The Poetry of r.h. Sin

Hello again.  This the 2nd review for today.

I have two "books" from New York based poet r.h. Sin to talk about today.  I use books in quotes because these poems first appeared as tweets, limited by the characters on Twitter then those that could fit in a frame on Instagram.  The ones I have here today are Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I and Planting Gardens in Graves I.  There are several volumes in each series, and the series add together to be a blog of sorts of Sin's life, beginning the with the end of his previous relationship on to his marriage to his wife Samantha.  We have several of the volumes, requested by a former student. 

Sin (real name Reuben Holmes) has been labelled a Black Straight Male Urban Feminist.  I do not think he set out to be labelled as such, but alas the labels Human and Good Man got him treated poorly.  He wanted his previous girlfriend to see him as Good Man, but her education as a woman in the 2000s meant not so good men have hurt her in ways he, someone labelled a "male feminist" cannot get her to see beyond.

young woman

do not compromise yourself

for someone who refuses

to do right by you 

("inconsiderate", 117)

These poems hurt.  As a woman, to read how this man values women, hurts.  It hurts that so many men do not place value on certain traits, instead objectifying. Just today, a women's team is penalized for covering their legs.  In a month, will a female student be sent to the office for showing too much leg?  We can't win:

women are made 

to appear crazy

by the very men

who drive them

to the place of insanity 

("insanity driven", 45)

This is a personal journey, from the death of one relationship to the blossoming of another (shovel, bury, flowers...) and how both Sin and Samantha grow.  These poems are NOW as two Black Americans during a tumultuous time (2015-18): 

my brown skin

will not be a burden

my brown skin

will not be my enemy

I love me

regardless of their hate

("pride in brown", 108)

They, both the couple and the poems, are modern relationships with social media, instant communication, and never ending news getting in the way of being fully present with the other human sitting right next to you. I am guilty of this too.  I'll be sitting right next to my husband while we are both on our phones, instead of "being" together.

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

Good Last Thursday of July!  This summer is really flying by!

This review is the first of two today, in case you are reading or watching in any sort of order.

Now, before you go hitting the back button or the pause button depending on how you view these simply because it's Stephen King, let me stop you.  This isn't horror.  It's not even really thriller.  This is medieval fantasy (as an aside, King's horror fans initially hated it; this reaction became the basis for his next book about an author, Misery). There's kings and queens and princes, the poor riff raff of the kingdom, an evil wizard/sorcerer/magician, true love, revenge, escape...actually I'm sounding a lot like the Grandpa in The Princess Bride trying to convince the sick kid to listen to the book!  Which, if you'll permit me, is kinda how I found this.

I have read this probably a dozen or more times.  I first read it in 1994, when I was a freshman myself (point here: my son will be a freshman in a month's time).  My Dad had grabbed the paperback on sale at Walden (the book store that used to be in the mall) on a whim.  After he read it, knowing I loved The Princess Bride, he handed it over.  I fell in total love with it.

So why read a book over and over?  This book is like a comfort.  I can safely escape to the Kingdom of Delain when I don't need to be fully present.  Thus, Friday, facing the aforementioned son's 3+ hour 3rd Degree Black Belt test (and screaming younger siblings and awkward parents attempting small-talk), this was my "please don't bother me, I'm reading" excuse.  

Roland is an aging King, a widower who lost his beloved wife Sasha in childbirth of their second son Thomas.  Roland dies of poison, and his oldest son Peter is convicted and sentenced to life in prison.  The reader knows very early on the King's advisor (magician, wizard, etc.) Flagg is really to blame.  That's all I'm giving on the plot.  You just have to trust me you will NOT want to put this down.  If you are a true Stephen King follower, you recognize our villain--he appears in The Stand and The Dark Tower.

And, Stephen King certainly leaves the door open to a sequel, but there hasn't been one...yet.  Oh, and the rights to the movie where optioned in 2019...

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Hello! My family and I are back from our vacation and staycation.  We postponed our West Coast trip AGAIN! This was the book I took with us to read during down time. 

This was recommended by a colleague, another teacher at WHHS.  

My feelings about it are mixed.  First, it's VERY long.  There are 3 distinct parts within the story, and honestly each portion could have been a much shorter novella that might've made chunking it out easier.  Second, I found the two leads', Loreda (a teen) and her mother Elsa, relationship way too cliche and predictable.  

So, those 3 parts: 

A. Elsa is the ugly duckling among her high society parents' daughters.  Doomed to a life of spinsterhood, she has a passing fling with an Italian (which is scandalous in 1921 Texas), resulting in pregnancy.  Shunned, Elsa moves in with her new husband Rafe's parents and does everything possible to become the perfect daughter-in-law.  But Rafe is never happy with their lives as poor farmers and disappears in the middle of the night.

B. Fast forward to 1934.  The Depression, combined with a Great Drought, have decimated the farm.  Elsa, her parents-in-law, and her two children live in poverty, barely alive.  Elsa makes the choice to migrate to California, where are jobs are supposed to be plenty.

C. Elsa and her kids Loreda and Tony are at the mercy of farm and camp owners, stuck in a vicious cycle of debt, work, credit and become involved in the workers' rights movement.  Lucky to have even survived living in a tent, they face discrimination as poor migrants.

This is most definitely NOT a happy story, although I did smile at the ending.  Also, as all libraries look to build inclusive, diverse, and equitable collections, I think this novel is a qualified addition in speaking to the experiences of migrant farm workers, poor and immigrant but white families, working women of the 20s and 30s, and union activism.

I will be donating this when we return.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog or a video version of it, are solely mine. 

Sadie by Courtney Summers

 What would you do to protect your siblings or child?  

How far would you go to get revenge on someone who hurt your sibling or child?

For me, my sisters are 7 and 10 years younger than me.  They are my babies.  I would do anything to protect them.  I am a mother too of my own child.  

Sadie and Mattie were raised in a trailer park in the boondocks of Colorado.  Their mother Claire would disappear for days and even weeks, suffering from mental illness and an addict, with a string of useless boyfriends, some kinder than others.  The girls were in essence raised by the trailer park owner, a grandmotherly figure named May Beth.  

When she is 13, Mattie is brutally murdered.  Sadie is convinced their mother's ex Keith is who killed Mattie.  It also becomes clear Keith had been sexually abusing at least Sadie, who may have taken more abuse in a deal to leave Mattie alone.

Sadie sets out on a mission to kill Keith, but her belongings and car are found with no trace of Sadie.

That is where a reporter picks up her story in a serialized podcast.

I don't want to spoil too much, but this story will not let you put it down.  I HAD to finish it and know if Sadie gets her revenge.  This isn't an "easy" read, and I was angry to the point of shaking at some of the vignettes of flashback Sadie has as memories with her abuser. 

Find this on display when we go back in August.

All opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely mine.

No Rain, No Flowers by Aianna Thomas & Summer Reading

Hellllllooooooo!

Yes, I know it has been super long since I've posted a review or a video version of one.  Things got just a wee bit crazy towards the end of the school year, and doing so was just not in the cards.

BUT!

I am really going to try to do at least one review a weekish during the summer 2021.  And I knew when I started my summer reading pile (pic below), this would be first!

Aianna Thomas is a student at WHHS.  She approached me asking if we wanted a copy of her book No Rain, No Flowers...which of course I said YES!  We had to wait a bit for Amazon to get them to us, but Aianna donated one to us and one to WHPL.

Now, I do have to say there are some errors in this self-published book.  I noticed some typos that missed the proofreader, but none really impact meaning.

This is a collection of poetry in a stream of consciousness format.  There are only three definitive breaks in the work, with prose interspersed.  The content is strongly Christian-leaning, but despite my lack of religion, I was not "put off" as I see this as a personal journey that includes faith and talking to one's deity, whoever that might be.  I was reminded of Prince's The Beautiful Ones mixed with the poetry of bell hooks and E.E. Cummings.

I plan to have this front and center in the first display of our 21-22 school year!

Remember all opinions expressed on this review blog and the video version of it are solely mine. 

