2013: Year in Review (Haiku)

Another year,
another one hundred forty-nine
review haikus.

And here's the wrap-up. (Note: some of the books I reviewed in 2013 were published in 2012. It was ever thus; deal with it.)

Favorite reads, in order of target age group (youngest to oldest):
The Year of Billy Miller
Clementine and the Spring Trip
The Grimm Conclusion
P.S. Be Eleven
Bomb
The Shade of the Moon
Every Day
Code Name Verity
Eleanor & Park
Hyperbole and a Half

Favorite jackets (in no particular order):

The Real Boy: Review Haiku

Allegory upon
allegory, with a
warm heart underneath.

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu. Walden Pond Press, 2013, 352 pages.

SEVEN: Birthday Haiku

Never change, you myth-
obsessed, Potter-loving, goofball
weirdo Turkey.

The Grimm Conclusion: Review Haiku

However you feel
about breaking the fourth wall,
you'll feel that with this.

The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz. Dutton, 2013, 358 pages.

God Got a Dog: Review Haiku

Two of my favorites
re-imagine wise words.
Merry Christmas, my friends.

God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Marla Frazee. Beach Lane, 2013, 48 pages.

From Norvelt to Nowhere: Review Haiku

I want to be Miss Volker
when I grow up. But why
badmouth Thin Mints?

From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos. Macmillan, 2013, 288 pages.

Go: Review Haiku

Proto-designers
of the world, unite!
Self-promoting, but still cool.

Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd. Workman, 2013, 150 pages.

Picture Me Gone: Review Haiku

The uncategorizable
Rosoff pens another
gem -- for whom?

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff. Putnam, 2013, 256 pages.

Tampa: Review Haiku

I think I need a
shower. And maybe a
confessional. Egad.

Tampa by Alissa Nutting. Ecco, 2013, 272 pages.

Coaltown Jesus: Review Haiku

My kind of Savior:
no-nonsense, wry, and just a
little bit snarky.

Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge. Candlewick, 2013, 128 pages.

Mud Season: Review Haiku

Loved the concept, but
couldn't really connect with
the author. Alas.

Mud Season by Ellen Stimson. Countryman Press, 2013, 288 pages.

Sure Signs of Crazy: Review Haiku

Voice/topic mismatch?
Or is that the point, given
Sarah's awful past?

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington. Little Brown, 2013, 288 pages.

ADVENT FAIR this Saturday!

Local peeps! If you are looking for fantastic Christmas gifts and wonderful causes to support in a festive atmosphere for the whole family, look no further than the St. Paul's Advent Fair, tomorrow from 9:00am to 2:00pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 100 Pine Hill Road, Bedford, MA.

We have gift baskets, Silent Auction items (including hand-painted, one-of-a-kind chairs!), Country Kitchen (featuring marinara sauce and soup made by my husband!), children's activites, vintage jewelry, and a raffle for a Bose SoundLink Bluetooth mobile speaker. 

Come one, come all!

Hyperbole and a Half: Review Haiku

Buy it for the simple dog;
keep it for the honesty.
And the CAAAAAAAAAKE.

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh. Touchstone, 2013, 384 pages.

The Year of Billy Miller: Review Haiku

Pitch-perfect snapshots
of second-grade worries.
Henkes nails it again.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes. Greenwillow, 2013, 240 pages.

[P.S. Check out the GORGEOUS hand-lettering on the title and chapter numbers by my client Ryan O'Rourke!]