Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey for providing a galley copy of this book
In this fantasy world, the Anglish have overtaken the lands of an indigenous people, and are bent on either exterminating or civilizing them (depending on political party). Anequs is an indigenous girl who lives peacefully on her island – isolated from the Anglish. Then she sees a dragon lay, and abandon, an egg. She brings the egg back to her village, where it hatches. The hatchling chooses Anequs as its person.
Anequs is pressured into going to a school for dragoneers run by the Anglish. There, she learns to shape her dragon’s breath, but has to deal with racism and culture shock.
This was a fantastic first book. The story was typical of the school-for-magic sub-genre, but is really impactful in its depiction of how indigenous peoples were/are treated when entering “civilized” culture. Instead of being a super special someone, Anequs is just an average indigenous girl, struggling to find her way amid the politics of a foreign culture.
I felt that there were some improvements that could have been made – things that will likely correct themselves as the author becomes more seasoned. For one, she spends too many words describing the intricacies of the science/magic she has developed. It is beautifully organized and inventive, but uses a lot of words that are not English, and therefore make some heavy reading.
However, I really loved this book despite that shortfalling. It was creative, fun, and culturally sensitive / informative. I appreciated the characterization. It is also an LGBTQ+-friendly book on top of all that. I am certainly going to watch out for the next book in the series.
Saturday was a good day, though it buzzed by so fast it felt out of control. First, I played D&D – which resulted in an embarrassing mommy fail in which IL4 tried to tell me he needed the potty, and I was in the middle of something, so I said “so go.” I assumed it wasn’t an emergency #2, but it was. Poor IL4 was so embarrassed. 😭🫣😱 BIG TIME mommy fail.
Then M10, IL4, Aaron and I went to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. That was IL4’s first theater movie, and he did great. He loved the reclining chairs (yes, he was going up and down the full movie, but no one was behind us, so it’s cool). He had to leave twice – once for a refill (I don’t know how he knew that was a possibility) and once for the potty.
Sunday
Sunday was a calm day. I finished reading To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose.
Monday
Monday was frustrating. I had 3 appointments for the kids. One turned out to be recorded in the calendar wrong, so we missed it, which is fine, since the appointment that I thought was right before it went an hour longer than expected.
On top of that, M10 got grounded for lying. He was promised McDonald’s if he ate his breakfast. He didn’t finish his breakfast, so I told him he needed to eat his snack. He didn’t finish his snack, but let me believe he had. So he got McDonald’s. Then, when I found the unfinished snack, I told him he needed to eat it before getting his tablet time. He tried throwing it away, thinking we wouldn’t see. (Mind you, it was food he liked, but as usual, his eating disorder was keeping him from feeling hunger.) Then he lied, and said he hadn’t thrown it away, despite Aaron seeing him do it. 🤷♀️
Tuesday
Tuesday was interesting. My friend had a court date that I was witness at.
Basically, he had gotten Suboxone from several sources because he had to switch narcotics programs due to transportation issues. His large-organization health system, seeing that he had gotten a controlled substance (Suboxone) from a few different doctors, put a hold on him so he could only get prescriptions from one pharmacy and all prescriptions had to be ok’d by his primary care physician (thus slowing them down.)
This was tough for him because he needed two pharmacies – one for urgent use and one for bubble wrapping his many prescriptions (for a variety of issues). Since he couldn’t keep track of all his meds, the bubble-wrappibg was necessary. He appealed to the state.
Although I knew that the hold had hurt rather than helped, and although I knew that he had had justification for the way things had gone down with switching narcotics programs, I didn’t think his appeal would amount to anything – no one cares about addicts, after all.
However, the person representing the health company made such stupid arguments! She argued that he’d been to 5 clinics in 3 months, and 5 ER visits, and thus was misusing the system. The clinics were: eye doctor, endocrinologist, psychiatrist and the two narcotics clinics. Umm. He’s not allowed to go to specialists now? As for the ER visits, 3 were for suboxone (the first narcotics program required ER visits at first – part of their program). The representative from the health company argued this was misuse of the ER because he was not admitted to the hospital.
I argued that if I had chest pain and went into the ER, and was told it was not a heart attack, by her logic I had misused the ER. The arbitrator seemed to agree, and asked her for the legal definition of misuse of ER. She said: “Well, I’ve never been asked that before,” as if that should excuse her from answering.
That wasn’t the only humongous hole in her logic, but I won’t go into all of them.
