Yours, Mine, Ours by Sinéad Moriarty is a light, humorous read set in Dublin and examining the challenges of a blended family. Anna has at least left Yours, Mine, Ours by Sinéad Moriarty is a light, humorous read set in Dublin and examining the challenges of a blended family. Anna has at least left her dead-beat husband, Connor, to live with new love, James. Anna and James are very much in love but living in a small house, further away from work and school and with their respective children proves to be a bigger challenge than they'd anticipated. Not at all helped by Connor's constant put downs of both Anna and of James. Nor is it easy for the children - sensible Grace, exuberant Jack - and moody, entitled Bella. As the new family limps from one disaster to the next, the negative attitudes of all around them begin to drive a wedge between Anna and James, threatening the life together they dreamed of.
Yours, Mine, Ours explores a common situation for many - with shared custody, critical and angry in-laws as well as hostility towards stepparents and difficulties of discipling the other parent’s children . Sinead Moriarty does an excellent job showing the reality while adding humour to the situation in this fast paced, engaging narrative of family drama. ...more
In My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, 13 Anna engages lawyer Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for medical emancipation so she can refuse to be aIn My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, 13 Anna engages lawyer Campbell Alexander to sue her parents for medical emancipation so she can refuse to be a kidney donor for her older sister, Kate, who has a rare form of blood cancer. Anna's parents underwent selective IVF to conceive Anna as a donor for her sister - and the whole family revolves around Kate and her illness.
Piccoult intertwines the ups and downs of present court drama with flashbacks to the past for each of the different characters - teasing out the emotions, motives, and choices of Anna, her parents, her rebel older brother, Jessie, and Kate and it’s impact on Anna - as well as the tortured history between Campbell and the Anna's guardian at liten, Julia, appointed by the Judge.
The moral dilemma facing Anna and her family is gripping and fraught, with no 'right' answer that can bring about a happy outcome. Anna is a great character, strong and vulnerable, feisty and fragile, with a quick, cutting wit and a tender love for her sister. Each of the characters standout with their angst as they struggle with an impossible situation. I loved best the quirky, funny interactions between Campbell and Julia - and Campbell's witty avoidance of telling what his therapy dog really was for - which added light relief to the heavier, emotional pull of Anna and her parents' dilemma. The ending has a sudden twist - that to be honest didn't grab me, it felt too forced. But overall this was a truly gripping read, and emotional rollercoaster raising questions without trite easy answers, - but also with some wonderful characters and leavened with wit and humour. ...more
As always, well written with great characterisation, court-drama and gripping action in this collaborative effort between Jodie Picoult and Jennifer FAs always, well written with great characterisation, court-drama and gripping action in this collaborative effort between Jodie Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Lily Campanello, a young teen new to Adam, a slow-paced town in New Hampshire, is found dead at the foot of her stairs - her boyfriend Asher is immediately suspected of her murder. He vehementally denies it and his mother Olivia McAfee, a bee-keeper, stands beside her son despite the animosity of the whole town. Lily and Asher's realtionship is passionate but also turbulent. And and more facts are revealed Olivia reviews her own passionate but manipulative, controlling and violent relationship with Asher's father and considers the possiblity that Asher could in fact be guilty. Lily also has a secret which is revealed as the court case progresses.
The story is told from the moment of the discovery of Lily' s body - going forward for Olivia from the day of the murder to the arrest and cout case but peeling backward from Lily and Asher's point of view, from the day of the murder to the ups and downs and revelations in their relationship back to the day they first met.
The story explores domestic violence and also transgender identity and relationships. The tension and question of whether Asher is guilty or not hangs in the balance to the very end. My main quibble was that Lily's 'secret' is not revealed in the retrospective tale until it's revealed in court in the prospectice tale - yet, this 'secret' is at the core of Lily's story but remains hidden until convenient to the authors even though we are in Lily's pov....more
The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams picks up many of the themes and places of The Dictionary of Lost Words - and in fact both Esme and Gareth arThe Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams picks up many of the themes and places of The Dictionary of Lost Words - and in fact both Esme and Gareth are interwoven into the edges of the story. Margaret Turner (Peg) and her twin sister Maud are bindery girls, as was their mother and grandmother. That is, they work on the 'girls side' of the bindery, folding and stitching the pages of the books of Clarendon Press - from the Complete Works of Shakespeare to war propaganda pamphlets. The supervisor, Mrs Hogg, insists that Peg, 'fold not read' but Peg's mother has instilled a love of learning into her daughter and a longing to enter the hallowed halls of Somerville as a student, something unheard of for a bindery girl from town. Besides which since the death of her mother, Peg has been responsible for her sister who interacts with the world in her own unique way. The declaration of war against Germany in 1914 brings great changes and great sorrows and loss, great opportunities as well as setbacks.
I loved the characters, the immersive setting, seeing on the War from Peg's perspective and the challenges she faces to break down the restrictions that her gender and circumstances of birth demand of her. The people of Jericho and the Oxford feel real, the places, and the circumstances. There is loss, grief, joy, love, anger, frustration, and hope intertwined in this charming story through a momentous time in history.
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz is a gripping murder mystery with an intriguing premise and unique narrator. The story is narrated by AlBefore You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz is a gripping murder mystery with an intriguing premise and unique narrator. The story is narrated by Alice Lee - the unknown murder victim discovered by a jogger from Australia on the banks of the Hudson River in the early hours of a dark stormy morning.
For much of the story Alice is known by others as 'Jane Doe' and later as 'Riverside Jane'. No one knows who she is, even the people close to her, who should have known, don't come forward to claim her. Alice tells her story, how she came from Wisconsin to New York, what she was fleeing from, and how she came to be in harm's way, in parallel to her finder, Ruby's story - how she came from Melbourne to New York, what she was fleeing from, how she too finds herself in danger.
But this is more than a story of victims, it's also about Alice, now psychically linked to her finder, comes to terms with what has happened and how Ruby too, influenced by Alice and the new friends she makes, searches to find out who Riverside Jane is and in finding 'Jane' seeks to find who she is the possibility of a different path to the future.
This is a book explores violence and abuse done to women, it's about giving women and name and a voice. Almost from the first page, the book drew me in and keep me reading, often with my heart in my mouth, to a satisfying conclusion. Brilliant. ...more
Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes tackles the confronting and tragic issue of school shootings. The deadly rampage takes nineteen minutes, and at the enJodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes tackles the confronting and tragic issue of school shootings. The deadly rampage takes nineteen minutes, and at the end of it ten people are dead and many more impacted for life. The shooter, Peter Houghton, is a junior high schooler who has been brutally bullied by many of the victims since kindergarten.
Jodie Picoult tells the story as it happens interspersed with the before and then the aftermath with the complexity of the case revealed layer by layer. She balances a fine line between revealing what drove Peter to do what he did, without justifying his behaviour or papering over the devastation he caused. The characters and events come alive on the page, portraying the complex web of relationships between the families of the victims and the perpetrator, in particular, Josie, her mother Alex, Peter and his mother, Lacy, and the workings of the justice system. It was a book that took time to read and I felt the twist at the end a big gimmicky and strained (though perhaps understandable).
Even so, it's a book that left me pondering on what the system or society tolerates, where it’s fault lines lie, and on the lines of responsibility. If it takes a village to raise a child, then surely it takes a village for a child to fall. ...more
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully written and illustrative picture book highlighting the desperate plight of refugees and the dangers of Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini is a beautifully written and illustrative picture book highlighting the desperate plight of refugees and the dangers of fleeing for safety. A father speaks to his infant son waiting for the boat in the night to take them to safety. He recollects his careful childhood and the arrival of the war and he fervently hopes that the small boat will take his son to safety. The book ends unresolved and open ended - which makes sense as it was inspired by the death of 3 year-old Alan Kurdi. The water-colour illustrations life as it was as well as the terror of the present. And Kahled's Hoseini's words are evocative of place and emotion 'a pale rim of persimmon in the east', 'the skies spitting bombs', 'eyelashes like calligraphy', ' a flyspeck in heaving waters', 'how deep the sea'....more
All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann is a fun book that gives a great presentation of Asperger Syndrome with surprising depth, moments ofAll Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann is a fun book that gives a great presentation of Asperger Syndrome with surprising depth, moments of sadness and loads of cuteness and humour. It is suitable for kids and adults alike, whether on the spectrum or wanting to understand friends and family who are. And what's not like about so many gorgeous cat photos....more
I have mixed feelings about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
On the on hand, Haddon gives us a unique and well-sustaineI have mixed feelings about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
On the on hand, Haddon gives us a unique and well-sustained point of view of a protagonist on the Autism spectrum. We see and feel the world through Christopher, and so gain a great deal of insight into many of the challenges and the strengths of a person with highly functioning autism. In fact, Haddon does this so well, that Christopher is by far the most likable character in the book - with the possible exception of Siobhan (Christopher's learning support worker at his school) and perhaps the kind neighbour, Mrs Alexander. While one can have some empathy for Christopher's parents and appreciate their obvious love for their son, and while many of their reactions are understandable, they both don't come across very well in the tangle they make of things. The writing style is a bit robotic at first, but this is part of being immersed in Christopher's world, and Haddon kept me turning pages wanting to find out what happens next. The plot is clever with twists and turns as Christopher seeks to uncover a murder mystery (who killed Wellington the dog), he stumbles into a whole morass of murky adult relationships and brings to light things that will rock his world and results in drastic actions.
On the other hand, I found the story bleak with very few if any lighter moments or touches of humanity (unlike other books or movies that tackle this same theme - such as Rainman, House Rules, Love Anthony and so on). And most of the adults seemed rude (almost abusive), inpatient and unfriendly and quite aggressive with their profanities - a rather depressing portrayal of society. And, though I can see it fits with Christopher's black and white, concrete thinking, I suspect that his frequent tirades about how stupid people are who have any faith, spirituality, belief in God or the supernatural (with simplistic arguments that showed little understanding of alternative views) was probably closer to the author's own agenda. And I can’t help wondering if the determined materialism contributes to the bleakness of the story.
Overall, I found The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time a gripping read but not a particularly enjoyable one. And I know that people with ASD (or those known to me) are not necessarily as self-absorbed or as lacking in empathy as this book might lead one to believe. ...more
C.G. Drews has done it again. The Boy Who Steals Houses is a contemporary YA that deals with gritty issues in a hopeful, uplifting and fresh way. FiftC.G. Drews has done it again. The Boy Who Steals Houses is a contemporary YA that deals with gritty issues in a hopeful, uplifting and fresh way. Fifteen-year-old Sam 'borrows' houses while trying to look out for his older autistic brother Avery. Both are estranged from family. When Sam discovers the house he 'borrowed' isn't as empty as he thought and he finds himself in the midst of the chaotic and joyful De Lainey family, his life takes a decisive and different turn.
The Boy Who Steals Houses has great characters - Sam, Avery, Moxie, the twins - and is told in Drews’ scintillating, dazzling style. I particularly liked the glitter scene, but there are so many to like. And while the adults in Sam's life seem harsh and unsympathetic, Mr Delainey provides an important foil to that more negative picture. The tension of when Sam would be found out and the mystery of what the event in his past that had precipitated, he and Avery becoming homeless keep my interest as did the humour, emotion and vibrancy of the storytelling.
A great book and I look forward to reading more of C G Drew's offerings. ...more
The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion is the third book following Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman. Eleven years on, and Don and Rosie move back to AustraliaThe Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion is the third book following Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman. Eleven years on, and Don and Rosie move back to Australia for Rosie to take up her dream job. Their son Hudson finds it's hard to adjust and the new school suggests he has autism. Don sets out to help Hudson fit and, in the process, faces his own painful childhood, revaluates his relationship with his dying father and learns a lot about himself. This has all the signature Don Tillmann moves, with Don finding himself in awkward situations. While lightheaded and humorous, the book is moving and gives a thorough examination of issues surrounding autism/ASD/Aspergers. ...more
In A Spark of Light, Jodi Picoult once again picks a controversial issue and uses that point of view of a variety of characters to give a three-dimensIn A Spark of Light, Jodi Picoult once again picks a controversial issue and uses that point of view of a variety of characters to give a three-dimensional portrayal of the issue, often with a court case (in this case in a hospital room) involved.
It took me a while to get into the reverse order storytelling - like a film winding backwards, but less seamless. On reflection, it worked, for me at least- and perhaps, highlighted the importance of the split-second choices made that can't be unmade, the consequences of actions, that can lead up to horrific events.
As always, Picoult gives us different point of view characters with their own unique voices, though it seems obvious where her own views and sympathies lie. Of the ten pov characters, only two are against abortion - the shooter & a woman infiltrating the clinic - and the rest of the ‘antis’ are caricatures. It is clear that Picoult has done a lot of research, including interviewing people from both sides & watching three actual abortions. Even so, some statements made are questionable (admittedly from pov character's thoughts) and some viewpoints quickly dismissed with pat answers.
