Wonder Woman. . . and pizza

Today, Monday, is the family play-date. We host our niece for the whole day to play with Thomas and then switch over to her house across the neighborhood for a build-your-own pizza night. For the summer, at least, we will do this every Monday. Mostly, the kids take care of themselves. They play and we the adults do other things and occasionally referee disputes.

So, today in my spare time between referee calls I finished building the second replacement garden box. I finished reading Wonder Woman: Warbringer and started reading (for the 18 millionth time) The Andromeda Strain. I also cooked a summer squash soup, vegan pasta salad, and made whole wheat pizza dough. It was a busy, good day. 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer was a surprisingly good read, by the way. Leigh Bardugo did a good job crafting a narrative that made Wonder Woman feel relevant and sympathetic. I remember the character from when I was a kid as distant, oddly perfect, and sterile. The Diana Prince that Bardugo describes is still otherworldly. As a semi-mythical Amazon, she couldn't really be "the girl next door", but she's also a lost teen who desperately feels the need to prove herself as an Amazon. She's insecure and absurdly capable. She's emotionally vulnerable and nearly invulnerable to bullets. She's a study in contrasts and it works for the character. 

Despite a prohibition from bringing mortals to the Amazon's immortal island of Themyscira, Diana dives into the ocean to rescue Alia Keralis after watching her ship explode from shore. She brings her back to the island, which causes all kinds of problems and launches her into the real world to avert a mythological crisis. It turns out Alia is the many times great granddaughter of Helen of Troy who was herself the daughter of Nemesis (according to this) and is a catalyst for global strife called the warbringer. People want Alia dead, but Diana thinks she can save her and possibly earn herself a proper place among the Amazons. 

Huzzah.

It was a surprisingly fun read. Maybe it was my mood, but I found myself engrossed in the narrative. The blend of greek mythology and super hero narrative was engaging.