Litte Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers. Between now and Wednesday, post a link to an article, contest, interview, poem- anything you think deserves a little lov'n. Leave a link and be entered in LLM Giveaway. Deadline is September 4th. I'll leave this open to readers outside of the US and Canada, but instead of shipping a book, I'll email you a gift card. It's too costly for me to ship beyond Canada. On the fourth Saturday of each month, I'll announce a winner and will provide a list of books the winner may choose from.

August winner is Rachel from Obsessive Reader! Rachel, you may choose a book listed from any LLM post for the last two months.

Sorry, this is late. Sinus season for me. I have wicked headache. I mean, in the bed kind of pressure.

Commit to visiting 5 blogs and leaving comments. If you do that, let us know. You might not care about winning a book, but I'm thinking you're a cool person who cares. Tell us that you shared some love. Thanks.

Check out these links:
CORA Diversity Roll Call: Looking For A Few Good Men at Worducopia.
Border Dance for Poetry Friday at Mitali's
More on book covers at Jacket Knack.

In My Mailbox

I have an insane sinus headache. So, I'm not listing different titles here. Kristi at Story Siren created In My Mailbox. Marcia hosts Mailbox Monday and I focus on multicultural lit with New Crayons at Color Online.

Here's what's new on our shelves:

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland. My daughter starts high school this year. This was on freshman's summer reading list. Looking forward to it. My daughter shrugged and was already talking about homecoming. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Read full synopsis at Annick.


Ash by Malinda Lo. Thanks to Steph from Steph Su Reads. I could not get my hands on a copy. The unemployed cannot buy a book simply because she wants it. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Read a full review at Frentic Reader.


Paula by Isabel Allende. Doing some shifting in our library. Pulled this from the shelf and brought it home. We have a few Allende titles. Let me know if you'd like to borrow this. In December 1991, Isabel Allende's daughter Paula, aged 26 fell gravely ill and sank into a coma. This book was written during the interminable hours the novelist spent in the corridors of the Madrid hospital, in her hotel room and beside Paula's bed during the summer and autumn of 1992. Fantastic Fiction.


Broken China by Lori Aurelia Williams. The writing is poetic and poignant in When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by this author. I am so impressed with her work, I got this based on my first book by her. It's available for loan as well. Her story centers on 14-year-old China Cup Cameron (named by a physician's assistant since, at the time, her teen mother 'could care less'), who herself became a mother at 12. But in the first chapter, China's two-year-old daughter dies, and she takes on an enormous debt to pay for an elaborate funeral service. See review at Powell's.

My Two Grannies byFloella Benjamin . This is on our wish list. Very happy to a new book about mixed-race familes. [A]ppealing story about a mixed-race family learning to accept different traditions and customs. Alvina has two grannies: Grannie Vero from Trinidad and Grannie Rose from England. When Alvina’s parents go on vacation, both grannies arrive to look after Alvina. But the two grannies have two very different ideas about what to eat, what to play, even what stories to tell. Rainbow Book Cooperative.

What did you get this week from the library, the bookstore or in the mail? Happy reading.

My Name Isn't Susan: Confession Tuesday

It's Tuesday. My first confession is that today's post is self-serving: while I was asked to share this, I wasn't going to but then I caved because I failed to finish the article I was writing for today. My second confession, I've been formally revealed. If you remember, I wrote in another confession, my name is not Susan. Susan is a pseudonym and I'm quite fond of using them. In the article you can see my mug and my real name. More importantly, my hope is that this excerpt will motivate readers to think more consciously about what they read and what we promote as bloggers, educators and mentors. I encourage you to read the entire series, "Writers Against Racism" hosted by Amy Bowllan at School Library Journal:

My first goal was to purge the library and to create a space that said: you matter, your stories matter, in this space you can find your voice. I pretty much gutted the library. I brought in not only African American literature, but literature from around the globe because I know our children need to know there is a world beyond their boundaries. They need to know that other children who may at first seem different, have the same goals and dreams. They deserve to connect with the world.

Our community serves girls so our library is girl-focused. Today our collection is roughly 80% works written by women of color about people of color. You may think that is exceptionally high but outside of our walls, our girls live a practically invisible existence. They get the spotlight only when someone wants to do an exposé on the unfortunate and oppressed, but our girls rarely see themselves in the media and arts as beautiful, bright, artistic, and living empowered lives. The Nicholson library celebrates who they are.

