relationships – Peaceful Reader

29 days of book love

Boy meets Boy by David Levithan is a book I won on a blog giveaway years ago in the early days of this blog. I didn’t know who Levithan was but the book had an interesting premise. The topsy turvy world that Levithan creates is one that reminds of the wild L.A. world of Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. They both are about worlds that don’t exist (yet).

This short novel won my book love for Paul’s story, the truth mixed in with so much good humor, and this quote:

“I’ve always known I was gay, but it wasn’t confirmed until I was in kindergarten.
It was my teacher who said so. It was right there on my kindergarten report card: Paul is definitely gay and has very good sense of self.
I saw it on her desk one day before naptime. And I have to admit: I might not have realized I was different if Mrs. Benchly hadn’t pointed it out. I mean, I was five years old. I just assumed boys were attracted to other boys. Why else would they spend all of their time together, playing on teams, and making fun of the girls? I assumed it was because we all liked each other. I was still unclear how girls fit into the picture, but I thought I knew the boy thing A-OK….”

Which leads to this conversation with his teacher…

“Am I definitely gay?”
Mrs. Benchly looked me over and nodded.
“What’s gay?” I asked.
“It’s when a boy likes other boys,” she explained.
I pointed over to the painting corner, where Greg Easton was wrestling on the ground with Ted Halpern.
“Is Greg gay?” I asked.
“No.” Mrs. Benchly answered. “At least not yet.”
Interesting. I found it all very interesting.
Mrs. Benchly explained a little more to me-the whole boys-liking girls thing. I can’t say I understood. Mrs. Benchly asked me if I’d noticed that marriages were mostly made up of men and women. I had never really thought of marriages as things that involved liking. I had just assumed this man-woman arrangement was yet another adult quirk, like flossing. Now Mrs. Benchly was telling me something much bigger. Some sort of global conspiracy.
“But that’s not how I feel,” I protested. My attention was a little distracted because Ted was now pulling up Greg Easton’s shirt, and that was kind of cool. “How I feel is what’s right…right?”
“For you, yes,” Mrs. Benchly told me. “What you feel is absolutely right for you. Always remember that.”

And that last line is golden. Oh how I wish we truly had conversations with students like this. Although odd that Mrs. Benchly openly points out Paul’s sexuality via his report card but his sense of self worth-yes! It’s funny and filled with very real characters.

My copy has this lovely inscription:

Grasshopper Jungle

If you want to discover stacks and stacks of good books at your local library you need my friend Tina to go with you. Any time I meet her there she loads me up as we walk down the shelves. On our last trip she handed me Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith and said “here read this, because I can’t, and let me know how it is.” She’s not a fan of dystopia but she was interested in the Iowa setting.

So I read it and for the first 40 pages I kept thinking I should quit. And then I’d read a little more and a little more and then it started to grow on me. At about the half way point I couldn’t stop reading which made me laugh because that’s just what I tell my students-keep going~the really good stuff doesn’t always happen in the beginning. I didn’t almost give up on it though because stuff wasn’t happening-it was the main character, Austin, that drove me nuts. He’s telling us the story as a sort of historical document and we really get to know Austin-it’s his coming-of-age tale after all-right in the middle of the end of the world.

My thoughts were poor Austin all he can think about is being horny and every single page is about his desire to have sex, shit, masturbate, sex, shit, masturbate, with a lot of smoking mixed in. And then just when I thought I couldn’t take his relentless need to talk about it all so much I let it slide~after all he’s 15~and began to appreciate what Austin had to say about his relationship with Robby, his best friend. I loved that he was so confused about his relationship with both Robby and his girlfriend, Shann because it’s tough to be in love with two people at the same time. His friendship with Robby was a breath of fresh air because he cared so deeply. I grew to like him.

I also thought it was a realistic look at small town Iowa with it’s boarded up shops, crazy family drama, and lots of corn. And the book definetely makes a case for not messing with genetics. Say no to GMOs of any kind. And Austin does a great job of reminding us that everything is connected and life is a massive game of 6 degrees of seperation.

Now the huge 6-foot-grasshopper creepy things I can’t even talk about them…

Someone on goodreads mentioned that you either get Andrew Smith or you don’t~and I completely agree. This book is not for everyone but it is good.

Now you don’t have to read it Tina. I thank you for handing it to me though even if my hand now feels a little grubby.

A sample:

It took me a very long time to work up the nerve to kiss Shann Collins, who was the first and only girl I had ever kissed.
There was a possibility that I’d never have kissed her, too, because she was the one who actually initiated the kiss.
It happened nearly one full year after the Curtis Crane Lutheran Academy End-of-the-year Mixed-Gender Mixer.
Like Robby explained to her: I was shy.
I was on the conveyor belt toward the paper shredder of history with countless scores of other sexually confused boys.
After the Curtis Crane Lutheran Academy End-of-the-year Mixed-Gender Mixer, I tried to get Shann to pay more serious attention to me.
I tried any reasonable method I could think of. I joined the archery club when I found out she was a member, and I offered multiple times to do homework with her. Sadly, nothing seemed to result in serious progress.

She finally comes around when he gets in trouble at school for reading The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier. If you can handle it you should read it. Welcome to Eden if you do.

Last minute summer road trips w/ G.G.

(Groovy Girl and her aunt)

Groovy Girl and I have been on a road trip frenzy to finish out the summer with a bang! We headed northeast first to the Rochester area of my former home state of Minnesota. I can wax poetically about growing up in the Land of 10,000+ lakes and my dad and his boating adventures. We spent many fun times going up and down rivers, camping on islands, going round and round lakes as generations of children and adults took their turns water skiing. I recently saw an old pair of wooden skis at an antique store and it took me back to 3rd grade when I had them on my feet for weeks at a time.

(Groovy Girl and her wee cousin)

We went to visit my stepmother and stepsister who is about to have baby #2 (remember when hashtags represented number). It was wonderful to see everyone and we delighted in seeing Groovy Girl’s young cousin, Amalia, who is growing fast. My other stepsister is in the process of moving with her husband and two young daughters to Minneapolis from the south side of Chicago so soon we’ll be able to easily get together.

We came home for one day turnaround and headed east to visit my friend Barb. She lives in the great state of Indiana in the northeast corner. She just purchased a new house and we helped her move, clean, organize, and build to make the new house a little more ready for her family to live in. We spent one long evening doing battle with an IKEA closet organizer for her son’s room.

She runs a very busy business, Marilyn’s Bakery, and was pulled in several different directions while we were there (every day for her) so it was great that we could be there to help. Groovy Girl and I like to help in the bakery but this time it was even more fun to stay at the new house, all shiny and beautiful, and work on that major project. We also had time to get pedicures, attend two yoga classes at The Yoga Room with Mike and go kayaking in the small lake that sits behind her new house.

(Barb and Groovy Girl)

Barb and I have known each since before we were married or had children and there is something comfortable about spending time with someone who knows you so well. We can talk about just about anything and we are lucky that we’ve landed only 2 states away from each other even though busy schedules keep us apart for most of the year.

While we were gone my youngest brother sent me an email asking us to visit before summer ends. We saw each other in Montana but it would be great to see them again and see the new house they have under construction. We’ll have to see what the end of August-beginning of September bring as school starts next week for both of us. How are you ending your summer?

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

I picked this book up from Scholastic about a year ago. Published in 2010, it is on an award list for Iowa this year and the premise had me intrigued. Also I was fascinated by the fact that the author wrote it as part of her doctoral program.

It proved to be as interesting as it’s synopsis led me to believe. Written as a letter to her captor Gemma pulls us directly into her story. Frustrated with her parents as they prepare for an international flight, Gemma takes off to buy herself a cup of coffee and gather her thoughts. While searching for the right change to hand the barista a stranger comes to her rescue offering to pay for the coffee with the right currency and fixes her cup up with a packet of sugar. By taking charge of the situation he wins her over with a few soft words and a drug in her drink. She is swept literally off her feet by Ty to a lone cabin in a remote Australian location. Gemma attempts to escape several times only to be brought back by Ty because nothing is near. He has the cabin stocked up with food and he plans to hide away from the world with Gemma by his side.

She’s never had a boyfriend and is not real close to the few friends she had back in London so Ty is able to pull her in because she’s not sure of her own emotions. There are parts of him that she is attracted to and yet she never fully forgets that he is her captor. I thought Lucy Christopher did an amazing job of portraying this precarious relationship with glimmers of kindness mixed with Gemma’s true reality of being stolen from her life; bad or good it was still her own life.

“So I followed you. I don’t know why really. I could say it was because I had nothing else to do except stare at four walls, or that I wanted to try escaping again, but I think there was more to it than that. When I was trapped in the house, it felt like I’d already died. At least when I was with you, it felt like my life mattered somehow…No, that’s not really it; it felt like my life was being noticed. It sounds weird, I know, but I could tell that you liked having me around. And that was better than the alternative, that feeling of emptiness that threatened to drown me every hour of being in that house.” (96)

The cover for this book and even the few inside illustrations that lead into the story are really well designed and make perfect sense once you turn the last page. My copy of Stolen has a nice award sticker on the front for the Michael L. Printz ALA honor book. If you haven’t picked this one up yet I recommend it. At 299 pages it won’t take you long…

Click her name to find her website: Lucy Christopher and see news about her new title, The Killing Fields.

I read the best book over the weekend…

Don’t you love a sentence that begins that way? I’ve been hastily doing all I can for the upcoming election and did some canvassing this weekend for Organizing for America. I’m very ready for Tuesday to come and go as I’m exhausted from this campaign. In between family events and chatting up my favorite president to local residents I actually did read the best book!

What Happens Next (October, 2012) by debut author Colleen Clayton took my breath away with how real and wonderful the story was. Cassidy Murphy, a voluptuous cheerleader, heads off on a school ski club excursion with her two best friends. She’s never skied before and ends up on the bunny slope for the first day while her more experienced friends, Paige and Kirsten, head to the black diamonds remorsefully leaving Cassidy behind. She’s determined to better her skiing skills and while making attempt after attempt meets a hunky older guy, Dax, on the chair lift. Because of her over-sized chest and shapely figure she’s had little experience with men and is an easy target for the suave Dax who wins her over with a few well placed compliments and some coy memory tricks. He asks her to a party after they’ve spent the day flirting and laughing as they ski down the easier slopes. She knows she can’t really accept the invite as it would be breaking curfew for the trip and she’s pretty sure Paige and Kirsten won’t help her but she tries to get them to go along with her party plan anyway. They turn her down and yes, she sneaks out because this cute boy was nice to her. Cue the ominous music.

We get inside Dax’s condo where there is no party but he does invite her into “his parlor” to watch a movie. We leave them laughing together and then speed zip to Cassidy waking up in a bedroom by herself, feeling sick like a hangover. She walks back to the condo where she is bombarded with her friends and the chaperone’s disappointment. Her brain jiggles with worry about the events of the previous night but she can’t quite say exactly what happened but her life has altered, tipped a little, keeping her mentally and physically off balance. Her grades suffer, her friends disappear. She gets kicked off the cheer leading team, drops out of one class only to be assigned to the AV room as an aide which is where she meets Corey Livingston. He turns out to be the perfect slacker dude; someone who is easy to talk to, doesn’t ask a lot of questions and has secrets himself. I could have used a Corey Livingston dream date while I was in high school.

Random quote:

I don’t know how it happens. It just does. I search and search for clues to tell me what happened, where he is, who else he has done this to. I find nothing but inner sickness. I get so torn up and panic-stricken that I have to slam my laptop shut and raise my window, stick my head out into the cold night, and try not to scream. I don’t know what to do with it, this lack of peace, this need to know. I want it to go away but it won’t.
Every night it comes back.
Every night I am searching. (90)

There is a hint of fairy tale to me with Dax’s yellow eyes and Sid’s long red locks but this book definitely tells a real life story of what many young women go through as they evaluate themselves harshly, trying to live up to false images of the perfect women while they steer their way through uncertain relationships with men. It’s not that every strange man on the ski slope is going to be a Dax Windsor but they are out there. Luckily Cassidy meets Corey who likes her for who she is which is what all young women deserve.

Just like Ask the Passengers by A.S. King I will recommend this to our high school teacher-librarians as a must purchase! Review copy received from Zoe at Little, Brown, and Company. In no way did this influence my review as the book stands on its on merit.

*Just as a warning this book does have a ton of swearing.

Soaring with Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Ask the Passengers

A.S. King

October, 2013

I started my September ARC (advanced reader’s copy) challenge with a bang! This book seriously blew me away with how wonderfully-written it was. Carrying just enough sarcasm, wit,and angst mixed with profound love; it made me smile, laugh, shake my head, and cry in rapid secession, it gave me such HOPE!

Ask the passengers is Astrid Jones’ story. She’s a high school student in a small town where her parents have settled her after a major move from New York City. Her parents craved the hometown experience without realizing the affect it would have on their two young girls; Astrid and Ellis. Astrid feels she’s never quite fit in to this small-town, small-minded community. Ellis, on the other hand, seems to have made a life with the popular kids. In a way each member of the Jones’ family struggles with new identity after the move and they’ve gotten stuck in crisis mode. Eventually they come to realize it is just another way to not accept themselves. A.S. King weaves this drama around this family’s journey back to each other.

