NEST

NEST by Esther Erlich. Wendy Lamb Books, 2014.

Chirp loves her family.
But Mom is depressed, absent.
Everything seems wrong.

Quick on the Trigger

FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK by Matthew Quick. Little Brown, August 2013.

Quick (author of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK gives readers an inside look at a teen pushed beyond the fringe, tottering on the edge of life. On his birthday, Leonard Peacock hides a gun in his backpack and heads off to school. Today is the day he has selected to kill his former best friend and then himself. What else can he do? His mother is more than absentee, and his closest relationships are with his Bogart-loving elderly neighbor and his history teacher who is instructing less-than-enthusiastic kids about the Holocaust. Quick spins out the story of Leonard and how he has come to believe suicide is the answer in short bursts of information, always leaving the reader guessing and wanting more (sort of like Leonard himself who is trying best he can to figure out his path in this world). Leonard is a kid readers will come to admire: his sharp mind and quick sense of humor are winning. Because of that, readers will stick to this story hoping that somehow Leonard will find redemption and salvation.

THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE

THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE by Christopher Paul Curtis (Wendy Lamb Books, January 2012) takes readers back to the award winning setting of BUD NOT BUDDY. It is the Depression and times are tough. Many are out of work including Deza Malone's father. When he leaves Gary, Indiana, for Flint, Michigan, in search of work, the Malone house just is not the same. Deza misses her father, the man who worshipped her, who asked about her day, who took interest in her accomplishments. Eventually, Deza and her mother and brother Jimmie leave to search for him. <557>

If you know the work of Christopher Paul Curtis, then you know what to expect from THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE. Humor? Check. Family. Check? Hardship? Check. Impeccable dialogue? Check. Characters you come to care about? Yep. Connections to contemporary readers despite the historic setting? Uh-huh. Minor characters who are just as carefully drawn as the major players? You bet. In short, this is quintessential Curtis, making the past come alive for readers once more. The letter to readers that precedes the story is personal and perfect and helps let us know what drove Curtis to write the story of Miss Deza Malone and her family. Welcome back, Chris. It's always too long for me between books!