Blood in the Water

     There's only one thing better than locating a hot off the press Tiffany D. Jackson chiller at the library. It's getting your hands on two in the same library visit. When this happened to me last Friday thanks to inter library loan magic you'd better believe I was doing my library happy dance. Reading the books back to back also made me realize how Jackson is versatile across demographics rather than limited to one.

     Blood in the Water, her juvenile offering, dropped very fittingly on the year the movie Jaws turned fifty. It is set in the town featured in that iconic chiller. And in the book great whites are on people's minds even when they're not in the actual ocean. 

     Kaylani's beloved father is in prison, convicted on what she's sure is a false accusation. Getting him released and clearing his name is her number one priority. She's determined to spend her summer studying to pass the entry test for a pre-law camp. "I'll learn what I need to help our lawyer and get us one step closer to freeing Dad."

     So she is not a happy camper when she is sent to spend four weeks with friends of her grandparents and their granddaughters, Logan and Cassie, in their bougie home on Martha's Vineyard. 

     Kaylani's first night with the Watsons the girls sneak out to a beach party. There they witness a heated fight between two boys: Chadwick and Jaden. The next day Chadwick is reported missing...

     ...until his body is located. People are saying that he was a victim of a shark attack. But the evidence doesn't all add up. Suddenly his death is being ruled a homicide. Cassie was the last person to see him alive.

     Kaylani is doing her own investigation and learning some disquieting truths about the Watsons.

     Will she be able to leave the island alive?

     Back to the sharks. Movies like Jaws portray them as bloodthirsty killers. Actually they are more in danger from us than we are from them. We slaughter tens of thousands of them every year in really inhumane ways. If we decimate their population too much it will throw off the balance of nature with really bad consequences. 

On a purrrsonal note, I'm really looking forward to a thrift shop on campus tomorrow. Clothes, shoes, and jewelry. I hope I can find some bargains. 

A great big shout out goes out to the bus drivers without whom it would be much harder for me to get anywhere. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Another page...

...from my joy journal with all the pretty stickers. 

Eugene played a joke yesterday that really fooled me. He drove off in his truck and then his brother gave him a ride home. I asked him if the truck was in the shop. He said he had to return it because he couldn't afford the payments. That really scared me because we live in rural Maine. Not the extreme part where the moose out umber the people. But public transportation is extremely limited. Today Amber told me that he was just joking. You can't imagine how relieved I am. 

I'm sitting out near my garden. If it doesn't 🌧 I can work outside all day. 

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It's Not Like It's A Secret

     Sana, narrator of Misa Sugiura's It's Not Like It's a Secret, gets a very unwelcome surprise on her 16th birthday. Her mother has taken her out to eat and to a favorite beach. (Her father is away on business). As they are leaving for home she tells Sana that they are about to move to California. Her father has laid down the edict (as always) and her mother has blindly accepted his decision (as always). She believes in the importance of gracefully enduring the unendurable and being unselfish. 

     Probably most 16-year-olds would be less than thrilled with being required to leave their homes and friends in the middle of high school. Not to mention the pressure to blindly accept her fate. But Sana has more reason than most for trepidation. For years she's had reasons to suspect that her father is having an extramarital affair. What if they're moving so he can be closer to the other woman in his life? What if her mother learns about her? What will happen to their family?

     When she starts school in California she's quickly taken in by a tight knit group of fellow Asian Americans. She begins to feel a real sense of belonging. But when she tries to integrate a Hispanic girl, Jamie, into the group there's suspicion the on the part of both the Asian Americans and Hispanics.

     Not to mention that Sana has no idea how either group will react to her more than liking Jamie.

     It's Not Like It's a Secret is a nuanced take on complicated intersectional relationships and tough issues, perfect for the more mature YA reader.

On a purrrsonal note, there was a spectacular sunrise this morning when Eugene and I were enjoying our Governors breakfast. The day started out spectacularly cold but seems to be warming up. Hopefully I'll get in outside time. I've gone two weeks getting in my exercise every day. Which has been boring AF because almost all involved stationary biking. I so miss actually getting somewhere, seeing scenery, feeling the wind...paradise lost.

A great big shout out goes out to the fabulous chefs and servers at Governors. Check the place out if you're in Old Town, Maine. 

