Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this important book. It was released October 18, 2022, by Orca Book Publishers.

Weird Rules to Follow is based on the author's experience growing up in Northern British Columbia. It reads like a series of vignettes narrated by Mia, a half Tsimshian, half white girl, about the events of her life. These episodes, spanning a number of years, focus on both life within her family, and on her relationship with her best friend, Lara, a white girl who lives nearby. They include basketball tournaments, Christmas at Disneyland, berry picking, canning salmon, riding bikes around the neighbourhood, dance recitals, and school.

The title of this book refers to the different kinds of rules that govern the two girls lives. The consequences are profound. Mia notes that Lara has rules and then wishes she had more of them. In this instance it's about family rules that focus on the child's future. Yet in the general community, when there are rules, they are either not applied equally, or rules are different based on culture and class. Where white students might receive sympathy and support, Indigenous ones receive punishment and scorn. 

Mia and her mother live with her grandmother, a reclusive uncle, and a foster girl named Mary, on a cul-de-sac in the community of Prince Rupert. It's a small neglected house often filled with relatives. Lara and her family live in a large modern home full of modern amenities. The difference between the two lifestyles is a critical component of the book. Yet while Lara might have more materially, Mia is surrounded by extended family, love, and a way of knowing and experiencing the world that Lara misses out on. It's obvious that Mia's mother does her best for her no matter what. "Yes I got a new bike and it’s really cool, but I knew we couldn’t afford it. The bike came at a cost." This is because Mia needed braces. Her mother, even though she worked two jobs, couldn't afford to pay the family portion of them and get Mia a new bike. In the end, Mia had to choose what she wanted more. She chose the bike.  

One important thing I appreciated about this book is seeing issues from different sides. When Mia's mother wins $1000 at bingo, Lara's mother frowns and points out how much she lost before she won. When Mia tells her mother about this, her mom "rolls her eyes and says, "I know how gambling works! But it's entertainment - I do it because it's fun."

Some parts of this book made me laugh out loud. When Mia agrees to get a perm for picture day, it doesn't end up the way she anticipated. "I look like my mom and aunties. I'd fit right in at bingo." After she tries to fix it, she ends up looking like, "a dead ringer for Michael Jackson on the cover of his Thriller album."  At other times the humour is found in little quips like this one, "Grandma doesn’t watch basketball, probably because she’s Christian."

Sometimes I almost wept. Mia doesn't really fit in anywhere. She's either too Indigenous or too white. Microaggressions are commonplace. They arise from both outside and inside the Indigenous community. When Lara's bike is stolen, her father automatically assumes it was an Indian who took it. Mia's half-Indigenous older cousin says that his Indigenous mother told him, “not to marry an Indian”.  In the Ts’msyen town of Kitkatla, (referred to as out there or out home) where her family originates, she’s considered an outsider. When she's bullied by a group of girls, her mom takes them back to Prince Rupert. The most stark example of one of these aggressions is when Mia starts high school. Lara gets a locker on the main floor in the midst of where the rest of the white students are. Mia's locker is situated in the dingy basement with other indigenous learners. Upon reflection, this is much more than a micro aggression. It's an example of systemic racism in action. Mia and Lara's relationship suffers because of this and other experiences as they grow older. 

While this book is recommended for readers aged 11 to 13, I would recommend it to readers of all ages who are interested in understanding what it means to grow up Indigenous in this province. It's a must read for all teachers who work with First Nation learners. 

#IMWAYR August 29, 2022

Welcome readers! 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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.

It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. I gave up on blogging last weekend and contemplated leaving it for this one too. I decided against that because our son, his wife, and their two girls will be arriving Monday and will be here for a week. I fully expect to be exhausted next Sunday and will be desperate to do nothing. 

Because we expected to be away for a couple of weeks early September, we had to get a lot of food preservation accomplished in August. So, on the 16th I purchased 120 pounds of Roma tomatoes. They had to sit and finish ripening for a few days. Since they became ripe enough, I have canned 14 quarts of tomatoes, made 50 odd jars of salsa, 25 pints of tomato sauce and 14 jars of ratatouille. I also made a couple of quarts of dill pickles and a double batch of zucchini fritters to freeze. After all, the garden doesn't stop producing just because we are busy with other things. On Saturday, the 20th, a crew of us juiced another 320 pounds of tomatoes. We ended up with about 110 quarts of tomato juice. Only half of it is ours. 

