Slob by Ellen Potter

In Slob, Owen Birnbaum is overweight. Not only is he being picked on at school, but someone has been stealing his Oreo cookies from his school lunch. He's very serious when it comes to Oreos; he's allowed only three for the day because he's on a diet. Owen tries to catch the culprit so that he can get his daily "reward". On top of that, he's trying to make a contraption that will allow him to see into the past to an event that changed his whole life. Along with his sister, Owen goes scavenging for parts for his creation, which he's called Nemesis. Once it's complete, he thinks he can tap into an old video camera signal and get some resolution in their lives.

What a great clever novel for young readers! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I love books where the protagonist addresses the reader, this book is no exception. It makes me feel like an insider to the story. I loved how the story unfolded slowly giving the reader bit and pieces of the story. I also really liked the references to the "old" TV shows, especially the ones I watched.

The book is filled with many things that preteens and teens should be able to relate to (being picked on, trust, friendships, conflicts, strict teachers). Also, there are many great characters in this book. I really liked Owen and Mason. I could really relate to Owen's emotional eating, but I can't believe how much he ate. On the other hand, he is a growing teenage boy, so maybe it's understandable. I liked Mason because he was totally misunderstood and it took another "outsider" to see that. I, also, thought Nima was an interesting character and loved hearing about his Buddhist lifestyle. He turned out to be much younger than I thought he was going to be. I guess I always think of Buddhists as old. Silly, I know.

Even though the book is loaded with funny bits, it does have some serious or sad moments where I couldn't help but feel for the characters. I loved Owen and really hoped that things would go his way in the end.

I honestly didn't really understand the GWAB (Girls Who Are Boys) club that Jeremy/Caitlin, Owen's sister was into. Other than it being another aspect of teenage rebellion, I didn't see how it fit with Owen's predicament. Maybe I missed something. It was interesting, though.

The title is pretty clever and it's source and relation to the story totally surprised me. You'll just have to read the book to find out more about it. ;)

Recommended. Even though it's written for young readers, I enjoyed it and I think other adults will, too.

For more information about this book, please visit the Penguin Canada website or Ellen Potter's website.

Mackenzie Blue by Tina Wells

In Mackenzie Blue, Mackenzie, Zee to her friends, is starting grade seven. This means a new school, but she'll be attending it without her BFF (that's "best friend forever" for those of you who don't speak "text"). Alli has recently moved to Paris. While she still has contact with Alli through email and texting, it's not the same. Zee misses her terribly. Luckily she met Jasper over the summer and on the first day she runs into, literally, Chloe, a new girl from Atlanta. Things are looking up for Zee until her diary is stolen and parts of it start appearing on the chalkboards around school.

Aimed at 8- to 12-year-old girls [aka tweens], Wells presents a delightful novel featuring a pretty typical seventh grader. I think tweens will be able to relate to Zee because of her anxieties over a new school, the loss of her diary, upcoming puberty, as well as trust issues with new friends and classmates. Despite all of Zee's anxieties, the story is pretty upbeat and fun to read.

I like books that are a little quirky or present the story in a slightly different manner. Therefore, I really enjoyed reading the texts, emails and the diary/notebook entries.

I absolutely loved the art work. Pencil sketches/drawings are my favourite medium. I also loved that the artist included some doodles on the diary/notebook pages that could have been drawn by a seventh grader. Very cool. [Note: This ARE doesn't include all of the art work.]

Apparently this book is the first in a planned series. Mackenzie Blue and the Secret Crush is the next book. I think it'll be fun to follow Zee's further adventures. [Note: This ARE doesn't include the first chapter of "Secret Crush".]

Recommended for tweens.

Head over to HarperCollins Canada for more information on this book.