Frey, James – My Friend Leonard, 2005 – B-. I read A Million Little Pieces soon after it came out (ordered it for the library because it got a great review in Booklist) and found it completely compelling. I was surprised to be won over despite the annoying Capitalization and other Freyisms. I had already started MFL when the whole brouhaha blew up. But even aside from that, it just doesn’t have the same kick the first book did.
Gethers, Peter – The Cat Who’ll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of NORTON, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human, 2001 – B-. Large print read over time on the elliptical trainer. Tolerable in small doses.
A Love Like No Other: Stories from Adoptive Parents – ed. Pamela Kruger and Jill Smolowe, 2005 – A-
Raskin, Ellen – The Westing Game, 1978 – B. For the Parent-Child Book Club. We have our work cut out for us!
Varley, John – Mammoth, 2005 – B. A pretty good big-budget time travel novel interspered with sections from an awful children’s book. Why would a talented writer like Varley think rules like “show, don’t tell” don’t apply in children’s literature? They apply more.
Young, Dean & Rick Marschall – Blondie & Dagwood’s America, 1981 – B+