BOOK TALK

Today I just want to encourage everyone:  there's a great book out there.  My wife, Lisa, the librarian, turned me on to it.  She always seems to find the best books--I guess that's why she's so good at what she does. :+)  Anyway, it's called "Eleanor and Park."  Just trust me--read it.  And read it especially if you're a Moebius mom or dad, who's worried about what it might be like for your kids once they get to those teen years; what will it be like for them, once they're kind of an outsider, seen as "different", etc.  Here's a description of it from Amazon:

"While Eleanor & Park is technically classified as YA lit and has a cutesy cover, don’t let the stigma of “books for teens” fool or deter you. It is written about teens, sure, but the themes are so universal that anyone who survived high school will relate to the lives of the two protagonists. Eleanor is the new girl in town and her wild red hair and patchwork outfits are not helping her blend in. She ends up sitting next to Park on the bus, whose tendencies towards comic books don’t jibe with the rest of his family’s love of sports. They sit in awkward silence every day until Park notices that Eleanor is reading his comics over his shoulder; he begins to slide them closer to her side of the seat and thus begins their love story. Their relationship grows gradually--making each other mixed tapes (it is 1986 after all) and discussing X-Men characters--until they both find themselves looking forward to the bus ride more than any other part of the day. Things aren’t easy: Eleanor is bullied at school and then goes home to a threatening family situation; Park’s parents do not approve of Eleanor’s awkward ways. Ultimately, though, this is a book about two people who just really, really like each other and who believe that they can overcome any obstacle standing in the way of their happiness. It’s a gem of a book."

"Become a possibilitarian.  No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities--always see them, for they're always there."--Norman Vincent Peale