Black Girl Power (juvenile Nonfiction)

     "Power is the ability to control the narrative. Your narrative. Your story, told through your lens, told in your voice. That's important. Power is also strength, and I'm not just talking about carrying seventeen bags of groceries inside in one trip. I'm talking about the strength to stand up--stand up for what you believe in, stand up for someone else, stand up after you've been knocked down, dragged down, or talked down to."

     This eloquent definition of power comes from Kwame Mbalia's Introduction to Black Girl Power, a rich and vibrant anthology of narratives written for older juvenile readers by some of the best and brightest of today's Black writers. The stories all center around girl protagonists facing serious stressors. Most settings are familiar to preteens; some less so. But the shero always prevails.

     *In Elise Bryant's The New Rules it's the first day of middle school for Maya. The bestie she'd counted on for support has recently ditched her for a less babyish chum. She feels like she can't possibly fit in until...

     ..."But, suddenly those assessing stares, those judgy glances, look a lot more self-conscious and nervous. Could they be just as freaked out about middle school and these new rules and what everyone else thinks about them as I am? Could that be...normal?"

     *Zetta, protagonist of Natasha Diaz's One Of Those Days, and her mother are about to move away from the only home she's ever known. It's their last day in her familiar neighborhood. She knows exactly how she wants to spend it.  But a weird kind of magic seems to be messing everything up. 

     *Billie, narrator of Leah Johnson's Brave prides herself on her toughness. 

     "The thing is, you gotta be fearless when you're a girl playing [ice] hockey. Otherwise, people think they can run all over you. And nobody runs over Billie Louise Tate Jr., no, sir. I spit and I fight and I can outskate and outeat and outscore anybody."

     But a diagnosis of pediatric ITP is an opponent she hasn't counted on.

     In Tola Okogwu's An Aria For Abi Abi loves singing and wants desperately to audition for a role in her school's opera production. Her mother wants her to instead focus on running. 

     "I'm juggling so many expectations, I feel like a clown sometimes. Everyone has a role they want me to play...obedient daughter...grateful scholarship kid...dedicated athlete. How am I supposed to be all these things and still be me, too?"

     That's only a sample of the truly engaging stories readers will encounter. I consider Black Girl Power to be an exceptionally good gift for girls about to make the make the big transition to middle school with its increased challenges and responsibilities. 

On a purrrsonal note, tonight's the last year of 2025. Although on the larger scale it seemed to be an unbroken stream of unmitigated disasters, in my personal life there were some real special moments, mostly centered around my finally graduating from UMaine with a masters degree in higher education: student services: the huge surprise party in the career center that had food, cards, gifts, music, a slide show, and a book with pictures and messages (So many people worked on it and kept it secret for weeks and my whole family attended--even Eugene who hates parties); the actual graduation where the president spoke glowingly about me and I got a standing ovation; and the press coverage of my accomplishment (Channel 5 News, People Magazine. Another high point was being able to perform in a drag show put on by a UMaine drag club my friend Jaxon and I started. Scattered through the year were skills I regained that I'd lost to the stroke--especially swimming. In the summer and fall groups discovered my photography talents and counted on me to be paparazzi for their social media. Better believe I'm going to develop that skill. But the most precious moments were those I spent with family and friends. 

Tobago and I plan to party at home tonight: stay up after Eugene goes to bed, reading and snuggling near the tree. I have a Fancy Feast entree for her and 1 Ghirardelli chocolate for me. I hope you have a happy and safe night.

Yes, I have crafted my resolutions. You can learn about them tomorrow. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Well the temp this morning was a balmy 24 degrees with sun and no wind to speak of. So I made my 4 bus 4 hour Goodwill/Hannaford run. At Goodwill I found a big Squishmallow (the one with purple) that goes purrrfectly with one I already have as you can see, a Build A Bear Workshop cat in unicorn and cloud pajamas, and a high waisted black leather jacket that looks exactly like the one Olivia Newton John wore at the end of Grease and fits me purrrfectly. For all that I paid only $10.23!!! I used the gift card Adam gave me. At Hannaford I got Cool Whip for the molasses cake I'll make Eugene tomorrow and half price Ghirardelli Christmas chocolates to enjoy in extreme moderation. Bussing back I realized that the wind was really kicking up. So I put my library trip off for another day. Very wise decision!

Jules Hathaway 

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Love In Winter Wonderland (YA romance)

     One of my favorite reading experiences is what I call immersive reading. Basically it involves recreating some of the ambiance of the book in real life. Like reading a beach novel at the ocean. Maine winters provide an immersive setting for horror stories. Once Amber and I read The Shining during an intense blizzard that had knocked the power out...

     ...But this weekend when I read Abiola Bello's Love In Winter Wonderland I realized that the snow ❄️ season can also be the setting for romance. I read it on the sofa near the Christmas tree with glimpses of white out the windows and background Christmas music. 

     I sent away for the book because it's about the fight to save an independent Black owned bookstore. Wonderland has been in the same family for generations. Now the owners are having a hard time staying afloat. They're facing unfair competition from a soulless chain, Books! Books! Books!. And there's a gentrifyer sniffing around like a shark smelling blood on the water. If they can't solve their money problems by Christmas Eve which is only weeks away...

     Of course to have a romance you have to have two human beings who are a good match (even if they don't initially seem to be) and hopefully will come to their senses by the last chapter. 

     Trey is the older son and future heir of the store owners. Working at Wonderland after school, he can see how dire the fiscal situation is. But he can't find the key to turning things around. And his father shoots down any ideas he has. 

     Ariel is a really talented artist who has a chance to get into a highly competitive art school. But it will take a lot more money than she has. So when Trey's father is sidelined for six weeks (yet another complication) she takes a part time job at Wonderland. 

     Trey unfortunately has a very possessive girlfriend of two years, Blair, who is a real piece of work: self centered, manipulative, thoughtless, cruel. She'll do anything to keep Trey under her thumb. He deserves much better. Too bad he doesn't seem to realize that.

      Is Wonderland going to survive, maybe even thrive? Are Trey and Ariel going to see the light and fall in love?

      I suggest you gather up winter snacks like Christmas cookies, cocoa, and cider, put on a Playlist--maybe the one in the book, and curl up in your favorite reading spot under a warm, soft blanket to create a immersive experience for reading a truly engaging romance narrative. 

On a purrrsonal note, I really enjoyed reviewing this book as well as reading it. Eugene doesn't see why I keep this blog up because it doesn't earn me money. If you're a long time reader you know it's mostly about promoting the diverse, inclusive, truth telling books that government grinches are working overtime to ban, burn, and bury. But it's also for the pure joy of wordsmithing in my own unique voice. 

I am also convinced that my constant writing (blogging, Journaling, poetry, fiction, nonfiction) is one of the reasons the stroke didn't touch my language centers. What we know about the brain 🧠 is that it evolves, weeding stuff we don't use and strengthening areas we use a lot. Creating links and multiple reinforcement. 

I have been the sole content creator for this blog for over fourteen years and about to hit a major milestone. Love In Winter Wonderland is the 2,947 book I've reviewed. I'm due to get to my 3,000th in 2026. I'll keep you updated on the count down. I don't know how I'll celebrate. But I'll for sure celebrate 🥳 🎉 🎊 🍾 😌 when I hit that number!!!

Getting ready for New Year's Eve. Are you?

