fiction · middle grade

Book Review: Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata

Stephanie1 Comment

Sometimes you learn about the existence of a book and everything about it just clicks for you. Main character is a tween adopted as an older child from overseas? Whoa. He’s struggling badly to connect to his new family? Holy cow, never seen that done in middle grade before. His parents are adopting another child and the majority of the story is set in Kazakhstan? Whaaaaaaat??? Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014) went onto my TBR immediately, and I was thrilled to finally be able to pick up a copy at the library in the next town over. What an incredible and sad book.

Jaden is twelve, adopted from Romania at the age of 8 (although his parents thought he was much younger, since he was so very small when they brought him home). He’s struggling badly: struggling to connect to his parents, struggling to feel anything other than rage at having lost the only home he’d ever known (the comforts of this home now don’t matter; that kind of loss is still trauma), struggling to control his behavior: hoarding food, lighting fires, shutting down. He’s receiving help for all of this, but none of it is easy and Jaden knows exactly how difficult it is on his parents. That’s why they’re adopting a baby: because they’re tired of him and want a kid who doesn’t do all these things.

The whole family is traveling to Kazakhstan for this new adoption, but once they’re there, things don’t go anywhere as smoothly as they’d hoped. The baby they thought they’d be adopting has already gone home with other parents. Jaden’s folks are devastated and while they begin to consider the other babies at the orphanage, Jaden meets a toddler, Dimash, likely with special needs, with whom he bonds – and for the first time, he’s able to feel a connection with someone. Dimash is about to age out of the baby orphanage, and Jaden knows exactly the kind of life that’s in store for him when he does. Can he convince his parents that having Dimash as his brother, a boy he already feels protective of, is what will truly bond them all together as a family?

This is one of the saddest middle grade books I’ve ever read. Jaden is a tough case, but the thing is, none of his behaviors are abnormal for a kid who’s been through what he has, and that’s what’s so heartbreaking about it. Nothing in his formative years was terribly stable; he lived in terrible conditions until he was eight, when he was pulled away from the only place he’d ever known and thrown into a new country, with a language he didn’t understand, in a family he couldn’t quite get the hang of interacting with. How long until all of this fell apart and he’d be thrown into the next situation? All of what he’d been through, including having been given up by his mother (whom he couldn’t quite fully remember), was traumatizing, and Jaden is absolutely suffering in this book.

His parents are well-meaning but often get things incredibly wrong. Dad is way more distant than he should be; Mom already seems exhausted (and they’re adding a baby into this mix!); together, they make some really bad decisions, like leaving Jaden alone in the apartment while they run off to the market in Kazakhstan – he’s twelve, but emotionally, he’s a LOT younger. And of course, predictably, he leaves the apartment under the guise of finding them…and gets lost. Bad move, Mom and Dad.

Jaden’s connection with Dimash was really well written and incredibly sweet to read. For the first time in his life, he’s able to see something outside of himself and his own pain, and this is a major breakthrough. The scenes where the two of them were interacting were so sweet, maybe a little bittersweet, a little like the sun breaking through storm clouds.

This is a heavy book for middle grade, and younger kids may struggle to comprehend the depth of Jaden’s trauma-induced anger and his more difficult behaviors, like starting fires. They might not fully understand why he often still sleeps on the floor like he did in the Romanian orphanage, when he has a perfectly good bed in his American room. This would make for a good parent-child read-together or book club selection; if your kiddo is reading it alone, be available to answer questions and have some discussions about what trauma is and how it can manifest.

Beautiful, heartbreaking book, one that will stick with me.

Visit Cynthia Kadohata’s website here.

fiction · YA

Book Review: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

Stephanie3 Comments

Central Auditory Processing Disorder. I learned about this disorder years ago, when my son’s friend from school had this diagnosis. He was a really cool kid and just needed a little extra help to be successful, and so when I learned about Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace (Swoon Reads, 2019), in which the main character deals with CAPD, I was interested. What would a YA book that includes this disorder be like?

Edie Kits has dealt with Central Auditory Processing Disorder her whole life. What people say isn’t always what she hears, so things can get confusing, and it absolutely impacts her learning. Nevertheless, Edie has persisted and she’s doing well in college, studying to work in the fashion industry. She’s even planning to study abroad this upcoming summer…but French 102 is proving to be a problem. Not only that, but her professor is completely unwilling to accommodate her disability.

