July Reads

 

July has provided me with some MAJOR reading material that did not disappoint.

Caution:  Neat Reads Up Ahead

I know. I know.  Everyone has this on their list (which usually means I don't).  A friend encouraged me to read this book about 6 months ago, but I just kind of pushed it to the side until recently when I was invited to a "Crawdad Movie" party.  I had no choice but to read it so I would know more about the movie than anyone else! 🤣  

I'm not exactly a nature girl, but after few chapters I was a goner.  I finished it within hours.  It was that good.  

The story has a sweet romance but the most touching part of the story is the survival of 'Marsh Girl'- Kya.  I loved the setting (even if detailed) of the North Carolina Marsh, the strength of the main character Kya, and the many characters that made up the Marsh town.  Owens painted a perfect relationship- the land was tied to Kya and she to it. 

If you haven't already jumped on the Crawdad Train- do so now! 

5 out of 5 stars easily.

Ps.  Did you know the author is possibly tied to real murder (as an accessory)?  

I had to do some research. Watch this for more info.- 

Crawdad Movie Party

I have never had any luck with novellas, and this was a bit of a disappointment too.  I love Simon and Caroline in previous books, but this one focused more on their friendships over the relationship between the two.  I found the conversations between friends just crass/trashy.  There is even a scene where Caroline is being rushed to the hospital and Simon is reminiscing over their sexy times.   It didn't fit with reality.  I'm so happy Simon and Caroline found a happy ending but their love story could be read without this one. 

2.5 Stars

Holy. Cow.  What an emotional ride!  

Hello to Taylor Jenkins Reid.  

Sorry kids, you have to get your own dinner tonight because mama HAS to finish this one.   

I will not give anything way about this story but it wasn't what I was expecting.  It begins with our main character as a child in Hell's Kitchen and takes us through her entire life with all of the glamorous highs and lows.  

Evelyn is QUITE the salacious character.  I envisioned her as a latin Jayne Mansfield.  Still, she was a very human character who brought the emotion out in me (tears and more tears).

Even if you don't like Evelyn and her choices (because sometimes I didn't), it doesn't matter because you will find yourself falling in love with her story.  

The Moral:  Life is all about the Relationships

5 Stars

"Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish." via Goodreads.

Once our main character, Lowen, moves into the Crawford estate to begin research on Verity's books, she runs across a memoir that shares some MAJOR family secrets.  From that point on, you never know what in the heck is going to happen and you won't until the very end!  While there is a romance in the story, I didn't find it to be very romantic.  I was turning those pages for the mystery.

This is my first Colleen Hoover book, and she provided a pretty intense read.  

 I only dropped a star because I didn't feel that Lowen was fleshed out enough in the story, and the mystery was a touch anti-climatic.  We could have had five more chapters to the story to really dive in.

I am definitely going to be reading MORE Colleen Hover in the future. 

4 Stars

I found this book at my doctor's office on a table that said 'free books'.  I later rented the audio on libby app so I could listen while I cleaned the house. 

This is a book about a beautiful and intelligent woman names Stella who is obsessed with work and has an equal dislike for dating and kissing.  Having Asperger's and strict routine doesn't help with finding a partner.  Due to pressure for companionship and her mother (she wants grandchildren), Stella hires an escort to teach her the ropes!  

I had a love/dislike relationship with this book at times.   

I ADORED Stella and Michael.  They each had such unique stories, families, and BIG issues to overcome.  Stella's autism was part of her charm.  Michael was a good guy who felt he had no choice to be an escort because of his family's financial issues.    

I will be honest when I say, I really didn't like the start of the book because it was like an autistic version of Pretty Woman in reverse.    

I didn't love the descriptive love scenes.  There is no way you can play this audio without the ear plugs (NOT for littles under 19).   A personal preference but I thought it took away from this type of story.  As the story continued I fell in love with the characters!   

Great Ending!! 

I typically don't read the author's note but I was curious about the unusual concept.  Helen Hoang's daughter was diagnosed with autism in preschool which set Hoang on a journey to be diagnosed at age 34!!  