Jules Hathaway 

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Advent calendar

Here it is with all the windows open. Aren't the critters just too cute for words? I have a special place for them in my library. Eugene just came back from shopping with good food and A SQUISHMALLOW!!! Nothing says romance like an unexpected Squishmallow!!!

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Tall Water (YA graphic novel)

     SJ Sindu's Tall Water is a real eye opener. It takes teen readers to a part of the world where war, death, and precarity are a way of life--where what we often take too much for granted--food, medical care, shelter, safety, even drinking water--can be hard to come by.

     Nimmi was born in Sri Lanka to a native mother and an American journalist father. In her last year of high school she lives in America with her father. Shortly after she was born her father's press pass was revoked meaning that he had to leave that very day. Her mother insisted that he take their baby for her safety. After several unsuccessful attempts to get her own visa she decided to stay in her war torn country. 

     Nimmi has wanted to know why her mother didn't try harder, why the chance to mother her wasn't enough. Her mother is alive and running an orphanage. They exchange letters, but it isn't enough. And she has dreams in which her mother calls out to her, begging her to return.  

     Then her father's paper is sending him to Sri Lanka on assignment. His press pass has been reinstated. He refuses to take Nimmi with him, claiming it would be much too dangerous...

     ...but she has the means--dual citizenship and a credit card--to follow him. 

     Graphic novel is the perfect format for the drama and trauma Nimmi experiences on her quest. Dion MBD's illustrations and changing palettes convey a palpable sense of suspense but also the ability of people living intimately with danger to find joy in times of respite.

     For the more mature YA reader Tall Water is an eye opener and a heart opener, a journey well worth taking. 

On a purrrsonal note, I'm getting ready for New Year's Eve. I have my resolutions ready. Actually I don't think up new resolutions because I notice ways I can improve at all times of the year. At the end of the year I just curate a list. (You'll have to wait to see it.) I plan to stay up and read near the tree snuggling with precious Tobago. I have a very special read picked out: the copy of Amber's new manuscript she gave me for Christmas. I have a Fancy Feast entree so Tobago can celebrate 🥳 🎉 🎊. I'll let myself have a tiny bit of candy. 

A great big shout out goes out to my very favorite horror story writer. The one who knocked Stephen King to #2 on my list.

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Christmas 🎄

As you've probably guessed this is a picture of me and Eugene at a family Christmas party. I love having my picture taken and Eugene is camera shy. If he looks like he's thinking "Oh, crap, not another picture" that's probably what's going through his mind.

He had to plow last night. When he came home he took me out to breakfast at Governors. It is some cold out. We heard Steve McKay (who used to be my pastor but evidently has gone back to being a meteorologist) say that it's below zero counting in the windchill. You'd better believe I'm not going out again unless I absolutely have to.

Jules Hathaway 

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All For The Game (YA chiller)

     We're all told that high school athletics are good for teens, providing the positive engagement that correlates with academic achievement, boosting their health, and providing valuable life lessons such as time management and teamwork. It probably does for many kids. But what if adults--not only coaches, but influential community members--are so invested in their school's continued championship that they'll do whatever it takes--legal or not--to keep it up? The students can pay quite a price for their misdeeds. 

     That's what Heather Buchta deals with in her roller coaster ride of a chiller: All For The Game. 

     "What if he found actual proof that EastPay (East Pages High) football was cheating somehow? Would he keep quiet? If he didn't play for EastPay, what was the point of everything? Moving his grandma. Losing his friends. Struggling with his relationship."

     Finn has been raised by his beloved grandmother, his father being MIA, his mother addicted to drugs. He's determined to provide her with a secure, comfortable life as her health declines. He sees going pro as the only way to do so. He's staked their futures on EastPay. But what if that was a big mistake?

     "Other opposing players were out here and there during games against EastPay. The average person would never notice. Student players missed games. It happened.

     The week Finn played EastPay [on the opposing team] last year, his grandma was ill. Food Poisoning. Had it [tainted food] been meant for Finn?" 

     Meg, Finn's girlfriend, is still at his old school. She's having strange experiences. She got a message to meet Finn at the EastPay gym at a time he wouldn't be there only to be treated with extreme hostility by his coaches. And she's seeing other disturbing signs. 

      "Spencer had said to lay low, but Brit was going for invisibility. In class, she kept her head buried in her books. During passing period, she walked with the briskness of a lawyer late for court, eyes straight ahead. Britney Wallace, Fearless Flyer. 

     What a joke. She was terrified."

     Brit, Finn's cousin, is the EastPay cheer co captain. She's getting the feeling that her squad is keeping secrets from her. When she tries to figure out what's going on an extremely cruel hoax is played on her.

     It starts small with Finn noticing an unusual pattern. When the EastPay team plays no threat teams their starters are there in full force. But they play powerhouses some of their starters are mysteriously absent. It happens too often to be mere coincidence.

     But there are other disturbing incidents. The death of a young man. Warnings and threats. A sinister chat room. The three are trying to bring the truth to light and bring an end to what amounts to a reign of terror.

     But with the odds definitely stacked against them...

     ...If you're anything like me the story will come vividly to life and you won't want to put the book down.

On a purrrsonal note, I am having the most purrrfect Christmas anyone could have. Eugene and I exchanged gifts and looked in our Santa stockings. Then he made breakfast. But the weather was disturbing--a full blown storm that we weren't supposed to get. We were afraid it would prevent Katie, Jacob, and Adam from coming up from Southern Maine. Fortunately it didn't. We met up at Amber and Brian's where we chilled and exchanged gifts. Brian made the most delicious corn chowder and grilled cheese sandwiches. I had seconds on both. I ate more in one meal than I usually do in one day. Then Katie, Jacob, Adam, Eugene, and I went to the in-laws for their traditional Christmas party. My best gift was the chance to spend time with loved ones. Of course I did get thoughtful gifts including money, journals, gift cards to Hannaford and Goodwill, handmade (by Amber) owl earrings and so much more. The most unique gift--my own copy of the book manuscript Amber just wrote. Anyway it was a purrrfect Christmas. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who contributed to making today so special. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Let it not snow

Well it's finally stopped snowing 🌨 here. Eugene is still out plowing. 13 hours so far.  I hope he likes the nice surprise I have for him. I've been shoveling the porch, the paths to the fuel tank and shed, and the whole driveway (see picture.) so he won't have to when he finally gets home. Following the American Heart ❤️ Association safety guidelines to the letter, of course. With 2 hours fresh air and exercise I'll sleep like a 🐈 😻 tonight. And I feel totally energized. 

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Christmas Eve

Well it's Christmas Eve. Mother Nature has provided Central Maine with the ingredients for a white Christmas. Eugene has been out plowing 10 hours so far. I'm taking a short break from shoveling out here at home. The white stuff is still coming down even though we have enough of the white stuff to elate Norman Rockwell wannabes and the Hallmark Channel. I just hope it doesn't prevent Katie, Jacob, and Adam from coming up from Southern Maine tomorrow. 

I have presents all wrapped, Santa stockings ready to set out before bed. Last I heard SC was flying over the ocean heading for the Philippines. (Normally I'm all team science. But one night a year I willingly suspend all the laws of physics to believe in seasonal magic). I've been good all year, even on the diet from Hell. So I imagine I've made the nice list again. 

The picture is a kids craft I've been working on. I can now craft like a 6-year-old. I wanted you to see the individual pieces because I'm proud of how well I painted them with a tiny paintbrush. 

Time for me to get out and shovel some more. If you and your loved ones celebrate Christmas I wish you a day filled with joy and enchantment. 

