Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Today is my Dad’s 80th birthday, which feels a little crazy. It’s also my friend Kim’s birthday, my friend-who’s-now-in-heaven Lisa’s birthday, and my friend Bethanne’s birthday. Oddly enough, I don’t have any friends who share my Mom’s birthday…

Anyway. I’ve been bad about bedtimes and am DETERMINED to be better tonight, so here’s my review without further ado. You know how Rob Buyea’s “Mr. Terupt” books make you cry? And how his “Perfect” series does, too? Well–don’t expect anything different with his new standalone, What Comes Next. In it, 12-year-old Thea is still (silently) reeling from her best friend’s death; her whole family worries about her, but it isn’t until Jack-Jack the puppy makes a purposeful entrance into her life that she begins to find her way through her grief. Thea is relatable, Jack-Jack is fabulous even if (like me) you don’t actually LIKE dogs, and their journey made me laugh out loud AND cry, which is par for the course with Buyea. My 12-year-old says she wants to read it even though her classmate’s recent death made me wonder, so we’ll see how she does; you, however, should definitely check it out.

And now, to bed! Or least, to the process of going to bed…

Okay, that was an impressively long title, but that 12-year-old a)got a date for braces TODAY and b)actually found Besties: Work It Out at the library all by her lonesome. (Not that it wasn’t inevitable–she can sniff out a graphic novel from miles away, and given that Besties is from the world of (and is co-authored by the author of) Click, well…she was going to find it.) Anyway.

My girlie actually got it from the library before Christmas, but I was too busy auditioning graphic novels for her Christmas present to get to it until now. (Because I get to read things first if I want to–because I’m Mom.) I’ll be honest–I’ve read all of Kayla Miller’s Click novels and I don’t have much memory of Beth or Chanda; Besties is separate enough, however, that it didn’t matter. It was nice to read a middle grade book focusing on a solid, not-in-any-danger friendship for a change; Beth and Chanda’s sometimes poor choices made me crazy, but the book sent a message that ought to satisfy both parents and kids. For both pet lovers and readers wanting more responsibility but still sometimes making childlike choices, this should resonate; I’m expecting my 12-year-old to love it.

And by the way, if this review feels fragmented, I wrote it with my family finishing dinner in the background. There were distractions.

That seems to be my new thing, folks, and so I think I’ll embrace it for the moment! In the meantime, we just got home from my son’s second basketball game, and I am SO proud of him. His team didn’t win–in fact, they lost 24-12–but it was 11-0 before they made any points at all, and it was a beautiful thing to see them learn and adapt and improve on the court, as they were playing. I’m also a fan of his coach, who is positive and encouraging while also getting down to business and up front about what the kids need to be told (including “you need to be listening while I’m talking”, because 4th grade boys). I am NOT a fan of 8:30 in the morning games that involve him being there at 8, but they rotate–last week was 9:30 and I think next week is 10:30, so it is what it is. It was worse this morning for two reasons–the first being that my poor hubby is sick and his level of coughing just before 5 this morning meant we were BOTH wide awake then, and the second being my recent even-poorer-than-usual bedtime choices, because I am SERIOUSLY struggling in this regard.

The best thing that can be said for last night’s post-midnight bedtime, perhaps, is that I stayed up 10 minutes or so past when I told myself I would because I was SO very close to finishing Kyle’s Little Sister, and ANY graphic novel I can pass on to my 12-year-old makes her day. (And her day could use some making, because she’s still down in the dumps over this coming week being distance learning because of Covid numbers. Not only does she hate, loathe, despise, and abominate distance learning, but it’s also the first week of the new quarter, which means brand new classes starting virtually instead of in person, INCLUDING HER DANCE CLASS.) I went ahead and finished it, of course, because I was just too close NOT to, and overall it was a solid middle grade graphic novel. The art wasn’t my favorite, trending toward manga style when I’m more of a Telgemeier/Jamieson kind of girl, but Grace’s sibling and friend struggles are relatable, and while it takes her longer than I would have liked to step up and do the right thing in one particular situation, the book deals with that in a realistic, growth-y kind of way. (Yeah, not a word, don’t care today.) Kyle’s Little Sister focuses on the kind of relationship struggles (sibling and friend) that affect middle graders everywhere, so it’s solidly worth your time. We’ll see how much my 12-year-old loves it!

One thing, as an afterthought–I did find the directed bubbles vs. non-directed speech bubbles vs. complete lack of speech bubbles a bit confusing. The last was probably thoughts, but that wasn’t clear to me at first, and as for the rest, I wasn’t always sure. Let me know how much it bothers you…

Or at least, that’s what it feels like. Doctors’ offices are slammed, pharmacies are behind, the county has issued a 30-day mask mandate (which some people are grumpy about), and while some of us are on the upswing, others seem to be teetering on the brink of getting sick (with something) again.

