“I wondered if I’d ever know what he meant.” Or Inside Out

I’d like to introduce Ann M. Martin to something. It’s called the Autism Spectrum. She seems to believe that all autistic kids are on the most severe end.  When I was a kid, I thought that too,  thanks entirely to Ann M., for writing this book as well as Kristy and the Secret of Susan. I was sure no autistic kid could talk, hold a conversation, make eye contact (kind of like I was sure no diabetic could ever eat an M&M, thanks to Stacey), and it wasn’t until much later that I learned that autistic =/=savant.  Savant qualities are not one and the same as autism, though some autistic kids are savants in some areas.

Jonathan is eleven years old and his biggest problem is his little brother, James.  James is four years old and is severely autistic.  Like, super severely autistic. He doesn’t talk, he isn’t potty-trained, he flaps his hands, he bangs his head.  But he is a savant at building with toys, like Legos and Tinker Toys or whatever.

Jonathan’s second biggest problem is that he kind of wants to be one of the cool boys at school, but he’s hopelessly not cool.  He’s got a couple of close friends who are also hopelessly not cool, and they sometimes hang out with a couple of girls who aren’t cool either.  Jonathan makes fun of a new borderline-retarded boy in school to try to get in with the cool guys, but it doesn’t really work.  And it just makes him feel sick to his stomach anyway.  Especially after the cool kids see Jonathan with James at the playground, and James undresses himself and starts eating gravel.

Jonathan’s mom is over-stressed taking care of James with little help from their dad, who finds every excuse in the book to go into the office, particularly when James is acting up.  There is a special school that James is on the waiting list for.  Finally a call comes in that there’s a spot for James.

But the school is expensive, so there are a lot of sacrifices.  Jonathan and his sister Lizzie, who is eight, are told there won’t be any extras.  Jonathan tries all these ways of making extra money, including selling seeds door-to-door, doing odd jobs, and putting on a carnival with his best friends.  Finally he ends up with a paper route.

When James starts school, there is immediate, but slow, improvement.  He starts to say hello, and dress himself.  The teachers at the school work closely with the families.  Jonathan gets interested when he hears about the school’s fundraising efforts, especially because he knows his parents are paying out the nose for tuition.  Since he’s seen improvement in James, and because the idea of institutionalizing James is not off the table, he decides he wants to help.

So he decides to donate some of the money he’d earned from the carnival to James’ school.  And because he decides to do that, he gets a write-up in the local paper, which he hopes will encourage others to donate to the school.  His friends are proud of him, and when one of the cool guys tries to make fun of him, even the cool girls shut him down.  Then Jonathan learns that it doesn’t matter if he’s cool or not.

• Oh Ann.  Some of the things you say make no sense.  Jonathan is called Jonno by his family, and his sister (Elizabeth) is called Lizzie.  He says that they haven’t given James a nickname because it’s impossible to nickname someone you can’t really get to know.  Uh…what?  When my husband and I were naming my younger son, we actually decided we wanted his nickname to be Gus, and we worked from there, eventually (like two weeks before he was born) agreeing to August as his given name.  So we hadn’t even met the kid, and already had a nickname for him.
• Also, my sister just told me a few weeks ago that Gus is a hipster name.  Nothing to do with the book, I was just surprised to hear it.
• Then there’s this weird little grammatical error.  Jonathan said that he talks to James even though James won’t answer.  “For all I know, maybe he tunes out human voices.  But just in case, I talk to him pretty much.”  Pretty much.  I talk to him pretty much.  Pretty much what?  I don’t care for the phrase pretty much to begin with, but doesn’t have to be qualified with something else? Like “pretty much everyday.” or “pretty much whenever I see him.”  Anyone else find that wording totally awkward?
• If I had tried to put on a backyard carnival as a kid, no one would show up.  Somehow in Ann M. books, these types of things are always successful.
• Check out that book cover. James is on his knees.  That is one freakishly tall four year old.  Not to mention, the kid can’t dress himself.  Would his mom really fight with overalls?  If I had a four year old that wouldn’t dress himself, and who became violent while being dressed, it would be fucking sweatpants every day.  Also, nice mom jeans, Lizzie.
• I didn’t get into it much, but Lizzie is a kind of sweet character.  She’s very serious for her age and doesn’t have many friends so she tries to tag along with Jonathan and his friends.  But she joins brownies and makes some new friends and discovers she is really good at making felt crafts, which she sells to earn extra money.
• This isn’t really a bad book, and it’s good for teaching kids empathy.  It’s kind of a middle of the road Ann M. book.

