Story for the Week
As an old Gen Xer, I grew out of my chunky earring phase a while ago. In my 20s, I did the whole big-as-possible earring phase—hoops that reached my shoulders, feathers, drop earrings with multiple layers. They were attention-getters and amazing…and heavy. 🤣
When Dennis and I married, he replaced the vast majority of my costume jewelry with real gold. Birthday, anniversary, and Christmas gifts almost always included earrings. Most of them weren’t more than an inch or two long, if that. After Corinne, I stopped wearing earrings every day because babies like to pull on earrings, and…well…that hurts.
I don’t know what possessed me to get my ears pierced back in college. At the time, needles still terrified me (I’ll Watch Gore But Can NOT Tolerate Needles). I also have a pretty low pain tolerance and almost didn’t let them pierce the second ear. At the end of the day, I’m glad I went through with it. I would have hated to go through the pain of one ear and then let the hole close.
When we had Corinne, a lot of people assumed we would pierce her ears when she was small. Personally, I didn’t see the point since I didn’t pierce mine until college. I also didn’t want to have to turn the earrings constantly until the holes healed. Once Corinne was old enough to think about earrings, she looked at clip-ons first. Clip-ons have come a long way since I was her age. She’s invested so much money—and gotten so many compliments on the earrings she wears—that she’s not really inclined to switch to pierced.
Corinne’s tastes run more to the whimsical side. She buys sets with yellow ducks, gummy bears, water bottles. 🙄 I scoffed the first time she ordered a set, telling her that they seemed a little too kid-ish. But then she received a compliment from a family friend in her 30s who said she wears the same gummy bears in a different color. 🤦♀️ I was forced to acquiesce and admit that my opinion might be a little old-ish. So a couple of years ago, I actually bought her a set of Halloween and Christmas earrings for her birthday.
On our cruise this summer (A Disney Cruise Makes for the Best Vacation), Corinne and her friend Jakub went out of their way to match their earrings to their outfits. Both packed multiple pairs. (For comparison, my packing list literally says “Earrings – wear one pair.”)
The complete opposite of Corinne’s whimsical style, Jakub wears bold, chunky earrings and says that they make him feel bold. The day we arrived on the ship, he wore a set of bedazzled lemon wedges along with a Limoncello t-shirt. He received a TON of compliments on the earrings. Near the end of the cruise, a couple passed us near an elevator. One of them doubled back and commented on another pair of earrings Jakub was wearing. Then he asked if Jakub had been wearing lemon wedges earlier in the week. When Jakub confirmed, he said that he liked those earrings too.
The boldest earrings I wear these days relate to books. (I know you’re surprised. 🤣) I own a couple of pairs that look like an open book and one a colorful stack of books that I wear to book events at our library. I also took them with me this weekend to Happily Indie After, a book convention in Ohio. It might have been the only time my packing list read “Earrings (3) – wear one)” because the event spanned two days. I also bought a pair while I was there. 🤫
The book reviewed below takes place in a high school, so a lot of different styles and personalities. One of the characters wears chunky earrings that play a key role at one point in the book. The main character describes them as “truly incredible earrings: giant hunks of gold that take up half her earlobes, curved to look like croissants.”
Giant hunks of gold would be perfect for Jakub…but then croissants feel more like whimsy for Corinne. Can something be both bold and whimsical? Maybe they could find a pair and share them. You know, like those best friend necklaces that come in two halves? They could each wear one. Corinne would have to get her ears pierced though, and then what would she do with her rubber ducks and gummy bears? 😉
Book Review
⭐⭐½
2.5 Stars for Deadly Little Lessons by Danielle Valentine
320 pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 15, 2026
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers.
Publisher’s Description
Luminary is more than just a school. It is a test of moral fiber, strength of will, and human resilience.
Lia Michaels can pick any lock and break into most computer systems. But a life of delinquency has her bouncing between foster homes and juvie. So when she applies to Luminary Prep, a new experimental school created to challenge academic conventions, Lia is surprised by the acceptance letter that follows.
With state-of-the-art technology, fancy cafeteria food, and a campus that looks like a painting come to life, Luminary seems to be the break Lia needs. That is, if she can excel in class and be one of only five students who will be allowed to graduate.
But classes at Luminary are…odd. And dangerous. There is a death-trap obstacle course in Physics, a Chemistry exam with explosives, and guillotines in Political Science. As students keep vanishing, one by one, Lia starts to wonder if it’s not that five students will graduate—but that only five will survive.
************
Main Characters:
- Lia Michaels – 17 years old, stuck in the foster care system since her mother Cynthia died when she was born, her father Eli set off a bomb at Blackwood College where they were both grad students, she has been getting into trouble and being kicked out of school after school her entire childhood, wants to study fashion design at Blackwood
- Scarlett Randall – Lia’s foster sister, Lia calls her universally beloved, their foster mother tells Lia that she is enrolling Scarlett at the seemingly prestigious Luminary and knows that Lia will want to go with her
- Zo Carter – one of the 50 students in Luminary’s inaugural class, loves computers and wants to study computer science at MIT
- Seven Wells – one of the 50 students in Luminary’s inaugural class, a YouTube beauty influencer, their conservative southern grandmother sent them to Luminary, wants to study the business of beauty and fragrance at Savannah College of Art and Design
- Mando Rivera – one of the 50 students in Luminary’s inaugural class, wants to attend UCLA and become a filmmaker, Scarlett immediately develops a crush on him
- Ian St. Clair – one of the 50 students in Luminary’s inaugural class, attended school with Lia and Scarlett and was always competitive with Scarlett so Lia doesn’t like him
- Rani Kapoor – one of the 50 students in Luminary’s inaugural class, Lia immediately finds herself attracted to him and intrigued when he pickpockets another student’s watch
- Wyatt Sullivan – Dean of Luminary Preparatory Institute
- Ashlyn Rogers – a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) at Luminary
This book challenged me in a lot of ways. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s a young adult novel, I likely would have rated it 2 stars full stop.
