AfterMath (juvenile fiction)

     Lucy, protagonist of Emily Barth Isler's AfterMath, has lost her beloved little brother, Theo. He was just months old when he began to show signs of the birth defect that would claim his life. But despite his frequent hospital stays and the medical paraphernalia he was hooked up to he had a vibrant personality. His absence has left a gaping hole in his family, one they tiptoe around. 

     Lucy's mother has decided that what the family needs to heal is a fresh start--a new home in a new town.  So she's starting seventh grade in a new school with a very unusual group dynamic. Four years ago her classmates,  then only eight-years-old, were the survivors of a school shooting. They saw friends murdered. They had to run for their lives. They bear inward, if not outward scars.

     The other students shun the only girl who is friendly to Lucy. It turns out that her now dead brother was the shooter. 

     And Lucy can't turn to her parents for help. They've retreated into individual coping methods--ones that depend on her keeping up the appearance of being fine...

     ...even though she very much isn't. 

     Lucy has been a long term fan of math. The formulas are are logical, the answers consistent. 

     Too bad life is nothing like that. 

On a purrrsonal note, this is a big homework weekend for me. I'm very happy to be spending most of it in my nice warm home. 

A great big shout out goes out to my faithful wing 🐈 Tobago. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Furia (YA fiction)

     On the soccer field Camila shines. She has the giftedness, the passion, and the drive. She's such a force to be reckoned with she's called Furia. But her team winning an important game is bittersweet for her. She sees a woman consoling a member of the losing team she wonders, "What would it be like for my mother to come and watch my games, comfort me if I lost, celebrate my victories?"

     You see Camila's parents support her older brother's rising soccer career and bask in his growing fame. But her macho, abusive father has decreed that futbol is not for girls or women. He's a very unpleasant person who cheats on his wife and bullies his family. Her mother plays but resents the role she's been shrunk into. Her brother too often feels diminished. Given their dysfunctional dynamics, Camila feels that she can't tell her family about her involvement in the sport she lives to play. 

     But keeping her secret is about to become complicated. Winning the big game has opened up a world of possibilities unavailable to most girls and women in Argentina. The team has just qualified for the Sudamericano women's tournament. Camila yearns to play on a United States professional team. Doing well in the tournament could make her dream come true. But for her to play in it she has to get her parents to sign permission slips. 

     Camila's childhood best friend, Diego, is back in town and seemingly in love with her. She's falling fast but wondering if their relationship would have space for two high visibility, high pressure careers that would require frequent separations.

     All this plays against a background of so many missing and murdered girls and nothing being done to change this. In the course of the narrative when a school girl is abducted and slain her family and community's grief is mixed with anger. But when girls and women protest the killings and the indifference of the larger society they are demonized.

     Mendez has created a truly memorable, believable, and inspiring protagonist and narrative. Furia is her first YA novel. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

On a purrrsonal note, here in Maine with a few days between storms we have accumulated ❄️ which blizzard battlers are moving to undisclosed locations to make room for more snow. Too much snow. But today on campus was fun. We had free grilled cheese sandwiches and make your own trail mix with the real good ingredients. I got to take home two bags for my weekend studying. 

A great big shout out goes out to the people who worked the wonderful event. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Onyx & Beyond (juvenile historical fiction)

"That's what the doctors said 

Mama had. Early-onset dementia. 

They said maybe put her in a home,

     & Gran said, My baby ain't going in no home.

& we worked together & kept it a secret.

Then Gran went to the sky & Mama got worse."

     After the death of his beloved grandmother Onyx, protagonist of Amber McBride's Onyx & Beyond, has more responsibilities and stresses than any 10-year-old should have. In addition to keeping up in school and navigating the streets as a Black boy he must do the cooking and housework and earn money to help buy food and care for the physical and emotional needs of his mother--parent a parent before he's hit puberty. Gotta keep his mom, whom he loves to the edges of the known universe and beyond, with him and out of a home. This could get much more difficult. Child protective services has scheduled a home visit. 

     Despite the harsh reality of his life Onyx has a fascination with the universe and dreams of flying. His narrative in free verse is a rich blend of imagination and wisdom in addition to the nitty gritty of a challenging existence. 

"I wonder if when Mama is dreaming, 

     she remembers everything?

If her dreams are more real than real life."

     Onyx & Beyond, set in the late 60s, gives a vivid picture of that turbulent time. Onyx is a fictional character. But he's based on Mcbride's father's stories from his youth. 

On a purrrsonal note, I studied at home today since the woods path between my home and the bus stop is snowed in. But I have rides both ways tomorrow. I'm so excited about going in and seeing my friends. 

A great big shout out goes out to my wonderful, amazing friends. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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The Black Queen (YA chiller)

     Inter library loans are awesome. Rather than being limited to the offerings of my local library I have access to collections all over Maine. It's always such a thrill when I pick up a stack. True, there are some duds that don't live up to their descriptions. But more often I pick up an amazing, spellbinding, impossible to put down volume. This was the case with Jumata Emill's The Black Queen. It seamlessly weaves together small town Southern intrigue, vivid characters, and a roller coaster ride of a plot with insights into the ubiquitousness and evils of racism.

     Tinsley, the white, privileged younger daughter of an influential family, feels that she's entitled to be her high school's homecoming queen. Her grandmother, mother, and older sister wielded the crown and scepter their senior years. And she has not so nice ways she's destroyed rivals for previous leadership positions. 

     But she's met her match in strikingly beautiful and immensely popular Nova--even after trying her best to intimidate her in a Mean Girls style show down and attempting to bribe her by offering to have her family pay for the restoration of a Black cemetery where Nova volunteers. 

     The night when Nova is crowned their school's first Black queen with much fanfare Tinsley is noticeably absent, off partying with her supposed besties, Giselle and Lana. When she makes a very drunk rant, stating that she should have killed Nova and left her body in "that slave cemetery she loves so much" she doesn't suspect that Lana is filming and posting to social media...

     ...where the video goes viral...

     ...which is bad news for Tinsley because the next morning Nova is found dead. Guess where. 

     Now a media hounded Tinsley is struggling to prove her innocence and avoid jail. Duchess, Nova's closest friend, is striving to put her killer behind bars. Duchess's police captain father is searching for the truth as both the black community and his white chief undermine him. And diverse characters,  some with pretty sketchy motive, are inserting themselves in the situation. 

     If you have a hunger for intrigue, drama, and suspense you will find The Black Queen to be mmm mmm good.

     In his acknowledgements Emill hints at writing more stories and maybe including Tinsley and Duchess in some of them. Now that is something to really look forward to. 

On a purrrsonal note, I am getting so tired of the snow. The woods path between my house is totally impassable. So now I have to hunt for rides to and from school. Eugene is working all kinds of hours. He isn't getting enough sleep. I'm more than ready for spring. Most people I talk to are also.

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

Jules Hathaway 

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Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old (adult memoir)

     Celebrity memoirs, along with sci fi, cozy mysteries, Harlequin romances, and anything about sports (except those involving underdog teen or kid teams) are on my do not touch list. This should be easy to understand. I don't watch TV beyond Channel 5 news. I see very few movies. And my interest in celeb gossip matches Tobago's in befriending the dog next door. So when Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old showed up in my inter library loan stack I wondered what I was thinking when I ordered it.