It is very satisfying going to the cool room in the basement and looking at all the food on the shelves. 

This is our portion of juice cooling. My uncle reminded me of the good old days when we used to go and pick our own tomatoes and juice up to 1000 pounds.
We are a family that loves our red juice. 

In the middle of all that we got the message that we no longer have to be away. 

In addition to all the food processing, we have been trying to get the suite in our basement under control so my cousin can move in. Our last tenant left a huge mess that has taken a lot of work to clean and a lot of stuff to fix. I've painted the kitchen cupboards and my husband made new doors for them. I've done just about all the rest of the cleaning except the linoleum floor that I am leaving for him to look after. I am quite proud because I fixed the toilet all by myself and, after much scrubbing and half a bottle of bleach, got the bowl cleaned out. 

Needless to say, I did not get much reading with my eyes accomplished, but I made up for it listening to some brilliant audiobooks. 

I will do my best to respond to everyone's posts this week, but I'm not guaranteeing it will happen for the first few days. 

Hope you are all enjoying the end of summer. The weather the last couple of days has been a bit cooler. This hint of autumn has been much appreciated. 

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.

MG NOVELS

Me Three by Susan Juby & Justin Miller (Narrator) March 22, 2022  🍁

Rodney, his sister, and their mother have moved to a new town in a new state to start a new life. The two children start school using their mother's maiden name because of sexual abuse allegations made against their father. 

This epistolatory novel introduces us to Rodney and his family and they struggle to come to terms with what has happened and make new friends. At first Rodney thinks that the allegations must be false, but over time he comes to understand that they are true and that his father is not the man Rodney thought he was. 

I liked Rodney even if he seemed a bit young for his age. I appreciate that we see the ramifications on children when their parents are held accountable for their unscrupulous actions. I liked the complexity in Rodney's new friends even if some of their adventures terrified the bejeezus out of me. 

All the other Susan Juby books I've read have been set in Canada, so I was a bit disconcerted, and wondered why this one is set in the USA. I appreciated that one of Rodney's friends has a mother living here in BC Canada. 

The Fort by Gordon Korman June 28, 2022  🍁

I am really enjoying Korman's work these days. The Fort is the story of a group of boys who discover an underground bunker. It was built in the 1980's by a now deceased, local capitalist. They end up selling the pure silver cutlery to purchase food and fix one of their group's phone.
A couple of older bullies figure they have money and end up harassing them to get them to let them in on what is going on.
The tale unfolds through each of their voices. I appreciate how the character of each of these boys has been developed. They all have important stories that reveal the kinds of challenges that real boys today are liable to connect to. Ultimately, the important thing is how they are there for each other.

Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson & Dion Graham (Narrator) October 5, 2021

Anthony, (Ant) idolizes his father and want desperately to impress him. Now that he is ten and in grade five, he plans to do this by winning the next spades tournament. His older brother, his father and his grandfather have been winners of this card game year after year. Unfortunately, a lot of things get in the way of this. He and his best friend and spades partner, Jamal, end up estranged. Ant pairs up with Shirley, a new girl in school and still hopes to win. But his father's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and strange until Ant's mother makes him leave. 

Varian Johnson has created another endearing character in Ant. My heart aches for him as he struggles to figure out how to become his own man in the middle of his father's failures. 

The Stone Child by David Alexander Robertson & Brefny Caribou (Narrator) August 2, 2022  🍁

There are two individual, but linked adventures in this novel. It begins as Morgan wakes to finds Eli near death at the base of the great tree. His soul has been stolen. To save him she has to call on everyone she trusts. She brings her best friend, Emily, from the everyday world to Misewa. Together with Arik, they travel into the dangerous North Woods, to search for Eli's soul. They are helped by an unexpected saviour. On their return home Eli realizes that another soul has been trapped inside the tree. In order to set it free, they have to destroy their portal to Misewa. 

The second part of the story involves their search for a new portal and Morgan connecting to her grandmother and deceased mother. 

