Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

It’s true I didn’t manage a post yesterday, although I did do errands and laundry and dishes and things; last night, however, I finished reading Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All, which is one of this year’s Newbery Honor books. (And I already had it checked out of the library, so go me!) I’m going to say up front that I don’t love the art, but the story is thoroughly enjoyable. The premise of two (new) friends trying to solve the mysteries of lone socks left at the laundromat–which is owned by Magnolia’s parents–is entertaining enough, but the execution is fantastic. Magnolia and Iris learn new things about all sorts of people, and when they start to flounder with each other, author Chanel Miller maneuvers them deftly through their difficulties with just the right amount of sentiment.

It’s not just that the plot is entertaining and the emotional notes are spot on, though. Possibly the best part of the whole book is the gradual expansion of how Magnolia perceives people that she thinks she already knows. Everyone can still surprise us, right? At any rate, this is a lovely gem of a story, and I’m glad it (and therefore Miller) won a Newbery Honor award.

I’m afraid I have to run, since my hubby and I are subbing for a children’s class in church tomorrow–have a great weekend, everybody!

That’s what Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was, folks–and, I imagine, what it was supposed to be. Someone recommended it to my 15-year-old, but my 18-year-old is bound to be a much bigger fan, since she’s the mystery lover. I listened to it slowly at first, but I had to binge listen a bit to finish it before it got automatically returned to the library, and I’m pretty sure the binging was responsible for at least one bad dream. (it happens.)

Anyway. It’s an interesting (and twisty!) mystery that sucked me in pretty quickly, and I absolutely did NOT guess the ending. (Although to be fair, it’s not like I frequently do with mysteries.) Pip is on the obsessive side but thoroughly likeable, and I appreciated her summation of the crime from an emotional and community point of view. If she were my daughter I’d strangle her–she’s the poster child for ‘I’m going to go ahead and do this thing (and this thing, oh! and THIS thing) that could totally get me killed’–but I’d be proud of her in the meantime.

Anyway. Our family of 6 headed up to Idaho this past weekend to visit my parents, and while it was a very quiet weekend–so many other family members were out of town–I’m incredibly glad we went. My dad’s dementia just keeps moving forward, but he still loves for us to come, and that matters. My hubby did the lion’s share of the driving and choked down the salmon that the rest of us were thoroughly enjoying, poor man, and he and I and my mother watched “Charade” with my oldest. We got home Monday evening and spent yesterday finishing up a care package for my niece and her family, running around, and doing a great deal of laundry. Today the kiddos are back to school and I went to the temple, the library, and the pharmacy–definitely back to regular life!

Seriously, though. We lost power around 4 am Tuesday morning, and while it was only out for an hour or so, my computer wouldn’t get back online until the part my hubby ordered came in–yesterday evening. (Our home phone was also out Tuesday, which, coupled with snow and slick weather, complicated the execution of SEPs for two children at different schools on the same night. PLUS my glasses lens popped out at the book fair…it was rough.) Costco replaced the missing screw the next morning, however, which worked because I had to go and get fruit for the teachers’ dinner anyway. I couldn’t have posted until after dinner last night and by then I didn’t have enough coherence in me!

Today has been snowy, even if not as cold, and the roads are still slick; I’ve had rather a nice back-and-forth between chores and downtime, though. And since we’ve got a long weekend, I’m taking some time off to spend with family. I’ll see y’all on Wednesday!

No, I’m not reliving the summer reading assigned before my senior year of high school. (Although it’s worth noting that “All My Children” was the first literary work I didn’t like that I did respect and appreciate, for which the credit absolutely goes to Carol Mumford. She was both an excellent teacher and an estimable human being.) Today is actually the day that all of my children are officially in the double digits. My baby is 10!

It was, incidentally, a busy day–I helped set up the book fair at the elementary school, ran home for lunch and exercise, and then took the birthday girl to therapy. When we got home the kitchen needed work and then the birthday dinner needed cooking (although thankfully, Korean beef and peas is about as easy as it gets). When I was home for lunch, however, I took the time to read the graphic novel I gave my girlie for her birthday. I don’t usually review the Babysitters Club and Babysitters Little Sister books anymore–they’re such short reads–but when I finished and gifted it today, why not? Karen’s Sleepover is the 8th book in the latter graphic novel series, and it had a nice ‘friends fight, but that means we apologize and move on’ kind of theme. I did wonder at inviting all the girls in a class to a sleepover, but it did appear to be a small class, so whatever; I’m still not sure about the odd lack of contractions. (Seriously, how many 7-year-olds do YOU know that consistently say ‘I will not’ and ‘I do not’?) The new girl’s plotline was sort of interesting–open-ended in an oddly realistic sort of way–although I was surprised, given Kristy’s personality, that she didn’t say anything. All in all, a cute read that I’m sure my girlie will enjoy.

