George: Review Haiku

Normalizing a
transgender experience,
thanks to Charlotte's Web.

George by Alex Gino. Scholastic, 2015, 240 pages.

Vermont, I am in you.

Excited for a weekend at VCFA. Please be kind to me!

http://vcfa.edu/programs-faculty/postgraduate-non-degree/amr

Another Day: Review Haiku

A's story, through
Rhiannon's eyes. Lots of rehash,
some new perspectives.

Another Day by David Levithan. Knopf, 2015, 300 pages.

Sunny Side Up: Review Haiku

Serious fare from
the Babymouse sibs.
Addiction hurts everyone.

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. Graphix/Scholastic, 2015, 224 pages.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda: Review Haiku

You've Got Mail for the
proto-Tindr set: charming,
heartfelt, and needed.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Balzer + Bray, 2015, 320 pages.

Bone Gap: Review Haiku

Magic realism
in the cornfields: better than
grasshoppers, I'd say.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby. Balzer + Bray, 2015, 368 pages.

The Hospital Suite: Review Haiku

A painful memoir
about creativity
hampered by illness.

The Hospital Suite by John Porcellino. Drawn & Quarterly, 2014, 250 pages.

The Lunch Witch: Review Haiku

Odd little fable
about fitting in.
It's Bizarro Lunch Lady!

The Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke. Papercutz, 2015, 180 pages.

All the Answers: Review Haiku

Just in time for
test season: a moral
meditation on ethics.

All the Answers by Kate Messner. Bloomsbury, 2015, 256 pages.

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe: Review Haiku

Is it bad to admit
I want to punch
Mma Makutsi in the face?

The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith. Anchor, 2015, 272 pages.

How to Be Happy: Review Haiku

Trippy collection
of fever-dream short stories;
worth a close re-read.

How to Be Happy by Eleanor Davis. Fantagraphics, 2014, 152 pages.

BEA: I am here.

Spending midweek at everyone's favorite level of Hell: the Javits Center.

http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

Roller Girl: Review Haiku

Take some time away
from your barbecues to meet
one kick-ass skate babe.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson. Dial, 2015, 240 pages.

My Favorite Things: Review Haiku

A coffee-table
book for Kalman fans: richly drawn
and richly felt.

My Favorite Things by Maira Kalman. Harper Design, 2014, 160 pages.

THIS IS FORTY, BITCHEZZZZ.

Happy birthday to me.

Displacement: Review Haiku

Lucy takes her grandparents
on the worst/best cruise ever:
Heart-wrenching.

Displacement by Lucy Knisley. Fantagraphics, 2015, 168 pages.

On hiatus

Taking a post-show blogging break because I am TIRED, y'all. Almost-forty-year-olds are allowed to do this. 

ST. PAUL'S TONIGHT: Come see me being silly!

On Saturday,  May 2, at 7:00pm, and Sunday, May 3, at 3:00pm, I'll be wearing a very short poodle skirt and leading a cast of fellow crazy Episcopalians in a tribute to the music and culture of the 1950s.

• Your favorite tunes, from Bill Haley to Elvis Presley!
• Men's synchronized swimming!
• Terrible vintage commercials!
• A real rock-and-roll band!

It's a ton of fun: what we may lack in skill, we more than make up for in enthusiasm and joy. Tickets are $10; all proceeds support the ministries and programs of St. Paul's.

COME SEE US!

ST. PAUL'S TONIGHT: ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK.
Saturday, May 2, 7:00pm
Sunday, May 3, 3:00pm
Tickets $10 at the door
John Glenn Middle School auditorium, 99 McMahon Road, Bedford, MA 01730.

Seconds: Review Haiku

If she could turn back time . . .
she'd probably not tick off
the house spirit.

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Ballantine, 2014, 336 pages.

Lumberjanes: Review Haiku

Kicka$$ girls go camping,
fight monsters, and set up
for new adventures.

Lumberjanes Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen. BOOM! Box, 2015, 128 pages.

Hold Me Closer: Review Haiku

I really need to
see someone put this show on
for real. Curtain up!

Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David Levithan. Dutton, 2015, 208 pages.

Read Between the Lines: Review Haiku

Everyone you meet
is fighting a battle you
know nothing about.

Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles. Candlewick, 2015, 336 pages.

Moonpenny Island: Review Haiku

More than your garden-variety
quirky middle-grade.
Trilobites!

Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb. Balzer + Bray. 2015, 304 pages.

Happy blogiversary to me!

Will she ever run
out of books? No way. Out of
energy? Maybe.

Happy birthday, giant person.

The Terrible Two: Review Haiku

This avowed prank-hater
still found these guys kinda
charming. (But trouble.)

The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell. Abrams, 2015, 224 pages.

Lucky Strike: Review Haiku

A sturdy middle-grade
with wacky characters
and some light magic.

Lucky Strike by Bobbie Pyron. Levine/Scholastic, 2015, 272 pages.

The Shadow Cabinet: Review Haiku

CRAZY HOT GHOST ACTION!
Or, Why You Might Not Want
to Visit UK.

The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson. Putnam, 2015, 400 pages.

