How One Letter Changed Two Lives

Our granddaughter turns 13 tomorrow and for her birthday, I wanted to give her a meaningful book. I was thinking along the lines of celebrities writing to their younger selves, wondering if one of those might be appropriate for a young teen. I reached out to Renee's Reading Club on Facebook to ask for suggestions. What came back were older books, books that I read in my teens. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Little Women. That kind of thing. Maybe if I had had a favorite book as a teen, but nope. That really wasn't what I was looking for. 

One title stood out. I Will Always Write Back: How One  Letter Changed Two Lives. It  stood out for a few reasons. I absolutely love letter writing and one of the author's was named Caitlin, spelled exactly the same way our granddaughter spells her name. Next, I read the description. It was about 7th grade Caitlin (our Caitlin is in 7th grade) participating in a pen pal project in school. I loved participating in pen pal projects in school. And... apparently I've had it on my "to be read" list for almost 5 years!

Before I decided about whether or not I was going to send her I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda and Liz Welch, I needed to read it. To make sure the material was appropriate, to make sure it was a good book, and so I'd be able to say "Yes, I've read it" when asked. 

What a wonderful book. When Caitlin's teacher proposes a pen pal project with foreign young people, Caitlin doesn't want a pen pal from Europe. She's been to Europe, has a cousin in Germany, thinks she understands the differences in the lives of German kids and kids like her in Pennsylvania. She decides to select somewhere exotic, like Zimbabwe. 

Martin is thrilled that he's only one of ten students in his class of 50 to receive a pen pal letter. He's tops in his class and that's why he got the first letter that was distributed in his class. Out of all the students in the project, Caitlin and Martin were the only two to still be writing a year later. Something between the two of them clicked.

At first, Caitlin assumes that Martin's life is similar enough to hers. Martin couldn't really imagine Caitlin's life in Pennsylvania, but he really tried to keep from Caitlin just how dismal his life was. Once Caitlin got an inkling of what his life might be like, she read old letters trying to see what clues he might have given her before.

Both Caitlin and Martin tell their stories. Other than Martin being an incredibly diligent student, their stories were somewhat typical. Until their friendship blossomed. Then their stories, individual and together, became remarkable.

I hope that our Caitlin enjoys reading this book as much as I did.

 

Elm Creek Quilts #21

When I first discovered Jennifer Chiaverini's first Elm Creek Quilts novel, The Quilter's Apprentice, back in 1999, I devoured it. I anxiously awaited each subsequent entry in the series. As I was browsing in December, I saw that there was a new addition to the series, The Christmas Boutique, and got myself on the waitlist at the library.

Chiaverini said that she wrote the book because so many people said they missed the stories of the quilters. But the book didn't really deliver. The storyline was about a Christmas boutique that needed to get relocated to the manor when the church where it was to be held got flooded. Otherwise, there was nothing new in this story. It was really a rehashing of bits and pieces that had been in other books. So in that way, it was very disappointing. It was also a lot more tell than show.

Much was left hanging at the end of this book. How will Matt choose between Sarah and his father? What's going on with Summer? Are Anna and Jeremy a couple? I guess this leaves room for book #22?

The Collector's Apprentice

I'm not going to be discussing The Collector's Apprentice with my community book club for another few months. Over time, will I think about this book more favorably? Will discussing the book give it a more positive place in my mind?

You might have gathered by now that I didn't love B.A. Shapiro's historical art thriller (is that even a genre), The Collector's Apprentice. It was okay. I enjoyed learning about the artists, even if the discussions of the art movements didn't make perfect sense to me. I read this book in paper-and-ink format. As I was reading, I'd pull up whatever work of art was being discussed. Interesting that many were housed at The Barnes Foundation Collection. In the acknowledgements, where Shapiro details what parts of the book were historical and what parts were total fiction, she shared that her story is loosely based on The Barnes Foundation, Albert Barnes, and Violette de Mazia. There's so much that isn't based on historical fact. I think I'd be bothered if I was a descendant of Albert Barnes.

(I've passed by The Barnes Foundation Collection several times in the past few years. My older daughter has tried to explain the concept of The Barnes (versus the Philadelphia Museum of Art, let's say) and I never quite understood. Now I do.)

I suppose if you enjoy romance novels, you might enjoy this novel more than I did. It's not over-the-top mushy, romantic. It's not a bodice-ripper. While Paulien Mertens was easily duped by a charming man, Vivienne Gregsby was a strong, intelligent woman, not easily fooled. I found Paulien-who-becomes-Vivienne a sympathetic and admirable character until about two-thirds of the way thru the novel at which point she made a few decisions that made me completely reverse my ideas about the strength of her as a person. That was the point that I just wanted to make it through the end of the book to see how things wrapped up. I gave this one 3-stars on Goodreads.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I was so excited when Books & Beer Club selected The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King for our biography/memoir month. After all, I'd fallen in love with Mister Rogers after seeing "Won't You Be My Neighbor" back in April at the Philadelphia Film Society Springfest, courtesy of my older daughter.