4 Stars

Darby Thorne is rushing from college to her dying mother's home in a horrible blizzard.  Soon the roads are shut down, and with her life in danger she is forced to wait the storm out in a rest stop with four other strangers.  Desperate to reach her mother, Darby goes outside and tries to find a signal on her phone when she makes the horrifying discovery- a little girl is locked up in the back of a van and caged like an animal!  What follows is a night of terror with the clock ticking.  Darby is constantly challenged to find a way to save the little girl (and herself).  

It took a little while for me to get into this one, but about a fourth of the way in I was turning pages like crazy.  I loved the character 'Jay' most of all.   This story is written over the course of one night and nothing is what it seems.  

4 Stars

I was telling Connor about this book and he told me they have made this one into a movie on Hulu.  We can't wait to watch it (after we find someone who has a subscription). 

I literally have three weeks until school starts- 

I better get to reading because there are so many more on my list!! 

Day Roadtrip

That is a real deer! 

I had to make quite a few stops in Virginia this weekend and was looking for someone to join me.  

While I had planned on my little introvert Carlee to join me for a girl's weekend, she asked- will there be strangers around? 

and automatically she checked herself out of that plan.

my growing girl

I begged the extrovert to join me for the day.

He agreed if he could drive.  

I was really looking forward to it because ever since C. started driving, our quality time has been limited.

💗

Unfortunately, 

that meant listening to the Kayne West Graduation Album about four times.  Add me screaming at him on the freeway as my life flashed before my eyes to the lyrics of 

"N-n-now that that don't kill me, 

Can only make me stronger...."

Driving aside, here are some great pics from our day trip. 

Meeting up with Sissy for Breakfast! 

I found this in the parking lot.

Am I the only one that find things like this so interesting?
I'm a storyteller at heart and I made up a story about this couple in my head before I left the parking lot.

Tiny Mall Library  💌

I left these behind.

Did I really mess up or what!?! 

New Backpack

I miss music/book stores. 

Al Rihla means “the journey” in Arabic and is inspired by the culture, architecture, and flag of Qatar.

I showed Connor the church where his parents were married. 

Isn't it the sweetest white church!?

We attended a sweet baby shower, 

and I made the cutest diaper baby.

I plan to make these for every shower now. 

(It's easy and inexpensive.)

The only problem...

right before we left, I realized the baby invite said- GIRL!!

Can you believe it!?!

I had to rush out and change things up, 

but we had to keep the Dino slippers.  

They were just too cute. 

It looked so adorable on the gift table.  

A plus is that you can pack the inside of the basket with the leftover diapers from the diaper baby.

I added a few little dollar tree items/plus gift registry items the couple shared. 

I love the idea of the basket too (I got it on sale for 3.00).  

When you have a new baby, little baskets are perfect storage containers for socks, bows, diapers, etc. 

Check out this venue.  I could have stayed for a week!!!  

It was gorgeous.

One of the selling points to drag my 16 year old son to a baby shower was the dad to be is a professional baseball player.  The day before, we learned he wouldn't be able to come because of his work schedule. 

Surprise, he made it!  

Connor talked this guy's ear off about all sports related topics.  Taylor was so awesome and friendly about it.  

We offer our prayers to the sweet couple for a wonderful and healthy journey!  

Keep your sports, 

this is always my FAV part.

Next stop, 

my brothers from another mother. 

These guys are a hoot.  

It's always a happy time (even during a sad time).

This cat loves me, 

you can see it in the eyes.

Another Gorgeous View

These art pieces are really amazing. 

I brought these back home for Carlee, and she hung them in her room.

(She appreciates both animals and art.)

By the time we made it home were were exhausted but it was a great day filled with a lot of people we love. 

In the words of John Wayne, 

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.”

Summer School Shenanigans

 

Had a blast 'summer schooling' it with these gals!! 

This summer has been a 10 out of 10 for me so far! 

I'm not sure why because I've did nothing but work and chill but 

I've had a great summer.  I've actually felt pretty energetic for the first time in a long time. 

I signed up for two weeks of summer school, which I always try to have some fun with each year. 

I started each day with a current event reading from a nonfiction source, followed by an assessment / writing, and then PROJECT TIME (made up by me).

(See Ahead)

'2018 Eruption of Kilauea Volcano'  

This story is told from a 12 year old who attended school within miles of the eruption. 

 It destroyed so much of the area including Hawaii's largest natural freshwater lake!  

We followed with a study on what makes a volcano/ makes a volcano erupt, followed by making our very own. 

