1.30.2012

Koko Be Good: Review Haiku


Odd little nugget
about following your own dreams,
not another's.

Koko Be Good by Jen Wang. First Second, 2010, 304 pages.

1.27.2012

Ten Things We Did . . . : Review Haiku


WOW does she get
teenage invincibility and
dumbass moves right.

Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Lauren Myracle. Harper, 2011, 368 pages.

1.25.2012

How to Save a Life: Review Haiku


Makes the unsympathetic
sympathetic, for both
main characters.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr. Little Brown, 2011, 352 pages.

1.23.2012

V Is for Vengeance: Review Haiku


Who cares about the
story? I just want Kinsey's
kickass apartment.

V Is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. Putnam, 2011, 448 pages.

1.20.2012

The Grief of Others: Review Haiku


Normally love her,
but could not get into this
one. Too depressing?

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen. Riverhead, 2011, 384 pages.

1.18.2012

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness: Review Haiku


It's books like this that
make me appreciate my
sainted Swedish mom.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller. Penguin, 2011, 256 pages.

1.16.2012

And the Pursuit of Happiness: Review Haiku


The most beautiful
patriotism I've ever
read.

And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman. Penguin, 2010, 480 pages.

1.13.2012

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading: Review Haiku


Not as clever as
it thought it was. Try
Wimpy Kid instead, won't you?

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Roaring Brook, 2011, 224 pages.

1.11.2012

Dead End in Norvelt: Review Haiku


Pretty sure I knew
where this was going, but still
glad I took the trip.

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos. FSG, 2011, 352 pages.

1.09.2012

Toys Come Home: Review Haiku


Liked but didn't love;
still adore the oddball
collection of friends, though.


1.06.2012

Resonate: Review Haiku


Written for business
types, it's what every good
picture-book writer knows.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte. John Wiley, 2010, 248 pages.

1.04.2012

Mo Wren, Lost and Found: Review Haiku


Hard-luck Mo struggles
to adjust to new neighborhood,
new friends, new life.

Mo Wren, Lost and Found by Tricia Springstubb. Balzer + Bray, 2011, 256 pages.

1.02.2012

Flunking Sainthood: Review Haiku


Marvelous treatise
on our status as sinners all.
Good thing there's grace.

Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Riess. Paraclete Press, 2011, 192 pages.