February Book Review

I was apparently on a children's/young adult book kick this month. That's all right; it just means I got some reading done even though I was staying up late to watch the Olympics every night. The first two I'd read before, but all I could remember about them was that I liked them. Good reason to reread, don't you think?

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg. I remembered almost from the first page why I liked this when I first read it in fourth grade: I am very much like Claudia. She wants to have an adventure, but she's also very practical so she can't just go off and do something wild and crazy. Running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is just the sort of adventure both she and I would love. Add that to the relationship she has with her brother and the writing style that is just wonderful, and you've got a very good read.

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin. I knew this was a mystery, and I'm not usually a big fan of mysteries, so I had to remember why I liked this one. I think it's because the relationships between the characters are just as important as the mystery itself. You have to have real people inhabiting the books, or there's not really a point in reading them.

Now on to the new books. The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt. I really enjoyed this book. You might be tempted to see it as just another coming of age book, but it's much more than that. It's heartfelt and real and occasionally downright hilarious. And it feels like it was written by a seventh grader, with the "Oh my gosh, this is the worst day of my life" attitude and everything. Loved it.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. This was a fun read, but completely a Harry Potter wannabe. It's exciting and has lots of action, but I just didn't fall in love with the characters, which is too bad, since they have lots of potential. There's just too much going on to get a sense of who they are when they aren't fighting for their lives. Oh, well. I'll probably still read the sequels, but maybe when I'm on vacation and I want to give my brain some downtime.