We Ship It

YA romance 

     "I had hastily thrown the whole lecture together in the three hours since my parents had oh so casually dropped the world's worst news on me.

     They had booked a spring break cruise for our family."

     Most teens (and adults for that matter) would not consider a mandated luxury cruise to be the world's worst news.  Most wouldn't whip together a PowerPoint on why they couldn't go.  I imagine they'd be posting the news on social media, contacting best friends, and shopping for cruise 🛳 worthy attire.

     But Olivia, narrator of Lauren Kay's We Ship It is not most teens.  She has her life planned out without any room for spontaneous detours.  If she sticks to her plan she'll be a doctor with office wall diploma from a top notch school by age thirty.  The trip coincides with a research fair with a huge prize.

     "I needed that internship.  Without it, I don't stand a chance at my dream program--Brown's eight-year combined undergraduate and med school program, which boasted a less than 5 percent acceptance rate."

     Olivia even has chosen a specialty:  cardiology.  When she was only eleven her beloved seventeen-year-old brother, Logan, had died of a heart attack.  She'd been alone with him that night.  They'd had an argument.  She'd left him only to return later and find him dead.

     Her parents seem to have moved on, even having twin sons who are five at the time of the cruise.  They always change the subject when his name comes up, especially if the twins are around.

     Olivia can't forget Logan.  She wants to discover ways of preventing other families from losing teens to heart disease.  That's what she and her best friend, Shruti are presenting at the research fair.  That week.  Luckily she finds a way to do her part on line.  She'll read the materials and draft the paper and Shruti will edit and present.

     So Olivia is going to ignore all the distractions of a commercial cruise ship 🚢 and spend her time researching.  Only she isn't counting on her fun loving cousin Jules whom she hadn't seen in ages or very cute and charming Sebastian who seems to really be into her.

     Could she find a little space in her life for spontaneous fun without giving up on her goals?

     I especially recommend this book for mother-daughter book clubs.  Although We Ship It can be enjoyed as a fun summer read it also raises issues that can be easier to discuss with the distance that literature provides.  

On a purrrsonal note, Sunday 🌄 morning Eugene was doing some work at his mother's house while I was in my studio ✍️.  When he returned he picked Tobago up from the porch.  We had the heavy door 🚪 shut and the screen door open.  Baby Girl had cut herself a cat 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ door.  At least she didn't get far.  (Jules)

Why does the world look exciting when you see it from the inside and scary when you see it from the outside?  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to our imperfect but precious cats and other animal companions.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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