I liked this a lot. My adrenalin ratcheted up while reading of their terrifying experiences in the North Woods. (At least there were no spiders.) I liked the romance that is blossoming between Emily and Morgan. I liked that the children are appreciating their foster parents more and in turn, the foster parents are doing their best for the children.  

I can hardly wait to find out what will happen to them all when they visit Misewa in the next book. 

Wings (Bromeliad Trilogy #3) by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Briggs (Narrator) January 1, 1990

I love this series so much that I've listened to each book twice. 

This quote from a wiki page explains the series much better than I can: "The main theme in the trilogy is the struggle of challenging society's accepted beliefs in the face of new information. This theme recurs through the books and includes changes in the scientific establishment, political establishment, religious beliefs, accepted history and family values of the nomes."

Wings is a companion book to Diggers in that it takes place at the same time. While the main group of Nomes are trying to deal with humans invading the quarry, this small group sneaks aboard an airplane and flies to NASA. With the help of 'the thing,' they end up contacting their spaceship, and returning to the quarry just in time to save the rest of the Nomes. 

Like the other novels in the series, this book is chock full of humour and rich commentary by the Nomes that ends up showing us ourselves. 

Some of the humour comes from how the Nomes think about the world: 

'What was that thing, Thing?’ said Masklin.
The Thing extended one of its sensors.
‘A long-necked turtle.’
‘Oh.’
The turtle swam peacefully away.
‘Lucky, really,’ said Gurder.
‘What?’ said Angalo.
‘It having a long neck like that and being called a long-necked turtle. It’d be really awkward having a name like that if it had a short neck.'

Some of it comes from how they see us:

 

'I don't think humans want to know things that disturb them.'

Nomes live ten times faster than humans. They're harder to see than a high- speed mouse. That's one reason why most humans hardly ever see them. The other is that humans are very good at not seeing things they know aren't there. And, since sensible humans know that there are no such things as people four inches high, a nome who doesn't want to be seen probably won't be seen.
  

"The other humans around it are trying to explain to it what a planet is."

"Doesn't it know?"
"Many humans don't. Mistervicepresident is one of them."

This series is deeply subversive. Don't let the book banners know anything about it. 

YA & ADULT FICTION

Huntress by Malinda Lo & Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator) April 5, 2011

I was wowed by this fantasy novel. It's jam packed full of action and romance. "Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly." They travel with the Prince and a small group of guards. 

If the sequel, Ash, had been available, I would have started it right away. 

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala & Danice Cabanela (Narrator) February 8, 2022

I kind of fell in love with Lila Macapagal and her aunties in Arsenic and Adobo, the first in Manansala's Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. They are cosy mysteries steeped in Filipino culture. Also, the food descriptions have me salivating nearly all the way through it.  

In this one, Lila, a former beauty queen herself, is roped into being one of the judges for this year's pageant. Then someone murders one of them and Lila's cousin, Bernadette becomes the prime suspect. Lila and the Filipino aunties (AKA the gossip brigade) get to work to clear her name.

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi March 2, 2021

So many people have praised this book that I think I went into it with unreasonable expectations. I enjoyed it well enough, but it was loaded with too much relationship angst for me. It's the story of two Korean American sisters who grew up in Texas but now live in New York. June, the older, successful sister has cancer. Jayne, the younger one is a student struggling to deal with an eating disorder and feelings of inadequacy. While the relationship between the two siblings is fraught with all kinds of tension and squabbling, it isn't the angst that arises from this that bothered me.
It's the angst that is embedded in Jayne's relationships with men that was hard for me to deal with. I expect that this is because I am more of an age to these girl's parents and after 46 years of marriage have figured out that you just have to try and be as honest and upfront as you can. Also, if someone is a jerk, you either leave or kick them out. 

CURRENTLY

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett June 2, 2020

Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me by Bailey Oster et al August 6, 2021  🍁

UP NEXT

I've had these books on my up next list for a number of weeks now.  I do mean to get to them but have to admit that they are merely suggestions.

Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith  🍁

Cub by Cynthia L. Copeland, 

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 19/24

#MustReadNonFiction 13/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 52/100 

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 13/25 one in progress

2022 Big Book Summer Challenge 7

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 201/250

#IMWAYR April 25, 2022

Welcome readers! 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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next. 

