Dear Evan Hansen

By: Val Emmich (with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul)
Publisher: Poppy
Dates Read: May 23-June 2, 2020
Pages: 358
Source: Own it

Why did I read it?
It was Musical May!  Also, it was 40% off at Walmart and I like the show so I went for it.  

Evan Hansen is a socially anxious teen about to start his senior year with a broken arm.  He goes through school invisible and pining after Zoe Murphy.  An assignment from his therapist turns into a weird opportunity to no longer be invisible.  After Connor Murphy dies by suicide they find a letter on him addressed "Dear Evan Hansen" and suddenly Evan's assignment becomes Connor's last words and an opportunity for Evan to be seen on campus.  

This is the first time I have ever agreed to read anything that was written after a movie (or in this case, a musical).  Novelizations never seemed like a good idea.  Dear Evan Hansen as a story is a good story.  It gives youth an opportunity to learn about people struggling with mental illness and anxiety.  Emmich's writing was good and brought the musical to life on the page.  I wondered how the songs would make their way into the book and there are some creative ways to get song lyrics into the prose.  Overall though, there are not a lot of lyrics/songs that make it into the book.  

The novelization also added some plot and had to make some creative decisions to get perspectives from more of the characters than just Evan.  We get to follow Connor as a sort-of ghost throughout the book.  We get to go deeper into Connor than we do in the musical which is neat.  We get to understand a little more of the misunderstood Connor.  I do feel like some of the decisions they made for Connor were made due to fanfiction (or whatever you would call it) on the internet.  Not that that is terrible, but it almost feels like a lot of the extra story was curated from the fans on the internet and their hypotheses.  Overall, going deeper into some of the characters backgrounds and feelings was nice, but nothing all that wowing. 

The musical also has a very powerful message.  If you are the sort of person who does not get teary during You Will Be Found, Words Fail, or So Big So Small where is your heart?  There was nothing in the book that brought a message this powerful to the forefront.  If all you do is read the book, you might learn a little about mental health, suicide, and grief, but it is not nearly as powerful.  The book was nice, but it is missing the power and importance that is right there on the stage for the taking.  It can be so much more than "don't lie" which is the best that this book comes up with.  

I also wonder if in the addition to a ghost-like Connor it takes away a piece of the permanency of suicide.  After Connor's death, the reader gets to understand his life and the decisions he has made (like throwing a printer at his grade 3 teacher), but in reality no one would ever know.  Death is permanent and I do not want a young person to miss that.  Once you are gone, all we can know about a person is what we have seen and been told.  In the show, Connor dies a monster and is remembered by most (without the influence of Evan) as a monster.  In the book, we have the opportunity to see that Connor was in fact not a monster, but I feel as though it lessens the permanency of death.   Through this we miss the message of asking and listening to see how people are really doing.  We miss the importance of being kind to one another because we don't know their story.  We miss it because the book fills in the holes for us that in real life could never be filled.  I want young people to learn they can reach out and they will be found.  I think the writers want that too but missed the mark.  Maybe the writers have never faced the reality of suicide first-hand, but I fear it's true impact was not fully seen in the book. 


Rating: 3/5

Recommendation: If you have the privilege and opportunity of seeing the musical on stage, always choose that over the book. 

Stargirl

By: Jerri Spinelli
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Dates Read: May 1-19
Pages: 186
Source: Own it

Why did I read it?

Like all Canadian kids, I looked forward to the Scholastic catalogue coming out every month.  My mom would really only allow me to buy the $1 book of the month.  At some point this was the book.  It quickly became my favourite book and I can't tell you how many times I have read it before this.  It has probably been 10 years or so since the last reading and with the movie out on Disney+ I wanted to pick it up before screening the film.  

Leo is starting grade 10.  On the first day there is a new girl, Stargirl.  She has arrived dressed in eclectic clothing with her pet rat in the pocket of her backpack and ukulele in hand.  Right from the start, the whole school thinks she is odd.  Leo tries to ignore her, as his goal in school is usually to fly under the radar, but that does not happen for him.  They start dating and then everything starts to change for both of them.

