Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

My June Pride reviews have spilled over into July! Here's another good MG book I read, about a lot more than just being non-binary, but that's part of the character. I think I like it best when the LGBTQ+ issues are balanced with other issues any kid might relate to. P.S. I'm out hiking, but I will return visits and comments!    Title: Just Shy of Ordinary Author: A. J. Sass. Read by P. J. Morgan Publication info: Little, Brown Young Readers, 2024. 7 hours. (Original hardback by Little, Brown, 2024, 384 pages). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (via Goodreads): Thirteen-year-old Shai is an expert problem-solver. There’s never been something they couldn’t research and figure out on their own. But there’s one thing Shai hasn’t been able to logic their way through: picking at the hair on their arms.       Ever since their mom lost her job, the two had to move in with family friends, and the world went into pandemic lockdown, Shai’s been unable to control...

This it the last post about my trip to Utah back in April. But no fear--summer outings have commenced, so I'm not without photos to share! On the last morning of the trip, I got up extra early and headed out solo. No one else wanted to tackle a hike advertised as nearly 10 miles (it was actually barely 9), and I wanted to go fast and early both to beat the heat and crowds, and to have time to make some mileage toward home afterwards. The start of the trail. I believe I was the 5th or 6th car in the parking lot when I started hiking about sunrise. I hadn't gone far before I met two parties coming back, presumably from a very early hike to the Hickman Natural Bridge (less than a mile each way). After that, I saw no one for a very long time. Just the way I like it. Me for the distant goal, something I never had time or will to do before.   A little further on I reached the Hickman Bridge overlook, and enjoyed seeing the bridge for once with no people around it. Look carefully to s...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and I'm excited that it's not only IWSG day, but I get to be a co-host! Purpose:   To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting:   The first Wednesday of every month is officially   Insecure Writer’s Support Group   day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page .    Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and h...

I'm posting today with t he fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.  Since this is Pride month, I'm focusing my MMGM book reviews on middle-grade books about sexual orientation and gender identity.  A note for those wondering if books like this are appropriate for middle-grade kids: 9-13 is exactly the age when kids are entering puberty and starting to think about love, sex, and increasingly, gender identity. That makes it exactly the age when they need books that openly address the things that happen in middle school besides using a locker and changing classrooms six times a day. If 10-year-olds are old enough to be thinking about kissing their girl/boy friends (and they are thinking about it, so... yeah), then they are old enough to read about it.   This week's book tells a story of first love from two perspectives.   T...

I got distracted this week and didn't finish editing the photos I meant to share today, so I'm giving you a story to read instead.  This is a story from the Ninja Librarian's world, written in 2013 for a flash fiction challenge requiring me to include a list of words. I used it as an excuse to give a voice to one of the secondary characters in  The Ninja Librarian , I think as I was working on or just as I published the second book in the series,  Return to Skunk Corners . Without further ado, here's Tess, of Two-Timin' Tess's Tavern with her take on the arrival of the Ninja Librarian in Skunk Corners.   Tess's Tale   Everyone knows Big Al, the chief storyteller of Skunk Corners. And Tom himself has had a thing or two to say from time to time, but in my opinion the time has come for some of us common folk of Skunk Corners to have a turn. So, Tess Noreen here, of Two-Timin' Tess's Tavern, to tell you how it was the day Ninja Tom ...

    Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads): Two kids join forces to save a dog . . . but wind up saving each other. Ash is no stranger to feeling like an outcast. For someone who cycles through genders, it’s a daily struggle to feel in control of how people perceive you. Some days Ash is undoubtedly girl, but other times, 100 percent guy. Daniel lacks control too—of his emotions. He’s been told he’s overly sensitive more times than he can count. He can’t help the way he is, and he sure wishes someone would accept him for it. So when Daniel’s big heart leads him to rescue a dog that’s about to be euthanized, he’s relieved to find Ash willing to help. The two bond over their four-legged secret. When they start catching feelings for each other, however, things go from cute to complicated. Daniel thinks Ash is all girl . . . what happens when he finds out there’s more to Ash’s story? With so much on the line—truth, identity, acceptance, and the life of an adorable pup named Ch...

I'm nearing the end of my photos from the April trip to Utah, but I still have a couple more posts' worth. After spending the early morning at the Devil's Garden , we headed into the town of Escalante for  snacks and  showers (about $9 with tax at the Escalante Outfitters, so one of my pricier showers but much overdue--as some will remember from my May IWSG post ). We promptly undid much of the effect of the showers by launching on a late-morning hike up the Escalante River to Escalante Arch and Cliff Ruins Arch. I usually avoid hiking in the desert at mid-day, but the trail was flat and promised at least some shade, so we went for it. Spoiler alert: it was hot. Overlooking the Escalante River. The line of trees following the curve of the cliff shows where the river runs. Cottonwoods and red cliffs. The Escalante River. The word "river" is an elastic term; in the desert things are "rivers" that in Western Washington would barely qualify as "streams...