death – Peaceful Reader

Happy May Day

All in one week there is so much to celebrate; May Day, May 4th (may the 4th be with you), and Cinco De Mayo! That is a lot of joy. And I have high hopes the weather is going to turn warm and spring-like soon. April was a little rough with the weather and my emotions all over the place. Things are going to get better and I am ready for summer break this year.

My wise words of advise:

Make a plan! Yes, decide and organize how you want your end-of-life moment.

Do the things on your bucket list – find adventure

Do what you need to do for self -care (less party, more yoga)

Learn to get rid of things – pass them on please!

Celebrate your friendships – laugh a lot.

I loved my mom but she was disorganized and kept too much stuff. I’m still going through stuff. I had to wade through stacks of paper to find the most important insurance papers, etc. Be joyful…and organized! I’m still a work in progress but I’m working on it.

My mama

Judith Ann Cherry

January 15, 1939 – March 17, 2023

Judy Cherry, 84, of Waverly, IA, passed peacefully Friday, March 17, 2023 at the Cedar Valley Hospice, Waterloo. Judy struggled with a blood disorder called myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) for many years, eventually succumbing to it. She lived longer than expected and the extra time allowed her to enjoy many visits from and amazing meals with family and friends.

The daughter of Lavera Ann (Westendorf) and Ewald Bruch, Judy was born January 15, 1939 in Waterloo, IA. She graduated from East High School in 1957 and attended nursing school for one year at Coe College before choosing a different path. She married Roger Matz on April 12, 1958 and together they had four children: Mike, Michelle, Chris and Jason. On December 31, 1998, Judy married James Cherry in Cedar Falls and the couple made their home in Ventura and then Waverly.

Judy completed her education at Minnesota State University, Mankato and had many life roles: she was a mom, a dreamer, a traveler, a wife, a friend, a businesswoman. She struck people with her fun-loving and eccentric personality.

Judy began her professional career as a teacher in Sleepy Eye, MN before helping her husband Roger acquire and manage small newspapers including The Redfield Press and The Spirit Lake Beacon. Judy later owned and operated the Okoboji Grill, in Okoboji, IA where she especially enjoyed working with the young staff. Judy loved good food, travel, boating Minnesota lakes and rivers, reading books and magazines, games, movies, and documentaries. She loved and cared for many family dogs. Judy gardened all her life and in recent years grew beautiful tomatoes that she shared freely.

She was a gourmet home chef and loved cooking meals from the many cookbooks collected on her travels around the country and to Europe. Passing a love of good food to her children, Judy in later years appreciated watching us cook for her while talking and enjoying a glass of wine. Dining with family and friends was one of Judy’s greatest joys.

Judy was a wonderful grandmother and enjoyed caring for young grandchildren, taking them on adventures and outings and shuttling them to ski, dance, soccer, baseball, and hockey. She was a sharp and competitive Spite and Malice player and especially loved teaching it and playing it with her grandchildren. All the better when she won!

Young people enjoyed talking with Judy and she loved getting to know people and was compassionate in her views of the world. She was interested in politics and things that were happening in the world around her.

Surviving are her husband of 24 years, Jim Cherry of Waverly; her children Mike (Sally Shuffield) Matz, of Durango, CO; Michelle (Greg) Holt, of Cedar Falls; Chris (Jennifer Reynolds) Matz, of Denver, CO and Jason (Stephanie) Matz, of Deephaven, MN; her grandchildren: Carson, Celia, Kaylee, Tristan, Japhy, Henry, Sawyer, Wynn, Rider, Marin, Jasper, and Beckett; her step-children Mike (Audra) Cherry, Dana (Mark) Watson, and Kim (Tony Green) Cherry; her step-grandchildren Rebecca, Ryan, Leah, Tyler, Nate, Jacob, and Rolie; and her 6 step-great grandchildren as well as many good friends.

Preceding her in death are her first husband, Roger, and brothers Robert and Wayne.

Services will be at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Waverly at 2:00 pm on Friday, March 24. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Cedar Valley Hospice would be appreciated.

Post Note: Two of my siblings and I wrote, rewrote and edited this tribute to my mom and then find out that obituaries are the. main means for newspaper cash flow! I wanted to share the whole thing with everyone because an edited version will appear in local papers. She lived a full and happy life. Cheers!

Best book club choices-2016

December and January were good reading months for my book club. We read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller. Both books, while different styles, are very good.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (2014) by Gabrielle Zevin: This is a quirky story about A.J., a young man after his wife’s death. The couple built their life around owning an interesting bookstore on Alice Island, a fictional area near Boston. A.J. drinks a lot after he closes the book store at night and one night while passed out a prized collection of poems by Edgar Allen Poe is stolen.

Soon after a baby Maya appears in his bookstore with a note attached and the mother cannot be located. Until a proper family or a relative can be found A.J. agrees to foster the child only because he feels an obligation to the mother who trusted him, the owner of a bookstore because she felt that a bookstore was a good place for a baby to grow up. The rest of the story unfolds around Maya, the bookstore, an interesting police chief, a book representative from the mainland and A.J. of course. This is an delightful tale that loves literature. Each chapter opens with a short story suggestion such as Lamb to the slaughter by Roald Dahl, The diamond a big as the Ritz by F. Scott, and What feels like the World by Richard Bausch. Everyone at book club decided it would be great fun to reach out and read the short stories suggested by Fikry. Witty and unique I would read this one again and I would give it for a gift.

Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller is a bit of a mystery adventure set in Norway. Sheldon Horowitz, an aging vet, moves across the ocean to live with his granddaughter and her husband after his wife dies. His granddaughter Rhea feels that her beloved grandfather is losing his mind and will be better off away from the memories of NYC.

One day home alone Sheldon hears arguing from an unknown man in the upstairs apartment and in another moment he opens the door to trouble. Fleeing to safety wherever that may be in a country he hardly knows with the young son of the upstairs neighbor Sheldon takes off on a wild adventure with his silent (and terrified) charge. Sheldon is a funny character and keeps us thinking with his wit about racism, family, vengeance, war, and human nature.

If you need a good book to read to get you through another few weeks of winter-these are two excellent choices.

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

{Jennifer Richard Jacobson}

Ari and Gage experience their mother’s death and are taken in by her old friend, Janna, someone they hardly know, and raised in a very different way. It becomes too much for Gage as the older brother to be not trusted and unloved. His mother’s wishes were for the two of them to stay together so when he feels like it is time to leave he takes Ari with him, even though it means lying to Janna.

He does not have an apartment arranged or a job for himself. He and Ari take turns staying at shelters and friend’s apartments. Hiking their way around the city and trying to get Ari to school everyday is difficult for both of them. Ari lies to her teachers, her classmates, and her best friend about how she is living. Her teachers watch her slip behind, coming in with her unclean and stinky clothes and hair. She struggles to get homework turned in and her friends make fun of her. As an educator I wanted to stop her in the hall and ask if all was okay, how can I help?

This well-written realistic fiction shows the difficulty of homeless children. How do you keep your stuff together, how do you take a shower, how do you keep your life from falling all apart and still love and trust the brother who put you into this situation? This story should help anyone gain more empathy and compassion for students in this situation.

Jennifer Richard Jacobson is an eduator as well and I’ve heard great things about Small as an Elephant. I’ll have to get that one at the library as well. Thank you, Tina, for the recommendation.

Recent Reads-Amazing!

I’m a pre-reader for our state award committee and our list is always long. I only read enough to get me by and I generally pick ones that I think are worth it because I just don’t have time to read each and every one of them This year the first three that I picked up made me so happy as a reader and a librarian.

