural, the haints, and the spaces they inhabit and the horror created by racist whites in post WWII Florida. The stuff the Chamber of Commerce types positioning the Sunshine State as a vacation and retirement paradise never got to mentioning. It also shows the humanity and dignity of those despised and degraded in every way possible.
Robert is a twelve-year-old who has effectively lost both of his parents, although only his mother to death. His father is a union organizer who aggravated the rich and powerful whites in his town. And they knew how to enlist the lesser whites: claim that he raped a white woman. He barely managed to escape alive and can't return to his children because of the people who would turn out for a lynching party if he as much as set foot in the ironically named Gracetown. All he has left for immediate family is his older sister, Gloria.
One day Robert and Gloria are accosted by Lyle McCormack, the teenage son of the wealthiest and most powerful farmer in town. When Lyle asks why they don't come to the swimming hole any more Robert senses a decidedly sinister undertone to this seemingly casual question, an intuition confirmed when Lyle starts showing a far from innocent interest in Gloria.
"He didn't want Lyle McCormack's hand and eyes on his sister a breath longer. He squeezed himself between Lyle and Gloria.
'Leave her be' Robert said."
When the fully grown Lyle tries to push him out of the way Robert, a scrawny preteen kicks him in the knee.
What under most circumstances would be written off as boys being boys results in a deputy arriving at Robert and Gloria's shack with handcuffs. In a farce of a trial without lawyers or a jury Robert is sentenced to six months in Gracetown School for Boys, a place where boys, some much younger than Robert, are starved, overworked, abused in every way possible, and hunted down and killed if they try to escape.
Gloria and Miz Lottie, the woman their father asked to look after them, start franticly searching for a way for a way to win Robert's freedom. They know as horrific as six months is, his sentence will likely be extended, the authorities using the boy as bait to lure his father back to where they can Lynch him. After pursuing all legal avenues in vain they realize they'll have to break him out.
Meanwhile Robert is experiencing all the horror the reformatory has to offer. His first night there he is beaten so severely he has to go to the infirmary. But his talent for seeing ghosts catches the attention of the very evil warden. The place houses more of the undead—the haints—than the living. They're the boys whose lives were brutally ended. Warden Haddock decides Robert will be his key weapon in ridding the place of these very uneasy spirits.
Due maintains the suspense for over 500 pages. True horror lovers will be hooked right from the beginning.
Fortunately this is not her first rodeo. She has a bunch of previous books. Lucky for you they're now all on my reading list.
On a personal note, I had a really good check up. Even my blood pressure is right where it should be. The only red flag is that my weight is down to 98.
A great big shout out goes out to the friends who will help me figure out how to stop losing weight while cutting down on sodium, fats, sugar, and caffeine.
Jules Hathaway
Robert is a twelve-year-old who has effectively lost both of his parents, although only his mother to death. His father is a union organizer who aggravated the rich and powerful whites in his town. And they knew how to enlist the lesser whites: claim that he raped a white woman. He barely managed to escape alive and can't return to his children because of the people who would turn out for a lynching party if he as much as set foot in the ironically named Gracetown. All he has left for immediate family is his older sister, Gloria.
One day Robert and Gloria are accosted by Lyle McCormack, the teenage son of the wealthiest and most powerful farmer in town. When Lyle asks why they don't come to the swimming hole any more Robert senses a decidedly sinister undertone to this seemingly casual question, an intuition confirmed when Lyle starts showing a far from innocent interest in Gloria.
"He didn't want Lyle McCormack's hand and eyes on his sister a breath longer. He squeezed himself between Lyle and Gloria.
'Leave her be' Robert said."
When the fully grown Lyle tries to push him out of the way Robert, a scrawny preteen kicks him in the knee.
What under most circumstances would be written off as boys being boys results in a deputy arriving at Robert and Gloria's shack with handcuffs. In a farce of a trial without lawyers or a jury Robert is sentenced to six months in Gracetown School for Boys, a place where boys, some much younger than Robert, are starved, overworked, abused in every way possible, and hunted down and killed if they try to escape.
Gloria and Miz Lottie, the woman their father asked to look after them, start franticly searching for a way for a way to win Robert's freedom. They know as horrific as six months is, his sentence will likely be extended, the authorities using the boy as bait to lure his father back to where they can Lynch him. After pursuing all legal avenues in vain they realize they'll have to break him out.
Meanwhile Robert is experiencing all the horror the reformatory has to offer. His first night there he is beaten so severely he has to go to the infirmary. But his talent for seeing ghosts catches the attention of the very evil warden. The place houses more of the undead—the haints—than the living. They're the boys whose lives were brutally ended. Warden Haddock decides Robert will be his key weapon in ridding the place of these very uneasy spirits.
Due maintains the suspense for over 500 pages. True horror lovers will be hooked right from the beginning.
Fortunately this is not her first rodeo. She has a bunch of previous books. Lucky for you they're now all on my reading list.
On a personal note, I had a really good check up. Even my blood pressure is right where it should be. The only red flag is that my weight is down to 98.
A great big shout out goes out to the friends who will help me figure out how to stop losing weight while cutting down on sodium, fats, sugar, and caffeine.