Jules Hathaway 

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What We Wish For (YA fiction)

     "Will she ever get better? Or is this all she is? A sad alcoholic who's only going through the motions? A miserable woman who wants to die because she thinks I'll be better off without her? I want my mom back. More than anything else in the world I want her back."

     In our country there are a lot of children of alcoholics and drug addicts who don't have it easy. They have to grow up much too fast. At a life stage where they deserve to be sheltered and protected they're parenting grown ass adults. They can both love a parent dearly,  desperately wanting them to get better, and deeply resent their bad decisions and the consequences. 

     Layla, narrator of Melody Maysonet's What We Wish For, is living in a shelter when we meet her. Her single parent mother, Shauna, has managed to lose her job and their home. They're sharing a small, dreary room and eating in a communal dining room. 

     The shelter is having a financial crisis. According to Shauna's case worker she isn't making sufficient progress toward employment. She has ten days to get a job or they'll be evicted. Layla is terrified. 

     "Have you thought about what will happen? Because I have. You and me wandering the streets with our stuff in a garbage bag, nowhere to shower, nowhere to go to the bathroom. And when we get hungry what are we going to do?"

     What actually happens is even scarier. Shauna overdoses on heroin and is rushed to the hospital. Layla can't stay in the shelter alone. 

     Shauna has a sister, Tanya, with whom she's lost touch. She's married to an egotistical image-is-everything jerk who is running for mayor of the town they all live in. It could destroy his chances of being elected if the media learns about the plight of his sister-in- law and niece. So he offers to pay for Shauna to go to a fancy rehab. While she's there Layla can stay with his family...

     ...they're mad affluent. But living there is no walk in the park for Layla. Her uncle is a cruel, egotistical man who considers Shauna and Layla a burden. What if he breaks his promises. What if Shauna can't handle rehab? What if she can't handle life when she gets out?

     Maysonet based the narrative on her own life experiences: of being really poor as a teen and being an alcoholic as an adult. 

     "I did emerge into a happier place, but not before alcoholism brought me to my knees. I almost lost myself, but even in the throes of my addiction, I had hope that life would get better, that I would get better."

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday I'd put up flyers for Amber's event in Bangor. Today I distributed a lot more at UMaine. People are really getting excited about it, especially people who have seen her talk before. I was glad to get home early. I lucked out at the library--I got TWO Tiffany Jackson books including her latest one. And I lucked out on the weather. It's warm enough for me to spend the afternoon outside reading near my beautiful flowers. 

A great big shout out goes out to all the people who are helping me publicize Amber's event. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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My treasures

Today I went to Bangor to put up posters for Amber's event. While I was in the city I stopped in at Goodwill and got these finds. (BTW if you're stumped for Halloween costumes or decor your local Goodwill is the place to look.) It was really cold 🥶 out. When I got home I made chamomile tea. I so miss the days I could have had hot cocoa with marshmallows or hot spiced cider or even tea with sugar!

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Sisters in the Wind (YA fiction)

     "The ultimate survival game is for girls to survive into adulthood. For the prey to avoid the predators. It's a wry thought that turns somber when I remember my sister. 

     Some girls don't survive."

     If you've read Angeline Boulley's previous books, Fire Keeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed, reading her latest, Sisters in the Wind, may feel like returning to a place you've stepped away from and returned to. The characters and their community are portrayed so vividly and intimately througout these volumes they step off the page and into your mind and ❤️. In her writing Boulley displays these superpowers: the abilities to create a captivating plot and characters who spring vividly to life, to introduce readers like me to a way of life quite different from ours, and to make us care about the issues that white society created and likes to ignore. 

     For the first years of her life Lucy had lived a quiet life with her father who claimed that her mother had signed away her parental rights. On her 11th birthday she learns that he has colorectal cancer. When surgeries and chemotherapy don't seem to be working he dates and then marries a woman who adopts her. After his death things don't go well. She ends up in the foster care system in some seriously horrific placements. 

     In 2009 Lucy is out of the system, living independently and working at a diner. One day a stranger, Jamie, asking her questions sets off alarms. She decides it's time to vacate her apartment and leave town. Only the next day at work she's caught in an explosion...

     ...and wakes up in a hospital bed. She's seriously injured--in no shape to flee anywhere. Jamie and a woman named Daunis seem to be in charge of her. In the hospital at least one of them is always around. And when she's well enough to leave all three end up in a hotel suite. 

