I can't imagine who has been spreading all the critters all over the floor. Couldn't be Miss Innocence there begging for some cat treats.
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Sunday, January 30, 2022
A Step Toward Falling
A Step Toward Falling
YA fiction
"At our first meeting with the director of the Lifelong Learning
Center, Lucas doesn't speak to me once. Elaine, the director, thanks
us for 'volunteering our time' even though she knows we aren't here
voluntarily. We all know this."
Cammie McGovern's A Step Toward Falling is a slightly older
book. But I decided to post my review of it right away instead of
relegating it to the end of my one and a half notebook backlog. It's
so timely now when more people with mental and psychological
challenges are living out in a world where many people can't or won't
perceive their worth and full humanity. I'll get back to this in my
purrrsonal note.
Emily, quoted above, is a high school student who is all about
battling unfairness in society. She's cofounder of Youth Action
Coalition, a group that every year has people pledge to report acts of
violence they see. Ironically when, during a football game half time,
she sees a developmentally delayed peer being sexually assaulted she
freezes up. She and Lucas, another student who saw and said nothing,
are assigned to volunteer at an organization that offers
developmentally delayed adults support, skills training, and social
opportunities, assisting with their class on relationships.
"Now everything is different. Now Nan is trying to help me
forget. Instead of going to school, she lets me stay home every day
and watch Pride and Prejudice. If Mom asks her when I'm going to go
back to school, Nan says, 'For God's sake, Lauren, let her be. At
least we know she's safe here.'"
Belinda is the girl who was the terrified victim of attempted
rape. Although there were plenty of people who could have come to her
aid, she had to rescue herself. She's about to age out of her special
education high school program. After her assault she is afraid to
return to it.
Narrated in Emily and Belinda's alternating voices, A Step
Toward Falling avoids all the cliches. Emily is no savior figure.
She has plenty of confusing issues in her own life. Belinda is a
complex character with family issues, an ardent suitor, and hopes and
ambitions.
When Belinda returns to school Emily and Lucas want to apologize
to her and make restitution. The authorities want them just to stay
away from her. But what if the adults are wrong and the kids are spot
on? This premise makes for a deeply engaging story.
The seed for A Step Toward Falling began to germinate when
McGovern was part of Whole Children, an organization parents started
so their children with disabilities could work together on skill
deficits. They didn't think it would last more than a few years.
"Then, slowly but surely, we watched our children surprise us on
a regular basis--with the skills they were learning, the odds they
were defying, and the friendships they were making. This book was
written as Whole Children celebrated its amazing tenth anniversary
with the over seven hundred children, young adults, and families we've
served."
On a purrrsonal note, my sibling, Harriet, suffered severe brain
damage at a very early age, becoming more and more different and more
and more isolated. That's when brain damaged people were being
released from large institutions into an indifferent and negligent
world. Most special education, conducted out of sight, out of mind in
school basements, was little more than custodial. Special Olympics
was just coming into being. I wanted Harriet to have a chance to
experience success and make friends facing similar challenges. Mom,
like Belinda's Nan, refused to let her, seeing her as not like
(somehow better than) "them". I wonder what his life could have been
like if there had been a center like the one portrayed in the book.
Kids and adults with disabilities need to have opportunities to
socialize together and learn skills that can help them attain agency
and happiness. People who more closely fit the societal gold standard
of "normal" need to learn to understand and appreciate
neurodivergency. We all have something to gain from this evolution.
(Jules)
TOO MUCH SNOW!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who advocate for people like
Harriet.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"At our first meeting with the director of the Lifelong Learning
Center, Lucas doesn't speak to me once. Elaine, the director, thanks
us for 'volunteering our time' even though she knows we aren't here
voluntarily. We all know this."
Cammie McGovern's A Step Toward Falling is a slightly older
book. But I decided to post my review of it right away instead of
relegating it to the end of my one and a half notebook backlog. It's
so timely now when more people with mental and psychological
challenges are living out in a world where many people can't or won't
perceive their worth and full humanity. I'll get back to this in my
purrrsonal note.
Emily, quoted above, is a high school student who is all about
battling unfairness in society. She's cofounder of Youth Action
Coalition, a group that every year has people pledge to report acts of
violence they see. Ironically when, during a football game half time,
she sees a developmentally delayed peer being sexually assaulted she
freezes up. She and Lucas, another student who saw and said nothing,
are assigned to volunteer at an organization that offers
developmentally delayed adults support, skills training, and social
opportunities, assisting with their class on relationships.
"Now everything is different. Now Nan is trying to help me
forget. Instead of going to school, she lets me stay home every day
and watch Pride and Prejudice. If Mom asks her when I'm going to go
back to school, Nan says, 'For God's sake, Lauren, let her be. At
least we know she's safe here.'"
Belinda is the girl who was the terrified victim of attempted
rape. Although there were plenty of people who could have come to her
aid, she had to rescue herself. She's about to age out of her special
education high school program. After her assault she is afraid to
return to it.
Narrated in Emily and Belinda's alternating voices, A Step
Toward Falling avoids all the cliches. Emily is no savior figure.
She has plenty of confusing issues in her own life. Belinda is a
complex character with family issues, an ardent suitor, and hopes and
ambitions.
When Belinda returns to school Emily and Lucas want to apologize
to her and make restitution. The authorities want them just to stay
away from her. But what if the adults are wrong and the kids are spot
on? This premise makes for a deeply engaging story.
The seed for A Step Toward Falling began to germinate when
McGovern was part of Whole Children, an organization parents started
so their children with disabilities could work together on skill
deficits. They didn't think it would last more than a few years.
"Then, slowly but surely, we watched our children surprise us on
a regular basis--with the skills they were learning, the odds they
were defying, and the friendships they were making. This book was
written as Whole Children celebrated its amazing tenth anniversary
with the over seven hundred children, young adults, and families we've
served."
On a purrrsonal note, my sibling, Harriet, suffered severe brain
damage at a very early age, becoming more and more different and more
and more isolated. That's when brain damaged people were being
released from large institutions into an indifferent and negligent
world. Most special education, conducted out of sight, out of mind in
school basements, was little more than custodial. Special Olympics
was just coming into being. I wanted Harriet to have a chance to
experience success and make friends facing similar challenges. Mom,
like Belinda's Nan, refused to let her, seeing her as not like
(somehow better than) "them". I wonder what his life could have been
like if there had been a center like the one portrayed in the book.
Kids and adults with disabilities need to have opportunities to
socialize together and learn skills that can help them attain agency
and happiness. People who more closely fit the societal gold standard
of "normal" need to learn to understand and appreciate
neurodivergency. We all have something to gain from this evolution.
(Jules)
TOO MUCH SNOW!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who advocate for people like
Harriet.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, January 28, 2022
Two YA novels
Two YA novels
Home Home
"I groaned an apology to her. Tears trembled in my eyes. 'I'm
alive. But I can't talk, okay. I'm sorry.' And I hung up on my very
best and only family. Which made me feel so bad I started to panic
again. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just be normal?"
Kayla, protagonist of Lisa Allen-Agostini's Home Home, is in
Canada, living with her aunt Jillian and Jillian's significant other,
Julie. She'd been sent there from her home in the Caribbean after a
failed suicide attempt. Her mother hadn't been able to cope with the
situation.
At first Kayla really misses her island home and her best
friend. Canada is a big adjustment. The bus system is confusing.
Weather and people seem cold. Her medications take awhile to kick in
and the prospect of therapy is scary.
Unlike her mother, who thinks Kayla could kick her anxiety and
depression if she just tried, Jillian and Julie are able to help her
navigate the ups and downs of adjusting to living with a chronic
psychological challenge. Could she have found the loving, accepting
family she's yearned for?
Ball Don't Lie
"Nobody knew anything about Sticky turning seventeen. Except
his foster lady, Georgia, who put three candles in a Hostess Cup Cake
that morning before going to work."
Sticky, protagonist of Matt de la Pena's Ball Don't Lie, has
been in and out of foster homes. Each foster family has abandoned him
after promising acceptance. Now he expects impermanence, memorizing
the route from the group home so he'll know when he's being returned.
Sticky doesn't have much going for him. But he is very talented
in basketball. At each new placement he locates a gym. Lincoln Rec
is a run down place that doubles as a homeless shelter. But its
multiracial crew of players may have the potential to be his family in
a way that his foster placements never could be.
Hoops affecianados will love the cadance of this fast paced,
soulful coming of age narrative.
On a purrrsonal note, a lot of Mainers are holding our breath today.
TV meteorologists are all jazzed about a blizzard that's supposed to
arrive tomorrow. Depending on a number of unpredictable factors it
could either dump a foot of the white stuff or divert itself out to
sea. Everyone's talking about it albeit with a lot less enthusiasm
than the TV newspeople. We even discussed it in zoom class while we
were waiting for a few more people. I'm ambivolent. Snow is pretty.
I like sledding and sculpting. But it makes bus commuting a lot harder.
Last night in zoom class we had a panel of alumni give us advice about
stuff like networking and finding jobs. They were so organized and
achieving. I can't imagine ever being like them. My professor said
they were scared when they were where I am. Now that is hard to
believe. (Jules)
I am not ambivolent. I don't want snow. I'm impatient for spring and
the birdies. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the alumni who took time out of
there busy schedules to share good advice with the class.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Home Home
"I groaned an apology to her. Tears trembled in my eyes. 'I'm
alive. But I can't talk, okay. I'm sorry.' And I hung up on my very
best and only family. Which made me feel so bad I started to panic
again. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just be normal?"
Kayla, protagonist of Lisa Allen-Agostini's Home Home, is in
Canada, living with her aunt Jillian and Jillian's significant other,
Julie. She'd been sent there from her home in the Caribbean after a
failed suicide attempt. Her mother hadn't been able to cope with the
situation.
At first Kayla really misses her island home and her best
friend. Canada is a big adjustment. The bus system is confusing.
Weather and people seem cold. Her medications take awhile to kick in
and the prospect of therapy is scary.
Unlike her mother, who thinks Kayla could kick her anxiety and
depression if she just tried, Jillian and Julie are able to help her
navigate the ups and downs of adjusting to living with a chronic
psychological challenge. Could she have found the loving, accepting
family she's yearned for?