Jules Hathaway 

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We Are Villains (YA chiller)

     "I sit on the cold metal. The cushion is missing. "This is how Yates has been for decades."

     He speaks to the spiderwebs on the ceiling. "We're all terrified--afraid of the second we'll be forced into the arena or targeted or marked."

     One of the narrators of Kacen Callender's We Are Villains compares Yates (private boarding school to Lord of the Flies (dystopian novel). It's a very apt choice of books. A group of kids stranded in a wilderness with no adult supervision devolves to savagery. At Yates, apart from teaching and coaching, adults are missing in action. A trio of teens has the power to terrorize their peers without fear of anyone reporting them or retaliating. When a student is marked their peers are encouraged to and rewarded for assaulting them. There's an arena where students who displease the trio are forced to fight much bigger peers who beat them savagery.

     It's with the knowledge and tacit approval of the adults supposedly in charge.

     At the time the book is set in the alpha group consists of Liam (president), Preston (second in command), and Sadie (the girlfriend attracted to him by ambition rather than affection). Although their peers defer to them, many (especially those who have been targeted, marked, or savagely beaten in the arena) want nothing more than their downfall.  

     They may get their wish. The previous year a scholarship classmate, was found dead after a campus fire. The school and town police haven't done much to find the killer. But suddenly incriminating photos have been showing up on the student Discord. Rumors begin flying. The trio begins fracturing. Students eagerly await the chance for revenge on their former tormenters. 

     Whole lotta espionage and backstabbing going on...

     ...and a most excellent read for hard core chiller affecianados.

On a purrrsonal note, here in Penobscot County, Maine it's the calm before the storm--literally if you can believe the Channel 5 meteorologist. From the windows I can see blue skies punctuated by puffy clouds. Sunlight and warmth are streaming in. But in the afternoon those skies are supposed to grey up and dump too much accumulating snow. Eugene will have to plow at night. We might lose power. It's supposed to snow into tomorrow which is the day before Christmas which could prevent Katie, Adam, and Jacob from coming up. And it's the last thing I need for going anywhere. I have to walk through a woods path that nobody clears to get to the bus stop. The snow can get thigh high on me since I'm such a shortie. And yesterday I discovered a tree down across the path. Not a huge tree. But a ton of snow ❄️ will make it a lot harder to break it up with the saw I stole from Eugene 2 1/2 years ago. Because if I don't do something nobody will. 

A great big shout out goes out to you whenever you are with best wishes for happy holidays. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Errands

Today I ran all the errands I needed to before Christmas. There was a wicked wind chill, but at least nothing falling from the sky like there will be tomorrow into Wednesday. First trip was to Bangor to Goodwill where I finally got the Squishmallow I promised myself as a reward for getting vaccinated and a cute shirt and Hannaford where I got candy for Eugene's Santa stocking. After stopping at home for a quick lunch I set off to Orono Public Library to exchange books. I used to be able to get a hot drink to stay warm while waiting for the bus home. Not any more. The convenience store has coffee (caffeine) and cocoa (caffeine and too much sugar) but NO DECAF!!! I was frozen when I finally got home. But I will be so happy tomorrow and Wednesday when I don't have to go anywhere. 

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We Are Big Time (juvenile graphic novel)

     Graphic novels are most definitely the perfect medium through which to tell sports stories. The combination of images and text conveys the dynamic action of athletic competition. And in Hena Khan's We Are Big Time it conveys other layers of a truly engaging narrative. 

     There's the big adjustments Aliya has to make when she has to move from Florida to Wisconsin partway through her first year of high school, leaving behind her school, her friends--the only home she's ever known--because of her father's new job. 

     There's the struggles of her new consistently losing by big margins basketball team to learn to work better as a team.

     There's the implicit (and sometimes explicit) bias this hijab wearing all Muslim team encounters on the part of people like reporters.

     But you know what I like best about it? It's fiction based on fact. Khan was inspired by a Wisconsin educator who sent her a piece about the Salem School girls' basketball team. She was able to look up news coverage of the team and interview the coach and some of the players. 

On a purrrsonal note, it is the winter solstice, the longest night and shortest day of the year, which means that from now on we'll be gaining minutes of daylight. To me it's a truly joyous 😊 😃 😄 ☺️ prospect. By the calendar winter starts today. Meteorological winter has already gone on too long in some parts of the country. Until school starts up again I'm going to do some crafts every day to work on my fine motor skills. I was painting with a paintbrush this morning, something I've studiously avoided. 

A great big shout out goes out to the amazing volunteers who run Orono Thrift Shop where I scored 3 brand new children's crafts kits for fifty cents each.

Jules Hathaway 

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Tobago

Well here is another picture of Precious Tobago, my best little cat in the world. 

Well the storm is over. The sun 🌞 is out. The weather is frigid. At least after tomorrow (winter solstice) the days will start getting longer again. Will we get a white Christmas this year? I'm clueless. Just hoping to get in one library trip and one Goodwill/Hannaford run in before the big day.

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Black-Owned (adult nonfiction)

     Char Adams, author of Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life Of The Black 

Bookstore, wrote the book that she'd wanted to read. Her curiosity about the history of Black owned bookstores was piqued in 2018 when she read an article in The Atlantic: The FBI's War on Black-Owned Bookstores. 

     "When I finished the article, I couldn't help think about the booksellers. I was curious about their experiences. I wanted to know about their lives under FBI surveillance and what it meant to sell Black literature at such a politically turbulent time in the country. Did agents visit their stores? What books were they most excited to sell? How did Black locals react to having such overtly countercultural businesses in their communities? I had questions. So I set out to get answers."...

     ...And did she ever get answers! She gives readers a rich, intersectional history of Black-Owned Bookstores stores from the 1830s when abolitionist and Black bookstore owner David Ruggles used his store as a community centered activism site, royally pissing off the pro slavery crowd, to the COVID pandemic. And this history is never dry, dull, or pedantic. Adams is a consummate storyteller and a talented interviewer. She spices her broad outlines with vivid particularities described so well you can conjure up scenes in your mind of children's story times, political meetings, and so much more. 

     "I fashioned Black-Owned as a series of vignettes with historical accounts and information mixed in. It takes readers back in time, bringing those stories to life, allowing readers to see staff stocking bookshelves,  to hear tense conversations with law enforcement, and feel the disappointment of a store's closure. It is more than a historical account; it is a collection of vivid stories intended to stick with readers long after they put the book down. Stories a person could get lost in."

     I surely did get lost in them. I bet you can too. If Black history and/or bookstore history intrigues you--if you enjoy volumes that bring times and places vividly to life--you're going to really enjoy Black-Owned. If you can afford to buy your own copy please get it from a Black-Owned bookstore. If, like me, you live in an area where there are no physical ones look for one with an online presence. 

On a purrrsonal note, last night the channel 5 meteorologist was predicting a storm for today with ultra strong winds, torrential rain, and serious chances of losing power. As in make sure you're prepared for disaster. Well so far the weather is living up to the hype. So I figured I'd better post pretty darn quick. 

A great big shout out goes out to those courageous Black entrepreneurs who have  created and nurtured much needed bookstores against the odds and continue to do so today.

Jules Hathaway 

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Christmas party

This is the Yankee swap gift I ended up with. The guy who initially got it looked warily at the kids who were there. I thought, "They aren't the ones you have to worry about." Sure enough when it was my turn I swapped and ended up with the best gift of the whole event. 

