How have I missed this book?
Admittedly if I tried to summarize it I wouldn't be that interested in it. A war story, a love story between two cousins – it just doesn't do it for me, not something I wanted to read. Plus the original cover left quite a bit to be desired, but I like the paperback cover. I was feeling guilty for not reading it since it was a Printz winner, and I felt like it was my professional duty so I finally did.
This book is brillant. It is amazing. You have to love a book that describes a garden as "Walt Disney on Ecstasy". Or a main character who says "I don't get nearly enough credit in life for the things I manage not to say." I raced through because I couldn't wait to get to the next sentence, not because of the plot but because I loved the language, the view, the way the words fell onto the page. But then I'd have to put it down, take a deep breath to get past the sadness and the tragedy, the shock of the violence. I could not wait to finish it, and I wanted it to continue.
I want everyone to read this book. I knw people have problems with the incest (first cousins) but I just didn't care. On every page there is a sentence, a line that sings. ". . . it might be considered impolite to crash around in another person's innermost thoughts . . ."
Seriously – read this!
"Everyone else stayed home and used the Internet, less worried about the quality of information than about suicide bombers."
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