Who says dog means dog? Or Frindle

I’ve been sitting here for the past three and a half years, reviewing the books that I read when I was a kid.  And that’s all well and good, and I’ve had a great time doing it.  But the truth is, that I kind of need to learn about more of today’s kids’ books because my older son is now five and is getting close to reading on his own.  He’ll be in short chapter books in about two years, and I know him, and I doubt that the Baby Sitter’s Club is going to hold much interest for him.

My point is, I’m trying to read things that kids are reading which have been published less than twenty years ago.  And while that won’t be the focus of my blog, when I read one that I think is worthwhile, I’ll go ahead and write something up for you.

And that’s where we are today.

This book is crazy cute. It kind of reminds me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School, or Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub. 

Nick Allen is in fifth grade, and he’s a bright kid.  He’s not exactly a trouble-maker, but he is definitely too smart for his own good.  Nick excels at distracting teachers enough that they forget to give out homework assignments.  Too bad Nick discovers that doesn’t work on old Mrs. Granger, the fifth grade dictionary-loving English teacher.  Nick’s question intended to distract Mrs. Granger only ends up landing Nick with an extra assignment about the origins of words.

This assignment is boring, but it does make Nick wonder about inventing a new word.  So he talks it over with one of his friends and decides to replace the word ‘pen’ with ‘frindle.’  The whole class hears about it and loves the idea.  All the kids start to use the word, much to the dismay of Mrs. Granger, who hates to see a perfectly lovely word like pen (from the Latin pinna) usurped.

Mrs. Granger fights the use of frindle tooth and nail.  Giving detentions to kids caught using frindle instead of pen, and even sending the school’s Principal over to meet with Nick’s parents one evening.

Word gets around to a reporter for the local small-town newspaper about detentions being given out to every student in the fifth grade, and this reporter decides to see what all the fuss is about.  She interviews the Principal, Mrs. Granger, and tries to interview Nick, though he refuses on the grounds he might say something he regrets.

Once the article in the paper comes out, frindle explodes.  The CBS Evening News picks up the story, David Letterman has Nick on his show, and the phrase gets trademarked by a local business man (who cuts Nick in on 30% off all profits from Frindle-related merchandise).  While this goes on, Mrs. Granger writes Nick a letter, which she won’t let him read until “all this is over.”

Nick gets a little depressed after all of this.  He feels like he has other good ideas (like how to make school lunches better) but he’s afraid to speak up because of all the hub-bub with Frindle.  So he becomes quiet and withdrawn.  Oddly enough, it’s Mrs. Granger who helps Nick out on that front, saying she doesn’t like seeing his spark gone.

Fast forward many years, and Nick is allowed to access the money from his Frindle-trust and he’s a very wealthy young man.  One day, he gets a package on his doorstep.  It’s from Mrs. Granger, who is about to retire.  It’s the letter that she’d written Nick all those years ago.  She said the Frindle war is over — Frindle has been accepted into Merriam Webster’s dictionary. The letter explains that she was rooting for Frindle to take off, and in the story of Frindle, there had to be a villian, and she chose that role.  It’s a sweet little letter, a nice end to a sweet little book.

• I might only like this book because I’ve always like dictionaries.  When I was a kid, I used to open to a random page and read every definition.  Anyone else do that? *crickets chirping*
• These books where kids are so good, but still just slightly subversive of adults are my favorites and always have been.
• Nick is a red-head.  Go gingers!
• AND he wears glasses.  I love this kid.
• Cute book.  This is one I’ll keep for my kid, and I’m definitely going to check out others by Andrew Clements.

Books read, 2011

Here’s a list of the books I read in 2011.  The books marked with an asterisk were read for this blog, the books in bold are books I recommend.  Usually I read in the neighborhood of sixty books a year.  But when I had the baby in February, I didn’t read a single book for a good three months. 

My favorite discovery of the year is John Green.  The best book I read this year is The Magician King, by Lev Grossman.  The best book I read for the blog this year was The Trouble with Thirteen.  The funniest book I read this year is Bossypants by Tina Fey – I can barely describe how much I love Tina Fey.  The worst book was easily Sweet Valley Confidential.  I can’t even really say it was so bad it was good….it was just bad. 