Jules Hathaway
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Caught In A Bad Fauxmance (YA)
At the beginning of Elle Gonzalez Rose's Caught In A Bad Fauxmance Devin is headed with his siblings, his dad, his dad's girlfriend, and her son to spend winter break at the family's lakeside cabin. It's the first time they're going there in four years, the first time since his mother died.
Devin's family and the clan next door, the seo-Cookes, have years of bad blood between them. The Seo-Cookes had gotten wealthy off of a won on a bet robot Devin's father had invented. The animosity had been rekindled every year at the Lake Andreas Winter Games, a local competition that raises money for the community. The Seo-Cookes won so consistently the Baez clan (Devin's family) is sure it's through cheating.
This year the Seo-Cookes want to renew the competition. They have an offer the Baezes, who are financially struggling, can't refuse. If the Baezes win they'll pay off the rest of their mortgage. But if the Seo-Cookes win the Baezes will have to sell them their beloved cottage which they'll raze.
This is all out war. But while Maya, Devin's vengeance-minded twin, is whipping the family into shape to win, an unexpected plot twist is developing. Julian Seo-Cooke wants Devin to pretend to be his boyfriend so he can escape from a stalkerish ex.
While Julian made his proposal Maya was eavesdropping. She's sure this fauxmance will give Devin the chance to spy on the Seo-Cookes and learn their secrets and weaknesses…
…unless the romance turns real. And what are the chances of that happening?
On a purrrsonal note, Last weekend was mostly about writing a big paper for my American Community College class. But I also went to Governors for breakfast and on a road trip with Eugene. I found three cat shirts at the Belfast Goodwill. I am SO looking forward to yard sale season.
Jules Hathaway
Devin's family and the clan next door, the seo-Cookes, have years of bad blood between them. The Seo-Cookes had gotten wealthy off of a won on a bet robot Devin's father had invented. The animosity had been rekindled every year at the Lake Andreas Winter Games, a local competition that raises money for the community. The Seo-Cookes won so consistently the Baez clan (Devin's family) is sure it's through cheating.
This year the Seo-Cookes want to renew the competition. They have an offer the Baezes, who are financially struggling, can't refuse. If the Baezes win they'll pay off the rest of their mortgage. But if the Seo-Cookes win the Baezes will have to sell them their beloved cottage which they'll raze.
This is all out war. But while Maya, Devin's vengeance-minded twin, is whipping the family into shape to win, an unexpected plot twist is developing. Julian Seo-Cooke wants Devin to pretend to be his boyfriend so he can escape from a stalkerish ex.
While Julian made his proposal Maya was eavesdropping. She's sure this fauxmance will give Devin the chance to spy on the Seo-Cookes and learn their secrets and weaknesses…
…unless the romance turns real. And what are the chances of that happening?
On a purrrsonal note, Last weekend was mostly about writing a big paper for my American Community College class. But I also went to Governors for breakfast and on a road trip with Eugene. I found three cat shirts at the Belfast Goodwill. I am SO looking forward to yard sale season.
Jules Hathaway
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen (YA)
Although it's summer and most teens are on vacation Hoodie, protagonist of Isaac Blum's The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, is in school learning about Jewish law. When he looks out a window he sees a girl dancing. Although he isn't supposed to look at gentile girls, he ends up being attracted to Anna-Marie. He starts a conversation with her. It's not long before they're friends, maybe with potential for more.
What can go wrong?
Hoodie is a member of a tight knit Orthodox Jewish community. His people are very observant. He and his family and a large part of their congregation have just moved into the largely non Jewish town of Tregaron. They've just opened a new synagogue and a new school. Hoodie's father is trying to understand why it's taking so long for him to get a permit to build an apartment complex to serve as affordable housing for less affluent congregation members who have been left behind.
Anna-Marie's mother is the reason. Many people in the town are very unhappy about the influx of Orthodox Jews. They claim that the new residents are going to ruin their way of life. They're putting up lawn signs that say "PROTECT TREGARON'S CHARACTER. SAY 'NO' TO DEVELOPMENT." And Anna-Marie's mother, the mayor, is leading the campaign.
An act of antisemitic violence deepens the split. The members of Hoodie's community including his family see Hoodie as a traitor and ostracize him.
With antisemitism on the rise The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is a very timely read for the YA set.
On a purrrsonal note, my advisor won a Faculty Mentor Impact award. I nominated it her for it and must have written convincingly. She is very pleased with it and I am so glad I had a perfect opportunity to show my gratitude for all she's done for me. The awards luncheon was really special.
A great big shout out goes out to Leah, the best advisor EVAH!!!
Jules Hathaway
What can go wrong?
Hoodie is a member of a tight knit Orthodox Jewish community. His people are very observant. He and his family and a large part of their congregation have just moved into the largely non Jewish town of Tregaron. They've just opened a new synagogue and a new school. Hoodie's father is trying to understand why it's taking so long for him to get a permit to build an apartment complex to serve as affordable housing for less affluent congregation members who have been left behind.
Anna-Marie's mother is the reason. Many people in the town are very unhappy about the influx of Orthodox Jews. They claim that the new residents are going to ruin their way of life. They're putting up lawn signs that say "PROTECT TREGARON'S CHARACTER. SAY 'NO' TO DEVELOPMENT." And Anna-Marie's mother, the mayor, is leading the campaign.