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My Perfect Family (YA fiction)

     For all her sixteen years on this planet family for Leena, narrator of Khadijah VanBrakle's My Perfect Family, family has consisted of herself and her mother, Asiyah, a home day care operator. Now don't get me wrong. She adores her mother. But she's longed for the love and support of a larger family.

     One night her distraught mother tells her they have to rush to the hospital. Asiyah's father, the grandfather nobody told Leena she has, has suffered a heart attack and may not make it...

     ...He does pull through and is delighted to finally meet his only granddaughter and wants desperately to spend time with her and get to know her. 

     "His offer is something I've dreamed about since elementary school. 

     Family. People who love and support you. People who are with you from the cradle to the grave. People you come from, who carry your history with them. Relationships that weather any storm. Hands that link around you, protecting you."

     Although Asiyah doesn't prevent Leena from seeing him and his sister with whom he lives, the opinionated and outspoken Samira, she makes it abundantly clear that she does not approve. From bitter experience growing up she fears that any kindness they show Leena will be accompanied by pressures to adapt to a strict version of Islam and marry a boy they choose, to super achieve academically and attain a prestigious position, and to give up any passions they consider unsuitable. 

     Leena finds her plight very frustrating. She wants a relationship with her grandfather and possibly Samira. But she hates constantly sparring with and keeping secrets from her mother. She yearns to bring the parts of her little family together. 

     But what if she can't? Will She have to choose one side over the other?

On a purrrsonal note, I had an amazing day yesterday. The highlight was the traditional higher education Christmas party. It was in Elizabeth Allan's (head of the program) beautiful home. A delicious supper was followed by a lively Yankee swap. The program is very close and supportive. So the party was like family minus haters. It's definitely one of the highlights of my Christmas season. Today, after a very fruitful trip to the thrift shop and a library visit, I participated in the weekly vigil. There were 19 of us holding signs and flashing peace signs. I counted that 159 vehicles honked horns and/or waved. That was wonderful. What wasn't wonderful was the wind chill. When I got to campus it took me awhile to thaw out. 

A great big shout out goes out to Dr. Elizabeth Allan who deftly steers the higher education program through turbulent times while valuing and affirming each individual student, the wonderful higher education family, my faithful fellow vigil participants, and the drivers who affirmed us through honks and waves. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Precious Tobago

This is how Tobago responded to a request to pose for a picture. Pretty darn intelligent cat. Not to mention gorgeous. 

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Precious Tobago

I used to reward myself for getting vaccinated with gourmet ice-cream. This year sadly this was not an option. Instead I gave Tobago a treat. This is her napping after devouring a Fancy Feast entrée. Picture of contentment. I do plan to get myself a small Squishmallow.  They sell for $2 at Goodwill. I watch Tobago's diet carefully to maintain a good weight. Cats 🐈 😻, especially overweight cats, do get diabetes which is not what I want for my best little cat in the world. 

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The Tournament (YA chiller)

     Are you in the market for a chiller that will keep you in suspense from beginning to end for Christmas vacation? If so, have I got a book for you! Rebecca Barrow's The Tournament is a prime example of the genre private schools can be the death of you. 

     Well, first of all there's the school itself. The Gardner-Bahnsen School for Girls was founded close to the turn of the 20th century by two rather unusual women who believed that girls should be educated to not only be fluent in the classics and sciences, but able to survive anywhere. And I mean anywhere. In addition to physics and history the students have classes that could have been planned by today's extreme survivalists.

     Then there's the major event of each year, a competition called the Tierney Cup, a competition that practically screams 😱 danger, peril, legal liability! Something no school administrator in their right mind would sign off on. Seven about to graduate seniors are chosen as competitors. The one who scores the most points in a series of contests wins. They involve stuff like a five mile ocean swim (against perilous currents), slaughtering and butchering wild animals, and staying on an island overnight alone. 

     Then there's the book's three narrators. Max is a scholarship student uncomfortably aware of her poverty in relation to her classmates. Raised in a bleak, poor community from which hardly anyone escapes, she made up her mind to be the exception. Applying on her own, she didn't clue her parents in until she was accepted with a hefty scholarship. This past summer has been the first vacation she hasn't spent with the family of...

     ...Nora, her roommate and bestie of six years, Nora who has lived in flamboyant Max's shadow. Who has been content to do so...

     ...until at the end of their junior year she confessed to Max that she wanted to be more than just friends. Now there's serious bad blood between the formerly inseparable chums.

     Rounding out the trio is Teddy the bad girl who has been expelled from three other private boarding schools. She never means to start trouble. She tries to be good. But she feels this force within her that gets bored and won't let up until she's in real hot water. This is her last chance school. She was only admitted as a legacy. Her grandmother was a Gardner girl.

     ...Teddy has become intimate with Nora but cheats on her with Max when a blizzard unfortunately strands her at school...

     ...There are extremely bad feelings all around. These are three girls you wouldn't want together in the same room...

     ...never mind in a cutthroat competition with access to deadly weapons...

     ...Will they and the other contestants all get out alive?

     Like Stephen King's finest works, The Tournament relies on the intimate portrayal of the evil that can lurk in the human heart and the havoc it can create.

On a purrrsonal note, that book was a joy to read and review. If you're a chiller affecianado don't miss out. I've embarked on one of my long term favorite 😍 winter traditions. From when the beautiful tree is up and decorated until it's gone when the big ass TV isn't on I spend as much time as I can lying on the sofa reading. I've observed this for decades and it always is a joyful practice--a temporary mitigation of winter's darkness and bitter cold. Speaking of which--today is not supposed to even hit freezing. With nowhere compelling to go you'd better believe I'm staying in.

A great big shout out goes out to the librarians keeping me supplied with great books 📚 to read and review and the students embarking on finals week. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Zen garden

Friday I was having a bad reaction to the vaccines. But I wasn't contagious. And I'd promised to take pictures for the zen garden event. So I did. I got good pictures and made an adorable zen garden of my own (picture) which is now on my home library desk. But I could only stay up an hour. I went to SWell and lay on my favorite sofa and fell asleep. It was a good thing Bailey could give me rides both ways. I could not have managed the walk to and from the bus stop. Yesterday I was still exhausted. I was happy to commence one of my favorite winter traditions: reading near the beautiful decorated Christmas tree every chance I get. I consider it seasonal mindfulness. A bright light ✨️ in a string of mostly crappy weather days and blizzard nights. 

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My Friend May (picture book)

     Members of the picture book set tend to love animals whether the classroom pet hamster, the goats in a petting zoo, or the dog or cat at home. A narrative focused on a girl and her cat 🐈 😻 will most likely be a much requested read aloud. 

     "May liked to be under things, chairs and stools and sofas...and sometimes over. She liked inspecting insects and playing in the long grass behind the house. May was unsure of oranges, and she loved her friend Margaux."

     The cat, May, and child, Margaux, have grown up together, intimately knowing each other's ways. So one day when May doesn't show up at dinner time Margaux knows something is wrong. She forms a search party who scour the area to no avail. May fears that her precious pet is alone, hurt, or hungry. 

     But you and I know that a picture book illustrated in soft pastels will not end badly. Kids will find the end of the book reunion highly satisfying. 

     The illustrations are really special, especially those that depict the green eyed black cat.

     I really like the invitation author/illustrator Julie Flett issues to readers and listeners at the back of the book. 

"Do you have a story to tell?

Your turn."

