And this is another.
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
YA Historic Fiction From The Not So Distant Past
YA Historic Fiction From The Not So Distant Past
The following two novels have four things in common. They
happened in the very recent past. In fact the first was within my
lifetime. They tackle sensitive issues in a straightforward way. The
protagonists are portrayed as complex, relatable but not perfect
individuals. The issues have still not be resolved in the twenty-
first century.
Bad Girls Never Say Die
Evie, protagonist of Jennifer Mathieu's Bad Girls Never Say Die,
identifies and is seen by many people as a bad girl. She hangs with
three friends who consider themselves "tuff", cuts most of her high
school classes, and smokes and drinks. The only good girl alternative
she has access to is the one preached by her mother: marry a good man,
one who will stay around (unlike her dad) and provide for her and
their children. Only big sister Cheryl is desperately lonely and sad
in her not-so-happily-ever-after shotgun wedding situation. Shouldn't
there be more to life?
Diane is a fallen angel, a good girl gone bad in the eyes of her
wealthy, image conscious family. Awhile back she'd done something
that embarassed her parents and shocked her classmates. After
spending some time in exile she's come home only to be shunted aside
to her black sheep of the family alcoholic aunt who lives on the
proverbial wrong side of the tracks. In other words, she's in Evie's
neighborhood.
One night at the drive in movie theater Evie has to use the
bathroom. A rich scion of a rich and powerful family attempts to rape
her. Diane tries to scare him off with a switchblade and ends up
killing him.
Johnny, brother of Connie, the leader of Evie's gang, is
arrested, beaten up by the police, and jailed for the murder. It
looks like he'll be spending a lot of time, maybe even the rest of his
life in prison. The cops think it's a slam dunk--the killing of a
rich boy with a future and rich parents by a no good wrong side of the
tracks hoodlum. An open and shut case...
...unless a small group of teens can prove it isn't.
The book introduces teen readers to the sexism and classism
rampant in 1964. Girls are considered good or bad depending on actual
or perceived sexual behavior. The would be rapist considers himself
entitled to help himself to poor girls. Through much of the book Evie
sees the almost rape as her fault. The police unquestioningly take
the word of the rich and famous over that of the poor and neglected.
Today not enough has changed in either regard. Males still feel
entitled to sexually harass and create hostile environments for
females--everything from microaggressions to out and out aggravated
rape. If a girl accuses an alpha boy--say the quarterback of the
college or high school football team or a swimming star--of rape too
often he is seen as the victim of her malicious accusations and she is
the one who is blamed and shamed.
And in towns with visibly low income sections--say trailer
parks--there can be a lot of class based social segregation. And
authorities can be much more likely to believe the well off and
influential than the just getting by and powerless.
Out Of Darkness
"For the next three days, alone or in numbers, families mourn
their children and their neighbors' children. There are so many
funerals that the pews in the churches have no time to cool. Voices
grow thin and hoarse from singing. Throats tighten. Consolation
falters. Silence settles, and in silence they bear coffins. More
than grief, more than anger, there is a need. Someone to blame.
Someone to make pay."
East Texas in 1937 was a place where robes and hoods hung in
many white people's closets. The non white residents of places like
New London weren't exactly welcome. Signs on businesses excluded
them. Color lines were religiously enforced with dire consequences
for crossing them.
But we all know that even in the most forbidding of
circumstances lines will be crossed.
Naomi and younger siblings, Cari and Beto, have just arrived
from San Antonio. They'd been living with their grandparents since
their mother's death after birthing the twins. Now, nagged into
compliance by the pastor who converted him, Henry, the father of the
twins but not Naomi, has taken the children to live with him. Naomi
is lonely, overworked, and frightened. Before his baptism Henry had
not treated her as a stepfather should. What will happen if he
backslides? Will she be able to escape without abandoning the twins?
Wash is the son of two Tuskagee educated parents. The family
saves every spare cent so he and little sister, Peggy, can follow in
their footsteps. He knows that getting close to Naomi and her
siblings is downright dangerous.
But sometimes the heart overrides the head. Wash knows how
desperately the little family needs him.
Things come to a head when there is an explosion at the white
children's school. People are desperate to blame and punish. It's
known that Wash resents the unfair resource allocation between the
white and Black schools. In fact he's said in public that it would
take an explosion to wake up the school board.
Author Ashley Hope Perez grew up close to the site of the real
school explosion that is still considered the worst in United States
history.
"In researching this novel, I was struck by the many ways in
which whole swaths of lived experiences have been largely excluded
from historical accounts, in part because certain communities were not
deemed worthy of note in newspapers and other sources deemed
authoritative and reliable. These silences need to be amended. I
hope my fiction gives readers an appetite for stories lived in the
margins of spotlighted scenes."
Similarities to today are legion. Schools are more segregated
(and nowhere near equal) than ever before. We're still reading white
washed history and news that privileges some sources over others.
Although individual racism is not as overt as in the KKK heyday it's
still very much alive. Systemic racism is thriving. And we are
nowhere near the liberty and justice for all society that the pedge of
allegiance brags about.
On a purrrsonal note: Yesterday I aced my annual wellness check up.
According to my nurse practitioner I am in purrrfect health. Strong
heart and lungs, BP of 126/85, no lumps or weird looking cells... All
this despite the history of heart disease on both sides of my family.
Studying for that high stakes exam really paid off. Then today I got
myself a reward for good grades, nailing my internship, doing super at
work, and being in purrrfect health: a bear I'd been admiring at the
UMaine Book Store. I wanted to buy something there to show my
appreciation for something super they're doing in the real holiday
spirit. (Jules)
My Jules is in purrrfect health. YASSS!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine Book Store. They are
giving customers an awesome incentive to bring them food for the Black
Bear Exchange. If you bring in food you'll get a coupon worth 30% off
any item. They're gathering a lot of food that will help so many
people. Food insecurity is a major problem on college and university
campuses and one in every five food insecure students is a parent.
Yay, Book Store people! Way to show the holiday spirit!!! We love
you!!!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The following two novels have four things in common. They
happened in the very recent past. In fact the first was within my
lifetime. They tackle sensitive issues in a straightforward way. The
protagonists are portrayed as complex, relatable but not perfect
individuals. The issues have still not be resolved in the twenty-
first century.
Bad Girls Never Say Die
Evie, protagonist of Jennifer Mathieu's Bad Girls Never Say Die,
identifies and is seen by many people as a bad girl. She hangs with
three friends who consider themselves "tuff", cuts most of her high
school classes, and smokes and drinks. The only good girl alternative
she has access to is the one preached by her mother: marry a good man,
one who will stay around (unlike her dad) and provide for her and
their children. Only big sister Cheryl is desperately lonely and sad
in her not-so-happily-ever-after shotgun wedding situation. Shouldn't
there be more to life?
Diane is a fallen angel, a good girl gone bad in the eyes of her
wealthy, image conscious family. Awhile back she'd done something
that embarassed her parents and shocked her classmates. After
spending some time in exile she's come home only to be shunted aside
to her black sheep of the family alcoholic aunt who lives on the
proverbial wrong side of the tracks. In other words, she's in Evie's
neighborhood.
One night at the drive in movie theater Evie has to use the
bathroom. A rich scion of a rich and powerful family attempts to rape
her. Diane tries to scare him off with a switchblade and ends up
killing him.
Johnny, brother of Connie, the leader of Evie's gang, is
arrested, beaten up by the police, and jailed for the murder. It
looks like he'll be spending a lot of time, maybe even the rest of his
life in prison. The cops think it's a slam dunk--the killing of a
rich boy with a future and rich parents by a no good wrong side of the
tracks hoodlum. An open and shut case...
...unless a small group of teens can prove it isn't.
The book introduces teen readers to the sexism and classism
rampant in 1964. Girls are considered good or bad depending on actual
or perceived sexual behavior. The would be rapist considers himself
entitled to help himself to poor girls. Through much of the book Evie
sees the almost rape as her fault. The police unquestioningly take
the word of the rich and famous over that of the poor and neglected.
