Getting Cozy with Criminally Cocoa

Cozy mysteries might not be designed to drive deep thought or interpretation, but reading is personal and experiences when reading often depend on the context of the reader's experience as much as the context within the story. I enjoy reading books in a series, especially cozy mysteries, because I find them relaxing. There is a bit of puzzle to engage my ADD brain, enough "people" story to engage my social brain, and it doesn't really require much direct effort on my part to process the story line or participate in the interactions. With the really good ones, I find that I often end up interacting then with more of the story parts . . . human interactions or places I've never visited. I end up thinking some deep thoughts related to something a character said, did or observed.

Interacting with Characters

Readers interact with many parts of story outside of the main plot - characters, places, thoughts, and sometimes even just the words. Sometimes a character can make an observation that is not necessarily central to the plot but can be central to the reader's appreciation or interaction with the story. Such was my experience with Criminally Cocoa, a novella in the Amish Sweet series by Amanda Flower.

Reading Experience

Bailey King is the main character in the Amish Sweets series, but Criminally Cocoa was focused on Charlotte Weaver, a young Amish girl who assists Bailey in her candy shop and on her new cooking show. Charlotte is at a point in her life when she is trying to determine what she wants and who she is. She left her district because of her love of playing the organ. She lives with her cousin, who is also Bailey's grandmother, whose district allows organ playing. In this story, Charlotte has traveled to New York City to help Bailey in taping a new cooking show. One reason, Charlotte is able to assist with such a project is because she is on rumspringa, a time for young people to explore the world and decide if they will be committing their lives to the Amish faith or leaving the faith for the larger world.

In chapter 8, Charlotte experiences her first morning in New York City. She witnesses a sunrise totally different than what she is used to in Ohio. She was mesmerized and noticed that others were not:

"Perhaps, I thought, everyone grows numb to the beauty that surrounded them; only when something is different does it stand out". 

I absolutely adored this observation and took time to jot it down in my reading journal. If I was studying this text for some reason, I might not have had the time or luxury to cue in to this statement. It would depend on what type of group or assignment I was reading it for - purpose of reading often drives the actual experience of interacting with a story - but it is possible that this line could have stood out anyway. It was definitely related to Charlotte's character in the sense that she was trying to understand the world around her and her place in it. She didn't believe that she was anything but plain and could have been considered somewhat numb to her own beauty. The story of course, was focused more on a murder on the set but this reflection is a part of Charlotte's story line and became part of my memory of reading this story.

Text-to-My-World

I work with people with learning disabilities. One trait of many of the people I work with is to focus so much on their challenges that they do not always see the beauty of their strengths. Many times, when they can do something well, they become numb to the fact that it takes work at all. They do not realize that it is different, instead there becomes a mentality that "if it's easy for me, it is easy for everyone". They see the part of them that is different, the part that stands out most, as the things they are challenged by. They become numb to the beauty of their strengths, as do many around them.

The goal for all is to get that good grade or to finish a whole book. That is what is expected, and what is gotten from most of the students. As adults, we can become numb to the beauty of what an accomplishment it can be for those children who are different. We do not always take the time to celebrate these accomplishments, particularly if they happen for the first time when a student is older than first or second grade. We don't want to embarrass them or draw attention to  their challenges. I would posit that we then create a culture that is numb to the beauty of accomplishment for all students.

Even those who are traditionally successful can be encouraged to celebrate accomplishments - large and small. All students can be encouraged to see that accomplishments are personal, not uniform. For some, it is passing a test rather than getting an A. As teachers and parents, it's our job to help children learn how to respond to these differences rather than be numb to the beauty in their accomplishment.


What does the quote from Charlotte bring to your mind? I'd love to hear it! Leave a comment below.