How are you all doing? My sinus infection has disappeared, I'm on my last antibiotics and feeling almost human again. 

Despite the cooler than usual weather, I've been out working in the garden attempting to rid the vegetable patch of wild geranium. (Thank goodness audiobooks keep me entertained while I am out mucking in the dirt.) I thought I had it almost finished and then we had a few days of rain. When I went out today I noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of sprouting geranium seedlings. They are amazingly resilient plants. I might even admire them if they were not trying to invade my garden.

On Sunday I realized that I was supposed to be posting a MustReadIn2022 update post for everyone to link to. I have been working on it and promise it will be ready to connect to by the end of the day on April 25th. 

I am content to have continued with the April Poem a Day writing challenge. I almost missed one day but ended up writing late into the evening. 

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.

PICTURE BOOKS 

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle by Nina LaCour & Kaylani Juanita (Illustrator) March 29, 2022

This exquisitely illustrated book shows us a young girl missing one of her mothers who is away on a work trip. From the returning of blueberries at the grocery store, to laying prostrate on the floor, her sadness is brilliantly revealed in the artwork.

5 stars

Powwow Day by Traci Sorell & Madelyn Goodnight (Illustrator) February 02, 2022

This is a powerfully emotional book.
River, a young Indigenous girl, is recovering from some kind of illness that is never identified. I suspect it might be cancer of some kind since there is a remark about her hair growing again. The family is going to a Powwow for the first time since she was sick.
River is a jingle dancer, but this year, as much as she would like to, she has no energy and is unable to participate. In spite of this, she understands that next year she will dance again.

The back matter is full of additional information about powwows. I especially appreciated the information on the history and purpose of jingle dancing.

5 stars

John's Turn by Mac Barnett, Kate Berube (Illustrator) March 01, 2022

I am so happy that this book is in the world. We need more like this - books that stretch our expectations for what boys and girls can do.

GRAPHIC

4 stars

Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds & Raúl the Third (Illustrations) November 30, 2021

The 'mean time' is when Stuntboy's parents are fighting. They are fighting a lot. Readers understand that they are separating/divorcing, but Stuntboy doesn't realize this at first.
I suspect that a lot of children will see themselves in Stuntboy. I suspect that many adults will see themselves in his parents. For the rest of us, this book provides a window into divorce from one child's perspective.
My only complaint is that this book ends on cliffhanger.

NOVELS 

4 stars

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram &  Michael Levi Harris (Narrator) August 28, 2018

This coming of age novel addresses body image and mental health issues. It is full of complex characters you believe are real and connect to on an emotional level. It is my favourite kind of book.
Darius is half Persian and half American. His family travels to Iran where he meets his grandparents and extended Iranian family for the first time. While there he makes his first real friend, Sohrab.
Initially Darius and his father seem to be in perpetual conflict. The two have much in common since Darius has inherited the genetics for depression from his father. Things come to head between the two of them in Iran and the source of the antagonism is revealed.

4 stars

Golden Gate (City Spies 2) by James Ponti & Lisa Flanagan (Narrator) March 09, 2021

I love reading about the adventures of this diverse group of teen spies. Each one of them has their own special skills. In this novel they end up travelling to San Francisco and tracking down a mole in MI6.

I might be a little bit addicted to this series.

ADULT NOVELS 

4 stars

All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac & Lincoln Mcgowan (Narrator) 🍁 October 12, 2021

This is a brilliant debut novel.
If Eddie Toma was a real person, he would have been just a few years older than me. Children just like him grew up in the same part of the world as I did. I suppose it's no wonder I connected so profoundly to this character.
Through Eddie, Brian Thomas Isaac shows us what life was like for young indigenous children in the 1950s and 60s. Eddie has to contend with poverty, racism, betrayal and violence.

If you are interested in dystopian fiction, you don't have to read futuristic novels. Just read the history of Indigenous people in Canada and the USA. It doesn't get much more dystopian than that.

This could be a YA or an adult read. 

4 stars

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Lesley Manville (Narrator) & Marian Keyes (Narrator) September 03, 2020

I enjoyed this British cosy mystery. It's one of those stories that in spite of having a plot full of twists, turns and red herrings, it's loaded with gentle humour. Mostly though, it's really all about the characters. They are just brilliant: rich and complex with fascinating histories, like older folks you could meet anywhere. The only difference is that the four members of the club are fascinated by murder.

