Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I’m not sure whether it was the sun at Bear Lake or sleeping poorly that week, but I have had the hardest time waking up in the morning ever since we got back. (Of course, I could–as always–stand to go to bed earlier.) Here I am, however, finally awake, mostly alert, and ready to review All Summer Long, so that my 12-year-old doesn’t DIE waiting for it. (In my defense, she’s already read it about a million times, but never in COLOR. As in, she read it in black and white, and the library copy we currently have is in black, white, and yellow-orange.) The house is quiet, since that 12-year-old has yet to come upstairs and I sent the littles out to skate and scoot while the temperature is still bearable. (And by bearable, I mean it’s 82 degrees outside, and while 82 in the shade is actually pleasant without humidity, it’s 9:18 in the morning. Ugh.)

So–All Summer Long. Which has been on my list for years now, because it keeps showing up on lists of notable graphic novels and whatnot. Having read it, I can see why it’s on those lists–it does a gentle job of highlighting the changes that come with friendships (especially boy-girl friendships) as we start growing up. We also see Bina dealing with new friendship developments and a family addition while her passion for music becomes more of a force in her life. I confess, the art is not my favorite, but the story is solid and Bina is thoroughly likable; I’m looking forward to the second Eagle Rock graphic novel. In the meantime, how to keep my 12-year-old from reading this on repeat all week long? I promised her older sister that I’d keep it until she gets home from FSY and has the chance to read it herself, which means I can’t just summarily return it to the library.

Ideas?