But first the gossip. Lots of gossip. Small towns are never as idyllic as they seem. Astrid’s family feels rocky and she takes her life cues from this. She’s busy keeping a major secret for her neighbor and best friend, Kristina, and her boyfriend, Justin. They fool everyone into thinking they are the perfect couple-prom couple perfect. But when Kristina and Justin go out on their cute weekly Friday double dates they actually are dating the other person. Yep. Kristina and Donna, and Justin and Chad have it all worked out. Nicely. Modern set up. Astrid keeps their secret. See how small towns are not what they seem to be…

What Kristina doesn’t know is that Astrid has her own secrets and she’s not ready to share at all. Instead she sends her love out to passing airplanes. Better to give it away than store it up or throw it away.

“So I send my love, and I ask the passengers: Where are you going? Can I come with you? I could finally feel at home.” (98)

When she talks to the plane passengers we get a message back, showing us the profound effect an outpouring of positive emotion can have. So while Astrid misses the big city idea and what that represents the plane people are having their own problems thousands of feet above her. And the small town people might catch her off-guard; people are filled with surprises as she discovers along her journey. Through her narration we hear odd angles like her humorous thought-process of small town gossip:

“They say: I bet her and that Justin Lampley will have some damn pretty kids. They say: I can’t figure out why she hangs out with that weird neighbor girl.That’s me. (Astrid)” (4)

The proverbial “they” is always a fear; whether in her mind or truthfully being told it’s hard to bear the fact that in small towns people are watching your every move. And one night the double daters and Astrid are caught in their secret world, busted, and tossed back to their families. Do they recover from stepping outside the small-town boundaries? Maybe. Yes. No. Out of negative we know that good often occurs and this book has so much good mixed in with everything. I could read it all over again!

I let a friend borrow it today-she sent praises within the hour! This book deserves much attention as a story filled with love, redemption, and what it means to be yourself where ever you live. I’m curious about A.S. King’s other titles-what wonderful messages might be revealed within their covers.

ARC received from Little, Brown, and Company. Thank you Zoe!

28 Days of Things I love; #1

image courtesy of vintagechica

#1 On the first day of February I offer up my children’s sunshine-filled peaceful moments.

I deeply love my children all the time but I am very nearly giddy when they get along, showing mutual respect and kindness for each other (not the terms they would use.) This morning in the bathroom was an example of this or when Teenage Boy helps Groovy Girl with her homework. There are many more times when he is big brother mean to her and she sobs little girl sobs and maybe those times make me appreciate the camaraderie that can occur. Life is rocky-I hope they can learn to count on each other.

Happy February!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

(2009)

Fantasy

471 pages

I just finished and am overwhelmed with how wonderful this book was to read. Cashore created a world of kingdoms ruled by kings where two people, Katsa and Po, meet and become friends in the truest sense. Both Katsa and Po are graced with a special talent far beyond what others can imagine. Katsa, orphaned at a young age lives with her uncle, King Randa, who has control over her and uses her killing grace to his advantage but through her own rebellious feelings she forms a council to right some obvious wrongs. On one of the council’s missions she meets Po, a prince from one of the seven kingdoms, and things begin to change in her world as Po teaches her that no man, especially Randa, can control her; that her control always lies within her.

I don’t want to go into detail as much of what was great about this book took me by surprise; points I don’t want to now hand to you, if you haven’t read it. I like fantasy and I thought Cashore built a believable world with very likeable characters. I liked how the characters from part one were not forgotten as I liked Raffin and Helda. I want to know more about Po’s family, Katsa’s decisions and Bitterblue’s struggles.

Last night we drove for two hours home from a music fest and I couldn’t put the book down, even though my head was nodding, begging for sleep and I was reading with a tiny book light. I woke up this morning, picked the book up again, read, made breakfast, read until I turned the last delicious page. I think I will probably be at the library when the doors open tomorrow morning to get Fire.

After Thoughts: I’m a little perturbed because I did some research about Fire, the “sequel” to Graceling and it’s about a different character and as much as I can gather does not further Katsa and Po’s story. (How many of you already knew this…?) I will still read it but am not racing to the library to get it.
I also read a few other reviews and want to comment. The whole relationship issue was believable to me…this is something many people grapple with today and marriage is complex. Can you marry someone and not feel a little “owned” even when you love that person? Yes, but it’s not always easy and the book makes that argument. Katsa and Po are not high school teenagers either and Katsa hasn’t had any positive guidance in this area either. She knows she doesn’t want someone to be in charge of her life. I think it is a worthy debate and thought the example of love was done well; showing depth from both characters.

I did think the book ended quickly but I didn’t think it let the story just drop off. I was ready to read about Katsa’s lessons with Bitterblue and Po’s journey home. I think Katsa and later Bitterblue offer strong female characters for readers and great examples of friendship and self-esteem exist in the book.
Find Kristin Cashore at her blog, This Is My Secret.
Find Graceling at an Indie Bookstore near you.