Stargirl is a beautiful book about being yourself even when it is hard to.  It is not only Stargirl who decides to just be herself, but Leo finds himself too.  He goes against the crowd and befriends Stargirl.  It is a beautifully told story that every young person needs to read.  My copy is wearing out.  Even when Stargirl does what she can to fit in, she's not happy.  If you're weird, just be weird.  You will find your place in this world.  

The book is short and poignant and beautiful, but I would be remiss without mentioning the movie.  As a girl, I dreamed of them making this book into a movie.  In fact, I thought my friend Stefanie was perfect for the part because she was blonde and had a pet rat (I didn't know how Hollywood worked at 10).  My first thought is why does there have to be dead/absentee dads?  The parents play little role in the book because they don't need to.  Leo doesn't need to find himself because of something his dead dad did, he just needs to find himself by himself.  Also, Stargirl was not special enough.  In the book she shines but somehow the movie dulls her light.  It is not her.  I don't think the movie portrays the real meaning of Stargirl, it's just a nice movie. 


Rating: 5/5

Even as an adult I am going to give this book 5/5.  It is so important for young (and old) people to read this book.

Recommendation: Read this book.  No matter how old you are.  I think we all could use a reminder to be unconditionally kind. 

Eleanor & Park

by: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Dates Read: April 21-28
Pages: 325
Source: own it

Why did I read it?
This book was the talk of the town when it came out in 2013.  They said it was one of the best YA romances of all time.  I can't stand to read books in hype like that so I waited 7 years until I found it in a thrift store for $2. 

Eleanor has just moved back in with her mom after a year of living elsewhere because her stepdad kicked her out.  Her stepdad is decent to her four younger siblings, but hates her and does not hide it.  They all share a two bedroom house and living there is like walking on egg shells for Eleanor.  Park lives in a wealthy neighbourhood and is a bit of a loner.  His parents met in Vietnam during the war and he holds just enough status to not be bullied because of his race, but not enough to be popular.  When he sees Eleanor for the first time he pities her.  However, when she gets on the bus on that first day there is no where but beside him to sit.  

Eleanor is different.  She wears weird clothes and doesn't fit in.  They start reading comic books together on the bus.  Then Park shares his music with her.  They become friends.  Then they become more.  Except Eleanor can't let her family know because she knows her stepdad would kill her for it.  

This was a good book.  It followed real characters with real stories.  It gave you an opportunity to glimpse just a little into the darkness in which some young people live.  A life that you don't notice until someone finally breaks and shares what it is like.  Since working with kids and youth in similar situations has been my job for seven years, I enjoy reading stories like this.  It's more insight.  It's more affirmation that sometimes you just can't tell until someone is brave enough to open their mouths.  It's proof that it is not as easy as just leaving.  I feel these are important stories for people to read, especially if they never experienced something like this in their lives (which I hope they didn't but the reality is that it's all around us).  

The writing was overall very good.  It switches perspectives from Eleanor to Park so you know what is happening in both of their heads as they experience love for the first time.  It also helps us understand why a boy like Park would love a girl like Eleanor and vice versa.  It was very nice.  However, I had to constantly remind myself that these are 16 year olds.  First I would find myself frustrated.  A reaction or a feeling or a thought would be too big or too dumb and then I'd remember they are 16 and this is how 16 year olds think.  Maybe that's just what happens when you read teen novels in your late 20s.  Nevertheless, this just proves the good writing even further.   

Rating: 4/5
There were times I knew it was time to stop reading, but couldn't stop so kept on anyway.  I would say that's the sign of a good book.  

Recommendation: Honestly, a good read. I do think it should be a more mature reader, maybe 16 at the youngest, but an important read. 

