May day readings
I've been on a real reading jag this week. The stars have aligned and I have had both time and opportunity so I have made the most of it. I started with "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. I met Christina a few years ago at an April is for Author's event and I wanted to read her book then and something happened (something shiny! Or maybe a squirrel!) and I completely forgot about it. Until this week when I was wandering through the YA section at my local library and found it again. What a treat this book is. It's about a girl living a privileged life in Cuba just as the Revolution starts. Her biggest worries are what her hair looks like and if her nails match her outfit. Things change fast though and at first, Lucia just wants to play along. She wants to go to parties with her friends (even if they are sponsored by the party), she wants to go shopping, she wants to read fashion magazines but her mom wants her stay in the...