Light Boxes by Shane Jones

Tinkers by Paul Harding

AP Senior Tribute

Everything Matters by Ron Currie Jr.

I scrambled to order this book from the library when no bookstore around had a copy, then ran out of patience and ordered one from Amazon, which came the same day as the library copy. Was it worth it? For sure. Junior Thibodeau learns in utero that the world will end on June 15, 2010 at 3:44 pm. I had to read it quickly. Junior's family is a mess, his knowledge is pretty weighty and he squanders his youth, perhaps because he knows he will die at age 36. The novel alternates chapters titled with the names Junior's friends and family members with chapters that count backwards to his presumed last minute on earth narrated by the voice (is it God? - probably not) in his head. I got a little tired of the book in the middle section, but when I got the the final section, it kept me rapidly turning pages. If the book is a gimmick book, it was a gimmick that held me - and I think will have enough danger, drugs and derelict behavior to hold student readers as well.