Ball Don't Lie
"Nobody knew anything about Sticky turning seventeen. Except
his foster lady, Georgia, who put three candles in a Hostess Cup Cake
that morning before going to work."
Sticky, protagonist of Matt de la Pena's Ball Don't Lie, has
been in and out of foster homes. Each foster family has abandoned him
after promising acceptance. Now he expects impermanence, memorizing
the route from the group home so he'll know when he's being returned.
Sticky doesn't have much going for him. But he is very talented
in basketball. At each new placement he locates a gym. Lincoln Rec
is a run down place that doubles as a homeless shelter. But its
multiracial crew of players may have the potential to be his family in
a way that his foster placements never could be.
Hoops affecianados will love the cadance of this fast paced,
soulful coming of age narrative.
On a purrrsonal note, a lot of Mainers are holding our breath today.
TV meteorologists are all jazzed about a blizzard that's supposed to
arrive tomorrow. Depending on a number of unpredictable factors it
could either dump a foot of the white stuff or divert itself out to
sea. Everyone's talking about it albeit with a lot less enthusiasm
than the TV newspeople. We even discussed it in zoom class while we
were waiting for a few more people. I'm ambivolent. Snow is pretty.
I like sledding and sculpting. But it makes bus commuting a lot harder.
Last night in zoom class we had a panel of alumni give us advice about
stuff like networking and finding jobs. They were so organized and
achieving. I can't imagine ever being like them. My professor said
they were scared when they were where I am. Now that is hard to
believe. (Jules)
I am not ambivolent. I don't want snow. I'm impatient for spring and
the birdies. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the alumni who took time out of
there busy schedules to share good advice with the class.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Two (YA) by Ashley Hope Perez
Two (YA) by Ashley Hope Perez
What Can(t) Wait
"...I know from the looks on my parents' faces that this we
they're taking about is going to be a lot of me. Whether I like it or
not, helping Ceci just got bumped to obligation number one in my
life. Because when you're sister's in trouble--real trouble--you just
don't get to walk away."
Marisa (17) has grown up seeing her immigrant parents struggle
for family survival. They have nothing to show for their hard work.
Although her brother and sister are high school graduates they're not
doing that much better. She wants more out of life. She wants to
think about which company to work for, not how to pay the electric bill.
"So why do I make my life so hard?Because I want to make
something of myself. Because I want my mom to look at me in ten years
and finally understand why a high school diploma wasn't enough for me."
Marisa has a chance to make her dreams come true. Her AP
calculus teacher is helping her apply to a college with a prestigious
engineering program. The problem is her parents. They're not only
indifferent to her academic achievements, but opposed to her going on
beyond high school. Her mother wonders why marriage and motherhood
aren't enough and secretly fears that if she goes away to college
she'll never come back. Her uber controlling father sees higher
education as avoidance of real work. Duty to family must come first.
Her brother-in-law has been in a serious accident. It will take
a lot of expensive physical therapy for him to even walk. He'll never
be able to do physical labor, the only kind he's qualified for, again.
What Can(t) Wait is the poignant and powerful narrative of a
girl caught between two worlds, a must read for peers coming from more
privileged environments.
The Knife And The Butterfly
"I wake up with that all-over shitty feeling you get the day
after a rumble. Head splitting, guts twisted. All that's left of my
dream is a memory of black and silver. I sit up, thinking about
snatching the baggie from under the couch and going to the back lot
for a joint before Pelon can bust my balls for smoking his weed."
Azael is in for a rude awakening. He finds himself in a locked
cell in what initially seems to be a prison. But it's nothing like
the juvie he just got out of. Nobody will even tell him what he's
charged with. He's mostly supposed to spend time observing a white
girl who also seems to be in some kind of lockdown and learning
something that will allow him to get out.
"Meemaw came today, but Shauna still hasn't shown her ugly
face. Meemaw says to be patient, but she doesn't know when I'm going
to be out of here. She asked me if I wanted her to pray with me like
she always does when I'm in trouble..."
Lexi's visits from a man in a suit who may be a lawyer seem to
indicate that she'll be testifying at a trial. Is it her own? Or is
she a prosecution witness who will be bearing witness against Azael?
Somehow she seems to know who he is.
Through Azael's flashbacks and Lexi's journal you get glimpses
of the precarity of their growing up years (Azeal being homeless after
his father's deportation, Lexi's mother's instability and
irresponsibility) and the appeal gang membership had for them.
Although Perez based her narrative on an actual event and researched
gang life, graffiti, and Houston's immigrant community, she elaborated
her main characters in a way that goes beyond stereotypes to portray
the complexities of their lives and circumstances.
"Above all I wanted to show Azael and Lexi's world as much more
than just a patchwork of crime and violence. In addition to the very
real threat of their circumstances and the danger of poor choices, I
hope to have captured these two teens' vulnerability and their
potential for redemption. For teens like Lexi and Azael, the knife is
often easier to find than the butterfly, but that doesn't mean the
butterfly isn't there."
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful experience yesterday. This
semester I'm taking a series of three five week classes instead of one
fifteen week one. On zoom. Sigh! Last week was my first class. I
learned about all the homework and was terrified. Most of it required
computer skills I didn't have. I emailed my professor and her TA,
Caitlin, to express my concerns. Caitlin emailed right back with an
offer to meet up. We spent quality time together at the library. I
learned so much from her that I've actually turned in this weeks
homework and started on next week's. And I feel confident in my
ability to complete the class just fine. There is a lesson in this
that I believe works for the real world as well as academia. If
you're in a situation where you need help find the right person or
people to contact and describe the problem as clearly as you can.
Don't give up or fake it until you maybe can't make it. Conversely if
you're in a position to help please do. America's rugged
individualism tradition does very few people any favors. We all have
strengths and weaknesses. When we give and receive help it aids in
the creation of the village, the solidarity we need to cocreate a
better, more sustainable world (Jules)
Our good friend Lisa is now experiencing the joy of the pitter patter
of little paws in her home. She's adopted a dog. I predict so much
happiness for them both. And she sure will get more exercise since
puppies need to go out to do their business. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Caitlin for graciously giving
homework help and Lisa for opening her home and life to a new best
little friend.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
What Can(t) Wait
"...I know from the looks on my parents' faces that this we
they're taking about is going to be a lot of me. Whether I like it or
not, helping Ceci just got bumped to obligation number one in my
life. Because when you're sister's in trouble--real trouble--you just
don't get to walk away."
Marisa (17) has grown up seeing her immigrant parents struggle
for family survival. They have nothing to show for their hard work.
Although her brother and sister are high school graduates they're not
doing that much better. She wants more out of life. She wants to
think about which company to work for, not how to pay the electric bill.
"So why do I make my life so hard?Because I want to make
something of myself. Because I want my mom to look at me in ten years
and finally understand why a high school diploma wasn't enough for me."
Marisa has a chance to make her dreams come true. Her AP
calculus teacher is helping her apply to a college with a prestigious
engineering program. The problem is her parents. They're not only
indifferent to her academic achievements, but opposed to her going on
beyond high school. Her mother wonders why marriage and motherhood
aren't enough and secretly fears that if she goes away to college
she'll never come back. Her uber controlling father sees higher
education as avoidance of real work. Duty to family must come first.
Her brother-in-law has been in a serious accident. It will take
a lot of expensive physical therapy for him to even walk. He'll never
be able to do physical labor, the only kind he's qualified for, again.
What Can(t) Wait is the poignant and powerful narrative of a
girl caught between two worlds, a must read for peers coming from more
privileged environments.
The Knife And The Butterfly
"I wake up with that all-over shitty feeling you get the day
after a rumble. Head splitting, guts twisted. All that's left of my
dream is a memory of black and silver. I sit up, thinking about
snatching the baggie from under the couch and going to the back lot
for a joint before Pelon can bust my balls for smoking his weed."
Azael is in for a rude awakening. He finds himself in a locked
cell in what initially seems to be a prison. But it's nothing like
the juvie he just got out of. Nobody will even tell him what he's
charged with. He's mostly supposed to spend time observing a white
girl who also seems to be in some kind of lockdown and learning
something that will allow him to get out.
"Meemaw came today, but Shauna still hasn't shown her ugly
face. Meemaw says to be patient, but she doesn't know when I'm going
to be out of here. She asked me if I wanted her to pray with me like
she always does when I'm in trouble..."
Lexi's visits from a man in a suit who may be a lawyer seem to
indicate that she'll be testifying at a trial. Is it her own? Or is
she a prosecution witness who will be bearing witness against Azael?
Somehow she seems to know who he is.
Through Azael's flashbacks and Lexi's journal you get glimpses
of the precarity of their growing up years (Azeal being homeless after
his father's deportation, Lexi's mother's instability and
irresponsibility) and the appeal gang membership had for them.
Although Perez based her narrative on an actual event and researched
gang life, graffiti, and Houston's immigrant community, she elaborated
her main characters in a way that goes beyond stereotypes to portray
the complexities of their lives and circumstances.
"Above all I wanted to show Azael and Lexi's world as much more
than just a patchwork of crime and violence. In addition to the very
real threat of their circumstances and the danger of poor choices, I
hope to have captured these two teens' vulnerability and their
potential for redemption. For teens like Lexi and Azael, the knife is
often easier to find than the butterfly, but that doesn't mean the
butterfly isn't there."
On a purrrsonal note, I had a wonderful experience yesterday. This
semester I'm taking a series of three five week classes instead of one
fifteen week one. On zoom. Sigh! Last week was my first class. I
learned about all the homework and was terrified. Most of it required
computer skills I didn't have. I emailed my professor and her TA,
Caitlin, to express my concerns. Caitlin emailed right back with an
offer to meet up. We spent quality time together at the library. I
learned so much from her that I've actually turned in this weeks
homework and started on next week's. And I feel confident in my
ability to complete the class just fine. There is a lesson in this
that I believe works for the real world as well as academia. If
you're in a situation where you need help find the right person or
people to contact and describe the problem as clearly as you can.