 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Hey everyone.  It's April 21st, 2021.  We're home on an emergency Distance Learning day.  At about 6:10 this morning, my lights went off but came right back on (for reference, I live on the border between the Center District and Allingtown). I headed off the WHHS (which, as you know is in West Shore).  When I got to the parking lot, I noticed every single light in the building was on.  Odd.  I happen to look at the scoreboard and saw it was off.  Even odder.  Not a minute later Dana/Mrs. Paredes called to say we are remote due to a power outage.  All those lights were on generator.  Being that I'm usually the first teacher in, I did as Mrs. P. asked and posted on social media, then hung around to direct my colleagues home.  When I got home myself, I went on Facebook to see the power was back on in West Shore. Oy.

So, I haven't been reviewing a lot lately, mainly because half the school was on Distance Learning.  However, many of you are coming back, and we return to an almost full day come May.  I know it's tough to get new books into DLs hands, which I guess made me feel "some kinda way" as Cassie/Ms. Marcella says. 

Today's review is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.  I have mixed feelings.  In rural France circa 1714, Adeline, a young free spirit, makes a "Devil and Daniel Webster" type deal with the spirits.  She does not want to get married, so she asks to be forgotten.  Of course, as we know the plot with any such deal, there's a catch.  She will live forever, but no one will remember her in even the slightest way.  As soon as she is out of sight, people she encounter forget her.  The story is told from her living in the art world in New York City in the present day flashing back to her "lives" through history.  Every so often, a placard from an art piece appears introducing a new time period. In the present day, an art student named Bea is connecting each piece as the same woman (art, imitation, etc.). It is Bea's best friend Henry who will change Addie's deal.  Henry has made his own deal--to be liked--and he can remember Addie.  But of course Henry's deal has a trick too.  I will not spoil any more.  

Actually, I will.  Not of the plot, but the literary elements I guess.  I know I have said this before, but...I hate the "so I wrote this book" as an ending.  I hated it in The Outsiders, and I've hated it since.  I think it's a a lousy way to end a story.  I absolutely hate that this method or whatever you want to call it is how this book ends.  I won't say what happens to Addie, Henry, or Bea, but...just ugh.

Anyway, I will be donating this to the collection when we get back.

Please remember all opinions expressed on this blog and the video version of it are solely mine.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Morning!

I know it has been a while.  With half the school out on DL, the writing and recording of reviews seemed a bit futile.  However, after what transpired with this particular book...

To recap: first, in order for me to watch the movie (or TV show in this case), I have to read the book first.  Just a thing with me.  Second, you know I donate every book I buy and read to the WHHS Library.  Because I have been fighting, er, I mean, in aggressive negotiations with the DEVOS video server lately, my "to add to the Library circulation catalog" pile has gotten a bit large.  This was sitting on top.  THREE teachers walking by to use the faculty bathroom within my space asked about it.  Mrs. Poff actually got her hands on it, and took it to read over the long weekend.   

We know everyone is talking about the Bridgerton series on Netflix.  I haven't watched it yet, but I've heard the costuming and music are fantastic.  Yeah, let's be honest, everyone is talking about the "romantic" scenes.  I say romantic in quotes.  There's that ONE SCENE everyone has been discussing.    

This is typical "beach read": it's rather formulaic trashy romance set in the era of Dukes and Ladies and balls, etc.  Soap opera in a book type stuff, not exactly my cup of tea anyway.  I do not really think it would be such a bestseller had it not been for the show.  It's one of hundreds of the same.  If this is YOUR THING, I suggest you check out Christi Caldwell, whose real name is Christina Novak.  She graduated with me in 1998, and I have copy-edited a few of her books.  (Here's her website.  The first of her books I proofread is For Love of a Duke http://christicaldwell.com/books/#heartofaduke)

Now, Mrs. Poff just returned the book with an interesting review.  She has seen the show, and she gave it high marks.  But, she did not say the same for the book--that reading it wouldn't have led her to watch.  So I guess this is a case of the movie version actually being better than the book!

I'll be adding this to the collection as soon as I can get these DVD uploads into DEVOS done!

Remember that any opinions expressed on this blog or vlog are solely those of Mrs. W.