An act of antisemitic violence deepens the split. The members of Hoodie's community including his family see Hoodie as a traitor and ostracize him.
With antisemitism on the rise The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is a very timely read for the YA set.
On a purrrsonal note, my advisor won a Faculty Mentor Impact award. I nominated it her for it and must have written convincingly. She is very pleased with it and I am so glad I had a perfect opportunity to show my gratitude for all she's done for me. The awards luncheon was really special.
A great big shout out goes out to Leah, the best advisor EVAH!!!
Jules Hathaway
The Year We Fell Apart (YA)
Unlike most of the books I review I didn't track down Emily Martin's The Year We Fell Apart by interlibrary loan or spot it on Orono Public Library's new books section. It was what I call a truly fortuitous find. A student group was selling books to raise money for a good cause. It's a slightly older book (2016). So it might not be in stores around you. But I bet you could find a copy on eBay or inter library loan. Believe me it's well worth the effort.
Harper, Cory, and Declan are next door neighbors and long time best friends. They built a tree house when they were eleven that was their hangout. But as sometimes happens with trios, Harper and Declan have become more than friends. They're exploring all the dimensions of their new relationship…
…when Declan's father sends him away to boarding school at the beginning of their junior year. The winter of his sophomore year his mother died in a car accident, killed by a drunk driver. His father claims that it's because he has to travel a lot for work. He doesn't want him home alone for up to a week at a time. But there's a lot more to it than that.
Harper learns that a long distance relationship is a lot harder than she anticipated. Feeling that Declan is slipping away into a world she's never seen, after making a mistake she thinks he won't understand, she preemptively breaks up with him.
Then he returns for the summer. She needs his understanding and support. Her own mother is battling an aggressive form of cancer. But she's also desperate for him not to know about the incident that got her kicked off the swim team and earned her a reputation as a slut.
This deeply engaging coming of age novel sensitively explores the question of whether two confused and hurting people can find the way back to what they once had.
On a purrrsonal note, the second day of the blood drive also went well. The Red Cross collected 136 units. The donors had an awesome time in canteen and were able to take home shirts specially designed for UMaine. And the minions and I made sure nobody fainted.
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who helped make our last blood drive of the school year a great success.
Harper, Cory, and Declan are next door neighbors and long time best friends. They built a tree house when they were eleven that was their hangout. But as sometimes happens with trios, Harper and Declan have become more than friends. They're exploring all the dimensions of their new relationship…
…when Declan's father sends him away to boarding school at the beginning of their junior year. The winter of his sophomore year his mother died in a car accident, killed by a drunk driver. His father claims that it's because he has to travel a lot for work. He doesn't want him home alone for up to a week at a time. But there's a lot more to it than that.
Harper learns that a long distance relationship is a lot harder than she anticipated. Feeling that Declan is slipping away into a world she's never seen, after making a mistake she thinks he won't understand, she preemptively breaks up with him.
Then he returns for the summer. She needs his understanding and support. Her own mother is battling an aggressive form of cancer. But she's also desperate for him not to know about the incident that got her kicked off the swim team and earned her a reputation as a slut.
This deeply engaging coming of age novel sensitively explores the question of whether two confused and hurting people can find the way back to what they once had.
On a purrrsonal note, the second day of the blood drive also went well. The Red Cross collected 136 units. The donors had an awesome time in canteen and were able to take home shirts specially designed for UMaine. And the minions and I made sure nobody fainted.
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who helped make our last blood drive of the school year a great success.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
To Die For (adult nonfiction)
We're now aware of some of the downsides to the popular cheap fast fashion: the environmental pollution, the brutal exploitation of garment workers, and its devastating effects on global South nations.
But did you know that what you wear can be incredibly hazardous to your health?
Don't feel bad if this is news to you. Aden Wicker. Author of To Die For, "had no idea that clothing could make people sick."
Flight attendants were Wicker's coal mine canaries. In 2019 she learned of a lawsuit Delta employees were filing against the company that made their uniforms. As the airline began issuing new uniforms in the 2010s many of their employees began reporting mysterious symptoms—enough that the workers drew connections between the new uniforms and the illnesses (which, of course, the corporation denied).
If you're thinking this has nothing to do with you—you probably aren't a flight attendant—Wicker shows that you couldn't be more wrong. She combines vigorous research with personal anecdotes to show that toxic garments can lead to infertility, genetic damage, auto-immune diseases, and other serious health problems. She hopes that we will all join in the fight for toxin free clothing.
In the meantime she gives us ten protective strategies we can use when clothes shopping including my stand by, buying second hand, and seven legislative changes we should push for.
Who should read this ground breaking book? Just anyone who wears clothes.
On a purrrsonal note I dreaded reading that final chapter, sure that it would be an admonition to only buy only certified environmentally safe clothes which I could never afford and I find boring AF. Fortunately Wicker gives a thumbs up to the gently used garments you find in thrift shops and yard sales. The previous owners probably laundered a lot of the chemicals out. We're almost into my favorite shopping time—yard sale season. From late spring through autumn Eugene and I hit the road just about every weekend on the road stopping at every yard and garage sale we see. And in May I'm working Clean Sweep, the giant yard sale made up of all the stuff students left in the dorms. If I can relearn how to include pictures in this blog I'll share my best finds.
