Eric Walters

The word obnoxious sprang to mind too often throughout 90 Days Of Different.

It’s obnoxious that rather than support her alleged best friend, Ella sides with the ex-boyfriend in bluntly declaring Sophie boring. To me, a genuine friend in the immediate aftermath of their best friend being dumped would have said something along the lines of you don’t need to change who you are for anyone other than yourself, there’s nothing wrong with you, he just wasn’t right for you.

It’s obnoxious show more that Ella so resents her alleged best friend that she revels in any moment where Sophie isn’t at her most beautiful or succeeding. Would an actual friend want you to look bad so they could feel better about themselves? Or mock you for falling and injuring yourself?

It’s obnoxious when Ella tells Sophie she’ll be boring if she doesn’t drink.

I kept thinking surely somewhere towards the end of the book there will be an explanation for Ella’s behavior, something that leaves you with a feeling that going forward their friendship won’t be quite so toxic, but nope, that never happens. In fact, more often than not Sophie's the one apologizing to Ella and thanking her for the awful treatment.

It’s also obnoxious that because Sophie once had a bad experience working in a fast food restaurant, she and Ella take it out on the employees and customers of another fast food restaurant, belittling a man (who was nothing but kind) for being the manager of the restaurant as if that’s a job to be ashamed of, criticizing customers about their weight and making a mess that some other employee would have to clean up. So later in the book when Sophie is on the receiving end of body shaming, I didn’t feel the empathy I was supposed to feel for her, I felt like she got her just desserts. Maybe I’m old-fashioned since I don’t understand why anyone would “like” Sophie’s antics in the restaurant, and I definitely don’t understand a book implying that responsibility and kindness are the last things you should aspire to, while being incredibly disrespectful means you’re fun.

Maybe I could have gotten more on board with the 90 Days of Different premise had it taken Sophie’s revelation about her mother’s death and its affect on her and used that as the impetus for her summer-long quest rather than an ex-boyfriend and (should be ex) friend making Sophie feel so bad about herself that she thinks she has to change. I probably could have enjoyed it more had it been a quest of her choosing, not something she’s been shamed into, not something that’s about changing who she is but instead designed to explore who she is beyond the pseudo mom role she took on, and it wouldn’t have hurt had more of the activities on her list led to character growth and emotion.

The emotion was something I really found lacking in the execution of her activities, it always seemed so much less about what she was feeling and more about the research, the step-by-step of how the activity is done. There’s more telling than showing going on here and the structure (aside from the final few chapters) had such an episodic feel to it that there’s a lack of flow and arc.

I received this book through a giveaway. show less

Beautifully illustrated and affectingly told, this picture book presents the story of Boniface, a young boy who lives at a rural Kenyan orphanage. He and some other children set off with water containers for a meagre, muddied spring that is serving many local people during a drought. It’s a long wait to fill water jugs, the water isn’t clean, and the women who are already queued up are hostile to the kids, telling them they might live in the area but don’t belong there. Boniface is show more respectful of his elders—mean as they are; he knows it’s not proper to answer back. In response to the women’s threats, he (as the eldest) directs the other children to return to the orphanage with him, their water containers sadly empty.

Feeling guilty about not doing what he was tasked to do and distressed by the hostile encounter with the local people, Boniface is unable to sleep that evening. He talks to his house parents, Henry and Ruth, who explain that the women’s meanness is actually fear. Perhaps there will be no water for their families.

Labourers have been digging a well for the orphanage for some time now. The hole is deep, but plainly needs to be deeper. It’s unclear if workers will actually succeed. Boniface tries to help in any way he can. When water is finally struck, he is troubled that the orphanage has something that the other local people do not.

He talks with Henry and the two come up with a plan . . . and, no, it’s not quite what you think.

This lovely, touching picture book with Eugenie Fernandes’s wonderful illustrations is based on actual events at an orphanage in Kenya, which the author was instrumental in building. There is a several-page explanatory note with photographs, including one of the real Boniface, at the conclusion.

Walters is a prolific writer of books for children and young adults. He’s a member of the Order of Canada. show less

Wow, what a book. The Rule of Three doesn't feature zombies. It doesn't have a huge decimating explosion that sets off the end of the world. What it does have, is a realistic vibe to it. What happens when everything you take for granted is suddenly gone? Cars no longer work, cell phones are dead, and there's no way to know if any help is coming. What happens to society? This is what Eric Walters uncovers in The Rule of Three, and it's both amazing and terrifying.

It's a little hard to show more describe the pacing of this book. While it doesn't exactly pick up pace at any particular time, it has this slow burn feel to it throughout the whole book. There's never really a huge climax. Lots of small ones, yes. Lots of little things to keep you reading on and wondering what will happen next, but nothing explosive. It's an interesting read for that very reason. I'm used to books being either slow, and then picking up or vice versa. This was bit of an anomaly to me, but one that held my attention.

In terms of characters, Adam and his neighbors have the ability to be anyone. They might be the people down the street from you. The babysitter at the end of the block. I loved the realism here. I watched in fascination as normally happy, easy-going people were reduced to shambles. As society as we know it so very quickly fell apart. Adam's story is scary because it is one that could, and most likely would, actually happen. It makes it that much harder to put down.

In fact, I predict that this very fact is going to be a deal breaker for some readers. The Rule of Three does have a few things about it (such as Herb) that are more fictional, but still possible. However the majority of this book is very grounded in reality. It's a look at what we are all capable of when survival mode sets in. So, if you've been eyeing this book, know that I recommend it! I can only hope there's more around the bend. show less

4.5

Shortly after the towers fall on 9/11 in New York, Shirli, a young Jewish girl, is cast as Golde (the older mother) in her middle school's production of Fiddler on the Roof. She's upset she won't have a solo, until her crush, Ben Morgan (who isn't Jewish,) is cast as Tevye (her husband.) She decides to be the best Golde she can be, and even enlists her Zayde (Yiddish for "grandfather") to help by donating old items from his attic for costumes and props for the show. While Shirli is show more digging around the attic looking for old clothes, she uncovers a poster and an old violin, but when she shows them to her grandfather, he yells at her. Slowly, over the book, he shares with her his experiences as a young boy who was sent to Auschwitz with his entire family.

This ya novel was very moving and respectfully discussed both the Holocaust and bigotry against Muslims after 9/11 in the United States in an appropriate way for middle schoolers who may be new to these subject areas, while saving room for normal middle school subjects like first crushes, jealousy, and friendships. I really see this as a stepping stone for conversations about bigotry and hatred and the horrors that are going on in our own country today. Of course, it's not as deep or graphic as a book written for an older audience would be, but it absolutely works for the group it was written for.

Thank you to LibraryThing and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion. show less