Rules For Camouflage

 "RULES FOR CAMOUFLAGE 

1. Whenever you need to 

2. Anytime it seems necessary 

3. Not with people you trust 

4. How do you figure out who to trust?

5. Almost always in public.

6. Definitely with grown-ups

7. ALWAYS at school 

8. Never at the zoo."

    Evvie, protagonist of Kirsten Cronn-Mills' Rules For Camouflage, is neurodivergent. Life was challenging after her sophomore year diagnosis. Now she understands her brain and  how to work with it. And she's discovered a real passion. She volunteers after school at a zoo where they're testing the intelligence of a day 🐙. She's become enamored of Aretha and her species. She's also met kindred spirits among the staff and caught the interest of a cute fellow volunteer. In fact he may be more than just a friend. 

     Unfortunately high school can be a very unkind space for anyone who is different. At Bluestem Lake Area High School, in addition to the student bullies there's a teacher who is determined to keep Evvie from graduating 🎓 if she won't conform to her rules. 

     Hence the need for rules for camoflage. 

     There is one place in the school that has been created as a sanctuary for neurodivergent students. The Lair is a place where they can get a break from the pressure and stress and be valued for who they truly are.

     But its continued existence is being threatened. 

     Evvie is a shero you can't help rooting for. Please join her for her (hopefully) final year of high school. 

On a purrrsonal note, today when I went to Orono Public Library to get my new bunch of inter library loans I met and befriended by a very gentle, dignified, friendly and big dog named Bailey. I'll post a picture tomorrow. She was bred a lot and then discarded. Fortunately she now has a loving home and time to make friends at the library. 

A great big shout out goes out to Bailey and all the good rescue dogs and cats. 

Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone

These are the treasures I got for myself, (Thanks, Amber!!!) on my final trip to Joann Fabrics. I hate it when really good stores and restaurants go out of business.

The White Guy Dies First (YA chiller anthology)

     If you, like me, have developed a taste for scary short stories you'll find a feast in The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power. Between the covers you'll discover:

*topiary animals more malevolent than the ones in The Shining;

*a vengeful spirit with a hatred for rapists and their enablers;

*the gruesome secrets behind a young woman's gardening obsession;

*what docile girls are truly capable of;

And so much more. There's even a story by THE Tiffany Jackson. If you're a true chiller affecianado you don't want to miss out...

     ...but you may not want to read some of the pieces after darkness falls. 

On a purrrsonal note, I had myself an adventure today. Amber had a gift card for a store that's going out of business Friday. She sent me the card and a list of things she wanted and said I should also get stuff for myself. I hadn't counted on the place being so crowded and chaotic. I was going up and down the aisles and waiting in lines for hours. But I found good stuff for us both and got to campus in time to forage for lunch before class. So it was a fun adventure. 

A great big shout out goes out to Jo-ann Fabrics for supplying crafters so well for eighty years. You will be greatly missed.

Jules Hathaway 

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An Outbreak of Witchcraft (YA graphic novel)

     The winter of 1692 was a dire time in Salem, Massachusetts. There was a lot of fear and distrust. People heard from the pulpit that they were Sinners in the hands of a very angry God. A bloody raid by Indigenous People in what is now Maine had them terrified of suffering a similar fate. There were many feuds and rivalries between townspeople. And it was a brutally cold, dark season. 

     Suddenly a small group of tween and teenage girls started exhibiting bizarre  symptoms, seemingly being tormented by unseen beings. When asked to reveal the identities of the witches hurting them they began naming them. The ranks of the accusers and accused grew quickly. Jails were packed. Before the hysteria had run its course twenty 

innocent people had been hanged.

     In Outbreak of Witchcraft Deborah Noyes' words and M. Duffy's illustrations introduce YA readers to that perilous year. An unusually grim palette adds to the ambiance of terror and helplessness and darkness. 

On a purrrsonal note, today was a special election day. I made it to the town office even though I had to take the long way around thanks to the snow. I have no right to talk to undergrads about civic engagement unless I practice what I preach. Yesterday and today temps have been warmish. Today actually smelled a little like spring. Sadly well probably get a lot more ❄️ before that glorious season arrives in Maine. 

Jules Hathaway 

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My stuff a buddy llama

I named her Bailey after one of my friends. Isn't she too cute for words?

Nice Is Not Enough (adult nonfiction)

     Sociologist C. J. Pascoe spent over two years of observations, interviews, and the study of primary sources at a public high school serving students from working and middle class families. It was not her first rodeo. Similar research she'd conducted at the turn of the century had resulted in her first book--Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuaity in High School. Nice Is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits  of Kindness at American High is the result of her more recent foray into secondary school. 

     At first Pascoe was pleasantly surprised by the contrast between American and the high schools she'd done her previous research at and attended as a teen. She didn't see the "gender- and sexuality-based bullying and harassment" she'd previously spent so much time documenting. 

     "American is just that kind of school, the kind of school where there is 'no room for hate," the kind of school where care, connection, and kindness characterize school culture. At every turn I see manifestations of this kindness and care."

     But Pascoe quickly discovered the dark side to this culture of acceptance and kindness. Issues like racism, sexism, and homophbia were only tackled on an individual level. Students were encouraged to be kind and inclusive and to see something, say something when they observed peers failing to live up to the school's standards. 

     But it was quite a different story when students and sympathetic staff members tried to raise awareness of these issues on a systemic level. Administration was quick to resist and and try to shut down or at least water down their attempts. Pascoe meticulously documents and analyzes this dynamic across a full range of social justice issues. 

     Pascoe nicely balances scholarship with vivid anecdotes. She includes the right details to bring her subjects vividly to life. I think it's a must read for anyone who has at least suspects that a focus on individual kindness and empowerment can easily easily divert attention from resistance to tackling or even acknowledging institutional and systemic injustices. 

On a purrrsonal note, I  have faith that the UMaine Winter Carnival went well. Unfortunately I couldn't go because for months there have no Saturday buses on the Old Town route. But I got to take a stuff a buddy llama early. It was what I wanted most.

A great big shout out goes out to the CSI staff for all the hard work they put into their amazing events. 

Jules Hathaway 

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AfterMath (juvenile fiction)

     Lucy, protagonist of Emily Barth Isler's AfterMath, has lost her beloved little brother, Theo. He was just months old when he began to show signs of the birth defect that would claim his life. But despite his frequent hospital stays and the medical paraphernalia he was hooked up to he had a vibrant personality. His absence has left a gaping hole in his family, one they tiptoe around. 

     Lucy's mother has decided that what the family needs to heal is a fresh start--a new home in a new town.  So she's starting seventh grade in a new school with a very unusual group dynamic. Four years ago her classmates,  then only eight-years-old, were the survivors of a school shooting. They saw friends murdered. They had to run for their lives. They bear inward, if not outward scars.

     The other students shun the only girl who is friendly to Lucy. It turns out that her now dead brother was the shooter. 

     And Lucy can't turn to her parents for help. They've retreated into individual coping methods--ones that depend on her keeping up the appearance of being fine...

     ...even though she very much isn't. 

     Lucy has been a long term fan of math. The formulas are are logical, the answers consistent. 

     Too bad life is nothing like that. 

On a purrrsonal note, this is a big homework weekend for me. I'm very happy to be spending most of it in my nice warm home. 

A great big shout out goes out to my faithful wing 🐈 Tobago. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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