On a purrrsonal note, I actually have 2 lost cat stories. I work diligently to keep my cats safely indoors. But a few times they've managed to get out. When my kids were still to home Joey, my beloved tuxedo cat reading companion got out. I was looking to no avail. It was getting dark. Then one of the neighborhood kids asked me what I was looking for. Suddenly there were flashlight beams everywhere as kids and their adults searched and he was quickly found. The second was when precious Tobago got out just weeks before my graduation. I had a serious ankle injury. It hurt every time I put weight on my right foot. I was searching street by street. Then I saw a cat I call Romeo because of all the time he spends gazing up at Tobago through the window. I instructed him to find Tobago and bring her home. He trotted off purposefully and did just that. 

A great big shout out goes out to all beings, human or otherwise, who reunite animals with their human companions. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Getting to look a lot like

It takes a lot of ornaments to trim a big tree. So every year I acquire some new ones. I got these last week. I made the ❤️ with the cat 🐈 😻 🐾. I got the others at Orono Thrift Shop for only a quarter each. Can you believe that?

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Fancy Nancy Besties For Eternity (picture book)

     Those of us who are parents or primary grade teachers know how tenuous peer relationships can be when young children are learning the ins and outs of friendship and how painful mistakes can be. Kids can gain so much from picture books featuring protagonists in similar situations. That's why Jane O'Connor's Fancy Nancy Besties For Eternity is so purrrfect for this demographic. 

     Nancy is gleefully anticipating a holiday weekend with her bestie only to learn that Bree is going to her grandma's until Monday. When her father takes her and her sister to the playground she feels forlorn (That's sad and lonely but fancier.") 

     ...until she's accosted by a girl who has just moved there and doesn't yet know anyone. Lily is perfect friendship material. She's fearless. She's already lost her two front teeth. And she's from glamorous Paris, France. Nancy has lunch at Lily's house. The next day the girls go to the movies. The next day they go to the nature center and to Nancy's house. 

     When Bree drops by, eager to talk about her weekend, Nancy brushes her off with "Um, I'm kind of busy now. Tell me about it later."

     But Bree doesn't want to come over later. 

     Learning how to come back from friendship rifts is a crucial life skill for young children. Fancy Nancy can be a good ally in this learning process.

On a purrrsonal note, I had a scare last night. My Smartphone told me it had been compromised. To buy protection I should hand over my credit card info. Of course I didn't. Sketchy AF!!! But my phone was messed up. I couldn't find my text app and my 8 years of pictures were being held hostage. I was especially afraid of losing those. Fortunately when Eugene and I went to USCellular the techie there was able to clear up everything in like one minute. My phone is back to normal. My pictures are safe. And I am happy. And while we were in Bangor I got Eugene to take me to get my flu and COVID vaccinations. BTW if you haven't yet it would be a good idea. Tis the season. 

A great big shout out goes out to the wonderful techie who rescued my phone and Eugene who drove me around Bangor without complaining after his night shift plowing the yucky white stuff. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Hi

Check out these gorgeous earrings. I splurged and bought them for myself. They go purrrfectly with my aesthetic. I'm on campus today being paparazzi for a pancake breakfast, delivering more gifts, and spending time with friends before break. Having a great day. Hope you are too.

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Unpacking School Lunch (adult nonfiction)

     I didn't encounter school lunches until junior high. At my elementary school kids brought their own lunches. If they had something to bring. Not everyone did. I remember coveting the snack cakes some of my peers brought in. My lunch was nutritionally balanced. Never a Ring Ding or a Twinkie. 

     When I did finally get to stand in line with my tray it was love at first sight and smell. The lunch ladies were serving something I'd Never tasted before: American chop suey. I asked the woman serving if I could please have a big serving. And at the end of the line there was dessert, which was served only on special occasions at the Seibert house. I made sure to tell the lunch ladies how much I enjoyed the meal. By the end of the week I was getting not only only large servings, but extra desserts. I was trying to get my mother to try their recipes with the fervor of a born again evangelical. 

     I think most of experienced school lunches as kids and teens. Some of us have experienced them vicariously through our children's narratives. I like to think that most of you want all kids to receive tasty, nutritious meals that help them enjoy good health and do well academically. 

     But unfortunately all too often school lunches and breakfasts serve as a political football, a way for legislators to score points and win votes. Remember the pink slime scare? How about pizza being considered a vegetable because tomato sauce? How about the cruel practice of lunch shaming in which little kids are humiliated in an attempt to get their parents to pay overdue balances on their accounts? Well get in line cause Marcus B. Weaver-Hightower is serving up the scoop on the viscisitudes of school meal programs in his Unpacking School Lunches. It's the result of almost fifteen years of research. 

      Weaver-Hightower provides readers with a rich description of the history of American school lunches, considered to be one of the most successful social welfare programs in this nation's history, the complex roles and relationships of the adults involved from legislators including the prez, through corporations producing lots of the food or food adjacent substances, to the front line servers, and how the end products of their labor may or may not meet the needs of the consumers, our nation's children. 

     "Discussions of "conservative" and "liberal" (hereafter "progressive" for the latter, to avoid confusion with other terms I'm using) can destroy the nuances and complexities of any debate (Jost et al., 2009). Yet sorting arguments over school food into these camps helps illuminate a central dynamic (Lusk, 2012). Put simply, school food in the United States and many other countries has been characterized by conservative resistance to food provision and regulation alongside progressive incrementalism towards healthier, more just food provision. Thus far, neither ideological position has completely gotten its way, but not for a lack of trying."

      Weaver-Hightower describes this dynamic in great detail, both in America and across the pond in England. In his grand finale he describes some schools that have created outstanding school feeding programs and lists fifteen maxims that describe progressive school feeding values.

     I know I learned a lot. I believe that whether you're a parent or grand, a professional or professional in training, or someone who recognizes school feeding as the crucial social justice issue that it is you'll find Unpacking School Lunches to be in excellent taste.

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was a lot of fun. Catherine and her crew were serving up delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. I was paparazzi. Bailey had really neat prizes from the SWell stash people could take. People loved them. I saw lots of good friends. I didn't have to bus in the cold because Bailey gave me a ride both ways. Today I stayed home to read and review Unpacking School Lunches so Bailey who reads everything social work and social justice related because she's awesome like that can read the book before it's due. I'm also decorating our HUGE Christmas 🎄 tree. It'll look SO AWESOME when I'm done. 

A great big shout out goes out to school lunch professionals past, present, and future and to Bailey who is going to give me a ride to campus tomorrow when we get more yucky weather. 

Jules Hathaway 

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My Squishmallows Advent Calendar

It's so much fun to open a door every day ☺️ 😌 🤗. The little critters are so cute. Eugene brought home a tree and put on the colored lights. Now I'm adding the ornaments. It's going to look so gorgeous!!!

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The Little Red Stroller (picture book)

     Back in the day when I was growing up in Beverly, Massachusetts parents didn't automatically head out shopping when back to school rolled around. Hand me downs from siblings were just the start of a reuse tradition. Mothers knew what families had younger kids. Sacks of garments traveled from home to home with mothers hemming and altering as needed. I was very fortunate to receive the outgrown clothes of a rich classmate in music conservatory.

     It was a tradition that I carried on with my own kids. Shortly after Amber and I got back from the hospital a neighbor with a toddler dropped off bags of lovely clothes. My kids got a lot of perfectly good garments through an informal network. And it wasn't just clothes. There were plenty of gently used toys and books. In fact the swing set that drew kids to our yard was a hand me down. And my kids were delighted to keep outgrown clothes and toys in circulation and out of landfills by passing them on to younger children. 

