The Maid (Nita Prose)

 

This was kind of like Amelia Bedelia grows up and becomes a maid and becomes part of a murder. 

Her obsession with things being super clean totally spoke to my heart. I get it! 

I'll totally read more in this series. It was just what I needed: a light weekend read after a tiring week of being back to school.

Nita Prose has to be a pseudonym, right??

Goodreads says:

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life's complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly's orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Now You Say Yes (Bill Harley)

 

I need to do a better job of writing down who recommended a book to me and/or why. I wish I knew why I ended up with this book. I'm glad I did though! It might have been because of the eclipse aspect of it. It might have been because of the autistic character. All I know is it was a really great read. Mari's ability to learn to work with her brother Connor to get him to cooperate with her plan was smart. Mari's perseverance and wisdom in figuring out what to do now that they're alone was also inspiring. Her thoughts about what people think of her and her brother were well written. It is a read well worth the time.

The title comes from something that Connor would often say when badgering someone about something he wanted or something he wanted to do, "Now you say yes!"

I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of an autistic person, although, the comments from people about him being weird or a freak made me wince. Then again, people do say those things. I appreciated the growing love Mari had for her brother and how she took care of him.

Goodreads says:

A middle grade novel about two orphaned siblings (my interjection: They're not really orphans....they do have a dad - but he left) on a cross-country journey in search of their place in the world.

When her adoptive mother dies, fifteen-year-old Mari and is desperate to avoid being caught up in the foster system. Again. And to complicate matters, she is now the only one who can take care of her super-smart and on-the-spectrum nine-year-old stepbrother, Conor.

Is there anyone Mari can trust to help them? Certainly not her mother’s current boyfriend, Dennis. Not the doctors or her teachers, who would be obliged to call in social services. So in a desperate move, Mari takes Conor and sets out to find their estranged grandmother, hoping to throw themselves at the mercy of the only person who might take them in.

On their way to New England, the duo experiences the snarls of LA traffic, the backroads of the Midwest, and a monumental stop in Missouri where they witness the solar eclipse, an event with which Conor is obsessed. Mari also learns about the inner workings of her stepbrother’s mind and about her connections to him and to the world…and maybe even a little about her own place in it.

BAT and the End of Everything (Elana K Arnold)

It's the end of the school year. BAT has to say good bye to Israel, Babycakes and pretty soon, even Thor. BAT can't stand the idea of saying goodbye. He describes it with words that broke my heart:

BAT pictured Thor scampering away, his fluffy black-and-white tail disappearing into the bushes at the regional park, which Mom had already decided would make a good "forever home" for Thor.

What if that was the last thing BAT ever saw of Thor? That white stripe, the rear end of him, leaving BAT forever?

Luckily, it has a happy ending. You'll have to read it to find out what happens!

I feel like there will be a book 4 too. In this book, BAT's dad introduces them to his new friend. Janie doesn't like the idea one bit and BAT is confused about whether she's a friend or a girlfriend. We are left hanging on that issue.



Goodreads says:

Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world... but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild.

The end of school also means that Bat has to say good-bye to his favorite teacher, and he worries about the summer care of Babycakes, their adorable class pet. Not only that, but his best friend is leaving for a long vacation in Canada.

Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie. But Bat can’t help but feel that everything is coming to an end.

National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold returns with the third story starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum.

BAT And The Waiting Game (Elana K Arnold)

We just finished A Boy Called BAT as a novel study and so of course, my first book of the summer HAD to be the next book. This one did not disappoint. It continues with all the same characters and many of the same issues. BAT is having to prove that he can be a good caretaker for BAT. There's one thing I worry about having a pet skunk. What if he sprays?

Well, in this story, he does. But you'll have to read it to find out where it happens. Let's just say, it's probably the worst timing ever!

Goodreads says:

In the tradition of Clementine and Ramona Quimby, meet Bat. Author Elana K. Arnold returns with another irresistible story of friendship in this widely acclaimed series starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum.

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world — even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor.

When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal.

He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance...

A Boy Called BAT (Elana K Arnold)

This is the book for our first book club meeting in September. I'm super proud that we even picked a book for kids to read over the summer! I made a padlet for kids to post pictures of where in the world they are reading....but so far it's pretty quiet. Some ideas for our book club meeting:

- Since BAT is very sensitive to sounds, we could play a game where kids have to identify sounds
- We could have a vet visit and tell us some cool animal stories
- We could skype a vet
- We could skype the author (but that costs a big chunk of change)
- We could learn about autism

This is one of the books for the Global Read Aloud this year. There are a number of resources available. Here is one from Walden.

When I was growing up, my cousin had a pet skunk! I know that having a skunk as a pet isn't impossible.

Added June 26, 2020

We just finished doing this book as a novel study during the time we're learning at home because of Covid-19. I love this book even more. We did it after doing our unit on City Wildlife. It was a perfect ending to that unit. 

Goodreads says:

For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life tends to be full of surprises—some of them good, some not so good. Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.

But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

The Reason I Jump (Naoki Higashida)

If I were only as self-aware as this thirteen year old seems to be! It was an interesting read. I was hoping for a clearer picture that would help me understand autism better - but I was left with what I have always thought. It's very difficult to understand and it isn't easy living life with autism. I was glad to read the book though. His ability to describe why he does or thinks certain things was fascinating.


Goodreads summary:


You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

In his introduction, bestselling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki’s words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. “It is no exaggeration to say that The Reason I Jump allowed me to round a corner in our relationship.” This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki’s book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared.

Flora and Ulysses (Kate DiCamillo)

I have read this book before and blogged about it here.