1. The Trouble with Thirteen; Betty Miles*
2. Slam; Nick Hornby

3. California Diaries #13: Ann M. Martin*
4. A Great and Terrible Beauty; Libba Bray
5. California Diaries #14; Ann M. Martin*

6. The Knife of Never Letting Go; Patrick Ness
7. California Diaries #15; Ann M. Martin*

8. The Ask and the Answer; Patrick Ness
9. Until you Reach Me; Rebecca Stead
10. Maps & Legends; Michael Chabon
11. An Abundance of Katherines; John Green
12. Sweet Valley Confidential; Francine Pascal
13. The Chosen One; Carol Lynch Williams
14. Monsters of Men; Patrick Ness
15. The Cardturner; Louis Sachar

16. Welcome to the BSC, Abby; Ann M. Martin*
17. Rosy Cole’s Great American Guilt Club*

18. The Jellyfish Season; Mary Downing Hahn*
19. The Magician King; Lev Grossman
20. Will Grayson, Will Grayson; John Green & David Levithan
21. Middle School Blues; Lou Kassem*
22. How I Paid for College; Marc Acito
23. Three Willows; Ann Brashares
24. It Sucked and then I Cried: Heather B. Armstrong
25. Claudia and the New Girl, Ann M. Martin*
26. Looking for Alaska; John Green

27. Mary Anne’s Makeover; Ann M. Martin*
28. Where’s My Wand? Eric Poole

29: Family Secrets; Norma Klein*
30. Bossypants; Tina Fey
31. While Mortals Sleep; Kurt Vonnegut
32. Everything I need to Know About Being a Girl, I learned From Judy Blume; ed by Jennifer O’Connell

Love to get some love.

Well.  Considering I don’t post nearly as frequently as I used to, and not nearly as much as I would like, I was so happy to get a Liebster Blog award from Treasury Islands. This is an award/meme to recognize smaller blogs. I hadn’t read her blog, so I hopped over to check it out and it’s great!  But, she really won me over with her posts on feminism in Disney cartoons. Thanks Treasury Islands!

The rules

On receipt of the award, the recipient must:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you .
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Hope that the people you’ve sent the award to forward it to their five favourite bloggers.

My five favorites?  (Or I should say five of my favorites)

1. The Unprofessional Critic.  I’ve pimped out her blog before, and I will continue to do so.

2. Corrupt Camel.  Funny shit.

3. The Non-review. More funny shit.

4. Nostomanic.  The funniest, cleverest nostalgia on the internet.  (<–that might not even be hyperbolic!)

5. Do Tumblrs count? If so, please go to WTFFanfiction.  It. is. HILARIOUS!!!!

I hope to be back within two weeks with another book review.  If not, I wish everyone  Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

“I wish you were still in love with him…” or Family Secrets

When I was growing up, I wanted so badly to be in so many of the books that I’ve read.  But none more than the Norma Klein books.  You have to understand how unbelievably sophisticated the teenage characters in her books seemed to me.  They lived in New York, attended prestigious high schools, had frequent sex, had very close but somehow still hands-off relationships with their parents, and they used words like ‘magnanimous’ and ‘esoteric’ in every day conversation. They were intellectual powerhouses. It was a far cry from my own small-town, lily-white, public school upbringing.

That said, even though I badly wanted to be a character in her books, I never really wanted to be a character in this book.  Because, you know, I’d never want to fuck my stepbrother.  (I don’t actually have a stepbrother, but if I did, I like to think I’d never hop in the sack with him.)

Nice shorts, Leslie.

Peter and Leslie’s families have known each other for years.  They have neighboring beach homes on Fire Island, so they have spent summers together forever.  The year before their senior years in high school, Peter and Leslie start secretly sleeping together.

Then the end of the summer brings a bombshell.  Both sets of their parents are divorcing, and Leslie’s mom is marrying Peter’s dad.  So, Peter and Leslie will officially become step-siblings.  Oops.

Peter and Leslie continue their relationship for the rest of the summer.  But when summer ends, Leslie goes back to the city to live with her mom and Nelson (Peter’s dad), while Peter goes back to the suburbs with his mom in their old house.  They don’t see each other for a few months until the actual wedding of their parents when they end up arguing.