Enter Wes Hudson, the adorable-yet-frumpily-dressed TA. After a few awkward foibles over Edie’s disability in the beginning (hey, everyone needs to learn!), he’s her biggest cheerleader, helping her run interference when necessary with the grumpy professor and becoming her French tutor. Edie’s falling for him hard, but what about Paris? She’ll be gone until next spring; she can’t let a boyfriend get in the way. Better to start pushing Hudson away now…

This was cute, but just kind of okay for me. It’s one of those books where, I felt, the problem could have been solved if the two main characters could have just sat down and talked honestly about their problems (and it’s one thing if, say, some trauma from the past makes it difficult to open up. This wasn’t the case here). If Edie had just said, “Look, a relationship with you would be great, but I’m going to be gone from June until next April. I don’t know how we would handle that; what are your feelings on long-distance relationships? It wouldn’t be forever, but it would definitely be tough,” the book would’ve been about half its actual length. I found myself getting annoyed with her and Hudson because the possibility of a long-distance relationship never seemed to occur to either of them.

Including CAPD in the book definitely added an interesting aspect to the story; Edie’s struggles and frustration with her French professor made her problems incredibly real (the professor and Edie’s jackwagon counselor really ticked me off; I’m not sure some of their actions were actually legal, and Edie definitely could have pushed harder to receive the accommodations she needed – easier said than done, I’m very aware of that. Sigh). I did go into this expecting it would be a bigger issue throughout the story, that it would affect her friendships more and she would struggle more in daily life and not just in school, but Edie seemed to have an easier time of it with friends – possibly the one-on-one or smaller groups aspect helped?

This was okay for me. Not mind-blowing, but mostly enjoyable.

Visit Melinda Grace’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

nonfiction

Book Review: Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal

Stephanie1 Comment

I’ve been doing my volunteer work for over a year now, compiling lists of resources to help people who are leaving or have left high-control religious groups (cults, for sure, but also the kind of churches that aren’t necessarily regarded as cults but which take over their members’ entire lives). It’s deeply fulfilling work, and it makes me happy to know that I’m helping people build stronger, more meaningful lives. There are so many people out there who need this kind of support, and this is obvious in books like Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, edited by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal (Epiphany Publishing, 2019). This has been on my list since it came out, but the pandemic stopped me from visiting the nearby library where it was located. The pandemic isn’t over, unfortunately, but I’ve been able to check books out from that library lately, and I’m thrilled! (Also, I learned that Chrissy Stroop and I have a mutual friend, which makes me feel cool by association – the only kind of cool I’ve ever been, hehehe.)

This is a collection of essays by various authors who have left different forms of Christianity. Some have left more cult-like groups (like the IFB); others have left what are regarded as more mainstream churches, evangelical or otherwise. What all have in common is an awakening, be it sudden or gradual, that this was not a good fit for them, for various reasons. Some left immediately afterwards; others tried hard to cram themselves into a box where they would never fit. All made their way out in a painful process that, for many, takes a lifetime to recover from.

I love essay collections, and this was a great read on a difficult and emotional subject. I was pleased to recognize many of the authors – some from Twitter, others because I’ve read their writing elsewhere. The authors are all in various stages of exit: some are still freshly out, while others have been out for years. Their pain and sadness are all similar, however; it’s hard to leave such all-encompassing belief systems, and it shows in these essays.

Empty the Pews is thought-provoking. Not quite a condemnation of Christianity, but it points out where it hurts its members, where it’s doing more to chase people out than fill the pews, and the pain it causes, which can ripple down through the generations. Ms. Stroop and Ms. O’Neal have collected and edited a wonderful collection of essays that doesn’t hold back in illustrating the pain its authors have gone through, and this book should be an eye-opener for those who haven’t had the experiences of their religion pinning a target on their back solely for who they are.

Wonderful collection, and I’m glad I finally got to read it.

Visit Chrissy Stroop’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

Follow Lauren O’Neal on Twitter here.

