Rocket Girl

Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan by George D. Morgan
2013
Weight: 13 oz
Method of Disposal: Lending Library

I am so glad Mary Sherman Morgan had a son named George.  She may not have been the most affectionate or "regular" mother but, it is because of him, that Mary's story is being told, and it is a pretty incredible story.  I would be very interested in seeing his screenplay about her as well.  I bet that is really good.

Mary was an incredible woman and responsible for creating hydyne, which would be the fuel America would use to launch its first satellite into space.  She was the only woman working as an "analyst" with all the engineers after the war was over.  She was an "analyst" because she had not been able to complete college once she had gone to work for the war effort and so did not have a degree.  She was a poor young woman from North Dakota.  She was trusted by her peers to take on one of the most important and impressive projects despite all of this, and she did not let her boss or the people above him down.  Then, one day, she leaves it all behind to go be a mom full-time.  Apparently, a chain-smoking, card-shuffling, disconnected mom, but a mom after all that.

That being said, I think some people will like this book for the same reason I sometimes had trouble with it.  The author took a lot of artistic license to make the book more readable and more like a story than a heavy, non-fiction read.  The dialogue is imagined by George but based on information he has collected from people who knew his mom and other research.  There were moments you so badly wanted to be true but could tell by the lack of other people there to witness those moments that you would never really know if the details were spot on.  Moments when his mom was alone and making massive, important changes in her life.  We read her as being someone who is not very loving or doting with her children.  She does not brag about herself or her work.  She seems to live a very compartmentalized life and so it is hard to know if these moments were things she shared with her family or if they were fabricated. 

Overall,  I say read it.  It is a great book and an even more great story.

Clown Girl

Clown Girl by Monica Drake
2007
Weight: 14 lbs
Method of Disposal: Lending Library

I bought this book back when I thought Chuck Palahnuik was where it was at.  I had bought and read everything he put out, and there was nothing else.  Then, I found this book where he stated that Monica Drake was a better writer than him and bought it.  As time has gone on, I have realized that I am not nearly as much of a fan of Chuck now as I was 15 years ago.  I still like unusual/bleak/shocking/dark fiction, but I think I require more from it now.  I want to know and believe in the characters, and I want to feel empathy for them even when they are down and out, dingy and gross.  The largest trouble I have is believing in the characters and, I'm sorry, but Chuck does not do his women characters much justice.

Monica is someone different entirely, but I still struggled to connect in any real way to anyone in this book.  I could hardly even imagine them or see them.  I could not get lost in Baloneytown.  I really really wanted to, but I just could not.  A full-time clown, some sadistic roommates, a dishonest and vicious clown boyfriend, and a morally astute police officer--all making a life in Baloneytown.  The clown was our main character.  She was hiding behind her costume and make-up.  She took too many herbal supplements and was slowly killing herself, but a police officer was watching and waiting to rescue her.  Eventually, she would learn how to rescue herself by slowly taking accountability for her own actions and taking off her mask.

I just could not get into it, but maybe I would have liked it in a different time, at a different point in my life.  It was definitely weird enough.  That part was not lacking!