     "The bomb [at the diner] was meant to show how far they'll go to get what they want. Before they try again, I need to be long gone."

     The text segues between the time after the explosion where danger becomes more and more imminent and Lucy's earlier experiences in the system which provide clues to why she is peril. The transitions are seamless. In the post bomb present tension builds relentlessly to the point where Lucy sneaks away to resolve the situation, putting herself and others in serious danger.

     "An Indian tribe cannot survive without future generations; therefore, Indian children are a tribe's most precious resource. But there are other resources that some non-Natives deem more valuable. I wrote Sisters in the Wind because the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, is under attack and--SPOILER ALERT--the battle has nothing to do with the best interests of Indian children."

     This law was enacted to keep Indian families intact. It privileged tribal sovereignty over state law. Those who want to undermine it want tribal sovereignty overridden, so they can have unlimited access to natural resources such as minerals on tribal lands. 

     This rich, nuanced, and thought provoking narrative is an excellent read for mature YA readers and the college crowd. It could be very helpful in the curriculum of social justice courses.

On a purrrsonal note, last night 🌙 was the end of season Orono Community Garden potluck dinner. The food and company were superb. I'll really miss our little corner of paradise during the frigid Maine winter. 

A great big shout out goes out to the 2025 Orono Community Garden crew. Despite raids by deer, groundhogs, we raised and distributed over 1,000 pounds of good organic veggies. Way to go, team!!!

Jules Hathaway 

     

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When We Were Monsters (YA chiller)

     "As readers, we like to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters we read about, to ask ourselves what we might do in the same situations. I think it's normal to be fascinated by the darker side of humanity. As with true crime stories, it can be riveting to delve into the events and circumstances that might turn a good person into a monster or, at the very least, make them commit monstrous acts. And to ask ourselves, Could this be me? Am I capable of this too?"

     These words in Jennifer Niven's Acknowledgements in her When We Were Monsters explore some of the reasons why this sophisticated and perfectly executed chiller is so impossible to put down from the very first paragraphs:

"The day before we kill Meredith Graffam is calm and blue. Like Massachusetts in summer after the rain. The scent of earth and flowers and fresh, clean air. Just a perfect sunlit day.

     None of us will walk into the forest that night planning to commit murder. It's easy when you're surrounded by beauty and opulence and acres of privilege, to convince yourself that life will always be as rose-colored as this and nothing can go wrong."

     The us are eight students at an elite Massachusetts private school, Brighton and Howe, who have been selected for Jan Term Visiting Artist series, an annual tradition held between fall and spring semesters. For several weeks they will be sequestered in the sprawling (and properly eerie) mansion of the school's founders, set apart from the school by a dark and dismal forest. At the end of those weeks one of them will win a $15,000 scholarship and a chance to have their work produced and/or published. Talk about your high stakes competition! Meredith Graffam is the visiting artist, a woman equally well known for her work and for the controversies surrounding her. 

     The first full day of the program there's a troubling incident. The students and Graffam are standing outside on a cliff overlooking the ocean. She tells them that anyone who doesn't jump in the frigid water will be sent home. It's not the last time she'll put them in serious danger. Meanwhile she manipulates them into sharing their deepest secrets and vulnerabilities. 

      And she's kicking people out. It's not long until half the students are gone, Graffam is acting increasingly and menacingly strange, the teens are learning that she's not being truthful with them, they're cut off from the rest of the world...

     ...and there's this big old blizzard, predicted to be the storm of the century, closing in.

     If you're drawn to dark academia, you like chillers set in eerie sprawling mansions surrounded by ominous forests, and you can handle real suspense put When We Were Monsters on your Halloween reading list. You wouldn't want to miss out on a real treat.

On a purrrsonal note, it's another gorgeous day in Penobscot County, Maine. The predicted rain is holding off. I get to work outside near my flowers. I will so miss them during the long, frigid, desolate winter. Today is the Community Garden volunteers pot luck dinner. That should be bittersweet. Fun but another reminder of the upcoming encroachment of winter. 

