There Is No Dog: Review Haiku

Take one Joan Osbourne
song; add the awesomesauce of
Meg Rosoff; stir. Squeeeeee.

There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff. Putnam, 2012, 256 pages.

The Detention Club: Review Haiku

Convoluted story
full of comma splices.
Try Scieszka instead.

The Detention Club by David Yoo. Balzer + Bray, 2011, 299 pages.

The Optimism Bias: Review Haiku

Repetitive,
fascinating look at our
inner Pollyannas.

The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain by Tali Sharot. Pantheon, 2011, 272 pages.

The Canterbury Tales: Review Haiku

I had totally
forgotten how random, weird,
and dirty these were.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, adapted by Seymour Chwast. Bloomsbury, 2011, 144 pages.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth: Review Haiku

Isabel thinks deep
thoughts again. (Who will
punch Cat in the face for me?)

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth by Alexander McCall Smith. Pantheon, 2011, 272 pages.

Look I Made a Hat: Review Haiku

Worth it for the chapters
on George and Woods alone.
I heart me some Steve.

Look I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes, and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim. Knopf, 2011, 480 pages.

(Ahem. http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/400599/bro-down)

Popularity Papers #3: Review Haiku

It's cringy because it's real,
and real because it's cringy.
Well played, girls.

The Popularity Papers #3: Words of (Questionable) Wisdom from Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow. Amulet, 2011, 208 pages.

Science Fair Season: Review Haiku

Totally made me
wish I'd been an engineer.
Rock on, smartypants.

Science Fair Season: Twelve Kids, a Robot Named Scorch . . . and What It Takes to Win by Judy Dutton. Hyperion, 2011, 288 pages.

The Fourth Stall: Review Haiku

Dude, it's The Godfather

in middle school. What more
do you need to know?

The Fourth Stall by Chris Rylander. Walden Pond Press, 2011, 336 pages.

The Influencing Machine: Review Haiku

Brilliant, clear-eyed look
at the state of media
and how we got here.

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone. Norton, 2011, 192 pages.

Level Up: Review Haiku

Heartbreaking story
of sons and fathers,
disappointing each other.

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang. First Second, 2011, 160 pages.

Bad Island: Review Haiku

Swiss Family Robinson
meets Land of the Lost,
with father/son trials too.

Bad Island by Doug TenNapel. Graphix, 2011, 224 pages.

Nursery Rhyme Comics: Review Haiku

Mother Goose goes graphic:
nifty concept, executed
expertly.

Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists edited by Chris Duffy. First Second, 2001, 128 pages.

Page by Paige: Review Haiku

Julia Cameron

for the high school set.
Follow your muse, shy ones!

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. Amulet, 2011, 192 pages.

Feynman: Review Haiku

Brilliant book, but I
still don't understand quantum
physics. Is it me?

Feynman by Jim Ottaviani. First Second, 2011, 272 pages.

Zita the Spacegirl: Review Haiku

Reluctant space
traveler Zita kicks butt, takes names,
saves her friend. Rad.

Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. First Second, 2011, 192 pages.

2011 Cybils Elementary/MG Graphic novel winner!

(Anybody surprised that First Second cleaned up in this category? Yeah, me neither.)

(Also, just noticed that our winners are Anya and Zita, which is pretty awesome.)

Anya's Ghost: Review Haiku

Suprisingly layered,
this ghostly coming-of-age
packs a wallop.

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. First Second, 2011, 224 pages.

Cybils 2011 YA Graphic Novel winner!

It's Cybils Day! It's Cybils Day!

Check out the full list of winners at www.cybils.com.

Everybody Sees the Ants: Review Haiku

Tricky treatise on
war, loss, and the sorrows we
all carry with us.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King. Little Brown, 2011, 288 pages.

Waiting for the Magic: Review Haiku

Ohhh! Sad-happy-heart-
breaking family story
of love, lost. And dogs.

Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan. Atheneum, 2011, 160 pages.

The Happiness Project: Review Haiku

Nothing earth-shattering,
but a step up from your
average self-help tome.

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin. Harper, 2009, 336 pages.

The Fault in Our Stars: Review Haiku

Hazel, I will buy
you a "F**k Cancer" kit from
Subversive Cross Stitch.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Dutton, 2012, 336 pages.

The Future of Us: Review Haiku

So we beat on, boats
against the current, borne back

ceaselessly into . . .

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. Razorbill, 2011, 356 pages.

Explosive Eighteen: Review Haiku

FINALLY Stephanie
acts like something more than
a two-dollar whore.

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich. Bantam, 2011, 320 pages.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Toys Come Home: Review Haiku

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

Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins. Schwartz & Wade, 2011, 144 pages.

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.

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.

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.

2011 Year in Review (Haiku)

Number of posts: 148
Number of book reviews: 136

Favorite middle-grade reads:
A Tale Dark and Grimm

Breadcrumbs

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #2: The Hidden Gallery

Favorite chapter book-y reads:
Clementine and the Family Meeting

Lucky for Good

Favorite YA reads:
The Last Little Blue Envelope

Picture This

Beauty Queens

Withering Tights

Real Live Boyfriends
Why We Broke Up

Favorite grown-up reads:
The Borrower

Bossypants

The Pioneer Woman

One Was a Soldier

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch

Best jackets of the year:
Darth Paper Strikes Back

Divergent

A Tale Dark and Grimm

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Beauty Queens

Okay for Now

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch

Books that, if they do not get some kind of ALA award recognition, I will eat my hat:

Breadcrumbs

Okay for Now

Beauty Queens

A Tale Dark and Grimm

Wonderstruck

FIVE: Birthday Haiku

Happy birthday to
my Turkey Boy! May you stay
forever insane.

Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011: Review Haiku

Perfect for dipping
in and out of while on the
beach in Rio (sigh).

Best American Nonrequired Reading edited by Dave Eggers. Mariner, 2011, 528 pages.

Why We Broke Up: Review Haiku

I think the New York Times

just ji$$ed in its collective pants.
Epic win.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman. Little Brown, 2011, 368 pages.

Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours.

Breadcrumbs: Review Haiku

And another one:

Yes, it really is that good.

My Newbery pick.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, 2011, 320 pages.

A Tale of Two Castles: Review Haiku

A surfeit of classic
fantasy tropes adds up to
a middling tale.

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine. Harper, 2011, 336 pages.

Alvin Ho #4: Review Haiku

Surprisingly
touching, yet still wicked funny.
Marry me, Alvin?

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies, Funerals, and Other Fatal Circumstances by Lenore Look. Schwarz & Wade, 2011, 208 pages.

Secrets at Sea: Review Haiku

Is it sacrilege
to say I thought this was just
okay? Lurve the art.

Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Dial, 2011, 256 pages.

The Leftovers: Review Haiku

"Left Behind for atheists"?
-- probably too flip.
Solid Perrotta.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. St. Martin's, 2011, 368 pages.

Little Bets: Review Haiku

Nothing shocking, but
a good reminder that
incremental change works.

Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims. Free Press, 2011, 224 pages.

Don't mind me . . .

. . . I'll just be in Rio for a few days.

Darth Paper Strikes Back: Review Haiku

Multiple narrators
sometimes grate, but it's
ORIGAMI VADER.

Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angelberger. Amulet, 2011, 176 pages.

The Story of Charlotte's Web: Review Haiku

A bit precious, a
bit pretentious, but how
could I resist this one?

The Story of Charlotte's Web: E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims. Walker, 2011, 320 pages.

St. Paul's Advent Fair: TOMORROW!

Local peeps, stop by my church's awesome Advent Fair for terrific gift baskets, crafts, food, and a raffle for an iPad2!