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Now the planning for 2023 is getting underway, and I’m very excited for all the programming that I’m going to be involved in.
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Image Description: Another corner of the Drawing Room, looking rather cozy if I do say so myself.
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Image Description: NPR Graphic of five book covers.
Much of my reading this past month has been in service of NPR roundup reviews. The first one is now up online, and you can read it here to get my thoughts about five amazing YA books that focus on identity and overcoming hardship.
In my free time, I finally read a book that I’ve been wanting to get to since it was released last year.
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Image Description: A book cover with a picture of a Black woman in a 1920’s hat, with a cityscape and green vines in the background.
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope is a supernatural heist adventure set in the Black communities of 1920’s Washington DC. Clara is a medium who can communicate both with the dead and with Enigmas, mysterious spirits that are always eager to offer up a magical boon to humans seeking their help. But for any Charm they might bestow, there will be a corresponding Trick. And even if the Trick doesn’t seem so bad at first, soon it will make the bearer burn with regret. Clara once accepted a Charm and a Trick when she was in dire need, and now she’s stuck in the service of an especially conniving Enigma. When that Enigma offers to free her from both Charm and Trick in return for stealing a magic ring right off the hand of the most powerful woman in Clara’s community, Clara reluctantly agrees. She soon finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy that may tear the entire community apart.
I’ve never read any historical fiction set in this particular time and place before, and Penelope really brings the setting to life, populating her story with a lively cast of characters. Clara needs a lot of help to save the day, and fortunately she’s surrounded by other Charm and Trick-burdened people who will use their powers to assist her, like a team of speakeasy super heroes. This book manages to confront difficult history while still being a fun heist story, and I’m excited to read whatever Penelope writes next!
I also continued on my T. Kingfisher audiobook marathon with A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking. It’s a Middle Grade adventure about a baker girl called Mona who can do little acts of magic with dough – from convincing the bread not to burn to reviving a dying sourdough starter (which then ends up a bit too lively) to making gingerbread men dance. When her city is under threat, she must use her strange powers to protect it.
I absolutely love the idea of a dough wizard, and this is a book full of humor, peril, and the slightly disgusting antics that T. Kingfisher excels at writing. I’d definitely recommend this for kids who like oddball fantasy.
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Crafting
I wasn’t planning on continuing with Wreath of the Month this year. It’s all very well in the summer when I’m up to my eyeballs in flowers, but this time of year, the pickings are a bit bleak and it’s hard to make myself traipse around in the snow to forage. But as the month drew on, I just couldn’t let the project go! I have no idea if I’ll be able to keep it going as winter drags on, but for this month at least, I waded out into the swamp across the street and harvested some red osier dogwood. I meant to take pictures while foraging, but it was too cold! I wove the dogwood into a circlet using the same technique that I use for willow crowns.
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Image Description: Me, dressed in red and wearing a red dogwood circlet, the circlet hanging on the wall, me again.
The Red Osier Queen. She’s simple, but she has impact.
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Wintering
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We have significantly less snow this year than we did last year at this time. I’m beginning to learn that the only consistent thing about winters on the Island is that you never know what to expect! Regardless of the weather, it’s beautiful here.
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