Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I would have taken far longer to get around to reading Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s I Love You, Michael Collins if Britt hadn’t picked it for book club, and that would have been a tragedy, because I really did love this book. I was solidly in Mamie’s corner long before page ten, and her family members’ more frustrating qualities were nicely balanced out by Buster’s fantastic-ness. (Yes, I know it’s not a word. I’m tired and I don’t care.) As Apollo 11’s launch approaches, Mamie’s letters to Michael Collins paint a vivid picture of life in the summer of ’69 (I had to throw that in because my 8-year-old LOVES that song), with its cultural shifts and historic moon landing; they also give the reader a poignant glimpse into Mamie’s everyday life. Baratz-Logsted balances the ups and downs of being a sister deftly, and (unlike in Entrada Kelly’s We Dream of Space) Mamie’s parents are sympathetically human. This is a good book for those wanting brave girl characters, realistic family struggles that resolve hopefully, books about the space race, cats, good friends…basically, it’s just a good book.

I was, in fact, so impressed by it that I spent at least 10 minutes yesterday reading summaries and reviews of Baratz-Logsted’s other books, wanting to find another one I’d like as well. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be adult fiction (or YA romantic fiction), and there were enough negative reviews that I’m excited about almost none of them. Write more middle grade fiction and I’ll read it, Ms. Baratz-Logsted! (And based on the Goodreads reviews of your other works vs. Michael Collins, I’m not the only one.)

Hmm. This ending wants more, but I’ve got to help out at the school for a while and I’m too tired to make it better. (I’ll take suggestions if you’ve got them.) Signing off!