Koko Be Good: Review Haiku

Odd little nugget
about following your own dreams,
not another's.

Koko Be Good by Jen Wang. First Second, 2010, 304 pages.

Ten Things We Did . . . : Review Haiku

WOW does she get
teenage invincibility and
dumbass moves right.

Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) by Lauren Myracle. Harper, 2011, 368 pages.

How to Save a Life: Review Haiku

Makes the unsympathetic
sympathetic, for both
main characters.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr. Little Brown, 2011, 352 pages.

V Is for Vengeance: Review Haiku

Who cares about the
story? I just want Kinsey's
kickass apartment.

V Is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. Putnam, 2011, 448 pages.

The Grief of Others: Review Haiku

Normally love her,
but could not get into this
one. Too depressing?

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen. Riverhead, 2011, 384 pages.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness: Review Haiku

It's books like this that
make me appreciate my
sainted Swedish mom.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller. Penguin, 2011, 256 pages.

And the Pursuit of Happiness: Review Haiku

The most beautiful
patriotism I've ever
read.

And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman. Penguin, 2010, 480 pages.

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading: Review Haiku

Not as clever as
it thought it was. Try
Wimpy Kid instead, won't you?

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Roaring Brook, 2011, 224 pages.

Dead End in Norvelt: Review Haiku

Pretty sure I knew
where this was going, but still
glad I took the trip.

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos. FSG, 2011, 352 pages.

Toys Come Home: Review Haiku

Liked but didn't love;
still adore the oddball
collection of friends, though.

Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins. Schwartz & Wade, 2011, 144 pages.

Resonate: Review Haiku

Written for business
types, it's what every good
picture-book writer knows.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte. John Wiley, 2010, 248 pages.

Mo Wren, Lost and Found: Review Haiku

Hard-luck Mo struggles
to adjust to new neighborhood,
new friends, new life.

Mo Wren, Lost and Found by Tricia Springstubb. Balzer + Bray, 2011, 256 pages.

Flunking Sainthood: Review Haiku

Marvelous treatise
on our status as sinners all.
Good thing there's grace.

Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Riess. Paraclete Press, 2011, 192 pages.