Set at Luminary Preparatory Institute, which is beginning its inaugural class with 50 students, it feels like a cross between Divergent and The Hunger Games (without the hunting). Even one of the characters goes by the name Seven, which made me think of Four from Divergent.
According to the school’s web site:
Luminary Preparatory Institute is an innovative new school that aims to address the current limitations of the American educational system. Here, outdated conventions are challenged and reimagined.…Luminary prioritizes deep focus, cognitive rigor, and character development. Confidentiality, ethics, and discipline are built into the very structure of the student body, preparing graduates not just for college—but for leadership in the age of complexity.
At first, Lia embraces Luminary. Having bounced between foster homes and schools, including some stints in juvie, Lia appreciates the comfort of Luminary. Her own room, a comfortable bed, and amazing meals make up for the strict code of conduct. And her foster sister Scarlett, who is her best friend, attends the school with her. This seems to be her best opportunity to attend the college of her dreams and turn her life around.
Lia makes a promise herself. She must be one of the five students to graduate. As the semester progresses and students leave the program, however, Lia begins to question whether students are truly as safe as the teachers claim they are. When she comes to doubt their safety, she decides she needs to find a way off of the locked and guarded campus.
I like the premise, and I do think this is a story that teens and young adults may enjoy. That said, there were so many things that bothered me about it. First and foremost, the description mentions that Lia applies to Luminary. Readers will find out early on that Lia doesn’t actually choose Luminary. Her foster mother manipulates her into going by saying she is sending Scarlett, knowing that Lia will go.
Several parts make up the book. The first part, titled Admissions, includes chapters that all start with an ethical question. I assume that these represent some of the essay questions on the admissions application, but nothing in the chapter relates to the question or how Lia answers. I don’t really see the point of including them.
As we get into the actual school semester, the title of each chapter tells us how many of the 50 students remain. But the chapter doesn’t always tell us how the students left. For example, at the beginning of the chapter named “47 Students Remaining,” the text confirms that 47 students remain. One could assume, then, that 46 students remain in the next chapter, titled “46 Students Remaining.” But the action in the 46 chapter begins in the exact moments after the 47 chapter, and no one left in 47 chapter. So why the number change? Telling us randomly how many students remain without any context doesn’t advance the story at all.
As a main character, Lia isn’t very likeable to me, and she’s clearly supposed to be the hero of the story here—someone who excels, saves the day, and turns her life around. Lia tells us: “In all seventeen years of my life, I’ve never once managed to avoid getting kicked out of school. I was kicked out of day care for stealing extra graham crackers and juice during snack time. (They kept them in the kitchen behind a simple door lock. It was child’s play. Literally.)” She’s bragging about being a thief since day care. I don’t understand how we’re expected to root for her.
The author also throws in too many random and conflicting characteristics. Lia plays tough…daughter of a criminal, a girl who grew up without stability and had to figure out her own way. But she ends up with two conflicting love interests that add absolutely nothing to the story. In the middle of questioning her safety, she thinks about throwing herself at one of the boys, pushing him up against the wall, and having her way with him. It’s just…not necessary.
Lia tells us multiple times she never cries. And for someone who “never cries,” she cries an awful lot, so I don’t know who she’s trying to convince:
- “I don’t cry, but I can feel something wet gathering around my eyes, a purely physical response to the pain, something I can’t control.”
- “I feel a strange flutter in my chest, and for a moment, I think I might cry.”
- “I blink, surprised to feel something wet gathering at the corner of my eye. I don’t cry. I never cry.”
- “And now I can’t help it. I release an ugly, mangled sob. And then I start to cry for real.”
- “I swallow and look out the window until I can be sure I’m not going to cry.“
- “Ian wraps around me, holding me tightly to his chest while I cry like a baby, completely soaking his dumb polo shirt.”
- “I don’t cry. I never cry, and yet I feel tears pricking my eyes.”
A couple other idiosyncrasies about the book just bugged me. Lia regularly refers to Scarlett as “Scar,” which just made me think of the character from The Lion King. Who calls their sister Scar on a regular basis? And then Lia tells another student that he looks like a hyena that tried to dress itself…which made me think more of The Lion King. And the number of times something twitches—curtains, mouths, lips, eyes, fingers. Please, pick another verb.
To top it all off, there is a huge plot point that should be a big reveal but feels almost like a throwaway at the end of the book. It sounds like a lead-in to a series of books with Lia as the main character, but it’s also a bit unbelievable. Again, teens or young adults might not have an issue with it.
This story and probably this author as a whole are not for me.
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