House and Home--Kathleen McCleary (book review)

House and Home is the story of a woman obsessed with her home and the meaning it holds for herself and her family. Ellen's husband has lost their life's savings in an inventor's investment gone wrong and her marriage is over. She can live with that, but not with the fact that she and her two young daughters will have to move across town to a perfectly nice home that doesn't hold the same appeal. Not only that, but one of the new owners irritates her, and for this reason she decides to burn the house down.

In order to enjoy this book, you have to get over the fact that the main character is throwing a mid-life tantrum because she doesn't get to live in her perfect house.

Underneath that, though, is an apt commentary on the emphasis that American culture puts on the perfect home creating the backdrop for the way we want to see ourselves and to be seen. We know that the joy of life is made up of far more important things than hardwood floors and big windows, and yet how much do we covet lazy Sunday mornings with Fiestaware cups of coffee and patches of sun on a beautiful hardwood floor? Ellen's story puts it all into perspective in a big way.

The Soundtrack: An old favorite of mine, Our House by Crosby Stills Nash and Young, which probably better reflects my own attitude towards home than Ellen's.

Our house is a very very very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you.

This review is part of a promotional book tour, which I am participating in as a volunteer. The opinions are my own, and have not been endorsed or approved by TLC Book Tours, the author, or the publisher. Other stops on the tour can be found at the TLC Book Tours site.

What day is it again?

I'm on vacation, mostly without internet access. More importantly, my brain is on vacation and I don't think I could write a coherent review of Hop on Pop right now, much less my pile of books awaiting review. In fact, I just messed up when cooking Hot Pockets in the microwave, because I misinterpreted their use of the word "unwrapped." The three-hour time change from west coast to east coast flattens me every time.

So, I thought I'd post a little update on what I'm reading. Not Hop on Pop, you'll be happy to know.

I just finished Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same, by Mattox Roesch, to be published September 8th. It's about a kid named Cesar whose mother moves him from a troubled life in L.A. to the remote Alaskan village where she was raised. Cesar is part native but never identified as such. Kind of Northern Exposure with a gang-involved teenager instead of a doctor. The writing style is deceptively simple, and the character development is both delightful and heartbreaking. I loved it, and I'm bummed that I'll miss Roesch's book tour stop at Annie Bloom's Books in Portland on September 10th.

Hey, I think I just reviewed a book.

I'm currently reading NurtureShock, which delves into various counter-intuitive facts about children and how to raise them. It's research-based and I'm finding it fascinating reading. How does praise affect the way kids learn? Why do kids lie, and how do they get good at it? How does being marked as "gifted" in kindergarten impact performance in third grade and above?

This book will affect how I parent and how I homeschool, and if my kids were in school it would heavily impact my decisions about their schooling. I'm looking forward to writing about the specifics in depth, but this advance copy contains explicit instructions not to share the specifics of any of the research until the book is released, which will be September 3.


I just started Kathleen McCleary's House and Home and it kept me up too late last night because I had to know what was going to happen. From the publisher: The story of a woman who loves her house so much that she'll do just about anything to keep it.

Ellen Flanagan has two precious girls to raise, a cozy neighborhood coffee shop to run, terrific friends, and a sexy husband. She adores her house, a yellow Cape Cod filled with quirky antiques, beloved nooks and dents, and a million memories. But now, at forty-four, she's about to lose it all.

After eighteen roller-coaster years of marriage, Ellen's husband, Sam--who's charismatic, spontaneous, and utterly irresponsible--has disappointed her in more ways than she can live with, and they're getting divorced. Her daughters are miserable about losing their daddy. Worst of all, the house that Ellen loves with all her heart must now be sold.

I have mixed feelings about this one so I won't say any more about it until I've finished and had some time to think it over.

I have guest posts scheduled here and there throughout the next couple of weeks. If any of my readers are interested in contributing an additional guest post, I'd love for you to submit a post to me at worducopia/at/gmail/dot/com between now and September 8, 2009.