Here are five things worth sharing this month:
1. Reading (MG): I’ve been a fan of Sally J. Pla’s for a while, so when I saw she had a new book, I couldn’t wait to pick it up. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn is a sweet story about a girl on the autism spectrum who’s been displaced because of a California fire. It’s a difficult story, but it’ll leave you feeling a lot of hope—one of the things I love most about middle grade literature. Pla is also the author of one of my favorite books, The Someday Birds, which I also highly recommend.
2. Reading (Adult NF): “If people had more understanding of geologic time, we’d be less selfish and greedy, and think about the future.” I love Sy Montgomery. Her newest book, Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell, is as brilliant as the first book of hers I read (The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness, which was a National Book Award finalist). This one’s about turtles and time and the environment and shrinking habitats and COVID and what we can do about it all. It was brilliant.
3. Watching: You’re gonna have to excuse me for a second, but I have to gush about a new Apple TV series, The Buccaneers. Have you seen this show?! It’s SO GOOD! They’ve only released the first season (and watch out—it ends on some cliffhangers), but I’ve found myself thinking about the characters frequently, after having finished all the episodes. That’s how I know it’s a good show—I’m invested in the characters, I care about their lives, and I want to know more. It’s a historical show that follows a cast of young women as they try to find their place in the world—or make it. I’ve written down so many quotes from the young women; here’s one of my favorites, from Nan St. George: “I will not be a caged bird. I will fly free.”
4. Reading (YA): I recently finished the young adult book, An Appetite for Miracles, by Laekan Zea Kemp, a novel in verse about family and dementia and memory and first love and hope. Kemp wrote not only a beautiful story but beautiful poetry. This is the first of Kemp’s books I’ve read—but it will not be the last!
5. Reading (MG): I am beginning to fall in love with Gary D. Schmidt’s stories. I just finished Okay for Now, which was a National Book Award finalist back in 2011, and I loved it as much as I’ve loved his other books. He has a knack for writing complex characters who don’t always make good choices—but you love them all the more for it. Other favorites of Schmidt’s include The Labors of Hercules Beal, The Wednesday Wars, and Just Like That.
