FINISHED:
Anderson, John David. (2016). Ms. Bixby's Last Day. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[With their favorite teacher in the hospital battling cancer and unable to make it back to school for a goodbye party, Brand, Steve, and Topher hatch a plan to skip school and comb the city collecting some of Ms. Bixby’s favorite things (cheesecake, wine, etc.), thinking that they will bring the party to her.  Chapters rotate through the individual points of view of the three main boys:  Steve, who is Japanese-American and living in the shadow of his perfect sister; Brand, white, and struggling to singlehandedly take care of his father who is now paraplegic following a work accident; and Topher, a brilliant white kid who loves words and drawing.  The bulk of the novel takes place over the course of a single day – the day they skip school to follow through with their plan – with each of the boys ruminating through flashbacks which flesh out their histories and individual associations with Ms. Bixby.  Plaintive and sentimental, but not overly so, this is one of those cleverly done stories that reveals itself by moving forward in time while slowly filling in the past with revelations that help to elucidate the larger picture and the motivations behind character actions.  An amusing “caper” dotted with hilarious setbacks, and a solid depiction of boys who are supportive friends, Anderson’s novel highlights the impact we can have on each other without ever realizing it, and the fact that even if you feel alone, in reality there’s likely someone looking out for, noticing, and championing you.]

STARTED:
Fitzgerald, Laura Marx. (2016). The Gallery. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

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FINISHED:
Green, John. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton/Penguin.


[This one had received SO MUCH hype that by the time I got around to reading it, maybe my perception was skewed.  That said, it still just didn't resonate with me as much as I expected it to.  Hazel and Augustus meet at a cancer support group meeting for teens, hit it off immediately, and embark on a relationship knowing full well that their time together will be limited.  While I thought some of the language was wonderful, many things that the kids say just didn't seem like they'd come from a teenagers mouth... even one who's staring death in the face.  The character of the author of Hazel's favorite book seemed like a gross caricature, and Hazel and Augustus's SUDDEN trip to Amsterdam (Augustus uses his "wish" from the Make a Wish Foundation...) didn't seem plausible.  This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy the book at all, I suppose it was all of the praise that set it up for me as too good to be true.  NOTE: At one point toward the end, Hazel's mom says that she's been taking online college courses and, if all goes well, will go UP to the Bloomington campus in the summer.  Well, the characters live in Indianapolis... so... if they were to go to IU Bloomington from there, they'd be driving SOUTH (i.e. DOWN).  The author lives in Indy, so I don't know why he wouldn't know this... unless he's refering to one of IU's satellite campuses in Northern Indiana...]

STARTED & FINISHED:

deBonneval, Gwen. (2013). William and the lost spirit. Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe/Lerner.

[.]

STARTED:

Lerangis, Peter. (2013). The colossus rises. New York: HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

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FINISHED:
Ness, Patrick. (2011). A monster calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Whoa. This one is brutal... but amazing. Conor, whose mother is going through cancer treatment, is visited by the yew tree behind their house who says that it will tell him 3 stories, and expects Conor to tell it one story. When his mom seems to be taking a turn for the worse, Conor's grandmother comes to begin making arrangements for Conor to come live with her - something that Conor will have no part of. What is the yew tree after? Why does it keep showing up? What does it want Conor to admit?? Heartbreaking and powerful.]

STARTED:
Riggs, Ransom. (2011). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

[.]

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FINISHED:
Brooks, Albert. (2011). 2030: The real story of what happens to America. New York: St. Martin's Press.

[.]

STARTED:
Silvey, Craig. (2011). Jasper Jones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

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STARTED & FINISHED:
Small, David. (2009). Stitches: A memoir. Venice, CA: W.W. Norton & Company.

[Whoa. Blown away by this one.]

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FINISHED:

Stork, Francisco X. (2010). The last summer of the Death Warriors. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[My review for ACL is forthcoming...]

STARTED:
Byars, Betsy. (1976). The tv kid. New York: Viking.

[I was/still am a TV KID.]

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