Little Women

by: Louisa May Alcott
Publisher: Bantam Classic
Dates Read: December 25, 2019 - April 21, 2020
Pages: 529
Source: Own it

Why did I read it?
The short story: the new Greta Gerwig adaptation was coming out and I (of course) wanted to read it before I saw it.
The long story: When you were a kid did you feel like every character with your name was like a piece of you?  Well, when I was young and watching friends and Rachel spoils what happens to Beth when Joey reads Little Women, I just didn't want to read about what happened to me/Beth.  I couldn't face it.  

Little Women follows the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.  Meg is beautiful and dreams of love.  Jo is a writer and a free spirit.  Beth is shy and quiet.  Amy is spoiled and dreams of fancy things.  Laurie lives next door with his wealthy grandfather and becomes like a brother to the girls. 

Honestly, I feel as though I can't really go into plot with this one because the book legitimately spans something like 12 years.  It's a classic so just know this: it is a classic for a reason.  

This is an incredibly well written book.  Each of the girls is so well written and grows in a natural way.  The character of Jo is fantastic.  It's a timeless story of sisters and friends and it just can't be wrong.  It can't.  

I feel as though I need to explain why it took so long for me to read.  I was still like that little girl afraid about what happens with Beth.  I just kept putting it off and putting it off because if you put something off it can't happen.  An excellent lesson about living your life in denial.  And when it did finally happen, I put my book in the freezer just like Joey. 

Rating: 4/5  
Honestly, it could be a 5.  It really could, there were a few times when it was a little slow.  And, I know times were different, but what happens with who Amy marries just made me feel a little weird. 

Recommendation: Everyone should read it.  Everyone.  Everyone.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

[Audiobook]
By: Kate Jacobs
Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Dates Listened: March 10-23
Length: 12 hrs 36 mins
Source: Overdrive App

Why did I read it?
This was the last book in my monotonous work phase.  I chose it because I'm 83 inside and like to knit and wanted to read fiction about people who knit.

Georgia is a single mom who owns a knitting shop in New York City.  A group of women start gathering in the shop on Fridays after closing to work on their knitting projects and talk.  This brings in a mess of other characters: an older woman who works in the shop part-time, a woman in her 40s who has decided to have a baby on her own, a loud middle-aged woman who has decided to go to law school, a young purse designer, and a feminist who joins to write her thesis on women participating in antiquated practices. 

The plot is all over.  Georgia gets hired by her former high school best friend to knit her a gown even though they haven't spoken in 15 years.  The father of Georgia's twelve year old reappears after years with little or no contact.  Georgia falls in love, she goes to Scotland, and other life-changing events take place (no spoilers).  Plus the plots of all the other woman in the club.  It was all just too much.  I listened to the book so maybe it was written better but all of a sudden we would be following the story of someone else with no warning, not even a pause, and I would be so confused about what was going on.  Too much happened in this book.  I would think we were reaching a nice place for it to end and then I would look and still see there were 5 or 9 or however many chapters left.  I saw there is a second and third book and thought "HOW?!" because way too much already happened in the first.  

The writing was not great.  In the book Georgia's daughter, Dakota, is 12 and eventually 13.  She sounds NOTHING like a 12 or 13 year old.  As someone who works with kids for a living, I would have believed her to be 8 or 9.  She was both written poorly and read poorly.  The words alone made her young, but the narrator made her sound even younger.  Not only did the jumping character to character with no warning make the story hard to follow sometimes, but she referred to her parents in the narrations by their first names. There is a point when she is talking to her mom and I thought another woman only to find out minutes later that the woman is her mom.  Why would you say "said Suzie" instead of "her mother said"?  Because you want me to struggle?

The narrator was not great.  Sometimes there would be no change at all in her voice/tone when reading different characters.  This is especially confusing when 8 women are having a discussion while knitting - you could not tell who was talking!  She also pronounced some words really weird.  They went to a Seder dinner, but it took me a moment to figure out what they were doing because she pronounced it 'cedar' like the tree.  She also pronounced culinary like 'que-linary'.  I get it, there are accents and dialects out there...but it made it really difficult to stay on track in an already mish-mashed book.  