Children need to see positive images of themselves and alternate views of what their lives can be. They need to know how they are connected to others. Today our library provides that connection. If you want to address issues of racism, you must address the issue of racial and cultural celebration. We do that at Color Online (the program I brought to the agency) and in our library, the unexpected gift I inherited.

Little Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers. Between now and Wednesday, post a link to an article, contest, interview, poem- anything you think deserves a little lov'n. Leave a link and be entered in LLM Giveaway. Deadline is August 28th. I'll leave this open to readers outside of the US and Canada, but instead of shipping a book, I'll email you a gift card. It's too costly for me to ship beyond Canada. On the fourth Saturday of each month, I'll announce a winner and will provide a list of books the winner may choose from.

Sorry, this is late. My computer was temperamental last night. Had to shutdown and run scans. Arggggggggg!

Commit to visiting 5 blogs and leaving comments. If you do that, let us know. You might not care about winning a book, but I'm thinking you're a cool person who cares. Tell us that you shared some love. Thanks.

Check out these links:
Wonder Where to Start....fight against Racism at Stuff White People Do
Review of Hurricane Katrina Comic at Bottom of Heaven
The Multicultural Minute at Shen's Books
Defending Bella, What A Girl Wants at readergirlz (not what you expect)
Back On The Street at If You Want Kin
St Mary's Church at When The Dogs Bite (poetry)
Sunday Morning Reads

In My Mailbox

This week was fantastic in terms of blogging and the mail. Color Online was nominated in 8 categories and I'll have a short guest spot at Amy Bowllen's column at School Library Journal thanks to Zetta Elliott. Kristi at Story Siren created In My Mailbox. Marcia hosts Mailbox Monday and I focus on multicultural lit with New Crayons at Color Online. Special thanks to Colleen at Chasing Ray and Shalonda for two boxes full of goodies Here are a few:

Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Lani Taylor. Didn't know anything about this but Jen's review convinces me it's worth checking out.
Dreamdark is as colorful and wondrous as the Jinn-crafted tapestry that gives it life. If the cover art didn't tip you off, this book isn't the gag-me-sweet faerie world of little people who flit around and make things grow (there is one in the book, but you can't help but like her). It's the brilliantly conceived tale of Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, who hunts devils that have been released back into the world by meddling humans who keep opening bottles hoping to have their wishes granted. She's tough, she's good, and she's endearing from her foxlick to her crow feather skirt. Read Jen Seegmiller's review here.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. I have enjoyed interacting with Sara, but have not read her work. Looking forward to this.
What I found most interesting about Sweethearts was how it doesn’t go for an either/or dichotomy when it comes to Jenna's identity. Perhaps the most obvious solution would be for Jenna to return to being Jennifer, her "true self", stick to the friends who loved her for that, and learn not to care about what everyone else says. But as time passes, people, especially teenagers, do change. And Jenna isn’t really Jennifer anymore. So what happens is that she realizes that her life isn’t completely artificial after all; that people have a better idea of who she really is than she realizes. It turns out she wasn’t acting all the time. See Nymeth's review here.

If A Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko. Saw the title once before but no clue what it was about. Now that I know, I'm definitely interested.
On the surface, seventh graders Kirsten and Walk couldn’t be more different. Kirsten is an overweight secret eater who hides her unhappiness over her parents’ constant fighting behind mountains of candy bars and bags of potato chips. Walk is a smart loner trying to make it as one of the only black students in Kirsten’s mostly white private school... What looks like a benign school story from its innocent, colorful cover is actually a pretty deep read that will challenge the way you think about race and economic class, and help you understand that even though they often try to convince you otherwise, adults mess up too. Read full review at Reading Rants.

So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by David Ostow. I recently read some comments by Micol that says I need to check her out. Now I learn she's married to an artist. Very cool. Read interview here.
So Punk Rock totally rocks. I dig this hybrid novel. It's funny, it's thoughtful, and it's just plain cool. It will definitely appeal to teen guys AND girls. It reads like a 'normal' book, with chapters and Ari's first-person narration, plus it has black-and-white illustrations: sidebars, pictures of the band members, doodles and lists. Read full review at Guys Lit Wire.