Bitter End

by Jennifer Brown

(May, 2011)

354 pages

Goodreads Summary:

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole, a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her, she can’t believe she’s finally found her soul mate-someone who truly understands her and loves her for who she really is.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her best friends, Zack and Bethany, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all of her time with another boy? But as the months pass, Alex can no longer ignore Cole’s small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats. As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose “love” she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose – between her “true love” and herself.

My Thoughts:

The story is very honestly told from Alex’s point-of-view as she experiences the overwhelmingly new feelings of falling in love. I was drawn into the story because I liked Alex’s character-she’s thoughtful, she’s a poet, she’s nice to her friends and a hard-worker and I felt terrible as she got pulled further into this destructive relationship, which ultimately alters her original redeeming qualities.

Even though I knew from the blurb that this was about an abusive relationship it still took me by surprise, which is how it happens in real life. (I know a little from personal experience-it is never pretty and they never get better. ) Alex is very excited when Cole notices her, asks to read her poetry and flirts with her. The middle of the story is filled with her anxiousness and I cheered when she started listening to others. Her family annoyed me, especially her dad, because they weren’t paying attention. Her dad has had his head buried since mom took off years earlier. Georgia, Alex’s boss at The Bread Bowl, is the one who seems to understand on a deeper level what Alex is experiencing. Her friends want to help, try to help but keep losing out in the conversation. It becomes an “us” or “him” game that has no good ending.
I’ll admit it. I cried. I cried. I cried.

It’s very well-written and the author’s end note sums up just how she knows so much about abusive relationships…and it isn’t how you think but it gave the book even more credence.

If you have the chance, take time to read Jennifer Brown’s Bitter End, it is worth it!

Read Janssen’s review of Hate List -makes me want to read it, even though it will be emotional as well.

I received my advanced reader’s copy from the publisher, Little, Brown and Company, but this did not reflect in anyway on my review. I truly loved it and finished it in two days because I couldn’t put it down. I look forward to other books by this new author.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Dreamland

by Sarah Dessen

(2000)

This is my third finished book for 2010 and like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo it was not an easy read. I love Dessen’s writing but the topic of this one made it very difficult.

Synopsis:

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He’s magnetic. He’s compelling. He’s dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else-her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?

You see, I read all that on the back when I purchased the book six months ago-I knew from that description the boyfriend, Rogerson was bad news but reading it was so powerful, so real, so right on-I was shocked and shaky at points while reading it. I made little gurgly, grunty noises of fear for Caitlin. It was powerful reading particularly because I had one boyfriend who had some snarky resemblence to Rogerson.

My “Rogerson” was Joey and he was gorgeous; curly, wild hair (hmm, like Rogerson), funny, sweeter-than-sweet smile, and a happy, no worries-kind-of attitude. All good until his vivid green stripes started showing and I don’t mean his environmental tendencies, either. Then he became wicked controlling within one weekend and his severe temper reared up and out and toward me. It was completely unexpected for me-he drove a VW Bus and worked by day as a talented carpenter for heaven’s sake!! For me, this situation only lasted one weekend and then I said “see ya” to sweet Joey. It doesn’t ever really end that easy and it doesn’t for Caitlin but having lived through an abusive situation I was amazed at how perfect Dessen’s writing was on this topic and crushed because this wasn’t going to be a love story where I could secretly love the young male character! Statistically, I know high school young women are so vulnerable (I was a little older-out of college) and I knew, as soon as I heard Rogerson controlling her, which road we were heading down.

Intermixed with the abusive relationship are flashbacks and thoughts about Caitlin’s sister, Cassandra, who disappears with her boyfriend, Adam instead of heading off to Harvard. This is the event which throws Caitlin into a tailspin. I enjoyed her family story and thought it related to so many together families…nothing really wrong-more right than wrong but somehow kids don’t go down the projected path. The hippie/neighbor/best friends were wonderful characters as well.
I wish all teenage girls would read a book like this and learn the signs of someone who does not have their best interests at heart. It hurt to read the book but I’ve never written anything out about Joey, so maybe the light shines through! Sarah Dessen writes this with such vivid descriptions it makes me wonder if she too has a Joey in her past??
As part of Bibliophile By The Sea’s Reading from my shelves project I am passing this on to my stepdaughter Kaylee.

Click here- for Sarah Dessen’s website.

Highly Recommended YA/ 4/5 peaceful stars

Happy Reading!!