Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I seriously haven’t had the hiccups in forever, and these are the uncomfortable-down-in-your-chest kind. Ugh! I had them for a bit this morning, and now they’re back.

On the other hand, because I couldn’t stay awake after lunch and so had a decent nap, I did manage to stay awake in the car while waiting for my elementary schooler, which means I managed to finish reading Skull Cat and the Curious Castle, and I’m glad–it’s the sort of graphic novel that lends itself to pre-Halloween reading. The curious castle is definitely spooky and there are multiple shady characters; Scully the Cat spends much of the book unsure of the creatures around him. Unfortunately, it’s too short of a graphic novel (110 pages or fewer) to fully develop what’s going on. I kept thinking there must be a tv show or web comic or SOMETHING that I was missing, because surely there ought to be more of an explanation/back story? And who knows, maybe there is. On the other hand, when a book declares itself to be ‘Book 1’, you do expect a bit more setting of the stage. I think those who like adventure comics might enjoy this one, but I’m definitely not the right audience.

In the meantime, I know I should have posted yesterday, but I’ve been sleeping incredibly badly. Saturday night might have gone better if I hadn’t found out just before midnight that the president of our church had passed away; Sunday night and last night, on the other hand, were just mysteriously bad. We’ll see if I do better tonight!

So, Ursula Vernon and T. Kingfisher are the same writer. Ursula Vernon writes hilarious, highly illustrated novels for elementary to middle graders, and T. Kingfisher writes–older stuff. My first introduction to the latter was A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, which was pretty much amazing; both hilarious and thought-provoking, with some hefty feels as it progressed. My second foray into Kingfisher I finished listening to on Wednesday evening, and it was…creepy.

SO creepy.

The thing is, I should have expected it, because it came from the horror section. On the other hand, the comparatively medium-sized gap between Ursula Vernon and A Wizard’s Guide didn’t really prepare me for A House with Good Bones. It started out hilarious and atmospheric and suspenseful, but the ending would have given me nightmares if this sort of fiction were the sort of thing that gave me nightmares. (It doesn’t, though. It never has. I get bad dreams when I read, say, books about the Holocaust before bed, and then they tend to involve some form of being chased by the Nazis.) Sam is a bug archeologist whose dig got postponed because they found human remains; having expected to be gone for months, she finds herself temporarily homeless and so ends up staying with her mother, who lives in her mother’s house. Something about that house, however–and something about Sam’s mother–feels off. Being a scientist, Sam starts by researching whatever rational explanations she can think of, but when some of her research bumps into some of her family history, the possibilities start to get considerably less rational.

Also, there are vultures.

Anyway. Apart from the language, which was not ideal (especially for an audiobook), I did enjoy A House with Good Bones; Sam and her mother are thoroughly likable, as are Gail (a neighbor) and Phil (the handyman). Kingfisher’s writing voice feels rather like a funnier (and more focused?) Robin McKinley–and I do love Robin McKinley. If you choose to handle the language, this is an incredible read for Halloween.

In the meantime, this insane week is almost over, and I am DESPERATELY glad. Here’s to a relatively chill weekend!

That’s what’s going on at the moment. Saturday was a crazy day for the older girls and me–service project with the Magic Yarn something, baby shower, and then a late night Faith Walk somewhere around Heber with my 16-year-old–and Sunday involved two farewells. My youngest had therapy on Monday and then threw up her dinner Monday night, yesterday I spent much longer at Walmart than I wanted to paying for donuts for this morning, this morning was Donuts and Grownups at the school…yeah. Thank goodness for volunteers! Now all three girls have stuff tonight and who knows how and when dinner’s going to go. Cross your fingers for us all…

PTA is feeding our teachers today for SEPs, folks–wish us luck! We’re doing burrito bowls, and I spent part of my morning making two pans of bars so that I was sure of having more than enough of my ‘dessert for 24’ assignment. (When it comes to dessert, I always assume that ‘just enough’ is actually ‘not nearly enough’. I know not everyone shares my level of sweet tooth, but I’m a ‘better safe than sorry’ girl about food in general anyway.) Both recipes are easy, so I also loaded and ran the dishwasher, put in a load of wash, AND finished reading one of the graphic novels on our ‘Battle of the Books’ list so I could review it and pass it on today. (My 10-year-old will be over the moon!)

We Are Big Time is a joint effort, having been written and illustrated by two different women, and it’s a lovely one. Inspired by the true story of an Islamic school’s girls’ varsity basketball team, it features Aliya, whose family has just moved from Florida to Wisconsin to be closer to her paternal grandparents. She isn’t excited by the move, but when she discovers that her Islamic school has a girls basketball team, she finds what may just become a community for herself–if she can figure out how to balance basketball with school and family. That isn’t always easy, of course, but working hard does eventually yield its promised rewards.

