Hands down a book to pick up: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

Stephanie Oakes

Dial Books, 2015

Kindle Copy: B00O2BKKQ2

Minnow lost her faith, her family, and her hands to a cult.  Raised for most of her life in the Kevinian cult, Minnow escapes and runs away the night the cult is burned to the ground, suspiciously taking the prophet Kevin with it and immediately lands in prison after an assault. Minnow struggles to come to terms with her old life in the cult and adjust to her new world of juvie, the real world, and learning to get by without her hands. The FBI psychologist assigned to her following the high profile and mysterious nature of the cults demise (and existence) suspects Minnow knows more than she’s letting on, but Minnow isn’t ready to talk...yet.  This is a brutal and brilliant novel, but it does contain some fairly graphic violence, dark themes, and dark humor, so it is not recommended for the squeamish!  It is, however, strongly recommended for teens over 15 and adults (both dudes and dudettes), and all YA collections in public and high school libraries, especially as it was just named a 2016 Morris Honor Book. I rate this: G for get after it already. (Also: Gore)

As I noted, this is a brilliant and brutal book.  It’s probably the best YA I’ve read in months, and I’m stoked it won something at the Youth Media Awards (I finished it on the eve of the announcements and was pumped to hear about it the Morris honor over morning coffee in my office with my awesome coworkers), but less stoked it didn’t come into play for the Printz.  What up, committee??!!!  Doesn’t Marcus Sedgwick have a deservedly fat enough head for that crown by now?  

I digress from talking about this deserving, fabulous first time novel though.  

Outing the awesome: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Becky Albertalli

Balzer and Bray, 2015

ISBN: 978-0062348678

Atlanta area high school junior Simon is a fairly typical kid; he’s got a solid group of friends, a loving family, does well in school, and is really into musical theatre.  He also has a secret: he’s got a secret pen pal he has a serious crush on that he suspects is requited...and neither one of them is quite ready to come out, despite Simon acknowledging he’d probably still be accepted and loved by his family - he’s just not there yet.  However, when Simon accidentally leaves his browser on in the school library, a fellow student running for douche of the year finds it and decides to exploit it, blackmailing Simon into trying to get his best friend Abby to fall for said douchemonster.  Failure to do so results in said Dmonster posting the emails on the school Tumblr, because this is a contemporary novel.  I think it goes without saying that Abby can probably do better, and that Simon struggles figure out a way to protect the identity of his crush (who he really wants to meet) and what to do.  Is he ready to out himself, and can he survive being outed and losing his pen pal?  

This book is nothing short of extraordinary - simple, yet complex.  The characters aren’t perfect (Simon can be kind of an unappreciative jerk, and knows it) but I think it’s what makes this book a really strong coming out story, perhaps the best I’ve read.  Real people have real nuances, and so do the humans in this book! It is, in short, excellent, because it is so, so, so completely normal and not at all contrived.  It's just normal kids, doing normal things, in a normal world: a normal kid coming out of the closet and all the normal crippling anxiety that comes with it, even in a relatively supportive, relatively decent community.  Nothing highly stylized or sensational, super relatable, super fabulous. It's a coming out book, but what is that if not a coming of age book? It's really the story of a young man figuring out who he is in the world and how he fits into it. 

Sure, it wraps up in a lovely way, and gosh darnit if I wasn’t gooey about it, but it also doesn’t totally simplify making the douchemonster a douchemonster.  Even he is still just a kid, a kid who gradually comes to realize the gravity and cruelty of his actions in a way that is satisfying and heartbreaking all the same, and that there are some wrongs you can’t right or undo.  It’s also welcome to discover a book that has as much diversity in the cast of characters as this does.  It should come as no surprise that the author is clinical psychologist who works with teens and children and has a non-conforming gender group for them, but it should come as a surprise that this is her very first book!  Well done, madam.  I look forward to more!  