Visit the website for Empty the Pews here.

book review · memoir · nonfiction

Book Review: Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali

Stephanie1 Comment

I’ve followed Wajahat Ali on Twitter for years. His astute political commentary, sense of humor, and love for his children (especially his daughter Nusayba, who fought stage-4 liver cancer and won with the help of a new liver – which was found because Dad tweeted about it! Bless that man who gave her part of his, when he didn’t have to) made him an easy and enjoyable follow. So when I learned he was coming out with a book, I added Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American (WW Norton Company, 2022) to my TBR. And this week, it was finally in.

The son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, Wajahat Ali has led an interesting life, much of which I knew nothing about. This part-memoir, part-humor writing, part-textbook on Islam in America and the immigrant and second-generation experience, introduces the reader to a world they may not understand much about. With a large extended family and frequently gossipy community, Wajahat Ali may not have always felt accepted by white America, but he kept his nose down, worked hard, and tried his best. Life fell apart, however, when his parents got caught up in some shady business deals, were arrested, and were sentenced to prison.

Instead of getting started with his adult life and heading straight to law school after college like he’d planned, Wajahat picked up his parents’ mess, attempted to take over the business (while trying to finish up school as well!), and did what he could to support his parents and try to garner more support from the outside community. The stress nearly devoured him whole; he survived, finished law school, became a playwright, a writer, and a lawyer, and became a man who, if only on the outside (anxiety and OCD solidarity, Mr. Ali!), handles himself and the challenges he faces with courage, grace, and a wicked sense of humor.

Wajahat Ali’s writing style will pull you in. When terms come up that a non-Muslim may not be familiar with, he’ll define them, but he’ll do so in a way that keeps the conversation going. Never once does he talk down to his audience, even when he knows far more about the subject than we do. He wants to engage us, to involve us in his story so that we understand the full Muslim-in-America story: what it’s like, how it feels, how white non-Muslims have affected his life (positively and negatively). How white people have ignored people like him, until they can blame him for something that someone who may have looked like him or shared his religion did – something we don’t do to white people. (As I write this on July 4th, police are frantically searching for the gunman of the Highland Park parade, which is only about 45 minutes away from me. Ten bucks said that guy had a Christmas tree in his house when he was young, and I’ll bet all my savings that we’re not going to hold all Christians or Christianity responsible for his behavior. And we shouldn’t. And the same courtesy should be extended to our Muslim brothers and sisters.)

What I’m trying to say is that this will make you think deeply about how you think of Muslims – the ones in your community, the ones you see on television, the ones in your family or friend group, if you’re lucky enough to have them. How are they portrayed in the media? Are there any ways you think about them differently than you’d think anyone else? Can you do better? (The answer here is yes. Always yes. We – and this includes me – can always do better.) This book is a great start, and it’s a great read.

I’m glad this made its way to my list, and I look forward to hearing more in the future from Wajahat Ali. I’m glad I got to enjoy his writing in longer form.

Visit Wajahat Ali’s website here.

Follow him on Twitter here.

memoir · nonfiction · true crime

Book Review: Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes

Stephanie1 Comment

My long-time online parenting group (been with them twenty years now!) has a book group, and of course I’m one of the admins. Every Wednesday, we chat about what we’re currently reading, and a few months ago, someone mentioned that they were reading Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes (Celadon Books, 2022). My brain immediately perked up, and off I trotted to my library’s website. Sure enough, they had it, and just as I expected, it was checked out…and likely would be for a good long time. ‘No worries,’ I thought. ‘I have plenty of other books to read in the meantime.’ But on this last library trip, Unmasked was on the new books shelf. YOINK!

Paul Holes worked for various offices in Contra Costa County, California, solving both active and cold cases, some of them well-known. Jaycee Dugard was discovered on his watch; his work with DNA helped to finally identify the Golden State Killer after decades. He was good at his job, and having served in that role for twenty-seven years before retiring, he’s seen some terrible, awful things. And he’s here in this memoir to tell you all about them.

For the sensitive reader, there are a few stomach-turning moments where the descriptions get a little graphic, but for the most part, Mr. Holes keeps that part calm. It’s more the details of what happened that are tough to read. Children and young women, mainly, ripped from their families, often times without a trace. Horrible suffering for both the victim and their families and loved ones. Paul Holes was privy to all of it over his career, and the horrors took their toll on him as well. This brutally honest memoir shows not just the brutality of crime but what it costs those tasked with solving them.

