Nanci’s Comments (group member since Jan 29, 2016)

Nanci’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

DQ for Day 2
Chapters 11-20

6. Picking up on the previous grief question to turn it around towards Willowdean and her mother. Will seems to think (I'm paraphrasing here) that her mother is a heartless cow and wants to use Lucy's room all to herself without any consideration whatsoever for anyone else. I can't help but wonder though if the mother isn't somehow trying to be close to Lucy - her own sister - by setting up a craft room in Lucy's space. Everyone deals with grief in their own way, and while yes, I agree with her (unlike Will) that the dusty old things will eventually need to go, I feel like she's trying to find a way to cope at the same time.
To me the fact that Willowdean and her mom just don't communicate well is partly true of mom/teenage daughter syndrome, but also I feel it's mom's responsibility at this time of grief to make more of an effort to connect and stop being so judgmental. It seems to me that Will would love to talk if her mom would just be a good listener.

7. Will and Bo. Thoughts? More particularly, Will's reaction to finding out that Bo will start going to the same school?
I felt it was a fairly typical reaction to something that she felt he hid from her. Trust is important in a relationship and I think it was normal that she felt betrayed by Bo not telling her about a big change that would effect both their lives. This will change their relationship from private to public.

8. The more I read, the more I wonder how Ellen and Will are (still) friends with the way they talk to each other. According to Will, they are drifting apart because Ellen is having sex and because of Callie (she doesn't quite say it but it is definitely there). Their interactions however do make me wonder, a lot. I feel like they're friends more because it's a habit than anything else. They're both dependent on each other - Will because she doesn't seem to have other friends and can't stay in the pool alone? Ellen because she needs a back-up when she goes to pick up her pay check?) What do you make of their friendship now that we know more. Irreparable rift? Habit? Undying friendship?
I really think their friendship will stand the test of time. Will is insecure and depends on Ellen at this point in their friendship more than Ellen depends on her. Ellen has a boyfriend and seems to be moving outward, whereas Will is moving more inward and unsure of her relationship with Bo. My mom always advised me that boyfriends will come and go, but girlfriends are forever. I'm hopeful Ellen and Will come to the same conclusion and cherish their bond.

9. And this inevitably brings me to Will's interactions with Callie. It seems like Callie is at least trying, even though there is the fat-girl-issue, but she isn't completely ignoring Will, unlike Will herself, who barely manages to be civil to the girl. Sure, I completely understand the jealousy of thinking that someone is stealing your (best) friend from you, but it isn't helping Will's case that she is basically being a douche to the girl.

Will could certainly do better with Callie and some of her decisions and remarks are destructive. Passive-aggressive behaviors are common among girls of that age, unfortunately. I do think it makes the characters more real.

10. Did anyone else have that moment of "oh shit, something really terrible is going to happen on the date" when Ellen and Tim tell Will that Patrick Thomas is Mitch's best friend. Or is it just me who thinks that there is a very obvious lack of mobbing and finger-pointing? Not that this is a bad thing, on the contrary! Though I do find it odd since Will has A LOT of issues and basically hates people who are not Ellen (and Bo).
When I read that Mitch was friends with Patrick I did wonder if they were setting Will up for something really nasty. I can see why Will would be worried.

Completion Post

Title: The Book of Two Ways
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 416
Rating: 3 stars
Tasks:
#8-looks like a funky sun to me and takes place in Egypt, but judge for yourself
#21-MPG Romance
#41-mostly yellow
#81- Title "Book"
#143-
#145 or #148 Title "The"
#153
#161- Title "Book"
#220- part of the book is set in a university-less than half, I would say
BINGO
F1-Camel-takes place mostly in Egypt
E5-Death and cats- they study the tombs of the dead and cats are asymbolic in Egypt

Discussion Questions for BOM Dumplin' Day 1- Chapters 1-10
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... Message 65

DQs Day One- Chapters 1-10

Note: I had to finish the book, as it was due back to the library. Also, I watched the movie during the pandemic. I know that's a sin, but hey it was a pandemic! Anyway, I really liked the movie, so I was excited to read the book. My answers will reflect how I felt at that actual point in the book, so as not to give anything away.

1. What do you think of Willowdean? Does she feel like a sufficiently real person?
I think the author is doing a great job making her very real. Girls at that age are often self-centered and questioning everything about their lives. Her maturity level seems about right to me for her age.

2. What you you think about her relationship with Ellen? They are starting to keep secrets from each other now - do you think that this is the start of a drifting apart or will they stay close?
I definitely think they will drift apart. I also think they will eventually come back together again. Maybe Ellen will see that some of her new friends are not as loyal as Willowdean.