I did like that there was some knitting terms and metaphor included.  As an inner old lady, I really enjoyed that part.  It wasn't a lot, so if you don't knit you're not lost the whole time.  It was just a nice touch for us old souls.  


Rating: 2/5 -- It's just not a good sign when near the end I hope for something bad to happen and when it does, I stand and cheer.  I was in my office literally cheering for what happens and the end and when I told my coworkers what I was so happy about they thought I was crazy. 

Recommendation:  I don't know that I would really recommend this book to anyone.  If anyone really wanted to read it I would say to physically read it to avoid the narrator.  But honestly, you don't need to waste your time. 

Dear Mrs. Bird

[Audiobook]
By: AJ Pearce
Narrated by: Anna Popplewell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Dates Listened: March 4-10 
Length: 9hrs 48 mins
Source: Overdrive App

Why did I read it?
This one just looked interesting at a glance.  Plus I was down for listening to a British accent.  

Dear Mrs. Bird follows Emmy in the midst of World War II.  Emmy volunteers as a telephone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Services, taking calls during the many bombings over the city of London.  She dreams of being a war correspondent and takes an interview with a London newspaper.  It isn't until she accepts the job that she realizes it is actually a job as a typist for the editor of a women's magazine.  

Her new boss, Mrs. Bird, has an advice column; however, she is very picky about the letters she responds to.  Nothing containing any "unpleasantness" is to be make it into the magazine - this is most letters by Mrs. Bird's standards.  Emmy finds it upsetting that Mrs. Bird leaves so many women with real problems unhelped because they're problems are there own silly fault.  So Emmy decides to take their problems into her own hands, under Mrs. Bird's name, and responds to them herself.  

This book does one of my favourite things, it laces fiction into history.  Some big events of these books include real events that happened in London during WWII.  I even Googled a few places and events to see if they had happened - they did.  This was a very clever and funny book.  The whole thing is quite lighthearted and charming.  While it carries some of the realities of the London Blitz, it is not overbearing or gruesome.  

The narrator was perfection.  I will gladly look up and listen to other things she has done. 

Rating: 4/5

Recommendation: I would recommend this to just about anyone.  It was a really nice read and I would read it again. 

Dirty Work: My Gruelling, Glorious, Life-Changing Summer in the Wilderness

[Audiobook]
By: Anna Maxymiw
Narrated by: Anna Maxymiw
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Dates Listened: February 27-March 3
Length: 8hrs 29 mins
Source: Overdrive App

Why did I read it?
I chose this one because I have also had gruelling, glorious, life-changing summers in the wilderness and thought it would be nice to hear about someone elses gruelling, glorious, life-changing summer in the wilderness.  

Dirty Work is a memoir about the summer Maxymiw spent working as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario.  While in her early 20s she took a job during her masters to stretch herself and grow somewhere she never thought she'd be.
I would like to tell you what happens during her summer at the lodge, but nothing really does happen.  She works the bar serving stinky men who had been fishing.  She cleans poop out of a shower.  She sees a bear.   Wow.  

When a book title says "life-changing summer" I expect to hear about how the summer changed your life.  It was just a bunch of stories about random stuff that happened that didn't seem to actually change her.  At the end she just leaves on a boat and that's it, we are just supposed to think that her life changed with no discussion about it.  

What scares me the most about this book is that she was studying for her masters in creative writing.  The stories were all disjointed and random and it seemed like she just threw in big words to make herself seem impressive.  I also usually like when people read their own memoirs, but this is one where someone else could have done it better. 

Rating: 1/5
Honestly, it's harsh, but finishing this book was a torture.  Yeah, I said it.

Recommendation: Don't read this.  I think the only people who could possibly like this are people who actually worked at the Kesagami Wilderness Lodge (and still no promises there).