Spin by Lamar Giles

I hope you are all safe and well.  Both of my sisters are nurses, and my husband is an essential MTA subcontractor.  It has been a stressful time for our family.  Please remember I am here if you need to talk to someone.

I heard Ellen Oh speak at the American Association of School Librarians conference last November.  She is the founder of We Need Diverse Books.  Lamar Giles is is also a founding member.  So when I saw this pop up as a recommendation from Amazon, of course I ordered it.

First, the characters and premise are phenomenal.  Three strong Black female lead characters in a city much like our own: one high school serving the entire city, meaning the wealthiest kids are in classes with the poorest.  Music is central to the plot.

At first, I loved this.  DJ ParSec (Paris Secord) is an up and coming musician, raised by her grandmother (after her father took off and her mother died of cancer) in the poorest of housing projects.  She spins on third-hand tables and has an ancient laptop rescued from a thrift shop.  Her best friend Kya (no father in the picture although he sends birthday cards; Mom, a former singer, in a minimum wage job) is a tech wizard and helps her repair and keep the tables spinning.  As Paris's local fame starts to grow, she is befriended by Fuse (Fatima), from the rich side of town with strict parents.

Eventually Paris's fame grows exponentially, and she has her ticket out after signing with a marketing team.  Fame goes to her head, and she loses Kya and Fuse as friends.  On her last night in her home city, she asks Fuse and Kya to meet to say goodbye before a free rave Paris is throwing. They never get the chance.  Paris is murdered before the show, to be found by her former friends, now suspects.

The book is told in alternating viewpoints of Kya and Fuse in the present; Paris is told in the past.  I was guessing until the last "day of" flashback of Paris's.

Then I wanted to throw the book.  I hated the way she died and who killed her.  I'm actually mad at it.

*pouty face*

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Consider the Platypus by Maggie Ryan Sandford

Amazon recommended this to me.  Knowing we'd be home for a while, I placed a big order with this among others.

This was definitely....interesting.  And weird.

This is a collection of short (1-4 pages) entries on animals.  Not all of them are as unusual as the platypus.  Each entry discusses the animal's interesting features, how it relates to humans on the genome scale, what Darwin thought of (or might think of) said critter, and other information like size/habitat/behavior.

Some of this is incredibly informative and I learned a lot...of useless trivia in case I ever go on Jeopardy.  There were also little zingers one might miss if just flipping through (the entry on manatees had some snark about the sea cow's weight and the whale's size was labeled "big as a whale").

On the whole, a conversation starter/coffee table book for sure, some good bell ringers if used in a biology classroom, and lots to study if going on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, but not exactly future standard textbook or classic science literature.

Mr. Dickson would like it.

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Richard Potter by John Hodgson

Hey everyone.  I hope you are all healthy and well.  This is a very weird time.  Please reach out if you need someone to listen. 

I watched an actor portray Richard Potter in Sturbridge Village two Christmases ago.  I've always been fascinated by slight of hand.  I'm too clumsy and shaky to do it myself though.  Potter was our pre-dinner entertainment.  I loved it. 

Fast forward a bit and this biography appeared as a suggestion from our book vendor Follett. Of course I bought it.  I took it out to read Friday during what was supposed to be a two week shutdown.  If we only knew then...I digress.

Richard Potter was born circa 1783 in Hopkinton, MA.  His mother Dinah was a black household slave to a wealthy tax collector.  His paternity is still questionable, either his mother's master Charles Frankland, a family relative Henry Cromwell, or a local pastor George Stimson/Simpson/Stimpson.  He often told people Frankland, frequently misheard as Franklin, which Potter played up as a relation to Benjamin Franklin. 

Potter claimed to be West Indian, often dressing in fancy robes and adornments, to hide his ethnicity, especially when touring in the South.  He was famous all up and down the East Coast and in England and served as a Mason in all African Lodge. 

So why had I never heard of him until that Christmas in Sturbridge? How did I not know about this local celebrity?  Why is he excluded from history?  A better question might be what are doing now to make sure he is?

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Let's go back in time.

I read The Handmaid's Tale in 2000, as a sophomore at SCSU in a Women's Literature course.  I absolutely loved it, so much so I used it when I student taught Honors level seniors in 2002.  I also used clips from the 1990 movie version.  Yes, The Handmaid's Tale is THAT OLD.  The award-winning series is not the first version.  However, the new series did introduce a younger generation to the story, which, unfortunately, is just as timely, if not more so, today.

So, I have to be honest and say I've never watched the TV show.  I loved the book and movie; why ruin it?  But it seems everyone loves it!  Perhaps because of the success of the show, Atwood published a sequel, The Testaments.  Same reason I didn't want to read it!  I didn't want to spoil things.

Mrs. Robles kept asking for this book, but it was always checked out when she did.  Because it was evident we really needed a second copy due to popularity, I ordered one off Amazon and let her check it out first.  She really liked it and said I should read it.  So I did.

And I really should've before!

Fifteen years after the events of the first novel, three women's testimonies are woven together to present life in the regime and Canada.  One story is from a girl who was taken from her biological mother and given to a powerful Commander and Wife.  She is coming of age to marry.  The next is from a girl who was smuggled to safety in Canada and has been raised to hate the regime and all it stands for.  Third is an Aunt, the older women who have some semblance of power in training girls and Handmaid's.

I don't want to spoil too much.  I will say it was pretty obvious to me early on who was really who though.  You must read the first novel to understand this one, not just watch to show or movie. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

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