This time when I read it I kept wondering what the meaning of all the craziness was. There seems like there must be some meaning behind the crazy lamp, the crazy kid who is blind, the crazy parents, the other crazy adults, and of course, the crazy idea that a squirrel can be a superhero!

So many questions:

• Why a superhero squirrel? Does the squirrel represent something? And how does that relate to the mundane superhero Flora loves? What is the connection with The Amazing Incandesto? And what is with Dr. Meescham's ability to fix everything? ...on her horse hair couch?? Is she/it also a superhero?
• There's a theme of love happening here somewhere...Flora wanting love from her mom...her mom seeming to love the lamp more...but in the end we find out she really does love Flora more than the lamp...William goes blind after his mom remarries a man who doesn't respect William Spiver and calls him Billy (interesting that it's important to him to be called by his first AND last name...the name his father would have given him) For his step-father to disrespect that was the ultimate betrayal and of course, justifies putting his vehicle in a pond...and it isn't until William Spiver finally talks about this episode that he can see again. He can "see" again. Then there's the love Dr Meescham feels for her dead husband. And Flora's love for Ulysses, and Ulysses' love for Flora....it's easy and instant. I think all these people really need to read The Five Love Languages!
• Words! Words are very important in this book. Malfeasance. Treacle. Incandesto. Poetry. William Spiver helping Phyllis Buckman find just the right words. Words floating above people's heads.
• Fitting in. Being a misfit. Introversion....so many funny people in this book. Flora's mother is concerned she's a misfit. Flora's father is odd. Flora's mother is odd. Their relationship is broken. Then there is the squid in the picture...lonely...ugly....naturally the way he is.
• Good versus evil. Physllis Buckman = arch nemesis. William Spiver's step-father seems evil to William. Ulysses brings about good. Then there's the squid in the picture....\
• Are Flora and her father, and maybe even William Spiver austic??
• Is it called Illuminated Adventures because all these crazy escapades actually bring light to their lives? Flora finds out her mother does love her. William is able to deal with his mother's remarriage. Anyone else see the light??

The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

I came by this book quite by chance. One of my co-workers came and brought it to me and said I should read it. It was my turn to pick the book for our book club and it seemed like a good choice. I wanted to pick a romance of sorts. I chose this one because it isn't a mushy Nicholas Sparks book, but rather, a funny odd story of finding love.

In the end it made for a really great book club discussion. One of the ladies in our book club also bought the second book and had started it, but she didn't have very good reviews. She tried to pawn it off on anyone that would take it. In the end, she went home with it.

I looked up the author. He has quite an online presence: twitter, Ted talks, website, even the main character, Don Tillman, has a twitter account. He seems a lot like Don Tillman - an (pompous?) intellectual who seems a little abrasive and dull in interviews. It's his first fiction book. He claims to have written it in a short time. It has been translated into 30 languages and is to be made into a movie.

Perhaps it's his huge success that brings out my negativity. I'm jealous!

I quite enjoyed the main character. It never says in the book that he has aspergers or autism - but it sure sounds like he does. He is quirky and funny and reminds me of quite a few people I know! I have a feeling there's a few "spectrum types" in my family....or maybe there's just a bit of Don Tillman in me. I don't know. All I know is I found his matter of fact logic quite hilarious:

p. 291 It was a very reasonable explanation. I wished Rosie had provided this background information prior to me holding her stepfather's head on the floor with blood pouring out from his nose.

Goodreads summary:

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

          The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously
         gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Counting by 7s

I loved this book. The main character, Willow, is charming and smart and quite wise for a 12 year old. She experiences what I always feared as kid. My parents traveled a lot and I always worried they would be involved in a plane crash or car accident. I would plan what I would do if they died. Willow does experience this and unlike me, she really has no one. There is no extended family or really close family friends for her to turn to. She manages, somehow, to find people though and a new family is formed. It was beautiful.

This was a book that made me slow down and savor the words. Loved loved loved it.

You should read more about it on Goodreads.

Wild Boy (Mary Losure)

I have been curious about this book for a long time. I learned about it after hearing the illustrator, Timothy Basil Ering, speak at the Kaleidoscope conference in November 2012. He was an amazing speaker (I wish I had a link to add. I can't believe I didn't blog about that amazing conference!)

Wild Boy is the story of the Savage of Aveyron. He was a boy that was found living alone in the wild. As we humans like to do, people wanted to assimilate him. He was captured and studied and taught for years. Apparently the scientist who studied him, Dr. Itard, was part of the inspiration for Maria Montessori's work. When Victor, the name the Wild Boy was later known by, was an adult, he lived near the boyhood home of Victor Hugo. Some have mused that perhaps Victor was the inspiration for The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Some think that he might have been autistic. There is so real conclusion on that either.

The book is quite interesting, and in some ways, kind of sad. As Dr. Itard said,  "People looked at the wild boy without really seeing him, passed judgment on him without knowing him, and after that [when he left the home for deaf children], they spoke no more about him."

He died when he was about 40, of unknown causes. The only reason it was even known he died was of a few lines that Dr Itard wrote, that were published when he died.

Mary Losure writes some interesting books. By chance, a year ago, I read another one of her books: The Fairy Ring. I have never forgotten that book. Fascinating book! And, so is this one.

July 31 Update: Here is a review by Horn Book Reviews.

Here is a picture of Mary Losure that I found online. It's just as I imagined she'd look like. I'd love to spend an hour or so over a lovely drink discussing her books with her!

...and just because I love Timony Basil Ering, here are some of his unforgettable illustrations from this book: