German teenager Mike Klingenberg is an average student. He goes unnoticed by the other students, has an unrequited crush on the hottest girl in class, and is just a bit boring. But when Andrej Tschichatschow, aka Tschick, shows up, things change. Tschick is definitely interesting sleeps in class, always looks like he's been in a fight, and just might be part of the Russian Mafia. When Mike and Tschick are not invited to popular girl Tatiana's summer birthday party, they decide an adventure is in store. They steal a car and head out on a road trip across Germany. Do they have any idea what they're doing? Not a clue. But this is their chance to take charge and do something. While some of their mishaps are a bit over-the-top and Tschick's big secret is revealed without much of a punch, Mike's journey from dull to confident teen is an enjoyable one. Well translated, this is a good choice for readers looking for a contemporary realistic novel with a humorous sense of adventure.

Berlin teens Mike and Tschick abandon their lackluster lives and embark on an increasingly weird road trip. Mike's narration is an anxious stream of wry humor and linked anecdotes, but the moments when his fagade slips are startling windows into the aching loneliness of being fourteen. A sharp coming-of-age journey, hilarious and heartrending in equal measure.

German novelist Herrndorf makes his YA (and U.S.) debut with this action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure. When German eighth-grader Mike Klingenberg discovers that he-s among the few -Boring kids and losers... Russians, Nazis and idiots- who are not invited to his crush Tatiana-s birthday party, he is devastated. Mike is facing a miserable summer, with his mother in rehab and father away at a -business meeting- with his sexy assistant, when his new Russian classmate, Tschick (whom Mike considers -trash-), arrives at his house in a stolen car. An unlikely compatibility leads to a candy-fueled road trip, complicated by their lack of a map or cell phone. Driving all over Germany, the boys face conundrums like avoiding the police, buying gas and food when clearly underage, and vaguely seeking Tschick-s grandfather. Prepared by life to expect ill will, Mike and Tschick instead meet -almost only people from the one percent who weren-t bad.- Beginning at the end, with Mike narrating the explanation suggested by the title, this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship. Ages 14-up. (Jan.)

Gr 8 Up-Mike, 14, is one of the only kids in his middle school not invited to the birthday blowout thrown by Tatiana, his secret crush. His home life is dismalhis alcoholic mother is in and out of rehab and his father is embittered, unfaithful, and nearly bankrupt. But everything has shifted with the arrival of transfer student Tschick, a child of Russian immigrants who is obviously bright but withdrawn and is frequently drunk during school. When Tschick hotwires an old Lada, the two boys light out for the territory and encounter a sequence of oddball characters, including Isaa fiercely independent girl who lives in a junkyard and casually asks Mike whether he'd like to have sex or, as an afterthought, kiss her—and Horst Fricke, a gun-waving communist with a disconcerting interest in "the alabaster body of adolescence." The novel was a 2010 bestseller and award winner in Germany. Opening with "the smell of blood and coffee" and ending with Mike and his mom tossing furniture into the swimming pool, the story is offbeat and funny, and the main characters incisively drawn. For the right reader, it's a teen road movie with a bundle of twists. Still, while some cultural references will be transparent to American teens (Wikipedia, Beyonc&3;, Grand Theft Auto for PlayStation), the translation is also rich with local allusions and arcane discussion of German soccer. And though much of the story has a rollicking Gordon Korman feel to it, the language is often coarse and the mood chaotically dark.— Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA