Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

Usually what holds me in a novel is the threat of danger, some fate or something that takes hold in the beginning and carries you through. The spell cast by this book is of a different kind. You do wonder as to what the fate of the young people will be, but the main attraction is in the sense of the everyday and familiar. Though the setting is before the memory of the target market many of the themes and situations these teens face have changed so little that it is hard to believe any time has passed at all. I can imagine that such an appeal is even stronger to those younger than me, but even at the age of 22 I felt myself still feeling much the same about life and love as this beautifully portrayed group of young people.

Newbery Winner 2006