Today not enough has changed in either regard. Males still feel
entitled to sexually harass and create hostile environments for
females--everything from microaggressions to out and out aggravated
rape. If a girl accuses an alpha boy--say the quarterback of the
college or high school football team or a swimming star--of rape too
often he is seen as the victim of her malicious accusations and she is
the one who is blamed and shamed.
And in towns with visibly low income sections--say trailer
parks--there can be a lot of class based social segregation. And
authorities can be much more likely to believe the well off and
influential than the just getting by and powerless.
Out Of Darkness
"For the next three days, alone or in numbers, families mourn
their children and their neighbors' children. There are so many
funerals that the pews in the churches have no time to cool. Voices
grow thin and hoarse from singing. Throats tighten. Consolation
falters. Silence settles, and in silence they bear coffins. More
than grief, more than anger, there is a need. Someone to blame.
Someone to make pay."
East Texas in 1937 was a place where robes and hoods hung in
many white people's closets. The non white residents of places like
New London weren't exactly welcome. Signs on businesses excluded
them. Color lines were religiously enforced with dire consequences
for crossing them.
But we all know that even in the most forbidding of
circumstances lines will be crossed.
Naomi and younger siblings, Cari and Beto, have just arrived
from San Antonio. They'd been living with their grandparents since
their mother's death after birthing the twins. Now, nagged into
compliance by the pastor who converted him, Henry, the father of the
twins but not Naomi, has taken the children to live with him. Naomi
is lonely, overworked, and frightened. Before his baptism Henry had
not treated her as a stepfather should. What will happen if he
backslides? Will she be able to escape without abandoning the twins?
Wash is the son of two Tuskagee educated parents. The family
saves every spare cent so he and little sister, Peggy, can follow in
their footsteps. He knows that getting close to Naomi and her
siblings is downright dangerous.
But sometimes the heart overrides the head. Wash knows how
desperately the little family needs him.
Things come to a head when there is an explosion at the white
children's school. People are desperate to blame and punish. It's
known that Wash resents the unfair resource allocation between the
white and Black schools. In fact he's said in public that it would
take an explosion to wake up the school board.
Author Ashley Hope Perez grew up close to the site of the real
school explosion that is still considered the worst in United States
history.
"In researching this novel, I was struck by the many ways in
which whole swaths of lived experiences have been largely excluded
from historical accounts, in part because certain communities were not
deemed worthy of note in newspapers and other sources deemed
authoritative and reliable. These silences need to be amended. I
hope my fiction gives readers an appetite for stories lived in the
margins of spotlighted scenes."
Similarities to today are legion. Schools are more segregated
(and nowhere near equal) than ever before. We're still reading white
washed history and news that privileges some sources over others.
Although individual racism is not as overt as in the KKK heyday it's
still very much alive. Systemic racism is thriving. And we are
nowhere near the liberty and justice for all society that the pedge of
allegiance brags about.
On a purrrsonal note: Yesterday I aced my annual wellness check up.
According to my nurse practitioner I am in purrrfect health. Strong
heart and lungs, BP of 126/85, no lumps or weird looking cells... All
this despite the history of heart disease on both sides of my family.
Studying for that high stakes exam really paid off. Then today I got
myself a reward for good grades, nailing my internship, doing super at
work, and being in purrrfect health: a bear I'd been admiring at the
UMaine Book Store. I wanted to buy something there to show my
appreciation for something super they're doing in the real holiday
spirit. (Jules)
My Jules is in purrrfect health. YASSS!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine Book Store. They are
giving customers an awesome incentive to bring them food for the Black
Bear Exchange. If you bring in food you'll get a coupon worth 30% off
any item. They're gathering a lot of food that will help so many
people. Food insecurity is a major problem on college and university
campuses and one in every five food insecure students is a parent.
Yay, Book Store people! Way to show the holiday spirit!!! We love
you!!!
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, November 22, 2021
Two Adult Chillers
Two Adult Chillers
The Burning Girls
"The bed was stained with blood and bodily fluids. Restraints
had been tied to each bedpost, but they hung loose. In the middle of
the matress a large leather case lay open. Sturdy straps held the
contents in place: a heavy crucifix, a Bible, holy water, muslin
cloths."