Fall in love, you ask? Well, yes. I was totally the wrong age for Mister Rogers when he first came on the national scene. I was already into double digits and Fred Rogers was just too weird. Whatever message he was promoting, I was already too "mature" and jaded to get it.

Since his death in 2003, though, I'd heard snippets of Fred Rogers' views, lots of his quotes. I'd seen his testimony before Congress. As an adult, I did understand him. And I liked what I was hearing. The documentary just stepped that up a notch. (I guess it's appropriate to add her that I sobbed, mostly happy tears, throughout the whole documentary. I believe there wasn't a dry eye in the house as the movie concluded. My daughter and I were sobbing together, as we clutched each other. He was reaching both of us, right where it counts.

Back to the book. I really wanted to love this book. It was just okay. I finished it early last week and then discussed it with Books & Beer on two days later.

The biography included lots of details of Fred Rogers life that I was really delighted to learn. The book had another thread, that about the development of television and even more details about the infancy of educational TV. Unlike most of the members of Books & Beer who were bored with the latter, I lapped it up. I'd taken a television class as an elective in high school and I worked for a summer of college as a typist at WNBC, the New York City NBC affiliate. I'm so grateful to folks like Fred Rogers for being so clear on what they thought educational TV should and shouldn't be.

I ended up co-leading the discussion about the book this past Wednesday evening. So I got to lead the discussion to the things I was curious about while reading the book. When did Fred Rogers first come into your life? Did it make a difference at what age that happened? (The answer to that is yes.) Is there a place for Fred Rogers in today's day and age? That inspired a passionate discussion.

Why was this very interesting book just okay? I wasn't thrilled with Maxwell King's writing. The book was tedious to read. There were lots of repetitive passages. At some points there were way too many details which slowed down the reading. And the "cast of characters" was cumbersome as well.

"Won't You Be My Neighbor" is currently being aired on HBO. I would 100% recommend the documentary. I'd only 75% recommend The Good Neighbor.

Miller's Valley

At about 5 o'clock this morning, I finished Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen. It's the coming of age story of Mimi. It's also the story of a place, Miller's Valley, and it's the story of the Miller family. Mimi tells us her story of growing up from the vantage of "older" age. Can't say old age since my age is pretty close to Mimi's in the epilogue of the novel.

The book was a comfortable read. There was lots in the book that I could relate to. Could easily relate to. I'm happy to report that I had an easier life than Mimi did, at least the years leading up to college and during college. However, there are so many universal themes to coming of age stories of girls who were born in the 1950s.

I expected the book to be a little bit more about water management and how dams can be manipulated to flood low lying areas. I was a little disappointed with the way it was relegated to a very minor sub-plot, after a much more significant build-up at the beginning of the novel. The floods and the study of the dam were more of a vehicle to prove how smart Mimi was as a youngster and as a means to manipulate the lives of some of the characters. 

I wondered what kind of rating I should give Miller's Valley. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't really love it. The character of Mimi went to the University of Pennsylvania, just a few years earlier than I did. You'd think that would make me love a book. But Mimi was so busy working and studying (pre-med) super hard that there wasn't much at all about the University. Her mother liked to brag that Mimi was at an Ivy League school rather than "State" (which they never referred to ask Penn State - I found that interesting), but otherwise there was nothing that made me feel like that part of the novel was set at my alma mater. As a young married, Mimi and her husband lived in an apartment in Philadelphia that from her description could very easily be my daughter's apartment in Philadelphia today. But again, the Philadelphia portion of the book did not have a Philadelphia feel. I was considering giving Miller's Valley 3 stars. Maybe 3.5 would have made more sense, had there been half stars. But alas, there aren't.

When I turned the last page, I read thru the discussion questions. And that's when something about the book struck me in the head ... and in the heart. All of a sudden, my head was filled of thoughts of my own life... and I knew that this was a 4 star book for me.

1. Miller's Valley begins with an epigraph from James Baldwin; "Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition." Think about what home means to you. What does home mean for Mimi? Do you equate home more with people or places?

10. Think about a time when you had to leave home. Did you go back? Why or why not?

As did this paragraph taken from the description of the book.

Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go.” Miller’s Valley reminds us that the place where you grew up can disappear, and the people in it too, but all will live on in your heart forever.

 I'm in the process of selling the house that has been home to one member of my family or another for over 80 years. I've never really ever had to consider "leaving home" because no matter how far I roamed, or for how long, home was always there. As were my parents. Once my parents died, the house was still there. And strangely, I've always felt closer to them in the house than anywhere else. I miss them less when I'm there.

My brother, my adult kids and I have been having a tough time coming to terms with the loss of "home." Of the 5 of us, only my son lives in the area. It shouldn't feel like such a loss to us. Yet it does.

Different books effect us in different ways. It wasn't until I read the lines quoted above that I started to think about the connections I might have with the book to "loss of home." When you read something counts almost as much as what you're reading.

If you've enjoyed Anna Quindlen in the past, you'll probably enjoy this most recent book of hers.