Magic or Madness: Throwback Thursday

Magic or Madness
Justine Larbalestier
2005

Today is Throwback Thursday at Taste Life Twice. My post this evening is about discovering a read by coming through a backdoor. While I had heard about Justine’s work, I had not read her. I’ve only recently begun reading fantasy and knowing nothing about her work, let’s just say I wasn’t tripping over myself to get to one of her books. Then the Liar controversy broke, and I spent a lot of time at the author’s blog. Talk about a roundabout segue. Reading Justine’s views is what spurred my interest in her work. I’m pretty passionate about issues that matter to me and if there is one way to impress me, it’s to hear someone express how passionate she is about what she believes. Reading Justine’s views convinced me that that her characters were smart and resilient female leads. That Justine writes people of color characters, characters who are underrepresented in literature, is a bonus.

The first in a series, Magic or Madness is the story of a teen named Reason. Reason has been raised to embrace only the logical, to be independent, resilient and at all costs not end up in the care of her grandmother, Mere, an evil witch. Life with her mother, Sarafina has been a nomad’s experience but they are close and at fifteen, the threat of being taken by her grandmother is coming to an end or so Reason believed. Then Sarafina suffers a breakdown and Reason is sent to live with the woman she has been warned against her entire life, and she discovers that magic is real.

I really enjoyed this work first because it’s well written. The dialogue is natural and it flows easily. Even with the different cultural references and dialect, the reader doesn’t get hung up on unfamiliar terms because the context is clear. The secondary characters are fully fleshed out. No stick figures propping up the main character. I really like how the author treats magic; it is real but not something so far-fetched that neither the characters nor reader would reject it. She doesn’t try to explain it other than to illustrate that its evidence confirms it is real. Her whole life Reason’s mother has told her that sane, logical people don’t believe in nonsense like magic. But when Reason walks through a door, she finds herself in a reality she can’t deny and can’t explain. Reason begins to re-examine lessons her mother had told her were about the logic of math and reason. She realizes what Sarafina had really taught her was how to protect herself from forces that Sarafina refused to embrace.

For a work that is part of a larger series the closing isn’t a forced cliffhanger instead it’s a logical conclusion to the beginning of a new chapter for a girl who has discovered a realm she thought didn’t exist.

I read this almost in one sitting. Great pacing and development fueled my marathon session. I was anxious to see how Reason would adapt. I was frustrated with how naïve she could be and it was clear that while her mother did everything to protect her, she failed to realize that the life she gave Reason only delayed an inevitable truth she’d have to deal with. Reason struggles to accept her gift, but she grows. She accepts she has to learn how to master good and evil. I’m looking forward to book two. If you don’t know this writer’s work, you should. Discover magic.

Confession Tuesday: Attack of The Cookie Monster

It’s Tuesday. And I’m having a sugar-fit. Now if you think I’m eating up calories I wish I were. I’m not talking sucrose but bits, computer script. I’m talking about being weighed down by the cookies encoded on sites that I’d love to visit but I can’t because either my pc doesn’t have enough memory to download all the script that supports a site’s widgets or my script blockers are keeping me from sites laden with ads. Either way, there are a lot of sites I’d love to read and comment to that I can’t.

Are you unknowingly blocking readers from your site? Do you wonder why you aren’t seeing more traffic at your blog? I’ve talked about this before, and I confess my frustration is growing. I wish bloggers would give more thought to functionality and accessibility. Now, I’m not tech savvy. Actually, my guy is constantly chastising me about my blog hopping habits, because I’m the one who usually brings home the viruses. We have firewalls and virus scanners (are those the same thing?) and he does stuff like defrag the computer regularly so our antiquated machine will keep running. Of course, me, the blog foodie, refuses to be denied so I’m guilty of turning off the virus protection, allowing script so I can read your blog. I rationalize that I’m only ‘temporarily allowing script’ (because that's what the message says and I tell myself I’m not likely going to pick up anything too nasty). Of course, every few months I do pick up something. Then I have to confess my sin with downcast eyes looking apologetic while my guy mutters and banishes me from the computer for a day while he sweeps our computer of all the junk I picked up schlepping around the Net.

If you’re like me and not tech savvy, please do you and me a favor think twice about all the widgets you have on your site. Ask yourself do you really need them? Make an effort to install a few virus scans and periodically sweep your pc. You could be unknowingly spreading viruses or simply blocking visitors from your site because their blockers won’t read the script on your page. Periodically visit your site from a public pc or someone else’s pc and see how quickly your site downloads. See if any filter warnings pop up when accessing your site. If you can stand it, read a little about what you can do to make your blog more accessible and easy to navigate.

I’d like to come by.

For more confessions, join us at Poet Mom.

Little Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers. Between now and Wednesday, post a link to an article, contest, interview, poem- anything you think deserves a little lov'n. Leave a link and be entered in LLM Giveaway. Deadline is August 21th. I'll leave this open to readers outside of the US and Canada, but instead of shipping a book, I'll email you a gift card. It's too costly for me to ship beyond Canada. On the fourth Saturday of each month, I'll announce a winner and will provide a list of books the winner may choose from.

Commit to visiting 5 blogs and leaving comments. If you do that, let us know. You might not care about winning a book, but I'm thinking you're a cool person who cares. Tell us that you shared some love. Thanks.

Check out these links:
Paper on White privilege in children's publishing by Laura Atkins (comments wanted)
Writers Against Racism at Amy Bowllen's
Original poetry by Ninja
Steph Su, YA blogger speaks out about Liar controversy
One Shot SE Asia Challenge at Chasing Ray

In My Mailbox

This week I had a library request come in and books in the mail. Overall a great week. Kristi at Story Siren created In My Mailbox. Marcia hosts Mailbox Monday and I focus on multicultural lit with New Crayons at Color Online. Here are a few of our goodies for the week:

Song of The Buffalo Boy by Sherry Garland. Saw this at Chasing Ray. This week, Colleen is hosting One Shot: SE Asia Round-up. If you haven't check it out, do. Great round-up of posts featuring works by SE authors or about SE characters. I read Alyssa's review at Teens Read and Write, and knew I wanted to read it. I picked up this copy at the library.

Seventeen-year-old Loi, whose father was an American soldier, is ostracized by her fellow villagers because she is con-lai, a half-breed. Loi has been promised to a cruel older man, but rather than marry him, she flees to Ho Chi Minh City, and along with thousands of other Amerasians, she begins the confusing process of applying for the Amerasian Homecoming Program.

She's So Money by Cherry Cheva. This came in a box of donations. While I was not impressed with the story (see my review here), I am glad to have a copy for our shelves. I don't have to like a book. My aim is to provide our readers with as much diversity as I can.

1 overachieving girl+ 1 insanely cute guy + 1 massive fine + 1 scheme involving a little dishonesty and a whole lot of cash?

The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin. Really stoked to get this. I follow this poet/feminist on Twitter. She's an activist and like all activists, she has plenty to say. The downside is I can't afford to buy every book I want so I requested my library did and I got a call yesterday. Before getting the book, I was impressed but when I read Dorothy Allison and Walter Mosely both endorsed the memoir, I was, "Hot damn!" If you don't know who Allison and Mosely are let it suffice to say they are highly respected writers.

Staceyann Chin, acclaimed and iconic performance artist, now brings her extraordinary talents to the page in a brave, lyrical, and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica. She plumbs tender and unsettling memories as she writes about drifting from one home to the next, coming out as a lesbian, and finding the man she believes to be her father and ultimately her voice. Hers is an unforgettable story told with grace, humor, and courage.

The Color of Earth: A Celebration of Another Love

The Color of Earth
Kim Dong Hwa
2009
First Second

My experience with graphic novels is limited. And it seems each one I read is distinctly different in style and writing. This coming-of-age story by far is my favorite. Written by celebrated Korean artist, Hwa is a feminist and a man. I start with this because as someone who is very vocal about women telling their stories, this is a man telling it. Like another reader, while there were a few times I questioned if the voice rings true, I am undecided if it is more of a cultural difference that is affecting how I hear this mother and daughter convey their feelings. Most times, the voice seems consistent with the style of writing and I believe the style reflects a culture where in many ways women are restricted in how they communicate and behave.

This artwork is stunning. I took my time with this work in part simply so I could linger over the images. Not only are the images breathtaking but the construction of the volume itself is pure craftsmanship. Heavy paper and rich colors and a glossed cover compliment this classic story about first love, crossing the threshold of childhood and finding love again.

The writing is poetic, simple in construction but rich with metaphor, and there is a tenderness that can only really be appreciated with a deliberate, unhurried reading. The is best way to experience this work is to approach it the same way you share a bedtime story with a child: a few pages each night over a course of several nights.

Gaining an intimate view of another culture is always a treat but here, not only did I learn a great deal about pastoral Korea of a generation or so removed but here is a mother/daughter relationship that is close and nurturing. The estranged relationship between mothers and daughters is well documented but rarely do we see a mother and daughter celebrated in this way. It is a welcome departure.

By the end of this first volume, I felt sated with a fine story and hungry for the next installment. At Chasing Ray, Colleen is spotlighting works written by writers from or about southeast Asia. I thought I would have finished a work that qualifies but I didn't. Join me in finding my next read at Colleen's.

Confessions of a Tweeter

Alrighty, let's just walk straight into booth, shall we? I confess I tweet. I didn't want to do it, but being the habitual blog hoppin', online community chatty Kathy that I am, I joined the millions of folks at Twitter. Sounds like a mild confession, right? Now, let me tell you the rest. Twitter is my, eh, how do I say..., let's not use a seedy metaphor. Okay, how about my overworked, online intern who I use solely for promotion? Better, and it's true.

But there's more. I really don't care what you had for breakfast or where you're going or how the weather is in your neck in the woods. My eyeballs glaze right over that stuff. After more than a decade online and working in an information industry, I've become a fairly good amateur data scanner. I scan for links to more information about the things I'm interested in. That's it. I scan, sort, mentally store info to check out later or right then.

I also use Twitter to send direct messages to online friends who hang out there and it's the surest way to reach them. It's my equivalent of ringing you up, which by the way, despite being attached to my keyboard, I loathe my cell phone. Phones are for saying I'm en route, late or lost.

I don't begrudge you all for sharing your minutia. I'm just not interested. You might as well be announcing you're going to pee and who wants to know that?

That's all folks. You can join me and my cohorts for Confession Tuesday at January's.

Thulani: Male Monday Spotlight

Today is Male Monday at Reading In Color. I've chosen Every Time A Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-Garcia.

One of my earliest reads by Ms. Williams was this love story. Now, I don’t normally care to read romances. I don’t like stories about guys rescuing girls. I don't enjoy stories that have tidy, Hollywood endings. I do, however, appreciate stories with depth and complexity and you always get that with Ms Williams.

I like stories that respect the intelligence and emotional maturity of the reader. I like stories where the romance is an opportunity to examine who we are as individuals and how we try to navigate our emotions in a relationship. Every Time A Rainbow Dies is a different kind of love story. This is another YA example of the richness to be discovered in this evolving genre.

This is a story about a 16-year-old boy who has not been able to grieve the death of his mother nor reconcile his estrangement with his father who is somewhere in Jamaica, and he doesn’t know how to cope with his resentment towards his caregiver, his older brother. Thulani doesn’t care much about school. His only friends are his rock pigeons that he takes care of on the rooftop of his building.

Then he hears a scream. From the rooftop, Thulani sees a young girl being raped in an alley. He runs to her aid. The rapists take off and Thulani tries to help the girl who is shamed and angry. And she is angry. Ysa is not the helpless, grateful victim.

Thulani is unsuccessful in getting the girl to report the rape. Instead, he takes her home. Helps her clean up and sees her home safely. He becomes attracted to her but she wants nothing to do with him. He catches sight of her one day on the street and begins to look for her. When he finally catches up with her, Ysa rejects him. Yes, he was kind and brave, but he also witnessed her violation. Hardly a way to meet a guy you’d want to date.

Thulani pursues her. Eventually, Ysa gives him a chance. Ysa lives with an aunt. She misses a country and parents she only vaguely knows in childhood memories. She wants to be a clothes designer. She is ambitious and talented. She’s also lonely and like so young women who have been violated, she refuses to get counseling. She wrestles with the aftermath mostly alone. Slowly, she finds some comfort in Thulani.

Their relationship is tentative, awkward. Still, they find comfort in one another and the whole time, the reader is invested in the relationship. You desperately want them to heal. One of the things I enjoy about Ms. Williams work is the pacing. It’s always pitch perfect. She doesn’t rush or languish over scenes or details that feel more like manipulation than a natural progression of a plot. There are no pat, feel-good lines here. No magic spell or love saves these lovers. And there is sex, (one brief scene) descriptive enough to illustrate a kind of intimacy and sensitivity young people can have. The encounter comes off authentic though by no means an endorsement of sexual activity. And yes, I believe there should be sex in YA because it is a part of some teens’ lives. I think we need mature, realistic images of what sex means to young people.

I love the layering here, the realistic ending. I love that Ms. Williams allows Thulani and Ysa to tell their story. We see damaged characters begin to heal and make informed decisions about how to move forward in their lives. Lastly, in Thulani we get a rare glance of a black male teen fully developed, capable of growth and who has the capacity to care for others. This is no small thing. We need more works with positive male teens of color.

Little Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers. Between now and Wednesday, post a link to an article, contest, interview, poem- anything you think deserves a little lov'n. Leave a link and be entered in LLM Giveaway. Deadline is August 14th. I'll leave this open to readers outside of the US and Canada, but instead of shipping a book, I'll email you a gift card. It's too costly for me to ship beyond Canada. On the fourth Saturday of each month, I'll announce a winner and will provide a list of books the winner may choose from.

Commit to visiting 5 blogs and leaving comments. If you do that, let us know. You might not care about winning a book, but I'm thinking you're a cool person who cares. Tell us that you shared some love. Thanks.

Check out these links:
Interview with Lyn Miller-Lachmann at Cynsations
"Women at Risk" by Bob Herbert
"From Margin to Center" by Neesha Meminger
Evelyn's Woodson at Evelyn's
"For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide" at UrbaneLyfe
The New Liar Cover at Justine's
60 Black Superwomen in Comics at Black Threads in KidsLit
Journal of a Power Dyke In Training (Is that not the best title you've heard in some time?)

In My Mailbox

I've cut back on my library loans and I'm ordering fewer books on trade because I really have more than enough. Still, there are always those gems you snatch up when you can. Kristi at Story Siren created In My Mailbox. Marcia hosts Mailbox Monday and I focus on multicultural lit with New Crayons at Color Online. Here's our goodies for the week:

An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah. Saw this at Lotus reads. Requested it from my library and then missed picking it up. Requested it again. Was excited when I got a notice yesterday that it was in.

Petina Gappah was born in Zimbabwe and currently works as a lawyer in Geneva. This, her first published work of fiction, is a collection of 13 stories, all but one of which are set in her homeland and feature characters struggling with the hyperinflation, bureaucracy and misogyny that beset life in Mugabe's Zimbabwe. See full review at guardian.co.uk.

Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse. Saw this on Paperback Swap. This is our second copy so this gem could be yours. Adding it to our Prize Bucket.

Karen Hesse is the queen of the free verse novel. When interviewed after the publication of the Newbery Award Winning Out of the Dust, Hesse said she wrote in free verse because the writing style best matched the sparseness of her characters’ lives. The same seems to hold true for the tales she also tells of girls’ lives in Witness and now in Aleutian Sparrow. While there are fewer words, they are rich, well intentioned words that affect us as they describe the setting, bring life to characters and tell the story. See full review at Crazy Quilts.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I read mostly women. I don't read much fantasy and I'm not a big audio fan. Well this easy-on-the-eyes Brit is all the reason I need to ignore my biases. I love Gaiman's voice. He's a master storyteller. A donor sent us a hardcover copy. Thank you, anonymous.

Over eight chapters, or stories, we watch Bod grow from a toddler into a young man. We watch him walk the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and gather knowledge about both. And in the end, we watch him learn the meaning of being alive. See full review at things mean a lot.

Refugees by Christine Stine. Saw this at Marjolein's. Premise sounds interesting. Requested it from PaperBack Swap.

Two teenagers on opposite sides of the globe flee everything they know. In a world turned upside down by tragedy, they are refugees. 16 year-old Dawn runs away from her unhappy foster home in California and travels to New York City. Johar, an Afghani teenager, sees his world crumble before him. He flees his war-ravaged village and the Taliban, and makes a dangerous trek to a refugee camp in Pakistan. Thanks to his knowledge of English, Johar finds a job at the camp assisting Louise, the Red Cross doctor--and Dawn's foster mother. Through e-mails and phone calls, Dawn and Johar begin to share and protect each other's secrets, fears, and dreams.

Poetry Friday: Underlife by January O'Neil

January Gill O'Neil
CavanKerry Publishing
2009








Underlife represents that gnawing wilderness of thought and emotion hidden away from the external world. The dynamics of race, family, motherhood, career, sex, and, ultimately, transformation are explored in this debut collection. Vivid and unflinchingly honest, O’Neil’s narratives are portals through which we see our lives as if for the first time. These poems make the ordinary extraordinary.

