Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I finished reading Gloria Whelan’s Burying the Sun aloud to my second girlie last night, and I’m STILL blown away by how little I knew about the siege of Leningrad before this month. How could I not know the basic facts? I’ve been fascinated by WWII history for decades–how could there be such a huge gap in my knowledge? I found myself almost pitying Josef Stalin, and that’s saying something. (Not to mention that the German attitude toward the siege makes Hitler looks even worse, and I wasn’t aware THAT was even possible.)

Anyway.

For those of you who share my (until now) ignorance, the siege of Leningrad was BAD. (Google it–your heart will break for the Russians.) Gloria Whelan, however, does a solid job of writing about it for middle grade readers, and those who have read The Impossible Journey will be pleased to see Georgi get his own book. I might have balked at reading this one to my second child had I known more of the history–she doesn’t like books about war OR sad books–but she was undeniably hooked, and she laughed out loud more than once during the bits of comic relief. (The scene with Georgi and the manure particularly!) This is a piece of history that our children ought to know, especially in regard to our sometimes difficult relationship with Russia. Props to Gloria Whelan for daring to set a piece of juvenile fiction amid such tragedy.

I did miss Friday, I know, but I drove up to Clinton to see my niece compete in the last, live round of Clinton City’s “The Voice”, and she won for her age group! She was fantastic, too. And tonight, rather than review the two books I was thinking of reviewing earlier, I’ve promised to review Twins, by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright. (Because when my almost-12-year-old sees me reading a graphic novel that I’m going to pass on to her, I get no peace until I get on with the passing on.) I finished it 10 minutes ago (or so), and I have to say–I really enjoyed it. The sibling relationship felt authentic–not surprising, given Johnson is a twin himself–and the plot was the “figuring out middle school and all of its changes” kind with a twin twist. To be honest, I’m not sure you can ever have enough of those if they’re done well–kids need to be able to find a few that speak to them and help them through it, and the more there are to choose from, the better their options are. I’m expecting my second girlie to love this one, and my first girlie, while she’s older than the target audience, to still enjoy it. Off to them it goes–and off to the shower I go. Goodnight all!

Clearly I missed a couple of days.

The cool thing, though, was what I didn’t miss, so here goes! I brought the kiddos up to Clearfield by dinnertime on Friday the 2nd; my sister-in-law and her two boys arrived after dinner, and we commenced with games and more games and–after my youngest was in bed, poor lamb–Nielsen’s Frozen Custard. The next morning my youngest two children woke up cruelly early, but on the other hand, I needed to get up to make my son’s birthday breakfast regardless. After eating we got ready and headed for Clearfield’s 4th of July (on the 3rd) parade, which I would have skipped (I HATE THE SUN!!) except that two nieces and a nephew from two different families were in it, plus a brother-in-law, who plays in his city band. My husband came up before lunchtime, and then I went shopping with my older girls and a sister-in-law and then my mother-in-law took my son birthday shopping–and then there was a BBQ.

Plus birthday cake, of course. Angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream…

From there my older girls went off with a cousin to a concert and fireworks, and my hubby took my son to fireworks with family, and I stayed with my sleeping youngest and did the things I needed to do. The next morning was a little rough–my in-laws have church at 9 versus our 10:30–but we managed, and we had a nice day with family plus an early dinner and more birthday cake. (For my mother-in-law and me, this time.) We were originally planning on our whole family going home Sunday evening, but my band-brother-in-law was performing at 7:30 and another niece was in the next morning’s parade, not to mention another brother-in-law and a nephew’s barbershop group was singing at a flag ceremony before the parade started. My hubby ended up taking the littles home (they needed sleep desperately!) while I stayed another night and went to hear the barbershop group in the morning. (I let my older girls do the parade without me. Aunt fail.) That was the 5th, of course, and I was way more worried about getting people to BED than posting, not to mention that we hit Cherry Hill water park yesterday (after I picked up our library holds.) It’s been quite the weekend–busy, but family really is the best. Hence, I missed some days–and now I’m too tired for a book review. I’ll just have to catch you on Friday!

Once again, I’ve finished a nonfiction graphic novel and am perversely annoyed at that term. Does anybody out there know a better one? Because a “novel”, by definition, is fiction, and yet…

Anyway.

However frustrating it may be to classify, Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier is a fascinating read. I knew very little about the topic going in (other than Judith Resnick’s name, because she was on the Challenger and I read that Erin Entrada Kelly book relatively recently), which meant that the entire book transported me to a different time and place–which is, of course, what a good book should do. Everyone really ought to read this piece of history.

Like Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that. In other news, yesterday was an incredibly long day–it started at 4:45 am with my 2nd girlie’s first time going to one of our temples, continued for me with a funeral, and ended with an hour of water aerobics–and I haven’t yet recovered enough sleep to blog more than the facts with any coherency. Have a lovely day!

Yeah, I spaced my last post, which is what happens when you’ve been gone and you’re tired and suddenly out of the habit. On the other hand, I finished Whitney Gardner’s Fake Blood today, which makes my review choice a no brainer–and an unexpected pleasure. Now, full disclosure: I’ve had this book checked out for YEARS, because it was on the Granite Battle of the Books list in 2019. I kept not getting to it, however, until I finally decided (in the last couple of months or so) that I was going to make a concerted effort to catch up on the graphic novels languishing on my shelf. I’m not sure what made me pull Fake Blood out–maybe knowing that I’ve had it forever?–but I’m seriously glad I did.

