The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

I read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King for book club. The book description says, "During a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her headphones to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—the protector from an enemy who may or may not be imagined…one who is watching her, waiting for her in the dense, dark woods…"

This was a fun read. I don't really read Stephen King type books, and luckily this one was pretty mild. I enjoyed the young girl main character and following her scary journey to try to get rescued. The book felt scary in that it could really happen, and that was disturbing. But it was an engaging story and the baseball storyline throughout was fun.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Boys of Riverside

I got The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory by Thomas Fuller on audiobook from the library after seeing it advertised somewhere. The book description says, "In November 2021, an obscure email from the California Department of Education landed in New York Times reporter, Thomas Fuller’s, inbox. The football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, a state-run school with only 168 high school students, was having an undefeated season. After years of covering war, wildfires, pandemic, and mass shootings, Fuller was captivated by the story of this group of high school boys. It was uplifting. During the gloom of the pandemic, it was a happy story. It was a sports story but not an ordinary one, built on the chemistry between a group of underestimated boys and their superhero advocate coach, Keith Adams, a deaf former athlete himself. The team, and Adams, tackled the many stereotypes and seemed to be succeeding. Fuller packed his bags and drove seven hours to the Riverside campus. The Boys of Riverside looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history. It follows the personal journeys of their dynamic deaf head coach, and a student who spent the majority of the season sleeping in his father’s car in the Target parking lot. It tells the story of a fiercely committed player who literally played through a broken leg in order not to miss a crucial game, as well as myriad other heart-wrenching and uplifting narratives of players who found common purpose. Through their eyes, Fuller reveals a portrait of high school athletics, inspiring camaraderie, and deafness in America."

I LOVED this book! I was engaged from start to finish. I just loved the premise of the book, probably partially because I took ASL as my language in high school and college and have some background knowledge about Deaf culture. I loved hearing the stories about the coaches and players and how they rose up even when people underestimated them. And since I also enjoy watching football, it was fun to follow the descriptions of the games. This was an inspiring and enjoyable read. Definitely would recommend it to others.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

A Perfect Mistake

I saw A Perfect Mistake by Melanie Conklin on the Virginia Readers' Choice list for this year for middle school books. The book description says, "Max wishes he could go back in time to before he was diagnosed with ADHD, before he grew to be the tallest kid in his class, and before he and his best friends went into the woods in the middle of the night. Max doesn’t remember what happened after he left his friends Will and Joey and the older kids who took them there. He’s not sure if he wants to remember. Knowing isn’t going to make Joey talk to him again, or bring Will out of his coma. When the local authorities run out of leads, Max realizes that without his help, they may never know what really happened to Will. Charged by the idea that he may be the key to uncovering the truth, Max pairs up with classmate and aspiring journalist Sam to investigate what really happened that night. But not everyone in the community wants that night to be remembered."

This was definitely an engaging story that I wanted to keep reading to see what really happened, but the book was also really hard for me to read because Max really just needed to talk to adults about things he knew. I spent a lot of the book frustrated and just trying to keep reading to see if he'd just get help. Also, the ending didn't really seem super realistic (like some people lied and did bad stuff and it didn't seem like anyone really got in much trouble--just some plot gaps it felt like). I did really like Max's uncle Cal as a character and Max's relationship with his therapist, and I thought the book did a great job helping the reader understand ADHD.

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)

Braiding Sweetgrass

I read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer for a book club. The book description says, "Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return."

This was one of those books that I would have never picked up if it weren't for book club. And even when I started it, I don't think I really knew what to expect. I thought it was going to be primarily a factual book when really it turned out to be a beautifully written memoir of sorts, with facts and lessons woven throughout. I listened to the book on audiobook, and I'm so glad it was read by the author because I think it just captured the beauty of the writing. There were times that I was just like, Wow. Other parts of the book bored me a little bit (long section on the deep science of lichen and things like that), but overall the book really opened my eyes and was thought-provoking. I left pondering my relationship with the earth and reflecting on the wisdom of the indigenous people that is really missing in our world today. I loved the author's wide knowledge -- that she was well educated in the scientific field but also had this important background of being Anishinabekwe. Really, this was a beautiful book, and I almost wish I didn't read it on audio because I was often driving and couldn't write down or mark the parts that really stuck out to me. It was a long book, so I don't know if I really want to re-read it, but I am actually tempted.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

There was one section I remembered particularly liking (about motherhood), so I got a hard copy of the book to mark some of the quotes to share at book club. So I'll record them here:

