If You Liked Dairy Queen
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-- School Library Journal, 3/12/2008 7:46:00 AM
Teens of both sexes will find a best friend, soul mate or perfect adversary in these titles, which all feature an affable and loveable, yet flawed, male protagonist. Full of humor and sarcasm (perfect for teens), these are memorable stories with characters familiar to the high school crowd.
EHRENHAFT, Daniel. Drawing a Blank: Or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of my Dreams. illus. by Trevor Ristow. HarperCollins. 2006. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-075252-1; PLB $16.89. ISBN 978-0-06-075253-8.
Gr 9 Up–Signy the Superbad and his alter ego, illustrator Carlton Dunne IV, are certainly interesting dudes. Even the most reluctant reader is guaranteed to enjoy Ehrenhaft’s selectively footnoted first-person narrative with occasional comic panels. Yes, a bit wacky, even rollicking, this title is for young adults looking for a feel-good read with well-developed peer characters.
HAUTMAN, Pete. Rash. S & S. 2006. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-689-86801-6; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-689-86904-4.
Gr 8-11–In 2076, being Safe is more important than anything else. When ne’er-do-well Bo is sent to a juvenile penitentiary for rehabilitation, he discovers a gift for football—but the sadistic coach is determined that his team wins at any cost. Bo is an intelligent young man who openly poses questions about life and its meaning that sometimes, sadly, have no answers.
KORMAN, Gordon. No More Dead Dogs. Hyperion. 2000. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7868-0531-0; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-7868-1601-9.
Gr 5-8–What’s the point when everyone knows the dog dies? Wallace Wallace, a popular accidental football jock, is sentenced to detention, which involves watching all the rehearsals of the school play, Old Shep, My Pal. He slowly ingratiates himself with the (decidedly not High School Musical) cast, offering his opinion on the frightful production, and, surprisingly, everyone ends up for the better.
TOLAN, Stephanie. Surviving the Applewhites. HarperCollins. 2002. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-623602-5; PLB $17.89. ISBN 978-0-06-623603-2; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-06-441044-1.
Gr 6-9–Jake is a smart aleck who has pushed it too far. He is sent to live with the quirky, homeschooling Applewhite clan, gets sucked into their family production of The Sound of Music, and comes out on the other side a respectable, if not eccentric, individual. Snappy, fun dialogue keeps this laugh-out-loud story moving.
Remarkable Reads are produced by the editors of NoveList, NoveList K-8, and Book Index with Reviews (