So…if you took Northanger Abbey, and you made it a contemporary graphic novel spoofing vampire stories of the last 35 years, and then you crossed it with Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl”, I feel like you might a)think I’m a little nuts for suggesting it but b)get a decent sense of Gardner’s graphic novel. This book is HILARIOUS, people. As someone who worked at Borders (may it rest in peace) during the Twilight craze and who’s seen at least an episode or two of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”, this spoof/adventure/school story/all of the above cracked me up. I hate to spoil any of the plot for you, but I suppose it’s safe to say that AJ wants to impress Nia, who’s super into vampires, and…complications ensue. Middle graders should enjoy this, but my generation ought to enjoy it as much or more; do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy this week.

It’s totally worth it.

I got way more sleep at Girls’ Camp as a young woman than I do as a leader, but I need it more now–which is why, even though we got back on Wednesday, I’m just now coming back online. It went well and I’m very glad I went, but oh, the tired!

Anyway.

Tonight I finished reading Audrey Couloumbis’ Lexie aloud to my tween, and she and I both quite liked it. It’s not a book with heroes or villains or mysteries, but rather a quiet slice of family life, sensitively presented. Lexie is headed to the shore for time with her dad, but when they arrive, he drops a bomb in her lap; enter Vicky (his “friend”) and her two sons, Ben and Harris. (The latter prefers ‘Mack’. As in the truck.) What follows is, of course, quite a different shore experience than Lexie is expecting. There are adjustments, there is frustration, there are unexpected moments of joy–and, ultimately, there is open communication. This isn’t a read for kids who love adventure stories, but it’s an excellent option for members of blended (or looking at blending) families. Couloumbis (yes, that’s really how you spell her last name) excels at emotional insight, which is likely why her Getting Near to Baby is a Newbery Honor book; she’s an author well worth your time.

Oh, my goodness. Between a trip to Idaho, a wedding, appointments all over the place, and getting ready for Girls Camp, that was a longer break than I’d intended; I might still be on break, honestly, except that I want to send Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society to Idaho with the contingent that’s leaving today. I was lucky enough to win an ARC of it from St. Martin’s Publishing Group, and having thoroughly enjoyed it, I’m sending it along to my sister so that she can do so as well.

Jenner’s novel involves an unlikely group of Jane Austen fans in postwar England; all of them have dealt (or are dealing) with loss, and Austen’s novels have proven therapeutic for each of them. There is true pathos here–England’s suffering during both world wars as well as the sometimes hardness of life–and yet it’s a hopeful novel, with a satisfying ending and sly representatives of key Austen characters. (I struggled a bit with Mimi’s attraction to Jack, but that’s not to say it was unrealistic, and that plot line may be the slyest representation of them all.) Fans of Austen will be delighted, but this is a solid story in its own right, and anyone who enjoys historical fiction ought to pick it up. I’m looking forward to more Jenner novels to come!

I finished The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook tonight and just realized that while it sounds like a series–it seems like it ought to be a series–it’s NOT a series. Not even a trilogy or duology, folks. It’s ONE book.

That’s a wicked bummer.

Still, though, if you have kids who enjoy science, gadgets, and/or graphic novels, this tale of an inventing trio should be right up their alley. I got a kick out of it myself, even though the quantity of things to look at on some of the pages was occasionally overwhelming. Eleanor Davis even weaves in a theme of self-esteem and self-acceptance, giving it a bit more depth than it might have had. If your kiddos have graduated from the “Lunch Lady” books and are looking for something up a reading level or two, check this one out.

In other news, I’m taking a week or so off for some family time, so you don’t have to worry that I’m spacing again. See you in the June-teens!

It’s not that Rita Williams-Garcia’s P.S. Be Eleven is a meh book, because it’s not; it’s just that I can’t decide how I feel about it. On the one hand, it’s a compelling story that brings its time period alive, and what’s not to love about that? On the other hand, it’s a hard story, and Delphine’s correspondence with her mother didn’t–quite–work for me. Cecile has been a terrible mother, truly, and even knowing her backstory can’t change that. Her choice of writing style in her letters seemed to me at first to be utterly pretentious, and I only made my peace with it by thinking of her as a sort of autistic savant. Whether she is that or is meant only to be a product of her difficult early years I don’t know, but this mother has trouble accepting motherly wisdom and insight from someone who has chosen not to mother her children and then speaks disparagingly of the woman who has. (Not that Big Ma is perfect, by any means, but she showed up and mothered.) As for the rest of the book–there is beauty, but it’s a hard beauty. Hard things happen to Delphine and her sisters, and while their father’s decisions do work in historical context, the parent in me wanted to smack him more than once. My favorite development was the subtle changes in the sisters’ relationship, which are worth experiencing.

Basically, at the end of the day, it’s a good book; I’m going to put its sequel on hold after finishing this review. It’s not, however, a lighthearted read–or a perfect one.

Do with that what you will.

Tonight I read Kathi Appelt’s Down Cut Shin Creek: The Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky to my 11-year-old, and it was rather nice to have a read-aloud that the two of us could manage in one night. (By the way, it appears to be co-authored by one Jeanne Canella Schmitzer.) It was briefly fascinating, with a solid collection of period photographs, and the topic is one that deserves to be more widely known. I did think its organization was a little iffy–the “typical day” narrative, while a definite asset to the book, blended imperfectly with the fully nonfiction portion–but at under 60 pages, it’s accessible nonfiction for later elementary school, and that matters. Let me know what you and your kiddos think!