A great big shout out to the people who will be offering reasonably priced treasures on their lawns and in their garages!!!
Jules Hathaway
But did you know that what you wear can be incredibly hazardous to your health?
Don't feel bad if this is news to you. Aden Wicker. Author of To Die For, "had no idea that clothing could make people sick."
Flight attendants were Wicker's coal mine canaries. In 2019 she learned of a lawsuit Delta employees were filing against the company that made their uniforms. As the airline began issuing new uniforms in the 2010s many of their employees began reporting mysterious symptoms—enough that the workers drew connections between the new uniforms and the illnesses (which, of course, the corporation denied).
If you're thinking this has nothing to do with you—you probably aren't a flight attendant—Wicker shows that you couldn't be more wrong. She combines vigorous research with personal anecdotes to show that toxic garments can lead to infertility, genetic damage, auto-immune diseases, and other serious health problems. She hopes that we will all join in the fight for toxin free clothing.
In the meantime she gives us ten protective strategies we can use when clothes shopping including my stand by, buying second hand, and seven legislative changes we should push for.
Who should read this ground breaking book? Just anyone who wears clothes.
On a purrrsonal note I dreaded reading that final chapter, sure that it would be an admonition to only buy only certified environmentally safe clothes which I could never afford and I find boring AF. Fortunately Wicker gives a thumbs up to the gently used garments you find in thrift shops and yard sales. The previous owners probably laundered a lot of the chemicals out. We're almost into my favorite shopping time—yard sale season. From late spring through autumn Eugene and I hit the road just about every weekend on the road stopping at every yard and garage sale we see. And in May I'm working Clean Sweep, the giant yard sale made up of all the stuff students left in the dorms. If I can relearn how to include pictures in this blog I'll share my best finds.
A great big shout out to the people who will be offering reasonably priced treasures on their lawns and in their garages!!!
Jules Hathaway
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Black Folk
Increasingly when we think of the working class we envision angry white supremacists chomping at the bit to run out and vote for Donald Trump. We tend to forget workers of color. Blair LM Kelley seeks to rectify this omission with her Black Folk: The Roots of The Black Working Class.
Kelley brings an unusual perspective to her work. She is not only a distinguished professor and writer, but a proud descendent of working class Blacks. She intersperses broader scholarship with intimate portraits of individual washerwomen, Pullman porters, and postal workers.
These workers faced a daunting battle to earn a living. Although they were technically free following the Civil War, whites made sure their actual lives stayed as much the same as before the war as possible. Black sharecroppers toiled for whites on the same lands they had worked as slaves. Laws were crafted that allowed the arrest and imprisonment of "vagrant" (not working for whites) Blacks and their forced, unpaid labor on white owned farms and businesses. They were barred from almost all jobs with decent pay and working conditions. "Uppity" Blacks who didn't "know their place" faced extreme racial violence.
But the Blacks persisted against incredible odds and made generation to generation progress. Eventually some had jobs that enabled them to own homes and educate their children.
This book is a for sure eye opener. I had no idea how radical washerwomen were. By working in their own homes as businesswomen instead of in the houses and intrusive supervision of individual white families they were more able to set prices and working hours, tend to their own households and children, work collectively, engage in social activism, and protect themselves from rape.
This insightful and thought provoking book is a valuable for public and college and university libraries.
On a purrrsonal note, we're in the middle of the last UMaine blood drive of the academic year. Of course I've been running the canteen. So far, so good: good numbers, happy donors, no fainters. This time we have special shirts designed for UMaine. I'm wearing one as I post this.
A great big shout out goes out to the donors, my fellow volunteers, and the awesome Red Cross nurses.
Kelley brings an unusual perspective to her work. She is not only a distinguished professor and writer, but a proud descendent of working class Blacks. She intersperses broader scholarship with intimate portraits of individual washerwomen, Pullman porters, and postal workers.
These workers faced a daunting battle to earn a living. Although they were technically free following the Civil War, whites made sure their actual lives stayed as much the same as before the war as possible. Black sharecroppers toiled for whites on the same lands they had worked as slaves. Laws were crafted that allowed the arrest and imprisonment of "vagrant" (not working for whites) Blacks and their forced, unpaid labor on white owned farms and businesses. They were barred from almost all jobs with decent pay and working conditions. "Uppity" Blacks who didn't "know their place" faced extreme racial violence.
But the Blacks persisted against incredible odds and made generation to generation progress. Eventually some had jobs that enabled them to own homes and educate their children.
This book is a for sure eye opener. I had no idea how radical washerwomen were. By working in their own homes as businesswomen instead of in the houses and intrusive supervision of individual white families they were more able to set prices and working hours, tend to their own households and children, work collectively, engage in social activism, and protect themselves from rape.
This insightful and thought provoking book is a valuable for public and college and university libraries.
On a purrrsonal note, we're in the middle of the last UMaine blood drive of the academic year. Of course I've been running the canteen. So far, so good: good numbers, happy donors, no fainters. This time we have special shirts designed for UMaine. I'm wearing one as I post this.
