Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

That’s what I finished listening to last night, folks–Renee Watson’s (imagine an accent on that middle ‘e’) All the Blues in the Sky. I imagine it’s been years since I read a medal winner within three weeks of its win! On the other hand, it’s a seriously short verse novel, so maybe that’s not too surprising.

I was still in the middle of it when our elementary school librarian finished it earlier in the week, and she felt like it was too sad/depressing; oddly enough, I’m not sure I agree. I mean, YES, it’s sad. Sage’s best friend died on her (Sage’s) 13th birthday, hit by a drunk driver, and Watson’s novel follows the first phase or two of Sage’s grief. Her after-school grief group gives us the chance to empathize with her, even while her frequent (mostly secret) dismissal of two of the group members’ experiences illustrates both the rawness of her grief and the limits of her own experience. If this had been a longer or traditional novel I think it would have felt too sad–there is only so much you can vicariously experience of that level of grief without overload–but between its length and its format, it worked for me. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, or even necessarily for most kids, but everyone needs to feel seen and represented in what they read, and there are going to be some young readers who desperately need this book. As for me, I absolutely cried a bit, but I’m not sorry to have read it; it added a dimension to my emotional understanding.

In other news, SEPs meant there was no school today, and my kitchen and dining room are much the better for it. My bookends watched “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” together, and while there were a lot of un-ideal emotions going on over the course of the day, we got to see (and feed!) my oldest nephew tonight, which means we ended on a good note. Here’s hoping for a good long weekend!