Kurt Mason

This one has taken me quite a while to write. To be honest, I fell away from reading for a little bit over the last month, and this book took me longer to finish than it should have. “Imaginary Friend” had been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, but I’m glad that I picked it up and finally read it. Although it was a little confusing in places, I was hooked, and the desire to figure out exactly what was happening kept me reading.

I don’t really know where to start with this one because I am still processing the overwhelming feeling of enjoyment washing over me. I could not put this book down! I thought that this book was brilliantly written, fabulously executed, and brought a genius concept to life. Written by two amazing authors, “What If It’s Us” is an absolute pleasure to read from start to finish.

I have been a fan of Gary D. Schmidt for a long time. My first introduction to him as an author was during my YA Literature class in college when we read his novel, “Okay for Now.” These books are written with young adults in mind, but I find that a lot of the topics that are addressed in Schmidt’s work are very adult in nature: war, racism, mental health, death, and teen parenthood just to name a few.

I came across this book while preparing a thematic unit on survival for my students, and I thought that it seamlessly coincided with the conversation currently happening throughout the country. Survival takes on many different shapes and forms, as my students will learn, but this particular tale of survival shows just how closely we are connected to one another, and--whether you want to call it fate, chance, or even luck--how the smallest slivers of choice and opportunity have to power to drastically alter every aspect of the human condition.

This book is every person’s nightmare turned into a reality. Whether you believe in intuition or not, everyone has those moments in life when you feel as though you are being watched, as if there is someone just out of your line of sight that is keeping tabs on your every move. Some people feel this more strongly than others, and for those of us, myself included, who feel this so strongly that the hairs stand up on the back of our necks, I would offer a word of caution before reading this book; this book takes the illusion of your home representing safety and security and smashes it to pieces. A lifetime of horror movies have taught me to trust my intuition and that you never investigate mysterious sights/sounds, especially if it’s coming from your dark, musty basement.

Without a doubt in my mind, I feel as though I have finally found the answer to the question that seems to befall every book lover: who is your favorite author? I have always struggled with this question because I have always enjoyed such a variety of authors and genres, but I have finally figured it out--Andrew Smith. Andrew Smith has woven his way into my heart, and he has taken on the title of my favorite author.