Blue Like Friday by Siobhan Parkinson

This may be my favorite children's book I've read all year. It's funny, really funny, and sad (my favorite combination), and the characters are great. On top of that, there's a mystery that the kids solve themselves. What could be better. It's told first person by Olivia, whose best friend is Hal. Hal is an unusual person (among other things, he has synesthesia--you'll have to look that up). Olivia spends a fair amount of time explaining Hal to the reader, and she has quite a funny way of telling things. Here's Olivia talking about her brother: "Let's face it, Larry is not one of nature's rebels. But my parents don't believe this. They believe all that stuff they read in the papers about Teenage Drinking. Larry is not exactly what you would call a typical teenager. I probably will be, when I get to that age. I will most likely be a total handful, get studs everywhere, wear the most way-out things, listen to really objectionable music. I will drive my parents up the walls. They've had it easy with Larry. They won't know what hit them. I am looking forward to it." So I guess the thing that I love the most about this book is that since the story is told from Olivia's point of view, you get her commentary on everything along with it. And as I said, Olivia is really funny. Review by Stacy Church