Brittany > Recent Status Updates

Disclaimer for my incoming rating: this 4 is a strong 4.75⭐️ I can’t put my finger on exactly why it’s not a 5 for me. Those are typically gut feelings I have and trust and reserve for the most impactful of books for various reasons. Miracle Creek comes veryyyy very close, so I had to distinguish this from my 4 star ratings that are firmly 4 stars. Goodreads, please pretty please give us half stars!

I actually can’t fathom how there’s another 30% of the book left. It’s just going to be more of the same

If this wasn’t a book club read, would immediately be a DNF

This book is sickening…

“They ask if I feel bad about beating him. I say, ‘I would never want to deprive anybody of the learning experience of losing.’”

“No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything.”

“You know everything you need to know about people when you see their faces at the moments of your greatest triumph.””

“Don’t hope he double faults. Don’t hope he misses. You control what you can control.”

“The tennis bag is a lot like your heart. You have to know what’s in it at all times.”

“No athletes talk to themselves like tennis players”

“Every match is a life in miniature”

The ending is just daring me to knock it down to 1 star

This is so dumb…

Okay this is too much Shakespeare😳 I feel like I’m back in Ms. Penick’s English class…

Oh my goodness a ROUGH chapter to be a boy mom

And this is why you don’t share baby names with people. They may hate the name but are they really going to hate a newborn baby when they see it and have that name associated with them?

“You know I despite the notion of Texas with every atom in my being. A hot, barren wasteland of tumbleweed and people carrying guns and wearing cowboy boots.”

Well, I NEVER. The nerve of Evans to talk about God’s country that way…

Why do politics need to be in this book? Authors, please keep your personal politics out of fiction books.

Oh my goodness they’re playing mahjong🤣 how fitting for the moment haha, I love it

Giggling because this scene reminds me of Hermione going into Gringotts disguised as Bellatrix🤭

Chapters 6&7 should be required reading for all parents of kids who play sports. As a parent, your behavior at your kid’s sporting events is incredibly impactful, positive or negative. You have to model the type of behavior you want out of your child. Also, the car ride home can, in many cases, be more important than the game/match. Use that as a chance to support your child, not overwhelm them.

“Don’t prop yourself up as the sage on the stage. Instead quietly guide from the side.”

“When pressure overtakes curiosity, fear sets in and the athlete eventually implodes. Either a: the subliminal pressure gets too great and he opts out altogether or b: the fear of disappointing the only true opinion that seems to matter, their parents’, becomes too much to bear and quitting feels safer than navigating the unknown”

“Have enough faith in them to let them fail”

“The voice that will resonate most deeply with them will be yours, for better or for worse”

Why does this have so many similarities to The Last Time We Saw Her by Jaclyn Goldis?? Getting déjà vu here!

This bullying tangent😑 Author says something about kids being “psychologically safer” at home. Please. If your kid is so sensitive you have to shield them from potentially experiencing some teasing from other kids, you’re making the case for them NOT to be homeschooled.

“Homeschooling is not about ticking boxes.” This from a person who created a movement called 1000 Hours Outside that has associated worksheets literally for the express purpose of checking boxes for every hour outside instead of simply enjoying the outdoors…

She keeps referencing a “slip of paper” or “rolled up parchment” as if a diploma is all traditional school amounts to. I’ve never once heard a teacher tell us we’re working toward that and never felt that way in the slightest. What an odd idea.

This book certainly references an awful lot of other books…yawn. Not my style. Also did public school hurt you, Ginny? When she says her homeschool kids are flourishing, how is that defined? And is that because of or in spite of their schooling? Food for thought.