I was really pissed off today 😤 when I read a political article that said we should not vote for Janet Mills because she's 79. I can remember when candidates were considered being unfit for office because of factors like gender, race, and religion. A lot of people voted against Kennedy because he was Catholic. Ageism, sadly, is still accepted, often unseen. There are legit reasons not to vote for someone: disagreement with their policies and stands on key issues; evidence of criminal and/or unethical conduct, and evidence of severe mental and physical health issues such as Alzheimers. Age per se should not be any more of a factor than gender, race/ethnicity race/ethnicity, or religion. 

Jules Hathaway 

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These are my treasures from the crafts fair. I took the picture with the jar's fairy lights ✨️ on. Aren't they precious? The only sad note was the pastry tables with the most luscious looking goodies that I totally coveted. Sadly the diet from Hell is a life sentence with no possibility of parole, no time off for good behavior. I found out something about the people in the Mediterranean who we're supposed to emulate because they have these peasant diets and live forever. They're all surrounded by people eating the same boring food. They grew up on it. They're not surrounded by what they long for and can no longer have. It's not like that in 21st century Maine. 

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Messy Perfect (YA fiction)

      Cassie, protagonist of Tanya Boteju's Messy Perfect, seems to be the perfect Catholic high school student. She follows all the rules, exceeds academically, plays sports, and volunteers...

     ...well she has one aspect of her identity that she keeps it to herself...

     At the beginning of her junior school year a person from Cassie's past unexpectedly shows up. For years she and Ben were best friends creating their own little world. One day their classmates caught them doing something they considered sketchy. Cassie reacted fearfully, throwing Ben under the bus and quickly regretting it. Ben was enrolled in an elite ballet academy, presumably up through high school...

     ...But now he's back and totally ignoring Cassie whose guilt has been rekindled. 

     Cassie's Catholic high is very repressed about sex talk beyond wait until marriage, of course to a person of the "opposite sex". In contrast the public high school across the street celebrates the full range of gender identities and sexual orientations. 

     Thinking Ben is gay and in need of a safe place, Cassie works with students of the other school to create an underground gay-straight alliance. Unexpectedly she finds her people in this group. 

     But Cassie's new commitments make it hard for her for to keep up with the perfection expected by her parents and school. Some of her activities run afoul of her school's conduct code. And she's strongly attracted to someone they would never approve of. 

     Messy Perfect is a sensitive exploration of the intersectionality of religion and sexuality and a timely reminder of the toxicity of expectations of perfection. 

On a purrrsonal note, today Eugene and I had breakfast at Governors. Then we went on a road trip. The foliage was gorgeous and we saw deers and turkeys. Eugene got us subs for lunch. I got roast chicken because it's less bad for me than steak. But it's so dry and bland. After lunch I walked to a crafts sale. I splurged a little. I got a Halloween decorated jar with fairy lights, 2 Halloween bracelets, and 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 earrings. There was one stall of pastries that looked SO GOOD!!! I really coveted them. Sadly the diet from Hell is a life sentence. Right now I'm reading and writing outside near my gorgeous 🌼 🌸 🌻 🌹 🏵. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. 

Jules Hathaway 

   

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Hatchet Girls (YA chiller)

     "'Even these woods.' Mariella gestured around them. 'People were slaughtered here, again and again, going all the way back to the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Probably before then too.'

     ...Mariella pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them, hugging herself. She couldn't put it off much longer. The whispers, the eyes, they were needy. Hungry. 'The Bridgewater Triangle's not just ghost stories. The history's real. It's like a dark energy hovers over this place. This town.'"

     When I was a child this morbid jump rope song was playground popular, at least in Massachusetts. 

Lizzie Borden took an axe 

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done 

She gave her mother forty-one. 

     To be fair Lizzie was acquitted of the gruesome 1892 murder of her father, a prominent businessman, and her stepmother. The case (which is still unsolved) gained national interest and drew much attention to the town of Fall River, Massachusetts. Even in those pre internet, pre social media days it went viral.  

     In Diana Rodriguez Wallach's Hatchet Girls it looks like history is repeating itself. At the mansion of one of Fall River's most prominent businessman police find the man and his wife hacked up. Their daughter's boyfriend, Vik, is found on the premises covered in blood and holding a gore coated axe. Pretty open and shut case...

     ...or maybe not. Tessa, Vik's sister, is sure he did not do the crime. She knows that he doesn't have it in him. And when she visits him in jail he isn't acting like himself. Not to mention: "But there was another fouler stench, one that had entered with Vik. It wasn't his sweat, his feet, or even his breath; those were a familiar fog in Tessa's life. No, Vik currently reeked of mulch freshly dumped in the garden, heavily enough to trigger a gag reflex."

