A Wing East Diaries

April 9, 2019 by michelle

Book Snap #46

Title: Bad Romance

Author: Heather Demetrios

Date read: March 20, 2019

Two Snaps

Another touching and authentic novel for Young Adult readers!

Grace has a home-life that makes her desperate for graduation; and the hope that she will cast-off the burdens placed on her by a severe and intolerant step-father; and a mother with implausible standards and wild mood swings that Grace can't predict or avoid. The bleakness of her life at home weighs her down– but she finds solace, and Gavin, at the high school theatre.

Gavin is the epitome of a modern-day knight in shining armour– he writes songs for Grace; takes her on surprising and impetuous adventures; and makes her feel protected and special. But Gavin is also controlling, jealous, and unstable. And Grace finds herself oppressed by the weight of the love he's promised her.

"Something in me is dimming, something that I already know I can't get back. But you're worth it. You are. I will tell myself this for several more months. And when I realize you aren't worth it, it'll be too late."

Demetrios paints an unflinching picture of high school romance from both sides as Grace herself unwinds the tale trying to make sense of how it went from perfect to impossible.

April 7, 2019 by michelle

Book Snap #45

Title: Mrs. Fletcher

Author: Tom Perrotta

Date read: March 5, 2019

Two Snaps

This was a great beach read! It was light and funny and yet probing and cutting.

Newly-divorced and on her own for the first time at 46, Eve is not sure who she is anymore. Her son is off to college and she seeks an identity that might fit her properly now. She gaffs and blunders in trying to make friends and to sort out her own sexuality. Meanwhile her son also struggles with what college sends his way and the kind of man he wants to be.

March 13, 2019 by michelle

Book Snap #44

Title: Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Author: Phil Knight

Date read: February 13, 2019

Two Snaps

Quite simply, I loved this memoir.

Knight takes you chronologically from his parents' suburban home in Oregon as a young shoe dog peddling sneakers from their living room to the pinnacle of his success as the CEO of a multi million dollar international company; and it's not an easy ride.

As a trained track runner, Knight befriended, and ultimately hired, his college track coach who constantly tinkered with athlete's shoes looking to get the fastest run. This partnership solidified the view that they would pursue the perfect shoe– at any cost. Indeed, there were more times than not that Nike was abysmally broke than it was successful. With a ragtag group of misfits that he trusted dearly, they worked diligently over decades to sell shoes they believed in.

"Starting my own business was the only thing that made life's other risks—marriage, Vegas, alligator wrestling—seem like sure things. But my hope was that when I failed, if I failed, I'd fail quickly, so I'd have enough time, enough years, to implement all the hard-won lessons. I wasn't much for setting goals, but this goal kept flashing through my mind every day, until it became my internal chant: Fail fast."

Knight is a skillful storyteller. His writing is descriptive and engaging and his life is full of wisdom, humour and sadness. Knight takes you from the boardrooms of Japan, to the factories in India, and back to Oregon; from the follies of youth; the pain of parenthood and the success of hard work. You will thoroughly enjoy the ride. Just do it.

Check out my passage study from this novel, here.

February 16, 2019 by michelle

Snapshot: Why Reading Matters

"A child who reads will be a child who thinks."

I have spent a lifetime studying the effects of children's literature, and what we're reading. I have spent a lifetime reading for myself… to learn something new, to laugh, to be entertained, to escape, and to think. I have spent a lifetime reading to my children… to see them think, to share funny stories together, to help make sense of things in the world they don't understand. I never tire of it. It is the core of my life.

I recently tidied up my home, Marie Kondo style. I had no problem applying her philosophy to my clothes, or my kitchen gadgets, but I could not dare apply it to my books. All books in my home spark joy.

Reading The Paperbag Princess — Reading stories. *The Paperbag Princess;* his first feminist story.

Growing up my mom read to me every night. It is one of my fondest memories. So after she passed away and found this tweet, it resonated with me.

So I asked twitterers to answer why they thought reading literature matters. Here are a few of my favourite replies:

"All literature is actually about you. Authors use themes that make us think about common human experiences."
Shelly Boyd Stephens

"To travel the world; to explore love, loss, and greatness; to live the lives of a thousand people; to breathe life into stale lungs; to find my better self."
Karl Ubelhoer

"Reading isn't important because it helps get you a job. It's important because it gives you room to exist beyond the reality you're given. Reading makes the world better. It is how humans merge. How minds connect. Dreams. Empathy. Escape. Reading is love in action."
Meredith Johnson

Reading potty humor books — A well-loved series of amazing potty humour. Never gets old.

So, READ. Read to your kids, read for yourself. Just READ.

February 11, 2019 by michelle

Book Snap #43

Title: Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Date read: January 20, 2019

Two Snaps

I didn't mean to finish it in one go… but I couldn't stop! A graphic memoir that had me riveted, engaged and in tears. A must read.

You have not read a memoir told like this. Krosoczka's story telling is doubly powerful as you connect with the characters both through the text and his wonderful illustrations. This book has been widely touted for YA audiences, but it is not to be dismissed as only for teens.

"…it was a story that was told with words and pictures, exactly what I do now for a living, and sometimes I let the words have the stage on their own, and sometimes I allowed the pictures to work on their own to tell the story."

If you've never watched his TED Talk, How A Boy Became an Artist, do that now. If you've never read his TED Blog, 10 Great Children's Books That Will Become Classics, do that next.

Speaking of author memoirs, I have just started An Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. You may have read Amy's NY Times piece You May Want to Marry My Husband. So far this memoir (written in a wholly unconventional way using the format of an encyclopedia with entries from A through Z) seems absolutely wonderful!