My 10-year-old girlie.

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I had just enough time to review Coyote Lost and Found before heading to Costco; I had forgotten, however, that there was a PTA meeting at 9. That went long, I’d promised to help with book fair signage afterward, and so I ended up going straight to Costco from the school. I probably could have posted between picking up my youngest and taking kids to piano lessons, but–I took a nap instead. I am, however, determined to do a better job of keeping up this week, and so here I am, writing my review while our Saturday morning chocolate-chocolate chip-banana muffins bake.

Here’s the thing. It’s a little hard to summarize the plot without ruining discoveries that should be made over the course of reading the book, and so I’ll do my best, but bear with me, okay? Coyote Lost and Found opens with Coyote and Rodeo having settled down, more or less. Coyote, however, is finding that school is not quite what she’d hoped it would be, and so she isn’t sad at all when March of 2020 happens and schools are closed for a while. The timing, however, is perfect for another reason; having recently discovered the box containing her mother’s ashes, she and Rodeo are feeling like it might be time to lay them to rest. Only there is a bit of a snag that has to be dealt with first, which is how they end up back on Yager, crossing the country and picking up the occasional new friend along the way. To say much more feels wrong, but if I was thinking that Dan Gemeinhart couldn’t possibly write a sequel to The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise that was as good (and as full of all the feels), I was pretty much wrong. Coyote Lost and Found is a bit of a different kind of good, sure, but I read it aloud to my 15-year-old, and I think she would have had me read the entire book in one sitting if she could have. (As it was, we finished it in a marathon read of 90 pages or so, and that isn’t easy when you’re reading aloud.) If you loved the first book, read its sequel; if you haven’t read the first book, go out and read them both.

It’s that simple.

It’s been that kind of a day, folks. I went to brunch with my friend Britt and returned something to Sam’s Club that was ridiculously satisfying to return, but my oldest had a rough evening and I didn’t get around to this blog post in time to coherently review the book that’s been sitting in front of my keyboard for more than a week now. On the other hand, I did make this Creamy Corn Chowder with Crispy Bacon for dinner a week or so ago, and I have to say–it was pretty good. I messed with the liquids (meaning I used 1.5 C of evaporated milk and .5 C of regular milk), but other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe, and the family liked it. We all would have liked more bacon to top our bowls with, of course, but who doesn’t want more bacon in life?

Okay, confession time. I could have done my Friday post. I told myself, however, that writing our not-Christmas-anymore letter took precedence, and I’d write that before I wrote anything else–and then I procrastinated that, because every year I just can’t help myself. And because I procrastinated that, I didn’t write anything else on Friday either, and so here we are. On Monday.

The GOOD news is that I wrote that blasted letter this morning–hallelujah!–my third load of laundry-I-tend-to-put-off is in the washing machine, and I’m committed to reviewing Sara Sax’s Tryouts (The Brinkley Yearbooks #2) before I leave to get my youngest from school. (Or at least get as far along as I can in the review process, given that I have to leave in 20 minutes or so.) I even finished the book this afternoon so that I COULD review it today–although I have to admit, I had some ulterior motives for that.

Anyway.

Tryouts is the sort-of-sequel to Sax’s Picture Day, which I reviewed not that long ago; thankfully, it doesn’t have the phrase ‘live your truth’ in it even once. What it DOES have is a solid story about a girl who wants to play baseball and realizes (with her friends’ support) that legally, she has the right to try out for the boys’ team if no girls’ team exists. She does and is surprised at the new coach’s support; the problems, of course, come afterward.

I loved, loved, loved that those problems are not boys being stupid about a girl teammate. Instead, the team’s difficult situation comes from pressure to continue the team’s winning legacy and a lack of understanding by multiple adults about what is most important. The athletic director is a bit of a tool, but as Mark Harlan showed us during this past college football season, that happens sometimes; the new coach is more another victim of the pressure than anything else. (Being the new guy is hard as an adult, too.) I do wish there had been a bit more accountability about behavior–Zack’s behavior at practice, specifically–from the get-go, but the difficult situation’s extension in that direction is not unbelievable. I loved the results of how the baseball team refocuses itself, and I appreciated that Al’s friends keep her from going too far in the wrong direction. I’m not sure the goose side plot made as much cohesive sense as Sax wanted it to, but hey–she used it as a medium and it worked okay. All in all, this is a solid graphic novel about the difficulties of sports culture and what we still need to work on–and an entertaining one about figuring yourself out and doing the best you can for the relationships in your life. And you don’t need to have read the first book to get/enjoy it!

In the meantime, I still have miles to go before I sleep, so I’m signing off. Have a great rest of your Monday!

