Books I read this week: All of May
Here’s what I read in May:
The First Book of Calamity Leek by Paula Lichtarowicz is a really bizarre, really disconcerting (in the best way) book. You start the book not having any idea where you are or what is happening, and only as you go further and further does the situation become anything close to clear. It’s told in first person, which is incredibly effective, as the narrator (the Calamity Leek in the title) leaves out information she takes for granted and explains things as she sees them, which means the reader has to piece together what is really happening, because things are definitely amiss. Very reminiscent of Margaret Atwood (again, in the very best way), this book will stick with you for a long time. I recommend knowing as little as possible going in.
Your Retreat by Erin Odom was part of a ebook package deal I got (along with the next few books on this list). It lays out an outline for a “retreat” day, one in which you sit down and do some long term and short term planning. It’s a pretty good outline, and I got some good ideas from it.
Plan It, Don’t Panic by Stephanie Langford is all about meal planning, and it breaks things down into nice steps.
My Kitchen, My Classroom by Jennifer Bly was not my favorite of the bunch, it was a bit vague.
The Confident Homeschooler by Pam Barnhill is really short (30 pages), but there’s some good stuff in here.
A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry is really good.  Set in Puerto Rico, it centers around Lucas, who is spending the summer with his hotel developer dad. Lucas has a tendency to get in trouble, but his whiteness and his dad’s money tend to keep him from too much punishment. There’s an urban legend  in the area about a cursed green girl who lives locked away on the island, and Lucas starts getting messages from her on the same day that his girlfriend disappears. The mystery of the green girl and the disappearance of his girlfriend form the crux of the book, around which rotate questions of privilege, race, ethics, and a lot more. I really enjoyed it.
