Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney

Here's a bite (pun intended) about the book snagged from Ms. Kwasney's website:  Doomed loves, failed families, nixed dreams—someone else's leftovers are heaped on our plates the day we come into this world.


Big Macs and pop tunes mask the emptiness as Madeline watches her mom drink away their welfare checks. Until the day Tad, a quirky McDonald's counter boy, asks Madeline out for a date, and she gets her first taste of normal. But with a life that’s anything but, how long can normal really last?

Hanging with Jeremy, avoiding Mam, sticking Do Not Disturb Post-its on her heart, Desiree's mission is simple: party hard, graduate (well, maybe), get out of town. But after Desiree accepts half a meatball grinder, a cold drink, and a ride from her mother's boyfriend one rainy afternoon, nothing is ever simple again.

Too many AP classes. Workaholic mom. Dad in prison. Still, Ariel's sultry new boyfriend, Shane, manages to make even the worst days delicious. But when an unexpected phone call forces a trip to visit a sick grandmother she's never met, revealing her family's dark past, Ariel struggles to find the courage to make the right choice for her own future.

As three girls from three different decades lives converge, they discover they are connected ways they could never imagine. Each of them finds strength that brings her closer to healing a painful past, and faith that there is a happier future.
 
My Take
 
This wound up being my final book of the year.  This little gem was number 100.  I saw this on a list for teens, made by teens, for my library (I try to keep up with what they're talking about).  I enjoyed this book a great deal.
 
One of the girls sections was even written in free verse.  You know that's been my thing lately.  Anyway, for all of their differences, these girls had undercurrents of similarities.  You know we're all more alike than we realize.  They were all very different people though.  The times were different and I thought that part was really cool too.  I had my favorites of the girls, but loved their stories individually and the meshing of them as well.
 
I kept thinking, now I know these girls have to be linked in some way.  It took awhile, but did start becoming clear.  However, there was one final link between all of them that I never saw coming.  It was like lightning out of a clear blue sky.  Where did that come from?!  It was awesome!  Hats off to Ms. Kwasney for sneaking that one in there and blowing me away with it. 
 
I loved this book because it told you that while yes, we come into life with leftovers, it's all in how you use them.  It told girls that it's okay to value who you are and NOT allow yourself to be abused or taken advantage of.  It spoke to the strength of women, whether we know it or not.  We, as women tend to sell ourselves short or let ourselves feel 'less than'.  This book celebrates women in all of their flawed, broken, but still amazingly strong states.  And the cover is very cool really.  I'm giving it 5 kisses!

Balance, Timing and Other Elusive Things

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life thus far, it’s that the majority of it comes down to timing. I’ve also found that balance is an important factor. Both of these pieces of information, I never would have paid attention to when I was younger. Similar to the adage that ‘time goes fast’. You never truly understand these things until you’ve journeyed a little farther down life’s path.

Of all things, I find balance to be the most precarious. How to give enough energy to those things that truly need it, and to throw a mental roadblock in front of those that can wait. I love writing and enjoy spending my time doing it. It is my thing that belongs to me, what I do for my “me” time. I would write everyday if I could squeeze in time to do so. However, like everyone else, I have other issues requiring my attention, and it’s not always realistic for me to write every day. I work full-time, single and only parent to an amazing teenager, I have family ties and the list sometimes never seems to end. I’ve learned to accept my timing and manage my own balancing act. I think I have it down pretty well at this point. Please ignore the laundry and the gargantuan dust bunnies.

I’ve learned that each of our journeys as writers, is drastically different from one another’s. If I don’t write every day, it doesn’t make me any less a writer or any better a parent. If I wrote every day for eight hours per day, I’m not sure it would make me a better writer; I think I would simply produce work at a faster pace. I believe whatever vehicle we use on our journey is fine, as long as we keep chugging along. Now if I could just work on my powers of persuasion.