Appleblossom the Possum: Review Haiku

Still not cute enough
to counter the mean one I
saw in my backyard.

Appleblossom the Possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Dial, 2015, 288 pages.

Stuck in the Middle: Review Haiku

Both reassuring
and terrifying for this
middle-school mama.

Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age edited by Ariel Schrag. FSG, 2007, 224 pages.

Saint Anything: Review Haiku

How do you atone
for someone else's sins?
And why should you have to?

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. Viking, 2015, 432 pages.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate: Review Haiku

Boy-gets-dog story:
his brilliant sister is the
brains behind it, natch.

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Holt, 2015, 320 pages.

Drowned City: Review Haiku

Brutal, clear-eyed look
at a national tragedy
of cruel neglect.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown. HMH, 2015, 96 pages.

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer: Review Haiku

If I called Sophie
"plucky," would you ever
forgive me? Whatta chick!

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones. Knopf, 2015, 224 pages.

Stonewall: Review Haiku

How far we've come;
how far we haven't come.
Fascinating history.

Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights by Ann Bausum. Viking, 2015, 80 pages.

The Unmapped Sea: Review Haiku

Old sailors never die;
they just have all their offspring
cursed by she-wolves.

The Unmapped Sea (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place) by Maryrose Wood. Balzer + Bray, 2015, 416 pages.

Mary Poppins: Review Haiku

She's a right nasty
bitch, isn't she? And where did
those babies come from?

Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers. Harcourt, originally published 1934, 192 pages.

Anne of Green Gables: Review Haiku

I expected more
Gilbert and less Dickensian
yammering on.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Puffin, originally 1908, 464 pages.

It's Labor Day.

I'm not laboring.

Chasing Secrets: Review Haiku

Race, class, love, death -- if
you thought plague was a thing of
the past, think again.

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko. Wendy Lamb, 2015, 228 pages.

Royal Wedding: Review Haiku

The weirdest part was

reading the middle-school version

before this one.

Royal Wedding (Princess Diaries) by Meg Cabot. Morrow, 2015, 448 pages.