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Criss Cross
Debbie, Hector, Lenny, Patty, and Phil live normal 14-year-old lives in a normal community, and face normal adolescent issues, including romance, identity, family, and self-actualization. What makes Criss Cross remarkable is not high drama but rather the remarkable depth of characters revealed through small but significant moments that impact their own—and one another’s—lives. The five of them intersect most often sitting in Lenny’s dad’s truck, where they listen to an old radio show called Criss Cross. The title serves as the central metaphor for the rambling intersections of their lives, the meaningful connections and the poignant near misses, which are revealed in many formats throughout the novel, including poetry, anonymous conversations in the dark, and a smattering of unique graphic art drawn and compiled by the author. With lyrical prose and a genuine affection for her characters, Perkins demonstrates the beauty of existential wonderings and wanderings. At times, the characters’ insights into themselves and the nuances of teenage life are laugh-out-loud funny, and many readers will recognize truisms such as the first song that Hector writes after beginning guitar lessons: “I’m thinkin ‘bout/ talkin’ ’bout / boys boys boys / talkin’ ’bout / girls girls girls.” In that short stanza, Hector has summarized teen life. Perkins’s narrative focuses most closely on Debbie, a wise and tender character she first introduced in All Alone in the Universe (Greenwillow / HarperCollins, 1999). ©2005 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
Wisconsin author, Wisconsin illustrator
Lynne Rae Perkins grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Wisconsin to attend UW-Milwaukee. She now lives in Michigan.
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 11-14
Age Range:
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Families
Friendship
Identity
Love and Romance
Publishers:
Greenwillow, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2005
Pages: 368
ISBN: 0060092726
CCBC Location: Fiction, Perkins