Mary Heim

A lot of what I found here is speaking to what I think our reader needs.

who wrote in is talking about.

She wants to be transported.

She wants to be held.

She wants something that will meet her attention right where it's at.

And I think these do that really well too.

Well, you know, I think the thing, first of all, I know my lane.

I'm not necessarily going to be the one to go to for fast paced, grab you right away.

And I, of course, I'm drawn to the slower paced kind of gently tugging you in.

It feels like Catherine Newman, right?

Wreck, Sandwich, Her Backlist.

That is who I really think does it well when we're talking about books like this.

One that I thought of that I shared in my most recent episode before this one, Before I Go by Tori Henwood Hone.

Kind of this like magical realism, but also grappling with a father with Alzheimer's and his passing that I think does just enough, but not too much for our reader here.

You know, I also often turn to middle grade.

And I think I talked about this last time too, in times where my brain can't really grab onto anything.

I think Kelly Barnhill does this best of all, The Ogress and the Orphans.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, easy to get into, well-written.

They manage some tough stuff, but by design as middle grade, they're not going to traumatize you.

They're not here to do that, right?