     So I was delighted when, browsing the Orono Public Library picture book section, I saw Joshua Furst's The Little Red Stroller. The narrative is simple and elegant. After riding in it to all kinds of destinations a girl named Luna outgrows her stroller to a downstairs neighbor, Ernie. This is only the first of a series of transfers in which the pride of the older child and delight of the younger is evident. 

     Each child's destinations are described in picture and words. Pictures show the range of skin tones and family configurations. That's why the blurb on the inside cover describes it as "highlighting the beautiful diversity of the neighborhood...and of our big world."

     Which it most definitely is. But I also see it as a celebration of prolonging the useful life of objects (most definitely good for the environment) and promoting the community interdependence and solidarity that is so much better for us than America's worship of lone wolf individualism.

    The Little Red Stroller is a timely acquisition for public, school, and family libraries.

On a purrrsonal note, last night was heavenly for me. It started off with the open mic put on by the social work club with assistance from Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund. They had a spread that included homemade nutritious dishes. (I didn't have to subsist on snacks). Much appreciated. I did drag of course. I'll Spread My Wings by Kelly Clarkson. People sang, read poetry etc. The next was the Christmas drag show put on by UMaine's own drag club. When I entered the Wilson Center I was filled with joy and pride. Toward the end of Spring semester '24 I had an idea for a club that would encourage and empower interested students to try performing. But for it to become an official student club it had to have an undergraduate leader. Luckily my friend Jaxon was willing to make that commitment. The club has come a long way since the initial fall semester '24 meetings. Walking in--seeing people preparing, talking, laughing; feeling the electricity in the room--was a dream come true. I did I'll Spread My Wings and He's So Shy by the Pointer Sisters solo and participated in the ensemble grand finale. SO MUCH FUN!!!

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in both events. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Sip and sculpt

This is me with one of the ornaments I made yesterday. If you look closely you'll see a cat 🐈 😻 🐾 on it. That event was a lot of fun for everyone who participated. 

Now I'm waiting for my evening events--very excited but also a little nervous. True confession.  Unlike most of my much more sophisticated fellow performers I can't memorize a routine to save my life. I had the same problem acting. Memorizing the script--easy. Memorizing blocking--nightmare. Choreography is a language I don't speak. I come alive in front of a live audience. For me drag is a spontaneous conversation between me and the audience. That's where the magic comes in. Wish me luck. 

Jules Hathaway 

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The House Without Lights (picture book)

     In America the month leading up to Christmas tends to be an over the top celebration of all things Christmas and Christmas adjacent from the decorated stores with their Santas through parades and school pageants to homes illuminated with colored lights with Santas and reindeer parked out front. It can be very easy, even with token acknowledgements of Hanukkah, for kids from other faith traditions to feel left out. In The House Without Lights Reem Faruki addresses this issue through a most unusual narrator. 

    The only unlit house in a neighborhood longs for the seasonal accouterments of its neighbors: the beautiful Christmas trees, the stockings hung by the chimney with care, and the cards filled mailboxes. The night before Christmas it hopes that its new family, now settled in, will finally get around to decorate...

     ...Nope, not gonna happen. But in a few months House will get its chance to shine in the celebration of Eid.

     The House Without Lights is a great introduction to diversity and inclusion in religious holiday celebrations. 

On a purrrsonal note, well my Friday was totally AWESOME!!! Bailey gave me a ride to campus which let me bring a lot of presents in to give out. Bailey surprised me with a gift from her and Cam--an adorable teddy 🧸 wearing a Santa 🎅 hat. At First Friday Bagels I got my favorite sweet cinnamon. I gave out more gifts 🎁 which people were happy to get. Bailey had a sip and sculpt with air dry clay. I took pictures and made Christmas ornaments. I gave away 2 and kept one for my tree. Bailey gave me a ride home where I found Eugene safely back from camp. 

A great big shout out goes out to Bailey for giving me rides in inclement weather and creating engaging crafts events and saving returnables for Tobago's emergency surgery fund and being a caring and true friend.

Jules Hathaway 

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My Squishmallow Advent Calendar

It arrived yesterday along with a really cute Squishmallow dog. Now opening a window each day is adding a touch of magic to the holiday season. 

Advent calendars go way back in my family. Well as far as I can trace. Although my mother was big on genealogy pride, neither of my parents really talked much about their growing up years. Harriet and I took turns opening doors on the family Advent calendar. By my children's childhood each had their own because the religious pictures had been replaced by chocolates. When they grew up I thought my Advent calendar days were over. Then in 2023 as my first post stroke Advent rolled around I was for the most part stuck in the house, desperately missing my friends, and spending much of each day doing skills regaining exercises. When Amber gifted me with a lovely Advent calender featuring miniature toys 🧸 it was a most welcome touch of seasonal Christmas magic. This year I found myself wondering if Squishmallow Advent calendars were a thing. When I checked out Ebay and saw them I felt like I had to have one. Fortunately Eugene was quite amenable to ordering it. Hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Terms of Respect (adult nonfiction, particularly relevant to higher education professionals)

     I'm sure you must have heard some of the criticisms of today's higher education: that students are sheltered little snowflakes who insist on being overprotected by trigger warnings and safe spaces; that they're "woke " and intolerant of views that challenge their own unchallenged assumptions; that their "left-wing" professors are indoctrinating them with propaganda; and that colleges and universities themselves are stifling any ideas that aren't "politically correct".

     Christopher L. Eisgruber, President and formerly Provost of Princeton University, begs to disagree. He's not claiming that academia is perfect. He's aware of instances of what he calls mob censorship as in crowds disrupting speeches by people they disagree with. But in Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right he asserts that in reality institutions of higher education and their students are part of, rather than different from, the rest of America, a nation confronting a serious civic crisis.

     "We divide into distinct, cohesive political groups that not only disagree with but also dislike and distrust one another. We also increasingly communicate through media that privilege provocation and extremity over deliberation and comity. As a result, America's civic discourse has become ruder and more partisan than in the recent past, and we are risk of losing our ability to talk through our differences."

     Drawing on both extensive background research and candid narratives of his and his colleagues experiences of campus controversies, Eisgruber weighs in on topics such as:

*the complex and situational nature of free speech and its potential compatibility with diversity and inclusion;

*the importance of civility rules and professional standards,

*the ways in which what is considered acceptable speech has evolved over time;

*the dangers created by political polarization  and social media, 

*and how free speech can easily be weaponized. 

A unifying message throughout the book is that many concepts are way more complicated than we think and that our conceptualizations may contain implicit bias. There are a few points that I had a little trouble grasping. But the value of the book as a whole made the extra effort feel worthwhile.

     Although he offers no silver bullets to solve the crises and misunderstandings, Eisgruber offers recommendations on how institutions of higher education can better handle the current landscape. Although he doesn't sugarcoat the obstacles standing in the way of transcending today's hostility and intolerance or pretend that it will happen easily or quickly he confirms throughout the book that it is possible and necessary. 

     "We must accept our responsibility to achieve free speech and equality together, for all Americans, now. We must demonstrate unstinting fidelity to both values if we are to vindicate our constitutional ideals and escape the civic crisis manifest on our campuses and in our polity."

       I highly recommend Terms of Respect for higher education professionals. I also recommend it for anyone who is concerned about the current state of affairs on and off campuses. 