     There are things the police have no way of knowing. Mariella, the victims' daughter, had all too often witnessed her father beating her mother. But there was no way financially that they could leave--he'd made sure of that.

     But since she'd drunk a foul tasting tea with unknown ingredients (never advisable) she'd been experiencing vile smells and tastes, been assaulted by grotesque beings, and been reassured by disembodied voices that daddy dearest would taken care of...

     ...if she just did everything they tell her to. 

     The spine-tingling suspense of Hatchet Girls comes from a superb blend of dark history and legend, human nature, and the supernatural, making it a perfect Halloween season read for chiller affecianados.

On a purrrsonal note, this is pretty idyllic for me as far as days go. Perfect Fall weather. I could hang my laundry outside and bring it in smelling of fresh air and sunshine. I've been out since early morning. My gorgeous flowers 💐 are hosting pollinator happy hour. I had a really awesome book to review and another to start reading. Tobago is being her sweet self. 

A great big shout out goes out to the precious pollinators and the best little cat in the world. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

 

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I Am Not Jessica Chen (YA fiction)

     Do (or did) you have a relative you are (or were) constantly nagged to be like? The one who always left you in the dust academically, athleticly, socially, or all of the above with better looks thrown in? If so you'll find yourself rooting for Jenna, protagonist of Ann Liang's I Am Not Jessica Chen. 

     Jenna and golden girl Jessica are first cousins. The families get together frequently. Jessica's parents often have something new to brag on. Just before a family get together at Jessica's house Jenna gets the heartbreaking news that she's been rejected by Harvard and is afraid to tell her parents...

     ...leaving them to learn in the worst possible place. Jessica, of course, has been accepted by Harvard and all the other Ivies she's applied to. On the surface they're nothing but happy for their niece...

     ...but back it's all blame and shame on their only child whom they've burdened with all their expectations...

     ...You can hardly blame Jenna for wishing on a shooting 🌠 to become her cousin...

     ...Jenna wakes up in--holy shades of Freaky Friday--Jessica's body the next morning. Becoming the golden girl seems like a pretty good deal at first. But Jenna quickly learns how impossible it is to live up to the world's expectations of Jessica...

     ...also Jenna has seemingly disappeared. Everyone including her parents is forgetting she ever existed...

     ...What if Jenna wants to go back to being herself and it's just not possible?

On a purrrsonal note, I'm probably about halfway through the summer to winter clothes swap. It will take awhile to finish because I'm not missing out on any chance to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine with my beautiful flowers. 

A great big shout out goes out to UMaine students, staff, and faculty with best wishes for a refreshing October break. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Libertad

     As I recently revealed, in the past fourteen years I've reviewed over 2,900 books. With that much experience I tend to be pretty confident about my skill set...

     ...but every now and then I encounter a book that is so powerful, so evocative, so rich and nuanced I wonder if I have the words to do it justice. Bessie Flores Zaldivar's Libertad is most definitely one of those. It has ❤️ and soul. It brings to life both a city, Tegucigalpa in Honduras, that most American readers know nothing about and a protagonist, Libertad, coming of age --finishing high school and trying to envision her life after graduation. It's a story of love, of family, of community and tradition, of sexuality, and of the struggle to survive under a cruel and oppressive right wing government. 

     2017 is an election year. Juan Orlando has been president since he came to power in a 2008 coup. Even though it's forbidden by the Honduran constitution he is gunning for another term in office. The opposition is not expecting a fair election. But they don't plan on giving up without a fight. 

     The president is sending the Military Police into major cities. There are videos of them beating protesters and firing rubber bullets. One day they fire real bullets into a group of students at the university where Libertad's older brother,  Maynor, is enrolled, killing three. That night there is no mention of the incident on TV news.

     Libertad begins writing political poetry and posting it anonymously on social media. She gets a lot of support for putting in words what many people feel. But of course there are haters.

     On election day it seems that a miracle might happen. The left's candidate is ahead with over half the  votes counted. But in the wee hours there is a country wide power outage. When the electricity comes back on the incumbent is ahead. 

     "It was clear, then, that he was going to win. But he had already won, hadn't he? He had won before we even walked to the voting center that morning."

     A massive of protesters goes to the building where the votes are being counted. The military police arrive. Some protesters are killed...

     ...including Libertad's beloved brother, Maynor. Now she's left with quite a dilemma. Her school has been encouraging her to apply to out of nation colleges. She wants to live in a country where people aren't killed for speaking their minds. Maybe leaving her family, friends, and nation is the only way to do that. 

     Libertad has a lot of subject matter that might trigger some readers. But I believe that it's a deeply engaging and thought provoking narrative, perfect for older YA readers and their college siblings. It would be a great curriculum addition for classes on topics like social justice and a valuable acquisition for high school and public libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, reading Libertad I saw so many similarities to America now: a president gunning for an additional term that his nation's constitution forbids, brutal assaults on peaceful protesters, armed military sent into liberal cities...creepy! 

A great big shout out goes out to Zaldivar for her poignant, powerful, and thought provoking narrative and to my daughter, Amber, for letting me run this review by her before posting it. 

Jules Hathaway 

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The Lilies

     Imagine having to relive the worst experience of your life in a time loop that returns you violently to the beginning for the slightest mistake. Every time this happens the memory degrades a little every time which means that...

     ...you may never escape and get back to your regular life. That's the nightmare the four narrators of Quinn Diacon-Furtado's The Lilies are entangled in. They're students at Archwell Academy, an elite private school with a reputation for setting their students up for enviable futures, the kind most people can only dream of...

     ...unless, of course, they disappear. Which they sometimes do. You see Archwell has an exclusive secret society, The Lilies. Charlotte has vanished without a trace right after her induction into this group. 

     Seeking shelter from a possible active shooter on their campus, the four girls lock themselves into a very strange large closet that contains many Lilies artifacts. This is where they become trapped in the time loop...

     ...which seems centered on the night of Charlotte's disappearance.

     If you need a spooky 👻 season chiller you couldn't do better than The Lilies. 

On a purrrsonal note, Diane gave me a ride to cash 💸 in my bottles and cans. $47.65 worth which is a great haul. That cleared enough of my shed enough so I could start putting up my summer clothes and taking out my winter wardrobe. It was a grey rainy day. I was really missing the days when eating was fun instead of a dismal chore.

A great big shout out goes out to Diane.

Jules Hathaway 

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I'm guessing that you are curious about my tattoos look like. Aren't they awesome? They're named Sunshine and Midnight. They're like little talismans. They make me feel more confident and competent, badass, smart, creative, and fearless--like I can take on the world or at least this corner of it. I can hardly wait to get my next. A 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 of course. 

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An Impossible Thing To Say (YA fiction)

     Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn't find the words for what you want to say? That happened to me big time in my teen years. I was going to study abroad and stay with a family for a summer. I had chosen England because...English-speaking. At the last minute I was switched to Mexico. My foreign language was French. So suddenly I was in a country where my grasp of the language was nonexistent. From my inability to ask my host family where the bathroom was on arrival to my saying si to my Mexican boyfriend and learning the next morning that we were engaged to be married (obviously we didn't) it was quite challenging at times.

     It was those experiences my mind flashed back to when I read Arya Shahi's An Impossible Thing To Say. Omid, Shahi's narrator, speaks two languages and feels inadequate in both. When his grandparents move from Iran to join their extended family he struggles with Farsi. But in school he doesn't feel competent in English, especially when he's around a girl he might more than like. 

     Shortly after his grandparents' arrival 9/11 happens. That night Omid hears his parents discussing the implications for their family. Although it is rarely alluded to after that, it subtly hovers in the background, like when his mother has an encounter with a racist, like when his father's store windows are constantly being broken. 

     But Omid is about to make a life altering discovery. When the girl he likes and his best friend introduce him to rap he falls in love with its meter and rhythms. Could this be the language in which he's not only competent but fluent?

On a purrrsonal note, we're having another lovely autumn day in central Maine. In a few minutes I'll take the bus to Orono to get my second tattoo. A 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 one of course.

