Mod-Goth is totally a thing, right?

I vividly remember being in 7th grade and struggling to pick a book for my first book report of the year. I had just read Phyllis Whitney's Silverhill, my first classic gothic romance, and I was in love with it. I convinced it was the only type of book I ever wanted to read again. My mother gently tried to suggest that perhaps it wasn't the best material for a book report but my answer was simply to suggest other titles by Whitney or similar sounding stories by Victoria Holt. My mother rolled her eyes and sent a note to my teacher with my book report proposal. My teacher tried to have the same conversation with me but I wouldn't budge. Thus my love of gothic was born. 

Over the next several years I burned through all of my mother's gothic romance novels but I read so many that I started to see repeating patterns, overused tropes, and stock characters. I wasn't calling my issues by those names at the time, but I got a little bored with the formulaic nature of the genre. 

And then Jenny Adams Perinovic wrote A Magic Dark & Bright and I fell entirely back in love with gothic. It was spooky and romantic and full of deep dark family secrets. It was all the things I had loved about my mother's gothics but it was also something else. It was modern and fresh and included so many other elements that made it the antithesis of formula fiction. 

Despite my undying love of AMD&B, I didn't dive right back into gothic. The wounds of my old betrayal ran deep. But I took baby steps. I downloaded The Artisans by Julie Reece months ago because it sounded so good and just what my little gothic-loving heart craved.   

Just a few days ago, I was struggling to stay afloat in daily life and, because stress leads to bad decisions, I decided to start reading The Artisans at 11pm on a weeknight. I binge read it in one sitting. (Bed time was after 2am but I don't want to talk about it.) 

AND I LOVED IT. It was perfect gothic gone modern. It had just enough of the tropes I wanted without being too predictable. It was just what my stressed out brain needed to relax and find its happy place again. I loved the spunky voice of the main character, Raven. And the infuriating but drop dead gorgeous Gideon with his blond curls and fancy cane. I loved Raven's super supportive, effortlessly endearing best friends and the grumpy chauffeur. And the pearly white boy who tells her that her black cat is in danger. I loved literally everything about this book. I highly recommend! 

So I'm thoroughly back in love with gothic, but modern, fresh, and innovative gothic. Something I've dubbed mod-goth. It's totally thing, right? Cool, now send me all the recommendations! 

xoxox,

LSM

Scream and Shout for THE GEEK GIRL'S GUIDE TO CHEERLEADING!

THE GEEK GIRL'S GUIDE TO CHEERLEADING  by Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance follows Bethany and her best friend Moni as they try out for Varsity Cheerleading, unexpectedly make the squad, and deal with the consequences. Is a geek with pom-poms still a geek?

I really enjoyed this book partially because I was the artsy girl who went out for football cheerleading as a senior and partially because I had the biggest crush on the team captain and partially because I fought with my friends over it and partially because it is just so well written.

But that run-on sentence aside, Tahmaseb and Vance understand high school girls, the social hierarchy, and geek friendship. They understand crushes and first loves and heartbreak and family. Also, how uncomfortably short cheer uniforms are. And how sweet freshmen boys can be. And ugh. This book, ok?

I don't want to give anything away but if you love geeks, sports, and romance this book is for you.

GIRLS DON'T FLY nested in my heart

GIRLS DON'T FLY by Kristen Chandler is the story of Myra, a teenager with a lot of responsibilities. She already struggled to balance her family obligations with school and her boyfriend but when he dumps her and her pregnant older sister adds even more to her proverbial plate, something has to give. In a situation that could be crushing, Myra finds her wings, pushing herself to go head to head with her ex in an academic competition, find a new job, demand her own space, and just maybe fall in love along the way.

This book wrecked me because it hit so close to home in so many ways. It NAILS the complicated family scenario. The frustration, the insanity, the animosity, the mostly unconditional love. It's all there. Getting it right again, Chandler shows the challenge of letting others into your life when your family is something they will never understand. I've been there and it sucks and this book showed it. But this book, for me, was about hope. About finding your chance and going for it. About achieving balance most of the time but letting yourself screw up too.

I LOVED this book and cannot recommend it enough. Especially if you have an overbearing family with high expectations. Especially if you know how hard it is to find your niche. Just go read it!

BROWN GIRL DREAMING is even better than they said

When I picked up Jacqueline Woodson's BROWN GIRL DREAMING at the library I was apprehensive. I don't always love the things that the larger book world loves including many National Book Award winners. I decided to give it a go anyway and I'm so glad I did.

Woodson uses stunning free verse to take us on a journey, to help us bear witness to a life. I don't think of this book as a story in the traditional sense. It is an experience. The milestones, the family, the religion, the race, the time period. All these things so vivid in her poetry that I feel as though I know her neighborhood, her family, her friends. I could feel the heat of south and hear the rush of the NYC.

When I read a book, I generally walk away with a few big ideas or themes. For this book, that idea was identity. What makes us who we are, and how people, ideas, and places shape our development. I finished the book and I felt more attuned to the world around me and to myself.

My only complaint about this book was that I could'e kept reading. I wanted more of the story. I wanted the next chapter of Woodson's life told in aching poetry that awakes my head and heart together.

If you haven't read this book yet, DO IT NOW! Happy Reading!

xoxox
L.S. Mooney

If you've ever been dumped go read OVER YOU

I picked up this book because moving on is hard. As in, I broke up with my boyfriend over the summer and I still don't know what I'm doing emotionally. So, yeah, I picked up a YA book as a self-help book. Sue me. 

But you know what? This book was EXACTLY what I needed. 

Max is the girl who helps everyone else get over the boys that dump them, but deep down she isn't really over the boy who dumped her. Her program for getting girls over their exes is AWESOME and pretty real world accurate.  Her concept of The Moment as what every girl wants (and kind of needs) when getting over a guy is phenomenally on point. I couldn't help but think of experiences from my own past, of running into old crushes/bfs/etc and not feeling on my game or pretty enough or successful enough. But this book made me feel empowered and independent and awesome even when I'm not perfect. Oh, and Bridget is pretty much my favorite ever. 

Oddly enough, the best part about the book wasn't the man-hating, it was the girl power. I didn't come away from reading it hating the opposite gender (any more than I already did going in) and in some ways it even rekindled my hope for relationships. If a book about moving on can do that, I don't think you need any more of a recommendation. Just go read it. 


xoxox
L.S. Mooney

What's Up Wednesday # 9

1. WHAT I'M READING
   Nothing! But I just picked up a hardcover edition of The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer which looks super interesting. And by interesting I mean there is an eccentric theatre teacher and events that relate to the play she chooses. 
   
2. WHAT I'M WRITING
   I'm still working my way through edits of G4 but I am loving it. After a pretty slumpy writing month in November, I've been making new progress with fun additional scenes :) 
   
3. WHAT WORKS FOR ME*
   Musical rehearsal is in full swing and I'm finding so much inspiration in my teenagers. They keep me laughing at them, at myself, at the world. They also keep me current. Today they were debating the plausibility of the movie A Cinderella Story and said "like they really didn't know each other's screen name? How is that possible." It was a fun moment for me to explain the way the internet worked when I was a teenager (and to feel incredibly old).
   
4. WHAT ELSE IS NEW
   My car is in the shop (in the wrong state) and I hate depending on other people for rides. I am an incredibly independent person so I'm stressing big time. And I'm trying super super hard to be social in spite of my deep desire to hibernate. 

What's up with you this Wednesday? 

What's Up Wednesday #8

(how freaking cute are the new autumn WUW buttons?!?!)

1. WHAT I'M READING
   Yesterday at the library, I picked up THE CATASTROPHIC HISTORY OF YOU AND ME by Jess Rothenberg and I am so excited to get into it. I started the first chapter (artfully titled Don't Your (forget about me) which makes my Breakfast Club-lovely heart purr) and the voice has me already. When I read the cover blurb, I immediately thought of Giselle (and my WIP by extension and I knew I had to read it. I know some people avoid things similar to what they're writing but I actually find it super helpful.
   
2. WHAT I'M WRITING
   I'm still slowly working on the GiselleBook but did I mention it was slow? So I'm writing some new words for G4 too. I got GREAT feedback from by CPs Jenny and Alex so I am all about making this MS the best it can be.
   
3. WHAT WORKS FOR ME*
   Lately, daydreaming has been so productive for me that I don't know if I can actually call it daydreaming. I've been getting an idea - sometimes related to my writing, sometimes not - and just going with it. Those idea journeys have taken me to some interesting places and given me some cool new ideas. I have a new little idea notebook that is just for these musings. It's a bizarre thing to look through but it's kind of cool too.
   
4. WHAT ELSE IS NEW
   I really like grad school, I am drowning in musical drama, I am bizarrely happy with life. Who am I? 

What's Up Wednesday #7

1. WHAT I'M READING: I just finished Sarah Addison Allen's latest book LOST LAKE. SAA is pretty much one of my favorite authors anyway, but there is something about the way she weaves the magic into real life and the way she writes human relationships, broken and hopeful and messy but lovely. Just go read everything by her.
2. WHAT I'M WRITING: As you know from my last post, I just finished draft one of Goodbye, Good-Goody Girl and I went a bit without being able to really write anything concrete. However, just in the last 24 hours, I've managed to write 314 words and create a rough outline for the new NA book I've been discussing with CPs lately. I don't want to say too much just yet. But I am all kinds of excited about it.
3. WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW: I'm currently inspired by loss and the rebuilding that comes after it.
4. WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO: I just enrolled in graduate school! I know, right? It's an awesome program that I am going to LOVE and I can't wait to start classes. Plus musical things are happening! (Just because this book isn't about a musical doesn't mean you won't still heard about it from time to time."

What are you up to this Wednesday?

xoxox

L.S. Mooney

Lex Martin got it right with DEAREST CLEMENTINE

I want to preface this post with the fact that I have not read a ton of NA. Despite starting my own NA project (but more on that in a different post) I have only read a handful of NA and liked even fewer. And then I got DEAREST CLEMENTINE because it was free on my Kindle app a few weeks ago. I hate reading on my Kindle app, it isn't a fun experience for me, but I put up with it when the stories I want to read only come in that format (worthy stories so far have included THE ART OF FALLING by Jenny Kaczorowski, CLASS OF '98 by A.L. Player).  When I saw the tweet that DEAREST CLEMENTINE was free and FINDING DANDELION was coming out, I decided to get them both. But because I'm not big on ereading, I forgot I had them until I didn't get to the library  before it closed and NEEDED something to read.

And how glad I am that I did!

Lex Martin NAILS the college feel. That one roommate who is always screwing her boyfriend but you love anyway and the struggle to politely tell your roommate that you hate their furniture. And the horror of letting someone else plan your 21st birthday party. I loved letting myself fall back into my college days as these girls took me on a great journey.

And don't even get me started on Gavin. He is the perfect mix of confused college boy and sweetheart and amazing cuddler. Gah, I want a Gavin, ok? And the bad communication and the misunderstandings and ugh. Why was this romance so perfect?

Oh, and Clementine? While she has a much darker past, I could so easily relate to the one setting: bitch. Hello, most of my young life. For real, my best friend called me a praying mantis for the way I treated guys in late high school. I loved seeing those feelings of disgust portrayed so accurately in Clementine. I wanted to be her BFF and commiserate about the eternal shortcomings of young men. Except Gavin, because he's perf.

Basically, Lex Martin GETS IT. Her dialogue is awesome, her characters feel real, and her story is part mystery, part romance, and a whole lot of college friendship. Go read this book!

There Is No Wrong Way to Read a Series

I think we've been over the fact that I am a binge reader (I read 5 books in the last 7 days), but I am not a series binger. I realized this on Saturday when I finished THE WARLOCK, the 5th installment of Michael Scott's Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel saga and had no desire to sprint to the library for the sixth and final book. Not because I didn't enjoy the book I'd just finished but because I needed to digest it a little. I wanted to think about what had happened and maybe even think about what might happen in the next one.

As I was ruminating on The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel books, I realized that I had done the same thing with another series book a few days earlier (one I've actually already talked about here) BORN WICKED, the first book of Jessica Spotswood's Cahill Witch Chronicles. This book has a serious cliffhanger ending and I want to know what happens, but I don't want to know right now.

