In this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Debbie Pelbry wishes something would happen. So do her friends in their small hometown of Seldem. And things do happen: They meet new people (people with possibilities), they learn to do new things (like play the guitar or drive a car), and they spend time with one another (at picnics and pig roasts, on roofs and in driveways). In this lyrical, funny, and gentle novel, a group of teenagers begin to find themselves.

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Product details

Listening Length	5 hours and 9 minutes
Author	Lynne Rae Perkins
Narrator	Danielle Ferland
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	05 May 2006
Publisher	HarperAudio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07MG874VS
Best Sellers Rank	178,340 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 3,123 in Children's Books on Emotions & Feelings (Books) 7,174 in Children's Books on Friendship (Books) 9,751 in Literature & Fiction for Children (Audible Books & Originals)

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5 star		61%
4 star		14%
3 star		7%
2 star		11%
1 star		7%

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ayakuf

小説はプロットでは無い。

Reviewed in Japan on 23 June 2011

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２００６年度のニューベリー賞（アメリカの権威ある児童文学賞）を受賞した作品です。
ニューベリー賞については「受賞作が子供には難解なものが多すぎるのでは」という議論があるようですが、この作品は間違い無くその槍玉にあげられている受賞作の一つでしょう（笑）。

子供の目線で一夏の日常生活を描いた小説で、１０代前半の少年、少女が登場し、みんなで集まってラジオを聞いてみたり、ギターの演奏に心打たれて「悟り」を開いてみたりするのですが、これといって一貫したプロットはありません。ヒーロー、ヒロインとしてふさわしい、わかりやすい登場人物も出てきません。正直「子供がこんなの喜ぶの？」と言いたくなるような作品です。なので、最初のうちは読む側としても調子が出なかったのですが、途中から「これはいわゆる『あの夏』の物語ではないか」と気付き、すっかり引き込まれてしまいました。

思えば１０代前半は精神的な発見がとても多かったと思います。他人は自分と同じではないということ、男の子と女の子は違うということ、恋愛って思っていたほどドラマチックではないこと、などなど。そして、そんな発見すらも、映画のようなドラマを持たずに淡々と消化されていていってしまう。切ないものです。
この小説が再現しているのはまさにそのあたりです。小説に求めるものが「ハラハラドキドキ」「びっくり展開」であるならばこの小説はつまらないでしょう。でも、プロットでは無い何かを求めて読書するタイプの方には非常におすすめします。１０代の方にも、大人の方にも。英語は、語彙だけなら英検２級＋αくらいのものですが、ユーモアの効いた文章なので、英文慣れしてないと理解しにくいかもしれません。
ちなみにこの小説は一つの独立した作品でありつつ、「All Alone in the Universe」という小説の続編でもあります。「All Alone〜」のほうがやや読みやすいので、あっちを先に読んでみるのも良いかもしれません。

著者は非常に多才な方のようで、登場人物が作った歌を作曲して楽譜を本文に挿入したり、状況説明を兼ねた挿絵を自ら描いていたり、本文のほとんどが俳句で構成された章があったりします。そのような実験的な作品に興味がある方にもおもしろい一冊だと思います。

2 people found this helpful

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Timothy Haugh

Dreamy, Truthful

Reviewed in the United States on 27 June 2008

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If you've read some of my other reviews, you might already be familiar with the fact that I find a Newbery Award-winner to be, generally, an excellent read. Of course, even these vary somewhat in quality and appeal; however, I am rarely disappointed when I find that gold seal on the cover. In this case, I think the award is very well deserved. This is one of the better of the recent Newbery winners.

What appeals to me the most about this novel is the atmosphere. Ms. Perkins has a very personal prose style that stands apart from most other authors. There's almost a dreamy quality that hangs over this novel that doesn't stand in the way of giving it a very "truthful" feel. I was impressed by how strongly I was drawn to the young people and their very ordinary struggles.

To that end, there isn't a particularly strong plot here, but the characters are very well drawn and come across as much more like real young people than you find in most young adult novels. The fact is, that not a lot of "extraordinary" things happen in most lives. Still, to us, there is nothing more we think about than our own existence. This is something Ms. Perkins captures very well.

In the end, I can only say that this is a book I would be ready to sit down and read again. I don't say that about many books, but this one.

7 people found this helpful

Amalia

My 11 yr old loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on 25 February 2019

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My 11 yr old loved this book

2 people found this helpful

It's Like A Dream!

Reviewed in the United States on 25 January 2006

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I am so glad Criss Cross won the Newberry Award because the book is artful, honest,and a step away from the norm, and it works beautifully as a novel. The book takes risks with form and technique, risks that challenge and play with the readers, leaving the readers with a different sense of image that one may normally experience after putting a book away. I believe this book will encourage teens to take risks with their own writing, and also with their own lives. Pick up a guitar. Sing a song. Do something different. It's a positive book. I just finished teaching an Adolescent Literature course, and we read several award-winning books, but when you read them one after another, often times, the books tend to feel loaded with misery, which is why it's wonderful to have an uplifting book earning this award.

Teachers will love using this book in the classroom. What a fantastic book for showing their students what life was like when they were younger, yet, be a book

that feels like it's taking place today for the students who are reading it. I love the fact that both parents and teens will enjoy reading the same book. It's a delightful book that takes the readers on a funny self-discovery journey. If it was an action-packed thriller it wouldn't be this gem of a book.

25 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good book!

Reviewed in the United States on 13 May 2007

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This books was good, but not one of those "I can't put it down" stories. I kept reading because I did want to know what happened to the characters, but I felt it was very poorly written. Stuff was included that was irrelevant to the plot. And I thought it was very interesting (is that the word) that a 14 year old had access to tobacco and his friends did not even try to help him stop. The last chapter was great, but you have to read the whole book to get there.

3 people found this helpful

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