A great big shout out goes out to the people who gave me the birthday money with which I'm paying for this body art.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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The Short Life & Curious Death of Free Speech in America (adult nonfiction)

          "The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech is rooted in the belief that in a competition of ideas, good ideas generally crowd out bad ideas. It assumes that people are basically rational and skilled in recognizing the better argument when they hear it. And it presupposes that dialogue is dominated by real people with an interest in ideas, not by corporations and wealthy individuals hiding behind PACs and other creations, using trickery, appeals to base prejudice, and outright lies to gather gullible people to their side in the interest of commerce."

      Somewhere in high school we learned that free speech is one of our rights as citizens, a hallmark of American democracy. Or is it? Journalist Ellis Cose has studied this concept across decades of our nation's history. In The Short Life and Curious Death of Free Speech in America he shows us how our concept may be way off the mark. What we learned or remember may be inaccurate. But, more importantly, everything about the world has changed so much in the centuries since the First Amendment was news it may need serious updating. Consider the impact of technology. 

     "Also, our approach to freedom of speech was crafted at a time when no one imagined dialogue would be dominated by the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and other apps that specialize in bursts of short, superficial communication." 

     Then there's the role of money. The gap between the wealthy and the rest us has grown obscenely huge since the eighteenth century. And now that corporations have the same rights as people the wealthy and their politicians dominate the narrative to the detriment of everyone else. 

     And there's the increasing polarization between groups in which parties (say the Republicans and the Democrats) believe that people on the other side are not only wrong on an issue, but are dangerously evil. Scientific knowledge is considered just another opinion. Hate speech and white supremecy are normalized.

     Cose doesn't gift readers with a feel good solutions chapter, probably since the issue is so complex. But that does not absolve us of the duty to do our best to create a free speech that takes into account all the ways in which our nation and world have changed and works for the marginalized and not just the marginalizers.

On a purrrsonal note, it is another picture perfect Maine autumn day. Eugene and I went on a leaf peeping road trip. The foliage is gorgeous, the reds and yellows especially vibrant. At a yard sale we found me an adorable Squishmallow dog.

MILESTONE: This is the 2,900th book I have reviewed since I started this blog in August 2011. I believe I can hit 3,000 in 2026 barring unforseen circumstances.

Oh, yeah, I've scheduled my second tattoo for tomorrow, bankrolled by birthday money. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Two Truths and a Lionel (YA fiction)

     I think we can agree that social media is a double edged sword. I wouldn't deny it does good. People who are isolated, say LGBTQ teens in conservative religious places, can find acceptance and community. But it can also be a quickly changing wild, wild, west of bullying and sexting and anonymity facilitated meanness. Lionel, narrator of Brian Wasson's Two Truths and a Lionel, certainly gets taken for a roller coaster ride. 

     Lionel idolizes his recently deceased grandfather, the swashbuckling hero of many a movie. But it seems that the movie star genes for standing out in a crowd weren't exactly passed down. He's a pretty much run-of-the mill in his small town high school...

     ...until one day the pet store he and his ex best friend who now loathes him are in catches on fire. A video makes it look like he saved a man's life. Social media catches on and spreads his heroism through his school and way beyond. With fame come all kinds of perks. And his crush, a social media influencer, seems suddenly attainable. 

      But it's not smooth sailing for Lionel. He knows that he isn't the hero he's widely portrayed as. What will happen when the truth gets out? What does he stand to lose when the social media that has put him on a pedestal just as vigorously kicks him off?

On a purrrsonal note, today was a picture perfect New England autumn day. It started out crisp and warmed enough for me to change into shorts. I celebrated the weather great good fortune by staying out from after breakfast until darkness fell in the evening. I really enjoyed seeing the pollinators having happy hour at my lovely garden. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who is due back tonight from a 3 day camping trip with his brother. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Rules for Being a Girl

     My good friend Bailey is a Social Work graduate student who is kind enough to give me rides to and from school which is a huge help, especially in the winter. Today she gave me a ride home with a stop at the library to pick up some books for me to review. We were talking about sexual relationships that are against the law and unethical, especially when they involve power imbalances. We started off in the realm of literature but quickly segued to real life. She told me about professionals in her field losing jobs for inappropriate relationships with clients. 

     I told her about an experience I had in high school. During a unit on swimming my gym teacher touched me aggressively under my bathing suit and told me to keep it our little secret. I was afraid that he'd touch other girls so I did report him only to be told I was a "vicious little liar trying to ruin a good man's reputation."...

     ...I was 14. I hadn't even had my first period...

