Criss Cross. By Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, 2005. 337 pages. Tr. $16.99
ISBN 978-0060092726
Summary: In slow moving, beautifully drawn out prose Perkins captures the anxiety that comes with development. We follow the friendships between Debbie and her adolescent neighbors Larry, and Phil and Hector. Perkins’ unusual approach allows us to peer into the mental worlds of tweens. Debbie dreams of the day when something wonderful will happen that will set her apart from her peers, and falls in love with Mrs. Bruning’s visiting grandson. She and her friend, Patty, opt for cool clothes, exchanging their mother-approved garments for stylish fare behind the rhodendrum bushes before leaving for school. Hector learns how to play the guitar at the Presbyterian Church, and deals with his older sister, Rowanne. Juvenile anxieties about dealing with the opposite sex, finding where one’s heart lies, learning to drive, and dealing with discouragement are all explored in this superb novel.
Critical Review: Criss Cross is the sequel to Perkin’s All Alone in the Universe, and was awarded the Newbery Award. Some tweens may complain that events in this novel happen too slowly, and that nothing actually happens. Though Perkins’s novel is set in the sixties, the characters and story events are relatable to today’s tweens. I enjoyed Perkins’s idea to include non-traditional novel forms, such as graphic illustrations and haikus.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series: the sequel to Perkins’s All Alone in the Universe
Reading/Interest Level: 10-14 years
Reviews: Publishers Weekly (October 31, 2005), Booklist (October 15, 2005), Voice of Youth Advocates (October 1, 2005), School Library Journal (September 1, 2005)
Awards: Newbery Award, 2006; American Library Association’s Notable Books for Children, 2006; School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year, 2005
Author Website: http://www.lynneraeperkins.com/
Similar Materials: Ann M. Martin’s A Corner of the Universe; Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me
Subject/Themes: Identity Formation, Friendship
Character Names: Debbie; Phil; Larry; Hector; Chrisanne; Mrs. Bruning
Brief Annotation: The pivotal moments in a year of four adolescent friends are chronicled in this Newbery Award winning novel.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and balanced review. My oldest is probably not the right person for this book so it's nice to weed out the Award winning books such that they actually get read in my house! But it sounds like a great book!
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