Book Review: How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy

How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen

13-year-old Lamar Washington likes to pull pranks, has asthma, and is always overshadowed by his basketball superstar older brother. Lamar does have one thing going for him-bowling. He is known as "The King of Strikers" down at his small town's bowling alley. Suddenly, things seem to start looking up for Lamar-pretty Mekeda likes him even though she used to be the victim of his pranks, professional bowler Bubba Sanders is coming to visit his town, and Lamar thinks he has come up with the perfect plan to make tons of money to purchase an expensive professional bowling ball! It doesn't take long for everything that was going so well in Lamar's life to start going wrong...

This is a funny, touching story that reminds me a lot of one of my favorite books of all time- The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Some other read-alikes include:

The Schwa Was Here by Neil Schusterman

Donovan's Word Jar by Monalisa DeGross

The Big Bike Race by Lucy Jane Bledsoe

The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron

The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis

Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff by Walter Dean Myers

Edgar Allen by John Neufeld

Read for Me, Mama by Vashanti Rahaman

Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter

-Reviewed by Jen

Cloaked in Red by Vivian Vande Velde

Cloaked in Red is a short story collection of 8 twisted fairy tale versions of Little Red Riding Hood. All stories are set in the time period of most fairy tales- no concrete clues as to when or where the tales are taking place. Some of the stories are creepy-creepier than the original-which Vande Velde notes in her prologue is "a strange and disturbing story that should probably not be shared with children." Some are pretty funny such as Deems the Wood Gatherer, the tale of a near-sighted and clueless woodcutter (time period: before glasses were invented, of course) who crosses paths with not only Little Red Riding Hood, but a large cast of fairy tale characters. This quick read is highly recommended for anyone who loves clever re-tellings of classic stories and fairy tale fans. Gr. 7-10

Book Review: Strings Attached by Judy Blundell

This is a fantastically noirish young adult novel that contains the perfect combination of historical fiction and suspense/thriller. The story begins with 17-year-old Kit Corrigan attempting to make her way in New York City as a Broadway actress. She left behind her brother, sister and father in Providence, RI after a fateful night involving her estranged boyfriend Billy. Billy's father is a lawyer associated with the mob, and makes Kit an offer-a new apartment and the chance to work in one of NYC's most famous nightclubs-as long as she keeps tabs on Billy. Soon Kit becomes caught up in a world she wants nothing to do with...

This book is somewhat similar to Blundell's What I Saw and How I Lied which was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and winner of the 2008 National Book Award. Both of these books are among my favorites, so I looked up what other books she has written. Interestingly, she has been writing series fiction for nearly 20 years under the pen name Jude Watson, and most recently has written two books of the popular 39 Clues series.

-Jen