David Lubar

I laughed, I cried, I thought deeply about the deep-rooted racial injustice that our permeates our culture. Mostly, I love the book. Each moment feels real, and you experience it right along with Starr. It gives those of us who might not understand exactly what it feels like to be a black person in the United States a small glance at some of the emotions and experiences.If you know anything about how the US has handled police shootings in the past few years, you know how this book ends. And show more honestly, it's disheartening, especially when you consider that this is far from the last time a black person will be killed at the hands of the police because they're black. The end is sad, but the ending is so hopeful, and it's just what we need right now. show less

This book might not have been geared toward me (older teenage female), but I loved it.

Scott is just beginning high school, complete with all its pitfalls, scary upperclassmen, pretty girls, loyal and not-so-loyal friends, homework, weird teachers, and everything else. And on top of all that, his parents are expecting another baby.

David Lubar's narration (through Scott) is witty, wise, and spot-on without being stereotypical. Scott's various problems and discoveries about the beautiful show more Julia, terrifying junior Wes, obnoxious Mouth, and philosophical Goth girl Lee are touching, hilarious, and eye-opening.

In the form of a diary to his little brother, not yet even born, Scott figures out how to handle the first year of high school...and a lot more. show less

What a great collection! Every story's at least three stars and a couple are a solid five stars. Overall, yes, read this collection if you're a YA fan regardless of your age.

"Shockers" - loved it. Got a couple LOL's out of me.
"War is Swell" is... beautiful, in a terrible way. Oh, my heart.
"The Heroic Quest of Douglas McGawain" is very short and sweetly hilarious.
"Bread on the Water" This one is perfect.
"Onway Otnay otay eBay?"I laughed at the end. (Selling on eBay did used to be that show more simple. I miss that.)
"Duel Identities" - while the learning curve with a non-fencer teacher was hard for me to believe, I did love the hero moment, and all the pluses and minuses around it.
"Here's to Good Friends" CW underage drinking - but holy cow, powerful. A dark gem.
"Claws and Effect" is awesome, and got an actual LOL out of me.
"Words of Faith" Well done, but my least favorite.
"Habitat for Humanity" *nods* :)
"Pulling Up Stakes" Cute. show less

Adventure and science fiction aren’t exactly in my comfort zone, they’re genres I just occasionally dip my toe into and maybe it’s for that reason that this felt a little on the long side, but for the most part, I was entertained.

There were moments where I wondered at lead character Nicholas scarcely reacting to the increasingly bizarre situations he’s thrown into, like winding up in outerspace, creatures talking who ordinarily wouldn’t, being the target of a pursuit, etc., there show more was a lot of unusual stuff happening here and it barely phases this kid. I did at times crave a little more of a response from him to these strange events, but the actual intended middle-grade audience will probably have an easier time identifying with Nicholas’s ability to go with the flow than I do as an adult.

This isn’t a graphic novel, but I could see this potentially appealing to those readers with its light sprinkling of illustrations and the frequent and often quite smart laughs all throughout this adventure.

Since my reading sensibilities lean toward the emotional, the friendships were my happiest place in this book, I loved Nicholas’s bond with his gerbil Henrietta, and to my surprise, the author even had me sharing Nicholas’s fondness for Jeef, a package of ground beef, not only a uniquely memorable character, but one I cared about more than anyone else. They’re a group that I’ll look forward to catching up with in the other books in this trilogy whenever I’m in the right mood for a little something different. show less