Twelve-year-old Opal, narrator of Caroline Starr Rose's The Burning Season, lives with her mother and grandmother in a fire tower in the Gila National Forest. Their entire living space is about the size of a small bedroom. There's no privacy. The bathroom is an outhouse on the ground. It's a lifestyle of austerity and precarity.
And for the family it's a vocation, one growing increasingly rare in today's technological world. Her grandmother and mother are lookouts, as was her great aunt. Opal has just begun training for this challenging work. During the fire season (between April and August) they must be constantly vigilant every waking moment, scanning a large of forest for fires and summoning help to contain or extinguish them before they get out of control.
It's an existence that gives a whole new meaning to minimalism. Since that one room contains professional equipment as well as personal possessions, the latter must only be basic essentials. Since they're in a wilderness area roads, motorized vehicles (except fire trucks), and electricity are forbidden. Shopping trips are few and far between and only for necessities.
And it's a very isolated experience, lacking the interactions most of us have with friends, classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and extended family.
"'Make a wish,' Mom says.
I shut my eyes and blow out the flame.
Seventh grade at La Plata Middle.
I want that more than anything."
Opal is homeschooled. She yearns to go to a real school with a library, a science lab, clubs, and kids who can become friends. There's a family offering to take her in for the school year. Her mother and grandmother say she's not ready. Maybe in two years...
...which can seem like an eternity when you're twelve.
Opal is keeping a huge secret from the adults in her life. She's terrified of fire. And she is about to face a high stakes challenge. Her mother is long overdue from a shopping trip. Her grandmother has left the tower. When Opal sets out and finds her injured grandmother she spots a lightning 🌩 strike fire that could kill her if Opal doesn't get it contained.
Rose's choice of narrative in verse is brilliant, especially as the action and suspense pick up. The reader is not slowed down by a paragraphs format and superfluous words.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was Halloween. I didn't want it to be what I couldn't have namely CANDY! So I decided to aim for having such an awesome, eye catching, original, one of a kind costume peeps would be amazed by it. Easy peasy. People love Squishmallows. There are to my knowledge no Squishmallow costumes or instructions for making them. So I went the DIY route. I started with a deer with a flower headdress onesie costume/pajamas I'd scored for free at Clean Sweep and paired it with gold kids glitter boots ($3.00 yard sale) and a home made tag. Everywhere I went people were astounded by my creativity and originality. My other goal was to have pure, unadulterated, spontaneous fun. I had plenty of that at the downtown Orono Trunk Or Treat. Catherine had her ride all decked out Snoopy and Great Pumpkin themed. The kiddies were loving the vibe. We had so many little ones the Town of Orono had to supplement our candy 🍬 so we wouldn't run out. I was handing out candy. Bailey was keeping count. Catherine was refilling my candy bucket. We had everyone from anxious toddlers to high schoolers. They were loving my costume just like the undergraduates. I gave candy to 733 happy kids. It was a truly enchanted evening. Today the power has gone out. If I'm really maybe it'll stay out long enough for me not to have to cook supper 🙃.
A great big shout out to the town of Orono for putting on such a special event, Catherine and Bailey, and all the other peeps who decorated their rides and dished out 🍬.
Jules Hathaway
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