Peter and Leslie are both overly emotional and prone to dramatics.  So while Peter is wildly pissed that his ladies-man father is divorcing his dowdy-housewifely mother, Leslie is trying to make the best of it.  And that also pisses Peter off.  And Peter’s attitude pisses Leslie off, so she dances with Peter’s older brother at the wedding.  So they go for a while without talking.

Leslie’s high school is doing a play, The Barretts of Wimpole Street.  Leslie really wants the lead, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and is super disappointed to get the role of Elizabeth’s wild older sister, Henrietta.  She’s so upset about it, she calls Peter to complain and they end up resuming their relationship.  But it’s always rocky and uneven.  They fight a lot and they seem to focus all their energy on the negative things about each other.  They’re the whiniest bunch of Norma Klein protagonists ever.

As the months go on, cracks start to appear in the new marriage between Leslie’s mother and Peter’s father.  Mostly because Peter’s father is an incurable philanderer.  Leslie and her mom have never been close, so it gets crazy uncomfortable when her mom decides that Leslie is flirting with Nelson and starts acting like she’s competition.  All because she and Nelson enter a father/daughter squash competition.  And really, just because Leslie is totally cool with shacking up with her step-brother, doesn’t mean she’d be OK with her stepfather.

Peter’s mom decides to move to Chicago to go to college, so Peter moves in with his father, Leslie and Leslie’s mother.  Awk-ward.  On a trip to Chicago for Peter to visit his mother and Leslie to interview at University of Chicago, Peter’s mom possibly catches them kissing.  (If she did, she never says anything about it, and that whole plot point is left weirdly dangling.)

Shit at home is going downhill fast between Leslie and her mom.  So Leslie moves in with her dad and tries to take Peter along.  But because Peter isn’t quite 18, he actually has to go back to his dad.  But they spend weekends together and Leslie’s dad catches on pretty quick that the two of them are…ahem…involved.  (that is to say, fucking.) He doesn’t care because he is a Norma Klein parent and they never do.

Then Peter’s dad leaves Leslie’s mom.  Then Leslie kicks all kinds of ass playing against type in her school play and she gets into Chicago.  Peter is off to Harvard.  And the relationship between Leslie and Peter becomes not such a secret anymore.  The summer before they leave for college, Leslie and Peter decide to drive cross-country and that’s where the story ends.

• A little off topic, but this book reminded me of something I learned reading Savage Love.  It’s called the Westermarck Effect, which says that kids being raised together instinctively develop a sexual aversion to one another.  But when older kids are added to the mix, no such aversion develops.  So I guess step-siblings banging one out isn’t unusual.  Suddenly Greg and Marcia Brady’s relationship doesn’t seem so innocuous, does it? Also, Dan Savage is a national treasure, people.
• This is a Norma Klein book.  So all parents are totally OK with their teenagers smoking pot. They smoke pot openly in their apartments.  Not like most of us who had to hide in the park before school and then just hope none of the teachers caught on.  Or so I’ve heard.
• The word fuck can be used so many different ways.  I don’t think I’d ever heard the word ‘fuckingly’ until reading this book.  As is, “I hated him….for being so fuckingly self-satisfied.”  Fuckingly, interestingly, is not in my spell check.
• At one point,while their relationship is in the off position, Peter calls Leslie ‘jappy,’ and ugh.  I just hate that word.
• There is no bigger douchecanoe (also not in my spell check!) than Peter’s father. (Maybe douche-canoe is hyphenated?) He constantly hounds Peter about his weight.  And he constantly hounds Peter about his personality.  It means fuck all to him that his son got into Harvard early decision – the kid is fifteen pounds overweight so he’s terrible!  Peter’s older brothers, who are as fit as a couple of fucking fiddles, are constantly favorably compared to him.  Until the oldest brother at only 21 years old starts living with his 30 year old mother of three girl friend.  And here’s what he has to say about that: “I have nothing against divorced women, but most of them, till they get a replacement, are full of bitterness and rage and ready to pounce on anyone who passes by.  You may think you’re safe, just because she’s an older woman, quote unquote, but believe me, those women are dangerous. You can’t tell what might happen.”  And “…at a certain age a man wants a woman who’ll make him feel younger, not some graying, overweight dame who reminds him of his mother.”
• But just because Nelson is the worst, doesn’t mean any of the other characters are that wonderful.  Leslie’s mom has never gotten over the fact that Leslie has a really close relationship with her father, and practically blames Leslie’s “playing him up,” for her divorce.  Then when Leslie and Nelson have the audacity to play squash together, like two whole times, she accuses Leslie of doing the same thing with him.  It’s squicky and uncomfortable.
• And let’s not forget Leslie and Peter are no prize peaches either and they’re grossly mismatched.
• Here’s the thing.  I’m having some sleep/food issues with my nine month old.  So I’m incredibly grumpy.  And I’m not sure if my grumpiness is leading to me being really harsh on these characters, particularly Peter and Leslie.  But normally I’ll read  Norma Klein book and totally enjoy the sexcapades of a couple of hyper-educated, hyper-hormonal teenagers.  So maybe it isn’t Peter and Leslie who are hard to handle.  Maybe it’s me being stressed and sleep deprived.
• I should read more Norma Klein.  You wouldn’t know if from this blog, but her books played a huge part of my adolescence.