On a purrrsonal note, this review has what I think is an interesting back story. I was tracking a higher education relevant book I wanted to review as a Christmas 🎄 gift for the UMaine higher education professors. When I started getting short on time and that book still wasn't in a Minerva library I sought an alternative book. I requested Terms of Respect when it was being processed in one library. 

A great big shout out goes out to Elizabeth Allan, Leah Hakola, and Kathleen Gillon who not only bring discussions of controversial topics into the classroom but model professionalism and commitments to free speech and equality. Their course of studies beautifully prepares grad students for the challenges of student services work in such contentious times. Truly they are a credit to Maine's flagship university. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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My third tattoo

Well here it is!!! Just purrrfect for December, wouldn't you say? I just adore it.

Eugene would have gone to camp yesterday if not for the uncertainty of the weather. It was still iffy last night. There was some mass of something heading straight for Maine. Down Portland way it could be a rain/snow mix. In the Bangor area all snow ❄️ was more likely. When Eugene and I went to Governors for breakfast the only thing in the sky was a gorgeous sunrise 🌅. On the way home I learned that UMaine would close at noon. About eleven it started snowing 🌨. I just heard of a power outage on campus. Yikes! I'm glad I can stay home. I feel bad for Eugene who will have to plow the white stuff. 

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The Last Time We Say Goodbye (YA fiction)

   "The whole thing has warped me, I think. I'm a board left out in the rain, and it's impossible to go back to being straight and undamaged ever again. This is who I am now. 

    The girl whose brother died."

   Many years ago my cousin, Ken, my Uncle Ken's only son, committed suicide in what we tend to think of as the prime of life. He left behind his parents, his three sisters, three very young children, and unanswerable questions. Of all the ways people can die it's one with quite unique challenges for those left behind. The knowing that he/she/they chose and actively carried out a plan to cease living can cause guilt layered over the pain of loss for survivors, especially family members and close friends who feel they should have seen/done something before it was too late.

     If the deceased is a teen chances are good that the bereaved will include siblings who are already faced with the myriad challenges of the transition between child and adulthood and immersed in an environment where peers and teachers usually deal quite awkwardly with the situation. That's the plight of Lexi, narrator of Cynthia Hand's The Last Time We Say Goodbye. 

     Lexi is a dedicated and really smart student in her senior year of high school. Her favorite subject is math. She loves and relies on its predictability, certainty, and proofs. She's shooting for MIT's highly competitive math program. 

     "I was born with numbers on the brain. What I would do, if I could really put this pen to paper and produce something useful, is take my memories, these fleeting, painful moments of my life, and find some way to add and subtract and divide them, insert variables and move them, try to isolate them, to discover their elusive meanings, to translate them from possibilities to certainties."

     Lexi has painful moments that have collectively shattered her world. A few years ago her father broke up her family by divorcing her mother and moving in with the cliche younger woman. She's not sure how to deal with him at very awkward mandatory weekly dinners.

     Then last year right before Christmas her brother, Tyler walked into the garage and shot himself. 

     Lexi misses her only sibling. Her mother is constantly crying and self medicating with alcohol. In fact she's not sure she can leave her mom, even to go to her dream school. Her classmates see her as the sister of the boy who killed him, either smothering her with unwanted sympathy or ignoring her as if suicide was contagious. 

     And Lexi has a secret. Only she knows that the night Tyler died she blew a chance to save his life. 

     Although the narrative is purely fictional Hand lost her younger brother to suicide when she was 20 and he was only 17. That's why it has such a poignant ring of authenticity. 

     A lot of adults don't want to talk to teenagers about suicide. They think it's too morbid for younger people. Some even think they'll put the idea into their head. So a book that addresses the topic openly and candidly is a  much needed breath of fresh air.

On a purrrsonal note, well today was great. I found more books at Orono Public Library. I got my third tattoo. It is totally gorgeous. Everyone who's seen it totally agrees. I got more people engaged in Operation Valentines. It probably will be a great success. And I have leftovers 😋 🤪 🙂 ☺️ to heat up for supper. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be gross--lots of that yucky white stuff. If my Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund meeting is on I have to bus commute in that mess. So I'm hoping for a snow ❄️ day.

A great big shout out goes out to Rob Lucchesi of Black Cats Tattoo in Orono. He's a body artist extraordinaire (as you'll see in tomorrow's picture) and a really kind person. 

Jules Hathaway 

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My accomplishment

OK, I know this is a very basic scarf. But I had to relearn how to knit after the stroke. It took me about 14 months to knit this. I made it for my friend Kevin in his favorite shade of green. I am quite proud of it. 

I'm really into Christmas gift prep. I've wrapped gifts for my 3 kids and 12 of my friends. I'm really enjoying getting ready for the big day.

I cooked the huge turkey Eugene got from work along with corn, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rolls. Everything was delicious.

Now Eugene and I are binge watching Christmas movies: The Santa Claus 1, 2, and 3 and Home Alone. The Christmas season is the only time I watch much of anything beside the evening news.

I'm really excited for tomorrow. I'm getting my 3rd tattoo. 

I hope this week that's just starting will be a good one for you.

A great big shout out goes out to my amazing son, Adam, who is starting a new job tomorrow. 

Jules Hathaway 

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We Fell Apart (YA fiction)

     It was quite a few years ago that I borrowed e. lockhart's We Were Liars from the library. Amber was in grad school, Katie was a senior at UMaine, Adam was finishing Bangor High, and I was in my ninth year of school committee and hadn't yet heard of the grad school program that would provide my post parenting salvation.

     It was a grey quite dreary day. I had the flu or something similar and was wisely staying in bed, cuddled up with precious Joey cat. The moment I opened the book I was transported from a central Maine trailer coop to a privately owned Massachusetts island where the rich and famous Sinclair clan summered in castles and beneath a carefully maintained facade damning secrets lurked. Coming to the last page, I hoped that would not be the last I'd hear of the dynasty. 

     I had to wait quite a few years for the reunion. When I got my hands on the sequel the grad school year I thought would be my last was rushing to an end. I'd hung my wind chimes. I read the book outside, nibbling on gourmet chocolates Katie had given me that I'd been saving for just the right book. It lived up to its predecessor and left me again wanting more.

     I took you on this stroll down memory lane to show you how singular those books were. In my 14 years maintaining this blog I've reviewed almost 3,000 books. Those are the only two that I can recall the exact circumstances under which I read them...

     ...So imagine my excitement when We Fell Apart dropped. Thanks to Minerva and inter library loans I got it from Lewiston Public Library as soon as they'd acquired and processed it. Believe me when I say it's a worthy successor.  

     Matilda has survived an unusual childhood and adolescence, raised by a mother who was never been there for her and just went through the motions of parenting...

     ...that is until mommy dearest met a hottie and departed for Mexico, leaving her underage daughter to fend for herself...

     Imagine how Matilda feels when she gets an email from a world famous painter claiming that he is her father and wants to be involved in her life. He invites her to visit her at Hidden Beach and accept one of his paintings. 

     It seems that her mother was a college student when she posed nude for a painting by the famous artist who left her pregnant. Mom tells her she shouldn't accept the invitation. According to her he's not a very nice person. 

     Of course you know she's going. There'd be no book if she stayed home. She arrives at a beachfront castle with four tall turrets in eyesight of a burned down castle on the Sinclair island. It's inhabited by a rather large dog and four humans. There's June, the artist, Kingsley's significant other; Meer, their son and Matilda's half brother; Brock, a former child star, Tatum who drives a cab, and Glum (short for Puddleglum, the canine.

