I loved reading this YA novella. Maps Wilson is a quirky, charming character, an eccentric sixteen-year-old whose ever-whirring brain gets him into trouble and keeps him from being popular. In spite of this, he and his best friend Benji seem to be happily settled in their lives.
But Benji, who has always lived next door, is moving a few blocks away, and the new family is stirring up trouble in Maps’ routine. Stacie seems to be a female Dennis the Menace, and her older brother Lane, well he just stirs up something in Maps that Maps isn’t quite sure about.
The presence of parents in this story, as warm supportive (if exasperated) players in Maps’ daily drama, is most welcome. The clever, funny writing also makes the story particularly fun to read.
I confess I was a little let down by the ending. It seemed so…tentative. And then I pondered my own teenaged years, and realized that everything is tentative when you’re sixteen. How can you have a happy ending when your life has barely begun? How can you really know who you are when you’ve only just begun to discover yourself?
And, of course, this is book 1 in a series, of which the second book just appeared. I guess I’ll have to keep reading.
But Benji, who has always lived next door, is moving a few blocks away, and the new family is stirring up trouble in Maps’ routine. Stacie seems to be a female Dennis the Menace, and her older brother Lane, well he just stirs up something in Maps that Maps isn’t quite sure about.
The presence of parents in this story, as warm supportive (if exasperated) players in Maps’ daily drama, is most welcome. The clever, funny writing also makes the story particularly fun to read.
I confess I was a little let down by the ending. It seemed so…tentative. And then I pondered my own teenaged years, and realized that everything is tentative when you’re sixteen. How can you have a happy ending when your life has barely begun? How can you really know who you are when you’ve only just begun to discover yourself?
And, of course, this is book 1 in a series, of which the second book just appeared. I guess I’ll have to keep reading.