The Fast and the Furriest by Behrens

The Fast and the Furriest by Andy Behrens, 2010.
Audience: 3rd-6th grade
My Rating: 4* of 5
Summary: Meet Kevin Pugh, 12-year-old couch potato. Now meet Cromwell, his part beagle, part potato chip dog. Kevin's looking forward to spending his summer doing as little as possible. Unfortunately, Kevin's father, former Chicago Bears star player/super-sports fanatic, Howie Pugh, feels differently. So does Cromwell, who has suddenly and mysteriously developed a fascination with agility competitions.
Comments: Fast, furry, fun! A quick, delightful read with lots of laughs. Perfect for dog lovers from 6-60 who are sick of dead-dog books.
Read-Alikes: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, No More Dead Dogs

Swim the Fly / Beat the Band by Calame (Audio)

Swim the Fly / Beat the Band by Don Calame, both read by Nick Podehl.

Audience: Grades 8 and up

My Rating: 4* of 5

Summary: True ode(s) to the adolescent male, in this story about three teenage boys with a single goal: to see a real-live naked girl by the end of summer (Swim). Matt, Coop, and Sean from "Swim the Fly" return to rock their sophomore year. With ribald humor and a few sweet notes, screenwriter-turned-novelist Calame once again hits all the right chords (Beat the Band).

Comments: Hilarious, "American Pie" worthy humor was just the ticket for Friday afternoon traffic! Swim the Fly, with Matt as the narrating voice, has more laughs while Coop's Band is rife with sarcasm and idiotic-teenage-boy-logic. One wonders...will a final book feature Sean?

Read-alikes: Zen and the Art of Faking It by Sonnenblick

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, 2010.
Audience: Grades 8 & up
My Rating: 4.99999* of 5
Summary: Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy?
Comments: The Nick & Norah magic is back! Plus Christmas in NYC as a feel-good bonus backdrop! Would have been perfect if not for a Cohn chapter that was unpleasantly and obviously more Norah than Lily. Lexiphile Dash is on the verge as unbelievable as a teen unless you were one or knew one yourself.
Read-alikes: Nick & Norah's infinite playlist, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green/Levithan

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger, 2010.

Audience: Grades 4 through 6

My Rating: 4* of 5

Summary: Sixth-grader Tommy and his friends describe their interactions with a paper finger puppet of Yoda, worn by their weird classmate Dwight, as they try to figure out whether or not the puppet can really predict the future.

Comments: Fun, relevant Middle-School read that is perfect for Wimpy Kid fans (though it has more boy-girl crush content than the Wimpy books).

Read-alikes: Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Big Nate series

Awards: 2011-2012 Bluebonnet nominee

NERDS by Michael Buckley (audio)

NERDS (National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society) by Michael Buckley. Recorded Books, 2009. Narrated by Johnny Heller.
Audience: Grades 4 through 6
My Rating: 3* of 5
Summary: While running a spy network from their elementary school, five unpopular misfits combine their talents and use cutting-edge gadgetry to fight evil around the world.
Comments: Revenge of the Nerds meets James Bond. Clever and funny with plenty of booger jokes to boot. Heller lost my interest in many spots with his slow pacing, but I always made it back on track eventually.
Read-alikes: Give to fans of Wimpy Kid and the like. Or kids with braces. Book 2 (M is for Mama's Boy) available now.

Big Nate: In a Class By Himself by Peirce

Summary: Supremely confident middle school student Nate Wright manages to make getting detention from every one of his teachers in the same day seem like an achievement.

Comments: Total Diary of a Wimpy Kid rip-off, but funny anyway. Hand it to those waiting on the next Wimpy Kid installment.

Zombiekins by Bolger

Zombiekins by Kevin Bolger, Razorbill 2010.
My Rating: 5 *s out of 5!!!

Drop everything and read Zombiekins! Oh, baby, is this a gem. Be prepared to laugh hysterically and uncontrollably so chose your reading locations accordingly. Bolger writes with pitch perfect pacing and razor sharp wit; in this case he deftly spoofs every zombie movie you've ever seen and wraps it in a cute (though slightly macabre), fluffy package.

Give this book to every 4th, 5th, or 6th grader who walks in the door! Especially fans of Franny K. Stein or Bunnicula. Pure, dark, genius!!!

"Don't worry, this isn't a real zombie. It's just a stuffy with a sort of macabre, half-dead appearance."

"Zombiekins started to cross the room, walking stiffly and with a limp--one leg swiveling on its teddy-bear joint, the other dragging like a dead limb...Stump!--scri-i-i-i-i-itch..."

"In Ms. Mellow's kindergarten the classroom was bustling with non-gender-specific role-playing activites...In the Playhouse, one boy was pretending to be the kind of daddy who liked to wear an apron and bake mud pies, while the girl he was playing with was pretending to be the kind of mommy who liked to throw dishes and yell at you to get a job."

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce. 2010.

Audience: Grades 5-8, ages 10-14.

My Rating: 4*s of 5

Summary: Twelve-year-old Liam, who looks like he is thirty and is tired of being treated like he is older than he actually is, decides he is going to pose as the adult chaperone on the first spaceship to take civilians into space, but when he ends up in outer space with a group of kids and no adult supervision, he must think fast to make things right.

Comments: Another Cottrell Boyce winner. This one is so different from Millions that there is no need to compare. A rare juvenile book that is a positive portrait of a dad. Funny, warm, great dialogue, and fantastic views of space.

Awards:

Read-alikes: George's Secret Key to the Universe by Hawking

Hero by Perry Moore

Hero by Perry Moore. 2009.
Audience: Grades 8th and up; 13 and up (who can handle GLBT lit)
My Rating: 4*s of 5
Summary: The last thing in the world Thom Creed wants is to add to his father's pain, so he keeps secrets. Like that he has special powers. And that he's been asked to join the League - the very organization of superheroes that spurned his dad. But the most painful secret of all is one Thom can barely face himself: he's gay.

Comments: Overall a funny, entertaining, and engaging story that is highly original. Kind of a look at what the Incredibles family could become many years later. The concept is great--a budding superhero teen struggling with his missing mom, fallen superhero dad, his own new powers and the biggie--his homosexuality. Characters are appealing (Typhiod Larry, ha!) and there are many funny moments (huge laughs over The Lorax scene). There are a few bumps in the road execution-wise, especially with early action scenes. But any transgressions are easily forgiven as we root Thom on in the battlefields of hero-dom and looooove!

Awards:
Read-alikes: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies / Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies by Hartinger; How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater by Acito

The True Meaning of Smekday

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. 2007.

Audience: ??? This is my question...who is this book for? The main character is 12, but very smart-talking and mature. There is plenty of swearing and semi-swearing. It weighs in at over 400 pages and overall is pretty sophisticated, sarcastic, and mature IMHO.

We have this title in Juvenile. Plano has it in YA. Dallas has it in Juvenile. SLJ says grades 4-8...4th grade? Really? Publisher's Weekly says ages 8 and up...8? Really?

I really enjoyed this book, but am a bit baffled by where it really belongs and who is the best audience for this one. Please weigh in if you have input!

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (audio)

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker. 2006.
Audience: Grades 2-4; 7-10
My Rating: 4.5*s of 5
Summary: While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old (third-grader) Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.
Comments: A great narrator and delightful story! Clementine is put-her-in-your pocket lovable. Her "spectacular ideas" and eventual mishaps create many laugh out loud moments. Can't wait to read more about her!

Awards:
Read-alikes: Ida B. by Hannigan, Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, Judy Moody books by McDonald

The Schwa Was Here

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman. 2004/2006 reissue.
Audience: 6-10th Grade; Ages 11-15
My Rating: 4.5*s of 5
Summary: A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an "invisible-ish" boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.

Comments: Antsy wins me over again. He is a delightful and fun narrator who Shusterman told me (eeeee!) is based on "his alter ego...a kid who says out loud everything [Neal] wanted to but couldn't." As with Antsy Does Time, death/loss is dealt with in a humourous, but never mocking way. I read the two Antsy stories out of order and they stood alone very nicely.

Awards: Lone Star list 2006, lots of journal lists
Read-alikes: Antsy Does Time by Shusterman and according to the author, eventually Antsy Floats (to feature another gramatical charcter...Tilda)

Antsy Does Time by Shusterman

Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman. 2008.

Audience: 6-10 Grade; Ages 11-13

My Rating: 4.5*s of 5

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Anthony "Antsy" Bonano learns about life, death, and a lot more when he tries to help a friend with a terminal illness feel hopeful about the future.

Comments: A laugh out loud funny story with very real characters. Shusterman reading with his Brooklyn accent is perfect. The turn for the poignant toward the end of the book adds just enough weight to balance the laughs and is dished out in just the right portion--the perfect dessert to the meal that is this story. I especially appreciate the portrayal of Kjersten. As the "pretty girl" love interest her character is rounded out with flaws, neurosis, and motivation.

Awards: Lone Star List 2009-2010

Read-alikes: The Schwa was Here by Shusterman