80. 365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr

read the book, borrowed from the library

2021
272 pgs.
Mid Grade CRF
Finished  7/27/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.29 - 243 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary CT, with a small part at the beginning in the wilderness/boonies of AK

First line/s:  "Rigel put the tip of the hunting knife into the hare's belly and made a careful slit." 

My comments: After spending her entire life in the middle-of-nowhere "bush" in Alaska, 11 year-old Rigel - pronounced RYE/JILL, is forced to move to Connecticut with her mom and two sister, five and 14 years old, leaving her dad, Bear, in Alaska.  She doesn't want to go, she's never left her home in the middle of nowhere and really, really loves it there.  So this story is the story of the following year in Connecticut, all the changes she has to adapt to, bullies and no friends and not enough nature and coming to love a crow she names Blueberry.  And of course she ends up making wonderful friends, finding the nature she needs, and adapting.  We get to know the diverse personalities of her  wonderful family member, too.  This is a wonderful story with lots and lots to sink your teeth into.

Goodreads synopsis:  A thoughtful middle-grade debut about a girl from off-the-grid Alaska adjusting to suburban life
        Eleven-year-old Rigel Harman loves her life in off-the-grid Alaska. She hunts rabbits, takes correspondence classes through the mail, and plays dominoes with her family in their two-room cabin. She doesn’t mind not having electricity or running water—instead, she’s got tall trees, fresh streams, and endless sky.
        But then her parents divorce, and Rigel and her sisters have to move with their mom to the Connecticut suburbs to live with a grandmother they’ve never met. Rigel hates it in Connecticut. It’s noisy, and crowded, and there’s no real nature. Her only hope is a secret pact that she made with her father: If she can stick it out in Connecticut for one year, he’ll bring her back home.
        At first, surviving the year feels impossible. Middle school is nothing like the wilderness, and she doesn’t connect with anyone . . . until she befriends a crow living behind her school. And if this wild creature has made a life for itself in the suburbs, then, just maybe, Rigel can too.
365 Days to Alaska is a wise and funny debut novel about finding beauty, hope, and connection in the world no matter where you are—even Connecticut.

115. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

listened on Audible, borrowed from Bosler/CCLS
narrated  by Julia Whelan
Unabridged audio (9:06)
2019 Random House
289 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 11/17/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.91 - 38,888
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary small town MAINE

First line/s:  "Go now, or you'll never go, Evvie warned herself."

My comments:  What pulled me in?  Small town Maine: Camden/Wiscasset area.  The cool cover.  Decent reviews.  And what did I think?  It was an okay, fun read, the very epitome of the "romance" genre of previous years, without the graphic sex scenes.  Not my favorite genre, but enjoyable once in awhile, right? 

Goodreads synopsis:  In a small town in Maine, recently widowed Eveleth "Evvie" Drake rarely leaves her house. Everyone in town, including her best friend, Andy, thinks grief keeps her locked inside, and she doesn't correct them.
          In New York, Dean Tenney, former major-league pitcher and Andy's childhood friend, is struggling with a case of the "yips": he can't throw straight anymore, and he can't figure out why. An invitation from Andy to stay in Maine for a few months seems like the perfect chance to hit the reset button.
          When Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house, the two make a deal: Dean won't ask about Evvie's late husband, and Evvie won't ask about Dean's baseball career. Rules, though, have a funny way of being broken—and what starts as an unexpected friendship soon turns into something more.
          But before they can find out what might lie ahead, they'll have to wrestle a few demons: the bonds they've broken, the plans they've changed, and the secrets they've kept. They'll need a lot of help, but in life, as in baseball, there's always a chance—right up until the last out.

Picture Book: Emily's Blue Period by Cathleen Daly

Illustrated by Lisa Brown

2014.  A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press

HC $17.99

56 pgs. (5 tiny short chapters, still reads as a picture book)

Goodreads rating:  405 - 1204 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers:  pale slate

Illustrations:  Lots of white, very much like

1^st line/s:  "Emily wants to be an artist."

My comments: An excellent picture book for kids who live in a divorced-family situation as well as a nice introduction to the artwork of Pablo Picasso.  Written in five teeny, tiny short chapters and although there are 56 pages, it still reads as a picture book in one easy sitting. Lots of discussion and art projects (including collage-making) can be created after reading this....

Goodreads: Emily wants to be an artist. She likes painting and loves the way artists like Pablo Picasso mixed things up.Emily's life is a little mixed up right now. Her dad doesn't live at home anymore, and it feels like everything around her is changing.
          “When Picasso was sad for a while,” says Emily, “he only painted in blue. And now I am in my blue period.”
          It might last quite some time.

MOVIE - Gloria

R (1:49)

Limited Release 1/24/14

Viewed 3/19/14 at the Loft with Fran

RT Critic: Audience: (can't bring this up on Rotten Tomatoes!)

Cag: 4-Liked it a lot

Directed by Sebastian Lelio

from CHILE - in Spanish with subtitles

Fandanago Review:  Gloria is a "woman of a certain age" but still feels young. Though lonely, she makes the best of her situation and fills her nights seeking love at social dance clubs for single adults. Her fragile happiness changes the day she meets Rodolfo. Their intense passion, to which Gloria gives her all, leaves her vacillating between hope and despair -- until she uncovers a new strength and realizes that, in her golden years, she can shine brighter than ever. GLORIA is Chile’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards®, and stars Paulina García in a tour de force performance that captured the Silver Bear Best Actress Award at this year's Berlin Film Festival.

My comments:  One of those movies that makes you think during ... and long after ... the movie is over.  What is loneliness?  Your kids are grown, your husband/partner is gone (I guess it doesn't matter if it's through divorce or death), but you're still very much alive.  What happens next?  THAT''S what this movie is about!

MOVIE - The Spectacular Now

R (1:35)

Limited release 8-2-2013

El Con 9-6-13

RT Critic: 91 Audience: 85

Cag: 5 Loved it 

Directed by James Ponsoldt

Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Fandango Summary:   Tim Tharp's unsentimental tale of adolescent frustration comes to the screen in this comedy-drama following the story of a sociable high-school senior whose self-delusion shattered by his emerging friendship with an unpopular classmate. Sutter Keely is one of the most popular kids in his class. Outgoing and fun-loving, he's completely oblivious as to what awaits him beyond high school. Lately, however, his drinking has started to become a problem. So when Sutter's girlfriend breaks things off, he reaches for the bottle without hesitation. Awakening in the grass under the gaze of studious, practical-minded sci-fi nerd Aimee Finicky, he isn't quite sure how he got into such a predicament. Over time, however, the two teens who couldn't be any more different on the surface realize they have more in common than either ever suspected..

My comments:  I thought this was a particularly good movie. Miles Teller reminded me greatly of John Cusack....and Shailene Woodley pulled off her part beautifully.  This was a really believable story - and even with all the drinking and self-doubt, I left the movie feeling optimistic.  I'd see it again.  It wasn't fluff.

28. The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan

Bloomsbury, 2012

213 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.90

My rating: 5/Outstanding

For: Middle-school grades

Genre: CRF in verse

Setting: contemporary Coventry, England

1st line/s:    "The wheels on the suitcase break

Before we've even left Gdansk Glowny."

My comments:  Told in verse form (so it didn't take very long to read), this seemingly simple story is thought-provoking and incredibly relevant. It's definitely not simple. What's it like to be an immigrant? Bullies.... Divorce... A mother's incredible sadness that turns into a form of abuse....First love. Wonderful story, beautifully written, and very relevant for kids today.

Goodreads summary:  Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother's heart is breaking and at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat." """"The Weight of Water" is a startlingly original piece of fiction; most simply a brilliant coming of age story, it also tackles the alienation experienced by many young immigrants. Moving, unsentimental and utterly page-turning, we meet and share the experiences of a remarkable girl who shows us how quiet courage prevails.

A Tale of Two Seders – Minda Avra Portnoy

Illustrated by Valeria Cis

Kar-Ben Publishing, 2010

Hc $17.95

32 pages

Rating:  4 – but non-Jewish kids/parents would have to refer to the glossary a LOT

Endpapers – Black – or such a dark navy blue that it looks black.

Title Page – pale green wall, table covered with swirly green tablecloth, seder plate, candles, Kiddish cups, and plate of matzah.

Illustrations:  no white, edge-of-page to edge-of-page, extremely appealing with strong color.  I very much like them.

Setting:  contemporary America

OSS:  An only child tells about the si different seders she’s attended since her parents divorced three years before.

1^st sentence/s:  “The year after my mom and dad stopped being married to each other, I went to two seders in two places --- one at Dad’s apartment, and one at Mom’s house.”

The author shows, in a clever, lovely way, how the passage of time changes things – but that with a caring, loving family, being close to one another doesn’t have to change at all.  We see new relationships, grandparents, and friends, as well as many of the Passover traditions that would have great meaning to a child – the charoset, the Four Questions, finding the afikomen.

The book ends with four different recipes of charoset:  Yemenite, Israeli, traditional Askenazi, and a traditional Italian recipe with 18 ingredients (a very special Hebrew number) that makes two quarts!

27. Lone Wolf - Jodi Picoult

2012/Emily Bestler Books/ ATRIA/ Simon & Schuster
HC $28.00 TPPL
for: adults
421 pgs.
Rating:  It was okay (the 2nd half was more engrossing than the first)

1st line:  "In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have freed the tiger."
Setting:  Contemporary Beresford, NH
OSS:  After Cara and Edward's dad, Luke Warren, a famous wolf scientist, suffers severe brain trauma in a car accident, the estranged family tries to decide what's the next step....sustaining his life or pulling the plug?

There were many things I liked about this story.  Each short chapter was in the voice of one of the key players....Luke, the father, Edward, the son, who had left at 18 for Thailand because of some sort of argument with his dad, Cara, the younger sister who lives with and idolizes her dad, Georgie, the ex-wife and Edward and Cara's mom, and Joe Ng, Georgie's new husband and the lawyer that defends Edward.  Each character is given his own font.  Luke's pieces, all italicized, are the story of the wolves and his obsession with them.

This is the story of a family that has had a tough time from the beginning.  When you have a dad that would rather live in the wild with wolves, you have a dysfunctional family, right?  So for most of his adult life Luke was lost between two worlds, never able to fully participate in either (except for the two years he actually lived in the Canadian woods and joined a pack).  There are little mysteries to be solved, actually quite evident ones, that come out as the trial proceeds.  What trial?  The trial that pits brother against sister in who will have legal guardianship of their father.

If you're an animal lover, especially a lover of wild animals, the story would probably be quite enthralling.  For me, a little bit of the wolf information went a long way.  I guess it was entirely based on the work of Shaun Ellis, a guy in England on whom the character of Luke is based.

My daughter loves Jodi Picoult, so I thought I'd try this new book.  The only one I read previously was not a favorite.  Laura says this one has not had the greatest reviews.  I think I'll wait awhile before reading another.

MOVIE - Crazy, Stupid, Love

Funny and thought-provoking and sometimes even sad....
Released 7-29-11
PG-13 (1:57)
Sunday 8-7-11 at El Con alone
RT: 75%  cag: 86%
Director:  John Requa & Glenn Ficarra
Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marissa Tomei, Kevin Bacon

I saw this last night and found myself waking up during the night thinking about it - that doesn't often happen.  I really enjoyed the movie and would have rated it higher, but it contained one of my very biggest pet peeves when it comes to movies.  Usually coming at or near the end (it did) the protagonist stops a large gathering (he did) and makes an announcement or speech (yup) that would never, ever happen in "real life."  It helped the movie cruise into an excellent adieu, they'd set it up by showcasing some of the 13-year-old son's antics, but still had me rolling my eyes.

Cal Weaver (Carrell), a happily married 40-something, is told by his wife that she's slept with a co-worker and wants a divorce.  He moves into an apartment and spends his evenings drinking and sulking in a high-end bar where he is observed by swathe man-about-town Jacob (Ryan Gossling), who takes him under his wing and gives him a complete (and much needed) makeover.  Voila!

Marissa Tomei steals the show in the two and a half scenes that she's in.  What a terrific actress!

Of course all comes out right in the end and there's a wonderful twist that has been kept secret in the trailers and reviews of the movie (YAY!!!)  Ryan Gossling is super hunky (Steve Carrell's not so bad, himself!) and Emma Stone is ADORABLE...as usual...she's become one of my very favorite actresses.  Lots and lots of cool male attire to drool over.  Fun....but sad, too.....

Oliver at the Window - Elizabeth Shreeve

Illustrated by Candice Hartsough McDonald
Front Street, 2009
$16.95
For: preschoolers, young kids, but it's about divorce, so I'd be careful about getting little kids nervous or upset
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Red

Oliver's parents have separated, and now he has two homes and a new preschool to go to. At first he just looks out the window, depressed, hanging on tightly to his stuffed lion. There are lots of books and things to do at Redbird School, but he has no interest. But gradually, as the days pass, he begins to spend less time at the window and more time drawing and playing. He starts spending less and less time staring out the window, but still alwys keeps his trusty lion with him. It's good to note that his parents never let him down, they take turns coming to pick him up and always love him.

One day, after he is fully integrated into the class and much of his grief has passed, a new girl comes to the school that was in the same state he wasw in upon his own arrival. He befriends her and helps her work things out.

Sweet, simple full-page illustrations that help tell the story.

Be careful - I wouldn't want to scare young kids into thinking this could happen to them - it reminds me of Elizabeth Partridge's book about her cat that died , but this isn't quite so sad.....