TIM FEDERL3

Screenshot from my phone.
I love this cover right down to the 3 in "Federle"

I have a confession to make.  I have not been able to stop thinking about Tim Federle since I finished his newest book and YA debut, The Great American Whatever two nights ago. Is it his voice? Maybe.  But I didn't feel this way after listening to him read both Nate Foster books (Better Nate than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate). Is it the characters?  Could be. But as much as I loved Quinn, Geoff and Amir, I loved Nate and Libby, too. The story?  I don't know--I love a good Broadway plot as much as, or more, than a coming out-coming of age novel. Whatever it is, I just can't shake Tim and sorry to say, this middle aged woman happily married to Kevin, has just added Tim to her "double digit" list of author/illustrator crushes.

"16 going on 17" (Sound of Music, 1965) year old Quinn lost his sister in a car crash in front of their high school almost six months ago.  Unable to cope with it, Quinn has kept himself hostage in his home until now.  Now when his best friend, Geoff, not only gets him out of the house but takes him to a college party.  It's there that Quinn meets Amir, later finds out a secret he never could have imagined had been kept from him, grows up quite a bit, and figures out who he is with the help of his friends, his long ago inspiration and even his sister in a strange sort of way.  Can you call a book a page turner if you listen to it?  Whatever you call it, I could not stop listening.  I secretly hoped my running partner would cancel (she did) and I always wished to be alone in my car without any young ears around (never happened). Yet, in record time, I still managed to finish and crave more.

I don't read a lot of YA literature. I'm a K-5 librarian and there are way too many middle grade novels out there for me to devour.  I think the last YA book I read was two years ago when The Fault in Our Stars was all the rage. Tim's book is way more mature than even that book that sometimes I felt my traditional middle grade ears were not quite ready for what was to come. But that's ok.  Maybe even I grew up during the book.  I needed to be shaken up a bit and it felt good to take the time out of my #mglit life and read Tim's latest masterpiece.  And I wonder--I am all Newbery all the time but could it be that I actually read something in the running for Printz?

Then, kind of related, is Tuck.  Tim Federle co-wrote the book for the Broadway show, "Tuck Everlasting".  I wanted to see it so badly but only a month after opening night, it closed. Agh.  At least I got a picture by the theatre. But if I could live forever I hope a date with Tim at his favorite spot in Pittsburgh would make it to the calendar, as well as a comfy couch to cozy up with one of Tim's books and maybe even another YA novel....Ahhh....

Actually taken on the morning of their opening night.