StuffyWorld Update: International Intrigue

News Flash! The writer of this blog got a COVID-19 test today because she ran a fever this past weekend. No actual COVIDy symptoms - except for the headache you get when you have a fever. BUT better safe than exposing all your friends and relatives to a deadly virus, right? Enough about that!

Things have been beyond exciting in Stuffy World and Toy Land.  Since we are largely confined to socializing with each other, the granddaughter has become obsessed with gossip. "Gossip!:" she demands. "I need gossip." 

She wants to know about the secret life of our small squooshy friends.

Missy Miss and Jasper in happier days.

Romantic gossip first. Jasper and Missy Miss had a HUGE fight over pizza toppings. No seriously. Jasper Acorn, the squirrel, is vegan. Missy Miss, aka Charlotte Amalia the Chimpanzee, is vegetarian, mostly, but she LOVES pepperoni. So, she wanted to splurge and get half vegan and half pepperoni and dairy cheese.  Jasper got very upset to think animal products may have touched his vegan slice. I think he overreacted but he is passionate about animal rights.

So, they are kaput - for now. More later.

Adventure gossip: Hoobert Heever the Beaver - one of the oldest stuffies (but not the OLDEST by a long shot) decided to get into the International StuffyWorld Book of Records (ISWBR) by traveling around the world faster than any other stuffy.

The judges at ISWBR Publishing insisted that Hoobert visit three landmarks in each country he visited. In London, he went to the Tower of London, the London Eye, and, though the Granddaughter was sure he'd visit Buckingham Palace, instead, he went to Trafalgar Square.

Ready to conquer the world. Notice his Pawsport. (I crack myself up.)

He skipped France and flew to Barcelona, Spain, where he visited the cathedral which is STILL under construction. But before he could visit anything else, he was robbed. Everything, but the Euros he kept in a secret pocket, disappeared - his passport, his identification, credit cards, photos, camera, phone - EVERYTHING.

He had enough money to get a driver to take him to the Policia. But their facial recognition software identified Hoobert as being one Toothsome the Terrible, a notorious international jewel thief. (I have ALWAYS wanted to write about a notorious international jewel thief. Bucket list!!!)

They took a tail print and it was identical to the tail print on record at Toothsome the Terrible's proctologist's office. (This was Gramps' contribution to the story.)

However, it turns out that all the beavers made by Hoobert's toy company have identical tail prints. I discovered that after a couple of phone calls. The granddaughter, whose research skills surpass mine by magical proportions, found out that the tracing technology also embedded in the toys was not invented when Hoobert was made so there was no way we could use that technology to prove Hoobert was NOT Toothsome.  What a conundrum!

About this time, Interpol or Interswpol, explained that scars and nicks make identical tail prints not so identical over the years and that's when they visited the proctologist's office.  (See above.)

We are nothing if not superior investigators and we have Gramps' endless thirst for news to help us. He read about a rash of break ins of different doctor offices where certain records appeared to be tampered with - tail prints of beavers, scale prints of armadillos and the tail and bill prints of platypuses. One of those offices was that of HOOBERT'S doctor.Guess whose tail prints were missing. Hmmm?  Do you give up? Hoobert's tail prints had been inserted in Toothsome's file. Capiche?

Ah HA! we both said, and since we were in the swimming pool when we learned about all of this, we did a quick spin and dunk of discovery!

The officers at Interswpol Barcelona were no help at all in getting Hoobert released. So Dulci called Hoobert on the phone in Hoobert's cell block - (her palm computer is the BEST. Mine is too old to access all the secret schedules and info. It was also wrinkled from being in the water.) and they made a plan.

She Superfast Expressed a large empty box to Hoobert. After making sure it was empty, except for packing material, the guards left it in Hoobert's cell. Hoobert removed all the labels and replaced them with labels found hidden in the packing materials. Then he jumped in and waited for meal time, when the guards found the package and posted it to ME!!!!

I'm glad she marked it "Fragile."

Meanwhile, Interswpol found Hoobert's wallet near a train station in Frankfort, Germany, several days later. All official ID was missing but Hoobert's library card was still there. They questioned Hoobert by SW Skype and when he was able to identify all the books checked out on that card, at a time when Toothsome was KNOWN to be in Europe, Interswpol agreed to revise their records on Toothsome and require a new tail print if he was ever captured again. Hmmm, I wonder if they will ask for our help in catching him.

Who knew that our toys have such interesting lives? Dulcinator the Investigator and Nana so Spry, the Private Eye! That's who knew!

PS. Hoobert still plans on traveling around the world.  Someday.

Themes and memes

The last two books that I read this year - not the last for the year! heaven forfend! - dealt with immigrants who moved from Asia to English speaking countries. Both books also dealt with dead or dying parents. Of course, beyond that the books are widely different. One is written for teens; the other is written for middle grade readers. One takes place in the good ole U S of A. The other is set Down Under. In the book for teens, it is the parents who have had trouble, or so it seems, adjusting to their move. In the book for middle grades, the main character, an 11-year-old, feels shanghaied by his family's move.