     But I had ordered it. I decided to skim the introduction...

     ...and unexpectedly I was hooked. Shields reads the room. She knows who she is addressing and how to hold our interest. Her tone is intimate and candid. She combines personal narrative with research studies. And there is precious little name dropping. 

     The woman calls bull shit. In this country we're still in deep denial when it comes to ageism. She describes its 

manifestations and consequences quite eloquently. Having been on the front line of this war for decades, I find it thrilling that someone with actual name recognition is also in the trenches. And she assuages fears that it's all downhill after menopause. And speaking of menopause...

     ...she actually does. A perfectly natural process is still a taboo topic in our society, even among many doctors. Shields tells us about the wide variation of what's normal during this transition, ways people can improve their experience of it, and why we need so much more research. For this section alone the book is well worth buying for those who are headed toward or in "the change".

     Another change almost universally dreaded by mothers is children growing up and leaving home. Shields does a thoughtful discussion of the depth and complexity of feelings this transition evokes. And she reminds us that if the baby daddy is still in the house parenthood isn't the only changing relationship. 

     And she hits on the ultimate aging taboo: sex. We've moved away from the movies that show mom and dad retiring to separate beds (if not bedrooms) after a chaste kiss. But we still have a long way to go.

     If you're an older woman or nonbinary you should buy this book or at least borrow it from the library. If you're anything like me you'll find it affirming, validating, and liberating.

On a purrrsonal note, I got really great news this morning. I got 100% on my first solo presentation for capstone. I worked really hard on it.

A great big shout out goes out to me from me. I am very proud of how far I've come since the stroke. I hope you can give yourself a shout out when you accomplish something you've worked really hard for. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Before The Badge

   I think we all have perceptions of the actions of the foot soldiers of law enforcement--the cops on the beat. The camp I fall into is deeply concerned about the disproportionate number of Blacks being surveiled,  arrested and killed by police. Some think the force is being bullied by activists, the media, and political correctness. Some want to defund them while others want to give them military grade weapons. 

     In Before The Badge: How Academy Training Shapes Police Violence Samantha J. Simon shares an interesting perspective based on months of intensive field research. Prospective police officers aren't selected for and trained in racism. They are carefully selected for and socialized into a almost cult like institution. 

     "I watched this socialization process unfold for cadets during the six to eight months that they spent training to be police officers. Importantly, this socialization emphasized, and indeed required, that cadets thought about and engaged in violence that sustained their institution."

     Those cadets chosen for traits such as passion for their chosen field, a strong sense of loyalty, willingness to use physical violence, conservative beliefs, values, and political views, comfort with hierarchy, willingness to follow commands, and a binary good guy/bad guy mind set are brought into a very insular society. They spend most of their time on and off the clock with other members of the force. Outsiders--especially media professionals, activists--are portrayed as dangerous beings who put them in constant peril. "If everyone is out to get you, in one form or another, it becomes easy to legitimize violent responses and dismiss any criticism."

     And they're taught to think of themselves as warriors preparing for battle against constantly threatening advisories.

     I believe that Before The Badge is an important read for anyone concerned about the state of law enforcement in today's America. 

On a purrrsonal note, I had a totally awesome Valentines Day. Eugene had been out plowing and came home in time for me to make him breakfast. He gave me beautiful flowers and candy. I participated in really fun activities at school. When I got home Eugene took me to Applebee's for supper. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Under Shifting Stars

     Teen twins Clare and Audrey, narrators of Alexandra Latos's Under Shifting Stars, had been inseparable best friends until they started developing in very different directions. Now, ten months after the sudden death of their beloved older brother, Adam, a chasm has grown between them.

     Neurodivergent Audrey attends an alternative school. The name of the school is Peak. The students and their neurotypical peers call it Freak. Audrey is determined to leave it and regain her closeness with her sister.

     "Clare and I used to do this. We used to swing side by side until the sun set. 

     Beside me the swing is empty. 

     I'm going to get her back, I say out loud. I'm going to prove I can be like her."

     Clare is quite opposed to Audrey coming back to her school, and it isn't only because of her sister's embarrassing behavior. It's also due to the grief on Audrey's behalf she had felt when their peers had relentlessly teased her.

     "This is the first semester Audrey and I haven't been in school together. I want to keep it that way. I'm not going to let myself feel guilty about her anymore."

     And Clare is not the pretty, popular girl her family sees her as. Some days she wants to be just like Adam. She wears his clothes and uses his skateboard. Other days she feels more like a girl and dresses accordingly. She has no idea what she is or whether her family will accept this person. 

     And while all this is going the family members are having to deal with one of the hardest losses a family can sustain...

     ...and one of them feels that it's her fault Adam died.

On a purrrsonal note, the big storm that the meteorologists have been waxing eloquently about has arrived. The ❄️ is pretty heavy and the winds are kicking up, raising the possibility of a power outage. I sure hope we don't get one because it would interfere with getting homework done. And the house gets so cold. Eugene has gone out to plow.

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

Jules Hathaway 

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Two Tribes (juvenile graphic novel)

     Graphic novels where text and images are woven perfectly together prove the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. Emily Bowen Cohen's Two Tribes is most definitely such a book.

     Mia misses her Muscogee father and community. But her divorced mother treats him as a taboo topic, a being no longer part of their life. She's married a Jewish man and is embracing and expecting Mia to share her enthusiasm for their new Jewish identity. 

     But the yearning to see her father and learn more about her community and herself won't go away. So Mia uses her bat mitzvah money to travel back to her dad...

     ...and stirs up much more trouble than she'd anticipated. 

On a purrrsonal note, all week the meteorologists and other news personalities had building major hype about the day long blizzard due the day before Valentines. Blizzard eve it was the BIG topic: would we have a snow day? We did and savored it. Now the next BIG STORM is due tomorrow. My church has canceled not only the in person service, but the zoom service. They're anticipating power outages. We'll just have to see what happens. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and the other blizzard battlers and the power company people who are essential heroes when we get a big one.

Jules Hathaway 

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This is me with Skye (my new squishmallow) and a yummy cupcake. Cute, huh?

For Black Girls Like Me (juvenile fiction)

     First awareness of a parent's mental illness can be very confusing and scary. That's the plight of Keda, narrator of Mariana J. Lockington's For Black Girls Like Me. 

     When we meet Keda she, her parents, and her sister are driving from their Baltimore home to a new house in Albuquerque. She's left her best friend, Lena, the only other Black girl she knows adopted into an all white family. And now she's going to a place she'll face a fresh onslaught of ignorant questions. She alternately loves and hates the birth mother she never met. 

     Not long after the move Keda's mother becomes listless, spending most of her time sleeping or watching TV, distancing herself from her family. The girls know enough to give her space until she snaps out of her sadness. Keda fears that this time she won't.

     Her mother's behavior becomes erratic. When she reads something private Keda wrote she pulls both girls out of school. 

     "She is making a scene. And the room is so full of her. I get lost. I can't breathe. I can't see straight through my tears. Why is she so angry? Is she crying too? Why is she crying?"

