Genre of book: Fiction, Young Adult
Grade: A
Beautiful writing from Klages, as always, about life for young teens in the 1940s. As I did with the first book that featured Dewey and Suze (The Green Glass Sea), I wish I'd been able to read the book when I was in the target age group, but they're great stories for adults as well. I hope that Klages will write a fantasy or SF novel someday!
39: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Genre of book: Fantasy, Young Adult
Grade: A
A toddler--for very good reasons--gets into a graveyard and grows up there, raised by ghosts and other non-human creatures. I wish I'd thought of these ideas, and could present them this well! I think lots of writers react that way to Gaiman's books, so I'll try not to feel too bad about myself for the envy and the speculation about whether he's in league with supernatural forces.
40: Replay, by Ken Grimwood
Genre of book: Science fiction, fantasy, alternate history
Grade A+++++!!!OMGWTFBBQ!!!1!1!Readitnow!!!
A man dies at the age of 43 and awakens in his 18-year-old body, with memories of his first go at life. He lives through and dies again, and returns again, retaining all of the memories. Repeat, repeat, repeat, as he tries new things and learns more each time through. I love this kind of story, as those of you who have seen my obsession with Groundhog Day already know. This book is more satisfying than Groundhog Day in many ways, because this guy has so many more options. The ending is both satisfying and hopeful. Yay!
