March 4th, 2010

Charlie&Lake

Friday Five

  1. Kid quote of the week. This week I went to a parent-teacher meeting to advocate for a client. The teacher said the child, who is in Pre-K, was practicing sounding out and spelling words. He proudly said: “ ‘k’ ‘r’ ‘a’ ‘p’ . . . crap.” The teacher smiled, praised him for his excellent spelling, and then asked him where he learned the word. He said, “We watch Reba.” The moral? Television is not an idiot box. One tv show advanced this child’s spelling and vocabulary. J

 2. Book Review:

                            
The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. Yep! Two weeks in a row a book has made it to my blog. Wow! The      book starts off with 16 y/o Penny Lane (yes, she and her sisters are named after Beatles songs) discovering her life-long crush and kinda-sorta boyfriend is cheating on her  . . . in her house . . . while he is supposedly visiting her for the summer. Devastated by the discovery she reflects on her dating life (I know she’s only 16) and she realizes it sucks. She swears off men for the remainder of her high school career. Other heartbroken girls discover Penny’s plan and take the pledge. They start the Lonely Hearts Club. Initially the goal is to not date and support each girl’s efforts to learn new things and face their own demons. You know, do the things each failed to do while they were lost in the throes of dating. Eventually the club becomes so much more.

 
This book is not life changing like, say The Color Purple or To Kill A Mockingbird. But it does change you. It is refreshing! It is funny! And it shows budding men and women how to be their best self and encourages them to hold out for the person who will love them for it. But wait, there is more. There are a ton of Beatles references. And you find yourself cheering on characters and celebrating their successes. But wait there’s more. Penny’s best friend is named  . . . Tracy. Interestingly, the character is a lot like me. I’m already famous. J

 

  1.  I’m on Chapter 10 (30,000 words and 123 pages) of The Collector. Not a lot of new writing this week. That’s okay. I had to make a correction to a plot issue. Now I’m back on track.

 

  1. Spring is in the air. This past week has been amazingly, wonderfully, beautiful. I love Winter for its scarves and sweaters and hats and hot chocolate. But I love Spring for its sunflowers and kite flying and music festivals and perfect temperature days.
  1. I get to spend Saturday afternoon with my friend J.P. and baby Allie. Have I told you how freakin cute that baby is? I know I have. I just want to gobble her up.

Hugs and Encouragement!