     When Keda's father, a professional musician, leaves his family for a summer long tour her mother is not in a good place. One morning she takes the girls to an isolated cabin in the woods where she's more and more out of control until the day when the girls return from a walk to a horrifying sight. 

     We live in a society where, although mental illness has become increasingly manageable, it's still highly stigmatized and a taboo topic. Books like For Black Girls Like Me can help people become more open, understanding, and compassionate.

     I could have used a book like that in my younger years. My father was undiagnosed probably bipolar. His mood swings were bewildering and scary and sometimes put my life in danger. Looking back I wish he could have been treated for his sake as well as mine.

On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful Monday. I took the huge Valentines 💝 card for the bus drivers dozens of commuter students signed to the bus depot where they'll get to see it on Friday. I think they'll really like it. Then I did a Goodwill run and found an adorable squishmallow. Then I went on campus where Catherine had cupcakes to frost and decorate. Eugene bought blueberry cheesecake 😋 😍 ice cream which we had for dessert. 

A great big shout out goes out to Catherine, Eugene, and the community connector bus drivers. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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The Tenth Mistake Of Hank Hooperman (juvenile fiction)

     When our kids still attended the local K-8 school Eugene and I got new neighbors: a woman and her three granddaughters. Her life revolved around work and child raising. The middle child had spina bifida. When her daughter had left home she'd thought her parenting days were over. But when her daughter had been deemed an unfit parent and lost custody she stepped up.

     She wasn't alone, rather in the vanguard of a growing movement of grandparents raising grandchildren, usually due to substance abuse issues. 

     Many other kids aren't fortunate enough to have relatives who can take them in. They get sucked into the underfunded and often criminally negligent foster care system. Hank, narrator of Gennifer Choldenko's The Tenth Mistake Of Hank Hooperman, and his three-year-old sister, Boo, are in danger of being lost in it.

     When we meet Hank and Boo they're hiding from the landlord. Their family is six months behind on rent. If it's not paid in full by the next day they'll be evicted. Their mother has been  missing for a week. 

     Hank searches desperately for someone who can take two kids in on such short notice. Finally he finds the address of a stranger and takes Boo there on the bus. Lou Ann turns out to be an older woman who runs a day care. She takes them in and registers Hank for a new middle school. 

     Hank is worried about his mother. He knows that her decisions often put him and Boo in danger. "But other times Mom will drive to Mexico in the middle of the night or invite strange people to our apartment or not come home at all." No matter what she's done he still loves her. For all he knows she might be dead or in prison. And Lou Ann hasn't made a long term commitment. Everything he does seems to aggravate her. Where can he and Boo go if she kicks them out?

     The Tenth Mistake Of Hank Hooperman puts a very human face on the precarious lives too many American children lead. It can make them feel seen and help more secure classmates empathize.

On a purrrsonal note, Choldenko dedicated the book "to every kid who carries adult responsibilities on eleven-year-old shoulders." One such child was a next street over neighbor. She spent a lot of time in charge of her younger special needs siblings. She also had to periodically get her drug and alcohol addicted mother out of police custody. I went the see something, say something route. Years later I saw the girl who told me she was happy to only have to do homework and chores, to finally get the chance to be a kid. 

A great big shout out goes out to my readers. I want to share with you some words of wisdom from the book. At the end Hank says, "Mistakes burn brighter than the good things I do." This is so true of most of us. We torture ourselves over mistakes while brushing off our good decisions. If that describes you--good news--you have the power to change. Start slow--maybe thinking of one good choice you made every day--and work your way up. You'll be glad 😊 😃 you did. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Wilmington's Lie

     Sometimes groups of people do horrendous things to people they have viciously demeaned to point where they don't recognize their humanity. Think Hitler's Germany. Sometimes these acts of aggression are covered up so thoroughly they vanish from collective memory until determined researchers bring them to light. And we are horrified. A prime example is the Tulsa, Oklahoma Massacre, a night in which armed whites ruthlessly attacked a prosperous Black community--murdering, looting and burning. We've looked at that crime against humanity. A lesser known one is what went down in Wilmington, North Carolina in the election election year of 1898. David Zucchino brings it vividly to life in Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 And The Rise of White Supremecy. 

     Nearing the end of the nineteenth century, just decades after the Civil War, North Carolina's largest city was prospering. But not all its citizens were happy campers. Some Black professionals and business owners were integrating white neighborhoods and enjoying middle class lifestyles. A lot of Blacks were voting. Some were even getting elected to positions in which they were in authority over whites.

     White supremacists considered this situation intolerable. They were striving to return their state to the idyllic (in their minds) days when whites ruled supreme and Blacks "knew their place." They chose the 1898 election as a time to take back the state legislature, disenfranchise the Blacks, and terrify them into total submission. Their weapons were carefully nurtured terror, false news, violence, and ballot tampering.  

     Leading up to the election Blacks were threatened with loss of jobs, homes, and life if they registered or voted. Red Shirts roamed Black neighborhoods at night whipping terrified residents. But white fears were played on too, most notably the images of Black men as sexual predators coming after their chaste wives and daughters. 

     And the election was just the beginning of the reign of terror. 

     Wilmington's Lie is thoroughly researched, but not boringly scholarly. Zucchino brings the events and characters vividly to life as complex and sometimes contradictory individuals. He incorporates primary sources such as diaries, letters, newspaper stories, and photographs. 

     And this isn't just a snapshot from the past. White supremecy is still alive and well as we saw in the most recent presidential election. 

On a purrrsonal note, this past week's blood drive was unlike any I've ever experienced. We had two handicaps. Lisa Morin who usually runs the show was out sick and I knew counting on me to step up. Simultaneously we were getting a lot of donors who were dizzy and even two who tried to stand up and collapsed. So the nurses needed me to step up. And I did. Lisa told the interim Dean that UMaine couldn't have pulled the blood drive off without me. It made me so proud and confident.

Jules Hathaway 

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The Braid Girls (juvenile fiction)

     Identity, family, and friends are increasingly important to middle grade readers. They're beginning to discover the talents,  interests, and passions that shape their self images. On the route to the teen years peers are becoming increasingly important as people to turn to for advice and validation. But parents and family roles are still quite important. Sheri Winston beautifully captures these themes in her poignant and highly engaging The Braid Girls, told in the alternating voices of its three narrators. 

     Daija's world is built around ballet. Not only does she love acquiring the skills learning and performing, she hopes that achieving in the art will get her father to finally pay attention to her. This will require expensive extra ballet classes that her mom can't afford. She and BFF Maggie have started a neighborhood braiding business. 

     Maggie is her perfect partner, an ultra organized math whiz and future entrepreneur. But this summer an unexpected discovery with huge implications.   Her father hasn't exactly been been faithful to her mother. She has a same age step sister who has come to live with her family. 

     Callie's mother has just recently died. Now she's living with a group of strangers. She has no clue if she'll fit in or why they even took her. Maybe it was only out of a sense of obligation.  And that's not the only relationship minefield she has to navigate. Daija, fearing being displaced as Maggie's best friend, keeps trying to drive a wedge between Maggie and Callie.

