To Catch a Cheat: Review Haiku

The Baby Rat Pack
is back, with new enemies
but the same swagger.

To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson. Levine/Scholastic, 2016, 256 pages.

Missile Mouse: Review Haiku

Intergalatic
spy drama with a rodent
twist. Why aren't there more?

Missile Mouse #1: The Star Crusher 
Missile Mouse #2: Rescue on Tankium 3 by Jake Parker. Scholastic/Graphix, 2010/2011, 172 pages.

Hilo: Review Haiku

Robots, world
domination, and friendship.
Also, silver underpants.

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick. Random, 2015, 192 pages.

The Nest: Review Haiku

Someone said "Oppel

goes Gaiman," and that feels just

right to me. Spooky.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Jon Klassen. S&S, 2015, 256 pages.

Fuzzy Mud: Review Haiku

Ecoterrorism
with benign intent.
Scarily plausible.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. Delacorte, 2015 192 pages.

Being Mortal: Review Haiku

Hard conversations
that we can't seem to have well.
Alles fleisch indeed . . .

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. Metropolitan Books, 2014, 304 pages.

P.S. Apparently I took a weeklong blog break. Oops. I'm only mortal . . .

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.

Noggin: Review Haiku

Moves beyond its
tabloid premise (DEAD FROZEN HEAD!)
to find real meaning.

Noggin by John Corey Whaley. Atheneum, 2014, 352 pages.

The Fourteenth Goldfish: Review Haiku

Deeper than it looks
and expertly wrought.
Give that fish a sticker, eh?

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. Random House, 2014, 208 pages.

The Great Greene Heist: Review Haiku

Is it creepy that
I want Jackson to be my
boyfriend? Probably.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson. Scholastic/Levine, 2014, 240 pages.

Attachments: Review Haiku

Once you get over
Y2K as historical
fiction, it's swell.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Plume, 2012, 336 pages.

Grasshopper Jungle: Review Haiku

Profane, terrifying,
hilarious, and wise.
PLUS GIANT MANTIDS.

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. Dutton, 2014, 432 pages.

Dangerous: Review Haiku

Starts fast, finishes fast,
relentless in between.
Fasten your seat belts.

Dangerous by Shannon Hale. Bloomsbury, 2014, 416 pages.

Reality Boy: Review Haiku

I would prefer to
believe people like Gerald's
parents don't exist.

Reality Boy by A. S. King. Little Brown, 2013, 368 pages.

The Real Boy: Review Haiku

Allegory upon
allegory, with a
warm heart underneath.

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, 2013, 352 pages.

The Flying Beaver Brothers: Review Haiku

Charmingly ridiculous.
Plus, y'know, beavers.
And evil penguins.

The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Fishy Business [et al] by Maxwell Eaton III. Knopf, 2012, 96 pages.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: Review Haiku

Don't we all want to
run away from prep-school moms
and our own failures?

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. Little Brown, 2012, 326 pages.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong: Review Haiku

Robotics geeks and
evil cheerleaders team up
for mutual gain.

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks. First Second, 2013, 280 pages.

Hollywood, Dead Ahead: Review Haiku

Predictable conflict,
unpredictable resolution.
Fun stuff.

Hollywood, Dead Ahead (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise. Harcourt, 2013, 144 pages.

The Madness Underneath: Review Haiku

Pants-wetting, in both
the "scary" and "funny" sense.
(YAY BETTER JACKET.)

The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) by Maureen Johnson. Putnam, 2013, 400 pages.