The Astonishing Maybe - an audiobook review

The Astonishing Maybe
By Shaunta Grimes
Read by Ramon De Ocampo
Macmillan Audio

I recently reviewed The Astonishing Maybe for AudioFile Magazine. I can't post my review here; however, I'd like to say just a few things about it.

Gideon Quinton is the book's main character, a rising middle-schooler whose family has recently relocated to Nevada. He is the story's main character, but his new neighbor, Roona, drives the plot. She and her mother are most everything that the Quintons are not. Against all odds, she and Gideon become inseparable.

I don't want to say that this is a book about depression and incarceration and a troubled family because I don't want that to put you off from reading it. What I want to say is that if you have a child or were a child, or are a child, or know a child that comes from a perfectly nice, safe, and boring family—be thankful, be grateful, be kind—and read this book because you need to know that there are other families that are just as loving as yours, but they're struggling and they need you look on their struggles with compassion rather than judgement.

If you have a child,  or are a child, or were a child, or know a child that comes from a family struggling with depression or an incarcerated parent—be caring, be resilient, be persistent—and read this book because you need to know that there are other families out there that are just like yours. You are not alone.

With a sprinkling of magical realism and hopefulness, Shaunta Grimes does a stellar job of tackling difficult topics for young readers. I hope you read or listen to her book.


My review of The Astonishing Mabye for AudioFile Magazine is linked here. [https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/155703/the-astonishing-maybe-by-shaunta-grimes-read-by-ramon-de-ocampo/]

Read an excerpt from The Astonishing Maybe

Lost Soul, Be at Peace - a review

Lost Soul, Be at Peace
by Maggie Thrash
Candlewick Press, 2018





Librarians are always trying to ensure that all people are able to find people like themselves in books—people with disabilities, people of color, people from all nations and religions—it’s not only important that we see ourselves in books, but it’s important that others see people like us so that they may learn that while we may be different, we also have much in common. But I’ve often wondered…what about those who are depressed? Do they want to see themselves in books too, or does it painfully reinforce the depression from which it is so often difficult to emerge? I asked a dear family member who suffers from depression. She told me that it all depends on how the story is told. I think Maggie Thrash has told her story well in the graphic memoir, Lost Soul, Be at Peace.

 Eleventh grader, Maggie is depressed,

“It’s like, you're falling into a deep cave on a moonless night, and there’s no escape, and suddenly you realize: it’s not a cave, it’s your soul.” 

 Maggie is failing school, her brother has left home for college, her father is an introverted, workaholic judge, and her mother is a socialite with whom she has little in common. She’s fairly certain that she’s a lesbian, but contrary to what she thought, coming out at school didn’t make things any better or worse. She finds comfort in her cat, Tommi. When Tommi goes missing, Maggie’s search for her turns up something else entirely.

Maggie tells her story in graphic novel format with the emphasis on dialogue. Back story information is handwritten in memoir style, or provided in illustrations of newspapers, computer screens, notes, or other drawn realia. The panel style varies and includes full spreads, three-per page, classic comic book style, and gutterless panels. My review copy is in black and white, but judging from the cover, the colors in the finished book will be dark and rich. Even without color, emotion is clearly visible in Maggie’s large eyes and expressive face. That she is ill-at-ease in most situations is painfully obvious throughout most of the book, but yet, her position as person in charge of her dance group offers a hint that Maggie has an inner spirit that is only awaiting an opportunity to soar. She is not a girl without hope; she is only a girl searching for her opportunities. She will find them.

Look for this book in October.  My copy was provided by LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

A Dog Called Homeless - a book trailer

In preparation for an upcoming 4-week club for kids that I'll be hosting, I created a book trailer for A Dog Called Homeless, winner of the 2013 Middle Grade Schneider Family Book Award,  The Schneider Family Book Awards "honor an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences."

A Dog Called Homeless is written by Sarah Lean and published by Harper Collins. I hope you enjoy it.

I'll be adding this to my Multimedia Booktalks page.

Everything is Fine

Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis (Advance Reader Copy)
New York: Little Brown and Company

Everything is Fine is due out in March, 2009. I received an ARC from a colleague who really enjoyed it, as did my teenage daughter.

I had mixed feelings about it. Everything is Fine is reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson's, Speak, in that the reader knows that something terrible has happened, but must suffer the pain of the protagonist as she comes to terms with the truth. The protagonist in this case is the adolescent Mazzy. In stark, first person, stream of consciousness chapters, Mazzy details her life at home alone with a severely depressed mother and an absent father,

"FOOD
When Dad found out he had to stay away longer than he thought, he found someone to bring us food.
She sometimes forgets. Her name is Lisa and she smells like hair spray.
She's Bill's friend who needed some extra cash.
She's supposed to come every week but sometimes she forgets. I feed Mom what's in the kitchen even though all she really wants is sorbet and Diet Coke.
Once I put SpaghetttiOs in the blender and gave it to her like a shake.
She threw it up."

If I had not just finished reading Waiting for Normal, perhaps I might have liked this book better. Waiting for Normal tells a similar, albeit less tragic story. Both books have a young female protagonist, an absent father figure, and a sickly, overweight, kindly, and helpful neighbor. Waiting for Normal is more hopeful, though - perhaps because depression is not its main focus. I'm sure it's difficult to write a hopeful book that deals with depression. Ellis has done a great job in trying, but this was not one of my personal favorites, although it is certainly well written. Everything is Fine should appeal to teen fans of contemporary realistic fiction.

I prefer juvenile lit to YA lit. I'm basically an optimist at heart, preferring a good laugh or an enlightening perspective to a walk through the depths of someone else's despair.

I'm ready for something funny. I can't wait for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw.