Two distinct, thoroughly likable voices emerge in Van Draanen's (the Sammy Keyes series) enticing story, relayed alternately by eighth graders Bryce and Juli. When Juli moved in across the street from Bryce, just before second grade, he found the feisty, friendly girl overwhelming and off-putting, and tried to distance himself from her—but then eighth grade rolls around. Within the framework of their complex, intermittently antagonistic and affectionate rapport, the author shapes insightful portraits of their dissimilar families. Among the most affecting supporting characters are Bryce's grandfather, who helps Juli spruce up her family's eyesore of a yard after Bryce makes an unkind remark about the property, and Juli's father, a deep-feeling artist who tries to explain to his daughter how a painting becomes more than the sum of its parts. Juli finally understands this notion after she discovers the exhilaration of sitting high in a beloved tree in her neighborhood ("The view from my sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined"). Although the relationship between Bryce's grandfather and his own family remains a bit sketchy, his growing bond with Juli is credibly and poignantly developed. A couple of coincidences are a bit convenient, but Van Draanen succeeds in presenting two entirely authentic perspectives on the same incidents without becoming repetitious. With a charismatic leading lady kids will flip over, a compelling dynamic between the two narrators and a resonant ending (including a clever double entendre on the title), this novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts. Ages 10-14. (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Oct.)

The author of the popular Sammy Keyes mysteries proves herself just as good at writing a charming romance. From the moment seven-year-old Bryce moves into the neighborhood, Julianna is enthralled: It's his eyes . . . they're dazzling. Bryce, on the other hand, is horrified. In typical second-grade boy fashion, he believes that All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. Six years later, however, the two have flipped: now Bryce is enthralled with Juli's uniqueness, and Juli is repulsed by Bryce's selfish immaturity. Told in alternate chapters from each teen's perspective, this is a wry character study, a romance with substance and subtlety. Juli gradually learns the painful lesson that she must look beyond gorgeous eyes and popularity. Bryce slowly realizes his grandfather's wisdom: Every once in a while you'll find someone iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare. Both teens realize that standing up for what--and whom--they believe can be a difficult challenge, one faced best with true friends and close family.

Ever since second grade, Juli and Bryce have had one thing in common: Juli's affections for Bryce are as unyielding as Bryce's efforts to evade them. Then in eighth grade, the roles are reversed, as Bryce begins to open his eyes to the truth about those around him. Juli and Bryce's individual viewpoints--presented in alternating, first-person chapters--are adeptly portrayed in this tale of maturation and first love.

Proof that the course of pubescent love never runs smooth. <p>Proof that the course of pubescent love never runs smooth. When Bryce and Julianna (Juli) meet, they are both seven and Bryce has just moved in across the street. For Juli, it is love at first sight: "The day I first met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It's his eyes." As far as Bryce is concerned, the feeling is definitely not mutual: "All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to back off--you know, just give me some space." Six years after their meeting, Bryce is something of a judgmental priss (just like his father), and Juli is full of passion and enthusiasm for life. But in their eighth-grade year, Juli's fight to save an old tree from being cut down causes Bryce to look at Juli with growing admiration--just at the same time that Juli finally realizes that Bryce's character does not measure up to his eyes. The story is told in both voices, in alternating chapters that develop from a sort of "he said, she said" dialogue into an exploration of perception, misapprehension, and context. Van Draanen (<i>Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy Mystery</i>, 2000, etc.) deftly manages the difficult task of establishing and maintaining the reader's sympathy with both characters. The text stretches credibility in a couple of ways, especially with the premise that a seven-year-old is capable of a long-lasting romantic infatuation. It is, nevertheless, a highly agreeable romantic comedy tempered with the pointed lesson (demonstrated by the straining of Bryce's parents' marriage) that the "choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life." <i>(Fiction. 10-14)</i></p>

"Two distinct, thoroughly likable voices emerge in this enticing story, relayed alternately by a pair of eighth-graders," said <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW in a starred review. "This novel is a great deal larger than the sum of its parts." Ages 10-14. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

Gr 6-9-Van Draanen has another winner in this eighth-grade "he-said, she-said" romance told in alternating chapters by two teens who describe how their feelings change about themselves and each other. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was in second grade. Not much changes until eighth grade, when Juli's enthusiastic infatuation wanes just as Bryce's begins to kick in. Like the author's intelligent, gutsy, quirky heroine Sammy Keyes, Juli is fresh, distinctive, and different. After raising chickens for a science-fair experiment, she can't bear to part with "her girls," and begins an egg business. When she learns that Bryce, fearful because her yard is so unclean, has been throwing out the free eggs she has been giving his family for two years, she is devastated and begins to see him in a new light. At the same time, Bryce learns that Juli's family's devoted care of her mentally challenged uncle is what makes them seem poor. Right from the upside-down chick on the book's cover, there's lots of laugh-out-loud egg puns and humor in this novel. There's also, however, a substantial amount of serious social commentary woven in, as well as an exploration of the importance of perspective in relationships. Well-rounded secondary characters keep subplots rolling in this funny, fast-paced, egg-cellent winner.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.