Sunday, December 27, 2009

Sunday Salon: a review in the post-holiday lull

The Sunday Salon.com Christmas is over, the goose is getting fat!

(Wait, that's not quite right...)

We had a lovely holiday chez Worducopia, though not quite complete as I didn't make my mom's stuffing recipe (we had wild rice and mashed potatoes so I decided to cut back on the carbs). Therefore, tonight's dinner will be stuffing, stuffing, and more stuffing! Some may choose to have leftovers with their stuffing; others may just eat stuffing, and my sister's fudge.

The morning cough I'd had for a week finally worked up enough steam to blossom into a full-blown cold on the day after Christmas, so I spent much of the day in bed. I finished Thanksgiving at the Inn, which is less Thanksgiving-ish than it sounds and was the perfect post-Christmas read. I'd been saving it to read with my kids, but our read-aloud time isn't keeping up with our stack of books, so I decided to read it myself for now.

The grandfather Heath never knew has left Heath's father an inheritance with strings attached: Heath and his father must live in and care for the grandfather's inn and its longterm residents. Heath finds himself getting to know his grandfather post mortem, through the memories of this new makeshift family, while his relationship with his recovering-alcoholic father goes from rocky to rockier.

I'd call this a family read. The narrative voice and storyline seems aimed at the 9-12 year old range, but there are more issues (Dad's alcoholism, an autistic neighbor, adults with checkered pasts) than I'd want to hand over to middle grade readers to read alone.

10 comments:

  1. sorry to hear about your cold.
    even more sorry that I have it too.

    so much to do and all I want is to go back to bed.... ;-)

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  2. Aw, Caite, I'm sorry. Hope you feel better soon.

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  3. I hab a code, too. Hobe we boat feel betteh soon.

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  4. I lurve stuffing. You're lucky I live in CA, otherwise I'd be knocking on your door, inviting myself to dinner.

    Sorry you're sick...maybe the stuffing will cure you!

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  5. Care, I feel much better today. Hope you will soon.

    Softdrink, stuffing is one of my favorites, too. Probably partly because I only fix it twice a year.

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  6. I'm glad your cold decided to wait until after Christmas to show itself. Hope you feel better soon!

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  7. It's too bad you have to have a cold period...

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  8. I was so happy to be healthy this christmas. last year I had the stomach flu and couldn't eat a thing! Get better soon...

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  9. Ooh, stuffing!!! I love stuffing and I usually make it for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I skipped it for Christmas, so maybe we'll have it for New Years. Happy holidays!

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  10. Happy post-holiday get well season! Hope you'll visit my Sunday Salon.

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