Language is a connector. It is also a barrier. A way to communicate CAN be found but we need to be compassionate enough to try.


Frankly in Love by David Yoon starts out as a typical last year of high school when will I get a girl romance. Of course there are complications. There are always complications. Frank's complications are his parents.

We watch Frank's parents "evolve" as Frank's view of his family evolves. Yoon never paints the parents broadly or stereotypically, but it seems that Frank does. They have "racist" attitudes about dating because they are immigrants. Frank knows how they think because he hears their opinions. They keep Frank's older sister at arm's length because she chose the wrong partner.

Not crazy about this cover. Just saying.

The very best thing about this book is Yoon's writing. He lays out the puzzle pieces and the reader is pretty sure where the pieces will go. Whether they fall into place as the reader predicts or not, Yoon adds depth of emotion and enlightenment to the simplest event.

So, here's the plot. Frank Lee has never had a date because his parents will only approve of him dating a Korean-American girl. His lifelong friend, Joy, IS dating a non-Korean, secretly. So they come up with a plan to fake date each other.

From comments on Goodreads, it appears that fake dating is a thing. I suspect it was a thing back in the pre-Cambrian Era when I went to high school,   - religion, race, neighborhood, the same-same.

The inevitable result of fake dating happens, but the ending is not rosy.

Meanwhile, Frank breaks his non-Korean girlfriend's heart. Frank's best friend, Q, spouts erudite nonsense (which cracked me up). Frank and Q's friendship made this book for me.

And THEN, there is a family crisis that is sad and revealing and ultimately healing. Nuff said.

Now, this cover holds promise!

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai is also about immigrants. Jingwen, his mother and his younger brother, Yanghao have moved to Australia. Jingwen simply cannot get the hang of English. He views the other children at school as Martians. He understands just enough English to convince himself that some of his classmates are mocking him. And he realizes that HE is the alien.

Jingwen makes a lot of assumptions about the people around him because he can't talk to them. He reads body language and faces. His own feeling of failure imbues his interpretations with threats where none exist. What an awful feeling!

Jingwen and Yanghao's father wanted to move to Australia and open a bake shop where only the most special cakes would be sold. Then he died in a car accident. When their mother went through with the move, Jingwen feels that his family abandoned the memory of his father.

 Jingwen is sure that the only way he can ever feel happy again is by baking every cake his father planned for their bake shop, Pie in the Sky. So secret cake baking ensues. Yanghao has to be included because HE can make himself understood. Cakes! Messes! Duplicity! They need to keep their baking secret because using a stove is dangerous for children.

In the meantime, Jingwen struggles. His teacher reaches out. A classmate is kind. When Yanghao ends up in the hospital because of a marginally cake related accident, their mother finally pays attention to Jingwen's grief. It is not easy being a widowed mother in a foreign land.

All those cakes end up improving Jingwen's grades, help him make friends and create a hopeful ending.
ALSO, the drawings are delightful.

Genteel Romance - two reviews

Ahhh, the Georgians, Victorians, all those bygone societies, - they knew how to do romance - coy looks and simpering smiles, lighthearted banter followed by meaningful pauses - and oh, so many ways for intentions to be misconstrued and for young people to step out of line.

Cindy Anstey writes about young gentlewomen who don't quite fit the well-behaved mold of society.  In Duels and Deceptions, young Lydia has little to complain about - outside her loud drunk Uncle and his land agent.  These "gentlemen" seem determined to ruin the sizable estate that Lydia's father left her.  Life is as it should be - except for these two louts.  She has a perfectly acceptable future fiance, chosen for her by her late father.  She is well-to-do.  And she is in control.  She likes being in control.  Funny that, actually.  As soon as she marries, all control will resort to her husband.

Lydia writes to her father's lawyer to complain about her uncle, and a young law clerk, Mr. Robert Newton, arrives to investigate.  He is thoughtful, well-mannered, a member of the peerage - although a younger son so destined to work for a living - in short, a paragon among men.

When an awful crime is perpetrated against Lydia in an attempt to steal her fortune, it is Mr. Newton who is Lydia's hero.  Said awful crime eventually leads to other awful crimes, all related in the most genteel manner in this romantic adventure.

Really!!??  This guy??!!

If we hop in the time machine to the 21st century, we meet Tash Zelenka, avid young vlogger and web series producer.  Tash love the works of Leo Tolstoy with a pure and burning ardor.  So, she and her best friend, Jack (short for Jacqueline), Tash's sister, Klaudie and others, create a web series titled Unhappy Families, based loosely on Anna Karenina. And life is fun and good and creative and THEN the series goes VIRAL.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy is about family, friendship, fame and feelings, among other more confusing things.  Such as sex and why Tash isn't really interested.  She is interested in romance - very, very interested, especially with boys.  But the physical part?  Not so much.  Tash tells her best friends, Jack and Jack's older brother, Paul, all about this confusion before the book starts.  But it's such an odd revelation that misunderstandings simply ABOUND!!

