Story for the Week
Shakespeare‘s Hamlet said “To be or not to be.” The Bard also wrote in The Merry Wives of Windsor “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Shakespeare. I also do not like to be late. I mean, I really don’t like to be late. Then I married a man who couldn’t care less about being on time. And then I had a kid with no sense of urgency, starting from the day she was born…a week and a half late. 🙄😂
When I put appointments in my calendar, I build my travel time into the appointment block. For a recent doctor’s appointment scheduled at 2:30 (arrive by 2:15), I knew I would need about half an hour to drive there, so I blocked out my calendar starting at 1:30. That gave me a few minutes to run behind schedule (because life happens), a few minutes to stop for a crispy Diet Coke, and a few minutes extra if there happened to be traffic.
I used to say that I was never late…and then I got married. When Dennis was alive, I used to tell him we had to leave half an hour before I wanted to leave so that we would leave on time. And we were usually still late. It was a battle, but we eventually got to a point where he at least left for work and appointments on time. We were still late to every single family or social event because he insisted on waiting to get ready until Corinne and I were both ready. And of course, we were on time to everything he wanted to do lol. But you have to pick your battles.
Corinne typically isn’t (too) late to things. She at least got that trait from me. But she definitely isn’t early. I used to love the fact that she was a good sleeper. She started sleeping six or more hours at about nine weeks, which was amazing for us as parents. Now that she’s 19 and getting ready to spend a semester in Liverpool without Mom to make sure she gets up on time, I’m just a tiny bit concerned.
She has never been one to get out of bed as soon as her alarm goes off. After turning off her alarm, she pretty regularly lies back down and promptly goes back to sleep. Sometimes she does the same after her second alarm. More than once, I have had to call her or drop in to her Amazon Echo with Alexa to wake her up. To say I have yelled at her about it quite a few times would be an understatement.
But in 22 days, she will be starting university classes almost 4,000 miles away…and six hours ahead. I will not be calling her in the middle of the night to make sure she’s up for class in the morning. She will be thrust into a situation where she has to really plan her time and make sure she physically gets out of bed when her alarm goes off.
One of Corinne’s advisors told her that students learn to adult quickly in study abroad programs. I know this will be a great experience for her…and I’m looking forward to the adult who returns in April, who gets out of bed without me having to use Alexa to make sure she’s awake. 😉
The main character in the book reviewed below prides herself on always being on time. Four paragraphs in, she tells us “I can count the number of times I have been late on one finger. The day I was born—end of list. Ever since I came into the world a week overdue, I have been so reliably on time that I wouldn’t be surprised if clocks started resetting themselves around me. Turns out, I’m making up for it now, because I’m not just late, but late.”
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 Stars for The Rival by Emma Lord
320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books
Publication Date: January 21, 2025
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Wednesday Books.
Publisher’s Description
At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival―her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb―by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine. Now not only is she dealing with the mayhem of the lovable, chaotic family she hid her writing talents from, as well as her own self doubt, but she has to come to terms with some less-than-resentful feelings for Seb that are popping up along the way.
But the longer they compete, the more Sadie and Seb notice flaws in the school’s system that are much bigger than any competition between them. Somehow the two of them have to band together even as they’re trying to crush each other, only to discover they may have met their match in more ways than one.
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Main Characters:
- Sadie Brighton – college freshman at her dream school Maple Ride, majoring in communications and set on earning the one open writer spot on the school zine Newsbag, wants to write comedy for a living and sees Newsbag as a way to get her foot in the door, grew up next door to Seb, their parents are best friends, middle sister of three and feels like it’s her responsibility diffuse any family drama
- Sebastian (Seb) Adams – college freshman originally waitlisted at Maple Ride, majoring in engineering to appease his father but loves writing and theater, competing against Sadie for the open writer spot on Newsbag, runs a popular Instagram account called Adams’ Apples
- Christina – Sadie’s best friend and roommate at Maple Ride, on a scholarship for cross country, created a poster titled “Christina and Sadie Make Maple Ride Their Bitch” with a bucket list of things they want to do
- Joey – sophomore at Maple Ride, writes for Newsbag, on the school baseball team, has a bit of a crush on Sadie
- Amara and Rowan – co-editors of Newsbag, working to get additional funding for the zine from the administration, Sadie has been reading their articles since she was a freshman in high school
Sadie Brighton has spent her entire life competing with Seb Adams. They grew up next door to one another with parents who are best friends. In grade school, they pulled pranks on one another, until one of Seb’s pranks went a little too far. After that, their pranks became more like sabotage, and they constantly tried to best one another. By the time they graduated high school, their families joked that they hated each other because of their not-so-friendly rivalry. But their families do everything together—including pancake breakfast every Sunday morning. Even Sadie’s younger sister adores the “perfect” Sebastian.
When Sadie earns a coveted spot at Maple Ride, her dream school, and Seb gets waitlisted, she feels like she finally doesn’t have to compete with him anymore…until he gets off the waitlist. Seb’s major in engineering doesn’t keep him from wanting to write for Newsbag because his real passions are journalism and theater. He eventually confides in Sadie that his father wants him to attend Blue Ridge State University and expects him to apply to transfer mid-year. Earning the spot at Newsbag would help him convince his father to let him stay at Maple Ride.
The rivalry Sadie was so excited to escape is suddenly back on.
I always know that an Emma Lord release will put a smile on my face, and The Rival fits right in with the rest. Lord excels at creating stand-out characters. Sadie got on my nerves a bit because she seems unwilling to let bygones be bygones. I would think over the years of family gatherings she could see Seb as more friend than foe. But Seb makes for great balance. As much as they compete with one another, you can feel how much Seb wants to get back to a real friendship. And eventually Sadie comes around.
And one of Lord’s strongest qualities as a writer? Dialog. Written in the first person from Sadie’s point of view, the book demonstrates exactly why Sadie will make a great comedy writer.
- The thing is I am largely a good person. I dutifully babysit Christina’s pet rat Blorbo every summer she goes on her annual family trip, despite clear evidence of him needing an exorcism. I eat all of my mom’s alarmingly crunchy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving with a smile on my face, I even managed to remain cordial with our next-door neighbor Pat when she said she “wasn’t that big a fan of Harry Styles.” All of which is to say, I cannot think of one thing I have done in the eighteen years of my Seb-addled existence to deserve this fate.
- She shrugs. “Just trying to decide if it’s worth it for me to keep paying for all these streaming services when I’m about to have the world’s most ridiculous ‘will they, won’t they, dear god, just kiss already’ show playing out right in front of my eyes.”
- I lean in and grab him by his shirt sleeve. “If you say one more word, Seb, I swear on all that is holy, I will bury you. I will pretend to look for you. I’ll shed pretty tears at your funeral and die in bed eighty years from now peacefully and without regret.”
This story deals with expectations we put on ourselves and others, relying on family even when we think we can’t, friendship with a little bit of romance, and learning to be your true self. And all of it seems to be wrapped up in weekly Sunday pancake breakfasts with the perfect syrup to sprinkles ratio.
You have to read the book if you want to understand that last reference. And you definitely should read this book. 🤭 As usual, Emma Lord’s new release is a must-read.
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