Looking for Jack Kerouac

LOOKING FOR JACK KEROUAC by Barbara Shoup. Lacewing Press, August 2014.

Paul meets Kerouac
In the pages of a book
And then face to face.

Ah, grasshopper

GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE by Andrew Smith. Dutton, 2014.

From the glowing neon green cover with fluorescent yellow accent, this book demands attention. Attention must be paid. Just ask Austin and Robby, two teens who skate the Grasshopper Jungle, who are the target of some bullies, whose parents have checked out for various reasons, and who look to each other for friendship and comfort. Their nemeses, the town bullies, accidentally unleash a virus of Unstoppable Soldiers, giant praying mantises that want only to devour and reproduce. End of the world scenario? Let Austin, the self-appointed historian, tell you in his own inimitable style. Smith has created a science fiction world firmly grounded in the lives of teen boys, one populated by horrendous creatures not all of which are insects. Suspenseful, hilarious, dark, and most of all unique in its approach to telling the story.

Tender, True, Touching

LIVING WITH JACKIE CHAN by Jo Knowles. Candlewick Press, September 2013.

The waiting list for my copy of the ARC is growing by the minute. Here is a companion book to JUMPING OFF SWINGS, but it is a book that will stand on its own two feet very well. This is the story of Josh who leaves his old school before senior year to go live with his Uncle Larry (may we all be fortunate to have an Uncle Larry in our lives). Josh needs a break from his family and friends and from the haunting memory at the hospital. Maybe time and distance will help him recover some sort of balance. Larry insists Josh join him in the evening karate class. There Josh gets to know his neighbor and fellow senior, Stella. But things are tense between them from time to time due to the secrets both of them are hiding. Knowles manages to let readers see the edges of the secrets, enough that they (if they are anything like me) will fret over the future of these two teens and the other folks involved in their lives. The book examines issues with care (tender) but honesty (true) and at an emotional depth (touching) that will keep readers turning the pages to see if all will be well.

That's what it's all about

HOKEY POKEY by Jerry Spinelli. Knopf, 2013.

In a town called Hokey Pokey, life is simple and wonderful for kids. There are bikes to ride, games of catch to play, ice cream to eat. Jack has loved living in Hokey Pokey; his life has been that ideal childhood, the one you never question until something changes. And change is coming. Jack feels it in his bones. His beloved bike, Scramjet, is stolen by a GIRL who paints it bright yellow and adds glitter and streamers to the handlebars. Jack is not sure exactly what is happening, but is sure does not feel good. Is it inevitable?

Spinelli has crafted an incredible coming of age story, an allegory of childhood and the changes one faces that make life change drastically seemingly within one moment. The STORY, the bikes, a baseball mitt, a statue: nothing is here that does not create memories of our own long agos and make us yearn for those carefree days.