On Guard (juvenile graphic novel)

     Recently divorced parents behaving badly,  having to travel between two different homes, starting seventh grade alone because your former bestie has traded you for a cooler chum--there's a lot for younger readers to relate to in Cassidy Wasserman's On Guard.

     Grace's parents have divorced over the summer. The split is anything but amicable. Grace lives with her father with whom she's comfortable. But she has to spend a lot of nights with her mother who essentially ignores her. And mommy dearest is setting a room up for Grace in her condo so she can spend whole weeks there.

     Meanwhile school is torture. Before their split Grace and Ava had signed up for all the same classes. Now Grace has to watch Ava be all chummy with her replacement, Lana, all day. And she doesn't have anyone else. Her acquaintances are all Ava's friends. 

     Having nobody to sit with in the cafeteria, Grace takes her lunch to the gym. She's in for a big surprise. The school's Fencing Club practices there. It looks like fun. And they're in need of new members.

     With an engaging plot, lively illustrations, and relatable characters, On Guard is a good read, especially for kids facing similar challenges.

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday started out less than optimal but turned out memorable in the best possible way. Tobago woke me up at 2:15 when it was all black outside. Just before 7:00 my ride canceled because of an emergency. Under ordinary circumstances I might very well have decided not to go to campus. But it was the day of the student organizational fair--my best chance to recruit student organizations for operation Valentine. So I trudged my way through knee high ❄️ on the uncleared woods path and tried my best to lose feeling in my fingers waiting for the bus. But it was abundantly worthwhile. I got five pages of organizations. Blew way past my goal of thirty. And people were so thrilled and touched--I could see the enthusiasm on their faces. By mid afternoon when the fair ended I was floating on air. If I play my cards right this could become a UMaine tradition.

A great big shout out goes out to all the wonderful UMaine organizations who have signed on.

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Operation Valentine

Well today was the spring semester student organizational fair at UMaine. There was an amazing number and variety of groups. Good to know there is this level of engagement in Black Bear Nation!!! I just spent the past hours making the rounds and signing groups up for Operation Valentine. OMG!!! I have 5 PAGES of contact information!!! Originally I was shooting for 20 groups. I've way blown by that. And people are so enthusiastic. This could become a UMaine tradition. This is what I wore. Pretty appropriate I'd say.

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How Girls Are Made (YA chiller)

     Mindy McGinnis's How Girls Are Made is a stone cold chiller without a Freddy Krueger, a Jason, a Pennywise, or any other antagonist acting with malice and forethought. No malignant entity lurking in basement, abandoned house, or deep thorny woods. The suspense builds as three teenager girls make choices and decisions in a world more complexly perilous than the one I grew up in or even the one my kids grew up in.

     "...It's not the first time I've had a smashed nose, not the first time I've heard my own bones break, and certainly not the first time my blood has escaped my veins, flowing down my skin. I've been hit a hundred times by just as many people, taking my licks and delivering my own.  

     But I've never been punched by my boyfriend."

     Shelby is a fighter on top of her game. She has a private coach, an agent, and a publicist. She's at least locally well known. When her boyfriend assaults her at school, breaking her nose, she's mandated to attend therapy for victims of domestic violence. She thinks that's bullshit. She's too strong to be traumatized. She's already over Jayden...

     ...but how she experiences and acts in her next relationship really makes this premise dubious.

     "My eyebrows are higher, my cheekbones more pronounced. My ears are smaller and my jawline is a straight, slicing plane. My lips are full and pouty, my nose perfectly shaped and positioned, my forehead no longer a broad eye-drawing mesa. Everything about me heartbreakingly gorgeous."

     Jobie lives on social media, addicted to the rush provided by likes and and comments. The problem is that she doesn't get enough. She has only 2,461 followers, 3,00 of whom are probably bots. She considers herself boring, bland, and basic and resents being cute instead of hot. A computer generated picture shows her the difference a whole lot of plastic surgery could make...

     ...It would cost $75,000. Seems like she'll do just about anything to get her hands on that money.

     "I look at my sister, whose face still holds a little bit of baby fat, thirteen years of life not melting it away yet. I'd seen her getting curious about shirtless boys at the public swimming pool this past summer, and if her official "talk" with mom and dad is anything like mine, it'll consist of them handing off an old romance novel and telling Farrah to let them know if she has any questions."

     Fallon also doesn't have much faith that what passes for sex education in the local  schools to do much good. With good reason. She doesn't want Farrah and her peers to be confronted with risky situations they have no clue how to handle. So she, Shelby, and Jobie create spaces for candid discussions off and online with the best of intentions...

     ...only to quickly find that they're way over their heads. They might find themselves headed to prison instead of college...

     ...or dead.

With it's truly engaging plot and tackling of very relevant issues I'd recommend How Girls Are Made to its target demographic and way beyond--like parents, high school teachers, and guidance counselors.

On a purrrsonal note, today is one of my favorite days of the year. It's my son Adam's birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊. He is such a good man. His dad and I are so proud of him. I'll celebrate by trying sugar free pecan delights.

I'm so looking forward to tomorrow. It's the student organizational fair. I want to get more groups to sign up for Operation 💝. We currently have 20. And I'm super looking forward to Saturday when we'll finally have Eugene's twice postponed birthday lunch and I'll get to see all my kids. 

A great big shout out goes out to Adam, the most wonderful son a mother could have. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Joy journal

Eugene had to work again last night. No, it wasn't snowing. He and his coworkers had to load the accumulated ❄️ into dump trucks so they can move it somewhere to make room for the next storm's snow. The snow mountains on campus are taller than me. True 4'9 1/2" is not all that impressive. But next time I'm on campus and have a few minutes I'll get a picture to share. (Today I'm getting work done at home, much to Tobago's delight.) Anyway in lieu of a semi inspiring snow picture here's another couple of pages from my joy journal. 

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What Kind of Girl (YA chiller)

     Former Nancy Drew fans moving on up to more sophisticated mysteries will really enjoy Natalie C. Anderson's That Kind of Girl. The very suspenseful, twisty narrative has it all: murder, intrigue, missing people and objects, a long standing family feud, and a truly bizarre treasure hunt. But mostly it's the story of two very different girls told in their alternating voices. 

     Roxie spent her childhood in a truly toxic environment. Her mother did her best to shield her from her abusive and domineering fundamentalist minister and cult leader father. A tragic incident left her orphaned and in foster care. 

     Now at 16 she's been adopted by her restaurant owner uncle. She's a student at Saint Madeline Prep. She doesn't really socialize with her classmates. But they come to her whenever they need something found or erased from social media. One day she gets a new client and goes to her mansion to discuss details...

     ...only to discover Kirsten dead, lying in a pool of her own blood. With no evidence of anyone else on the premises Roxie, now a person of interest, has to clear her name somehow. 

     Inez, a little older, still lives in her childhood trailer. She'd lived with her mother until the older woman's recent death. Now she has a job with a cleaning agency doing everything from college dorms to private residences. Because she can't earn enough through that income stream she supplements it with free lance sex work.

     One party she provided her services at went horribly wrong. She keeps finding blood on her garments. Sure that she's killed someone, she's wondering when the police will find the body and start investigating cause of death. 

     Although Roxie and Inez live in different worlds, they're gonna need each other's help to survive the challenges life has thrown at them...

     ...hopefully they'll figure that out before it's too late.

     Readers who like solving mysteries before the last chapter will find That Kind of Girl to be a delightful challenge. 

