Criss Cross
A Newbery Award Winner
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Winner of
the Newbery Medal • New York Times Bestseller • An ALA Notable Book • An
ALA Best Book for Young Adults • School
Library Journal Best Book • Booklist
Editors’ Choice • Kirkus Reviews
Editors’ Choice • Horn Book Fanfare
Book • New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
In this acclaimed,
award-winning, and timeless national bestseller, Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins
explores the crisscrossing lives of four teenagers on the verge of adulthood. The
unique format incorporates short vignettes, haiku, Q&As, and illustrations
by the author. Written with love and humor, Criss
Cross is an unforgettable story of friendship, family, and growing up.
“It’s hard
to write a book this good. Lynne Rae Perkins makes it seem easy.”—Kevin Henkes,
New York Times–bestselling author of the Newbery Honor Books Olive’s Ocean and The Year of Billy
Miller
“Brilliantly
captures the adolescent-level Zen that thoughtful kids bring to their
assessment of the world.”—Bulletin of the
Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Best of
all are the understated moments, often private and piercing in their
authenticity, that capture intelligent, likable teens searching for signs of
who they are, and who they’ll become.”—ALA Booklist
(starred review)
“Written
with humor and modest bits of philosophy, the writing sparkles with inventive,
often dazzling metaphors.”—Kirkus Reviews
(starred review)
“Like a
lazy summer day, the novel induces that exhilarating feeling that one has all
the time in the world.”—The Horn Book (starred review)
“A gentle
story about a group of childhood friends facing the crossroads of life and how
they wish to live it. Young teens will certainly relate.”—School Library Journal (starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Through narrative that has the flavor of stream-of-consciousness writing but is more controlled and poetic, Perkins (All Alone in the Universe) captures the wistful romantic yearnings of three friends on the brink of adolescence. There's Debbie, who makes a wish that "something different would happen. Something good. To me." There's Hector, who hears a guitarist and quite suddenly feels inspired to learn how to play the instrument. Then there's mechanical-minded Lenny who feels himself drawn to Debbie. The characters spend spring and summer wandering about their neighborhood, "criss crossing" paths, expanding their perspectives on the world while sensing that life will lead them to some exciting new experiences. (During a walk, Hector feels "as if the world was opening, like the roof of the Civic Arena when the sky was clear. Life was rearranging itself; bulging in places, fraying in spots.") Debbie forms a crush on a boy from California visiting his grandmother. Hector falls for a girl in his guitar class. Lenny hints at his feelings for Debbie by asking her on a date. All three loves remain unrequited, but by the end of the novel, Debbie, Hector and Lenny have grown a little wiser and still remain hopeful that good things lie ahead if they remain patient. Part love story, part coming-of-age tale, this book artfully expresses universal emotions of adolescence. Ages 10-up.
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