     Kingsley is absent even though he sent Matilda the invitation. None of his housemates know when he'll be back. He evidently comes and goes as he pleases. Only Meer and Glum are really eager for her to stick around. But she's come all this way.

     Right off the bat she notices strange things. June bosses the boys with a set of rules she passes off as suggestions even as she enforces them. Electronics are locked away except for short periods of time. June is dosing people with strange herbal tinctures.

     And why is the home of an artist whose paintings sell for millions in continual fiscal stress?

     And how are Kingsley and his family related to the island Sinclairs?

     Only one way to find out.

     You'll be glad you did.😀😁

On a purrrsonal note, back in 2011 I started this blog for the people who missed reading my book reviews in the Bangor Daily News when they no longer had freelance money and for myself because I missed writing reviews. I didn't want to come across as erudite or witty or cultured. The ambiance I went for was telling a friend about a book I was excited about over coffee. That's why purrrsonal note was there from the first post. (They're what some readers like the most.) Over a decade later it's still the same. I'm getting so much joy out of writing reviews of books I'm excited about in an intimate, personal voice. I feel truly fortunate to have this opportunity. Just to be functionally literate and have access to books and libraries is a privilege denied to so many people. 

A great big shout out goes out to the writers and illustrators of the books I review and the readers of this blog, especially those who have communicated with me. Next year we're going to hit the 3,000 book milestone. Won't that be something?

Jules Hathaway 

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Turkey Day

Well the Thanksgiving dinner was excellent. Cheryl's turkey was moist and tender and the sides were most excellent. Actually she can lay down a mouth watering spread for any occasion. Her pies 🥧 almost had me breaking my diet. It was great spending time with the fam. When we went around the table sharing what we were grateful for everyone had something to be grateful for. 

I hope that your Thanksgiving was special and meaningful. 

Today the high is predicted to be 40 degrees. I'm already outside getting my fresh air and sunshine 🌞. And I'm going to hang my laundry outside. 

I hope you enjoy this page from my joy journal.

Jules Hathaway 

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Two Sides to Every Murder (YA chiller)

     Whether told as books or movies, some of the scariest stories take place for the most part in a single setting--a downright terrifying setting where the protagonists are being pursued by powerful malignant entities. Where any time they might have a ghost of a chance of escape it's snatched away abruptly. Danielle Valentine's Two Sides to Every Murder is a prime example. 

     Imagine this. You're at a camp in the deep woods that was shut down sixteen years ago when it was the scene of some gruesome  murders. The killer dressed as a witch has returned and is methodically stalking you. You saw her take down one victim. You stumbled on the body of another. She's out there in dark waiting to end your life.  

     Olivia's mother, then the director of Camp Lost Lake, went into labor and gave birth at the crime scene. Her much older sister, Andie, has brought the property and is about to transform it into a business. Olivia has discovered that the man who she's been told was her father all her life couldn't possibly be. She believes that the camp might hold clues to her true parentage.

     Reagan is the daughter of the suspected killer. Things weren't too bad until a podcast focused national attention on the cold case, making it necessary for them to go into hiding, giving up any semblance of a normal life. She believes that her mother couldn't possibly have committed the crimes she's accused of. She believes that the evidence that could exonerate is at the camp. 

     Now both girls are trapped in a horrific living nightmare--one they may not survive. 

     If you're a true blue chiller affecianado put Two Sides to Every Murder on your must read list.

On a purrrsonal note, I was up before the sun even thought of rising, 4:08 to be exact. It was the only way I could be sure to get in my exercise biking before the trip to Winterport. The trip in the dark was sort of creepy. I could easily imagine a killer with a bow and arrow 🏹 emerging from the woods wearing a witch mask. We've got quite awhile before the big meal. Fortunately I've packed enough blog work to ignore the TV. 

A great big shout out goes out to my sister-in-law, Cheryl, who will serve up a fine feast to whoever shows up. 

Jules Hathaway 

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My library stash

It's the official first day of UMaine Thanksgiving break. It was full 🌧 early on, but had faded to a barely discernible mist by the time I bussed to downtown Orono. I stopped by the credit union to machine count and deposit a bank full of change in Tobago's savings account. For if she ever needs surgery. I made a huge haul at Orono Public Library. I think I have enough books to survive Thanksgiving. Do you agree? Orono Public Library and inter library loans are quite high whenever I count my blessings which is far more often than once a year. I met with my tattoo artist to plan my 3rd cat tat. Monday at 1:00. I can hardly wait. Then I went to the weekly vigil. We had over a dozen people and got lots of honks.

I was thinking on an old song that said I just want to celebrate another day of living. That's how I'm feeling these days--grateful to be living my dream. 

I hope wherever you are tomorrow is somewhere you can be happy. Thank you for reading this blog. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Revolution

     "Gillette and I look out the back window. A police siren wails, then stops. Men with rifles, men with signs, are everywhere on the street, shouting. Someone throws a bottle and it shatters on the building, close to our car. Instinctively I shrink back and Audrey shrieks."

     Recently I purchased a copy of Deborah Wiles' Revolution. But when I started reading it I realized I'd reviewed it fifteen years ago. I decided to reread it anyway. I'm very glad that I did. In my opinion it's more relevant today than it was hot off the press. Although falling under the category of historical fiction, it is remarkably prescient for reasons I promise to explain.

     Twelve-year-old Sunny has been told that Greenwood, Mississippi is being invaded by agitators. In anticipation of the 1964 presidential election organizations were collaborating to send college students to spend the Freedom Summer living with local families to get Blacks registered to vote, teach in freedom schools, provide much needed resources, and protect those who tried to register from violent white retaliation. At first she doesn't understand what all the commotion is about.

     "I still don't understand why the Negroes need the vote and can't have it, why the white people are so upset, why the police are so strange, what the unrest is about, and why the agitators are here."

     And at first she is only bothered by how the unrest messes up her summer as in the swimming pool is closed to everyone to avoid integration. But she's curious and open to new perspectives which is much more than I can say about most of the adult white characters. This makes her story a true coming of age narrative.

     One of the book's true strengths is its use of materials from the 60s to provide a sense of time and place. Placed between chapters are photos, news stories, quotes, and lyrics of protest songs--forming a multifaceted quilt of contextualization.

     So why does it speak to me as it does? Well there's the whole issue of renewed calls for voter restrictions based on the false narrative of widespread voter fraud. And not just in the South. This year in Maine we fortunately defeated question which contained provisions targeting groups powers that be would like disenfranchised. Unfortunately it's when, not if, it will reappear.

     Another reason is the virulence of the hatred voiced by the whites opposed to the changes people of color and their allies were working for. What we're seeing on the part of white supremacist hate groups today is equally horrifying. 

     I'm trying to imagine someone in 2075 writing a similar narrative set in the time we're groping our way through.

     On a purrrsonal note, I made a Goodwill run today. (I didn't get produce at Hannaford because with that big old turkey Eugene got from work the fridge is packed solid.) I really was in luck. I found Christmas cat 🐈 😻 velour leggings with original tags that are a purrrfect match for the velour top Eugene gave me last year, Santa Baby pajamas, really cute kids 10-12 pastel onesie pajamas, and an awesome kit to make an awesome owl picture. I actually got in 2 hours of outside reading. And I jogged to the mailbox and back. I finally feel comfortable running. 

A great big shout out goes out to my wonderful son, Adam. I'm so looking forward to seeing him at Thanksgiving at the in-laws. 

Jules Hathaway 

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