What struck me most about this book was its honesty. Paul Holes pulls no punches when it comes to what a shitty father and husband he’s been, in large part because of the demands of his work (and this goes for both the PTSD it caused him and how his brain is naturally wired to get obsessive about his cases). He drank too much, he spent far too much time at work, he had a hard time letting go of work once he did return home. The crimes he worked also destroyed his first marriage and deeply damaged his second as well; they weren’t the sole cause, and maybe he would’ve been just as crummy of a husband and father if he’d been a dentist or accountant, but the horrors he dealt with every day at work definitely didn’t help. His honesty at just how awful he was, however, is refreshing.

This is a grisly peek into what goes on behind the scenes of all those true crime podcasts and documentaries that so many of us binge-watch. It’s more than DNA swabs and footprint casts; it’s maggots and rot and murders continuing to ruin families because there’s not enough usable evidence. It’s horror on every side, but if true crime is something that intrigues you, you’ll do yourself a favor by delving more into this behind-the-scenes story.

Follow Paul Holes on Twitter here.

fiction · middle grade

Book Review: The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandon

Stephanie1 Comment

So I was wandering through the library with my daughter last week when she took off to go hunt for Digger, the construction-equipment stuffie that the library stashes in various places in the children’s department. If you spot Digger, you get a sticker, so my daughter’s all in on the search. (They use Digger because our new library building is currently under construction; the computer screensavers play videos of the construction updates, it’s actually really cool.) I went around front to peek at the new children’s and middle grade books, and among all the awesomeness, I found The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandon (Charlesbridge, 2022). Intrigued by the title, I opened the cover to read the inside flap, and within a few words, I was in.

Rory, a brand-new sixth grader heading to middle school, still struggles to say his r’s, a daunting sound for new speakers that usually fully resolves around second or third grade, but for some kids, it’s a little tougher. And being named Rory? Ouch. To make matters worse, his former best friend Brent has ditched him for the cool wrestling group, and he’s gone a step further, making fun of Rory right along with them. Rory’s got a stable and supportive friend group of his own, but losing Brent and being subjected to constant teasing because of his speech impediment? It hurts. A lot.

His new speech therapist, Mr. Simms, has some unorthodox ideas of what speech should look like, and from him, Rory picks up an appreciation for the life and struggles of Muhammad Ali. After a disastrous parentally-enforced get-together with Brent and some other old friends, Rory, along with his fellow students, is shocked when Brent is involved in a terrible accident that leaves him with a traumatic brain injury. Unable to reconcile this new, damaged Brent with the one who had hurt him so badly, Rory can’t quite muster sympathy. As his r’s continue to improve, Rory’s emotions remain in a tangle, and they only get more complex as Brent returns to school and becomes Rory’s partner for the big English project.

My recap absolutely does not do this book justice. First off, a book about a middle grader struggling with speech? I. Was. In. I’d never read a book about a kid in speech before, and my heart soared at this wonderful representation. While I never needed help with speech, I know how very common it is, and how much kids need to see themselves in fiction, and I can’t help but absolutely thrill at how many kids are going to see this book and feel a little less alone. Middle school, bullies…a traumatic brain injury and all the complications and messiness that entails? My goodness. This book packs a LOT into its 240 pages, and it does so masterfully.

Rory is so very real. He gets angry, he’s resentful, he shows how very hurt he was by his former best friend’s betrayal in so many realistic ways. His friends’ and fellow students’ reactions to Brent’s post-injury behavior is portrayed incredibly well. Some are sad; some are scared; some seem to use mockery and insults as a means of masking their fear (because if this could happen to Brent, it could easily happen to them as well, and middle school is about the age where this really begins to hit home…just in time for the teenage brain to take over and go, “Nah, it won’t happen to me!”). The teachers turning a blind eye to some of the less-than-acceptable behavior from Brent’s friend group is, unfortunately, all too real. Mr. Simms? Hands down one of the best adult characters I’ve read in a middle-grade novel. If only more teachers had that kind of magic!