No-Go Nano

In case you haven’t heard, November is National Novel Writing Month, or, Nanowrimo.  Nanowrimo is a challenge to write 50,000 words of a first draft novel in the thirty days of November.  That’s 1,667 words per day.  I participated the last two years, managing a paltry twelve thousand words in 2009, but fifty-six thousand words in 2010.

This year though, I can’t do it.  I just don’t have the time.  And I wish I did and I wracked my brain trying to come up with some sort of system that would allow me an hour a day in November to write.  But I don’t have it. Which is so sad, because I had an idea and had even started character sketches.  But another thing I have is an infant.  And infants and writing just don’t mix.

So I’ve committed myself to being a Nano cheerleader.  If you are nanoing, and I follow your Twitter, I will cheer you anytime you post a word count.  If you are feeling like you can’t possibly write another word, I’ll tweet you some positive words.  I even joined my region’s Facebook group (Go Maryland!) so I can cheer only my fellow Marylanders.

Once I committed myself to being on the sidelines this year, I thought I was comfortable with my decision.  But as October 31st turned into November 1st, my Twitter feed was filled with Nano-related posts.  I didn’t expect to become so sad about my lack of time.  Each tweet raised my level of despondence nearly to the point of tears.  (In my defense, I was terribly PMS-y and have been suffering an extreme lack of sleep since my youngest started sprouting top teeth a week earlier.  Lack of sleep always puts me on edge, and being on edge puts me on the verge of tears 24/7.) I’m still sad about it.

Anyway, if you are Nano-ing this year, I want to wish you the best of luck.  If you want a ridiculous amount of cheering on from me, let me know your Twitter handle and I’ll follow you and send you tweets like “Great Job!  Remember November is about quantity over quality!,” and other lame shit.

And I can’t promise to try, but I promise to try to try to Nano next year.  The baby will be a toddler, the big boy will be in school for full days (he’s in half-day preschool now, a cooperative school which takes up some of my time), so I can see a possibility of it working out.

On to 2012!

Classic Post: It’s Not the End of the World

Yesterday, my five year old was asking question after question after question.  It gets a little old at times, and he stopped short when my husband and I seemed to get a little impatient.  Then I felt like the worst mother ever, and I assured him he could keep asking questions.  Because “The one who asks the questions learns the most.”  Then I remembered that I first read that little gem in this Judy Blume book.  Then I started to feel guilty about how infrequently I’ve been updating here, so I decided to do the laziest thing possible and just do a classic post.  Enjoy!

Also, I’m working hard on a snark at BSC-Snark.  I have finished two out of three parts and will post it here when I’m done.  It’s taken a little more time than I thought. 

Thanks to Goodreadsfor the image!

This isn’t the cover I have on my copy of this book. The cover I have is totally 70′s, as was the even different cover I grew up with. Actually, upon closer inspection, my copy was printed in 1981, so it’s totally early-80′s, which is practically the 70′s. God, this book was initially published in 1972! That makes it 37 years old this year! That means that if the protag was a real person, and was 12 years old in 1972, she’d be 49 years old now. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks about things like that. I’m constantly like, damn, if the BSC girls were 12 in 1986, they’d be 35 now!)

This isn’t the greatest Judy Blume book, for sure. (Obviously that is either Forever… or Tiger Eyes), but it isn’t the worst either (I’m looking at you, Blubber!) It honestly is just kind of….meh. I’m sure in 1972, at the beginning of the divorce bonanza in this country, it was probably kind of ground breaking or had more meaning or whatever. But now it’s like, “girl’s parents get divorced. She gets sad and thinks she can trick them into getting back together. Teenage brother has trouble dealing. Things work out OK in the end.”

