Book Reviews

The Sky is Everywhere

by Jandy Nelson

(5 scoops)

Man, oh man. This book is good. So good.

This book should be required reading.

Not required for any particular class, just required for life.

Out of the Pocket

by Bill Konisberg

(3.5 scoops)

An honest, heart warming presentation of a unique coming out story. The author made me really care about Bobby and his friends and family and many of the book's passages moved me deeply. The sports writing and the titular "out of the pocket" metaphor were also handled well. Unfortunately, there were some very glaring errors, which should have been caught by an editor, that momentarily stalled my reading and made it hard to fall head over heals in love with this book. In the first chapter the senior boys on the football team all shave their heads, but in chapter five, only a few weeks later, there is mention of someone's dirty blond hair falling in wisps over his forehead. There is no way his hair would have grown back. Then there is the scene where Bobby and his best friend Austin are outside and Austin puts chew in his mouth, which Bobby is disgusted and seems shocked by. They then walk indoors and sit on the couch in the living room and have a very important conversation, but at no point is there any mention of Austin spitting or negotiating the chew. Another time Bobby is in a restaurant looking at his menu, and a few lines later he is wondering where his food is and then it arrives- but he never ordered! You can't include some of these details and not others or your reader will stop trusting you. I kept feeling like I had skipped a page or something! It's a shame that these easily fixable errors weren't caught before the book went to print because Konisberg is clearly a talented and heartfelt writer.