     As if that isn't enough drama another crisis has erupted. Some other girls have started a rival braiding business. And they don't play fair.

On a purrrsonal note, I gave my presentation in my capstone class. It went really well. I was quite confident and focused. Kathleen (professor) said I did a great job.

A great big shout out goes out to Kathleen and my capstone classmates. 

Jules Hathaway 

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I made this in SWell and I love it. It's an intentions board. Beginning with winter break I've been working on anxiety reduction and it will be a big help. 

Two April Henry Chillers

     Two words I would describe April Henry as a writer are prolific and consistent. Prolific as in she puts out the books. Consistent as in if you're looking for a roller coaster ride of a chiller she won't let you down. Luckily last week when I picked up my inter library loans at Orono Public I found two of her masterpieces were in the pile waiting for me.

     In a scene tailor made for a Hallmark movie a little girl goes into the woods with her parents looking for the perfect Christmas 🎄. Here all resemblance to Hallmark ends. The mom is found dead, stabbed nineteen times. Little Ariel has been dropped off at a nearby Walmart. And her dad is nowhere to be found. The concensus is that he's the killer, especially since police have been call to the family home to intervene in domestic fights. 

     Fourteen years later Ariel, now Olivia, protagonist of The Girl I Used To Be, opens her door to two police officers. A woman walking her dog discovered a human bone a mile from where her mother was killed. It was DNA identified as her father's. The murder investigation is being reopened on the basis of this new evidence. 

     The police aren't the only ones looking for answers. Returning to the small town where she first lived, Olivia rent her grandmother's old house, gets a job, and starts investigating...

     ...which is probably a BIG mistake. Medford is one of those creepily small towns where people are up in each other's business. The people are bound to discover her identity and intentions. If the killer is still around (which is very likely) the person who dropped her three-year-old self off to be found at a Walmart might find an entirely different way of disposing of her inconvenient teen self.

     Maybe in the woods.

     Are you a fan of those popular chillers in which a group of people are in a building which they can't get out of and a killer who could be any of them starts picking them off one by one? Two Truths And A Lie is an irresistible example of this genre.

     Only a little ❄️ has been predicted. Not enough to necessitate cancelations. So Nell and and her acting club peers are enroute to a competition. Only six hours into a trip that should have only taken four they're in the middle of a blizzard. They start looking for shelter. 

     The teens and their chaperone end up in a creepy and largely abandoned motel along with a robotics team from another school, also en route to a competition, and some pretty sketchy adults. They and the robotics team decide to make the best of the situation by entertaining themselves. When a game of two truths and a lie segues into a seance they get pretty creeped out.

     The electricity going out doesn't exactly help matters.

     In the morning 🌄 light things look brighter...

     ...until one of the robotics girls is found dead with a note pinned to her: THIS IS THE FIRST. A killer is among them. And first implies more to come. And they're still unable to make contact with the outside world or leave the motel...

     ...which decades ago was the scene of an unsolved mystery: a gruesome bloody double homicide. 

     A good blizzard read, wouldn't you say?

On a purrrsonal note, years ago at the beginning of a major blizzard that would leave thousands of households, including ours, without power Amber and I decided to reread The Shining. That was quite the experience. 

A great big shout out goes out to my very talented horror book writer daughter, Amber, who has a chiller coming out this summer. 

Jules Hathaway 

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We Want To Do More Than Survive (adult nonfiction)

     "This book is about mattering, surviving, resisting, thriving, healing, imagining, freedom, love, and joy: all elements of abolitionist work and teaching. Abolitionist teaching is the practice of working in solidarity with communities of color while drawing on the imagination, creativity, refusal, (re)membering, visionary thinking, healing, rebellious spirit, boldness, determination, and subversiveness of abolitionists to eradicate injustice in and outside of schools."

     No doubt about it. Bettina L. Love's We Want To Do More Than Survive is a scathing indictment of the racist way children of color are educated in America. She calls what they must endure being educated to merely survive when they deserve so much more. The fact that education is funded mostly by property taxes gives them so much fewer resources than white peers. The intersectional challenges of their lives are ignored. Discipline wise they're treated much more harshly. You know--that school to prison pipeline. 

     And educational "reforms"--No Child Left Behind, charter schools--often as racist as the institutions they're supposedly reforming, can never be enough. Children of color deserve welcoming, valuing, affirming schools in which they matter immensely. They deserve schools in which they're helped to handle the challenges of life with dignity and compassion. Schools in which their creativity, imagination, determination, and, yes, rebelliousness are nurtured and they're part of a community that doesn't stop at the school gates.

     In a direct and compelling narrative that blends research and history with her candid life experience Love tells us what's gone wrong and what needs to happen to transform education from survival to abolitionist. It's a must read for all who work in schools, plan to work in schools, or care about the damage they're inflicting on children of color. 

On a purrrsonal note, sometime tomorrow I have to cut ✂️ out 180 paper ❤️ s. The UMaine blood drive is Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm of course in charge of canteen. While people wait they'll be able to make Valentines cards. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who will participate. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution (juvenile fiction)

     Middle grade social warriors and potential warriors are in for real inspiration. Sheri Winston's Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution touches on super relevant issues in the context of an engaging contemporary narrative. 

     Lotus and best friend Rebel, are starting seventh grade. For the first time they're going to separate schools. Lotus, a violin 🎻 prodigy, is going to a new performing arts school. She feels bad that it's diverting funds from the already severely neglected --as in roaches in the classroom--neighborhood middle school. But she believes that Atlantis is the only path to achieving her dream. Rebel, whose name well suits her, is attending and fighting for the  neighborhood school.

     Shall we say this is putting a real strain on their friendship?

     But racist Atlantis is not exactly a bed of roses. Classmates throw paper airplanes into her Afro. The boy she pushed out of first 🎻 in the school orchastra nicknames her Buckwheat and posts some truly nasty memes on social media. But the administration refuses to intervene. In their mind her afro is too distracting. Unless she subdues her crowning glory she's on the path to expulsion. 

     The severe neglect of majority black public schools and racist dress codes are issues that activists of all ages should get plenty agitated about. 

On a purrrsonal note I am not stepping out of my home this weekend. It's ❄️ and cold. Staying in with Tobago and doing homework is a much more appealing prospect. 

A great big shout out goes out to educational social justice warriors.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Land of the Cranes (juvenile literature)

     Some of the most heart breaking,  enlightening, and urgent stories come to us through the pages of children's books. Aida Salazar's Land of the Cranes is a perfect example. In poignant free verse she humanizes and speaks for the people demonized by our president and his Build A Wall minions. 

     Betina and her parents had to flee to America to get away from the men who killed her uncle. They made a life for themselves--working hard, planting a garden. But after seven years their little family is broken upj. Betina's father is picked up by ICE and deported to the country where his life is in danger. Betina and her pregnant mother are sent to a detention facility.

     They're in a human created hell on earth. Dozens of people are crowded into a concrete floored room with only an hour a day outside. They must sleep on the rough concrete with only one blanket to protect themselves from the pervasive cold. Children are often ill and deprived of medical care, their hair infested with lice. The food is moldy. And you probably don't want to know their only source of drinking water. When her mother goes into labor poor Betina is left alone.