CURRENTLY

• The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow
• Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds & Jason Griffin (Illustrations)
• A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger, Darcie

UP NEXT 

• Five Little Indians by Michelle Good 
• Bobbi Lee, Indian Rebel by Lee Maracle

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 10/24 one in progress

#MustReadNonFiction 5/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 25/100

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5 

Indigenous Authors 10/25 one in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 97/250

#IMWAYR February 28, 2022

Welcome readers! 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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next. 

I don't know about you, but I am getting exhausted from living in interesting times. 

Thankfully we had a delightful respite last weekend when my sons brought the two eldest grandchildren up for a visit. It was pure joy to watch the almost five year old cousins build magical worlds together. Also, I got to read books with them. 

Before my aunt died of cancer, she gave me three quilts to finish for her. They have sat in a box for the last decade or so. Then my cousin's daughter became pregnant. I knew that there was a baby sized quilt in the box so I dug it out. Aunty Marge had started hand quilting it. I finished the centre pieces. (You can really tell the difference between her work and mine.) I was given quilting rulers for Christmas so I messed around with them on scrap fabric before using them to quilt the rest of this. It might not be what I would have made from scratch, but it's much more precious for having originally come from the new baby's great grandma. I'm sure Aunty Marge would have been delighted.

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.

PICTURE BOOKS

Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak by Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd June 13, 2020  🍁

This board book is a perfect example of what happens when rhyming poetry works in a picture book. Children will love the bright illustrations and the sounds that nature makes.

The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson & Rafael López (Illustrator)

It was interesting to read this to my two grandkids. To be honest, I think it was over their heads. I tried to unpack it for them, but I'm not sure it worked. I suspect this would be a better book to read with older readers who would have enough background knowledge to find more meaning in it.

Grumpy Unicorn: Why Me? by Joey Spiotto September 03, 2019

I read this with my granddaughter. It didn't do much for either of us. Maybe I'm to old and she's too young. 

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier (Illustrations) December 28, 2021

Collier's artwork gives new meaning and power to this classic song. I made a few connections while reading the book, but was happy to have more pointed out to me in the notes in the back matter.

The Big Bath House by Kyo Maclear & Gracey Zhang (Illustrator) November 16, 2021  🍁

My grandson, granddaughter, and I really enjoyed this book. Nobody was concerned about the nudity and we all appreciated the many different body shapes and sizes. They made connections to visiting with their grandparents and going to the swimming pool.

My Two Border Towns by David Bowles & Erika Meza (Illustrator) Sepember 07, 2021

A boy and his father travel across the border to the town next to it. They have a list of things to purchase and spend some time visiting family. I was completely surprised by the stop on the way home that put much of the purchases of the day into perspective.

A Unicorn Named Sparkle by Amy Young July 05, 2016

Lucy sees an ad for a unicorn - only 25 cents, and sends in her order. While she waits she fantasizes about all the things she will do when it arrives. When Sparkle arrives, he isn't exactly what she expected. "He had spots. His ears were too long. He smelled funny. Oh, and he had fleas." On top of all this, he has a propensity for eating everything nearby. He does not act like a unicorn at all. She decides to send him back. Of course, Sparkle, a very special kind of unicorn, ends up worming his way into her heart.

Bowwow Powwow : Bagosenjige-niimi'idim by Brenda J. Child, Jonathan Thunder (Illustrator) & Gordon Jourdain (Translator) May 01, 2018  🍁

This bilingual picture book (English and Ojibwa) educates readers about Powwows. It's told through the perspective of Windy Girl and her pet, Itchy dog. Uncle tells her stories about Powows and she finally gets to experience one. In the evening she dreams of dogs participating in the different kinds of dances. The cartoonish art is bold and full of joy.

Princess Hair by Sharee Miller

I read this with my 4 1/2 year old granddaughter. We loved the different kinds of hairstyles highlighted for black girls. Like her father and mother, she has straight hair. Unpacking this book required me explaining that most black children have very very curly hair and these are styles for them. We both wished we could do some of these styles with our own locks.

NON FICTION PICTURE BOOKS

Mary Anning by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara & Popy Matigot (Illustrations) March 16, 2021

I introduced my two oldest grandchildren to Mary Anning. Both were fascinated by this simple biography. The next day when it was time to read more books, my grandson wanted to read it again. 

Now that's a sign of a great book.
I think I have become a fan of this series of nonfiction for young readers.

CHAPTER BOOKS

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo & Chris Van Dusen (Illustrator) May 9th 2006

The grandkids are fans of Mercy Watson. So am I.
Mercy ends up trying to take control of Mr Watson's convertible while Mr Watson is driving it. Disaster is averted with the aid of Baby Lincoln, who stowed aboard in search of adventure and folly.

 

MG NON FICTION

History Smashers, Plagues and Pandemics by Kate Messner October 5, 2021

I would certainly purchase this book for my Canadian school library. Some of the other books in this series focus primarily on American history, but this one is global in its scope. I appreciated the humour in spite of the essentially dark subject matter. The last section on covid is really well done.
The book is full of all kinds of nonfiction text features that make the book a pleasure to read and add to the understanding of the topics.

NOVELS

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo & Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator) January 19, 2021

I pretty much adored this book.
I am in awe of how Malinda Lo has integrated real people and historic events into this gripping historical fiction.
I had to stop reading every once in a while because I was terrified of what would happen to Lily Hu should she get caught at the Telegraph Club. Mostly, I couldn't stop listening. 

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu & Elise Arsenault (Narrator) October 12, 2021

Everyone expects Luka, Marya Lupu's brother, to be chosen to become a wizard. On the day someone comes to test him, it turns out to be a disaster and Marya is blamed. The next day she is told that she must attend a school for troubled girls. Something diabolical is going on at the school and it's up to Marya and her friends to figure out just what it is.
I loved this so much I'm desperately hoping for a sequel!

The Smartest Kid in the Universe by Chris Grabenstein & Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) December 1, 2020

This is part science fiction, part mystery, and full on hilarious. 

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Louise Penny & Joan Allen (Narrator) October 12th 2021  🍁

I enjoyed this fun, albeit at times terrifying, political mystery. I especially liked the ending that connected to Louise Penny's fictional community of Three Pines.

ADULT NON FICTION

Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell September 28, 2021  🍁

"Spíləx̣m are remembered stories, often shared over tea in the quiet hours between Elders."

I now live on the traditional lands of the Syilx people. I'm doing my best to learn more about who they are and what they have endured. 
Nicola I. Campbell integrates family, community, culture, land, and Canadian history into this personal memoir. The labyrinthian interconnections are articulated through poetry, prose, journal entries and essays. They are imbued with raw honesty. Many of the poems are stand alone stunning.
Throughout her work Campbell addresses living with and overcoming loss and grief - a grief deeply embedded into a culture through systemic racism and violence. At the same time, it's a story of rejuvenation, healing and moving forward.

CURRENTLY

Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen (Illustrator) & Michael Curran-Dorsano ( Narrator) 🍁

Mary Anning's Curiosity by Monica Kulling 🍁

Powwow, A Celebration Through Song and Dance by  Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane 🍁

UP NEXT 

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Whatever else strikes my fancy - maybe more books about Mary Anning.

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 4/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 13/100

Canada Reads shortlist 5/5

Indigenous Authors 5/25 one in progress

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 56/250

#IMWAYR January 24th, 2022

Welcome readers! 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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next. 

Just a reminder that if you are participating in the #MustRead challenge, Leigh Anne Eck at A Day In the Life is hosting the last update for 2021 here. When you are ready, post your #MustReadIn2022 goals here. The links are open until the end of January.

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.

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Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Ducks! by Deborah Underwood & T.L. McBeth (Illustrations) Feb 11, 2020

A young duck gets distracted by a butterfly. When it thinks to go back to it's flock, they have disappeared. As they go in search of them they find lots of clues, but NO DUCKS. I love T.L. McBeth's minimalist illustrations. The expression on the little duckling's face is delightful.

5 stars

Hello, World! by Ethan Long March 3, 2020

My sons were fans of Richard Scary books. This is a lot like those, except with a whole lot more humour. (Children might not get all the puns, but their parents most likely will!) I imagined reading this with my 4 1/2 year old grandchildren. I’m pretty sure they will love it.
If I was still in the library I would probably get a couple of copies of this to support primary teachers who do community projects with their students.

NONFICTION 

5 + stars

Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life by Cheryl Blackford January 25, 2022

This biography is visually stunning. I adored it. The images, combined with the straight forward, easy to read text make it a model for what nonfiction texts for elementary and middle grade readers should aspire to be. I read it a couple of times and each time I was more impressed by it. "It takes young readers through Anning's many fossil finds and scientific breakthroughs. At the same time it doesn't stint about the hardships Mary and her family endured. It makes clear the challenges she faced because of her poverty, gender and class." 

GRAPHIC NOVELS

These days I'm mostly reading graphic novels for the Cybils awards. I will do a post to share my thoughts on all of them after we pick a winner. From the ones I've finished so far, that's promising to be a daunting task. 

Here's what I read last week. If I previously reviewed the book, I've provided a link to it.

Chunky by Yehudi Mercado June 22, 2021

Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani June 22, 2021
    My original review is here. 

Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte &  Ann Xu (Illustrations) October 27, 2020

    My original review is here.

NOVELS

5 stars

Washington Black by by Esi Edugyan & Dion Graham (Narrator) August 2, 2018 🍁

I listened to the audiobook and was mesmerized by the writing, the story, and Dion Graham’s narration.

Washington (Wash) Black was born into slavery on a plantation in Barbados. The brutality he grows up with is horrific. When he was just a boy, Christopher, (Titch) the plantation owner’s brother, takes him on as his assistant. He teaches him to read and introduces him to scientific thinking. It turns out that Washington is a gifted artist.
Wash is present when a cousin of the brothers kills himself. Knowing his brother will blame Wash, Titch and Wash flee the plantation. They travel to America and, fleeing a relentless slave catcher the brother has sent after them, end up in the Arctic where Titch abandons Wash, who is still a child.
There are more journeys in store for Washing Black. To start, he leaves the Arctic and ends up in Nova Scotia.
As he grows up alone, Wash becomes a young man searching to figure out who he is, who he can be, and how he fits in the world. It’s an almost impossible task. He finds some peace, but all the while he’s haunted by Titch’s abandonment and lives in fear of the slaver catching up to him. As a black man with a disfigured face, he’s easy to track down. Even when he connects up with another scientist and his daughter, he’s never really acknowledged as a human being with the right to be recognized for his own work.
The ending left me heartbroken.
There is so much in this novel to unpack. To start there’s the relationship between the captured octopus and Washington. Then in tandem with the author, take a hard look at who Abolitionists were and explore the contradictions between what they said and how they acted. 

I wish I had read this with a book club.

PS - Esi Edugyan has won two Giller prizes (this is one of them) and her books have been nominated for for many more awards.

MEMOIR

5 stars

Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing by Clayton Thomas-Muller (Author and Narrator) Sep 04, 2019  🍁

Learning how people come to be the people they are is always fascinating. I really appreciated Clayton Thomas-Muller's brutal honesty in this. His life was full of hard things - some are difficult to read about. He didn't always make the kinds of choices people might think are the right ones, but he's come out of it being a staunch environmental activist at the same time as working hard to become the best person he can be. The first part of the book deals with his early years and the second half focuses more on his activism. In many ways his story is the story of Indigenous rejuvenation, reclamation, and celebration.
Reading reviews about this book is interesting. Some readers complain it is too much about his activism. Others say it's too much autobiography. I think the intersection of these two make it just right. 

CURRENTLY

What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad & Dion Graham (Narrator) 

My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley  (Cybil title)

Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell

UP NEXT 

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney & Robyn Smith (Illustrator) (Cybil title)

I have almost finished reading and rereading the finalists in the graphic novel categories in my role as a round 2 Cybils judge. I'm looking forward to finding time for other books.

READING GOALS

#MustReadFiction 2/24 

#MustReadNonFiction 1/18 one in progress

Canadian Authors 5/100 one in progress

Canada Reads Longlist 5/23 one in progress

Indigenous Authors 2/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 26/250