Triangles

Triangles

Adult fiction
What we see of the lives of most people we encounter is a small
portion thereof--sort of like the part of an iceberg that is above the
waterline. These days, with most people being so darn image
conscious, much of what we get even from friends and family can be
spin doctored. Fiction can give us the assurance that we aren't the
only ones with messy lives and often insurmountable challenges. In
Triangles Ellen Hopkins serves us up a triple scoop of this assurance.
Holly is someone a lot of us would envy. She has a loving
lawyer husband, three beautiful children, a perfect home in a posh
area, all the creature comforts she could ever want. Lately, though,
she's felt dissatisfaction with her predictable existence and wanted
to get out of what she considers a rut. Unfortunately, in addition to
regaining her figure and taking a stab at writing, she's been
experimenting with extramarital sex.
Marissa is someone we might allude to as a saint, respect and
feel sorry for at the same time, and probably not want to spend a lot
of time around. Her life is centered around her second child, her
daughter who was born with a terminal illness and is dying slowly at
the age of four. Her husband is missing in action much of the time.
She suspects this may not all be work related. Her son is alienating
his father by being gay.
Andrea is someone you might pass without a second thought. The
single mother of a teen age daughter, she works in the title research
of Department of Motor Vehicles. Her love life is what you'd call
nonexistent. Her ex husband has moved back to the area. She is quite
concerned with the way this may influence her daughter who will now
spend more time in his household which includes a hunky boy.
As the title implies, the relationships between the women are
the focus of the book. Andrea is Holly's best friend who sees her
chum jeopardizing a relationship and lifestyle Most women (including
herself) would just about kill for. She is also the sister of Marissa
who she feels holds out too much hope of turning things around for a
child who is quickly slipping away. Over the course of a summer in
which they will be challenged individually and collectively you will
get to know each member of this trinity, not only through their words
and thoughts, but through those of companions with whom their lives
are interwoven.
You'll be glad you did.
On a personal note, Hopkins really nails how often the presence in a
family of a severely ill or handicapped child will lead to one parent
withdrawing, emotionally if not physically, and the other being super
involved in that child's care, a geometry that leads to a super high
divorce rate for this group. When Harriet became brain damaged from
having spinal meningitis my parents' already shaky marriage went into
a final downward spiral.
A great big shout out goes out to the siblings of these children who
have a lot to deal with in complex and confusing situations.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Tricks

Tricks

YA fiction
There are kids whose pictures you see on milk cartons--boys and
girls who have vanished and are desperately missed. A lot of the
other kids who disappear have no one who cares enough to search. Some
are abused and/or neglected. Some are kicked out or abandoned.
However they end up on the streets, they have to find a way to obtain
food and shelter. Often all they have to barter is their bodies.
After reading that the average age of a female prostitute in the
United States is 12, Ellen Hopkins sought to bring their plight to our
attention. "...Tricks looks at a handful of reasons that might drive
a young adult to sell his or her body. Here, and in real life, almost
always you can distill the reason to survival."
In Tricks you will learn the stories of five young people who
come from very different situations to a common destination turning
tricks in Las Vegas. Alternating voices in very vivid free form poetry
will introduce you to:
*Eden is the older daughter of "a hellfire-and-brimstone-preaching
Assembly of God minister" and "his not-nearly-as-sweet-as-she-seems
right-hand woman". She and her sister are to ignore men until they
are old enough to be safely wed to suitable (same faith) men. She has
to keep her boyfriend, who is too honest to play a role, a secret,
knowing that the consequences of being found out would be drastic.
*Seth has always preferred crafts to war games. After high school he
aspires to attend a liberal arts college.
"Not easy, coming from
a long line of farmers and
factory workers. Dad's big
dream for his only son has
always been tool and die."
The mother who had encouraged him to reach for his own dreams is
dead. But he has every reason to believe she wouldn't have accepted
his homosexuality any better than his father will if he finds out.
*Whitney is the neglected younger sister who has gone through her life
playing second fiddle.
"...I'm pretty.
She's beautiful. I'm smart.
She's a genius. I can sing

a tolerable alto. She'll solo,
lead soprano at the Met.
Mom's own failed dreams
ressurected in Kyra." Even away at college Kyra casts a long shadow.
Whitney's father, who takes her side, is rarely ever home. The
boyfriend she loves ditches her after popping her cherry.
*Ginger is the oldest of six children with five different fathers in a
family that seems ripped from the case files of children's protective
services. Mom earns a living turning tricks and bounces from live in
to live in. Alcohol and pills figure prominantly in her life style.
When she takes the younger kids out for ice cream and leaves Ginger
behind it's because she's sold her nonconsensual services to a man
willing to pay for a good time.
*Cody's family is falling apart. His syepfather's digestive problems
turn put to be cancer His brother, Corey, is getting way out of
control. His mom is a "mess."
"I never believed this day would
come. Some stupid part of me kept
insisting the doctors were wrong.