If you like your chillers imbued with the supernatural you'll
love C. J. Tudor's The Burning Girls.
Chapel Croft is not just any old village. Residents are still
fixated on an event that happened in the religious wars five centuries
earlier. A group of Protestants, including two young girls, was
betrayed and burned to death. The alpha family in town claims direct
descent from the martyrs. Every year villagers burn twig dolls to
commemorate the massacre.
When Jack Brooks becomes vicar of the town's chapel she quickly
learns that it isn't just any assignment. She's replacing a man who
committed suicide. As she explores the chapel her daughter, Flo,
meets up with a child covered in blood. An anonymous donor leaves her
an exorcism kit, its knife coated in dried blood. An attached note
says, "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and
hidden that will not be known."
What does that all mean? Could it have anything to do with the
long ago massacre and/or a thirty-year-old case involving the
disappearance of two local girls, best friends?
Flo begins to see girls on fire. It's believed that if anyone
sees the burning girls evil is about to take place. Sure enough some
gruesome secrets are about to reveal themselves.
The villagers may not be the only people harboring disturbing
secrets. Perhaps their new vicar has something to hide.
So if your reading taste runs to occult horror, especially if
you're a Stephen King fan, you owe it to yourself to check out The
Burning Girls.
Girl A
"You don't know me, but you'll have seen my face. In the
earlier pictures, they bludgeoned our features with pixels, right down
to our waists; even our hair was too distinctive to disclose. But the
story and its protectors grew weary, and in the darker corners of the
Internet we became easy to find..."
Ever so often a horrifying news story about a family will break
out. Usually no one will have caught on to parenting aberations until
the children, if not deceased, are abused, neglected, and often living
in depths of squalor to which we wouldn't consign our cats and dogs.
These stories fascinate people to a degree most other news
genres don't. They're click bait. Ratings conscious media entities
pursue survivors relentlessly, eager for any scrap of insider
information with which to gain an edge over the competition.
The survivors continue to grow up in a world still thirsty for
and feeling entitled to gruesome details and unwilling for them to
move on, to become more than the worst thing that ever happened to
them. Memories complicate developmental tasks and relationships.
That's the story behind Abigail Dean's Girl A.
Lex, Girl A, has been trying valiently to put the past behind
her. She was the one who had been able to escape her family's house
of horrors and connect with help. She and her siblings had been
chained to their beds and starved. She had seen the little sister
with whom she shared a bed growing frailer. The children, after
hospital treatment, were adopted into different families. Their
father had committed suicide when he had realized that his secrets
were about to be revealed. Their mother had been sent to prison.
Now Lex has been summoned to the prison following her mother's
death. She has been named executor of her will. The estate consists
of twenty thousand pounds and the house she and her siblings grew up
in. They all have to agree on how the assets will be used. It will
be quite the challenge. The family is quite spread out
geographically. Their needs and wants differ greatly.
In a text that segues smoothly between past and present, Dean
presents readers with a vivid, poignant portrayal of a family of
survivors striving to move beyond media victim portrayals. There are
quite a few surprises. Once you get caught up in the narrative you'll
find it hard, if not impossible, to set it aside.
On a purrrsonal note, between homework and doing my post verdict three
book review (not to mention dishes, cooking, laundry etc.) it was
mostly a work weekend. But I did get a few breaks. Saturday night
Eugene and I watched Home Alone. That's an annual holiday tradition.
Sunday morning I baked a funny looking (but delicious) apple pie.
Sunday afternoon I had several unexpected hours when it was sunny and
warm enough for outside reading. I took out a YA novel, totally
unrelated to the review I was working on. (Jules)
I loved that sunshine. Today is rainy and blah. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, with best wishes
for a safe and happy Thanksgiving wherever you intend to spend it.