A great big shout out goes out to the donors, my fellow volunteers, and the awesome Red Cross nurses.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
American Whitelash
I clearly remember the night when the 2008 election results were announced. I was in a restaurant transformed for the night into a watch party for volunteers. We were excitedly and anxiously watching the numbers come in. When Obama was announced the winner the room erupted in cheers. We were ecstatic, sure that a wonderful post racial America was dawning. I mean we'd just elected a Black man to the nation's highest office. We were forgetting that the mood in other watch parties was far from jubilant. Many people were seeing Obama's win as an end to the world, or at least the nation, as they knew it and determined to remedy this wrong turn by all means necessary—legal or otherwise.
That's the premise behind Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery's American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and The Cost of Progress. Lowery claims that the wave of racist violence following Obama's election was not a temporary aberration. Rather this reaction to change by people deeply threatened by it, which probably helped set the stage for a Trump presidency, was totally predictable and as American as apple pie. As he explains their fears and grievances he contextualizes them within the history of a nation in which any rights gained by Black have triggered waves of violence on the part of white supremacists.
He also takes a deep, compassionate look at several of these acts that didn't make national new or go viral on the internet, showing their devastating impact on victims and their families and communities These were the chapters I found most compelling.
Lowery warns us there will be serious consequences if America doesn't change this brutal pattern. He knows no one book can make this happen. But he hopes American Whitelash can be the spark to kindle many overdue and very necessary conversations.
On a purrrsonal note, last Thursday we had another blizzard. This time the UMaine mood was much more jubilant because the prez declared a SNOW DAY!!!
A great big shout out goes out to Wesley Lowery for speaking truth to power.
Jules Hathaway
That's the premise behind Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery's American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and The Cost of Progress. Lowery claims that the wave of racist violence following Obama's election was not a temporary aberration. Rather this reaction to change by people deeply threatened by it, which probably helped set the stage for a Trump presidency, was totally predictable and as American as apple pie. As he explains their fears and grievances he contextualizes them within the history of a nation in which any rights gained by Black have triggered waves of violence on the part of white supremacists.
He also takes a deep, compassionate look at several of these acts that didn't make national new or go viral on the internet, showing their devastating impact on victims and their families and communities These were the chapters I found most compelling.
Lowery warns us there will be serious consequences if America doesn't change this brutal pattern. He knows no one book can make this happen. But he hopes American Whitelash can be the spark to kindle many overdue and very necessary conversations.
On a purrrsonal note, last Thursday we had another blizzard. This time the UMaine mood was much more jubilant because the prez declared a SNOW DAY!!!
A great big shout out goes out to Wesley Lowery for speaking truth to power.
Jules Hathaway
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Curlfriends: New In Town
"If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be? An athlete? How about the most popular girl in school? My name is Charlie Harper. I'm twelve years old and today is my first day of middle school.
Charlie, protagonist of Sharee Millar's juvenile graphic novel, Curlfriends: New In Town, is a seasoned veteran of first days. Her dad has been in the Air Force all her life. Constantly having to make new friends and try to fit in hasn't been easy for her. And with this move the stakes are higher. Her dad is finally out of the Air Force and settling the family down in the town where he grew up. The first impression Charlie makes is going to shape her life for quite awhile.
But Charlie has a plan. She's spent the summer curating her wardrobe and persona—making sure there's nothing too babyish in either, ditching garments and interests that don't fit with her new image.
When she meets three potential friends she busies herself with being mature and cool enough to keep their interest. When they go thrift shopping she consults a smuggled in fashion magazine instead of her girls. She makes herself sick drinking boba tea rather that admitting she can't drink it. Before they come to her house she crams her stuffed animals and other "childish" things into her closet.
But what if they'd like her for her true self?
Miller takes a potentially shop worn message and makes it sparkle.
And this is the first volume in a series that will engage and captivate the many series loving readers in its target demographic.
On a purrrsonal note, I can really relate. I had to do my high school years in five different schools. I still have nightmares of standing in a school cafeteria holding a tray and searching desperately for a friendly face.
A great big shout out to new girls and boys in schools and the kind classmates who reach out to them.
Jules Hathaway
Charlie, protagonist of Sharee Millar's juvenile graphic novel, Curlfriends: New In Town, is a seasoned veteran of first days. Her dad has been in the Air Force all her life. Constantly having to make new friends and try to fit in hasn't been easy for her. And with this move the stakes are higher. Her dad is finally out of the Air Force and settling the family down in the town where he grew up. The first impression Charlie makes is going to shape her life for quite awhile.
But Charlie has a plan. She's spent the summer curating her wardrobe and persona—making sure there's nothing too babyish in either, ditching garments and interests that don't fit with her new image.
When she meets three potential friends she busies herself with being mature and cool enough to keep their interest. When they go thrift shopping she consults a smuggled in fashion magazine instead of her girls. She makes herself sick drinking boba tea rather that admitting she can't drink it. Before they come to her house she crams her stuffed animals and other "childish" things into her closet.
But what if they'd like her for her true self?
Miller takes a potentially shop worn message and makes it sparkle.
And this is the first volume in a series that will engage and captivate the many series loving readers in its target demographic.
On a purrrsonal note, I can really relate. I had to do my high school years in five different schools. I still have nightmares of standing in a school cafeteria holding a tray and searching desperately for a friendly face.