On a purrrsonal note, when Eugene came back from plowing all night I made him breakfast and asked him for a ride to campus. Was I ever glad that I did. I found another student group to engage in Operation Valentine. I attended an e event that had wraps I could eat onthe diet from hell. I also got a huge boxed salad to take home there. I got a lot of free tomato/feta/spinach/egg whites wraps to take home in the free food fridge. A friend gave me a bag of sugar free pecan delights. I scored 3 inter library loans and 5 in house books from Orono Public Library. I now have two hours to read before bed. So I had a very wonderful day. 

A great big shout out to my good friend Gwyn who will be celebrating 🍾 her birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 tomorrow. If I could think of the word that describes her best it would be compassionate. She works in student wellness where lots of people come to her for advice and encouragement. UMaine is lucky to have her. Happy birthday, Gwyn! Hope your day is as special as you are!

Jules Hathaway 

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Snow day

UMaine had one today. I imagine a lot of schools around here did. The white stuff started falling yesterday evening and hasn't completely stopped yet. Eugene was called out to plow before midnight. He got home in time to eat supper and grab a little sleep before he goes out again. Tobago thought she wanted to go out. She would have been buried in all the snow or blown away by the wind. So she dozed intermittently in her cat bed. Way to stay warm and irresistible. 

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The Amazing Generation (juvenile Nonfiction)

     I became intrigued by the premise of Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price's The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World. Haidt is a social psychologist who has extensively studied the adverse effects of social media on teen health. Price is a science journalist and former middle school teacher whose goal is to help people "scroll less and live more". Their collaboration on a topic that has traditionally been addressed to adults was something I had to get my hands on...

     ...Fortunately I did not have to wait for it to arrive by inter library loan. Orono Public Library had just acquired it and happily let me be the first to take it out, hoping to get my opinion. I give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up. And in this review I will give you all the reasons. 

     First I love that it's addressed to the kids. Traditional books on this topic tell the parents how to protect their kids from internet evils. I believe also addressing tweens is developmentally appropriate. Preteens are at an age where they're rapidly changing, gaining increased responsibilities, and yearning for more autonomy. Unfortunately companies who market products directly to kids push the image of parents as clueless buzzkills, encouraging insurrection. 

     I'm not, however encouraging parents to take a take a hands off approach. You need to know how your kids use social media. There are situations you have to take decisive action. But in lieu of alarming evidence, maybe collaborate rather than dictate. 

     The authors operate on the radical concept of giving kids the truth about social media companies: that they're not kid friendly, that their executives won't let their own kids use their products, that they see consumers as cash cows and resist all attempts to make their products more safe for kids. They empower youngsters by providing the inside scoop on topics like how the companies make apps addictive, how they gain personal information and make big bucks off of it, and the effect overuse of smartphones and apps can have on one's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social health. And they give ways tweens can enlist adults as allies. 

     They're not all smartphones are evil; social media is Satan. They're more about getting a better online/offline balance and avoiding the dangerous sites and apps. They give tweens lots of ideas for offline fun and strategies for lessening the time they spend online. 

     They have plenty of advice from teens and people in their early twenties who tweens will be most likely to look up to and relate to.

     There is a good amount of illustrations including a graphic story woven through the text that follows a group of friends dealing with social media issues. 

     If I was a parent or teacher of preteens I'd run right and buy a copy of The Amazing Generation. It's a most excellent acquisition for public, school, and family libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, it's the frigid calm before the storm here in Central Maine. The flakes are supposed to start falling about 6:00 which means Eugene will probably be plowing all night. The meteorologists are constantly changing their minds about how much to expect. Right now they're predicting 8-12 inches. I am so over winter and ready for spring. 

A great big shout goes out to you, my readers. If you live in that wide swath of America predicted to be in the blizzard's path don't go out unless you have to (you'll have the heartfelt appreciation of the professional snowplowers) and if you have to go out dress and drive defensively. If you have any medically fragile friends or neighbors or family members try to check in to see how they're doing. 

BTW with this review I'll be just 39 books short of 3,000 I've reviewed in this blog. Any ideas on how I should celebrate when I achieve this milestone?

Jules Hathaway 

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