Gr 5-7 Twelve-year-old Ambrose Bukowski and his widowed, overprotective mother, an adjunct professor, move frequently. When he almost dies after he bites into a peanut that bullies put in his sandwich, just to see if he is really allergic, Irene has had enough, and she decides to homeschool him. While she teaches at night, Ambrose gets to know 25-year-old-Cosmo, recently released from jail and the son of the Bukowskis' warmhearted Greek landlords who live upstairs. Ambrose discovers that he and his neighbor both love Scrabble, so, without his mother's knowledge, he talks Cosmo into taking him to a Scrabble Club. For the first time, Ambrose has a friend, but when his mother finds out, she starts packing up to move again to get him away from the ex-con. This prompts Ambrose to run away, determined to get his mother to listen to him. Ambrose is a neat kid who is comfortable in his own skin, despite always being an outsider. Cosmo knows he made some wrong choices, but he is regretful, as well as caring and thoughtful, and a great morale booster for Ambrose. This is a tender, often funny story with some really interesting characters. It will appeal to word nerds, but even more to anyone who has ever longed for acceptance or had to fight unreasonable parental restrictions. Shannon Seglin, Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA

Scrabble and crossword nerds will enjoy this funny, moving story, and so will many in the middle-school crowd, who will recognize the struggle to stand up to bullies at school and a hovering parent at home. Ambrose, 12, is close with his widowed mom, but he wants his independence. After Mom moves them yet again, this time to Vancouver, he bonds with his neighbor's son, Cosmo, an ex-con teen who has spent time for drug crime and is now trying to stay clean, facts that Ambrose hides from Mom. Not only does Cosmo teach Ambrose about self-defense, but together they also join the local Scrabble club, where Cosmo meets a gorgeous girl and Ambrose wins the championship. Every chapter heading is a fun word game that connects with the plot: Bonding ("bingo, boing, bind doing, bog, ding, dong, gob") and Screwed say it all, as Ambrose finally gets Mom to put down roots and allow him the space to find his own way.

Ambrose, an allergic misfit with an overprotective mother, is taken out of public school when bullies sneak a peanut into his sandwich. After becoming unlikely friends with his neighbor's son, a reformed ex-convict, and visiting the West Side Scrabble Club, his confidence soars. The smart chapter titles are creatively formed from Scrabble letters. It's a laugh-out-loud funny--and encouraging--story. Glos.

The fact that twelve-year-old Ambrose is obnoxiously too smart for his own good, combined with his neurotically overprotective mother and their constant relocation from city to city every couple of years, do little to help his friendless nerd status. After three bullies decide to test Ambrose’s claims of a deadly peanut allergy by hiding a peanut in his sandwich and nearly killing him, his mother decides that he will finish his education via a correspondence school. Ambrose grows bored alone in the evenings while his mother works and seeks entertainment by trying to find out more about his landlord’s son, Cosmo, who was just released from prison. Ambrose convinces Cosmo to take him to the weekly West Side Scrabble Club meetings, where the two bond and find the beginnings of a friendship. Everyone knows a kid like Ambrose—socially unaware and too smart for his own good—and readers cannot help but feel a bit sorry for him at first. After a couple of chapters, however, readers will be frustrated by his obnoxiousness and insensitivity. Nielsen’s coming-of-age story has a familiar plot, and Ambrose’s growth through the story is predictable, but she adds a few twists to keep things interesting. Though the story is humorous and charming, it will need the right audience to succeed.—Alissa Lauzon.

This could have been a great book. Ambrose is a believable, adorable character with a lot of insight to share. However, he also only sees Amanda, the woman who teaches him valuable lessons about kindness and Scrabble, for her nice boobs. He makes fun of Joan because she’s fat, and therefore unattractive. Every really good scene—and there were plenty —was spoiled by a sexist comment. I felt angry with the author for ruining such a good story. While I really want to give this book a glowing review, I don’t think the prevailing sexism is a small enough issue to overlook. 3Q 3P.—Mary Boutet, Teen Reviewer.