Doll Bones (2013) by Holly Black: Creepy middle grade book done so well by the amazing Holly Black. I loved that this one will appeal to boys and girls alike even though the word “doll” appears on the cover. Poppy, Zachary, and Alice are close friends that have been playing “the game” for a long time and even though Zach feels a bit embarrassed he loves to play. The three of them have a collection of odd ball dolls, action figures, and animal figurines and they build a story around their adventures. It sounds amazing and creative to me. Zach’s dad unfortunately sees the toys a little differently and chucks the bag carrying his son’s “toys” away. Zach is crushed but instead of wanting to admit that to Alice and Poppy he pretends he isn’t interested in playing anymore. One of Poppy’s dolls has a bit of history and the three of them are compelled to go on a journey to save her. I will have a very easy time selling this book to students this year.

The Mark of the Dragonfly (2014) by Jaleigh Johnson: What an incredible world Jaleigh created in “The World of Solace.” Piper is an incredible character trying to make do as a scrapper in a scrap town on her own. She ventures out of her routine when she finds Anna in a wagon after a meteor shower rains down on their village. Her instinct is to protect her and she does even though she ends up far from home on a train bound for the capital. I really enjoyed Anna’s and Piper’s journey and thought the addition of Gee, Trimble, and Jeyne added to the incredible story of escape and what it means to be a misfit in an already strange land. Is there another one coming out? I hope to hear more about The World of Solace.

Winterling (2012) by Sarah Prineas: Fer has always had trouble fitting in and doesn’t really understand what happened to her parents or why her grandmother keeps her under such a close watch. When she meets a boy by the pond trying to protect himself from a couple of wolves she saves him and takes him back to her Gran-Jane to be healed. As the young Rook meets Grand-Jane mysteries spill out that Fer doesn’t understand and eventually her grandmother is forced to share her heritage with her granddaughter. Fer’s mother was The Lady of the Land on the other side of the Way and Grand-Jane’s son fell in love with her and left. Now both are dead and the land on the other side needs Fer’s help to be rid of the Mor who has a grip on the land and the people. I love strong female characters and Fer is that. She stands up for what she believes in and is more interested in having fun than grabbing power. I liked this one so much I’m reading the 2nd in the series, Summerkin.

One not on the list but recommended by Tina Says: The Secret Hum of a Daisy (2014) by Tracy Holczer. This one is realistic fiction which was a nice change of pace after all those magical lands swept me away. Grace and her mother have spent all of their year together moving from one small town to the next in search of something they never truly find. When Grace’s mother dies unexpectedly Grace must go live with the grandmother that pushed her mother out of the house years ago. Grace has to work hard to reconcile her feelings for her mother and what happened between mother and daughter before she was alive. This novel explores so many excellent themes of parenting, grief, family, and home that it should be a read-aloud in many 5th-7th grade classrooms. I will promote it as such and will recommend it for next year’s list of could-be award winners.

If you are looking for a great read any one of these will do!

The Goldfinch

When we vacationed in Yellowstone with my family this book was on everybody’s list; either they’d read it, reading it (me), or were soon to read it. Or like my husband who bragged about reading all of Tartt’s books and basically discovering her for the national treasure that she is. He’s quite proud of his author finds.

The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt

(2013)

Theo Decker is a 13-year-old boy and he’s in trouble. He and his mother set off for a meeting at school and when they have trouble in the cab and it begins to rain they stop at the museum for a quick look around. It’s the stop that changes his life. As he wanders away from his mother and begins to follow a young girl and her grandfather a blast destroys much of the building, leaving many dead including Theo’s mother. He spends the next few hours and days bewildered and in shock.

His mother is a gorgeous character that once you meet you don’t want to let go. Told in Theo’s voice he flatters his mother and lucky for us later reminisces about her. Tartt makes sure that each character is fully fleshed out and real to us including Theo’s mother or we wouldn’t know what he was missing.

