So, we are putting a new roof on the house right now. This has nothing to do with today’s post other than being part of the reason I didn’t get it posted by the time I would normally.

In case you were curious, we opted for a steel roof instead of shingles (they were about 1000 dollars cheaper and last at least 10 years longer). They bring with them their own foibles and such but in the end I like installing the metal sheets much more than working with shingles. Just a couple people can get so much more accomplished faster with metal than with shingles.

Anyway, on to the thoughts of the day…

Bad Island

You may remember a little while back when I talked about Cardboard by Doug TenNapel I mentioned a couple of his other works. I stumbled across Bad Island recently and knew I had to pick it up.

Just like with Cardboard this is one that you can really get into as a family (or as something good to read just to read it too). There are several different perspectives happening at once to highlight the different stories going on simultaneously.

The main storyline is a family vacation and their need to reconnect as a family. But on the other side of the same coin is the second main storyline. In that one there is an interstellar war going on and the need for cohesion of the family and the possibility of family loss. It is the interplay of the two stories and how they come together that make this story work.

Personally, I love the thought that taking your family on vacation is another form of warfare. There are so many battles and challenges you have to work through it is a wonder that happy memories can ever come from the ordeal.

The gist of the stories boils down to first, the thought of what happens in the worst case scenario and then it is in the times of the greatest need that you will find your family is one of the most important parts of your life. This is a different perspective than what we had in the storylines of Cardboard. But at the same time it is a part of the life we are all living that we all have to come to terms with as we live said lives.

Speaking of perspectives, that is an element at play within the story that doesn’t jump out at you right away. Yes, I am making a logic jump here so brace yourself…

In the one story about the interstellar warfare we eventually find that they are much bigger than we are. In a way it is like saying that no matter how big the problems are, we can surmount them when we approach them as a family team.

To bring it back around again, I loved this book. Spend some time with it. And if you have kids it could definitely be one worth reading with them. Sure the whole thing screams a bit of melodrama but sometimes it takes a big earth shaking ordeal to remind us what’s important in our lives.

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