Jeremy Fink is turning thirteen soon. A mysterious box arrives in the mail, a box that Jeremy's deceased father intended for him to open on his thirteenth birthday. But the keys are missing! Great story!
Josie's sixteenth birthday is coming up, but since she was born on February 29th it is only her fourth birthday. This was a very excellent book which I enjoyed very very much.
A sequel of this is being published soon so I thought I had better read the first one. Very good story of four twelve-year-olds competing in a candy making contest.
Rei, a Japanese-American, is living in Japan. She is taking a ikebana class with her aunt. One of the teachers is murdered, and the aunt is suspect. Very interesting, learned a lot about Japanese culture.
Subtitle: How politics is placed told by one who knows the game. A fascinating insider's look at political maneuvering up to 1988, but mostly in the 60s through the 80s. One anecdote I had just read in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, here was presented a lot of background information. Great stuff!
Fat Ollie of the 88th taps the regulars of the 87th to find the killer of a politician AND who stole the only manuscript of Fat Ollie's book. Very enjoyable!
QUOTE:
"Yes, but I have to watch my weight," Patricia said. "Oh, me, too," Ollie agreed. "I try not to have more than five meals a day. The Rule of Five. Otherwise it can get out of hand." --pg. 108
87th Precinct series. Who would want to murder a nun?
QUOTE:
And the other nun says, "It must be the cobblestones."
BONUS QUOTE:
"He sometimes watched old ladies plodding heavily across city streets where buses threatened, and knew for certain that inside those shrunken bodies were the shining faces of fourteen-year-olds."