Book Review - The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

If you liked The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks but weren't totally intrigued by the covers of E. Lockhart's other books, try them anyway! I'll admit I found the covers of the Ruby Oliver books a little girly for my taste, but over the weekend, I took the plunge and found out I have a new favorite author = E. Lockhart.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to make a list of things. Like, when you're going to the grocery store and you don't want to forget an item. Or, let's say you are packing for a trip and want to remember underwear. But if you're going to make a list of every boy you've ever had feelings for, liked, kissed, etc..., well, Ruby Oliver might advise you to, um, NOT.

You see, Ruby made such a list, of more than a dozen guys, from the guy she liked in early elementary school, to the guy who once grabbed her boob at the movies, to her most recent boyfriend--now, her ex, Jackson. But her list somehow got into the hands of a former friend, and now everyone at Tate Prep has their idea of what the names on the list mean, and they have a new name for Ruby Oliver, and it isn't a nice one. So you can imagine why Ruby might be having panic attacks in the bathroom, and why she might want to go to a shrink twice a week.

The Boyfriend List is a hilarious book-- two parts Georgia Nicolson, one part Megan McCafferty, one part John Green -- that makes you think about who your friends, and boyfriend(s) really are. It's also spawned two sequels: The Boy Book and the upcoming Treasure Map of Boys.

* * * *
(four out of five stars)

Book Review - Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman

Sometimes, all you need for a great book are some hilarious characters, funny yet plausible scenarios, and potty humor. That's what Steven Goldman's first novel, Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath offers, and it was more than enough to keep me cracking up on the train. Mitchell Wells is a kind of cute, kind of nerdy, guy who passes most of his time with his baseball jock best friend David, his constantly flirting with older guys sister Carrie, and Carrie's best friend M.C. But everything's kind of thrown for a loop when David comes out to Mitchell. What does it mean?

We never really get into what it means for anyone besides Mitchell because, let's face it, Mitchell's just a little bit hung up on his own problems. Like, when will the class hottie Danielle ever notice him. And if he's really going to get into trouble for the Claymation film supposedly about "The Grapes of Wrath" that he, in classic last-minute fashion, turned in for his English class in place of the paper. (Let's just say he never got past the first few pages of the Steinbeck classic, but that the film is hi-larious.)

This breezy, funny novel will hold appeal for fans of John Green, Barry Lyga, and Tim Tharp. (Also, yes, the cover is kind of lame, but the book is NOT!)

* * * 1/2
(three and a half/five stars)

Book Review - The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christoper Paul Curtis

I had the amazing opportunity to hear Christopher Paul Curtis speak last Friday; he gave the annual Zena Sutherland lecture at the Chicago Public Library. Sitting in the audience, I realized I was maybe the only one there who hadn't read any of his books. So I rectified that immediately, reading his first novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 in one sitting yesterday.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret -- historical fiction can be funny and casual and anecdotal all at the same time. In some ways, the beginning of the book reminded me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. You've got your main character, Kenny (read: Greg), being somewhat tortured and threatened by his big brother, Byron (read: Rodrick). The author completely sucks you into the world of these characters (1963 Flint, Michigan) by showing you their day-t0-day life, whether its toiling in school, snowball fights, or dinosaur wars. The real heart of the book is explored more in its second half, which follows the weird Watson family as they pile into their car and head south, to Birmingham, Alabama. And it's there that Kenny really starts to grow up. His mom told him and Byron that things were different down south for African-Americans, but it doesn't fully hit him until he hears the sound. A bomb hitting a church full of African-American children. What happens next is something only a very deft writer can accomplish, but it's the lump-in-your-throat kind of ending that really tugs at your heartstrings, the same way the beginning had you laughing out loud.

Christopher Paul Curtis was awarded the Newbery Honor, as well as the Coretta Scott King honor, for this, his first book, and it's easy to see why.

Recommended to: fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, anyone who's interested in learning more about the 1960s, and fans of Walter Dean Myers and Jacqueline Woodson

Book Review - If I Stay by Gayle Forman

It's rare that a tearjerker is this good, but that's a testament to what Gayle Forman achieved with this book, If I Stay, her second novel. Mia's a high school senior, an accomplished cellist, and the girlfriend of the lead singer/guitarist of the band Rising Star that's just gotten their huge break. A tiny snow storm--okay, a snowflake-- in Oregon means a day off from school, which gets Mia, her mom, her dad, and her younger brother Teddy out of the house. They're on the way to Mia's parent's friend's house when absolute tragedy strikes. In an instant, Mia's mom and dad are deceased, her brother is injured and Mia--well, Mia's suddenly an on-looker, looking down on this horrible scene and trying to understand what just happened. Is she dead? Is she alive?

It turns out that Mia is in fact in a coma, hanging on the precipice between life and death, and it also turns out that it's her decision: if she stays. Does she want to stay in a world that took away her incredible mother and father?

As Mia shares, in that perfect, anecdotal story kind of way, more about her family and her life, you start to realize everything she's lost, and I'm probably not alone in saying, it hits you in a very real place. Her parents are unique, idiosyncratic people, and their absence will make life enormously hard for Mia, if she chooses it.

I don't want to give away the ending, but I hope it's clear at this point how much I absolutely loved this book. Good luck finding it on the shelf. It made its debut on the NYTimes Bestseller list, and you can make your holds online.