A great big shout out to new girls and boys in schools and the kind classmates who reach out to them.
Jules Hathaway
This Country
If you're in the mood for a beautiful, very down to earth (in more ways than one), candid, and thought provoking adult graphic memoir, you can't do better than Navied Mahdavian's This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America. Navied and his wife, Emilie, had been living in the San Francisco Bay Area but forced to move further and further out due to rising costs. He really wanted to be a cartoonist. But days spent teaching and driving increasingly long distances left him too exhausted to draw. Having visited rural Idaho the summer before, they ditch city life for six acres in its most remote territory.
Real rural living is a novel experience for the couple. They get the kind of cold weather that makes it hard to start the diesel engines that power both their vehicles. The wood stove, their only source of heat, is tricky to keep up with. When it comes to actually raising their own food eat they have a lot to learn. But they are befriended by kind and friendly neighbors. They fall in love with the natural beauty of the land and its creatures. Without light pollution they can see whole constellations of stars.
In their hearts Navied and Emilie know they're outsiders. He's a Middle Eastern American. They're both liberals and vegetarians. Their neighbors are proud Trump voters, hunters, and conspiracy theory adherents who see nothing wrong in whites using the n word. When a blessed event that they'd just about given up on happens Navied and Emilie must do some real soul searching in deciding where they want their baby to grow up.
On a purrrsonal note, I had an amazing Wednesday. Student Wellness had free journals and lots of beautiful stickers to decorate them with. I decorated both covers of the one and the front of another and they came out so gorgeous. People admired them and I was so proud. And the Commuter Lounge had free Chinese food—all veggies and rice with only thin beef slivers—that was such a wonderful break from Greek yogurt and fruit.
A great shout out goes out to all who had a part in giving me such an amazing day.
Jules Hathaway
Real rural living is a novel experience for the couple. They get the kind of cold weather that makes it hard to start the diesel engines that power both their vehicles. The wood stove, their only source of heat, is tricky to keep up with. When it comes to actually raising their own food eat they have a lot to learn. But they are befriended by kind and friendly neighbors. They fall in love with the natural beauty of the land and its creatures. Without light pollution they can see whole constellations of stars.
In their hearts Navied and Emilie know they're outsiders. He's a Middle Eastern American. They're both liberals and vegetarians. Their neighbors are proud Trump voters, hunters, and conspiracy theory adherents who see nothing wrong in whites using the n word. When a blessed event that they'd just about given up on happens Navied and Emilie must do some real soul searching in deciding where they want their baby to grow up.
On a purrrsonal note, I had an amazing Wednesday. Student Wellness had free journals and lots of beautiful stickers to decorate them with. I decorated both covers of the one and the front of another and they came out so gorgeous. People admired them and I was so proud. And the Commuter Lounge had free Chinese food—all veggies and rice with only thin beef slivers—that was such a wonderful break from Greek yogurt and fruit.
A great shout out goes out to all who had a part in giving me such an amazing day.
Jules Hathaway
Excuse Me Why I Ugly Cry
I hated reaching the end of Joya Goffney's Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry because she's made her protagonist, Quinn, really come to life in my mind. I wanted to know what happened next. That is a sign of a truly engaging narrative.
Quinn, a high school senior, doesn't deal with fears and insecurities. She outsources them by writing them down in a journal of lists. She carries it everywhere. Then after a group project meeting at her house she realizes it's missing, taken by mistake by a classmate, Carter, instead of his own. He promises to bring it to school. But by the time she meets up with him he's lost it.
Quinn imagines (in the form of a list of course) places her journal might be. They don't include in the hands of someone she knows who has an agenda. The mystery person has a condition for returning it. She must complete all the items on her To Do Before I Graduate list. In fact if she doesn't her whole journal will go public.
But this isn't a simple list like my list for my things to do before I get my masters degree. This is a list of things she's most afraid to do. Tell her parents she didn't get into Columbia. That's been their dream for her all her life. She'd even created a fake acceptance letter and they've boasted to all their friends. Visit Grandma Hattie. In other words see a beloved relative who has always been strong diminished by Alzheimers. And there are five more. Now Quinn is between a rock and a hard place. She's terrified of attempting even one. But unless she does all seven her most tightly held secrets will be revealed.
Meanwhile Carter (who has a crush on her) wants to prove to her that he didn't keep the journal and lie about losing it. He offers to be her wingman. And she doesn't have much time to do the seemingly impossible.
Powered by unpredictable but very realistic twists and turns, Excuse Me Why I Ugly Cry is a real roller-coaster of a read, one that will have you captivated right through to the final page.
On a purrrsonal note, I created my list when I was in the hospital able to do very little on my own. I decided since I have to go an extra year it will be spectacular, a fireworks grand finale to my education. I decided on a drag club because drag is beloved on the UMaine campus. I just started recruiting this past week and already have enough members for a school organization. There are other items on my list that will be revealed in due time.
A great shout out goes out to already committed and future club members.
Jules Hathaway aka Gotta Believe We're Magic
Quinn, a high school senior, doesn't deal with fears and insecurities. She outsources them by writing them down in a journal of lists. She carries it everywhere. Then after a group project meeting at her house she realizes it's missing, taken by mistake by a classmate, Carter, instead of his own. He promises to bring it to school. But by the time she meets up with him he's lost it.
