Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I really do have 4 books waiting to be reviewed, folks–wahoo! (Okay, I’m not necessarily THRILLED about being behind on my reviews, but at least I’m finishing books, right?) Today’s offering is going to be Framed, the new-in-September graphic novel by Karina Evans and Andrea Bell; it didn’t make the cut for a Christmas gift, but I’m guessing my youngest will still enjoy it. (My older girls both passed.) Honestly, I’m of two minds about this one; I really appreciated the progression of Toby’s peer interactions, but I was unimpressed by ALL of the adults. They were either a)stock characters with no depth, b)odd in ways that screamed “the plot needs me to act this way”, or c) simultaneously emotionally hyper-aware AND clueless. Toby herself frustrated me, yes, but mostly because I’m a “JUST SPIT IT OUT ALREADY” kind of reader with very little patience for characters who persist in not explaining things that obviously need explaining.

Anyway. The plot? Toby’s been off in a mad-at-the-world kind of way lately, and because she throws her own painting away in a burst of emotion, her art teacher is positive that she’s responsible for the rest of the paintings somehow ending up in the trash as well. Her two detention companions are outraged on her behalf–they both know she has a solid alibi, but the adults aren’t listening to them–and so the rest of their school day becomes a quest for the three of them as they search for the guilty party in order to prove Toby’s innocence. It’s comparatively short–as in, less than 200 pages–but Toby shows some nice growth, and I’m guessing graphic novel fans of the target age will enjoy this one.

On the home front, I spent the middle of my Saturday volunteering for concessions at the high school’s musical, and we fed the missionaries in the evening. Yesterday was pretty relaxing, and here we are facing a brand new week. Good luck to us all!