Listen with me

 

Dawn Raid by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith

You don't have to read a lot of middle grade fiction to encounter one structured as a journal. What makes this one stand apart is it's natural tone. Most "journals" are preternaturally aware of the meaning events will have in the world at large or the deeper emotional meaning of interactions. Not this book. There are entries about racism and social unrest, of course. But there are also entries about wanting cool clothes. Or annoying little brothers. Or being embarrassed about farting at school. And the text isn't super polished. Anyone who kept a journal at age 13 knows that most of the entries take the structure "I did this and that. It was fun." And that's how this book reads. You could easily believe it was written by an actual kid. It isn't super deep but it was a fun listen and introduced me to parts of history that I knew nothing about.

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Non-fiction book review - Why She Wrote

 

Why She Wrote by Lauren Burke and Hannah Chapman

Most often profiles of famous or influential people focus on the facts of their achievements. That's certainly an element here. We have to understand what makes this person important in history. Once those facts are established, though, Burke and Chapman turn to their real focus - motivations. This is a compelling and unique approach. Most of the motivations are what we expect: paying bills, grasping for freedom, exorcising personal demons, secret keeping. A few are more challenging and stand out from the rest. These are women who fought to protect their investments and their property. Sometimes to make more money but mostly because it was theirs. If these were men their fights would be expected. In women at the time it was considered in poor taste. We can certainly admire women who did what was right for them with little regard for how it would be perceived. Each profile is accompanied by comic strip pages that illustrate the motivation. While not entirely necessary, they are well designed and support the message well. 

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Book review - Only the Pretty Lies

Title: Only the Pretty Lies

Author: Rebekah Crane

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

                      Bright Lights Dark Nights by Stephen Emond

Rating:

 

nicely introspective

Summary (provided by publisher): Convention doesn’t carry much weight in Alder Creek. It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?
Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down.
Now Amoris must decide where she stands and whom she stands by, threatening her love for the boy who stole her heart years ago. Maybe Alder Creek isn’t the town Amoris thinks it is. She’s certainly no longer the girl she used to be.

My opinion: Alder Creek, as we first encounter it, seems like a pretty idyllic place. The reader will assume, as the characters do, that being artistic means the citizens are open minded and accepting. We don't have to read very far to see the cracks, blind spots created by racial, financial, and gender privilege. Unsurprisingly, the addition of a Black friend forces Amoris to see her town through new eyes. It also forces her to take a much harder look at herself and her own family, the cruel and insensitive things that she brushes off in the name of peace. Through the plot, Grace asks us to consider not only what prejudices we might be dismissing but also what the appropriate response is when we come from a place of privilege. Questioning our environment is an obvious message. The more subtle messaging is the difference between being an ally and being a savior. The messaging is a bit heavy handed and Amoris's wilful ignorance becomes a bit tiresome, like Grace is working a bit too hard to keep her sympathetic. If it serves as a starting point to discuss more complex social topics, though, it's worth a read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Suitcase update

 Today I'm bringing you a project I've been working on for a while. My dad cleaned out an abandoned house and found this vintage suitcase. It was full of trash and had a hole punched in the side. He was going to throw it out due to the hole but I thought it had promise so I brought it home.

The first step was to pull out the stained liner and scrub the grime from the outside. Once it was clean I filled the hole with glue. The blue was an okay color but it was a little stained. Plus I prefer more vibrant shades, so I refinished the outside with some multi-surface acrylic paint in a bright yellow-orange. And since I had some blue leftover from another project, I did the hardware in a contrasting color.

Of course, with a new outside, the inside needed a change as well. I had some leftover fabric from a bag. And like most people I constantly have corrugated cardboard on hand.

It took a fair amount of hot glue to put it all together, but it looks pretty good.

Book review - Rescue at Lake Wild

 

Title: Rescue at Lake Wild

Author: Terry Lynn Johnson

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Secret Explorers series by S.J. King

                      Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan

Rating:

 

good ideas present

Summary (provided by publisher): Everyone knows that twelve-year-old Madison “Madi” Lewis is not allowed to bring home any more animals. After she's saved hairless mice, two birds, a rabbit, and a stray tom cat that ended up destroying the front porch, Madi’s parents decide that if they find one more stray animal in the house, she won’t be allowed to meet Jane Goodall at an upcoming gala event.
But when Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, rescue beaver kits whose mother was killed, they find themselves at the center of a local conspiracy that’s putting the beavers and their habitats in danger. As Madi and her friends race to uncover the threat targeting the beavers, Madi must put her animal whisperer skills to the test in both raising the orphaned beaver kits and staying out of trouble long enough.

My opinion: My first thoughts regarding this book are all about consequences. Madi is forbidden from bringing home strays but she does it anyway. While her intentions are good, there are consequences without compromise. She doesn't get a work around that allows her to go to the gala. And there are good reasons for her parent's rules. Her actions put herself, her friends, and the beavers in danger. It's important that reader don't see her rescues as something to imitate. It's also important that the plot finds a balance between protecting the animals and the need for the farmers to protect their property. We are show the devastation to crops, the dangers in the roadways. The solutions involve compromise and thinking through solutions rather than a gut reaction. While not without it's problems, this is a solid read for a kid with an ecological mindset.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

Dawn Raid by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith

I don't believe I've read much at all, modern or historic, about New Zealand. I'm interested to see how this one plays out, given elements of protest and political upheaval at an age where your personal life can already be a bit complicated. This promises to be a quick listen, so join me again soon for a review.

Non-fiction book review - Violet and Daisy

 

Violet and Daisy by Sarah Miller

I was fairly new to the story of Violet and Daisy but I do have an interest in the history of sideshows and Vaudeville, so I was invested in this story pretty early on. Miller makes it easy, presenting their story in a largely narrative structure. The book mostly proceeds in chronological order, backtracking on a few occasions to explain some context. It's not strictly factual, as Miller occasionally editorializes about motivations though she is clear on the difference between recorded fact and her own opinion or when a source is unreliable. While Violet and Daisy are largely presented as victims, manipulated and controlled for most of their lives, Miller is not afraid to point out the negative aspects of their personalities: their tendency to lie and extreme self-importance. The tone is fairly conversational, a style familiar to frequent podcast listeners. While this is something of a niche topic, it's a fairly compelling read. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley