Another year,
another one hundred forty-nine
review haikus.
And here's the wrap-up. (Note: some of the books I reviewed in 2013 were published in 2012. It was ever thus; deal with it.)
Favorite reads, in order of target age group (youngest to oldest):
The Year of Billy Miller
Clementine and the Spring Trip
The Grimm Conclusion
P.S. Be Eleven
Bomb
The Shade of the Moon
Every Day
Code Name Verity
Eleanor & Park
Hyperbole and a Half
Favorite jackets (in no particular order):
12.31.2013
12.30.2013
The Real Boy: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpSJgJV_GKzdUI_dgyjZ8Z57JjLSmQr8j1K-id_FqOglNuNmnqMMALkETBi3z2H-pTXNNuM_gU9gwJiA3-YPxU0xsSdzjRnz3DvI_6-HfuDNlJH6S8kSzE1-GfzJI9Jog9Wg/s1600/Real+Boy.jpg)
allegory, with a
warm heart underneath.
The Real Boy by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, 2013, 352 pages.
Labels:
award bait,
book crush,
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
liked it,
middle grade,
technology can be evil
12.29.2013
12.27.2013
The Grimm Conclusion: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIQrAgE_1p7gVGL2LRGIxOh3YJ5sgjA3lG86qMjFWxbLvJH3RNTxH7-QAe4xXg1J_CfMdzIRHn-dyahl9XhuujhsUbBzxXMdrGoVfvgQcJryY8F9OwDItlU5DjaV5upyBdMc/s1600/Grimm+Conclusion.jpg)
about breaking the fourth wall,
you'll feel that with this.
The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz. Dutton, 2013, 358 pages.
Labels:
award bait,
book crush,
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
loved it,
middle grade,
mommy
12.25.2013
God Got a Dog: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_zBJjGBbcVIBlp93r5Jr1Lpl1Fipn2UmyL5nACkVTI80Y485ltjL7aN_rRywcz3YpScJ4FHTGveY9DfsZ-ueJotHOhMvWFHNFBrPHb5se0o0VB8cNsbt4jKMHXb9Uud5eEw/s1600/God+Got+a+Dog.jpg)
re-imagine wise words.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Marla Frazee. Beach Lane, 2013, 48 pages.
Labels:
book crush,
Churchy LaFemme,
fiction,
graphic novel,
great jacket,
great title,
haiku,
loved it,
middle grade,
poetry
12.23.2013
From Norvelt to Nowhere: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2GXhXJq9bwAe6000pte42qPSp0pYf3HSB49G7s3w43QfQXW83ehOprwcRRfZb7B_HiU8cggQ4Mvy95K-wRVNtzgFcOwfe5fSIPFFesKk0jApRcA-XwRAdxbWrMLp7iThl18/s1600/From+Norvelt+to+Nowhere.jpg)
when I grow up. But why
badmouth Thin Mints?
From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos. Macmillan, 2013, 288 pages.
Labels:
award bait,
book crush,
certain humiliation,
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
liked it,
mystery,
young adult
12.20.2013
Go: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzajDomjlExSliaN29M7667yPQyMgzhq9btd1CahTQ7MNo4-7ct1qVrDRIitPmTjIxm-5vf-o87mhQaRvP1LzU3Z-crwMGn4I05oDtoa_2KXit2rszoZ8Yht3CTzRmpe8d1s/s1600/Go.jpg)
of the world, unite!
Self-promoting, but still cool.
Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd. Workman, 2013, 150 pages.
Labels:
great jacket,
haiku,
liked it,
middle grade,
nonfiction,
sloppy page design,
young adult
12.18.2013
Picture Me Gone: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Gyi2WfkT8Vcc5K2bFF4ys0ofBeX96-ks2cBhJyTijE2hjqTE_5FVvXfiilNHJWhs_rNsNgZuB0iBU0RFXT3-F6Lg9kH1PBnZUm8heKEMbtrp7NwtX40Xnv34ITY3VfYyPtU/s1600/Picture+Me+Gone.jpg)
Rosoff pens another
gem -- for whom?
Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff. Putnam, 2013, 256 pages.
Labels:
adult,
award bait,
fiction,
haiku,
liked it,
mystery,
perhaps I need to calm down,
young adult
12.16.2013
Tampa: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHNPpKPnMxNfABSw_2LRWhorMHZONcHUXvUGReWaNHo1b18owyn5s-uN00gIbwQZn82g9I1RYJVAQy8Z_Owpq6zegp8QQ4an5GsMDBz9oOPg6YEg2RaBu0m7yZ3iT2vG4_w4/s1600/Tampa.jpg)
shower. And maybe a
confessional. Egad.
Tampa by Alissa Nutting. Ecco, 2013, 272 pages.
Labels:
adult,
dirty parts,
fiction,
haiku,
hated it,
perhaps I need to calm down
12.13.2013
Coaltown Jesus: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinA5pGWA3S-EzDEWdTcX2omMtK3zxu3aRUXEHn_H3zhphZ_q4pCqd0Mo0Cx8x-vp7t6qJ9fAd8MRlBk3DgzaODl4xonuZuDPdZIF4Dq8HHuWFYvk3CbNT3MYYQa-a5sTt44ts/s1600/Coaltown+Jesus.jpg)
no-nonsense, wry, and just a
little bit snarky.
Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge. Candlewick, 2013, 128 pages.
Labels:
award bait,
book crush,
Churchy LaFemme,
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
liked it,
poetry,
young adult
12.11.2013
Mud Season: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGV2gYdPtoHkeMFnEh2-9syhcYks-nNC_bk8xw2GTngvcq0mYBU8U85hFGqRUp2vJr9C87olOzQHa_O99oR3oUijTB_IdyhOvtcSiLyTGhXsfL-zO1Kf8dLN4v09aEtg20Wc/s1600/Mud+Season.jpg)
couldn't really connect with
the author. Alas.
Mud Season by Ellen Stimson. Countryman Press, 2013, 288 pages.
Labels:
abandoned,
adult,
certain humiliation,
great jacket,
haiku,
meh,
nonfiction
12.09.2013
Sure Signs of Crazy: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWSqwgaNzLQaKPWlKsZFYTwIhmgE8y-X46l6HY6ZjknzkLqHSQjYamHiNnpI7hAnj_vnhvuxaKsmJkmuZARSTf4VnCe1xGpKhyphenhyphen8rlSSfGnbP-vjBLPNec5JPHR8apZVnG7DI/s1600/Sure+Signs+of+Crazy.jpg)
Or is that the point, given
Sarah's awful past?
Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington. Little Brown, 2013, 288 pages.
Labels:
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
meh,
middle grade,
mommy,
young adult
12.06.2013
ADVENT FAIR this Saturday!
Local peeps! If you are looking for fantastic Christmas gifts and wonderful causes to support in a festive atmosphere for the whole family, look no further than the St. Paul's Advent Fair, tomorrow from 9:00am to 2:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 100 Pine Hill Road, Bedford, MA.
We have gift baskets, Silent Auction items (including hand-painted, one-of-a-kind chairs!), Country Kitchen (featuring marinara sauce and soup made by my husband!), children's activites, vintage jewelry, and a raffle for a Bose SoundLink Bluetooth mobile speaker.
Come one, come all!
We have gift baskets, Silent Auction items (including hand-painted, one-of-a-kind chairs!), Country Kitchen (featuring marinara sauce and soup made by my husband!), children's activites, vintage jewelry, and a raffle for a Bose SoundLink Bluetooth mobile speaker.
Come one, come all!
12.04.2013
Hyperbole and a Half: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAt3XhKUN7WwjEkpekeMW5N2k4oapFqB6DZif-FzpW-5jSj-T-wpdODDpgWgiAP3Dgyj3gwZNjj0KTWFKbDCB1ccEFmYdiGgVkjJui7UhbJqUPF6BTWgkWgCBqDIpM-uxP_JI/s1600/Hyperbole+and+a+Half.jpg)
keep it for the honesty.
And the CAAAAAAAAAKE.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh. Touchstone, 2013, 384 pages.
12.02.2013
The Year of Billy Miller: Review Haiku
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijt6YwM0qgSzJsAQJ_lUgNyAGFQBrByBLqVkNTVqQ39D6zyrwjRrUqELGY_Dkrob4uEPOhVy0QVZ8BP88F0J1Tj6813725cS9-eULuI6jSuV4upLF-dZZ6F2GqOxscEnHfUL8/s1600/Year+of+Billy+Miller.jpg)
of second-grade worries.
Henkes nails it again.
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow, 2013, 240 pages.
[P.S. Check out the GORGEOUS hand-lettering on the title and chapter numbers by my client Ryan O'Rourke!]
Labels:
award bait,
book crush,
chapter book,
fiction,
great jacket,
haiku,
loved it,
middle grade
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