“She looked startled, as if she’d forgotten I was there. The white coat-flapping in the wind-added to her long-legged ibis quality, as if she were about to unfurl her wings and sail away over the park.” (16)

“Lalloping?” So much of her talk was exotic to my ear, and lollop sounded like some horse term from her childhood: a lazy gallop maybe, some equine gait between a canter and a trot. (17)

After the blast he is sent to live with a very wealthy childhood friend because his father had taken off and his grandparents are really not interested. He lives for awhile with his friends on Park Avenue for awhile until his dad and his new wife show up to claim him. His dad’s true interest lies in whatever money or belongings his mother may have left but he’ll take the kid if it will help his cause. Theo reluctantly packs up and is whisked off to Vegas with his dad and Xandra. A completely different way of life awaits Theo.

In school Theo makes friends with Boris, a young Russian who also loves to get Theo into trouble. Boris an amazingly funny character, lovable as the ruffian. He’s Huck Finn to Theo’s Tom Sawyer. Boris and Theo embark on a drug-crazed odyssey filling their days with drunken conversations about life that center on how bad they have it, how awful their father’s are, and how hot Xandra looks in her work clothes.

Donna Tartt’s wordy yet wonderful novel takes us on quite a journey with Theo as he eventually escapes back to New York and tries to make his way on his own terms. Yet his past keeps bumping back into him and old ways are hard to slough off. And the painting, The Goldfinch, is present throughout the story as an interesting twist that continually gives both pain and pleasure to poor Theo.

There comes a point in the book where you must just sit and read without answering your phone, your email, or even eating just so you can help Theo move toward a very shaky but present future. I finished it now several weeks ago and when I think of Theo and Boris, Hobie and Pippa all make me smile as I think about how we are all connected.

New York Times review by Stephen King

Huffington Post’s thought by Maddie Crum

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

{Release date: May/2014}

On a typical day after school Jersey Cameron is bored by her mother’s requests and her little sister Marin’s attention. She just wants a little quiet time to zone out and watch television. When Marin and her mother head off to dance and Jersey, reluctantly, begins to make dinner a storm hits and it brings a large tornado swooping through town. Jersey has enough time to get down to the basement with her cell phone and a book but she is left with fear about her family. Her stepfather is maybe at work or possibly with friends and her mom and Marin still at dance. She makes one fleeting phone call to her mother and her mother simply tells her to take cover.

It’s days before she is reunited with any part of her family as she works to make sense of the devastation left behind in the wake of the tornado. Very accurately described with true emotion Jersey’s story is one I’d never thought of; what happens to children abandoned after a natural disaster here? Her stepfather, deeply depressed with grief, is not interested in raising her. Her biological paternal grandparents agree to take her in but their house is filled with hatred, drunkenness, and bitter feelings. Jersey’s only known the security of her mother’s love and even with the adjustment of cute little Marin her life was calm.

Eventually she ends up with her mom’s parents, estranged after a fight with her mom years ago, Jersey does not want to share her life with them. Her mom left home as a teenager with her dad, a drunk, and her parents told her if she was going to stay with him, to not come back. And she didn’t reconcile with them even after she kicked out the drunk and it was just her and her baby, Jersey, alone. Grudges. Lies. Anger. Lucky for Jersey she finds a way to see that even though her mother rejected them she can begin again with her grandparents. Through this relationship she can begin to heal.

I enjoyed this story. I’ve never actually been through a tornado experience but I have had to wait it out in the basement many times. The tornado is a terrifying monster and one that will shape the rest of Jersey’s life as well as many other residents of her small Midwest town just as a tornado does in real life. Vilonia, Arkansas and Moore, Oklahoma residents can attest to that.