Oh, God, I miss him so much already.
What am I going to do without him?"
Cody has this gambling habit. If only lady luck will stick with him,
he'll be able to help them stay afloat.
Hopkins wrote Tricks to expose the ugly world of underage
prostitution and to hold out hope for those who become enmeshed in
it. "...No one deserves the kind of mistreatment often perpetrated by
"johns" and pimps. Whatever the reasons for resorting to
prostitution, whatever has happened in someone's past, the future is
theirs to shape. The first step is to find a way out."
On a personal note, the last two Orono Community Garden delivery days
were truly memorable. We had big heavy bags of produce to deliver.
This summer we have grown organic veggies for 57 low income senior
citizen households. Last week we experienced something of a minor
miracle. We discovered a wild plum tree on our land with the sweetest
fruit...after over a decade. Then this week we had a television
reporter giving us some good free publicity.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Community Garden family.
You make the golden days of a short Maine summer all the more precious
for being in it!
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Don't Forget To Come Back

Don't Forget To Come Back

Picture book

As a college professor and department head who found her
vocation keeping her away from her young daughters too much, my mother
did not enjoy going out to adult only soirees. An evening of cookie
baking and read alouds was much more to her taste. There were times,
though, when she absolutely had to go to an event where children were
persona non grata. I remember watching her, in her blue velvet good
dress, do up her hair and put on makeup. She would dab a little
Nefretiti (the one perfume she wore) behind my ears.
When I had children of my own my life was pretty much centered
around them. Not to mention that I was married to a very shy man and
residing in a municipality where I lived on the wrong side of the
tracks. My children did not have many babysitters.
In the in between years, however, I did plenty of babysitting
and a number of times encountered children who were somewhat reluctant
to be left at home with a total or relative stranger. Even though I
developed quite a number of rapport builders, sometimes I had to
improvise. My most memorable time was when two couples on vacation
paid me to watch their six young children who were overtired,
sunburned, and not pleased by the prospect of spending time with a not
the mother. Fortunately I had access to an empty apliance box,
scissors, crayons, and markers. By the time the adults returned it
was being transformed into a pirate ship.
Why this stroll down memory lane. Well recently I checked out
Robie H. Harris' Don't Forget to Come Back. Originally published in
1978, it was reissued in 2004. It is a most excellent read aloud for
a family anticipating a close encounter of the babysitter kind.
It is a reassuring message for children. The young protagonist
is not at all pleased that her parents are going out without her. She
tries all the tricks in her trade to sabotage the plan. When Silly
Sarah arrives, however, things go far better than she anticipated.
It's also a book with a message for parents. Just because you
know that, of course, you will come back does not guarantee your child
will find it that obvious. Individual children vary widely in the age
at which they are able to make this leap of faith. And any child who
is overtired, in a strange place, or coming down with something is
very capable of backsliding.
On a personal note, when I had tried out for The Evil Dead I had
discovered that I have a decent alto singing voice. Now I am taking
steps to develop it including joining my church choir and signing up
to sing on stage. It just goes to show you are never too old to
discover and develop a new talent.
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who retains the willingness
to explore new directions.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Sheila Says We're Weird

Sheila Says We're Weird

Picture book
Children are very observant of differences between their
families and other clans. Unlike many adults, though, they're more
likely to be curious than judgemental. Unlike most adults, they are
able to put their curiosity into words. Ruth Ann Smalley's Sheila
Says We're Weird puts this concept beautifully into words and pictures.
Smalley's narrator is a daughter in an ecology minded family.
Colorful pictures enhance the descriptions of the clan going about
activities common in earlier times but relatively rare these days.
Sheila is the red haired, freckle faced kid next door, the best friend
of the narrator's kid sister. She has questions about even the most
basic tasks: hanging laundry, planting a garden, mending clothes,
biking to the library... After each explanation Sheila comments that
it's weird. But her continuous presence and engagement take the
offensiveness out of her judgements.
Sheila Says We're Weird is more than just a good read aloud.
Families can find practices that they can take up to reduce their
carbon footprint. They can also build clan pride and identity by
relecting on what makes them "weird".
On a personal note, Orono Festival Day was really a let down for a
whole lot of people. Usually Mill Street is blocked off with tables
on both sides and live music and dancing. There is a true festival
atmosphere. People come in droves. This year it was shunted off to
the area near the elementary school. The music was missing. A lot of
people didn't bother to come. Everyone I talked to there was
seriously let down.
A great big shout out goes out to Jim and Mary Bird and their
dedicated crew who had their annual humungous yard sale to benefit the
Orono Bog Walk.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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The Tooth

The Tooth

Picture book
When candy-loving Marissa wakes up with a toothache her mother
takes her to see the dentist. En route to his office Marissa sees a
homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. She's never before seen anyone
like him. When she tries to get closer her mother pulls her along.
Mom probably hopes that Marissa will forget about the man. In
the waiting room she sits down with a magazine. Marissa watches how
he is treated by pedestrians from the window.
After her appointment Marissa does something creatively
thoughtful.
The Tooth is a great read aloud to share with children and a
reminder to parents that kids may have much more understanding and
empathy than we give them credit for.
On a personal note, the September Orono Arts Cafe was well attended.
The joint was jumping. That's for sure. In addition to reading my
poetry, which once again was well received, I got to play tambourine
for Redman who sings and plays guitar. I was playing and dancing up a
storm, as though I had Roma (as opposed to boring Anglo and Germanic)
DNA encoded in my cells.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Arts Cafe clan.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Smoke

Smoke

"A huge story thread in Burned and Smoke is physical abuse. It
is something I know personally, having lived in a physically abusive
relationship for three years...I should not have stayed as long as I
did, but like many women, I thought if I only did the right things, I
could fix him. It rarely works out that way."
Ellen Hopkins had crafted Burned as a stand alone novel.
Readers were not happy campers. They wanted to know what happened to
the characters they had come to care about. Fortunately for us,
Hopkins "caved" and wrote a sequel, a haunting and poignant volume
that draws heavily on her insider knowledge of abuse. Smoke is told
in the alternating voices of Pattyn and Jackie Von Stratton, the two
oldest daughters of a highly dysfunctional LDS (Latter Day Saints)
family.
Pattyn has just shot her father in a storage shed on seeing him
beating Jackie. (He was also the cause of the death of her beloved
and their unborn baby). She is fleeing to California so she can see
the Pacific Ocean just once before she is arrested and jailed. Her
life takes a very unexpected turn when it becomes linked with that of
an outspoken, switchblade-yielding Latina and her family. Even as she
moves forward with a job, friendships, and the possibility of love,
guilt, memories, and what ifs haunt her.
Jackie's father had beaten her that fateful night because he had
discovered her in the shed with a young man, Caleb. It was obvious
that they have known each other in the Biblical sense of the word.
Daddy Dearest had refused to believe that what had taken place was
forcible rape. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one. Their church
community has decided that what had gone down was consensual. Even
her mother refuses to let her press charges against Caleb. Might it
have to do with Caleb's lawyer dad's sudden interest in providing pro
bono professional help and emotional support to the new widow? And
guess who's coming for Thanksgiving dinner.
Hopkins ends the novel with a litany of very sobering statistics
regarding dating/spousal and child abuse. It's a topic we all need to
be thinking on. Burned (which I reviewed earlier) and Smoke give a
world of helpful insight as well as being exquisitely crafted can't-
put-down novels.
On a personal note, 9/11 affected me in a new way this year. On all
the other anniversaries I'd given thought to the first responders who
had answered the very dangerous call to rescue their fellow human
beings and the families many had left behind. This year it felt more
personal. Many were firefighters like my son is now.
A great big shout out goes out to all the emergency rescue people who
we count on to be on the scene and adequately trained in times of need.
Julia Emily Hathaway





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Under A Painted Sky

Under A Painted Sky

YA historical fiction
"They say death aims only once and never misses, but I doubt Ty
Yorkshire thought it would strike with a scrubbing brush. Now his
face wears the mask of surprise that sometimes accompanies death: his
eyes bulge, carp-like, and his mouth curves around a profanity."
I can't imagine any reader worth her salt putting down Stacey
Lee's Under A Painted Sky after that introductory paragraph.
Samantha, Lee's narrator, possesses quite a unique and intriguing
voice. Inquiring minds would want to know exactly how this rather
mundane item could become a lethal weapon.
Samantha is in a world of trouble. Her beloved father, her only
living relative, has just perished in a fire. Mr. Yorkshire, the
building landlord, has pretended to want to help, planning to add her
to his stable of hookers.
"...The Lily of the East, we'd call you. Bet you'd fetch more than
the lot of them, maybe five dollars an evening..." When he tries to
rape her she fights back with the only weapon at hand. The year is
1849. Ty Yorkshire is Caucasian; Samantha is Chinese.
Samantha decides to flee (from Missouri) to California to meet
up with her Father's best friend, a mysterious Mr. Trask, whom she
will recognize by his red suspenders. Yorkshire's cleaning girl,
Annamae, decides to join her. Since people would soon be looking for
a murderer and an escaped slave, both girls, they disguise themselves
as Sammy and Andy, two young men who have caught the golf fever.
The cadance of Under A Painted Sky gives a reader the sense of
riding along with Sammy, Andy, and the unlikely companions they
acquire. The dangers they faced made my pulse race. It's the kind of
historical fiction that blends understanding of time and place
seamlessly with a gripping plot and characters you really come to care
about.
My one caveat: this fine novel may be a bit too graphic for
more sensitive young readers. I was bothered by scenes where
hormonally driven stallions had to be put down and where a Cholera
stricken man the travellers encounter begs them to shoot him to end
his misery.
On a personal note, one aspect of the book that I found fascinating
was how many aspects of healing that we routinely outsource to doctors
and hospitals were done by family and friends. People stitched up
wounds, set broken bones, and dug out bullets with, perhaps, whiskey
as anaesthetic. When I was about ten a family cat I really loved came
out on the wrong end of a fight. He had serious gashes and an ear
hanging by a flap of skin. My father refused to take him to the vet
so I took matters into my own hands using needle, thread, Crown Royal
from Dad's hidden stash, and a match. Amazingly that cat survived and
recovered despite having one ear that stood out at a really strange
angle.
A great big shout out goes to the first responders who we are
fortunate enough to be able to count on in emergencies.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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