Adele
The best Jason (that I've read so far). Short stories. A lot of playing with narrative convention. Profoundly sad. Amusingly whackadoodle.
Charming memoir. About all growing up in the 70s. As a kid of the 80s it was cool to reminisce about a time before video games , computers, and cell phones. When you got home after school and your parents kick you out of the house to play with the neighborhood kids until dinner. Turning her hearing aid into a superpower. Growing up issues - friendship, bullying. How even well meaning friends treat her differently. Life before the ADA - no tv subtitles. Sleepovers. How awful it feels to be “othered” - referred to in front of her face as “my deaf friend”. “Oh you poor thing”. She's so sweet and too nonconfrontational. She uses her hearing aids as an excuse to get out of stuff (a sleepover makeover). Learning sign language. She finally meets a real friend who doesn't treat her differently.
Very Jimmy Carr - full of cliches, dad jokes, trite quotations. Lacks depth. But still amusing and engaging and obviously created with someone with a lot of skill for engaging his audience. I read it all in one go.
Too cute. I love the made up words. Allows kids use their imagination, makes the book more interactive. Suh kewt.
Poetry - emotional resilience. Perfect for read aloud. Not just a black history book. Beautiful
Like her podcast, Ryan did a great job of sharing intimate details of her life while still making it clear that she's not oversharing. It's hilarious to boot. I laughed aloud a lot. Ryan's story isn't relatable, it's better than relatable - - it's inspiring. Better than any trite self help book because it connects mindset to results. I finished it a week ago and I already feel more audacious.
Also, if you read the book, you gotta find the audiobook too because it has a bonus chapter written and read by her mom!
How french. Sad and poignant. A great story about coping with the death of a parent. Kind of clunky language but it occasionally soars.
Straightforward. Good texting tool. Can't read aloud during Covid (directions to blow bubbles away lol)
Love it. Classic Juster & Feiffer. Clever text, amazing pics. Great lesson. A good read, but a little long for most story time.
Very basic - suitable for beginners only. Has 1 or 2 helpful insights for vets as well.
As good as Bad Seed. It's got a great rhythm for read aloud, a difficult trick not a lot of books can accomplish, especially those that that break 4th wall.
This book is itself a kind of scam, which, coming from Lee Israel, I find a bit endearing. Israel's account is biased in her favor, omits important details, and lacks even a shred of self-examination. Plus it's too short. The bare minimum needed to satisfy her contract. Ironically, that means the way the book is written tells you more about Israel's character than anything she actually wrote in the book. It's a 3-star book, but the sheer audacity has compelled me to bump it up to a 4.
Tries to tackle too much - it's got almost 20 yoga poses and affirmations! Also a little too simplistic - the vibe is “just don't be sad”. But it's a cute book and I'd read it aloud. Also love that the main character is a black girl (author too).