Jennifer Brown’s website
Little, Brown and Company (lb-teen)

4 New Books to LOVE!

At the beginning of September I challenged myself to read through my big and beautiful, ever-growing pile of ARC’s from Little, Brown and Company. I aimed for ten and finished seven. Here I bring you the top 4 realistic fiction titles to look for.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King: This was my absolute favorite story. I’m now a huge fan of A.S. King and her coming-of-age, coming-to-grips tale of Astrid Jones. She’s unusual and knows it yet longs for the shelter of a loving family and honest friends. She struggles with her own identity, familial disfunction, her sexuality, and what it means to be a good and true friend. This story is a marvel and Astrid is a character that I think about often. Buy this for your library or a teenager in need. Booklist Online has a very creative interview with A.S. King – read it, it will make you laugh. (ARC provided by Little, Brown, and Company, release date October, 2012)

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher; The Matthews family is broken in every way. Jaime, the youngest, narrates the story of this family’s critical loss. Rose, Jaime’s sister and twin to Jasmine, dies from a terrorist bomb in a local park. Jaime’s mother, trying to heal herself, attends a local grief group, meets someone else and leaves the family. In order to douse the overwhelming pain Jaime’s father drinks. Eventually Jaime, his sister, Jas, and father move to the country to get out of London and away from the Muslim’s. Jaime’s father blames all Muslim’s for the death of his daughter and he emotionally abandons his two living children while grieving for Rose. This book brings out the blanket racism that clouds good judgement as Jaime, in his little country school, befriends a local Muslim girl. This book by debut author Annabel Pitcher is beautifully written with rare wit about a topic that will have people talking. (ARC provided by LBC, August, 2012)

DJ Rising by Love Maia; Music is Marley’s world. With a scholarship to attend a prestigious school and a job busing tables at a hip restaurant he has his hands full just trying to make it on his own. In the midst of his own teenage life he juggles caring for his drug-addicted mother who never recovered from the death of her husband, Marley’s music-loving dad. Marley has two dreams: one is to DJ at a fancy club and the second is that the beautiful Lea Hall will talk to him. When his mother tries to recover, and the DJ world starts to suck Marley in, will he be able to accomplish any of his real goals as he learns to figure out what is most important? This book is well worth reading as you want Marley to triumph over the life he’s been handed and Maia’s lyrical writing make it a quick read. Soundtrack to come according to her website. (ARC provided by LBC, Feb., 2012)

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney; At first glance this could appear to be a fluff YA chick read but there is much deeper stuff below the surface. Budget cuts leave Julius P. Heil High without a football coach or a team causing several affluent families to take their young players to private schools. With so many young men gone the girls start looking at the second and third tier of eligible guys. The theatre geeks, the band boys, and the stoner dudes suddenly all have a place at the table. Through this new adventure Kelly begins to see her old band-friend, Hunter, in a new light; he could be truly crush-worthy if the plastic girls (the “Spandexers”) can keep their hands off him. I enjoyed this story as it explores high school stereotypes and told through Kelly’s and Hunter’s alternating chapters. Hunter is a boy I would have loved and you will cheer for him as he finds his true voice. Flynn Meaney is also the author of Bloodthirsty. (ARC provided by LBC, August, 2012)

These four easily captured my attention. I have several others still to review including an elementary fiction title and four picture books and I am happy to share these exciting titles. The common denominator is identity which is something teens struggle with whether gay, straight, male, female, rich, or poor and these titles raise awareness for this angst.

Thank you Zoe!! You make my day with your monthly emails.

emma and me by elizabeth flock + A Giveaway!!

emma and me (2004)

elizabeth flock

292 pages

I don’t even know where I picked this book up – it does have a second hand sticker on it- but one that I don’t recognize so I can only presume the book has had a history before it fell into my waiting hands. I love it when a book finds you at just the right moment in your life.

The opening sentences slam you:

“The first time Richard hit me I saw stars in front of my eyes just like they do in cartoons. It was just a backhand, though-not like when I saw Tommy Bucksmith’s dad wallop him so hard that when he hit the pavement his head actually bounced. I s’pose Richard didn’t know about the flips I used to do with Daddy where you face each other and while you’re holding on to your daddy’s hands you climb up his legs to right above the knees and then push off, through the triangle that your arms make with his. It’s super fun. I was just trying to show Richard how it works. Anyway, I learned then and there to stay clear of Richard.” (9)

As a reader I was stunned and sad but pulled in by this little voice of eight-year-old Carrie. The abuse she suffers at the hands of her stepfather and her mother’s neglect are juxtaposed around her original family story; one where happiness played an important role and her father was kind and playful. Flock twists the story from Toast, NC to a tiny mountain town where Carrie meets several unusual characters that see right through her family’s struggles. I can’t give you any more details so when you read it the story can unfold and surprise you.

I loved Flock’s writing style and would enjoy reading more of her work. Carrie’s voice will stick with me for a long time to come. Because this book has already been through several readers I want to keep it traveling along. I will send this book to one lucky reader leave me a comment about one striking childhood memory and I will pick one unique answer. Include your email and I will get the book to you quickly!

This book is on my TBR Pile Challenge and the first book I’ve read on my list. Lisa from Books Lists Life encouraged me to read it and it was a perfect book to start with- Thanks Lisa! I hope the rest of my choices thrill me as much as this one did!

*the book does have some pencil marking in it from a child’s drawing hand-this amused me as the story is about a child, it is only on the first few pages and does not interrupt the story in any way but thought I should mention it in case you are one of those paperback book swap people who like pristine books.*

Before I fall by Lauren Oliver

I’m doing my best to catch up some YA reading this summer. People talk about these books all year long and I tend to save them for summer. This book was on my to-read mental list and while we were in DC we stopped by my husband’s old neighborhood, Adams Morgan. I went right to the lovely little used bookstore-the name of which escapes me-but a little magic happened and I found Before I Fall on a shelf with a $6 price tag inside. It was a sign.

I pushed back my major beach read, A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand, and started reading, right after we visited the National Zoo, which by the way was missing most of its animals the day we visited. Disappointing. It was hot.

Before I Fall

Lauren Oliver

470 pages

2010

Samantha Kingston has it all; the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High-from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. (inside front cover)

It sounds like quite the life but it took only a few pages into the book to realize Sam leads a crazy life-one that was a little scary for me; a mom of a young girl that will one day soon be a teen. Sam’s a mean girl-she wasn’t always but became one in order to hang with Lindsay and be well, popular. As the reader you know from the beginning of the book that Sam is going to die in a car crash after a party but it gets snagged up in time and she relives that day seven different times, trying to get it right…or at least a little better.

While the characters and their ability to be visciously mean to other people scared me I did enjoy getting to know the characters and the degree to which Sam Kingston is allowed to grow into a more thoughtful person. It’s as if she goes through seven stages of Dante’s Hell in order to get to heaven. While she’s learning we get a peek into what makes the other characters, like Lindsay, mean.

It’s good to know, according to Lauren Oliver, that bullies are basically insecure and choose to lash out due to their own lack of self-esteem. Mentally it is good to know this but it doesn’t help when you are the one made to feel like crap everyday of high school because some other h.s. student has decided to thrash on you. As Sam figures out how to make things better she notices the intricate threads that bind us all together. Beautiful lesson for teens to learn.

The writing is eloquent with lots of gentl emetaphorical comparisons. I loved Kent McFuller-he was a wonderfully written cool-geek! This is a snippet of conversation between Kent and Sam:

…”You remember my old house on Terrace Place, right?” The smile is back. It’s true: his eyes are exactly the color of grass. “You used to hang out in the kitchen and steal all the good cookies. And I chased you around these huge maple trees in the front yard. Remember?”
As soon as he mentions the maple trees a memory rises up, expanding, like something breaking the surface of water and rippling outward. We were sitting in this little space in between two enormous roots that curved out of the ground.like animal spines. (142)

This book should be read by parents as much as its intended young adult audience. There is a ton of drinking, smoking and sex in the book-I know it happens in high school but for this group of friends it was all part of their scene. As a mom all I could think was “please don’t let my child act this way…”

Other thoughts on Before I Fall…

The Brain Lair
Slightly Bookish…she even has a playlist set up for this book.
Fate is Kind Book Review

Lauren Oliver’s website.

Indie Bookstore