Blech.

On the other hand, I sent all of the kids to school today, even though my youngest may have a mild cough; she may also just be clearing her throat in response to the not-so-lovely inversion we’ve got going on, and I just couldn’t bear to keep a child who acts completely well (and may well BE completely well) home. With the house to myself, I managed exercise, laundry, dishes, laundry, a nap, laundry, the library and pharmacy, laundry–are you seeing a theme?–AND I finished a book over lunch. David Almond’s War Is Over caught my eye on a display once upon a time, and it went quickly once I actually started it (because really, 112 or so heavily illustrated pages). Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite the book I was looking for.

War Is Over is labelled historical fiction and takes place during 1918; John’s father is at war, John’s mother works in a factory (which manages to give off both a gothic and an assembly line vibe) making shrapnel shells, and John himself is bewildered by the propaganda telling him that he, too, is at war. The problem is that John, his parents, his classmates, his teacher, and all of the rest of the characters in the book aren’t characters at all; they’re personified ideas/attitudes/beliefs/philosophies. The book isn’t historical fiction, not really–it’s a fable. It feels almost like Almond wanted to create an Animal Farm around the idea of warfare and war propaganda, except that where Animal Farm is magnificently chilling in a spare, single-minded sort of way, War Is Over doesn’t–quite–work. It’s beautifully illustrated and the dream of peace and the best sort of brotherhood is solid, but the questionable accuracy of the occasional detail kept jarring me out of the book’s spell. If you set a book in 1918 and make it about the Great War, it loses the timeless quality of a fable and becomes–what? Magical realism uneasily crossed with historical fiction, perhaps? Only again, with 2-dimensional characters who reminded me of the mouse and the lion with the thorn in its paw–worthy, but having no life outside of how their behavior illustrates a truth. WWI was absolutely a pointless war, and it sowed the seeds for the international tragedy that was WWII, and yet the truth remains that it only takes one group to start a war, and some wars are actually worth fighting. Keeping our humanity and remembering that of our adversaries is essential for good to come out of them, I think, but reality is complex and Almond’s fable just doesn’t quite work for me. I think his mistake was giving it a (nominally) real setting, because it just isn’t true historical fiction; others, however, may feel differently. If you’re looking for a pacifist fable, this might be completely your jam; I’m going to move on to actual historical fiction.

Not that it’s not the 7th, but I’ve had the most miserable sore throat; it came with a heaping side of exhaustion and a congested sauce, and I haven’t had it in me to do much of anything beyond the necessities. (That being laundry, dishes, and feeding people, although I did pack away all of the nativities yesterday.) I finished Whitney Gardner’s Long Distance last night, however, and it will make my 12-year-old sick buddy’s day if I review it and hand it over. If my review is less than stellar, well–blame a still foggy brain.

Long Distance has all of Fake Blood‘s bizarre, fantastical appeal; Gardner marries realistic fiction with, umm, not realistic fiction absurdly well. Long Distance, however, seems to have less specific humor; where Fake Blood seemed to spend quality time having fun with elements of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Long Distance has a more general summer-camp-tropes-meet-campy-sci-fi vibe to it. (Either that, or I’m not familiar with its more specific references, which is actually entirely possible.) Vega’s devastation at leaving her best friend behind in her move makes her instantly sympathetic, and while I took much longer to warm up to Gemma, I found Qwerty and Isaac quickly likable. This is a solid intermediate graphic novel, with fun twists and an unexpected but fabulous outcome; I’m expecting my 12-year-old to devour it, while I found it completely worth my time as well.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I might finally find the gumption to start packing away my Christmas tree ornaments…

That’s all that’s got me doing another post today, folks. (I was going to say this morning, but it’s 12:33, so I had to abandon that plan.) I’ve been putting off my review of Lynne Kelly’s Song for a Whale for weeks, and it’s not because it wasn’t good, because it was; the only reason it didn’t win the “what book(s) can I give my 12-year-old for Christmas” contest was because it was a little too sad for a little too long. Two of my girlie’s classmates were hit by a car on Halloween weekend; the boy who was in three of her classes died early that Monday morning, and the boy in band with her broke enough bones that he hasn’t yet returned to school (although she hears he’ll be coming back after Christmas break). She just can’t handle much sad right now, you know? and Iris’s plight in Song for a Whale tugs at your heartstrings.

Iris, you see, is deaf, and the ONLY deaf person in her school, which isolates her; her deaf grandfather passed away not so long ago, and her deaf grandmother has been too lost in her own grief to help Iris with hers. When she hears in her science class about a crossbreed whale who can’t communicate with any of the whales around him, it resonates so strongly with her that she becomes determined to find a way to help him know that he’s not alone. The quest that follows is a convoluted one, and while the end of it may be on the dramatic side, it more or less works in context. Iris’s isolation is hard to read for anyone, which is why I decided ‘not this year’ for my girlie, but as a parent, I found myself infuriated with Iris’s father AND mother. If your child is deaf, a)learn to communicate WELL with her, because it matters, and b)consider her social needs from her point of view. I wanted to smack them both.