I thoroughly enjoyed We Are Big Time. It touches on the day to day difficulties of being on a team while portraying a loving family and focusing on being ‘more than the score;’ it’s also blessedly devoid of even realistic high school drama. The treatment of the playoff game surprised me a bit, but I suspect that the true story is much closer to the book’s ending than the sort of ending one sees in all kinds of sports movies. If my son were into graphic novels–or any of my daughters into basketball, rather than art and dance–you’d probably find this book under my Christmas tree this year; as it is, I find myself wondering who I could give it to as a gift.

Ideas?

Yesterday it seemed like a completely reasonable thing to put off my blog post and, instead, finish reading Ways to Build Dreams (A Ryan Hart Story) aloud to my youngest; then I could review it this morning before heading to the library, and back it could go! Except that last night I tried a different medication for Restless Leg Syndrome to see if it would work better than what I’ve been taking, and let me tell you what–it didn’t.

It REEAALLLLYY didn’t.

Not only were my legs so much MORE restless than they have been, but I couldn’t manage to fall asleep for anything; my stomach was also feeling some of the nausea that’s apparently a common side effect. So yes, I’m reviewing Ways to Build Dreams this morning so I can take it back to the library, but if my review is considerably less than coherent, blame it on the Pramipexole, which failed spectacularly at what it was supposed to do.

Anyway. I rather suspect Ways to Build Dreams will be the last Ryan Hart story; its ending is both satisfying and well timed. Ryan is off to middle school, she and Ray have made some progress in their relationship (never easy for a sister and brother to do), and she’s come to a better understanding of how to be a force for good on whatever a scale is applicable to her in the moment. Both my daughter and I will miss reading about Ryan, though–she’s both lovable and relatable. In the meantime, I suppose it’s on to another read-aloud.

Wish me luck surviving today. I am SO tired.

I finished my second of this year’s Newberys this month, from an author I’ve heard of but never read before. After finishing Ruth Behar’s Across So Many Seas, however, I will definitely reading more by her, because it was gorgeous. Behar’s story, inspired by her father’s side of her family, begins in Spain in 1492. There’s nothing of Columbus here; for Spanish Jews, the Inquisition defined that year. Bienvenida’s father refuses to become a converso, and so their family must leave Spain or face execution.

That is a monstrous thing.

From there, Behar picks up the story of Bienvenida’s descendants in Turkey, in 1923; the large gap of time was my biggest complaint about the novel as I was listening to it, but the author’s note explains that gap: “Skipping from 1492 to 1923…might seem strange. Surely I could have created a few more characters between the fifteenth century and the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? I did think of it, but I chose not to. For many people who have a Sephardic heritage, there is this vast gap of time; only a few of us have been able to trace our lineage that far back. But all of us who claim a Sephardic identity have no doubt that our origins are in Spain.”

Clearly, I’m not going to argue with that. And so, in Turkey, we have Reina, whose angry father sends her away to Cuba to be married (she’s sent at 12, but her bridegroom agrees to wait until she’s 15). Reina’s daughter, Alegra, is excited to be a brigadista in Castro’s revolution, teaching people in rural areas to read and write. Unfortunately for her family, not all (or, of course, even most) of Castro’s policies are so wholly positive, and so Alegra is sent to the US as part of ‘Operation Pedro Pan’. (Just google it–it’ll be easier than me explaining.) Her daughter Paloma is born in Miami, and is thrilled to be able to travel, together with her family, ‘back’ to Spain. The threads that Behar weaves together during that trip will enthrall her readers, and the echoes of history feel as real as our present day.

Gorgeous, right? I loved this book–each girl feels so wholly real. I’m not entirely sure if its intended audience will fully appreciate it, but (to misquote Marty McFly) their parents are going to love it.

And, just maybe, they will too.

Yes, I’m a day late, but I did organizing kinds of things yesterday, not computer kinds of things. (Also laundry.) Three Trader Joe’s bags of clothes went with my daughter to her youth activity/clothing drive last night, several books went into my 10-year-old’s reading pile, the area in front of my closet is still crowded but at least stable–you get the idea. I also had a virtual meeting and made zucchini bread, which included finely grating a large zucchini, so it was a productive day.

Today, by contrast, is going to be part computer things, part Costco, and (possibly) part doing some work in my terrifying food room/spare bedroom. And to start off, I give you Frank Cammuso’s The Night Door (Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker), which is just fun to say. I enjoyed Cammuso’s ‘Salem Hyde’ books and thought his ‘Knights of the Lunch Table’ series was hilarious; ‘Edison Beaker’ was not quite as fun for me as either of those, but I suspect that’s mostly a genre preference thing. The Night Door isn’t long and it doesn’t hit impressive levels of emotional depth, but it’s a fun graphic novel about a family of ‘creature seekers’ and their night of dangerous/zany world-saving mishaps. Reluctant readers, adventure lovers, and graphic novel fans all ought to enjoy this Halloween-ish candy for the brain–and at 160 or so pages, it’s accessible for the majority of elementary schoolers. Not a bad way to kick off fall!

I decided to attempt a review tonight, even though it’s already almost 6:30. I’m not sure how well I’ll do, but I’ve been working hard today–minus a half hour afternoon slump–and I’ve got the momentum! Besides, my youngest is finally back in school–not 100% over the cold yet, but back–and I’m feeling relatively gung-ho for the week.

I finished Katherine Center’s The Rom-Commers less than a week after we got back from Idaho (at least it was our second Idaho trip, I guess?) and it’s the last–I think–of the summer reviews that I’ve been putting off. (Of course, it would have been more detailed a month or so ago, but what can I say?) Luckily, I enjoyed it as much as I usually enjoy Center’s books, even if Emma is overly hard on her sister (and then too slow to forgive her sister’s response) at one point. (Other readers–you agree, right? Not just me?) Emma’s discourse on rom-coms is delightful to read, and I love the way she calls Charlie out on genre expectations. Some of the bumps along their road to happiness are a stretch, but I didn’t really care. Emma’s professional path felt painfully believable, and Charlie’s arc worked nicely as well. The concept of a screenwriter who hates rom-coms working with a screenwriter who loves them makes for a solid story, and the conquering of their respective demons fleshes it out nicely. There is banter, there is healing, there is romance, and there is fun–who could ask for anything more?

In other news, Friday night’s wedding reception in Wallsburg, UT (no, I hadn’t heard of it until said reception–the 2020 census put its population at 290) had some iffy weather but was still lovely; so was Sunday night dinner in Clearfield. We met the woman my brother-in-law is dating as well as a niece’s boyfriend, and while fewer games were played than usual, it’s always nice to be with family. Multiple large bins have migrated upstairs from downstairs, and while organizing the clothes in them I found a few more things to donate (yay for more things leaving my house!). The girls and I watched “Hairspray” on Saturday night while the boys were at the BYU game, and since we won, good times were had by all. Here’s to a productive week to come!

Actual crickets, that is–Palmer was hungry, and they were out when I was running errands earlier in the week. The first Friday morning PTA meeting is done, though, and I’m desperately grateful. (I’m also grateful I decided not to submit a receipt for the food I brought, because I took too much of it home to feel good about that.) I came away with a reimbursement check for various purchases, more PTA copy paper, and a few questions I forgot to ask the office (because of course I did). And I did get a haircut yesterday, for which I’m grateful–it was overdue!

Anyway. On Wednesday night I showered extra early, which gave me time enough to finish listening to Cloche and Dagger, the first in one of the (many) cozy mystery series my friend Britt enjoys. I have to say, it was fun–American Scarlett Parker heads to London to stay with her cousin, who runs the hat shop (hence the title) they inherited from their grandmother, after an entertainingly described break-up disaster in Florida; her mercurial cousin, however, isn’t there to greet her, which doesn’t seem like a huge deal until a countess is found murdered wearing nothing but a hat designed by said cousin. Should Scarlett be concerned about her cousin’s disappearance? Why is someone breaking into the hat shop? And is their business still going to be there when the police find out what’s been going on? Enquiring readers want to know!

Overall, it’s a fun story with a relatable main character; my main critique is the pacing, and I rather suspect that’s mostly due to its being first in a series. The first half of the book seemed more to be setting up the characters and the setting than dealing with the mystery; I was interested, but not necessarily gripped until over halfway through. Since that seems unlikely to happen with subsequent titles in the series, I’m okay to overlook it in this one. I’m not a big mystery reader, really, but I’ll likely keep on with these!

In the meantime, we’ve got a wedding reception to attend tonight, and I was thinking about cadging a nap before we leave. Have a good weekend, everybody!

That’s how I felt about Shannon Hale’s Best Friends, folks. I can often enjoy books about latter elementary/middle school struggles, but sometimes they strike too much of a nerve. Shannon’s misery and fear over ‘if-I-stand-up-for-the-kid-being-picked-on-will-they-turn-on-me is not an emotional place I wanted to return to, and as my 16-year-old pointed out, it’s hard to read a book about someone whose friends aren’t terribly nice. Is it poignant, realistic, and an important book to help a great many kids realize that they aren’t alone in their experiences? Absolutely. My favorite part, however, was the depictions of Lagoon. (Except that then Shannon’s Lagoon experience was also hard to read.) I am so grateful for the mental health resources available for children now–and while Best Friends is definitely quality literature, I am grateful enough to be decades away from that age that I cannot see myself reading it again.

In the meantime, my 5th grader is home from school because she threw up last night. Was it digestion rather than illness, combined with congestion from her cold? Very possibly, but it’s not like I can send her to school with half a piece of bread in her stomach.

Sigh.