Also on Tuesday, the older kids auditioned for a Willy Wonka production at a local children’s theater. They both did great!
Wednesday
Wednesday was an e-learning day because the roads were terribly icy. It was also the first day of a new schedule where IL4 stays home from daycare on Wednesday and Friday because he has so many appointments I figured he wasn’t getting the educational benefits of those days.
We had taken wifi away from M10’s school iPad because he kept smuggling it downstairs and watching YouTube all night. I had told him he would have to walk to the library if he needed to do homework. 🤷♀️ So this was a test of my resolve.
I had already promised IL4 we could go to the library, and he remembered. I thought it would be funny to make M10 walk and then drive past him honking and laughing, but I decided that would be juvenile.
Anyway, at the library D13 wanted to get a new library card, because hers had expired. IL4 really wanted one too. So I told him that he could get one next time if he helped me check out a book, because he didn’t help me today (he was busy trying to smuggle out a toy).
He immediately ran into the aisles, grabbed a book, and handed it to the librarian. I said “Oh, I’ll put that back, sorry.” She scanned it and said “No, you’ll like this one. Your card?” 🤣😂 I was played by a 4yo and a librarian.
Thursday
Thursday I filled out a ton of paperwork and then played family D&D.
Friday
Nothing much happened on Friday. I had fun things planned with IL4, but when I took him to speech therapy he threw a 45 minute temper tantrum. So I decided he wasn’t in the mood to leave the house. We made some hot and sour soup and lemonade together, though.
Read to IL4
Dino Thanksgiving, by Lisa Wheeler
The Bad Seed, by Jory John & Pete Oswald
The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, by Joe Troiano & Susan Banta
Grumpy Monkey Oh No Christmas, by Suzanne Lang & Max Lang
Pete the Cat I Love my White Shoes, by Eric Litwan & James Dean
Grumpy Bird, by Jeremy Tankard
The Pup Speaks Up, by Anna Jane Hays &Valeria Petrone
Simon and Chester Super Sleepover!, By Cale Atkinson
Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice, by Steve Metzger & Laura Bryant
Ganesha’s Sweettooth, by Sanjay Patel & Emily Haynes
Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman & Heather Fox
Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman and Heather Fox.
Dog on a Frog?, by Kes & Claire Gray & Jim Field
Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons
The Berenstain Bears and The Truth, by Stan & Jan Berenstain
M10 reading
The Coming if Hoole, by Kathryn Lasky
Avatar: The Lost Scrolls Water
D13 reading
When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
Amari and the Night Brothers, by B B Alston
The Misadventures of Max Crumbly (Books 2 & 3), by Rachel Renee Russell
2 bunches chopped green onions (or 3-4 large shallots) 2 celery stalks chopped 1 green bell pepper chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 cups UNCOOKED rice (I use Ben’s Original Parboiled Rice…I think the brand makes all the difference) 1 can beef broth 1 can French onion soup 1 can tomato soup or sauce (depending on which flavoring you like better) 3/4 stick butter 2 lbs chopped smoked Andouille sausage 2 lbs chopped cooked chicken parsley
Directions
Preheat oven to 350⁰. Spray Pam or olive oil on a 9×13 glass baking dish. Combine all ingredients in the dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1.5 hours at 350⁰ stirring at midpoint (45 minute mark). Add Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
Chicken can be canned, baked, grilled, rotisserie, etc. Can add raw shrimp too or sub shrimp for sausage or chicken (if using shrimp, peel them and don’t put them in until the last 45 minutes so they do not overcook). All canned ingredients are regular size (Campbell brand) soup cans. When placing the butter in the dish I cut it into tablespoons and strategically place around the dish so it does not all land in one spot.
Darryl’s notes
DO NOT use anything other than Ben’s Original Rice in this recipe!! My brother made it with Carolina Rice once, and it was a complete disaster.
• I made it with chicken and shrimp one year, and I HATED it! I think sausage and shrimp, or shrimp alone, would be fine.
• For the chicken I use boneless skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and lightly coated in extra virgin olive oil, then cooked at 425⁰ for 8 minutes on each side. I also dislike rotisserie chicken!
1/4 cup butter 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 can (20 oz) pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved 1 jar (6 oz) maraschino cherries without stems, drained 1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Yellow Cake Mix (we used angelfood cake) Vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). In 13×9-inch pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice, and arrange remaining cherries around slices; press gently into brown sugar.
Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 cup. Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
Bake 42 to 48 minutes (44 to 53 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Place heatproof serving plate upside down onto pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake 5 minutes so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Mascot Kids for the galley copy!
When dad walks away to work, Lilly and May are sad and ask why daddy and mommy need to go to work every day. This book-in-verse explains how many things money pays for, including taxes and, indirectly, others’ salaries. It’s a cute picture book for 3-6 year olds.
The African country of Wakanda is viewed as a third world country, but in reality has a precious metal vibranium which is only present there, and gives them highly advanced technology. They also have a superhero called Black Panther, whose suit gives him strength and acts as a bulletproof vest. This man, king of Wakanda, fights an American threat to his kingdom.
I am unfamiliar with the comic books, but enjoyed the movie quite a bit. It’s refreshing to get away from the white male superhero trope. The plot was solid, and the special effects were pretty good. I loved the battle scenes.
Wakanda Forever’s timeline follows several years after Black Panther. The king, Black Panther has died, and his mother, sister, and the general Okoye fight to save Wakanda from a new threat coming from the ocean.
This movie was awesome. It stepped up from black superhero to black woman superhero. It was filled with strong women and action. Again, good battle scenes and solid plot.
It is my New Year resolution to do more with the kids, including: Feed my Starving Children, plays, and cooking with D13; movies and cooking with M10; and parks, hikes, reading, and puzzles with IL4. I will also make an effort to read a physical book in front of IL4 (instead of just books on my phone) each day for 30 minutes to show him how awesome reading is. I also will swear less.
Saturday went well. I spent the day checking things off my to-do list, including reading in front of IL4. In the early evening, Aaron and I went to the Mall of America, where we met my friend Raj. It was complete with poorly-labeled security with rifles. At least, I hope they were security. We ate at the Cantina Laredo, threw axes at The Fair on Four, and attended a comedy show featuring Derek Gaines. Then my friend Liz, Aaron, IL4, and I stayed up till midnight to ring in the new year.
I read Hug a Bug, Llama Destroys the World, and Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse to IL4.
Sunday was nice. We slept in till 10am (which was necessary because I was sleeping fitfully until about 5am). I spent the day doing things off my to-do list – a little of this and that. I decided that I would write recipe blog posts about the cooking I’ve been doing with the kids, so I wrote 3 of those. I now feel more organized and ready to tackle the world this week.
Aaron read Llama Destroys the World and Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse to Il4. I read those books another 3 times, and then read Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth twice. M10 was reading the 8th Ga’Hoole book.
Monday was still a holiday, and I grew tired of having all three kids in the house. I spent the early half of the morning checking off things on my to-do list. I played a game of Uno with M10 in which I teamed up with IL4. (He didn’t really get the rules or perfect the hidden hand thing, but he was able to pick out colors and most numbers.) Later in the night, we played a family game of Uno, where IL4 also had trouble with taking turns, but he just needs to learn. It’s good for him. We also tried a couple rounds of Charades for Kids.
D13 baked a strawberry shortcake for her dad, and it was quite delicious. M10 read more of book 9 of Ga’Hoole. I mixed it up (sarcasm) and read Llama Destroys the World, Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, and Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth to IL4.
Tuesday was a little disappointing. Backstory – IL4 isn’t eating at daycare. Like, nothing. At. All. From 7:45am to 4:30pm. So they asked me to get a doctor to sign a form saying he could have his preferred foods (which apparently requires a lot of paperwork). I filled out all the paperwork, and met with the doctor. He said that if we give IL4 his preferred foods, it’ll entrench his pickiness – which is the classical way of thinking among feeding therapists, I know.
I told him the basic problem – that avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) runs in the family, and that I was worried that depriving him of his preferred foods would encourage a terrible relationship between IL4 and food, which is a huge problem with M10. I just don’t want to repeat our mistakes.
I explained that one of the diagnostic criteria of ARFID is that they don’t respond to classical feeding therapy, and it often makes them worse. He totally listened to what I said (so this gripe isn’t against the doctor), and he said he’d talk to the Children’s Hospital Feeding Clinic and get back to me. He said he’d like to put in a referral to them.
Now, I know that since not responding to classical feeding therapy is a diagnostic criteria of ARFID, can’t get that diagnosis and be treated accordingly without going through classical feeding therapy first. I am just afraid of it making the problem worse, as it did with M10. I had been hoping we could avoid the issue a little longer in IL4 without treatment since he can’t be treated at the eating disorder clinic until he’s 10.
So I’m stuck with a hard choice: do I start classical feeding therapy now (at risk of making the problem worse) with hopes that it might actually help? Or do I wait for treatment till he’s closer to 10 (at risk of making the problem worse) with hopes that ignoring the problem will make it go away. Maybe it’s just a phase and not ARFID?
So. I was in a bad mood after that. The snowstorm didn’t help, because it meant I couldn’t go to the movie with M10 for fear of getting stuck in the snow (as Aaron did trying to back the Highlander out of the driveway in the morning.)
I read Pooh, Very Best Friends to IL4.
Wednesday was a snow day. This was upsetting to me and my dad because we were looking forward to a productive and quiet day after a long, loud winter break. Plus I had a headache.
Unfortunately, this put dad in a rotten mood. IL4 wanted to make “soup” and kept going into the fridge for ingredients. Dad kept slamming the fridge door. Eventually, IL4 started screaming in frustration. Dad, acting like a 4 year old, imitated his scream. IL4 screamed louder. Dad screamed louder.
I went into the kitchen to tell them I had a headache. They didn’t hear me, so I got an inch from dad’s face and screamed “I have a headache!” IL4 and dad both stopped screaming and looked at me in bewilderment. Dad then screamed “Well so do I!” But his heart wasn’t in it because he knew I’d been complaining of a headache earlier. I calmly told him to go into his room and rest.
He came out much more composed, and asked if I needed him (since I wasn’t feeling well.) I told him to go ahead on a walk. Blessed silence.
IL4 still wanted to cook something. I couldn’t take my car out in the storm, so I thought about what I could cook with the available ingredients. I realized we could pull off a chocolate cake.
Soon, D13 came upstairs, saying she’d finished both the 9th Keepers of the Lost Cities and The Thing About Jellyfish. I asked if she wanted to help IL4 make the cake. She agreed, and they teamed up quite happily. M10 was busy reading the 10th Ga’Hoole book.
While the cake was in the oven and then cooling, we played Uno. M10 kindly let IL4 win – IL4 was thrilled and pretended he got a trophy. Then we watched the first Puss in Boots movie.
D13 and IL4 then made some frosting, and we told IL4 maybe when dad got home, he would put 4 candles on the cake (since IL4 only got 3 candles on his 4th birthday.) The cake was amazing.
At his feeding therapy meeting, M10 ate 3 bites of sauteed and fresh cabbage and of fresh kale. He didn’t throw up. So. Win!
Thursday kind of flew by, and I was tired at the end. I can’t put my finger on many specific things I did, but errands were part of the day. 🤷♀️ After that, we had a session zero for our family D&D campaign. I am a tortle wizard, M10 is a wood elf rouge, D13 is a tiefling cleric, Aaron is a halfling barbarian.
Friday was a tough day. I was tired because M10 had awakened us at 2am because he couldn’t sleep…then I couldn’t fall back asleep. So I was tired that morning. I had intended on spending the day cleaning, and was very disappointed to not meet my productivity goal for the week. 🤷♀️
I tried thinking of activities I could remove from my life to have more time to clean. I came up with 1) exercise, 2)blogging / LibraryThing, 3) cross-stitch and scrapbooking. I don’t actually EVER cross-stitch or scrapbook, I just tell myself I should do it…so that’s not helpful. And, obviously, not exercising is a bad idea. And cutting my virtual social life in half when I have minimal RL social life seems a bad idea. So I’m at square one.
D13 finished reading When You Trap a Tiger, and M10 was still on the 10th Ga’Hoole book.
Wrote
1 letter Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
1 letter Maine Department of Corrections
1 letter Virginia Department of Corrections
1 letter Michigan Department of Corrections
1 letter New Mexico
Week’s Photos
M10 and Aaron putting together a Christmas LEGO set
In this dual timeline plot, present-day Cinnamon deals with teenaged life after the death of her beloved brother Sekou. She reads a book given to her by Sekou, which is a memoir following the life of an alien and his/her Dahomean warrior lover as they escape wartorn Dahomey Kingdom.
I really wanted to love this book. There was so much to love. The writing was lyrical – full of beautiful imagery. The plot was intriguing. But I guess I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. I suspect it’s not the fault of the book so much as the fact that I (a white, generation X woman who is easily mistaken as a “Karen” on Facebook) am not the target audience.
In this hilarious book, a cockroach and his family hitchhike to a kid’s school for show-and-tell. I laughed so hard. I want to buy this book for my 4 year old.
Hibernator's Library 