Please don't let up on COVID precautions, especially if you're in a
place with lax rules and/or high infection rates.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Burning Girls
"The bed was stained with blood and bodily fluids. Restraints
had been tied to each bedpost, but they hung loose. In the middle of
the matress a large leather case lay open. Sturdy straps held the
contents in place: a heavy crucifix, a Bible, holy water, muslin
cloths."
If you like your chillers imbued with the supernatural you'll
love C. J. Tudor's The Burning Girls.
Chapel Croft is not just any old village. Residents are still
fixated on an event that happened in the religious wars five centuries
earlier. A group of Protestants, including two young girls, was
betrayed and burned to death. The alpha family in town claims direct
descent from the martyrs. Every year villagers burn twig dolls to
commemorate the massacre.
When Jack Brooks becomes vicar of the town's chapel she quickly
learns that it isn't just any assignment. She's replacing a man who
committed suicide. As she explores the chapel her daughter, Flo,
meets up with a child covered in blood. An anonymous donor leaves her
an exorcism kit, its knife coated in dried blood. An attached note
says, "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and
hidden that will not be known."
What does that all mean? Could it have anything to do with the
long ago massacre and/or a thirty-year-old case involving the
disappearance of two local girls, best friends?
Flo begins to see girls on fire. It's believed that if anyone
sees the burning girls evil is about to take place. Sure enough some
gruesome secrets are about to reveal themselves.
The villagers may not be the only people harboring disturbing
secrets. Perhaps their new vicar has something to hide.
So if your reading taste runs to occult horror, especially if
you're a Stephen King fan, you owe it to yourself to check out The
Burning Girls.
Girl A
"You don't know me, but you'll have seen my face. In the
earlier pictures, they bludgeoned our features with pixels, right down
to our waists; even our hair was too distinctive to disclose. But the
story and its protectors grew weary, and in the darker corners of the
Internet we became easy to find..."
Ever so often a horrifying news story about a family will break
out. Usually no one will have caught on to parenting aberations until
the children, if not deceased, are abused, neglected, and often living
in depths of squalor to which we wouldn't consign our cats and dogs.
These stories fascinate people to a degree most other news
genres don't. They're click bait. Ratings conscious media entities
pursue survivors relentlessly, eager for any scrap of insider
information with which to gain an edge over the competition.
The survivors continue to grow up in a world still thirsty for
and feeling entitled to gruesome details and unwilling for them to
move on, to become more than the worst thing that ever happened to
them. Memories complicate developmental tasks and relationships.
That's the story behind Abigail Dean's Girl A.
Lex, Girl A, has been trying valiently to put the past behind
her. She was the one who had been able to escape her family's house
of horrors and connect with help. She and her siblings had been
chained to their beds and starved. She had seen the little sister
with whom she shared a bed growing frailer. The children, after
hospital treatment, were adopted into different families. Their
father had committed suicide when he had realized that his secrets
were about to be revealed. Their mother had been sent to prison.
Now Lex has been summoned to the prison following her mother's
death. She has been named executor of her will. The estate consists
of twenty thousand pounds and the house she and her siblings grew up
in. They all have to agree on how the assets will be used. It will
be quite the challenge. The family is quite spread out
geographically. Their needs and wants differ greatly.
In a text that segues smoothly between past and present, Dean
presents readers with a vivid, poignant portrayal of a family of
survivors striving to move beyond media victim portrayals. There are
quite a few surprises. Once you get caught up in the narrative you'll
find it hard, if not impossible, to set it aside.
On a purrrsonal note, between homework and doing my post verdict three
book review (not to mention dishes, cooking, laundry etc.) it was
mostly a work weekend. But I did get a few breaks. Saturday night
Eugene and I watched Home Alone. That's an annual holiday tradition.
Sunday morning I baked a funny looking (but delicious) apple pie.
Sunday afternoon I had several unexpected hours when it was sunny and
warm enough for outside reading. I took out a YA novel, totally
unrelated to the review I was working on. (Jules)
I loved that sunshine. Today is rainy and blah. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to you, our readers, with best wishes
for a safe and happy Thanksgiving wherever you intend to spend it.
Please don't let up on COVID precautions, especially if you're in a
place with lax rules and/or high infection rates.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, November 21, 2021
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