My favorite place in the world when I was a kid was the basement children’s room of the town library. I even ended up working there in high school. I systematically read my way around the YA books on the perimeter of the room, going back to certain ones over and over. One of the series I revisited a few times was the Tillerman Cycle, a seven-novel series which starts with Homecoming (1981). There are many children’s books and YA novels that have not aged […]
Teenagers work through their grief
I can’t remember how this book got on my wish list. I haven’t read anything else by Meg Wolitzer. I generally stay with young adult books and she is more known for her adult books than this YA one. In any case, I put Belzhar on my list at some point and it became available recently. I had no idea what to expect, but was quickly drawn into a world of troubled teens. The story is told from perspective of a high school student named […]
Unsinkable doesn’t quite stay afloat
Many Canadians like myself remember Silken Laumann’s amazing perseverance after a severe leg injury, to win a bronze medal only 10 weeks later at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Even without the gold, she was one of the hero stories of the game, and certainly an important one for Canada. One day, I happened across an interview to hear her talking about her memoir, Unsinkable. She sounded quite passionate and open about her life, so I looked forward to reading it. After a long wait […]
Expanded version of the website is a worthwhile purchase for fans
The cover photo here is from my desk at work. That would be Allie in the middle, flanked by Simple Dog on the left and Helper Dog on the right. So yes, I’m a fan. This book collects all of the entries from the Hyperbole & A Half website as well as several new ones. I’m not sure how many of the entries are new, but I’ve been a fan of the site for years and there were several I either read and forgot about […]