• So it is my grandchildren who will swim in this pond, and others whom the years will bring. The circle of care grows larger and caregiving for my little pond spills over to caregiving for other waters. The outlet from my pond runs downhill to my good neighbor's pond. What I do here matters. Everybody lives downstream. My pond drains to the brook, to the creek, to a great and needful lake. The water net connects us all. I have shed tears into that flow when I thought that motherhood would end. But the pond has shown me that being a good mother doesn't end with creating a home where just my children can flourish. A good mother grows into a richly eutrophic old woman, knowing that her work doesn't end until she creates a home where all of life's beings can flourish. There are grandchildren to nurture, and frog children, nestlings, goslings, seedlings and spores, and I still want to be a good mother.
• 
  
• The earth, that first among good mothers, gives us the gift that we cannot provide ourselves. I hadn't realized that I had come to the lake and said feed me, but my empty heart was fed. I had a good mother. She gives what we need without being asked. I wonder if she gets tired, old Mother Earth. Or if she too is fed by the giving. "Thanks," I whispered, "for all of this."
• 
  
• We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their breath is in their movement, the in hale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back.

The Turtle of Oman

I've had The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye on my to-read list for awhile and recently got it on Kindle from the library. The book description says, "Aref does not want to leave Oman. He does not want to leave his elementary school, his friends, or his beloved grandfather, Sidi. He does not want to live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents will go to graduate school. His mother is desperate for him to pack his suitcase—but he refuses. Finally, she calls Sidi for help. But rather than pack, Aref and Sidi go on a series of adventures. They visit the camp of a thousand stars deep in the desert, they sleep on Sidi’s roof, they fish in the Gulf of Oman and dream about going to India, they travel to the nature reserve to watch the sea turtles. At each stop, Sidi finds a small stone that he later slips into Aref’s suitcase—mementos of home."

This was a beautiful read. I don't even know what it was, but it was just a gentle, happy book that addressed the hard things Aref was facing by showing the love and wisdom of his grandfather. I felt like the book was just so beautifully written, and then I saw at the end that the author was a former Young People's Poet Laureate, which makes a lot of sense. I just loved Sidi (Aref's grandfather) and the adventures they went on and the things they experienced and commented on. I also loved the introduction it gave me to Oman and their culture. This was just such a unique read, and I can't quite put my finger on why. But I really liked it.

* * * (3/3 = Loved it)

Please Pay Attention

I saw Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner on a new book list at the library and put it on hold since I've read another book by the author (Roll with It). The book description says, "There is a Before and an After for sixth grader Bea Coughlin. Before the shooting at her school that took the lives of her classmates and teacher and After, when she must figure out how to grieve, live, and keep rolling forward. But as her community rallies in a tidal wave of marches and speeches and protests, Bea can’t get past the helplessness she felt in her wheelchair as others around her took cover. Through the help of therapeutic horseback riding, Bea finally begins to feel like herself again. And as she heals, she finds her voice and the bravery to demand change."

The timing of this book was weird because I got the book and started it and then there was a school shooting this week at a Christian school (and Bea attends a Christian school). It made this book feel a little too close to real-life, but it was a gentle read and more focused on Bea's ability to overcome the trauma and her decision to speak up for things to change. I liked the verse format of the book and liked following Bea as a character. I also enjoyed seeing the power of horse therapy. The author's note at the end was meaningful since the author lost a close friend to a school shooting.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Big Dumb Eyes

We are big fans of the comedian Nate Bargatze, so when I heard he had a book coming out, I put it on hold from the library. I got the audiobook before the physical book, so I listened to the book: Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind. The book description says, "Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a rock, and 'my skull got, like, dented or something.' Before this accident, he dreamed of being 'an electric engineer, or a doctor that does brain stuff, or a math teacher who teaches the hardest math on earth.' Afterwards, all he could do was stand-up comedy. But the 'brain stuff' industry’s loss is everyone else’s gain because Nate went on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians, breaking both attendance and streaming records.  In his highly anticipated first book, Nate talks about life as a non-genius. From stories about his first car (named Old Blue, a clunky Mazda with a tennis ball stick shift) and his travels as a Southerner (Northerners like to ask if he believes in dinosaurs), to tales of his first apartment where he was almost devoured by rats and his many debates with his wife over his chores, his diet, and even his definition of 'shopping.' He also reflects on such heady topics as his irrational passion for Vandy football and the mysterious origins of sushi (how can a California roll come from old-time Japan?)."

This was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed listening to it because part of what makes Nate Bargatze so hilarious is how he says things, and the audiobook can capture that. Parts of the book weren't completely engaging, but other parts made me regularly laugh out loud. I definitely am glad I listened to it and was entertained throughout the book. I'm still waiting for the physical book and will enjoy looking at the pictures he referred to and the blank pages he described. 

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)