Don't "criss cross" this off your list!

I was noticing as I went through the Newbery list that I have read most of the new ones - after the 70's, my numbers go down. But I hadn't read the newest ones - except for The Higher Power of Lucky - which was wonderful - so I thought I'd be sure to have read the last 10 anyway.
For this reason I picked up Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. This is a first novel - and all the more impressive for that. What a delightful read -you may want to do it in one setting - it has a "stream of consciousness" feel to it - but the characters are well-drawn, the emotions are real, the story line comes together remarkably well, and you kind of hate to see it end - all good qualities in a book, to my way of thinking.

It's a kind of coming of age story that takes place in the 70's - I'm not sure where, but it's not California - they make a point of emphasizing that fact. The name of the town is Seldem - don't you love an author who plays with words like that?? There are some quirky drawings that add to the story, almost effortlessly.

On the back cover, there is this quote from the story, "She was thinking that the grass really could be greener on the other side of the fence. It depended on who was standing in the grass. Maybe you had to go take a look."

My favorite lines were in the chapter where Hector starts taking guitar lessons from the local minister: "Maybe there had been a time, a moment, when he had made the choice between being a rock star and a Presbyterian miniser. He had that funny voice, but he seemed to enjoy performing. He threw his head back and scrunched his eyes shut and emoted. He did as much as could be done with that voice. The abandoned rock star option had not quite given up. It had not completely faded away."

If you read no other Newbery book this summer, read this one!! You'll be glad you did!