Best book I read this year? A tie between As Simple as Snow by Greg Galloway and Just in Case by Meg Rosoff.
In As Simple as Snow, an average kind of lonely boy falls in love with Anna, a new and mysterious girl in town. She dresses Goth and is fascinated with mysteries, codes, ciphers, and ghost stories. She decides to kill off everyone in town (in her mind only) and writes crazy imaginary obituaries for everyone. When she writes her own,the final one, she disappears. Did she commit suicide (a simple answer)? Was she murdered (a simple answer)? Is her ghost haunting the boy (a simple answer)? No, there are no simple answers to this mystery. Bacause, you see, snow is not simple! This is a book you will have to hand to a friend to read because, when you finish reading, you will want to talk about it. All of the librarians have read this book (which is unusual) because we all needed to talk about it! This is an adult book with some mature subjects and not a light and fluffy read. But if you like to be challenged and don't like things tied up in a pretty bow at the end of a book, you will enjoy As Simple as Snow.
Just in Case by Meg Rosoff asks whether there is such a thing as fate and, if so, can one escape or change ones fate. David Case looked away for a minute and his baby brother climbed up on a windowsill. He is prevented from falling but David is so shaken by this close call that he sets out to hide from his own fate. He changes his name (Just in Case), he changes his friends (just in case), he conjures up an imaginary dog (just in case), and hangs out with an older girl who has a taste for adventure (just in case)> But no matter how hard he tries, David/Justin cant really escape fate...or can he?