It’s after dinner and I usually don’t have it in me to write a book review by then; on the other hand, I’m determined to get back on track with posts, and my youngest is headed off to dance with her dad, so here we are. First, however, my day…

This morning I fell back asleep while doing my Duolingo, but I still managed to clean out the top two shelves of my fridge (plus the top shelf in the fridge door) before lunch, so go me. Duplicates were combined, sketchy things have been tossed, and yet there’s never as much more space as I expect there to be–probably because organizing what goes back in means nothing’s crammed anymore. Still, it got done, I took my walk, my son’s med check got taken care of, and dinner has been made and consumed by all. (And the leftovers put away–neatly!)

Alrighty then. Last night, while my hubby was at a BYU basketball game with my son and his friend and all the girls were off to bed, I finished listening to Amy Sarig King’s Attack of the Black Rectangles. (It’s been on my radar for a little bit, but my 15-year-old saw it at the library and was interested, so it moved up on my TBR list considerably.) It’s an interesting, almost-a-fable sort of read; the censorship issue itself is believable, but the town’s various rules and ordinances range from unlikely to patently absurd. The author’s point, however, is well made. I always wish such books had more conservative-but-tolerant characters, but the nature of the fable made that less of an issue for me than usual, and I especially appreciate that Mac’s teacher’s capacity for kindness is noted, along with the incredibly important truth that ‘no one is ever just one thing.’ (I will say that Mac is FAR more mature than the average 6th grade boy–I have a summer-birthday-seventh-grade boy at home, and I speak from experience.) Mac’s incredible granddad lends an originality to the common (but realistic and relevant) difficulty of his unimpressive father, and I especially appreciated how his friendship with Marci is handled. All in all, this is a solid story about both censorship and finding your voice, and I’d recommend it. (You don’t have to have read The Devil’s Arithmetic to fully appreciate it, either. I have, so I know!) My biggest criticism is that it moved awfully fast for everything that it packed in; it could easily have longer.

And there you have it, folks–a post-dinner review! Now on to more things on my to-do list…

That’s how often the Youth Media Awards are, well, awarded–and announced! And since I’m a book geek, I asked my hubby to take our youngest to school so that I didn’t miss the middle of them. The webcast is only an hour and was in my time zone this year; here’s the first link I found to the results!

2025 Youth Media Award Winners

In the meantime, I’ve also put in two loads of wash this morning, thoroughly swept my floor, read my ‘Come Follow Me’ for the day, listened to my conference talk while working on a puzzle, tidied a few things, AND finished Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?!, which my youngest is slightly desperate for. I have to say, I did quite enjoy it–even if Berrit’s thoughtlessness and Effie’s jealousy had to be experienced. The plot played out in a fabulous way, and I appreciated the acknowledge of difficulties and fault at the end. (Because our kids can NEVER see enough modeling of healthy conflict resolution, especially if it’s housed in a story they’ll thoroughly enjoy in the bargain!) The other witches were a hoot–especially Aunt Ma!–and, well, the book is just fun all over. Now for my three girlies to read it so we can check out the next one!

In the meantime, I’m finding room on my library card for the some of the newest award winners, and I’m looking forward to far more than I have room for. Yay for books!

(Oh, and I’m hoping to be better this week at actually accomplishing my posting goals. The kids have been passing around a cold, we’ve had commitments, and–well, it’s been rough!)

I don’t suppose anyone’s shocked that I didn’t manage a post Monday, since it was a holiday and the kiddos were home; I’m just pleased that I managed two loads of wash and the kids (plus one) had a good time at Classic without fighting. My 15-year-old even helped me prep snowman craft/snack bags for the upper elementary school’s reading party on Tuesday afternoon, which I helped do crowd control for. Yesterday morning I went to the temple, DI, and the library before coming home to eat, exercise, and do laundry, and I did actually mean to post while my kids were all gone–at youth activities and dance–except that my oldest was home sick and wanted to watch “Woman in Gold” with me, and my chances for time to chill with her are not so frequent as they used to be. She’s going to be doing a persuasive writing project in English this semester and decided to do it on some aspect of art restitution, which is why we also watched an incredible documentary called “The Rape of Europa” together last week. (Or maybe the week before?) Both documentary and movie were excellent, and the movie celebrated the outcome of one dispute covered in the documentary, so I’m glad we did the documentary first. I’m not so passionate about the visual arts as my daughter is–literature (and, to a lesser extent, music) is what makes my heart sing–but I’m not wholly without appreciation for them all the same, and I’ve done quite a bit of reading about the Holocaust. I HIGHLY recommend both viewing experiences. (I did cry at the end of “Woman in Gold,” but is anyone really surprised?)

Anyway. I haven’t so much managed to read lately, but hopefully that will come. In the meantime, I at least managed this post–one day late–and I already have my boxes of glass recycling in the car, so I’m going on a trek today. (Construction appears to have resulted in the disappearance of my usual glass recycling drop-off bin, and I’m a little grumpy about it.) Here’s hoping for a productive Thursday!