Two examples in a week felt like more than a coincidence so I took a look back on other series books I've read. I read DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS (the last book in Laini Taylor's Smoke and Bone Trilogy) but that was the last book so it doesn't count. Or, at least that was what I thought until I looked at how I had read the whole series. I read the first book after the second had come out but I still waited over six months before reading it and I waited again for the last one.

I asked myself, was this a trend?

I thought of UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan the sequel to which I still haven't gone near (although I want to). Then I remembered I just read HOLLOW CITY by Ransom Riggs, the second book in the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Series, 20 months after I read the first one and 6 months after it was released. I haven't read the sequel to PEACHES by Jodi Lynn Anderson even though I know it will be the perfect summer read. Or, the rest of published Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

The list grew and grew as I fell backwards through the rabbit hole of my reading. I couldn't find a single series that I binge read in the last five years. Not a single one.

So I had identified my pattern, now I wanted to know why. Which turned out to be a really easy question to answer.

The reason: Harry Potter.

I will never be ashamed of the impact that the entire Harry Potter phenomenon had on my existence. However, I am often shocked to find evidence of just how much it has effected me. Being a true member of the Potter Generation, I grew up waiting for the next book. I devoured the first three books the summer before sixth grade and then went to my first midnight book release at Media Play for Goblet of Fire. Which I read until I was done, without sleep or nourishment. Then I promptly had to wait until the summer after eighth grade for Order of the Phoenix to come out. I got to dwell on the first four books and the return of Voldemort. I reread them several times. I had numerous discussions about what might happen next. I read some fanfiction.

When Order of the Phoenix came out, I was so engrossed in reading that I missed a friend's birthday party. And, of course, the sobbing and throwing things when it ended. But then 2 more years of waiting for Snape to go all traitorous in Half Blood Prince. I will never forget how much my best friend defended him while I was staunchly with Harry that he'd been a traitor all along. Or discussing what we thought the rest of the horcruxes might be. Then finally we got Deathly Hallows in 2007 and found out what happened.

The process of binging then waiting and speculating and hoping was horrible and wonderful. It was imposed on me but I loved it anyway. Even though I was dying for the next book, the waiting made me love the characters and the stories even more because I got to spend time with them rather than of rushing all the way through on the first go.

It seems that the process has become ingrained. I no longer want to read the next book in a series immediately after finishing the first. I want to stew with the characters. I want to analyze and think about the story, then I want to read the next one.

How do you read a series? (Bonus points if you tell me how you read Harry Potter the first time)

Laini Taylor is a Godstar and I don't care if you don't believe me.

A little over a year ago I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and fell in love with the universe that Laini Taylor created. I read Days of Blood and Starlight in the fall and was heartbroken in so many ways. Then two weeks ago I saw Dreams of Gods and Monsters at the library and left it on the shelf. I was so worried that it would rip my heart out and thought maybe I was better off not knowing what happened to the characters I had grown to love.

On Monday, I went back and picked it up. AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. I believe the chat below pretty accurately sums things up.

So I was reduced to semi-incoherent babbling by this book which is a pretty awesome feat. The only issue is that I miss them. I miss them all. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it so  I guess I really can't say any more. Just know that these characters are awesome. The story is phenomenal. The world is rich. And it is perfect. So perfect that it will leave you begging for more.

Go read this trilogy, you will not regret it.

xoxox
L.S. Mooney

carpe diem ain't got nothing on Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I was drawn to this book because (a BUNCH of people recommended it to me and) I have this constant feeling that these tiny brief encounters in my life have greater meaning even when no one else seems to give them value. Just the blurb for this book made me feel like I wasn't alone in that. Actually reading it was like making a new friend. C.S. Lewis is credited with the quote: Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . " and with every new emotion that Allyson shared, I had that feeling. Throughout the book, I connected with Allyson in profound ways. 

Goodreads calls this book sweepingly romantic and it is. I mean she has this fairytale day in Paris then spends a year recovering before deciding she has to go back and find that fairytale guy. But to me, this book was so much more than that. It was a novel about friendship - learning to grow with old ones and get close to new ones, family - finding the nuances of being an adult with your parents, responsibility - paying your own way to your dreams, and self-discovery - figuring out how the sometimes clashing part of your personality make you who you are. This book, for me, is about so much more than romance. 
Don't get me wrong, I was dying for her to find Willem. To know why he left her. To know anything more about him. To know if they still had a chance. 

But Gayle Forman did something amazing with my emotions in this book. I won't spoil the ending because you should ALL read it but it left me profoundly missing its entire cast of characters and thinking about my own life.

Go read it. NOW!


xoxoxL.S. Mooney

It's the freaking weekend, baby. I'm about to have me some fun.

I just finished my first week of full time summer employment and I am LE TIRED! It is on that basis that I am asking you to indulge my R.Kelly Next to Ignition reference as my blog title.

I am super excited for this weekend. My good friend is turning 25 tomorrow and having a big party to celebrate. I am really looking forward to it. My goal for this summer, despite my new job, is NEW ADVENTURES. They can be small and quotidienne but they will happen. I need to live my life. Even if it's only a little bit at a time.

Also, the person I have been continuously friends with the longest in my life is in town for the next few weeks and he normally lives on the other side of the country so I am incredibly excited to hang with him and catch up. He's known me through all my "phases" and it's really cool that he still loves me. Sometimes you just need that.

Finally, a fun share. Today, I made a wordle for what I have done so far on G4 (44451 and counting). Besides being graphically fun, it really opened my eyes to my use of language and which words I rely on in my writing. Take a look at mine - does it make you want to read my book? And make your own here: http://www.wordle.net/create



http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7921563/Goodbye_Good-Goody_Girl1 (click here to see it full size)

A Family of Readers

I love libraries. I love the concept. I can borrow and read books for free. And not just me, anyone. It is like the single most awesome thing people have come up with. I'm sure I inherited my love of libraries from my mother who took my sister and I to our town library at least once a week. We had special canvas bags for library books so that we didn't lose them or mix them up with the books we owned. It was both a regular occurrence and big deal to go to the library. I can still remember the smell of my early childhood library.

Anyway, the library in my town now is still pretty cool. I spent a decent amount of there in my school-aged years.  While I was away at college I lost touch with my town library and definitely lost my old library card so a while back, I finally got a new card and starting going back. The librarian remembered me and the shelf dedicated in memory of my uncle was still there waiting for me. 

Last week, I was running errands with my mom and asked if we could stop at the library so I could return books (I compulsively return books as soon as I finish them so that I don't accidentally lose them). We pulled in and as I was getting out my mom asked me to grab her something that looked interesting. Because being around my mom brings out my teenage attitude I said she should get it herself. Her response shocked me. 

"I don't have a library card anymore."

It makes sense, when I stopped going to the library with her, she kind of stopped going, she didn't stop reading by any means but the ritual of going to the library faded. So I marched her right into the library and up to the counter to get her a new card. 

Then I went off in search of my books. I only take out 3-5 books at a time. It's my rule so that I 1) don't become entirely antisocial while binge reading 2) don't lose any of them. (I'm noticing a reoccurring theme with a fear of losing library books - I'll have to ask Mom if I have a lost library book childhood trauma.) I picked out a few:  

And then I went to find my mom. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the table I found her at because it was hilarious. She had two whole series laid out on the table and a stack of DIY books. If I ever had any doubt as to where my love reading came from, it disappeared in that moment. I talked her down to 10 books. Take that in, DOWN to TEN!

I made fun of my mom (who is already done with three of those ten books by the way) but I am incredibly thankful that I come from a family of readers, where it was ok to spend a day curled up in a chair with a blanket, a cup of tea, a cat, and a good book, where it was ok to miss a friend's birthday party because you're not done with the fifth Harry Potter book yet even though you've been reading since you got it at 12:01am, where no one even says anything when you come home with yet another thrift store copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

I wouldn't trade my family of readers for anything.

Do you come from a family of readers or are you the exception? 

What's Up Wednesday # 6

1. WHAT I'M READING
   I just finished A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller and it was awesome. I don't generally love historical fiction - for a lot of reasons - but this one was great. What I found shocking about it in some ways was how little things have changed for women in a lot of respects. It reignited the fiery passion I had about EVERYTHING when I was a teenager. Plus, art, fashion, and a very cute policeman.
2. WHAT I'M WRITING
   I've crossed the 41k mark on G4. I'm writing the shenanigans in the middle right now and loving it. Most recently, Mirella and friends went to a frat party. I've also written a lot of friendship based scenes lately which is always a blast because this book is 50% about friendship, 35% about musicals and only 15% about romance. Don't quote my figures though, I just made them up as I typed that sentence...
   I also started a short story that is garbage but I like the topic so I might explore it further. I'll keep you updated. :)
3. WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
   Inspiration is coming from the weather and music. The warm weather makes me want to sit outside and write - even though G4 is set in winter. Recently, I had to introduce my students to a great song I loved in high school but NONE of my students had heard (I talked about that experience more on TGNA last week) and it has sparked a nostalgic bout of musical stylings from the 00 years.
4. WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
   I recently took a huge step towards becoming more self-sufficient by learning to work on my own cars. I replaced the shocks in our truck and took the starter off my car. It's really liberating and empowering! I've been paying people for YEARS to do things that it only took me an afternoon to learn. #winning
   I also just finished (today actually) a long term substitute teaching position. It was a wonderful experience and I will miss my students a lot but I am ready to be done. There is something about another teacher's classroom that always keeps you on edge. My summer job starts Monday and once again, life is moving on faster than I can keep up!

When Did Reading Become Cool?

Today I asked a student what she was reading and she said “The Fault In Our Stars, it’s good but I don’t really like to read a lot. I know that’s weird and uncool or whatever.”

I was speechless. I stood there and blinked as I took in the fact that she’s just said NOT reading was uncool. When I was in high school, plenty of people hid the fact that they loved to read because it was considered boring, nerdy, and all around the antithesis of cool. Less than a decade later, a girl thinks the opposite is true.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for reading being cool. (does that mean I'm official a cool kid?) But when did it happen?

It’s not just my students, now that I think about it. I read an article in Cosmo magazine last week by John Green and why adults read YA. IN COSMO. When I read magazines in high school there was almost no mention of books! It was make-up and kissing and clothes. And quizzes, lots of quizzes for everything.

For real, can someone tell me what has changed? Is it social media? Is it because I can now follow John Green on Instagram and Sarah Dessen on Twitter and Tessa Gratton on Tumblr? Are authors’ real lives more accessible to their readers so they find them cooler?

I have no clue. I am honestly asking for someone to clue me in here. I think it’s awesome but HOW!?!?!

In the meantime, happy reading!

What's Up Wednesday #5

1. WHAT I'M READING: I'm in the middle of Quattrocento by James McKean. The jury is still out on the whole book since I'm not done with it, but so far it's interesting enough to keep me reading but not so good I can't help but binge read it. 

2. WHAT I'M WRITING: Musical memories. There is a great scene in G4 in which the senior cast and crew members get together and reminisce about all their past shows. It might not get to stay in the final draft because I think it's a musical kid thing that might not appeal to the general audience but for now it is super super super fun to write. 

3. WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW: My first and forever CP Jenny Adams Perinovic recently started querying her first novel and I'm so excited for her I could die. She's one of the most talented people I know and also one of the busiest. She worked her butt off to finish this book and she is going to keep working until she finds it an agent and then a publisher. Her determination and hard work are incredibly inspiring as I struggle to finish Draft 1. 

4. WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO: I am in the place where two jobs meet and it's tough but I'm making it work. I also may or may not have recently purchased an old pick-up truck.   

What's up with you this Wednesday?

What's Up Wednesday #4

1. WHAT I'M READING:
I just finished Graveminder by Melissa Marr. It was very good. It had just the right balance of creep factor, romance, mystery, and small town. The best part was that I found this book at a Dollar Tree in hardcover for $1. I love getting good books cheap! Note: Melissa Marr also wrote the YA Wicked Lovely Series, the first of which I greatly enjoyed.

2. WHAT I'M WRITING: More kissing!! It's so hard but so good!

3. WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW: Greeting to know a new group of high school kids has really got my brain moving! Despite the attitudes, kids have a lot of great things to show us adults. Also, I think they keep me young.

4. WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO: I just started a long term substitute teaching position and it's going well so far. I also spent Monday afternoon and evening celebrating Dyngus Day (complete with homemade pussywillow crown) and I'm hoping to take an epic nap this afternoon.

Are you there, Judy? It's me, Lavender.

I know, I know. Riffing on Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret  is overdone. However, I recently read my first ever book by Judy Blume, Summer Sisters. I have loved a lot of the books I've read recently, but this book left me with deep thoughts all day in a way nothing has for a long time.

Summer Sisters is the story of Vix who spends every summer on the Vineyard with Caitlin, a wild child and serious trust fund baby. The book follows Vix and Caitlin from their first summer together as pre-teens, through their summer of first loves, to college, marriage, and beyond. Along the way there are fights, laughs, betrayals, and unforgettable memories.

One of the things that struck me about this book was how accurately it nails a variety of interpersonal relationships. Firstly, the friendship between Vix and Caitlin is one I've seen and been a part of. It is both toxic and incredible, sometimes alternately, sometimes simultaneously. It doesn't matter how long it's been since you last talked because you pick right back up where you left off. It doesn't matter how crazy your last stunt was because you still love each other anyway.

Secondly, Vix's relationship with Caitlin's father and stepmother, Lamb and Abby. They completely take her in. They treat her like their own, protecting, providing, and advising as they do Caitlin. Vix, in return, loves them fiercely and turns to them for support. This connection really hit home for me. While I was never anyone's Summer Sister, I had a best friend raised by essentially a single dad while I had been raised by a single mom. We used to joke that together we had a whole family. The almost illicit feeling of loving someone else's parent/child as your own is well captured here.

Perhaps, the most poignant part of this book for me was the messiness. Every character had a messy life. Even the ones who ended up happy made mistakes and screwed things up in their own ways. I think there is a profound message to be found in this book about blended families and what it really means to be family, whether you're connected by blood or something else. I can't articulate it for you, but I do think it's there.

My First Ebook

In general, I'm pro-reading so if you choose to do it on an ereader rather than with a traditional paper and ink book in your hands, that's your call.
In my own reading, I'm very pro-physical books. I love everything about them, the feel of the paper, the sound of pages, the shift in weight distribution as you pass the half way point. And, yes, the smell. I worked in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library in college and my honors thesis was a descriptive bibliography of Early Modern witchcraft books. It's pretty safe to say that I'm hardcore in love with tangible books and all their splendor.
I had never found my predisposition toward physical books to be a problem until December when my nook-aholic friend Jenny told me that I simply had to read The Art of Falling by Jenny Kaczorowski. Her text said something like: "There is purple hair and Buffy!"
(For those of you who don't know, I'm a rabid Buffy enthusiast and the same Jenny put a streak of purple in my hair back in October.)
Anyway, I was stoked to read this book and flew to Amazon to order it where I realized it was an ebook. I was crushed. I was all hopped up about the story with no way to read it.
I spent a few months following @jennykacz on Twitter and realizing that I really really needed to read this book. So, I downloaded the free Kindle app for my phone, followed swiftly by The Art of Falling.
I devoured the book in a day. It was more than I could have hoped for. I could relate to it on a deep personal level. It had a sweet romance and rock solid friendships. I loved it.
What I did not love was reading it on my phone. I wanted to hold it in my hands. I wanted to slip my finger under the page as I got close to the bottom. I wanted to flip it over on the end table when I got up to get something. I want to have it on my shelf at home. I mean, it wasn't a traumatic experience, and the story was well worth the inconvenience, but I still wish I could have read it as a physical book.
I don't anticipate reading another ebook soon which is a bummer because I'm sure I'm missing out on some great books but I just didn't enjoy the digital reading experience. It makes me wonder what kind of divide society is creating between digital and physical readers when the same selection of books isn't offered to both them. More than how they read, what they read is different.
Anyway, the book was awesome so I consider the whole thing a success. Happy reading!
xoxox,
L.S. Mooney