Wild Things: Review Haiku

Worth it for the
James Marshall shoe story alone.
Read it and weep, folks.

Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter Sieruta. Candlewick, 2014, 288 pages.

Always Abigail: Review Haiku

Classic middle-grade
about mean girls, nice girls, and
doing the right thing.

Always Abigail by Nancy J. Cavanaugh. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2014, 320 pages.

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling: Review Haiku

Innovative and
effective take on
unmentionable disease.

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank. Schwartz + Wade, 2014, 272 pages.

Fifteen years.

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus: Review Haiku

I don't even want
to think about how bad this
pickle guy must smell.

Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus by Tom Angleberger. Amulet/Abrams, 2014, 224 pages.

Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders: Review Haiku

Never underestimate
the persistence and
power of band nerds.

Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach. Sourcebooks Fire, 2014, 320 pages.

Gracefully Grayson: Review Haiku

Sensitively done;
a testament to the power
of great theatre.

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky. Hyperion, 2014, 256 pages.

Alvin Ho #6: Review Haiku

I don't understand
how Alvin's parents didn't
EFFING MURDER HIM.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions by Lenore Look, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Schwartz & Wade, 2014, 176 pages.

Landline: Review Haiku

I didn't quite get
how the time travel worked, but
I didn't quite care.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell. St. Martin's Press, 2014, 320 pages.

When I Was the Greatest: Review Haiku

I love these boys, all
of them. Powerful, hard-hitting,
smart. And funny!

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum, 2014, 240 pages.

Belzhar: Review Haiku

Rich, weird, and thoughtful;
takes "unreliable narrator"
to new heights.

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer. Dutton, 2014, 272 pages.

Perfectly Miserable: Review Haiku

WOW I could not stand
a single part of this memoir
or this woman.

Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God, and Real Estate in a Small Town by Sarah Payne Stuart. Riverhead, 2014, 320 pages.

This is 40.

You can't have him; he's mine.

(Happy birthday, darlin'.)

Top Secret Twenty-One: Review Haiku

Same old same old, but
I appreciate Steph's
tolerance of weirdos.

Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich. Bantam, 2014, 352 pages.