Literature Books

I wish Josh Lanyon's books were a bit lengthier because they read so very quickly. In fact, I read this one in just a few hours the very day I got it from Amazon.

Interesting sleuths are not as easy to find as you might think, and gay ones are even tougher to locate. That's one reason I wish these were lengthier--when you find a sleuth you like, it would be good to really read a lot more about him. Alas--Adrien English comes and goes far too quickly, at least for me.

I like various aspects of this novel. One is that Adrien gets away from the bookstore he owns and which was the main setting for the first novel. This time, Adrien gets away by going to a ranch he'd inherited from his Granna. You'd think that means that Jake Riordan won't be an issue, but he is. He follows Adrien to that ranch when English gets into trouble (he's remarkably good at finding trouble and rolling about in it to the point that his life is in danger), and the relationship they've both been dancing around becomes somewhat closer to reality. I won't spoil it for you.

That's one of the strongest parts of this second book in the series: Adrien and Jake actually get to interact in meaningful ways, and as a result, they become far "rounder" characters. Neither is a stereotype, and that makes the book a far more successful one than it's predecessor.

Another thing I like about this book is that the setting is interesting and different from the staid, predictable bookstore. We get introduced to non-LA characters, and while some of them ARE mere stereotypes, at least they're different from the LA stereotypes.

What don't I like? 1) the length, as I noted before; 2) the bad proofreading throughout (argh! just because it's a small publishing house, that doesn't mean that the proofreading should be crappy!); and 3)the relatively-easy-to-unravel plot (well, except for the very end, which I didn't see coming in some respects).

All in all, a successful effort from Mr. Lanyon. I can't wait for the fourth book!

A Dangerous Thing is the second of the Adrien English mystery series. This is a very entertaining book and series, possibly one of my favorite finds in the past six months. As an avid reader, that's saying something. Lanyon's series is cleverly and humorously written from Adrien's perspective as he relates his personal feelings and the events of the terrific mystery he finds back at the ranch. Adrien's complicated relationship with Jake is particularly interesting and authentic. This is a witty, moving, and highly recommended series. A Dangerous Thing is my favorite in the series so far which currently numbers three with a fourth book due later this year. The author's other work is also highly recommended. Enjoy!

Book two in the Adrien English series and this one really moves! Adrien, book seller and author, decides to get away from the city and his closeted cop, would-be boyfriend, Jake. But of course murder and mystery follow him out to his family ranch, as does Jake.

It's wonderful to see these two characters working together, thrashing out their relationship as well as the identity of more than one dead body. The characters of Adrien and Jake are very well realized--the chemistry between them is perfect-- and the mystry is full of fun little twists, red herrings and discoveries.

It's a great book in an wonderful series.

I loved the second book in the series and I loved the sexual tension created between Adrien and Jake! Tortuous, beautiful but worth the wait! Even I was getting anxious! We get to know a little bit more of Jake - but not enough for Adrien or the reader! A good murder mystery. Well-developed characters and plot. Looking forward to next book and next book.

Adrien needs a little change and time away from the frustrating Jake, so he retreats to his Pine Shadow Ranch which he had inherited from his grandmother a few years back to work on his second Jason Leland mystery. Adrien has just arrived at the ranch when he comes upon a body - that promptly disappears when the local law enforcement arrives. Things go from bad to worse, until Adrien realizes he needs help. Who's He Gonna Call?

The three M's are back (murder, mystery and mayhem), along with Jake. Jake has his hands full with Adrien (literally) trying to keep Adrien out of trouble and find the murderer, before the murderer finds Adrien. Things are heating up between Jake and Adrien. And as the guys deal with their growing attraction with each other; there's murder, werewolves, old Indian legends and haunted mines. Oh, My! Jake even has an encounter with the ole green-eyed monster when Adrien attracts the attention of young grad student.

One of the reasons I love the Adrien English mystery series is the recurring secondary characters that add that additional layer of fun to the stories. My favorite is Adrien's independent, free-spirited grandmother who had left Adrien the Pine Shadow Ranch and the inheritance which Adrien had used to start his "grubby little shop." We never meet Adrien's grandmother in person, we just see her through Adrien's memories, since she passed away years earlier, but I was captivated by this woman who obviously influenced the young Adrien and helped shape him into our beloved amateur sleuth that we now know and love. This book is filled with her memories as Adrien remembers, "... summer vacations with Granna were the happiest times of my life."

This one really had me going. It seemed the suspects were crawling out of the woodworks; they all had their little secrets and possible motives. But don't worry, nothing is "out of left field," everything falling neatly in place by the breathtaking (in more ways than one) end. Josh writes an exciting mystery with a refreshing sense of humor, "joshing" us with these little bits and pieces of the mystery. His secondary characters are very well-developed and just plain fun. There was a lot of anticipation; the "will they, won't they" variety and the "what's going to happen next" page-turning kind. I love how Adrien seems to find trouble in the least expected places and Jake's weary resignation. I had so many favorite moments from the book, but Jake's "And lady, what is with you?" moment just doubled me over.

The 2007 edition is newly edited and slightly revised.

Books in the Series:

Fatal Shadows
A Dangerous Thing
The Hell You Say
Death of a Pirate King (Due 8/2008)

dominique moceanu is the best gymnast anyone could ever know.i'm a gymnast my self,and reading about her,seeing her on tv,seeing her smile,makes me wan't to go out there and do the same.and i do!saying this,you probubly won't believe me,but being a fan of hers,seeing her doing the things she does(smile)has inproved my skills in gymnastics!i hope she has done the same for you,cause if you don't know her.you better know her to day,cause she is the best you'll ever love!i used to hate gymnastics some times,and till i saw dominique moceanu with that beatiful smile.i've loved gymnastics ever since then.every time i compete.i act like her,smile,and show that i love doing what i'm doing,cause i know dominique moceanu~and you gotta know her too!thanks dominique,for making me win my first silver(on floor),cause seeing you smile all the time,and always being happy,has made me do the same,and it improved only because i love you!

You will find this book to give many details on the young gymnast at a professional view point. If you are looking to get more personal information such as characteristics, personality, etc.. Get another book. This is about her and the sport of gymnastics from the time she started up to late '96. I enjoyed the book a great deal and was amazed to find out how very succesful she is in every day living at such a young age. That is much to be said for our day and age!

Also recommended: Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion: An Autobiography Dominique Moceanu

The book was fully detailed and was a very easy to read book. I read it in a matter of hours, and I am 11 years old. I love gymnastics and Dominique. Since the first time I saw her on T.V. I wanted to be just like her. Now I am taking acrobatics at a great little studio. even though we only do floor excersises, I still someday would like to be just like Dominique! The book has really encouraged me too succeed, and I really hope that anyone that wants to be something, jumps on it, you only live once!

This book is perfect for any fan of Dominique Moceanu. You learn so much about her, starting from her birth all the way up to the 1996 Olympics. This was a very vivid and detailed biography. I really thought it was cool to read about the gymnastics school she used to train at before she went to Karolyi's. It tells about all her early compititions and experiences. It felt like I really knew Dominique Moceanu! I learned so much from this book, and like Krista Quiner's other gymnastics biographys, this was a great one!

This book was truly awesome. Krista did an excellent job writing this book. You feel that you actually know Dominique. I reccomend this book for ALL Dominique fans. A must read book!!

Also recommended: Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion: An Autobiography Dominique Moceanu

Great illustrations in this book. It will make it fun for you to learn to draw horses.

This book brings many creative ways for any age to draw a variety of horses. I ordered it for my daughter's birthday, because she was going for a horseback ride and it would help keep the memories fresh for her. She enjoys drawing on a more professional level; thanks to this book.

My daughter loves horses and constantly tries to draw them. This shows her the steps in order to draw a great looking horse!

This is a awsome book! it tells you step by step how to draw any kind of horse you want too. it is easy for anyone, like me, i'm definetly a beginner! If you love horses like i do, then you will love this book!

This is a awsome book! it tells you step by step how to draw any kind of horse you want too. it is easy for anyone, like me, i'm definetly a beginner! If you love horses like i do, then you will love this book!

I'm in awe I think. I've never read anything like this book. And I have read other channelled books. I really can't make up my mind about it's validity. A very thought provoking book and it makes me want to read more. This is the first of the Kryon Books and I'm glad I read the THE PARABLES OF KRYON first, because it was so good I immediately ordered this first in the series. I've really got to think about this one. But I do recommend it highly. Just be ready for new material. I've already ordered the second in the series which is supposed to answer the questions raised in the first book. Wish me luck.

