Grisham for Kids, and More

Bruce Handy reviews John Grisham's new book, a legal thriller for children, in this morning's New York Times Book Review. Clearly familiar with the territory, Handy writes, "... you have to give Grisham credit for stepping into an arena where being the author of 'The Firm' counts for less than being the author of 'Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy'.” (In the same piece, Handy also considers the new, Egyptian-set novel The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan.)

Handy is a funny man; I like his reviews. The one-line bio notes that the critic is "writing a book about reading children’s literature as an adult and liking it." I look forward to reading that.

Other books considered in the NYTBR today are The Popularity Papers, by Amy Ignatow; The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger (can't wait to read it); and Lynne Rae Perkins' As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth (reviewed by Monica Edinger, of the Educating Alice blog).

Comments

[Suji]

Thanks a bunch for the update Susan! My guy will be ecstatic to hear about The Red Pyramid and Grisham's book too!

[tanita]

...so, are you going to look forward to reading the Grisham book as well?

I don't want to be a grump, but I do wonder what his motivation is for getting into the field of children's lit. Aside from the fact that it's the largest field in publishing and is making money...

[Susan T.]

Suji, you're welcome! I think the audiobook of The Red Pyramid might be just the ticket for car trips this summer.

Tanita, I have to admit that I'm really curious about a "legal thriller for children." I can't imagine Junior reading it at all, though. Tom Angleberger's book sounds much more like our cup of tea!