Don't give up or fake it until you maybe can't make it. Conversely if
you're in a position to help please do. America's rugged
individualism tradition does very few people any favors. We all have
strengths and weaknesses. When we give and receive help it aids in
the creation of the village, the solidarity we need to cocreate a
better, more sustainable world (Jules)
Our good friend Lisa is now experiencing the joy of the pitter patter
of little paws in her home. She's adopted a dog. I predict so much
happiness for them both. And she sure will get more exercise since
puppies need to go out to do their business. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Caitlin for graciously giving
homework help and Lisa for opening her home and life to a new best
little friend.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, January 23, 2022
When the Reckoning Comes
When the Reckoning Comes
Adult chiller
"After, people has asked Mira what she saw...what happened out in
those woods? At the house? Were there others like they say? Ghosts,
we've heard. Spirits. Demons. We've heard the rumors and want to
know..."
In slavery times Woodsman Plantation, the setting for LaTonya
McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes, was a place of misery and terror
for its enslaved people. Shortly before the Civil War an attempted
revolt had been brutally crushed. But even in more typical years
there were rumors of torture rooms and parties where female slaves
were raped for entertainment.
Decades later it was empty and decrepit, seemingly on the verge
of being reclaimed by the surrounding forest. It was the kind of
place parents warn their kids to stay away from. The kind of place
kids double dog dared each other to visit. The kind of place where
dangers were not seen as limited to wild animals and venemous snakes.
It was believed that although the living no longer dwelt there, the
place was far from abandoned.
Mira, Celine, and Jesse were high school best friends. One
languid, hot, dragging summer Sunday afternoon they were bored. A
discussion of the alleged hauntings led Jesse to invite his chums to
let him show them the falsity of the rumors. But when she accompanied
him there Mira saw a mysterious figure covered in blood.
A decade later Mira, long flown from her childhood small town,
gets an unexpected phone call. The plantation has been renovated into
a posh resort where guests can get the full white washed antebellum
experience. Celine, the only white member of the trio, is about to
marry a wealthy man. Guess where the rehearsels and ceremony are
going to take place.
Against her better judgement, Mira decides to go. From almost
the minute she sets foot on the grounds she has disquieting visions.
A woman in shimmering white beckons to her. A group of Black men digs
what looks like a mass grave.
The morning of the wedding the bride disappears without a
trace. The presence of non living beings intensifies. And it's the
anniversary of the thwarted revolt.
Within the context of impossible to put down chiller McQueen
serves up important and disquieting truths. When the Reckoning Comes
reminds me a lot of Octavia Butler's Kindred.
On a purrrsonal note, this weekend I was happy to stay in with Tobago
and leave the going out (and especially the ice fishing) to Eugene. I
had plenty of homework and dishes and laundry and other house stuff to
catch up with. And of course blogging, writing, and reading. Eugene
came back today when I was making supper. It isn't his fault. He
can't call from camp. But after he's been gone long enough I get
anxious. So much can go deadly wrong in the forest. Like if you go
out on a lake to go ice fishing and the ice isn't solid enough. (Jules)
My dad is home! YASSS!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult chiller
"After, people has asked Mira what she saw...what happened out in
those woods? At the house? Were there others like they say? Ghosts,
we've heard. Spirits. Demons. We've heard the rumors and want to
know..."
In slavery times Woodsman Plantation, the setting for LaTonya
McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes, was a place of misery and terror
for its enslaved people. Shortly before the Civil War an attempted
revolt had been brutally crushed. But even in more typical years
there were rumors of torture rooms and parties where female slaves
were raped for entertainment.
Decades later it was empty and decrepit, seemingly on the verge
of being reclaimed by the surrounding forest. It was the kind of
place parents warn their kids to stay away from. The kind of place
kids double dog dared each other to visit. The kind of place where
dangers were not seen as limited to wild animals and venemous snakes.
It was believed that although the living no longer dwelt there, the
place was far from abandoned.
Mira, Celine, and Jesse were high school best friends. One
languid, hot, dragging summer Sunday afternoon they were bored. A
discussion of the alleged hauntings led Jesse to invite his chums to
let him show them the falsity of the rumors. But when she accompanied
him there Mira saw a mysterious figure covered in blood.
A decade later Mira, long flown from her childhood small town,
gets an unexpected phone call. The plantation has been renovated into
a posh resort where guests can get the full white washed antebellum
experience. Celine, the only white member of the trio, is about to
marry a wealthy man. Guess where the rehearsels and ceremony are
going to take place.
Against her better judgement, Mira decides to go. From almost
the minute she sets foot on the grounds she has disquieting visions.
A woman in shimmering white beckons to her. A group of Black men digs
what looks like a mass grave.
The morning of the wedding the bride disappears without a
trace. The presence of non living beings intensifies. And it's the
anniversary of the thwarted revolt.
Within the context of impossible to put down chiller McQueen
serves up important and disquieting truths. When the Reckoning Comes
reminds me a lot of Octavia Butler's Kindred.
On a purrrsonal note, this weekend I was happy to stay in with Tobago
and leave the going out (and especially the ice fishing) to Eugene. I
had plenty of homework and dishes and laundry and other house stuff to
catch up with. And of course blogging, writing, and reading. Eugene
came back today when I was making supper. It isn't his fault. He
can't call from camp. But after he's been gone long enough I get
anxious. So much can go deadly wrong in the forest. Like if you go
out on a lake to go ice fishing and the ice isn't solid enough. (Jules)
My dad is home! YASSS!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, January 22, 2022
The Reckoning
The Reckoning
Adult essential read nonfiction
"The insurrection on January 6, 2021, shouldn't have come as a
surprise--my Uncle Donald had been sowing the seeds of discontent for
two months and promoting division and grievance for four years. It
was a watershed moment--deliberate, planned, incited, yet another
assault aimed squarely at everything I had always thought this country
stood for..."
Mary Trump, niece of a certain United States president of whom
she is not a fan, has a PhD in psychology and is an expert in trauma.
In her The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma And Finding A Way To Heal
she invites us to rethink the word in both its individual and societal
dimensions.
"When we think of trauma, we typically imagine dramatic,
violent, singular events--rape, a car accident, a mortar shell
exploding. Trauma can be quiet and slow, too, occurring over time in
a tense drama of sameness, of hopelessness, of unbearable isolation
and lonliness, of helplessness. We often fail to recognize that we
are being traumatized while we are being traumatized."
If you're anything like me, when you read that paragraph you
found yourself thinking about COVID-19. Indeed it's one of the
focuses of the book. Trump began writing it in October 2020 when
researchers were still scrambling to create a vaccine. She
compassionately discusses how we all suffer from experiences of loss,
uncertainty, fear, and division in what she describes as an
"unprecidented-in-our-lifetime horror." In a particularly poignant
paragraph she illustrates multiple traumatizing events by portraying a
nurse in a COVID ward who, as if being surrounded by those dying in
agony and knowing the danger of bringing the pathogen home wasn't
enough, is part of a group blamed for shortages of professional
protective equipment, hears dying patients believing to the end that
COVID is a hoax, and knows that even among nurses who have seen the
worst there are some hesitant to accept the vaccine. She reminds us
that when (if) this crisis comes to an end we'll need a whole lot of
therapy for real healing to happen.
She also reminds us of the role of betrayal and treason in the
worsening of the crisis. The commander in chief made pandemic life
more perilous in every possible way. Coming into office he'd
scrapped a plan by his predecessor of preparing for exactly this kind
of emergency. He'd underfunded agencies like public health ones with
much needed expertise. He'd made it much harder for people including
front line medical workers to get enough personal protective
equipment. He lied about the pandemic and the peril it posed, created
a false dichotomy between health and the economy, and opined that real
men didn't wear masks or get vaccinated.
Trump also explains a much longer and more deeply rooted trauma:
how America was born from trauma--a nation proclaiming all men being
created equal while killing and stealing from the Indigenous people,
enslaving kidnapped Black people, and dehumanizing the victims to
rationalize the evils whites committed in the name of greed. She
tells how efforts by marginalized peoples were continually thwarted
both by new draconian laws and practices and by premature
proclamations of enough progress being made to render America post
racial.
According to Trump, we shouldn't be surprised at her Uncle
Donald's election. It was four hundred years in the making.
"And right now this is exactly who we are. This is exactly how
things will continue to be in an America that values whiteness above
everything else if we, those of us who can, refuse to make a different
choice. There is no moving on from this. For once we need to dig in
our heels and demand what's right, even if it hurts. Because the
first step in healing is facing the truth and healing the pain."
The Reckoning gives us the reasons why and ways to start
engaging in this important and challenging work.
On a purrrsonal note, right now Maine is locked into this cold wave
that makes an hour long commute by bus and foot a challenge. All week
I've been encouraging myself to keep on going by thinking how the
weekend would give me two days of staying with Tobago in my nice warm
home. Friday I was home cooking up supper when Eugene invited me to
spend the weekend at camp with him which would necessitate leaving the
house. Fifteen degrees below zero is not exactly in my comfort zone.
I said I have too much homework I need Internet connection for. And
that is no lie. (Jules)
She chose well. That kind of cold is not fit for feline or human.
(Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. We love him.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult essential read nonfiction
"The insurrection on January 6, 2021, shouldn't have come as a
surprise--my Uncle Donald had been sowing the seeds of discontent for
two months and promoting division and grievance for four years. It
was a watershed moment--deliberate, planned, incited, yet another
assault aimed squarely at everything I had always thought this country
stood for..."
Mary Trump, niece of a certain United States president of whom
she is not a fan, has a PhD in psychology and is an expert in trauma.
In her The Reckoning: Our Nation's Trauma And Finding A Way To Heal
she invites us to rethink the word in both its individual and societal
dimensions.
"When we think of trauma, we typically imagine dramatic,
violent, singular events--rape, a car accident, a mortar shell
exploding. Trauma can be quiet and slow, too, occurring over time in
a tense drama of sameness, of hopelessness, of unbearable isolation
and lonliness, of helplessness. We often fail to recognize that we
are being traumatized while we are being traumatized."