I did a review for the second book as well so I'll just add some different stuff here. I am very open minded (and open hearted which I think is more important) and found an underlying theme in the four books I read that did not feel right to me. You can read the material and just sense how it makes you feel. Some of the reviews make it sound like if you don't read it or if you find any issue with the material then you're a limited person. That's not the case at all! Just because something is channelled "from the other side of the veil" doesn't mean it's totally kosher. We exist on the other side of the veil too and we are all surrounded by beings all the time. It's up to us to determine what we want to integrate into this lifetime and what we don't. Trust your intuition with any material you read or listen to, your higher self knows what's what.

The first time you read this book you will have the feeling that Kryon is speaking directly to you, through the voice of his channel, Lee Carroll.
Although this book was first published in 1992, the information presented here is more relevant now than ever. Kryon will give the reader knowledge about Karma, meditation, Jesus Christ and the times we are living. With the premise that we all came here on our own will, to learn and progress, Kryon leads the way on the transformation we crave in this new millenium. He will help you contact your guides and accelerate you spirituial growth, if that is what you relly want.
If you are a metaphysician or are into self growth, you will find that the easy, yet warm language and teaching of Kryon apply to your life.

The End is the Beginning. A new way of looking at the world and an explaination for so many mysterious sayings that no one seems to have an answer for. But Kryon does from a whole different perspective. I read and was amazed. If your ready for something new try this one. It's a great read.

I highly recommend this book to all, young or old, no matter what socio-economic status ... this book is a must-read. When read with an open heart and a faithful mind, this book will confirm what your intuition has already been telling you. Very comforting, very promising, very exciting.

With all of the current claims by people of what the Founding Fathers intended for our country I decided to begin reading them for myself to achieve a personal perspective on what the Founders intended. This book and the writings contained are an excellent source of information and insight as to what Thomas Paine's intentions were.

Thomas Paine is an important figure in the founding of the United States. Although he was later ignored by the United States (when he was a prisoner in France...).

The book is a good compilation of the works of Thomas Paine. Paine was a smart man and his writings were influential in the American Revolution (Common Sense) and the French Revolution (Rights of Man). This book combines the writings into one book.

Common Sense is a short phamplet that greatly influenced the United States foundation. The sensical arguments seem obvious to readers in the 21st Century but in the late 18th century they were ideas that people needed to hear, and was a kickoff to the drive for independence. Common sense was read by a lot of Americans at the time and would do students of American History well to get the feelings of the Revolutionary period.

In today's politically heated atmosphere, people seem to have forgotten what this great nation was founded on. Reading this book is enlightening, awakening, and reminds us of what it took to make America. Sadly, it's also a pretty sharp reminder of how more and more of our rights are being stripped away from us. I think this book should be required reading in school, and certainly before any political discussion. I recommend this book to ANYONE of ANY AGE. Absolutely amazing.

every american should have a copy to see how the american goverment has taken away every liberty that was so hard to get!

Great book by one of our greatest patriots. Should be required reading for all American citizens.

I have numerous picture word books but I feel this is the best one in my son's library. The pictures are clear, colorful, and large enough for my son to identify. He loves to touch the pages and will actually sit for this book.

My 12 month old daughter loves to read this book. She loves to point to the objects that I ask her to find. Great pictures. Very educational.

This book has been wonderful, the pictures are bright and colorful and my 19 month old daughter will sit for a long time on her own flicking through the pages and saying whats on them.

My 19m son LOVES this book. It is the only one that he will sit down for more than 5 minutes, and he will bring it to me constantly. I will be buying another copy to keep at his sitter's. Best money I have spent for a book for him.

My 17m boy just loves this book! Big, bright pictures are just perfect for his age and i'm sure it would go for younger babies also. Book is really big though and quite heavy for him to carry so the help of a parent will be needed.

I got this book for my nephew's birthday (he was turning 3) and he really loved it. It's really something fun and different for kids and all the parents were even entertained by it! I have had a hard time finding these books in bookstores, so I'm glad I've been able to purchase them on Amazon. I would definitely recommend this book for the little ones.

I had a couple of the Saxton Freymann books hanging around the house from my teaching days (Dog Food and How Are You Peeling). My 4 year old twins found them one day and loved them. I ordered them Food for Thought for Christmas last year and it is still a highly requested bedtime book. I love looking at the pictures as much as they do! It is amazing how they accomplish this using only food items.

Another picture book from the creative minds of Elffers and Freymann. This one illustrates concepts (shapes and colors, numbers and letters, opposites) with big, bold, and colorful photos of fruits and vegetables carved and combined into expressive faces and adorable animals and scenes. Each page is a new puzzle: H for Hair is easily identified as a leek (you might have to explain 'leek' to a child), root end up, but what are the 'insects'? (blueberries with onionskin wings). The humor may occasionally go over a child's head (look at X for X-ray) but that doesn't matter, he will still love identifying the fruits and vegetables the characters are made of. This is a wonderful book for group reading, children are captivated by the colors and illustrations and the large format makes it easy to see even for the children toward the back of the group. If you've liked others in this series you won't want to miss this one.

It's got a little bit of everything--fruits & vegetables, colors, shapes, letters, animals, opposites. Even adults will say "how imaginative!"

Food for Thought is a conceptual picture book that consists of photographed pieces of fruit and vegetables that are carved into animal shapes. So, two strawberries become a dog holding a piece of watermelon shaped into an umbrella with an asparagus handle. This book is fun for a reader of any age, because it's interesting to see how they fashioned food into art, and to distinguish both the animal depicted and the food used on each page. The concepts though, like all the letters of the alphabets, single digit numerals,shapes, colors and opposites (big and small, hold and cold, etc.) are perfect for reading readiness. They are also adorably depicted and easily understood even for very young children. The concept of this book is innovative, fun, and I highly recommend it.

GOING BACK TO BISBEE is essentially a memoir augmented by plenty of history, both natural and human. It won an award in 1992 for "creative nonfiction" and I can understand why. The conceit of the book, which is taken up by the title, is a drive by the author Richard Shelton from his current hometown of Tucson to Bisbee, Arizona, where he had spent two years of his life, newly married and a fledgling teacher, fresh out of the military, about thirty years earlier. He intersperses his account of his half-day-long, 100-mile drive with recollections of his personal life in Southern Arizona, stories of the history of the area (for example, the Apaches, the U.S. Army, and a century of mining), and sidebars on the flora, fauna, and geography of the region. The book ends with Shelton back in Bisbee, having dinner with an old friend and grande dame of the former mining town re-invented as a center for the arts.

For my taste, the "going back to Bisbee" conceit is a little too artificial and forced, and the anthropomorphism to which Shelton is prone becomes mildly annoying, especially when repeatedly used with reference to the van, "Blue Boy," in which he makes his trip. But on the whole, the book is very engaging. It certainly is a much more entertaining way of learning about Colorado river toads, Perry's agave, coyotes, mesquite, and many similar subjects than the typical natural history guide. At the same time one learns much about the destruction of the landscape by the Anglo invasion and their cattle-ranching and mining without undue preaching, and one is treated to a number of interesting personal anecdotes, some of which are genuinely funny.

Hence, GOING BACK TO BISBEE can be recommended on a number of levels, but it would be especially appreciated, I think, by those interested in the Sonoran desert and the mountains of Southern Arizona.

"And I'm going back to Bisbee, not really knowing why. Perhaps it is because two years of my life were left there, put behind me, and now I have reached an age at which I cannot afford to forget even two years out of those allotted to me. Perhaps I am looking for the spirit of a mountain I never knew, a mountain which became a crater on whose edge I lived for two years, happily, while the landscape and earth around me was being destroyed. Or perhaps it is just nostalgia. I was happy there, while the destruction went on for twenty-four hours a day, and now I want to go back" (pp. 21-22).

Richard Shelton is an Arizona writer and poet. His 1992 memoir Going Back to Bisbee won the Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction in 1992 and was selected for the 2007 One Book Arizona program. It is his love song to Bisbee, a desert city with a European feel located 82 miles southeast of Tucson in the mile-high mountains of southern Arizona. With his poet's eye for detail, Shelton immerses his reader in the landscape, flora, and fauna of the Sonoran desert as he makes his nostalgic journey (in the temperamental van he proudly calls "Blue Boy") from Tucson to Bisbee, where he taught English in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along the way, he not only revisits the natural history of southeastern Arizona, but he reveals the beauty of the Sonoran desert, even capturing in words the scent of the desert when it smells like rain. Ultimately, Shelton's highly-recommended memoir reveals that Bisbee is as much a state of mind as a place. I should know. I have Bisbee dust in my blood. I was born and raised there. And like Shelton, I was happy there. I say read the book, and then experience Bisbee for yourself.

G. Merritt

This is a terrific book. I live in Arizona and learned so much from reading it. It is never boring and is full of information and fun stuff.
I even learned a few new words for things that happen in Arizona.
I would highly recommend this book.