3. Bo is interesting - the opposite of Will in terms of being reserved in comparison to her chattiness, but with something lurking in his backstory. Do you want to have a guess at what's up with him? Would anyone NOT have done the same as Will and followed him to the abandoned school in the hopes of more making out?!

I like Bo so far. I sure hope he doesn't turn out to be a bad guy. I was worried things might not go well for Will when she met up with him. I'm guessing Bo comes from a rough family.

4. Will claims ownership of "fat" when she introduces herself to Bo. How successful do you think she is in her aim to stop it from being an insult?

Will is not accepting of her body. Who is at such a young age? Even the "perfect body girls" have issues, but most females at that age are just very concerned with their body types. I really think it's a defensive tactic Will uses feeling it helps protect her from negative comments.

5. Lucy has clearly been a big influence in both Will and Ellen's lives, and yet they haven't been talking about her at all since her death. Do you think this is a normal reaction to a sudden death? Would you be like Will's mother, and get rid of everything, or keep it?

Grief is such a personal and life-long process. There are no rights or wrongs. Different societies deal with grief differently and the people who dwell in those societies are a product of their environment. In the US, people generally are not comfortable talking about death or bringing up people who have died in conversations. As a counselor who specialized in grief, it was imperative for me to understand the grief process in relationship to each person's own beliefs and ceremonies. Peer to peer personal connections are often the best during heavy grief times with teens. It's particularly difficult for adolescents to really talk, but if Ellen is there as a supportive, quiet friend who loved Lucy also, sometimes that's enough initially. My hope is that in time the two of them will be able to share their pain of Lucy's absence and also laugh and share good memories of Lucy. I hope also that Will's mom and Will can be more honest and open towards one another concerning their shared loss.

Completion Post


Title: Dumplin'
Author: Julie Murphy
Date read: May 15
Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 371

Tasks:
#4-1st in series
#96-MPG Coming of Age (152 users)
#107-characters in costume
#164- MPG Young Adult
#219-gown on cover

I'm looking forward to when we start to get creative with Jackanory!

Completion Post

Title: The Yellow Wife
Author: Sadeqa Johnson
Date Read: May 15
Pages: 272
Rating: 4 stars

Tasks:
#35- wife
#77-MC does a number of things because she is superstitious (ie. putting onion by her head for protection, etc.)
#84-AFN starts with S
#97- MPG Historical
#114-Yellow in title
#155-MC uses a carriage pulled by horses
#184-MPG War (12 users)
#186-author is a person of color
#219-gown on cover
#224-single woman on cover
#234-MC has a son
BINGO- space 3G "Woof". Hounds in the story track the slaves

Completion Post

Title: The Four Winds
Author: Kristin Hannah
Pages: 464
Date read: 5/12
Task: Gold on cover

I'm not getting as much reading done as normal since we're chatting away on the beach with family we haven't seen in 4 years. Still The Four Winds is really good and I'm hoping to finish it in the next day or two.

Eldarwen wrote: "My next book is , which is set in Nigeria and probably fits a few more tasks as well."

I read that a few months ago. I thought it was pretty good. Hope you like it!

Vicki wrote: "Nanci wrote: "Completion Post


The Lost Orphanby Stacey Halls
Date read: 5/5/21
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 stars

Of course that's fine! Why reinvent the wheel? Saving time and effort is always the way to go!

BOM- I answered th..."

Eldarwen wrote: "Nanci wrote: "Good catch, E, on task #49 for The Lost Orphan! I missed the obvious!

I have just started , which works for task 211 "cover has something gold or s..."

Haha! I know just what you mean about seeing colors on GR!
I'll not some other tasks also, in case it needs to be moved later from the gold task. It is a beautiful cover!

15. Knowing how Alexandra's parents died and seeing her state of mind after being surprised by Dr. Mead, Eliza, and Charlotte in masks, has your perception of Alexandra changed in any way?

Absolutely. Many of her behaviors now are understandable. What Alexandra witnessed as a child was life changing! Of course no mental health counselors or support groups to help her deal with her experiences in the 1740s. She then was placed with an aunt who was cold and incapable of showing affection. No wonder she's such an ill adult.

16. What do you think of Bess running away with Charlotte? Looking at her reasons do you think she is being selfish or doing what is best for Charlotte?

Poor Bess. She is trying to do right by her child, but with no real resources she is doing harm at the same time. I don't think she's being selfish and I believe she thinks she's doing what's best for Charlotte, but I just wish she'd had a little bit more of a plan.

17. What do you think of Lyle and his willingness to help Bess escape with her daughter? Do you think he will remain in Bess's life?
Lyle is one of the really good things that has happened for Bess. He seems to be a very caring person and I hope things will work out for them in the long run.

