Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

So…it’s been a bit. Last Wednesday we had a joint YW/YM activity and a brief youth leader meeting afterward; by the time I got home my “heading to bed eventually” routine sucked me in. On Friday I decided that since it’d been a crazy busy day I wouldn’t do back-to-back reviews on the 31st and 1st; on Saturday my son was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. We could only have 20 people in the building for the actual event, which was certainly a different experience, but while Covid can change a lot of things superficially, the most important things remain the same. Family members who couldn’t fit waited and celebrated with us afterward, and the church leaders appointed to represent their organizations knew and cared about my son. There was so much love to go around.

Now–if you know me at all, you know that while I know HOW to be a diligent housekeeper, my execution struggles, and so you already know that our family spent several days before the baptism cleaning and organizing (and sweating, because heat wave). I listened to Marissa Meyer’s Scarlet during much of that, finishing it on Friday with no mean sense of accomplishment. Sci-Fi and dystopian are two of my least favorite genres; I read Cinder because it was a book club pick and liked it because I love a good fairy tale retelling, especially one with such an incredibly creative premise. I borrowed Scarlet from Britt shortly afterwards, but I’ve been putting it off because a)not my thing, b)stage of life, and c)memories of its predecessor were growing decidedly faint. My oldest wanted to read the series, however, and the books’ availability on audio saved me. I listened to Cinder at double speed so that I wouldn’t be completely lost with the sequels, and when Scarlet came in I put Cress on hold so I could move right along. (Last I checked it said I still have a 5 week wait, but it doesn’t often take the full time.) On Friday night, then, I finished listening to Scarlet.

Hmmm.

It’s worth mentioning that while “Cinderella” is one of my favorite fairy tales, I can take or leave “Little Red Riding Hood.” That said, Meyer’s retelling was (again) incredibly creative, and while it took me a bit longer to get sucked into Scarlet, I did get sucked in. It’s rather darker than its predecessor, with a different level and variety of passionate intensity, but the ending was just as nail-biting (I’m making that word work here)–and almost as cruel of a cliffhanger. Having finished Scarlet, I’m glad Britt cautioned me against letting my almost-11-year-old start the series–it’s definitely shaping up to be a teen read–but I’m guessing my 13-and-a-half-year-old will be riveted.*

*By the by, I did quite enjoy the Hans Solo character.