Others have already heaped praise on Mr. Shelton and this book, so I can't improve on that. But you must also try his 2007 book "Crossing the Yard". It is every bit as good, if not better,Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer than "Going back to Bisbee"

What fun we had tracing Richard Shelton's steps (and drive) through the Arizona desert. He's personal stories throughout this book are great. The information on the flora and fauna are very detailed. The history on this desert area itself is fascinating.

A deeply, moving, simple and tragic story of one woman's strength and courage in a time of political demise, a story of such fragile and temporary splendor between a man and a woman and the lives of those they love in-between. Each scene beautifully portrays the little events that happen along the way. Just a simple and delicate account of her life during a time when Germany was being invaded by the Russians and the process of dividing the country into East and West. It starts with Alex, the pilot's son, who, by his father's wish, tracks down Ruth's daughter, Penelope, to let her know of her inheritance after his death. Penelope tells their story and Alex finds out the truth of what happened between her mother and his father. In the midst of a war-torn country, Ruth, a mother of two, lives day-by-day among the rubble of bombed buildings. She is an unsung hero of courage who decides to take the risk and go to Berlin for her sister's daughter, Paulie. She meets "The Good American" who ends up falling in love with her and lavishly swoons her, giving her a piece of happiness in the midst of a black and white world. He ends up risking his title by forging paperwork for entry to Berlin by train while having to bare the atmosphere of desparation and the uncertainty and fear of being sent away to Siberia for not having the right papers. Then she meets others along the way who help her get to the place where she can cross the mountain to get to the West after the trains stopped by order of the Russian army. Just simple gestures of compassion and support. It was lovely yet heartrending at the same time. It was deeply moving, passionate, addicting and emotional. It shows that just trying to live through dark times is an act of courage and even in the midst of it all, there is hope and love.

Ursula Maria Mandel's "The Good American" is a stunning novel of complex emotions. Her writing style is so powerful and image-laden, that I truly felt as if I was among the characters, experiencing the sights, smells and emotions that are so vividly captured among the pages of this novel. While this is a story of love, familial devotion, humility, perseverence and survival, it also beautifully chronicles one man's attempt at coming to terms with a flood of pent-up emotions in his personal journey towards forgiveness. I simply could not put this book down. If ever there was a story worthy of being told, this is the story.

This is a mervelous book which took me down memory lane. The book has insight, strength and Ms. Mandel's writing is the finest. I was one of those dirty starving kids who played in the rubble and lived subhumanly. I know that every word Ms. Mandel put in her novel about that time in our lives is not only true but she has an uncanny way of bringing it all alive again.

Looking for Ms. Mandel's next book.

Gunta Krasts-Voutyras

Ursula Mandel in her novel "The Good American" has shown exceptional talent in that she is able to bring the poverty, hunger, emotional and intellectual devastation of that era after WWII to the page so poignantly that it is impossible to put the book down. I devoured it in one sitting, shed tears, laughed, and above all Miss Mmandel made me feel all those feelings of so long ago all over again. I was a ten year old child in 1945 when the war ended. I experienced all she writes about myself, the hunger the poverty, the loss of everything including a father. She has the ability to paint this time in history so sharply that the book becomes an actual experience. Am anxiously awaiting Miss Mandel's next book.

Gunta Krasts-Voutyras

All whose lives have been touched by the ravages of war bear in their memory forever the grief, losses, and struggles to grasp some meaning for living out the balance of their days. The post-war adjustments for many perhaps never end. Time has a way of mending broken hearts but the wounds and scars of war heal very slowly. We meet people every day whose lives have been changed immeasurably by conflict and many of their stories never get into print. The several life stories that are woven so ingeniously in The Good American are reminders of many who have coped courageously with adversity and found a way not only to survive, but also to use their limited resources and native talents for remaking of an orderly world. Ursula Mandel, who grew up in postwar Germany, weaves a tale of ordinary people who did extraordinary things. The warm German hospitality I found as an American officer stationed in Wiesbaden three decades after World War II had ended grew out of a mutual respect Americans and Germans had one for another. Americans I knew immensely admired the German work ethic and ingenuity, their clean streets and homes, their delicious strudels, their superb automobiles, but most of all their determination to rebuild their cities and lives. Ursula Mandel's book is a benediction and compliment to those Americans and Germans who loved and cared enough to forge a lasting friendship for our two countries. The book has the essentials for a powerful cinema and I hope to see the story come alive on the big screen.

Here is one terrific writer who as a parent I would encourage you and your kids to select from some terrifically written books especially for kids who don't read enough or haven't grasp the value of well written books!

I read with both of your younger kids to keep them honest (i.e no shortcuts) and to insure they have comprehended the story well enough to have something meaningful discussion to talk about.

What I enjoyed most about this book was it brought back old memories of how low wages and pay was as a kid hustling for odd jobs in the 1950's and 60's just to have money in your pocket... not like today as Paulsen reflects how life was life when he was 16 in 1955 and hitchhiked 300 miles to get a job at the Birds Eye fresh-frozen vegetable plant at an astounding wage of one dollar and five cents per hour ($8.40 per day).

Also the other thought that crossed my mind reading this particular book was now I know how the famous celebrity "EVEL KNIEVEL" who was captured attention for performing similar stunts on his motorcycle in the 70's came about...

Mr. Paulsen - Thank you for the wonderful gift and legacy you have given readers of all ages!

Have you ever wanted to set a world record? Have you ever wanted to do something crazy? The characters in Gary Paulsen's How Angel Peterson got his Name do just that. At the age of 13, Paulsen and his friends break the world record on skis, wrestle with a bear, jump through a hoop of fire, and more.
The characters in the book have the same mind as young adult. It is a good choice for boys and some girls ages 11- 15 because they can relate to Gary Paulsen and his friends. This book is action packed and the fun never stops. Gary wants to tell his friends not to do the amazing stunts that they do because they might get hurt but he has the curiosity to keep his mouth shut. He wonders what will happen to Angel while breaking the record, what will happen to Orvis when he wrestles the bear?
Breaking the world record of 74 miles an hour on skis isn't easy, especially when you live where there aren't any hills. Another thing, there wasn't safety gear. The trouble starts when they pass the record at 82 miles an hour. They hit a place with out snow and Angel flies off his skies. Later he told his friends that he heard the Angels sing. They were singing "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams."
Orvis Orvison wasn't very popular and was always being beaten up at school. He also couldn't talk to girls. So he got the girls' attention by showing off. Whenever there were girls around he would always be two feet higher or jump five feet farther then his friends. At the carnival he saw a sign that said wrestle with a bear for one minute win $25. Orvis saw some girls and got in the ring with the bear.
A New York Times Best Seller and a 2004 winner for the ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Paulsen's memoir about his childhood is not to be missed by middle school readers who want to read a book that will put a smile on their face. Teen readers will be able to find similarities between themselves and the characters in the book.

Book review of How Angel Peterson Got His Name

How Angel Peterson Got His Name is a book about a group of 12 year old boys doing crazy stunts and hilarious pranks. Each of these kids has a crazy and stupid dream or stunt that they want to accomplish. Even though they could end up dead if not very close to it, they still try. Gary Paulsen does a great gob describing all of these stunts and giving you a great picture of what is going on in the book.
Although this book is chopped up into little stories each with a stupider and crazier stunt than the last, it's still funny and a great book to read. But since there are just a bunch of little stories that fit into one which sort of makes it easier to read because you're not having to keep track of one big story. Rather than just a bunch of little stories so if you don't like one story you can just read the next one and see if you like it. That's why I would recommend this book to struggling readers that don't like to read big books because they are ether hard to understand or that if you miss a part then you may have skipped an important part in knowing the story.
Overall this is a great book with a crazy and outrageous changing plot full of surprising and funny twists along with all of the stupid stunts. In the end almost all the kids have gotten in trouble or hurt.

Pretty much all readers who have read this book say How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen is a great quick read. It's a great book for reluctant and struggling readers. It's a good book for these people because number one it's a short book but long chapters which is good because it will make the reader read to the end of the chapter, number two it's a very funny book, and number three there's quite a bit of characters so there will be quite a bit of similarity between the reader and the characters.
There isn't really a main character in this story it's all about a group of kids and the things they do for fun or to get girls to like them. Some of the kids will do anything to get girls attention. For example, a memorable scene is when, this one kid tries to wrestle a bear at the carnival, but the first few times he doesn't do it, but then he tries one more time and succeeds by getting tortured by the bear, because the objective is to stay in the rink for 1 minute. And then there was when the kids were really bored they decided to skateboard in the street and hold on to the back of the cars to go really fast.
By the end of the book, readers are hung off with questions like what would happen if our world was just like this book, or what would happen if the people in our world were like the people in the book.

I thought that I could totally relate to this book because I am also his age and I thought it was awsome to compare each other. This book always kept you on the edge of what they would do next.It was a funny book and was a book with morals. If your the type that likes funny and true stories, this is the book for you.