JUST LIKE THAT — Review

Thought for the Day:

“For me the experience of writing is really an experience of losing control…. I think it’s very much like dreaming or like surfing. You go out there and wait for a wave, and when it comes it takes you somewhere and you don’t know where it’ll go.”
~ Margaret Atwood ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Synopses are HARD to write. HERE is a great post by Renee Fountain on Gryphon Quill titled HOW TO WRITE A SYNOPSIS: Hint: It’s Not A Long Plot Summary. She has excellent examples.

English is full of words that are easy to misuse — words that sound alike yet have very different meanings. HERE is a refresher from Emilie-Noelle Provost on Writer Unboxed with good reminders.

Rhea Dionne has a terrific post HERE on Writers in the Storm called Found Family Trope: How it helps your writing. Gary D. Schmidt (about whom I have been writing lately and continue to) is the master of found families. I certainly think found families in stories are more interesting than traditional families.

I don’t spend a lot of time reading short stories. I’m usually immersed in a novel, but I chose a book of short stories called BIRDS OF PREY for review off the last list because it said on the book was edited by Harlan Coben and C. J. Box. I’m a huge fan of C. J. Box. I’ve read all 26 of his Joe Pickett novels and am looking forward to another in February. I’ve also read some of his other books. He really gets Donald Maass’s advice about tension on every page. I’ve read some of Harlen Coben’s books. He’s a good mystery writer too, so I thought the short stories would be right up my alley. The premise of the collection is that Coben challenged a group of mystery/thriller writers to each write a short story with a bird of prey in it. The bird could be the star or peripheral, it could be real or metaphorical. The story just had to have a bird of prey in it. Interesting assignment. I discovered a couple of things. The writing chops needed for novels doesn’t necessarily translate to writing short stories. Some were very good and some were meh. I also discovered I am seldom satisfied by a short story. There isn’t enough room for character development or backstory, things I really enjoy. That said, sometimes a short story fits my available time better than a novel. I mostly enjoyed the book and recommend it if you are looking for a short story collection to keep on the bedside table.

I have another Gary D. Schmidt novel to review today. JUST LIKE THAT got lost in my staggering TBR pile. It turns out it is the third book in THE WEDNESDAY WARS trilogy. I should have read it years ago, but that TBR pile sometimes hides things. But it’s never too late to read a Gary D. Schmidt novel, and I must say I enjoyed it very much.

It is 1968, the height of the Vietnam war, when we meet Meryl Lee Kowalski who is devastated by the tragic, sudden death of her more-than-a-best-friend, Holling Hoodhood. Her world becomes a blank. She can’t stand to walk where they had walked or go to school where he had walked the halls. Her grief becomes a Blank that sometimes overwhelms her. That fall, her parents decide it will be best if Meryl Lee goes some place new for a fresh start. Her parents take her from Long Island and drive to the coast of Maine where Meryl Lee will attend St. Elene’s Preparatory Academy. Meryl Lee finds herself in an all-girl highly-structured school, and most of the girls have known each other for years. It is a very difficult transition for Meryl Lee while she is fighting the Blank and trying to navigate her new situation. To add to her difficulty, she discovers things between her parents are changing. Meanwhile, a boy named Matt Coffin takes up residence in an old lobster shack near the shore. No one knows much about him. People try to get him to go to school, but to no avail. But Matt has a very dark past and a very big, dangerous secret. Someone is after him, and Matt can’t seem to shake him. How will Schmidt manage to weave these two characters’ stories into one? Seamlessly, of course.

I don’t need to tell you how much I love Schmidt’s writing. This book is so very good. It has a huge cast of characters, but every one enriches the story and does a lot of heavy lifting. There is a little romance in this book and some violence, so it is best for more sophisticated, older middle-graders. The writing is gorgeous and the story is so compelling. I can’t wait to read it again when I read all Schmidt’s novels in order. I hope I can start on that soon.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.