That said, I applaud Jodi Picoult for listening to both sides (or perhaps, the many different sides) and attempting to go beyond a two-dimensional approach to this contentious issue with all the complexities and legal quagmire between the rights and needs of both the women and the unborn, and the role of the state and personal beliefs. I would hope that one day some compassionate and fair ground can be found between the two extremes of 'celebrating abortion' (up to birth for any reason in some places), on one hand, and imprisoning of vulnerable teenagers or leaving women to face an unexpected pregnancy unsupported and alone, on the other. That there might be a way to be pro-life and pro-choice, pro-the-unborn and pro-woman, at the same time. And while that is perhaps an ideal unlikely to be achieved, maybe we do get closer to it by listening, really listening, to the many different voices and experiences in this difficult and contentious issue. So, thanks Jodi, for trying. ...more
Raccoons and Rabbit Holes by Loralee Evans is a delightful chapter book full of adventure and insight into a significant moment in history.
Julie is eRaccoons and Rabbit Holes by Loralee Evans is a delightful chapter book full of adventure and insight into a significant moment in history.
Julie is excited to find new neighbours moving in across the road. The two children, Jax and Ani, show Julie their treehouse, and when Ani rushes off to explore the old haunted house in the woods, Jax and Ani follow. Soon all three children find herded into the house by the strange behaviour of a raccoon (or maybe two). Before they know it, they find themselves back into the past to the time of Harriet Tubman and the underground railway.
Julie, Jax and Ani are great characters and the portals to the past unique (with maybe a hint of the wood between the worlds in Lewis' Magician's Nephew). I liked the clear portrayal of how the realities of the past and the difficulties and dangers of being suddenly transported there, especially for Jax and Ani, who might be mistaken for runaway slaves. Harriet Tubman is one of my favourite historical figures and it was great to meet her. I did feel that getting the children from first meeting to the old house and then to the past (so that the adventure could happen) took up a lot of the book, but then this could easily be the first book in a series, hence the focus on setting up the time travel aspect.
Overall, an engaging read which transports young readers to an important moment in history which young readers would enjoy.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a powerful, emotional book on the lived experience of People of Colour.
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in the 'hood' The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is a powerful, emotional book on the lived experience of People of Colour.
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in the 'hood' where she and her parents were born and where her dad runs a store and her mom works at the clinic. Six years earlier, she’s witnessed the senseless drive-by shooting of her friend Natasha and, as a consequence, Starr's parents send her and her brothers to 'white' schools in the suburbs. Starr lives in two worlds and she works hard to stop the worlds from colliding. That is, until she is the sole witness to the unprovoked shooting of her unarmed friend, Khalil by a white cop. The balance between her two worlds shatter, Khalil is vilified by the media, and Starr's life is threatened.
I found The Hate U Give a gripping read. The story is told in Starr's voice and while it is about institutional racism and the problems and prejudice and the lack of choices POC face everyday, it also looks at entrenched problems in the communities (the drug dealers and gangs). It shows both negative, insensitive and tone-deaf responses to Khalil's shooting by Starr's white friends but it also, shows positive, sympathetic and proactive reactions, especially by Starr's white boyfriend, Chris. It portrayed both negative, self-defeating ways and hopefully more positive ways of responding to entrenched injustice.
Overall, the book was paced well, with humour and hope laced through tragedy, as it moved to a dramatic finish. I particularly love the strong and loving family dynamics between Starr, her brothers and her parents - plus the respectful relationship between Chris and Starr. One incident I found a little hard to swallow (view spoiler)[ when Starr goes to the house of the gangster threatening to silence her (hide spoiler)] though I do appreciate her drive to act in that moment. I'm not so keen on frequent strong language in a book - Starr's younger brother Sekani would be rich if he got a dollar for every f-word or g-d word etc etc in the book - though no doubt they are appropriate to the context. But ultimately these issues don’t detract from the overall impact of the book. and I don’t believe the book encourages violent reactions or reverse racism, but rather explores important nuances and has an important message for all.
"Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right."
“What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?”
"Kahlil, I'll never forget. I'll never give up. I'll never be quiet. I promise."
