#IMWAYR APRIL 15, 2024

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.

I'm finally ready to quilt my collage project! I've been watching a lot of Susan Carlson videos to figure out all kinds of things - most importantly, how to know when the collage part is done! My goal is to get it quilted tomorrow so I can get it mounted and then I can call it done! Here's where I am so far. 

I'm also getting ready for an appliqué workshop coming up next Monday. Honestly, choosing the right fabric is the hardest part of this so far. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.

CHAPTER BOOKS

5 stars

Mercy Watson is Missing! ( Tales from Deckawoo Drive #7) by Kate DiCamillo & Chris Van Dusen (Illustrator) December 5, 2023

This book is the perfect example of why adults should read children's books. Seriously, the humour in this one, with its parody of a private investigator, is hilarious and way above the heads of children. 

When Mercy goes missing, the residents of Deckawoo Drive hire Percival Smidgely, private investigator, to find her. The children at least, don't have much faith in him. 

Stella, Horace Broom, and Leroy Ninker and Maybelline, his horse, set out in search of the errant pig. 

Meanwhile, Mercy has evaded a couple of ne'er-do-wells who had bacon on their mind. She's managed to cadge some toast and butter, and has continued to chase down the very strong scent of butter in the air. 

Mercy is eventually found and everyone returns to the Watson house for toast and butter. 

Like the other books in this series it is screamingly hilarious, at times poignant, and always full of important truths about how to live a good life. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

5+ stars

Mexikid by Pedro Martín August 1, 2023

"Pedro Martín has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn't mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito."

Mexikid is frigging brilliant. 

It is the best graphic novel I have ever read.
Not only is this the best graphic novel ever, it's also one of the most hilarious books I've ever read. Absolutely nothing can compare to the episode with the snot and the pop rocks. Absolutely nothing.
Other sections are profoundly moving - especially those that address his relationship with his older sister who really gets Pedro, as well as those with his abuelito.

There is a lot packed into this book. It's a book about identity. It's a book about family and sibling relationships. It's a book about grandparents and grandchildren. It's a book about Mexico and it's culture and history. It's a travel book. 

It paints a brilliant picture of growing up in the 1970's. I might have been a bit older than Pedro Martín, but all the pop culture references, as well as the Winnebago with shag carpet, and the summer farm work to have your own spending money, were a kind of time warp for me.

If you need more Mexikid stories after you are finished, check out Martín's site here.

MG NON FICTION

5 stars

The Trailblazing Life of Viola Desmond: A Civil Rights Icon by Rachel Kehoe & Chelsea Charles (Illustrator) September 12, 2023  🍁

If you are Canadian, and have a $10 dollar bill in your wallet, there's a good chance it will have Viola Desmond's picture on it. This book tells the story of her remarkable life.
In New Glasglow, Nova Scotia, on November 8th, 1946, nine years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, Viola Desmond refused to leave the white's only section of a movie theatre. The police were called in, she spent the night in jail, and was accused and convicted of tax evasion (the one cent difference between tax in the balcony and floor sections). It was the only thing they could legally charge her with. She paid the fine and returned home. She took her case to the supreme court of Nova Scotia where she lost. Finally, in 2010, Viola Desmond was pardoned and the premier of the province apologized for how she had been treated.
Viola grew up in a large family who put a lot of stock into doing well in school and getting a good education. They were activists who tried to make the world better for all black people. In 1876, her grandfather had managed to get schools in the North End, where they lived, desegregated. When she graduated she wanted to go to teacher college and become a teacher. At that time black students were not allowed to go to the local teacher college, and even if she went somewhere else, she would only have been able to teach in a segregated school for black children. She challenged the teacher training tests, passed and began teaching.
Not long afterwards she quit and opened up a hair salon for black women. Soon she became a successful business woman.
There is so much I love about this book. Mostly I appreciate that it provides a woman's perspective of racism. I also learned a lot about dealing with Black hair!
I really like the layout. Sections in yellow are reflections from her younger sister, Wanda. It's because of Wanda that justice was finally achieved for Viola. There are numerous sidebars (highlighted in teal) that explain historical events, define relevant terms, and provide mini biographies of important individuals of the time.
The end of the book includes a timeline, a glossary, a section on resources, and an index.

Chelsea Charles illustrations are gorgeous!

ADULT/YA FICTION

3.5 stars

Winter's Gifts (Rivers of London 9.5) by Ben Aaronovitch & P enelope Rawlins (Narrator)  June 8, 2023

Readers were introduced to Kimberly Reynolds in Whispers Under Ground. She has made the odd appearance in the Peter Grant books since then. Here she is the protagonist in her own novel.
Kimberly, an FBI agent, heads off to Northern Wisconsin to investigate some kind of paranormal event upon the request of a retired agent who lives in the area. She finds he has gone missing and ends up trapped in a small town in the middle of a freak winter storm.

I liked a lot about this book. I appreciated the integration of local spirits, and that Kimberly has much to learn about local Indigenous culture and history. I was relieved when the evil forces turned out to be connected to white explorers. I would have liked a connection made between them and the Windigo, though perhaps that is really only the purview of Indigenous authors. I did interpret those creatures through that lens.
I liked all the action in the plot but I missed the magical responses to the dangers that are integral to the Peter Grant books.
At different times in the book I was irritated by the focus on Kimberly's born again Christian faith. It seemed overdone and weird. Do people, who have barely met, really ask each other if they have accepted Jesus into their hearts?
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. If I am honest, it's probably because I have gotten into the habit of listening to this series before eventually reading the books with my eyes. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is the voice of the series so Penelope Rawlins narration was jarring to start. I could have gotten used to this except that at one point Kimberly Reynolds phones Peter Grant and it wasn't Peter's voice. I wish they could have had Kobna narrate those bits.

CURRENTLY

Doppelganger by Naoimi Klein 🍁 

Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors by Gail D. Villanueva

Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia by Myriam Daguzan Bernier & Cécile Gariépy (Illustrator)  🍁

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

The Future by Catherine Leroux & Susan Ouriou (Translator) 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 7/25 two on the go

NonFiction 11/24 

Canadian Authors 16/50 two on the go

Indigenous Authors 7/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 71/200