July | 2017 | Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

It’s definitely summer and it’s much warmer than usual for this time of year. I mean, 113 degrees? Sometimes we see that in August. Now? Not ready. Me no like. However, we make the best of it. Lots of iced tea sipping, barbecuing, and ice cream eating. Shade is a must. A good book to go along with the shade? A definite plus. I love the idea of summer but not the heat! My kids start school in less than four weeks so we are trying to make the most of the time we have.

Right Now:

At this moment, there seems to be a little cloud cover so The Otter Pup just went for a walk. In a little bit we’ll head off to church.

This Week:

The Girl starts volleyball camp. Show rehearsals pick up. Hair appointment. Work.

There was an explosion that affected a major power grid yesterday so the campus was without power along with 140K customers. Power is slowly being restored. I hope it’s fully restored by tomorrow.

Taking Friday off to do something with The Girl. Not sure what.

Reading:

I am reading Do Not Be Alarmed and it is quite the page turner!

Watching:

Fear the Walking Dead is really good now and the mid-season finale is tonight! They must have gotten new writers or something because for THREE seasons that show has been stumbling along.

Making:

Not a thing. It’s too hot to cook. I need to get back into a routine though because my eating has been all over the place.

Grateful for:

Old friends. I may not be able to see them all the time but these days it’s easy to keep in touch. Grateful for that and them.

What are you doing today? Are you suffering though a heatwave like us? We had to skip the concert at the park yesterday because it was just too hot.

Perennials
By Mandy Berman
Random House, Hardcover, 9780399589317, June 6, 2017, 288pp.

The Short of It:

You know that nostalgic feeling you get when looking at an old Polaroid photo? That’s how I felt while reading this book. Youth captured in a snapshot.

The Rest of It:

As kids, Rachel and Fiona spent many wonderful summers at Camp Marigold. Eight glorious weeks of swimming, riding horses and making new friends. Things at home could change, but once they returned to camp, everything fell back into place and all was good with the world. In Perennials, Rachel and Fiona return to camp as counselors and with them is Fiona’s younger sister, Helen who is about to experience camp as they once did many years ago.

Summer camp. Sigh. When I was a kid, I read a lot of books about summer camp and they really had me longing for that experience. It wasn’t until last summer that I actually attended camp (as a leader) and although I wasn’t there as a camper, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. In this novel, Berman beautifully captures all the angst and anxiety of pre-teens but she somehow manages to capture the doubts and worries of the young adult counselors as well.

This book is summer, but it’s also life and love and friendship and all the not-so-pleasant stuff that comes with it. There’s a little more “action” between the campers and counselors than I would have liked to see. I am not a prude but since I work with teens and have teens of my own, I was a little sensitive to some parts of the story but at the same time I am far from naive. That said, anyone who is sensitive to language or sexual content may want to think twice before handing the book over to your teen. It’s not marketed as YA but from the cover you might think so.

In the end, I thought it was pretty well done. The final pages were especially poignant and frankly had me all choked-up. Perennials is Berman’s first novel and I look forward to what she writes next.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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