If you're anything like me, when you read that paragraph you
found yourself thinking about COVID-19. Indeed it's one of the
focuses of the book. Trump began writing it in October 2020 when
researchers were still scrambling to create a vaccine. She
compassionately discusses how we all suffer from experiences of loss,
uncertainty, fear, and division in what she describes as an
"unprecidented-in-our-lifetime horror." In a particularly poignant
paragraph she illustrates multiple traumatizing events by portraying a
nurse in a COVID ward who, as if being surrounded by those dying in
agony and knowing the danger of bringing the pathogen home wasn't
enough, is part of a group blamed for shortages of professional
protective equipment, hears dying patients believing to the end that
COVID is a hoax, and knows that even among nurses who have seen the
worst there are some hesitant to accept the vaccine. She reminds us
that when (if) this crisis comes to an end we'll need a whole lot of
therapy for real healing to happen.
She also reminds us of the role of betrayal and treason in the
worsening of the crisis. The commander in chief made pandemic life
more perilous in every possible way. Coming into office he'd
scrapped a plan by his predecessor of preparing for exactly this kind
of emergency. He'd underfunded agencies like public health ones with
much needed expertise. He'd made it much harder for people including
front line medical workers to get enough personal protective
equipment. He lied about the pandemic and the peril it posed, created
a false dichotomy between health and the economy, and opined that real
men didn't wear masks or get vaccinated.
Trump also explains a much longer and more deeply rooted trauma:
how America was born from trauma--a nation proclaiming all men being
created equal while killing and stealing from the Indigenous people,
enslaving kidnapped Black people, and dehumanizing the victims to
rationalize the evils whites committed in the name of greed. She
tells how efforts by marginalized peoples were continually thwarted
both by new draconian laws and practices and by premature
proclamations of enough progress being made to render America post
racial.
According to Trump, we shouldn't be surprised at her Uncle
Donald's election. It was four hundred years in the making.
"And right now this is exactly who we are. This is exactly how
things will continue to be in an America that values whiteness above
everything else if we, those of us who can, refuse to make a different
choice. There is no moving on from this. For once we need to dig in
our heels and demand what's right, even if it hurts. Because the
first step in healing is facing the truth and healing the pain."
The Reckoning gives us the reasons why and ways to start
engaging in this important and challenging work.
On a purrrsonal note, right now Maine is locked into this cold wave
that makes an hour long commute by bus and foot a challenge. All week
I've been encouraging myself to keep on going by thinking how the
weekend would give me two days of staying with Tobago in my nice warm
home. Friday I was home cooking up supper when Eugene invited me to
spend the weekend at camp with him which would necessitate leaving the
house. Fifteen degrees below zero is not exactly in my comfort zone.
I said I have too much homework I need Internet connection for. And
that is no lie. (Jules)
She chose well. That kind of cold is not fit for feline or human.
(Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene. We love him.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Grown
Grown
YA fiction
"Yo, Malcolm X said it best. The most disrespected person in America
is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the
Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman."
Enchanted, protagonist of Tiffany D. Jackson's Grown, is a
member of a pretty large family. They'd moved from a home with her
grandmother near her beloved ocean to a bigger place in the suburbs.
She is one of the few non white students in her private school.
Little sister Shea is a freshman.
"...Three years we saved for this house that smells like wet
moss, its dampness leaving our skin chilled, the billowy white trees
blocking all traces of the sun. No soft waves or sweeping winds, just
a chorus of bugs and angrily chirping birds. We're now a school of
fish surrounded by white fisherman."
The family is stretched thin financially between mortgage,
private school, and all the other stuff. Enchanted spends a lot of
her out of school time babysitting the three youngest kids because
both parents need to work to keep the family housed, fed, and
educated. Only her father's union is about to go on strike.
Enchanted lives to sing and has reason to believe that she has
what it takes to make it as a professional. Much to her frustration,
her top priotity is the last on her mother's list, falling behind
school, activities, homework, and even housework. Her mom's top
priority is all that will pave the road to higher education.
Imagine how Enchanted feels when Korey Fields, her number one
music idol, who is also very good looking, sees her potential and
offers to be her mentor. And it's not long before their relationship
goes beyond professional. She is living her dream...
...until it morphs into nightmare. Korey becomes more demanding
and controlling. When he takes Enchanted on tour he starts trying to
convince her that her parents are begging him for money, seeing her as
their ticket out of financial precarity. There are rumors of other
girls he's done the way he's doing her.
When Enchanted wakes up out of a drugged sleep one day there is
blood all over. Korey is dead from multiple stab wounds. And the
police are banging on the door.
Well you know you want to learn how that ends up.
Although a work of fiction, Grown is also profound social
commentary. In her author's note Jackson tells us:
"This book is about the abuse of power. It's about the pattern
of excusing grown men for their behavior while faulting young girls
for their missteps.
It's about the blatant criticism of girls who were victims of
manipulation. It's about holding the right person accountable for the
crime he committed. It's about corporations attempting to silence
victims and continuing to profit off the very monster they helped
create."
If this fine book engages you as deeply as it engaged me you'll
be elated to learn that while I was researching more great books to
share with you (I make Santa look like a slacker on making a list and
checking it twice) I discovered another by Jackson that looks really
good. I'm going to put in for it through my ILL connections and share
it with you the moment I get my hands on it. That's a promise.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was my first time back at my student
job in dining. My manager, Michele, had a real surprise for me and
Tobago: an afghan she made herself in shades of rose, grey, and
white. It's incredibly soft--purrrfect for Tobago and me to snuggle
under while I read books to review. Nothing says you matter to
someone quite like a homemade gift. (Jules)
I love it!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Michele.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"Yo, Malcolm X said it best. The most disrespected person in America
is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the
Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman."
Enchanted, protagonist of Tiffany D. Jackson's Grown, is a
member of a pretty large family. They'd moved from a home with her
grandmother near her beloved ocean to a bigger place in the suburbs.
She is one of the few non white students in her private school.
Little sister Shea is a freshman.
"...Three years we saved for this house that smells like wet
moss, its dampness leaving our skin chilled, the billowy white trees
blocking all traces of the sun. No soft waves or sweeping winds, just
a chorus of bugs and angrily chirping birds. We're now a school of
fish surrounded by white fisherman."
The family is stretched thin financially between mortgage,
private school, and all the other stuff. Enchanted spends a lot of
her out of school time babysitting the three youngest kids because
both parents need to work to keep the family housed, fed, and
educated. Only her father's union is about to go on strike.
Enchanted lives to sing and has reason to believe that she has
what it takes to make it as a professional. Much to her frustration,
her top priotity is the last on her mother's list, falling behind
school, activities, homework, and even housework. Her mom's top
priority is all that will pave the road to higher education.
Imagine how Enchanted feels when Korey Fields, her number one
music idol, who is also very good looking, sees her potential and
offers to be her mentor. And it's not long before their relationship
goes beyond professional. She is living her dream...
...until it morphs into nightmare. Korey becomes more demanding
and controlling. When he takes Enchanted on tour he starts trying to
convince her that her parents are begging him for money, seeing her as
their ticket out of financial precarity. There are rumors of other
girls he's done the way he's doing her.
When Enchanted wakes up out of a drugged sleep one day there is
blood all over. Korey is dead from multiple stab wounds. And the
police are banging on the door.
Well you know you want to learn how that ends up.
Although a work of fiction, Grown is also profound social
commentary. In her author's note Jackson tells us:
"This book is about the abuse of power. It's about the pattern
of excusing grown men for their behavior while faulting young girls
for their missteps.
It's about the blatant criticism of girls who were victims of
manipulation. It's about holding the right person accountable for the
crime he committed. It's about corporations attempting to silence
victims and continuing to profit off the very monster they helped
create."
If this fine book engages you as deeply as it engaged me you'll
be elated to learn that while I was researching more great books to
share with you (I make Santa look like a slacker on making a list and
checking it twice) I discovered another by Jackson that looks really
good. I'm going to put in for it through my ILL connections and share
it with you the moment I get my hands on it. That's a promise.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was my first time back at my student
job in dining. My manager, Michele, had a real surprise for me and
Tobago: an afghan she made herself in shades of rose, grey, and
white. It's incredibly soft--purrrfect for Tobago and me to snuggle
under while I read books to review. Nothing says you matter to
someone quite like a homemade gift. (Jules)
I love it!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Michele.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Parkland Speaks
Parkland Speaks
YA nonfiction
"Watching my students find their voices after tried to silence them
was impressive.
Perhaps that's an understatement.
It was awe-inspiring. It was brave. It was courageous."
Sarah Lerner teaches English and journalism and advises yearbook
at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Valentines Day 2018 she and
her students and colleagues endured a major tragedy. A gunman took
the lives of seventeen students and teachers and injured many more.
Parkland Speaks: Survivors From Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share
Their Stories, which Lerner contributed to and edited, is something
beautiful that emerged from unspeakable tragedy. Members of the
community share experiences candidly and generous through a wide range
of modalities. There are poems, speeches, accounts, and letters.
Some that really shook me are printed on lined paper in the script of
kids in their early teens who never should have had to experience what
they did. There are also pictures.
The survivors express feelings of loss and grief. There's also
a lot of anger. Why hadn't those in power taken adequate steps to
prevent school shooter incidents? Why are they so reluctant to take
these steps that might prevent others from experiencing similar
tragedies? Why are legislators more intent on courting NRA support
than on saving lives?
These are questions that all of us who are adults should be
asking loud and clear. We can't abandon our kids to save themselves.
Parkland Speaks should be all the motivation we need.
On a purrrsonal note, I've seen school shootings from three
perspectives. Sometimes sending my children to school I've felt my
heart clutch with fear of losing them. As a school committee member
I've participated in creating practices and policies to protect
students from active shooters without paralyzing them with fear. And
as a student myself I look for ways to hide or escape in places I work
or attend class. About the only benefit I can see to online classes
is the relative safety from this lethal threat. (Jules).
And they say humans are the superior species? Um really? (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who fight against monied
interests to make schools the safe places students, faculty, and staff
deserve to be in.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA nonfiction
"Watching my students find their voices after tried to silence them
was impressive.
Perhaps that's an understatement.
It was awe-inspiring. It was brave. It was courageous."
Sarah Lerner teaches English and journalism and advises yearbook
at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Valentines Day 2018 she and
her students and colleagues endured a major tragedy. A gunman took
the lives of seventeen students and teachers and injured many more.
Parkland Speaks: Survivors From Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share
Their Stories, which Lerner contributed to and edited, is something
beautiful that emerged from unspeakable tragedy. Members of the
community share experiences candidly and generous through a wide range
of modalities. There are poems, speeches, accounts, and letters.
Some that really shook me are printed on lined paper in the script of
kids in their early teens who never should have had to experience what
they did. There are also pictures.
The survivors express feelings of loss and grief. There's also
a lot of anger. Why hadn't those in power taken adequate steps to
prevent school shooter incidents? Why are they so reluctant to take
these steps that might prevent others from experiencing similar
tragedies? Why are legislators more intent on courting NRA support
than on saving lives?
These are questions that all of us who are adults should be
asking loud and clear. We can't abandon our kids to save themselves.
Parkland Speaks should be all the motivation we need.
On a purrrsonal note, I've seen school shootings from three
perspectives. Sometimes sending my children to school I've felt my
heart clutch with fear of losing them. As a school committee member
I've participated in creating practices and policies to protect
students from active shooters without paralyzing them with fear. And
as a student myself I look for ways to hide or escape in places I work
or attend class. About the only benefit I can see to online classes
is the relative safety from this lethal threat. (Jules).
And they say humans are the superior species? Um really? (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who fight against monied
interests to make schools the safe places students, faculty, and staff
deserve to be in.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Velvet Rope Economy
The Velvet Rope Economy
Adult dystopian nonfiction
"This isn't just a case of individuals losing out--there are
societal implications too...Indeed the rise of firms like IvyWise or
conceirge medical practices speaks to how a small sliver of the
population can essentially live a different life in the same country.
Real obstacles that everyone else has to contend with--gaining
admission to a select college or conceirge medical practices or
securing an appointment with a specialist--melt away for a privileged
few. The end result is an elite whose special access leaves them out
of touch with their fellow Americans.".
I don't think many of you will be surprised by the central
thesis of Nelson D. Schwartz's The Velvet Rope Economy: How
Inequality Became Big Business. Corporations are increasingly
scrambling to provide ever more posh goods and services to the richest
of the rich, the top one percent or even one tenth of one percent,
while basically neglecting or harming the rest of us.
The most obvious avenues of inequity are those on the periphery
of most of our lives: different flight classes on airlines, wait
eliminating passes at Disney, special boxes and other exclusive spaces
that prevent less well heeled sports fans from seeing the action. But
that's only the tip of the nasty iceberg. What's going on effects us
in every sphere of life. For one thing there's the collapse of the
middle class. Want an education for yourself or your children? While
the elite universities court the most privileged with really
unnecessary frills, the public higher education institutions are being
starved of government support and forced to raise tuition and fees.
So you have students, one fifth of whom are also parents, being food
and housing insecure and graduating with staggering amounts of debt
into an increasingly precarious economy. Want to follow an at least
moderately healthy diet? Good luck with that in one of the
increasingly common food deserts where fresh fruit, veggies, and meat
can be unaccessible.
Not only do the ultrarich live in an altogether different realm
from the rest of us, they don't give a damn about the rest of us. In
fact, if they can save their personal wealth by doing so, they're more
than happy to pull the plug on the services the rest of us depend on.
Look at the widening gap between haves and have nots in public
education. How about private fire departments that won't save your
house unless you pay in? How about the public hospitals closing? In
a medical crisis an extra half hour transport can mean death or
permanent disability.
I think that The Velvet Rope Economy is a must read and act on
for all of us who aren't in the top one percent.
On a purrrsonal note, Yesterday which was Eugene's birthday I baked
him his molasses cake and chocolate chip cookies and made a decent
meatloaf by his mother's recipe. But Mother Nature was being a mean
girl. We had big time snow and wind much of the day and then freezing
rain and more big wind. Eugene only had a chance to eat supper and
grab a few hours sleep before having to go out in the mess again.
(Jules)
That does not seem right. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and all the other blizzard
battlers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult dystopian nonfiction
"This isn't just a case of individuals losing out--there are
societal implications too...Indeed the rise of firms like IvyWise or
conceirge medical practices speaks to how a small sliver of the
population can essentially live a different life in the same country.
Real obstacles that everyone else has to contend with--gaining
admission to a select college or conceirge medical practices or
securing an appointment with a specialist--melt away for a privileged
few. The end result is an elite whose special access leaves them out
of touch with their fellow Americans.".
I don't think many of you will be surprised by the central
thesis of Nelson D. Schwartz's The Velvet Rope Economy: How
Inequality Became Big Business. Corporations are increasingly
scrambling to provide ever more posh goods and services to the richest
of the rich, the top one percent or even one tenth of one percent,
while basically neglecting or harming the rest of us.
The most obvious avenues of inequity are those on the periphery
of most of our lives: different flight classes on airlines, wait
eliminating passes at Disney, special boxes and other exclusive spaces
that prevent less well heeled sports fans from seeing the action. But
that's only the tip of the nasty iceberg. What's going on effects us
in every sphere of life. For one thing there's the collapse of the
middle class. Want an education for yourself or your children? While
the elite universities court the most privileged with really
unnecessary frills, the public higher education institutions are being
starved of government support and forced to raise tuition and fees.
So you have students, one fifth of whom are also parents, being food
and housing insecure and graduating with staggering amounts of debt
into an increasingly precarious economy. Want to follow an at least
moderately healthy diet? Good luck with that in one of the
increasingly common food deserts where fresh fruit, veggies, and meat
can be unaccessible.
Not only do the ultrarich live in an altogether different realm
from the rest of us, they don't give a damn about the rest of us. In
fact, if they can save their personal wealth by doing so, they're more
than happy to pull the plug on the services the rest of us depend on.
Look at the widening gap between haves and have nots in public
education. How about private fire departments that won't save your
house unless you pay in? How about the public hospitals closing? In
a medical crisis an extra half hour transport can mean death or
permanent disability.
I think that The Velvet Rope Economy is a must read and act on
for all of us who aren't in the top one percent.
On a purrrsonal note, Yesterday which was Eugene's birthday I baked
him his molasses cake and chocolate chip cookies and made a decent
meatloaf by his mother's recipe. But Mother Nature was being a mean
girl. We had big time snow and wind much of the day and then freezing
rain and more big wind. Eugene only had a chance to eat supper and
grab a few hours sleep before having to go out in the mess again.
(Jules)
That does not seem right. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and all the other blizzard
battlers.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, January 16, 2022
Well since the tree can't stay up much longer I'm going to post pictures for awhile. I know we'll continue to have Christmas trees. But each one is unique. This ornament is one of my favorites. I bought it in Portland Goodwill with Katie and Jacob. If you look closely you'll see a peace dove.
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Converting Kate
Converting Kate
YA fiction
"...Is it dangerous to base your whole life on the Bible and
reject any other book? Like Dad's books? Like not wanting me to read
books for English class? Because if you read, you begin to think.
And if you begin to think, you begin to see how crazy stupid the Holy
Divine Church really is."
Recently thanks to COVID I actually ran out of library books.
Fortunately I had my emergency stash mostly gleaned from Goodwill and
yard sales. Beckie Weinheimer's Converting Kate is actually an older
volume my PhD daughter recommended when she was in high school. I
read it before I had this blog. I wondered if it would be as relevent
in today's world. For reasons I'll list three reasons in my
purrrsonal note, I consider it even more so.
Following the death of her father Kate and her mother, Rebekah,
have moved from Arizona to Maine. Her father's aunt owns a bed and
breakfast. Rebekah will now be running it.
Kate's parents had divorced before her father's death. Her
mother is a member in very good standing of one of those
fundamentalist churches that believes that anyone who doesn't belong
will burn in Hell for all eternity. So their mission is to convert
the whole world. That's probably why it took her awhile to give up on
Kate's agnostic if not atheist father.
Now in Maine Rebekah is pushing Kate to join up with the small
group of teen church members who attend her high school. But she
wants nothing to do with those drably dressed girls who actually pray
and read scriptures in the school cafeteria. She just wants the
chance to fit in and be accepted.
Pretty soon Kate is running cross country (a passion she had
shared with her father), reading books her mom would consider
unacceptable including a stash she inherited from her dad, and
attending a church her mom considers dangerously deluded.
As Kate and Rebekah drift further and further apart and Kate
encounters crises she begins to realize that faith and religion may
not always be one and the same. Her favorite involves seeing through
a glass darkly and then knowing. One day her new minister says:
"...Maybe our lives are actually meant to be lived in the half
dark. Not knowing all the answers. Being open. Questioning. Always
searching but never being finished. And maybe not knowing the answers
to all the cosmic questions can actually make us kinder, more
accepting, and more loving."
(In my mind those are words to live by.)
Kate's faith journey makes for one of the most poignant and
powerful coming of age narratives I've ever seen. I highly recommend
it to anyone YA and up who has ever questioned the religious tenets
they were brought up by.
On a purrrsonal note, here are the three reasons:
1) Fundamentalist parents are still trying to force their
nonconforming sons and daughters to "shape up or fly straight",
especially if matters of gender identity or sexuality are involved.
That's why we keep hearing all the horror stories about conversion
therapy. There are so many transgender students in college and below
whose parents threaten to kick them out of the family if they
transition. Books can help them realize they aren't alone and they're
worthy just as they are.
2) Extreme Bible literalists aren't just stuck in their ways about
matters of scripture and attire. They have a history of being science
deniers. The guy who came up with the Earth revolving around the Sun
rather than vice versa was excommunicated. Today you have those
clergy who insist that masking and vaxing are signs of lack of faith.
3) Pollsters are noticing a trend. Although many younger people are
turning their back on organized religion, many of them are exploring a
wide range of spirituality options. Maybe this is a sign that they're
not afraid of the prospect of not knowing all the answers. I bet many
of them would really like the book.
It's not just younger people though. I really relate to Kate.
I was raised in the Episcopal Church which demanded its own type of
conformity. Mom was director of religious ed and Dad was church
organist. I asked so many inconvenient questions that when I was in
first grade mom started telling me to be quiet in class each and every
week. She was tired of replacing horrified Sunday school teachers.
At eleven I refused to make the adult commitment of getting
confirmed. Mom stopped pressing (or even attending) church after
Harriet's life altering illness caused the congregation to stop
showing Christian charity.
Most of my adult life has been a series of trying to find a church I
felt comfortable in and taking breaks. I've tried the whole
Protestant range without every really fitting in anywhere. And I kept
feeling God's presence more in nature than in any human built
structure. I shocked a lot of people when I didn't get my kids
baptized as infants or make them stay in Sunday school when they lost
interest. I respected their ownership of their identities. I
listened to rather than silencing their questions and observations.
One day I realized I was afraid of totally leaving organized religion,
of believing somewhere there was a church I'd belong. I was afraid
that there'd be nothing after death. Even though the particulars of
Protestant heaven didn't exactly tempt me, the thought of ceasing to
exist scared me witless. Since then I've become comfortable with not
knowing what happens after death and with being much more spiritual
than religious. With feeling God's presence more in nature than in
any building. With seeing through a glass darkly.
The irony is that was when I found myself in a church where I belong
the way I am, questions and all. It's like stopping chasing a
butterfly only to have it land on you. (Jules)
If there are no cats in heaven it isn't heaven. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to my chikdren and younger friends for
being catalysts on my faith journey and my family in Church of
Universal Fellowship where I didn't have to be someone I'm not to be
accepted.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"...Is it dangerous to base your whole life on the Bible and
reject any other book? Like Dad's books? Like not wanting me to read
books for English class? Because if you read, you begin to think.
And if you begin to think, you begin to see how crazy stupid the Holy
Divine Church really is."
Recently thanks to COVID I actually ran out of library books.
Fortunately I had my emergency stash mostly gleaned from Goodwill and
yard sales. Beckie Weinheimer's Converting Kate is actually an older
volume my PhD daughter recommended when she was in high school. I
read it before I had this blog. I wondered if it would be as relevent
in today's world. For reasons I'll list three reasons in my
purrrsonal note, I consider it even more so.
Following the death of her father Kate and her mother, Rebekah,
have moved from Arizona to Maine. Her father's aunt owns a bed and
breakfast. Rebekah will now be running it.
Kate's parents had divorced before her father's death. Her
mother is a member in very good standing of one of those
fundamentalist churches that believes that anyone who doesn't belong
will burn in Hell for all eternity. So their mission is to convert
the whole world. That's probably why it took her awhile to give up on
Kate's agnostic if not atheist father.
Now in Maine Rebekah is pushing Kate to join up with the small
group of teen church members who attend her high school. But she
wants nothing to do with those drably dressed girls who actually pray
and read scriptures in the school cafeteria. She just wants the
chance to fit in and be accepted.
Pretty soon Kate is running cross country (a passion she had
shared with her father), reading books her mom would consider
unacceptable including a stash she inherited from her dad, and
attending a church her mom considers dangerously deluded.
As Kate and Rebekah drift further and further apart and Kate
encounters crises she begins to realize that faith and religion may
not always be one and the same. Her favorite involves seeing through
a glass darkly and then knowing. One day her new minister says:
"...Maybe our lives are actually meant to be lived in the half
dark. Not knowing all the answers. Being open. Questioning. Always
searching but never being finished. And maybe not knowing the answers
to all the cosmic questions can actually make us kinder, more
accepting, and more loving."
(In my mind those are words to live by.)
Kate's faith journey makes for one of the most poignant and
powerful coming of age narratives I've ever seen. I highly recommend
it to anyone YA and up who has ever questioned the religious tenets
they were brought up by.
On a purrrsonal note, here are the three reasons:
1) Fundamentalist parents are still trying to force their
nonconforming sons and daughters to "shape up or fly straight",
especially if matters of gender identity or sexuality are involved.
That's why we keep hearing all the horror stories about conversion
therapy. There are so many transgender students in college and below
whose parents threaten to kick them out of the family if they
transition. Books can help them realize they aren't alone and they're
worthy just as they are.
2) Extreme Bible literalists aren't just stuck in their ways about
matters of scripture and attire. They have a history of being science
deniers. The guy who came up with the Earth revolving around the Sun
rather than vice versa was excommunicated. Today you have those
clergy who insist that masking and vaxing are signs of lack of faith.
3) Pollsters are noticing a trend. Although many younger people are
turning their back on organized religion, many of them are exploring a
wide range of spirituality options. Maybe this is a sign that they're
not afraid of the prospect of not knowing all the answers. I bet many
of them would really like the book.
It's not just younger people though. I really relate to Kate.
I was raised in the Episcopal Church which demanded its own type of
conformity. Mom was director of religious ed and Dad was church
organist. I asked so many inconvenient questions that when I was in
first grade mom started telling me to be quiet in class each and every
week. She was tired of replacing horrified Sunday school teachers.
At eleven I refused to make the adult commitment of getting
confirmed. Mom stopped pressing (or even attending) church after
Harriet's life altering illness caused the congregation to stop
showing Christian charity.
Most of my adult life has been a series of trying to find a church I
felt comfortable in and taking breaks. I've tried the whole
Protestant range without every really fitting in anywhere. And I kept
feeling God's presence more in nature than in any human built
structure. I shocked a lot of people when I didn't get my kids
baptized as infants or make them stay in Sunday school when they lost
interest. I respected their ownership of their identities. I
listened to rather than silencing their questions and observations.
One day I realized I was afraid of totally leaving organized religion,
of believing somewhere there was a church I'd belong. I was afraid
that there'd be nothing after death. Even though the particulars of
Protestant heaven didn't exactly tempt me, the thought of ceasing to
exist scared me witless. Since then I've become comfortable with not
knowing what happens after death and with being much more spiritual
than religious. With feeling God's presence more in nature than in
any building. With seeing through a glass darkly.
The irony is that was when I found myself in a church where I belong
the way I am, questions and all. It's like stopping chasing a
butterfly only to have it land on you. (Jules)
If there are no cats in heaven it isn't heaven. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to my chikdren and younger friends for
being catalysts on my faith journey and my family in Church of
Universal Fellowship where I didn't have to be someone I'm not to be
accepted.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, January 15, 2022
My Broken Language
My Broken Language
Adult memoir
"...Draft by draft, I unveiled the Perezes, fitted us in
protagonists' clothes, recorded the hum of our music. My Perezes were
gorgeous, monstrous creatures whose flaws proved their humanity rather
than obscured it. We would hide no more..."
In her memoir, My Broken Language, Quira Alegria Hudes brings
readers into her growing up world, a realm most of us never dreamed
existed.
It's a rich world of spirituality that doesn't answer to
anything venerated by white patriarchy. Shrines in homes receive
regular offerings. Children are slowly initiated into rituals.
Linkeages backward in time are to tropical islands and African nations
rather than British kingdoms and cathedrals.
It's a world where family matters. Cooking is not learned from
books or videos, but from relatives showing how to measure rice by
hand. Gatherings include all out unselfconscious dancing. Joy exists
cheek to jowl with tragedy. Too many of Hudes' cousins die too young
from AIDS or drugs.
It's a world of systemic oppression. Hudes is surprised to
learn that a cousin is functionally illiterate. Because she sat in
the back of the room and was quiet she was passed from grade to grade
without the school system trying to actually educate her.
In My Broken Language Hudes shares her journey through her early
life in this environment and the culture shock of Yale to her
discovery of her ability to depict her family and their world as
glorious and deserving of respect rather than devient and needing to
be hidden. I believe this is a journey you will want to join her on.
On a purrrsonal note, my husband's birthday which is on Monday, has
been a challenge. The what to give him for a gift part that is. The
post illness isolation period meant I couldn't go out to the shops to
buy something. But that was ok. I was going to pay for his hunting
and fishing license. Only he did that himself even though it didn't
take a rocket scientist to figure out my intentions. So I could
bake. Only I was missing ingredients for every recipe he liked. Then
when I asked my friend Steffi to pick me up a bunch of books at the
library she asked wasn't there anything she could get me at the
store. And she packed the bag in such a way all that showed was
library books. We smuggled them in right under Eugene's nose. Now
Monday while he's at work I can bake his molasses cake and chocolate
chip cookies, both from his mother's recipes. (Jules)
So Steffi has talents I never imagined. Now Eugene will have his
favorite treats for his big day.
A great big shout out goes out to Steffi for books, recipe
ingredients, and subterfuge and to our chum Mazie who is blowing out
birthday candles today.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult memoir
"...Draft by draft, I unveiled the Perezes, fitted us in
protagonists' clothes, recorded the hum of our music. My Perezes were
gorgeous, monstrous creatures whose flaws proved their humanity rather
than obscured it. We would hide no more..."
In her memoir, My Broken Language, Quira Alegria Hudes brings
readers into her growing up world, a realm most of us never dreamed
existed.
It's a rich world of spirituality that doesn't answer to
anything venerated by white patriarchy. Shrines in homes receive
regular offerings. Children are slowly initiated into rituals.
Linkeages backward in time are to tropical islands and African nations
rather than British kingdoms and cathedrals.
It's a world where family matters. Cooking is not learned from
books or videos, but from relatives showing how to measure rice by
hand. Gatherings include all out unselfconscious dancing. Joy exists
cheek to jowl with tragedy. Too many of Hudes' cousins die too young
from AIDS or drugs.
It's a world of systemic oppression. Hudes is surprised to
learn that a cousin is functionally illiterate. Because she sat in
the back of the room and was quiet she was passed from grade to grade
without the school system trying to actually educate her.
In My Broken Language Hudes shares her journey through her early
life in this environment and the culture shock of Yale to her
discovery of her ability to depict her family and their world as
glorious and deserving of respect rather than devient and needing to
be hidden. I believe this is a journey you will want to join her on.
On a purrrsonal note, my husband's birthday which is on Monday, has
been a challenge. The what to give him for a gift part that is. The
post illness isolation period meant I couldn't go out to the shops to
buy something. But that was ok. I was going to pay for his hunting
and fishing license. Only he did that himself even though it didn't
take a rocket scientist to figure out my intentions. So I could
bake. Only I was missing ingredients for every recipe he liked. Then
when I asked my friend Steffi to pick me up a bunch of books at the
library she asked wasn't there anything she could get me at the
store. And she packed the bag in such a way all that showed was
library books. We smuggled them in right under Eugene's nose. Now
Monday while he's at work I can bake his molasses cake and chocolate
chip cookies, both from his mother's recipes. (Jules)
So Steffi has talents I never imagined. Now Eugene will have his
favorite treats for his big day.