Quinn imagines (in the form of a list of course) places her journal might be. They don't include in the hands of someone she knows who has an agenda. The mystery person has a condition for returning it. She must complete all the items on her To Do Before I Graduate list. In fact if she doesn't her whole journal will go public.
But this isn't a simple list like my list for my things to do before I get my masters degree. This is a list of things she's most afraid to do. Tell her parents she didn't get into Columbia. That's been their dream for her all her life. She'd even created a fake acceptance letter and they've boasted to all their friends. Visit Grandma Hattie. In other words see a beloved relative who has always been strong diminished by Alzheimers. And there are five more. Now Quinn is between a rock and a hard place. She's terrified of attempting even one. But unless she does all seven her most tightly held secrets will be revealed.
Meanwhile Carter (who has a crush on her) wants to prove to her that he didn't keep the journal and lie about losing it. He offers to be her wingman. And she doesn't have much time to do the seemingly impossible.
Powered by unpredictable but very realistic twists and turns, Excuse Me Why I Ugly Cry is a real roller-coaster of a read, one that will have you captivated right through to the final page.
On a purrrsonal note, I created my list when I was in the hospital able to do very little on my own. I decided since I have to go an extra year it will be spectacular, a fireworks grand finale to my education. I decided on a drag club because drag is beloved on the UMaine campus. I just started recruiting this past week and already have enough members for a school organization. There are other items on my list that will be revealed in due time.
A great shout out goes out to already committed and future club members.
Jules Hathaway aka Gotta Believe We're Magic
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
The 21: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S Government Over Climate Change
Elizabeth Rusch's The 21 is probably the most timely book that's in Orono Public Library. Just like Pandora with her legendary box, when humans started over relying on fossil fuels we unleashed a host of evils on our beautiful planet. It's very likely that you personally have experienced at least one of them. How about extreme weather events? In Maine our blizzards are getting nastier and our heat waves hotter and longer. How about floods, drought, melting ice caps, and rising oceans? How about the increasingly common ever more devastating fires? How about disease carrying invertebrates expanding their territory like those pathogen packing ticks we now have to watch out for in Penobscot County? Even if these and other evils haven't arrived on your doorstep, you won't be immune forever.
The world's youth, knowing how quickly we're speeding toward a global point of irreversibility, are taking matters into their own hands. They're organizing protests and demonstrations and going to court. The 21 are the activists who took on the United States government knowing that it is not only not doing enough to prevent to prevent climate change but is facilitating it by cutting deals with fossil fuel industries, even opening up federal lands for extractive exploitation and knowing that they and the yet unborn are the ones who will face the worst effects of a dystopian future. They claimed that climate change deprived them of fundamental rights up to and including life enshrined in the Constitution. They merely wanted the government to acknowledge this and do something about it. What should have been a slam dunk…
…has been anything but with the government doing everything in its power to derail the case. And it's a truly bipartisan malpractice with presidents from both parties contributing to the damage and denial. The 21 covers this ongoing high stakes battle, bringing it vividly to life. One thing that makes it captivating and engaging is that the youth are beautifully portrayed as individuals. You learn about the very personal losses and ongoing threats climate change has brought into their lives. Levi's beloved home, a barrier island, will most likely be engulfed by rising ocean waters. Nathan was very concerned about the melting permafrost in his home state of Alaska. Jacob's family farm is threatened by drought and forest fires. Fires had made the asthma several worse for several of them. You also learn about their dynamics as a group during the years long legal roller coaster they were engaged in.
When Pandora let the evils out there as one thing left. Hope. With climate change it can't be a passive trusting that someone else will solve the problem hope. And those of who are adults must respect and support youth while NOT leaving the fight to them. We need to join them in the trenches. We made the decisions that brought them into this world. We owe them.
For this reason I recommend The 21 to its target demographic and way beyond. It's a must acquire for school and public libraries.
On a personal note, on Easter Eugene and I took a road trip. At lunch time we went to Burger King which is problematic because of my fat and sodium limits. I actually thought to ask if they had kids' meals. It was quite a relief that they do. Fast food is an occasional treat. Now I can indulge without the guilt.
A great big shout out goes out to my older daughter, Amber, and her husband, Brian, for organizing a climate rally and march at UMaine.ju
Jules Hathaway
The world's youth, knowing how quickly we're speeding toward a global point of irreversibility, are taking matters into their own hands. They're organizing protests and demonstrations and going to court. The 21 are the activists who took on the United States government knowing that it is not only not doing enough to prevent to prevent climate change but is facilitating it by cutting deals with fossil fuel industries, even opening up federal lands for extractive exploitation and knowing that they and the yet unborn are the ones who will face the worst effects of a dystopian future. They claimed that climate change deprived them of fundamental rights up to and including life enshrined in the Constitution. They merely wanted the government to acknowledge this and do something about it. What should have been a slam dunk…
…has been anything but with the government doing everything in its power to derail the case. And it's a truly bipartisan malpractice with presidents from both parties contributing to the damage and denial. The 21 covers this ongoing high stakes battle, bringing it vividly to life. One thing that makes it captivating and engaging is that the youth are beautifully portrayed as individuals. You learn about the very personal losses and ongoing threats climate change has brought into their lives. Levi's beloved home, a barrier island, will most likely be engulfed by rising ocean waters. Nathan was very concerned about the melting permafrost in his home state of Alaska. Jacob's family farm is threatened by drought and forest fires. Fires had made the asthma several worse for several of them. You also learn about their dynamics as a group during the years long legal roller coaster they were engaged in.
