Rabbit & Juliet (YA chiller)

     Rabbit (17), nee Sadie, protagonist of Rebecca Stafford's Rabbit & Juliet, is 

in a bad place. Since her beloved mother died unexpectedly her father has checked out. As unpaid bills pile up he loses himself in the bottle. His last parental act was to sign her up for a bereavement group run by a florist with no mental health professional training. Rabbit considers both the group and its leader dumb. She isn't too fond of her fellow bereaved. "But having somewhere to go that wasn't school, which I wouldn't have minded burning down, or my house, which I also wouldn't have minded burning down, was close to nice."...

     ...Little does she know that one evening in group she'll meet the girl who will turn her life around...

     ..."But sitting between Wispy Voice (sister, blood disorder) and Top-knot (husband, cirrhosis of the liver) was someone new. She was my age, or maybe a little older. When she saw me, she smiled like we went way back, but I'd never seen her in my life."

     It's not long until Rabbit, her ex bestie, Sarah, and Juliet are inseparable. But their relationship is rather tumultuous. Juliet is charismatic and mercurial. She can be supportive one moment and vicious the next; encourage harmony one moment, play her friends against each other the next. 

     But they will rationalize when she puts their lives in danger and when she has them do things they know are wrong because she has that kind of hold on them. 

     One day the trio discovers pictures that document three male peers violation of female classmates. Juliet persuades her friends not to hand them over to the police. The retribution she wants them to help her carry out would not only be classified as unethical but as aggravated felony. 

     They used to say that the Shadow knows about the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. Stafford certainly seems to grasp the evil that can lurk in the hearts of a manipulative girl.

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday Catherine and I volunteered at Bangor Pride. Before the event I was apprehensive. It was the first public event I would be going to since I started on the diet from Hell. I had no worries about yielding to temptation. I have sterling won't power. The unknown was how I'd feel and whether it would get in the way of my being mindfully present and being any use as a volunteer. So what happened? I'll let you know in my next review. Yes, this is my attempt at a cliffhanger--my shameless attempt to entice you into reading my next post. 

Today is really weird and not just because of the Stephen King movie weather--desolate and drizzly. I could not find Eugene when I woke up. He wasn't in the house or yard. His working truck and motorcycle were in the driveway. He doesn't walk anywhere if he can drive. He doesn't have local friends. When I called his cell phone it went straight to voice mail. WTF? It's 4 hours later and he's still MIA. This is a cliffhanger I don't know the answer to. The only known witness, Tobago, doesn't speak English.

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in Bangor Pride and Eugene who I hope just went somewhere without telling me.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Live Your Best Lie

     It's a lavish teen Halloween bash thrown in a hugely popular social media influencer's posh home. Parents away, of course. It starts off fine with music, booze, and guests posting videos. But then it rapidly goes off script. The party comes to an abrupt end when the hostess is found dead in a bathroom. 

     As Summer's murder is investigated readers learn that her life was nowhere as picture perfect as she depicted online. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her. She'd ruined a peer's online beauty business. She was blackmailing at least one friend into doing dirty work for her. She was at odds with her family, especially her controlling father.

     Summer had promised to tear the mask off and reveal all in her about to be published memoir. A lot of people had cause to be concerned about what would be revealed. Maybe motivation to make sure the book would never came out.

     Told in the alternating voices of four classmates close to Summer, Jessie Weaver's Live Your Best Lie is a complex narrative of terrified teens, each of them trying desperately not to be the one thrown under the bus as pressure is put on the police to solve the case as quickly as possible. 

On a purrrsonal note, I volunteered at community garden last night. Fortunately temps dropped to very comfortable. We're getting ready for a visit by MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) which is a BIG DEAL. 

I'm working on a fashion project. I'd acquired a really awesome denim jacket that fits perfectly for free from Black Bear Exchange. Monday at Goodwill I bought a bag of sew on critters for $2. I sewed on 14 today. When I finish it will be gorgeous and one of a kind. I promise a picture. 

A great big shout out goes out to this year's community garden family. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Made In Asian America (juvenile Nonfiction)

     When I was going into the fifth grade Alla Lee entered my life. A college professor, she had had to flee her native Korea with her teenage son, Boris, when the government began imprisoning intellectuals. My mother explained the situation to me when she hired Alla to stay with Harriet and me afternoons until she got out of work, on snow days, and when we were home sick. People thought my college educated mother had taken leave of her senses. They were especially afraid that Boris would molest me or Harriet. Boris was a bespectacled boy so afraid of girls that he would not go to school dances. That is how I first learned about anti Asian prejudice. 