"The Ripe Time"

Each month she thinks her nipples
are becoming more tender,
areolas blooming into wild ginger.
Before her is a bed filled with ardor.

Pregnant, not pregnant,
she is the princess without the pea—
a ball stuck in the pinball machine
that tilts like clockwork.

After making love
they lie on their sides silvered with sweat.
She listens for the soft chirp of her own breathing:
it does not reveal why her body operates
like a failed business.

On this night
where marriage is the only safe place
she can go, her husband holds her,
tells her it’s just a matter of time.

But all she can think about
is this empty house they can’t afford
and the ripe tomatoes growing in backyard containers,
smooth-fleshed and heavy,
falling from their stems.

Originally appeared at Literary Mama.

January's debut poetry collection scheduled release is September 2009. Her work has appeared in numerous publications. A Cave Canem Fellow, January regularly participates in writers' groups, poetry festivals and readings. She blogs at Poet Mom and is a columnist for readwritepoem.

January is my peer, my friend, my confidant for our weekly Confession Tuesday. I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do. Support poetry. Buy her collection. Poetry Friday is hosted this week by Tricia at Miss Rumphius Effect.

Blue Collar Tough: Confession Tuesday

It's confession Tuesday but I'm going to start with promotions. Do check out Male Monday at Reading In Color. Ari is a fresh, welcomed voice in the YA book blogosphere. Good reading. This week, Ali, my co-host at Worducopia is hosting CORA Diversity Roll Call, and we're discussing boys and books and book covers. You'll find multiple links to great recommendations, but I want to point out Zetta's article about how male teen characters are sketched and writers' social/cultural responsibility. A thought-provoking piece that asks some serious questions worth discussing.

Okay, now on to the drama. Yesterday, I got my hair done. A sista was looking raggedy because I was way overdue (I love having my hair done and locs must be tightened occasionally but I hate making the trip). While there, a friend from work called me about the current threat of a layoff. In the past, I worried myself sick. We're union and I'm at the bottom of the totem pole. If there's a layoff in my department, I'm gone. This time though, I told my girlfriend, yes I heard the rumors, but I'm not stressing. I'm done worrying about it because stressing doesn't serve me.

We're in Michigan. Our unemployment rate is double-digit. I work for the county, and for the last year I've watched business drop off for all vendors. I live in great suburb where there were lots of small, thriving businesses. I've watched a lot of them close up and those who remain are barely holding on. And let's not talk about family and friends. It's easier to list off who is still working than those who are not. Personally, I've been feeling the weight of the economic downturn for a while. At this point, I've gone into survival mode. I accept these are hard times and for me, getting laid off is just one more episode in an already depressing year.

I am doing what I can with what I have. I have been unemployed before. In fact, I've been fired in the past, and I have lived below the poverty line. I also made it to the other side of those difficult times. I know I can make it again. This is hardly where I expected to be at this stage in my life, but well, I am.

I have other life work that brings me joy and gives me a sense of purpose. I have my family and friends. I know how to hustle. We'll eat and we'll have a place to stay. For now, I'm holding on. As long as I can do that, I am hopeful.

Little Lov'n Monday

Little Lov'n Monday is a day we celebrate the work of fellow bloggers. Between now and Wednesday, post a link to an article, contest, interview, poem- anything you think deserves a little lov'n. Leave a link and be entered in LLM Giveaway. Deadline is August 7th.
Changes to winning: I'm afraid I'm going to change the book prize to once a month. Winner announced the last Saturday each month. I'll leave this open to readers outside of the US and Canada, but instead of shipping a book, I'll email you a gift card. It's too costly for me to ship beyond Canada. Congratulations, Evelyn. Visit Evelyn at Evelyn N. Alfred.

Commit to visiting 5 blogs and leaving comments. If you do that, let us know. You might not care about winning a book, but I'm thinking you're a cool person who cares. Tell us that you shared some love. Thanks. Winner may choose a prize from the list or any previously offered book if it is available:
A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Paradise by Toni Morrison (hardcover)

Check out these links:
How To Stay Focused at Book of Kells
Carnival of Children's Literature at Mother Reader
A Little Tenderness at Fledgling
Stages (poetry)
COC at Melissa Wiley's
White Privilege and Children's Publishing at Tockla's
Happy Blogoversary to Diana!
Reading Rainbow at Shvetufae
White Bread Competition at Happy Nappy Bookseller (review)
Variety of links at Cynsations
Read Write Poem makeover