Laura's Updates

Laura wants to read 'The Sherlock Society'

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 07:46:19 -0700

Laura wants to read The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

Laura Lundgren liked a readstatus

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 20:19:59 -0700

Laura liked Daniel’s status update

Daniel wants to read Wild Words: Rituals, Routines, and Rhythms for Braving the Writer's Path

Laura wants to read 'A Far Better Thing'

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 18:27:28 -0700

Laura wants to read A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry

Laura started reading 'Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace'

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 10:58:16 -0700

Laura started reading Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace by Kim Phuc Phan Thi

Laura is 2% done with Moby-Dick or, The Whale

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 08:13:11 -0700

Laura is 2% done with Moby-Dick or, The Whale.
Laura wrote: I am starting Moby Dick, a book I have feared, avoided, been drawn to, been fascinated by, been intimidated by, and taken for granted. I cannot quite understand the forces that compel me to take on challenges like this except that momentum has gathered to a point where I feel helpless to resist.

Laura is currently reading 'Moby-Dick or, The Whale'

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 08:11:36 -0700

Laura is currently reading Moby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Laura commented on Laura's review of Turtle Boy

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:26:47 -0700

New comment on Laura's review of Turtle Boy
by M. Evan Wolkenstein

I forgot to include this quote: “Is the heart willing? Then come what may.��

Laura wants to read 'Redwall'

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:32:25 -0700

Laura wants to read Redwall by Brian Jacques

Laura wants to read 'Peter and the Starcatchers'

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:32:16 -0700

Laura wants to read Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry

Laura added 'Turtle Boy'

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 13:46:03 -0700

Laura gave 5 stars to Turtle Boy (Hardcover) by M. Evan Wolkenstein
When you've walked through real grief, literary grief can either provide companionship or can offend you. Done well, literary grief peels back the layers of your own sadness, gently probing your hurts in a way that feels healing and hopeful and welcome. Done poorly, literary grief pushes on your bruises or leaves you feeling even more raw. Turtle Boy really helped me and, I think, helped my kids, too.

I started listening to this one alone. Lately, our ride to school family audiobooks have leaned towards the trivial and fun rather than the literary, and I'm okay with that. I want my kids to enjoy the stories we read enough to get lost in them so that our commute feels shorter. If they aren't interested, I'll turn it off and try something new. Usually my picks are too literary and ambitious (only 1 of 4 kids really liked Impossible Creatures, for example, even though it got all the literary hype for being the next Harry Potter). So I decided to start this one on my own, since I knew I would enjoy it and it was being compared to Where Wolves Don't Die. But as we began another frivolous audiobook, the kids said they were tired of the predictable tropes and wanted to try Turtle Boy with me. I hesitated. This school year has been a little sad and heavy and I could tell this story was going to get more sad and more heavy. But we gave it a try.

They loved it. They thought Will (the main character) was obnoxious (he is!). But they loved RJ and Shirah, his foils. They laughed at Max's antics and felt compassion when they found out what Will's facial condition must have looked like. They understood Will's desire to hide even as they got annoyed with him for withdrawing from everyone. We found this to be an altogether sympathetic portrayal of a boy trying to navigate the difficulties of middle school. Will discovers he has more people for him than those who are against him, but he still can't silence his fears of being made fun of. RJ is a really special character. (I highly recommend the audiobook because Wolkenstein reads it himself and we loved his RJ voice that resembles Crush from Finding Nemo.) I thought having Will complete RJ's bucket list made for a really great plot device that brought the boys together and helped keep the story moving. One of my kids loved that animals played a significant role; one of my kids liked the very minimal hints of romance; we all loved that it was set in Wisconsin and took Will's Jewish faith so seriously without becoming cheesy.

I'm not sure every family wants to listen to an audiobook this weighty, but we loved our time with Turtle Boy.