Lucas

RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 14 AND ABOVE. Kevin Brooks has done it again. He weaves a story and characters that I can't stop thinking about for days after I've read the book. Lucas is the story of a mysterious boy who appears on Caitlin's small island home. Caitlin is struggling at home with her alcoholic father still mourning the death of his wife, Caitlin's mother; and her beloved brother, just returned from college and not a bit like he was when he left. Caitlin's best friend and brother are hanging out with the roughest, meanest kids on the island. Jamie, the ringleader, catches Caitlin alone and Lucas stops him from raping her. The story gets darker from here and though it has a redemptive ending, I am still haunted by Brooks' ability to leave me feeling as though I have lost a friend. Highly recommended, for 13 and older.

Sisterhood!!

I read the books, (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood) then watched the movie -- twice. Once each with my daughters (13 and 10). We all loved the movie and the soundtrack. Brasheres said in a craft talk I went to recently that she didn't have anything to do with writing the screenplay. Kudos to the producers and screenwriters for being true to the spirit of the book and the characters. Kudos to the actors for their fine work.

As for the books, Brasheres sustains her formula (pants sent from girl to girl, story follows) very well in all three books. Her characters continue to be complex, interesting people. Great chick-lit for summer reading -- for 10 and up, and I mean grown-ups too!

Runny Babbit!

Shel Silverstein (may he rest in peace) had one more good book in him, which has recently been published posthumously. Runny Babbit was twenty years in the making, and the effort shows. Packed with his trademark black and white pen and ink drawings, the fun of the work is his tranposing the first letters of nouns in the brief poems, so "sloppy pig" becomes "poppy slig" and "messy room" becomes "ressy moom." It is especially great to read aloud.