     Take a minute now to imagine yourself experiencing what Betina and her family did. I'm sure you'll agree that no sentient beings should be treated like that. We all need to know and raise awareness about the evil being done  in our name.

     He who has just become president has made this evil his top priority. It is possible to commit great evil while breaking no laws if wrong doers are shaping the laws.

     Betina's story, told in vivid and evocative free verse, belongs in every school and public library in this nation. 

On a purrrsonal note, there wasn't enough time in class for everyone to do our presentations. So I have to wait until next week. I can use this weekend to make mine more concise.

A great big shout out goes out to Salazar for penning this most engaging and enraging book to raise awareness. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

     

     

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Jersey Tomatoes Are The Best

     Henry (Henriette) and Eva, the narrators of Maria Padian's Jersey Tomatoes Are The Best, are long time besties about to be split up for a summer. They're teens with specialized talents that their lives have been structured around. Henry in tennis 🎾 ; Eva in ballet. Each has a parent who is constantly pushing her, obsessed with her fulfilling her potential. 

     Now they're about to experience  a long term separation for the first time, attending elite camps--camps with intense competition pressures most teens will never experience, camps where you can't let your guard down because potential friends are also potential rivals and backstabbers.

     Eva has a dangerous vulnerability. An earlier developing larger girl in a field where a tiny prepubescent build is idealized, she feels too fat. A voice in her head tells her to eat less and less. She hits a point where not only her future career, but her life is in jeopardy. 

     Henry is desperate to help her best friend. But what can she do from such a distance?

On a purrrsonal note, today in class I'm doing a presentation that is going to be a real challenge. I did a great outline and got it uploaded on time. But my speech hasn't totally recovered from the stroke. It isn't obvious (to anyone but me) in regular conversation. But my rehearsals for the presentation have been disastrous. Since I'm certified 🧠 injured I'm trying for accommodations. I'll let you know how that goes. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Wrecked (YA fiction)

     Maria Padian's Wrecked was an absolute gem I discovered when I was looking up her earlier books. It may be a little hard to locate since it's older, but well worth the effort, especially for college bound teens. It deals with an aspect of higher education those glossy brochures don't cover. 

     You see there's this party in a dorm. The music is loud, the space chaotic and crowded, the strong alcohol 🍸 flowing freely. After the event a visibly distraught Jenny is charging Jordan with rape. Jordan, fearing for his future, is denying the charge. As the case is investigated by the college, rumors run rampant through the student grapevine in person and on social media. 

     Padian made a genius move in choosing not the principals, but people they've confided in as narrators. This allows for more nuance, more complexity, and more uncertainty. That's one of the things I like best about the book. 

     The other is its total authenticity. Remember I'm getting a graduate degree in higher education. It's the realm in which I live, move, and have my being. I just completed an internship in the student conduct office. And condensed to two or three pages, Wrecked could be a case study for my capstone class. 

On a purrrsonal note, I continue to recover from the stroke. My strength and stamina are increasing. I now exercise bike 30 minutes a day. And I can do sit ups.

A great big shout out goes out to my capstone professor and classmates. This is going to be a most excellent grand finale to my graduate education. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Stolen Pride

     I almost didn't read Arlie Russell Hochschild's Stolen Pride. I really wanted to. The subject is very timely. And I'm a big fan of the author who covers topics that make people uncomfortable with depth and nuance. It's that it seemed too nuanced for me to do it justice.  As sole content provider for this blog I feel that I shouldn't read anything for just me. But the book looked to good to bypass. 

     Then when I read it I realized that it was too good to not share with you. Hochschild, like many of us, is really concerned about America's political divide. It's a topic she'd gone into in Strangers in Their Own Land which we looked at in 2017. This time she shifted her focus from the deep South to Appalachia. She wanted to understand the growing appeal of the white nationalism that is frighteningly growing around the world. She traveled to Pineville, Kentucky and the areas around it and interviewed a wide range of people who had been impacted in different ways to see why a perfect storm was brewing. 

     For one thing a lot of the coal mines that had sustained many families were shutting down. This economic precariousness was shredding communities. Those who could move in search of decent jobs were doing so. And the left behind unemployed were experiencing not only poverty, but a deep sense of shame based on acceptance of the myth that in America if you can't make it it's your own damn fault; no one else is to blame. 

     Reading this made me think of my beloved husband, Eugene, a construction worker. He has worked almost fifty years for the same family owned company and prospered through hard work. His reputation in our trailer park is family man and good provider. That's what he prides himself on. I can't imagine how losing this ability would devastate him.

     And then there's the matter of drugs introduced not by sketchy street pushers, but by trusted physicians--doctors who were wooed with a lot of freebies from the sales reps of Purdue Pharma and sold the lie that OxyContin was nonaddictive. Many lives and families were destroyed by routine visits to doctors and dentists. Rural Maine, too, was targeted by Sackler and his minions. 

     Is it any wonder that a charismatic speaker,  preaching that they're the good guys, they're the ones being oppressed, even replaced, would win hearts and minds?

     I want you to read this book with an open mind. Both sides of the political demonize the other. Accepting stereotypes makes life easier. But it's really dangerous. I feel like we can't any longer afford to write off the "flyover states" and their citizens if we want to have any kind of national stability. 

On a purrrsonal note,  my first week of the semester has been fantastic. We've had really great on campus dinners, one put on by the commuter lounge and the Wilson Center (non denominational religious center) and the other by the graduate school. I could attend because my friend, Catherine, gave me rides home.  Most of this weekend will be devoted to homework. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, my one and only, and Catherine for her kindness and generosity in giving me rides.

Jules Hathaway 

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Snow angel

I made her to celebrate 🥳 🎉 🎊. I got A- on the internship I had last semester. I am over the moon. 

You're Next (YA chiller)

     What do very evil people in high places, romance, a covert teen fight club, best friendship, and car crashes have in common? They're all key elements in Kylie Schachte's truly chilling You're Next. 

     When Flora, Schachte's protagonist, senses that a friend is in trouble she's told that it's nothing. But that night Ava calls, sounding desperate, and giving an address. Flora finds  her in a dark, dingy alley bleeding out from  gunshot wounds. With her last breath she utters a cryptic message: wess grays. 

     The police officer who arrives at the scene is less than surprised. It's not the first time she's found Flora with a murdered girl. Flora was only fourteen the same age as the victim.

     "I learned something then that most people don't know: no one is safe. We all think we are, but at any moment someone can erase you without a second thought. The world will go on, unchanged, like you were never there at all."

     Since then Flora has been a self-proclaimed amateur detective. Encouraged by the retired  detective grandfather with whom she and little sister, Olive, live, she spends most of her time when she'snot in school trying to track down bad guys. So when she figures out what Ava's clue means she goes to a series of dark tunnels under an abandoned hospital. 

     The bad guys learn what she's up to and let her know that if she doesn't back off she and her family and best friend will pay the ultimate price. They'll be next.

On a purrrsonal note, today was the first day of the UMaine spring semester. It was so great catching up with friends I haven't since December. 

A great big shout out goes out to my friends who are simply the best. 