     ...As parents we want to believe these things don't happen...

     ...but they do. So how do parents bring up a subject many teens often don't want to discuss with adults? Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno provide a most excellent resource in their Rules for Being a Girl. It provides teens with much needed information in the context of a truly engaging narrative. It's a book I would have given my daughters if they weren't adults. 

    Marin is an excellent student whose goals are to get into Brown University and become an investigative journalist. As the very engaged and conscientious co-editor of the school paper, she practically lives in the office, having frequent personal conversations with the faculty advisor, Bex (Mr. Beckett).

     Bex starts off slow. He gives Marin a ride home one night so she won't have to wait for her mother to pick her up. He tells her that she probably shouldn't tell anybody. Another night he brings her to his apartment, ostensibly to pick up a book he wants to lend her. When he kisses her she fortunately leaves before things escalate even more.

     At first Marin isn't sure she should do anything. Maybe she did lead him on. When she does report him nothing happens. In fact it's suggested that she misinterpreted things. And Bex gets downright vindictive. 

     The title of the book alludes to another not discussed enough issue Marin encounters in school: the way girls are micromanaged by stuff like dress codes (wouldn't want them to distract the boy from their studies) and male peers are left alone.

     It's a book I wish had been around when I was 14. It's an excellent introduction to feminism and social justice for teens of all genders.

On a purrrsonal note, I had a great day today. It was First Friday Bagels. I had my favorite sweet cinnamon. Bailey ran a jewelry making workshop which was much enjoyed by all who participated. I took the pictures and made a necklace with really cute beads. I got home in time to read outside near my 💐 🌹 🌸 🏵 🌼.

A great big shout out goes out to Bailey who is a really good friend and someday, as a social worker, will be a real help to her clients and a credit to her profession. 

Jules Hathaway 

    

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The Castle School (for Troubled Teens)

      "'This is a school for girls going through a rough patch. Girls whose parents...' Mom pauses, then closes her mouth. Her dark brown eyes are bright with tears, even though she's the one choosing to send me away. 

     In my head I fill in the rest of Mom's sentence: girls whose parents can't handle them anymore...Girls whose parents think there's something wrong with them, so they send them away, hoping for a fix."

    Moira, narrator of Alyssa Sheinmel's The Castle School (for Troubled Girls), has lost her best (and actually only) friend. At first they thought Nathan's brain tumor would be curable. He'd lose his hair. He might have to repeat a grade. But he'd be okay. But nothing worked. And she was there for him until people wouldn't let her.

     After his death nothing seemed to matter to her. She cut school as she'd done when Nathan was confined to home or hospitalized. She visited his grave in the middle of the night. She increasingly fought with her desperate to find a solution mother. 

     The school she gets sent to, the Castle School, is in a real castle. She and the eleven other students (the term patients is taboo) must follow really strict rules. They aren't even allowed to know what time or day it is. What passes for education is a farce. Students can do the school work or not. It's not like they're getting grades.

     They're supposed to be helped by group and individual therapy, building a peer community, fresh Maine air, organic food, and being stuck in the middle of nowhere...

     ...Or are they?...

     ...Hearing faint music Moira investigates. The lock on her window is broken, allowing her to sneak out without attracting attention. A little way through the woods she finds an identical castle housing a dozen boy students (not patients). But they have fewer rules and more comfortable living space.

     What the heck is going on? Could it be some kind of covert research on treatment methods? Rather than patients or students, could the teens be guinea pigs?

     Although I recommend this book I agree with the content warning: This book contains depictions of mental illness, included but not limited to addiction, anorexia, self-harm, and trichotillomania.

On a purrrsonal note when I was eleven I refused to be confirmed because I had some issues with religion, the biggest being the idea that the only way to salvation was through Jesus. I had Jewish and Muslim friends. I didn't plan on ever being confirmed. But then a youth pastor who I loved was dying of a brain tumor. I knew the one gift I could give her was getting confirmed before she died. So I did and it meant so much to her. To this day I have no regrets. I think God understands. 

I've got some bad news. You'll be seeing fewer reviews, at least for awhile. My "smart"phone somehow lost all the reviews I'd saved in drafts--about twenty which were all inter library loans. So I have to send away for these books to rewrite them. Sorry about that. Technology is a decidedly mixed blessing. 

Jules Hathaway 

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