June | 2015 | morethanabookreview

Since I started this book journal in the middle of the year, there are about 16 books I’ve already read that won’t get the full morethanabookreview.com treatment. Some of these titles include books by my favorite authors and also one of my new favorite books! Landline is one of those books, written by one of my current favorite authors, Rainbow Rowell. While it may not include all of my first reactions, it stuck with me enough to be able to write this reflection.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell (Publication July 8, 2014)
Finished reading January 2015

Brief synopsis:
Landline is a story about a marriage in trouble. Georgie McCool and her husband, Neale, have been together since college. Georgie puts in long hours writing a sitcom while Neale cares for their two daughters. As the pressure of her career continues to impact her family life, Georgie is faced with some difficult decisions when Neale leaves at Christmas to visit his family and takes the girls along. The plot line is further complicated by the fact that Georgie’s work partner is her long-time college friend, Seth. Much of the story centers on a seemingly magical, bright yellow landline phone that allows Georgia to communicate with the past.

Why this book and why January 2015:
Landline was my first book of 2015. I was on a bit of a Rainbow Rowell kick after reading Attachments, Eleanor & Park, and Fangirl. This was the last Rowell book I had to read and I was very eager to do so. Rainbow’s book Attachments is one of the first books I recommend to any of my girlfriends that ask. That book had me laughing so hard I was crying a mere three pages in! As I mentioned in my About Page, Rainbow Rowell is one of my current favorite authors.

The time frame of the story is around Christmas, the fact that I was reading it just after the holidays was entirely coincidental, however being surrounded by snow, family, the looming date of going back to work, did very much help me relate to Georgie in ways that reading this book during the summer would have made different.

At one point in this book, Georgie sees snow for the first time. Growing up in the Midwestern United States, I found it a bit mind boggling that another American had never experienced snow before! I’m sure there are lots of people in the United States that have never touched snow, I just had never even consider the fact. This part of the book was a lot of fun to read as Rainbow Rowell described what her character experienced when she touched snow, leaving an imprint of her hand and being amazed by it. Which makes me wonder, what is something that you, reading this right now, have never experienced that others might be surprised by? Leave a comment using the link at the top of this post to share.

One of the reasons I enjoy Rainbow Rowell’s writing so much, is that her characters are realistic. She lets us inside the minds of these characters and what we find is a “normal” person, not some highly dramatized version of a person facing a difficult life situation. Georgie McCool’s, thoughts and feelings about her family, husband, career, friendships, and marriage are relatable and believable.

Recommended reading for:
Landline is a perfect read for young adult or grown adult. If you are looking for a book that provides another perspective on the difficulties of navigating a marriage, this is a book worth reading. The relationships among the female characters in the book remind me of my relationship with my mom and sister in different ways. A great book overall that I don’t think you will be disappointed with reading.

Counting by 7s written by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Counting by 7s
Holly Goldberg Sloan

Started May 18, 2015
Finished May 30, 2015
Pages: 380

Brief synopsis:
Middle school student Willow Chance was adopted as an infant. She’s an exceptionally intelligent child with a deep love and understanding of plants and medicine. Willow gets abruptly “repotted” due to a family catastrophe. Surrounded by new found friends, Willow learns how to replant herself while inspiring others along the way. Her favorite number is 7, will it prove to be lucky?

Why this book and why now:
My grandmother passed away on May 16. Feeling out of sorts and realizing I hadn’t read a book in three weeks due to ICU visits, I went to my local library. This is where Willow Chance, the main character of County by 7s and I found our first connection because “books=comfort, to me anyway.” (page 151). The librarians at our local branch are wonderful! Through the years, our family has built a great relationship with our librarians and they know just what our family is looking for when we ask for a referral. When I explained my heartache and the recent passing of my grandmother, one of my favorite librarians quickly pulled Counting by 7s, a juvenile fiction piece, off the shelf. I’m told that the fact that she shares the main character’s name had nothing to do with the referral.

Within the first few chapters, the main character is dealt a shocking loss. I almost put the book down at this point, this is not what I had in mind for distracting myself from the still fresh loss of my grandmother. However, I trusted my librarian’s referral, so I pushed through the emotion.

One of the great themes of this book is that even as Willow Chance is aching and trying to find a new normal, she was also inspiring others. She was making the lives of other people better even though her world was the worst it had ever been. The impact of this lesson is enhanced by the fact that Willow doesn’t even realize she’s having such a profound effect on those around her. I think it is that way for all of us. Just by being the person we are and dealing with adversity the way we have learned to and are wired to, leads others to have strength and courage even when we feel like we have none.

After the decision was made to take my grandmother off of the ventilator that she had been on for a week with no improvement, the hardest part was the waiting. Those five hours in the waiting room could have easily been as many days. So when I read this quote from Counting by 7s, “A second can feel like forever if what follows is heart break.” (Page 351), I knew exactly what she meant. No one wants to hurry heartbreak, so somehow we manage to make those seconds feel like minutes, the hours to feel like days. That’s probably why it’s so quite when a person is waiting for heart break. Again, young Willow said it best, “And that is why the deepest form of pain comes out as silence.”(Page 175)

There is one final quote that made me stop and meditate on the truth of it. It is, right now, one of my favorite sentiments. “I’m not brave; it’s just that all other choices have been thrown out the window.” (Page 360) I love the sense of resiliency that this quote made me feel, especially as I reflected on the events of the past couple of weeks. The idea behind this quote, that even when you feel the situation is scary and new and unpleasant, there is always bravery. There is always a chance to move past the experience by facing it head on, with a sense of power and control.

Recommended reading for:
While this book is typically recommended for 4-6 graders, this book is also an excellent read for adults. It gives us a perspective on the impact adults have on their children and the children that enter our lives in many different ways. For adults it also provides us an opportunity to reflect on the way we are impacted by children.

If your young reader is going to give this one a read, I do recommend you read it as well. There were a few concepts that might cause some anxiety to children who are on the younger end of the spectrum. For instance, a young reader may benefit from an explanation that the chances of becoming suddenly orphaned are not that great. There are lots of opportunities to discuss why certain families or people make the life choices that they do. The book also opens the door for parents to celebrate their own child’s unique interests. Willow’s uniqueness and her confidence are what help to inspire change in so many others.

The Final Word:
Counting by 7s is a book I look forward to sharing with my sons as they get older. It is also a book I look forward to rereading with them. Certainly worth reading if you are looking for great writing, a thought provoking story, and a little inspiration.

New words learned:
Onomatopoetic (page 10) -The creation of words that imitate natural sounds
Chiropterophily (page 23) – Pollination of plants by bats
Dysphagia (page 125) – medical term for not being able to swallow
Crypsis (page 153) – hiding

Selected quotes:
This one inspired me to clean out my sons’ pajama drawers, low and behold we probably had enough PJs for each kid on our block! Their grandparents seem to also like gifting “cozy” PJs.

“From my observation, the older you get, the more you like the word cozy.
That’s why most of the elderly wear pants with elastic waistbands. If they wear pants at all. This may explain why grandparents are in love with buying grandkids pajamas and bathrobes.” (Page 33)

These quotes very much resonated with me during this particular time in my life experience. I wanted to share them with you in hopes that they might provide you the same sense of not feeling quite so alone.

“I’m hiding in plain sight, which is often the best way to be concealed.” Page 153

“And that is why the deepest form of pain comes out as silence.” Page 175

“Just being there is ninety-nine percent of what matters when your world falls apart.” Page 175

“A second can feel like forever if what follows is heart break.” Page 351

“I’m not brave; it’s just that all other choices have been thrown out the window.” Page 360