Lisa and the Lacemaker: An Asperger Adventure by Kathy Hoopmann is an engaging mystery which both entertains and also highlights the challenges and poLisa and the Lacemaker: An Asperger Adventure by Kathy Hoopmann is an engaging mystery which both entertains and also highlights the challenges and positives for ASD kids.
When Lisa discovers a hidden cottage in her friend's Ben's big garden, she becomes intrigued by her grandmother's tales of the old lacemaker and in the craft of making lace. In the process of discovery, she not only learns about secrets from the past, but also about herself - like the gimp in lacework.
Lisa and the Lacemaker: An Asperger Adventure is an easy read, well-paced and has a satisfying ending. The books as delightful illustrations. Lisa and Ben are great characters, both on the ASD spectrum, both likeable and believable, Granny is adorable - and, while Lisa's mum initially seemed inpatient and not really understanding her daughter, this changed as the story progressed and both she and Ben's mum were sympathetic characters, while exasperated at times, clearly loving and wanting the best for their children. There is a suggestion of a ghost throughout the adventure, or a spirit of the past, but the real magic I think is in Lisa and Granny's relationship, both of whom are the gimp in their own unique ways, that different thread that gives the pattern it's character.
Lisa and the Lacemaker: An Asperger Adventure also comes as a graphic novel, which is a great idea -but the original story is well worth reading....more
Toni Morrison's Beloved is a gripping, lyrical, shocking and powerful. The narrative switches back and forward from the 'now' of 1870s Ohio and the 'tToni Morrison's Beloved is a gripping, lyrical, shocking and powerful. The narrative switches back and forward from the 'now' of 1870s Ohio and the 'then' of Sethe & her fellow slaves attempt to escape the harsh and horrifying realities of slavery of ‘Sweet Home’ in the South. It is stream of consciousness with a shifting point of view. And at the heart of everything is one shocking terrible event (inspired by an actual historical event) born of terror & a ‘thick’, harrowing love. At one-point Paul-D says “White people believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. ... But it wasn’t the jungle blacks brought with them to this place from the other (livable) place. It was the jungle whitefolks planted in them. And it grew. It spread. In, through and after life, it spread, until it invaded the whites who had made it. Touched them every one. Changed and altered them. Made them bloody, silly, worse than even they wanted to be, so scared were they of the jungle they had made.”
Beloved is about that jungle inside and its devastating consequences. For 18 years, 124 Bluestone street has been haunted by a ghost, Sethe's baby girl who died soon after Sethe's harrowing escape from slavery & the birth of her youngest child, Denver. Sethe's mother-in-law, a freed slave and rousing lay-preacher, has been broken by the events surrounding the death of the baby girl & Sethe's two sons leave the past-haunted house as soon as they are old enough, never to return - until it is just Sethe, Denver and the ghost in the isolated home with no back door.
The arrival of a former Sweet Home slave, Paul-D, promises new beginnings and healing, until a strange young woman turns up at the doorstep of 124 with skin as smooth and unlined as a baby and a strange pattern of scarring under her chin - and the horrors of the past, like a blind boil, break open to steal the hopes and aspirations of the present.
Beloved gives a harrowing, heart-breaking portrayal of the realities of slavery in the South and the heavy toll it has on people like Baby Suggs and Sethe, Paul-D & his brothers, Halle, & Sixo & their children. It is about the memory of trauma, of being broken, of losing knowledge of one's self, about guilt and fear and hunger and silence, but it is also about love and belonging and letting go and finding new growth out of the scarred and fractured past. ...more
Dancing in the Rain by Anusha Atukorala has a eye-catching cover that entices me to pick it up and read. Inside, it has an interesting structure, brok Dancing in the Rain by Anusha Atukorala has a eye-catching cover that entices me to pick it up and read. Inside, it has an interesting structure, broken up into sections with reflections from the author, Friends' Stories (told in first person), Nuggets (quotes, epigrams, Scripture), My story (from the Anusha's experiences), a poem and a serialised story 'Each Monday'.
It's an interesting mix, with different perspectives and approaches to our feelings, responses and options when facing difficulties and discouragement. The personal stories (both from Anusha and her friends) give testimony to depth of feeling, faith, and God in action in each one's lives. The reflections, nuggets and poems give both comfort, commiseration, as well as inspiration and hope in God's loving presence, spiritual meditations and practical ideas to gain a different perspective on the rain-soaked times, how to survive and even thrive. I think my favourite section is the Each Monday story, as I waited for the next instalment of the narrator's journey.
Overall, it's an easy to read, part devotional, part inspirational gem that brims with Anusha's gentle and vibrant faith. Worth reading and also an excellent gift for those going through hard times....more
John Green in Turtles All the Way Down gives us another strong, quirky and conflicted heroine in Aza Holmes. When Russell Picket, the billionaire fathJohn Green in Turtles All the Way Down gives us another strong, quirky and conflicted heroine in Aza Holmes. When Russell Picket, the billionaire father of Aza's former friend Davis, goes missing - Aza's best (and only) friend Daisy suggests investigating to claim the 100.000-dollar reward. Aza reconnects with Davies and the friendship is rekindled, but Davies doesn't know if he can trust her, while Aza is juggling friendship with Daisy with her own spiralling out of control anxiety and OCD.
Part mystery, part romance (sort of), a lot of teenage angst - and diving deep into mental health issues. Aza and Davies met at 'sad camp' after Aza's father died & Davies (and his younger brother, Noah)'s mother died some eight years before. Now Davies and Noah deal with their father's disappearance in different ways, while Aza is negotiating her own demon, the intrusive thoughts that send her into an ever-tightening spiral.
I found Turtles All the Way Down easy to read, hard to put down. I enjoyed the great characters, witty dialogue and a touch of philosophy typical of John Green. While there are allusions of spirituality, this is generally glided over (what does it mean if we live in a storied universe and what is the source of story?) and (view spoiler)[ I was disappointed in how the relationship between Aza and Davies peters out because her OCD gets in the way of kissing. I thought the connection with the girl who could see the stars beyond the clouds could have survived being 'just' friends, and that they might have kept in touch, and I while I applaud Aza’s strong and enduring relationship with Daisy, she really seemed the most self-absorbed of the two friends and Aza far to ready to take all the blame (hide spoiler)].
Overall, it was a great read, a sensitive and realistic exploration of one person's encounter with mental illness, with a modicum of hope and the possibility of change. ...more
I was a bit doubtful when I first picked up When Girls Became Lions by Valerie J. Gin and Jo Kadlecek. I'm not that much into sport, especially footbaI was a bit doubtful when I first picked up When Girls Became Lions by Valerie J. Gin and Jo Kadlecek. I'm not that much into sport, especially football of any persuasion and the cover didn't entice me. But by the first chapter was I hooked. Loved the story, the characters, the themes.
When coach Reyalda Wallace is forced by the athletics director to go to Bailey Crawford's funeral (in 2008), she is shocked to discovered that he coached the first girls’ soccer team at her school to win the State championships in their very first year – and at the school she not only now teaches and coaches at, but also her own Alma Mata. Why, she wonders, has she never heard of this and why is there no recognition of this magnificent achievement. Coach Rey begins a quest to discover why this is and to do something about it.
When Girls Became Lions is a parallel narrative - alternating on the one hand between Rey's quest, her unlikely alliance with the assistant librarian Will and her own soccer team, and on the other with Bailey Crawford and his team in 1983 as they excel despite all the odds, indifference and active opposition.
Some great characters - Rey's Mae-ma, her mother, Will, the girls in both teams, Lars Lawson, Wally. It is written well with great pacing, conflict and emotion and deals with issues of fighting against the odds, institutionalised discrimination, girls' sports and doing one's best - but with a deft touch. Lots of team practices, games and moves - but weaved into the narrative in an engaging way.
Rather a Small Chicken .... A Guide to Hearing Loss for Family and Friends by Pamela G Heemskerk packs a lot into a slim booklet. It's a practical, noRather a Small Chicken .... A Guide to Hearing Loss for Family and Friends by Pamela G Heemskerk packs a lot into a slim booklet. It's a practical, no nonsense, and often humourous look at hearing impairment and the use of hearing aids. It gives practical advice to both those who are experiencing permanent hearing loss and the need for hearing aids for the first time, as well as family and friends of the hearing impaired. One strong message is that while hearing aids help, they don't 'fix' hearing impairment completely— they have both advantages and challenges.
Heemskerk experienced hearing impairment in her twenties. She draws from her own experience as well as the experience of others and research. She writes in a lucid style with flashes of humour. This booklet would be a great resource for those with hearing loss— and those who know someone (friend, family member, work colleague, clients) who suffers significant deafness. Well worth the read....more
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