Anyway. I’m fairly certain this is my last post of 2021, so I wish you a happy and safe new year; I’m off to exercise. See you in 2022!

I finished listening to Gail Carson Levine’s The Wish today, and I have to say–my 8th grade self would have adored it. I was never one of the popular kids, and the thought of wishing to be popular and then riding high on the results would definitely have appealed. (As an adult, I find myself wanting to assign a college essay comparing and contrasting The Wish with “The Mirror Has Two Faces”–and as a parent, I recognize that just because an 8th grader dreams of kissing a doting boyfriend for an hour doesn’t mean that it’s age-appropriate behavior or at all a good idea.) Ultimately, this feels pitch perfect for that 8th grade self–Wilma experiences popularity, gets her pick of boys, and doesn’t become a jerk because of it. (Points to her for recognizing which boy is worth getting, by the way.) The Wish is accessibly rather than beautifully written, and while the brevity of the timeline doesn’t allow us to get to know most of the characters too deeply, the themes explored are meaningful and completely relevant to the age and stage of life of both those characters and the intended audience. I’m passing this along to my 7th grader with high hopes that it will help shake her out of her reading rut!

While in Idaho this week, I finished reading Martha Freeman’s Effie Starr Zook Has One More Question to my 12-year-old, and to be honest, I was mostly disappointed. The premise was amazing, you know? A city girl staying with her aunt and uncle for the summer, bumping into and then confronting long-held family secrets…what’s not to love? Unfortunately, I found all of the characters to be solidly two-dimensional; instead of being a great story, it was a series of chapters of “she did this” and then “he did that” and then “they said this”, etc. It wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t good; it was, in a word, fine. Now, if your middle grade girl likes contemporary fiction and uncomplicated storytelling, the family secrets and the themes introduced by them make for a positive message; if you’re an adult who enjoys good middle grade, however, this isn’t terribly worth your time.*

*Also, adults are likely to wonder about Mr. Yoder’s troubling beliefs and what they would actually mean for his family, not to mention the inconsistencies of his wife’s actions in relation to those beliefs. Because seriously.

I finally finished the third ‘Dragonbreath’ book on Monday, folks, and Curse of the Were-wiener was a hoot. (I was afraid of where the humor might go, but I needn’t have worried–Ursula Vernon is hilarious and unexpected without going for the bathroom humor angle.) Having been bitten by a were-wiener in the school cafeteria, Wendell needs to find and slay the alpha-wurst to avoid becoming one of his minions. He and Danny enlist the help of Danny’s rogue potato salad–potato salad and hot dogs being mortal enemies, you understand–and storm the freezer. What’s not to love? If you have an elementary school boy, or a reluctant reader who likes humor, or a sneaking fondness for bizarre humor yourself, Vernon’s ‘Dragonbreath’ books are a must.

I’m off to exercise, folks. Look for more reviews coming soon!

Since it’s now December 30th, clearly my hopes of posting in odd moments were not realized. Here, then, is a quick recap of the rest of December…

1. So much putting off of Christmas cards. I didn’t even start addressing until Christmas week, and an entire category of my list is still waiting.

2. The switching of the bedrooms has been accomplished, with all three girls now downstairs, but the house is pretty much a wreck all over.

3. Much jam was made for neighbor gifts, but still more neighbors need treats. (See #1.)

4. Christmas Eve was kind of a hard day…

5. …that eventually got better but ended well after midnight.

6. Wonder of wonders, Santa and Mommy rocked Christmas this year. The kiddos were SO happy! (Daddy was a good sport about it perhaps not being the smaller Christmas we were thinking of, because a)he helped and b)he loves to see the kiddos happy.)

7. The kids and I did actually leave for Idaho the day after Christmas, after carefully following weather reports between Salt Lake and Boise, and we were infinitely blessed to nail our “between snowstorms” window. Much family was enjoyed by all.

8. My mother’s homemade doughnuts (made from my paternal grandmother’s recipe) were also enjoyed by all; words cannot express how amazing those are.

9. After snow all day on Wednesday and more careful weather tracking, we left Idaho by 4:15 this morning and were again blessed beyond measure on our drive home. There was a slick bit and patches of fog, but we again hit the ‘between storms’ window.

10. My fabulous mother-in-law has my children now, and while my house is absolutely still a wreck, it is at least blissfully empty (and with a running dishwasher!). My hubby is working and feeling sniffly, so our anniversary celebrations will be small, but a peaceful house is never to be underestimated.

11. That’s the bulk of December, folks–the Lord sure has been good to us.