Alison, Who Went Away

I often get YA books to review, but I usually glance and put them aside. This one caught me and I started reading. Couldn't stop until I'd finished. What a charming writer! Seems to me a likely successor to Judy Blume and Robert Cormier. This fast novel has all the elements of modern life's challenges (a distant gay dad, a lukewarmly welcomed but pretty decent stepdad, misbehaving hair that ruins more than a day, glasses you try to take off whenever dreamboat is around, an almost too-protective mom, and a sister who did everything beautifully, or did she?). It's the humorous tone that attracted me, but the sharp psychological insights are everywhere too. The suspense about missing Alison is relatively low-key, but manacingly present throughout. The ending worked perfectly, in the context of the protagonist's philosophy of life, which includes both randomness and acceptance. As a writing instructor (online mainly), I'm going to be recommending this one for all YA writers to take notes from.