Growing Up and Other Vices Book

This is a cute book. It's not a story book, it's more a "make yourself a cup of tea and curl up and reminisce" kind of book. Grab a cat and/ or a blanket. Comfy? Ok!

Think back to when you were a kid and you were excited to meet a new person that your parents were going to see and your mother said something like, "This person has always felt that children should be seen rather than heard." Remember how you felt? That, "whoa! what the heck? I'm a person, too, it's not like I run around in circles screaming! I'm a good citizen. I like people and I like to talk to them and meet them, why wouldn't they want to talk to me just because I'm a kid?" That's kind of what this book is about -- remembering those little moments and feelings from childhood. It's amazing how well she can remember and I find myself nodding. "Oh yes, I had forgotten about the pleasure of discovering this or the injustice of that!"

How adults seem to think children don't get headaches. I never got that line personally (fortunately I was surrounded by caring people generally), but I remember a young friend of mine having a headache come on suddenly while we were on a bus trip somewhere and some sour old biddy making a comment like, "Well she felt fine ten minutes ago!" No kidding, jerk, that's how it happens sometimes.

If you go into it that way, not expecting it to be like something else you've read, I think you will appreciate it more. I loved it and found it quite clever.