Catching Up: Three Quick Reviews

Today I’m doing some catching up with a few quick reviews.

     The first is a book I received as an advanced copy from the author. Gabrielle Prendergast runs VerseNovels.com and does a tremendous job supporting the genre, so I wanted to support her by spreading the word about her book, Audacious, (YA) which releases October 1st. I hadn’t read a novel in verse in a while and I think I was long overdue. I finished this one within a day.   

     From reading her blog posts, I know that Ms. Prendergast enjoys a bit of controversy. During Banned Book week she expressed the desire that her own novel would make the most challenged list one day. Given that a great deal of the story revolves around the C word, I’m betting she’ll get her wish. Although the story wasn’t really for me, I think the audience for verse novels is growing and there are plenty of readers out there who will feel differently.

     My second review is for Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon. The premise sounded unique: a 17-year-old cancer patient tries to get the most out of life while living out his final days in Hospice. I hunted down a copy of the ARC at BEA, even though it meant crossing the Javits Center more than once with critically aching feet. The writing was excellent, the boy voice rang true, and the story line kept me reading at a quick clip. I would have preferred more romance and less lustiness, but perhaps that’s more true to the teenage boy POV.

     Also at BEA, I picked up The Show Must Go On! By Kate Klise (for ages 7-10). I’ll be honest, I didn’t seek this one out, but someone handed it to me and I didn’t know how to say no. I recently decided to share it with my 8-year-old nephew and before giving it to him, I thought I’d read it, so we could discuss it later. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lot of fun, with black and white line drawings throughout. It has humor. It has heart. It has a dastardly villain who the circus performers must band together to overcome. It uses wordplay and even incorporates a little math, as well as clever characters that young readers will root for. I hate to nag my nephew, but I’m dying to know what he thinks of it.