The One and Only Ivan: Review Haiku

A third Newbery
contender throws his simian
hat in the ring.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Harper, 2012, 320 pages.

Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny: Review Haiku

You're even reading
this review in Garrison
Keillor's voice, aren't you.

Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny by Garrison Keillor. Penguin, 2012, 224 pages.

Friends with Boys: Review Haiku

Fine line between
reality and fantasy --
just like age fourteen.

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. First Second, 2012, 224 pages.

Gone Girl: Review Haiku

HOLY HELL THESE PEOPLE
ARE INSANE. Edge-of-your-seat
summer reading.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Crown, 2012, 432 pages.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: Review Haiku

I wish I had her
sanguine attitude on life,
but I'm not there yet.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: A Memoir by Anna Quindlen. Random, 2012, 208 pages.

Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom: Review Haiku

Well-drawn characters
make topical drama resonate
more strongly.

Tessa Masterson WILL Go to Prom by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin. Walker, 2012, 272 pages.

The Difference Between You and Me: Review Haiku

I would've cared more
if either of the girls were
at all likable. 

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George. Viking, 2012,

Reunited: Review Haiku

Three girls, one van, a
million tiny slights make for
one awkward road trip.

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham. S&S, 2012, 336 pages.

Keeping the Castle: Review Haiku

Pride and Prejudice
for middle graders (YAs
just read the real one).

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl. Viking, 2012, 272 pages.

The Storytelling Animal: Review Haiku

Pop social science
asserts we're all raconteurs
at heart. Good quick read.

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall. HMH, 2012, 272 pages.

The Red House: Review Haiku

Stream-of-consciousness
look at family dysfunction
on vacation.

The Red House by Mark Haddon. Doubleday, 2012, 272 pages.

The Bad Apple: Review Haiku

Just in time for back-to-school:
mayhem with a killer
twist at the end.

The Bad Apple (Merits of Mischief #1) by T. R. Burns. S&S, 2012, 352 pages.