Leap Day - Hardcover

Wendy Mass is the author of A Mango-Shaped Space. She wanted to be an astronaut but decided her carsickness was not a good trait for that career, so she became a writer instead and hasn't looked back since. Leap Day is her second novel.

Grade 7-9--Today is Josie's 16th birthday, but because it is February 29th, it's really only her 4th "official" birthday. She wears her "The Few, The Proud, The Leapers" T-shirt and checks in with many of her e-mail leapmates from around the country. Her family and friends make a big deal of her "last" teenage birthday. In the meantime, Josie has a lot on her mind, including the tryouts for Romeo and Juliet, her driver's test, and, of course, hunky Grant Brawner. Josie's first-person narration, laced with touches of humor, is reminiscent of Alice's in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's series (Atheneum), but Mass finds a special depth by augmenting Josie's chapters with third-person accounts of many of the same scenes in which readers learn what the teen's friends, family, and teachers are thinking and doing. Some of them are as superficial as Josie perceives, but most have complex stories and secrets far beyond what she could ever imagine. Mass also uses these chapters to comment on the characters' futures, such as the abusive and alcoholic father of a friend who readers are told will one day cause an accident, paralyze a motorcyclist, and never drink again. The style is unusual and interesting, but a little cluttered and slows down the plot. However, Josie remains spunky and good-hearted throughout the eventful day, and most of the other characters' situations are somewhat resolved. Despite the uneven tone, this is a good read.--Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert City Schools, OH
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