Eating the Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis

Crazy. . crazy funny. that's the only way to describe this book. Ms. Ellis has to be crazy too. Its about three high school girls that are not friends. However, they impact each other's lives in a big way. The story follows these girls from jr. high to their early college years. Think Mean Girls meets Girl Interrupted.

Sarina is the beeotch of the three. Totally beautiful, cheerleader type. She's not only mean, but a tad evil. The things that she does to get her way cause major problems. She doesn't just spread dirty rumours. Bitty Jack is sweet, smart, not so pretty. . . average looking. Her life is impacted by the horrible things that Sarina does to her and her family from jr. high all the way to college. Lastly, there is Nicole. Nicole and Sarina were best friends in jr. high. She is obsessed with Sarina. Obsessed 'til the very end.

Not only is this story about three girls, but it also gives insight into why they are they way that they are. Their mothers are also part of the story. The mothers are the ones instigating, supporting, and pressuring. We (women) all turn into our mothers. . . . Crap!

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

When I was in my early teens my cousin Becky made a group of us sit down to watch a movie called Like Water for Chocolate. I remember the event vaguely but I remember the way the movie made me feel vividly. Though I've never known oppression like Tita, I strongly related to her character. So when I saw the book for sale at a used bookstore I was immediately drawn to the sole copy on the shelf. It was beat up and clearly read dozens of times over.

Each chapter begins with an authentic Mexican recipe and throughout the chapter Tita is cooking that recipe. Tita is the youngest of three daughters. She is also a great cook. She learned from early childhood. She takes great care in preparing the family’s meals, but somehow all her most passionate emotions flood into her cooking. Then all that eat her cooking will feel what she felt while she was cooking. Dinnertime can become quite dramatic, but Laura Esquivel manages to make it humorous at the same time. As the youngest daughter, tradition has it that Tita will live out her life only to be her mother’s caretaker or nurse until the day her mother dies. She cannot move away or marry. We can all agree that this is the dumbest tradition ever, but its one that is strictly enforced in Tita's family. Tita has a great love for Pedro, but Mama Elena denies their love. The older sister's are free to marry, so Pedro uses this as a way to stay close to Tita. All she can do is sit by and watch. But through the power of her cooking Tita tries to control the events around her. She fights desperately to break the tradition because she does not want to see her beloved niece follow in the same fate as her. The passion in Tita is explosive, literally. There is a lot of magic in this book but I think that is a use of symbolism for passion.

Even though I fell in love with this book I gave my copy away. It just so happens that my aunt Lydia came to visit shortly after I was done reading it. I gave the book to her inscribing "for my Aunt Lydia a book of traditions". She is probably the only one of my family members who enjoys reading the way that I do. I thought of her life, her oppressions growing up and even the ones she lives with now. Thank you Aunt Lydia for everything you've ever done for my family. You were there at many points in our lives when we needed family the most.

jermi's

sarah threw a very low maintenance party for her friend victoria. rod and i got a sitter and made a night of it. even though it was victoria's birthday, i think that morty had the most fun of any one. he was ALL over the place!