Back to School

Today is the first day back to school for my high school junior and high school freshman. I’m thrilled to have both girls together again at the same school. I even convinced them to start off the school year in the same activity. Cross Country wasn’t their first choice, but so far they seem to like it. For me, this is just the beginning.

I have dreams of my two girls living out their twenties as roommates and, of course, best friends. Every time I mention it, in my fortune teller, I can predict the future, fashion, they roll their eyes and snicker to one another. I know what they’re thinking, our mother is crazy! It’s OK, I’m not offended.

I figure if I present the notion like, this is going to happen so don’t bother to fight it then maybe it actually will.

My Sister and Me

Then I think back to my own sister and our high school relationship. There was some hair pulling in the halls of our high school alma mater, good old Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro. The nuns must have thought we were nuts. There was also some lightweight weapon wielding after school when we were left to our own devices to figure out who’d do the dusting and who’d do the vacuuming. How this divvying of tasks always ended up in some kind of physical assault on one another is beyond me. If I recall correctly, our weapons of choice were sharp fingernails and a marble rolling pin. Thankfully the rolling pin was merely a scare tactic that never made actual contact. The nails, on the other hand, definitely left their mark.

Yet, today my sister is my best friend and I rely on her support and hilarious sense of humor to get me through the typical trials and tribulations of rearing teenage girls.

I just want the same level of closeness between my girls. Is that too much to ask? I figure if they can begin building their bond sooner than later then all the better.

Keep the Dream Alive

However, if their constant bickering is any indication, I may have to wait a little bit for the closeness to kick in. In the meanwhile, I’ll keep dreaming of their shared city apartment and how cool it will be for me to visit them together in one spot.

Go ahead, call me crazy, but at least I’ve given up the hope of them going to the same college.

As far as summer reading goes, I haven’t done any. It’s as if I’m a kid avoiding summer school assignments. I have no idea why I’ve been so book averse other than to say that my attention span has been compromised by summer distractions.

I suppose the problem started when Book Club went on summer hiatus. Although we tried to fit in one last meeting in June, it just didn’t come together. This left our last pick, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, undiscussed – until now.

It’s been quite a while since I read the book,  so I’ll begin with…

The Synopsis (available at Goodreads)

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

The Review

I enjoyed Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, however I wish I’d read the book before watching the HBO miniseries.  The show, starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, was riveting. Every catty remark and adulterous twist and turn had me on the edge of my seat. The focus on moms of school-aged children was comfortably familiar. Yet, the murderous subplot was off the charts intriguing.

The book fell short for me because knowing all of the juicy TV details left me reading with far too much anxious anticipation. I just kept thinking – let’s get to the good stuff, I know it’s coming.

I also found some of the show to book inconsistencies challenging. The show took place in California while the book is set in Australia and character descriptions didn’t quite match which shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

Bottom line – Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty was a really good book and an unbelievable show that I should have indulged in in reverse order.

Coming Up

I’m anxious to get Book Club back on track so that I can be motivated to again focus on the wonderful world of reading. A possible next pick – The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. I’ve heard wonderful things about it.

Recommendations welcome!