Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I have yet to read a Dusti Bowling book I didn’t love, although The Canyon’s Edge was emotionally wrenching. I finished her newest–Across the Desert–yesterday, and while I suppose it, too, is somewhat emotionally wrenching, it’s also triumphant in a very gritty sort of way. Jolene’s quest to find the online friend that crashed her Ultralight (a gas-powered glider) in the desert is scary and painful and full of obstacles; her quest for help in her own life is no different. On the other hand, she finds her way through both of them against considerable odds, making some amazing ally-friends along the way. Readers are going to cheer for Jolene even when they’re hurting for her, and by the end there will be relief and tears and all the feels for everyone. You AND your middle graders should definitely read this one!

In the meantime, we’re having a calm Saturday instead of last week’s insane one, and that’s a very good thing. It’s ALSO a rainy one, and for that we are truly, humbly grateful. God bless the firefighters in the west with rain as well!