Told from the POV of 12 year old Karen Newman. Karen is a pretty plain, average girl. She has a 14 year old brother, Jeff and a six year old sister, Amy. Her parents have been fighting a lot lately, and in fact, the book opens on a doozy. Karen is scared they’re going to get divorced. And sure enough, just a few chapters in, her parents make the big announcement. Her dad moves out. Karen has difficulties coping and major denial. Jeff becomes an out of control teenager, even running away from home at one point. Amy becomes clingy and sad.

In the middle of all this, Karen leans on her best friend, Debbie. But her dad moves to an apartment complex and he has a neighbor with a daughter Karen’s age, Val. Karen befriends Val, whose parents are also divorced. Val is a bit of a know-it-all, but seems to be a pretty big comfort to Karen.

Karen thinks she can try to get her parents back together, but obviously it doesn’t work. When Jeff runs away, her dad comes to the house, acts like a real dick to the mom, sending Karen into literal hysterics. Karen realizes they aren’t getting back together. I’d say duh, but she’s only twelve and that’s kinda mean, even for me. At the end of the book, mom says she has to sell the house and it’s up in the air where they’re going to move.

• Karen keeps a journal, where she writes a bit each day about what happened that day. Then she grades each day, from F to A+. She also assigns blame for each of her parents’ fights. If she went back and looked at how much they fought, maybe she wouldn’t have convinced herself she’d be able to get them back together.
• So, remember how in Just as Long as We’re Together, Stephanie’s parents didn’t bother to tell her that they were getting separated? Well, at least in this book, the mom told the kids right away. Sure, it should be both parents telling the kids together, but yanno, in 1972, there weren’t 1,000,000′s of studies done about the ‘correct’ way to get divorced and the best way to handle it with the kids. So I’ll give Karen’s parents a pass on this one.
• At one point, Karen is upset, and her Aunt Ruth (mom’s sister) says something like, “remember, this is harder on your mother than it is on you.” Um, Really? Fucking Ruth, you’re an idiot. Mom has probably realized for years that her marriage was falling apart. I think it’s probably worse on the kids.
• Val tells Karen it’s bad that she’s a middle child. She’ll have more problems than Jeff and Amy. *shrugs* I don’t know about that. I’m a middle (third child of five) child. I wouldn’t say that I have “problems.” But….um, yeah. Long story short. I totally sympathize with the Jan Brady syndrome.
• Mom decides to get a job and go back to school. And ZOMG, you’d think the world was coming to a fucking end. Jeff was fucking pissed off, he threatened to go live with Dad. Karen was all confused, like why would you want to do that? Aunt Ruth and her husband, Uncle Dan were all nebby about it, “The children need you at home,” and “I wish you’d rethink this. Can you handle the responsibility of running the house and keeping a job?” Wow. I mean, all I can say is fucking thank GOD I grew up when I did, and not back in those dark ages. Holy shit, how far have we come?
• Karen goes to sleep over at Val’s house. It’s such a bizarre scene, because it’s Saturday night and Val asks if she can wash Karen’s hair. Karen is all, “No, I just washed it on Monday.” Um….what? She doesn’t shower and wash her hair on at least an every-other-day basis? Am I the only one a little bit grossed out by that? Is this a generational difference? Did adolescents in the 70s really only wash their hair once a week? Cause I was probably eleven (1988) when I first read this, and I totally remember thinking that was gross even then.
• Yeah, also, Karen and Val bathe together. Which seems pretty odd to me for twelve and thirteen year old girls to be doing. Once again, generational difference? And once again, reading it as an eleven year old, I thought it was way strange.
• At the end, when mom says that they have to sell the house, she isn’t sure where they’re moving. Maybe somewhere warm, like Florida or California. Karen suggest Houston (a boy from her class moved there), and her mom is all, “Oh God, no. No Texas. No way.” Kind of insulting to Texans. (But you know, the rest of us don’t really give a shit if your state is “Bigger ‘n France.) Oh, but parenting points off for Karen’s mom for even considering such a huge change so soon after a divorce. Not to mention it would be taking them too far away from their father. And just because you hate him, doesn’t mean your kids do.
• Like I said, book was OK. Not great, not cringe-worthy. But the style was classic Blume.