Evie And Her Nightmares (YA fiction)

     "After a hesitation that lasts too long, my scripts kick in and I remember I'm supposed to offer comfort to this grown man who I only know as a parental figure. There aren't many things that make funerals worse than they already are, but autism must be one of them. My scripts for this are rotten, picked up from movies and TV."

     Evie and best (and only) friend, Alissa, were practically inseparable, sharing all interests and activities except the role playing video game Children of Hypnos which Evie just couldn't get into. But Alissa has committed suicide. Evie is bereft, so uncomfortable at the funeral she flees before the service starts. 

     Alissa's mother had given Evie a package they had found on Alissa's desk with her name on it--probably a birthday present. "My birthday is next week. Now I get to celebrate each year by remembering my dead best friend." It's Alissa's treasured personal copies of the four Children of Hypnos books. Evie decides to give it another try. This time she creates a character and discovers that she really likes the online game. "I understand why Alissa loved this game so much that she wrote guides for it. The momentum is addictive, the repetition easy to fall into and so comforting."

     Addictive is certainly accurate. Pretty soon she's focusing on the competition, staying online as much as possible. Her grades are tanking. She's cutting track practices. She talks back to a teacher and gets a week's suspension for assaulting a classmate. 

     In Eliza And Her Nightmares Francesca Zappia gives readers a sensitive and insightful portrayal of a neurodivergent girl struggling to cope with one of the worst things a teen can experience in a world that for the most part doesn't understand her. It's a thought provoking read for neurotypical teens and adults. 

On a purrrsonal note, Tuesday I started my Squishmallow blanket. There are five rows of five squares. I got three rows put together. I was on campus. It's a kid's craft kit. But people are really impressed. They think it's gorgeous and can't wait to see it finished. Wednesday the vigil went well and I made some finds at the Orono Thrift Shop. My best was burgundy high tops with burgundy and silver laces. Just as I got home I found out that I won a prize in the Orono Public Library summer reading challenge. I got on the next bus back. It was an awesome prize. Today I made a Goodwill/Hannaford run. I actually found 2 of the tiny Squishmallows I'm obsessed with and a really beautiful counted cross stitch kit.

A great big shout out goes out to our Orono vigil crew and the fine folks who do Saturday vigils in Machias. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Brownies

I baked them to surprise Eugene when he gets home from work. 

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Yard sale find

I had to wait 3 days to find out. First we were at camp. And back home I didn't have the table space to lay it out. I went on campus Tuesday and found that it has all the pieces for the blanket. I have 3 of 5 rows pieced together. I draped one over precious Tobago. I'll get to work on it some more Friday. 

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A real find

I spotted this Squishmallow crafts kit at a yard sale Saturday and had to have it. Eugene paid $5 for it. My only concern--did it have all the pieces?

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Sunrise where I live

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My Brother Oliver (juvenile fiction in verse)

     R. L. Toalson's My Brother Oliver literally took my breath away. These days there are quite fortunately more books featuring narrators with disabilities and challenges including mental health ones. But still there are precious few narrated by the "normal" siblings of these kids, often simultaneously invisible in their own homes and expected to never cause trouble or need help. Reading it felt like going to a concert and hearing a band playing your life in a song.

"Mom dropped me off 

like she always does. 

But one thing was different:

Oliver wasn't 

sitting in the 

front seat. 

My eyes drift toward the spot

where he and his friends gather

every morning before school. 

Do they feel the 

Sickening emptiness

of his absence too?

     Being the younger brother isn't easy for Brooks, Toalson's narrator, who basically lives in Oliver's shadow. Oliver is gifted in areas like science and math. But when it comes to interactions and relationships he struggles. His peers, perceiving his area of vulnerability, are very cruel. He frequently explodes. Nobody can predict when something will set him off. Brooks feels that living at home is like constantly walking on eggshells. 

     But now the house is quiet. Oliver has been hospitalized. Oliver had written a note expressing a list of reasons he should die.

"1. No one loves me.

2. No one even likes me.

3. I'm stupid. 

4. I scare people. 

5. I hurt people. 

6. I make Mom and Dad cry.

The list went on, 

all the way to twelve."

And there's a very disturbing picture. 

     Brooks had shown the note to the principal who had called the boys' parents who had taken Oliver to the hospital for observation. They're treating Brooks like a hero--saying he saved Oliver's life.

     But Brooks isn't sure. Maybe he was tired of walking on eggshells and wanted a little peace and quiet. Maybe he wanted a chance to shine without being constantly overshadowed...

     ...Maybe something he said was the reason Oliver wrote the note.

     Brooks expresses his evolving thoughts candidly, vulnerably, and highly relatably. In prose that is both near lyrical and down-to-earth he takes readers on a journey of discovery. 

     It will be especially valued by children who are the "normal" ones in their families. 

On a purrrsonal note, my younger sister, Harriet, almost died from spinal meningitis when I was eleven. I became completely overshadowed and simultaneously expected to adult overnight. When I was fourteen, just before starting high school I lost everything--my friends, my community, my beloved pets--when we moved for Harriet. I was given a lot of responsibility for her. In fact I had to do my last year of high school remotely by correspondence school--no peers, clubs, activities, real graduation--to fulfill my responsibilities. And my mother had told me that when she died I would be Harriet's guardian. I had to set boundaries to create a life that wasn't Harriet centered--a chance to have the full college experience, be courted, marry, raise a family, and go on to grad school. To live my best free spirit, creative, extrovert life. 

A great big shout out goes out to Toalson for her eye opening narrative. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Wellness Essentials

And here I am in one of my favorite cat shirts that says what I'm about.

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