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Lurie, April
4 Reviews
(4)
YA
Noah's dad hosts the "Bible Answer Guy" radio show, but Noah hates church and likes causing trouble. When Noah's new friend Will is murdered by a serial killer who has been preying on local gay teen boys, Noah becomes even more involved in finding answers. Though character development is weak and the ending feels a bit preachy, the mystery offers gripping twists.
Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang
(4)
YA
Dylan's mom ran off with another man, his older brother is constantly in drug-related trouble, and his doctor dad is a workaholic. Dylan steps into the limelight when his ex-girlfriend makes him the subject of a short film. A basketball player, artist, and accomplished guitar player, Dylan demonstrates an unbelievable amount of talent in this sensitive, if rather unrealistic, teen drama.
Reviewer: David Elzey
(3)
YA
Fourteen-year-old April's neighborhood would be perfectly ordinary if it weren't also a mafia enclave. Lurie's meticulous re-creation of 1970s suburbia and the emotions, enthusiasms, and anxieties of her heroine are witty and believable. The balance she strikes between April's relatively normal family and a neighbor who packs a handgun while secretly handing out hundred-dollar bills makes this story unique.
Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac
(4)
4-6
Thirteen-year-old Judy discovers that Pa isn't her real dad, and that her real father was an alcoholic who deserted the family. Through a friendship with a neighbor boy whose own father is an alcoholic, Judy eventually comes to forgive her family their secrets. While the story lacks a strong shape, Lurie's portrait of Brooklyn's Norwegian immigrant community in 1944 is well drawn.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
4 reviews
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