18. Was anyone surprised by Ned's theft of Eliza's money or subsequent betrayal of Bess? What kind of deal do you think he made for himself in exchange for information about Bess?

Not surprised at all. Ned is all about getting money to keep the bad guys off his back and keep himself supplied with liquor. I think Ned's role in the book is to show the reader how people do not always stay the same and how good can become evil in the face of hardship.

19. Charlotte certainly went through a lot in a short time during this section. How well do you think she handled the reality of being on the run with Bess? What do you think her reaction will be to being returned to Alexandra?

Charlotte had such an instant bond with Bess. If Alexandra had been a more normal, loving parent Charlotte may not have been so agreeable to leave, but I think once she had a taste of freedom, she just wanted more and to live normally. As a six year old, I think she did pretty well learning to play "the game" when they were on the run. I'm sure leaving a comfortable house etc and dropping down so much on the socio-economic scale was rough for her, but her love for her true mom will keep her going strong in times of hardship.

Tati wrote: "Nanci wrote: "Good catch, E, on task #49 for The Lost Orphan! I missed the obvious!

I have just started , which works for task 211 "cover has something gold or s..."

Good to know! My cousin raved about it and she and I usually like the same books.

Good catch, E, on task #49 for The Lost Orphan! I missed the obvious!

I have just started , which works for task 211 "cover has something gold or silver on it". The font on the cover is gold. I don't know if that's hard to find, but just wanted to let you know.

It is so good already! Has anyone on the team read it yet?

Oh, ignore my question. I looked at it further and see it refers to the sub-category where the task is located.

Question:
On the spreadsheet under the "Books" tab where our completed books are listed, what does the last column "Used" refer to? For example for my book, "Turn of the Key" it says "Thud" in the Used column. Just curious!

Completion Post


The Lost Orphanby Stacey Halls
Date read: 5/5/21
Pages: 352
Rating: 4 stars

BOM- I answered the discussion questions for Days 1, 2. and 3
Tasks:
#20 (Bess and Lyle get married)
#28 (spellout letter H) ALN: Halls
#29 (spellout letter T) Title: "The"
#84 (spellout letter S) AFN: Stacey
#88 (set in London)
#97 (MPG Historical)
#112 (spellout letter L) Title: "Lost"
#116 (MC, Bess goes by name Eliza and pretends she is not Charlotte's mom)
#145 and #148 (spellout T) Title: "The"
#149 (spellout letter H) ALN: Halls
#151 (letters in title spell out LOT)-if we're allowed to take them out of order?
#153 (MPG Historical Fiction 426 users)
#155 (Charlotte used a horse attached to carriage to get to church)
#167 (Lost is an adjective in the title)
#169 and #171 (spellout letter L) Title: "Lost"
#190 (spellout letter S) AFN: Stacey
#224 (Single girl on cover)
BINGO
A4- Nancy the neighbor in the story makes brooms

Completion Post

The Art of Taking It Easy: How to Cope with Bears, Traffic, and the Rest of Life's Stressors by Brian King
Date Read: 5/5
Pages: 256
Rating: 4 stars

Tasks:
#12 (12 users)
#24 (it has lots of footnotes, as it is nonfiction)
#29 (spellout letter T) Title starts with "The"
#81 (spellout letter B) AFN: Brian
#113 (spellout letter A) Title starts with "Art"
#140 (Bears in the subtitle)
#143 (Letters FAT in title) The ArT oF...
#145 (spellout letter T) Title startw with "The"
#158 (spellout letter K) ALN: King
#161 (spellout letter B) AFN: Brian
#172 (spellout letter A) Title starts with "Art"
#181 (Mental Health MGP 2 users)
#191 (spellout letter K) ALN: King
#222 (MPG Nonfiction 53 users)
Bingo-
G6-Footnotes- lots of footnotes in the book
B6- laughing emoji (written by a stand up comedian and lots of humor in book

Completion Post

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Date: 5/4
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 337
Tasks it works for:
#29- T in title
#52- Rowan has to obey the mother of the children
#61-MC nanny changes job from daycare employee to nanny
#81-(CFN: Bill Elincourt)
#82- (CFN: Ellie Elincourt)
#84- (CFN: Sandra Elincourt)
#138 (MPG: Horror)
#145 and #148 (T: The) Letter T
#146 -(AFN Ruth Ware) Letter R
#161 (CFN: Bill) Letter B
#190 (CFN: Sandra)
#202- (Rowan reads to children)
#203- (child murders sibling)
#225- (MC tells story)
#229-(MPG Mystery)
Bingo- works for H1 the camera. The house in the novel was a smart house with cameras all over, which the parents used to constantly check up on the nanny, who was the MC