     In the years since I learned a lot more--not in my school but through independent reading. I was really pleased when, on a new book shelf in the Orono Public Library juvenile wing, I discovered Erica Lee and Christina Soontornvat's Made In Asian America: A History for Young People. It's an engaging narrative combined with a wealth of photographs to form a time-line stretching from way before America's nation hood to the 21st century. 

     It's a story of prejudice and persecution centered around the themes: they are different; they are inferior; they are dangerous; there are too many of them. For much of America's history Asians were deemed unfit for and denied citizenship. Although they were willing to take on the most grueling and dangerous jobs the government often limited their entry into this country. During the second world War they were locked up in squalid internment camps. 

     But it's also a story of resilience, persistence, and courage, of community and solidarity. 

     I highly recommend Made In Asian America for its target audience and way beyond. Most American adults know very little about Asian American history. Its lively blend of personal narrative and scholarship makes it much more readable and engaging than those volumes most of us were only too glad to leave behind when we graduated high school. It would be an excellent acquisition for school and public libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, it's the first heat 🥵 🔥 ☀️ wave of the summer. Yesterday parts of Maine hit the triple digits. Eugene and his coworkers got the day off with pay because management decided it would be "too damn hot" for them to work. During the hottest part of the day he took me on a ride with the AC on which was such a refreshing treat.

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and his company's management. 

Jules Hathaway 

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This Thread of Gold

     "For centuries, Black women have been overlooked, downtrodden, and dismissed. They  have been  sexualized, racialized, and ignored. Culture has often portrayed Black women as a monolith and in terms of victimhood. And yet, what we have not seen--still do not see enough of--are the real women behind the stereotypes radically resisting being spoken for...In reclaiming their individual acts and voices from the cultural narrative that, for centuries, would rather suppress them, This Thread of Gold will make these women visible--in some cases for the very first time."

     In This Thread of Gold Catherine Joy White portrays a wide range of awesome Black women in a wide range of professions. 

     Shirley Anita Chisholm was raised in Barbados by a grandmother who taught her to trust her own voice. As early as h

er college years she was active in the fight for racial advancement. In 1968 she became America's first Black congresswoman. In this role she was a fierce champion of a wide range of underdogs. She even envisioned reproductive rights as a necessary part of Healthcare. She coined the inspirational saying: If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

     Wangari Maathai was raised by nuns in Kenya. She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD. Aware of the dangerous deforestation in her country and the desperate poverty and hunger of her country woman ("The more you degrade the environment, the more you dig deeper into poverty.") she created the Green Belt Initiative that not only planted trees, but empowered women to become agents of change. She was the first African woman Nobel Peace Prize winner.

     In 1940 Hattie McDaniel become the first Black person in history to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind. She was segregated from whites the night of her great professional accomplishment. This honor didn't open the doors she hoped it would. White Hollywood continued to give her maid roles while many Blacks considered her a race traitor for taking those maid roles. She also was also instrumental in desegregating Los Angeles housing. 

     And these are only a few of the amazing sheroes readers will learn about. If you believe that Black Lives Matter most definitely put This Thread of Gold on your summer reading list. 

On a purrrsonal note, I voted for Hillary Clinton as the the lesser of the two evils. I am not a fan. In my opinion she was too good at standing by her man as he ended welfare as we know it, dooming so many women and children to inescapable poverty, and created those tough on crime laws that needlessly incarcerated so many people of color, ruining their lives and devastating their families and communities. The woman I desperately wanted to be the first woman president was Shirley Chisholm. I was on fire for her unbound unbought message. Finally here was somebody who was not going to cave to the rich and powerful, who would stick up for the underdogs. I think if we'd elected her back then we'd be a lot better off today. I was so happy to see her honored in this fine book.  

A great big shout out goes out to White for bringing us these truly engaging and inspiring stories. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Women Behind the Wheel

     For well over a century the automobile has been much more than a means of getting from one place to another. Those who market them tap into people's yearnings,  for status, prestige, adventures, and other such intangibles and play on them, often trapping them into transactions that are not in their best interests.