This is an extremely strong recommendation for all high school collections or YA collections, with strong adult appeal as well.  In fact, it’s not a recommendation; I’d go so far as to call this required reading, of the spoonful of sugar variety!  (PS.  Calling this for awards - at least a Stonewall! It’s been a seriously great year for LGBTQ youth titles.  Keep up the good work, publishers!)  

The Pancakes of 2015

In ye olde 2014, after a group of friends and I made many somewhat earnest resolutions, I made perhaps the most backhanded, last minute, impulse resolution: to eat pancakes once a month.  Was there booze involved in my thought process? DUH.  Did this resolution make sense at the time? Nope, other than that I think it came from recognizing I always order savory things instead of sweet things when I go out for breakfast (aka my favorite meal).  I quickly settled on the following parameters: to eat one pancake or (do my worst to a) stack of pancakes, once a month, at different locations, with different pancake styles -- no recycling for official business.  Spoiler alert: I did it.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this has been the most delightful, fun, and probably best New Year’s Resolution I have made, or will ever make (though my 2016 one is pretty great…). The results were always good, and the experience a fun one, especially shared. Last year was a hard year for me, and one which made me place a lot more focus and appreciation on the people and things that bring me joy.  Most of my resolutions went down the porcelain throne as circumstances beyond my control took precedence; having this as a challenge I could always complete easily and enjoy (and share in the enjoyment of!) was always a light to anticipate.  I strongly recommend doing something fun like this yourself; it’s never too late!  Here is a brief recap of each pancake, along with winners in best individual pancake, best savory pancake, best sweet pancake, and yes, worst pancake (or really, the most anticlimactic). Yes, I took a picture of each one, and yes, I made a calendar of all my cakes of the pan.  And yes, because I am a classic overachiever, there are a lucky 13 pancakes. That’s how much I loved this resolution!

The Pancakes of 2015

Hermits: Two Ways

Chances are if you live outside of the northeast corner of the United States, you may never have experienced the singular delight that is the hermit.  What's that you say?  A hermit?  You mean dudes who live in the woods alone? Oh no, all two of you dear readers.  Not only do I suspect those dudes may not be delightful, but I also frown on cannibalism.  I'm talking about the second definition of hermit in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, and the first definition of favorite cookie in my heart:

Merriam Webster

I double dog dare you to use beadsman in a sentence.  I mean, what's not to love about a spiced molasses cookie (unless you like neither spice nor molasses, in which case: look away, you're not about to like what's about to happen below).  

Hermits

I digress though, which is a shame because I could talk for days about how much I've loved hermits since childhood (New England grocery stores do a pretty good one, for the record) and how I decided that I needed to learn how to make my own, motivated in part by being trapped inside during the Big Snow from basically January to March of 2015.  There was much research that happened; I consulted the Internet via the Googles and Pinterest, my cookbook cache (Joy of Cooking, New Best Recipe) and cobbled together something that I determined on my first try would be my only try going forward...until just this weekend when I got it into my head that adding candied ginger in lieu of raisins would be either a terrible idea or a highly delicious idea.  

Spoiler alert: it's a highly delicious idea.  Because it is the time of year when we survive on a diet comprised primarily of sugar, tidings and yule, washed down with nog, and also giving, I give to you, all two readers, the best ever hermit recipe (but yeah...I'm a librarian who teaches your kids to think good, so consider the source bias, duh), times two! 

Mushroom Barley Soup

It's almost the season that shall not be named...but for now, we get to enjoy the best parts of fall: cool nights and mornings, excuses to wear sweaters and cute boots, eat warm or warming things, and drink wine.  This recipe allows all three of the last three things to happen simultaneously, weather and attire is up to you though!

Also - you can probably make this vegetarian, but may need to do some body building in the soup to replace it...maybe a Tbsp tomato paste or miso? Maybe both?

Mushroom Barley Soup

Mushroom Barley Soup

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook and The New Best Recipe

Serves 4-6

Mushroom Barley Soup