Hollow Fires (YA fiction)

     About six years ago I was blown away by Samira Ahmed's Internment. She created a chilling and believable dystopia not all that far removed from the Trumpian first term in which it was published. It was like Muslim ban meets 1940s Japanese American internment camps.  If you haven't read it yet make sure to do so.

     In Hollow Fires, published in 2022, she presciently depicted the sequel to the 2016 nation wide reality show Nightmare in the Oval Office. Within the context of two interwoven narratives she depicts an American city awash in a toxic stew of white supremecy, Muslim and immigrant phobia, and police violence and complicity. 

"I made a jet pack. And they killed me for it.

     It wasn't even real. It was plastic and tubes, glue and paint. I wanted to be a steampunk inventor for Halloween because I'd seen this awesome old anime called Steamboy about a kid who liked to tinker and create stuff, kinda like me."

     Jawad, a high school freshman, was a member of a club for kids who enjoyed creating and tinkering. He was so proud of his jet pack that he took it in to show his club's faculty advisor. His English teacher freaked out and called the cops. They took him away in handcuffs. 

     "I thought that was the worst day of my life. Turned out, I was dead wrong."

"Dear Muslim Scum,

We will be coming to your mosque. It will be a massacre on a scale never seen. Christchurch will pale in comparison. You can pray all you want to God. 

     But God is Dead."

     After the Christmas break when her mosque received the above letter Safiya discovers that her school newspaper (she's editor) has been hacked. A racist calling himself Ghost Skin has put a racist in under her column heading. 

     Dr. Hardy, her principal, thinks Safiya wrote the column to create drama. He's demanding to have more control over content and threatening to shut the paper down if the staff and paper don't bend to his will. He is much less concerned less concerned about the huge swastika painted on a wall and other acts of white supremecy. 

     Safiya thinks that Jawad's kidnapper is an affluent, well connected classmate who is responsible for the acts of white supremecy terrorism. Trying to prove her theory is going to get far more dangerous than she can imagine. 

     Told alternating between Jawad's and Safiya's voices and skillfully incorporating much disturbing background information, Hollow Fires is a highly engaging and enraging narrative--a must read for social justice warriors in its target demographic and way beyond.

On a purrrsonal note, the UMaine Drag Show was lit. The acts were genre diverse and quite entertaining. The audience was very engaged and responsive. I performed 3 numbers: I'm Still Standing and Only The Good Die Young solo and the ensemble grand finale. As always it was magical for me. I think when I perform I am joy embodied. And I got a lot of love from the audience. Making it even more special it was my 10th anniversary as a drag performer. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in a night 🌙 to remember. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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This is the awesome coffee mug I won in a prize drawing at First Friday Bagels and my two rocks I painted in SWell yesterday. They're not only beautiful but useful as paperweights. The bigger one is a story about beautiful flowers taking root and creating beauty in a drab vacant space. The 🐢 was created to cover up a spill.

The Girl You Know (YA fiction)

     I am always looking for chillers set in elite private schools where the ivy covers a whole lot of rot, bastions of privilege where wealth and status can enable students to literally get away with murder. Elle Gonzalez Rose's The Girl You Know really delivers.

     Narrator Luna and Solina are twins whose lives have gone in very different directions. They had to endure their father's death, their mother's descent into substance abuse, and a  long stretch in the foster care system. While Solina is a student at the elite Kingswood Academy Luna waitresses long hours to cover the expenses Solina's scholarship doesn't.

     As winter break of her senior year draws to a close Selina tells Luna that she doesn't want to go back to school. Luna is less than sympathetic. She doesn't want all the sacrifices she's made to be for nothing. Selina storms out. The next day she's dead.

     Luna believes that Solina was killed by someone from her school. She goes undercover as her twin to discover the murderer's identity. It's not going to be easy. A high school dropout, she has to try to replicate Solina's stellar grades. Her fellow students are hard to deal with. Her beloved sister seems to have been keeping dark secrets. 

     And the killer, unaware that Solina is actually dead, could strike at any moment.

On a purrrsonal note, today was absolutely purrrfect. I went on campus for First Friday Bagels and had my favorite sweet cinnamon. I put my name in for a prize drawing. I did  rockpainting. I painted two for me and one for Catherine. When I gave her her rock she told me I'd won the prize I coveted. I went to a brunch. All day people were telling me how psyched they are for the Drag Show and my performances. Catherine gave me a ride home with stops at Black Bear Exchange, the library,  and my first yard sale of the year. I found a cute sweatshirt. Catherine paid for it. My wallet was in my 🎒 in her 🚗. Soon Bailey will drop by with lots of cans and bottles I can cash in for Tobago's savings. Life is good. I promise a picture tomorrow. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who contributed to my magical day ✨️ 😀 😊 ❤️ 💛 💖. 

Jules Hathaway 

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The Legacies

     I hope you've been enjoying my cosplay pix. But I realized 😳 I'd better get back to posting reviews because I've been reading so many seriously great books you deserve to know about. 

     I've heard that in the days when radio was the medium du jour a character named the Shadow revealed the evil that lurked in the hearts of men. In The Legacies Jessica Goodman reveals the scheming and duplicity that can lie in the hearts and minds of elite private school students and the powerful and privileged adults in their lives. If you're anything like me you'll be hooked on the first page.

     The Legacy Club is housed in an outwardly plain building, one most New Yorkers could pass without a second glance. It houses an incredibly posh interior, one that precious few could get into or even guess the existence of. Each year thirty-six high school seniors from elite private schools are admitted through a week of rituals. Once they possess their golden keys they're members for life, guaranteed entry into elite colleges and other privileged spaces and the loyalty of other members who will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo. 

     Goodman's narrators are Excelsior Prep students: Bernie, the daughter of a high ranking member whose entry was guaranteed while she was still in diapers; Isobel, the talented artist with the substance abuse problem, and Tori, the one of the one of these things does not belong scholarship student who works at her father's restaurant. Their alternating voices lead readers through the intrigues, shifting alliances, and betrayals of the crucial week, the grand finale of which will go decidedly off script...

     ...because the script has never included murder.

     I'm really excited because when I checked out the author bio I learned that there is one other Goodman book I haven't read. You'd better believe it's at the top of my Minerva send away list. 

On a purrrsonal note, advertising the drag show is going really well. I'm stirring up a lot of excitement. I just wish I could cover more territory. It's a big campus. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who are planning to participate. 

Jules Hathaway 

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This is the outfit people seem to like best. I'll wear it in the show when I do Only The Good Die Young. So far I've been to a pancake brunch 😋 and done the rounds pitching the show. I'm going to paint a pot and plant a flower but give it to someone else because Tobago would think salad bar. I can't wait to see the look on my prof's face when I arrive at Capstone. 

Fam, This is my fabulous 2nd day cosplay costume. I wanted to be sure you saw the cats on my socks and shoes. I'm having so much fun promoting the drag show.