The Way I Say It is an absolute gift to middle-grade writing. If your child struggles with speech or has in the past, they’ll see themselves in Rory and hopefully pick up some of Mr. Simms’s lessons along the way. And if your child knows someone who has experienced a traumatic brain injury, watching Brent’s struggles might be a gentle introduction as to what TBI recovery might look like, and how they might feel as they support the injured friend. I’m so very, very glad I came across this book on the new books shelf, because it was an utter delight to lose myself in.

Visit Nancy Tandon’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

fiction · graphic novel

Book Review: White Bird by R.J. Palacio

StephanieLeave a comment

At some point, I learned about the existence of White Bird by R.J. Palacio (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2019) and looked for it at the library, but it never seemed to be in, and since I never formally added the book to my TBR, I kind of forgot about it. But my daughter has discovered a love for graphic novels, and on our last trip to the library, I finally found that elusive copy of White Bird. Into my bag it went.

It’s been quite a few years since I read Ms. Palacio’s Wonder, so I didn’t quite remember Julian, Auggie’s bully, but he’s back in White Bird, interviewing his grandmother Sara, who survived the Holocaust thanks to the kindness of a local family. (The story stands alone, so reading Wonder beforehand isn’t necessary.) Julien is the boy who sits next to Sara at school. He’s survived polio and uses crutches, making him a target of many of the other students, but Sara’s never really spoken to him. The day that the Nazis come to take away the Jewish students, Julien helps Sara to hide, then takes her to his home, where her parents stash her in the barn.

As the war rages on, the two children grow, mature, and establish a firm friendship, and Sara comes to understand her prior selfishness and immaturity. But there are few Holocaust stories without loss, and through Sara’s story of survival, her grandson Julian learns what true friendship is, and how we can’t change the past, but we can move on as better people.

A beautifully drawn graphic novel, White Bird would make for a gentle introduction to an emotionally charged subject. The Holocaust and all its devastation and atrocities isn’t easy to introduce to children, but it’s a vital part of history that needs to be taught. Parents, you wouldn’t be remiss in checking this out of the library and just leaving it around the house. Odds are your kids will spot it and dive in. There’s nothing graphic or too overtly scary, but there are mentions of death; I’d put this as okay for mature fourth grade and up. Be prepared to have some discussions with your kids about the book afterwards; they’ll likely have a lot of big feelings when they turn the last page.

This is a fast read, but the story, though fiction, will stay with you. The drawings are simple, allowing Sara and Julien’s story to take center stage, and placing the reader in its various settings: running from the Nazis at school, hiding in a bale of hay in a barn, struggling to keep terror and an overwhelming sense of loss at bay. I’m glad I finally came across a copy on my library’s shelves, and I’m glad that it’s such a popular choice that I did struggle to find it. White Bird shouldn’t be missed. Especially not now that it’s being released in movie format on October 14, 2022.

Visit R.J. Palacio’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

books about books · nonfiction

Book Review: Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction by Linda Maxie

StephanieLeave a comment

Books about books. Truly one of the best genres out there, right? We all love books, and so a book about books is just about as good as it gets. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know I veer heavily towards nonfiction (and depressing nonfiction, at that!). There are many reasons for this, but a big one is that I just love learning, and so when Linda Maxie reached out to me to offer up her book, Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction (Spoon Creek Press, 2022), for review, I absolutely leapt at the chance. A book all about nonfiction? COUNT. ME. IN.

In this wonderful book set up exactly like a library, Linda Maxie takes the nonfiction lover on a stroll through the shelves, organized Dewey Decimal System-style (and not without a discussion about the pros and cons of said system, and the cons of its creator – major high five to Ms. Maxie for bringing that up! It’s something I learned of only in the past year or so, so I’m pleased that it’s getting more attention), with suggestions for each category, ranging from 001 (Knowledge) to 996 (Polynesia and Pacific Ocean Islands). In between is the whole library and a world of reading possibilities.

Each book suggestion has a few lines of description, enough to either intrigue the potential reader or let them know this book isn’t for them. The introduction encourages the reader to take notes in the wide margins (AND I DID!!!), make lists, and gain a better understanding of how the library works and what kind of books are available in each category. If you’re not a huge wanderer of the shelves, this would be a fabulous introduction to what you’ve been missing.