A great big shout out goes out to Steffi for books, recipe
ingredients, and subterfuge and to our chum Mazie who is blowing out
birthday candles today.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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Friday, January 14, 2022
Invisible No More
Invisible No More
Adult nonfiction
"Pulled over in a traffic stop and beaten by the side of the road.
Placed in a banned choke hold by a New York City police officer.
Violently taken into police custody, never to come out alive.
Shot first, questions asked later."
Presented with these scenarios, most people would picture the
victims of those violent incidents as Black males. Andrea J. Ritchie,
author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and
Women of Color wants readers to know that women and gender conforming
people of color often are treated just as brutally. She gives us a
much more nuanced and complete picture of the evils done by people who
are supposed to be protecting and serving.
This thoroughly researched and eminently readable volume will
enrage you, break your heart, and shatter a lot of what you've been
taught. Women of color are marginalized on counts of both color and
gender and others such as poverty or perception of disability.
Stereotypes that depict them as inclined to criminality, promiscuous,
drug addicted, superhuman in strength, and violent allow police to
treat them in ways they'd never treat white women and justify their
actions to their supervisors. Ritchie delineates all the ways in
which this injustice happens. Three chapters angered me the most.
As a mother I was incensed when I read the chapter about
policing motherhood. Can you believe tazing a visibly pregnant woman--
sending fifty thousand volts of electricity into her body--for
refusing to sign a speeding ticket? Try to imagine going through
labor and childbirth shackled. And there's police collaboration with
"child welfare" agencies. Often what is termed neglect is the result
of poverty. And actions that Black women's children taken away will
be overlooked when taken by white women.
Because I have two wonderful daughters who were nurtured and
protected during their public school years I was livid when I read
about equally wonderful Black girls, some as young as five, being
abused, criminalized, and shunted into the school to jail pipeline by
police.
As someone who had a would be rapist taken away by the police, I
can't imagine the horror of being savagely further victimized by law
enforcement or knowing that calling for help would be futile because
there is nobody to protect you.
All that is just the tip of the ice berg. Ritchie documents
enough savagery on the part of the boys and girls in blue to make
Dante's inferno look like a fast food restaurant play area. This
state of affairs is unacceptable.
If you're serious about putting an end to police brutality this
fine book is a must read.
On a purrrsonal note, I just keep getting better and stronger. And
I'm getting a lot of love. Sunday morning my church left a most
excellent COVID care package on my porch. Tuesday church Emily bought
me two containers of caramel core ice cream and two bottles of root
beer. I've been enjoying heavenly ice cream soda. Wednesday Lisa
dropped off a bag of BBE goodies including Kind candy and Capri Suns
and a Christmas cat shirt featuring a black cat with big gold eyes
tangled up in Christmas lights. I'm feeling the love ya know. (Jules)
The cat is gorgeous like me. But I'm a lot smarter. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our many good friends.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"Pulled over in a traffic stop and beaten by the side of the road.
Placed in a banned choke hold by a New York City police officer.
Violently taken into police custody, never to come out alive.
Shot first, questions asked later."
Presented with these scenarios, most people would picture the
victims of those violent incidents as Black males. Andrea J. Ritchie,
author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and
Women of Color wants readers to know that women and gender conforming
people of color often are treated just as brutally. She gives us a
much more nuanced and complete picture of the evils done by people who
are supposed to be protecting and serving.
This thoroughly researched and eminently readable volume will
enrage you, break your heart, and shatter a lot of what you've been
taught. Women of color are marginalized on counts of both color and
gender and others such as poverty or perception of disability.
Stereotypes that depict them as inclined to criminality, promiscuous,
drug addicted, superhuman in strength, and violent allow police to
treat them in ways they'd never treat white women and justify their
actions to their supervisors. Ritchie delineates all the ways in
which this injustice happens. Three chapters angered me the most.
As a mother I was incensed when I read the chapter about
policing motherhood. Can you believe tazing a visibly pregnant woman--
sending fifty thousand volts of electricity into her body--for
refusing to sign a speeding ticket? Try to imagine going through
labor and childbirth shackled. And there's police collaboration with
"child welfare" agencies. Often what is termed neglect is the result
of poverty. And actions that Black women's children taken away will
be overlooked when taken by white women.
Because I have two wonderful daughters who were nurtured and
protected during their public school years I was livid when I read
about equally wonderful Black girls, some as young as five, being
abused, criminalized, and shunted into the school to jail pipeline by
police.
As someone who had a would be rapist taken away by the police, I
can't imagine the horror of being savagely further victimized by law
enforcement or knowing that calling for help would be futile because
there is nobody to protect you.
All that is just the tip of the ice berg. Ritchie documents
enough savagery on the part of the boys and girls in blue to make
Dante's inferno look like a fast food restaurant play area. This
state of affairs is unacceptable.
If you're serious about putting an end to police brutality this
fine book is a must read.
On a purrrsonal note, I just keep getting better and stronger. And
I'm getting a lot of love. Sunday morning my church left a most
excellent COVID care package on my porch. Tuesday church Emily bought
me two containers of caramel core ice cream and two bottles of root
beer. I've been enjoying heavenly ice cream soda. Wednesday Lisa
dropped off a bag of BBE goodies including Kind candy and Capri Suns
and a Christmas cat shirt featuring a black cat with big gold eyes
tangled up in Christmas lights. I'm feeling the love ya know. (Jules)
The cat is gorgeous like me. But I'm a lot smarter. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to our many good friends.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
A Couple Of Adult Mysteries
A Couple Of Adult Mysteries
For those of you who may be (like me) isolating because you have
COVID (with or without symptoms), are waiting to see if you have it,
or are doing the required five days after, nothing like a good mystery
for a distractor from discomfort or impatience. So I'm providing not
one, but two options.
Three Little Truths
"A collection of lives where the only automatic connection was a
postcode.
A place where families expanded, imploded, and renewed...
Pine Road was a neighborhood. It was a street. It was just
like anywhere else."
When I read the last sentence I found myself thinking "Um,
really?" I have never lived on a street anything like the one
portrayed in Eithne Shortall's Three Little Truths. I doubt you have
either.
Martha and her family have moved from a home and town where they
were victims of a brutal crime. Her husband and daughters seem to be
adjusting well to the incident and subsequent uprooting. She's
falling apart.
Robin has returned to her parents' home with her four-year-old
son, Jack. Her baby daddy has seemingly graduated from scams to more
sinister actions. Although she wants nothing to do with her, he
continues to stalk her.
Edie has just moved to the neighborhood. She loves her new home
and the chance to make friends. But her marriage is not all she'd
wanted it to be. She desperately desires to become pregnant.
Although Daniel had initially shared her enthusiasm, he now seems to
be having grave reservations.
Trish is the principal of a nearby high school. A list posted
in a boys' bathroom is causing a scandal. Not everyone thinks she is
handling the incident well. One of her harshest critics lives next
door.
Bernie is the chair of the parents association and queen of the
street. Nobody wants to get on her bad side. But her chum Ellen may
be eager to throw her under the bus in order to become the
neighborhood alpha.
If you're into neighborhood intrigue, especially if you enjoyed
Big Little Lies, you'll want to pay a visit to Pine Road.
The Perfect Guests
If you enjoy mysteries set in slightly creepy, isolated English
estates, you'll find Emma Rous' The Perfect Guests to be a real treat.
"'Is that a real turret?' I crane my neck through the passenger
window. 'Is this whole place really just for three people?'
'Four if you behave yourself.' Caroline jerked the steering
wheel to swing us onto the driveway, bumping me back into my seat.
'Remember your manners, Beth. Stop gawping.'"
1988. Beth's parents and brother were killed in a car
accident. Since her aunt, Caroline, is too career involved to parent,
she's placed in a group home. Then a couple who see her playing
violin in a concert invite her to live at their estate, Raven Hall, to
be a companion to their same age daughter, Nina. After awhile
questions begin to arise in her mind. Why are Nina's parents
determined to keep her out of the village? Why does Nina only become
ill before her grandfather's visits? Why do Nina's parents rope Beth
into impersonating her rather than telling the truth?
"...'But listen. I've got much better news--a fabulous job
offer for you. It's a murder mystery company, just starting up, and
they want you to act out a trial run of the game so they can take
photos for their website--glamerous costumes at a posh dinner party,
that sort of thing. It's out in a big old mansion in the Fens--
gorgeous-looking place, full of dark history..."
I bet you can guess the name of the mansion.
2019. Sadie is an actress who barely makes rent through
professional gigs and a stream of day jobs. One day her agent calls
with what seems to be great news. A one weekend gig at a posh place
will net her the big bucks she needs for living expenses.
At first the gig feels like living the good part of a Cinderella
story, especially when Sadie is outfitted in very expensive clothes
and delivered to the mansion by a chauffeur. But it isn't long until
the situation begins to feel sketchy. Just who sent out the
invitations? What are their real intentions?
Oh, yeah, and will all the game characters get out alive?
On a purrrsonal note, I am remaining asymptomatic and rapidly
regaining strength, focus, and ambition. One thing that is helping me
cheerfully isolate is 2022 Bangor Public Library adult book bingo.
The card for it looks like a regular BINGO one with a 5x5 grid and a
free square in the middle only with book categories instead of letter/
number combos. You can either do a row or the whole thing. Of course
I'm going for the whole thing. I'm already 1/5 of the way only 11
days into the first month. It's like a geektastic scavenger hunt.
Hope they do it every year. (Jules)
Next year they need to include books with animal main characters. I
could make the list for that. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Bangor Public Library for providing
such a great literary treasure hunt.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
For those of you who may be (like me) isolating because you have
COVID (with or without symptoms), are waiting to see if you have it,
or are doing the required five days after, nothing like a good mystery
for a distractor from discomfort or impatience. So I'm providing not
one, but two options.
Three Little Truths
"A collection of lives where the only automatic connection was a
postcode.
A place where families expanded, imploded, and renewed...
Pine Road was a neighborhood. It was a street. It was just
like anywhere else."
When I read the last sentence I found myself thinking "Um,
really?" I have never lived on a street anything like the one
portrayed in Eithne Shortall's Three Little Truths. I doubt you have
either.
Martha and her family have moved from a home and town where they
were victims of a brutal crime. Her husband and daughters seem to be
adjusting well to the incident and subsequent uprooting. She's
falling apart.
Robin has returned to her parents' home with her four-year-old
son, Jack. Her baby daddy has seemingly graduated from scams to more
sinister actions. Although she wants nothing to do with her, he
continues to stalk her.
Edie has just moved to the neighborhood. She loves her new home
and the chance to make friends. But her marriage is not all she'd
wanted it to be. She desperately desires to become pregnant.
Although Daniel had initially shared her enthusiasm, he now seems to
be having grave reservations.
Trish is the principal of a nearby high school. A list posted
in a boys' bathroom is causing a scandal. Not everyone thinks she is
handling the incident well. One of her harshest critics lives next
door.
Bernie is the chair of the parents association and queen of the
street. Nobody wants to get on her bad side. But her chum Ellen may
be eager to throw her under the bus in order to become the
neighborhood alpha.
If you're into neighborhood intrigue, especially if you enjoyed
Big Little Lies, you'll want to pay a visit to Pine Road.
The Perfect Guests
If you enjoy mysteries set in slightly creepy, isolated English
estates, you'll find Emma Rous' The Perfect Guests to be a real treat.
"'Is that a real turret?' I crane my neck through the passenger
window. 'Is this whole place really just for three people?'
'Four if you behave yourself.' Caroline jerked the steering
wheel to swing us onto the driveway, bumping me back into my seat.
'Remember your manners, Beth. Stop gawping.'"
1988. Beth's parents and brother were killed in a car
accident. Since her aunt, Caroline, is too career involved to parent,
she's placed in a group home. Then a couple who see her playing
violin in a concert invite her to live at their estate, Raven Hall, to
be a companion to their same age daughter, Nina. After awhile
questions begin to arise in her mind. Why are Nina's parents
determined to keep her out of the village? Why does Nina only become
ill before her grandfather's visits? Why do Nina's parents rope Beth
into impersonating her rather than telling the truth?
"...'But listen. I've got much better news--a fabulous job
offer for you. It's a murder mystery company, just starting up, and
they want you to act out a trial run of the game so they can take
photos for their website--glamerous costumes at a posh dinner party,
that sort of thing. It's out in a big old mansion in the Fens--
gorgeous-looking place, full of dark history..."
I bet you can guess the name of the mansion.
2019. Sadie is an actress who barely makes rent through
professional gigs and a stream of day jobs. One day her agent calls
with what seems to be great news. A one weekend gig at a posh place
will net her the big bucks she needs for living expenses.
At first the gig feels like living the good part of a Cinderella
story, especially when Sadie is outfitted in very expensive clothes
and delivered to the mansion by a chauffeur. But it isn't long until
the situation begins to feel sketchy. Just who sent out the
invitations? What are their real intentions?
Oh, yeah, and will all the game characters get out alive?
On a purrrsonal note, I am remaining asymptomatic and rapidly
regaining strength, focus, and ambition. One thing that is helping me
cheerfully isolate is 2022 Bangor Public Library adult book bingo.
The card for it looks like a regular BINGO one with a 5x5 grid and a
free square in the middle only with book categories instead of letter/
number combos. You can either do a row or the whole thing. Of course
I'm going for the whole thing. I'm already 1/5 of the way only 11
days into the first month. It's like a geektastic scavenger hunt.
Hope they do it every year. (Jules)
Next year they need to include books with animal main characters. I
could make the list for that. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Bangor Public Library for providing
such a great literary treasure hunt.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, January 10, 2022
Hard Hitting YA fiction
Hard Hitting YA fiction
Everybody Looking
Starting college is a huge transition for nearly everyone.
There's new independence and opportunities, chances for reinvention,
and heightened expections. For some students high parental
expectations are quite a challenge. This is the case for Ada,
narrator of Candice Iloh's Everybody Looking, an extraordinary coming
of age narrative. Ada means first daughter which translates into
pressure.
"to do a lot of things
you don't want to do
because the honor
of this family
rests on your back."
Ada has been raised by her Nigerian father. (Her drug addicted
mother drifts in and out of her life.) He wants her safety over all
else. She must choose a responsible major that will lead to a
lucrative career and be a shining example of evangelic Christianity.
But accounting is overwhelmingly dull. Dance is what makes her feel
alive. And the rigid gender roles of his church don't fit.
"how do I tell somebody who does nothing
before he has a chance to pray
that the god I'm getting to know teaches me
how to seek my own face?"
Everybody Looking juxtaposes the challenges and joys of Ada's
transition from home to college with flashbacks to defining moments in
her earlier life. Students about to make their own transition will
find her story captivating.
But you don't have to take my word for how good the book is.
Jacqueline Woodson calls it "Beautifully crafted and ultimately
healing." Nic Stone describes it as "An essential and ultimately
gripping and masterfully written and compulsively readable addition to
the coming of age canon."
We Are The Ashes, We Are The Fire
"The lawyers understood what the judges have said, they must.
Next to me, Layla has gone rigid. The prosecutor lets out the
slightest huff of frustration. But if everyone else understood,
they'd be storming the beach, wouldn't they? I'm not even sure Nor
realizes Craig will walk out of here without prison time. I can't be
the one to tell her."
Em's older sister, Nor (Eleanor), was raped and left for dead at
a college frat party. In addition to the trauma, she's had to deal
with a lot of hostility. Assailant Craig was involved with football.
People are more concerned with the effect of the incident on the
team's playoff prospects than on a woman's life.
When the case goes to trial Craig is found guilty on all
counts. It looks like he'll be serving time. But the sentencing
phase upsets everything. Craig gets away with time served.
When the head football coach moves on to another school, citing
distractions as his reason for leaving, Huskies fans are out for blood.
Em is striving valiently to get justice for her sister. Not
only is nothing working out, but she's becoming increasingly estranged
from Nor. She gets relief from an untenable situation by writing the
story of a fifth century noblewoman who fought rapists. Her creation
is juxtaposed with her real life experiences.
This poignant and powerful novel is a much needed reality
check. Too many people are still unwilling to see rape for what it
really is and to exonerate perpetrators, especially those who are
involved with athletics, and their privileged bro networks.
On a purrrsonal note, it was a slow weekend. I was mostly lying
around on the sofa near the tree reading and writing. I planned to go
to zoom church. I actually had my laptop charging. But Tobago chose
me for her cat bed and I didn't have the heart to disturb her. As of
yesterday I'm asymptomatic. But I still plan to isolate until school
starts again next week. I want to go back all strong with nothing
contagious except my personality. (Jules)
Isolate with me another week? YASSS!!! I mean that would be a good
idea. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who keeps bringing home good
food for humans and feline. We even had the ingredients for ice cream
sodas.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Everybody Looking
Starting college is a huge transition for nearly everyone.
There's new independence and opportunities, chances for reinvention,
and heightened expections. For some students high parental
expectations are quite a challenge. This is the case for Ada,
narrator of Candice Iloh's Everybody Looking, an extraordinary coming
of age narrative. Ada means first daughter which translates into
pressure.
"to do a lot of things
you don't want to do
because the honor
of this family
rests on your back."
Ada has been raised by her Nigerian father. (Her drug addicted
mother drifts in and out of her life.) He wants her safety over all
else. She must choose a responsible major that will lead to a
lucrative career and be a shining example of evangelic Christianity.
But accounting is overwhelmingly dull. Dance is what makes her feel
alive. And the rigid gender roles of his church don't fit.
"how do I tell somebody who does nothing
before he has a chance to pray
that the god I'm getting to know teaches me
how to seek my own face?"
Everybody Looking juxtaposes the challenges and joys of Ada's
transition from home to college with flashbacks to defining moments in
her earlier life. Students about to make their own transition will
find her story captivating.
But you don't have to take my word for how good the book is.
Jacqueline Woodson calls it "Beautifully crafted and ultimately
healing." Nic Stone describes it as "An essential and ultimately
gripping and masterfully written and compulsively readable addition to
the coming of age canon."
We Are The Ashes, We Are The Fire
"The lawyers understood what the judges have said, they must.
Next to me, Layla has gone rigid. The prosecutor lets out the
slightest huff of frustration. But if everyone else understood,
they'd be storming the beach, wouldn't they? I'm not even sure Nor
realizes Craig will walk out of here without prison time. I can't be
the one to tell her."
Em's older sister, Nor (Eleanor), was raped and left for dead at
a college frat party. In addition to the trauma, she's had to deal
with a lot of hostility. Assailant Craig was involved with football.
People are more concerned with the effect of the incident on the
team's playoff prospects than on a woman's life.
When the case goes to trial Craig is found guilty on all
counts. It looks like he'll be serving time. But the sentencing
phase upsets everything. Craig gets away with time served.
When the head football coach moves on to another school, citing
distractions as his reason for leaving, Huskies fans are out for blood.
Em is striving valiently to get justice for her sister. Not
only is nothing working out, but she's becoming increasingly estranged
from Nor. She gets relief from an untenable situation by writing the
story of a fifth century noblewoman who fought rapists. Her creation
is juxtaposed with her real life experiences.
This poignant and powerful novel is a much needed reality
check. Too many people are still unwilling to see rape for what it
really is and to exonerate perpetrators, especially those who are
involved with athletics, and their privileged bro networks.
On a purrrsonal note, it was a slow weekend. I was mostly lying
around on the sofa near the tree reading and writing. I planned to go
to zoom church. I actually had my laptop charging. But Tobago chose
me for her cat bed and I didn't have the heart to disturb her. As of
yesterday I'm asymptomatic. But I still plan to isolate until school
starts again next week. I want to go back all strong with nothing
contagious except my personality. (Jules)
Isolate with me another week? YASSS!!! I mean that would be a good
idea. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who keeps bringing home good
food for humans and feline. We even had the ingredients for ice cream
sodas.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, January 8, 2022
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