When Pandora let the evils out there as one thing left. Hope. With climate change it can't be a passive trusting that someone else will solve the problem hope. And those of who are adults must respect and support youth while NOT leaving the fight to them. We need to join them in the trenches. We made the decisions that brought them into this world. We owe them.
For this reason I recommend The 21 to its target demographic and way beyond. It's a must acquire for school and public libraries.
On a personal note, on Easter Eugene and I took a road trip. At lunch time we went to Burger King which is problematic because of my fat and sodium limits. I actually thought to ask if they had kids' meals. It was quite a relief that they do. Fast food is an occasional treat. Now I can indulge without the guilt.
A great big shout out goes out to my older daughter, Amber, and her husband, Brian, for organizing a climate rally and march at UMaine.ju
Jules Hathaway
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Bravey
Bravey, the young readers adaptation of Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas's memoir is pitch perfect for the YA set. Whether sports fans or not, most people see elite athletes as existing in a state of perfection, accomplishing extraordinary feats, having nothing to do with the rest of us lesser mortals. The teen years are a time of self consciousness and fear of not measuring up even under the best of conditions. And the current social media mediated society with its constant exposure to carefully curated images of others' lives does not constitute anywhere the best of conditions.
Pappas has faced formidable challenges in her life. She lost her mother to suicide when she was only four. Later on when faced with anxiety or depression she'd wonder if she was too much like her mom, if she was destined for a similar fate. As a child she often felt lonely and out. In puberty she had to deal with the prioritizing of fitness over health for female athletes. And her pursuit of running success was not a straight ascent. She had her share of injuries and set backs. She shares it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—with readers.
"This book is about glamorous things like going to the Olympics and making movies, and it's also about difficult things like suicide and depression and puberty. For every fun moment of victory in this book, there are uncomfortable humiliating moments, too. I am the sum of all of them."
There are two things I especially like about this book. One is its candid but age appropriate discussion of mental illness. Many kids have at least one parent for whom that's lived reality. Even though he never was diagnosed or helped, I'm sure my father was bipolar. This is rarely reflected in juvenile or YA books. Kudos to Pappas!
The other is that it's not a litany of sacrificing all on the altar of athletic success. Pappas has had times when she reaped the results of pushing through the pain or not taking time for self care. She doesn't want readers to make the same mistake.
On a purrrsonal note, in what was purely coincidence, I read most of the book in the dressing room between rehearsal and the drag show. I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination. But in my corner of the world I've enjoyed nine years of being a beloved and respected drag performer. In rehearsal my performance was lackluster. It was my first time onstage since the stroke. During those hours I wondered if that night's performance would be my swan song. But when I was on stage hearing the crowd cheering everything fell into place and I gave one of the best performances of my life. I even got a standing ovation! Drag is where I feel the most free, the most me. I'm so glad I don't have to give it up.
A great big shout out goes out to the other performers, the crew, and the audience, all who were essential elements of the magic that was our drag show.
Jules Hathaway aka Gotta Believe We're Magic
Pappas has faced formidable challenges in her life. She lost her mother to suicide when she was only four. Later on when faced with anxiety or depression she'd wonder if she was too much like her mom, if she was destined for a similar fate. As a child she often felt lonely and out. In puberty she had to deal with the prioritizing of fitness over health for female athletes. And her pursuit of running success was not a straight ascent. She had her share of injuries and set backs. She shares it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—with readers.
"This book is about glamorous things like going to the Olympics and making movies, and it's also about difficult things like suicide and depression and puberty. For every fun moment of victory in this book, there are uncomfortable humiliating moments, too. I am the sum of all of them."
There are two things I especially like about this book. One is its candid but age appropriate discussion of mental illness. Many kids have at least one parent for whom that's lived reality. Even though he never was diagnosed or helped, I'm sure my father was bipolar. This is rarely reflected in juvenile or YA books. Kudos to Pappas!
The other is that it's not a litany of sacrificing all on the altar of athletic success. Pappas has had times when she reaped the results of pushing through the pain or not taking time for self care. She doesn't want readers to make the same mistake.
On a purrrsonal note, in what was purely coincidence, I read most of the book in the dressing room between rehearsal and the drag show. I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination. But in my corner of the world I've enjoyed nine years of being a beloved and respected drag performer. In rehearsal my performance was lackluster. It was my first time onstage since the stroke. During those hours I wondered if that night's performance would be my swan song. But when I was on stage hearing the crowd cheering everything fell into place and I gave one of the best performances of my life. I even got a standing ovation! Drag is where I feel the most free, the most me. I'm so glad I don't have to give it up.
A great big shout out goes out to the other performers, the crew, and the audience, all who were essential elements of the magic that was our drag show.
Jules Hathaway aka Gotta Believe We're Magic
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)