Jules Hathaway 

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With Twice The Love, Dessie Mei

"Decades ago, when I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere, ten-year-old me promised myself that I would one day write a book. A middle grade book about belonging everywhere."

    Few of us follow through on our promises to our preteen selves. Fortunately Justina Chen did. Her With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei is a thoroughly engaging narrative that touches on relevant social justice issues at an age appropriate level.

     Dessie is not a happy camper. She and her parents have moved in with her widowed grandmother, an Alzheimers victim. They're preparing her for an eventual move to an assisted living facility. Her twin brothers, high school seniors have been allowed to stay in their home to graduate 🎓 with their classmates. Changing schools in the middle of sixth grade, she's sure everyone already has their friend groups.

     On her first day in her new school Dessie meets a girl, Donna, who looks just like her. When they discover that they share a birthday and were adopted from the same orphanage they realize that they might be twins. DNA tests prove that they're right. The girls are delighted. 

     But it's not all smooth sailing. Dessie, who has been raised in a white family, realizes how little she knows about her culture. Donna's strict, traditional grandmother fears Dessie will be a bad influence on Donna while Dessie's mother fears that she will like the other family more.

    And the outside world offers up its own complications. Donna's grandmother becomes the victim of a vicious hate crime. Both girls' favorite group puts out a song with racist language. 

     A second marriage gave Chen two Chinese step daughters who were adopted into a white family. She's intimately familiar with the "delights and challenges" of culture blending. And she fears for their future in a country that increasingly others Asian Americans. Her concerns were the seed from which this fine book grew. "So I did what I always do when my heart grows furious: I wrote. What burst out of me is this love letter for my stepdaughters and all young people who are discovering their roots and their heritage, yes. But also their voices."

On a purrrsonal note, today I was ambushed by joy. It was so sunny 🌞 and warm I got to read 📚 outside for two hours. Not what you expect in Maine in January! 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who enjoyed his weekend 🧊 fishing 🎣 with his best friend and (more importantly) came home safe.

Jules Hathaway 

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One Of Our Kind (adult dystopia)

     Stepford Wives meets Black Lives Matter in Nicola Yoon's chilling One Of Our Kind.

    Liberty, California is billed as a utopia for upwardly mobile Black families, a haven free of the microaggressions and racist violence of the outside world. The mansions and their grounds are picture perfect. 

     "It's hard for Jasmyn to believe that everyone who lives here is Black. Harder to believe that, in just one month, she's going to be one of the Black people who lives here."

     Jasmyn, her husband, Kingston, and their young son, Kamau, certainly seem to be moving into a better place, especially after an incident with a white police officer. And the guys adjust easily. Her husband fits right in with the elites. Kamau loves and seems to be thriving in his new school. 

     But things are more complicated for Jasmyn. A public defender who sees so many young lives destroyed by the system, she can't just turn her back on the Blacks who can't afford to live in Liberty. She's hoping to meet new neighbors who share her passion for activism. But when she tries to start a local Black Lives Matter chapter she encounters almost total indifference. 

     And there's the ominous wellness center that's at the the heart of community life. What's up with the chants, the rituals, the equipment that seems more suited to a medical lab than a spa?

     What's being done to her neighbors? Is there something in the air or water? Can she get her family out before they're next?

     Yoon is an award winning YA author. One Of Our Kind is her most excellent adult fiction debut. 

On a purrrsonal note, tonight Tobago and I are on our own. Eugene is on an 🧊 fishing 🎣 weekend with his best friend. They can have it. The thought of sitting on a frozen lake leaves me cold.

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who I can't wait to see tomorrow. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Out of Character (YA romance)

     Senior year isn't starting out well for Cass, protagonist of Jenna Miller's Out of Character. Her parents' marriage had been tempesteous. But the fighting didn't prepare her for her mother's sudden announcement that she was on her way to Maine to live with her boyfriend. This sudden abandonment is heart breaking. Her surgeon father has been preoccupied with work for most of her life; her mother has been there for her.

     Having her long term crush become her girlfriend is unexpectedly problematic. Tayor is gorgeous, romantic, ready to commit, and moving much too fast for Cass who isn't comfortable with more than kissing. She believes that Taylor deserves better but doesn't know how to make it happen. 

    Cass is a member of an online role play based on her favorite two-book series. She not only enjoys interacting as her character with the other characters, but confiding in the other four girls in an intimacy she can't achieve with offline peers. 

     Cass keeps her online world a secret. She's afraid that her now parenting father will cut her lifeline. It is having quite an adverse affect on her grades and distracting her from college applications. She's afraid that Taylor won't understand. And she may be falling for one of her fellow role players in a way she can't for her official girlfriend. 

     To keep her two lives separate or try to integrate them, knowing the risks inherent in either choice--this is the dilemma posed in this highly engaging coming of age narrative. 

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene was not my first boyfriend. I'd even been engaged a few times. But, like Cass, I'd never wanted to take these relationships to deeper levels. It took me awhile to figure out what made Eugene different. My father had been such a terrible parent I was subconsciously looking for someone who would be a wonderful father to our future children. Marrying him was the best decision I ever made.

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene with whom I'm still madly in love. Today is his birthday. I've baked his favorite cake for the quiet celebration he prefers.

Jules Hathaway 

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Tobago with Squismallows

Isn't she just too adorable for words?

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here (YA romance)

     Rosemead, an elite girls private school, has a serious problem. Its swimming coach is a sexual predator who behaves very inappropriately with the students. The administration takes his side, silencing anyone who tries to report him. A ex Olympian, he's good for the school's image and income. In Erin Gough's Amelia Westlake Was Never Here two protagonists who could not possibly be more different join forces to try to take him down. 

     Will (short for Wilhelmina) has a troublemaker reputation. Actually she speaks her mind even if she knows she'll be punished for it. She is no fan of the school or her privileged peers. She longs to be in "A world in which people like [Coach] Hadley get what they deserve. A world where my classmates care about sticking up for each other more than they care about whose parents have the most expensive car." In other words she's a social justice warrior.

     Harriet is a model Rosemead student, highly engaged academically and in athletics. She sees her arrival at the school as the defining moment of her life. She obeys every rule and wears her uniform perfectly and proudly. TBH she's a bit of a suck up when it comes to the administration. 

  Needless to say, neither is a fan of the other.

   But an unexpected meeting leads to an unlikely collaboration. They create a fictitious student, Amelia Westlake, to take credit for their actions. 

     Amelia quickly becomes quite popular with the students. But her actions get her on the administration radar. If their identities are discovered Will and Harriet will be in a world of trouble. 

     Could they possibly succeed in their mission with the odds seriously against them? Could they go from enemies to more than just friends? 

     Amelia Westlake Was Never Here combines an engaging plot with candid discussion of a problem that exists in too many schools today. 

On a purrrsonal note, I was a high school first year student. In swimming class the teacher told me to stay in the pool when he dismissed the class. He touched me very aggressively under my bathing suit and then told me it was our little secret. The next day I told the principal who called me a vicious little liar and said she wouldn't let me destroy a good man's reputation. It makes me angry that girls today still have to deal with that evil. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who see something and say something. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Blackballed (adult nonfiction)

     It was a Saturday night. The University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon had rented a party bus. Everyone on the bus was white. The alcohol was flowing. People started singing a reprehensible piece that used the N word and alluded to lynching with the message that Blacks would never be admitted to the fraternity. 

