From: Willingboro Public Library <wipl>
Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 12:41:01 -0400

I thoroughly enjoyed Thomas McKean's recent My Evil Twin. I made a point of reading it to see how close it was to Sonia Levitin's The Mark of Conte (a long-time favorite) since both are about a student at a new school masquerading as two people. They are both hilarious and delightful. John/Jellimiah, the protagonist of McKean's book, learns something about himself and influences his classmates in a cleverly and convincingly plotted romp that only requires a slight suspension of disbelief. Ron Koertge's Confess-O-Rama is another very funny and recent YA novel. It is without the earnestness that (to me) marrs some of his other books, like The Arizona Kid. I have been having e-mail problems that kept me from contributing earlier this month so I'll briefly add my two cents now. Donna Napoli's historical and fantasy novels have been widely praised but I actually like her humorous family novels like On Guard and The Water Over My Head better. The dialogue and interaction of characters is completely natural and funny. Among picture book writers I love Tedd Arnold for his wonderful interaction of text and pictures (only Peggy Rathmann does it better, I think) and Tim Egan for his zany stories and deadpan pictures. Christine M. Hill Willingboro Public Library wipl at willingboro.org
Received on Mon 18 May 1998 11:41:01 AM CDT