Crooked
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A California Book Award Winner for Juvenile Literature
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
A Booklist Top Ten Youth Romance
Clara Wilson and Amos MacKenzie are finding their lives turned upside down: by each other, by fickle friendships, by failing families, and by the two meanest brothers in town. As the pressures of high school and home life collide, Clara and Amos struggle to maintain their identities amid the chaos. Honesty may be the answer...but it can be awfully hard to find.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Alternating the perspective of Clara and Amos, ninth-graders coming of age, Tom McNeal (author of the adult novel, Goodnight, Nebraska) and wife, Laura McNeal, convincingly capture the dynamics of adolescent relationships but muddy the novel with a problematic subplot. Clara Wilson's biggest worry is her crooked nose--until her best friend ditches her, and her parents suddenly separate. Amos MacKenzie's father is dying, his mother is obsessed with religion and his buddy Bruce stalks an intangible girl. Clara and Amos both become targets of town thugs Charles and Eddie Tripp. Readers may question the validity of a few key scenes involving these shady characters: for instance, when Amos attempts to save some snow sculptures from the Tripps' wrath, the brothers beat him unconscious with a baseball bat and Amos is consequently elevated to hero status at school; Clara, an otherwise clear-thinking teen, voluntarily takes a ride with Eddie Tripp when he shows up at her house uninvited--even though she has seen him stealing and knows of his involvement with Amos's injury. Without much buildup to a motivation for such actions by the protagonists, scenes such as these undermine the teens' solid characterizations elsewhere. The book's strength lies in the interactions between Clara and Amos and their relationships with their respective families. Ages 12-up.
Customer Reviews
Awesome
This is the GREATEST book ever.. Any teen would love it.. It has the greatest plot and a lot of suspense.. It's just sooo good :)