I had so much fun going through this book. I made lists of the books I wanted to read (it’s, uh, a LOT), and I kept track of the books mentioned that I had already read (fifty-one, baby!). I tend to read mostly from my TBR, so this was a great reintroduction to what belongs where on the library shelves and what I’ve been missing out on by sticking to specific sections. Ms. Maxie’s suggestions, compiled from lists of award winners and nominees and other best-of type-lists, tend toward more recently published books (though there are some older ones whose information and/or subjects are still relevant), which I very much appreciated; it’s a bummer to find a nonfiction book that sounds fascinating but whose publication date makes you realize everything between the covers will be out-of-date. Not a problem at all with this book!

If you love books about books but have always wished the authors would include more nonfiction on those lists, you will absolutely love Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction by Linda Maxie. And if you’ve got a nonfiction lover in your life, pick a copy up for them, because this would make a great gift!

Thanks to Linda Maxie for the opportunity to read and review this book. I truly enjoyed it!

Visit Linda Maxie’s website here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

Mini reviews

A whole bunch of mini-reviews!

StephanieLeave a comment

Okay, so somehow, in all my binge reading to escape from reality, I managed to get a little bit behind on my reviews! Happens to the best of us; sometimes life just gets in the way. So here I am with a little catch-up post to get me back on track. Welcome to Stephanie’s mini-reviews!

How to Find What You’re Not Looking For

by

Veera Hiranandani

Lovely late middle-grade-to-early-YA historical (could really go either way; at my library, it’s shelved in the YA section) set in 1967, narrated by the younger daughter of a Jewish family living in the New York suburbs. Ariel struggles in school and likely has some undiagnosed learning disabilities (a key point in the plot), but her beloved older sister Leah is her rock, helping her with homework and understanding the changing world around her. But when Leah’s relationship with Raj, a Hindu student, causes their parents to lose it, Ariel finds herself without her sister in her life, possibly for good.

Well-written historical that brings in so many of the elements that made the sixties such a fascinating time in history, and the blending of Jewish and Indian cultures makes for a really lovely read.

How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America

by

Priya Fielding-Singh

Phew. Sociologist and ethnographer Fielding-Singh followed American families, some of them closely and for an extended period of time, in order to better observe what they ate, and why. What she learned went against the grain of what we’ve all learned about diets in America (food deserts aren’t as much of a problem as we suspected, for one, and poor parents often give in to buying junk food for their kids because it’s one of the few circumstances they CAN say yes to). Black families, white families, poor families, middle class, upper class, they’re all represented here, and the differences and similarities are intriguing. Super good book.

A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice and Freedom

by

Brittany K. Barnett

WHOA, this is a great book!!! Ms. Barnett is a lawyer who started out in business, but who became involved in pro-bono work for Black people steamrolled by the war on drugs. Fighting to lessen unjust sentences and free people from lengthy prison sentences for crimes that they weren’t actually involved in became her heartsong, and this memoir exposes the absolutely filthy outcome of the American war on drugs: lives ruined, families torn apart, and lifetimes of human potential thrown out like trash. Brittany K. Barnett is a modern-day hero, and you shouldn’t miss this book. Her hard work and determination are inspiring, but the fact that she has to work so damn hard to right such hideous injustice that doesn’t have to exist is enraging. A remarkable book by a remarkable woman.

Parenting with Love and Logic

by

Foster W. Cline and Jim Fay

As recommended by my daughter’s counselor. A thoughtful book on parenting techniques that make kids responsible for their own behavior and the consequences that stem forth from it. I’m already seeing results and wish I would’ve picked this up years ago. Highly recommended if you’ve got a kid that likes to fight you over every. little. thing. like I do.