     Not everyone on the bus was OK with this. One brother filmed it and sent the video to a Black student campus group that was looking for evidence of campus racism to present to the administration. 

     This is the incident with which Lawrence Ross opens Blackballed, his expose of the racism that is still sadly alive and well on historically white college and university campuses. The book is full of descriptions of incidents that shocked me, many of them the work of white fraternities and sororities. There were also descriptions of the microaggressions that Black students experience all too often. 

     I was deeply bothered by the responses of the administrations to the incidents. As Ross summarizes they were reactive rather than proactive, seemingly more concerned with image control than with the well being of the targeted students. 

     But some of the racism is institutional and systemic and carried out by none other than the administration. One example that takes place not only in the South, but all over the country is the refusal to take down statues and rename buildings honoring particularly virulent racists. 

     If you want America's historically white colleges and universities to become truly welcoming, affirming, and valuing spaces for Black students you owe it to yourself to read the book. 

On a purrrsonal note, I have finished a crafts kit Amber gave me. It's assembling miniature books that have pages you can read. Most have pre-written stories but I had to write the content for ten. It was fun but very challenging. I'm sure it was good for my post stroke fine motor skills. And it looks so adorable in my studio. I'll post a picture. 

A great big shout out goes out to Amber for all the support she has given me in my stroke recovery and the just right presents.

Jules Hathaway 

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Girls With Sharp Sticks, Girls With Razor Hearts, Girls With Rebel Souls

     Remember earlier this winter break I was over the moon about Suzanne Young's In Nightfall? I could not put the book down. So I did what I always do with a new author crush--see if they've written other books. With Young I wicked lucked out. The sister is prolific. 

     I sent for a three volume series by inter library loan. And I started having misgivings the second I put my request in. It's been awhile since I've read a good dystopia. I have higher standards for dystopia than other genres. The author has to craft and maintain a world that is seamlessly believable. I've been let down before. I wasn't sure any author could pull this off for not one, but three books...

     ...Luckily I was wrong. The narrative arc was so suspenseful, so compelling, so believable the second I put one book down I picked up the next. 

     The first book in the series, Girls With Sharp Sticks, is like Stepford Wives meets elite private school with cutting edge AI thrown in. Narrator Mena and her friends are students at Innovations Academy, a very exclusive all girls school. 

     "We're top of the line, they like to say, the most well-rounded girls to ever graduate."

     But the school's definition of well-rounded differs greatly from yours or mine. Their academic grades are based on subjects like modern manners, social graces etiquette, and modesty and decorum rather than chemistry, algebra, and French. They must always be perfectly coiffed, made up and dressed. Beauty, they are told, is their greatest asset. They're constantly accompanied by a guardian who reports any non compliance on their part.

     The school's disciplinary methods are barbaric. 

     Mena and her friends decide to not only escape the school but take it down so it can't destroy more girls. In the second book, Girls With Razor Hearts, they're in the outside world. Mena and Sydney are students at Ridgeway Prep, a private school that may have hidden connections with Innovations Academy while Annalise, Brynn, and Marcella do research online. While they're trying to find what they need to know for their mission they also need to protect themselves from the very powerful people who will stop at nothing to destroy them...

     ...and the rich, entitled boys who can get away with everything. 

     In the final volume, Girls With Rebel Souls, the urgency and tempo have stepped up. It's becoming increasingly difficult to tell ally from enemy. And the bad guys have a terrifying new targeted weapon the girls are powerless against. 

     When I put that book down I felt like I'd just run a marathon. 

     The very best dystopias have enough in common with the readers' world that they carry a seed of possibility, the sense that at least some aspects of their narrative could come to fruition in the future. This is true in spades for this fine trilogy. Look no further than who is about to start a second term in the oval office. 

On a purrrsonal note I'm going to read and review more books by Young. But I'm going to wait on her six book series until the summer. 

A great big shout out goes out to Young who hopefully will keep dishing out the suspense for a long time. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Arlene Hathaway's chocolate chip 🍪 recipe

Dissolve 2 tsp baking soda in 1 1/2 cups applesauce 

Mix in 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves or ginger 1/2 cup shortening. 

Stir in 1 package chocolate chips. 

Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheets.

Bake 14 minutes at 375.

Don't say I never taught you anything useful. 

Arlene Hathaway's chocolate chip 🍪 recipe

Dissolve 2 tsp baking soda in 1 1/2 cups applesauce 

Mix in 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves or ginger 1/2 cup shortening. 

Stir in 1 package chocolate chips. 

Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheets.

Bake 14 minutes at 375.

Don't say I never taught you anything useful. 

The Rose Wood Hunt

     If intrigue and high stakes treasure hunts are your literary preference have I got a book for you! You won't be able to put down MacKenzie Reed's The Rose Wood Hunt.

     Rosetown, a coastal Massachusetts town, revolves around the Rosewood family. Although in recent years it hasn't all been smooth sailing, the townspeople rely on the family's high end fashion industry for jobs. Lily Rosewood, Reed's narrator, is granddaughter of the family matriarch. She looks forward to learning about the family business from her beloved grandmother and eventually taking over.

      But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. The day after a lavish party at her mansion Iris is found dead. And the family fortune is missing. 

     Before her death Iris had set up an intricate treasure hunt for Lily and three other teens featuring a map and a series of very cryptic clues. Just running against time to solve the mystery would be a challenge.

     But Lily's estranged cousin, Daisy, is a TikTok star with a half a million followers. When she puts the family's business out there uninvited treasure hunters begin descending on Rosetown, willing to do whatever it takes to acquire the fortune. 

     If intrigue and suspense, seasoned with romance and betrayal, are your recipe for a delicious read you'll find The Rose Wood Hunt to be in very good taste. 

On a purrrsonal note, well over half a year after the stroke I've finally started baking. I'd been cooking for quite awhile. But baking is more delicate--the measuring and all. The hardest thing for me to relearn so far has been cracking an egg without the insides falling on the floor. I started with banana bread, then went on to molasses cake. Today I upped my game to my mother-in-law's chocolate chip cookies. They came decent.

A great big shout out goes out to my mother-in-law, Arlene Hathaway. 

Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my 

Cool for the Summer

     For Larissa, protagonist of Dahlia Adler's Cool for the Summer, popular football star, Chase has always been the (probably impossible) dream. She's spent hours fantasizing about attending homecoming and prom on his arm and never getting anywhere...

     ...until the beginning of her senior year when Chase is suddenly noticing her, inviting her into his world, and becoming more and more romantic. Soon they're a school power couple. It's exactly what Larissa has been yearning for years...

     So why isn't it making her happy?

     Could it be because Jasmine, the girl with whom she had a bittersweet summer romance, is unexpectedly attending her school?

     If Chase is really Larissa's one and only, why can't she seem to get over Jasmine?

On a purrrsonal note, this is the kind of book I wish had been available when I was a teen and the happy endings were always the cheerleader winning the ❤️ of the quarterback. Even though the 60s are characterized as sexually revolutionary, they really weren't because we were only presented with one option. 