Then there is FAME and how it impacts the eight teens and one 20-something that make the cast of Unhappy Families - the social media frenzy, the fangirls and the haters, and the cute boy vlogger who reaches out to Tash and offers friendship and...more?

FAMILY?  Well, there is illness and explosive disclosures and separation anxiety as Klaudie prepares to leave for college.  Who needs this??

And FRIENDS?  Tash misinterprets or doesn't even seem to CARE about the feelings and problems that her friends have.  She is so caught up in her passion for filming and the chaos that fame creates.

Unhappy Families is a web series about genteel romance - the kind of love that Tash is looking for - someone to lean into, someone to share the deepest and best feelings with, someone who makes her heart melt with happiness.   There are a couple of candidates in Tash Hearts Tolstoy.  But which one will understand Tash's singular sensibilities and accept them?  Ahh, and there is where we find genteel romance.

Pretty darn good relaxing reads, both of these.  I'd give Tash Hearts Tolstoy the edge, though, because of the modern vibe.  The social commentary in both is coated with clever dialogue, likeable characters and humor.  The books did make me think but they also made me happy.

The Sun Is Also a Star

One day in the life of Natasha, an illegal immigrant whose deportation to Jamaica is imminent, and Daniel, a first generation Korean American, leads to all kinds of FEELS!
COINCIDENCE (Ko-Inky-dinks) plays a HUGE part in this story.  The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicole Yoon.

 I loved it.

Look!  The cover illustration is made with thread and pins!

Natasha is trying, one more time, to find a way to keep her family in America.  She's got a LOT of anger going on, and a lot of desperation.

Daniel has to go to an interview with a Yale alum as he starts on the journey to do exactly what his parents want - go to Second Best College, be doctor.  It's NOT what he wants.

They meet.  Daniel pulls Natasha back from a near collision.  They have coffee.  Daniel suggests a scientific experiment into romance.  Natasha keeps secrets.  Daniel introduces Natasha to his ridiculous jerk of a big brother and his stiff-necked father.  Bit players have their moment in the spotlight.

Hope SPRINGS!!  Love (?) - possibly.  Will all be well?  Will kindness and happiness prevail? 

That would be telling.  So, just know this;  in a world of books that swing readers through life and death explosions of violent soaked action, a book like this is a gift.  It is no less exciting and no less suspenseful - just quieter and so much more possible.

Girls Read - Of Course

Yesterday's post was a little guy-centric.  So today I have to share a great list of books for Courageous Girls put out by The Children's Book Review.   The books are timeless and fun and there are books here for smaller courageous girls, and bigger girls, too.

Of course, girls read! And write and sing and do amazingly brave things.   So, all these active reading girls will love that there is a SECOND Daring Book just for them!  I get a little emotional thinking that I might be able to share these books with my granddaughter in a few years.  (Sniff!  Won't that be wonderful?)

And for all of us grown-up girls, romance author and apologist (as in supporter -NOT apologizer) Maya Rodale put out an eloquent trailer on why Romance Novels have been considered DANGEROUS for centuries.  I doubt that I will rush out and buy a bunch but my respect for romance as a genre has jumped after viewing this.
 

Before Ever After

I just gave my ARC of Before Ever After   by Samantha Sotto to a good friend.  This book will make its way around the booktalk/book group circuit in no time.  BTW, Amazon has a very nice little book trailer.  Just click on the title above.

Here's the set-up.  Max was killed in a terrorist attack on the London underground, leaving behind his young wife, Shelly.  Three years later, on a Sunday morning, Shelly is trying to recreate Max's delicious baked eggs and cheese when the doorbell rings.  At the door, stands Max!!! No, wait.  This man's name is Paolo.  And Paolo claims to be Max's grandson......

This claim, and what Paolo shows Shelly to prove it, leads the two of them on a search for Max/Nonno and on a journey into the past - a tour through Europe that Shelly took with Max as the tour guide.  She met him, fell in love and now, she wants to hunt him down and demand some answers.

Part travelogue - I want to go to Slovenia, France, Austria, Switzerland, Venice - even to the South Sea Islands - part time travel, definitely romance, this book will carry you along.   Sotto's writing is smooth, descriptive and evocative.

OH, and I almost forgot!  Chicken lovers take note.  Chickens are very important in this story.   Any ideas what this "symbolism" might mean?  (Besides the fact that chickens rule!)

The ending troubled me, and I'd love to hear someone else's take on that.  Anyway, getting to the end was worth it.   Read the book and please come back and tell me what you think.

GIVEAWAY STILL ON:  Leave a comment mentioning the Jack Gantos audiobook giveaway, your first name and where you are located for a chance to win an audiobook of Dead End in Norvelt.  Comments on this blog are moderated so your comment will NOT appear immediately.