     In her Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car Nancy A. Nichols describes the more gendered aspects of American car culture. Some of the topics she covers are:

*how cars almost from the start redefined courtship rituals and provided a new venue for sex;

*how advertisers struggled with the challenge of making cars appealing to women without making them seem less manly to guys;

 *how men were pitched driving for excitement and speed, but women were pitched driving for domesticity. "'Despite changes in form, style, and cargo space over the past 60 years,' Lezotte concludes, 'the function of the woman's car has remained the same. And that is to firmly reinforce women's gendered roles as wife and mother. '"

     If you're concerned about the roles of cars and the automotive industry in women's lives Women Behind the Wheel would make a great addition to your summer reading list."

On this summer solstice Eugene and I did a 9 hour road trip. We covered a lot of miles, stopped at a few yard sales, and saw a beautiful young deer 🦌. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Little Monsters

     Kacey, protagonist of Kara Thomas's Little Monsters, had spent most of her childhood and teens in a very dysfunctional lifestyle with her single parent mother and her series of boyfriends. Eventually child protective services got called in. She was removed from her home and placed with her father and his family. She was determined to keep her distance. But her stepbrother, Andrew, made it a point to break through her defenses. And her little stepsister, Lauren, won her over. She's also acquired two besties, Bailey and Jade. 

     Kacey's new town, Broken Falls, has a local ghost story. A long time ago firemen had been called out to a property on Sparrow Kill, only to find it engulfed in flames, the family's five children trapped inside. The father was dead of a self inflicted gun shot. 

     His wife, Josephine, was never seen alive again. 

     "Depending on who you ask, Josephine Leeds is still here, walking up and down Sparrow Kill, her white nightdress bloody and filthy at the hem. People call her the Red Woman, and they say she can can only be spotted at night. 

      That's why we're here. To see for ourselves. 

     To scare the shit out of ourselves. Because what else is there to do during a Broken Falls winter?"

     The we includes not only Jade, Bailey, and Kacey, but Lauren, reluctantly allowed to come along to prevent the parents from interfering. The plan is to conduct a seance in the still (barely) standing barn. Before they can really get started part of the barn collapses. 

     The next night there's a party that Kacey, Jade, and Bailey had really been looking forward to. Ominously Kacey's besties don't message her on details. Feeling that this is payback for including Lauren to buy her silence, she stays home. The next day Jade calls her to say that Bailey never made it home. 

     Suddenly there are search parties combing the towns and woods on days when snow doesn't make it too treacherous. At least slightly inept police officers are in everyone's faces looking for clues. The most likely culprit--the one on whose property Bailey's Smartphone was found--has an alibi. Jade is becoming increasingly hostile to Kacey. And Lauren is falling apart.

     Interspersed with the narrative chapters are excerpts of Bailey's secret journal. The thoughts expressed are quite disturbing. 

     If twisty chillers with many dark and deadly secrets are your cup of tea, make sure to put Little Monsters on your summer reading list.

On a purrrsonal note, today the Orono Public Library is closed in honor of Juneteenh which is totally awesome! Best wishes for all my readers who observe this celebration.

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who surprised me with an adorable class of 25 graduation 🦉. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Win Lose Kill Die (YA chiller)

     Gotta love those chillers set in elite private schools. They make for some great summer reading whether you're at the beach or at camp or taking it easy at home. And have l found a real winner--Cynthia Murphy's Win Lose Kill Die. 

     Murphy's narrator, Liz, is returning to her boarding school, Morton Academy, after a truly crappy summer. The last day before vacation she'd sustained a serious head injury in a boating accident--one in which another student, Morgan,  had died. After months confined to her home with her dysfunctional family, she yearns for a return to normal...

     ...Which is so not going to happen...

     ...The first day of classes a fellow senior, Jameela, receives a threatening note: "Morgan's death was not an accident. I killed her. And you're next." That night she dies of an asthma attack...

     ...or maybe a sabotaged inhaler...

     ...The next victim, Frank is found dead in the woods, his head crushed by a huge boulder, Jameela's inhaler in his hand.

     The students are wondering who will be next. The adults don't seem to be really invested in bringing the killer to justice. So Liz and her friends are taking matters into their own hands--trying to stop him before he gets more victims. 

     *Could the deaths have to do with the century old secret society with really creepy rituals all the victims belonged to?

     *Could the murderous cult that was around in the 90s be making a comeback?

      *And how about the headmistress who is doing everything she can--perhaps even bribing the cops--to prevent an investigation?

      Think you can solve the mystery before you get to the end of the book?

On a purrrsonal note, it's a cool but sunny day here. I've been taking pictures of the kids working in the children's garden for the library and gardening in the community garden. 

A great big shout out goes out to my garden family. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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