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Authors: Janie Baskin

Paint Me a Monster

BOOK: Paint Me a Monster
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About this Book

I wake up. The smell of ashes burns in my nose. A fire burns in my head. My ears want to drench the promise that repeats itself:

If you ever, ever, ever
Try to sneak away,
I'll be waiting in the night.
I'll be waiting in the day.
You never will escape me.
You never will be free.
You're my forever, ever, ever
You're the lock that fits my key.

It's the monster. I don't understand. But it is the monster.

"Because with you . . . I created a monster"

Rinnie Gardener's life looks like a perfect painting from the outside—a loving family and a beautiful house. But when the paint is stripped away, this dream dissolves to dust. Her parents divorce. Her father treats her like a stranger. Her mother, looming like a black cloud, treats her worse. Painful words become painful bruises. Rinnie's own body becomes a source of self-punishment.

As her life seemingly falls apart, Rinnie has the courage to pick up the pieces. In a brilliantly unique style and voice, Rinnie tells her story—a search for identity, love, and healing. She must look in the darkest places to repaint the canvas of her life. She must face the monster.

About the Author

Photo by Brad Baskin

Janie Baskin is in a lifelong affair with curiosity. Her unique gifts for observation and insight empower her work as a teacher, artist, writer, and illustrator of children's books. The passion to create is her constant companion—whether in the kitchen, the studio, or wherever her travels take her across the globe. This is her first novel.

Contents

Cover

About this Book

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

PART ONE: The First Ten Years

YAH, RINNIE

MONKEY BUSINESS

ANGEL BABY

BABY IDEAS

A MAID, a NURSE, and SLEEPING BEAUTY

VACANCY

GAGA

KINDERGARTEN

ENCOURAGEMENT

THE BASEMENT

WOOD CHUCK HOLLOW

FRANCHONS

WHAT IS a WHILE?

WHERE IS THERE?

GRANDMA GARDENER

GETTING READY

LOOKING

FIRST GRADE

GAGA’S HOUSE

TERRIFIED

WOOLY WILLY

SECOND GRADE

FUN

THE OTHER SITTER

EIGHT CANDLES

CLOUDS and REDWOOD

BUBBLEGUM

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

LAND and WATER SPORTS

WATERSKIING

JUSTICE

TOP BUNK

GOING HOME

BEDTIME

DRESS UP

THIRD GRADE

MONEY TREES

FOLLOW the LEADER

GOOD ADVICE

CRIME and PUNISHMENT

SCARED

WEEKDAYS

NINE

PERSONALITY

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

BROWNIES

BAD DREAM

HORSES

SHADY LANE

OOPS

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

WEATHER

INTUITION

PART TWO: The Next Six Years

MOVING OUT

DEAR GOD

THE SENECA

SIXTH GRADE

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

CREEPY CRAWLERS

SEVENTH GRADE

I’LL VOLUNTEER!

POWER

WHERE DOES HURT LIVE?

FLUBBER

PACKING

SISTERS

CONGRATULATIONS

COINCIDENCE

FAMILY

POP POP

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

REALLY?

LETTER TWENTY-THREE

EVAN, WHERE DID YOU GO?

FIRST DATE

GOT YOU LAST

NOTE to MYSELF

GRANDMA SHER II

INGENUITY

A BRIEF MISTAKE

TICKET to PARADISE

MORE CARL

NOTE to MYSELF

BIG SHOES

INTEGRITY

LEGALITIES

NOTE to MYSELF

REPLACEABLE

EVAN

COOKING LESSON

DR. DIDIER

SOCIAL ACTION

NOTE to MYSELF

ANOTHER NOTE to MYSELF

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

SUNDAYS

UNBELIEVABLE

I CAN DO IT

DO YOU MISS ME?

DO I MISS YOU?

RITUAL

NOTE to MYSELF

SOAPSUDS

JACK

NOTE to MYSELF

I’M HERE TOO

TWO POEMS

CHILLS

ONE MORE POEM

MONDAY MORNING

FAMILY SECRET

BEAUTY

ELEVENTH GRADE

NO MORE POP POP

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

THAT’S HOW IT IS

IS POP POP FOREVER?

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

ALWAYS

NOTE to MYSELF

CHIP on a SHOULDER

BEING THERE

THE PUZZLE

PAVING the ROAD

NOTE to MYSELF

THANK YOU

I DON’T WANT to SHARE

CLUE

IF ONLY

RINNIE the LIONHEART

I’M HAROLD

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

FRIDAY

CAN’T YOU SEE ME

NOTE to MYSELF

RECIPE for SWEET DREAMS

ANOTHER FRIDAY

NOTE to MYSELF

MEASURING

WHAT’S MY STORY?

WHY I HATE LIVER

TIME

HOW DO YOU SPELL MONSTER?

ONCE UPON a TIME . . .

JUST for ME

SUPPORT

REMEMBERING

COOKING LESSON

HISTORY

ART IMITATES LIFE

PICTURE-PERFECT

HOME COOKING

TIME OUT

MAY I BE EXCUSED?

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

HEAVEN

CHANGE OF PALACE

NOTE to MYSELF

BREAKFAST

NOTE to MYSELF

NOTE to MYSELF

BINGE

SHAME

ELECTIVE

CUPCAKES

SEDUCTION

LITTLE BOOK of QUESTIONS

A GOOD LESSON

OBSERVATION

FIVE THOUGHTS THIS WEEK

MAYBE I WILL . . .

SHOW BUT NO TELL

TELL

SWIRL

NOTE to MYSELF

MOM’S LAST WORDS

PAINTING ONE

TWO PAINTINGS

COURAGE

CIRCLE TIME

PRESCRIPTION FOR “HAPPY”

WATER TABLE

MONKEY BARS

NO THANK YOU

EVALUATION

OPENINGS

EPILOGUE

Acknowledgements

Note to Our Readers

Copyright

More Books from Scarlet Voyage

This book is dedicated to Flo who lives in my heart, and to Ruth who illuminated my path with her wisdom.

PART ONE : The First Ten Years
YAH, RINNIE

“You girls draw me something pretty,” Verna says, handing us paper and what she calls a rainbow-in-a-box. “Just be sure to keep those colors on the paper. Lord knows your mama’s given me enough house-cleaning to last a lifetime.”

“Thank you, Verna,” we say. “We promise to be sure.”

“1958—you’d think Mrs. Gardener never heard of Abraham Lincoln,” Verna mumbles.

I love the smell of waxy crayons and their jiggy jag lines.

“When all the colors slide over each other, it makes a rainbow out of the box,” I say to my sister, Liz.

“That’s scribbling, Margo,” she says. “I don’t scribble. My picture is our house. 61 Peregrine Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio.” Lizzie underlines the letters with red zigzags. “Here’re the thorn bushes, our tree house, and our sandbox.” She sits back on her knees, chest out like she’s about to sneeze.

I don’t care what a Cincinnati, Ohio is. “Scribble scrabble, scribble scrabble, scribbly scribbly scribble scrabble.” The words pop out of my mouth. They are hard, soft, and sweet at the same time.

BOOK: Paint Me a Monster
12.34Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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