A great big shout out goes out to the authors who are presenting today's teens with affirmations of a much wider range of ways to be and to love.

Jules Hathaway 

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Mmm mmm good!!!

If you're ever in Penobscot County in Maine make Governors one of your destinations. You'll be glad 😊 😃 😀 😄 you did. 

The Contagion Next Time

     I think that during the pandemic most of us wanted it to be over already or at least morph into something more manageable, something we could get an annual vaccine against and then ignore.  Sandro Galea, author of The Contagion Next Time, warns us against this brand of magical thinking. Our nation and world were tragically unprepared for COVID-19. Unless we take drastic action we will be just as tragically unprepared for the next pandemic which could be even worse. 

     "As the twentieth century was characterized by the threat of mass conflict, the twenty-firstr is increasingly characterized by the threat of mass contagion, driven by our modern connectivity and the reservoirs of poor health we allow to exist. The shock of Covid-19 was amplified by our willful ignorance of this risk. The pandemic revealed just how vulnerable we have always been, and how vulnerable we will remain unless we learn its lessons."

     One of the lessons is our misallocation of money spent on health. The focus is on cure rather than prevention. One way we could invest in prevention is improving the conditions in which people live, widening access to clean air and water, safe housing, nourishing food. And there's this thing of climate change which exacerbates inequities. 

     Another is that we can no longer be complacent with a society where racial and social injustice create areas of serious deprivation. Health can't be dependent on to whom your were born. It has to be a public good. 

     And there are plenty of other well thought out lessons. 

     Basically Galea is calling for restructuring our country and 🌎 for the common good, potentially limiting the scope and tragedy of future contagions...

     ...and helping us all be less vulnerable to the more ordinary health challenges of being human. 

On a purrrsonal note, Eugene and I had our weekly breakfast at Governors. I had strawberry rhubarb pie with a generous scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Perfect blend of sweet and tart. 

A great big shout out goes out to the most excellent Governors staff.

Jules Hathaway 

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They're taking over the house. Oh, my!

Perfectly Parvin

     Parvin, protagonist of Olivia Abtahi's Perfectly Parvin, has concerns about high school. But she's confident she's starting off the year with a boyfriend and a date to the very important homecoming dance...

     ...Until he breaks up with her very publicly at orientation, telling her that she's too loud and too much.

     After a movie night with her two besties, Ruth and Fabian, Parvin comes to a very  unfortunate conclusion. The heroines of the flicks, the girls who catch the male gaze, are the opposite of too loud and too much. They've quiet and demure and wait for the guy to make the first move rather than take any kind of  initiative. That's the kind of girl she has to morph into... 

     ...and she doesn't have a lot of time. She's run into Wesley and his new girlfriend and told them she has a date to Homecoming. So to avoid a second humiliation she has to come up with a date worthy boy.

     But that's not all that's going on in Parvin's life. Her father is from Iran. His half sister is planning to visit her family. But she's detained and deported. It's 2017. Guess who's in the White House. Writing about the Muslim Ban in her author's note, Abtahi says, "But we will never forget the families that were torn apart, the students who couldn't attend the universities that accepted them, and the hate and vitriol the United States was sanctioned to spew."

     With a second T***p presidency on the horizon Perfectly Parvin is a very timely read. 

On a purrrsonal note, it wasn't too bad out this morning. To get fresh air and exercise I made a Hannaford/Goodwill run. At Hannaford I bought the ingredients to make Eugene's favorite kind of 🍪 from his mother's recipe and a bag of dark chocolate sea salt caramels that just happened to fall into my cart. At Goodwill I got what you'll see in the next picture. And all on gift cards. 

A great big shout out goes out to the friends who gave me the gift cards. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Can you believe this? I took this picture today in January after a white Christmas IN MAINE!!! To me this feels like a miracle!

Love Is A Revolution

     It can be very tempting, when meeting someone who you would like to be THE ONE, to try to come across as who they're looking for rather than who you actually are. But if this tactic works it can leave you vulnerable. What if they learn the truth? That's the plight of Nala, protagonist of Renee Watson's Love Is A Revolution.

     Nala lives with her aunt and uncle and "cousin-sister-friend" Imani. It's the first weekend of the girls' summer vacation before their senior year. Nala has agreed to do whatever Imani wants on her birthday. Too bad it's going to a talent show. 

     It's not what it is; it's who's putting it on.

     "Inspire Harlem is an organization for Harlem teens that does community service projects and hosts awareness events about various social issues. Imani has been trying to get me to join for the past year. But I don't know, they're a little too...well, let's just say I don't think I'm a good fit."

     When she sees the night's emcee Nala no longer regrets coming. Tye is fine. When Nala meets him she tries to present a persona he could fall in love with. The problem is it's all based on lies. As she finds herself making the untruths more and more elaborate Nala knows that she can't deceive him forever...

     ...What will happen when he discovers the truth?

     But romantic love isn't the only kind the book is centered on. Nala is also dealing with the complexities of her other relationships. And maybe to sustain an authentic romantic relationship she must first learn to love herself.

On a purrrsonal note, in the bad old days when I was a teen romantic relationships were supposed to be based on deceit. It was all about him. His interests were the only important ones. And if you were smarter than him you never let on. It would scare 😱 him away. I didn't play that game. And I found boys who shared my concerns about the war, the environment, feminism, and racism (as opposed to say being obsessed with football) and weren't scared off by my grades.

A great big shout out goes out to the many boys and men today who don't expect a relationship to be all about males.

Jules Hathaway 

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Tell It True

     Students who have an interest in journalistic ethics (or aren't quite sure there is such a thing) will really enjoy the coming of age narrative that is Tim Lockette's Tell It True.

     Lisa, Lockette's protagonist, is judgemental and cynical about just about everything in her life. She's sure her often away dad is carrying on an affair with his assistant. Her mother has messed up values. 

     "Teachers are fake: biology teachers who've never done research, English teachers who've never published a word of their own writing."

     In fact her hometown and school are fake. And the epitome of the local of it is her school newspaper--"Stuff you already knew or didn't care about, published weeks after the events happened because the paper comes out only three times a year."

     So it's truly ironic when she takes on editorship as a favor to her best (and only) friend. She doesn't take this role all that seriously at first. She suggests renaming the paper the Beachside Strangler.

     But things change when she reads about high school journalists uncovering real scandals, having a real impact on their communities. So when she learns that a man convicted of a double murder a quarter century ago without adequate representation is about to be executed she takes that on as her way to make a difference. 

     It's a real life changing learning experience for Lisa. Her narrative can be quite thought provoking for teens coming of age in today's ethically challenged media world. 

On a purrrsonal note, today is the first day of 2025. I didn't stay up until midnight. Tobago believes it is her duty to get her people to bed on time. I took pity on her at 10:30 when she was beginning to look slightly panicked. My official resolutions are to graduate 🎓 grad school, get a UMaine job, and finish my book manuscript. My covert one is to add more flamboyance to my fashion aesthetic and find more drag ops.

A great big shout out goes out to my precious wing 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 sweet Tobago. 

Jules Hathaway 

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