Welcome to Litsy!

June was a big reading month for me, with eight books finished and several really good four star novels, my favorite is tagged but What Kind of Paradise is a very close second!

Are we completely sure this was written by Kevin Wilson? It lacks the humor and the wittiness and weirdness we know him for. It really doesn‘t feel like him at all. But maybe he was trying something different?

I did enjoy it, I thought it was an interesting story. It just wasn‘t what I expected at all. And the ending felt abrupt, like the book was unfinished.

Oh well, hopefully he‘ll return to his old style with the next book.

Looking for audiobook recommendations! We are driving from Grand Teton to Glacier National Park this summer.

My husband isn‘t a big reader, so looking for recommendations that a non reader would like!

Genres would probably be mystery or fantasy (like LOTR but not boring) ☺️

TIA!

This was so disappointing. A bunch of siblings goes on a roadtrip in search of their father, who left them all with a different mother. The characters aren‘t worked out at all, nor is the father or are his reasons for leaving them all. Nor, for that matter, is the roadtrip across the US.

Kevin Wilson did much better in Nothing to See Here.

📸 Syros, Greece

I listened to this bit by bit on a series of drives across Ohio and Michigan with my family. On a road trip is a great way to listen to Kevin Wilson (this is our third), and the premise of this one in particular fits road trip listening well. Wilson's characters are so immediately engrossing, all of us were engaged, alternately moved and laughing as Wilson led us through the complicated nature of "family," via Marin Ireland's narration.

I think the fact that it's format is a graphic novel makes such a deep story inviting to young adults because it is easy to read. Many kids think graphic novels and comic books are just superheroes, but there are more options available to them, and I think this is a good example to show.

I think it is important for every student to be educated on all cultures because it is useful in classrooms as well as life after and outside of school. I loved the story of being able to appreciate and respect both cultures. It definitely brought to mind how depending on the demographics, students bring merging cultures.

Driving in the US and its fun roadside attractions and creative billboards is abruptly displaced by the lack of friendly signs. Instead, warnings, traffic, and automatic weapons to be searched are unsettling. La Mordida's possession of goods from travelers is roadside armed robbery. Many characters lose their precious items to La Mordida's bite. The culture of the US is stripped away and replaced with that of Mexico's.

Each character is fleshed out in such tiny but special ways, shown in how they interact with each other and what necessary items are in the grocery store. Or how the narrator loves how his mother tries to relate to him by attempting to name all the characters Superman, because our narrator loves comics. Any reader is bound to find some aspect of each character in a way that they can relate to or admire in their qualities.

There are multiple life lessons sprinkled throughout Mexikid, but one that stuck out to me was this moment of kindness displayed by the father, and I took it literally as I am writing about it, just as Pedro is told to. Time and time again, Pedro's father is shown as a man with a strong and honorable reputation in hopes for providing his children with a role model.