Illegal

by

Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

Stunning graphic novel depicting the story of a young boy from Niger who leaves his village to search for his sister, who left quite a while ago, and his brother, who took off in search for her. His travels find him homeless, hungry, running from danger, and in terrible situations with bad people in the desert. Its ending is similar to many of the stories we’ve seen on the news; don’t turn away from this fictionalized account of real-life trauma suffered by so many.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History

by

Michael Miller

Read as part of my personal Read Harder challenge. Interesting overview of the history of music. Mostly focused on Western music, but there is a little in there on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (whew, their rhythms are complicated for this lazy western brain!). Not the most interesting book I’ve ever read, but I enjoyed learning about the various movements in classical music history, especially.

The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12

by

Linda Dobson

Out of date, and by that, I mean it’s straight up like, “Ooh, did you know that if you have a computer, you can get access to a LOT of information via the internet??? There’s this one site called Google…” I had this on my shelf from the days of homeschooling my son and read through it a bit at a time to get some fresh ideas for my daughter this year, and I did walk away with some. Pretty sure there are newer homeschooling books out there that may be a little more fresh in terms of content.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

by

Richard Rothstein

This was never going to get a full review from me, because (and I have zero problems admitting this) I’m not smart enough. This is really an incredible book that shows many of the ways the United States screwed Black and brown folks out of real estate ownership and thus out of generational wealth. It didn’t have to be the on-paper, passed-by-Congress law in order for it to work exactly as if it were, and the effects were exactly the same – and it’s still going on today. This is a damning book and should make every American shake their heads in disgust and fight for a better, more just world. This is also a really tough read; it’s highly academic, and I wound up cutting it down to fifty pages a day because it was a little tough for me to follow otherwise. It’ll give your brain a workout, as well as make you furious.

Guts

by

Raina Telgemeier

I grabbed my daughter’s copy of this this past week. Raina’s graphic memoirs are a huge hit with the younger crowd, and it’s so easy to see why. Guts tells the story of her middle school anxiety, what it looked and felt like, and how she, with the help of her parents and counselor, dealt with it. This is a great read for all kids, not just those suffering from anxiety. It’s important for everyone to understand how common anxiety is, what it looks like, and what to do when someone you know or love is dealing with it.

The Complete Maus

by

Art Spiegelman

My husband ordered a copy of this back when places in Tennessee were trying to get it banned because they’re giant morons. Maus tells the story of Mr. Spiegelman’s father, a Holocaust survivor, depicting the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats. The story flips back and forth between Art interviewing his father and in Europe both before and during the war. This is a quick read, but it’s heavy, and there’s nothing bannable about it.

The Weight of Ink

by

Rachel Kadish

This was a cool one! Historical fiction interspersed with modern-day. Documents from the 1660’s have been discovered in a house in England, and an unlikely research team has shown up to begin translating the documents, which came from a rabbi of some historical renown. But the story goes much deeper than that, involving love, intrigue, hidden studies and forbidden learning, Jewish culture after the Inquisition and expulsion from Spain, and the Plague. I read this one at the suggestion of my Jewish women’s book group, and while it’s outside my normal reading boundaries, I really enjoyed this one. If you like historical fiction in general, this is probably right up your alley.

And that’s it! I generally dislike doing these mass mini-review posts; books deserve their own posts, but I’m just one person and I only have so many hours in the day. Hopefully you don’t mind too much, and maybe you’ve even found something of interest here. : )

Monthly roundup

Monthly Roundup: June 2022

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Here we are in July, and everything is a dystopian hellscape! Who else is coping by reading copious amounts of books? *waves hand*

So things are bad right now, in a lot of different places, for a lot of different reasons. I don’t have any answers about how to get us out of this mess; all I can do is keep speaking out when I can, and keep doing things that help me get through each day. And that involves a lot of walking (I had a six-mile day a few days ago) and a lot of reading. It says something when dissociation is one of the top ways of getting through life, right?

I don’t know, friends. It’s tough, and odds are you’re struggling with *gestures broadly at everything* as well right now. I hope you’re all finding ways to take care of yourself throughout all of this. It’s so important.

I’ve been pretty bad at reviewing books lately; I’m a little behind, and some of what I’ve read hasn’t necessarily been review-worthy, so there won’t be a lot of links in my monthly book list. That’s why! I’m going to do a big catch-up post in a few days. Homeschool planning has been taking up a LOT of my writing time.

That’s all I’ve got there, so let’s get this recap started, shall we?