Poisoned Apples: Review Haiku

A little repetitive,yes,
but a powerful
read nonetheless.


Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppernan. Greenwillow, 2014, 128 pages.

The Question of Miracles: Review Haiku

Grief in tangible and
intangible forms: a
deft meditation.

The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold. Harcourt, 2015, 240 pages.

True Things (Amelia Rules): Review Haiku

Oh, my heart: hard truths,
decisions for my (second-)
favorite fifth grader.

True Things (Adults Don't Want Kids to Know) by Jimmy Gownley. Atheneum, 2010, 176 pages.

Dog Butts and Love: Review Haiku

Happy Bunny guy
is a worthy successor
to John Callahan.

Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats. by Jim Benton. NBM Publishing, 2014, 96 pages.

Cleopatra in Space: Review Haiku

Approved by fifth-grade
daughter, second-grade son, and Mom.
Rip-roaring fun!

Cleopatra in Space #1: Target Practice by Mike Maihack. Graphix, 2014, 176 pages.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone: Review Haiku

Super-charming
revisionist history
featuring kickass girls.

The Case of the Missing Moonstone (Wollstonecraft Detective Agency #1) by Jordan Stratford, illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Knopf, 2015, 240 pages.

The Penderwicks in Spring: Review Haiku

It's Spring! With Batty!
And you will cry and cry and cry.
And then rejoice,

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf, 2015, 352 pages.

Completely Clementine: Review Haiku

A satisfying
goodbye to one of my
favorite knuckleheads.

Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee. Hyperion, 2015, 192 pages.

How It Went Down: Review Haiku

Raises tons of questions,
answers almost none -- and
does so beautifully.

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. Holt, 2014, 352 pages.

The Honest Truth: Review Haiku

Beautiful meditation
on life, death, and friendship.
Worth all the buzz.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart. Scholastic, 2015, 240 pages.

SHREK THE MUSICAL

Local friends! Come see my kid, all green and dwarfy! Showtimes today at 4:30, and 3/12, 3/13, and 3/14 at 7:30pm. Bedford High School auditorium.

http://bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/bhs-musical.html

Flatbread Benefit Night for ASP!

Friends in Bedford/Burlington/Billerica and all other B and non-B town in Massachusetts: Come to Flatbread in Bedford tomorrow night, March 10, for a Benefit Night for my church's upcoming mission trip to West Virginia with Appalachia Service Project.

Flatbread will donate $3.50 for every large pizza and $1.75 for every small pizza purchased toward our trip. Takeout and curbside pickup are available, so you don't even have to get out of the car.

Fuzzy Mud: Review Haiku

Ecoterrorism
with benign intent.
Scarily plausible.

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

Bo at Iditarod Creek: Review Haiku

It feels like Alaska
outside, so snuggle in
with Bo and the gang.

Bo at Iditarod Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Holt, 2015, 288 pages.

The End or Something Like That: Review Haiku

Missed appointments with
the afterlife force Emmy
to confront her grief.

The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis. Dial, 2014, 352 pages.

Through the Woods: Review Haiku

CREEPY AS ALL HELL,
and wonderfully rich and
compelling to boot.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. McElderry/S&S, 2014, 208 pages.

Gaijin: Review Haiku

A different story
of internment, with
complicated characters.

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner. Disney, 2014, 144 pages.

The Harlem Hellfighters: Review Haiku

A story of wartime
bravery, tainted by
shameful racism.

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks. Broadway Books, 2014, 272 pages.

The Shadow Hero: Review Haiku

A turtle for our time:
the classic superhero
tale writ anew.

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Lieuw. First Second, 2014, 176 pages.

Ash Wednesday

Remember you are but dust, and to dust you shall return.

Also, stop looking at my forehead.

IRL: Review Haiku

Gamer girl figures
out the rules aren't always
black-and-white. Hardcore smarts.

In Real Life/IRL by Cory Doctorow, illustrated by Jen Wang. First Second, 2014, 192 pages.

It's Cybils Day!

Hie thee over to www.cybils.com for all the good news (especially those great-looking graphic novels, eh?)

Shoplifter: Review Haiku

Personal fulfillment
in the modern workaday
world. Plus stealing.

Shoplifter by Michael Cho. Pantheon, 2014, 96 pages.

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny: Review Haiku

Behold: your go-to
gift for the karate* kid
in your life. (*I know.)

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny by John Himmelman. Holt, 2014, 144 pages.

Nightmares: Review Haiku

Not bad, surprisingly:
real kid fears handled with
real kid solutions.

Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. Delacorte, 2014, 368 pages.

Stella by Starlight: Review Haiku

A fair bit of stiff
exposition, but you
can't help liking Stella.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum, 2015, 336 pages.

The Crossover: Review Haiku

Briefly confused by
narration, but I loved these
guys and loved their game.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. HMH, 2014, 240 pages.

ETA: OMG I TOTALLY SCHEDULED THIS ONE PRESCIENTLY, EH?

WEBCAST! WEBCASTWEBCASTWEBCAST!

I am not in Chicago, alas. BUT I AM WATCHING THE WEBCAST!

http://live.webcastinc.com/ala/2015/live/