The Guy

with whom I pastor has a daughter who did her undergrad at Greenville University in Greenville, IL where The Best at It is set.  She then went on to Princeton Theological Seminary and is now an ordained American Baptist pastor, serving as chaplain at the Vandalia Correctional Facility.  You can read a cool interview with her here.
Thing is, Erika is 18 years younger than I am.  I was the Associate Pastor at the church in which she was raised.  I don't know what kind of impact I had on her life, but I can tell you she has made a huge impact on mine.
First of all, when she was going through the process of being ordained, she was firm in her commitment to our siblings in Christ who are members of the LBGTQ community.  She fought for her right to say proudly and with assurance that gay people are no different from straight people when it comes to being children of God and therefore their rights, marriage and otherwise, she upholds and affirms.  In this corner of the world, there are still people who don't seem to get this.  And there was push back, but Erika stood firm.
I did not.  Back when I was ordained in the mid-90s, I stood before my ordination council and said what they wanted to hear, not what I really believed and not what is true in God's eyes.  I was asked if marriage should only be between a man and a woman.  And I said yes.  How wrong I was and how I regret that.  But here was Erika, probably the same age that I was (mid to late 20s) and standing proudly for with God on her side, promoting God's word, not the word of the world.  Proclaiming love, not the hate and fear and ignorance of people who are still struggling to hear the loving, inclusive word of God.
On Sunday I was preaching at a nursing home in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and her mom and her grandmother (who is a resident there) were in attendance.  I was honored to be able to tell Erika's grandmother what an example the Rev. Erika Spring is to me.
Oh I do go on, don't I?
Let me get back to the book, and thank you for letting me share about one of my heroes in the faith!
The Best at It is a beautiful story about young Indian-American boy coming of age and discovering that he is gay.  The book isn't just a preachy "this is a story about a gay kid" kinda book, the characters are real and racism is addressed and bullying and all that kids and we deal with in the world.
Funny in places and it will make you laugh and cry. I highly recommend The Best at It.  The author, Maulik Pancholy can certainly say that he is doing what he loves and we readers are all the better for it!

Before and After

The Ethan I was Before has a great cover and a great title and it really is a great book.  I just thought that the end dragged just a wee-wee bit with the fox cubs.  The fox cubs were the only thing that kept this from being a 5 star for me, but I get why they were important.  This was an incredibly powerful book.  If there could have been some other way to work in heroism/sacrifice by Coralee, for me, this would have been one of the best books I read all year.  Highly recommended, but the foxes just took a lot a way for me. 

In My Humble Opinion

Rita Williams-Garcia is going to go down as one of the finest writers for young people of all time.  Her talent is incredible.  The Gaither Sisters are among the best characters in children's literature.   If, after reading this awesome historical/period fiction series, you need anymore proof of that, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground is sure to make you see that I am right.  I count her right up there with the greats for being able to take a reader back in time, and/or into a character's mind and world, all of that which makes a book a magical trip, you know?  Like Christopher Paul Curtis, like Katherine Paterson, like Gary Paulsen, like Madeleine L'Engle.
I don't know much about the Blues.  I wish I did.  This novel and my recent trip to New Orleans were I heard some great street blues bands, makes me want to know more.  Here is a great website that helped me understand the difference between blues and jazz music!  The novel begins in Washington Square Park where Clayton is playing blues with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd and Papa Byrd's friends in a blues band called the Bluesmen.  A lot of the book takes place in the subway system of NYC.  Just a great, great book.