Books I Read in June 2022

1. The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland

2. How to Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani

3. Blubber by Judy Blume

4. How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality by Priya Fielding-Singh

5. A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom by Brittany K. Barnett

6. Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster W. Cline and Jim Fay

7. The Book of Elsie by Joanne Levy (full review to come)

8. Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

9. Since Sinai by Shannon Gonyou

10. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History by Michael Miller

11. The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3-12 by Linda Dobson

12. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

13. Guts by Raina Telgemeier

14. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

15. The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

16. Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction by Linda Maxie (full review to come)

17. Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion’s Sins by Alyssa Hardy (full review to come)

18. White Bird by R.J. Palacio

Yup, way, WAY behind (feels like I’m behind in just about everything these days, though, so this is par for the course!). Definitely some good reading in there though, this month, and I’m happy with the numbers.

Only six of these books came from my TBR! Sometimes it’s nice to read outside the list. ; )

State of the Goodreads TBR

Last month, we left off at 146; this month, we’re hanging out at a comfortable 148. I removed two from there; one was a DNF,  and another, I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle reading anytime soon.

I really need more time to read.

Books I Acquired in June 2022

SO. MANY. BOOKS.

The pictures below aren’t even all of them. The local women’s university group had multiple book sales for ten dollars per bag, and we went wild. Nothing wrong with that; some of these will be used for homeschooling this year, and the proceeds go to a cause I’m happy to support. But here are some of the stacks we came home with:

Aren’t they beautiful???

Bookish Things I Did in June 2022

Other than the book sales, not too much! It’s been quiet on that front.

Current Podcast Love

I started out the month listening to The Slow Home podcast, which is lovely, and then…my brain suddenly stopped wanting noise at night.

I have lived my entire adult life having trouble falling asleep if there’s no noise (and noise like the ceiling fan absolutely did not count. That actually made it worse). I could lie awake in bed until 4 am if there was complete silence. And all of a sudden this past month, I just felt like I didn’t want any kind of sound as I fell asleep. None whatsoever. And to my shock…I’ve been falling asleep without a podcast going.

It’s weird. Good, but weird.

Stephanie’s Read Harder Challenge

So I finished The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music History by Michael Miller! Super excited about this. I was going to take a break from this challenge over the summer, but then I grabbed a copy of I and Thou by Martin Buber from one of those used book sales and decided to tackle that. This is probably the most difficult book I’ve ever read; I can get through entire paragraphs and have zero clue as to what I just read (and thus, I need to read it again). I’m only reading ten pages per day because that’s literally all I have the brain power for, I’m reading it slowly and often out loud, and I *still* feel like I’m going to need to read it multiple times to really understand what he’s saying. Phew!

Real Life Stuff

Tiny moment of zen for you. The I&M canal in my hometown.

Ugh.

That’s kind of what I feel about…everything right now.

I won’t even get into the general state of the world, because I don’t feel like that needs more explanation, but to top it all off, my swing seat ripped. Twice. My husband said he’s going to repair it, but the house is crammed to the rafters with items that he said he’ll repair, and…we all know how that goes. Fortunately, my tiny front porch gets shade after 10 am and is shaded the rest of the day until bedtime, so I can still read outside on a camp chair. All is not lost.

I’m eyeball-deep in homeschool planning for the upcoming school year. My daughter will still be at home; I’m not yet interested in sending her back, and she has ZERO interest in going back (which makes me feel pretty good, honestly! I’d send her back if it were the best option for her; this very much isn’t an ego thing for me, haha, but right now, it’s not the best thing for her. She tends to get panicky whenever there are maskless people near us, so for now, home is best). We’ve already started up third grade math and she’s rocking it as always, so the new year looks good. : )

Not really all that much else going on! With my son living at home now, he and I have been going on frequent 3- and 4-mile walks, so that’s been awesome. He’s a little slower than I am, since I’ve been walking like a beast for years, but he’ll get there. : ) My garden is limping along. My container tomatoes are doing great, and the garden zucchini seem to be flourishing, but everything else is having a tough year. Such is life!

Hang in there, friends. It’s tough out there; take care of yourselves and always remember it’s okay to get lost in a book when the world is too much.

Wishing you all a peaceful July. : )