The McGillicuddy Book of Personal Records

October 1, 2010

Thirteen-year-old Lee McGillicuddy longs to make his mark on the world and set a record for mastery of something—anything: "[T]he thought of being ordinary seemed like the worst life sentence in the world." Both Albert Einstein (discovered through an Internet quote-a-day service) and Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (a book his father read to him yearly before dying) provide informing themes for Lee's quest. Lee gets his chance in a frightening and unexpected way when horseplay around an old well puts his eccentric younger friend Rhonda ("My name's Ron") in danger. At times the narrative is overly self-conscious, including a bit of unlikely speechifying by Rhonda and a badly misjudged entry in a collection of faux–good wishes from literary and other historical luminaries: "Jo tau, Mista Ree!--Confucius." But the cinematic treatment of the rescue sequence, complete with a glimpse inside the furry brain of Lee's dog, Santiago, is funny and well paced. By turns awkwardly preachy, humorous and poetic—something like early adolescence itself, with perseverance and angst, artifice and sincerity running side by side. (Fiction. 10-14)

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December 15, 2010
Grades 5-8 Thirteen-year-old Lee McGillicuddy tries to set goofy personal records, such as dribbling a basketball for 12 hours, even though he has no athletic ability. His quests are not so much about the physical challenges as they are a way of asserting his eccentric, yet winning, personality. Lee also likes collecting the quotes of famous people, such as Albert Einstein, and these quotes are intermingled throughout the story. Lees world includes his big, slobbery dog; his mom; and his younger, tomboy friend, Rhonda, who falls into danger at the novels climax, which tests Lees courage and resourcefulness. The storytelling shifts its viewpoint among characters, including the dog, and the somewhat disjointed narratives quirky appeal redeems a rather clich'd ending of a young man discovering reserves of inner strength. Pair this with Tom Bodetts Norman Tuttle on the Last Frontier (2004), a similarly themed novel that also transcends stereotypes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)