 

They did a great job and they were very creative! 

Adding a bit of the "scientific reaction".

'The Secret Life of Anne Frank' delves into the history of Anne's Diary and how it remains one of the best sellers of today.

We had a lot of great discussions on this one including how hard it would be to go from your life today to practically living in a large closet (annex) with two other families, dealing with your first crush and breakup in seclusion, and the threat of torture around every corner.  

It's just horrifying.

To think it all started with a politician who told people what they wanted to hear while using fear to ensure loyalty.

We worked on the The Butterfly Project after this reading. 

Learners each researched a child of the Holocaust and later found if they lived or passed.  

We found some surprising links to Anne's family (including her sister's best friend who was able to safely sneak to the states with her boyfriend). 

'Searching for The Titanic'

I heard many kids share conspiracy theories from TikTok that the Titanic was all a fraud (you know like landing on the moon). 

😖 #ihatetiktok

We did some investigating. 

We worked on this foldable detailing the events such as the original itinerary, the differences in the first and third class cabins, and how quickly the Titanic sank.

Homework:  Tell a family member all about The Titanic. 

 

We watched a documentary and learned about life for the surviving members.  

Another question was posed- Did Captain Edward Smith survive??  Some credible sources swear they saw him after. 

I thought a treasure hunt using a coordinate graph would be appropriate. 

First I had to organize the treasure....

YUMMM 

(just take my summer school earnings please) 

Finding treasure in the deep of the library was a lot of fun.

'Escape from Alcatrez'

This is still one of my favorite stories of all times passed down from a former ELA teacher.  Not that I condone those who escape prison, 

but come on these guys were so crafty!

Even at my house, verdict is divided.  

Darren says 'no way could they have survived that swim'.  Connor says 'they totally made it and there is proof'.

FYI- the FBI will stop investigating when the men turn 99.  I think that is this year, maybe? 

Nothing goes with this reading selection like an Alcatraz Escape Room!! 

This was a lot of fun!  All the kids were issued one ticket to Alcatraz where they got a tip on the escaped convicts.  

This must be a smart group because they all cracked the code for a jolly rancher. 

'The History of Rock/ Rap'

We had a great discussion on the question, 'has music gone too far'?

I feel it no longer protects children.  Today's lyrics don't hold back on the language involving drugs, violence, sex, etc. and there is no such thing as 'radio edit' versions now.   

Of course my kids defended their right to listen to what they like.  It was interesting to read the same defense kids had to Elvis Presley and movies like "Blackboard Jungle".  While I don't agree that kids should be able to listen to what they want at a certain age, I have to remember that they have Cardi B ...

and I had Madonna.  

These articles also share the critical role music had in ending segregation and bringing people together.  

Music makes the world go round.  

I had an 90% pass rate on this assessment piece. 

This lesson required another history lesson on: 

records, 8 tracks, tapes, and CDs.  

A lot of kids never heard of these things. 

#boomer  

I told them how album covers used to be an art form, and how we couldn't wait to go to the music store to check out our favorite artists and their new album cover(s)! 

Everything is so digital now and kids miss out on this experience. 

We went over the top 50 Album Covers of all time, 

and then designed our own. 

'The History of the Sneaker'

Sneakers are BIG in middle school (in case you didn't know). 

I know Connor wanted a special pair coming in at a whopping 350.00, where Santa promptly told him 'no way'. 

We read this article that took me back to the very first Jordan shoes. I guess I was closer to age 9 or 10 when shoes really became popular.  
I showed the kids my favorite shoes (they thought they were cool):

My brother had a pair that when you pumped the basketball it filled the shoe with air!!! 

(to play ball better even though he only played Nintendo)

We also watched a video on how advertisements have changed from the radio "soap opera" to NO DVR/ tv commercials ('yes kids we had to sit and watch commercials in my day'), to social media and youtube today.  

 Times sure have changed.

I had the students create, design, and advertise their own shoe.  They had a hard time coming up with an idea and required google to 'get ideas'.  Being a "boomer" has benefits.  We never had a small computer to 'help us with ideas'. 

(Which is how I can come up with all these projects with my own head.)

They later put their designs on a key chain while I played "My Adidas" by Run DMC. 

They turned out so cool! 

Summer session is out now, 

and you can find me by the pool!! 

See you soon.