My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
There is no way I can make my review as funny as the book...but I'll do my best to give you the run down. Meet T.C. Keller, a high school freshman obsessed with the Boston Red Sox and baseball in general. He's even named after a Red Sox player, just like all the other men in his family (seriously!). After losing his mother at the tender age of six, it's just T.C. and his Pop. But then T.C. met his new best friend/unofficial brother - Augie Hwong. Augie and T.C. are so close they are basically brothers, and their families have adopted each other as well! Augie is also a force to be reckoned with! He loves drama, dancing, divas, and being in charge! He also thinks he loves Andy Wexler. While Augie is fretting over his first crush, T.C. meets Alejandra Perez. Ale, a new girl in school who's father used to be the Mexican Ambassador to the US, is smart, pretty, a social activist, and she just wants to fit in at her new public school. What she doesn't want is to have anything to do with that weird boy T.C. with is horrible Boston accent and his obsession with baseball. However, once Ale, T.C., and Augie join forces, there is nothing that can stop them...or so we hope! Pick up this book to laugh along with T.C., Augie, and Ale and they fumble through life, love, and freshman year.
Why I Picked it Up: I picked it up because it was on my cart of books to withdraw. But when a teen walked by and told me how much she loved this book when she read it, I knew I had to read it. Plus, I LOVE Mary Poppins, and I'm a pretty big fan of baseball and love, so it was kind of a no brainer!
Why I Finished It: This book was HILARIOUS! I also loved the quirky format it was laid out in. You get to hear everyone's story through journal entries, IM's, emails, and more.
I’d Give this Book To: I would recommend this book to ANY person who likes to laugh out loud when they read. Since the book is told from many POV's (two boys and a girl, mostly) I think anyone would enjoy this. Since the book is told from the perspective of 3 freshmen, I guess it would be most appropriate for 8th & 9th graders, buy seriously, I'm waaaay out of high school and I still love this book! It's not often that I recommend a book to everyone, but when I find them, I like to let you know!
**Librarian Side Note** Since the Red Sox just won the world series, this is the perfect week to release this book review. Why? Because the full title is My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park. For those of you that don't follow baseball, Fenway Park is the home staduim for the Boston Red Sox where they just won't the 2013 World Series on Wednesday night.
Labels: A.T., fiction, humor, laugh out loud, teen fiction, teen reading