Young Adult | Book Chatter

The Absolute Value of Mike
By Kathryn Erskine
(Philomel, Hardcover, 9780399255052, June 2011, 256pp.)

The Short of It:

Laugh-out-loud funny.

The Rest of It:

When his father takes a teaching job in Romania for the summer, fourteen-year-old Mike is sent to a town he affectionately calls, “Do Over” so he can stay with his grand-aunt and uncle known only as Moo and Poppy.

Moo and Poppy have their own issues. They’ve recently lost their grown son Doug, and Poppy spends his days sitting in his chair, staring at the TV and eating nothing but Scrapple. Sitting in a chair all day wouldn’t be too bad, but there’s a project that the entire town is relying on Poppy for, and he’s in no shape to complete it. Having no other choice, Mike steps in to save the day.

There are some very serious issues contained within its pages, but The Absolute Value of Mike addresses them with humor. The small town feel and the relationship between the town’s inhabitants is at times laugh-out-loud funny, but also very sweet.

I had just begun to read this when The Boy took it out of my hands. He is not a reader, but after reading the opening paragraph, he declared that he would read it after me. Wha?? The Boy said he wants to read it? Wha?? It took a moment for that to settle in.

Isn’t that saying something though? This is clean tween reading. No vamps or zombies here. Just Porch Pals, a car named Tyrone and a Romanian orphan looking for a home. Although it’s geared towards tweens, I enjoyed it too.

Erskine’s name might sound familiar to you and that would be because she also wrote Mockingbird, which I reviewed here.

The Absolute Value of Mike is an Amazon Best Book of the Month and has been chosen by Indie booksellers for the Summer 2011 Kids’ Next List.

Source: Sent to me by the author.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

If I Stay
By Gayle Forman
(Dutton Juvenile, Hardcover, 9780525421030, April 2009, 208pp.)

The Short of It:

A short but riveting story about the importance of family, the ability to let go and the impact that change can have on one girl’s life.

The Rest of It:

After surviving a horrific crash, Mia finds herself in an “in between” state. As she hovers between life and death, she reminisces over the life she’s lived thus far.

In just a few pages, Forman has you walking in Mia’s shoes. My heart was in my throat the entire time. You know the injuries are serious, and you know that she might not make it, so the suspense alone has you turning pages but at the same time, you sort of don’t want to know the outcome. The implications of her staying, are explained to a degree but what you imagine is far worse. I can’t say more about the plot because I would be giving the story away.

Beautifully written, with just enough detail. This is easily a YA book that will appeal to adult readers as well (such as myself!)

While reading it, I was told that there is a sequel. It’s called Where She Went and it’s out now. So if you want to read them together (and you will), you can pick both of them up.

Source: Borrowed from the library.